The Community of Believers: Mary & Elizabeth's Story

Micah 5: 2-5a
Luke 1: 39-55

Let’s tell a story about two women both pregnant, both scared and unsure of their future. They are separated by a long distance, it’s a hard journey. It’s a hard journey whether you are man or a woman, but for a pregnant woman the journey becomes that much harder.

Both have been put into a situation beyond their control and both have been given orders by a higher power. Unsure of what’s going to happen in their futures, they feel that baby inside of them and know that their destiny will always be linked to that little tiny person.

The thoughts that must have ran through their heads; Elizabeth with her husband Zechariah who couldn't speak because he refused to heed the power of the Lord. She would go about her busy days, washing and cleaning, sweeping the floor while her husband sat in silence. Did she talk? Just to hear her own voice, to hear a human voice, since her husband could not participate in the conversation. Or did she sit there quietly while she did her chores, to allow the silence to invade every nook and cranny of that space?  Was it a heavy silence or was it calm and peaceful, almost holy and sacred?

How did Zechariah feel - this old man, this stubborn old man watching the baby continue to grow inside of Elizabeth?  Knowing no matter what he did or thought he was not going to be able to speak to her because of his lack of faith and trust.

Months pass, the baby continues to grow. And all of a sudden, one day, in comes Mary. Now Mary’s story is about a young girl, we know she is probably a teenager; a young teenager. We’re not sure about Joseph. He could have been a young man or he could have been older too. Both have been suggested. But Mary, pregnant and having never had sex – that would baffle people today, let alone people back then.

Did she wonder if it was really God? Was an angel really speaking to HER? Little old Mary from a tiny village. She was no one. She was just a young girl, getting ready for her wedding day when the angel came to her. The confusion and the bafflement she had to have felt. But she managed to answer the angel and say, “yes I will do this”.

Although even as she says yes, at the same time how her head must have swirled with thoughts. How her heart must have raced with fear and pure adrenaline that something so magnificent, so monumental and scary had been thrust upon her without her consent. No one asked Mary if this is what she wanted to do. They told her after the fact.

Pregnancy back then was never as joyful as it is today, because the chance of you surviving birth wasn't always that good, and the chance of your baby surviving was even less so. If you managed to give birth to that baby, more often than not they died in their first year, and if not the first year then the first five when the children are the most vulnerable.

And here is the angel of the Lord, coming to Mary and saying, “You have been blessed.” Maybe I’m a cynic but I think in my head, I would have been thinking, “That’s not a blessing. That’s a burden. You have just given me the task of giving birth to the world’s savior. You have just told me that the world’s fate rests on whether I can give birth to a healthy baby and keep him alive.” But she managed to answer the angel and said she would do it.

However, when the angel disappeared and she had to go tell Joseph that she was pregnant, yet never had sex, and that somehow it was magically the savior, the Messiah they had all been waiting for – I’m sure she was terrified. I’m sure she had doubts about her own sanity. So what did she do? What did Mary decide to do?

She got ready, she hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea and entered Zechariah and Elizabeth’s home. Why did she do that? What was the purpose of going to Elizabeth? Elizabeth even asks that, “Why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” it was simple really. Mary was scared and she was pregnant and probably felt very alone.

Elizabeth was pregnant and might as well have been alone because Zechariah could not speak and their family was not supporting them. So Mary sought out the one person who might know exactly how she felt. Mary needed someone who knew what she was going though. She needed community. It is one of the reasons that we come to church.

We need community. We need people to share our common lot with. We need people who will understand when we say, “I believe in Jesus Christ as my lord and savior. I believe in the Holy Spirit who resides in my heart. I believe in God the Father who sent his only Son so that I could be saved”. We need a place, a holy space where we can go and talk and commiserate with each other. Listen to each other’s burdens and woes, embrace each other and share in the joys that we have in our lives. The blessings we have received. So we might have a moment of hope, to know that as bad as things sometimes get, as scary as they were for both Mary and Elizabeth, there is joy and peace to be found.

When Mary sought out Elizabeth, the two together found faith and joy, they provided comfort for each other. Elizabeth as she turns to Mary’s greeting, suddenly the baby leaps in her womb. I've never been pregnant, but I've watched very pregnant ladies, and when the baby suddenly kicks, you can see it happen. With my sister Allicia, she had twins, and you could see a hand pushing on one side and a foot on the other and you knew it was both of them moving around; perhaps having a little baby fight or something in there.

Those of you that have been pregnant or witnessed such things can imagine the baby leaping in Elizabeth’s womb as she was filled with the Holy Spirit. What is that Scripture we say so often, “Where two or three gather in God’s name, His Spirit resides”. And Elizabeth in a loud voice exclaims, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you bear”, which is an instant source of comfort for Mary who sought out Elizabeth because she was terrified. She needed the reassurance that this was not all in her mind, that this was not a burden, this was a blessing. She needed to know the little baby inside of her would survive and would save the world, and she was going to have a beautiful part in that.

Never in the story does it say it will be easy, but now because she has sought out Elizabeth, she knows she can do it. There are people there rooting for her, the Holy Spirit will be with her, and she is blessed.

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her”. That is what Elizabeth tells Mary. “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfilled his promise to her”. And just with those few words Mary’s terror and fear changed to joy and she began her song.

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my soul rejoices in God my savior. Where he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant”.  Now, now Mary understands all will be well. Because she has sought out one that understands her pain, understands her terror of this not being a blessing, but a burden. Instead, she realizes with Elizabeth’s words of reassurance and comfort that she can do this. That God has made her a blessed person and generations of people will hail her name because she was willing to set aside the shame, the fear, the pain of years of uncertainty as she raises this child. She was willing to put all of this aside to rejoice in the Lord and to accept what had been thrust upon her.

This is what God offers to us as we come to church, and as we prepare ourselves for the coming of our lord and savior. We can put the fears away. We can put the pain away for a moment. The burdens, the responsibilities, the hurts inflicted by people knowingly and unknowingly will all be set aside for a moment. We can put it all away so we may embrace our future, together in community, sharing God’s love, sharing God’s commitment to us. Rejoicing in the promises made that will NOT be broken. But we need that reassurance. We need that time to reflect which is what Advent gives to us.

