Rejoice!

Isaiah 52:7-10

John 1:1-14

Today we are going to talk about feet. Take a moment and look down at yours. Then glance at your neighbor’s feet. They come in all sizes and we never notice them much except when they are cold or hurting. More often than not like the rest of our body, we don’t notice how much our feet do for us.

The Prophet Isaiah begins his message of good news by speaking of the messenger’s feet. He calls them beautiful as they traverse mountains trying to get to the people to proclaim good tidings of peace and joy for all who would hear the message. The messenger’s feet had gone a long distance to share this news. They had walked and run, jogged and hiked over hills and valleys. Gotten wet through rivers, then immediately were immersed in sand which rubbed them raw as the messenger kept moving.

This news couldn’t wait for the messenger’s feet to heal. This message was so important that no matter how exhausted the messenger became, the messenger had to continue on. Finally, cresting the last mountain, the messenger proclaimed to all the people, “Your God reigns! You will know salvation!”

What a message! It brought shouts of joy and tears of relief. This is what the messenger’s feet did – they brought a message so powerful that a whole nation burst into songs of praise and happiness. Now again, look at your feet. You have the same power as that long ago messenger. You too, can bring joy to another’s life. You too can traverse the mountains and valleys of the world as you share the good tidings that Jesus Christ is come! That our Lord and Savior bring eternal life in the form of a newborn baby that is here to die for humanity. It’s something to think about, how our feet can bring light into the world if we are only willing to use them.

When Mary was heavily pregnant with Jesus, I can imagine how tired she was and how scared she must have been. She was barely more than a kid and she was about to become the mother to God’s Son. Her feet must have been swollen and aching, her back painfully throbbing. Then she had to get on that donkey and ride to Bethlehem as her husband Joseph walked beside her. His feet carried him straight to the place that God had commanded them to be through the Caesar.

How tired he must have been after that long journey. His nerves must have been frazzled from reassuring Mary, making sure she was okay and trying not to worry himself. He was going to be a father. Not to just any baby, but he was going to help raise God’s Son. Where would this journey lead them too? What path were they about to journey down? He walked on, putting one foot in front of the other out of pure faith in God because I know he probably had very little faith in himself at that point.

How do you raise such a special child? Do you treat that child like a prince or do you treat him like a regular child? Do you punish the child when he misbehaves or do you dare not in case God becomes angry? What if the child doesn’t live past the age of one like so many children did not? What if he comes from Mary’s womb with a limp or blind or has some other infirmity? Would God blame Joseph and Mary for these things?

He walked on toward his fate, Mary riding beside him, with nothing but faith to keep him moving. Sometimes it is all we have that sustains us. Sometimes it is the only thing that gets us through the day. We must believe in the message we receive on Christmas Day. That a baby, a little and fragile baby boy would grow up and save us all from ourselves. That this boy would have so much faith in God that he willingly dies so the rest of the world may live.

The world is a dark place. It’s full of pits and potholes that would try to make us trip and stumble as we journey forward. There are big rocks of temptations in our path that would try to make us stop where we are at and no longer journey on. But like the messenger in Isaiah and Mary and Joseph, we must have faith in God. Our faith keeps us moving and will help us overcome every obstacle our feet encounter. Every step we take toward God is a step toward the light of God’s pure love for us. It’s a step out of the darkness the world dwells in and brings us one more step closer to eternal life lived with and through Jesus Christ. That beautiful baby who’s little feet will one day have nails pounded through them as he hangs on a cross for you and for me.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Jesus Christ and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

The True House

2 Samuel 7: 1-11
Luke 1: 26-38

Mary and Joseph are both descendents of King David. The same David we find in the passage of 2 Samuel. The scriptures have many lessons to teach us and this passage has several. King David was once nothing more than the youngest son of a sheep farmer in Bethlehem. When Samuel went looking for a king for Israel he looked at all of the sheep farmer’s sons, all except the youngest who was out tending the sheep. It was that boy, young and small and naïve who would become king. He would defeat the Giant and he would carry the Ark of the Covenant into many battles and win.

This same David, who had found so much favor in God’s eyes, was now settling down. He no longer had to move from place to place with only a tent over his head. He had built for himself a strong house, made of cedar and was quite content. Until he noticed the Ark was still in a tent.

