God of our Dreams,
We confess that we have not opened our eyes -
To see the needs around us: the hands outstretched, the aching hearts, the hungry stomachs.
God of Today and Tomorrow,
We confess that we have not opened our ears -
To what you are asking of us, what you are saying to us, how you are leading us.
God of Sowed Seeds,
We confess that we have not opened our hearts -
To go beyond the status quo, to get out of our comfort zones, to be bold and step out in faith.
God who guides us,
Forgive us for our complacency, for our shortgivings, for all that holds us back.
Help us to see the need, hear your voice, and follow where you lead.
God who always hears us,
Listen now to our silent prayers of confession.
(Silence)
Hear the Good News!
God works through us, with us, and despite us!
God is at work in our lives, our church, and our world
And God always invites us into that work.
God forgives and knows the good fruit we will bear.
Amen.
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Call to Worship Inspired by "Trust and Obey"
Leader: Today, we dare to ask:
People: That You fill us with dreams.
L: Today, we dare to dream:
P: That You have a plan for us.
L: Today, we dare to trust:
P: And do what You ask of us.
L: Today, we dare to obey:
P: And go where You send us.
L: Holy God, in our daring, our dreaming, our trust
P: May we find the joy you have for us.
All: Amen.
People: That You fill us with dreams.
L: Today, we dare to dream:
P: That You have a plan for us.
L: Today, we dare to trust:
P: And do what You ask of us.
L: Today, we dare to obey:
P: And go where You send us.
L: Holy God, in our daring, our dreaming, our trust
P: May we find the joy you have for us.
All: Amen.
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Affirmation of Faith based on 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24
I believe in a God who is Good.
Who is present in every good thing in my life.
Who is present in every Good thing in God’s Church.
Who is present in every Good thing in God’s world.
And for that, I give thanks.
I believe in a God who is Good.
And even when things aren’t good in my life -
Even when the Church doesn’t get it right,
Even when the world is falling apart.
I believe that God is there.
Guiding me, comforting me, sustaining me.
Guiding us, comforting us, sustaining us.
And for that, I give thanks.
I believe in a God who is Good.
And for that, I give thanks in all circumstances.
I rejoice always.
I pray without ceasing.
For this is the will of my Good God for me.
Amen.
Who is present in every good thing in my life.
Who is present in every Good thing in God’s Church.
Who is present in every Good thing in God’s world.
And for that, I give thanks.
I believe in a God who is Good.
And even when things aren’t good in my life -
Even when the Church doesn’t get it right,
Even when the world is falling apart.
I believe that God is there.
Guiding me, comforting me, sustaining me.
Guiding us, comforting us, sustaining us.
And for that, I give thanks.
I believe in a God who is Good.
And for that, I give thanks in all circumstances.
I rejoice always.
I pray without ceasing.
For this is the will of my Good God for me.
Amen.
Call to Worship, Spirit of Thanksgiving
Leader: For bringing us together today:
People: We give thanks to God!
L: For all the hardships that God has carried us through:
P: We give thanks to God!
L: For all the triumphs we have shared:
P: We give thanks to God!
L: For all that is, and was, and will be:
P: We give thanks to God!
L: That we are alive this day:
P: We give thanks to God!
L: Let us worship our God in a spirit of thanksgiving.
All: We give thanks to God! Amen!
People: We give thanks to God!
L: For all the hardships that God has carried us through:
P: We give thanks to God!
L: For all the triumphs we have shared:
P: We give thanks to God!
L: For all that is, and was, and will be:
P: We give thanks to God!
L: That we are alive this day:
P: We give thanks to God!
L: Let us worship our God in a spirit of thanksgiving.
All: We give thanks to God! Amen!
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Call to Worship Inspired by "Be Still, My Soul"
Leader: As we come together in worship this morning:
People: Be still, my soul.
L: As we acknowledge the grief we’ve been living with:
P: Be still, my soul.
L: As we trust God through every change, every season of our lives:
P: Be still, my soul.
L: Our God is good. Our God is here. Our God is faithful.
P: Be still, my soul.
All: Let us worship our God. Amen.
People: Be still, my soul.
L: As we acknowledge the grief we’ve been living with:
P: Be still, my soul.
L: As we trust God through every change, every season of our lives:
P: Be still, my soul.
L: Our God is good. Our God is here. Our God is faithful.
P: Be still, my soul.
All: Let us worship our God. Amen.
Affirmation of Faith based on John 11:35
I believe in a God who wept.
Who knew loss and sadness for himself.
I believe in a God who cries with us.
Who knows intimately our losses and fears
And holds us in them.
I believe in a God who wipes away our tears,
Not because there is any shame in them,
But as an act of comfort,
A way to say: “I see you, I am right here.
I know how much your heart hurts.”
I believe in a God who loves us
And is faithful to us.
In every season of our hearts and lives.
It is in this God of Tears that I believe.
Amen.
Who knew loss and sadness for himself.
I believe in a God who cries with us.
Who knows intimately our losses and fears
And holds us in them.
I believe in a God who wipes away our tears,
Not because there is any shame in them,
But as an act of comfort,
A way to say: “I see you, I am right here.
I know how much your heart hurts.”
I believe in a God who loves us
And is faithful to us.
In every season of our hearts and lives.
It is in this God of Tears that I believe.
Amen.
"How Does A Weary World Rejoice? We Make Room" a sermon based on Luke 2:1-20
Luke 2:1-20
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice? We Make Room”
Preached Sunday, December 24, 2023 (Christmas Eve)
There is room for you here.
There is room for all of you here.
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice? We Make Room”
Preached Sunday, December 24, 2023 (Christmas Eve)
There is room for you here.
There is room for all of you here.
These are powerful statements of welcome and inclusion. The Church is at our best when we get it right. They are also part of the foundation of how I view my ministry. And they are also the foundation of the Good News of Great Joy for All the People from the Christmas Story.
And this Advent we have been talking about how our weariness and joy go hand in hand. That even in a weary world, there are reasons to hope, to connect, to sing, to rejoice. We have been using the line from the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night” - the line “a thrill of hope the weary world rejoices” to ask ourselves, “How does a weary world rejoice?” Tonight I’d like to answer that with “we make room.” Let me explain - first, starting with the Christmas story.
The traditional understanding brought to us largely by children’s Christmas pageants is that Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room in the inn but the innkeeper said, let me make some room for you - out back with the animals. Modern Biblical scholarship has talked about how Joseph, traveling to Bethlhem, where he was from, likely had family in town. And he and Mary would have been invited into what was essentially the traditional living room of a peasant family home - where animals too would have been welcomed in the night. Perhaps you noted that the Scripture I read this morning, a translation that came out in the last couple years, said “because there was no place in the guest room” rather than no place in the inn.
Whatever the case may be - in a stable or in a living room with animals… room was made. In those days when the emperor decreed that everyone had to go to their hometowns to be registered - which, to be clear, was a political act of oppression. If everyone was registered then they could tax them more, taxes that kept the poor in poverty and the emperor in riches. Taxes that suppressed revolution because everyone was focused on surviving, on just getting by. In a world that had seen massacres and violence at the hand and in the name of the emperor. In a world that would continue to be witness and victim to extreme violence - I am thinking of the slaughter of the innocents that was ordered when Herod heard of Jesus’s birth where all baby boys under two were ordered to be killed. In a world that was full and busy and hurried and overcrowded and beaten down and oppressed and weary - in that world, God made room.
God made room in this world, in the story of our salvation, in the middle of the narrative, God made room to come to us. To be with us. To be Emmanuel, God-With-Us. Jesus, God incarnate in a babe.
God came to us in Jesus, God came to us a human. Fully divine, yes, and fully human. In this amazing and salvific act, God is signaling to humanity, telling us that all of our messy and weary humanity, all of our sorrow and heartbreak, all of our needs and dreams, all of our joy and love - all that we are are that makes us human - that there is room for all of that, all of us, with the Divine. God in Jesus says to us, “there is room for you here - there is room for all of you with me.” God in Jesus is saying, “Just as I came to you, just as you were, come to me just as you are - I will make room for you here. There is always room for all of you in my divine embrace.”
…
And then - in the Christmas story, God continues to make more room. God invites more guests.
God invites the Shepherds to come and see! And perhaps even come and see with their sheep too. The Shepherds being invited represents how God makes room for the least expected and the lowly. They also represent the kind of king this baby would become - like a shepherd, leading with care and love. And the sheep - perhaps also representing how God came to save and redeem ALL of creation.
And then, a little later in the Christmas narrative, God invites the magi or the wisemen. These are people of a different religion, a different ethnicity, from a different region and yet God sent a star in the sky to invite them. Because God invites in and makes room for even the outsiders, especially the outsiders. There is room for all in the arms of God.
When we think of the Christmas story, it is often shaped by the phrase, “there was no room in the inn… or guest bed.” What if instead, instead of thinking of the lack of room, instead of starting with a narrative of scarcity, we re-shaped our associations with this story. What if we turned “there was no room” into “in the midst of a crowded, oppressed, and weary world - God made room.”
God made room to become fully human. To be with us and to dwell with us. To know intimately what it means to be human.
God made room for miracles. For Good News of Great Joy in a weary world.
God made room to include all: the last, the least, and the forgotten. The outsiders and the unexpected. The animals and all creation.
God made room on that first Christmas - room in God’s story of Divine salvation and love.
This Christmas, let us make room too.
Room to accept ourselves as the complex human beings we are - who carry sorrow and joy, weariness and hope alongside each other.
Room to accept the last, the least, and the forgotten.
Room to draw our circles wider, pull up chairs, and include the outsiders on the inside.
Room to accept God’s embrace of us - all of us - and room to extend that embrace to others.
This Christmas, let us make room. In our hearts, our homes, our lives.
For weariness and joy.
For each other.
For all.
For God’s good news of great joy for all.
Make room for all the ways that God is acting in our weary world - from that first Christmas when God made room in our world for Jesus, when God made room to be with us, until now - where God is still making room.
There is room for you here.
There is room for all of you here.
There is room for all in God’s divine embrace.
Let us rejoice.
Merry Christmas. Amen.
And this Advent we have been talking about how our weariness and joy go hand in hand. That even in a weary world, there are reasons to hope, to connect, to sing, to rejoice. We have been using the line from the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night” - the line “a thrill of hope the weary world rejoices” to ask ourselves, “How does a weary world rejoice?” Tonight I’d like to answer that with “we make room.” Let me explain - first, starting with the Christmas story.
The traditional understanding brought to us largely by children’s Christmas pageants is that Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room in the inn but the innkeeper said, let me make some room for you - out back with the animals. Modern Biblical scholarship has talked about how Joseph, traveling to Bethlhem, where he was from, likely had family in town. And he and Mary would have been invited into what was essentially the traditional living room of a peasant family home - where animals too would have been welcomed in the night. Perhaps you noted that the Scripture I read this morning, a translation that came out in the last couple years, said “because there was no place in the guest room” rather than no place in the inn.
Whatever the case may be - in a stable or in a living room with animals… room was made. In those days when the emperor decreed that everyone had to go to their hometowns to be registered - which, to be clear, was a political act of oppression. If everyone was registered then they could tax them more, taxes that kept the poor in poverty and the emperor in riches. Taxes that suppressed revolution because everyone was focused on surviving, on just getting by. In a world that had seen massacres and violence at the hand and in the name of the emperor. In a world that would continue to be witness and victim to extreme violence - I am thinking of the slaughter of the innocents that was ordered when Herod heard of Jesus’s birth where all baby boys under two were ordered to be killed. In a world that was full and busy and hurried and overcrowded and beaten down and oppressed and weary - in that world, God made room.
God made room in this world, in the story of our salvation, in the middle of the narrative, God made room to come to us. To be with us. To be Emmanuel, God-With-Us. Jesus, God incarnate in a babe.
God came to us in Jesus, God came to us a human. Fully divine, yes, and fully human. In this amazing and salvific act, God is signaling to humanity, telling us that all of our messy and weary humanity, all of our sorrow and heartbreak, all of our needs and dreams, all of our joy and love - all that we are are that makes us human - that there is room for all of that, all of us, with the Divine. God in Jesus says to us, “there is room for you here - there is room for all of you with me.” God in Jesus is saying, “Just as I came to you, just as you were, come to me just as you are - I will make room for you here. There is always room for all of you in my divine embrace.”
…
And then - in the Christmas story, God continues to make more room. God invites more guests.
God invites the Shepherds to come and see! And perhaps even come and see with their sheep too. The Shepherds being invited represents how God makes room for the least expected and the lowly. They also represent the kind of king this baby would become - like a shepherd, leading with care and love. And the sheep - perhaps also representing how God came to save and redeem ALL of creation.
And then, a little later in the Christmas narrative, God invites the magi or the wisemen. These are people of a different religion, a different ethnicity, from a different region and yet God sent a star in the sky to invite them. Because God invites in and makes room for even the outsiders, especially the outsiders. There is room for all in the arms of God.
When we think of the Christmas story, it is often shaped by the phrase, “there was no room in the inn… or guest bed.” What if instead, instead of thinking of the lack of room, instead of starting with a narrative of scarcity, we re-shaped our associations with this story. What if we turned “there was no room” into “in the midst of a crowded, oppressed, and weary world - God made room.”
God made room to become fully human. To be with us and to dwell with us. To know intimately what it means to be human.
God made room for miracles. For Good News of Great Joy in a weary world.
God made room to include all: the last, the least, and the forgotten. The outsiders and the unexpected. The animals and all creation.
God made room on that first Christmas - room in God’s story of Divine salvation and love.
This Christmas, let us make room too.
Room to accept ourselves as the complex human beings we are - who carry sorrow and joy, weariness and hope alongside each other.
Room to accept the last, the least, and the forgotten.
Room to draw our circles wider, pull up chairs, and include the outsiders on the inside.
Room to accept God’s embrace of us - all of us - and room to extend that embrace to others.
This Christmas, let us make room. In our hearts, our homes, our lives.
For weariness and joy.
For each other.
For all.
For God’s good news of great joy for all.
Make room for all the ways that God is acting in our weary world - from that first Christmas when God made room in our world for Jesus, when God made room to be with us, until now - where God is still making room.
There is room for you here.
There is room for all of you here.
There is room for all in God’s divine embrace.
Let us rejoice.
Merry Christmas. Amen.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
"How Does A Weary World Rejoice? We Sing Stories of Hope" a sermon on Luke 1:46-55
Luke 1:46-55
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice?: We Sing Stories of Hope”
Preached Sunday, December 17, 2023
“A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices.” That infamous line from the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night” and the focus of our Advent and Christmas worship. We are asking - how does a weary world rejoice?
We are coming to the end of Advent. The end of the four weeks of preparation for Christmas and when we gather next Sunday it will be Christmas Eve, the start of the celebration of Jesus’s birth.
And in the Church we have Advent hymns and we have Christmas hymns. I have always been a fan of Advent hymns. These are all the songs, generally in minor key, that we sing in this season: O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, Savior of the Nations Come, and so forth. I was baptized during Advent and I’ve always said I have an Advent soul. It is the season of the Christian year that resonates with me most - because in Advent we not only look backwards, remembering the birth of Christ, when God took on flesh in Jesus, became Emmanuel, God-With-Us, the start of God’s salvific acts for us…but we also look to the present and acknowledge that we are in a weary world, a world that needs saving, that longs for God to come again, return to us and redeem all of creation. And we look toward the future, awaiting that second coming.
And so I used to be fairly strict: In Advent, we only sing Advent hymns. At Christmas, the 12 days of Christmas, that is when we can belt out the Christmas carols.
But you know…I have been slowly changing my mind on that.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not yet the kind of person who starts listening to Christmas music on November 1st. And I think I may always prefer Advent hymns over Christmas carols because they resonate with me more personally…and yet, Advent hymns resonate so deeply with me because they bring me hope. I sing them and I remember, I hope, I know…that one day, Christ will return again and redeem all creation.
And that is what singing Christmas carols does too. We sing of Jesus’s birth and we remember, we hope, we know…that this a world with reasons to rejoice. This is a world with love and goodness. This is a world with kindness and cheer. This is a world where even when we are weary, even when there are so many things that try to steal our hope, our peace, our joy, our love for one another…Christmas music gives hope, peace, joy, and love back to us in spades. It is a lifeline, a joyous lifeline in a weary world.
Our Scripture is full of people who burst into songs and sing songs of hope. Today’s Gospel lesson, known as the Magnificat, Mary’s Song: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” - it is a song of praise and hope. It’s a song where Mary praises God, rejoices that God has looked upon her, yes, even her - and then celebrates and hopes for all that God will accomplish through the child now in her womb - righting wrongs, freeing the oppressed, ushering in God’s Kingdom.
Mary, Zechariah, Moses, Miriam, Hannah, King David…there are so many ancestors of our faith who sang songs of hope. Songs of praises of God.
Today, let us lift our voices with them. Let us sing songs of praise to God, songs of hope for our weary world. And we will do that today, we will share in a mini-lessons and carols, giving us a chance for the songs of our choir and the songs we will sing to bolster us - to give us reasons to hope and rejoice in a weary world.
And, beyond today, anytime your heart is weary - may you find a song to sing. A song that fills you with hope. And beyond that, may you find others to sing it with.
I’d like to end my sermon this morning by sharing a poem with you by Meta Herrick Carlson, entitled “For Beloved Christmas Hymns”:
“Advent was brief and flew away
with one, maybe two renditions.
Christmas is for all the verses,
a chorus of people gathered in
by forces of faith unseen, preaching
Joy to the World and Silent Night.
Christmas is for anthems that wait
all year long in the dark depths
of our lungs for a time such as this,
to revive the world with hope that sings.”
Let us sing. Amen.
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice?: We Sing Stories of Hope”
Preached Sunday, December 17, 2023
“A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices.” That infamous line from the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night” and the focus of our Advent and Christmas worship. We are asking - how does a weary world rejoice?
We are coming to the end of Advent. The end of the four weeks of preparation for Christmas and when we gather next Sunday it will be Christmas Eve, the start of the celebration of Jesus’s birth.
And in the Church we have Advent hymns and we have Christmas hymns. I have always been a fan of Advent hymns. These are all the songs, generally in minor key, that we sing in this season: O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, Savior of the Nations Come, and so forth. I was baptized during Advent and I’ve always said I have an Advent soul. It is the season of the Christian year that resonates with me most - because in Advent we not only look backwards, remembering the birth of Christ, when God took on flesh in Jesus, became Emmanuel, God-With-Us, the start of God’s salvific acts for us…but we also look to the present and acknowledge that we are in a weary world, a world that needs saving, that longs for God to come again, return to us and redeem all of creation. And we look toward the future, awaiting that second coming.
