"Put to Good Use" a sermon on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a & Luke 4:14-21

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21
“Put To Good Use”
Preached Sunday, January 23, 2022 

Full confession: I am absolutely obsessed with the latest Disney musical, “Encanto.” Seriously, can’t get over it. Watched it and have been listening to the soundtrack nonstop for over a week now. Who here has seen it?

If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you watch it. It’s on Disney Plus - if you don’t have Disney Plus and you have kids and grandkids - see if you can’t borrow their passwords - or, better yet, enjoy the movie together. And here is the point where, in the past, I would have shown you a clip from the movie. Now that we are livestreaming I can’t do that due to copyright laws. The Facebook and Youtube algorithms would pick up on the video and sound we’re not allowed to use and either mute or take down our video. So give me a minute to explain the plot and then, after church, go watch the movie.

The movie is about, and I’m not telling you anything that’s not in the opening musical number, the movie is about a family, the family Madrigal, who underwent great trauma when the the family’s now-Grandma was forced to flee her home with her husband, newborn triplets, and the whole town as they were facing violence. While escaping they were chased and her husband, the father of her three children died. Somehow, magically, his sacrifice to help her, his kids, and the rest of the refugees get away, creates a miracle. Mountains grow out of nothing, creating a safe haven for the whole village. And the now widowed mother and her babies are given a magical gift: a candle that never dies and gifts each child in the family with a special, magical gift once they come of age.

By the time we meet the family in the musical they have grown, as have their gifts: controlling the weather, healing through food, seeing the future, super strength, making flowers grow, super hearing, shape shifting, talking to animals…the family has it all, each one blessed by the miracle with a gift. Well, all except one family member that is, the main character Mirabel was not granted a gift - thus setting up the premise for the movie - while Mirabel and all the gifted family members, learn truly what it means to be gifted - that we are to use what we are gifted for love of neighbor, that we are more than our individual gifts - we are a whole. A family as the writers of Encanto would put. Or, as Paul would put it in the 1st Corinthians, “the body of Christ.”

And the magical Madrigal family, gifted in many ways, uses their gits for the purpose of caring for, protecting, and loving their neighbors, their whole village.

Now you might be thinking: Gifts? Didn’t Pastor Allison preach on gifts last week? And yes, I did! Both last Sunday’s and today’s New Testament lesson is from the 12th chapter of Corinthians. Our lectionary splits them up over two weeks even though it’s the same chapter and Paul is talking about the same subject.

I read one commentary that said, “Preaching on 1 Corinthians 12…again? Just say “Ditto” or preach the same sermon again and see if anyone notices. And well, I do think most of you would notice that, so new sermon, same topic. And there is no harm in spending another week on spiritual gifts. It’s an important topic of our faith and living out our lives as disciples. By addresses the topic in a slightly different way, someone may hear something that resonates with them more, may make something click, may expand upon an important topic. Plus, that assuming everyone who is hearing my sermon this week heard last week’s or vis versa.

So a quick recap: last week we talked about how each and every one of us has a spiritual gift. God gives us each gifts, lovingly and uniquely designed for who we are as individuals. We each have one as God loves each of us. One gift is not better than another - something Paul emphasized a lot in this week’s reading - and again, something the movie Encanto does a great job at portraying. And, each of us is to use our gifts to help share the love of God in this world. In last week’s reading Paul wrote, “12:7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” In Encanto, it is sung as: “We swear to always help those around us and earn the miracle that somehow found us.”

And today, by turning to the Gospel, we are going to expand upon how we are called to put our gifts to good use, to honor the God who is Love who gave us these gifts out of love.

Jesus, in returning to Galilee is teaching in the synagogues and he takes the scrolls from Isaiah and reads the following out loud:

“"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’”

After reading he sat down and declared “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

In the Gospel of Luke this is the first public statement of Jesus’s ministry. Up until now Luke has told us about Jesus’s conception, birth, infancy, a story from childhood, his baptism and temptation. But in Jesus’s own words he has not yet told us what he is about, who he is, what he is setting out to do. And this is it, the first public declaration of Jesus’s ministry.

He is saying: I have come to bring good news to the poor. To proclaim release to the captives. Recovery of sight to the blind. To let the oppressed go free. To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Now, we might not be so familiar with that last bit. That’s the Jubilee commandment that every 50 years it would be a year of setting things right. It’s outlined in Leviticus 25. All debts were to be forgiven. All slaves were to be set free. All property was supposed to be given back to its rightful owners. It was a year dedicated to rest with no harvest or sowing - eating what the land provided and what was stored. It was a year of setting things right and a whole year of Sabbath.

