January 22, 2012  

Third Sunday after Epiphany

Rev. Ken Olsen

 

First Reading: Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Second Reading: I Corinthians 7:29-31

Gospel: Mark 1:14-20

 

Pastor Ken Olsen shared the need to follow Jesus and to be "fishers of people."  We are to bring in the outsider to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

 

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January 15, 2012  

Baptism of Our Lord

Richard Holmer

First Reading: Genesis 1:1-5

Second Reading: Acts 19:1-7

Gospel: Mark 1:4-11

 

Let There Be Light

In the beginning, at the creation, the first words God spoke were:  “Let there be light ...” “...and there was light...” “...and God saw that the light was good!”  And ever since that moment there has been light – for something like 15 billion years.

*        Light is absolutely essential for life.  This is most obvious with plants. Take a plant out of the light, and it begins to wither.  Through the marvel of photosynthesis, plants are continually transforming light into food – and in the process making oxygen for us to breathe.  Actually, all living things depend on light, not just plants.  We need light not only for physical survival, but also emotional well-being.  Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) affects many who cannot thrive without sunlight.

*        Light travels immense distances at incredible speed – there is nothing faster in the universe – over 186,000 miles per second!  A “light year” is the distance light travels in 365 days:  about 6 trillion miles.  It takes a little over 8 minutes for light to travel from the sun to the earth (90 million miles).  The light from the nearest star travels for over 4 years to reach us.  The light from the nearest galaxy has been travelling for 25,000 years!

*        Light is a mysterious phenomenon.  It has the qualities both of an electromagnetic wave and of a particle.  And white light actually contains all the colors of the rainbow.

*        There is always light – even on cloudy days.  Have you ever had the experience of taking off in an airplane on a dark and rainy day, and then breaking through the cloud cover into the brilliant light at 30,000 feet?  And when it’s night here, it’s day time on the other side of the world.

Turns out, God's first words at creation are also the first words God speaks to each of us.  At baptism, God in effect says, “Let there be light.”  “Let the light of Christ shine on and in and through this child of God.”  At baptism Christ comes to us in a direct and tangible way.  We are joined to Christ.  Our lives are permanently linked with his.  Jesus called himself the Light of the world – and so he is.  He said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  What a beautiful promise!

Light is a central theme throughout the bible.

*        Psalm 27 begins on this confident note:  “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?”  Believers need not be afraid of the dark.

*        Psalm 119 testifies to the light:  “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light to my path.”  (119:105)   This word is the same word that takes on human flesh in Jesus Christ.

*        John continues the theme of light at the beginning of his gospel, where he relates the coming of Christ to the Creation:  the original beginning is echoed by a new beginning – the new creation in Christ.  Listen to what John has to say: 

“What has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.  He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.  The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”

*        St. Paul draws on this theme in Ephesians (5:8-9). 

“Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.  Live as children of light, for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.”

Think about light and darkness for a moment:  To be “in the dark” is to be ignorant, unenlightened, unaware, out of touch, on the outside.  To be “in the light” is to be blessed, included, informed, in touch, in relationship.

*   *   *

You and I don't create this light – any more than we created the sun or the stars.  The light comes to us from outside us, beyond us.  In the same way, we cannot baptize ourselves – we must be baptized.  It's pure grace – like the sun shining on your face on a glorious new morning:  pure gift.

And here is the good news:  the light of Christ is a constant.  It is not intermittent, shining only occasionally on good days.  It's not temporary – it's eternal.  Like the sun, this light is always shining, even when we can’t see it, even when we are unaware of it and stumbling around in the darkness of sin/grief/despair.

Oscar Romero was a Roman Catholic Bishop in El Salvador who was assassinated by guerillas as he conducted mass.  Romero said this about the constancy of God:

God is not failing us when we don’t feel his presence.  God exists, and he exists even more, the farther you feel from him.  When you feel the anguished desire for God to come near because you don’t feel him present, then God is very close to your anguish.  God is always our Father and never forsakes us, and we are closer to him than we think.

It's vital for each of us to realize this – for sooner or later we all find ourselves in the dark, sometimes for extended periods.  There are times when, spiritually and emotionally, we feel like we're living in northern Alaska in the dead of winter.  The sun barely comes up for months!  Even Jesus, in his humanity, felt on the cross that the light had gone out:  he felt utterly forsaken.  But even the darkness of death could not completely overcome the light.  The brightness of Easter dawn is the celebration of the light no darkness can overshadow.

*   *   *

Faith is trusting and depending on the light – even as we make our way in the darkness.  We walk by faith, not by sight.  There would be no real need for faith if life was all sunny days. Isaiah uses the image of a dimly burning wick to describe those who have grown weary and are at the edge of despair.  It is for us to provide some glimmer of transmitted or reflected light to those who are languishing in darkness.

Like John the Baptist, you and I are not the light.  We do not create the light.  Yet there’s much that we can do:

*        We can welcome the light of Christ into our daily lives and embrace it.  As Paul Tillich said:  “Faith is the courage to accept our acceptance.”

*        We can actively seek the light:  faith isn’t totally passive – and grace is free, but it isn’t cheap.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:  “Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which we must knock.”

*        We can walk and live in the light – live our lives on purpose.  We read in the First Letter of John (1:5-7)

“God is light and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with God while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.”

*        Like John the Baptist, we can testify to the light – that it’s for real and for all of us.  This is the beautiful thing that happens in our Speaking of Faith series: individuals share how the light has shined on them.

*        And finally, we can share the light.  This is in fact our baptismal commission.  As the baptismal candle is lighted, we hear these words form Christ’s Sermon on the Mount:

“Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.”

God is glorified and delighted when we share the light, when we pass it on (like the Sunday School song, “This Little Light of Mine”).

*   *   *

Physical light is wondrous and mysterious and essential.  The light of God’s grace is all these things and more.  To renew our baptismal covenant with God, as we have today, is to:

-       give thanks to God for the Light.

-       re-commit ourselves to walking in the Light.

-       seek and find the strength to share the Light.

 

Brothers and Sisters (for so we are by baptism) – Let there be light:

Trust the light of Christ, and let it shine in and through you.

Amen.

 

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January 1, 2012  

Christmas I

Richard Holmer

 

First Reading: Isaiah 61:10—62:3

Second Reading: Galatians 4:4-7

Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

 

Sing to the Lord!

Much of the Christmas story is imprinted on our hearts and minds through the beloved carols and songs of the season.  The version of the Christmas story most familiar to us is found in the Gospel of Luke, although Matthew and John also relate it in their gospels.  In his telling Luke incorporates a number of songs and canticles.  We heard one of them in today’s gospel: the Canticle of Simeon.  We’ll return to it a bit later.  Today I also want to reflect on two other songs which are found in these opening chapters of Luke: Mary’s Song, the Magnificat and the Angels’ Song, the Gloria.

All three of these songs from Luke have come to have prominent places in the liturgy and worship life of the Church. 

Sometimes the best way to respond to God’s gracious actions is through a song: a prayer of thanks and praise that can easily be set to music.  The bible doesn’t provide the tunes to these songs, only the lyrics.  But all three have been sung by the faithful, down through the generations, for twenty centuries.

Let’s consider them in order.

A.    First comes the Magnificat, Mary’s Song, Luke 1:46-55.  It is the longest of the three.  Mary gives voice to this song during her visit to her cousin Elizabeth—who is also miraculously and unexpectedly pregnant with a child of promise.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.  Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.  He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of this mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

“Magnificat” is Latin for “magnifies.”  Mary begins: “My soul magnifies/glorifies/proclaims the greatness of the Lord.

This song has an important place in the liturgy of Vespers/Evening Prayer.  We sing it here at Vespers in Advent.  It has also been set to music as a hymn in both hymnals: Lutheran Book of Worship and With One Voice.

N.T. Wright has called the Magnificat “the gospel before the gospel”—that is, Mary proclaims the good news before the Savior is actually born.  Mary sings a song of revolutionary hope and steadfast faith in God.  It celebrates God’s power to surprise us—and to turn things around, even upside down.  It tells of a God who is not bound to the status quo, but rather a God who makes all things new.  The song isn’t so much about Mary as it is about what God will accomplish through the Son she will bring into the world.

Mary’s Song becomes our song.  For us to speak or sing these verses is to invite God to make changes in our world, and in us—and to trust that God surely will.  It’s a hymn of quiet joy and confident expectation.  Above all, Mary’s song is a celebration of God’s great power and determined mercy. 

 

B.    The next hymn is only one verse long.  It is the GLORIA, the Angels’ Song, the one they sang to the shepherds on the holy night of Christ’s birth: Luke 2:14.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”

In Latin it is: “Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis!”

If Mary’s Magnificat is a song of hopeful expectation, this is a song of majestic fulfillment.  The Lord has come, as promised.  And in response, the heavenly chorus bursts forth in a song of glorious praise. 

These words are the refrain of a well-loved carol—“Angels We have Heard on High.”  “Gloria in excelsis Deo.”

They are also a regular feature of our Sunday liturgy for Holy Communion: the opening words of the Hymn of Praise: “Glory to God in the Highest, and peace to his people on earth.”

When we sing these words, it helps to set our priorities straight.  First things first: we begin by giving glory to God.  Then we continue by extolling God’s blessing to humankind: peace to God’s people on earth.

The Angels’ Song anticipates what Jesus will soon be preaching and teaching: That there are two great commandments.  1) Love the Lord your God. (Glory to God)  2) Love your neighbor as yourself. (On earth peace, good will to men)

It’s a song appropriate for all seasons—not just Christmas.

 

C.    This brings us to today’s gospel, and the Song of Simeon.  (Luke 2:29-32)  Mary sings a song of hope.  The angels, a song of fulfillment.  Simeon sings a song of gratitude.