And so I used to be fairly strict: In Advent, we only sing Advent hymns. At Christmas, the 12 days of Christmas, that is when we can belt out the Christmas carols.
But you know…I have been slowly changing my mind on that.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not yet the kind of person who starts listening to Christmas music on November 1st. And I think I may always prefer Advent hymns over Christmas carols because they resonate with me more personally…and yet, Advent hymns resonate so deeply with me because they bring me hope. I sing them and I remember, I hope, I know…that one day, Christ will return again and redeem all creation.
And that is what singing Christmas carols does too. We sing of Jesus’s birth and we remember, we hope, we know…that this a world with reasons to rejoice. This is a world with love and goodness. This is a world with kindness and cheer. This is a world where even when we are weary, even when there are so many things that try to steal our hope, our peace, our joy, our love for one another…Christmas music gives hope, peace, joy, and love back to us in spades. It is a lifeline, a joyous lifeline in a weary world.
Our Scripture is full of people who burst into songs and sing songs of hope. Today’s Gospel lesson, known as the Magnificat, Mary’s Song: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” - it is a song of praise and hope. It’s a song where Mary praises God, rejoices that God has looked upon her, yes, even her - and then celebrates and hopes for all that God will accomplish through the child now in her womb - righting wrongs, freeing the oppressed, ushering in God’s Kingdom.
Mary, Zechariah, Moses, Miriam, Hannah, King David…there are so many ancestors of our faith who sang songs of hope. Songs of praises of God.
Today, let us lift our voices with them. Let us sing songs of praise to God, songs of hope for our weary world. And we will do that today, we will share in a mini-lessons and carols, giving us a chance for the songs of our choir and the songs we will sing to bolster us - to give us reasons to hope and rejoice in a weary world.
And, beyond today, anytime your heart is weary - may you find a song to sing. A song that fills you with hope. And beyond that, may you find others to sing it with.
I’d like to end my sermon this morning by sharing a poem with you by Meta Herrick Carlson, entitled “For Beloved Christmas Hymns”:
“Advent was brief and flew away
with one, maybe two renditions.
Christmas is for all the verses,
a chorus of people gathered in
by forces of faith unseen, preaching
Joy to the World and Silent Night.
Christmas is for anthems that wait
all year long in the dark depths
of our lungs for a time such as this,
to revive the world with hope that sings.”
Let us sing. Amen.
Monday, December 11, 2023
Wesleyan Covenant Renewal Service with Hymn Sing - Edited for 2023
Wesleyan Covenant Renewal Service with Hymn Sing - Edited for 2023
Call to Worship (Adapted from David Tripp, England, 20th Century, United Methodist Book of Worship)
L: As we begin this time of renewing our covenant before God, let us prepare ourselves for worship with prayer.
Lord, make me what you will.
I put myself fully into your hands:
put me to doing, put me to suffering,
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and with a willing heart
give it all to your pleasure and disposal.
Christ is the Savior of his servants. [edited]
He is the source of all salvation to those who obey.
Christ will have no servants except by consent;
Christ will not accept anything except full consent
to all that he requires.
Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.
Confirm this by a holy covenant.
To make this covenant a reality in your life, listen to these admonitions:
Call to Worship (Adapted from David Tripp, England, 20th Century, United Methodist Book of Worship)
L: As we begin this time of renewing our covenant before God, let us prepare ourselves for worship with prayer.
P: O God, we are yours! We are your people. We are your children.
L: We come together to recognize you as Lord of our lives and to thank you for your Grace.
P: And we come today to recommit ourselves to our relationship with you.
L: Search us and know us.
P: Remove anything that holds us back from you.
L: May your Spirit be with us now, speak your Word to our very souls.
P: And have mercy on us, today and always.
All: We pray in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Intro to a Wesleyan Covenant Renewal Service
L: We come together to recognize you as Lord of our lives and to thank you for your Grace.
P: And we come today to recommit ourselves to our relationship with you.
L: Search us and know us.
P: Remove anything that holds us back from you.
L: May your Spirit be with us now, speak your Word to our very souls.
P: And have mercy on us, today and always.
All: We pray in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Intro to a Wesleyan Covenant Renewal Service
Today we will share in a Covenant Renewal Service together. While this type of service predates John Wesley and Methodism as we know it, it was implemented by the Wesleys as an integral part of Methodist Societies. It is a service that has traditionally been held on New Year’s Eve or Day. When held on New Year’s Eve, it will often go by the name Watch Night Service. While a Covenant Renewal Service is apt at any time in the life of a congregation, the end of one year and the start of the next is a natural time to hold it. At the beginning of a new year, we often take time to take stock of our lives, evaluate what is important, and re-commit ourselves to those things. As Christians we recognize that there is nothing more important than our relationship, or covenant, with God.
Covenant is not a term we use very often in our modern society. In the simplest terms, it means agreement. The covenant through most of the Hebrew Bible is this, from Exodus 6:7: “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.” This covenant still holds true. With the coming of Jesus, Christians add in the covenant made by his cross and resurrection, From Romans 8: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” In both of these senses, our covenant with God can be used as a synonym for our relationship with God.
A Covenant Renewal Service seeks to remind us of the importance of covenant with God, of mutual relationship, and we therefore promise ourselves anew to be God’s people, adopted into the family of God through Christ.
In this service you will notice a mix of modern and traditional language. Much of the wording used today came from Wesley himself. The phrasing may seem odd to our ears but that’s okay - it reminds us that we are participating in an act that followers of God have done throughout the ages - recommitting our whole selves to God.
We will begin our service today by singing “Come, Let Us Use The Grace Divine,” a hymn written by Charles Wesley and traditionally used for Covenant Renewal Services. The hymn is based on Jeremiah 50:5:
“They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, and they shall come and join themselves to the Lord by an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.”
Let us sing.
Opening Hymn
Come, Let Us Use The Grace Divine, UMH 606
Children’s Song
This is Where Children Belong
Children’s Moment
Scripture Lesson
2 Chronicles 34:29-32
Gospel Lesson
John 15:1-8
Litany of Thanksgiving (From Covenant Renewal Service, UM Book of Worship, changed response)
Sung Response: “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices” (Now Thank We All Our God, UMH 102)
Covenant is not a term we use very often in our modern society. In the simplest terms, it means agreement. The covenant through most of the Hebrew Bible is this, from Exodus 6:7: “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.” This covenant still holds true. With the coming of Jesus, Christians add in the covenant made by his cross and resurrection, From Romans 8: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” In both of these senses, our covenant with God can be used as a synonym for our relationship with God.
A Covenant Renewal Service seeks to remind us of the importance of covenant with God, of mutual relationship, and we therefore promise ourselves anew to be God’s people, adopted into the family of God through Christ.
In this service you will notice a mix of modern and traditional language. Much of the wording used today came from Wesley himself. The phrasing may seem odd to our ears but that’s okay - it reminds us that we are participating in an act that followers of God have done throughout the ages - recommitting our whole selves to God.
We will begin our service today by singing “Come, Let Us Use The Grace Divine,” a hymn written by Charles Wesley and traditionally used for Covenant Renewal Services. The hymn is based on Jeremiah 50:5:
“They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, and they shall come and join themselves to the Lord by an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.”
Let us sing.
Opening Hymn
Come, Let Us Use The Grace Divine, UMH 606
Children’s Song
This is Where Children Belong
Children’s Moment
Scripture Lesson
2 Chronicles 34:29-32
Gospel Lesson
John 15:1-8
Litany of Thanksgiving (From Covenant Renewal Service, UM Book of Worship, changed response)
Sung Response: “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices” (Now Thank We All Our God, UMH 102)
Let us give thanks for all of God's mercies.
O God, our Covenant Friend,
you have been gracious to us through all the years of our lives.
We thank you for your loving care,
which has filled our days and brought us to this time and place. R
You have given us life and reason,
and set us in a world filled with your glory.
You have comforted us with family and friends,
O God, our Covenant Friend,
you have been gracious to us through all the years of our lives.
We thank you for your loving care,
which has filled our days and brought us to this time and place. R
You have given us life and reason,
and set us in a world filled with your glory.
You have comforted us with family and friends,
and ministered to us through the hands of our sisters and brothers. R
You have filled our hearts with a hunger after you,
and have given us your peace.
You have redeemed us, and called us to a high calling in Christ Jesus.
You have given us a place in the fellowship of your Spirit
and the witness of your Church. R
You have been our light in darkness
and a rock of strength in adversity and temptation.
You have been the very Spirit of joy in our joys
and the all–sufficient reward in all our labors. R
You remembered us when we forgot you.
You followed us even when we tried to flee from you.
You met us with forgiveness when we returned to you.
For all your patience and overflowing grace. Amen.
Hymn of Thanksgiving
Now Thank We All Our God, vs. 3, UMH 102
Proclamation of Covenant Renewal (Adapted from Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service, United Methodist Book of Worship)
Siblings in Christ,
The Christian life is one that strives to love God and to love neighbor as self.
We recognize that, first and foremost, we belong to God.
We first entered into the Christian life through baptism,
Where we were adopted as children of God and heirs with Christ.
This is the covenant we made with God and
Christ sealed it in his death and resurrection, that it might last forever:
On the one side, God promises to give us new life in Christ,
the Source and Perfecter of our faith.
On the other side, we are pledged
to live no more for ourselves but only for Jesus Christ,
who loved us and gave himself for us.
From time to time we renew our covenant with God,
especially when we celebrate the sacraments.
Today, however, we meet, as the generations before us have met,
to renew the covenant that binds us to God.
Let us make this covenant of God our own.
Baptismal Covenant Remembrance Hymn
Baptized in Water, FWS 2248
Invitation to Renew Your Covenant with God (All from Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service, United Methodist Book of Worship)
Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.
Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.
Christ has many services to be done.
Some are more easy and honorable,
others are more difficult and disgraceful.
Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests,
others are contrary to both.
In some we may please Christ and please ourselves.
But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ
except by denying ourselves.
It is necessary, therefore,
that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ.
Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:
Let me be your servant, under your command.
I will no longer be my own.
I will give up myself to your will in all things.
Be satisfied that Christ shall give you your place and work.
You have filled our hearts with a hunger after you,
and have given us your peace.
You have redeemed us, and called us to a high calling in Christ Jesus.
You have given us a place in the fellowship of your Spirit
and the witness of your Church. R
You have been our light in darkness
and a rock of strength in adversity and temptation.
You have been the very Spirit of joy in our joys
and the all–sufficient reward in all our labors. R
You remembered us when we forgot you.
You followed us even when we tried to flee from you.
You met us with forgiveness when we returned to you.
For all your patience and overflowing grace. Amen.
Hymn of Thanksgiving
Now Thank We All Our God, vs. 3, UMH 102
Proclamation of Covenant Renewal (Adapted from Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service, United Methodist Book of Worship)
Siblings in Christ,
The Christian life is one that strives to love God and to love neighbor as self.
We recognize that, first and foremost, we belong to God.
We first entered into the Christian life through baptism,
Where we were adopted as children of God and heirs with Christ.
This is the covenant we made with God and
Christ sealed it in his death and resurrection, that it might last forever:
On the one side, God promises to give us new life in Christ,
the Source and Perfecter of our faith.
On the other side, we are pledged
to live no more for ourselves but only for Jesus Christ,
who loved us and gave himself for us.
From time to time we renew our covenant with God,
especially when we celebrate the sacraments.
Today, however, we meet, as the generations before us have met,
to renew the covenant that binds us to God.
Let us make this covenant of God our own.
Baptismal Covenant Remembrance Hymn
Baptized in Water, FWS 2248
Invitation to Renew Your Covenant with God (All from Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service, United Methodist Book of Worship)
Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.
Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.
Christ has many services to be done.
Some are more easy and honorable,
others are more difficult and disgraceful.
Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests,
others are contrary to both.
In some we may please Christ and please ourselves.
But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ
except by denying ourselves.
It is necessary, therefore,
that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ.
Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:
Let me be your servant, under your command.
I will no longer be my own.
I will give up myself to your will in all things.
Be satisfied that Christ shall give you your place and work.
Lord, make me what you will.
I put myself fully into your hands:
put me to doing, put me to suffering,
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and with a willing heart
give it all to your pleasure and disposal.
Christ is the Savior of his servants. [edited]
He is the source of all salvation to those who obey.
Christ will have no servants except by consent;
Christ will not accept anything except full consent
to all that he requires.
Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.
Confirm this by a holy covenant.
To make this covenant a reality in your life, listen to these admonitions:
Admonition 1:
First, set apart some time, more than once,
to be spent alone before the Lord;
in seeking earnestly God's special assistance
and gracious acceptance of you;
in carefully thinking through all the conditions of the covenant;
in searching your hearts
whether you have already freely given your life to Christ.
Consider what your sins are.
Consider the laws of Christ, how holy, strict, and spiritual they are,
and whether you, after having carefully considered them,
are willing to choose them all.
Be sure you are clear in these matters, see that you do not lie to God.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
Take Time to Be Holy, vs. 1, UMH 395
First, set apart some time, more than once,
to be spent alone before the Lord;
in seeking earnestly God's special assistance
and gracious acceptance of you;
in carefully thinking through all the conditions of the covenant;
in searching your hearts
whether you have already freely given your life to Christ.
Consider what your sins are.
Consider the laws of Christ, how holy, strict, and spiritual they are,
and whether you, after having carefully considered them,
are willing to choose them all.
Be sure you are clear in these matters, see that you do not lie to God.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
Take Time to Be Holy, vs. 1, UMH 395
Admonition 2:
Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
How Great Thou Art, vs. 1, UMH 77
Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
How Great Thou Art, vs. 1, UMH 77
Admonition 3:
Third, claim God's covenant,
rely upon God's promise of giving grace and strength,
so you can keep your promise.
Trust not your own strength and power.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
Standing on the Promises, vs. 1 UMH 374
Third, claim God's covenant,
rely upon God's promise of giving grace and strength,
so you can keep your promise.
Trust not your own strength and power.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
Standing on the Promises, vs. 1 UMH 374
Admonition 4:
Fourth, resolve to be faithful.
You have given to the Lord your hearts,
you have opened your mouths to the Lord,
and you have dedicated yourself to God.
With God's power, never go back.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
I Surrender All, vs. 1, UMH 354
Fourth, resolve to be faithful.
You have given to the Lord your hearts,
you have opened your mouths to the Lord,
and you have dedicated yourself to God.
With God's power, never go back.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
I Surrender All, vs. 1, UMH 354
Admointion 5:
And last, be then prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord.
Fall down on your knees, lift your hands toward heaven,
open your hearts to the Lord, as we pray:
Hymn of Invitation to Covenant
Are Ye Able, vs. 1, UMH 530
Covenant Prayer (At this time, any who are willing and able may come and kneel at the altar as they pray. Others may remain seated as they wish and assume an internal posture of prayer where they are.)
O righteous God, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
see us as we fall down before you.
Forgive our unfaithfulness in not having done your will,
for you have promised mercy to us
if we turn to you with our whole hearts.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
Here from the bottom of our hearts we renounce all idols,
covenanting with you that no known sin shall be allowed in our lives.
Against your will, we have turned our love toward the world.
In your power
We will watch all temptations that will lead us away from you.
For our own righteousness is riddled with sin,
unable to stand before you.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
Before all heaven and earth,
We here acknowledge Christ as our Lord and God.
We take you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for our portion,
and vow to give up ourselves, body and soul, as your servant,
to serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
Jesus, we do here on bended knees accept Christ
as the new and living Way,
and sincerely join ourselves in a covenant with him.
O blessed Jesus, we come to you,
hungry, sinful, miserable, blind, and naked,
unworthy even to wash the feet of your servants.
We do here, with all our power, accept you as our Lord and Head.
We renounce our own worthiness,
and vow that you are the Lord, our righteousness.
We renounce human wisdom, and take you for our only guide.
We renounce our own wills, and take your will as our law.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
We do here covenant with you, O Christ,
to suffer with you,
to take our lot with you as it may fall.
Through your grace we promise
that neither life nor death shall part us from you.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
God has given holy laws as the rule of your life.
We do here willingly take your holy laws as our rule of life.
All your laws are holy, just, and good.
We therefore take them as the rule for our words, thoughts, and actions,
promising that we will strive
to order our whole lives according to your direction,
and not allow ourselves to neglect anything we know to be our duty.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
O God, who knows our hearts,
you know that we make this covenant with you today
without guile or reservation.
If any falsehood should be in it, guide us and help us to set it a right.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
And now, glory be to you, O God the Father,
whom we from this day forward shall look upon as our God and Father.
Glory be to you, O God the Son,
who have loved us and washed us from my sins,
And now is my Savior and Redeemer.
Glory be to you, O God the Holy Spirit,
who by your almighty power have turned our hearts from sin to God.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
O mighty God, the Lord Omnipotent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
you have now become our Covenant Friend.
And we, through your infinite grace, have become your covenant servants.
So be it.
And let the covenant we have made on earth be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Offertory Prayer
Offertory & Choir Anthem
Doxology
Closing Hymn
Blessed Assurance, UMH 369
Benediction
May we leave from this time of worship today with the assurance that we are God’s children, that God’s love never fails, and God’s covenant is forever and ever. Now go in peace, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And last, be then prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord.
Fall down on your knees, lift your hands toward heaven,
open your hearts to the Lord, as we pray:
Hymn of Invitation to Covenant
Are Ye Able, vs. 1, UMH 530
Covenant Prayer (At this time, any who are willing and able may come and kneel at the altar as they pray. Others may remain seated as they wish and assume an internal posture of prayer where they are.)
O righteous God, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
see us as we fall down before you.
Forgive our unfaithfulness in not having done your will,
for you have promised mercy to us
if we turn to you with our whole hearts.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
Here from the bottom of our hearts we renounce all idols,
covenanting with you that no known sin shall be allowed in our lives.
Against your will, we have turned our love toward the world.
In your power
We will watch all temptations that will lead us away from you.
For our own righteousness is riddled with sin,
unable to stand before you.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
Before all heaven and earth,
We here acknowledge Christ as our Lord and God.
We take you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for our portion,
and vow to give up ourselves, body and soul, as your servant,
to serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
Jesus, we do here on bended knees accept Christ
as the new and living Way,
and sincerely join ourselves in a covenant with him.
O blessed Jesus, we come to you,
hungry, sinful, miserable, blind, and naked,
unworthy even to wash the feet of your servants.
We do here, with all our power, accept you as our Lord and Head.
We renounce our own worthiness,
and vow that you are the Lord, our righteousness.
We renounce human wisdom, and take you for our only guide.
