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of course the title could be - are you speaking to Me? I remember seeing that movie - Taxi Driver - when I was in college and I had no idea what to make of Travis Bickle. I was such an innocent. What a great movie.
But not for this week - the title of the sermon is actually 'come and see' - quite tame. But I am asked on Monday and I usually have no idea what the hook will be for the week.
So here' s the rough sermon. Rough because it will be spoken, not read.
January 18, 2009 –
John 1:43-51. 1 Sa, 3:1-20 (call of Samuel)
Come and See: Do you know who is calling you?
1. Opening – here are a series of ‘hear jokes’
Did you hear about the man who was so bashful that he couldn't even lead in silent prayer?
Did you hear about the student archaeologist who found his career in ruins?
Did you hear about the minister who said he had a wonderful sermon on humility but was waiting for a large crowd before preaching it?
Did you hear about the guy who is both a taxidermist and a veterinarian?
He has a sign on his door: 'Either way, you get your dog back."
Enough groaners
That’s my theme today – did you hear? Samuel heard – but he wasn’t too sure about what he was hearing. (The church members of Corinth heard, and didn’t like what they heard). Nathanael heard Philip make a great claim, but discounted that claim in the context of his time and place.
How do we know what we are hearing? Or even better – do you know who is calling you?
Telegraph operator applicant story – this is an old preacher story. It is set in the days of Morse code. A steamship company had advertised for a Morse code operator and had their best candidates waiting for an interview. As they sat in the outer office, they could hear the telegraph clacking, the phone ringing and the voices of various workers filling the air. They were told to fill out the application and wait to be called. One more candidate entered, filled out his paperwork, then went right through the door.
After a few minutes – the hiring director came out and said – “thank you for coming, we’ve filled the position.” “But, you never asked any of us in for an interview.” “Well, boys, that’s it, the telegraph was signaling over and over – if you understand this message come in and ask to speak to Mrs. Martin. Only one of you concentrated enough to hear the message.”
How do we know what we are hearing? Our lives are rather like that busy office – filled with competing messages and noises. Filled with too many tasks. Filled with many ways to entertain ourselves. How do we hear – how do we know who is calling?
If we are like the young Morse Code operator, first we must learn the language, then we must evaluate the truth of the message, and finally, hearing means trusting the speaker.
1. The Language of faith – the language of church, Bible, Spiritual growth.
The language of faith sometimes seems like a code – and inside the church we haven’t always realize that it is a code that people are not learning at their mother’s knees. What is a chalice, a nave or a narthex? What is the Trinity, what is confession or liturgy? Those are one kind of faith-language – but there is a more fundamental language that can be used – it’s the language that Philip uses – come and see.
Here you will find your hopes fulfilled. Here you will find a place for your heart, a God worthy to be worshiped. Here you can find a home for your soul, a place to confess sins and be assured you are forgiven. That’s the language we need to speak, the language of witness and hope. The language of testimony.
2. The truth of the message – Bible, core of church – orthodoxy.
So, we’ve resolved to learn a language of invitation so that we can speak and hear the invitation. Then, We need to check the message we are hearing against the core of our faith, against the Bible story and against Christian orthodoxy.
I love stories. I think getting to read a story is an incredible moment of transcendence between human beings. This other person has shared a narrative – written or spoken or filmed, and has drawn me in. That’s why the Bible is a most powerful story – it is a story with everlasting significance. It is a story meant to draw us in, to become our story. This means getting to know the characters, the dilemmas and the tragedy, the comedy, the hopes and dreams and despair.
It’s our story because it’s about people like us. We are like Samuel and Eli, like Philip and Peter and Andrew and Nathanael. We are the Prodigal Son or Daughter, or we are the eldest son or daughter. We are facing the same terrors and frustrations of the people of the kingdom of Israel, of the early church.
The second touchstone is what is core for the historic Christian church – the Trinity, the creeds and what is called orthodoxy. For 2000 years these concepts have been the comforting center of the faith.
3. Finally, we ask – can we trust the invitation – and if we are offering the invitation – are we truthworthy ourselves. Samuel trusted Eli, Nathanael, despite his crack about Nazareth – trusted Philip, at least enough to meet Jesus. Then he recognized in Jesus a truth he had been seeking.
Now Eli wasn’t the best priest in the history of the temple, and Philip wasn’t a great scholar when he told Nathanael to come and see – but both of them were fundamentally trustworthy in their own spiritual quests, and the invitation to listen to God – to come and see – came from their own experience of the trustworthiness of God. It’s the kind of role parents must play for children – and sometimes children for parents. It’s the kind of role pastors play, yes, but also ushers and readers and communion assistants. It’s the kind of role we all play even when we leave this building.
We are the ordinary folks who carry the extraordinary message – Come and see. We can be Philip for others – listening for their story and connecting their hopes and dreams with the great Gospel Story – that God came to earth in Jesus – taught and loved and gave himself up for us.
And that is good news.
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Showing posts with label preaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preaching. Show all posts
Friday, January 16, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
the WORD and words
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Actually sat down this p.m. and worked on my sermon. I know it's a holiday, but I'm not a parade or a football watcher - unless it's my team.
the sermon idea is about words and the WORD. How we use words to construct our worlds and in our sinful way, use words to hurt others. God's WORD, however, is love. Creation is love spoken out loud. How God in Christ was the WORD made flesh - not just to experience what we experience, but to empower our word-world away from fear and into love.
It reads a lot less confusing than that!
And I connect it with the Book of Faith initiative - which we haven's publicly done much with, and with all the Bible studies that have started up this year in our churches.
So ends a quiet afternoon. Cold and windy and snowy again.
I am making lamb stew. It's been so relaxing to be at home, to eat at home, to sit down and rest in the evening. I have taken the calendar for Jan and I have marked out all evenings over three or four and I am just not going to be available to work on those evenings. And I have picked out dates for retreat, too.
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Actually sat down this p.m. and worked on my sermon. I know it's a holiday, but I'm not a parade or a football watcher - unless it's my team.
the sermon idea is about words and the WORD. How we use words to construct our worlds and in our sinful way, use words to hurt others. God's WORD, however, is love. Creation is love spoken out loud. How God in Christ was the WORD made flesh - not just to experience what we experience, but to empower our word-world away from fear and into love.