“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

This gospel story comes eight days after the birth of Jesus, when Mary and Joseph bring him to the temple for circumcision.  Simeon had received a revelation from God that before he died, he would see the Lord’s Messiah.  And now, in his old age, the Spirit leads him to be present when Jesus is brought to the temple.  Simeon realizes immediately that this baby is the One he has been waiting his whole life to see.

And so he sings the song he has been waiting so long to share: Now I can go in peace.  God’s word is fulfilled.  I see with my own eyes the salvation of God.

It’s a canticle of thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness.  In Latin, the canticle begins, “Nunc dimittis”—“now dismiss”, “now let us go in peace.”  Like the Magnificat and the Gloria, Simeon’s song has been incorporated into our worship: It is a hymn (#330, LBW).  It is sung at Compline/Prayer at the Close of Day.  It is also sung as a Post-Communion canticle, after sharing in the sacrament.  It is full of a holy and blessed assurance. 

*   *    *   *   *

A question worth pondering: What would you be willing to wait your whole life to see? (As Simeon did)

Simeon is at peace because with his own eyes he has seen the Savior of the world, he has witnessed the coming of the Light of the world—a light not only for the people of Israel, but also for revelation to the Gentiles, for all people.

We sing this canticle following Holy Communion because like Simeon, we have tasted and seen the salvation of God.  Like Simeon, we can go on our way in peace.  We don’t have to wonder if our God will be good, if God will come through for us, if God will keep his promise.  With our own eyes we see that God is good, God has come through, and God has fulfilled his promise.  And so we, too, know the peace of God.

This Song of Simeon could very well be on our lips at the death of one we love—and at our own passing.  We can go in peace, knowing for certain we are safe in God’s care.

*   *   *   *   *

        And so, with three heartfelt and inspiring songs, St. Luke shows:

The hopeful anticipation of our Savior

The glorious joy at his coming

The profound gratitude for such a gift of grace.

God keeps giving—we keep singing songs of hope and joy and praise.

Amen.

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December 25, 2011   

The Nativity of Our Lord

Richard Holmer

First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10

Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4

Gospel: John 1:1-14

 

Christmas – According to St. John

I want to share a story that I came by, courtesy of Rich Grudt – Pastor at our sister congregation, Trinity United, in Waukegan.

It’s the story of a woman who was Christmas shopping with her two children.  After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves and other things in the store, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year:  overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don’t forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car.  She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all her purchases and packages.  When the doors closed, she couldn’t take it anymore and stated, “Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot.” 

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, “Don’t worry, we already crucified him.”  For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Not the most cheerful Christmas story that you’ll ever hear!  And yet it is faithful to today’s Gospel, the magnificent prologue to the Gospel of John.  In those opening verses, John reminds us rather bluntly of the hard truth:

-    “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.”

-    or in another translation:  “He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.”

Not only did they not welcome him, they turned against him and nailed him to a cross.  Now I realize this is a rather harsh note on Christmas morning – yet John doesn’t shy away from reminding us that Jesus Christ was born to die, to die for you and me.

-    Actually, Christmas would be long forgotten had there not also been a Good Friday and an Easter.

-    Historically, Easter was celebrated by Christians long before Christmas became a holy day.

-    The fact is, the wood of the manger and the wood of the cross hold the same Lord and Savior.

As a beloved carol assures us, “Jesus Christ was born to save” – and his way of salvation is not the way of glory, but the way of the cross.  So then whatever uneasiness we may feel, the bottom line is that it’s all good news: 

-    The manger

-    The cross

-    The empty tomb

It may not always be pleasant or easy news, but it is ultimately and assuredly Good News.

*     *     *

Let’s take a few moments, then, to revisit John’s version of exactly what went down at Christmas.

*   St. John begins his telling by affirming the pre-existence of Christ, and the full divinity of Jesus.  John declares that Jesus is not a newcomer, but shows how he was directly involved in the Creation of the universe. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.

*   John then introduces the themes of Life and Light, themes which will be prominent throughout his entire Gospel.  The adult Jesus announces:

-   “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  John 10:10

-   “I am the light of the world.  Who ever follows me will never walk in darkness….John 8:12

What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

*   He then makes a slight digression to describe the ministry of John the Baptist.  It’s interesting that, initially, he refers to John the Baptist by name, but refers to Jesus only as the WORD, (capital W).

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.  He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.  The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 

*   Then comes John’s account of how the people of this world responded to the coming of God’s Son.  In this version, there is no little town of Bethlehem, no smiling virgin mother, no questioning but ultimately faithful Joseph, no happy shepherds, no wise men bringing gifts.  The rejection of the Savior is both poignant and convicting – but it’s not the whole story.  John also speaks of those who gladly receive the God who comes among us, who are in effect born again, becoming children of the most high.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

*   The climax comes in verse 14, where John articulates the heart of the miraculous mystery of Christmas:  INCARNATION; God’s holy and life-giving word taking on human form, our human flesh, and coming to live among us – the baby Jesus, in whom the fullness of God is pleased to dwell.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

*   John’s prologue actually continues for a few more verses beyond today’s text.  He describes how Christ is the source of our richest blessings – God’s gift that keeps on giving:

 “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

*   John then alludes to the Old Covenant – and to the New Covenant that comes through this Word of God made flesh – the Savior whom he finally calls by name:

 “The law indeed was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

*   In conclusion to his prologue, John describes the eternal and life-changing consequences of this birth, this incarnation of God.  Jesus is the best picture we have of God: 

“No one has ever seen God.  It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”

*     *     *     *

There you have it:  the Lord has come to us.  Christ is born!

-    Let us welcome the Light – and live in the Light.

-    Let us receive God’s living Word in our hearts, and so become who we were created to be:  the children of God.

-    Let us embrace the wonderful truth – and live each day by grace!

Amen

 

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December 24, 2011  

Christmas Eve

Richard Holmer

First Reading: Isaiah 9:2-7

Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14

Gospel: Luke 2:1-20

 

Repeat the Sounding Joy

I know a lot of people who have stopped watching or listening to the news.  They no longer tune in because so much of what gets communicated is bad news:  news of terrorist acts, heinous crimes, rampant corruption, widespread poverty, natural disasters, ineffective, self-serving politicians, even the world of sports is full of bad news. 

But then – literally out of the blue – along comes an angelic reporter who announces to us:  “Behold, I bring you GOOD NEWS of a Great Joy, which will come to all the people.”  This message doesn’t come from any network or cable channel or website – it comes straight from the top, from heaven itself.  And it’s a message of pure and boundless joy, a joy not for just some people – but joy for all the people of the world.

*        Nine months earlier, the angel Gabriel had given Mary a hint of the Joy that was on the way.  And Mary responded:  “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

*        Some shepherds in the hills outside Bethlehem heard this message of Joy – and they went as fast as they could to experience it first-hand.

*        Then wise men came a great distance, following an unusual star – and when the star finally brought them to where the Christ child was, scripture says, “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”

So what is this good news of great joy?  What is there to be joyful about in this threatening, suffering, uncertain world in which we live?  Well, the answer is hanging right over there:

Jesus

Others

You

Joy begins with Jesus.

Jesus himself is the good news!

-       “Joy to the World, the Lord is come!”

-       Jesus is the reason for the season – and for the joy that endures.

-       Jesus in the flesh is God’s fulfillment of his great promise of salvation.

-       Jesus is Emmanuel, which means “God with us”:

-      not a far-off God

-      not a wish dream,

-      not a promise that’s never made good;

-      but God with a human face, arms and legs, and a beating heart.

-      God here on earth – with us.  Amazing!!

 

Danish Lutheran theologian, Soren Kierkegaard said that just to know that the almighty and living God has come among us as one of us is all the blessing we need.  Of course, we come to know much more about Jesus than the simple fact of his human birth.  And through Jesus, we come to know God better.  Yet simply to realize that the Lord has indeed come is more than ample cause for rejoicing.

People talk a lot about the importance of “keeping Christ in Christmas” – and I understand what they’re getting at:  how parties and getting and spending distract us from what we call “the real meaning of Christmas.”

But the simple truth is that there’s no possible way to keep Christ out of Christmas!  (which, when you think about it, is exactly the point of the whole Christmas story).  Jesus shows up in our world – ready or not, welcome or not, whether anyone is paying attention or not.  You and I don’t keep Christ in Christmas – it’s the Lord God Almighty who puts Jesus in the manger and Christ in Christmas – and like it or not nothing in this world can alter this truth.  As C. S. Lewis said “God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form.”  Jesus comes to us at Christmas, and he has come to stay.  His promise is sure:  “I am with you always.”  This is a lasting source of joy, no matter what sorrows or burdens or tragedies come our way – we always have Jesus.

Because, remember this:  Happiness as this world thinks of it depends on pleasant circumstances and things going our way.  Joy is something richer and more profound.  Joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of Christ.  Christmas isn’t about presents under the tree, it’s about the presence of Jesus in our world, our lives, our relationships.

What good is Joy without some others to share it with us?  Joy begins with Jesus, but it is multiplied when it is shared.  And the Joy of Jesus is truly meant to be shared with everyone.  We think first, naturally, of the joy we share with family and friends – and that’s a good thing, but it’s only the beginning.

The Christmas story has a way of broadening our horizons and pointing us to the wideness of God’s mercy.

-    God keeps welcoming and including OTHERS, whom we might overlook or neglect.

-    Outside of Mary and Joseph, the first people to share in the JOY are a bunch of scruffy, unrefined shepherds.

-      Shepherds were among the real outsiders in Israel.

-      Their work kept them apart from most people – and also prevented them from observing many of the ritual requirements of Judaism.

-      So shepherds were generally regarded with suspicion.

-      Yet they are welcome at the manger/crib of the Savior of the world.

-    The wise men who arrived later on were outsiders as well.  They were educated and prosperous – but they were gentiles, not members of the house of Israel.

