Follow the Leader

Matthew 4: 12-23

            Remember playing “Follow the Leader” as a child? First a leader is chosen. Then everyone lines up behind the leader.  As the leader does different things, the children have to mimic those actions. If they don’t, they’re out of the game.  “Simon Says” is a similar game. Simon says to do something and you do it. Why? Because Simon says so. You just try to do what you’re told, go where you’re led, imitate what you see.

          An AP news release in July, 2005, tells of a herd of sheep that was allowed to wander off on the wrong trail. The Turkish shepherds had left their herds to graze while they gathered for breakfast. What happened next is hard to speak of. The first sheep climbed the hill as the rest of the herd lined up and followed behind him. Now, the stunned shepherds watched helplessly as that first sheep came to the edge of the cliff and walked off. Nearly 1500 others leapt off the same cliff. The first 450 sheep died under the pile created by falling bodies. Professor Tim Laniak tells us that “it is the curious behavior of sheep that once one picks a trail, the rest simply follow the tail in front of them with no regard for their destination.”

          The calling of the first disciples is told in different ways in the Gospels. In Matthew and Mark, the stories are practically identical, except for Matthew’s addition of a passage from Isaiah which helps Matthew illustrate that these events in Galilee were the fulfillment of Scripture. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is out in the fishing boat with Peter and Andrew and, on his instruction, they let down their nets and take in a great catch after a night of catching nothing. In John, Peter and Andrew are in Judea when Jesus is baptized. But John does not actually say that these two men are called to be Jesus’ disciples while there. He just reports their meeting Jesus. It may  be that Andrew and Peter were just down in Judea to check out the ministry of John the Baptist, and that they met Jesus during that trip. If so, this might help to explain how they were able to leave their fishing business so suddenly to follow Jesus’ invitation. Perhaps they had already spent time with Jesus in Judea. We cannot be sure of the sequence of events from our reading of the Gospels.

What we can be sure of is this: not only Peter and Andrew, but also James and John left their livelihoods on little to no notice to follow this man Jesus. They were promised nothing, except that they were trading in their security and everything they knew to follow this very compelling man to places unknown at distances unannounced to evangelize people for his message. By most measurements, it looked to be a fool’s errand.

And yet, they followed him. Can you imagine the look on Zebedee’s face when his two sons quit mending their nets, got out of the boat and left their father to follow Jesus? We don’t know the family situation of Peter and Andrew. Apparently, Peter was or had been married. But Peter’s wife is never mentioned in Scripture. Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus rebuked the fever of Peter’s mother-in-law. So it is speculated that at the time he met Jesus, Peter was a widower. Even so, the decisions of Peter and the others to quit their livelihoods and follow Jesus were huge.

What are the big decisions of your life? For some, it is going to college rather than getting that first job, or vice versa, or leaving home for a dormitory or an apartment. For others, it is enlisting in the armed forces. Not long after, it may be proposals, engagements or starting a family. Job opportunities sometimes take us far away. Cindy and I have daughters in other states and on other continents as they follow their dreams, sometimes to the ends of the earth. We have a son who has flown into harm’s way in Somalia. I find myself in seminary and commuting to this church some seventy miles from home when all my friends are retiring. Big decisions come in many ways and at many ages and stages of our lives. It is an inconvenient truth that for almost all these decisions, we are inadequately prepared.

          How do we know? How do we prepare for these life changing decisions? Will our parents teach us? Will we learn it in school? Is there a textbook or a handout that we should read? Yes…and no. Yes, most times, our parents try very hard to teach us. But parents age. They get cautious. They don’t want to see us hurt. Yes, we are taught ethics and civics in school and those courses help us in our decision making. But that is the stuff of textbooks and classrooms and we all know that out there in real life, sometimes there is no time to check the book before we make a decision. Besides, where is a book that gives you the answer to the question: “What should I do with my life?”

          Do you know anyone outside God’s circle? If you do, and you’re not talking about yourself, then that means you’re on the “inside.” If you’re on the inside, then you already know something about God’s love. You already get those feelings that you are not alone, that there is a reason for what you do and why you’re here. If you have those kinds of thoughts, then you understand something about what was going through the minds of those four young men that day when Jesus called them to follow him. Something inside them told them he was the kind of leader they could trust. It would be very hard to explain to their parents and families, but something deep inside called them to go, to follow this leader. Peter and Andrew left their boat and followed Jesus, not because of the adventure he promised, though they certainly were to have plenty of adventures along the way. James and John quit mending their nets and left their father standing there not because they wanted to get out of the fishing business. In fact, they spent the rest of their lives fishing. Those men left because something inside them told them they had to go. They had to roll the dice on this man from Nazareth. It’s the same kind of risk taking that puts a man on his knee in front of his girlfriend with a ring in his hand. It’s the same look I have seen in my own daughter’s eyes when she tries to describe why she lives in a land so far away to minister to strangers. She follows, and in her following, inevitably she must lead.

          Jesus called them to come and help him fish for men. He chose to start his ministry in Galilee, a region that Isaiah called Galilee of the Gentiles. He also said its people dwelled in darkness. But then old Isaiah went on to say that a great light was to dawn on those people dwelling in the darkness. It was an unlikely place to start a ministry aimed first at the Jews. But that’s the way that God is, isn’t it? Our God and Savior is always about doing the unlikely. For him, that’s the order of the day.

          Christians know the light that Isaiah was talking about. He is Joseph and Mary’s Jesus. He is the disciples’ Teacher. He is John’s Word. He is our Savior. Somehow, Peter and Andrew and James and John caught a whiff of that heavenly scent. They couldn’t’ resist it, and neither should we.