We renounce our own wills, and take your will as our law.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
We do here covenant with you, O Christ,
to suffer with you,
to take our lot with you as it may fall.
Through your grace we promise
that neither life nor death shall part us from you.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
God has given holy laws as the rule of your life.
We do here willingly take your holy laws as our rule of life.
All your laws are holy, just, and good.
We therefore take them as the rule for our words, thoughts, and actions,
promising that we will strive
to order our whole lives according to your direction,
and not allow ourselves to neglect anything we know to be our duty.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
O God, who knows our hearts,
you know that we make this covenant with you today
without guile or reservation.
If any falsehood should be in it, guide us and help us to set it a right.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
And now, glory be to you, O God the Father,
whom we from this day forward shall look upon as our God and Father.
Glory be to you, O God the Son,
who have loved us and washed us from my sins,
And now is my Savior and Redeemer.
Glory be to you, O God the Holy Spirit,
who by your almighty power have turned our hearts from sin to God.
L: Almighty God, we come to you with our whole hearts.
P: Have mercy on us.
O mighty God, the Lord Omnipotent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
you have now become our Covenant Friend.
And we, through your infinite grace, have become your covenant servants.
So be it.
And let the covenant we have made on earth be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Offertory Prayer
Offertory & Choir Anthem
Doxology
Closing Hymn
Blessed Assurance, UMH 369
Benediction
May we leave from this time of worship today with the assurance that we are God’s children, that God’s love never fails, and God’s covenant is forever and ever. Now go in peace, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice?: We Allow Ourselves to Be Amazed” a sermon on Luke 1:57-66 & Pslam 126
Luke 1:57-66
Psalm 126
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice?: We Allow Ourselves to Be Amazed” preached on Sunday, December 10, 2023
“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.”
This is a line from the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night” and the basis of our Advent & Christmas worship. We are asking, “How does a weary world rejoice?” So far we have talked about acknowledging our weariness and finding joy in connecting with others. Today we will answer “How does a weary world rejoice?” with “We allow ourselves to be amazed.”
Today, I want to invite us to open ourselves up to the connections between awe, amazement, pondering, wondering, dreaming, and rejoicing. All these concepts are connected, inter-related, and essential to how God calls us to live in this world.
So let us start with awe.
Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, defines awe as “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world.” In 1972, anger, surprise, disgust, enjoyment, fear and sadness were identified as the 6 primary emotions and all other emotions are some form of those. Think of the Pixar movie “Inside Out” that is based on this concept. But recent research on human emotions and awe posits that awe is a primary seventh emotion. Awe has a different effect on our bodies, our nerves, our inner being than any of these other emotions. It slows out hearts, helps with digestion, deepens our breathing - and psychologically, awe quiets the negative and criticizing voices in our heads.
In our weary world, we need more awe. Awe is not only good for our health - mental and physical - awe has the ability to override our weariness, help us see the world anew, help us see the world through the loving eyes of a God that delights in God’s own creation.
And the good news is, we can practice awe. We practice awe by simply paying attention. By noticing things, by being curious, by wondering at the world around us. In her book “World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments,” author Aimee (and I am probably going to butcher this last name) Nezhukumatathil spends chapter after chapter wondering about plants and animals, strange and incomprehensible, and all endangered. She says wonder takes practice and patience and putting aside distractions. But when we open ourselves up to wonder - we open ourselves up to the whole world. She talks about how wondering at a single firefly - which, if you didn’t know, are an endangered species with 18 varieties on the brink of extinction and significantly less of them for every generation of children - she talks about how wondering at a single firefly, opens herself up tp all the memories in her life that are connected to fireflies, to summer nights, to joy, and all the way our world is interconnected, and all the ways we wonder about the future and want to protect our world for future generations. I quote, “Did you see that? A single firefly... Such a tiny light, for such a considerable task. Its luminescence could very well be the spark that reminds us to make a most necessary turn- a shift and a swing and a switch- toward cherishing this magnificent and wondrous planet…”
When was the last time you were truly in awe? In wonder of something? And being in awe, being in wonder, is vastly different from being shocked, scandalized, or horrified - things that happen to us every day in our weary world as we hear the news and the going-ons that break our hearts. No, not the last time you were shocked but the last time you were in awe - where you noticed something that opened you up to the vastness and wonderfulness of our world, the vastness and wonderfulness of our God?
And what was it that amazed you? Was it the light of a single firefly in your backyward; was it the Grand Canyon or the last time you traveled to a National Park and saw beauty almost too big to comprehend; was it a particularly stunning display of fall foliage; or the quiet and understated beauty of the first flakes of falling snow? Was it when you saw a stranger moved to kindness? Jumping up to hold the door open; taking the hand of an elderly woman, helping her safely to her car; or holding the door ope with a smile and a nod? Was it staring at your child or grandchild, a niece or nephew - hearing their first laugh; falling into a giggle fit together; marveling at how fast they have grown? Or was it marveling at the unabashed wonderment of a child. Children are great models of practicing awe and wonder - the weariness of the world has not yet hindered them from seeing beauty and magic everywhere. How they notice rainbows reflected through glass, the first delicious bite of a cookie, how a snuggle and a kiss can solve almost any problem. This is all awe. This is all wonder. When were you last in awe - and what was it that amazed you?
We are called as children of God to practice awe. To pay attention. To pray to view people and the world through the eyes of God. I have this early memory from middle school when we could give presentations on any topic that excited us. And as I watched my classmates speak on topics they were passionate about, I remember being in awe. I remember thinking how beautiful each of them was. I remember thinking, “I am seeing my classmates, I am seeing them as God sees them - as beautiful, beloved children of God.” It was an experience of awe. I wonder…what would our world be like if we could see each other like this every day and in every interaction?
With a more established understanding of awe and wonder - let us now turn to our Scripture lessons from this morning, searching for awe and wonder in the text.
In our Gospel reading we are finally at the birth and circumcision of John who will come to be known as John the Baptist. Two weeks ago we heard about how Zechariah did not trust that the angel was answering his prayers when he was told that he would have a child and how he was subsequently silenced. Last week we heard how Elizabeth isolated herself for 5 months, maybe fearing to trust that Good thing that God was doing - and how her joy was made complete when her and Mary connected, holding joy for one another. And this week, we are at the birth and circumcision of John. And while the last two weeks we talked about Zechariah and Elizabeth, this week I would like to talk about the crowd, the neighbors, present with them. They were rejoicing at this wonderful child, this amazing thing that God had done - and yet there was a little issue over the naming and when Zechariah confirmed via writing on a tablet - not an iPad - but a tablet, when he confirmed the name they had been given by God - John, his mouth was opened, his tongue was freed, and praises for God poured forth. And all who saw this miracle, who heard Zechariah’s praises of God, they were amazed. They were in awe. And our reading this morning said “all who heard them pondered…” Another translation says “wonder fell upon the whole neighborhood.” They were pondering, wondering, “What will this child become?” It is the question every parent asks in their hearts when holding a newborn child - what will this child become? It reminds us of what Mary will think at the birth of Jesus when Scripture says she pondered all these things in her heart.
The whole community, by being in awe, by wondering and pondering, they were now paying attention to the awesome things that God had done, was doing, will do. Every birth, every newborn, every child, is a thing of awe. But this one - there was something else happening here. Something truly awe-some. How many of these neighbors allowed their wonder to continue through the years as John grew and grew into who God called him to be? How many of them allowed their wonder to draw them to the shore of the Jordan and tp be baptized by John? How many of them then followed Jesus, taking the path that John laid out for them. How many of them continued to be in wonder of how God was acting in the world through this now 8-day-old child?
We have seen awe and wonder and pondering and rejoicing in this text from our Gospel lesson. Let us now turn toward our Psalm, looking for awe, looking for wonder.
“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream…”
Dreaming is a form of awe, of wonder, and certainly of hope.
I recently saw the new Disney movie, Wish. While critics didn’t universally love it, my family did. In the movie, all the people in the magical kingdom of Rosas give their wishes, their hearts’ deepest desires, their dreams - when they turn 18, they give them to the sorcerer king for safe-keeping. The King will then arbitrarily choose to grant a wish once a month. And in giving their wish away, the people forget what their wish was, they forget what they dreamed of. They say they give it without regret but find that without their wishes, without their dreams - they are less than they were before. They are sad, listless, lost.
Because dreaming, wishing, is so closely related to hope, to wonder, to awe, to joy.
When we allow ourselves to hope, to dream, to imagine, to pray to God for a future that we wish for… we also start paying attention to how God is working, how God is creating a future of hope, our futures, in the here and now.
The Psalmist says that they, the Israelites just coming out of Babylonian captivity, how they were like those who dream again! And in dreaming, they are filled with laughter, with shouts and songs of joy, and they rejoice in all that God has done for them. For many years, they may not have allowed themselves to dream. The weariness of the world, of their captivity, they were reluctant to allow themselves to hope, to dream - for anything else. And in doing so - they shut themselves off to what God was doing.
The famous line of this Psalm reminds us of their hardship and weariness. “May those who sow in tears…” There is no doubt of the tears that were shed. Shed by the Israelities in the Psalm who had been in exile for so long. And also the tears that are shed here and now, the tears we sow in our weary world…
Yet even in a weary world - we can sow tears, and reap in joy.
The Psalm references “the watercourses of the Negeb.” For most of us, this is a line we quickly brush over. For the liturgist who read our Psalm, maybe it was a stumbling block of pronunciation - but the watercourses in the Negeb were a seasonal river. Dry and then when the rainy season came, filled, overflowing, flooding, and then the lush vegetation growing in its wake, along its shoreline.
When we think of deserts, we often think of life-less, dry, desolate places. But for anyone who has seen enough nature documentaries, or encountered the beauty of a desert after a rain - we know this is not the case. Even in the hottest place on earth, like Death Valley, a small amount of rain can awaken seeds that have been there for decades, creating beautiful desert blooms. And then there is the saguaro cactus and its beautiful flowers, found in the desert of Arizona. The largest cactus in the world that can grow up to 40 feet tall, live 100 to 200 years, and soak up and store 200 gallons of water at a time. Its flowers bloom at night for four weeks out of the year. Take for example the Atacama desert in Chile which is the driest desert in the world. On average, it only has one significant rainfall once a century. So how in the world can life survive and thrive here? The desert’s coast runs parallel to a cold sea that creates a dense, thick fog, that rolls over the desert. Within minutes the landscape and vegetation are drenched in mist, giving life to all, flowers, cacti, birds, and animals of all kinds…
Even in places that we tend to think of as lifeless - there are seeds sown, ready for the smallest amount of rain, to burst forth in blooms of color and life, blooms and life that we can wonder at, be amazed at, be in awe of how our God works.
Even in the driest, weariest places in our world - there is beauty to be found. And I am not talking about ecosystems anymore. I am talking about weary places of our souls, places of conflict and brokenness, places where tears are sown in abundance. Even there, yes, even there - we can practice awe, see goodness and beauty, be amazed, give thanks and praise God.
Even there we can see blooms of joy sprouting up, giving color to our weary world.
Without wonder, we may just see the dry, desert-like, weary places in our world. But when we practice awe, when we practice and pray to see the world through the eyes of God, we see color, flowers, blooms, fireflies, beauty, love, hope - popping up everywhere, yes, even in our weary world.
And in that wonder, in that awe, we give thanks to God - we rejoice: a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.
May we all be in awe and rejoice.
Amen.
Psalm 126
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice?: We Allow Ourselves to Be Amazed” preached on Sunday, December 10, 2023
“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.”
This is a line from the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night” and the basis of our Advent & Christmas worship. We are asking, “How does a weary world rejoice?” So far we have talked about acknowledging our weariness and finding joy in connecting with others. Today we will answer “How does a weary world rejoice?” with “We allow ourselves to be amazed.”
Today, I want to invite us to open ourselves up to the connections between awe, amazement, pondering, wondering, dreaming, and rejoicing. All these concepts are connected, inter-related, and essential to how God calls us to live in this world.
So let us start with awe.
Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, defines awe as “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world.” In 1972, anger, surprise, disgust, enjoyment, fear and sadness were identified as the 6 primary emotions and all other emotions are some form of those. Think of the Pixar movie “Inside Out” that is based on this concept. But recent research on human emotions and awe posits that awe is a primary seventh emotion. Awe has a different effect on our bodies, our nerves, our inner being than any of these other emotions. It slows out hearts, helps with digestion, deepens our breathing - and psychologically, awe quiets the negative and criticizing voices in our heads.
In our weary world, we need more awe. Awe is not only good for our health - mental and physical - awe has the ability to override our weariness, help us see the world anew, help us see the world through the loving eyes of a God that delights in God’s own creation.
And the good news is, we can practice awe. We practice awe by simply paying attention. By noticing things, by being curious, by wondering at the world around us. In her book “World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments,” author Aimee (and I am probably going to butcher this last name) Nezhukumatathil spends chapter after chapter wondering about plants and animals, strange and incomprehensible, and all endangered. She says wonder takes practice and patience and putting aside distractions. But when we open ourselves up to wonder - we open ourselves up to the whole world. She talks about how wondering at a single firefly - which, if you didn’t know, are an endangered species with 18 varieties on the brink of extinction and significantly less of them for every generation of children - she talks about how wondering at a single firefly, opens herself up tp all the memories in her life that are connected to fireflies, to summer nights, to joy, and all the way our world is interconnected, and all the ways we wonder about the future and want to protect our world for future generations. I quote, “Did you see that? A single firefly... Such a tiny light, for such a considerable task. Its luminescence could very well be the spark that reminds us to make a most necessary turn- a shift and a swing and a switch- toward cherishing this magnificent and wondrous planet…”
When was the last time you were truly in awe? In wonder of something? And being in awe, being in wonder, is vastly different from being shocked, scandalized, or horrified - things that happen to us every day in our weary world as we hear the news and the going-ons that break our hearts. No, not the last time you were shocked but the last time you were in awe - where you noticed something that opened you up to the vastness and wonderfulness of our world, the vastness and wonderfulness of our God?
And what was it that amazed you? Was it the light of a single firefly in your backyward; was it the Grand Canyon or the last time you traveled to a National Park and saw beauty almost too big to comprehend; was it a particularly stunning display of fall foliage; or the quiet and understated beauty of the first flakes of falling snow? Was it when you saw a stranger moved to kindness? Jumping up to hold the door open; taking the hand of an elderly woman, helping her safely to her car; or holding the door ope with a smile and a nod? Was it staring at your child or grandchild, a niece or nephew - hearing their first laugh; falling into a giggle fit together; marveling at how fast they have grown? Or was it marveling at the unabashed wonderment of a child. Children are great models of practicing awe and wonder - the weariness of the world has not yet hindered them from seeing beauty and magic everywhere. How they notice rainbows reflected through glass, the first delicious bite of a cookie, how a snuggle and a kiss can solve almost any problem. This is all awe. This is all wonder. When were you last in awe - and what was it that amazed you?
We are called as children of God to practice awe. To pay attention. To pray to view people and the world through the eyes of God. I have this early memory from middle school when we could give presentations on any topic that excited us. And as I watched my classmates speak on topics they were passionate about, I remember being in awe. I remember thinking how beautiful each of them was. I remember thinking, “I am seeing my classmates, I am seeing them as God sees them - as beautiful, beloved children of God.” It was an experience of awe. I wonder…what would our world be like if we could see each other like this every day and in every interaction?
With a more established understanding of awe and wonder - let us now turn to our Scripture lessons from this morning, searching for awe and wonder in the text.
In our Gospel reading we are finally at the birth and circumcision of John who will come to be known as John the Baptist. Two weeks ago we heard about how Zechariah did not trust that the angel was answering his prayers when he was told that he would have a child and how he was subsequently silenced. Last week we heard how Elizabeth isolated herself for 5 months, maybe fearing to trust that Good thing that God was doing - and how her joy was made complete when her and Mary connected, holding joy for one another. And this week, we are at the birth and circumcision of John. And while the last two weeks we talked about Zechariah and Elizabeth, this week I would like to talk about the crowd, the neighbors, present with them. They were rejoicing at this wonderful child, this amazing thing that God had done - and yet there was a little issue over the naming and when Zechariah confirmed via writing on a tablet - not an iPad - but a tablet, when he confirmed the name they had been given by God - John, his mouth was opened, his tongue was freed, and praises for God poured forth. And all who saw this miracle, who heard Zechariah’s praises of God, they were amazed. They were in awe. And our reading this morning said “all who heard them pondered…” Another translation says “wonder fell upon the whole neighborhood.” They were pondering, wondering, “What will this child become?” It is the question every parent asks in their hearts when holding a newborn child - what will this child become? It reminds us of what Mary will think at the birth of Jesus when Scripture says she pondered all these things in her heart.
The whole community, by being in awe, by wondering and pondering, they were now paying attention to the awesome things that God had done, was doing, will do. Every birth, every newborn, every child, is a thing of awe. But this one - there was something else happening here. Something truly awe-some. How many of these neighbors allowed their wonder to continue through the years as John grew and grew into who God called him to be? How many of them allowed their wonder to draw them to the shore of the Jordan and tp be baptized by John? How many of them then followed Jesus, taking the path that John laid out for them. How many of them continued to be in wonder of how God was acting in the world through this now 8-day-old child?
We have seen awe and wonder and pondering and rejoicing in this text from our Gospel lesson. Let us now turn toward our Psalm, looking for awe, looking for wonder.
“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream…”
Dreaming is a form of awe, of wonder, and certainly of hope.
I recently saw the new Disney movie, Wish. While critics didn’t universally love it, my family did. In the movie, all the people in the magical kingdom of Rosas give their wishes, their hearts’ deepest desires, their dreams - when they turn 18, they give them to the sorcerer king for safe-keeping. The King will then arbitrarily choose to grant a wish once a month. And in giving their wish away, the people forget what their wish was, they forget what they dreamed of. They say they give it without regret but find that without their wishes, without their dreams - they are less than they were before. They are sad, listless, lost.
Because dreaming, wishing, is so closely related to hope, to wonder, to awe, to joy.
When we allow ourselves to hope, to dream, to imagine, to pray to God for a future that we wish for… we also start paying attention to how God is working, how God is creating a future of hope, our futures, in the here and now.
The Psalmist says that they, the Israelites just coming out of Babylonian captivity, how they were like those who dream again! And in dreaming, they are filled with laughter, with shouts and songs of joy, and they rejoice in all that God has done for them. For many years, they may not have allowed themselves to dream. The weariness of the world, of their captivity, they were reluctant to allow themselves to hope, to dream - for anything else. And in doing so - they shut themselves off to what God was doing.