-    Yet these “others from the East” are a sign that God truly intends for JOY to come to all the world, and all its people.   

*     *     *

Here at St. James in this season, our focus is also on OTHERS.  Christmas happens not only here tonight as we worship and celebrate together.

-    Christmas happened three weeks ago when many of us gathered with hundreds of others from around Lake County to help pack 800,000 meals for hungry children.  There was a great feeling of joy that filled the large assembly room at the County Fairgrounds.

-    Christmas happened here two weeks ago as gifts were brought in – not for us – but for 40 families and 20 senior citizens on the west side of Chicago. There’s great joy in giving to others!

Christmas has a way of bringing us together with others whom we might not otherwise encounter.  That was my experience bringing all those toddler boots down to LSSI’s Messiah Headstart site in Englewood.  The faces of the staff and those 3 and 4 year old kids stay with me.  And there is JOY!

JOY is a gift meant for sharing – joy increases when we include and embrace OTHERS.  There is nothing private or exclusive about the Joy of Christmas.

Finally,

Christmas is not private – yet it is very personal.

-    What a joy to know that Jesus comes FOR YOU!

-    The Christmas message is very specific:  “To you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

-    Christ is born for you, not somebody else, not for people in general, for you.

So when anyone asks next week, “what did you get for Christmas?”  Tell them:

-    A Savior

-    A Light in the darkness.

-    A Joy that has no end.

Christmas is a story that is very personal, particular and specific. Jesus came at a particular time and place, born to a specific mother.  Very few people got to experience that moment first-hand. And yet, what seems most personal and particular is at the same time most universal.  We discover this each time a member stands here before us and shares a bit of his/her story in our Speaking of Faith series.  Each story is uniquely personal – yet we can all relate, because they speak of essential things, common to us all.

*     *     *     *

The JOY of Christmas is about Jesus, Others and You.  How does this Joy come to us?  When we believe!  Now, Macy’s has been encouraging us all to believe.  Have you seen their ads?  I’m not sure what they want us to believe:  but it seems to be something like the power of giving the most exquisite and expensive gift.  (From Macy’s, of course).  

Instead, you and I need to believe, as Mary did, that with God, nothing will be impossible.  We need to believe as those shepherds did:  believe the Good News and take it to heart so that we get off our duffs and get moving.

Here and now, we can believe and embrace the good news of great joy that comes to us in Jesus.  And we can share this joy with others who are hungry for some genuine good news.

Joy has come to this often forlorn and troubled world in the form of a newborn baby boy:  Son of Mary, Son of God.

Heaven and Nature sing for Joy!

Let us always be eager to repeat the sounding Joy!

 Amen

 

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December 18, 2011  

Advent IV

First Lesson: Genesis 3:1-15

Second Lesson: Genesis 22:1-2, 9-18

Third Lesson: Isaiah 9:2-7

Fourth Lesson: Micah 5:2-4

Fifth Lesson: Luke 1:26-38

Sixth Lesson: Luke 2:1-7

Seventh Lesson: Luke 2:8-20

Eighth Lesson: John 1:1-14

 

Lessons & Carols

Click the pdf link above to see the Lessons & Carols Service presented this Sunday.   All St. James music groups took part in this festive yearly celebration of the good news of the birth of Christ, our Lord and Savior.

 

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December 11, 2011  

Advent III

Richard Holmer

First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Gospel: John 1:6-8, 19-28

 

An Advent Fable

Once upon a time there was a big store in a big city.  The same man had owned the store for as long as anyone could remember.  The Christmas Season was the busiest time of year at the store, and every December the aisles of the store would overflow with shoppers.

Because he realized that Christmas was when he made most of his money, each year the owner would add something new to attract the customers.  It all started with a huge Christmas tree that he put right inside the main entrance.  The tree was covered with beautiful hand-made ornaments and hundreds of colored lights.

Another year he had Christmas music piped into all the departments of the store.  But the owner decided that this was too artificial, so he hired students from the high school to roam about the store, singing carols.

The next year he added special Christmas displays in all the store windows. Each year the displays were a little more elaborate, and sometimes it was hard to get a look at the windows because the shoppers were two rows deep in front of them. 

One Christmas the store installed a toy electric train that ran from the foot of the Christmas tree all the way to the toy department – and back again!

Another year they started offering homemade Christmas cookies to every shopper who came in the door.

In short, Christmas was a very special time at the big store.  People would come from over 100 miles away just to share in the Christmas spirit at the store.

But the most special thing at the store every Christmas was, of course, Santa Claus.  The same jovial man had played the part of Santa at the store for over 20 years.  Nobody knew how old he really was, but they did know that his flowing white beard was the real thing, and not a fake.  Every year some child would give it a little tug, and the look on Santa’s face told them all they needed to know.

Santa took his job at the store very seriously.  He loved children, and he remembered many of them from one year to the next.  Even the kids who didn’t believe in Santa Claus anymore would come and sit on his lap and talk with him – just because he was such a friendly and likeable fellow.

Then, while the children waited in line to see Santa, the parents had time to shop.  Hardly anyone ever left the store at Christmas time without having bought something.  Santa was good for business!

The owner of the store belonged to a church in the city, but he didn’t go very often.  He gave a lot of money to the church, but he said he didn’t have time to worship.  He never went to church in the weeks before Christmas, because that was his busiest time.  The store was open seven days a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and he was at the store every day.  He was always looking for ways to improve his business.

One day he was reading the newsletter from his church and he got a wonderful idea for the store.  He couldn’t wait to tell everyone his plan.  The next day he called all his vice-presidents and managers into his office to tell them his idea.

“I’ve discovered something very interesting,” he said to them.  “There’s a name for this whole Christmas shopping season that’s so important to our store.  It’s called ADVENT!  The whole month before Christmas is known as Advent – and has been for hundreds and hundreds of years.  Now that’s a real tradition, and that’s what we like at our store at Christmas:  TRADITION.”

The employees all nodded their heads.

“But that’s not all.  I’ve found out that a real key person to this whole Advent thing is a guy named John the Baptist.  Apparently he has a lot to do with it.  This could be a new angle for us.  Next year I want a John the Baptist in our store to go along with Santa Claus.”

“No one else will have one.  We have to stay a step ahead of the competition, you know.  Besides, I’ve been looking for something for our adult shoppers.  Santa’s for the kids.  John the Baptist will be strictly for adults.”

The employees were surprised by this new idea, but they all nodded in agreement.

*   *   *   *   *

So the next year, on the floor above Santa’s workshop, right next to the Mens Wear Department – there was a paper mache cave with a sign over the entrance:  “Prepare Ye for Christmas”.  Inside the cave sat John the Baptist, dressed in an authentic camel’s hair garment with a leather belt and sandals.  He was a rather fearsome looking man with deep-set eyes, thick eyebrows, a full beard and hair down to his shoulders.

On a table next to him, he had a bowl of honey-covered locusts which he offered to share with his visitors, but no one ever took him up on the offer.

At first, there was a lot of curiosity about this new Christmas display.  The idea was that adults would have a seat in the cave and talk with John the Baptist, just like their kids talked to Santa.  Most people were more interested in watching than talking, but some did go in to talk with this strange looking man. 

After they introduced themselves, John asked each of his visitors the same question: “What do you need to change in your life?”

          Now, some of the people had smart-aleck answers: “I need to change my socks” or “I need to change my phone number”

They made their wisecracks and then got up and left.

         But a few people actually engaged in some serious conversation.

One woman talked about how she needed to change her priorities.  She said she spent all her time and energy trying to find the perfect gifts for everyone – and by the time Christmas finally arrived she was burned out and could care less.

A man said he needed to stop drinking.  He wasn’t sure, but he thought he might be an alcoholic.  The holidays were an especially tough time, because all his friends would buy him drinks and all the parties included lots of alcohol.  He wanted to change before he lost his job and his family.

A college student said he needed to change his major.  For three years all his studying had been directed toward one goal:  to make as much money as possible as soon as he graduated.  Then a close friend was killed in a car accident, and he suddenly realized there was more to life than getting rich.  He wanted to find a career where he could serve other people.

A mother said she had to change the way she treated her children.  She had so little patience with them that at times she came close to physically hurting them.  As it was, she lost her temper nearly everyday.  She had tears in her eyes as she walked away.

*   *   *   *   *

After a couple weeks the store owner was having second thoughts about his new idea.  Sales weren’t any better than the year before, and sales were actually down in the Men’s Department next to John the Baptist and his cave.

So early on Monday morning, 10 shopping days before Christmas, the owner went to have a talk with John the Baptist.  When the owner sat down, John asked him the same question he asked everyone else:  “What do you need to change in your life?”

“Well,” the owner replied, “I think we need to change the lights on our big tree to those new LED lights.  It’s classier, more sophisticated and more energy efficient.  And I think we should change our opening hours to 7:00 a.m.  We can catch some folks before they go to work.”

“And, well, I think we’re going to have to make a change with you.  This whole thing was a great idea, and I don’t blame you for anything – but it just hasn’t worked out.  I’ll pay you for the next two weeks, but you’re through, effective immediately.”

John answered him, “I didn’t ask what you needed to change in your store; I asked what you needed to change in your life.”

“This store is my life,” said the owner.  “My hard work, my ingenuity, my sacrifices have made this store what it is.  I’ve given my whole life to this store.”

“I believe that’s true,” said John.  “This store has become your life.  Maybe that’s what you need to change.”

“What do you mean?” asked the owner.

“I mean this store is keeping you from seeing what really matters.  How much time have you spent with your family the last few weeks?”

“But I’m doing all this for them.” said the owner.

“Are you?  Are you really?  Maybe you should try doing a little less for your family and try doing a little more with them.  And as long as we’re talking, with all the preparations you’ve made at this store, what have you done in your life to prepare the way of the Lord?”

