There is a famous oil painting called "Christ Teaching in The Temple." The painting gets it wrong. It comes from an era when religious people were still uneasy with the notion that Jesus was like the rest of us. In this picture he is standing in the midst of the elders looking very wise, obviously delivering a lecture. He is talking and pointing and they are listening. He had, no doubt, appeared to instruct them in the law, as if he knew what they didn't.
But that's not what the text says. They found him, says Luke, "listening to (the teachers) and asking them questions." He was not the authority; he was the student. He was there to listen and learn. Now it is true that the religious leaders were impressed by how much he knew, and by how he answered their questions. But there is nothing in this text which indicates he was a precocious know it all.
Adapted from When It Is Dark Enough, Charles H. Bayer, CSS Publishing Lima, Ohio.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Significance of Things Eternal .
Parish ministers will tell you that people come to them speaking with regrets like these:
When I was young, my mother was going to read me a story, but she had to wax the bathroom floor and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my grandparents were going to come for Christmas, but they couldn't get someone to feed the dogs and my grandfather did not like the cold weather and besides they didn't have time.
When I was young, my father was going to listen to me read my essay on "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up," but there was Monday Night Football and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my father and I were going to go hiking in the Sierras, but at the last minute he had to fertilize the lawn and there wasn't time.
When I grew up and left home to be married, I was going to sit down with Mom and Dad and tell them I love them and would miss them, but my best man was honking the horn in front of my house so there wasn't time.
Into our hectic world, Jesus comes, and still invites us to exercise the spirit as well as the mind and the body. The best way we exercise the spirit is by giving attention to things of eternal significance, such as listening, loving, and learning from the least expected places.
Richard A. Wing, Deep Joy For a Shallow World, CSS Publishing Company
When I was young, my mother was going to read me a story, but she had to wax the bathroom floor and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my grandparents were going to come for Christmas, but they couldn't get someone to feed the dogs and my grandfather did not like the cold weather and besides they didn't have time.
When I was young, my father was going to listen to me read my essay on "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up," but there was Monday Night Football and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my father and I were going to go hiking in the Sierras, but at the last minute he had to fertilize the lawn and there wasn't time.
When I grew up and left home to be married, I was going to sit down with Mom and Dad and tell them I love them and would miss them, but my best man was honking the horn in front of my house so there wasn't time.
Into our hectic world, Jesus comes, and still invites us to exercise the spirit as well as the mind and the body. The best way we exercise the spirit is by giving attention to things of eternal significance, such as listening, loving, and learning from the least expected places.
Richard A. Wing, Deep Joy For a Shallow World, CSS Publishing Company
When Our Children Teach Us
Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the “Stages of Aging.” In the article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students when teaching a class in medical school. He described the case study patient under his care like this:
“The patient neither speaks nor comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however, respond to her name… I have worked with her for the past six months, but she still shows complete disregard for her physical appearance and makes no effort to assist her own care. She must be fed, bathed, and clothed by others.
“Because she has no teeth, her food must be pureed. Her shirt is usually soiled from almost incessant drooling. She does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she wakes in the middle of the night and her screaming awakens others. Most of the time she is friendly and happy, but several times a day she gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she wails until someone comes to comfort her.”
After presenting the class with this challenging case, Dr. Ruskin then asked his students if any of them would like to volunteer to take care of this person. No one volunteered. Then Dr. Ruskin said, “I’m surprised that none of you offered to help, because actually she is my favorite patient. I get immense pleasure from taking care of her and I am learning so much from her. She has taught me a depth of gratitude I never knew before. She has taught me the spirit of unwavering trust. And she has taught me the power of unconditional love.” Then Dr. Ruskin said, “Let me show you her picture.” He pulled out the picture and passed it around. It was the photo of his six-month-old baby daughter.
Now, I like that story for several reasons. For one thing, it shows us the importance of perspective. And it shows us how essential it is to have all the facts before we make a decision. It reminds us too, that our children have so much to teach us if we will tune in and pay attention.
But also, it reminds me of this dramatic scene in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus lingers behind as a 12-year-old boy and gets separated from His family for three days. Eventually they find Him in the Temple discussing theology with the rabbis.
Now, we can imagine that as Jesus was growing up, His parents taught Him many good lessons about life and faith… but imagine, too, the powerful lessons they must have learned from Him. Our children have so much to teach us. With that in mind, let’s think together for a few moments about the great lessons our children are teaching us. There are many of course. Let me mention three of them:
1. First, our children can teach us gratitude.
2. Second, they teach us love.
3. And third, children can teach us faith.
“The patient neither speaks nor comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however, respond to her name… I have worked with her for the past six months, but she still shows complete disregard for her physical appearance and makes no effort to assist her own care. She must be fed, bathed, and clothed by others.
“Because she has no teeth, her food must be pureed. Her shirt is usually soiled from almost incessant drooling. She does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she wakes in the middle of the night and her screaming awakens others. Most of the time she is friendly and happy, but several times a day she gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she wails until someone comes to comfort her.”
After presenting the class with this challenging case, Dr. Ruskin then asked his students if any of them would like to volunteer to take care of this person. No one volunteered. Then Dr. Ruskin said, “I’m surprised that none of you offered to help, because actually she is my favorite patient. I get immense pleasure from taking care of her and I am learning so much from her. She has taught me a depth of gratitude I never knew before. She has taught me the spirit of unwavering trust. And she has taught me the power of unconditional love.” Then Dr. Ruskin said, “Let me show you her picture.” He pulled out the picture and passed it around. It was the photo of his six-month-old baby daughter.
Now, I like that story for several reasons. For one thing, it shows us the importance of perspective. And it shows us how essential it is to have all the facts before we make a decision. It reminds us too, that our children have so much to teach us if we will tune in and pay attention.
But also, it reminds me of this dramatic scene in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus lingers behind as a 12-year-old boy and gets separated from His family for three days. Eventually they find Him in the Temple discussing theology with the rabbis.
Now, we can imagine that as Jesus was growing up, His parents taught Him many good lessons about life and faith… but imagine, too, the powerful lessons they must have learned from Him. Our children have so much to teach us. With that in mind, let’s think together for a few moments about the great lessons our children are teaching us. There are many of course. Let me mention three of them:
1. First, our children can teach us gratitude.
2. Second, they teach us love.
3. And third, children can teach us faith.
Pick Up the Baby
Sam Levenson tells a wonderful story about the birth of his first child.
The first night home the baby would not stop crying. His wife frantically
flipped through the pages of Dr. Spock to find out why babies cry and what
to do about it. Since Spock's book is rather long, the baby cried a long
time. Grandma was in the house, but since she had not read the books on
childrearing, she was not consulted. The baby continued to cry. Finally,
Grandma could be silent no longer. "Put down the book," she told her
children, "and pick up the baby."
Good advice. Put down the book and pick up the baby. Spend time with your
children. Particularly at Christmastime. We have the mistaken notion that
good parents give their children lots of things. Wrong.
In a survey done of fifteen thousand schoolchildren the question was
asked, "What do you think makes a happy family?" When the kids answered,
they didn't list a big house, fancy cars, or new video games as the source
of happiness. The most frequently given answer was "doing things
together." Notice the joy with which Mary and Elizabeth greeted the news
of their pregnancy.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
The first night home the baby would not stop crying. His wife frantically
flipped through the pages of Dr. Spock to find out why babies cry and what
to do about it. Since Spock's book is rather long, the baby cried a long
time. Grandma was in the house, but since she had not read the books on
childrearing, she was not consulted. The baby continued to cry. Finally,
Grandma could be silent no longer. "Put down the book," she told her
children, "and pick up the baby."
Good advice. Put down the book and pick up the baby. Spend time with your
children. Particularly at Christmastime. We have the mistaken notion that
good parents give their children lots of things. Wrong.
In a survey done of fifteen thousand schoolchildren the question was
asked, "What do you think makes a happy family?" When the kids answered,
they didn't list a big house, fancy cars, or new video games as the source
of happiness. The most frequently given answer was "doing things
together." Notice the joy with which Mary and Elizabeth greeted the news
of their pregnancy.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
Slow Down and Welcome Christmas
"The Christmas spirit comes on me more slowly than it used to," writes
Joan Mills, a mother of three children, in her book Christmas Coming. "But
it comes, it comes. Middle-aged (most of the time) and jaded (some of the
time), I complain of plastic sentiment, days too brief, bones too weary.
Scrooge stands at my elbow muttering, "Bah!" and "Humbug!" as I total the
bills. But when I acknowledge the child I once was (and still am,
somewhere within), the spirit of Christmas irresistibly descends."
"For Christmas is truly for children those we have, and those we have been
ourselves. It is the keeping-place for memories of our age in lovely
ritual and simplicities.
"I'm tired," I say fretfully. "There's just too much to do! Must we make
so much of Christmas?" "Yes!" they say flatly.
"But bayberry, pine and cinnamon scent the shadowed room. Snow lies in
quiet beauty outside. I hear someone downstairs turning on the tree lights
while another admires. I lie very still in the dark. From the church in
the village on the far side of the woods, carillon notes fall faint and
sweet on winter clear air.
"Silent night," my heart repeats softly. Holy night. All is calm All is
bright.
"As I take the stairs lightly going down, no bones weary now, my whole
self is thankful; once again, I am flooded with the certainty (call it
faith) that there's goodness in the world, and love endures."
Leonard Sweet, adapting Joan Mills, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
Joan Mills, a mother of three children, in her book Christmas Coming. "But
it comes, it comes. Middle-aged (most of the time) and jaded (some of the
time), I complain of plastic sentiment, days too brief, bones too weary.
Scrooge stands at my elbow muttering, "Bah!" and "Humbug!" as I total the
bills. But when I acknowledge the child I once was (and still am,
somewhere within), the spirit of Christmas irresistibly descends."
"For Christmas is truly for children those we have, and those we have been
ourselves. It is the keeping-place for memories of our age in lovely
ritual and simplicities.
"I'm tired," I say fretfully. "There's just too much to do! Must we make
so much of Christmas?" "Yes!" they say flatly.
"But bayberry, pine and cinnamon scent the shadowed room. Snow lies in
quiet beauty outside. I hear someone downstairs turning on the tree lights
while another admires. I lie very still in the dark. From the church in
the village on the far side of the woods, carillon notes fall faint and
sweet on winter clear air.
"Silent night," my heart repeats softly. Holy night. All is calm All is
bright.
"As I take the stairs lightly going down, no bones weary now, my whole
self is thankful; once again, I am flooded with the certainty (call it
faith) that there's goodness in the world, and love endures."
Leonard Sweet, adapting Joan Mills, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
God Is the Happiest Being in the Universe
Perhaps we need Santa at Christmas to help us be merry and joyous because
we have a flawed understanding of Jesus. From today's gospel text we learn
that the first reaction to Jesus' presence on earth, of God-in-our-midst,
was joy. Joy so tremendous, joy so utterly overwhelming that it must
somehow escape the bounds of earth itself and jump towards the heavens.
In John Ortberg's wonderful book The Life You've Always Wanted, he writes:
We will not understand God until we understand this about him: "God is the
happiest being in the universe" (G. K. Chesterton). God knows sorrow.
Jesus is remembered, among other things, as a 'man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief.' But the sorrow of God, like the anger of God, is
his temporary response to a fallen world. That sorrow will be banished
forever from his heart on the day the world is set right. Joy is God's
basic character. God is the happiest being in the universe.
Joy is what makes Christmas. Each of us may look to some annual family
tradition to trigger that joy. But the trees, the carols, the cookies, the
presents, the parties, are only various expressions of a single experience
of the spirit JOY born again into our souls.