This is the work of Jesus. Jesus himself is claiming that this is what his lift and ministry will be about. And is still about today.

As disciples of Christ we are called to carry on Jesus’s ministry, to walk in his footsteps, to take up the cross and follow him. And it is for this purpose that we are were given spiritual gifts - to continue the work of Jesus.

Paul says we are given spiritual gifts for the common good. I’ve said we are given spiritual gifts for the work of love. So what does putting those gifts given to us to good use actually look like? What does the common good and God’s love in action look like? It looks like doing the good that Jesus set out to do. It looks like doing what the God of Love did while incarnate: Proclaiming good news to the poor, release to the captives, to be a force for healing, justice, forgiveness - to be the Good News to those who so desperately need it.

And before you think: Oh, that’s not me. Or, I’m not cut out to do that. Truly, I’ll say it again, each of you is called and equipped. In one way or another, God has gifted you so that YOU, together with the Body of Christ, could continue the work of Jesus in this world. Your gift may not be as obvious as others, (like in Encanto) - or maybe you just haven’t found a way for your gift to shine yet - but your gift is there. And for many of you, already being put to good use - I see many of you doing your best every day to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

So again this week I say, if you want help discerning your spiritual gift, I am open to talk about it. Or talk with a friend who may see a gift in you. Pray about it. Discern it. For this is much work to be done in following in Jesus’s footsteps. The Good News is, we have each other, each of us a member of the body, we have the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we have the God of Love on our sides.

Together, let us put out gifts to good use.

Amen.

"Gifts of Love (From Love, For Love)" a sermon on 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

1 Corinthians 12:4-11
“Gifts of Love (From Love, For Love)"
Preached Sunday, January 16, 2022

Why do you give someone a gift? The season of gift giving isn't that far behind us. Christmas, various holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, to say I'm sorry, to say I'm thinking of you… The reason to give a gift is probably as numerous as the types of gifts that can be given. I’d like to think, however, that the reason behind most gift-giving, most genuine, heartfelt gift-giving, whatever the excuse or occasion is just this: "I love you. You are someone I care about. Here is a gift."

Now, when we’re speaking of gift giving, the idea of the 5 Love Languages comes to mind. This was a book that is almost as old as I am where author Gary Chapman wrote that there are 5 primary ways people express or receive love. Knowing your type and the type of those you love in your life helps with communication, understanding, and better being able to express your love. And this is often talked about for couples but this is applicable in all relationships. Knowing the love languages of my housemates in college was game changing as to how we understood each other. So, the five types are:

Words of affirmation: Words of affirmation are verbal words of encouragement, compliments, building up. “I just want to let you know I’m so proud of you.” “You are a great parent.” “Your smile is brighter than the sun.” And so many more examples.

Quality time: Time spent with those you love and not just quantity but quality. Sharing an activity together, a board game, discussing a book, lingering over dinner, taking a walk…And so many more examples.

Giving gifts: Seems pretty obvious but yes - gift giving! “I was just thinking of you” “I made this for you” “This reminded me of you and I had to share” And so many more examples.

Acts of service: This is doing something for the one you love that you know they would like. Washing the dishes, filling up the gas tanks, cooking a meal, pet sitting…And so many more examples.

Physical touch: Self-explanatory! Cuddles, hand holding, hugs…And so many more examples cause there are so many ways in this world that we can express and receive love. It’s a marvelous thing when you sit down and think about all the ways that you can express and show love.

And we can receive love and show love in different ways or show it in different ways with different people or how we express love can change based on the season of our lives…The bottom line is, however you do it, love is not meant to be kept hidden away.

Love is meant to be shared. The greatest commandments are to love God and to love neighbor as self. The shared verb in these commandments? Love.

Keep love in mind as we turn back toward today’s Epistle: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Those “manifestations of the Spirit” are what we call gifts - spiritual gifts. Not gifts like physical things or wrapped presents but spiritual gifts. Our Scripture today lists the following: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues and interpretation. There are also much more extensive lists of spiritual gifts out there. Other gifts are things such as teaching, mercy, generosity, hospitality, leadership, serving, helping…and so many more examples.