It reads a lot less confusing than that!
And I connect it with the Book of Faith initiative - which we haven's publicly done much with, and with all the Bible studies that have started up this year in our churches.
So ends a quiet afternoon. Cold and windy and snowy again.
I am making lamb stew. It's been so relaxing to be at home, to eat at home, to sit down and rest in the evening. I have taken the calendar for Jan and I have marked out all evenings over three or four and I am just not going to be available to work on those evenings. And I have picked out dates for retreat, too.
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Day Message
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Christmas Day, 2008- I heard the bells on Christmas Day.
Lesson – Luke 21-20
I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the words repeat of Peace on Earth goodwill to men.
This carol, now one of the old familiar carols for us – is really not that old. It was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – yes, the Song of Hiawatha guy – in 1864. It reflects his deep reflections on the words of the Gospel, in a time in which there seems to be no peace on earth, no end to suffering and no personal joy,.
Longfellow himself had had his share of suffering – in 1861 his beloved wife Fanny died from burns after her dress caught fire in a freak accident. Longfellow was himself badly burned and suffered as he healed. Two years later, his oldest son Charles was severely wounded in battle.
A year later, at the end of the year 1864 – with Charles recovering, the wounds of his own grief becoming manageable and he started writing again, and with the re-election of Abraham Lincoln, Longfellow published this poem, with its blend of sorrow, anger and hope. Two verses have been removed from our sung version, between verses 2 and 3 - verses that refer to the on-going Civil war, and use the image that the cannons of war drown the song of the bells. And when the poet hears those cannons – he writes:
And in despair I bowed my head: There is no peace on earth I said. For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.
Longfellow touches on a common response to our holiday Gospel -
Think about it, after weeks of preparation,
after decorating and planning and traveling, or waiting for travelers to arrive
– after watching movies that honor, if not the Christmas story itself, the good feelings, the family strength, the emotional heart of the holiday
– after cooking and drinking and eating
– after listening to songs and seeing cards that point to this story – this sacred moment – after all that . . .
– we stumble out of the church on Christmas Eve, from the place of lights and song and beauty, into a world of crystal clear air and beautiful snow – and for a few hours, we can believe that the message of peace has been heard.
One newspaper took this approach to an unusual degree. The December 25, 1962 edition of the St. Petersburg Times in Florida had a very unusual format. For this one day, the paper came out with an edition that had two front pages. One front page had only good news. The second front page had all of the bad news that was occurring--rioting in the Congo and a large bank robbery in Chicago. The editors explained that they did this out of deference to the season.
www.eSermons.com
Ah, but we know that is incomplete. We listen to the news, the real news, the stories of lives lost, jobs lost, families lost – internationally, nationally, locally – and it seems there is no peace on earth. We hear stories of outrageous Ponzi schemes that have devastated not only rich families, but charitable foundations, municipalities, retirement funds. We think the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
We know our own families, our own worlds, are struggling with the question of Good will to all – the patterns of our words can be uncharitable, the differences between generations huge. Like Longfellow – we may hang our heads and ask, where is Peace on Earth, Good will to men?
Hope we ask, Where is Hope?
What brings hope back In Longfellow’s poem it is the bells themselves.
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: God is not dead, nor does he sleep,
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.
The Bells themselves, and all they stand for – they are the carriers of hope.
The bells of the churches, the voices of the believers, the resolution of the Christian, shall stand up to the mockery of the message.
The hope of the world has been born, the hope of the world lives. We say that God is not dead, or asleep, and it is in us that the world will know that.
This is in marked contrast to the notion of the two front pages of the newspaper. You will find no two front pages as you read the birth of the Christ child in Luke's Gospel. There is no attempt to separate the good from the bad. There may have been a star over the manger, but the child was also born to a woman who was considered disgraced by society. The angels may have proclaimed peace on earth good will towards men, but Rome still marched her legions wherever she pleased. The child may have been born a King, but the place of his birth certainly lacked the trappings of royalty. (esermons)
Yes, there is a great deal of difference between the Christmas of Luke's Gospel and the Christmas of the St. Petersburg Times. And, I would suggest, that is precisely why the Gospel is so appealing to us. It tells us about a God who is with us in both the good and the bad. That God does not change the events of the world to usher in his word.
God is with us in both Good and Bad. That is the message of the Christmas Bells – that we are the ones who will remember the true meaning of Christmas in a time of competing messages.
The true message of Christmas is not
Get the best, biggest or most elaborate toy and you will be happy
Is not: a little bit of help now, and you are on your own for the rest of the year
Is not: a brief time of family togetherness and then back to the usual -
passing in the night, angry silence,
The true message of Christmas is that Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men is a sentiment for everyday. It’s a message of Good News for December 25th, and January 25th and July 25th. It’s a hope for all humanity, a hope that soars above all the silly things we do to trivialize it.
Because this message: Peace on Earth, Good will to men – is connected with the beginning of the story of this baby, this child, this man – this master, this lord, this Messiah, this Christ – this redeemer, this Lamb, this sacrifice – our friend, our teacher, our master.
This message: Peace on Earth, Good will to men – that the bells do ring out, is the message for us, and to us. We are called by this story to be the people of peace, those who work for peace. We can ask for forgiveness, we can give forgiveness. We can listen to others, and work to help the needy. We can become good neighbors. We can support adolescents in their turmoil, and encourage them in their growth
We can be those who sing everyday, in the midst of news that shocks and hurts us that the bells still ring out – On Christmas Day, and everyday - the news: Peace on Earth, Good Will to men.
5. Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
Christmas Day, 2008- I heard the bells on Christmas Day.
Lesson – Luke 21-20
I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the words repeat of Peace on Earth goodwill to men.
This carol, now one of the old familiar carols for us – is really not that old. It was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – yes, the Song of Hiawatha guy – in 1864. It reflects his deep reflections on the words of the Gospel, in a time in which there seems to be no peace on earth, no end to suffering and no personal joy,.