Leonard Sweet, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
we have a flawed understanding of Jesus. From today's gospel text we learn
that the first reaction to Jesus' presence on earth, of God-in-our-midst,
was joy. Joy so tremendous, joy so utterly overwhelming that it must
somehow escape the bounds of earth itself and jump towards the heavens.
In John Ortberg's wonderful book The Life You've Always Wanted, he writes:
We will not understand God until we understand this about him: "God is the
happiest being in the universe" (G. K. Chesterton). God knows sorrow.
Jesus is remembered, among other things, as a 'man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief.' But the sorrow of God, like the anger of God, is
his temporary response to a fallen world. That sorrow will be banished
forever from his heart on the day the world is set right. Joy is God's
basic character. God is the happiest being in the universe.
Joy is what makes Christmas. Each of us may look to some annual family
tradition to trigger that joy. But the trees, the carols, the cookies, the
presents, the parties, are only various expressions of a single experience
of the spirit JOY born again into our souls.
Leonard Sweet, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
Walk or Fly
A little girl, dressed as an angel, in a Christmas pageant was told to
come down the center aisle. The child asked, “Do you want me to walk or
fly?” You feel as though she almost could have flown. Don’t ever lose the
wonder and mystery of Christmas.
Every year I’m reminded of those words of the late Peter Marshall: “When
Christmas doesn’t make your heart swell up until it nearly bursts and fill
your eyes with tears and make you all soft and warm inside then you will
know that something inside of you is dead.”
James T. Garrett, God's Gift, CSS Publishing Company.
come down the center aisle. The child asked, “Do you want me to walk or
fly?” You feel as though she almost could have flown. Don’t ever lose the
wonder and mystery of Christmas.
Every year I’m reminded of those words of the late Peter Marshall: “When
Christmas doesn’t make your heart swell up until it nearly bursts and fill
your eyes with tears and make you all soft and warm inside then you will
know that something inside of you is dead.”
James T. Garrett, God's Gift, CSS Publishing Company.
Joy to the World
Consider the story of one young man. Sick and puny as a baby, he remained
frail and delicate all his days. Later, as a pastor, his maladies were so
severe that he could not serve his growing congregation. Instead he wrote
them letters filled with hope and good cheer. Even though his body was
frail his spirit soared. He complained once about the harsh and uncouth
hymn texts of his day. Someone challenged him to write a better one. He
did. He wrote over 600 hymns, mostly hymns of praise. When his health
finally broke in 1748 he left one of the most remarkable collections of
hymns that the world has ever known. His name? Isaac Watts. His
contribution to the Christmas season? Probably the most sung of all the
Christmas hymns, "Joy to the World; the Lord is come."
Could Isaac Watts have written so, if his life had been easy? I don't
know. It is amazing, though, how often persons who have everything are
spiritual zeroes, whereas those who struggle through life have souls with
both depth and height.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
frail and delicate all his days. Later, as a pastor, his maladies were so
severe that he could not serve his growing congregation. Instead he wrote
them letters filled with hope and good cheer. Even though his body was
frail his spirit soared. He complained once about the harsh and uncouth
hymn texts of his day. Someone challenged him to write a better one. He
did. He wrote over 600 hymns, mostly hymns of praise. When his health
finally broke in 1748 he left one of the most remarkable collections of
hymns that the world has ever known. His name? Isaac Watts. His
contribution to the Christmas season? Probably the most sung of all the
Christmas hymns, "Joy to the World; the Lord is come."
Could Isaac Watts have written so, if his life had been easy? I don't
know. It is amazing, though, how often persons who have everything are
spiritual zeroes, whereas those who struggle through life have souls with
both depth and height.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
There Had to Be a Father
Pastor William Carter said that on his Christmas vacation on his first
year in college, he had become an expert on the birds and the bees.
Biology was his major, and after a semester in the freshman class, he was
certain that he knew more biology than most adults did in his hometown ...
including his minister. A few days before Christmas, he stopped in to see
him. He received him warmly and asked how he had fared in his first
semester. “Okay,” he replied, avoiding the subject of his mediocre grades.
But then he told his pastor, "I’ve come home with some questions.”
“Really?” the pastor replied. “Like what?”
“Like the virgin birth. I’ve taken a lot of biology, as you know,” which
meant one semester in which he received a B-, “and I think this whole
business of a virgin birth doesn’t make much sense to me. It doesn’t fit
with what I have learned in biology class.”
“What’s the problem?” he asked.
“There had to be a father,” he announced. “Either it was Joseph or
somebody else.”
His pastor looked at him with a coy smile and said, “How can you be so sure?”
“Oh, come on,” he said. “That’s not the way it works. There had to be a
father.”
His pastor didn’t back down. Instead he said something that Carter said
he’ll never forget: “So — why not God?”
Why not, indeed? The more we learn, the harder it is to swallow a lot of
things that once seemed so palatable. Advent is a season of wonder and
mystery. We tell our children stories at this time of year that we would
never dare tell when it is warmer and there is more sunlight. The really
wise child is the kid who knows how to shut his mouth even when he has a
few doubts. But sometimes it is hard to do, especially when you have a
whole four months of college behind you.
William G. Carter, Praying for a Whole New World, CSS Publishing Company.
year in college, he had become an expert on the birds and the bees.
Biology was his major, and after a semester in the freshman class, he was
certain that he knew more biology than most adults did in his hometown ...
including his minister. A few days before Christmas, he stopped in to see
him. He received him warmly and asked how he had fared in his first
semester. “Okay,” he replied, avoiding the subject of his mediocre grades.
But then he told his pastor, "I’ve come home with some questions.”
“Really?” the pastor replied. “Like what?”
“Like the virgin birth. I’ve taken a lot of biology, as you know,” which
meant one semester in which he received a B-, “and I think this whole
business of a virgin birth doesn’t make much sense to me. It doesn’t fit
with what I have learned in biology class.”
“What’s the problem?” he asked.
“There had to be a father,” he announced. “Either it was Joseph or
somebody else.”
His pastor looked at him with a coy smile and said, “How can you be so sure?”
“Oh, come on,” he said. “That’s not the way it works. There had to be a
father.”
His pastor didn’t back down. Instead he said something that Carter said
he’ll never forget: “So — why not God?”
Why not, indeed? The more we learn, the harder it is to swallow a lot of
things that once seemed so palatable. Advent is a season of wonder and
mystery. We tell our children stories at this time of year that we would
never dare tell when it is warmer and there is more sunlight. The really
wise child is the kid who knows how to shut his mouth even when he has a
few doubts. But sometimes it is hard to do, especially when you have a
whole four months of college behind you.
William G. Carter, Praying for a Whole New World, CSS Publishing Company.
O Little Town of Bethlehem: A Story of Faith
One of my all time favorite Christmas hymns is "O Little Town of
Bethlehem." It has been around since 1868 although it wasn’t formally used
in churches until 1892. It is a hymn which is packed with emotion, a song
about the Christ Child, born to Mary, a song filled with the creative
power of God intervening in history with the gift of a savior.
For me "O Little Town of Bethlehem," depicts the Christmas story as a
story of hope, a story where the divine and the human come together in an
amazing but humble way. It is also an invitation for both the non-believer
and the believer. For the non-believer it is an announcement of what God
has done and for the believer it is a challenge to increase one’s faith.
What might surprise you is how this great hymn came to be. It was written
by Phillips Brooks, Episcopal priest. Brooks was serving the Holy Trinity
Church in the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia, PA). He had just
returned from a trip to The Holy Land which inspired him to write the
words. "When he returned to America he still had Palestine singing in his
soul." (from Stories of Christmas Carols by Ernest K. Emurian, Baker Book
House Co., page 97)
Brooks was a bachelor. His church organist and Sunday School
superintendent, Lewis Redner was also a bachelor and Brooks gave the words
to him and asked him to create a tune for the upcoming Christmas
celebration. Redner procrastinated and struggled with the creation of a
tune to go with the 5 stanzas that Brooks had written. It wasn’t until the
night before the celebration that Redner got inspired in the middle of the
night and created the song as we know it. The following day a group of 36
children and 6 Sunday school teachers introduced the song created by the 2
bachelors. That was on December 27th, 1968. It wasn’t published as an
official hymn of the Episcopal Church until 1892. The following January,
Phillips Brooks died, never knowing the magnitude of the hymn that he
created.
For some reason the 4th stanza has been dropped from the original score.
"Where children pure and happy Pray to the blessed Child, Where misery
cries out to thee, Son of the mother mild; Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door, The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, And
Christmas comes once more." The stanza includes the line, "And faith holds
wide the door."
This hymn, like the story of the annunciation of Mary in the gospel of
Luke, is a story about faith.
Keith Wagner, Real Hope
Bethlehem." It has been around since 1868 although it wasn’t formally used
in churches until 1892. It is a hymn which is packed with emotion, a song
about the Christ Child, born to Mary, a song filled with the creative
power of God intervening in history with the gift of a savior.
For me "O Little Town of Bethlehem," depicts the Christmas story as a
story of hope, a story where the divine and the human come together in an
amazing but humble way. It is also an invitation for both the non-believer
and the believer. For the non-believer it is an announcement of what God
has done and for the believer it is a challenge to increase one’s faith.
What might surprise you is how this great hymn came to be. It was written
by Phillips Brooks, Episcopal priest. Brooks was serving the Holy Trinity
Church in the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia, PA). He had just
returned from a trip to The Holy Land which inspired him to write the
words. "When he returned to America he still had Palestine singing in his
soul." (from Stories of Christmas Carols by Ernest K. Emurian, Baker Book
House Co., page 97)
Brooks was a bachelor. His church organist and Sunday School
superintendent, Lewis Redner was also a bachelor and Brooks gave the words
to him and asked him to create a tune for the upcoming Christmas
celebration. Redner procrastinated and struggled with the creation of a
tune to go with the 5 stanzas that Brooks had written. It wasn’t until the
night before the celebration that Redner got inspired in the middle of the
night and created the song as we know it. The following day a group of 36
children and 6 Sunday school teachers introduced the song created by the 2
bachelors. That was on December 27th, 1968. It wasn’t published as an
official hymn of the Episcopal Church until 1892. The following January,
Phillips Brooks died, never knowing the magnitude of the hymn that he
created.
For some reason the 4th stanza has been dropped from the original score.
"Where children pure and happy Pray to the blessed Child, Where misery
cries out to thee, Son of the mother mild; Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door, The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, And
Christmas comes once more." The stanza includes the line, "And faith holds
wide the door."
This hymn, like the story of the annunciation of Mary in the gospel of
Luke, is a story about faith.
Keith Wagner, Real Hope
Beware of Cute
This is the time of year when we need to be on high alert for cute.
We love cuteness. This is a cute-driven culture. And this season of year
turns everything it touches into glitz and cuteness.
But the story of Jesus’ birth wasn’t cute.
The Annunciation wasn’t cute.
The virgin birth wasn’t cute.
The Magnificat wasn’t cute.
The little town of Bethlehem wasn’t cute.
The killing of the innocents wasn’t cute.
The nativity genealogy puts Mary in the lineage of Tamar, Rahab,
Bathsheeba, and Ruth (yes, the one who snuck in to the rich Boaz’s tent at
night while he was sleeping to seduce him). Jesus’ genealogy is not cute.
Golgatha wasn’t cute.
“Crux” in Latin means cross. The crux of Christianity is the cross. And
the cross isn’t cute.
The old Christian calendar had ways of resisting this cultural drift into
cuteness. On 26 December, the church celebrated the martyrdom of Saint
Stephen. On 28 December the death of the infants whom Herod killed was
remembered. In other words, the Christmas story was part of a larger story
that dealt with injustice, suffering and even death.