The owner was silent, and he sat very still.

Finally John said, “I don’t mean to preach at you, but when Jesus said He came that we might have life and have it abundantly, I don’t think this store is quite what He had in mind.  With all respect, the way to prepare for Christmas is not by getting your things together, but by getting your life together.”

And he got up, popped a honey-covered locust in his mouth, and walked out the door.

The store owner sat in the cave for a long time.  He could hear the carolers warming up over in the Home Furnishings Department.  He could smell the ginger aroma of the fresh-baked Christmas cookies.  He could see the caboose of the toy train, chugging on its way to the toy department.

He thought about his son and daughter, both now grown and living far away.  He tried to picture the faces of his grandchildren.  He wondered what his wife was doing right now – he hadn’t said more than a few words to her in several days, what with getting up early and coming home late.

He thought about trying to catch up to that John the Baptist guy- but realized he had no idea where he lived.  (He had given no home address on his application.)  Finally, he got up and went to the office of his store manager.  He stuck his head in the door and said, “The store will be closed this Sunday – there’s someplace else I need to be.  Come to think of it, maybe you do too.”  Then he went home to see his wife – who nearly fainted when he walked in the door at 10 a.m. on a Monday morning. 

 

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December 4, 2011  

Advent II

Richard Holmer

First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11

Second Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-15a

Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

Begin with God

Throughout this year I have enjoyed writing birthday cards to each of our members—at least all those for whom we have a record of a birthdate.  After eleven months I’ve sent about 450 notes, and I’ve got about 40 left to go.

It’s caused me to reflect a bit—why are birthdays a big deal?  Why do they matter?  I think it’s because our birthdays are the beginning date of our life here on earth.  It’s our entrance into the light of day, our first breath of this earthly atmosphere.

Actually, life begins for us some nine months before, and most of us have little or no recollection of our actual arrival.  Yet we carefully mark the occasion of this beginning; we date our lives from this specific starting point.

Going forward, life includes many more beginnings:

-       First word, first step, first day of school, first kiss, first day of college, first job.

-       Of course a wedding is a major new beginning.

We may not recall all that comes after them, but those beginnings stay with us—we have vivid pictures in our minds of those moments.

*   *   *   *   *

        The Bible tells us of many beginnings:

*        Genesis describes the Big Beginning, the one before all others: “In the beginning God created...”

*        We learn of the new beginning God made through Noah.  (God’s do-over)

*        There’s the beginning of God’s chosen people, starting with Abraham and Sarah and Isaac.

*        Another beginning comes with the exodus from Egypt, when God makes a new covenant with his people.  (Moses and the Ten Commandments)

*        Our First Reading today from Isaiah heralds yet another beginning: God’s promise of a return from exile to the homeland of Israel.

*        The New Testament begins with the gospels, which introduce God’s grand new beginning.  The Gospel of John echoes the story of creation: Verse 1 “In the beginning was the Word...”  And today we hear the opening verses of the earliest gospel, the Gospel of Mark: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

In Mark’s telling, the Good News begins not with the ministry of Jesus, but of John the Baptist, who prepares the way for a decisive new beginning.  John himself presented a new beginning.  He was quite different from all the other religious leaders of his day, both in style and content.  John was wild and wooly, living out in the wilderness, wearing a camel skin, eating bugs and wild honey.  And he preached a message of repentance, calling on all who would listen to make a new start.  He offered a baptism of forgiveness, to provide the starting point for a new life and a new direction.

John made quite an impact.  In spite of his strange eccentricities and his bombastic preaching style, many were drawn to him.  People from all over Judea--and just about everyone in Jerusalem—went out to him, confessed their sins and got baptized.

John had a large following, and more than a few wondered if he might be the promised Messiah.  But John was emphatic that he was just a warm-up act, the prelude to a much greater beginning: “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to tie his shoes.  I baptize you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In the very next verse following today’s reading—Mark 1:9—Jesus shows up and is baptized my John.  After spending forty days in the wilderness, Jesus begins his public ministry.  His inaugural address begins like this: “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe the good news.”  Jesus calls upon one and all to make a new beginning.  He comes bringing the hope to desire such a change and the grace to make it possible.  In his own life, Jesus initiates God’s New Covenant with his people, a covenant based not on God’s rules and our attempts to obey, but on God’s gracious mercy and our faith in this amazing grace.

This new beginning with Jesus came along about 2,000 years ago, and in three weeks we will celebrate the birthday of our Savior with major festivities.  (As we should.)

Yet the gospel that began with the coming of Jesus twenty centuries ago is more than a historical event.  It’s more than an isolated moment in time, more than an ancient beginning.

The good news of Jesus begins in a fresh way in each of our lives—at baptism.  Baptism is a profound beginning.  At baptism Christ comes to us in a direct and personal fashion, by water and the Holy Spirit. (As John foretold.)  God calls us by name and gives promises that are eternal.

Today is Thomas O’Neill Allen’s baptismal day—yet each of us has had our day as well.  Next month we will renew that covenant—a reminder that Baptism is not a past event, but a present reality, God’s ongoing invitation to make a new beginning and to live abundantly.

Right now, here at the beginning of Advent—the beginning of a new year on the church calendar—is a good time to consider what God might begin in each of our lives.  Now, we’re all familiar with New Year’s resolutions.  Usually they are full of good intentions: lose weight, get more organized, quit smoking, exercise more.  And often our resolve fades before we even make it to February.

What I ask you to consider today is this: What beginning could you make, with the help of God?  Or, rather, what beginning are you willing to let God make in you?

There are no new books in the Bible, but new gospel stories are being added all the time.  New beginnings are made in the lives of believers: people being transformed by the good news of God’s grace and mercy and leading lives of conviction and compassion.  (Can I get an Amen?)

Christ’s invitation to each of us is to repent and start living the gospel.  That is, turn in a new direction that brings you closer to God.

*        What might that look like for you?

*        What new beginning would be a blessing in your life?

*        What would you like to learn about God and the spiritual life?

*        What’s a question you would like to pursue and perhaps discuss with others Christians?

*        What spiritual practice would you like to experience?

*        Is there some ministry or service in or through our church you would like to try?

I can’t tell you what beginning is right for you, but I can absolutely guarantee you that Christ is eager to begin something refreshing and renewing in your life.

Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”  In Advent, Jesus is at your front door.  It’s for you to open the door and determine what it is you’d like Jesus to help you to begin.

*   *   *   *   *

        This is what those index cards are for.  (Who needs one?)  They are blue for Advent, the season of hope and new beginnings.  It’s a blank card; nothing to fill out, no questions to answer, no place for your name and address.  Think of it as a blank slate for this new year.  Your Assignment: Write one thing you would like to begin this year.  There are no wrong answers.  We believe in a Savior who has power to make all things new—including the likes of me and you.

        What beginning would you like to see in your life?  What would Jesus like to see?

        I’m asking you to write it down, because in my experience, when all is said and done—a lot more is said than done.  Writing it down can motivate us to actually do something.

        I’ll tell you mine: this year I plan to visit every one of you at home, to strengthen the ties that bind.

        I’m not looking for a list: just One Thing.  Don’t sign it.  Nobody is going to follow up, except Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Place this card in the offering.  I’d like to read these; it will help me to be a more effective pastor and preacher.

        Take a little time while music is played.  (Doe anyone need a pencil?)  I’m not going to say amen.  Today, you finish the sermon!

 

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November 27, 2011  

Advent I

Richard Holmer

First Reading: Isaiah 64:1-9

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Gospel: Mark 13:24-37

 

Living in Holy Tension

Who needs more tension in their life?  Who’s looking to add a little more stress?  Isn’t life tense enough already?  Couldn’t we all use a little less tension – and a little more relaxation?  Isn’t there more than enough tension without the preacher piling more onto the load?

Life gets tense – especially at this time of year.  A lot of stuff starts happening all at once.  The pace quickens.  There are deadlines to meet.  People get a little frantic.  Yet instead of avoiding the tension in life, the season of Advent seems to underline it, and even increase it.  Advent makes us keenly aware of the tensions that are built into our daily lives.  Think about Advent...

-       On the one hand we’ve got Santa Claus, and all he represents – and on the other, we’ve got John the Baptist crying out for repentance. 

-       We’ve got stacks of gift catalogues to wade through – and one slim volume of Advent devotions. 

-       We’ve got long lists of gifts to get – and the priceless gift of a Savior. 

-       We’ve got all our personal holiday plans – and then there’s God’s eternal plan.

We’re familiar with tension.  We know what it is to be pushed and pulled in different directions at the same time.  We’re acquainted with the strain of trying to be in the world, but not of this world.  It’s a strain that becomes even more noticeable in these weeks of Advent.  How will you experience these days between the landmarks of Thanksgiving and Christmas?  Our culture calls this time “The Shopping Season” or “The Holiday Season.”  In the church we call it Advent Season.  What tensions are in store for you as you try to navigate the next 28 days?

How do you spell ADVENT?

 For many, the “A” in Advent stands for Advertising.  The media blitz is on full, full force.  Newspapers are weighed down with ad sections.  TV is wall-to-wall commercials.  The clear message is very direct:  “’Tis the season for getting and spending.”  “Buy early, buy often, buy now!”

But the “A” in Advent can also stand for Announcements.  This is the season when some real heavy-weights step up and announce to us what Almighty God intends to do.  Advertising aims to get us to do something – namely, buy stuff.  In Advent, big hitters like Isaiah, John the Baptist and the angel Gabriel tell us what God is going to do.  Advertising tries to get us to do something before Christmas arrives.  The holy announcers of Advent proclaim to us what God is going to do before the end of time.  Instead of concentrating all meaning and value into what we manage to accomplish in the next few weeks, Advent announces a much wider vision:  Advent calls us to pay attention to the God who is both Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  Advent widens our perspective from the hectic here and now to the horizons of eternity.