He went to Nathan, the prophet who took over after Samuel and instead of asking his advice as was the norm, David told him about having a house of his own while the Ark had none. Nathan, instead of being offended by this change in protocol gave his agreement that David should do what he pleases because “The Lord is with you”.

Other than a little breach in protocol, this must seem very mundane to most readers. What is the big deal? David has found where he wants to build his kingdom and now he will build a religious temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. That sounds reasonable, it sounds like a great plan.

As a church, we often look to our leaders in the Consistory and the pastor for great plans. We hope that every month when they get together, they are coming up with ideas to help grow the church, and to make the church run more smoothly. We do not like the idea of the people we elect merely maintaining the status quo, we like action. We want growth whether it is in the form of giving more money through our committees, coming up with new and better programs, or doing things around the church building.

There’s nothing wrong with that. Just like there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with what Nathan and David are planning now that they are settling down in one area. But both King David and the Prophet Nathan have forgotten a very important key to this plan. They have not asked God what God would like to do. How could David, who is in the position of King of Israel because of God’s favor, have forgotten to ask God what to do? How could Nathan, a prophet, a messenger of the Lord, have not considered praying about what they should do?

Now if two such wise and holy people could forget to consult God, how often do we do the same thing? Perhaps our ideas and thoughts seem so natural and good that we think the thought must have come from God. Perhaps we are too busy this week to say a prayer asking for guidance. We do not always consult God about what we are up to. Even as a church, how often when we have a problem or issue do we take a moment to pray to God? Sometimes I think we would be amazed at what God is thinking because God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, God’s ways are not our ways.

 God makes God’s presence known in the very next line of the scripture. He comes to Nathan at night and reminds David and Nathan that God is the one that brought them out of the land of Egypt. God is the one that has shown them the way each time they have been scared or unsure. God is the one that has helped them find this land, the land he promised hundreds of years ago to Abraham and then to Isaac and then to Jacob. In all this time, God has never had a temple; God has never needed a temple to do the miraculous things that were accomplished.

The Lord reminds Nathan and David that all they have, all that they are is because God has made it happen.  If God wants a temple, not only would the Lord have mentioned it but God would have directed them in how to build it. It was a humbling message to them both, but obviously one they needed to hear. David thought he knew what God wanted; he thought he knew the heart of the Lord. But what God reminds them both is that he cannot be contained or be totally known. God will always be a mystery to humanity and the more we try to squeeze God into a box or a temple or a church, the more elusive the Lord will become. God is not found only in our religious buidlings because the Lord cannot be contained.

But God did not stop by just reminding them of his power and might. God then gives David a gift. God promises to be faithful to David, to make his name great and to build a great home for all of the Israelites. They will no longer have to travel from place to place, forever wandering and fighting other people for space to live. No longer will they have enemies that can kill them. God has promised to give them rest, to build them all homes and to make the line of David one that lasts forever. God promises that the name of King David will be one that will always be remembered.

Here we are today, looking at this passage and wondering what this has to do with our life. This passage should have us asking a few hard questions of ourselves: What are our assumptions about what will be pleasing to God? What are the ways that we seek to enshrine and confine God? Do we build churches so that we can place God inside it and then only visit for an hour a week? Do we sometimes link God to our political or religious agendas in the hope of swaying more people to our causes? What may God want to do but cannot because personal ambitions and church politics are blocking the way?

God does not want or need to be enshrined here at church. Our Lord is one of surprises. Our God is one that instead of sending a warrior to defeat the world’s evil, God sent a baby - a baby named Jesus born to a poor couple who would not raise their son with every toy or modern convenience, but with love. God sent us a little boy who would grow up to hang out with the least desirable crowd. He would find his way among the outcasts, among the sinners and the destitute; his followers were those that have diseases and were a burden upon society.

What is God up to right now? What is God doing 2,000 years later? Could God be present in this church or is God out there.. amongst the poor, the diseased, and the people we scoff and lift our noses at? Is God with the unemployed, the people on welfare, the illegal immigrants, the convicted felons?  It’s a question we need to ask. It’s a question David and Nathan forgot and were chastised for.

Where are you God? What are you doing? What do you want us to do?

Amen.

Then Who Are You?