Longfellow himself had had his share of suffering – in 1861 his beloved wife Fanny died from burns after her dress caught fire in a freak accident. Longfellow was himself badly burned and suffered as he healed. Two years later, his oldest son Charles was severely wounded in battle.
A year later, at the end of the year 1864 – with Charles recovering, the wounds of his own grief becoming manageable and he started writing again, and with the re-election of Abraham Lincoln, Longfellow published this poem, with its blend of sorrow, anger and hope. Two verses have been removed from our sung version, between verses 2 and 3 - verses that refer to the on-going Civil war, and use the image that the cannons of war drown the song of the bells. And when the poet hears those cannons – he writes:
And in despair I bowed my head: There is no peace on earth I said. For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.
Longfellow touches on a common response to our holiday Gospel -
Think about it, after weeks of preparation,
after decorating and planning and traveling, or waiting for travelers to arrive
– after watching movies that honor, if not the Christmas story itself, the good feelings, the family strength, the emotional heart of the holiday
– after cooking and drinking and eating
– after listening to songs and seeing cards that point to this story – this sacred moment – after all that . . .
– we stumble out of the church on Christmas Eve, from the place of lights and song and beauty, into a world of crystal clear air and beautiful snow – and for a few hours, we can believe that the message of peace has been heard.
One newspaper took this approach to an unusual degree. The December 25, 1962 edition of the St. Petersburg Times in Florida had a very unusual format. For this one day, the paper came out with an edition that had two front pages. One front page had only good news. The second front page had all of the bad news that was occurring--rioting in the Congo and a large bank robbery in Chicago. The editors explained that they did this out of deference to the season.
www.eSermons.com
Ah, but we know that is incomplete. We listen to the news, the real news, the stories of lives lost, jobs lost, families lost – internationally, nationally, locally – and it seems there is no peace on earth. We hear stories of outrageous Ponzi schemes that have devastated not only rich families, but charitable foundations, municipalities, retirement funds. We think the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
We know our own families, our own worlds, are struggling with the question of Good will to all – the patterns of our words can be uncharitable, the differences between generations huge. Like Longfellow – we may hang our heads and ask, where is Peace on Earth, Good will to men?
Hope we ask, Where is Hope?
What brings hope back In Longfellow’s poem it is the bells themselves.
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: God is not dead, nor does he sleep,
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.
The Bells themselves, and all they stand for – they are the carriers of hope.
The bells of the churches, the voices of the believers, the resolution of the Christian, shall stand up to the mockery of the message.
The hope of the world has been born, the hope of the world lives. We say that God is not dead, or asleep, and it is in us that the world will know that.
This is in marked contrast to the notion of the two front pages of the newspaper. You will find no two front pages as you read the birth of the Christ child in Luke's Gospel. There is no attempt to separate the good from the bad. There may have been a star over the manger, but the child was also born to a woman who was considered disgraced by society. The angels may have proclaimed peace on earth good will towards men, but Rome still marched her legions wherever she pleased. The child may have been born a King, but the place of his birth certainly lacked the trappings of royalty. (esermons)
Yes, there is a great deal of difference between the Christmas of Luke's Gospel and the Christmas of the St. Petersburg Times. And, I would suggest, that is precisely why the Gospel is so appealing to us. It tells us about a God who is with us in both the good and the bad. That God does not change the events of the world to usher in his word.
God is with us in both Good and Bad. That is the message of the Christmas Bells – that we are the ones who will remember the true meaning of Christmas in a time of competing messages.
The true message of Christmas is not
Get the best, biggest or most elaborate toy and you will be happy
Is not: a little bit of help now, and you are on your own for the rest of the year
Is not: a brief time of family togetherness and then back to the usual -
passing in the night, angry silence,
The true message of Christmas is that Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men is a sentiment for everyday. It’s a message of Good News for December 25th, and January 25th and July 25th. It’s a hope for all humanity, a hope that soars above all the silly things we do to trivialize it.
Because this message: Peace on Earth, Good will to men – is connected with the beginning of the story of this baby, this child, this man – this master, this lord, this Messiah, this Christ – this redeemer, this Lamb, this sacrifice – our friend, our teacher, our master.
This message: Peace on Earth, Good will to men – that the bells do ring out, is the message for us, and to us. We are called by this story to be the people of peace, those who work for peace. We can ask for forgiveness, we can give forgiveness. We can listen to others, and work to help the needy. We can become good neighbors. We can support adolescents in their turmoil, and encourage them in their growth
We can be those who sing everyday, in the midst of news that shocks and hurts us that the bells still ring out – On Christmas Day, and everyday - the news: Peace on Earth, Good Will to men.
5. Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
Monday, December 22, 2008
breathing & sermon
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I am actually home for dinner. In time to cook the dinner. It is a bag of something from the freezer, but even that contributes to the cause of emptying the freezer.
I'll go to the library tonight, because the book I was trying to read just isn't keeping my attention, and I would hate to be without a good book during the quiet hours of Christmas.
Sometime I'll think about my sermons. I don't want to re-use my Christmas Eve sermon from last year - in structure, it's a lot like the one I want to do on Christmas Day. I could re-use it, I'm preaching at a different church
The Christmas Eve sermon last year used "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" as a frame to tell the shepherd's view of the story.
The Christmas Day sermon will use "I heard the bells on Christmas day" to reflect upon our adult perception that Christmas joy is just beyond our grasp. And it is if we think that all has to be well, peace has to be concrete on earth, etc. But Longfellow's hope is that the bells themselves are a sign that hope lives.
They really aren't that much alike, are they?
I guess I don't want to memorize and sing all that I did last year. Yes, this was all from memory, including the Gospel reading.
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Christmas Eve – Dec. 24, 2007
Ah, what a great vision is called up in those words – long ago, a woman, a man, a tiny infant. There is an intimacy about the first act of the story – the three of them, despite old prophecies and angel dreams and visitations – the reality is that a baby has been born, cleaned, swaddled for comfort, and finally is at rest. Feeding trough or manager, whether it was in a cave or stable or perhaps even outdoors, under a canvas lean-to, we aren’t sure. The details we have added don’t really matter.