Tomorrow as we come together and read the story of our Savior’s birth, and sing the songs that magnify our souls and help us to rejoice, we will do so knowing that in the last four weeks we have taken a moment to commiserate with those that came before us. We have taken a moment to understand what it means to be faithful followers, and to know that God will never leave us alone. He will never leave us nor forsake us for he has sent his son to be with us, and we shall call him Emmanuel – God with us.

Amen. 

The Pinch of Salt

Isaiah 12: 2-6
Luke 3:7-18

Did you know to make a dessert sweeter, a pinch of salt is often added? If you want to bring out the full flavor of fruit, a squeeze of lemon works wonders. Did you know the quilts the Amish painstakingly make always have a flaw in them? Today we read the rest of Luke 3 and John the Baptist’s revelations about the Messiah. In it, we receive the pinch of salt, the squeeze of lemon, the flaw in the quilt that reminds us that good news often needs a dose of reality to make it truly good.

John the Baptist is one of my favorite people in the bible because he does not mess around. He cuts straight to the point, gets to the reality of the situation quicker than any prophet does previously. Even Jesus will often skate around the point he’s trying to lead the people to by offering them questions and parables. Jesus does this because it is more beneficial for a person to discover the truth with their own minds than to be told the truth. But John, well he is all about cutting to the heart of the matter and telling everyone exactly the way it will be. I can appreciate that because I have a similar philosophy.

John the Baptist is out in the wilderness preaching the coming of the Messiah. He is preaching the good news! He is giving every Jew the news that for thousands of years they have been anticipating. The news spread like wildfire. Everyone was coming out to see the crazy Baptist man in the wilderness who was yelling about the coming Messiah. People were shouting for joy, preparing their children, praying to God, offering sacrifices in the temple.

Have any of you watched or been to Times Square on New Year’s Eve? I have a cousin who went and when she came back she told me the energy in the air is electric. She said the anticipation and party atmosphere soaks into your bones and you find yourself unable to feel the cold because you’re warm from the inside out. You smile because others are smiling, you laugh at jokes that aren’t normally that funny. She said if she could go every year she would because the feel good camaraderie makes the rest of the year seem more hopeful and happy.

This is how I imagine the crowds felt as they listened to John speak. People were smiling, clapping, laughing. They were bringing their friends and neighbors and children out into the wilderness to hear this news that made them warm from the inside out. But all of a sudden, John shouts, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

It had to have felt like a bucket of cold water dropped on all of their heads. The instant silence, the awkward glances exchanged among the crowd of people as they listen to him go from glowing terms of the Messiah’s coming to their own wickedness. The shifting of feet, the almost silent muttering as people listened to him and realized their own sinfulness. The joy became shame as they realized they are not ready for the Messiah to come. John the Baptist was serious when he said the people needed to prepare the way for the Lord.

They needed to prepare the way for the Lord to enter their hearts by accepting their utter unworthiness to receive him. This is the dose of reality that keeps the Gospel from being a fairytale. Yes, Jesus is coming to save the world. Yes, Jesus will love all people. Yes, Jesus will forgive you for the wrongs you have committed. Yes, you will be given eternal salvation and go to heaven. BUT. First, before any of that can happen, we must clear our hearts and minds of wickedness. We must ask God to forgive us for the pain we have caused in the world. We must ask God to help us become better people. We must ask God to send his Spirit deep into our hearts and reveal to us our own sinfulness so we can let go of that darkness to embrace the light of Jesus Christ.

If we do not, John the Baptist tells us what will happen. “and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” You’d think some people would be turned off by this harsh speaking, this utter honesty coming from John’s lips. However, the people’s response, from young to old, from innocent babe to hardened soldier was, “What can we do then?”

We need both the Good News and the consequences of what happens when we ignore the Good News. We need that little dose of bitterness to make the rest of it sweeter. In the movie, “A Walk to Remember” Mandy Moore says to her bitter boyfriend, “Suffering makes the world a more compassionate place.” At the time he responds, “tell that to those who suffer” and he doesn’t find out until the end of the movie that Mandy is one of the people that is suffering. However, she knew that the truth depth of meaning and feeling is found when we experience both sides of the coin. We need both pain and happiness to be able to truly understand both emotions.

We need to know that we are sinful, and we need to know how deeply our sins have invaded into our core selves so that we can truly appreciate the joy of being forgiven. John the Baptist understood humanity better than many of us do. He understood that humanity needs the pain of rejection we could experience to understand the happiness in complete acceptance that Jesus offers us. We need to know the pain we have caused so we can make amends equal to the hurt we inflicted.

Think about it this way. When do we appreciate life the most? Isn’t it right after experiencing loss or the fear of losing a loved one or our own life? Advent is the time we take to sweep away the darkness in our souls so that when that little baby Jesus, our Lord and Savior, comes into our lives, we can appreciate and understand the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus makes us good. Jesus makes us better. Jesus makes us whole.

And the only way to truly grasp what it means to be made whole is when we look at the fragmented mess our souls are in without Jesus to hold us together.

Amen.

True Meaning of CHRISTmas

Malachi 3: 1-4
Luke 3:1-6

Resistance. This time of year invokes resistance in many of us because our expectations of Christmas and the New Year have become separated from the expectation God has for us during this time. The demands we have placed on ourselves have created a tension within us because we want things to go smoothly during our parties and we want our decorations to be perfect and we hope to find just the right gifts to give our loved ones. However, God has already picked out the perfect decorations and has sent us all the most perfect of gifts. The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are not supposed to be spent frantically. God asks us to take this time to prepare for the gift he has given us.

Advent is a special time and it is not because of the trees or the wreaths or the candles. Advent is where we take four weeks to prepare the way for the Lord. John the Baptist spoke about making the way straight for the Lord so all people will see God’s salvation. This was a striking image in a country full of sand dunes, mountains, and rocky paths that made traveling difficult. How do we prepare for the coming of our Lord? How can we make the path straight for others as well as ourselves?

John the Baptist gives us the first clue. After he receives his message in the wilderness, every person he finds he tells them about the one who is coming, the Messiah. Then when they believe his message, he baptizes them so they may repent of their sins. Does this mean that we should run around for the next several weeks shouting about our coming Messiah and everyone that shows interest we should baptize?