Psalm 126
John 1:6-8, 19-28

I’ve always felt a little sorry for John the Baptist. In Luke we read about how his father did not believe he could truly have a child, the father resisted God’s efforts to set him straight and it wasn’t until John was born that finally Zechariah could admit that John was his son and he had been sent by God. Then John’s whole life must have been lived knowing he had one purpose to fill, to proclaim the Messiah. He must do whatever was necessary to make sure as many people heard his message as possible. It did not matter if he went without clothing or food or sleep. It didn’t matter if he had a roof over his head or friends to talk things over with. John’s one purpose, his one mission in the world was to be the voice crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord!”

That’s a lonely life. That’s a life completely devoted to God and leaving nothing left over for oneself. Then we have this passage in the Book of John where the author tells us even more than Matthew, Mark, and Luke did about John the Baptist’s character.

We have Jewish leaders from Jerusalem making the journey to Bethany to discuss what John has been up to. This loud man was making a racket that reached deep into the city and made the religious leaders nervous. He was causing people to question, to think outside the box of accepted theological beliefs about who and what the Messiah will be. If the one that prepares the way for the Messiah is such a different sort of person, what then will the Messiah be like? Will the Messiah be a king coming on a white horse, brandishing a sword that will cut off the head of the Roman Empire like they had all dreamed? Or will the Messiah be something and someone like this radical man who is in the wilderness and baptizing people like he has been given the authority to do so?

So with nervous trepidation and probably a lot of righteous indignation, the Pharisees journey to Bethany to confront this man causing all these questions among the people. Before they can even speak a word, John emphatically denies that he is the Messiah. Perhaps John knew this was the secret question in everyone’s mind and so he decided to confront this falsehood first. Or perhaps John was just totally sure of what he was not, and so he shared it with them without provocation.

My favorite line in this whole passage is what they say in response to his emphatic denial to being the Messiah, “Then who are you?” There is such bewilderment and confusion in those four words. There is a wealth of meaning behind them as well. If you are not the Messiah, then why are you baptizing people? If you’re not the Messiah, then you must surely be someone else important to get the people talking like this. And that’s why they begin with their questions of, “Are you Elijah?” “Are you the Prophet?”

But John replies no to each of their inquiries. He is not any of those things they are wondering or hoping he might be. John refuses to allow them to label him. When in exasperation they finally say, “Give us some answer to take back with us? What do YOU say about yourself?” The Pharisees had finally run out of labels for John. “What do you say about yourself? Who do you consider yourself to be?”

This is an interesting question and one often asked of all of us. When we first meet people we often ask them what their name is, and usually the question that follows is “Who are you? What do you do?” If I went around the congregation and asked all of you that question, what would your response be?

What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone asks you who you are? What labels do you put upon yourself? What boxes do you check when the Census Bureau asks you to define yourself? Do you identify yourself as a man or woman or perhaps as a husband or a wife first? Do you think of your job and say, “I’m a lawyer, I’m a truck driver, I’m a teacher?” Is your first thought “I’m a mother, father or grandparent”? Or perhaps you think of yourself as an American first or as a white American. Perhaps you consider yourself by your age or your favorite hobby. “I’m a stamp collector, I’m a Harley Davidson fan, I’m a music lover.”

“Who are you?” they asked John. He refused to give them a name. He did not give them an occupation. He did not mention his parents or children or wife. He did not mention his hobbies or his interest in star alignment. John did not even respond using his own words to define himself. John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’

John has given his identity to Christ. His Messiah comes first. Who John is, well that is not nearly as important as who is the Messiah. John wants to get past these unimportant issues of who is he to discuss the most relevant one to all humanity, “Who is the Christ?” But the Pharisees are still wrapped up in John’s identity. They are still struggling to understand this simple human man, and will not allow themselves to move forward to weightier, more important issues. So they begin again with the questions.

“Why do you baptize people if you are not the Messiah, the Prophet or Elijah?” But John refuses to answer that with a question that satisfied their human curiosity. John once again points his answer back to the one that is most important by replying dismissively that he merely baptizes with water and then he says, “but among you stands one you do not know.  He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

John is trying to tell them about Jesus Christ. He is trying to convey to them that John is merely a witness to the glory of Christ. There is something so much more important in this world, happening right NOW than who one man is and why he baptizes with water.