Now, we all have spiritual gifts. And if you’re thinking: I don’t know what my spiritual gift is or I’m not sure I have a spiritual gift, let me stop you right there: I know there is not one of us who does not have a spiritual gift. How do I know this? We were created to love God and to love neighbor as self and the God who IS Love who loves us with, as the Psalmist says, a steadfast love, that God is the one who is giving us ALL spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the God who is LOVE, gives us spiritual gifts because God loves us AND God equips us to love God and love neighbor as self. We ALL have gifts because no one is unloved by God, no one is without a spiritual gift meant to share love

And not only do we all have spiritual gifts, no one’s gift is better than someone else’s gift. Spiritual gifts are not in the comparison business. None of this your gift is bigger/better or you have more or any of that. Cause all of our gifts were given equally in that they are all lovingly shaped, formed, specifically designed, given to each of us to match the unique individual that God created us to be. Our gifts are best for us. God would know! And each of our gifts is given to us as individuals to complement the whole, the community of believers, so that together as the body of Christ in this world, we can all better share love.

We each have individual gifts designed by God to help us spread love.
And through the same one Spirit, given to us as a whole, to better spread love together.

I’d like to share with you a reflection poem on this topic written by Anne Osdieck:

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts,
but the same Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:4

Was Puccini’s
music for his ears alone?
Or was Starry Night only for Van Gogh’s eyes?

Are discerners of spirits
better than those who prophesy?
Is it better to be a healer than a preacher?

Was Mother Teresa more important
than the Jesuit brother who
held the door?

Is red better than blue?

All gifts are
from the same Spirit.
They are each a part of the whole
and given to each of us for each other
or for the common good.

Lord, help us understand.
Thank you for all
Gifts.”

"given to each of us for each other or for the common good" or as I would say - for Love, the God who is Love, to be that Love for the world.

So today I ask, how do you share love best? What’s your love language? How are you expressing and receiving love with those in your life? And what spiritual gifts do you have? How are you expressing and receiving the love of God in this world?

If you don’t know, there are, of course, tests for both online or you can go about it more organically: ask a friend what gifts they see in you, pray about it…and whenever you’ve identified your gifts, then give thanks to God for the gifts given to you by God.

And the best way to give thanks is to put those gifts into action. Use the gifts that God gave you to the glory of God so that all would know the steadfast love of God.

May it be so. Amen.

"Another Epiphany" a sermon on Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1-11
“Another Epiphany”
Preached Sunday, January 9, 2022 

We've moved into a new season of the church year, The Season After Epiphany - or the season of Epiphany. Epiphany, which takes place after the 12 Days of Christmas on January 6th - and this year we moved it up to celebrate together on the 2nd - well, Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season. Pretty obvious when you walked into the sanctuary this morning and maybe did a double take - everything suddenly seems so bare without the Advent wreath and candles and garlands and Christmas tree... And it is time to take them down, to make room for a new season, the Season of Epiphany.

In Greek Epiphany means "the light shines forth" or, put more simply, "the light shines." This language may make us think of Christmas. "A light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it." We think of Christ being the light of the world, born on Christmas Day. We may also think of the star that the magi saw at its rising and followed to the place where Jesus was. As we sing every Epiphany: “O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light."

This, of course, is the Scripture we read, the story we remember and celebrate on the day of epiphany, on January 6th or its corresponding Sunday. And this is now - the season AFTER epiphany. I think an apt name for it would be “The Season of Epiphanies.” Plural.

We shared the Greek translation of epiphany and the English definition, how we commonly use the word is related, and, excuse the pun, also shines more light on how we can view this new season we’re in.

Epiphany in English is: “a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way”

This is related, of course, to the Greek, of something coming to light, being illumined - or, as cartoonists have so accurately depicted it, a light bulb turning on over your head.

Of course for our discussion/Sermon today, I like to think of this lightbulb as more than just an idea. These aren't everyday light bulbs that are ideas about an invention or problem solving or what to cook for dinner. These epiphanies, these light bulbs are almost like dazzlingly bright lights - STARS - over our heads and in our hearts - truly an epiphany, moments where new light is shone into our lives and our hearts.

When I think of these kind of epiphanies I think about:
realizing that you are in love,
discerning a vocation that is life-giving,
maybe a moment in therapy or a heart to heart where suddenly everything clicks into place,
a diagnosis after months or years of testing,
Coming to know Jesus.

What are those epiphany moments you have had in your life? How have they changed you? Once a light that bright, a light as bright as a star, shines in our lives, our heads, our hearts, it’s life changing. We can’t go back after knowing what we know, after seeing that light illuminate the darkness.