We love cuteness. This is a cute-driven culture. And this season of year
turns everything it touches into glitz and cuteness.
But the story of Jesus’ birth wasn’t cute.
The Annunciation wasn’t cute.
The virgin birth wasn’t cute.
The Magnificat wasn’t cute.
The little town of Bethlehem wasn’t cute.
The killing of the innocents wasn’t cute.
The nativity genealogy puts Mary in the lineage of Tamar, Rahab,
Bathsheeba, and Ruth (yes, the one who snuck in to the rich Boaz’s tent at
night while he was sleeping to seduce him). Jesus’ genealogy is not cute.
Golgatha wasn’t cute.
“Crux” in Latin means cross. The crux of Christianity is the cross. And
the cross isn’t cute.
The old Christian calendar had ways of resisting this cultural drift into
cuteness. On 26 December, the church celebrated the martyrdom of Saint
Stephen. On 28 December the death of the infants whom Herod killed was
remembered. In other words, the Christmas story was part of a larger story
that dealt with injustice, suffering and even death.
Oh, How the Mighty Have
I am holding in my hands a copy of one of the world’s most revolutionary
documents. In it are found these immortal words: “We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Of course, that
document, the Declaration of Independence, is the charter of the American
Revolution. Though we have not yet lived up to it, it has been the vision
that inspires us. The only document I know that is more revolutionary is
in our Bible. It is called the Magnificat and is found in Luke, chapter 1,
verses 39 through 56.
Back before India won its independence, it was under British rule. Bishop
William Temple of the Anglican Church warned his missionaries to India not
to read the Magnificat in public. He feared that it would be so
inflammatory that it might start a revolution!
The document is all the more remarkable when one remembers that it came
from the lips of a simple, teenage girl named Mary. She grew up in the
obscure village of Nazareth in what is now northern Israel. The angel
Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she had been chosen to be the
mother of the long-awaited Messiah. Gabriel told Mary that her aunt
Elizabeth, well past the child-bearing age, had become pregnant.
Immediately Mary went to visit Elizabeth. Under the influence of the Holy
Spirit, both women sensed that God has chosen them for special tasks and
would do great things through their children.
Mary was then given by the Holy Spirit insights far too profound for a
simple teenager to originate. She declared the impact that her son would
have upon the world. She announced three distinct revolutions, which Jesus
would instigate and activate. She spoke of these revolutions in the past
tense, as if they had already happened. The world has been reeling ever
since under the influence of our revolutionary Lord.
A world shaping revolution is in place. Just this past week many wrongs in
the mid East were set on the path of being righted: the proud have been
scattered, the mighty have fallen, and the humble He has lifted. With
these events in view let us turn not to the UN, not to any world leader,
but to a young peasant girl named Mary, for it is HER words that are
illustrated by these world events. Let’s consider that it was SHE that
gave birth to the Revolution that is the pattern for all others.
1. The first nature of the revolution is spiritual.
2. The second nature of the revolution is social.
3. The third nature of the revolution is economic.
documents. In it are found these immortal words: “We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Of course, that
document, the Declaration of Independence, is the charter of the American
Revolution. Though we have not yet lived up to it, it has been the vision
that inspires us. The only document I know that is more revolutionary is
in our Bible. It is called the Magnificat and is found in Luke, chapter 1,
verses 39 through 56.
Back before India won its independence, it was under British rule. Bishop
William Temple of the Anglican Church warned his missionaries to India not
to read the Magnificat in public. He feared that it would be so
inflammatory that it might start a revolution!
The document is all the more remarkable when one remembers that it came
from the lips of a simple, teenage girl named Mary. She grew up in the
obscure village of Nazareth in what is now northern Israel. The angel
Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she had been chosen to be the
mother of the long-awaited Messiah. Gabriel told Mary that her aunt
Elizabeth, well past the child-bearing age, had become pregnant.
Immediately Mary went to visit Elizabeth. Under the influence of the Holy
Spirit, both women sensed that God has chosen them for special tasks and
would do great things through their children.
Mary was then given by the Holy Spirit insights far too profound for a
simple teenager to originate. She declared the impact that her son would
have upon the world. She announced three distinct revolutions, which Jesus
would instigate and activate. She spoke of these revolutions in the past
tense, as if they had already happened. The world has been reeling ever
since under the influence of our revolutionary Lord.
A world shaping revolution is in place. Just this past week many wrongs in
the mid East were set on the path of being righted: the proud have been
scattered, the mighty have fallen, and the humble He has lifted. With
these events in view let us turn not to the UN, not to any world leader,
but to a young peasant girl named Mary, for it is HER words that are
illustrated by these world events. Let’s consider that it was SHE that
gave birth to the Revolution that is the pattern for all others.
1. The first nature of the revolution is spiritual.
2. The second nature of the revolution is social.
3. The third nature of the revolution is economic.
A Personal Testimony
Would you allow me to be personal? I have an unusual story to tell, and I delight in telling it. My work brings me into contact with many people. In fact, I deal with all kinds of people from the humblest country folk to the highest officials.
But the event I most vividly recall happened at one of the year's peak seasons. Our country's leader had felt that additional taxes were needed for us to meet our budget, so he had urged all local citizens to have their names registered at the polls, so they could be duly taxed. Of course, this meant many thousands had to make their way across the countryside to the city which represented their political interests.
I recall the weather...still cool...although the fresh smell of spring was in the air. Grass was even good enough for limited grazing on the nearby hillsides. And the days...rather pleasant, but I must admit the nights were somewhat chilly.
But one night in particular stands out in my memory. It seems that the crowds had been unusually large that day. And many had come by seeking lodging for the night, as they lived at too great a distant to return home for bedtime. Already I had turned dozens away to seek shelter elsewhere. [If stool is used, sit here] Exhausted, I had dozed off at the register's counter when I was awakened by a gentle "tap-tap-tapping" on the counter-top. "Coming to" with a start, I made out the figure of a young couple, standing in the lingering shadows of the lamp light.
But the event I most vividly recall happened at one of the year's peak seasons. Our country's leader had felt that additional taxes were needed for us to meet our budget, so he had urged all local citizens to have their names registered at the polls, so they could be duly taxed. Of course, this meant many thousands had to make their way across the countryside to the city which represented their political interests.
I recall the weather...still cool...although the fresh smell of spring was in the air. Grass was even good enough for limited grazing on the nearby hillsides. And the days...rather pleasant, but I must admit the nights were somewhat chilly.
But one night in particular stands out in my memory. It seems that the crowds had been unusually large that day. And many had come by seeking lodging for the night, as they lived at too great a distant to return home for bedtime. Already I had turned dozens away to seek shelter elsewhere. [If stool is used, sit here] Exhausted, I had dozed off at the register's counter when I was awakened by a gentle "tap-tap-tapping" on the counter-top. "Coming to" with a start, I made out the figure of a young couple, standing in the lingering shadows of the lamp light.
No Room In The Inn
Wally was big for his age--seven years old. Everyone wondered what role the teacher would give him in the annual Christmas play. Especially considering the fact that he was also a slow learner. Perhaps he could pull the curtain.
To everyone's surprise the teacher gave Wally the role of the innkeeper. The boy of course was delighted. After all, all he had to learn was one line:
"There is no room in the inn." He had that down in no time.
Then came the night for the program. The parents took their places. Every seat in the auditorium was filled. The children entered singing "Oh come all ye faithful." The lights dimmed. A hush moved over the audience. The curtain opened on Scene One. Mary and Joseph entered the stage and walked up to the inn. "Please sir, my wife is not well. Could we have a room for the night?"
Wally was ready for his line. He had rehearsed it all night. He began, there is.and he hesitated. He started over again. There is. . .and again his mind went completely blank. Everyone was embarrassed for him but poor Wally just didn't know what to do. Joseph thought he would improvise and started walking away toward the stable on stage left. Seeing him walking away Wally in desperation called out: "Look, there's plenty of room at my house, just come on home with me."
That seems a rather delightful twist on a familiar story. Over the years the characters in the Christmas story have become clearly defined for us. The issues all seem so clear cut. Herod was a villain and the wise men were heroes. The shepherds were heroes and the Innkeeper--well, the poor innkeeper has gone down as one of the heavies in the story. In our minds eye, we envision him as a crotchety old man with a night cap on his head sticking his head out a second story window and tersely shouting: Take the stable and leave me alone.
But perhaps the innkeeper has received bad press. Preachers over the centuries have had a field day with the poor fellow. But was it his fault that the inn was built with twelve rooms instead of thirteen? Was it his fault that Caesar Augustus had issued a decree that the entire world should be taxed? Was it his fault that Mary and Joseph were so late in arriving?
But you know something; this simple little statement about there being no room in the Inn becomes a symbol for Luke. As he writes his gospel it almost becomes a theme. Luke takes this one line, "There is no room in the inn,"
and shows us how this phrase was recurrent throughout Jesus' ministry. The question that Luke leaves for us is--will there ever be any room for him?
1. There was no room for Jesus in the economic world.
2. There was no room for Jesus in the legal realm.
3. There was no room for Jesus in the realm of the religious order.
4. There was no room for Jesus in the world of politics.
5. Let's look at us today--to you and to me. Do we have room for Christ in our lives?
To everyone's surprise the teacher gave Wally the role of the innkeeper. The boy of course was delighted. After all, all he had to learn was one line:
"There is no room in the inn." He had that down in no time.
Then came the night for the program. The parents took their places. Every seat in the auditorium was filled. The children entered singing "Oh come all ye faithful." The lights dimmed. A hush moved over the audience. The curtain opened on Scene One. Mary and Joseph entered the stage and walked up to the inn. "Please sir, my wife is not well. Could we have a room for the night?"
Wally was ready for his line. He had rehearsed it all night. He began, there is.and he hesitated. He started over again. There is. . .and again his mind went completely blank. Everyone was embarrassed for him but poor Wally just didn't know what to do. Joseph thought he would improvise and started walking away toward the stable on stage left. Seeing him walking away Wally in desperation called out: "Look, there's plenty of room at my house, just come on home with me."
That seems a rather delightful twist on a familiar story. Over the years the characters in the Christmas story have become clearly defined for us. The issues all seem so clear cut. Herod was a villain and the wise men were heroes. The shepherds were heroes and the Innkeeper--well, the poor innkeeper has gone down as one of the heavies in the story. In our minds eye, we envision him as a crotchety old man with a night cap on his head sticking his head out a second story window and tersely shouting: Take the stable and leave me alone.
But perhaps the innkeeper has received bad press. Preachers over the centuries have had a field day with the poor fellow. But was it his fault that the inn was built with twelve rooms instead of thirteen? Was it his fault that Caesar Augustus had issued a decree that the entire world should be taxed? Was it his fault that Mary and Joseph were so late in arriving?
But you know something; this simple little statement about there being no room in the Inn becomes a symbol for Luke. As he writes his gospel it almost becomes a theme. Luke takes this one line, "There is no room in the inn,"
and shows us how this phrase was recurrent throughout Jesus' ministry. The question that Luke leaves for us is--will there ever be any room for him?
1. There was no room for Jesus in the economic world.
2. There was no room for Jesus in the legal realm.
3. There was no room for Jesus in the realm of the religious order.
4. There was no room for Jesus in the world of politics.
5. Let's look at us today--to you and to me. Do we have room for Christ in our lives?
What Was Seen At Bethlehem
I wonder what I would have heard had I been there that night. It is a question that annually haunts me. Would I have heard the choirs of angels singing or simply the sounds of barnyard animals shifting around? Would I have seen the star in the sky that night or simply two poor and very frightened kids? Would I have understood the hushed silence of the divine presence, or simply the chill of a cold east wind. Would I have understood the message of Emmanuel, God with us, or would the cosmic implications of that evening have passed me by?