John reminds all of us that there is something more important going on in the world than what we often consider to be important. John challenges all of us who proclaim ourselves to be Christians to also be witnesses. We are to witness to the work and word of Jesus Christ. We are called to not show off who we are and what we can do, but tell the world who Christ is and what Christ has done and is doing for us all. John refused to put a label on himself other than a voice, a witness who professes the work of the Lord. He gave himself completely to God and during the Advent season we are reminded that this is our task as well.

We do not just put up decorations and admire how cute our children look in their Christmas clothes, we are to remind the world that God loved us ALL enough to give His Son, so that we might live with Him and have eternal life. That is our mission, and that is our witness. Let us be reminded and let us go out joyfully, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. “Christ lived and died for YOU. Christ rose again so that we might defeat death and live by his side in heaven!”

Amen.

Prepare the Way

Isaiah 40: 1-11
Mark 1: 1-8

Too often we preachers will give you a message that is all about God’s forgiveness and redemption and mention nothing of God’s righteous anger when we do sinful things. Or, we will do the opposite and give a blistering sermon on sinful humanity and mention nothing at all about God’s grace. The book of Isaiah challenges such a one dimensional sermon and reminds everyone that just as God can be angry and punishing, God can also love and forgive. We try too often to put God into a box and that is not where God belongs. We cannot hem in God with our own preconceptions and ideas without having lost something vital to our faith and relationship with God.

We should not separate God’s judgment on human sin with God’s grace and forgiveness for those sins. The reason is that if we only concentrate on the judgmental wrath of God then when God punishes humanity we have a vengeful God without any of the compassion we see in the New Testament. It is like we have two different gods in the Bible. However, when we look at all of Isaiah and 2^nd Isaiah together we see that the God who punishes our sins is also the God who eventually forgives us and welcomes us back, restoring us to our proper place – by God’s side.

For all of us to understand what the Israelites were feeling in these passages, we need to know more about their journey. After God gave them Israel, the people prospered. They defeated their enemies and had food and riches in abundance. Abundance is a downfall to a pious society. It seems to always create greed and a desire for more. The people began to forget the God that had delivered them out of Egypt’s hands and looked only to themselves for their daily bread. They forgot to worship in the temple and instead they worshiped their money and the foreigners’ gods. Every attempt God made to warn them was rebuffed until finally God had had enough. For the first time, when an enemy came to conquer Jerusalem, God did not help to defend the people. The Babylonians rushed into the cities, laying waste to the temples and taking everything of value, including the people as slaves.

For fifty years the Israelites were slaves to the Babylonians. They were without priests to guide them; they were without their rituals to soothe them, and without God to sustain them. So this passage in Isaiah 40 is a welcome relief! They will be saved! God has not forgotten them! God is about to deliver them from their enemy’s hands and give them a straight path back to their homeland.

God goes so far as to promise to even out the hills, make the crooked paths straight so that every man, woman, and child will easily and quickly find their way back home. Hopefully, they will come home a little wiser, a little more wary, and a lot more faithful.

 God never wanted to punish her people. Although God is quite able to pick up a sword to smite a person, God tried often and for a long time to get through to the Israelites before allowing the Babylonians to take over. This is why we must keep the vengeful God at the beginning of Isaiah side by side with the gentle shepherd who leads her flock safely back home. God is not one or the other, God is both.

You may be wondering what all of this has to do with Christmas. The passage we read today in Mark 1 takes a piece of Isaiah 40 to explain the job of John the Baptist. The author of Mark sees that John was one that helped to make the pathways straight for the Lord, so that when Jesus began his ministry, he would have ears willing to listen to the message he desperately wanted us to hear. The Good News that Jesus and John the Baptist spread among the Jews and Gentiles was the one that the Israelites heard 600 years before.

Your God has not abandoned you. Your God loves you and forgives you. You are not alone in the trials you face and yes, there is something better for you than this crazy life you live now. That is the Good News which has never changed – for the Israelites in Isaiah, for the Jews of Jesus’ time and for all of God’s people today.