And so, let’s talk about how the epiphanies of this season illuminate and change our lives.

The first one is the one we’ve already mentioned. And we won’t spend much time on it cause we talked about it last week! It’s the Feast of Epiphany. A star rising. Magi following it, looking for the King of the Jews. Finding Jesus and Mary, not at Herod’s palace, but in a humble home. And going home by another way.

This Epiphany is about who Jesus is: The King of the Jews. But not where you’d expect to find the king. And not who you’d expect to be worshipping him. In this small vignette of the Christmas and Epiphany story, we know that Jesus is not who we’d expect - a Jesus who will call all people from East and West to him. A Jesus who will clash with the earthly powers of this world. A Jesus who is the fulfillment of the prophets and a light to the world.

And of course this epiphany of who Jesus is changes us, it makes us examine our lives in the light of who Jesus is, what powers we listen to, who we welcome in, and what path we’re on - what star or light we are following.

That’s the first Epiphany.

Allow me to skip ahead to the third and final major epiphany of the season - Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany, before Lent begins. The theme of light continues on this day when Jesus goes up to the mountaintop with some of his disciples and a dazzling light shines around him, he is transfigured, transformed, dazzlingly bright - the light of a star shining forth from him, Moses and Elijah appearing at his side.

Again, an epiphany about who Jesus is, divine, the light in the world, in the same line of Moses and Elijah but greater than them. And it’s an epiphany of who Jesus is that changes us: we who have seen the Divinity of Jesus, who have seen this great light, who have been to the mountain top: how does this change the way we live when we come back down the mountain?

Now, I’ll leave that there and if you come to church on February 27th, Transfiguration Sunday, I promise there will be more on that story.

And now, let’s finally get to today, to the Gospel lesson we shared together. Today is known as Baptism of the Lord Sunday. And we get another epiphany about who Jesus is and what it means for us.

“Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved with you I am well pleased.”

Not the light of a star, not the light of a divine transfiguration - but the light of the heavens opening, shining down from the sky and the Spirit descending like a dove. Light shining forth - an illumination - Jesus is God’s son. Jesus is loved by God. God is pleased with Jesus.

And now this - this is the epiphany for us: in our baptism, we are one with Christ. In our baptism, we are adopted as children of God, heirs alongside Christ. God’s voice to Jesus is God’s voice to us:

You are my child.
You are my beloved.
With you I am well pleased.

Wow. Epiphany. Light bulb moment. Bright as the brightest star, bright as a divine transfiguration, bright as the heavens opening above you:

YOU are a child of God.
God loves YOU.
God is pleased with YOU - pleased with you simply for being YOU, for following and loving God. For being who God created you to be. For being God’s child - simple as that. A love not earned or achieved. A love not merited or sought after or asked for - just loved simply for being you.

As the prophet Isaiah says today “The God who created you, the God who formed you in your mother’s womb - that God has redeemed you.” “I have called you by name and you are mine.
Whether you’re passing through waters or fire - whatever you’re going through in life - I will BE there with you. Cause I love you. “Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.”

Sometimes I caution people with assuming the Scripture is talking directly to them, right? Like, what’s the context? Who is the audience? What’s going on under the surface? But this is one point where I throw that out of the window because I know and believe the promises God makes to us in baptism:

You are my child, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.
You are precious in my sight and honored and I love you.

The biggest epiphany of our lives is when the knowledge of God’s love for us reaches not just our heads but our hearts - that is a light that illuminates all our darkness. That changes us. That makes us seek after more light, never able to go back to when we lived in the darkness where we did not know of God’s love.

I pray today that you will all remember and recall when you had that epiphany. When you learned that God loves YOU. Yes, YOU. That the light it brought to you would be restored, rekindled, and shine forth from you.

And I pray today that if you have not yet experienced this dazzlingly bright epiphany of knowing God loves you, I pray that you would be overcome with God’s love and know it in your head, heart, and soul.

Today we will do a congregational reaffirmation of baptism where we recall the promises we make to God and recall God’s love for us, shown through the waters of baptism. In past years while we’ve done this, I have invited each of you up to come and dip your finger in the water and remember your baptism. And while this is meaningful, I thought, everyone’s hands? In the same bowl of water? Covid protocols? Eehhh. So I asked some colleagues and they said, “well, you know, the traditional way is for the pastor to get a branch from a fir tree, dip it in the blessed water, and walk around the congregation, water dripping and leaping from it’s branches and reminding people of their baptism. And that’s what we’ll do today while we listen to special music after the reaffirmation.