 “D” is for DASHING.  As in “dashing through the snow” – “dashing through the mall”.  This season can become like a track meet:  a race that belongs to the swift and the strong.  We often make a virtue out of being busy.  All this dashing from one thing to the next leaves no time for investing very much in anything.  We only have time to DABBLE – which the dictionary defines as “undertaking something superficially, without any serious intent.” (OUCH!)

An alternative to “DASHING & DABBLING” is to DETOUR.  Bypass the huge traffic jam that’s tied up in the rush toward the elusive Happy Holidays.  Take a conscious detour in Advent.  Pursue a road less travelled.  Turn off your TV.  Take time for DEVOTIONS.  Be still, and listen.  Try to DISCERN what God is saying to you.  Advent offers divine permission to take a DETOUR from the rat race.

The “V” in Advent could stand for VACANCY, as in “No Vacancy.”  Our schedules are filled to the brim.  We’re over-committed.  There’s no space or time to spare.  It’s kind of like the situation in that crowded little town of Bethlehem on December 24, 2,000 years ago.  No room in the inn.  Jesus knocks on our door, and we think:  “Can’t he read?  The sign says, ‘No Vacancy.’”

On a road less travelled, the “V:” in Advent stands for VALUES and VIRTUES.  Advent is a season for taking inventory, time to take stock of your life.  Anyone listening to Isaiah or John the Baptist is compelled to take a hard look at their own values:  What really matters?  What makes life worth living?  What should you hold onto – and what should you let go?  How do you need to change?

In Advent, we Christians might well ask ourselves:  Are our values any different from the rest of the world?  Are our lives any different?  Are we making a difference?  The VIRTUES of Advent are:  Faith, Hope, Patience, Repentance, Watchfulness, Readiness.

Another “V” word provides the occasion to cultivate these virtues:  Advent VESPERS, Wednesdays at 7:30 pm.  Be there!

What’s the “E” for?  Could it be EATING  and ENTERTAINMENT?  The coming weeks offer ample opportunities for both.  You could consume as many calories in the next month as some third world citizens consume in half a year!  And there’s an endless string of concerts, parties, new movies, plays and other entertaining options.  With all the Eating and Entertaining, Exhaustion seems inevitable.

Or could the “E” stand for  EXPECTATION?  God’s Advent messengers deliberately raise our expectations.  After a visit from Gabriel, the Virgin Mary found herself literally “expecting.”  And what can you and I EXPECT in Advent?  We have good reason to expect more than a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  We expect nothing less than: 

-       Our own salvation

-       Renewal

-       Swords to be turned into plowshares

-       The lion to lay down with the lamb

-       Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner to embrace.  We expect all that is crooked to be made straight, even the likes of Rod Blagoevich and maybe some Wall Street Wheeler-dealers.

Advent is a season of Great Expectations – much greater than anything you might find under a Christmas tree or on a buffet table.  In Advent, our eyes and ears are opened to wonderful promises.  We get a chance to see beyond the narrow boundaries of our own lives to a vision of the goodness of God.

 “N”, of course, is for NICHOLAS.  Jolly old St. Nick (better known as Santa Claus).  He doesn’t wait for Christmas any more, does he?  He doesn’t even wait for Advent.  He was out hustling long before Thanksgiving!  St. Nick functions as a kind of god for many:  the great, giving god in a flowing white beard and a red suit.  He’s the one who asks the question that just warms our hearts:  “And what do YOU want?”

But maybe that “N” stands for NEEDS.  Advent doesn’t ask what we want – it tells us what we truly need.  Store windows overflow with things to want – how many stop to consider what they need?  Isaiah speaks to our need for HOPE.  John the Baptist awakens our need for REPENTANCE and FORGIVENESS.  Mary shows us how much we need to TRUST God. In this season, many are especially moved to make donations to the needy.  This is a good thing!  But how many of us realize that we, too, are needy?  How many recognize their own broken-ness, their own empty places?  Do you see anything of yourself in the mirror that Isaiah holds up before us today?

“We have all been like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.  We all fade like a leaf, and our sins, like the wind, take us away.”

In a season that encourages us to make our lists of what we want, how blessed are those who know their NEED for God.

 “T” is for TINSEL.  It’s gaudy, it’s showy – and it has no real value.  So much of our culture is concerned with image rather than substance.  It’s the sad trend in politics, and the rest of life as well.  We strain to keep up appearances – and leave the real work of living undone.  Got to get those lights and decorations up!  Got to get a new outfit to wear!  Got to get the house ready!  Got to look like we’re enjoying ourselves.  “Where’s that box of tinsel, honey?”

Or does the “T” stand for TRUTH?  The truth is that heaven and earth will pass away (along with all the tinsel) but God’s word will never pass away.  The truth has come into this world like a brightly shining searchlight – and the darkness has not overcome it.  Advent brings the Truth about us that’s not all good, and also the Truth about God’s love and justice that’s better than we could have dreamed:  The truth that we now know only in part, as we await the fullness of God’s glory.

*     *     *    *

So, is anyone starting to feel the TENSION?  It’s not always a simple matter of “either/or”.  Some of the tension is living and doing “both/and”.  And this tension is not all bad!  Embrace the tension between who we are and who we hope to be!  Between what we want – and what we need.  Between what we ought to do – and what we actually do.  Between being a loyal consumer and a faithful Christian. 

ADVENT is a season of HOLY TENSION.  We find ourselves between the Already and the Not Yet.  Between:

-       Promise and Fulfillment

-       Hopes and Fears

-       Guilt and Grace

-       Darkness and Light

-       Mundane Cares and the Deep Longing of our hearts

-       Christ’s first coming and his final return.

*   *    *    *

I hope you are beginning to realize Advent is a lot more than the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas!  What are we to do with all these multiple tensions?  Live them out faithfully.  Live your days in holy and creative tension.  To be faithful is to always live in tension.

*        So go to some great parties – and take Jesus along with you.

*        Come to Advent Vespers – and bring someone you’d usually see only at a party

*        Go ahead and buy some Christmas presents – and remember Christ is the greatest gift of all, a gift YOU can share

*        Put up all your Christmas lights – and keep an eye open for the Light of the World.

*        Enjoy the Holiday Spirit – and make room in your life for the Holy Spirit.

When the tensions start to get to you – when you just can’t seem to do it all (and you can’t) – look to the One who knows all about our tension, because he lived it.  Who lived with greater tension than Jesus?

-       He left eternity and entered time.

-       He set aside immortality and took on mortality.

-       He’s God’s Word in human flesh – fully human, fully divine.

-       He experienced profound joy – and terrible suffering.

Now that’s serious, genuine tension!

This is a Savior who can help us all.

Welcome to Advent!

Amen.

 

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November 24, 2011                        

Thanksgiving Day                                   

Richard Holmer                         

Genesis 17:15-17; 18:9-15; 21:1-7

Colossians 3:12-17

Luke 12:22-32

 

A Good Laugh

Many years ago I came across a bit of wisdom that impressed me—and stuck with me.  I can’t recall whether it was a psychologist or a theologian or simply a person with a lot of common sense—but what they said has the ring of truth.  This person suggested that two of the best, healthiest and most invigorating things we can do are:

1.    To sing with a group

2.    To share laughter together

Simple as that: to sing and to laugh—it works for me!

        Now the church certainly promotes and sustains singing with a group—Thanks be to God!  The church is one of the few places where we consistently come together to join in song.  Our worship life would be greatly diminished without singing. 

        So I am very thankful for the blessing of singing—and also for the blessing of laughter.  Laughter is a good thing anywhere, but I am particularly grateful for the presence of laughter in the life of our congregations.  It was not always so.  There was a time when laughter in church was seen as irreverent—not nearly as solemn or serious as we ought to be.  Yet it was a serious theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, who observed: “The very essence of sin is to take ourselves too seriously.”

        If taking ourselves way too seriously is sinful, laughter is a gracious antidote.  Laughter allows us to own and admit our shortcomings without being overwhelmed by them.

        Bishop William Willimon has said: “Human beings are the only animals who both laugh and weep—for we are the only animals who are struck with the difference between the way things are and the way things ought to be.”  That gap can be the occasion for profound tears, but also for hilarious laughter.

        Laughter is an indicator of health and vitality.  Several years ago at St. James we engaged a consultant to work with us on a capital campaign.  The steering committee was gathered at church for an initial planning session.  When the consultant came into the meeting he said, “Well, I can tell this is a healthy congregation, because I could hear all of you laughing even before I came in the door.”  These days it’s not unusual to hear laughter in the course of a worship service—or even at a funeral, as sweet and joyful memories are shared.

        It’s not a matter of laughing at anybody—humor can be cruel at times—but rather laughing with one another (and with God.)

        Martin Luther once said: “The one thing the devil can’t bear is laughter.”  Why?  Because laughter is the fruit of a people living in grace and joy, instead of guilt and despair.

*   *   *   *

        Now, you wouldn’t describe the Bible as a humorous book—there’s no shortage of sorrow and suffering and violence and vanity and betrayal.  Yet there’s more laughter than some may think.

In a technical, literary sense, the bible is, after all, a Comedy—that is, there is a joyful ending to the story, where everything is finally sorted out.  The scriptures are not a collection of jokes and one-liners—intended to amuse.

        Instead, like Dante’s Divine Comedy, the Bible tells a story that inspires and edifies.  Many Shakespearean comedies end with a wedding that resolves all the previous conflicts and confusions.  The scriptures describe heaven as a wedding feast that has no end.

*   *   *   *

        Now some people have a hard time picturing Jesus laughing.  After all, Christ is our Lord and Savior—and our Judge.  But consider some of the outrageous things that Jesus actually said: as a warning against judging others: “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”  Imagine what Saturday Night Live might do with this scenario!  “You strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel.”  Jesus used humor, in the form of absurd hyperbole, to make his point.  Jesus also said, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”  Jesus promises us the happiest of unlikely endings.