          Remember the story of the one lost sheep, how it was celebrated when it was found? The Prodigal Son was the same. It is the lost that our Savior came to claim, and just like those parables, he claims them one by one. When they wander off the path and lose their way, he is there to rescue them and keep them safe. He is the shepherd that brings us back, sometimes even when we don’t yet know how lost we really are.

How compelling! No wonder that those young men followed Jesus. He is the Great Shepherd. None of us will ever be like that. But we can help. Shepherds use sheepdogs to guard their flocks, to help keep the sheep safe. Tim Laniak tells the story of a Vietnam veteran who said this. “Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.  Then there are the wolves, and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” The vet thought of himself as a sheepdog. He said, “I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”  I like that. I can be a sheepdog. It’s a marginal role, but I can help. I can help protect the flock.

          Big decisions. They almost always come at us with little notice and not enough preparation. But following God is the biggest decision of all. It is the decision upon which all other decisions are based. For Peter and his friends, it meant leaving home. For my daughter, it meant going to East Africa. For me, it has meant laying doing the role of leader and once again being willing to follow, no matter where that leads.

By the way, there really is a book that answers the question: “What should I do with my life.” It’s called the Bible. 2 Timothy 2: 15 gives us all the answer we really need, where it says to “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth…”

          I started this message talking about a game, the game of Follow the Leader. Now I’m thinking of another game. It’s called Lost and Found. I know what it’s like to be lost. That’s a dark place that I never want to see again. Thanks to God’s grace, I also know what it’s like to be found! For that feeling, I’ll go anywhere, but I’ll have to do it on faith. The disciples had faith. It wasn’t fully developed, but it was there. That’s all Jesus needs from you. When your Lord calls, you probably won’t know exactly what to do or how to act. That’s okay. Just say yes. He’ll fill in the blanks for you as you go along.

Let us pray

1/26/14

Taking the Second Place

John 1: 19-42

            The Bible contains many great characters, many role models for us. The Old Testament is loaded with patriarchs, judges, kings and prophets. The New Testament has the Twelve Apostles, Paul, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and, of course, Jesus. Jesus is the great example for all mankind, but there are others. We are all familiar with the most famous, like Abraham, Moses and David, like Peter and John and Paul. But there are others, many others, without whose help the greatest story ever told might not be so clear, might not have been presented with as much definition. Let’s look for a moment at a couple of those stories.

          The Baptist was one strange package. His given name was John. He was a cousin of Jesus. He seemed to know Jesus without even having to see him. Remember the story in Luke of him leaping in his mother’s womb when the pregnant Mary came to visit Elizabeth? Even then, John seemed to be able to sense the presence of Jesus.  John was the son of Zechariah, a Levite priest, which made him a member of the priestly tribe and entitled to a place in the priesthood. When he was grown, he exercised that right, but in a most strange way. He lived in the wilderness of Judea. He ate bugs and wild honey and he wore a camel’s hair coat tied around him by a leather thong. He looked as wild as the animals he slept with in that wilderness. And when he came in to the area around the Jordan, he preached repentance and he baptized not only Gentiles, but also Jews. What in the world! God’s people needed no baptism. That was for new believers, not for God’s chosen!

          Andrew was one of those disciples that followed John the Baptist. Andrew was a fisherman by trade. He worked in the family business up in Galilee with his older brother Simon. Simon was a big guy who spoke his mind early and often. Andrew? Well, he was Simon’s brother.  That’s how he was known to most everyone…the brother of Simon. At the time when Jesus came to be baptized by John the Baptist, Andrew was there and saw what took place.

          John’s ministry worried church leaders. Priests and Levites and Pharisees came out to see John at work. They questioned him. Who are you? they asked. Are you the Messiah? Are you Elijah? Are you the prophet? All these had been prophesied in Scripture. John’s response three times was no. John’s answer was this: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord.”

          John’s answer was theologically loaded. Think about it. John’s gospel was written some sixty years after Christ went to the cross, and it is filled with imagery…imagery that helps us see the identity of our Savior in a whole new light. John’s gospel introduces us to Jesus metaphorically. “In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God…and the Word came and dwelt among us,” says John’s gospel. Then John the Baptist says “I am the voice.” John’s voice presents the Word. John is the voice, but it is Jesus who is the Word. It is John’s job to present, to announce, to make straight the way. His place is second. Jesus is the main event.

          Our passage tells us that Andrew and another unnamed disciple of John the Baptist followed Jesus after his baptism. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, John does not describe Jesus’ baptism, but it is implicit that it has occurred. Jesus notices these men and asks “What are you seeking?” They do not answer but they ask where Jesus is staying. This is a roundabout way to see if they can spend time with him and Jesus says “Come and you will see.” Andrew hears Jesus. Andrew believes. Andrew proclaims. The upshot of their visit is that Andrew goes off to find his brother Simon to announce whom they have found. In Hebrew, it is Messiah. In Greek, it is Christ. In both languages, the words mean Anointed One. Andrew brings his brother Simon to Jesus, a task for which he will be remembered. Jesus takes one look at Simon and changes his name to Cephas, which means Peter and translates as “Rock.” Immediately, Andrew’s role is subjugated to that of Peter. Andrew later finds the lad with loaves and fish and brings him to Jesus. Andrew has acquired a second title to go with “brother of Peter.” He is Andrew the bringer. It is Andrew’s job to bring. His place is second. Jesus, or Peter, or the feeding of the five thousand; they are the main event.