I am convinced that had two people been there that night in Bethlehem it is quite possible that they could have heard and seen two entirely different scenes. I believe this because all of life is this way. God never presents himself in revelation in a manner in which we are forced to believe. We are always left with an option, for that is God's way. Thus, one person can say "Its a miracle, while another says "It's coincidence."
Certainly very few people in Palestine saw and heard and understood what took place that night. The choirs of angels singing were drowned out by the haggling and trading going on in the Jerusalem bazaar. There was a bright star in the sky but the only ones apparently to pay any attention to it were pagan astrologers from the East. If anyone did see Mary and Joseph on that most fateful night, they were too preoccupied with their own problems to offer any assistance.
In one of the All in the Family episodes that aired some years ago Edith and Archie are attending Edith's high school class reunion. Edith encounters an old classmate by the name of Buck who, unlike his earlier days. had now become excessively obese. Edith and Buck have a delightful conversation about old times and the things that they did together, but remarkably Edith doesn't seem to notice how extremely heavy Buck has become. Later, when Edith and Archie and talking, she says in her whiny voices "Archie, ain't Buck a beautiful person." Archie looks at her with a disgusted expression and says: "Your a pip, Edith. You know that. You and I look at the same guy and you see a beautiful person and I see a blimp. Edith gets a puzzled expression on her face and says something unknowingly profound, "Yeah, ain't it too bad."
I am convinced that had two people been there that night in Bethlehem it is quite possible that they could have heard and seen two entirely different scenes. I believe this because all of life is this way. God never presents himself in revelation in a manner in which we are forced to believe. We are always left with an option, for that is God's way. Thus, one person can say "Its a miracle, while another says "It's coincidence."
Certainly very few people in Palestine saw and heard and understood what took place that night. The choirs of angels singing were drowned out by the haggling and trading going on in the Jerusalem bazaar. There was a bright star in the sky but the only ones apparently to pay any attention to it were pagan astrologers from the East. If anyone did see Mary and Joseph on that most fateful night, they were too preoccupied with their own problems to offer any assistance.
In one of the All in the Family episodes that aired some years ago Edith and Archie are attending Edith's high school class reunion. Edith encounters an old classmate by the name of Buck who, unlike his earlier days. had now become excessively obese. Edith and Buck have a delightful conversation about old times and the things that they did together, but remarkably Edith doesn't seem to notice how extremely heavy Buck has become. Later, when Edith and Archie and talking, she says in her whiny voices "Archie, ain't Buck a beautiful person." Archie looks at her with a disgusted expression and says: "Your a pip, Edith. You know that. You and I look at the same guy and you see a beautiful person and I see a blimp. Edith gets a puzzled expression on her face and says something unknowingly profound, "Yeah, ain't it too bad."
The Work of the Church
At the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Sierra Leone, West
Africa. The meetings were held in the large sanctuary in the capital city,
Freetown. Each day as we entered the large doors into the sanctuary there
was a young girl, maybe about the age of 8, who begged at the door. She
looked ragged, dirty, her hair was matted and knotty, and she had on
tattered clothes. No one seemed to know her, and people brushed her aside
upon entering. Some of the pastors tried to tell her to go away. We were
busy doing the work of the church. She was a bother. This went on for
several days.
Africa. The meetings were held in the large sanctuary in the capital city,
Freetown. Each day as we entered the large doors into the sanctuary there
was a young girl, maybe about the age of 8, who begged at the door. She
looked ragged, dirty, her hair was matted and knotty, and she had on
tattered clothes. No one seemed to know her, and people brushed her aside
upon entering. Some of the pastors tried to tell her to go away. We were
busy doing the work of the church. She was a bother. This went on for
several days.
Turning Up the Religious Machinery
Eugene Peterson claims in one of his books: "For a long time I have been
convinced that I could take a person with a high school education, give him
or her a six-month trade school training, and provide a pastor who would be
satisfactory to any discriminating American congregation. The curriculum
would consist of four courses. Course 1: Creative Plagiarism. I would put
you in touch with a wide range of excellent and inspirational talks, show
you how to alter them just enough to obscure their origins, and get you a
reputation for wit and wisdom. Course 2: Voice Control for Prayer and
Counseling. We would develop your own distinct style of Holy Joe intonation,
acquiring the skill in resonance and modulation that conveys an unmistakable
aura of sanctity. Course 3: Efficient Office Management. There is nothing
that parishioners admire more in their pastors than the capacity to run a
tight ship administratively ... Course
4: Image Projection. Here we would master the half-dozen well-known and
easily implemented devices that create the impression that we are
terrifically busy and widely sought after for counsel by influential people
in the community."
As one preacher speaking to others, Peterson is poking fun, of course, but
he is also speaking a hard truth. The clergy always run the risk of merely
putting on a good show. Ministers like me can grow so accustomed to the
absence of God that we lose our vocabulary for naming God's presence. And we
fill the vacuum by heaping up empty prayers and tuning up the religious
machinery.
The one thing we need is a Word from God. The one gift we cannot purchase
out of a catalog is the Word that names us, claims us, judges us, and
redeems us. We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.
In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, God didn't speak to the
politicians. During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God didn't
speak to the religious functionaries. No, "the word of God came to John, son
of Zechariah, in the wilderness."
Praying for a Whole New World, William G. Carter, CSS Publishing Company
convinced that I could take a person with a high school education, give him
or her a six-month trade school training, and provide a pastor who would be
satisfactory to any discriminating American congregation. The curriculum
would consist of four courses. Course 1: Creative Plagiarism. I would put
you in touch with a wide range of excellent and inspirational talks, show
you how to alter them just enough to obscure their origins, and get you a
reputation for wit and wisdom. Course 2: Voice Control for Prayer and
Counseling. We would develop your own distinct style of Holy Joe intonation,
acquiring the skill in resonance and modulation that conveys an unmistakable
aura of sanctity. Course 3: Efficient Office Management. There is nothing
that parishioners admire more in their pastors than the capacity to run a
tight ship administratively ... Course
4: Image Projection. Here we would master the half-dozen well-known and
easily implemented devices that create the impression that we are
terrifically busy and widely sought after for counsel by influential people
in the community."
As one preacher speaking to others, Peterson is poking fun, of course, but
he is also speaking a hard truth. The clergy always run the risk of merely
putting on a good show. Ministers like me can grow so accustomed to the
absence of God that we lose our vocabulary for naming God's presence. And we
fill the vacuum by heaping up empty prayers and tuning up the religious
machinery.
The one thing we need is a Word from God. The one gift we cannot purchase
out of a catalog is the Word that names us, claims us, judges us, and
redeems us. We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.
In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, God didn't speak to the
politicians. During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God didn't
speak to the religious functionaries. No, "the word of God came to John, son
of Zechariah, in the wilderness."
Praying for a Whole New World, William G. Carter, CSS Publishing Company
Sermon Ender - Forgiveness
Carl Michalson, a brilliant young theologian who died in a plane crash some
years ago, once told about playing with his young son one afternoon.
They tussled playfully on their front lawn when Michalson accidentally hit
the young boy in the face with his elbow. It was a sharp blow full to his
son's face. The little boy was stunned by the impact of the elbow. It hurt,
and he was just about to burst into tears. But then he looked into his
father's eyes. Instead of anger and hostility, he saw there his father's
sympathy and concern; he saw there his father's love and compassion. Instead
of exploding into tears, the little boy suddenly burst into laughter. What
he saw in his father's eyes made all the difference!
The sharp blow of God's message to us is: Repentance. But, look into your
father's eyes. What he offers you is forgiveness and that makes all the
difference. Repent and you will be forgiven.
James W. Moore, Some Things Are too Good Not to Be True,
Nashville:Dimensions, p. 43. Adapted.
years ago, once told about playing with his young son one afternoon.
They tussled playfully on their front lawn when Michalson accidentally hit
the young boy in the face with his elbow. It was a sharp blow full to his
son's face. The little boy was stunned by the impact of the elbow. It hurt,
and he was just about to burst into tears. But then he looked into his
father's eyes. Instead of anger and hostility, he saw there his father's
sympathy and concern; he saw there his father's love and compassion. Instead
of exploding into tears, the little boy suddenly burst into laughter. What
he saw in his father's eyes made all the difference!
The sharp blow of God's message to us is: Repentance. But, look into your
father's eyes. What he offers you is forgiveness and that makes all the
difference. Repent and you will be forgiven.
James W. Moore, Some Things Are too Good Not to Be True,
Nashville:Dimensions, p. 43. Adapted.
The Color Purple
For those using the liturgical colors of the season of advent: Whenever I
reflect upon the fact that purple is the color of Advent, I am reminded of
an historical story. When Louis the IV was a young boy growing up in France
the Royal family employed one of the best teachers in the land to instruct
him on the ways of royalty. When he arrived the first thing that he did was
to give the young prince a purple tunic. Your grace, he said, I cannot give
you orders, for I am but a commoner. How can a commoner command royalty. But
I give you this purple tunic. And every time I see you doing something
unbecoming of the royal prince, I am going to point to the purple and remind
you that that represents France. I will remind you that it is for that that
your countrymen died. I will not make my appeal to you, your Prince, I will
make my appeal to the purple.
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com.
reflect upon the fact that purple is the color of Advent, I am reminded of
an historical story. When Louis the IV was a young boy growing up in France
the Royal family employed one of the best teachers in the land to instruct
him on the ways of royalty. When he arrived the first thing that he did was
to give the young prince a purple tunic. Your grace, he said, I cannot give
you orders, for I am but a commoner. How can a commoner command royalty. But
I give you this purple tunic. And every time I see you doing something
unbecoming of the royal prince, I am going to point to the purple and remind
you that that represents France. I will remind you that it is for that that
your countrymen died. I will not make my appeal to you, your Prince, I will
make my appeal to the purple.
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com.
Our Basic Problem
Billy Graham, who has often played the 20th century role of John the
Baptizer, had these comments about the disease running rampant in our
world: "We're suffering from only one disease in the world. Our basic
problem is not a race problem. Our basic problem is not a poverty problem.
Our basic problem is not a war problem. Our basic problem is a heart
problem. We need to get the heart changed, the heart transformed."
Michael J. Anton, Good News for Now, CSS Publishing, p. 12
Baptizer, had these comments about the disease running rampant in our
world: "We're suffering from only one disease in the world. Our basic
problem is not a race problem. Our basic problem is not a poverty problem.
Our basic problem is not a war problem. Our basic problem is a heart
problem. We need to get the heart changed, the heart transformed."
Michael J. Anton, Good News for Now, CSS Publishing, p. 12
Recognizing our Need to Repent
One critic said he had gone to many churches and heard the preacher say,
"Don't try to impress God with your works" or "Don't attempt to please God
with your merits" or "Don't try to keep the rules and regulations and thus
win your way." He looked around at nearly slumbering collections of utterly
casual Christians and wondered, "Who's trying?"
Martin Marty
"Don't try to impress God with your works" or "Don't attempt to please God
with your merits" or "Don't try to keep the rules and regulations and thus
win your way." He looked around at nearly slumbering collections of utterly
casual Christians and wondered, "Who's trying?"
Martin Marty
Repentance
True repentance hates the sin, and not merely the penalty; and it hates the
sin most of all because it has discovered and felt God's love.
W.M. Taylor
sin most of all because it has discovered and felt God's love.
W.M. Taylor
To Whom Should We Repent
When a man undertakes to repent toward his fellowmen, it is repenting
straight up a precipice; when he repents toward law, it is repenting into
the crocodile's jaws; when he repents toward public sentiment, it is
throwing himself into a thicket of brambles and thorns; but when he repents
toward God, he repents toward all love and delicacy. God receives the soul
as the sea the bather, to return it again, purer and whiter than he took it.