*   *   *   *

        Or try keeping a straight face while reading a few chapters in Proverbs.  For example:

-       “It is better to meet a mother bear robbed of her cubs, than to meet some fool busy with a stupid project.” 

-       “Smart people keep quiet about what they know, but stupid people advertise their ignorance.”  (Politicians take note!) 

-       “The lazy man stays at home.  He says a lion might get him if he goes outside.”

-       “Beauty in a woman without good judgment is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.”  (Didn’t somebody talk about a pit bull with lipstick?)

*   *   *  *

        Or consider Abraham and Sarah, our parents in faith.  Those two certainly had their trials and struggles—Moments fraught with fear and trembling.  (Like when God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son.)  Yet the story of the birth of Isaac is almost like an episode from the TV show, “All in the Family,” as we heard in our first reading from Genesis.  Picture Archie Bunker as Abraham, and Edith Bunker as his devoted wife, Sarah.

God tells Abraham, who is 100 years old, that Sarah, who is (only) 90, is going to bear him a son.  What does Abe do?  He falls on his face laughing at the shear absurdity of such a notion—“God, you’ve got to be kidding!!”

When Sarah gets wind of this unlikely promise, she also has a good laugh.  God hears her laughing and wonders why.  In fear of offending the Almighty, Sarah denies that she laughed.  But God says, “O, yes you did.” (And He doesn’t seem to mind a bit.)

So when the child is finally born, what can they name him but Isaac, which means “Laughter”?  The child of promise is Laughter.

And Sarah concludes, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”  And so we do.  Down through the generations we laugh with Abraham and Sarah at our human frailties—and God’s great goodness.

Frederick Buechner says of Abraham and Sarah: “They laughed because it suddenly dawned on them that the wildest dreams they’d ever had hadn’t been half wild enough.”

As the saying goes: If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.

*   *   *   *

        If human shortcomings and contradictions and vanity are the basis for most humor, the Bible is a rich source for material.

        Week by week we gather together to confess our sins, to own up to the error of our stubborn, selfish ways—and in so doing, it becomes possible to laugh at ourselves as well.  Thank God we can laugh as well as cry!  Seriously! 

        Humor has a unique capacity to disarm our defenses, and open our eyes and our hearts to the way things truly are.  Humor is spiritually subversive, in a healthy and constructive way.  It’s like daring to say that the emperor has no clothes—and neither do we. 

*   *   *   *

        Ecclesiastes assures there’s a season for everything: a time to weep and a time to laugh.  Living together in the church, we learn to weep with those who weep—and laugh with those who laugh.

        Will Willimon reminds us that, “All laughter occurs in the space between what is and what ought to be!”  Which, if you think about it, is where most of us spend a good deal of time.

        Of course, life isn’t a joke—but laughter is an appropriate and healing response to much of what life brings our way (and what we often bring on ourselves.)  To be able to laugh at our own foibles is to see ourselves as our Creator surely does: As incomplete, obstinate, foolhardy, cantankerous and under-achieving—and at the same time, beloved heirs of a marvelous promise.

        So, we laugh at and with the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Sven and Oly, and Abraham and Sarah—because we see our story in theirs.

        Humor has a way of putting us in our rightful place, and our place is all in the same boat.  To be sure, we don’t go through life laughing all the way, but it would be a very dismal journey that included no laughter.

        It’s the grace of God that puts joy in our hearts, and sets us free to let go and enjoy a really good, eyes-watering, belly laugh.  And we can all be thankful for that!

        Our Psalm today, (#126) reminds us that together we are living God’s holy comedy, where the joyous ending is blessedly assured—and laughter even becomes a form of praise: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then we were like those who dream.  Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.”

        There’s no use pretending that life can be lived without grief and suffering, yet God’s promise is sure: “Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.”

        On this Thanksgiving Day, when most of us will be filling our mouths with all sorts of delectable things—may our mouths also be filled with joyous and grateful laughter.

Amen.

 

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November 20, 2011   

Christ the King

Richard Holmer

First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23

Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

 

Judgment Day

Many people have reported having a dream that goes something like this: You find yourself in a classroom, and you realize that it’s time to take the final exam.  The problem is this:  not only haven’t you studied for this exam, you haven’t even attended a single class all semester!  You are basically clueless about the subject matter, but you know you need to pass this test.  Well, with any luck, you wake up before the professor passes out the exams.  Who has had this dream – or something like it? 

There is usually a lot of anxiety when it comes to taking tests – even when you have studied and prepared as best you can. 

I can recall sitting in a large lecture hall my first semester in seminary on final exam day.  All first year students took the Survey Course on the New Testament – and there was a bunch of material to cover.  (The whole New Testament!)  As about 75 of us sat there, waiting for the professor to come and pass out the test questions, you could smell the fear in the room – there was a palpable sense of anxiety in the air.  The sweaty palms and rapid heart beats were generated by the dread of facing the first major test of our seminary careers. 

We don’t like being tested!  Whether it’s passing the swim test at summer camp or taking an exam like the ACT, SAT, LSAT or MCAT – tests that can play a big part in determining your future – hardly anyone looks forward to the experience.  I suppose the fear of failure is a big part of it:  if I don’t pass – then what?  In addition, we resist the idea of being judged, being held accountable.  Given the choice, we would prefer not to be put to the test. 

And yet, even as we like to avoid accountability, part of each of us also longs for it.  No one is eager to be judged and found lacking.  Yet at the same time, we do want to know if we’re getting anywhere, making some progress, making a difference.  We want our lives to matter – and so we need some kind of objective feed back. 

Most of us have very ambivalent feelings about facing the truth.  We both want the truth and dread it.  When your physician asks:  “Do you want the truth?”  We want to reply “Well, Doc, that depends...” 

But ultimately, nothing less than the whole truth will do, whether that truth is good or bad – comforting or confusing.

*   *   *   *

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the Last Judgment.  You might call it The Ultimate Final Exam! 

At the end of time, so the parable goes, we all get to take the same final.  The good news is that there is only one question.  The hard news is that it’s a very challenging question – and there’s no room for pretending or tap dancing. 

Jesus will ask the same question of us all:  “Do You Love Me?”

You may recall this is the very question that Jesus asked Peter after the Resurrection – and after Peter had denied even knowing Jesus, not once, but three times.  “Peter, do you love me?”  Of course, we all know the right answer to this question. 

But this question is a bit trickier than it appears.  We know that Jesus taught there are two great commandments: 

1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. 

2)  Love your neighbor as yourself. 

For the final exam, Jesus has rolled the two commands into one – and makes the second, the love for neighbors, the key to the first, loving God.  The surprise that dawns on everyone taking the exam is this: Jesus says, “As you did it/did not do it to any of the least of these, you did/did not do it to me.”  How we treat the people around us--most especially the ones whose needs are great-- is how we treat Jesus, and is the measure by which we are judged.

Now this is a parable that Jesus shares.  It is intended not so much as an actual fast forward to the Last Day, as it is a cautionary tale intended to get our attention and move us in the direction of repentance.  The parable is like the visit Ebenezer Scrooge gets from the ghost of Christmas Future, in Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol.”  Scrooge is given a visit of what the future holds – of what truly matters – and is given time to amend his life. 

You and I hear this parable – and the message rings loud and clear:  For God, the bottom line is and always will be: LOVE.  Like St. Paul puts it: no matter what else we accomplish, without love we are NOTHING. Or St John:  “Can’t love God whom you haven’t seen, if you don’t love the neighbor you have seen.” 

And the judgment for us comes not only at the end of time – it comes right now.  A few weeks ago in Sunday Bible Class, Joe Voelcker made the astute observation:  “In effect, every day is Judgment Day.”  That’s right, because every day brings opportunities to love. (or fail to love). 

Dorothy Day was an impressive individual.  She was an atheist who became a devout Roman Catholic, dedicated to caring for the least and the lost:   establishing shelters and food pantries and soup kitchens.  Dorothy Day said this:  “I only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”  This is a succinct summary of the parable Jesus tells us today.  You and I love the God we know in Jesus by loving the ones Jesus went out of his way to bless. 

So  ... stop and think for a moment.  Who is the person you love the least?  Not some villain you have never met.  Who, among those you actually know and deal with on a regular basis, do you love least? 

Can you get that person’s face in mind?  Can you recall all the reasons why it’s hard to warm up to him or her?  This person is among “the least” of those you care about. 

And Jesus says as you do unto them, so you do unto him.  And this is the test.  This is the judgment we face.  This is the truth about each of us. 

As Jesus said another time, “why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you?  Even the tax collectors do that!”

*   *   *   *

And so our anxiety begins to build:  we wonder – Have I done enough?  Do I love enough?  Can I see Jesus in needy, unlovely persons? 

This kind of self examination isn’t all bad – it keeps us from getting complacent!  Along with our steadfast hope in Christ’s promise of salvation, it’s not inappropriate to wonder a bit:  How much do I love Jesus?  How am I doing at loving the people around me?  Do I really aim to love others the way I believe Jesus loves me? 

This is not useless anxiety, but a healthy and reverent fear – the kind of fear the Bible says is the beginning of wisdom.

*   *   *   *

And there’s also an encouraging and hopeful dimension to this parable.  Bishop Will Willimon tells a story about leading a bible study with a group of students at Duke University.  Willimon read the parable we heard today of the Last Judgment, about caring for the least of these.  When he finished reading, a 19 year old sophomore blurted out:  “I can do that!”  “What did you say,” asked Willimon.  “I can do that” – “I thought that to be a good Christian you had to become a missionary to Africa or some kind of martyr for the faith.  But caring for people in need – I can do that.” 

And so can we – and so we do. 