The famous line of this Psalm reminds us of their hardship and weariness. “May those who sow in tears…” There is no doubt of the tears that were shed. Shed by the Israelities in the Psalm who had been in exile for so long. And also the tears that are shed here and now, the tears we sow in our weary world…
Yet even in a weary world - we can sow tears, and reap in joy.
The Psalm references “the watercourses of the Negeb.” For most of us, this is a line we quickly brush over. For the liturgist who read our Psalm, maybe it was a stumbling block of pronunciation - but the watercourses in the Negeb were a seasonal river. Dry and then when the rainy season came, filled, overflowing, flooding, and then the lush vegetation growing in its wake, along its shoreline.
When we think of deserts, we often think of life-less, dry, desolate places. But for anyone who has seen enough nature documentaries, or encountered the beauty of a desert after a rain - we know this is not the case. Even in the hottest place on earth, like Death Valley, a small amount of rain can awaken seeds that have been there for decades, creating beautiful desert blooms. And then there is the saguaro cactus and its beautiful flowers, found in the desert of Arizona. The largest cactus in the world that can grow up to 40 feet tall, live 100 to 200 years, and soak up and store 200 gallons of water at a time. Its flowers bloom at night for four weeks out of the year. Take for example the Atacama desert in Chile which is the driest desert in the world. On average, it only has one significant rainfall once a century. So how in the world can life survive and thrive here? The desert’s coast runs parallel to a cold sea that creates a dense, thick fog, that rolls over the desert. Within minutes the landscape and vegetation are drenched in mist, giving life to all, flowers, cacti, birds, and animals of all kinds…
Even in places that we tend to think of as lifeless - there are seeds sown, ready for the smallest amount of rain, to burst forth in blooms of color and life, blooms and life that we can wonder at, be amazed at, be in awe of how our God works.
Even in the driest, weariest places in our world - there is beauty to be found. And I am not talking about ecosystems anymore. I am talking about weary places of our souls, places of conflict and brokenness, places where tears are sown in abundance. Even there, yes, even there - we can practice awe, see goodness and beauty, be amazed, give thanks and praise God.
Even there we can see blooms of joy sprouting up, giving color to our weary world.
Without wonder, we may just see the dry, desert-like, weary places in our world. But when we practice awe, when we practice and pray to see the world through the eyes of God, we see color, flowers, blooms, fireflies, beauty, love, hope - popping up everywhere, yes, even in our weary world.
And in that wonder, in that awe, we give thanks to God - we rejoice: a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.
May we all be in awe and rejoice.
Amen.
Monday, December 4, 2023
"How Does a Weary World Rejoice?: We Find Joy in Connection" a sermon based on Luke 1:24-45 and Isaiah 40:1-11
Luke 1:24-45
Isaiah 40:1-11
“How Does a Weary World Rejoice?: We Find Joy in Connection” preached Sunday, December 3, 2023
“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.”
So goes the line from the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night” that our Advent and Christmas worship is based on. We are asking, HOW does a weary world rejoice? This week we answer with “We find joy in connection.”
Which brings me to the two women in today’s Gospel lesson. Mary and Elizabeth.
First, Mary. She is newly pregnant, and the Scriptures say she made haste to see Elizabeth. For when the angel Gabriel visited her and announced her divine pregnancy, the angel also shared Elizabeth's miraculous conception.
Now, every pregnant woman's experience is different. In January of 2020 I was just weeks pregnant with Agnes and I was absolutely and utterly physically miserable. I was exhausted. I was hungry every 5 minutes. And I was also throwing up what seemed like every hour. At the time I was watching online as colleague’s shared pictures and videos from a trip to the Holy Land and I was giving thanks that I was on my couch, that I wasn’t on that trip.
But Mary, newly pregnant, makes haste to see Elizabeth. The accepted location of the annunciation was in Nazareth and Elizabeth lived in the hill country, Ein Karem, which was about 80 miles from Nazareth. That’s about the distance from here to Cleveland but with no cars and no tunpike. Not an easy journey to take even if your body isn’t going through the slog of early pregnancy.
Why was she rushing to see Elizabeth with such haste?
I can think of perhaps two reasons.
Isaiah 40:1-11
“How Does a Weary World Rejoice?: We Find Joy in Connection” preached Sunday, December 3, 2023
“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.”
So goes the line from the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night” that our Advent and Christmas worship is based on. We are asking, HOW does a weary world rejoice? This week we answer with “We find joy in connection.”
Which brings me to the two women in today’s Gospel lesson. Mary and Elizabeth.
First, Mary. She is newly pregnant, and the Scriptures say she made haste to see Elizabeth. For when the angel Gabriel visited her and announced her divine pregnancy, the angel also shared Elizabeth's miraculous conception.
Now, every pregnant woman's experience is different. In January of 2020 I was just weeks pregnant with Agnes and I was absolutely and utterly physically miserable. I was exhausted. I was hungry every 5 minutes. And I was also throwing up what seemed like every hour. At the time I was watching online as colleague’s shared pictures and videos from a trip to the Holy Land and I was giving thanks that I was on my couch, that I wasn’t on that trip.
But Mary, newly pregnant, makes haste to see Elizabeth. The accepted location of the annunciation was in Nazareth and Elizabeth lived in the hill country, Ein Karem, which was about 80 miles from Nazareth. That’s about the distance from here to Cleveland but with no cars and no tunpike. Not an easy journey to take even if your body isn’t going through the slog of early pregnancy.
Why was she rushing to see Elizabeth with such haste?
I can think of perhaps two reasons.
First, Mary needed to talk to someone who would “get it.” Who else could she talk to in her life who would even begin to understand the circumstances around her miraculous pregnancy? I think of how many times a day I pick up my phone to text, to message, to call, or to make plans to meet someone - who gets it. Another young mom. Another young clergy women. That small overlap of young clergy who are moms. A best friend who knows me well. All those people in my life who “get it.” Whatever it is I am going through - I know they will see me, hear me, support me. Having people in our lives who “get it” is so important. Two of the most powerful words in the English language are “me too.” When we say “me too” to someone we are saying, “I see you. You are not alone.”
Who else could this person have been for Mary other than Elizabeth? The angel didn’t have to tell Mary about Elizabeth…but he did. Perhaps because God wanted Mary and Elizabeth to connect, to not be alone, to be there for each other in a way that no one else could. God knew that they would need each other and so God made the connection possible.
Call to mind the people in your life who “get it.” Who support you. Who, when you see them, your soul rejoices. Now give thanks to God for them! Thank you God for putting these people in our lives!
So that’s one reason why Mary could have gone with such haste to see Elizabeth. The second is simply this, perhaps Mary was excited to celebrate with Elizabeth. She couldn’t pick up her phone and facetime with her, she needed to go see her in person to share her joy. We know Mary and Elizabeth were cousins with an age gap between them. But we don’t really know what their relationship was like. They obviously knew each other well and cared about each other. Maybe they were cousins who were like sisters, or because of the age gap, maybe Elizabeth was like a caring aunt for Mary. Maybe, in addition to being relatives, they were friends. Perhaps Mary knew of all the hardship that Elizabeth had faced. Her heart breaking alone with Elizabeth’s, month after month, year after year, when she didn’t have a child. And now, she wanted nothing more than to rejoice with her.
So that’s Mary’s motives for making haste to go see Elizabeth. Now let’s talk about Elizabeth.
Elizabeth found out she was pregnant and then went into seclusion for 5 months. I want to stress that this is not typical. This wasn’t cultural practice. So why did Elizabeth do it? Was she having a difficult pregnancy in her advanced age and was basically on bed rest? Was she uncomfortable in her older pregnant body being seen by her neighbors? Or was she afraid? We just know she experienced many years of infertility - we don’t know if, perhaps in those years, Elizabeth suffered from miscarriages. So many moms who experience pregnancy after a miscarriage have spoken openly about their fear. Their fear to hope. Their reticence to feel joy. Because what if this pregnancy ends in miscarriage too? Keeping themselves from hoping, from rejoicing, they are trying to protect their hearts in the case of another loss. For whatever reason, she was in seclusion for 5 months and remember her husband, Zechariah, was experiencing muteness so she didn’t even have him to talk to.
She is in isolation. That is, until Mary comes to visit. When Mary walks in and greets Elizabeth - Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, the baby inside her leaps for joy, and her seclusion, her isolation turns into joy for Mary and the child in her womb as well.
Elizabeth is rejoicing for Mary. And Mary is rejoicing for Elizabeth. Together they move from fear, from isolation, from the unknown - and together they move toward rejoicing, gratitude, laughter, blessing.
Through their connection with each other, they cleared the path to rejoicing. They made straight the path through the twists and turns of their lives, so that, together, they could rejoice.
Our other reading this morning from Isaiah contains that well-known line:
“A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”
We connect this passage with John and Jesus, those two babies in the wombs of Elizabeth and Mary, that John is that voice in the wilderness that makes the path to Jesus straight.
And, we too can read this passage as a command to us. We are to make a straight path to God for others.
…but how? In our weary world…how?
In Bible Study on Wednesday when talking about this text from Isaiah we talked about the piles of rubble in Gaza. We talked about babies escaping from bombed out hospitals. Although not all of them did. We talked about hostages being returned…and still those who are being held. We talked about cancer diagnoses. We talked about those we love and those we are praying for who are facing non-straight paths, filled with twists and turns, for whom the future is hard and unclear.
The path to God, which is also the path to peace, the path to love, the path to joy…seems anything but straight, doesn’t it? We look out at our weary world and we see mountains and valleys, we see piles of rubble from bombed buildings, we see a whole lot of sin, of atrocities, of violence and heart-break…there is so much in the way of our anything-but-straight paths to the God of Connection, the God of Joy, the God of Peace.
A straight path to God?
It may seem impossible.
And yet, Gabriel’s words to Mary were: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Mary and Elizabeth did not have a straight path to get to each other but when they met, when they connected, their weariness was set aside and they rejoiced together.
Any way, any time, we can, within our own lives, our own communities, our own spheres of influence, bring people together, build connection, build community; any way and any time we can say “me too,” say “you’re not alone.”; any way and any time we can rejoice with one another. In those small but powerful acts, we are making straight the way. We are making a path to God.
Think of the child that we baptized this morning - and all children - their paths are unknown and in our weary world, likely anything but straight.
And yet! In Baptism, we say, we promise to this child, to one another, to God:
“I will surround you with love and care.”
“I will show you God’s love with how I live my life.”
“You are part of God’s family and therefore, you will never be alone.”
This is how we make straight the path. We connect with each other, support each other, rejoice with one another. And then we keep on making paths to connect with others, widening our spheres, connecting and rejoicing with more and more people. Until that day when we are all drawn to God and experience more connection and more joy than we’ve ever known in this life.
And until that day…we will keep making paths of connection and paths of joy.
May it be so. Amen.
Who else could this person have been for Mary other than Elizabeth? The angel didn’t have to tell Mary about Elizabeth…but he did. Perhaps because God wanted Mary and Elizabeth to connect, to not be alone, to be there for each other in a way that no one else could. God knew that they would need each other and so God made the connection possible.
Call to mind the people in your life who “get it.” Who support you. Who, when you see them, your soul rejoices. Now give thanks to God for them! Thank you God for putting these people in our lives!
So that’s one reason why Mary could have gone with such haste to see Elizabeth. The second is simply this, perhaps Mary was excited to celebrate with Elizabeth. She couldn’t pick up her phone and facetime with her, she needed to go see her in person to share her joy. We know Mary and Elizabeth were cousins with an age gap between them. But we don’t really know what their relationship was like. They obviously knew each other well and cared about each other. Maybe they were cousins who were like sisters, or because of the age gap, maybe Elizabeth was like a caring aunt for Mary. Maybe, in addition to being relatives, they were friends. Perhaps Mary knew of all the hardship that Elizabeth had faced. Her heart breaking alone with Elizabeth’s, month after month, year after year, when she didn’t have a child. And now, she wanted nothing more than to rejoice with her.
So that’s Mary’s motives for making haste to go see Elizabeth. Now let’s talk about Elizabeth.
Elizabeth found out she was pregnant and then went into seclusion for 5 months. I want to stress that this is not typical. This wasn’t cultural practice. So why did Elizabeth do it? Was she having a difficult pregnancy in her advanced age and was basically on bed rest? Was she uncomfortable in her older pregnant body being seen by her neighbors? Or was she afraid? We just know she experienced many years of infertility - we don’t know if, perhaps in those years, Elizabeth suffered from miscarriages. So many moms who experience pregnancy after a miscarriage have spoken openly about their fear. Their fear to hope. Their reticence to feel joy. Because what if this pregnancy ends in miscarriage too? Keeping themselves from hoping, from rejoicing, they are trying to protect their hearts in the case of another loss. For whatever reason, she was in seclusion for 5 months and remember her husband, Zechariah, was experiencing muteness so she didn’t even have him to talk to.
She is in isolation. That is, until Mary comes to visit. When Mary walks in and greets Elizabeth - Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, the baby inside her leaps for joy, and her seclusion, her isolation turns into joy for Mary and the child in her womb as well.
Elizabeth is rejoicing for Mary. And Mary is rejoicing for Elizabeth. Together they move from fear, from isolation, from the unknown - and together they move toward rejoicing, gratitude, laughter, blessing.
Through their connection with each other, they cleared the path to rejoicing. They made straight the path through the twists and turns of their lives, so that, together, they could rejoice.
Our other reading this morning from Isaiah contains that well-known line:
“A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”
We connect this passage with John and Jesus, those two babies in the wombs of Elizabeth and Mary, that John is that voice in the wilderness that makes the path to Jesus straight.
And, we too can read this passage as a command to us. We are to make a straight path to God for others.
…but how? In our weary world…how?
In Bible Study on Wednesday when talking about this text from Isaiah we talked about the piles of rubble in Gaza. We talked about babies escaping from bombed out hospitals. Although not all of them did. We talked about hostages being returned…and still those who are being held. We talked about cancer diagnoses. We talked about those we love and those we are praying for who are facing non-straight paths, filled with twists and turns, for whom the future is hard and unclear.
The path to God, which is also the path to peace, the path to love, the path to joy…seems anything but straight, doesn’t it? We look out at our weary world and we see mountains and valleys, we see piles of rubble from bombed buildings, we see a whole lot of sin, of atrocities, of violence and heart-break…there is so much in the way of our anything-but-straight paths to the God of Connection, the God of Joy, the God of Peace.
A straight path to God?
It may seem impossible.
And yet, Gabriel’s words to Mary were: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Mary and Elizabeth did not have a straight path to get to each other but when they met, when they connected, their weariness was set aside and they rejoiced together.
Any way, any time, we can, within our own lives, our own communities, our own spheres of influence, bring people together, build connection, build community; any way and any time we can say “me too,” say “you’re not alone.”; any way and any time we can rejoice with one another. In those small but powerful acts, we are making straight the way. We are making a path to God.
Think of the child that we baptized this morning - and all children - their paths are unknown and in our weary world, likely anything but straight.
And yet! In Baptism, we say, we promise to this child, to one another, to God:
“I will surround you with love and care.”
“I will show you God’s love with how I live my life.”
“You are part of God’s family and therefore, you will never be alone.”
This is how we make straight the path. We connect with each other, support each other, rejoice with one another. And then we keep on making paths to connect with others, widening our spheres, connecting and rejoicing with more and more people. Until that day when we are all drawn to God and experience more connection and more joy than we’ve ever known in this life.
And until that day…we will keep making paths of connection and paths of joy.
May it be so. Amen.
Monday, November 27, 2023
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice? We Acknowledge Our Weariness” a sermon on Luke 1:1-23, Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Luke 1:1-23
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice? We Acknowledge Our Weariness”
Preached Sunday, November 26, 2023
Today we are starting a new worship & sermon series called “How does a weary world rejoice?” It's based on a line from the first verse of the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night.” The first verse goes (And I’ll say it, won’t sing it):
“O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;”
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.
How does a weary world rejoice?
There are very few people that I have talked to who don’t acknowledge that we live in a weary world: personal loss, short days and dark nights, war and rumors of war, gun violence, strained and broken relationships, poverty, hate crimes…and so much that wears us down, that weighs heavy on our hearts.
So how does a weary world rejoice?
It may seem almost antithetical to rejoice in the midst of our weariness and grief. Whenever I preach at funerals, I like to start my sermon by acknowledging the range of emotions those gathered may be feeling that day. I often say something generally like this:
“I think it is important to take a moment and address and validate the range of emotions you may feel today. Today you will hopefully laugh as you remember the good and funny memories. And those are good to share and to laugh over. Those same memories may make you cry. You may experience bursts of anger or frustration, grief, anxiety...Whatever today brings, know that it is okay to feel what you feel and that you are surrounded today by love - you are not alone.”
Normally when I mention memories that may make people laugh - several do, a light chuckle in the midst of their weariness and grief. They are remembering something that makes them laugh, they are thinking of a memory of joy. Laughing and crying and laughing again…and maybe crying again. The joy and the grief intermingle almost naturally.
Joy is more than happiness or elation - it goes deeper. I won’t go too deeply into my definition of joy this morning but I prefer to think of joy as a sense of a deep trust in God. A sense of hope. Joy is “that thrill of hope” that the hymnist writes about. Trusting that the God that was born into this world in the form of Jesus will come against to save and redeem us. And when we trust in this hope, we have joy - and that can present itself as the ability to laugh, even in grief.
This is what we focus on in the season of Advent, these four weeks of preparation before Christmas. We are remembering the birth of Christ, yes, and we are looking towards Christ’s second coming when the work he began will be completed - and that is the source of our joy, the source of our rejoicing.
That brings us to our theme for this week, our first answer to “How does a weary world rejoice?” We acknowledge our weariness.
I already said that I don’t think any of us would be in denial that our world is weary…for all those reasons previously listed, all that happens in our world that breaks our hearts and the heart of God. So let us look at our Scriptures this morning and how we see reflected in them weariness, hope, and rejoicing.
Zechariah is weary from years of wanting a child and not having one. Weary from the long journey of infertility. Month after month, year after year, not having your hopes fulfilled. Those who have walked this path know how particularly painful and hard it can be. And I want to recognize how the Scripture narratives surrounding Advent and Christmas, of Elizabeth and John, of Mary and Jesus, of miraculous pregnancies and births - how these Scriptures can be particularly triggering and painful for those who have experienced infertility. If this is you, please know that God meets you in your weariness. And, in discussing these narratives in church throughout this season, if you need to excuse yourself to use the restroom, to tune me out, it’s okay. Take care of yourself and your heart.
And so, one day Zechariah is in the temple, fulfilling his priestly duties, and an angel appears before him and tells him, “Your prayer has been heard.”