Hold your breath for a moment – it is the peacefulness of the scene that enchants – that the Savior of the world, the One hoped for, the Messiah promised of old – enters so quietly, so humbly. It is quiet and tiny, this royal birth. No one important knows about him, only his parents know what has been said about this one, only they know what that name – Jesus – really signifies. Like Joshua of old, he will save his people. Even his parents will not understand how that salvation will come about.
1 Infant holy, infant lowly, for his bed a cattle stall;
oxen lowing, little knowing Christ the child is Lord of all.
Then the second act – and the news cannot be kept secret any longer. Others must soon learn what is happening. Shepherds – drowsy in the night-time watch for wild dogs and bolder thieves – find themselves looking at a sky full of miracles. No, not stars, not comets, not new moons or even the northern lights – but a figure of such beauty and power that it could only invoke terror – the ANGEL OF THE LORD, with the brilliance that is that glory of the LORD shining. And of all things that ANGEL says: Don’t be afraid. The news is good news – the best news of all.
Swiftly winging, angels singing, bells are ringing, tidings bringing:
Christ the child is Lord of all! Christ the child is Lord of all!
See, says the angel, “over in the city, the city in which the great king David was born and the great king David was chosen by the prophet Samuel and anointed with oil, in that city, another child has been born – the Savior, who is God’s Anointed One, the Lord. But not in a palace, and not in a great house, but you will know it is him because he is still wrapped in swaddling clothes and he’ll be lying in a feeding trough.”
And not content with stunning the shepherds with that announcement, all the angels in God’s heavenly army show up to sing the highest praises of God – the heavenly chorus only before heard by the prophets and the visionary are shared – Glory to God in the highest! Peace has come to earth!
2 Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping, vigil till the morning new
saw the glory, heard the story, tidings of a gospel true.
Now in the third act the shepherds check with each other – realize they have all had the same vision – which probably calmed them down a bit - and decide to go to town. We tend to think that they found the babe right away, but we only know they went in haste, not that they found that child quickly. They had to check every feeding trough in the city. Any babies in this one? In that one? And when they burst upon the startled Mary and Joseph – Hey, guys, here! Baby, swaddled, in a manager. This is the one!
Maybe they were ready to give up, before they found that last box filled with hay and oats and baby. But here it was – this odd combination of infant tiny and humble circumstances. The vision in the field has been confirmed, the angels were not hallucinations, and that message was true – God has done something wonderful! God has sent a Savior, a Christ, a Lord.
Mary and Joseph had been quietly adoring their child, as parents will. They had been wondering about all the circumstances that had brought them to this place – Angel visits and the empire’s taxes, but they had been just the three of them, no one else knew. Until those shepherds arrived. Lady, do we have a story for you!
A story that began then, and was completed 33 years later, or rather, a story that has never ended. For we are like those shepherds, every Christmas, delighted to hear the good news from the angels: Christ is born! God has acted! And the world is different. The world is different, because Christ was born. The world is different because the followers of Christ – all of us who love this story, are different. We cling to a truth, that our God became human, a child, a man – and loved enough to teach us how to live as children of God, how to serve each other, to turn the other cheek, to open our hearts to the poor, to forgive as we have been forgiven. Our God loved us so much he sent his only begotten son to die for us. Loved us enough to promise to be with us until the very end. And that is GOOD NEWS.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow, praises voicing, greet the morrow:
Christ the child was born for you! Christ the child was born for you!
Text: Polish carol; tr. Edith M. G. Reed, 1885-1933, alt
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I am actually home for dinner. In time to cook the dinner. It is a bag of something from the freezer, but even that contributes to the cause of emptying the freezer.
I'll go to the library tonight, because the book I was trying to read just isn't keeping my attention, and I would hate to be without a good book during the quiet hours of Christmas.
Sometime I'll think about my sermons. I don't want to re-use my Christmas Eve sermon from last year - in structure, it's a lot like the one I want to do on Christmas Day. I could re-use it, I'm preaching at a different church
The Christmas Eve sermon last year used "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" as a frame to tell the shepherd's view of the story.
The Christmas Day sermon will use "I heard the bells on Christmas day" to reflect upon our adult perception that Christmas joy is just beyond our grasp. And it is if we think that all has to be well, peace has to be concrete on earth, etc. But Longfellow's hope is that the bells themselves are a sign that hope lives.
They really aren't that much alike, are they?
I guess I don't want to memorize and sing all that I did last year. Yes, this was all from memory, including the Gospel reading.
+++++
Christmas Eve – Dec. 24, 2007
Ah, what a great vision is called up in those words – long ago, a woman, a man, a tiny infant. There is an intimacy about the first act of the story – the three of them, despite old prophecies and angel dreams and visitations – the reality is that a baby has been born, cleaned, swaddled for comfort, and finally is at rest. Feeding trough or manager, whether it was in a cave or stable or perhaps even outdoors, under a canvas lean-to, we aren’t sure. The details we have added don’t really matter.
Hold your breath for a moment – it is the peacefulness of the scene that enchants – that the Savior of the world, the One hoped for, the Messiah promised of old – enters so quietly, so humbly. It is quiet and tiny, this royal birth. No one important knows about him, only his parents know what has been said about this one, only they know what that name – Jesus – really signifies. Like Joshua of old, he will save his people. Even his parents will not understand how that salvation will come about.
1 Infant holy, infant lowly, for his bed a cattle stall;
oxen lowing, little knowing Christ the child is Lord of all.
Then the second act – and the news cannot be kept secret any longer. Others must soon learn what is happening. Shepherds – drowsy in the night-time watch for wild dogs and bolder thieves – find themselves looking at a sky full of miracles. No, not stars, not comets, not new moons or even the northern lights – but a figure of such beauty and power that it could only invoke terror – the ANGEL OF THE LORD, with the brilliance that is that glory of the LORD shining. And of all things that ANGEL says: Don’t be afraid. The news is good news – the best news of all.