No, your job for the next several weeks is to take stock of your life. Each day, take a moment to quietly assess where you are in your spiritual journey. What have you left undone? Each day, pray for forgiveness for whatever wrongs you have committed. Take time to be with your family, or if they live far away, speak with them on the phone or write them a card. Each day, say a prayer and find a place to quietly think about the gift God is sending to you. As much as many of us enjoy the parties and the gifts and the rich food, Advent and Christmas have nothing to do with any of those things. Perhaps that is why the holidays are not always a happy time for people. The pressure to succeed and to do things right is enormous. The financial toll this season takes because of the social expectations is substantial. The strain it puts on personal and professional relationships is not insignificant either.

A couple weeks ago a channel was airing a Charlie Brown Christmas and Charlie has been tasked to find the perfect tree for their Christmas play. Well, Charlie finds a real tree, which is tiny and who’s needles fall everywhere, it’s a rather pathetic little tree. All the children make fun of him because Charlie didn’t pick out one of the bright, shiny metal trees that had become so popular.

Suddenly fed up Charlie Brown yells out, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!” Linus replies, “Of course Charlie Brown. The true meaning of Christmas is, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field and keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shown around about them. They were so afraid and the angel of the Lord said, Fear not for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy and it shall be to all people. For unto you this day born in the city of David is a Savior which is Christ the Lord.”

Many people have become upset with the word Christmas not being used to describe the trees or the wreaths or the lights that we have at this time of year. Many emails and buttons and signs go up that say, “Keep CHRIST in Christmas”. I love that idea. Keep Christ in Christmas. It is what we are celebrating for and it is what we are supposed to be preparing for right now. But I challenge the idea that the trees, or the lights, or the wreaths are Christmas-y. Where are they in the story? When did Christmas become the things we hang on our walls or the music we sing as we decorate? When did Christmas become the many gifts under the tree or the eggnog we drink at the parties? When did Christmas become the wrapping paper and the tinsel?

Jesus is Christmas. Jesus is the gift. Jesus is the light that shines brighter than any we could decorate with. Jesus is the one who died on a tree for us. Jesus is the one who wore the crown of thorns on his head in a mockery of his birth status. We get all caught up in the word, and not caught up enough in the meaning behind the word.

It’s okay if others call it a holiday and we call it Christmas. Christ doesn’t disappear just because the word isn’t used. Jesus will still be a gift for all who are willing to accept him as Lord and Savior. Our job, during this Advent season, is to be willing to share that good news to anyone who wants to listen and then invite them to become your brother or sister in Christ. This holiday versus Christmas debate was won 2000 years ago and no matter what we call it, the meaning stays the same. Fear not, they cannot take Jesus from us.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field.. and an angel of the Lord appeared before them and said, “Fear not, for I bring you tidings of great joy for unto you this day born in the city of David is a Savior which is Christ the Lord.”

Amen. 

A Richer Faith

Ruth 3: 1-5, 4: 13-17

Mark 12: 38-44

The month of November is often Stewardship month for many churches. This passage in the lectionary is a dream come true for a pastor searching for a way to inspire his or her people to give. However, I have never had any desire to preach a stewardship sermon in my life. It is not for me to tell you how much you should give to your church or to chastise you for not giving. That is an issue between God and yourself. Only God and you know what you can afford to give in both time and money toward your church.

Some of you are probably asking, “Then why are you bringing this up, Pastor Audra?”

Good question! The reason I bring it up is that this passage is not about giving money to a church or synagogue. It is Jesus commenting on people’s faithfulness to God. Jesus first looks at the teachers of the law. He commented to his disciples that these men appear to be the most righteous of people while secretly they were the worst sort of sinner.

The teachers of the law were men that had been given a lot of advantages in life. They could read and write and cipher. They had power in the synagogues and in the political arena. Everyone wanted to be their friend and everyone wanted to be in their good graces. These men had a lot of power and influence.

As it often happens, such power and influence may corrupt a person. They began to dress to suit their new station in life, and they began to pray with loud voices and long winded prayers to show how holy and righteous and important they were to God. They sought out the admiration of their fellow human beings and took what was not theirs to take. Someone had to finance their good lives and it was often the very people they were meant to protect.

These teachers of the law went from seeking the approval of God to seeking the approval of humanity. It is a fatal mistake and we are all prone to do it. The admiration of our peers is instantaneous unlike the admiration of God. Often God feels distant and elusive to us when we are down in the trenches of life. It can feel like we are constantly trudging uphill in our walk of faith as we seek to do good things and earn God’s approval and love.

I’m hoping some of you caught what I just said about earning God’s approval and love. The truth is that we do not need to earn anything when it comes to our Lord. Jesus did that for us. But society teaches us that nothing comes for free and if we want to be loved and accepted, then we need to be worthy of love and acceptance. This idea is so ingrained in our culture that it is hard to not try to seek God’s approval and love.

There are so many people in the world who think that they are these dirty, sinful people and that God could never love them. I’m not going to tell you that you’re not sinful. I’m not going to stand up here and lie to you. What I will tell you is that it is not your sinfulness that is a stumbling block to God’s love. The only thing that keeps you out of the Father’s arms is your own unwillingness to let go of your sin. The moment you accept that you are not perfect and that you have done wrong, and ask God to forgive you is the very moment you get to walk into God’s waiting arms, and feel the love and approval we all so desperately want. That is the gift Jesus Christ gave to us the day he offered himself on a cross for our sins.

But the world would tell us differently and so we fall for this trap. The teachers of the law fell for this trap of receiving admiration from those around them instead of seeking God. The moment we stop asking what God wants for us and what God thinks we should do is when we are in the most trouble, and risk being the greatest of hypocrites. Jesus is deeply disgusted with the teachers of the law who should know better than to seek others approval rather than God’s.

Then he turns to those who are giving to the local treasury and he watches these ostentatious displays as people give out of their abundance. We’ve all seen this kind of giving where a rich person hands a huge check to a hospital and gets their picture in the paper. Jesus is more impressed with the widow’s offering which is a mere pittance compared to what others are throwing in the offering bowl.