Henry Ward Beecher
straight up a precipice; when he repents toward law, it is repenting into
the crocodile's jaws; when he repents toward public sentiment, it is
throwing himself into a thicket of brambles and thorns; but when he repents
toward God, he repents toward all love and delicacy. God receives the soul
as the sea the bather, to return it again, purer and whiter than he took it.
Henry Ward Beecher
Preparation - or lack of it!
To avoid offending anybody, the school dropped religion altogether and
started singing about the weather. At my son's school, they now hold the
winter program in February and sing increasingly non-memorable songs such as
"Winter Wonderland," "Frosty the Snowman" and--this is a real song--"Suzy
Snowflake," all of which is pretty funny because we live in Miami. A visitor
from another planet would assume that the children belonged to the Church of
Meteorology.
Dave Barry in his "Notes on Western Civilization" Chicago Tribune Magazine,
July 28, 1991
started singing about the weather. At my son's school, they now hold the
winter program in February and sing increasingly non-memorable songs such as
"Winter Wonderland," "Frosty the Snowman" and--this is a real song--"Suzy
Snowflake," all of which is pretty funny because we live in Miami. A visitor
from another planet would assume that the children belonged to the Church of
Meteorology.
Dave Barry in his "Notes on Western Civilization" Chicago Tribune Magazine,
July 28, 1991
We Need a Bath!
Last week we embarked on the journey of Advent. We lit the first candle, and
we read biblical passages that propelled us into the future to consider the
end of time-the apocalypse. Today, our reading sends us in the opposite
direction. On the second Sunday of Advent, we are pulled into the distant
past to hear the words of the ancient prophet, Malachi.
Malachi tells of a figure who is coming "to prepare the way for the Lord."
He speaks of a messenger who will purify people's hearts. "God is sending an
emissary," writes Malachi, "who comes intending to cleanse your souls."
It all seems a bit presumptuous, doesn't it? In the midst of our
pre-Christmas hustle and bustle, the church trots out some primitive prophet
who promises us an Advent scrub-down. Is that really what we need right now?
You would think that the lectionary could come up with a few encouraging
words at this time-assuring us that we will make it through another
Christmas, instead of cheekily suggesting that before God arrives, we need a
bath.
Scott Black Johnston, Fire and Soap
we read biblical passages that propelled us into the future to consider the
end of time-the apocalypse. Today, our reading sends us in the opposite
direction. On the second Sunday of Advent, we are pulled into the distant
past to hear the words of the ancient prophet, Malachi.
Malachi tells of a figure who is coming "to prepare the way for the Lord."
He speaks of a messenger who will purify people's hearts. "God is sending an
emissary," writes Malachi, "who comes intending to cleanse your souls."
It all seems a bit presumptuous, doesn't it? In the midst of our
pre-Christmas hustle and bustle, the church trots out some primitive prophet
who promises us an Advent scrub-down. Is that really what we need right now?
You would think that the lectionary could come up with a few encouraging
words at this time-assuring us that we will make it through another
Christmas, instead of cheekily suggesting that before God arrives, we need a
bath.
Scott Black Johnston, Fire and Soap
Turn on the Lights!
During the recent recession, one commentator on television began his
newscast by saying, "Due to the current financial crisis, the light at the
end of the tunnel will be turned off." The world turns off lights.
Christians turn them on - look around you, in your neighborhoods, in this
season. Light (especially light at the end of a tunnel) represents hope.
Something that pierces the darkness.
William R. Boyer, A God Full of Surprises
newscast by saying, "Due to the current financial crisis, the light at the
end of the tunnel will be turned off." The world turns off lights.
Christians turn them on - look around you, in your neighborhoods, in this
season. Light (especially light at the end of a tunnel) represents hope.
Something that pierces the darkness.
William R. Boyer, A God Full of Surprises
A Higher Standard of Living
Max Lucado tells the story of a man who had been a closet slob most of his life. He just couldn't comprehend the logic of neatness. Why make up a bed if you're going to sleep in it again tonight? Why put the lid on the toothpaste tube if you're going to take it off again in the morning? He admitted to being compulsive about being messy.
Then he got married. His wife was patient. She said she didn't mind his
habits . . . if he didn't mind sleeping on the couch. Since he did mind, he
began to change. He said he enrolled in a 12-step program for slobs. A
physical therapist helped him rediscover the muscles used for hanging up
shirts and placing toilet paper on the holder. His nose was reintroduced to
the smell of Pine Sol. By the time his in-laws arrived for a visit, he was a new man.
But then came that moment of truth. His wife went out of town for a week.
At first he reverted to the old man. He figured he could be a slob for six
days and clean up on the seventh. But something strange happened. He could
no longer relax with dirty dishes in the sink or towels flung around the
bathroom or clothes on the floor or sheets piled up like a mountain on the bed.
What happened? Simple. He had been exposed to a higher standard of living.
That's what confession and repentance do for us. That's what Jesus does for us.
Billy D. Strayhorn, Thunder in the Desert
Then he got married. His wife was patient. She said she didn't mind his
habits . . . if he didn't mind sleeping on the couch. Since he did mind, he
began to change. He said he enrolled in a 12-step program for slobs. A
physical therapist helped him rediscover the muscles used for hanging up
shirts and placing toilet paper on the holder. His nose was reintroduced to
the smell of Pine Sol. By the time his in-laws arrived for a visit, he was a new man.
But then came that moment of truth. His wife went out of town for a week.
At first he reverted to the old man. He figured he could be a slob for six
days and clean up on the seventh. But something strange happened. He could
no longer relax with dirty dishes in the sink or towels flung around the
bathroom or clothes on the floor or sheets piled up like a mountain on the bed.
What happened? Simple. He had been exposed to a higher standard of living.
That's what confession and repentance do for us. That's what Jesus does for us.
Billy D. Strayhorn, Thunder in the Desert
The Hinge of History
It sometimes seems that God shows his sense of humor with history. Halford
Luccock once noted that Nero was sure that the most important happenings in
Rome were the words he said, the laws he enacted, and the things he did. As
a matter of fact, the biggest events in Rome at the time were some prayer
meetings which were being held secretly in the catacombs. The Medici, he
observes, must have seemed the key figures in Renaissance Europe, with their
palaces, art galleries, and political power. Yet they are overshadowed by "a
little boy playing about on the docks of Genoa,"
who would eventually open the seaway to the Americans - Christopher
Columbus.
So it was in John the Baptizer's time. One can easily imagine the pomp and
circumstance with which Herod trampled about as tetrarch of Galilee.
Wherever he went, people scraped and bowed. They waited for a disdaining nod
and dreamed of some act of preferment from his hand. Herod was, indeed, a
big man in Galilee in the first century. Today, all his pomp is simply
pompous, and all his circumstance only circumstantial. But John the
Baptizer! -- a great human being.
J. Ellsworth Kalas, 'The Hinge of History,' Sermons on the Gospel Readings,
Cycle C, CSS Publishing Company
Luccock once noted that Nero was sure that the most important happenings in
Rome were the words he said, the laws he enacted, and the things he did. As
a matter of fact, the biggest events in Rome at the time were some prayer
meetings which were being held secretly in the catacombs. The Medici, he
observes, must have seemed the key figures in Renaissance Europe, with their
palaces, art galleries, and political power. Yet they are overshadowed by "a
little boy playing about on the docks of Genoa,"
who would eventually open the seaway to the Americans - Christopher
Columbus.
So it was in John the Baptizer's time. One can easily imagine the pomp and
circumstance with which Herod trampled about as tetrarch of Galilee.
Wherever he went, people scraped and bowed. They waited for a disdaining nod
and dreamed of some act of preferment from his hand. Herod was, indeed, a
big man in Galilee in the first century. Today, all his pomp is simply
pompous, and all his circumstance only circumstantial. But John the
Baptizer! -- a great human being.
J. Ellsworth Kalas, 'The Hinge of History,' Sermons on the Gospel Readings,
Cycle C, CSS Publishing Company
There Is Work to Do!
What a message for us at Advent! "Let every heart/Prepare him room" we sing.
Perhaps we would do well to say let every heart get out the bulldozers and
backhoes, the rock crushers and road graders:
There are mountains that need to come down - mountains of racism, sexism,
ageism, and any other "-ism" that blocks our way to healthy relationships
with one another and with our Lord.
There are valleys to be filled - valleys of depression, despair, loneliness,
grief, pain, any of which can keep us from the rich relationship the Savior
offers and that keep us from enjoying the fellowship of the faith.
There are crooked places to be made straight - yes, there is perversity,
even among those we might never imagine; fine exteriors mask rotten
interiors of abuse, neglect, immorality, even violence.
There are rough places to be made smooth - rough places that have come
because of oppression and injustice.
There is work to do! Bring on the heavy equipment!
David E. Leininger, One Shock after Another
Perhaps we would do well to say let every heart get out the bulldozers and
backhoes, the rock crushers and road graders:
There are mountains that need to come down - mountains of racism, sexism,
ageism, and any other "-ism" that blocks our way to healthy relationships
with one another and with our Lord.
There are valleys to be filled - valleys of depression, despair, loneliness,
grief, pain, any of which can keep us from the rich relationship the Savior
offers and that keep us from enjoying the fellowship of the faith.
There are crooked places to be made straight - yes, there is perversity,
even among those we might never imagine; fine exteriors mask rotten
interiors of abuse, neglect, immorality, even violence.
There are rough places to be made smooth - rough places that have come
because of oppression and injustice.
There is work to do! Bring on the heavy equipment!
David E. Leininger, One Shock after Another
Shake It Off and Step Up!
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the
farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule braying and went to the site.
After assessing the situation the farmer sympathized with the mule but
decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving.
Instead he called his neighbors and asked them to bring their shovels and
bury the poor mule and put him out of his misery.
The mule seemed hysterical. When the dirt struck his back he shook it off.
As the farmer and his friends continued to shovel a thought struck the
farmer. After each shovel of dirt was thrown onto the mule he said, "Shake
it off and step up." The mule did what he asked, after every shovel of dirt.
After a time the old mule stepped triumphantly out of the well. What seemed
to bury him actually became his road to freedom.
There is an alternative to every impossible situation. The way is not always
visible to us. But our task is not to work miracles, that is up to God. Our
responsibility is to prepare the way, committing every ounce of energy we
have to the possibility of the transforming power of God, remembering that a
single act of kindness can bring hope to generations yet to come.
Keith Wagner, Possibilities Unlimited
farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule braying and went to the site.
After assessing the situation the farmer sympathized with the mule but
decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving.
Instead he called his neighbors and asked them to bring their shovels and
bury the poor mule and put him out of his misery.
The mule seemed hysterical. When the dirt struck his back he shook it off.
As the farmer and his friends continued to shovel a thought struck the
farmer. After each shovel of dirt was thrown onto the mule he said, "Shake
it off and step up." The mule did what he asked, after every shovel of dirt.
After a time the old mule stepped triumphantly out of the well. What seemed
to bury him actually became his road to freedom.
There is an alternative to every impossible situation. The way is not always
visible to us. But our task is not to work miracles, that is up to God. Our
responsibility is to prepare the way, committing every ounce of energy we
have to the possibility of the transforming power of God, remembering that a
single act of kindness can bring hope to generations yet to come.
Keith Wagner, Possibilities Unlimited
The Whole Family Survival
How many of you remember or have every played the "Six Degrees of Kevin
Bacon" game?