In both Isaiah and Mark, for us to hear the Good News requires repentance and confession from the people. In Isaiah, the Israelites had to be punished for fifty years before they could bring themselves to God and offer up true sorrow for their past ways. In Mark, John tells the people to repent of their sins and be baptized. What is interesting about this passage is that then John the Baptist goes on to say that there will come another, the Messiah, who will baptize them all with the Holy Spirit.

John the Baptist could have taken all the glory for himself. He could have pretended to be the Messiah because the people were certainly captivated with him. He was a wild man, with camel hair clothes and an unusual diet of locusts and honey. He spoke of forgiveness and new life, a message the people were starving to hear. Yes, John could have proclaimed to be greater than he was, but instead he told everyone who would listen to him that another, greater prophet would soon be here to save them all.

How often do we hear people humbly promote another person’s achievements rather than their own? Let’s look at the political arena. Have you ever heard a new senator thank the previous senator for all their hard work and dedication? When something goes right during the first year of their office, do they credit those that came before them? I have never heard one politician give credit to the previous administration even when it is obvious to everyone else where the credit belongs.

We live in a world where everyone wants a piece of the pie. Everyone wants to be recognized for achievement, but John the Baptist shows us that is not the way. And God also shows us that by sending someone to prepare Jesus’ way. Think about it – even God sometimes needs a helping hand. This season is one of waiting and expectation. We wait for news of our Savior and for the coming of peace on earth.

We too often act like these good tidings are for our ears alone. We pretend that all the good things that have happened in this church are because of what we have done instead of acknowledging we stand on the shoulders of those that came before us. Their hard work makes this church a success. John’s hard work in the wilderness prepared the way for Jesus Christ’s ministry.

This is a season of waiting, but that does not mean we have nothing to do. We are now the ones that prepare the way for the Lord. We wait for news of Christ’s second coming and we are to spread the Gospel to all four corners of the world, letting everyone know that peace, joy, hope and love is waiting for them, just as we wait for Christ.

Amen.

Thanksgiving Message

“Your faith has made you well.” Jesus does not make a big deal out of the healing of these ten men. What he does seem concerned about is the men’s response to their healing. Only one man comes back to give thanks to Jesus. A man who is a foreigner and loathed by the Jewish people is the only one to come back to Jesus, a Jew, and thank him for healing him of leprosy. And the way he expresses his thanks!

This man does not shake Jesus’ hand in a dignified way like you often see two men do. The Samaritan did not come walking up with his head down and mumble his appreciation half-heartedly. He came back, praising God in a loud voice and then he THREW himself at Jesus’ feet. These are the actions of a man full of praise for the one who has healed him of his affliction. He not only praises God, he throws his whole body, his whole being into giving thanks for the one who has delivered him from this awful torment.

Jesus looks down at this man at his feet. Does he feel amazement that only one returned? Is he angry, confused, or saddened? We do not know because the author does not tell us Jesus’ emotions as he says the words “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”.  We do not know what Jesus felt, but we know how he responded to the thanksgiving and praise of the Samaritan, “Your faith has made you well.”

Jesus is not speaking of the man’s leprosy because that affliction had already been healed. No, Jesus was telling the Samaritan that his actions, the way he turned toward Jesus and gave thanks to God, had made him well in mind and soul, as well as body.

His action of turning around – It is often the way we describe repentance. We turn our backs on our sinful life and accept Jesus as our Lord. It is the movement of our whole person, initiated by God’s graceful work, a redirection toward God. “Your faith made you well.” This outcast, this hated foreigner has become a member of Jesus Christ’s family by turning away from his old ways and turning instead toward the Lord.

Salvation and healing are intertwined just as a life of faith must include thanksgiving to God. God’s work makes a human being whole, makes them sound in every way and reconciled to God and people. The Samaritan’s actions of throwing himself at Jesus’ feet and giving thanks, demonstrates a completeness of faith because it includes thankfulness. It is not dutiful obedience that has made this man fall to Jesus’ feet in thankful praise, but it is because it feels like the right response to what Jesus has done for him.

A couple of years ago I was visiting an elderly woman in a nursing home. Most days this woman was a joy to visit because of her cheerful disposition.  She told me at times that the only thing that ever made her sad was how little her family came to visit, especially her niece who only lived a few miles away. I always commiserated with her and we would pray about it. So this day I came to see her, I expected the same cheerful woman I always saw. But today every word I said to her seemed to bring her to tears and every time I would ask about her friends and family she would put her head down and say nothing at all.