In a variety of ways, many of you are “passing the test”  on a daily basis:  feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, visiting the prisoners, welcoming the stranger, providing boots for bootless preschoolers, providing food, clothes and Christmas gifts for those who might otherwise go without. 

The good news is that, by the grace of God, we can do what Christ asks us to do.  We may not qualify for an “A” on each and every day – but this test is pass/fail:  do your best to be loving, and you pass every time.  And when we fail, Jesus picks us up, dusts us off, and tells us to try again.

*   *   *   *

We are saved by our faith in God’s amazing grace – and a faith worthy of the name is always a faith that’s active in love for others.  So don’t dread the test – just find somebody to love today and tomorrow.

Amen.

 

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November 13, 2011  

Pentecost XXIII

Richard Holmer

 

First Reading: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

Both/And

Today’s Gospel reading, the Parable of the Talents, is a story tailor-made for a sermon on stewardship.  How convenient that it happens to land on our Commitment Sunday!!  The concept of using our talents is central to the meaning of good stewardship.  That word “talent,” a word we employ to describe God-given abilities and capacities, actually derives from this parable in Matthew.  To describe someone as “a man of many talents” is to say that he has been gifted with many creative and useful skills.  Originally, however, (and in this parable) a “talent” was a measure of weight, usually of silver, that was employed to denote a large sum of money.  A talent of silver weighed about 75 pounds, and was worth 6,000 denarri – which is the equivalent of 15 years of income for an average worker.  1 talent = 15 years of income!  A huge sum.

Well, this is even better!  It opens the door to talking about money as well as God-given talents.

*   *   *

The story is pretty straightforward. 

Before leaving on a long journey, the master calls his servants, his managers, and gives to each a large sum of money:  5 talents, 2 talents and 1 talent.  He then goes away.  During the master’s absence, the first two find ways to double what has been given them to manage.  They are industrious and enterprising with what has been give to them.

In the same way, you and I are called to be ambitious and creative managers of the gifts God has given to us.  We are to be bold stewards, taking risks for the sake of the Kingdom of God.  It’s not our talent or money – it all belongs to God; yet we are called to use these gifts to serve and glorify the Lord.  We are encouraged to find joy and purpose in faithful service and generosity.  And we are assured that our efforts will be God-pleasing – and will be rewarded.

Yet this parable contains a warning as well as a promise.  The third servant does nothing with the talent that’s given to him.  He takes it and buries it, so at least he can give back to the master all that he received.  But the master is not pleased with this servant.  He chastises him for doing nothing with his talent – for failing to take any risk.  He didn’t even loan the money out for some interest income.  The master calls him “wicked and lazy.”  But mainly this servant feared the wrath of his master, and so he played it safe and chose not to take any risk.  He buried his talent.

So the parable serves to encourage us all to be bold & enterprising in the use of our talents – both abilities & money – and to use them to strengthen and expand God’s Kingdom.

In addition, we are warned against “sitting on our talent,” “hiding our light under a bushel,” and operating out of fear and self preservation.

As stewards of all that God gives, we are to be bold and generous – not timid and unproductive.  Sound, biblical wisdom for us all.

*   *   *

However, there is another way to interpret this Parable of the Talents.  And there are several reasons for taking a close look at its message. 

We know Jesus begins many of his parables by saying something like: “The Kingdom of God may be compared to...” or “The Kingdom of Heaven is like...”  Not so with this parable.  Jesus simply says, “For it is as if a man, going on a journey....”  The “IT” may not be God’s Kingdom.  Instead, this parable may be presented as a stark contrast to how things work in the Kingdom of God.  Regarding this parable, New Testament scholar Luise Schottroff has written:  According to this story, “Those who have something will be given more, and those who have nothing will be squeezed.... The narrative is absolutely clear.  It describes the economic and political structure of an exploitative Kingship.”

The master in the parable criticizes the third servant for his failure to loan his money out at interest – and thereby realize at least some gain.  However, the laws of Israel strictly prohibited charging interest on loans.

And listen to how the master speaks of the third servant.  “So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.  For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.  As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Does that sound like Jesus to you?  It certainly doesn’t sound like what we hear from Jesus elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel. 

        “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom heaven.”

        “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

        “It is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”

The master in this parable bears no resemblance to the God of whom we hear in Mary’ Magnificat:  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly, He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

So, upon further review, perhaps the master in this parable does not represent Jesus or God the Father.  Instead, he may be an example of a selfish, wicked landlord.  The description given by the 1-talent servant may be spot-on!  The master may in fact be “a harsh man, reaping where he did not sow, and gathering where he did not scatter seed.”  Money might be the only thing he truly values.

So, then, in this light the message of this parable could be:

-       Beware of false masters.

-       Be careful whom you choose to serve.

-       There’s more to life than making a profit at any cost.

From this perspective, the one-talent servant doesn’t look like a timid failure – but a courageous whistle-blower.  He tells it like it is, regardless of the personal consequences.  He confronts the wicked, greedy master and refuses to go along with is self-aggrandizing ways.

Parenthetically, by the way, the recent terrible revelations of child abuse at Penn State make us acutely aware of the need for courageous whistle blowers.  It’s a hard and thankless task.

So, then where do we go with this parable?  As the famous theologian, Karl Barth, once said:  “Welcome to the strange world of the bible.”

The scriptures are full of wisdom and grace – and wisdom and grace are needed to interpret them.  This is especially true of the parables of  Jesus.  Jesus doesn’t explain this Parable of the Talents – he let’s it stand on its own.

Rather than being in opposition, these two interpretations I have shared can co-exist in creative tension, each offering useful guidance.  It’s not either/or but both/and.

The first approach provides sound advice on how we are to operate as managers of all that God gives:  to be bold and enterprising and creative and ambitious on behalf of God’s Kingdom, God’s mission in the world.

The second interpretation contrasts the ways of a harsh master with the gracious ways of the God we come to know in Jesus Christ.  It reminds us that God’s ways are not like our human ways.

There is no reason to be paralyzed by fear of God’s retribution – and every reason to live by trusting in God’s grace.

By grace we can be creative & fruitful stewards.  And by grace we can protest & resist the selfish ways of harsh & unjust master.

And so we go about working out our salvation: sometimes with fear and trembling (as St. Paul says) and also with faith and joy – trusting the goodness of our God.

Amen

 

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November 6, 2011  

All Saint’s Sunday

Richard Holmer

First Reading: Revelation 7:9-17

Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-3

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12

 

Ordinary Saints

This is a day to celebrate, all the saints who have died and are at home with God.  It’s good for us to be encouraged by their example – and supported by their ongoing fellowship with us.  The church is a community of memory.  Consider all the congregations that are named after saints – our own included.

However, it is worth noting that you don’t have to be dead to be a saint.  Even as we gratefully recall the saints who are in heaven, we do well to realize there are also saints here on earth.  The letters St. Paul wrote to the congregations he planted are often addressed to “saints.”

        “To the saints who are in Ephesus:

        “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi”

        “To the saints & faithful brothers & sisters in Christ in Colossae”

Clearly, you don’t have to be deceased, in heaven, famous, perfect – or always nice in order to be a saint.

I like what Lutheran pastor F. Dean Lueking has to say:  “Saints are the forgiven who know it, act upon it, and live by grace – without angling for stained-glass-window status.”

Quite simply, a saint is a forgiven sinner, one who embraces the opportunity that God’s grace provides to live a new & different life.  Remember the adulterous woman whom Jesus saved from being stoned to death.  He forgave her, and said: “Now, go and sin no more.”  What became of her?  How did she live out the rest of her days?  And how will you & I live out ours?

One way to think of forgiveness is washing our dirty clothes – and putting them on again.  It’s better to think of forgiveness as receiving brand new clothes to wear.  To be forgiven is to put on Christ.

Forgiveness isn’t simply going back to square one and starting over.  Forgiveness offers a brand new beginning.

Lueking also writes:  “The gospel is the power whereby the Spirit of God makes people not just nice, but new in heart, word and deed.”

Jesus was more than a nice guy—and he calls us to be more than nice.  If church is nothing more than an occasional gathering of nice people, who needs it?

Recently, a National Study of Youth & Religion in America identified a troubling trend in the contemporary church.  “The problem does not seen to be that churches are teaching young people badly, but that we are doing an exceedingly good job of teaching youth what we really believe:  namely that Christianity is not a big deal, that God requires little, and the church is a helpful social institution filled with nice people focused primarily on “folks like us.”  That’s a sobering indictment – one that should cause us to take a hard look at ourselves.  Are we raising up saints, faithful followers of Jesus Christ – or merely nice, pleasant persons for whom being a Christian is OK, but not big deal?

*   *   *

Here’s what I think:  There are those for whom being a Christian is nice, but really doesn’t affect their priorities or influence their way of life very much.  Yet I believe there are many more who have the notion that it’s beyond their capacity to be a saint.  They think saints are very special and very rare and always very good – and so very much unlike all the rest of us.

I want to dispel this idea – and encourage all of you to realize and to live as who you are:  the saints of God.  Now I suspect that many of you are reluctant to claim your true identity.  Midwestern Lutherans are inclined toward modesty.  We’re reluctant to presume to be more than we are – and suspicious of those who do.

Let me remind you:  YOU are the beloved of the Lord!  In our 2^nd reading we heard this:  “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God – and that is what we are.”

 This means you!

The message is not that we might be, could be, or one day will be – we are today the children of God.  Do you ever stop to appreciate how much God loves you?  He’s really quite fond of you!  It’s true.  He was willing to lay down his life for you. 

Hear these words from I Peter as addressed personally to you:  “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. God’s own people.... Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people.  Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received [great] mercy.”

Once we were all nobodies – but now we are dear to God.  Can you hear this?  Can you believe it?  Can you take it to heart!?  I hope so – because it’s the truth.