Perhaps because this woman does not march up in grand, flowing robes with her head high and her face shiny and clean. She does not make sweeping gestures that call attention to her. She does not announce loudly that she is about to give all that she has to live on to God. She does not say anything. She does not call any attention to herself. Instead, she humbly walks up to that bowl with money overflowing it, and she offers her two small coins and in that offering is a faith unlike any being offered that day. She was offering her very life to God because those two coins were all she had to live on.

Not twenty feet from her were the teachers of the law in their grand robes and loud voices, praying for the widows, the orphans, the resident aliens and the poor. They prayed for God’s mercy and Spirit to be with them, but they ignored the one that stood before them.

As a church we are called to take care of the widows, the orphans, the resident aliens and the poor. Not just to pray for them. Not just to offer a check here and there. We are called to invite them into our homes and our lives. We are called to suffer with them, to love them as Jesus loves them – by caring for their needs and listening to their stories.

Jesus asks the church not to be a place overflowing with beautiful windows and rich tapestries. Jesus calls the church to be his presence in the world. He calls us to invite those who are hurting to come inside and be comforted. He calls us to share our stories with each other, to share our lives, and pieces of our soul with those who have no one else to care for them.

It’s easier to pray in a loud voice. It’s easier to write a check. It’s easier to come on Sunday and forget what we heard on Monday when we see someone hurting. It’s easier to get caught up in church politics where this family is fighting with this family and Morty doesn’t come because we don’t sing the old reformed songs anymore. It’s easier to say, I’m busy or the church hurt me or if church was at a different time I’d come. We can pretend that the church is not worth our time because of the hurts we’ve experienced or the people that come to it.

Faithfulness is that old widowed woman who probably had a million excuses why she shouldn’t give her two coins, but did it anyway. Faithfulness is the teacher of the law who resists the power and influence, and continues to seek God’s face instead of the approval of those around him. Faithfulness is Jesus who will soon offer his body and soul for those that are not worthy of the sacrifice. You see, Jesus had more reason than any to offer up an excuse to not give to this unworthy place and these unworthy people. Perhaps that is why he feels such a connection to the widowed woman.

She offers her very life to God, puts it into his hands for an institution she knows is corrupt as the leaders pray nearby, but ignore her plight. Jesus offers his life and his relationship to God the Father for all of us who admit we are sinners and corrupt and unworthy. And because Jesus did that, we are made worthy. The church is not a perfect place and I will never be a perfect leader, just as all of us will never be perfect followers. But God calls us to worship Him, to care for one another, and to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

There is no excuse that will satisfy God for why we have not done His will, and there should not be an excuse that will satisfy us either.

Amen.

An Alien in Our Midst

Ruth 1: 1-18
Mark 12: 38-44

Ruth’s story is one of trials and adversity and begins with her mother in law, Naomi. Naomi and her husband were living in Bethlehem when the city that actually means “house of bread” had no food to offer its people. They decided to pack up their things and move to a land that was considered a place to be avoided at all costs – Moab. Nothing good ever came from Moab. And yet, in this strange land Naomi, her husband, and two sons not only find food and shelter there, they also find wives for their sons. Moab was the enemy and yet Naomi’s family found a home with that very enemy.

Then the unthinkable happens like it always does in life. Tragedy strikes. Naomi’s husband falls ill and dies. Ten years later, both of Naomi’s sons also die; leaving three widowed women which at that time in the world could be a death sentence because women had no way to provide for themselves. Being resourceful, Naomi begins to pack up the home she has made in Moab and decides to head back to her homeland which is now doing better economically.

Her two faithful daughters in law help her pack up their things and they head down the road. Naomi must have been scared, but she sees her two daughters in law, and she loves them so she turns and says, “Go back. Go back to your families and may the Lord bless you with new husbands and children.” But this story is about relationships and how God’s hand is deep within our relationships even when we do not realize it. These two women have come to see Naomi as a mother and they love her deeply so they do not want to leave her side.

But Naomi also loved them and she insisted they go back and so Orpah kissed her goodbye and headed back to her family. Ruth, however, is not going to be dissuaded from her mother in law’s side. She had accepted this woman as part of her family and believed deeply in the vows she had made to her husband. Ruth forsakes all that is familiar, all that is known to her to enter the enemy’s land and make a home there with her mother in law.

What we do not know yet in the story is that Ruth, this enemy woman from a land that nothing good ever comes from, will be the saving grace of a nation that hates the blood that runs in her veins. They hated her because she was different in every way. She looked differently from them, she spoke with an accent, she dressed in different clothing and even her gods were not the same. She was foreign; an alien. Ruth knew it was not going to be easy to leave behind the comfort of home, but she also knew that her place was with Naomi.

The promise Ruth makes to Naomi is one she fulfills. She tells Naomi, “Your people will be my people, your God my God. Where you die, I will die.” Ruth comes to Bethlehem with Naomi and begins a life there that has many consequences for the nation of Israel. From this foreign, alien, enemy woman came the line of descendants that give birth to King David, and consequently, the line Jesus was birthed from.

America is considered the great melting pot out of all the nations of the world. We tell ourselves and the world that immigrants are welcome to come and be a part of our society. We tell them that their ideas will be heard, and their differences will be accepted, even their religious differences. But then, the country of their birth will do something that negatively affects our nation and all of a sudden we look at these people not as immigrants, but as foreigners - different, strange, and perhaps our enemies.

Every generation in America has their own biases against people different from them. Many people who experienced WW2 still have a hard time accepting Japanese people as friends rather than enemies. The people who grew up in the 50’s and 60’s know what it is like to experience segregation and the terror of now having to integrate your life with people who you were sure hated you. Whether black or white, the fear was hard to fight. Those who experienced the terror of the Cold War look at Russians with distrust and fear. Then with what happened on 9/11 many people fear Muslims or anyone with darker skin or a turban on their head, assuming they must be Muslim or a terrorist.

Ruth’s story reminds us that not every foreigner is our enemy. Not every alien from a land we distrust is someone we must look on with fear. Ruth’s story reminds us that human beings are to be treated as individuals, that God has a far greater plan for each of us than we may ever know, and it reminds us that even when God is not directly mentioned in our life, that God’s guiding hand never leaves us.