I knew something was really wrong. Finally, she confessed that her family had not called, written, or been by in months. This was the longest they had ever been neglectful and now the holidays were approaching. Holidays are dreadfully lonely for people in nursing homes with no family. And here was this wonderful woman who had a family, but still sat alone.

She told me she wanted to be happy again. She wanted to let go of this sadness. She asked me what she could do to change the way she felt. At first, I began to offer advice on how to get them to visit. I suggested writing a card saying, “I miss you, it’s been awhile.” And things like that. Then I realized that this would not change how she felt in the least, especially if it did not work.

Finally, the Holy Spirit must have whispered loudly in my ear because all of a sudden I heard myself say, “Maggie, you must give thanks!” She looked at me oddly and I said again, “We will give thanks for what you DO have and it will help you. Go on, give thanks!”

She began with, “Well, I suppose I’m grateful to be alive… even though my knees give me such terrible pain. And I’m grateful for the people that do visit.. even if it isn’t my family. And I’m grateful for the money my nephew sends.. even though I’d prefer he come here to give it to me in person.” Then she paused and I had to laugh. She thought she was giving praise, but she was putting conditions on her thanksgiving. This was not anything like what the Samaritan with leprosy had done! So I urged her to begin again with real joys in her heart. What brought a smile to her face even when she was blue?

That’s when she finally said, “I thank God for the 60 years with my husband. He was my rock. I’m grateful for my children who never once got into trouble. I’m grateful for all the people who helped my husband build our home and I’m grateful for the people that take care of me here. I’m grateful for the birds in spring that sit at my window and for the cat that comes to cuddle with me in the winter.”

After saying all of that, Maggie smiled. Her heart had lightened when she realized how much she truly did have to be grateful for. Her faith was restored; her mind renewed because she realized that the only way to stay faithful and happy was to give thanks.

It’s such a simple thing – saying thank you. But we never do it enough. This Thanksgiving I hope that you will give thanks for all the blessings God has given to you. Remember that a life of faith is lived through a life of constant thanksgiving.

Amen.

The Least of These

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Matthew 25: 31-46

In the early Palestinian days, in places like Nazareth where Jesus grew up, shepherds looked after their sheep and goats together. They were a mixed flock of animals that were cared for all in the same way. They were given the same food, given the same time to wander freely and then at night, the shepherd would separate them. The sheep liked the cool, night air and so they were allowed to roam, but the goats with less covering enjoyed being in a warm place.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that when he comes to earth once more, he, our Shepherd, will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be on his right and the goats on his left. We have heard Jesus tell us in other places that we are a mixed group of people, some who follow God and those who ignore God. The parable of the wheat and the tares comes quickly to mind. But this is the only place in Matthew where Jesus talks about what will happen after we are separated, those on the right and those on the left.

Jesus turns to the sheep and says they have been blessed by God and will be given an inheritance like no other – they will enter the Kingdom of God. Then he turns to those goats and he says that they are cursed and must depart from him and their reward is the eternal fire that God has prepared for the devil and his angels.

God is speaking of serious consequences. This is not something to be shrugged off and put aside to think about for another day. Today is the only day that matters. And TODAY God is telling us something important. There are three things Jesus is trying to teach us in this parable.

The first lesson is about God. Many of us have our own ideas about God and that’s okay. Our Lord is a God of many characteristics. That being said, we must pay close attention to the God that Jesus is always trying to share with us because if anyone knew what God is like it would have to be Jesus who is one with God.

Jesus tells us that God is not a remote being sitting enthroned on heaven as he looks down upon his subjects. Instead, Jesus’ parable tells us that God is here, smack dab in the middle of our lives. God is present in the midst of our family squabbles; God is there in the ER as we wait for news of the birth of our baby or the death of a loved one. God is here when we fight with our spouse and feel completely alone. God is here with us when we fail to meet the demands we make on ourselves and God is with us in the moments of laughter we share around the table, in the moments where we watch our children take their first steps or we teach them to ride a bike. God is here – in the messy, uncomfortable, and ambiguous moments that control our lives.