Swiftly winging, angels singing, bells are ringing, tidings bringing:
Christ the child is Lord of all! Christ the child is Lord of all!
See, says the angel, “over in the city, the city in which the great king David was born and the great king David was chosen by the prophet Samuel and anointed with oil, in that city, another child has been born – the Savior, who is God’s Anointed One, the Lord. But not in a palace, and not in a great house, but you will know it is him because he is still wrapped in swaddling clothes and he’ll be lying in a feeding trough.”
And not content with stunning the shepherds with that announcement, all the angels in God’s heavenly army show up to sing the highest praises of God – the heavenly chorus only before heard by the prophets and the visionary are shared – Glory to God in the highest! Peace has come to earth!
2 Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping, vigil till the morning new
saw the glory, heard the story, tidings of a gospel true.
Now in the third act the shepherds check with each other – realize they have all had the same vision – which probably calmed them down a bit - and decide to go to town. We tend to think that they found the babe right away, but we only know they went in haste, not that they found that child quickly. They had to check every feeding trough in the city. Any babies in this one? In that one? And when they burst upon the startled Mary and Joseph – Hey, guys, here! Baby, swaddled, in a manager. This is the one!
Maybe they were ready to give up, before they found that last box filled with hay and oats and baby. But here it was – this odd combination of infant tiny and humble circumstances. The vision in the field has been confirmed, the angels were not hallucinations, and that message was true – God has done something wonderful! God has sent a Savior, a Christ, a Lord.
Mary and Joseph had been quietly adoring their child, as parents will. They had been wondering about all the circumstances that had brought them to this place – Angel visits and the empire’s taxes, but they had been just the three of them, no one else knew. Until those shepherds arrived. Lady, do we have a story for you!
A story that began then, and was completed 33 years later, or rather, a story that has never ended. For we are like those shepherds, every Christmas, delighted to hear the good news from the angels: Christ is born! God has acted! And the world is different. The world is different, because Christ was born. The world is different because the followers of Christ – all of us who love this story, are different. We cling to a truth, that our God became human, a child, a man – and loved enough to teach us how to live as children of God, how to serve each other, to turn the other cheek, to open our hearts to the poor, to forgive as we have been forgiven. Our God loved us so much he sent his only begotten son to die for us. Loved us enough to promise to be with us until the very end. And that is GOOD NEWS.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow, praises voicing, greet the morrow:
Christ the child was born for you! Christ the child was born for you!
Text: Polish carol; tr. Edith M. G. Reed, 1885-1933, alt
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Sunday, December 14, 2008
sunday pm
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This morning we went a different direction at our two services. I knew the 2nd service was the Children's program and I wouldn't have to preach, so I was able to base my message around hymns for the more traditional service.
Of course, not everything I selected was traditional (wink, wink). We have the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship, so I wandered through the Advent section and we took a trip to France (Wait the Lord), Finland (Lost in the Night) and Cameroon (He Came Down). It was fun. I didn't sing off key. Our organist had fun - and since he works with the band - He Came Down will probably join the rotation.
Some excerpts:
We wait – the time of Advent is a time of waiting – waiting for the day of Christmas – waiting for answers to our questions to God – realizing that waiting – living in time with expectation – or dread – of the future – is our human condition. We wait for joyful news – a grandchild is born – we wait for sad news – someone has lost their battle with illness – we wait for the economy to improve – we wait, we wait. And we wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled. That is the huge dominant theme of ‘Advent’ – we wait for the promise – Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
So we can sing: "Wait for the Lord, whose day is near, wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart."
From Finland we receive a different perspective, a haunting folk tune, full of yearning and heartache.
This was first a missions hymn – and the first English translation had in the first line – lost in the night the heathen do languish. Changed to “the people” do languish in the 1960s it was placed in the Witness part of the LBW. Now it appears as an option for Advent – the mournful tune and depth of yearning expressed capture this time of our church year.
Now we see that the need for new life and light does not just apply to ‘them’ out there, but is a need that exists among us, right here. "Those who live in deep darkness, on them has light shone” – the old prophet’s words were taken to heart in the Scandinavian countries, where winter’s darkness lasts longer and comes to symbolize all that weighs us down. We experience the fear of death, the weight of despair, the overwhelming sense that we are powerless to change for the good our lives or the lives of others.
Together we turn to God plaintively sighing, "Will not day come soon? Will you help us soon?"
“Lost in the Night” was originally directed at those in far-away lands, but in the lands where missions have taken hold, such as Cameroon, the culture transformed the hope that Christ will come into a joyful affirmation of that he has come, and his coming has made a difference.
The Advent theme that Christ has come, is present, and will come again is joyfully expressed in the Cameroon song – “He came down.”
He Came down that we might have love - Hallelujah forever more.
So we live – knowing that He has come and he has not yet completed his work – and, as the scriptures today remind us – we are allowed, even encouraged – to rejoice.
This morning we went a different direction at our two services. I knew the 2nd service was the Children's program and I wouldn't have to preach, so I was able to base my message around hymns for the more traditional service.
Of course, not everything I selected was traditional (wink, wink). We have the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship, so I wandered through the Advent section and we took a trip to France (Wait the Lord), Finland (Lost in the Night) and Cameroon (He Came Down). It was fun. I didn't sing off key. Our organist had fun - and since he works with the band - He Came Down will probably join the rotation.
Some excerpts:
We wait – the time of Advent is a time of waiting – waiting for the day of Christmas – waiting for answers to our questions to God – realizing that waiting – living in time with expectation – or dread – of the future – is our human condition. We wait for joyful news – a grandchild is born – we wait for sad news – someone has lost their battle with illness – we wait for the economy to improve – we wait, we wait. And we wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled. That is the huge dominant theme of ‘Advent’ – we wait for the promise – Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
So we can sing: "Wait for the Lord, whose day is near, wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart."
From Finland we receive a different perspective, a haunting folk tune, full of yearning and heartache.
This was first a missions hymn – and the first English translation had in the first line – lost in the night the heathen do languish. Changed to “the people” do languish in the 1960s it was placed in the Witness part of the LBW. Now it appears as an option for Advent – the mournful tune and depth of yearning expressed capture this time of our church year.