His prayer for a child. How many years has he been praying that prayer and feeling like it wasn’t being heard? He was in the temple praying when the angel appeared for him - was he praying for a child at the moment? Taking the opportunity while he was in the holy of the holies to lift up his personal petition? Had this prayer worked his way into his litany of prayers that he always offered up? Was he praying with any hope that his prayer would be answered? Or at this point was he just going through the motions - a prayer he had said many times but not a prayer that he felt he had any hope of being answered, praying without hope.
Because his response to hearing his prayer has been heard and is being answered, is not one of rejoicing or gratitude - it is disbelief. And for that, the angel makes him mute until the birth of his son.
How often does the world’s weariness, our weariness, keep us from hoping, from believing that our prayers could be answered? Our prayers for love, for peace, for restoration, for a better world.
How often does the world’s weariness, our weariness, keep us from seeing all the ways our prayers have already been answered? All the love we already have. All the ways in which seeds of peace are being sown. All the ways in which, day by day, small act by small act, our world is being restored, being made better.
How often does the world’s weariness, our weariness, keep us from being our own answer to prayers, being the agents of love, peace and restoration for a better world. Acting even as we pray.
I’m not saying that we can’t or shouldn’t be weary - it’s the reality of our world. If we weren’t experiencing the weariness of the world at all, I’d be worried we’ve closed our hearts off to the pain and suffering in this world. This weary world should break our hearts - break them open, where there can be an outpouring of love and care. Break our hearts open rather than hardening our hearts to the pain - but also to the hope that our prayers could be answered - as could have been the case with Zechariah.
In our other Scripture reading this morning, the psalmist prays over and over: “Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”
There are people in the world today praying this prayer. In Israel-Palestine, in Ukraine, in the Mahoning Valley, in our congregation. In the midst of a weary world praying to God for help, for restoration.
Let us not lose hope that these prayers will be answered.
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
“How Does A Weary World Rejoice? We Acknowledge Our Weariness”
Preached Sunday, November 26, 2023
Today we are starting a new worship & sermon series called “How does a weary world rejoice?” It's based on a line from the first verse of the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night.” The first verse goes (And I’ll say it, won’t sing it):
“O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;”
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.
How does a weary world rejoice?
There are very few people that I have talked to who don’t acknowledge that we live in a weary world: personal loss, short days and dark nights, war and rumors of war, gun violence, strained and broken relationships, poverty, hate crimes…and so much that wears us down, that weighs heavy on our hearts.
So how does a weary world rejoice?
It may seem almost antithetical to rejoice in the midst of our weariness and grief. Whenever I preach at funerals, I like to start my sermon by acknowledging the range of emotions those gathered may be feeling that day. I often say something generally like this:
“I think it is important to take a moment and address and validate the range of emotions you may feel today. Today you will hopefully laugh as you remember the good and funny memories. And those are good to share and to laugh over. Those same memories may make you cry. You may experience bursts of anger or frustration, grief, anxiety...Whatever today brings, know that it is okay to feel what you feel and that you are surrounded today by love - you are not alone.”
Normally when I mention memories that may make people laugh - several do, a light chuckle in the midst of their weariness and grief. They are remembering something that makes them laugh, they are thinking of a memory of joy. Laughing and crying and laughing again…and maybe crying again. The joy and the grief intermingle almost naturally.
Joy is more than happiness or elation - it goes deeper. I won’t go too deeply into my definition of joy this morning but I prefer to think of joy as a sense of a deep trust in God. A sense of hope. Joy is “that thrill of hope” that the hymnist writes about. Trusting that the God that was born into this world in the form of Jesus will come against to save and redeem us. And when we trust in this hope, we have joy - and that can present itself as the ability to laugh, even in grief.
This is what we focus on in the season of Advent, these four weeks of preparation before Christmas. We are remembering the birth of Christ, yes, and we are looking towards Christ’s second coming when the work he began will be completed - and that is the source of our joy, the source of our rejoicing.
That brings us to our theme for this week, our first answer to “How does a weary world rejoice?” We acknowledge our weariness.
I already said that I don’t think any of us would be in denial that our world is weary…for all those reasons previously listed, all that happens in our world that breaks our hearts and the heart of God. So let us look at our Scriptures this morning and how we see reflected in them weariness, hope, and rejoicing.
Zechariah is weary from years of wanting a child and not having one. Weary from the long journey of infertility. Month after month, year after year, not having your hopes fulfilled. Those who have walked this path know how particularly painful and hard it can be. And I want to recognize how the Scripture narratives surrounding Advent and Christmas, of Elizabeth and John, of Mary and Jesus, of miraculous pregnancies and births - how these Scriptures can be particularly triggering and painful for those who have experienced infertility. If this is you, please know that God meets you in your weariness. And, in discussing these narratives in church throughout this season, if you need to excuse yourself to use the restroom, to tune me out, it’s okay. Take care of yourself and your heart.
And so, one day Zechariah is in the temple, fulfilling his priestly duties, and an angel appears before him and tells him, “Your prayer has been heard.”
His prayer for a child. How many years has he been praying that prayer and feeling like it wasn’t being heard? He was in the temple praying when the angel appeared for him - was he praying for a child at the moment? Taking the opportunity while he was in the holy of the holies to lift up his personal petition? Had this prayer worked his way into his litany of prayers that he always offered up? Was he praying with any hope that his prayer would be answered? Or at this point was he just going through the motions - a prayer he had said many times but not a prayer that he felt he had any hope of being answered, praying without hope.
Because his response to hearing his prayer has been heard and is being answered, is not one of rejoicing or gratitude - it is disbelief. And for that, the angel makes him mute until the birth of his son.
How often does the world’s weariness, our weariness, keep us from hoping, from believing that our prayers could be answered? Our prayers for love, for peace, for restoration, for a better world.
How often does the world’s weariness, our weariness, keep us from seeing all the ways our prayers have already been answered? All the love we already have. All the ways in which seeds of peace are being sown. All the ways in which, day by day, small act by small act, our world is being restored, being made better.
How often does the world’s weariness, our weariness, keep us from being our own answer to prayers, being the agents of love, peace and restoration for a better world. Acting even as we pray.
I’m not saying that we can’t or shouldn’t be weary - it’s the reality of our world. If we weren’t experiencing the weariness of the world at all, I’d be worried we’ve closed our hearts off to the pain and suffering in this world. This weary world should break our hearts - break them open, where there can be an outpouring of love and care. Break our hearts open rather than hardening our hearts to the pain - but also to the hope that our prayers could be answered - as could have been the case with Zechariah.
In our other Scripture reading this morning, the psalmist prays over and over: “Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”
There are people in the world today praying this prayer. In Israel-Palestine, in Ukraine, in the Mahoning Valley, in our congregation. In the midst of a weary world praying to God for help, for restoration.
Let us not lose hope that these prayers will be answered.
In the midst of a weary world,
God is still acting;
God is still listening;
God is still acting;
God is still listening;
God will still hold true to God’s promises to come again, and restore us all.
And so, in the midst of a weary world,
We can acknowledge our weariness,
While still praying, still hoping, still rejoicing.
May it be so. Amen.
And so, in the midst of a weary world,
We can acknowledge our weariness,
While still praying, still hoping, still rejoicing.
May it be so. Amen.
Monday, November 13, 2023
"Kept Awake By Hope" a sermon on Matthew 25:1-13 & 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
“Kept Awake By Hope”
Preached Sunday, November 12, 2023
Lately there has been a lot of talk about The End. Capital T, Capital E. And recent events are troubling - we should be troubled in the face of violence and war in all areas of our world. We should be troubled for those who face a mini-apocalypse every day. Every day, someone’s world ends. Through death or through the world as they knew it ending. Apocalypses happen, on scales large and small, every day in our world. And throughout all of time, as long as there have been times, people who are facing mini-Apocalypses have interpreted their end as The End, their times as The End Times.
And with pastoral compassion today I want to say to you: What if we stopped trying to layer the Book of Revelation (and other Apocalyptic and Prophetic literature in the Bible) on top of our world like it was some sort of road map of what is happening right now. What if we saw it not just as a book of prophecy - which might unfold in the way we expect it to - or not! - Remember how often we talk about prophecies in Isaiah and how Jesus fulfilled them in a way the people were not expecting - ways that were more peaceable, inclusive, and all-encompassing… And so, to view Revelation and other Apocalyptic and prophetic literature in the Bible as not something that needs to be played out in our times or in the future - and it still may be that - but view them also as writings that depict a mini-apocalypse that already happened for a group of people living under an oppressive rule, where they were being martyred, persecuted, and their world was ending.
Or take today’s text from 1 Thessalonians which people have taken to be a basis for the rapture. The rapture was an idea that was invented in the nineteenth-century - recently, and is not part of our United Methodist doctrine. What if instead of reading the end times into it, what if we focused instead on the hope of this passage? What if we stopped looking at these texts as a scare-tactic for conversion and instead started asking: where is the hope?
Popular Christianity has spent too much time focusing on the apocalypse - upon an end without hope - upon God’s judgment and wrath, upon rewards in Heaven or eternal punishment in Hell. And this is often at the neglect of the needs of the least of these, the outcasts and marginalized, those whose worlds are ending in the here and now. And for many Christians who take seriously God’s commands to love our neighbor as ourselves and who are honestly offended at the hateful rhetoric and fear of death and judgment that often accompanies so-called Christian teachings, well, some have chosen to abandon beliefs about the afterlife and about the end all together - saying, “you know - it’s nice if there’s a heaven and all that. But that’s not why I do what I do. It’s not why I love God or love my neighbors. So they put those beliefs about the end to the side -- and get on fine for a bit. I was once at a point where I myself put these beliefs to the side, decided whatever the afterlife or the end held, it didn’t matter - I did this for a couple of years. The problem is, what happens when we don’t believe anything about the end is that we begin to lose hope. We can begin to believe that there is nothing worth continuing for. We can begin to believe that there is no point to any of this and that the world, each other, humanity, all our brokenness - is beyond redemption. We begin to mourn, as Paul says, like those without hope.
Now, something you may not know about me, I am a big fan of superhero movies and especially Marvel movies. So has anyone here seen Endgame? It was the big finale to a phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - it came out in 2019. …
At the end of Infinity War, the movie before Endgame, Thanos (That’s the Big Bad Guy) snapped his fingers and erased half of humanity -- and not just humans on earth, but half of creation throughout the universe. An apocalypse, world ending. 23 days after Thanos snaps his fingers, the Avengers (that’s the team of superheroes) finds Thanos and realizes they can’t undo what he’s done. They can’t just fix it. The world as they knew has ended - they can’t save it.
The movie then skips forward 5 years. 5 years of loss. 5 years of pain and grief. 5 years of helplessness and having no hope of those lost ever being restored. The world that Endgame takes place in is a world that is broken. In a world that is overwhelmed with grief and pain. In a world that the Avengers and all humanity have accepted that they just can’t fix - the problems are bigger than them and there’s not much they can do. And they begin living without hope. They let themselves go, isolate themselves, become depressed, go down dark paths, become people they don’t want to be - all because they are living without hope.
Sound familiar? Our world is kind of like this. We have disease and pain. Climate change and tyranny. Hate and violence. War in Gaza, in Ukraine, all over the world. We have violence in our own streets. And the problems are just...so big. And often, it feels like there’s not much we can do to change it or to fix anything.
We can begin living like we have no hope.
And when we live without hope, we too can become people we don’t want to be: people who have lessened themselves as anything besides the beloved children of God we are called to be. And yet - It’s hard to have hope in our world - it is. I’ve heard and even preached many things about the cynicalness or pragmatic-ness of Gen Z and Millennials. We know the earth is dying. We know our job prospects are somewhere between bad and worse. We’re worried about World War 3 and ever having a mortgage is almost laughable. Mini-apocalypses are faced every day. But what does this do to us? What does this do to our souls, our relationships, our outlook and actions? We need hope.
Hope changes everything.
So let’s talk a minute about hope.
Our hope comes from Christ and from the promise of the resurrection and the restoration of all creation. We do not mourn and we do not live as those without hope when we hold fast to a sound eschatology, to a vision of the end that includes the creation of a New Heaven and a New Earth. When we talk about Armageddon and the Apocalypse - these tend to be visions or ideas of The End without hope. With fire, brimstone, judgment, pain. When I talk about The End in terms of Christian belief, I prefer to use the term Eschatology because it has way less baggage from Hollywood and literal interpretations of the Book of Revelation. Eschatology does literally mean our theology about the last things, the end times, but I found a really good and solid eschatology doesn’t focus as much on The End but on the New Beginning.
That is: when Christ comes again in final victory. Christ will do for all of creation what he did as a first fruit when he was resurrected from the dead. He will defeat all death. All powers of evil. All forces of violence. He will also restore all that God has created. From the planet, to the birds of the air and the animals of the ground, all humanity, the heavens -- all will be redeemed, recreated: restored to that before sin and evil entered this world. Including relationships that have been broken by misunderstanding, by pain, by violence, by death - ALL will be restored.
Sometimes I wonder what our world would look like if Christians talked a lot more about this rather than the violence of apocalypses. If we focused on the Hope, on the New Beginning, the New Creation,
We hear about the New Creation many times in Scripture. One of the most famous passages comes from the 21st Chapter of Revelation, offered as a hope to those that John wrote to who were facing their own apocalypse:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.’”
We also hear of the new creation in the Book of Isaiah, a vision of the wolf and the lamb feeding together, the lion eating straw, swords being beaten into plowshares, all nations being gathered together on one mountain, and there being no violence or destruction.
Our hope is found in the promise of the End, the promise of resurrection, and the promise of a New Creation.
This hope is how we stay awake. We have focused on Paul’s encouragement to us to not live as those who mourn without hope. I’d now like to turn our attention to the parable of the bridegrooms and especially on Jesus’s explanation of the parable and his admonition at the end to “keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
We do not know the day or hour our world will end. It could be the Big End. Nuclear War, the sun going out, a meteor - or any of our worlds could end at any time - a loved one dying, a diagnosis, a car crash - there are apocalypses, big and small, that happen every day. Every day someone’s world ends - either through death or the world as they knew it ending. And we are not called to try and figure out the day or hour, we are not called to interpret prophetic Scriptures like a road map. We ARE called to care for the last, the lost, and the least - to be there when worlds end, offering the survivors hope, showing them love. We are called to keep awake! To be ready for The End, big or small, and we keep awake by having hope that even at The End, Christ has a New Beginning for us.
Living with hope is a million times better than the alternative. Living with hope for the future gives us strength and courage now.
Living with hope now is like having enough oil in our lamps to carry us through this life and these days where people are so desperate for hope.
Living with hope is that we are prepared to move through our days with hope and anticipation for the eventual New Beginning.
Hope helps us carry on.
Hope helps us to live into the vision of the future - of restored creation. Restored relationships. Wholeness. Hope helps us to live into this vision in the here and now.
In the wise words of Tony Stark, Iron Man:
"Part of the journey is the end...everything's going to work out exactly the way it's supposed to."
Or, more conventionally for Christian circles, in the words of Julian of Norwich, when we believe in The New Creation, when we hold on to hope for the redemption of all things, when that hope keeps us awake and that hope helps us live in the here and now…She says,
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
“Kept Awake By Hope”
Preached Sunday, November 12, 2023
Lately there has been a lot of talk about The End. Capital T, Capital E. And recent events are troubling - we should be troubled in the face of violence and war in all areas of our world. We should be troubled for those who face a mini-apocalypse every day. Every day, someone’s world ends. Through death or through the world as they knew it ending. Apocalypses happen, on scales large and small, every day in our world. And throughout all of time, as long as there have been times, people who are facing mini-Apocalypses have interpreted their end as The End, their times as The End Times.
And with pastoral compassion today I want to say to you: What if we stopped trying to layer the Book of Revelation (and other Apocalyptic and Prophetic literature in the Bible) on top of our world like it was some sort of road map of what is happening right now. What if we saw it not just as a book of prophecy - which might unfold in the way we expect it to - or not! - Remember how often we talk about prophecies in Isaiah and how Jesus fulfilled them in a way the people were not expecting - ways that were more peaceable, inclusive, and all-encompassing… And so, to view Revelation and other Apocalyptic and prophetic literature in the Bible as not something that needs to be played out in our times or in the future - and it still may be that - but view them also as writings that depict a mini-apocalypse that already happened for a group of people living under an oppressive rule, where they were being martyred, persecuted, and their world was ending.
Or take today’s text from 1 Thessalonians which people have taken to be a basis for the rapture. The rapture was an idea that was invented in the nineteenth-century - recently, and is not part of our United Methodist doctrine. What if instead of reading the end times into it, what if we focused instead on the hope of this passage? What if we stopped looking at these texts as a scare-tactic for conversion and instead started asking: where is the hope?
Popular Christianity has spent too much time focusing on the apocalypse - upon an end without hope - upon God’s judgment and wrath, upon rewards in Heaven or eternal punishment in Hell. And this is often at the neglect of the needs of the least of these, the outcasts and marginalized, those whose worlds are ending in the here and now. And for many Christians who take seriously God’s commands to love our neighbor as ourselves and who are honestly offended at the hateful rhetoric and fear of death and judgment that often accompanies so-called Christian teachings, well, some have chosen to abandon beliefs about the afterlife and about the end all together - saying, “you know - it’s nice if there’s a heaven and all that. But that’s not why I do what I do. It’s not why I love God or love my neighbors. So they put those beliefs about the end to the side -- and get on fine for a bit. I was once at a point where I myself put these beliefs to the side, decided whatever the afterlife or the end held, it didn’t matter - I did this for a couple of years. The problem is, what happens when we don’t believe anything about the end is that we begin to lose hope. We can begin to believe that there is nothing worth continuing for. We can begin to believe that there is no point to any of this and that the world, each other, humanity, all our brokenness - is beyond redemption. We begin to mourn, as Paul says, like those without hope.
Now, something you may not know about me, I am a big fan of superhero movies and especially Marvel movies. So has anyone here seen Endgame? It was the big finale to a phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - it came out in 2019. …
At the end of Infinity War, the movie before Endgame, Thanos (That’s the Big Bad Guy) snapped his fingers and erased half of humanity -- and not just humans on earth, but half of creation throughout the universe. An apocalypse, world ending. 23 days after Thanos snaps his fingers, the Avengers (that’s the team of superheroes) finds Thanos and realizes they can’t undo what he’s done. They can’t just fix it. The world as they knew has ended - they can’t save it.