The love Ruth felt for Naomi allowed her to face the fear of rejection, the certainty of isolation and discrimination all so she may help her mother in law reestablish her life with dignity in her old age. She could not in good conscience leave this woman to travel her new path alone and so she walks with her in faith and courage. From the enemy of Israel a new nation is birthed. From the homeless foreigner comes a home without equal. From the alien, widowed woman Jesus Christ our Savior is born.

As Christians, we all know intellectually that we should be like Jesus. Jesus who was as accepting of foreigners as he was of his fellow Jewish people. Jesus who understood a person may sin, but that does not make them evil. Jesus who loved each person on their own merits and not by what the world would say about them. In our heads, we understand this perfectly, and I think most of us even try to follow it.

It is when our hearts get caught up in our passion that the cool logic goes out the window. We all know that not every American is a good person just as we aren’t all bad either. We all know there are good Japanese people and bad Japanese people. We all know that there are good black people and bad black people as well as good white people and bad white people. We all know that there are good Russians and bad Russians and good Muslims and bad Muslims. But when a nation attacks us and kills those we love, that logic goes out the window as our hearts burn with vengeance, fear, and wounded pride.

It would be so easy to give in to our fear and hurt and pain. But in Ruth we are given a powerful reminder that God’s ways are not our ways. When we allow fear to rule us we make bad decisions. When we allow hate to cloud the facts, we inevitably do things we will regret. When we allow ourselves to only see a person’s differences we are never given the chance to find what we have in common. Ruth may have looked and spoken and even prayed to a different god than those in Bethlehem, but her heart was as pure as any to be found in that city. Her loyalty and love for an old woman saved a whole country and it saved all of us.

Through Ruth, we encounter the grace of God. Through that grace we have been given a second, a third, a hundredth chance to make it right. We need every single chance God gives us. It is time for us to start giving the same chances to those we deem different or strange or alien. It is time for us to remember God’s love is what makes it possible to be here today. It is time to remember that fear and hatred only take us farther from Jesus, and if Ruth had allowed fear and prejudice of those who were different from her to rule her actions, then our lives would be very different.

Amen.

Servant Leadership

 

Job 38:1-7
Mark 10: 35-45

Did anyone else cringe a little when you heard James and John ask to sit on the right and left side of Jesus in his glory? It takes a lot of arrogance and vanity to ask such a question right after Jesus just finished predicting his death for the third time. These are not things we normally associate with the disciples. Such human failings are often associated with the Pharisees and the Sadducees who were the natural bad guys in the New Testament. But the truth is that every one of us is tempted to look out for ourselves rather than for others.

John Calvin once said that this passage is a bright mirror of human vanity because it shows that holiness and zeal are often accompanied by ambition or some other vice of the flesh so that followers of Christ often have a different objective than what they should have. This problem is as old as time. Many leaders often seek their own agenda and glory rather than seeking to help others.

It happens everywhere and in every country. Those who we would uphold as bright, shining examples of how to behave often have hidden motives and purposes. Just yesterday I was reading a story about Tim Tebow that made this quite clear. Whatever you may think of the young man, he has become a bit of a symbol for some Christians because of the way he clearly states his Christian views despite the many who would make fun of him.

Many people have lifted him up as an ideal Christian. Yesterday, as I was reading the news I saw a story that stated Tim Tebow is trade marking his Tebow move of bowing on one knee as well as the word. He states that he does this so no one will use it incorrectly, but what will really result is that anyone that uses the move or the word in promotions will have to pay Tim Tebow royalties off their commission. Mr. Tebow may want the public to think he does this to make sure the Tebow move will be used respectfully, but it is easy to see the benefits he will gain by doing this as well.

James and John are also leaders, they have been by Jesus’ side from the very beginning, and they were even the first ones called by Jesus to follow him. It would seem that they  would have the most knowledge and insight into what Jesus is talking about when he mentions dying and suffering for the third time, so it remains inexplicable that right after Jesus finishes speaking they make this extraordinary request of him.

What is James and John’s motivation behind their request? Is it just about glory and honor as the other ten disciples think and so they begin to argue and squabble with each other? Or do James and John truly understand what Jesus is speaking of and they are so afraid that they are seeking security by asking to be at his right and left in glory? Maybe they really do know what is coming next and they are afraid, and in their fear they seek the promise of a secure future. James and John may not be just power hungry; instead maybe they are acting on their fears.

But in their haste to secure their future, whether it is through greed or fear, they miss a vital piece of information. Jesus’ moment of glory comes when he hangs on a cross with a criminal on either side of him. Jesus reminds his disciples that, all who would desire to be first in the Kingdom must be last. He reminds them that leadership is not about having power over others, but it is about serving those who are beneath you. Jesus’ vision of leadership is all about helping others.

We gain positions of power so that we may help others to also be powerful. We gain money so that we may give it away. We gain possessions so that we might have something to give to our guests when they come to visit us. These things are not to make us feel like kings, but so that we may let others feel honored and respected. This is not the way the world thinks.

If we are honest, it is not the way WE think.

There are many people in the United States that consider themselves Christians and are appalled at the idea of giving what we have earned to someone else. We call it socialism and communism which are scary words in a capitalist society. Capitalism is about pulling yourself up by the bootstraps and earning what you have on your own. No handouts are needed because everyone gets the chance to help themselves.

Except, that isn’t true, is it?

If capitalism worked the way it should, every person in America should have a job, and healthcare, and a decent home as long as they are willing to work for it. That is the way it is supposed to be. But it seems like in every nation, no matter their religion or government, there are poor people and rich people and those that are in between. As Christians, do we ignore the faulty logic of capitalism or do we realize there is a reason Jesus told the rich, young ruler to sell all of his possessions and take up his cross? Possessions often make us slaves to consumerism. We become possessed by the things we buy and give them power over us.

I have to have the nice car and the expensive house. I have to have more clothes than I can wear in a week and twenty pairs of shoes to match them with. I have to have the jewelry and go on expensive vacations. Why? Because I earned it by working hard. Because then everyone will know that I work hard because they will see the rewards I have reaped.

But Jesus tells us it is not about that. Leadership is not about the fancy things, it is about giving it away. It is about serving those who do not have what we do. In our vanity and ambition we forget that none of these things truly make us happy. Yes, they are nice to have but as long as you have food in your belly every night and clothes enough to cover your back – do all the extras really make you happy or do they put chains on you?