Now we see that the need for new life and light does not just apply to ‘them’ out there, but is a need that exists among us, right here. "Those who live in deep darkness, on them has light shone” – the old prophet’s words were taken to heart in the Scandinavian countries, where winter’s darkness lasts longer and comes to symbolize all that weighs us down. We experience the fear of death, the weight of despair, the overwhelming sense that we are powerless to change for the good our lives or the lives of others.
Together we turn to God plaintively sighing, "Will not day come soon? Will you help us soon?"
“Lost in the Night” was originally directed at those in far-away lands, but in the lands where missions have taken hold, such as Cameroon, the culture transformed the hope that Christ will come into a joyful affirmation of that he has come, and his coming has made a difference.
The Advent theme that Christ has come, is present, and will come again is joyfully expressed in the Cameroon song – “He came down.”
He Came down that we might have love - Hallelujah forever more.
So we live – knowing that He has come and he has not yet completed his work – and, as the scriptures today remind us – we are allowed, even encouraged – to rejoice.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
a principle
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I believe I heard this from preaching professor Gaylord Noyce. (that places and dates me, for those of you who recognize the reference!)
'Every sermon is heretical'
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I believe I heard this from preaching professor Gaylord Noyce. (that places and dates me, for those of you who recognize the reference!)
'Every sermon is heretical'
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the sheep and the sheep
the original core of my message for Sunday - I'm leaving out the borrowed stories
Yes, the title of this sermon is “the sheep and the sheep”. I wasn’t going to call anyone a goat. In fact, that’s one of the sticking points for me about this story of Jesus’. Who, really, should be called the goats – the folks on the left? Is it for me or you to say? Well, today, let’s think about the sheep. Let’s think about the right hand.
. . . a story or two about seeing Christ in neighbor.
Now us Lutherans, we worry about whether we’re getting convinced that our works will save us. Works don’t save – only Jesus can save. That’s our mantra. And that’s still true, even in this story about the sheep – those who will inherit the kingdom. They are blessed, not because they did the charitable thing (and were proud of it) but because they loved, because they had mercy, because they followed the lowly path of their Lord.
They aren’t inheriting the kingdom because of what they did as much as because of what they saw, how they saw the world around them – especially other people – they saw them as fellow sheep.
The sheep see differently than the goats. Those in need are not a nuisance, but a question. Good things in their own lives are not seen as something to be kept, but as resources to be shared. Their own identity is not about doing the ‘right thing’, it is about being merciful, being open, always relying upon the surprising wideness of God’s mercy, learning daily that they are stewards, not owner, of all they possess.
In these days we are learning a new/old lesson. We have relied, for a time, on the easy ways to be charitable – we have given from our bounty, quite rightly – an example of this has been the interest from endowment funding all sorts of great endeavors. All the sudden that bounty isn’t abounding any more.
Here is the challenge – can we still practice ‘seeing like sheep’ even when our own resources seem smaller? Can we remember our neighbors, our ministry, our outreach, our call to see Christ in the least of these – even in these days when we are anxious and troubled?
. . . another story about sacrificial love for neighbor
Followers of Christ have a heart for those in need. We see Christ in the poor and in the suffering of the world. We see fellow sheep and enter into their need and try to serve them, and something extraordinary happens.
They also see Christ in us! Surprise! “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came too visit me. . . . Just as you did it to these least of these, you did it to me.”
****
The ending needs to be improved.
Surprising - after this busy, busy week, sucked into the less significant details and petty feeling-traps of day to day administration - I'm feeling the Spirit in this reflection. This text has always been a difficult one for me - I sense it is so significant for Matthew - really the high point and conclusion, but I have not know what to 'do' with it.
For this time, for this place, this is something they need to hear.
Thank you Lord, for being present for me today.
+
Yes, the title of this sermon is “the sheep and the sheep”. I wasn’t going to call anyone a goat. In fact, that’s one of the sticking points for me about this story of Jesus’. Who, really, should be called the goats – the folks on the left? Is it for me or you to say? Well, today, let’s think about the sheep. Let’s think about the right hand.
. . . a story or two about seeing Christ in neighbor.
Now us Lutherans, we worry about whether we’re getting convinced that our works will save us. Works don’t save – only Jesus can save. That’s our mantra. And that’s still true, even in this story about the sheep – those who will inherit the kingdom. They are blessed, not because they did the charitable thing (and were proud of it) but because they loved, because they had mercy, because they followed the lowly path of their Lord.
They aren’t inheriting the kingdom because of what they did as much as because of what they saw, how they saw the world around them – especially other people – they saw them as fellow sheep.
The sheep see differently than the goats. Those in need are not a nuisance, but a question. Good things in their own lives are not seen as something to be kept, but as resources to be shared. Their own identity is not about doing the ‘right thing’, it is about being merciful, being open, always relying upon the surprising wideness of God’s mercy, learning daily that they are stewards, not owner, of all they possess.
In these days we are learning a new/old lesson. We have relied, for a time, on the easy ways to be charitable – we have given from our bounty, quite rightly – an example of this has been the interest from endowment funding all sorts of great endeavors. All the sudden that bounty isn’t abounding any more.
Here is the challenge – can we still practice ‘seeing like sheep’ even when our own resources seem smaller? Can we remember our neighbors, our ministry, our outreach, our call to see Christ in the least of these – even in these days when we are anxious and troubled?
. . . another story about sacrificial love for neighbor
Followers of Christ have a heart for those in need. We see Christ in the poor and in the suffering of the world. We see fellow sheep and enter into their need and try to serve them, and something extraordinary happens.
They also see Christ in us! Surprise! “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came too visit me. . . . Just as you did it to these least of these, you did it to me.”
****
The ending needs to be improved.
Surprising - after this busy, busy week, sucked into the less significant details and petty feeling-traps of day to day administration - I'm feeling the Spirit in this reflection. This text has always been a difficult one for me - I sense it is so significant for Matthew - really the high point and conclusion, but I have not know what to 'do' with it.
For this time, for this place, this is something they need to hear.