          Some of us may remember either the book I Am Third or the movie Brian’s Song, both about Chicago Bears halfback Gale Sayers and his friend and teammate Brian Piccolo. It is a touching story about the relationship of two pro football players and roommates. Sayers was a sensation, though injury cut his career short. Piccolo was an undersized long shot who carved out a place on the Bears roster with sheer determination. His career was also cut short, but not by injury. Brian Piccolo died young from cancer. In 1970, Gale Sayers accepted an award as the most courageous player of the year, having fought through a potential career ending leg injury to play again. On the night of Sayers’ acceptance speech, Piccolo was lying in a hospital bed dying. Sayers dedicated the trophy to Piccolo, calling him the most courageous man he had ever met. Sayers looked out at the audience and said “I love Brian Piccolo, and I want you to love him too. He is the definition of courage.” Sayers’ book recited his priorities in life: God is first, friends are second, and I am third. It was Gale Sayers’ job not to just blindly accept the fame and the accolades, but rather to point to the real source of all that courage. His friendship with Brian Piccolo had helped him to realize that taking second place to God is an awfully nice position to be in.

          In this passage, John the Baptist seems to say that he knows his cousin Jesus, but that he does not comprehend his real identity. Then John receives a sign. A dove descends and remains on Jesus. That is the sign that John was promised and he knows. John goes on to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah three times. Once John understands, he puts his career aside and proclaims the Messiah. In a similar way, Andrew follows Jesus and spends time with him. When Andrew leaves from his encounter with Jesus, there is no doubt. He too proclaims the identity of the man from Nazareth as Messiah. When one reads or watches the Gale Sayers story, the message comes to Sayers through his teammate’s witness. Each of them is about the business of finding Messiah. Who is he? What does he mean for us? For our lives and our destinies? What does it mean to find Messiah?

          For one thing, it means that we must take second place. When we find Messiah, we must realize who is first in our lives. When we find Messiah, we want to live the lives that our Savior has bought for us. When we find Messiah, we see him as John the Baptist saw him, as the Lamb of God, the one who is without blemish, the one who will sacrifice himself for us and redeem us from our sins.

          When we find Messiah, we should do as John did. John made the Lord’s path straight. It should be no different for us today as we witness for our Savior. We should spend time helping to clear away the obstacles that keep people from coming to Jesus. We need to proclaim him as our Lord and to clear any path we can for our friends to find him for themselves.  We need to put aside self, and we need to witness. D.A. Carson, referring to Andrew going to find his brother the minute he left Jesus, says this: [Andrew] “thus became the first in a long line of successors who have discovered that the most common and effective Christian testimony is the private witness of friend to friend, brother to brother.”

          Andrew came upon Jesus and Jesus said to him: “What are you seeking?” I tell you, friends, that which you already know all too well. If you have not yet found Jesus and invited him into your life, then you are living for yourself first and you are still seeking. What are you seeking? You need to do as John and Andrew and Gale and Brian did. Take the second place. Put Jesus first. It is not what, but whom, you seek, that will change your life. Jesus said to those disciples on the road that day: “Come and you will see.” And they did. You can too. Take the second place. Find Messiah and let him in your life to stay!

Let us pray

1/19/14

Chosen As Witnesses

Acts 10: 34-43

            As wild and crazy as Peter’s world was those three years he left the fishing business to follow Jesus, it got a whole lot crazier after Pentecost. Peter found himself thrust into the vortex of a sea change first called the Way, later called Christianity. Peter was on the horns of the biggest spiritual movement in history. His involvement was guided by his love and belief in Jesus as his savior and by the indwelling of the promised Holy Spirit, the Comforter.

          In the tenth chapter of Acts, Peter is at the home of Cornelius the Centurion. That is, very early in the birth stages of the Church, one of its greatest leaders finds himself hanging out at a Gentile’s house. Talk about getting off the script! But Peter, never one to think too long before he spoke, had his marching orders in the form of a vision. So for at least the third time starting at Pentecost, Peter gives a sermon that is partially preserved for us in Acts. This time the sermon is given in the home of that Gentile to a Gentile audience. It would be sort of like President Obama giving the keynote speech to the Republican Convention. Peter could not have been in a more awkward position and yet, both Peter and probably Cornelius too were not so surprised at this turn of events. They were among the first to begin to see the extent of the message with which Jesus had charged his disciples.

          Luke, our doctor/evangelist/reporter, says this: “So Peter opened his mouth and said: Truly I understand…” Well, I’m already in envy of Peter. He starts his sermon with the words “Truly I understand.” That must be nice. There are many times when I read the scriptures that I would give anything to say those words. But you know what? Peter did. He got it. He had been given a vision and he understood that the titles were superfluous, that the words Jew and Gentile were just ID cards and not season passes, that the boundaries were to be torn down. Peter, the simple fisherman from Galilee, had been chosen by God to not only get the message but to pass it forward.

          So Peter opened his mouth. This is a phrase used by both Matthew and Luke to indicate that a weighty utterance is about to follow. But it’s also good advice. Peter had something to say, something important. God had laid it on his heart. So Peter opened his mouth. If God has laid something on your heart, then don’t keep it a secret. Open your mouth. God will give the words you need.

          What is it that Peter truly understood? What Luke gives us is surely just a capsule of what Peter said that day. But what a capsule! Look at the pearls that Peter was dropping: “God shows no partiality…God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power…He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed… God raised him on the third day…He appeared to us chosen as witnesses…” The risen Jesus “commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.”  We can’t know for sure but when Peter says people here, he is probably referring to the Jews.