God has claimed each of you in Jesus Christ.  Are you ready and willing to claim your identity as a child of God – one of God’s ordinary and beloved saints?

Today, as we give thanks for all the saints who have gone before us, we can also realize that we are saints in the making.  Today we are assured that who we are and what we do is valuable, and makes a difference.

Too often we really doubt this.  At times we Christians are like Jimmy Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life.”  When things go from bad to worse and he comes to think so little of himself and what he has accomplished, Stewart is ready to jump off a bridge and end it all.  But then his neighbors and fellow citizens remind him of the many ways his life matters to them all.

Fellow saints of God, you need to realize how much your lives matter as well. Even as we recall how the lives of those who have died made a lasting difference – know that your lives do as well.

*   *   *

On this day, I think about my parents and how they lived.  I really don’t idealize them now that they’ve gone – there’s no need to.  They weren’t perfect – and they knew that.  They didn’t pretend to be.  Yet they also knew the goodness of God, and they trusted in that goodness – in good times and bad.  Because they trusted God, God was able to do a whole lot of good through them.  They were a blessing to me, and to many others.

David Lose, a preaching professor at Luther Seminary writes:  “To be a saint is to recognize that God has called us by name, chosen us before the founding of the world, and promised to do great things through us for the sake of all the other saints God loves so much.”

People of God, you are blessed to be a blessing.  God is doing good things through each of you.  I know it, because I see it.

                                                          *   *   *

Last Sunday I went with four of our high school kids down to Shoreline Place, a retirement home in Wilmette, operated by LSSI.  As you know, in various ways we are working at strengthening our connections with the ministries of LSSI.  This was just one small piece of that effort.  We played Bingo with about 15 residents.  We brought along a few small prizes.  We sat together with them and got acquainted.  There was a lot of laughter and good-natured teasing.

We didn’t save the world in one afternoon of Bingo – yet it was a sweet and blessed time.  We were all children of God together – teens and elderly residents – sharing the goodness of God’s gift of life.  The smiles on many faces, the small acts of caring kindness, were holy moments. 

This is what saints do.

*   *   *

It occurs to me that our stewardship theme – J.O.Y. isn’t only about giving – it’s about living.  When you live for Jesus & Others, you discover the blessedness God promises to his saints. 

The Psalm says:  “Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are they who trust in him.”  It brings to mind that old commercial for Alka-Seltzer – “Try it – you’ll like it.”

That’s God’s invitation to us today.  Try the goodness of God.  You’ll find it to be dependable and wonderful.  God really is good, all the time.

Most of us are willing to agree that God is good.  It’s when we actually venture to trust God in our daily lives that we are blessed.  The promise:  “Happy are they who trust in him.”

+        I encourage you to trust the abiding love God has for you.

+        Taste and see that the Lord is good!

+        Dare to claim your identity as a child of God.

+        And start living each day as who you truly are:

        forgiven sinners,

        ordinary, everyday, blessed saints.

Amen.

 

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October 30, 2011    

Reformation Sunday

Richard Holmer

 

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34

Second Reading: Romans 3:19-28

Gospel: John 8:31-36

 

Re-Formed By Grace

        What’s the big deal with forgiveness?  Why do Christians make so much of it?  Who really needs forgiveness anyway?

        How about...

*        People who carry around a big load of resentment—People whose behavior is worthy of being resented.

*        People who love to gossip--People who love to listen to gossip.

*        People who pretend to be what they’re not--People who never try to become who they are.

*        People who are cruel to animals--People who care more about pets than about starving children.

*        People who get rich by cheating the poor--People who think being poor justifies stealing from the rich.

*        People who believe they alone possess the whole truth--People who think there’s no such thing as truth.

*        People who irritate their neighbors--People who ignore their neighbors.

*        People who tell lies—People who tell the truth without a hint of compassion.

*        People who are getting divorced--People who stay married, but show no love to each other.

*        People who hurt others unintentionally--People who hurt anyone on purpose.

*        People who say, “All men are jerks.”  All the men who are jerks.

*        People who are blinded by ambition--People who have no ambition at all.

*        People who waste money on needless things--People who hoard money and possessions.

*        People who are intolerant--People who tolerate way too much.

*        People who are lazy--People who are workaholics.

*        People who take everything too seriously--People who never get serious about anything.

*        People who behave like bullies--People who condone bullying.

*        People who are extremely judgmental--People altogether lacking in judgment.

*        People who ignore the Word of God--People who use God’s Word to beat up others.

*        People who fail to love--People who use love to smother and control.

*        People who break promises--People who are unwilling to make promises.

*        People who mean well--People who are, well, mean.

We could go on and on – I just did.  So could you.  Who needs forgiveness?  Adam and Eve did.  So did King David, St. Peter, The Woman taken in Adultery, The Prodigal Son (and his older brother).  I do--for many reasons already stated.

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Martin Luther had a desperate, soul-deep longing for forgiveness.  Yes, the great Martin Luther, whose memory we honor today, had a great need for the mercy of God.  Luther has been recognized as number three on the list of the 100 Most Influential Persons of the last 1,000 years!  Yet as great as he was, Luther felt he was never good enough for God.  No matter how he tried, he was forever falling short.  He was painfully aware of his inadequacy.  He felt unworthy, unlovable, unable.

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Then Luther’s whole life was reformed and made new by his re-discovery of the Gospel.  As he read the scriptures, it dawned on him that life is not about being good enough for God.  Instead, real life begins when we realize that God is good enough for us – that the goodness of God in Jesus Christ forgives our sin and makes us new!

The Christian church was re-formed by this rediscovery of forgiveness: a blessing that cannot be earned, cannot be bought or sold, BECAUSE IT IS FREE, the gracious gift of our loving God.

Luther’s greatness is in his recovery of what had been there all along--but covered up, overlooked, distorted, forgotten: the Gospel of forgiveness of sins, the great news that we are saved by grace through faith.

Forgiveness is vital because SIN is so stubborn and pervasive (remember the list I began with.)  In our prayer of confession we admit that sin is a kind of captivity:  “We are in bondage to sin, and cannot free ourselves.”  And this isn’t so just because the LBW says so.  It’s true because Jesus says so: “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”  It’s what we try to describe when we talk about “original sin.”  Sin is a problem we all have, an inherent flaw, a problem we can’t fix by ourselves.

You see, once you’ve blown it (either by what you’ve done or what you’ve failed to do), there’s no going back.  You can’t rewind your life and erase the bad parts.  Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, you can’t put it back.  We can’t escape the sad reality of our own sin.  We can try to rationalize, explain, justify, excuse or deny – but nothing we do removes the guilt of our sin.  Picture Lady Macbeth trying to wash the blood off her hands.  Think of words spoken in anger that can’t be retrieved or unsaid.

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There’s only one solution to the problem of SIN.  A problem this big requires a miracle--the miracle we call forgiveness.

Consider how the miracle works: It doesn’t change what we did or didn’t do.  Forgiveness changes us, changes who we are.  It changes us from slaves of sin to children of God.  It changes us from enemies into friends.  In Christ, we are a New Creation, re-formed by love.

Again, forgiveness doesn’t rewrite the past or change history.  (This is what we often try to do as we spin out our autobiographies, real or imagined.  We edit out all the bad stuff).  Instead of rewriting the past, forgiveness rewrites the future!  Forgiveness changes the script of guilt and regret and rationalization and denial.  Forgiveness sets us free, removes the shackles that bind us, liberates us to live a new life.  Forgiveness re-forms our lives, re-shapes our hearts, creates a new reality in which we can live – abundantly.

The miracle of forgiveness opens the door to an unanticipated and undeserved future: The captives are set free.  The separated are reconciled.  Broken hearts are made whole again.

How does it happen?  How can such a miracle really come to be?  The irresistible force that drives the miracle is the Power of Truth.  The power of forgiveness is the Truth – the truth about God’s mercy.  (Not because I say so, because Jesus says so).  “The truth will make you free.”

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Here’s the important part to remember: the devil doesn’t want us to know the whole truth.  He’s a dealer in half-truths.  The devil wants to keep us in bondage--to live as slaves to sin.  And he’s been quite successful.

The name “Satan” means “Accuser,” and that’s who the devil is: our accuser.  Satan is like a relentless prosecuting attorney--continually pointing out our flaws and failings – building an airtight case around our guilt and unworthiness.  Fact is, much of what we’re accused of is true.

But get this:  Satan’s real aim is not to convince us of the truth of our sin.  His real aim is distracting us, keeping us from the greater truth.  He wants to keep us from knowing and trusting the truth that is Jesus Christ.

To know the truth is to know Jesus Christ – which is to know forgiveness, which is to know freedom, genuine liberation.

Knowing the truth does make us free. Look how it freed Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Francis of Assisi, Paul of Tarsus, Dorothy Day.

The sad reality is that too often we dwell on the truth about ourselves as sinners more than we celebrate the truth of God’s love and forgiveness,

We believe what Satan tells us more easily than we believe in Christ.  We’re more inclined to accept the bad news than the Good News,  We believe in guilt more than grace.  And this is the real bondage of SIN.

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And so we need to keep coming back to the truth.  Time & again, you and I need to be re-formed by the whole truth of Jesus Christ.  We return to the truth that first touched us at Baptism:  “We are liberated from sin and death by being joined to the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ!  It’s the truth we hear each week as the Absolution is pronounced:  “I declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins.”

It’s the truth in which we share around this table:  “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.”

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If there is anything noteworthy about living as a Lutheran Christian, it’s having forgiveness as your starting point, your baseline, your solid rock, your blessed peace, your daily inspiration.  Luther:  “Where there is forgiveness, there is life.”  Trust the reality of God’s gracious mercy for you and for all.  Always be eager to seek it.  Always be ready to share it.  Live in and with and by forgiveness.

Amen.

 

 

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