Thank you Lord, for being present for me today.
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Friday, November 14, 2008
head down
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It's been a head-down week. That is, a time to just keep on and not do much reflection. I look back and wonder where the time has gone.
I've been using the phrase Trust and Praise as a summary for this week. But I realize that I should reverse the order. Praise and Trust. Praise is remembering - as Mary remembers all the great things God has done for her! (Mary seems to be referencing the miracle within her - and connecting it with all God's acts in the past. Mary personalizes the past as benefit to her personally) . And Praise, connected to remembering, brings us to a place of trust in God's guidance, presence, mission. This is especially important in time of anxiety. (and there will be anxiety since this weekend's presentation of giving goals).
Mary is wise. She looks back and treasures. She looks forward and embraces. She does it all in love. And that is wisdom.
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It's been a head-down week. That is, a time to just keep on and not do much reflection. I look back and wonder where the time has gone.
- detail work on stewardship
- trying to figure out if it would be better to change to my husband's health plan
- meetings, meetings, meetings
- detail work on worship - planning services, calendars
- calls on the phone, calls at homes, hospitals
- coaching dear son on life after the girlfriend
I've been using the phrase Trust and Praise as a summary for this week. But I realize that I should reverse the order. Praise and Trust. Praise is remembering - as Mary remembers all the great things God has done for her! (Mary seems to be referencing the miracle within her - and connecting it with all God's acts in the past. Mary personalizes the past as benefit to her personally) . And Praise, connected to remembering, brings us to a place of trust in God's guidance, presence, mission. This is especially important in time of anxiety. (and there will be anxiety since this weekend's presentation of giving goals).
Mary is wise. She looks back and treasures. She looks forward and embraces. She does it all in love. And that is wisdom.
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Friday, October 24, 2008
friday musings
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Letting my fingers ramble to warm up my thinking muscles for the sermon.
“You can’t stand the truth”
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”
We are buoyed up by Jesus great statement – the truth will set you free. And as modern, 21st century folks – we know that the search for truth has meant a great deal. But is truth all it’s cracked up to be? One of the points of current cultural identity is that truth differs from person to person – it’s true for me, it’s true for you. And here’s the rub – that’s totally unbiblical – totally outside the frame for Jesus. And the truth he’s speaking of – it’s not an intellectual truth either, it’s about truth as in “standing and being in harmony, at-one-ness with God’s will and law – as expressed in the the presence of the Risen Christ”– since we’re in John-land.
So that ‘freedom’ that comes from this 'truth' looks nothing like the concept of ‘freedom’ or 'truth' we understand culturally. Nothing like the ‘freedom of religion’ or ‘freedom to divorce’ or ‘freedom to abort’ or ‘freedom to spend outrageously’ or 'truth for me''truth for you.'
This 'truth that makes us free' is a lot more like Jeremiah’s having the covenant inscribed on our hearts. As the commentator from one of the Christian Century essays said – it’s a brand – painful and leaves a scar. It’s the freedom to not – not be enslaved to sin, not be enslaved to stuff, not be enslaved to chemicals – and the freedom to be – to be a loved child, to be a loving adult, to be someone who changes over time to look more like Christ.
Since this summer I’ve tried to understand myself as being ‘rounded off’ – being someone who does not have to response sharply, does not have to be defensive, someone who can be with the flow for many matters. It has changed my responses (not consistently – I’m still sharp now and then!) and especially my interior perspective. I think it has given me freedom – the freedom to hold back and wait for God’s urging.
Early thoughts too late on Friday – how do I preach this? The whole semantics of 'freedom' and 'truth' are just so out there. And it's confirmation, too!
*
Letting my fingers ramble to warm up my thinking muscles for the sermon.
“You can’t stand the truth”
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”
We are buoyed up by Jesus great statement – the truth will set you free. And as modern, 21st century folks – we know that the search for truth has meant a great deal. But is truth all it’s cracked up to be? One of the points of current cultural identity is that truth differs from person to person – it’s true for me, it’s true for you. And here’s the rub – that’s totally unbiblical – totally outside the frame for Jesus. And the truth he’s speaking of – it’s not an intellectual truth either, it’s about truth as in “standing and being in harmony, at-one-ness with God’s will and law – as expressed in the the presence of the Risen Christ”– since we’re in John-land.
So that ‘freedom’ that comes from this 'truth' looks nothing like the concept of ‘freedom’ or 'truth' we understand culturally. Nothing like the ‘freedom of religion’ or ‘freedom to divorce’ or ‘freedom to abort’ or ‘freedom to spend outrageously’ or 'truth for me''truth for you.'
This 'truth that makes us free' is a lot more like Jeremiah’s having the covenant inscribed on our hearts. As the commentator from one of the Christian Century essays said – it’s a brand – painful and leaves a scar. It’s the freedom to not – not be enslaved to sin, not be enslaved to stuff, not be enslaved to chemicals – and the freedom to be – to be a loved child, to be a loving adult, to be someone who changes over time to look more like Christ.
Since this summer I’ve tried to understand myself as being ‘rounded off’ – being someone who does not have to response sharply, does not have to be defensive, someone who can be with the flow for many matters. It has changed my responses (not consistently – I’m still sharp now and then!) and especially my interior perspective. I think it has given me freedom – the freedom to hold back and wait for God’s urging.
Early thoughts too late on Friday – how do I preach this? The whole semantics of 'freedom' and 'truth' are just so out there. And it's confirmation, too!
*
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
back resting
We are back and we are resting. And Aquila is resting his back. He has been doing the manly man thing and sighing about his backache, lots of anti-inflamatories and heating pads and all that. But today he called the doctor. Three weeks is too long.
Going away together - couple hundred bucks. Argument over theology - priceless. Really, we should not go to these kinds of conferences together. I found it less than valuable for exactly the opposite reasons he did. I thought - teaching tap dancing on the Titantic, and he thought everyone was muddled.