          Peter ended his sermon by saying that the prophets of old testify to the risen Lord. Then, his speech took a major turn. He said that everyone who believes in him (Jesus) receives forgiveness of sins. He also said that the Old Testament prophets bear witness to this. Now, Peter is not talking about the Jews. Now, Peter has brought this giant eraser to the blackboard. He erases all the lines, all the fences, every distinction from race to class to color. He draws one line. On one side are those who believe in Christ and his message. On the other side are those who don’t believe. Those assembled in that room in the house of the Gentile Centurion that day must have been blown away. This was revolutionary news! Peter was announcing that the doors to God’s kingdom were open to all and that the keys to that kingdom lay not in the hands of some arbitrary gatekeepers but in our own hearts. Wow!

          Do you think that sermon had much effect on all those Romans gathered there that day? Luke says that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. Believers in the room were amazed. Peter baptized all who asked. Only one question was asked. Do you believe?

          It’s hard today, especially for Christians who hear the Bible read week in, week out with no real passion, to get the spirit of what was going on at Cornelius’s house. But it was huge and it was revolutionary. Peter is just beginning to get it, The Holy Spirit has been working in him and he has eaten and drunk with the risen Jesus. He has seen Jesus bodily ascend into the clouds. He has waited with the others for the visiting of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And now, he is out there, trying to do what that exploding desire in his heart is guiding him to do. He has courage like never before. He has words coming into his mouth that don’t seem to belong to him. And now, he has had a vision, a dream. Nothing will ever be the same. Remember, this is years before Paul appears on the scene articulating his great message to the Gentiles. Peter is out there by himself. Later, when he goes back up to Jerusalem to face all the skeptics and the Jewish Christians, he can only say to them in defense of his actions that if God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles the same as he did to the Jews, then who was he to stand in God’s way?

          Peter should have taken just a little credit. Not only did he not stand in God’s way, he also stood for God’s way! When Peter felt the Holy Spirit moving within him, Peter moved with it. Peter opened his mouth and said “Truly I understand…”

          Peter says that God made Jesus to appear, not to all the people but to us chosen by God as his witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. Is Peter talking about the apostles? Of course. But there were more disciples of Jesus than just the Twelve. There were eight post resurrection appearances of Jesus mentioned in Scripture. One of those appearances was to more than five hundred people. They also were chosen by God as witnesses. They too ate and drank with him, if not in person then in spirit. Acts 2 tells us that the new church attended the temple together, breaking bread in their homes, praising God and having favor with all the people, and that God added to their number daily. The people of God are everywhere. And everywhere they are, they are chosen as God’s witnesses.

          Today, in this assembly, we ordain a new elder. He will further his witness in this new way. But his witness started long ago. Today, that witness expands. Is that not what God intends for each of us?

          Writing in the middle of the fifth century, some one thousand years before the Reformation and its doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, Pope Leo I (usually known as Leo the Great) says this about ministry within the church:

                    The sign of the Cross makes all those who are born

again in Christ kings, and the anointing of the Holy

Spirit consecrates them all as priests.

Leo the Great went on to say that though each of us may be called to some particular service of ministry, all Christians belong to and share in the priestly office of Christ. He refers in large part to our man Peter, who says in 1 Peter 2:9 that believers are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people. The challenge that follows Peter’s declaration is equally important: “that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

          We are Christians. We are a royal priesthood, a chosen race. And in that choice lies our calling. We are, all of us, called to witness! For us, Jesus is not just a figure in a book or a great historical teacher. He is our Savior! He is a living presence and we eat and drink with him every time we come into this assembly for Holy Communion or sit down to the supper table and invoke his blessing upon our meal. Jesus is not a memory. He is a living presence and we are called to witness to that saving presence in not only our lives, but in the lives of all who would draw near to hear and accept the good news.

          And you thought you were just a homemaker. Or a nurse. Or a contractor. That’s’ your vehicle! Use it. Use it to witness, for you have been chosen!

Let us pray

1/12/14

The Mystery Revealed

Ephesians 3: 1-12

This is the week that many Christians celebrate the Epiphany. The Greek Orthodox branch of Christianity celebrates it the twelfth day after Christmas…the time commonly assigned as the arrival of the Magi to see the Christ child. Much of the Protestant Church views Epiphany as occurring at the baptism of Jesus. Perhaps more important than the timing is the meaning.  What’s the Epiphany all about? Well, Epiphany is the rough equivalent of “revelation.” The revelation here is that God has come to earth…that Christ is to be our salvation. All the Gospels and Paul’s letters talk about this “good news,” that God’s Son has come to earth t save us.

          Of course, Paul had his own epiphany on the road to Damascus. It changed everything for him.  The great persecutor of Christians became the great evangelist to the Gentiles. Epiphany is big. It’s not just a new thought. It’s an eye-opening, big bang, life changing realization. That’s why Christians celebrate the Epiphany, whether it’s the wise men coming to see Jesus or Jesus’ baptism by John. Either way, it’s a life changing recognition to see Jesus as our Savior, the path to our salvation.

          Seminary professors are careful with the word “revelation.” They consider it a term of art. For instance, general revelation is the kind of revelation Paul talks about in Romans 1:21, where he says that anyone can see there is a God just by looking at the world. Creation had to have an author. It couldn’t just happen. There is also special revelation, the Word of God, both living and written. In other words, special revelation takes either the form of Jesus or the Bible. In either case, that special revelation is complete. So in that sense, there is no more revelation. All has been revealed. I buy that. But like Paul, I too have had an epiphany or two. I suspect you have too. So to me, revelation can be both a term of art and a term we use to describe a huge, life changing discovery in our own lives.