The movie then skips forward 5 years. 5 years of loss. 5 years of pain and grief. 5 years of helplessness and having no hope of those lost ever being restored. The world that Endgame takes place in is a world that is broken. In a world that is overwhelmed with grief and pain. In a world that the Avengers and all humanity have accepted that they just can’t fix - the problems are bigger than them and there’s not much they can do. And they begin living without hope. They let themselves go, isolate themselves, become depressed, go down dark paths, become people they don’t want to be - all because they are living without hope.
Sound familiar? Our world is kind of like this. We have disease and pain. Climate change and tyranny. Hate and violence. War in Gaza, in Ukraine, all over the world. We have violence in our own streets. And the problems are just...so big. And often, it feels like there’s not much we can do to change it or to fix anything.
We can begin living like we have no hope.
And when we live without hope, we too can become people we don’t want to be: people who have lessened themselves as anything besides the beloved children of God we are called to be. And yet - It’s hard to have hope in our world - it is. I’ve heard and even preached many things about the cynicalness or pragmatic-ness of Gen Z and Millennials. We know the earth is dying. We know our job prospects are somewhere between bad and worse. We’re worried about World War 3 and ever having a mortgage is almost laughable. Mini-apocalypses are faced every day. But what does this do to us? What does this do to our souls, our relationships, our outlook and actions? We need hope.
Hope changes everything.
So let’s talk a minute about hope.
Our hope comes from Christ and from the promise of the resurrection and the restoration of all creation. We do not mourn and we do not live as those without hope when we hold fast to a sound eschatology, to a vision of the end that includes the creation of a New Heaven and a New Earth. When we talk about Armageddon and the Apocalypse - these tend to be visions or ideas of The End without hope. With fire, brimstone, judgment, pain. When I talk about The End in terms of Christian belief, I prefer to use the term Eschatology because it has way less baggage from Hollywood and literal interpretations of the Book of Revelation. Eschatology does literally mean our theology about the last things, the end times, but I found a really good and solid eschatology doesn’t focus as much on The End but on the New Beginning.
That is: when Christ comes again in final victory. Christ will do for all of creation what he did as a first fruit when he was resurrected from the dead. He will defeat all death. All powers of evil. All forces of violence. He will also restore all that God has created. From the planet, to the birds of the air and the animals of the ground, all humanity, the heavens -- all will be redeemed, recreated: restored to that before sin and evil entered this world. Including relationships that have been broken by misunderstanding, by pain, by violence, by death - ALL will be restored.
Sometimes I wonder what our world would look like if Christians talked a lot more about this rather than the violence of apocalypses. If we focused on the Hope, on the New Beginning, the New Creation,
We hear about the New Creation many times in Scripture. One of the most famous passages comes from the 21st Chapter of Revelation, offered as a hope to those that John wrote to who were facing their own apocalypse:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.’”
We also hear of the new creation in the Book of Isaiah, a vision of the wolf and the lamb feeding together, the lion eating straw, swords being beaten into plowshares, all nations being gathered together on one mountain, and there being no violence or destruction.
Our hope is found in the promise of the End, the promise of resurrection, and the promise of a New Creation.
This hope is how we stay awake. We have focused on Paul’s encouragement to us to not live as those who mourn without hope. I’d now like to turn our attention to the parable of the bridegrooms and especially on Jesus’s explanation of the parable and his admonition at the end to “keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
We do not know the day or hour our world will end. It could be the Big End. Nuclear War, the sun going out, a meteor - or any of our worlds could end at any time - a loved one dying, a diagnosis, a car crash - there are apocalypses, big and small, that happen every day. Every day someone’s world ends - either through death or the world as they knew it ending. And we are not called to try and figure out the day or hour, we are not called to interpret prophetic Scriptures like a road map. We ARE called to care for the last, the lost, and the least - to be there when worlds end, offering the survivors hope, showing them love. We are called to keep awake! To be ready for The End, big or small, and we keep awake by having hope that even at The End, Christ has a New Beginning for us.
Living with hope is a million times better than the alternative. Living with hope for the future gives us strength and courage now.
Living with hope now is like having enough oil in our lamps to carry us through this life and these days where people are so desperate for hope.
Living with hope is that we are prepared to move through our days with hope and anticipation for the eventual New Beginning.
Hope helps us carry on.
Hope helps us to live into the vision of the future - of restored creation. Restored relationships. Wholeness. Hope helps us to live into this vision in the here and now.
In the wise words of Tony Stark, Iron Man:
"Part of the journey is the end...everything's going to work out exactly the way it's supposed to."
Or, more conventionally for Christian circles, in the words of Julian of Norwich, when we believe in The New Creation, when we hold on to hope for the redemption of all things, when that hope keeps us awake and that hope helps us live in the here and now…She says,
“All shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”
Have hope.
Amen.
Have hope.
Amen.
Monday, November 6, 2023
"Beloved Children" an All Saints sermon on 1 John 3:1-3
1 John 3:1-3
“Beloved Children”
Preached Sunday, November 5, 2023 (All Saints)
Today is All Saints Sunday. A day in the Christian year where we recognize, remember, give thanks to God for those faithful persons who have died and gone on to be with God. We read the names, call to mind, honor those who are no longer with us, who, in their lives, showed us what it means to follow God, to know God, to love God.
These can be saints in the canonical sense as certain Christian sects are used to thinking of them. St. Peter, St. John, St. Augustine, St. Julian, St. Teresa, and so on and so forth. Honoring and remembering these saints as examples of what it looks like to whole- and full-heartedly love and follow God can be a worthwhile and beneficial part of our faith.
And, especially today, we are focusing more on the everyday people, those our paths have crossed with, those who were in our lives who shaped us, who loved God, loved us, and shared that love of God with us. I think of my grandmother and great-grandmother. Those who sat me on their knees and first shared the faith with me. Who sang hymns next to me in church. Who showed me what it looks like to love all your neighbors. I think of church members who showed me what it looked like to be faithful until the end, of having a faith big and brave enough to face hardship with hope, of having a faith generous and inclusive enough that all were welcomed in.
All of you have people, who through the way they lived, through the way they loved you, shared with you the love of God. Today, these are who we are referring to as the saints.
Through honoring and remembering these saints, we recognize that God’s love for these saints, and for us, extends beyond this life, beyond the grave. God’s love extends to these saints, and to us, to a place where there is no hunger, no thirst, no hardship, no tears, and no more death. A place where those saints are gathered now, in the presence of God, and someday, we too will be gathered there. We recognize that the saints, and us, in this life, and the life beyond, we are all beloved children of God.
“Beloved Children”
Preached Sunday, November 5, 2023 (All Saints)
Today is All Saints Sunday. A day in the Christian year where we recognize, remember, give thanks to God for those faithful persons who have died and gone on to be with God. We read the names, call to mind, honor those who are no longer with us, who, in their lives, showed us what it means to follow God, to know God, to love God.
These can be saints in the canonical sense as certain Christian sects are used to thinking of them. St. Peter, St. John, St. Augustine, St. Julian, St. Teresa, and so on and so forth. Honoring and remembering these saints as examples of what it looks like to whole- and full-heartedly love and follow God can be a worthwhile and beneficial part of our faith.
And, especially today, we are focusing more on the everyday people, those our paths have crossed with, those who were in our lives who shaped us, who loved God, loved us, and shared that love of God with us. I think of my grandmother and great-grandmother. Those who sat me on their knees and first shared the faith with me. Who sang hymns next to me in church. Who showed me what it looks like to love all your neighbors. I think of church members who showed me what it looked like to be faithful until the end, of having a faith big and brave enough to face hardship with hope, of having a faith generous and inclusive enough that all were welcomed in.
All of you have people, who through the way they lived, through the way they loved you, shared with you the love of God. Today, these are who we are referring to as the saints.
Through honoring and remembering these saints, we recognize that God’s love for these saints, and for us, extends beyond this life, beyond the grave. God’s love extends to these saints, and to us, to a place where there is no hunger, no thirst, no hardship, no tears, and no more death. A place where those saints are gathered now, in the presence of God, and someday, we too will be gathered there. We recognize that the saints, and us, in this life, and the life beyond, we are all beloved children of God.
Today we also did a baptism of a beloved child of God.
In certain Christian traditions, there are certain days that are set aside as preferred days for baptisms. These days are Easter, Pentecost, Baptism of the Lord, and…All Saints Day. Perhaps the first three days are obvious to us why they would be preferred days for baptisms. The Feast of Christ’s resurrection that we share in our baptism, the birth of the church which we are joining when baptized, the remembrance of Christ’s baptism as we too are baptized - these make obvious sense…but for many of us, All Saints Day may, at first, seem like an odd choice.
We are used to thinking about baptisms, and especially infant baptisms which we commonly do in The United Methodist Church, we are used to thinking of them as joyous and life-filled celebrations - which they are. And then we are used to thinking about All Saints as this somber, kind of morose day. They don’t mesh. And while there is a certain sadness to All Saints, there is also an immense sense of comfort, of hope, of assurance of love beyond the grave. As well as thanksgiving for all who have gone before. And in baptism, we claim the title of child of God. And in claiming that title, in claiming the identity of children of God, through baptism, we then die to all other identities - identities of sin, or evil, or any identity that would lessen as, that would attempt to claim us as anything less than the beloved children of God we are.
One of the ways I like to talk to parents about baptism is like signing the adoption papers. We know that all children are inherently, beloved children of God. In the sacrament of baptism we formalize that with a ritual, with the signing of the adoption papers. The person baptized or their parents sign the papers - that they will do their best to live as a child of God, that they would do their best to raise their child as a child of God, to teach them about God’s love that they would one day fully accept that identity for themselves. God signs the papers. And there is no trying with God - God always fully keeps God’s promises that this child is a beloved child of God. And then, the congregation signs the papers. That is, we make promises to surround the baptized with love, to share God’s love with them, to show them what it means and what it looks like to follow and love God. And when a specific congregation makes those promises, it’s specific for that child and that congregation but it’s also universal. We who are present for the baptism, sign those papers, make those promises, on behalf of Christians everywhere. That no matter where that child ends up, and no matter what children (young or old) come and go from our community, we - and all Christians everywhere - would share God’s love with all of them and be constant examples for them of love of God and love of neighbor.
We make those promises on behalf of all Christians. We welcome the baptized into the community of faith - not just Boardman UMC community of faith but the universal body of Christ - AND, that universal body of Christ doesn’t just include those who are living. It includes that great cloud of witnesses, the saints. The baptized is welcomed into Christian community - the community of the children of God, of the living saints *and* those who have died - who have passed on - saints in the presence of God, yes, *and* still children of God in God’s everlasting care. We, together, living and dead, are all children of God, all part of the same community to which the newly baptized is welcomed in.
And for those of us who are alive, we are called to be living saints - to claim the identity of children of God and the identity of saints together for ourselves...and then help others claim those identities. We are called to live life in such a way that, like those who we remember today who have gone before us, we will then show others the way to God with our lives. That we would be saints to the child we baptized today, all the children we have and ever will baptize, and really, to all people. That we would be saints. That we are the ones who - show, tell, share - that they, that all people, are also beloved children of God, loved so deeply by God that that holy, eternal love even extends beyond the grave.
Today, as we remember the saints, may their memories spur us on to live as living saints, to fulfill our baptismal promises, to fully live into our identities as beloved children of God, and through our lives, share that eternal, everlasting love, with every child of God.
May it be so. Amen.
In certain Christian traditions, there are certain days that are set aside as preferred days for baptisms. These days are Easter, Pentecost, Baptism of the Lord, and…All Saints Day. Perhaps the first three days are obvious to us why they would be preferred days for baptisms. The Feast of Christ’s resurrection that we share in our baptism, the birth of the church which we are joining when baptized, the remembrance of Christ’s baptism as we too are baptized - these make obvious sense…but for many of us, All Saints Day may, at first, seem like an odd choice.
We are used to thinking about baptisms, and especially infant baptisms which we commonly do in The United Methodist Church, we are used to thinking of them as joyous and life-filled celebrations - which they are. And then we are used to thinking about All Saints as this somber, kind of morose day. They don’t mesh. And while there is a certain sadness to All Saints, there is also an immense sense of comfort, of hope, of assurance of love beyond the grave. As well as thanksgiving for all who have gone before. And in baptism, we claim the title of child of God. And in claiming that title, in claiming the identity of children of God, through baptism, we then die to all other identities - identities of sin, or evil, or any identity that would lessen as, that would attempt to claim us as anything less than the beloved children of God we are.
One of the ways I like to talk to parents about baptism is like signing the adoption papers. We know that all children are inherently, beloved children of God. In the sacrament of baptism we formalize that with a ritual, with the signing of the adoption papers. The person baptized or their parents sign the papers - that they will do their best to live as a child of God, that they would do their best to raise their child as a child of God, to teach them about God’s love that they would one day fully accept that identity for themselves. God signs the papers. And there is no trying with God - God always fully keeps God’s promises that this child is a beloved child of God. And then, the congregation signs the papers. That is, we make promises to surround the baptized with love, to share God’s love with them, to show them what it means and what it looks like to follow and love God. And when a specific congregation makes those promises, it’s specific for that child and that congregation but it’s also universal. We who are present for the baptism, sign those papers, make those promises, on behalf of Christians everywhere. That no matter where that child ends up, and no matter what children (young or old) come and go from our community, we - and all Christians everywhere - would share God’s love with all of them and be constant examples for them of love of God and love of neighbor.
We make those promises on behalf of all Christians. We welcome the baptized into the community of faith - not just Boardman UMC community of faith but the universal body of Christ - AND, that universal body of Christ doesn’t just include those who are living. It includes that great cloud of witnesses, the saints. The baptized is welcomed into Christian community - the community of the children of God, of the living saints *and* those who have died - who have passed on - saints in the presence of God, yes, *and* still children of God in God’s everlasting care. We, together, living and dead, are all children of God, all part of the same community to which the newly baptized is welcomed in.
And for those of us who are alive, we are called to be living saints - to claim the identity of children of God and the identity of saints together for ourselves...and then help others claim those identities. We are called to live life in such a way that, like those who we remember today who have gone before us, we will then show others the way to God with our lives. That we would be saints to the child we baptized today, all the children we have and ever will baptize, and really, to all people. That we would be saints. That we are the ones who - show, tell, share - that they, that all people, are also beloved children of God, loved so deeply by God that that holy, eternal love even extends beyond the grave.
Today, as we remember the saints, may their memories spur us on to live as living saints, to fulfill our baptismal promises, to fully live into our identities as beloved children of God, and through our lives, share that eternal, everlasting love, with every child of God.
May it be so. Amen.
Monday, October 30, 2023
"Vertical & Horizontal Discipleship" a sermon on Matthew 22:34-40
Matthew 22:34-40
“Vertical & Horizontal Discipleship”
Preached Sunday, October 29, 2023
Today’s Gospel lesson is one of the most foundational passages of Scripture for my Christian faith. As I seek to live out what it means to be a follower of Christ, it always comes back to this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Everything else, every other point of theology I hold, every other tenet of my faith, starts here. So today we are going to spend time here. At this basic, foundational ground of our shared Christian faith. Strengthening our foundation, so that everything that comes from it, would be stronger.
“Vertical & Horizontal Discipleship”
Preached Sunday, October 29, 2023
Today’s Gospel lesson is one of the most foundational passages of Scripture for my Christian faith. As I seek to live out what it means to be a follower of Christ, it always comes back to this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Everything else, every other point of theology I hold, every other tenet of my faith, starts here. So today we are going to spend time here. At this basic, foundational ground of our shared Christian faith. Strengthening our foundation, so that everything that comes from it, would be stronger.
Now, “love God and love neighbor as self” is an extremely well known part of Christian theology - the two greatest commandments. And in order to talk about that - I am going to start by talking about a pretty obscure and what may seem way out there (but it’s really not and we’ll get to that) concept of United Methodist and Christian theology: Christian Perfection.
One of John Wesley’s most controversial teachings was about perfection, Christian Perfection. But it wasn’t the same as we think of perfection. Wesley believed that perfection, Christian perfection, could be achieved in this life - although he never claimed it for himself and said he maybe only met one or two people who had achieved it. But Wesley brings this back to Matthew 5:48 when Jesus says, “Be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” And Wesley figured, well, Jesus wouldn’t command us to do the impossible! So we must be able to achieve this.
Now, before defining Christian Perfection, I am going to take a step back and just talk for a minute about Wesleyan theology - that is, Methodist theology. It never hurts to be reminded.
Methodists believe that humans have free will. We have the ability to reject God. But God is always reaching out to us, before we even know it or are aware of it, God is trying to get our attention. God is always showering us with love and ready to forgive and welcome us. Methodists call this prevenient grace - the grace that comes before we even know there is grace to be had.
Once we accept this grace, we make the choice to live our lives in God, we experience justifying grace. We are forgiven, justified before God.
And for many Christian theologies, it ends there. We’re justified, we’re saved. Alright, time to party!
But Methodists are one of the ones who take it another step. After we have been justified, we can experience sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is the grace that the Holy Spirit extends to us to grow in our faith, grow in discipleship, and become more holy. When we have been justified, the work has only just begun.
Now, also, I am describing this all very linear but it’s not. Just because we have been justified, does not mean that we still don’t experience God’s prevenient grace. We experience all these graces throughout our lives, at the same time, at different times, and we can move back and forth between them - forward and backward movement, if you will.
But let’s go back to sanctification. Now sanctification is the process of becoming more holy. Or, phrased another way, the journey toward perfection. Now perfection here is not that worldly perfection: no zits, no mistakes, always smiling perfection. Christian perfection, defined by Methodist theologian Dr. Douglas Meeks, is a “way of being in the world that is completely shaped by love of God and love of neighbor.” Wesley himself says that the end goal of sanctification is that of letting love be “the constant temper of your soul.”
In other words, Christian perfection is:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
And
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The two greatest commandments upon which the whole rest of the law and prophets hang. When you live your life in such a way that love for all souls is the constant temper of your soul, such a way that you love God with all of your being, and that you love your neighbor as yourself - that is Christian perfection.
The two commandments are actually interconnected, inseparable, dependent upon each other. When we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, that love of God manifests itself in, pushes us toward, love of neighbor. And love of neighbor pushes us back to know more about God. Let’s now take a closer look at both of these commandments.
The commandment to love the Lord your God closely reflects the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This command to love the Lord your God would have been very familiar to Jesus’s initial audience.
In Judaism, the Shema is recited twice daily. It is often hung outside observant Jews homes. Orthodox Jews bind Tefillin, black boxes with the Shema inside them, onto their foreheads and arms when they pray.
Jesus was not rewriting the Law. He was drawing upon it, taking something that was familiar and important and reminding his audience of how important it was, how foundational it was. Like we are doing today. And, as anyone who has been in a committed love-filled relationship knows: Love takes work. There are things we can do, attitudes we can have, words we can say, that can help love grow, that can build love up, that can reach toward better love of God, reach toward perfection.