The second lesson Jesus is teaching us is about religion. Jesus condemns the goats because they did not have compassion on those less fortunate than themselves. He said, “When I was sick, when I was hungry, when I was thirsty, when I was in prison, you helped me”. Many people treat their religious beliefs as an excuse to act and say things against other people. They use their religion as a shield, a barrier, and a crutch. Terrible things are done in the name of God. This happens in every religion, and it has happened in Christianity quite a bit.

We pretend that it is only Muslims who have a radical side group to their religion. We ignore people like Anders Breivik, who terrorized and killed 78 people, most of them being children. There were some who could not believe a Christian could do such a thing, so even though Anders professed to be a Christian, people like Bill O’Reilly said that anyone believing in Jesus Christ could not possibly mass murder people. The problem with a statement like that is that Jesus is often depicted in different ways and we all seem to celebrate the differences. I heard just recently that 300 million people are Christians in the USA, and as one theologian stated, “And that means there are 300 million different opinions on what it means to be a Christian”.

I agree with O’Reilly that the Jesus I know and love would never condone killing 78 people. But I also acknowledge there are people out there that can justify taking a life in the name of Jesus Christ just as there are Muslims who justify killing a person in the name of Allah. They pervert their religion to suit their own needs. And sadly, we all do it.

How often do we hear of churches being split down the middle over beliefs, ideals and doctrines? There are so many different denominations, created because of differences in opinions on things that Jesus never once bothered to speak about. He did however say this: “When you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me”. Not one word is spent on theology, creeds, orthodoxies, or religious practices. There is only one condition and that is whether or not you saw Jesus Christ in the face of the needy and whether or not you helped them with all the love you have inside of yourself.

The third lesson Jesus imparts to us in this passage is more personal. God does not only want a world that follows Jesus’ teachings, God wants us. God wants to save our souls and redeem us and give us the gift of life – true, deep, authentic human life.

But the only way we will receive such a gift is to acknowledge that Jesus did not care all that much about religion. Jesus does not care if we baptize children or adults. Jesus does not care if we have Communion by intinction or distributed throughout the pews. Jesus does not care if you are black, white or purple with yellow stripes. Jesus does not care if you are a sinner, a saint, or somewhere in between. He cared about saving us all. The tall ones, the short ones, the fat ones, the skinny ones, the rich, the poor, the never-do-wells and the impossibly successful. He wants all of us to be sheep that will enter the gate of heaven rather than the goats that will be thrown into the fires of hell with Satan.

When Jesus tells us he wants us to help others he is not looking for calculated actions that are designed to earn our way to heaven. This is not a casino game where if we double down at the right moment we will win our way into salvation. The grace of God is not an object earned. It is not possible to manipulate or coerce our way into heaven. There is no ten year plan that says, “This year I will tithe 10% and next year I will help out at the local shelter, and the year after I will raise money for cancer and that’s how I will get into heaven”.

God is not looking for machinations or deliberate kindness. We must never forget that God knows us as no one else can or will – God knows our true heart. The face we hide from the world. God is looking for pureness in our intentions, a true willingness to give. Loving those for whom Jesus gave his life, especially those people society has forgotten or deliberately ignored is the best expression of our love of God.

God wants us to be willing servants and that is why Jesus told this parable - so that the words will sink deep into our hearts and create a RESPONSE. God wants to save us from obsessing about ourselves and our own needs by persuading us to forget about ourselves and worry about others. That is God’s favorite project: to teach you and me the fundamental lesson, the secret, the truth – that to love is to live.

Amen.

Day of the Lord

Amos 5: 18-24
1Thess 4: 13-18

This weekend an iconic individual passed away. Andy Rooney died at the age of 92 after a life lived by saying it like it was and not being afraid to voice what some might not want to know about. He was one of the few people to oppose the war in Iraq when it first began and always seemed willing to stir the pot when it came to an issue he felt passionate about.

Andy Rooney mentioned once he probably hadn't said anything on "60 Minutes" that most of his viewers didn't already know or hadn't thought. "That's what a writer does," he said. "A writer's job is to tell the truth." A writer’s job is similar to a prophet’s – to speak the truth and not allow the public who may or may not like what you have to say stop you from saying that truth - especially when the truths being spoken are God’s word to the people. Amos was such a prophet. He knew that what he was telling the people would shock them, scare them, and anger them, but he also knew it was something that they needed to hear. Amos knew that if he was ever going to get the people to think about their faith and actions, it was by telling them something they wouldn’t hear from anyone else.