In his letters to the Colossians and the Ephesians, Paul talks about the mystery of Christ. Both passages involve the Gentiles, though they are slightly different in their result. In Colossians, the mystery is that Christ is in us, and in that indwelling lies our hope of glory for ourselves. In Ephesians, that mystery focused on the truth of heirship… that Christ came for all who would believe and not just for the Jews, that you and I are fellow heirs. I like the NIV translation here, for it uses the term “together’ three times in the same sentence: heirs together, members together and sharers together. We come from God, we are part of the body of Christ and we claim the same promise.

Paul talks about the mystery that has now been revealed…that Gentiles are included in God’s promise of salvation. Paul seems to say that when the Colossians read this letter, they can perceive that mystery of Christ, not previously made known to mankind, but now made known through the apostles and prophets and revealed by God’s spirit. So Paul and his fellow apostles have had a revelation; they have had an epiphany. They now see the mystery of Christ, which is that we Gentiles are to be included in God’s kingdom if we believe. 

I think this is one of those passages that must be read carefully and in light of Paul’s audience, a group of newly converted Gentiles. His purpose was to keep them in the straight and narrow and reinforce their tender faith. And Paul uses one of those little two letter words that can be so important. He says that the mystery wasn’t known in the past as it has now been revealed. He doesn’t say it wasn’t known, but he does qualify the nature of that knowledge. Think about the words from the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” As tells us the nature of the act.

Why is that two letter word so important? Because not recognizing it will take you off in the wrong direction. Paul wasn’t saying that no one in the past understood that the Gentiles were part of the kingdom of God. He couldn’t have been saying that. He knew the Scriptures. He knew Genesis 12:3, where God promises Abraham that “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” He knew the story of Jonah, where God sent Jonah to the Gentile Assyrians in order to convert them. Paul knew, as we should know, that from the beginning, God’s compassion for his creation has been boundless. It was never limited to the Jews. They were God’s instrument to help reveal his identity, not just to them, but to all the world.

In this passage, Paul makes another reference to mystery when he talks about the plan of the mystery in verse 9. He talks about God’s eternal purpose being realized in Christ, through whom salvation is made possible. The mystery to which Paul refers is that God had a plan from before the beginning of time, that salvation was just as much part of that plan as was creation.  This is God’s wisdom, so much higher and deeper than ours that it took centuries for us to be prepared for the message contained in the coming of Jesus. It took centuries more for us to begin to put it all together. The mystery has indeed been revealed, but even in its revelation lies a truth so deep that it is hard to lay claim to. And yet, that is precisely what Jesus calls us to do. His last words to his disciples in the book of Matthew were to go, to teach and to baptize. That mandate was directed not to the Jewish nation, but to all the world.

How important is it to have perspective? Here’s an example. A college coed writes home:

Dear Mom and Dad, just a quick note to get you up to speed. I’ve fallen in love with Jim. He quit high school to get married. He’s been divorced about a year now. We’ve been going steady about 2 months and plan to get married next fall. I think I’ll move in with him ‘til then. I might be in a family way. Anyway, I dropped out last week, but would like to go back sometime.

Page 2: Everything I’ve written to you so far is false. But…it is true that I got a C in French and flunked math. Also, it’s time to pay tuition again.

         

          That young coed knew how to give her parents perspective. When we read Paul’s letters, sometimes we need some of that as well. One can almost hear Paul’s wheels turning as he writes. I found the key to the mystery. The Gentiles are included in the kingdom. I must minister to them. God sent me to do that. Then, as Paul begins to get his perspective, we have the profound statement that God had a plan from before the beginning of time. Creation and salvation are tied together neatly in a bow made by God. It was for us to discover that which was always there. In that lay Paul’s perspective and in that lies our message today. If God had a plan for mankind before he even laid its keel, how much more does he have a plan for me and you!

          It’s not important when we celebrate the Epiphany. It’s important whether we celebrate it. It’s important whether we have had one of our own. Revelation comes in many forms. Some people are like Paul. They get knocked down in the middle of the road and when they see again, they have new vision. Some people get the vision a piece at a time until one day they discover they can see the big picture. Sometimes the revelation comes in a blinding light and sometimes it comes in a still, small voice. It doesn’t matter how the epiphany comes. It only matters whether it does.

The great revelation for each of us is that God made us and that Jesus came for us. Salvation has always been there for each of us to discover. God’s plan is as big as the cosmos and as detailed as one hair on your head. That’s what Paul figured out and told the Ephesians. And that’s quite a revelation!

Let us pray

1/5/13

What Are You Wearing?

Colossians 3: 9-17

            It’s Christmas. For me, Christmas always means new clothes. Beyond the customary socks and tee shirts, there is always something designed to freshen me up, to make me look more in keeping with whatever it is that I am supposed to be in keeping with. This year the freshening included a knit shirt in a new color and an over shirt. It’s not a sweater, but it goes over another shirt. That would be an over shirt, wouldn’t it? Any way, my understanding is that my clothes are too bulky and I need clothing that makes me look more trim. That may be asking a lot from a shirt in my case.

Thank God for my wife. Left to my own devices, I would wear nothing but one pair of blue jeans and one pair of khaki pants with a few knit shirts. They are my friends. I see no reason to go out without my friends. Men are bad that way. We never change. We just wear things out. Renewal is not part of our mantra.

          Sometimes though, renewal is precisely what is called for, and not just in clothes. Even when we find the right way to go in our lives, we still don’t follow it very carefully. We keep drifting off the new path, looking for something old and familiar. We keep wandering toward the next new thing, thinking it may be the answer we are looking for. It is precisely because of such thoughts that we need to keep getting renewed, particularly in our faith journey. Otherwise, we will sell out to the newest fad, the biggest box office draw, the best salesman, the most entertaining movement or event.