Jesus is reminding the disciples and any who would follow him that we cannot pin our happiness and salvation on mere humans or their ability to have many possessions. What makes a leader, what makes a person a Christian is their ability to be cautious, self-reflective, and their ability to have compassion on those they are leading. Jesus is reminding the church that it also needs to remember it is not about how many people fill the pews or how much money we pull in every month but about how many people we have brought to Christ and how many people we have helped. There were only twelve disciples and yet Christianity has about 2 billion followers today. It is not about the numbers or the power or the prettiness of the church. It is about our willingness to serve rather than be served.

If we come to church expecting things, we are here for the wrong reason. Church is the place where we worship God, become closer as a community, and where we learn to serve and help others. It is not to be used to further our own agendas and power. It is not meant to satisfy our need for recognition and adoration. Church is where we learn the true meaning of discipleship and leadership and how we are called to put aside our own desires so we may look after others.

Jesus shows us how in his willingness to die on a cross, beside two criminals so that we may all have a chance at eternal life. Jesus makes us a promise that he is willing to uphold. Jesus’ words correspond to his actions. He walks away from his family, his home, and allows himself to be torn away from God through his death on the cross. Jesus sacrifices everything to lead us to safety. He emptied himself so that we may be filled with the Holy Spirit.

That is leadership. It is what Jesus calls us to do if we are to be true followers. We sing the song “Each one, Reach One” today and it says, “If we follow after Christ we all can lead one to the Savior and together we can tell the world that Jesus is the way, if we each one, reach one.” We follow Jesus by leading people to Him. We will lead people to Jesus by trying to serve each other instead of seeking fame and glory and honor. We will lead people to Jesus when we remember to love people instead of possessions.

Amen.

Is Jesus Enough?

Job 2: 1-10
Hebrews: 1:1-4, 2:5-12

 Please raise your hand if you think you’ve experienced a blessing from God in your life. Now, I want you to think about those blessings. Perhaps you have always had good health, or a loving spouse, or you were given children during your life. Perhaps your blessing is your job and the ability to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. Perhaps your blessing is that someone far away is fighting for you and your freedom. That someone is willing to sacrifice their well-being, giving up parts of their body, their mental and emotional well-being as well as their lives for all of us here today. Perhaps your blessing is a good education and the ability to provide the same for your family. Perhaps your blessing is the sanitation workers who are willing to clean up your garbage and other things so we have a safe, clean environment. Perhaps your blessing is the sun that continues to shine every day and the grass that continues to grow despite the billions of people who never think about these things as blessings at all.

And then there are the personal blessings, the ones that affect only you. That time God’s voice stopped you from cheating on your spouse. That time when you braked quickly enough not to hit that child in the street. That time you managed to ignore temptation and not take advantage of an easy situation. That time when you persisted in getting a second opinion because you knew there was something wrong and the next doctor discovers cancer in its beginning stages.

These are our blessings. We acknowledge they come from God. They make us feel warm inside and help to strengthen our faith in God’s goodness and mercy. We preach about Good News because we have experienced goodness and love. But now, I want you to imagine all of those blessings never happened or were stripped away from you like Job.

 Everything you hold dear and precious in your life; everything that has made your life worth living is gone. Your children, and grandchildren, and spouse are dead. Your home and business are gone, taken from you by others. Now, even your health is gone and so you sit homeless, on an ash heap, sores covering your body while your friends ask what you did to anger God. Surely someone who is suffering so much has done something to receive such curses upon their life. But you look around, you look inside yourself and you know – you did nothing so bad as to merit such a harsh punishment as you have received. You have been cursed and you have no idea WHY.

How do you feel about God now?

There was a woman I knew in seminary who was a devout Christian. She loved Jesus so much. She had dedicated her existence to furthering the Gospel and helping others. At 27 she was diagnosed with cancer. A rare form that is severely painful. While still fighting it, she found out she was pregnant and lost the baby to the chemo and radiation treatments she had started before knowing she was pregnant. She finally got the cancer into remission and was just putting her life on track when at 31 she went to the doctor for a routine checkup and was told that her bones had a disease that weakened them and eventually she’d be in a wheelchair and then she’d die from this disease. Her husband couldn’t take it and so he left her.

Five more years she spent fighting this disease, while continuing to attend church, to pray to God and help others - still a dedicated Christian. I met her as she was dying from the disease. I remember her looking at me from behind the oxygen mask, wasted away and pale, and she lifted it away for a second and said, “Why? What have I done to deserve this?”

The truth of her story, the truth in Job’s story is that we don’t always suffer because we deserve to - sometimes bad things; horrible, awful things happen to the best people in the world. There is nothing we can do to shield ourselves from the awful situations of this world. However, how we respond to these things tells us more about our belief and faith in God than how we react during the good times.

Can you still praise God when no blessings flow? Will you still believe in God if God only ever promises you Eternal Life and no other blessings? Is it enough to know that God sent His Son to die for you on the Cross so that you might live in the Kingdom of Heaven, if while on earth you suffer torment equal to Hell?

This passage we read today is one most people like to skip right over. These are not easy questions to answer for any of us. We can all point to a moment in our life when things were AWFUL and doubts about God came to the surface. We all struggle with our faith in the bad times. If all we ever had were bad moments, would we believe in God? Would we believe in the promises, would we believe in the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us?

Whether you believe in Jesus or not – there are going to be bad times. There is going to be pain. Sometimes we try to say that if we lead a good life then good things will come to us. We tell each other that if we love others we will be loved. If we care for others we will be cared for. We tell ourselves that God loves us so much that Jesus will save us from every disaster and pitfall. But the truth is that sometimes we don’t get saved from the pain and hurt. Belief in Jesus Christ does not equal a life free from torment.

And once we realize that, then what? Will you still believe in God if tomorrow you are stripped from every blessing you have but the promise of eternal salvation? It’s the only assurance Jesus gives us in our life. “Believe in me and I will bring you Eternal life.” Jesus does tell us that we will suffer just as he suffered. We ignore that truth too often. Jesus does not promise us roses and rainbows. He promises eternal salvation in heaven, and he promises torment on earth.