This is what we are calling vertical discipleship. Just like we did during the children’s moment today, I want you all to reach up, to draw a vertical line. Of course God is all around us, but we often think of God as “up.” So, if we could create a graph or image of what Christian discipleship looks like, of what it looks like to love God, a vertical axis or line could capture that. And what we call those actions, attitudes, and words that help love of God grow - we call those works of piety. And within works of piety there are two categories. First, individual acts of devotion - things we can do as individuals that help us reach out toward God, that help us reach toward perfect love of God: reading, meditating and studying the scriptures and prayer, in all of its forms. And then there are also communal acts of worship - that which we do together as a church body that help us all reach for perfect love of God together: regularly sharing in the sacraments, worship, Christian conferencing, and group Bible study. These works of piety, and they are work - we gotta do them, put in the effort, so these works of piety are individual and communal things we do to help us reach toward that perfect love of God.
So what about the other part of our foundation of faith, the second commandment, to love your neighbor as self? This was also a well-known command to Jesus’s Jewish audience. Loving neighbor is a recurring theme throughout the Hebrew scripture. We heard it in today’s reading from Leviticus: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
This is what we call horizontal discipleship. So again, just like we did during the children’s moment, reach out with your arms, draw a horizontal line through the air. And as you do, be careful of your neighbor in the pew! Just like our arms in the pews may bump our neighbors, horizontal discipleship is that act of reaching out to each other, to our neighbors. These we call works of mercy. Because again, loving our neighbor takes work. To reach that Christian perfection, to work toward perfect love of neighbor, we need to put in the work to reach out toward one another. And just as works of piety could be broken down into individual and communal acts, so can works of mercy. There are individual works of charity that we can do as individuals to reach out toward our neighbors in love: doing good works, visiting the sick and imprisoned, feeding the hungry, giving something to drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger and all around giving generously to the needs of others. And then, there are communal acts of justice. These are things we can do collectively for the good of all our neighbors: seeking to end injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves, working to end discrimination, addressing root causes of poverty, and other such works of justice. These works of mercy and they are work - we gotta do them, put in the effort, so these works of mercy are individual and communal things we do to help us reach toward that perfect love of neighbor.
So, again, I spoiled this in the children’s moment but it’s worth doing it again - we are called to love God and work toward perfect love of God - that’s the vertical discipleship - draw that line with me. And then we are called to love neighbor and work toward perfect love of neighbor - that’s the horizontal discipleship - draw that line with me. And now put them together, the vertical and horizontal lines…make up the cross.
The cross, that symbol of death and resurrection, that symbol of ultimate love. That symbol of all that we are called toward - the foundation of faith. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as self.
Friends, I pray and hope that by re-visiting the foundational aspects of our faith today, that we have been convicted and strengthened for the work ahead. We have work to do. The work of vertical and horizontal discipleship, that we would ever work to strive toward a more perfect love of God and a more perfect love of neighbor, so that we would, building off that foundation, be transformed by Love, share the God of Love, shape the world for Love, and let love be the constant temper of our souls.
May it be so. Amen.
One of John Wesley’s most controversial teachings was about perfection, Christian Perfection. But it wasn’t the same as we think of perfection. Wesley believed that perfection, Christian perfection, could be achieved in this life - although he never claimed it for himself and said he maybe only met one or two people who had achieved it. But Wesley brings this back to Matthew 5:48 when Jesus says, “Be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” And Wesley figured, well, Jesus wouldn’t command us to do the impossible! So we must be able to achieve this.
Now, before defining Christian Perfection, I am going to take a step back and just talk for a minute about Wesleyan theology - that is, Methodist theology. It never hurts to be reminded.
Methodists believe that humans have free will. We have the ability to reject God. But God is always reaching out to us, before we even know it or are aware of it, God is trying to get our attention. God is always showering us with love and ready to forgive and welcome us. Methodists call this prevenient grace - the grace that comes before we even know there is grace to be had.
Once we accept this grace, we make the choice to live our lives in God, we experience justifying grace. We are forgiven, justified before God.
And for many Christian theologies, it ends there. We’re justified, we’re saved. Alright, time to party!
But Methodists are one of the ones who take it another step. After we have been justified, we can experience sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is the grace that the Holy Spirit extends to us to grow in our faith, grow in discipleship, and become more holy. When we have been justified, the work has only just begun.
Now, also, I am describing this all very linear but it’s not. Just because we have been justified, does not mean that we still don’t experience God’s prevenient grace. We experience all these graces throughout our lives, at the same time, at different times, and we can move back and forth between them - forward and backward movement, if you will.
But let’s go back to sanctification. Now sanctification is the process of becoming more holy. Or, phrased another way, the journey toward perfection. Now perfection here is not that worldly perfection: no zits, no mistakes, always smiling perfection. Christian perfection, defined by Methodist theologian Dr. Douglas Meeks, is a “way of being in the world that is completely shaped by love of God and love of neighbor.” Wesley himself says that the end goal of sanctification is that of letting love be “the constant temper of your soul.”
In other words, Christian perfection is:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
And
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The two greatest commandments upon which the whole rest of the law and prophets hang. When you live your life in such a way that love for all souls is the constant temper of your soul, such a way that you love God with all of your being, and that you love your neighbor as yourself - that is Christian perfection.
The two commandments are actually interconnected, inseparable, dependent upon each other. When we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, that love of God manifests itself in, pushes us toward, love of neighbor. And love of neighbor pushes us back to know more about God. Let’s now take a closer look at both of these commandments.
The commandment to love the Lord your God closely reflects the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This command to love the Lord your God would have been very familiar to Jesus’s initial audience.
In Judaism, the Shema is recited twice daily. It is often hung outside observant Jews homes. Orthodox Jews bind Tefillin, black boxes with the Shema inside them, onto their foreheads and arms when they pray.
Jesus was not rewriting the Law. He was drawing upon it, taking something that was familiar and important and reminding his audience of how important it was, how foundational it was. Like we are doing today. And, as anyone who has been in a committed love-filled relationship knows: Love takes work. There are things we can do, attitudes we can have, words we can say, that can help love grow, that can build love up, that can reach toward better love of God, reach toward perfection.
This is what we are calling vertical discipleship. Just like we did during the children’s moment today, I want you all to reach up, to draw a vertical line. Of course God is all around us, but we often think of God as “up.” So, if we could create a graph or image of what Christian discipleship looks like, of what it looks like to love God, a vertical axis or line could capture that. And what we call those actions, attitudes, and words that help love of God grow - we call those works of piety. And within works of piety there are two categories. First, individual acts of devotion - things we can do as individuals that help us reach out toward God, that help us reach toward perfect love of God: reading, meditating and studying the scriptures and prayer, in all of its forms. And then there are also communal acts of worship - that which we do together as a church body that help us all reach for perfect love of God together: regularly sharing in the sacraments, worship, Christian conferencing, and group Bible study. These works of piety, and they are work - we gotta do them, put in the effort, so these works of piety are individual and communal things we do to help us reach toward that perfect love of God.
So what about the other part of our foundation of faith, the second commandment, to love your neighbor as self? This was also a well-known command to Jesus’s Jewish audience. Loving neighbor is a recurring theme throughout the Hebrew scripture. We heard it in today’s reading from Leviticus: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
This is what we call horizontal discipleship. So again, just like we did during the children’s moment, reach out with your arms, draw a horizontal line through the air. And as you do, be careful of your neighbor in the pew! Just like our arms in the pews may bump our neighbors, horizontal discipleship is that act of reaching out to each other, to our neighbors. These we call works of mercy. Because again, loving our neighbor takes work. To reach that Christian perfection, to work toward perfect love of neighbor, we need to put in the work to reach out toward one another. And just as works of piety could be broken down into individual and communal acts, so can works of mercy. There are individual works of charity that we can do as individuals to reach out toward our neighbors in love: doing good works, visiting the sick and imprisoned, feeding the hungry, giving something to drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger and all around giving generously to the needs of others. And then, there are communal acts of justice. These are things we can do collectively for the good of all our neighbors: seeking to end injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves, working to end discrimination, addressing root causes of poverty, and other such works of justice. These works of mercy and they are work - we gotta do them, put in the effort, so these works of mercy are individual and communal things we do to help us reach toward that perfect love of neighbor.
So, again, I spoiled this in the children’s moment but it’s worth doing it again - we are called to love God and work toward perfect love of God - that’s the vertical discipleship - draw that line with me. And then we are called to love neighbor and work toward perfect love of neighbor - that’s the horizontal discipleship - draw that line with me. And now put them together, the vertical and horizontal lines…make up the cross.
The cross, that symbol of death and resurrection, that symbol of ultimate love. That symbol of all that we are called toward - the foundation of faith. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as self.
Friends, I pray and hope that by re-visiting the foundational aspects of our faith today, that we have been convicted and strengthened for the work ahead. We have work to do. The work of vertical and horizontal discipleship, that we would ever work to strive toward a more perfect love of God and a more perfect love of neighbor, so that we would, building off that foundation, be transformed by Love, share the God of Love, shape the world for Love, and let love be the constant temper of our souls.
May it be so. Amen.
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Call to Worship inspired by "Rejoice, the Lord is King" by Charles Wesley
L: Come! Let us adore our God and King.
P: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
L: Jesus our Savior reigns!
P: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
L: God’s Kingdom cannot fail!
P: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
L: Rejoice in God’s Glorious hope!
P: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
L: Again I say, rejoice!
All: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
P: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
L: Jesus our Savior reigns!
P: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
L: God’s Kingdom cannot fail!
P: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
L: Rejoice in God’s Glorious hope!
P: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
L: Again I say, rejoice!
All: Rejoice! The Lord is King!
Call to Worship inspired by 1 John 3:1-3, for All Saints Worship
L: Today in worship we declare:
P: that we are all God’s beloved children.
L: Today in worship we declare:
P: that we are in God’s hands.
L: Today in worship we declare:
P: that even beyond the Grave, we are God’s.
L: Today in worship, may we hear these words of assurance.
All: Glory be to God! Amen!
P: that we are all God’s beloved children.
L: Today in worship we declare:
P: that we are in God’s hands.
L: Today in worship we declare:
P: that even beyond the Grave, we are God’s.
L: Today in worship, may we hear these words of assurance.
All: Glory be to God! Amen!
Monday, October 23, 2023
"What Is God's?" a sermon on Matthew 22:15-22
Matthew 22:15-22
“What Is God’s?”
Preached Sunday, October 22, 2023
It’s a trap!!
So says General Ackbar in “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.” It’s one of the most iconic movie lines of all time. At least to a certain generation of nerds. They thought they were ambushing the Death Star but found a fleet of enemy ships waiting for them. General Ackbar, a fish-like alien, cries out “It’s a trap!” The phrase has been turned into a meme and plastered over every corner of the internet.
And it would certainly be appropriate to shout out “It’s a trap!” in response to this morning’s Gospel lesson. The Pharisees and the Herodians, sects that normally wouldn’t have collaborated - think of it as “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” - come together to set a trap for Jesus.
And it’s a pretty good trap, an ensnaring one. And before unleashing it, they come with false praise. Actually, every pastor knows to be wary of those who come on strong with over-flattering praise right away. “You’re laying it on too thick - what’s your hidden agenda?” And so after praising Jesus, they ask him, “Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"
It’s a trap!
Now, taxes weren’t 100% thought of the same way they are today. They funded the Roman government, yes. They were also a form of subjugation and oppression. Of course, some would say they are exactly like that today. But they truly were used for the emperor to keep a thumb on top of the masses. When you can barely survive, when you aren’t guaranteed your daily bread, you have little time and energy left to plan and stage an uprising. Taxes were, with Jesus’s followers, massively unpopular and fairly universally seen as a tool of oppression.
If Jesus answers “No, it is not lawful to pay taxes to the emperor,” - He is defying the Roman Emperor and putting himself and his follower’s in danger, even at risk for their lives. Remember, it was at the hand of the Roman Empire at which Jesus was killed, the claim against him that he called himself, and his followers called him, a King - a direct threat to Caesar, the only one who could hold that title.
If Jesus answers, “Yes, it is lawful,” - he will alienate so many of his followers who are being oppressed and resisting the empire. Remember, there was a reason tax collectors got such a bad rap in the Gospels. Between the tax of the empire and the skimming of the collectors, people were regularly taken advantage of and left with very little to live on.
A trap has been laid for Jesus. It is a legal question and it is a moral question and there is no answer that will keep him out of hot water - not that Jesus was afraid to get into hot water but he knew how to recognize a trap and he wasn’t about to walk straight into it. Was it legal to pay taxes to Caesar? Yes. Was it moral? Ehh.
But Jesus, in true Jesus fashion, skirts the question and avoids the trap. He asks to see a coin, a denarius, equal to about a day’s wage, and asks them, “Who’s face is on this coin?” Well, the emperor’s. So Jesus says, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."
The question is now back in the laps of those who asked this ensnaring question - and back in our laps too. And while it may not seem like such a trap to us as it was for Jesus, it can still feel like this question puts us between a rock and a hard place. For when Jesus says, “Give to the emperor what is the emperor’s and give to God what is God’s” the natural next questions are: What is the emperor’s? What is God’s? And, is there anything that isn’t God’s? It causes us to examine where our allegiances lie. With the Empire? Now, not the Roman Empire but when I say Empire here I am talking about the many powers in our world that ask for our allegiance. And there are many: political parties, governments, forces of market and economy, prestige and social status, and many more. People and groups that have power and ask for our time, energy, coin, devotion. So does our allegiance lie with the Empire, the powers that be, or does it lie with God’s Kingdom?
Which of course, we here today, us listening to this sermon, who call ourselves Christian, we want to say, it lies with God and God’s Kingdom! Of course! …But we know our lived realities are more complicated than that. We’ll return to this idea in a moment.
So Jesus takes the question he is handed, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” and with his response, he basically leaves the Pharisees and the Herodians with the questions: What is the emperor’s? What is God’s? And, is there anything that is not God’s?
Our Call to Worship this morning harkened back to the creation story - I was inspired by the first chapter of Genesis as I wrote it because the answer for me, and for much of the Biblical text is no, there is nothing that is not God’s. God who created all, all belongs to our Creator God.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it” - The 24th Psalm
“…heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it,” - Deuteronomy 14
“for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.” - Colossians 1
And many more Scripture references. And it all boils down to this: the earth and ALL that is in it, is God’s. Everything is God’s. And this is an awesome, amazing, great thing! And when taken in this light, this can be a comforting passage of Scripture. And if this were the entirety of my sermon, it would be a completely feel-good heart-warming sermon. Yes, all is God’s! The Earth and all this is in it is God’s! Let us live, giving everything we have and all there is over to God.
And…this is not a comforting passage of Scripture. It starts with a trap being laid for Jesus and ends with the ball being expertly punted back to the would-be ensnarers. And, to us, as the readers. And that challenging question Jesus was asked that was about money and taxes in a specific time period and situation, yes it was about all that, but it was also so much about allegiances and were ours lie and how we live out our allegiance to God’s Kingdom in the reality of our worldly kingdoms. It is a challenging and provoking passage much more than it is comforting. It forces us to ask: if we are to give to God what is God’s. And give to the emperor what is the emperor’s. The question this begs is, what is left to give to the emperor when everything has been given to God? Nothing. At least, ideally. It is easier said than done in our world.
When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we say “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” That is, we pray for the kingdoms of our world, the reality of our world, to look like the kingdom of God. It would be great if, when we prayed this, God would snap God’s giant divine fingers and just like that - poof - our world looked more like God intended. But that’s not how God works. When we pray “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” - we often fail to realize that the onus is on us. If we pray for our world to look like God’s intended world, we are really praying to be equipped, strengthened, and emboldened to make our world more like God’s world. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” is, in essence, a “help me” - “Help me Lord, help me to build, create, and strengthen your loving Kingdom here on Earth. That all that is done in the here and now, would, bit by bit, become pleasing to you.”
It is a challenge, it is hard. Because we look around us and our reality is so far away from God’s Kingdom, so far away from giving all that is to the God who is Love, so far away from the redemption of all things. The challenge is figuring out what it can concretely look like in each of our lives, to divest from things that are not of God, so that we can give all that we have and all that we are over to God. To rend to God what is God’s. The challenge is figuring out what it concretely looks like to love God and love neighbor as self.
And I am not going to answer that today. In part because it's complicated and individualized and it’s something we need to figure out for each of ourselves. Jesus gave the question back to us, put it back in our laps. It is ours to wrestle with, to struggle with, ours to consider. And no, it’s not a trap - it’s the challenge of being a disciple of Jesus in the midst of the realities of our world.
As we conclude today I would ask us all to wrestle with these questions:
What in my life have I rendered to someone or something that should belong to God?
How do I divest from that to allow myself to more fully give to God?
How do I give to God what is God’s?
What is within my power to do and say that would make our world more like the loving Kingdom of God?
And in considering these questions, know you are not alone. That is the joy of being the follower of Christ. At times it can be a challenge - but God is always with us AND we have each other to walk this discipleship journey with. Let us walk it together, challenging each other and ourselves, until our world truly reflects the Kingdom of God.
Amen.
“What Is God’s?”
Preached Sunday, October 22, 2023
It’s a trap!!
So says General Ackbar in “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.” It’s one of the most iconic movie lines of all time. At least to a certain generation of nerds. They thought they were ambushing the Death Star but found a fleet of enemy ships waiting for them. General Ackbar, a fish-like alien, cries out “It’s a trap!” The phrase has been turned into a meme and plastered over every corner of the internet.
And it would certainly be appropriate to shout out “It’s a trap!” in response to this morning’s Gospel lesson. The Pharisees and the Herodians, sects that normally wouldn’t have collaborated - think of it as “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” - come together to set a trap for Jesus.
And it’s a pretty good trap, an ensnaring one. And before unleashing it, they come with false praise. Actually, every pastor knows to be wary of those who come on strong with over-flattering praise right away. “You’re laying it on too thick - what’s your hidden agenda?” And so after praising Jesus, they ask him, “Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"
It’s a trap!
Now, taxes weren’t 100% thought of the same way they are today. They funded the Roman government, yes. They were also a form of subjugation and oppression. Of course, some would say they are exactly like that today. But they truly were used for the emperor to keep a thumb on top of the masses. When you can barely survive, when you aren’t guaranteed your daily bread, you have little time and energy left to plan and stage an uprising. Taxes were, with Jesus’s followers, massively unpopular and fairly universally seen as a tool of oppression.