          Paul’s letter to the Colossians is perhaps the most Christ centered letter in all of his writings. It contains many descriptors of Christ. He is referred to as the object of the believer’s faith, the image of the invisible God, the creator of all dominions, the head of the church and the firstborn of the dead, to name only a few. The book has several themes, as Paul writes to the church in this small inland town about a hundred miles east of Ephesus. The Colossians have found some new material and it is leading them away from what they have been taught by Paul. Colossians should be read and studied with that in mind, but in this message, we will concentrate on a broader theme that is illustrated here, not just for the Colossians, but for believers in any time and place.

          We are just days on the other side of Christmas. We have spent weeks talking of the coming of the Christ child. We have looked forward to the memory of the Incarnation with all its familiar props: shepherds and angels and new songs from young and old; Mary and Joseph and the manger. And now, the “coming” has happened once again, though only as a celebration of that which we have learned to remember, almost as though it happened in our own memories. But even that has now passed once again. Now we are left with that warm feeling of the infant and the message he will bring, but we are again alone. We are in that vast ocean between the comings. He came. He will come again. What do we do when we are in the middle of the comings? How do we navigate steadily between the buoys and stay the course toward righteousness with all that sea of temptation and false prophets to throw us off course? Jesus has come. Jesus has gone. Or has he? Paul says not…that the nearness of Jesus lies in the way we live our lives. When we put away all those Christmas decorations, we are not supposed to put away the warm feelings that they inspired. Though the decorations are gone, the feelings they engendered should remain. The same is true of Jesus, with or without Christmas.

          Paul says that if you believe, then you too have been raised with Christ. I know that most of the time we don’t feel like that, but it’s true. That is, it’s as true as we let it become true. If we are born again, as Jesus talked about to Nicodemus, then we have begun to put earthly things to death. That is, we are changing our priorities. We begin to live for Christ and to use those earthly possessions and responsibilities as vehicles for witness instead of badges of bondage. We are to put away the selfish things of life and in their place, we are to adopt that unselfishness that Jesus taught us.

          Paul says to the Colossians, and to us, that we have put on a new self. That self is the new and improved model. According to Paul, it is a “one size fits all believers” suit. It is in God’s image. That new self puts on a compassionate heart. Hearts such as this come with humility, meekness and patience. They bear up under pressure. They carry one another. They even forgive. And last but by no means least, the new self puts on love, a binding love that makes everyone get along.

          In Colossians, Paul is more than likely trying to correct a group that has wandered away from their new found faith in Christ. Something even newer has come along and they are being swayed. Paul is trying to adjust their course. In the context of today’s message, I think his words also hold true as a measure for what we do with the Christmas message. While it is fresh in our minds, it is easier to think about peace on earth and good will toward men. While it is the season of giving, it is more appropriate to pick out a family or two to help out during Christmas. But what happens in January? Does the water bill that was paid by the church at Christmas now disappear? Do the needy neatly and conveniently disappear until next Christmas?

          At Christmas time, we put on our nice new clothes. At Christmas, we also put on the mantle of generosity as people and churches and institutions. But then, Christmas ends. What then? As if we did not already know, Paul gives us the answer: “Put on the new self…Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts…And above all, put on love.” These are the clothes of renewal. They are the garments of righteousness that set us apart from others. This is the way for Christians to dress. Paul goes on to remind us that we have inside clothing as well. He encourages us to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and the word of Christ dwell richly in us.

          It takes practice to wear the clothing of God, both inside and outside. In many ways, it does not come naturally. We want for ourselves. We are selfish by nature. Even when we are being unselfish, we often compartmentalize our generosity so that we can do it at our convenience. Wearing the clothes of the new self takes time and practice and being very intentional about why we do the things we do.  

           I think about the clothes that I was given this Christmas. They are very nice and tasteful and yet, if I am not intentional about wearing them, they will just take up space in my closet. They are not my old friends like my blue jeans and khaki pants. But…what if I wear them? What if I am intentional and what if I make it a point to wear these new clothes? They won’t stay new very long, will they? And with some persistence on my part, these “new” clothes will become my friends just like my jeans.

          Putting on a new self is like that. It won’t feel very comfortable until we break it in. But the more I put on love, the more it feels natural. The more I am compassionate, the less comfortable I am being selfish. That new self wears in and I am at home in my own skin.

          Philip Yancey and Paul Brand say this: “God with skin on. God in the flesh—with beating heart, healthy mind, and blood coursing through his veins. God come to earth in the skin of our humanity in order to bring the message that he is eager to relate to us, know us, understand us, intercede for us. This is Jesus.”

What will you wear this year? This month? This afternoon? What will you do when you settle down to watch your favorite football team on TV and someone in need knocks on your front door or rings you up on the phone. What clothes will you be wearing then? Will they be different from the ones you wear to church?

God put on our skin to be with us. He built a bridge for us that we could never build for ourselves. Even when he left us, he sent us a new set of clothing to wear throughout our lives. It’s called the Holy Spirit. From the moment we try it on, it changes us. It feels right, like an old friend. No matter where we are, no matter what we do or who we’re with, it never seems to be out of style.

What will you be wearing this year for him?

Let us pray

12/29/13

        Magnificat

         Luke 1: 39-55

            It is the fourth Sunday of Advent, the last Sunday of this season of preparation. We prepare for the coming, the coming of the Christ Child. The themes most commonly associated with advent are faithfulness, hope, joy and love or peace. Each theme helps us in its own way to anticipate, to think about what is happening. The Incarnation, the birth of the Son of God as a mortal man, is about to happen. It will change everything. It is the coming for which the people of God have so long awaited.