In the mid-90s this silly party game challenged players to find a way to
link the actor Kevin Bacon with any other actor using no more than six
connections. (For instance, Val Kilmer was in "Top Gun" with Tom Cruise who
was in "A Few Good Men," which also featured Kevin Bacon.) Eventually what
was really just a movie trivia game became a way for us to see ourselves as
somehow related to anyone else on the planet with just six simple steps.
Poking fun at himself and at this trend, Kevin Bacon starred in a Visa check
card commercial. In the commercial a cashier won't take Bacon's check when
the actor has no identification on him. Bacon leaves and returns with a
group of people, explaining to the cashier, "Okay, I was in a movie with an
extra, Eunice, whose hairdresser, Wayne, attended Sunday School with Father
O'Neill, who plays racquetball with Dr. Sanjay, who recently removed the
appendix of Kim, who dumped you sophomore year. So you see, we are
practically brothers!"
By 2005 the quest for the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" took on a serious
scientific status when The National Geographic Society, IBM, and the Witt
Family Foundation launched "The Genographic Project." Although originally
designed to trace the migration patterns of certain indigenous peoples,
anyone could participate in the Project. All that was required was to send a
DNA sample - a simple cheek swab - and the scientists would analyze the
sample's mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomes - the location for the genetic
markers for specific populations. These genetic markers would allow the
researcher to trace the long distant ancestry, the genetic history, of any
individual.
What the researchers hadn't figured into their analytic assignment, however,
was the fact that anytime you try and put a big family together squabbles
are going erupt.
Bacon" game?
In the mid-90s this silly party game challenged players to find a way to
link the actor Kevin Bacon with any other actor using no more than six
connections. (For instance, Val Kilmer was in "Top Gun" with Tom Cruise who
was in "A Few Good Men," which also featured Kevin Bacon.) Eventually what
was really just a movie trivia game became a way for us to see ourselves as
somehow related to anyone else on the planet with just six simple steps.
Poking fun at himself and at this trend, Kevin Bacon starred in a Visa check
card commercial. In the commercial a cashier won't take Bacon's check when
the actor has no identification on him. Bacon leaves and returns with a
group of people, explaining to the cashier, "Okay, I was in a movie with an
extra, Eunice, whose hairdresser, Wayne, attended Sunday School with Father
O'Neill, who plays racquetball with Dr. Sanjay, who recently removed the
appendix of Kim, who dumped you sophomore year. So you see, we are
practically brothers!"
By 2005 the quest for the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" took on a serious
scientific status when The National Geographic Society, IBM, and the Witt
Family Foundation launched "The Genographic Project." Although originally
designed to trace the migration patterns of certain indigenous peoples,
anyone could participate in the Project. All that was required was to send a
DNA sample - a simple cheek swab - and the scientists would analyze the
sample's mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomes - the location for the genetic
markers for specific populations. These genetic markers would allow the
researcher to trace the long distant ancestry, the genetic history, of any
individual.
What the researchers hadn't figured into their analytic assignment, however,
was the fact that anytime you try and put a big family together squabbles
are going erupt.
So You Want To Go To?
Each year, during the season of Advent, the church sets off on a journey.
We begin to prepare our hearts and our minds for the coming of the
Christ-child, so that this time he will have a proper place to be born.
And we think we know the way to Bethlehem. We can find it on the map. It's
not that far from Jerusalem, by today's standards; shouldn't be a problem.
But the problem is that so much has changed since our last visit. A whole
year has passed, a year that brought many changes in our lives, some of them
good, some of them not so good, some of them heartbreaking. The geographic
map of life has changed, and even old familiar places don't seem the same
any more. So maybe we could use a little help in finding our way back to
Bethlehem this year. That is, if you still want to go.
If we were to ask any of the writers of the gospels how to get to Bethlehem,
I think we might be surprised by their answer.
We begin to prepare our hearts and our minds for the coming of the
Christ-child, so that this time he will have a proper place to be born.
And we think we know the way to Bethlehem. We can find it on the map. It's
not that far from Jerusalem, by today's standards; shouldn't be a problem.
But the problem is that so much has changed since our last visit. A whole
year has passed, a year that brought many changes in our lives, some of them
good, some of them not so good, some of them heartbreaking. The geographic
map of life has changed, and even old familiar places don't seem the same
any more. So maybe we could use a little help in finding our way back to
Bethlehem this year. That is, if you still want to go.
If we were to ask any of the writers of the gospels how to get to Bethlehem,
I think we might be surprised by their answer.
Preparation for Christ's Coming
Maybe you've heard the story of the little boy who decided to write a letter to God one Christmas. He started out by writing: "Dear God, I've been a really good boy this year." Unfortunately, he remembered that God was all knowing and all seeing and he decided that he couldn't lie to God. So, he crumpled up that letter and started over. This time he wrote: "Dear God, I know I haven't done everything I should have, but I really tried to be good." He stopped and crumpled up that letter, too. It was obvious that he was struggling with what to write to God.
As he sat there thinking he looked up and saw his mother's favorite piece of sculpture on the mantel. It was a beautiful rendition of the Madonna, the mother of Christ. The boy perked up and ran out of the room. He came back with a towel and a shoebox. He walked over, carefully picked up the Madonna, gently wrapped it in the towel, carefully put it in the shoebox and then hid it in the closet. He immediately went back to the table and wrote: "Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again . . ."
It's time the Church took back Christmas. And we do. Every year we take it back and bring back the meaning and the purpose. The world tries to hold it for ransom each year, with its multiplicity of gadgets and this year's list of must have toys; the world tries to make demands and hold Christmas for ransom but it never works. The birth of the Christ child is just too powerful, even for Wall Street. The sight and the sounds and the remembrance of this child born so long ago changes all the rules. His very presence makes the glitter of our Christmas presents pale in comparison.
Billy D. Strayhorn, Stay On Your Toes
As he sat there thinking he looked up and saw his mother's favorite piece of sculpture on the mantel. It was a beautiful rendition of the Madonna, the mother of Christ. The boy perked up and ran out of the room. He came back with a towel and a shoebox. He walked over, carefully picked up the Madonna, gently wrapped it in the towel, carefully put it in the shoebox and then hid it in the closet. He immediately went back to the table and wrote: "Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again . . ."
It's time the Church took back Christmas. And we do. Every year we take it back and bring back the meaning and the purpose. The world tries to hold it for ransom each year, with its multiplicity of gadgets and this year's list of must have toys; the world tries to make demands and hold Christmas for ransom but it never works. The birth of the Christ child is just too powerful, even for Wall Street. The sight and the sounds and the remembrance of this child born so long ago changes all the rules. His very presence makes the glitter of our Christmas presents pale in comparison.
Billy D. Strayhorn, Stay On Your Toes
Second Coming and Faithfulness
During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives: On May 19th, 1780 the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought." Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we're to be lights as we watch and wait.
Harry Heintz
Harry Heintz
Sound Theology
In the Peanuts comic strip, Linus and Lucy are standing at the window looking out at the rain falling. Lucy says to Linus, "Boy, look at it rain...What if it floods the earth?" Linus, the resident biblical scholar for the Peanuts, answers, "It will never do that...in the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow." With a smile on her face, Lucy replies, "Linus, you've taken a great load off my mind." To which Linus responds, "Sound theology has a way of doing that."
Charles Schultz, Peanuts, adapted by David E. Leininger
Charles Schultz, Peanuts, adapted by David E. Leininger
Exchanging Our Eschatological Heritage
Neill Hamilton, who taught at Drew University for many years, once observed how people in our time lose hope for the future. It happens whenever we let our culture call the shots on how the world is going to end. At this stage of technological advancement, the only way the culture can make sense of the future is through the picture of everything blowing up in a nuclear holocaust. The world cannot know what we know, that everything has changed in the death and resurrection of Jesus, that the same Christ is coming to judge the world and give birth to a new creation. And so, people lose hope. As Hamilton puts it: This substitution of an image of nuclear holocaust for the coming of Christ is a parable of what happens to Christians when they cease to believe in their own eschatological heritage. The culture supplies its own images for the end when we default by ceasing to believe in biblical images of God's triumph at the end.
The good news of the gospel is this: when all is said and done, God is going to win.
William G. Carter, No Box Seats in the Kingdom, CSS Publishing.
The good news of the gospel is this: when all is said and done, God is going to win.
William G. Carter, No Box Seats in the Kingdom, CSS Publishing.
When Everything Becomes "Merely"
Virginia Owens in her book, And The Trees Clap Their Hands, suggests that we lose the wonder of it all, because along the way everything becomes "merely." Things are "merely" stars, sunset, rain, flowers, and mountains. Their connection with God's creation is lost. During this Advent season many things are just "merely." It becomes "merely" Bethlehem, a stable, a birth -- we have no feeling of wonder or mystery. That is what familiarity can do to us over the years.
Owens goes on to say that it is this "merely" quality of things that leads to crime. It is "merely" a thing -- I'll take it. It is "merely" an object -- I'll destroy it. It is this "merely" quality of things and life that leads to war. We shall lose "merely" a few thousand men, but it will be worth it. Within the Advent narrative nothing is "merely." Things are not "merely" things, but are part of God's grand design. Common things, such as motherhood, a birth, a child, now have new meaning. This is not "merely" the world, but a world that is charged with the beauty and grandeur of God's design. It is a world so loved by God that God gave his only Son. What is so great about the Advent season is that everything appears charged with the beauty and grandeur of God.
John A. Stroman, God's Downward Mobility, CSS Publishing.
Owens goes on to say that it is this "merely" quality of things that leads to crime. It is "merely" a thing -- I'll take it. It is "merely" an object -- I'll destroy it. It is this "merely" quality of things and life that leads to war. We shall lose "merely" a few thousand men, but it will be worth it. Within the Advent narrative nothing is "merely." Things are not "merely" things, but are part of God's grand design. Common things, such as motherhood, a birth, a child, now have new meaning. This is not "merely" the world, but a world that is charged with the beauty and grandeur of God's design. It is a world so loved by God that God gave his only Son. What is so great about the Advent season is that everything appears charged with the beauty and grandeur of God.
John A. Stroman, God's Downward Mobility, CSS Publishing.
Keeping Spiritually Dressed
When Eisenhower was president of the United States, he once visited Denver. His attention was called to a letter in the local newspaper saying that a six-year-old boy dying with cancer expressed a wish to see the president. One Sunday morning a black limousine pulled up in front of the boy's house. Ike stepped out of his car and knocked on the front door. The father, Donald Haley, opened the door wearing faded jeans, an old shirt, and a day's old beard. Standing behind him was the boy. Ike said, "Paul, I understand you want to see me. Glad to see you." Then he took the boy to the limousine to show it to him, shook hands, and left. The family and neighbors talked about the President's visit for a long time before the father always remembered it with regret because of the way he was dressed. He lamented, "What a way to meet the President of the United States." If we keep in fellowship with God through prayer, we will keep ourselves spiritually dressed for Christ's coming at any time.
John R. Brokhoff, Wrinkled Wrappings, CSS Publishing Company.
John R. Brokhoff, Wrinkled Wrappings, CSS Publishing Company.
Peace: Good Is Not Far Away
What anxious people need more than anything is peace, especially peace of mind. On Black Friday I went into a Fossil store that sells watches. The store was crowded and I could barely make my way to the counter. I was on a mission. I had a fossil watch that needed a battery. I was certain that the last thing any clerk wanted to do on the busiest shopping day of the year was to install a new battery in a watch. Much to my surprise the man said he would be glad to put in a new battery. I could leave it and pick it up later. When I came back, again much to my surprise, he only charged me $5. In the midst of all that craziness I experienced the reality that life goes on and the simplest of things continue in spite of all the craziness. I gratefully left the store, watch in hand, ticking along, marking time for years to come. I felt a sense of peace that God is still in the midst of all the chaos.