If Jesus answers “No, it is not lawful to pay taxes to the emperor,” - He is defying the Roman Emperor and putting himself and his follower’s in danger, even at risk for their lives. Remember, it was at the hand of the Roman Empire at which Jesus was killed, the claim against him that he called himself, and his followers called him, a King - a direct threat to Caesar, the only one who could hold that title.
If Jesus answers, “Yes, it is lawful,” - he will alienate so many of his followers who are being oppressed and resisting the empire. Remember, there was a reason tax collectors got such a bad rap in the Gospels. Between the tax of the empire and the skimming of the collectors, people were regularly taken advantage of and left with very little to live on.
A trap has been laid for Jesus. It is a legal question and it is a moral question and there is no answer that will keep him out of hot water - not that Jesus was afraid to get into hot water but he knew how to recognize a trap and he wasn’t about to walk straight into it. Was it legal to pay taxes to Caesar? Yes. Was it moral? Ehh.
But Jesus, in true Jesus fashion, skirts the question and avoids the trap. He asks to see a coin, a denarius, equal to about a day’s wage, and asks them, “Who’s face is on this coin?” Well, the emperor’s. So Jesus says, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."
The question is now back in the laps of those who asked this ensnaring question - and back in our laps too. And while it may not seem like such a trap to us as it was for Jesus, it can still feel like this question puts us between a rock and a hard place. For when Jesus says, “Give to the emperor what is the emperor’s and give to God what is God’s” the natural next questions are: What is the emperor’s? What is God’s? And, is there anything that isn’t God’s? It causes us to examine where our allegiances lie. With the Empire? Now, not the Roman Empire but when I say Empire here I am talking about the many powers in our world that ask for our allegiance. And there are many: political parties, governments, forces of market and economy, prestige and social status, and many more. People and groups that have power and ask for our time, energy, coin, devotion. So does our allegiance lie with the Empire, the powers that be, or does it lie with God’s Kingdom?
Which of course, we here today, us listening to this sermon, who call ourselves Christian, we want to say, it lies with God and God’s Kingdom! Of course! …But we know our lived realities are more complicated than that. We’ll return to this idea in a moment.
So Jesus takes the question he is handed, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” and with his response, he basically leaves the Pharisees and the Herodians with the questions: What is the emperor’s? What is God’s? And, is there anything that is not God’s?
Our Call to Worship this morning harkened back to the creation story - I was inspired by the first chapter of Genesis as I wrote it because the answer for me, and for much of the Biblical text is no, there is nothing that is not God’s. God who created all, all belongs to our Creator God.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it” - The 24th Psalm
“…heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it,” - Deuteronomy 14
“for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.” - Colossians 1
And many more Scripture references. And it all boils down to this: the earth and ALL that is in it, is God’s. Everything is God’s. And this is an awesome, amazing, great thing! And when taken in this light, this can be a comforting passage of Scripture. And if this were the entirety of my sermon, it would be a completely feel-good heart-warming sermon. Yes, all is God’s! The Earth and all this is in it is God’s! Let us live, giving everything we have and all there is over to God.
And…this is not a comforting passage of Scripture. It starts with a trap being laid for Jesus and ends with the ball being expertly punted back to the would-be ensnarers. And, to us, as the readers. And that challenging question Jesus was asked that was about money and taxes in a specific time period and situation, yes it was about all that, but it was also so much about allegiances and were ours lie and how we live out our allegiance to God’s Kingdom in the reality of our worldly kingdoms. It is a challenging and provoking passage much more than it is comforting. It forces us to ask: if we are to give to God what is God’s. And give to the emperor what is the emperor’s. The question this begs is, what is left to give to the emperor when everything has been given to God? Nothing. At least, ideally. It is easier said than done in our world.
When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we say “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” That is, we pray for the kingdoms of our world, the reality of our world, to look like the kingdom of God. It would be great if, when we prayed this, God would snap God’s giant divine fingers and just like that - poof - our world looked more like God intended. But that’s not how God works. When we pray “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” - we often fail to realize that the onus is on us. If we pray for our world to look like God’s intended world, we are really praying to be equipped, strengthened, and emboldened to make our world more like God’s world. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” is, in essence, a “help me” - “Help me Lord, help me to build, create, and strengthen your loving Kingdom here on Earth. That all that is done in the here and now, would, bit by bit, become pleasing to you.”
It is a challenge, it is hard. Because we look around us and our reality is so far away from God’s Kingdom, so far away from giving all that is to the God who is Love, so far away from the redemption of all things. The challenge is figuring out what it can concretely look like in each of our lives, to divest from things that are not of God, so that we can give all that we have and all that we are over to God. To rend to God what is God’s. The challenge is figuring out what it concretely looks like to love God and love neighbor as self.
And I am not going to answer that today. In part because it's complicated and individualized and it’s something we need to figure out for each of ourselves. Jesus gave the question back to us, put it back in our laps. It is ours to wrestle with, to struggle with, ours to consider. And no, it’s not a trap - it’s the challenge of being a disciple of Jesus in the midst of the realities of our world.
As we conclude today I would ask us all to wrestle with these questions:
What in my life have I rendered to someone or something that should belong to God?
How do I divest from that to allow myself to more fully give to God?
How do I give to God what is God’s?
What is within my power to do and say that would make our world more like the loving Kingdom of God?
And in considering these questions, know you are not alone. That is the joy of being the follower of Christ. At times it can be a challenge - but God is always with us AND we have each other to walk this discipleship journey with. Let us walk it together, challenging each other and ourselves, until our world truly reflects the Kingdom of God.
Amen.
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Call to Worship/Responsive Prayer based on Matthew 22:34-40
L: How are we called to live?
P: Ever reaching toward God: centering ourselves in prayer, in worship, in devotion to our Lord.
L: How are we called to live?
P: Ever reaching toward our neighbor: offering charity and kindness, justice and compassion.
L: How are we called to live?
P: In Love.
All: May we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. And may we love our neighbor as ourselves. Amen.
P: Ever reaching toward God: centering ourselves in prayer, in worship, in devotion to our Lord.
L: How are we called to live?
P: Ever reaching toward our neighbor: offering charity and kindness, justice and compassion.
L: How are we called to live?
P: In Love.
All: May we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. And may we love our neighbor as ourselves. Amen.
Call to Worship Inspired by Genesis 1 & Matthew 22:15-22
L: As we come together in worship, may our eyes be open to the things of God:
P: The light and the dark, the day and the night, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
L: The sky, the water, and the land and everything that grows in them.
P: All the animals of every kind: fish and birds and livestock and bugs.
L: And us, you and me, and them, all of us - every human being.
P: All of creation is God’s.
L: God our creator reigns over God’s good creation.
P: There is nothing that is not God’s.
L: May we live into this truth, placing all we have and all we are into God’s hands.
P: May we see all things as Yours.
All: Amen.
P: The light and the dark, the day and the night, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
L: The sky, the water, and the land and everything that grows in them.
P: All the animals of every kind: fish and birds and livestock and bugs.
L: And us, you and me, and them, all of us - every human being.
P: All of creation is God’s.
L: God our creator reigns over God’s good creation.
P: There is nothing that is not God’s.
L: May we live into this truth, placing all we have and all we are into God’s hands.
P: May we see all things as Yours.
All: Amen.
Monday, October 2, 2023
"Make My Joy Complete" a sermon on Matthew 21:23-32 & Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32
Philippians 2:1-13
“Make My Joy Complete”
Preached Sunday, October 1, 2023
Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway?
In movies and books we call this the reluctant hero trope. Frodo Baggins who wanted a quiet life in the Shire but instead gave up everything to bring the ring to Mordor, ultimately defeating evil, and saving the world. Spiderman didn't want to be a hero but as his dying Uncle Ben told him, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Shrek, who just wanted to protect his swamp, and ended up protecting all fairy tale creatures.
But this isn’t just in movies - our world is full of people who have changed the shape of our world for the better - but it was not something they would have chosen for themselves. Malala Yousafzai (YOU-saf- za) just wanted to go to school and for other girls to be able to go to school, instead she got shot by the Taliban, thrust into the spotlight, and became an advocate for girls’ and womens’ education everywhere. Oskar Schindler of the famous movie “Schindler’s List” but also a real life person, was originally motivated by profit, hoping to make some money during WWII, and instead ended up saving thousands of lives and spending his entire fortune on bribes to be able to protect and save the lives of Jewish people. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, reluctantly went to a Bible study on Aldersgate Street - he didn’t want to be there! But while there he felt God strangely warming his heart, convicting him that God loved him - yes, even him! And the world was never the same after that - and we are here today as United Methodists because he reluctantly went to Bible study.
And of course, the Bible is full of reluctant disciples. Moses said, anyone but me! But he went and led people out of Egypt anyway. Jonah said, heck no - and ran in the opposite direction, but he brought God’s message to Nineveh anyway. Esther didn’t want to bring the case of the Hebrew people before the king, but she did anyway - saving her people. Peter denied Jesus three times - and yet he faithfully built God’s church and became a martyr anyway. Even Jesus said, “take this cup from me” but he went to the cross anyway.
I’ll ask again: Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway?
This is the theme of the parable of the two sons that Jesus tells in today’s Gospel lesson. Both sons were asked by their father to go and work. One said, “Yes, I will go!” but then didn’t make good on his word. The other said, “No, I will not go.” but then changed his mind and went. Jesus asks his listeners, “Which of the two sons did what their dad wanted them to do?” The answer, of course, was the son who said no but went anyway.
This short parable helps illustrate that, while God cares about our words and intentions - Jesus cared an awful lot about our actions, what we do. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus doesn’t tell people to “Go and be” or “Go and believe.” He tells them “Go and do.”
In the passage immediately before our reading today, Jesus curses a fig tree that has not borne fruit. One of those passages that can leave us scratching our heads. Like, were you hungry, Jesus? Is this one of those Snickers commercials? You’re not yourself when you’re hungry - eat a Snickers. No, the fig tree is acting as a metaphor for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus is frustrated with those who say they know him but they don’t act on it, they don’t bear fruit. It harkens back to an earlier conversation Jesus had in Matthew 7: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
And so, it wasn’t the son who said yes and then didn’t do his father’s will, but the son who said no and then did - he is the one who did the will of his father - even if he didn’t say what his father wanted him to say.
So now let’s bring in the Good News today, the encouragement that I want to draw from this passage and share with you: Even if you don’t want to do what God is asking you to do… Even if you don’t want to share your faith with others; even if you don’t want to step out of your comfort zone and serve the marginalized; even if you don’t want to change your routines, your opinions, your mind to make room for better love of God and neighbor; even if you don’t want your church to adapt to a changing world to reach new people with the Gospel…even if you say “no - I don’t want to” but then you do anyway - YOU are doing the will of God. Even if you say “no - I don’t want to” but then you do anyway - God will work through you, honestly, God will work DESPITE you - to make God’s self known to the world AND to you. And then, if you say “no, I don’t want to” and then do anyway - then the attitude and the joy of doing God’s will, will follow.
Here are some examples from my own life: I didn’t want to go to the weekend pop-up homeless shelter and eat dinner with our siblings experiencing homelessness - but I did. And in them, I saw Christ and was humbled. I didn’t want to sit down and have a conversation with a parishioner who disagreed with me on inclusion of lgbtq individuals in the life of the church, but I did, and we both came out of that conversation with a greater understanding of and love for each other. I didn’t want to submit to the vow of itinerancy, pack up my home, and move my family - but I did and I’m discovering how deeply God is calling me to serve the people of Boardman UMC.
There are so many more examples, I’m sure. Perhaps you are thinking of times in your own life where you didn’t want to, but did, and then got to experience the joy of seeing God at work through you and yes, even despite you.
In our reading from Philippians today, it quotes part of what we have come to call the Kenosis hymn, possibly a hymn of the early church that describes how Jesus, who was God, humbled himself, left all his privileges behind, emptied himself, and became human, became one of us. We too are called to humble ourselves and empty ourselves - empty ourselves of our reluctance, our unwillingness, our fears - whatever it is that holds us back from being doers of God’s will, whatever holds us back from bearing fruit. We are called to empty ourselves so that in emptying ourselves of that which holds us back, we would create room, opening ourselves up to God. By going, by doing - we are opening ourselves up to seeing Christ in those we serve, those who serve alongside us, in all of our neighbors. By emptying ourselves of what holds us back, we are opening ourselves up to joy. When we go and do - even if we don’t want to or are unsure - and actually especially if we go and do, go and serve, outside of our comfort zone - we open ourselves up to God and the joy that comes from experiencing Christ at work in this world. And that joy that is born out of stepping out and doing, even if we do it reluctantly, that joy is multiplied within and around us - so that, the next time we are called to go and do - we won’t have that reluctance, or we won’t have as much reluctance.
When we go and do the will of God - with reluctance or with eager joy - God will shape us in love, and use us for love, over and over, until in Christ, our joy is made wholly complete.
And so, I will ask you one more time:
Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway? And in doing so, have you experienced the joy of seeing Christ at work in our world? May we all experience that joy.
Amen.
Philippians 2:1-13
“Make My Joy Complete”
Preached Sunday, October 1, 2023
Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway?
In movies and books we call this the reluctant hero trope. Frodo Baggins who wanted a quiet life in the Shire but instead gave up everything to bring the ring to Mordor, ultimately defeating evil, and saving the world. Spiderman didn't want to be a hero but as his dying Uncle Ben told him, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Shrek, who just wanted to protect his swamp, and ended up protecting all fairy tale creatures.
But this isn’t just in movies - our world is full of people who have changed the shape of our world for the better - but it was not something they would have chosen for themselves. Malala Yousafzai (YOU-saf- za) just wanted to go to school and for other girls to be able to go to school, instead she got shot by the Taliban, thrust into the spotlight, and became an advocate for girls’ and womens’ education everywhere. Oskar Schindler of the famous movie “Schindler’s List” but also a real life person, was originally motivated by profit, hoping to make some money during WWII, and instead ended up saving thousands of lives and spending his entire fortune on bribes to be able to protect and save the lives of Jewish people. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, reluctantly went to a Bible study on Aldersgate Street - he didn’t want to be there! But while there he felt God strangely warming his heart, convicting him that God loved him - yes, even him! And the world was never the same after that - and we are here today as United Methodists because he reluctantly went to Bible study.
And of course, the Bible is full of reluctant disciples. Moses said, anyone but me! But he went and led people out of Egypt anyway. Jonah said, heck no - and ran in the opposite direction, but he brought God’s message to Nineveh anyway. Esther didn’t want to bring the case of the Hebrew people before the king, but she did anyway - saving her people. Peter denied Jesus three times - and yet he faithfully built God’s church and became a martyr anyway. Even Jesus said, “take this cup from me” but he went to the cross anyway.
I’ll ask again: Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway?
This is the theme of the parable of the two sons that Jesus tells in today’s Gospel lesson. Both sons were asked by their father to go and work. One said, “Yes, I will go!” but then didn’t make good on his word. The other said, “No, I will not go.” but then changed his mind and went. Jesus asks his listeners, “Which of the two sons did what their dad wanted them to do?” The answer, of course, was the son who said no but went anyway.
This short parable helps illustrate that, while God cares about our words and intentions - Jesus cared an awful lot about our actions, what we do. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus doesn’t tell people to “Go and be” or “Go and believe.” He tells them “Go and do.”
In the passage immediately before our reading today, Jesus curses a fig tree that has not borne fruit. One of those passages that can leave us scratching our heads. Like, were you hungry, Jesus? Is this one of those Snickers commercials? You’re not yourself when you’re hungry - eat a Snickers. No, the fig tree is acting as a metaphor for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus is frustrated with those who say they know him but they don’t act on it, they don’t bear fruit. It harkens back to an earlier conversation Jesus had in Matthew 7: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
And so, it wasn’t the son who said yes and then didn’t do his father’s will, but the son who said no and then did - he is the one who did the will of his father - even if he didn’t say what his father wanted him to say.
So now let’s bring in the Good News today, the encouragement that I want to draw from this passage and share with you: Even if you don’t want to do what God is asking you to do… Even if you don’t want to share your faith with others; even if you don’t want to step out of your comfort zone and serve the marginalized; even if you don’t want to change your routines, your opinions, your mind to make room for better love of God and neighbor; even if you don’t want your church to adapt to a changing world to reach new people with the Gospel…even if you say “no - I don’t want to” but then you do anyway - YOU are doing the will of God. Even if you say “no - I don’t want to” but then you do anyway - God will work through you, honestly, God will work DESPITE you - to make God’s self known to the world AND to you. And then, if you say “no, I don’t want to” and then do anyway - then the attitude and the joy of doing God’s will, will follow.
Here are some examples from my own life: I didn’t want to go to the weekend pop-up homeless shelter and eat dinner with our siblings experiencing homelessness - but I did. And in them, I saw Christ and was humbled. I didn’t want to sit down and have a conversation with a parishioner who disagreed with me on inclusion of lgbtq individuals in the life of the church, but I did, and we both came out of that conversation with a greater understanding of and love for each other. I didn’t want to submit to the vow of itinerancy, pack up my home, and move my family - but I did and I’m discovering how deeply God is calling me to serve the people of Boardman UMC.
There are so many more examples, I’m sure. Perhaps you are thinking of times in your own life where you didn’t want to, but did, and then got to experience the joy of seeing God at work through you and yes, even despite you.
In our reading from Philippians today, it quotes part of what we have come to call the Kenosis hymn, possibly a hymn of the early church that describes how Jesus, who was God, humbled himself, left all his privileges behind, emptied himself, and became human, became one of us. We too are called to humble ourselves and empty ourselves - empty ourselves of our reluctance, our unwillingness, our fears - whatever it is that holds us back from being doers of God’s will, whatever holds us back from bearing fruit. We are called to empty ourselves so that in emptying ourselves of that which holds us back, we would create room, opening ourselves up to God. By going, by doing - we are opening ourselves up to seeing Christ in those we serve, those who serve alongside us, in all of our neighbors. By emptying ourselves of what holds us back, we are opening ourselves up to joy. When we go and do - even if we don’t want to or are unsure - and actually especially if we go and do, go and serve, outside of our comfort zone - we open ourselves up to God and the joy that comes from experiencing Christ at work in this world. And that joy that is born out of stepping out and doing, even if we do it reluctantly, that joy is multiplied within and around us - so that, the next time we are called to go and do - we won’t have that reluctance, or we won’t have as much reluctance.
When we go and do the will of God - with reluctance or with eager joy - God will shape us in love, and use us for love, over and over, until in Christ, our joy is made wholly complete.
And so, I will ask you one more time:
Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway? And in doing so, have you experienced the joy of seeing Christ at work in our world? May we all experience that joy.
Amen.
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