This passage cuts through the flowers we would lay around the cross to hide the blood, sweat, and tears. This passage takes away the gilding, the cloth that drapes the altar which is a place of sacrifice; it takes away the pretty stained glass windows that depict serene pictures of love and Jesus. It takes away all that is pretty and good and leaves us with the barren truth.

Job sits on the ash heap, sores covering his tired and shell shocked body. His children freshly buried in graves, his home and farm destroyed. His wife comes to him as he scratches at his sores and she says, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

She says to him, there is no point in saying nice things about God. There is no point in silently remaining faithful when God has stripped you bare of everything that was yours to love. Curse God and end this agony, let your body die so that your torment will end!

And Job replies, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Job makes a point we often forget about with our rosy outlook on the Resurrected Jesus. For Jesus to live, he had to die. For Jesus to save us, he had to suffer a horrible death and separation from God. Jesus’ faith was as tested as ours is tested.

We can respond by continuing our faithful, quiet belief in God, or we can curse God and die. God promises us one thing, and as long as you believe in Him, you will receive that promise. You will be given salvation.

Is that enough for you?

Amen.

Respecting God and Humanity

Proverbs 1: 20-33

Mark 8: 27-38
 

A little boy walked into class on the first day of school wearing a “Jesus loves me” bracelet on his wrist. When the other boys noticed, they laughed and pointed. The little boy felt ashamed because all of his friends thought he was a big dork for having a bracelet that let everyone know he went to church and loved Jesus. He took it off when no one was looking and hid it in his pocket so no one would laugh at him anymore. But when the boys noticed he had taken it off, they made fun of him even more. “Guess you really DON’T love Jesus, do you?!” the one boy sneered at him.

Upset, angry, and on the point of crying the boy ran into the bathroom and took the bracelet out of his pocket. He stared down at it for a second, crushed in his tiny, sweaty fist, and then angrily threw it into the toilet and flushed it down. He thought to himself, “Now no one will ever make fun of me again”, and he’d never again have to feel this way.

That little boy made a choice that day which would affect the rest of his life. He developed a disdain for people who went to church and loudly proclaimed to love Jesus. They drew attention to themselves and allowed others to make fun of them and they just kept talking about how much Jesus had done for them. He didn’t get it. Jesus allowed his friends to make fun of him when he just wore a bracelet. Why would these people let complete strangers belittle them and treat them so horribly? Was anything or anyone worth being treated so bad and feeling so awful about yourself? He couldn’t imagine Jesus would do the same thing for him.

There are thousands of people outside of these walls that have felt the same way. Perhaps you are one of them. Talking about going to church and attending Sunday school sometimes feels like a socially unacceptable thing to do. When we mention God or Jesus or faith, people seem to shut down on us. They begin to fidget and look away; they will pull out their phones or check their watches, say something inane and then change the subject. It always seems like they are thinking, “I can’t believe they brought that up.”

Such reactions are disheartening and after awhile, we put up barriers. We deliberately do not say anything about our faith and going to church, and we definitely don’t mention what we learned in Sunday school or something the pastor might have said during the sermon. If we want to keep our friends and not be considered strange or one of those crazy, fanatical Christians, we know that there are only certain people we can mention church too.

Today is Invite a Friend to Church day in many churches around the U.S. I have to wonder how many new people are going to attend. Unfortunately, not only are church-goers hesitant to bring up Jesus and invite a person to church, but getting a person to actually want to go is even harder than trying to talk about it. We come up with a thousand excuses not to mention Jesus or church, and this bible passage calls us out. It reveals our hesitancy, reminding us that we are not to feel ashamed about our love for Jesus Christ and if we are, then Jesus will surely have something to say about it.

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, but forfeit their soul?” That is the crux of it all. We may have a million friends because we hide a part of who we are, but in the meantime we lose a piece of our soul every time we ignore Jesus in favor of talking about anything else that will please the people we are with.

I mentioned a couple sermons ago that one of my very best friends does not believe in religion, but believes in God. Do you know that him and I talk more about God and AGREE than I do with some Christians? Sometimes we have arguments about my belief in Jesus, but I am proud to say I have never once belittled his faith. The point is to create a discussion, and if he didn’t live three thousand miles away, I know I could get him to come to this church once in awhile to hear what I have to say. We have created a place in our friendship where we are allowed to agree and disagree about God and our belief.

We all need that. We all need to be able to have people we can discuss our faith and belief with outside of these church walls. We need to be thinking about God more than just on a Sunday morning. God is with us every single moment of our lives, and yet we barely give God a moment throughout the week to be recognized. Too often we hide our faith in Jesus behind a laugh when someone makes a religious joke. We pretend that we don’t really believe that prayer changes things, when we have experienced it in our own lives. We talk about the ride we took on Sunday or the football game we watched, but not the great lesson our Sunday school teacher prepared that day.

“What can anyone give you in exchange for your soul?” There goes Jesus, once again asking the hard questions and making us realize where we have gone wrong. We only get one life to live. We only get so many moments where we may proudly proclaim ourselves to be God’s children. Some are little moments, but others are more momentous. Each of us has faced a time when we could choose God or we could choose to ignore God. We have times when we feel shame and fear to expose ourselves as Christians, especially in a hostile environment.  

I cannot help but think of the people killed in Libya a few days ago. They were killed because they were Americans and an American had made an awful video depicting the Muslim prophet Mohammed as a violent, evil person who did despicable things to men, women, and children. It wasn’t right that the protestors of the video killed those four people. It also wasn’t right that a person would create such an awful video that they knew would cause chaos and anger and pain. There is so much distrust between Christians and Muslims that the actions of a few cause a world-wide ripple.

The Christian pastor that burns a Koran on September 11^th, and the Muslim leader who kills an American – there is an utter lack of respect for other people’s beliefs and thoughts and feelings. There is a lack of dignity being paid to each side. We are all human beings and God has created us all. Jesus reminds us that we are to love everyone and that includes not only the Christians of the world, but the Muslims and the Buddhists, and the atheists.

When we react with such hatred, anger, and fear toward other people, it is just another way of ignoring God and turning our back on what we are taught in church and Sunday school. It is easy to be angry and mistrustful – it’s much harder to be understanding and loving. Jesus tells us, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”  

There are times when we unconsciously show our shame and disdain for Jesus. For instance, when we pretend not to be an avid church-goer around our friends and acquaintances at work, when we hate other people with more passion than we love Jesus – we show shame in what we have been taught by God.