What this all says to me is that no matter how anxious the times we live in, God is not far away. The problem is that we are so afraid we miss God’s presence. We let those who use scare tactics mislead us. We allow doom and darkness to dominate our lives rather than hope and light. Jesus is telling us that “to understand the world’s troubles as omens of doom is to misread them. The world’s tribulations and our personal trials can be understood as reasons for us to remain faithful, hopeful and optimistic.” (Homiletics, December, 2006, pg. 33)
Keith Wagner, Hope for the Overwhelmed
What this all says to me is that no matter how anxious the times we live in, God is not far away. The problem is that we are so afraid we miss God’s presence. We let those who use scare tactics mislead us. We allow doom and darkness to dominate our lives rather than hope and light. Jesus is telling us that “to understand the world’s troubles as omens of doom is to misread them. The world’s tribulations and our personal trials can be understood as reasons for us to remain faithful, hopeful and optimistic.” (Homiletics, December, 2006, pg. 33)
Keith Wagner, Hope for the Overwhelmed
The Hope of a New Birth
Unfortunately, our gospel lesson doesn't at first seem to instill us with any sense of hope at all. In fact, after reading this passage, we can be overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness. This passage sounds a bit like the one we heard two Sundays ago, only this one has more doom and gloom, more destruction, more chaos and catastrophe. We hear of these mysterious signs in the sun, moon and stars. There are images of people fainting. Heaven and earth pass away, there is talk of a trap, and our hope for escape, and by the end of the reading, it seems the walls are closing in on us.
And yet, in the midst of the chaos of this reading, if you look closely enough, calmly enough, there are some words of hope in the midst of the confusion. Jesus says, "when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near . . . when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near." He speaks of fig trees, an image which may not communicate much to us, but his hearers in that time knew that the fig tree was a symbol of life out of death, a symbol of the hope that comes after the winter, the hope of new birth.
Beth Quick, Ready or Not….
And yet, in the midst of the chaos of this reading, if you look closely enough, calmly enough, there are some words of hope in the midst of the confusion. Jesus says, "when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near . . . when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near." He speaks of fig trees, an image which may not communicate much to us, but his hearers in that time knew that the fig tree was a symbol of life out of death, a symbol of the hope that comes after the winter, the hope of new birth.
Beth Quick, Ready or Not….
A Bit of Contrast
A bit of a contrast, isn't it? The sweet strains of "Away in a Manger" followed by "...distress among nations...the roaring of the sea...People will faint from fear and foreboding...the powers of the heavens will be shaken." Ho, ho, ho! Where is Santa when we need him? So why in the world would the church choose a Gospel lesson such as this to begin Advent and our preparation for the coming of the Christ child?
Good reason. The sad truth that all of us who are old enough knows is we do not live in a "Santa Claus" world. Children's visions of sugar plums are washed away with the hot tears of grown-up disappointment and despair. Disease and death are constant companions. The fear and foreboding of which Jesus spoke greet us at every turn. Somehow we need to be reminded that this misery is not the end of the story.
David E. Leininger, Eyes Up!
Good reason. The sad truth that all of us who are old enough knows is we do not live in a "Santa Claus" world. Children's visions of sugar plums are washed away with the hot tears of grown-up disappointment and despair. Disease and death are constant companions. The fear and foreboding of which Jesus spoke greet us at every turn. Somehow we need to be reminded that this misery is not the end of the story.
David E. Leininger, Eyes Up!
An Advent Promise: Goodness and Mercy Will Win
As some of you know, Fiorello LaGuardia was mayor of New York during the Depression, and he was quite a character. He would ride the city fire trucks, take entire orphanages to baseball games and whenever the city newspapers went on strike, he would get on the radio and read the Sunday "funnies" to the children.
At any rate, one bitter cold winter's night in 1935, Mayor LaGuardia turned up in a night court that served the poorest ward in the city, dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself. After he heard a few cases, a tattered old woman was brought before him, accused of stealing a loaf of bread.
She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick and her grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, insisted on pressing charges. "My store is in a very bad neighborhood, your honor," he said. "She's got to be punished in order to teach other people a lesson."
The mayor sighed. He turned to the old woman and said, "I've got to punish you," he said. "The law makes no exception - ten dollars or ten days in jail."
But even as he spoke, LaGuardia was reaching into his pocket and pulling out a ten dollar bill. "Here is the woman's fine," he said, "and furthermore, I'm going to fine everyone in this court room fifty cents for living in a city where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Baliff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant."
The following day, the New York Times reported that $47.50 was turned over to the bewildered old woman. It was given by the red-faced store owner, some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations and city policemen - and they all gave their mayor a standing ovation as they handed over their money.
That's how it will be with God's world. Just when it seems that all hope is lost, and goodness and mercy shall never win, the Great Judge will come to set things right, deciding for the hungry and the meek of the earth. Yes, there is also an Advent promise for the nations of the world in perplexity and distress: "Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Erskine White, Together in Christ, CSS Publishing Company
At any rate, one bitter cold winter's night in 1935, Mayor LaGuardia turned up in a night court that served the poorest ward in the city, dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself. After he heard a few cases, a tattered old woman was brought before him, accused of stealing a loaf of bread.
She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick and her grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, insisted on pressing charges. "My store is in a very bad neighborhood, your honor," he said. "She's got to be punished in order to teach other people a lesson."
The mayor sighed. He turned to the old woman and said, "I've got to punish you," he said. "The law makes no exception - ten dollars or ten days in jail."
But even as he spoke, LaGuardia was reaching into his pocket and pulling out a ten dollar bill. "Here is the woman's fine," he said, "and furthermore, I'm going to fine everyone in this court room fifty cents for living in a city where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Baliff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant."
The following day, the New York Times reported that $47.50 was turned over to the bewildered old woman. It was given by the red-faced store owner, some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations and city policemen - and they all gave their mayor a standing ovation as they handed over their money.
That's how it will be with God's world. Just when it seems that all hope is lost, and goodness and mercy shall never win, the Great Judge will come to set things right, deciding for the hungry and the meek of the earth. Yes, there is also an Advent promise for the nations of the world in perplexity and distress: "Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Erskine White, Together in Christ, CSS Publishing Company
If This Is Your Faith, Tell Me Your Stories
We are used to dividing time into two different eons: “B.C.” and “A.D.” or as the secular world now calls them, “BCE” and “CE.” To say we live in 2009 A.D. or C.E. gives us a sense of the passage of time, a feeling of where we stand in the flow of events. But such designations don’t distinguish much else about the changes the centuries have brought.
After a fearsome November storm season across North America it seems one designation that might help describe the changes time has brought is to divide life “B.E.” and “A.E.” — “Before Electricity” and “After Electricity.” There is nothing like an extended power outage to remind us just how dependent we are on the power grid for our life-styles and livelihoods.
When the power goes out everything is work. Making a cup of coffee requires a fire, a cast iron kettle, a lot of time, and gives sad, gritty results. Creating a whole meal can take a whole day.
But there are other changes that occur when the power is out that aren’t all bad. Without the TV, computer, video games, and music downloads, families who are hunkered down against a storm have to find something else to do. Off-the-grid days are the days when we drag out the old board games, find a deck of cards, start a giant jigsaw puzzle. As soon as the batteries run out on the iPod and the cell phone, talking to each other are the only voices that we have to listen to.
That is why in “B.E.” time the most important members of a community were the storytellers. The storytellers were revered for their wisdom and honored for their knowledge. The storytellers were responsible for telling people who they were, where they stood in the world, how they came to be, and what they should be doing.
Even in these “A.E.” days, the things we learn as stories stick with us become a part of us, far more than any lesson we learn by rote. Read a paragraph about unemployment and poverty rates and you might nod off. Hear the story of “The Grasshopper and the Ant,” and you never forget why we all must work for a living.
But stories only live on when they are told and re-told. Each new generation must learn the stories of its people, its family, its nation, and its faith, or the stories are lost forever.
Just inside the main entrance to Harrods, the great London department store, there is a statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed (whose father owns Harrods). As my twelve-year-old daughter and I stood in front of it, Soren innocently asked, “Who is Princess Diana?” The woman who had been the most recognized icon of the eighties and nineties was a complete mystery to her, an unknown nobody, because Soren had never heard her story.
After a fearsome November storm season across North America it seems one designation that might help describe the changes time has brought is to divide life “B.E.” and “A.E.” — “Before Electricity” and “After Electricity.” There is nothing like an extended power outage to remind us just how dependent we are on the power grid for our life-styles and livelihoods.
When the power goes out everything is work. Making a cup of coffee requires a fire, a cast iron kettle, a lot of time, and gives sad, gritty results. Creating a whole meal can take a whole day.
But there are other changes that occur when the power is out that aren’t all bad. Without the TV, computer, video games, and music downloads, families who are hunkered down against a storm have to find something else to do. Off-the-grid days are the days when we drag out the old board games, find a deck of cards, start a giant jigsaw puzzle. As soon as the batteries run out on the iPod and the cell phone, talking to each other are the only voices that we have to listen to.
That is why in “B.E.” time the most important members of a community were the storytellers. The storytellers were revered for their wisdom and honored for their knowledge. The storytellers were responsible for telling people who they were, where they stood in the world, how they came to be, and what they should be doing.
Even in these “A.E.” days, the things we learn as stories stick with us become a part of us, far more than any lesson we learn by rote. Read a paragraph about unemployment and poverty rates and you might nod off. Hear the story of “The Grasshopper and the Ant,” and you never forget why we all must work for a living.
But stories only live on when they are told and re-told. Each new generation must learn the stories of its people, its family, its nation, and its faith, or the stories are lost forever.
Just inside the main entrance to Harrods, the great London department store, there is a statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed (whose father owns Harrods). As my twelve-year-old daughter and I stood in front of it, Soren innocently asked, “Who is Princess Diana?” The woman who had been the most recognized icon of the eighties and nineties was a complete mystery to her, an unknown nobody, because Soren had never heard her story.
Lift Up Your Heads
A. J. Gordon was the great Baptist pastor of the Clarendon Church in Boston, Massachusetts. One day he met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. Gordon inquired, "Son, where did you get those birds?" The boy replied, "I trapped them out in the field." "What are you going to do with them?" "I'm going to play with them, and then I guess I'll just feed them to an old cat we have at home." When Gordon offered to buy them, the lad exclaimed, "Mister, you don't want them, they're just little old wild birds and can't sing very well." Gordon replied, "I'll give you $2 for the cage and the birds." "Okay, it's a deal, but you're making a bad bargain." The exchange was made and the boy went away whistling, happy with his shiny coins. Gordon walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small wire coop, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue. The next Sunday he took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon about Christ's coming to seek and to save the lost -- paying for them with His own precious blood. "That boy told me the birds were not songsters," said Gordon, "but when I released them and they winged their way heavenward, it seemed to me they were singing, 'Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!'"
This is Advent. And the message of these times is the song of those wild birds. It's the song sung in every carol this season: Redeemed! It’s the meaning behind every gift given under the tree: Redeemed! It's the Word the shepherds heard: Redeemed! It's the assurance Mary received: Redeemed! It's the star the Wisemen followed: Redeemed! [Depending on your style you might omit the repetition of "Redeemed" at the end of each sentence but allowing it at the end of this paragraph.] You and I have been trapped by sin, but Christ has purchased our pardon. He who has this hope in his heart will sing, and you know the song: "Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!"