          Advent, the coming. What does it mean? Today, we look at another of the three hymns in the first two chapters of Luke. We have heard from Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Later, there is the Benedictus hymn of praise from Simeon, as he sees the child for whom his whole life has been served in waiting. Now, we pause to look at the Magnificat, a song from Mary as she praises the changes taking place in her body, in her life, in the lives of all who will follow this moment in history.

           Mary was young by any standard. Most scholars suggest she was a young teenager.  She was betrothed to Joseph to be married. She was not yet sexually active. She was naïve, young, inexperienced. She was a small town girl in a small town town. She was Jewish and obviously a pious Jewess or the Lord would not have chosen her. Her condition was not unusual for her time, but the events which were about to unfold had no precedent, no parallel. They still don’t. Only once in the history of mankind has God been born into our midst as a human being. Only once has God had fatigue, hunger, thirst, pain. Only once has God bled the blood of a man. Only once has God been a newborn baby. And it all started with little Mary, the small town girl from Nazareth with the big time blessing.

          Mary may have been a small town girl with little or no credentials, but she was no stranger to the law and the prophets of old. Her song borrows heavily in word and even theme from Hannah’s song in the book of First Samuel, where Hannah praises God for rewarding her prayers with a little boy who will become Samuel, one of the great judges of Israel. In fact, Mary’s song is loaded with references to the Old Testament. But Mary has more to say. She goes farther than Hannah. Mary understands her job. She is a vessel for the most important birth in the history of mankind. She is the caretaker for the Son of God himself. But Mary understands much more than that. Mary seems to understand that the roots of revolution are growing in her womb, that nothing will ever be the same. Listen to the words of this teenager.

“He has scattered the proud in the plans of their hearts,” she says. We have heard about pride before. We read about it in Proverbs. We know it as one of the so-called seven deadly sins. And Mary says that this newborn child will scatter the proud. Mary is speaking of a moral revolution where those of distinction have lost their position. Not only are they no longer able to justify their pride, but also they are scattered and unable to act in their superficial unity. They now will have the example of Christ as the Son of Man to use as their mirror and they will see themselves as they are. Pride withers in the sight of Christ.

“He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate,” says little Mary. Prestige and position, first cousins to pride, are now about to be vanquished. Now Mary is talking about a social revolution. In the days of Hannah, she was proud for her son as she saw him able to sit with princes. In the world that Mary sees, there will be no princes to sit with, as those from humble means will sit where princes once sat, not as the new rule, but as the obedient servants of our Lord.

“He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty” Now Mary moves to articulate an economic revolution. From moral to social to economic, the world that her baby will usher in will be the upside down world of Jesus. Mary prophesies a world where Christian charity and generosity trump pride, avarice and greed. There is loveliness in her hymn but as theologian William Barclay reminds us, in that loveliness there is dynamite, for the coming of Christ and Christianity fosters a revolutionary approach that continues to change the world. All we have to do is look around. We are in church today to worship the God who once more reached down to redeem us on that Christmas morning so long ago. We are in church today because we seek that redemption in our own lives from the Savior that Mary so ably prophesied.

Does this sound like an innocent little teenager to you? Not to me it doesn’t. I know and accept that Mary was as pure and innocent as the driven snow. But she was certainly well schooled in her history and well visioned in her understanding of what Messiah was to be. Perhaps someone else wrote this and attributed it to Mary. Perhaps this is just the platform of an evangelist and Mary was the vehicle for him to get it said. If that were true, which we will never know, would it matter? The words are still brilliant. The thoughts are still revolutionary and revelationary in their import. But I have no reason to think that Mary did not say such things except that it may have been unusual for a young girl to have such vision. Well yes, it probably was unusual. But then, there was plenty about Mary that was unusual. How many women do you know who have been visited by the angel Gabriel? Mary was, and is, revered for a reason. God picked her as his vessel to make himself known to us as a man.

“My soul magnifies the Lord,” says Mary. “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior…holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him.” Yes, his name is holy…set apart. Yes, his mercy is for those who fear, for those who have faith, for those who have hope, for those who have joy…for those who love him.

It is advent, the season of expectation. Let us join with Mary, the young girl, with Mary, the expectant mother, with Mary, the prophetess, with Mary, rocking that newborn baby as though hope itself rested in those newborn limbs. Let us, too, magnify the Lord. It is advent. He has come, he is coming again.

Let us pray.

12/22/13

    Giving Light; Guiding Feet

         Luke 1: 68-79

My name is Zechariah. I’m a priest. A Jewish priest. My wife is Elizabeth. We’ve been happily married for a long time. We were never able to have children. Until now. This has been by far the craziest year of my life. I’ve always tried to live by the Scripture. So has Elizabeth. We have prayed for many years for the coming of the Messiah, but that’s not news. My people have been offering up that prayer since the days of Isaiah. But a few months ago, everything changed. Boy, did it change!

I was on duty at the temple. It was my division’s turn. On that day, it was my lot to enter the inner temple to burn incense. I came inside to do my job and there stood an angel! You heard me. An angel! He scared me half to death. He said don’t be afraid. He said my prayer for a child had been answered, that Elizabeth was going to bear a son and that we should name him John. Right! I’m sorry. I mean I know this happened to Abraham and he was even older than me, but that was Abraham, the father of my people! I’m just an old priest. So I said to him: How shall I know this?