The Day of the Lord is something the Jewish people looked forward too; as Christians we also believe in the day of the Lord and pray it will be a time to rejoicing. But Amos’ words are a wrench in the works; they are a dark cloud covering up the sun. He takes an anticipated and treasured tradition and turns it into a dark, oppressive and judgmental moment of despair. This is not what the people want to hear!

Amos focuses his ire on the religious festivals, the music, and the people’s offerings to God. Few things could be more personal. How we worship, how we engage with one another, and what we give to God all speak volumes about who we are. It stings to be told that these are not right or good enough, so it is no wonder that we have learned to tune out the likes of Amos.

Many people skip over these passages with their harsh words and condemnations in favor of a happier ‘Gospel Message’. After all, as Christians we are to share the story of our faith with everyone and who wants to hear something that acts like a wet blanket? We even call it GOOD news – what Amos speaks of does not sound like anything good at all.

What can we learn from this passage that seems to deride the very things that make us who we are? How do we read these words and not feel the sting of them?

God expects more from us than we are sometimes willing to give. The people in this passage have convinced themselves that the Day of the Lord will be a celebratory day for which they must merely show up to participate in. Worship for them has become a way to pass the time, to honor God for the goodness bestowed upon the people and to celebrate their status as the chosen ones.

Amos speaks on behalf of a God who is furious with this lackadaisical attitude. It is an attitude where the sick are unaided and the poor starve unheeded. Justice is not being done and so Amos warns that the Day of the Lord brings upon these people a God whose first concern is ALWAYS justice and mercy for those less fortunate.

None of us like to speak about death too much. We avoid speaking of what we all know we will eventually face. But today we need to speak about what happens after our deaths. How will we hold our heads up when we have not done as God commands us to do? In several meetings this week we have had discussions on things that could be done, things that should be done by the church and things that seem impossible because many of us have become comfortable.

The truth is that when we are comfortable with our faith, when we are comfortable with our level of commitment to God – this is the kiss of death to faith. When we are comfortable, we stop questioning. When we are comfortable we stop learning and growing and looking for new ways to seek God in our life.

God is honest with us. God knows us, knows what we have been through in our lives, and through Jesus Christ understands our limitations. Many times we think only of the God of the New Testament who is often portrayed as the ultimate giver, the grandfatherly God who only desires to give us everything we want and need. We forget about the Old Testament God, one who is not always gentle with his creation, not always forgiving of our faults but instead pushes us to be more, to be better because God knows that we are meant for more than we have let ourselves become.

Some of us are tired. We feel like we have fought the good fight and now it is other’s turn to bear the mantle. We know what it is like to expect a season of light and receive only darkness instead. We have beaten the lion of cancer but are mauled by the bear of depression. We have shut the door on abuse and think we are safe only to have the fangs of divorce pierce our flesh. We want to tell Amos, we want to tell those who would admonish us “Spare us the scolding” as we nurse our wounds and fumble for the light switch. “Yes, our festivals leave something to be desired, and our offerings are not always what they should be, but aren’t we simply doing what God has asked us to do? We are all just doing the best we can.”

God does ask us to do the best we can. But God admonishes us through Amos because we keep forgetting that God is a God of surprises. God is reminding us that being comfortable with whom we are now, being okay with injustice and poverty and abuse is another way to give in to the devil. It doesn’t mean that we haven’t done good deeds in the past; it is a challenge to continue to do good things. It is a challenge that we all need throughout our life, a reminder that God is not done and therefore neither should we be done.

Andy Rooney hated that he was done with his broadcasts. Even though he understood that much of what he said to us were things we already knew, he felt that someone needed to be saying them. He died a month after his last broadcast aired and I have a feeling he probably died a satisfied man. One that can look his maker in the eye and say, “I never gave up, Lord. I kept trying to get my message out there to the people and I hope that any mistakes I made along the way will be forgiven through your grace.” Let us hope that we too can look our maker in the eye and say that we never gave up, we never lost hope and we always took the opportunity to spread God’s message.

Amen.