This is Advent. And the message of these times is the song of those wild birds. It's the song sung in every carol this season: Redeemed! It’s the meaning behind every gift given under the tree: Redeemed! It's the Word the shepherds heard: Redeemed! It's the assurance Mary received: Redeemed! It's the star the Wisemen followed: Redeemed! [Depending on your style you might omit the repetition of "Redeemed" at the end of each sentence but allowing it at the end of this paragraph.] You and I have been trapped by sin, but Christ has purchased our pardon. He who has this hope in his heart will sing, and you know the song: "Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!"
Gandhi's Strength
In the published diaries of Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi Propagandist, there are two or three references to Mahatma Gandhi. Goebbels believed that Gandhi was a fool and a fanatic. If Gandhi had the sense to organize militarily, Goebbels thought, he might hope to win the freedom of India. He was certain that Gandhi couldn’t succeed following a path of non-resistance and peaceful revolution. Yet as history played itself out, India peacefully won her independence while the Nazi military machine was destroyed. What Goebbels regarded as weakness actually turned out to be strength. What he thought of as strength turned out to be weakness.
Kevin M. Pleas, Sufficient Grace
Kevin M. Pleas, Sufficient Grace
History of Christ the King Sunday
This is actually a pretty new festival in the church year. Its roots go back only to the late 1800's, when the world's great empires--British, American, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese--were all at war or about to go to war somewhere.
The man who was the pope of the Roman Catholic Church at the time wrote a letter in which he dedicated the world to Christ the King. In the letter, he reminded the empires that God is present with the whole human race, even with those who do not know God.
After World War I, another pope designated the last Sunday in October as Christ the King Sunday, a day to remember that Christ received power and honor from God and was thereby made ruler of the universe. Eventually, Catholics moved Christ the King Sunday to the last Sunday of the church year, when they were already accustomed to reflecting on Christ's return at the end of time to rule over all creation, a theme which echoes throughout Revelation, the last book of the Bible.
David W. Miller, Reign of Truth
The man who was the pope of the Roman Catholic Church at the time wrote a letter in which he dedicated the world to Christ the King. In the letter, he reminded the empires that God is present with the whole human race, even with those who do not know God.
After World War I, another pope designated the last Sunday in October as Christ the King Sunday, a day to remember that Christ received power and honor from God and was thereby made ruler of the universe. Eventually, Catholics moved Christ the King Sunday to the last Sunday of the church year, when they were already accustomed to reflecting on Christ's return at the end of time to rule over all creation, a theme which echoes throughout Revelation, the last book of the Bible.
David W. Miller, Reign of Truth
Freedom Riders
Recently I heard someone tell a story about the experiences of the Freedom Riders in the American South during the '50s and '60s and their struggle for civil rights. The story was a vivid illustration of how life changes when Jesus has the last word, when Jesus is King.
When the Freedom Riders traveled through the South staging their sit-ins and marches and protests, they were often arrested and jailed. The guardians of racial segregation and the status quo were not going to let them have the last word. While in jail the Freedom Riders were often treated poorly and brutally in order to break their spirits. They were deprived of food or given lousy food. Noise was blasted and lights were flashed all day and night to keep them from resting. Sometimes even some of their mattresses were removed in order that all would not have a place to sleep.
For a while it seemed to work. Their spirits were drained and discouraged, but never broken. It happened more than once and in more than one jail. Eventually the jail would begin to rock and swing to sounds of gospel singing. What began as a few weak voices would grow into a thundering and defiant chorus. The Freedom Riders would sing of their faith and their freedom. Sometimes they would even press their remaining mattresses out of their cells between the bars as they shouted, "You can take our mattresses, but you can't take our souls!"
The Freedom Riders were behind bars in jail, but they were really free. They were supposed to be guilty, but they were really innocent. They were supposedly suffering, but they were actually having a great time. They were supposedly defeated but they were actually victorious.
Why? They may not have said it, but they could have: because Jesus has the last word, because Christ is King!
Steven E. Albertin, Against the Grain -- Words for a Politically Incorrect Church, CSS Publishing
When the Freedom Riders traveled through the South staging their sit-ins and marches and protests, they were often arrested and jailed. The guardians of racial segregation and the status quo were not going to let them have the last word. While in jail the Freedom Riders were often treated poorly and brutally in order to break their spirits. They were deprived of food or given lousy food. Noise was blasted and lights were flashed all day and night to keep them from resting. Sometimes even some of their mattresses were removed in order that all would not have a place to sleep.
For a while it seemed to work. Their spirits were drained and discouraged, but never broken. It happened more than once and in more than one jail. Eventually the jail would begin to rock and swing to sounds of gospel singing. What began as a few weak voices would grow into a thundering and defiant chorus. The Freedom Riders would sing of their faith and their freedom. Sometimes they would even press their remaining mattresses out of their cells between the bars as they shouted, "You can take our mattresses, but you can't take our souls!"
The Freedom Riders were behind bars in jail, but they were really free. They were supposed to be guilty, but they were really innocent. They were supposedly suffering, but they were actually having a great time. They were supposedly defeated but they were actually victorious.
Why? They may not have said it, but they could have: because Jesus has the last word, because Christ is King!
Steven E. Albertin, Against the Grain -- Words for a Politically Incorrect Church, CSS Publishing
Prose
What kind of a Kingdom has Jesus? No castle nor palace has he. No congress nor parliament sitting, deciding what laws there will be. Perhaps he has need of but two laws: Love God and your neighbor as well. To obey them is all that is needed, as all of the saintly can tell.
He has neither army nor navy, no air force to guard the frontiers to keep out the strangers unwanted and maintain the enemy’s fears. Immigration he seems to encourage, of some quite disreputable, like fishermen, publicans, sinners. To such he is hospitable.
It seems there’s no revenue service or taxes we must calculate. He surely cannot run a kingdom on what we put into the plate! No 1040 form comes in April to fill out before the fifteenth, with penalties charged for nonpayment, beginning upon the sixteenth.
No currency’s here with his picture, no coinage engraved with his name. And where are the posters and slogans proclaiming his power and fame? And I see no trappings of kingship, no robes made of velvet and fur, no crown made of gold set with diamonds, to befit our supreme arbiter.
Jesus said that his kingdom was really not what Pilate had thought it had been. It was not of this world. And its glory was not of the kind to be seen. For those of us here in his kingdom, there is one other thing we have known: of the kingdoms around in his lifetime, it’s the only one left with a throne.
Andrew Daughters, The Kingdom of Jesus, CSS Publishing.
He has neither army nor navy, no air force to guard the frontiers to keep out the strangers unwanted and maintain the enemy’s fears. Immigration he seems to encourage, of some quite disreputable, like fishermen, publicans, sinners. To such he is hospitable.
It seems there’s no revenue service or taxes we must calculate. He surely cannot run a kingdom on what we put into the plate! No 1040 form comes in April to fill out before the fifteenth, with penalties charged for nonpayment, beginning upon the sixteenth.
No currency’s here with his picture, no coinage engraved with his name. And where are the posters and slogans proclaiming his power and fame? And I see no trappings of kingship, no robes made of velvet and fur, no crown made of gold set with diamonds, to befit our supreme arbiter.
Jesus said that his kingdom was really not what Pilate had thought it had been. It was not of this world. And its glory was not of the kind to be seen. For those of us here in his kingdom, there is one other thing we have known: of the kingdoms around in his lifetime, it’s the only one left with a throne.
Andrew Daughters, The Kingdom of Jesus, CSS Publishing.
They Write Better Than They Know
It is the accepted wisdom of priests and soldiers alike that one who possesses power always uses it for his own advantage. Why be a king if you cannot prove it by spectacular demonstrations of force and might? For Jesus these mocking words must bring back the echo of an earlier time when he is standing on the pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem and hears the voice of the Tempter: "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here" (Luke 4:9). He resists such a temptation then, and resists it yet again. But the criminal evidently sees in Jesus' refusal to bend to the demands of his powerful tormentors an authority which is not compelled to prove itself. Is there a greater act of authority, courage, and dignity than to refuse to save oneself in order to save others? The criminal, with great effort, turns his head and looks again at the inscription on the central cross. "This is the King of the Jews." Perhaps he thinks, "They write better than they know."
J. Will Ormond, Good News among the Rubble, CSS Publishing
J. Will Ormond, Good News among the Rubble, CSS Publishing
Jesus Wins
George III of England, America's enemy in the Revolutionary War, felt terrible about the loss of the colonies. It was said, in fact, that for the rest of his life, he could not say the word "independence" without tripping over it. He was an odd duck in many ways, but he had good insights. When the fighting in America stopped, King George and all his royal cronies in Europe were sure that George Washington would have himself crowned "Emperor of the New World." That's what they would have done. When he was told, on the contrary, that Washington planned to surrender his military commission and return to farming at Mt. Vernon, George III said, "Well, if he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world." There is power in giving up power, in emptying oneself. Jesus knew it, Pilate didn't.
Jesus wins, Pilate loses.
William R. Boyer, A Confusion of the Heart
Jesus wins, Pilate loses.
William R. Boyer, A Confusion of the Heart
Part of the Ritual
The story is told about the baptism of King Aengus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king's foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness. Why did you suffer this pain in silence, the Saint wanted to know. The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual."
I am here to tell you that your king was stabbed in the foot . . . and the hand, and the side and the head and that WAS part of the ritual. And, you and I are the ones who held the staff. I ask you. Will you beg the King's forgiveness?
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com
I am here to tell you that your king was stabbed in the foot . . . and the hand, and the side and the head and that WAS part of the ritual. And, you and I are the ones who held the staff. I ask you. Will you beg the King's forgiveness?
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com
Ordinary People
In the story of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus we do not have a rascally, villainous cast of characters. We have ordinary soldiers, policemen, officials, priests, magistrates, and citizens - all doing what soldiers, police, officials, priests, and zealous citizens do every day. It is the usual "morality play," with a suspected criminal, arresting officers, prosecutors, a trial, and sentencing. With the exception of Jesus, none of the actors appear to be sterling characters. They are ordinary human beings, with a fair measure of hypocrisy and callousness. But each carries out with fidelity the role that society has assigned to him or her.
"The fundamental reason why Jesus has to die makes the question of responsibility for his assassination pointless. Every society, Jewish or Gentile, that is founded on money, power, and law, condemns him. He puts people first, making economics and politics less important than men and women. In contrast, society, even when it says the opposite, deceiving others as well as itself, considers individuals simply as a means." (Sulivan, Morning Light, p. 75)
John C. Purdy, God with a Human Face
"The fundamental reason why Jesus has to die makes the question of responsibility for his assassination pointless. Every society, Jewish or Gentile, that is founded on money, power, and law, condemns him. He puts people first, making economics and politics less important than men and women. In contrast, society, even when it says the opposite, deceiving others as well as itself, considers individuals simply as a means." (Sulivan, Morning Light, p. 75)
John C. Purdy, God with a Human Face
What Pilate Believes
In the NIV, the first part of v. 37 is a declaration by Pilate: "You are a king, then!" In the NRSV (and my Greek text) it is a question: "So you are a king?"
In some ways, this is another wrong question. Jesus turns it around: "You are saying that I am a king." With that statement is Jesus again putting Pilate on trial: "You have said it, but is it what you believe?"
Here is a story that illustrates what is going on in this dialogue between Jesus and Pilate:
An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?
The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved."
Jesus could tell Pilate anything. What is important is what Pilate believes.
Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes
In some ways, this is another wrong question. Jesus turns it around: "You are saying that I am a king." With that statement is Jesus again putting Pilate on trial: "You have said it, but is it what you believe?"
Here is a story that illustrates what is going on in this dialogue between Jesus and Pilate:
An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?
The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved."
Jesus could tell Pilate anything. What is important is what Pilate believes.
Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes
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