He didn’t like my answer. He said he was Gabriel and that he gets to stand in the presence of God. I guess he thought I was being impudent or didn’t believe him. Really, I was just dumbstruck. How many times do you get a chance to talk to an angel? I wasn’t prepared. And then I really was dumbstruck, because Gabriel struck me dumb for over nine months. I couldn’t talk, couldn’t say a word, until today.

Well, it happened just the way he said. Elizabeth conceived. Six months later her cousin Mary also got a visit from Gabriel. Her news was even bigger, if what she tells Elizabeth is true. She’s pregnant now too, just like Gabriel told her. Gabriel let her in on what is going on with my Elizabeth and soon after, Mary came to visit us. She and Elizabeth had this incredible experience. Elizabeth’s baby, our baby, leapt in the womb at the sight of Mary. It was quite a scene, watching them together. And that’s all I could do… just watch. Mary ended up staying with us for about three months, very close to the time that Elizabeth delivered our son. All the neighbors came by to congratulate us. I guess we’re quite a curiosity item because we’re so old.  They rejoiced with us for our good fortune.

Today, we went to the temple. It’s the eighth day after our son was born. Our tradition requires us to go there to have him circumcised. This is our way of visibly showing that we are people of the covenant. They started to name him after me, but Elizabeth spoke up and said to name him John. Everybody thought sure that was wrong because no one in my family has that name. Someone got a writing tablet and handed it to me. I scribbled on it to name him John. Right then, my speech was restored. The first thing I did was to bless God.

I guess between the strange name that had nothing to do with my family, the restoration of my speech and us having a child at such an old age, it was just too much for everyone to take in. We were the talk of all the hill country of Judea.  People thought the hand of God was on this child. They have no idea how right they were. The question on everyone’s lips was “What then will this child be?”

I know the answer. I was full of God’s Spirit and he gave me voice. I prophesied. It sounded like a poem or a hymn. Some people call it the Benedictus. I was so full of God’s Spirit that it just came pouring out.

First, I blessed God, and not just for me and Elizabeth, but for all God’s people. We have prayed for this for so long and now it’s happening. God promised to visit and redeem us. The prophets told us that our redeemer would come from the house of David and he will. That time is very near. Our salvation is near. We use the word horn to indicate power, because it reminds us of the power of the mighty rams and other horned animals that inhabit our land. He who my son will announce is the horn, the power, of salvation, and I know that he is on his way to us.

I sang about that mighty covenant given to Abraham by God himself; that he would deliver us from the hand of our enemies. He has done that many times for us over the centuries. No matter what we did, he always forgave us. But it’s been a long time that we have prayed for the promised king to come. This time, it is different. I don’t know the details, but I do know that our god keeps covenant with his people. The time is near when we will be able to serve him without fear, for we will be delivered. That’s what all those old scriptures and prophecies are all about, you know. There are a lot of stories and there is a lot of history. But the common thread that runs from the beginning to right this minute is that God keeps covenant with his people. God’s kingdom is about to be introduced. I can feel it.

I sang about my son, my blessed son John. I told them what I know in my heart, that he will be called the prophet of the Most High. He will go before the Lord. He will prepare his ways. He will set the table for who is to come. He will bring the knowledge of salvation to those of our people who will listen. Many of us have long thought that when Messiah came, he would be ushered in by the great prophet Elijah, the one whom God called up to heaven in a whirlwind surrounded by horses and chariots of fire. But now I know; it is not to be Elijah, but John. Can you imagine? My son, this little baby boy, will grow up to pave the way for our Savior. That means that after all this time, after all these centuries, Messiah is on the way! I haven’t said it aloud, but I’m thinking that my son will be a baptizer, getting people to turn from their selfishness to see the light that is coming.

While I was praising God and singing this song of prophecy, I began to see a new truth. The salvation that is coming lies in forgiveness… forgiveness of our sins by God, forgiveness of our neighbor by us, forgiveness from our neighbor to us. I began to see that it all comes from God’s tender mercy toward us. I never realized until now how glorious and powerful is that ability to forgive and be merciful. He truly is God if he can bring that to us.

As I sang my praise, I realized something else. I know that God has spoken to his people through covenant and I know that covenant was with Abraham. I always thought it was for us, the Jews. I’m sure that is still true, but it’s not the whole truth. Like the new truth of God’s forgiveness, I see a new truth about God’s people. God is like the sunrise, but so much more powerful. I see now that God gives light to all who sit in darkness. I see now that God brings deliverance to all who sit in the shadow of death. God’s light is the light of the world. He will guide us and he will guide us to the way of peace. I don’t mean peace that is just the absence of war. I mean peace that is the presence of faith and hope and understanding and righteousness. And now, I think I understand what God meant when he said that his salvation is for all his people. If we believe in him who is coming, if we believe the message of the Most High whom my son and others will be privileged to introduce…then…we are God’s people! We will be known to him not by the mark of circumcision, but by the mark of our faith.

What then will this child be, ask the people? He will be a messenger. His name will be John. He is my son, but he will belong to the ages.  He will never be forgotten, but even so, he is not the story. The great prophet Isaiah said this so many years ago:

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness, the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will be seen upon you.

And nations shall come to the light,

and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isaiah 60: 1-4

The story is about to be told and it will change the world

forever. For John will introduce us to him for whom the world has waited. He will introduce us to our Lord.

Who then will this child be? He will be as we can be. He will be a messenger of the coming of the Lord. Think about it. In no time, he will pass the torch to others. Our Lord will come, and with it the beginning of the end of the age. My son cannot tell everyone. We will need other messengers. Our Savior is coming and he has a message. Will you hear? Will you help?  

Let us pray.

12/8/13