But I asked: why a fir tree? Why is that traditional?

It is evergreen, never fading or waning, like God’s love for us through all seasons of our lives.

So today remember your baptism and share in the bright light of the epiphany that you are loved by God.

Amen.

"Close to Home: Home By Another Way" Sermon on Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

“Close to Home: Home By Another Way”
Preached Sunday, January 2, 2022

Happy New Year! Can you believe it’s already 2022? Honestly, I feel like a part of me got stuck in 2020 and I’m still processing the events of that year. Anyone else? I know I’m not the only one due to a plethora of internet memes on the subject. You know, memes take images from pop culture and add captions to them - very shareable. Kinda like cartoons. Anyway, Here’s one of my favorites:

And as we just turned the corner in 2022 it feels like we’re moving backward into 2020…Covid is running rampant. The hospital bed shortages and overrun ICUS and ERs that we feared and took lockdown measures against in March 2020 are here and, as a whole, we seem to be doing startlingly little to flatten the curve…and I actually had to think back as to what the phrase was we were all using in March 2020. Cause no one is using it. Cause it seems like we’re doing nothing to stop the ever growing peak.

A parishioner in healthcare said to me the other day: “If it feels like we’re moving backward. It’s because we ARE.”

Which has brought on a whole SLEW of memes that say: When you realize 2022 is 2020…too.”

Their faces are my faces.

I don’t know about you but I don’t like backward movement. I always want to feel like I am progressing, moving forward, improving. But that’s not what life or being human is. There are times we need to hit pause. Times we need to reassess. Times we need to take several steps back so we don’t just focus on moving forward - but focus on moving in the RIGHT direction.

A famous true-ism often attributed to Albert Einstein is “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” And so, as we move into 2022 and thinking “oh great, 2020…too” - maybe we have to take several steps back and do things a new way, a different way, so we can move forward in the right direction.

And I’m not just talking about our pandemic response - although that certainly is related to how we treat the more vulnerable among us - the elderly, sick, immunocompromised, children…

I’m talking about that and also how we live together and treat one another and our world:

In a world marked by deepening political divisions

By violence and hatred
By ignorance and pride
By destruction of the planet
By a long list of things that we are called to repent from - maybe it’s time to not just focus on moving forward, but to focus on moving in the right direction:

A direction of healing divisions and the wounds they cause
A direction of peace and love
A direction of equality and humility
A direction of restoration and stewardship
A direction of better striving to love God and love neighbor as self

And to move in that direction, sometimes that means we have to stop moving forward on the path we’re on. Cause the path we’re on - well, it’s led to here. And so we need to ask: is here where I really want to be? Is here the path I want to continue on?

The Magi asked themselves this question after being warned in a dream to not return to Herod. The path they had been on, the known path - where they maybe had connections, stops planned on the way home, took less time, the convenient path - it was a way back that was no longer safe. It was a way back that could not be trusted. It was a way back that, while might reward them - who knows how Herod would reward them for bringing them this info - but this way back wasn’t safe. This same path would put Jesus and his family at risk. They needed to change paths for the sake of a world that had Jesus in it. And a world with Jesus is a more loving, just, and peaceful world.

Going home by another way isn’t always the easy thing. But it’s the right thing.

This Advent and Christmas season we have talked about the theme of home. Home is God’s Kingdom. Home is what we build together. Home is where love flourishes. Home is what God made this Earth so that God could invite us all to find our home in Jesus. We experienced that miracle on Christmas and heard God’s invitation to us - so now we need to think about the route we want to take to get home.

And that route may involve a little, as my GPS says, recalculating.

How we treat others.
What we read. What we watch, the media we consume
The conversations we have - about people we know and people we don’t
The way we treat each other - those like us and those that aren’t
Even in the things we share on social media, those things we hit like on
What we give our time, our energy, our resources

All these things are taking us down a path so on this first Sunday of the new year, of 2022, let’s pause for a moment and say: is this the path we want to be on? Is this taking us home? Is this taking us closer to God’s Kingdom? Closer to a more loving, just, and peaceful world? If not, maybe it’s time we did something differently.

All of us, myself included, can make a positive shift so that what we do here on earth better reflects love of God and love of neighbor. This year, let’s try something new instead of 2020…too. Let’s be kinder, more peaceful, more loving, more like Christ in this world.

Amen.