When we deliberately ignore all we know to be true, we disrespect our Lord and His teaching. We, like that little boy, put God in our pocket to hide Him and our faith from the world and there are times that we also throw God away so that we can act and feel and think in ways that we know Jesus would disapprove of.

God is not just for Sundays. Jesus loves you every day, every moment of the week. It is time we showed our love for God and others every day, and every moment of the week as well. It is time we respect all of humanity for God created us all in God’s image.

Amen.

 

 

Embracing Our Doubts

Isaiah 35: 4-7a

James 2: 1-10

There seem to be days when it is easier to believe the promises of the Bible than on other days. When we read passages like in Isaiah that talk about our eyes being opened and the lame leaping like deer – we often have one of two responses. Sometimes we are comforted by such a message and then there are days when we are disheartened.

Who here has believed the promises and known disappointment? I think all of us would be able to raise our hand on that one.

Then we hear people say things like, “If God didn’t answer your prayer it is because God has something better in store for you. God has a better plan than what you could come up with.” We hear songs sung like, “Thank God for unanswered prayers” and we nod our heads because yes, there ARE times when we are grateful God did not answer our fervent prayer.

But there will always be times when we wish God would answer and we hear nothing but silence. There will be times when we are praying for Aunt Susie in the nursing home fighting dementia or Grandpa Ronnie whose diabetes has gotten out of control and has lost both his legs. There will be days when we are praying for safe passage for our family and friends, when we pray for the drought to end or the hurricane to pass us by and none of these prayers will be answered in the way we want and need them to be.

As faithful Christians, what are we to do with this knowledge? We know that not all prayers are answered. We know that sometimes no matter how strong our faith and belief in God, that what we pray for will not be what we receive. There are thousands of disillusioned Christians for that reason and sometimes we are one of those thousands of people.

Yes, even your pastor has had doubts and been disillusioned with God. We all have battles in our lives, moments that test the very fiber of our being and they are often the moments that test our faith to its utmost as well. For some, that fragile connection to God will break and for others it will be stretched thin but not broken.

Jesus had an interesting view on the subject of faith. He often told the crowds and disciples that it does not take very much faith to move mountains and change the course of our lives. But he also did not have a problem with doubts and questions from the people. He often seemed to encourage the dialogue with his parables and stories. Jesus believed that doubts were healthy; perhaps even a necessary part of our faith.

The reason it is healthy is because a person that questions what God is doing and not doing is someone that is thinking. A person that reads a line of scripture like, “and the lame will leap like the deer” and thinks, “I’ve yet to see that happen, is it really possible?” is someone that is analyzing and puzzling out what their faith means to them and to God. When we were children we thought and acted like children. We accepted what the pastor and our Sunday school teachers had to say without too many questions. They knew better than us.

Now that we are adults, we must think and act like the responsible people we strive to be by making sure that we never just accept what another tells us as truth. We remember that the Bible while inspired by the Holy Spirit, it was written by mortal men and women and was transcribed over and over again. There may be mistakes in there, honest mistakes but mistakes nonetheless. We remember that although the pastor has gone to school to help teach the congregation, they are one person and with limited knowledge and power compared to Jesus Christ. We cannot just accept every word a person says as Gospel Truth. It’s healthy to question and yes, even argue over our views.

When we take time to discuss the various viewpoints, we are giving God a chance to teach us more, to show us more about whom God is and who we are as His children. Let me give you an example. A few months back I referred to the Holy Spirit as She. Every now and then I do this because I know there are some people out there that feel women do not get represented enough in the Trinity. Jesus is male and we often refer to God as Father, but when God made humanity we were made in God’s image. Male AND female.

The Holy Spirit has often been referred to as Wisdom in the Old Testament, and in the Greek Wisdom is pronounced Sophia which is also a woman’s name. Some people get around using he or she for the Holy Spirit by using the word IT, but I find that to be too impersonal. When the person asked me about why I would call the Holy Spirit SHE, these are the things I told them. I’m not sure if the person approved or disapproved of the pronoun I had used, but I do know that because they asked they walked away with more information on why I had used the word I had instead of the one that is most often spoken. And with that extra knowledge they were better able to decide for themselves if the Holy Spirit was a SHE or a HE or an IT in their own mind.

Questions are a good thing. Doubt is a good thing. Do not despair if you find yourself questioning the Bible or your own faith and belief. Embrace these things because it is in the things we struggle with the most that we are able to learn more about God and ourselves. It’s not comfortable or an easy thing to experience, but these struggles really do enrich our faith.

A few years ago I met a friend who loved to argue and debate which worked out well because I also love to argue and debate topics. We spent our nights working in the seminary cafeteria and debated many theological issues. It was a growing and learning process for me because he came from a strong biblical background and I had not. I came into seminary without having read much of the bible and without having taken a single course in theology and God. He went to a bible college and knew more than his fair share and so we would talk and learn from each other.

One night, he brought up a point I could not get around. It was one we had argued over often, but this night his argument hit me square in the heart and I found myself struggling with doubts. As I was walking home, I looked up at the stars and tears were streaming down my face. I remember saying to God, “If this is the way it is, I’m not sure I can be a pastor because this hurts to believe.” I struggled and struggled with this issue for months. I wrestled with God like Jacob had wrestled with God and I wasn’t sure who was winning.

Finally, God and I came to an agreement. I realized that no one knows everything about God and although it is possible that I was wrong in my belief, no one would be hurt by my belief. God helped me to understand that the most important part of my faith is not about everyone’s views aligning perfectly with my own, but that I make sure to be open to other’s views. I make sure to respect an individual’s beliefs even if they are vastly different from what I believe because only God knows why they believe that. It is not our place to judge, and all we can hope is that others will be as kind and tolerant of us.

It was a good lesson to learn. It was also an extremely hard one that caused me many sleepless nights and confused days. But my faith is stronger for the questions and doubts, for the struggles and pain. Yours will be as well. Do not hide your doubts; do not run away from your questions. There are answers out there. Not always easy ones and not always pleasant, but if you want to know more – God is waiting.

 

Amen.