I am still struggling with the Matthew texts, and with the role and authority of the preacher to speak out these words and speak gospel instead of law. Or law and gospel, properly differentiated. And whether folks out there hear this - or do they primarily hear judgment (don't come to the party and you'll be slaughtered = you'll go to hell if you aren't a good church member - which was not what I said - but what they might have heard!) and check out before they hear gospel (the doors are now open to all - good and bad - to come to the feast - put on your wedding garment - which is a grateful heart - and come) which is how I completed the sermon.
I was complimented on actually taking on the question of the wedding garment guy. My line was - it's not about fairness, but about relationship with the king himself. It's not unfair to expect gratitude and joy and a proper response to the great gift.
I used the example of my Dear Son who won't dress up to look for work. What do you expect if you show up at the job fair looking like you've just come from the skate park? No, it's not fair - but if you desire a relationship with another, you have to reach out to the other on their terms.
God reaches out to us - these lessons remind me that there is a response required. A response which acknowledges who God is, what God did for us, and our proper relationship in this.
*
Going away together - couple hundred bucks. Argument over theology - priceless. Really, we should not go to these kinds of conferences together. I found it less than valuable for exactly the opposite reasons he did. I thought - teaching tap dancing on the Titantic, and he thought everyone was muddled.
I am still struggling with the Matthew texts, and with the role and authority of the preacher to speak out these words and speak gospel instead of law. Or law and gospel, properly differentiated. And whether folks out there hear this - or do they primarily hear judgment (don't come to the party and you'll be slaughtered = you'll go to hell if you aren't a good church member - which was not what I said - but what they might have heard!) and check out before they hear gospel (the doors are now open to all - good and bad - to come to the feast - put on your wedding garment - which is a grateful heart - and come) which is how I completed the sermon.
I was complimented on actually taking on the question of the wedding garment guy. My line was - it's not about fairness, but about relationship with the king himself. It's not unfair to expect gratitude and joy and a proper response to the great gift.
I used the example of my Dear Son who won't dress up to look for work. What do you expect if you show up at the job fair looking like you've just come from the skate park? No, it's not fair - but if you desire a relationship with another, you have to reach out to the other on their terms.
God reaches out to us - these lessons remind me that there is a response required. A response which acknowledges who God is, what God did for us, and our proper relationship in this.
*
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Matt 22:1-14
*
Beginning thoughts
God does not play by our rules
Like a cat, God is just God
Do we think our everyday garment of compromise is adequate for the wedding banquet?
Should I spend any part of the sermon trying to explain that the issue isn't that God is unfair? It's that God is God.
Shouldn't we be terrified? (Thanks to BB Taylor's essay "Tales of Terror, Times of Wonder.' found on Textweek.com.)
Where is grace to be spoken here? Where is true grace?
*
Beginning thoughts
God does not play by our rules
Like a cat, God is just God
Do we think our everyday garment of compromise is adequate for the wedding banquet?
Should I spend any part of the sermon trying to explain that the issue isn't that God is unfair? It's that God is God.
Shouldn't we be terrified? (Thanks to BB Taylor's essay "Tales of Terror, Times of Wonder.' found on Textweek.com.)
Where is grace to be spoken here? Where is true grace?
*
Sunday, October 5, 2008
little green men
I actually quoted Luther in the sermon. The text (I preached from Philippians 3) drove me to the idea of alien righteousness. So I had to find Luther on the "Two kinds of Righteousness" (which are the alien and proper kinds). And that was the theme of the sermon.
First we recognize that all we are, achieve and do is 'rubbish', and then we respond to our new track suit of grace by running the race with eyes on the prize.
Yeah, I know, mixed metaphors. For first service I did it straight. At the second service I had powerpoint and pictures - including a little green man for the alien.
There are two retired pastors in our congregation. They seemed to approve. Lutherans tend to be get queasy about santification - it's not a popular subject. Aquila in his pure Lutheran mode had a problem with including the last line of the passage from Philippians 2 for our wedding text - "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (You can tend we were quite the serious couple way back when.)
However, perhaps our reluctance to think about 'proper righteousness' and preach on the challenges of the life lived in grace is part of our on-going problem of cheap grace. Yep, God died for me, now get out of my way.
We encounter the misapprehension of the church and the cheap grace over and over. An e-mail - I'm a member of the church but haven't been active for a long time. I'd like my child and spouse baptized. Can we do this privately? Can we do this without any pre-education? Can we do this without ever talking to one of the pastors? Can we do this without ever darkening the church door again? (I made those last two requests up).
About a year ago I met with a family who presented with 3 children and a baby. They wanted to join the church, enroll all the children in Sunday School and get the baby baptized. Great! Turns out each child was baptized in a different local church of our denomination - each about two years apart. The family had joined each church in succession. Children had never gone to Sunday School anywhere. I started to think that this had a lot to do with family stresses and shame. They were ashamed that they never followed through on their promises. I discouraged them from attaching to us and asked them first to contact their last pastor (a friend of mine, the gentlest soul in the world) and work with her about accommodating their family and it's needs. MP thought I had driven them away. But I felt that unless they heard a word - a considered and thoughtful word, not a shaming word - that asked them to reflect on the separation between their words and actions, they would never come to terms with God's call to them. They did not return. I didn't ask my friend if they came back to her church.
And then there are the 12 year olds who are dropped off on Wednesday night for confirmation who have never been to worship or to Sunday School - really, never. Those parents I get really angry at. And they are the ones we have the most issues with.
First we recognize that all we are, achieve and do is 'rubbish', and then we respond to our new track suit of grace by running the race with eyes on the prize.
Yeah, I know, mixed metaphors. For first service I did it straight. At the second service I had powerpoint and pictures - including a little green man for the alien.
There are two retired pastors in our congregation. They seemed to approve. Lutherans tend to be get queasy about santification - it's not a popular subject. Aquila in his pure Lutheran mode had a problem with including the last line of the passage from Philippians 2 for our wedding text - "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (You can tend we were quite the serious couple way back when.)
However, perhaps our reluctance to think about 'proper righteousness' and preach on the challenges of the life lived in grace is part of our on-going problem of cheap grace. Yep, God died for me, now get out of my way.
We encounter the misapprehension of the church and the cheap grace over and over. An e-mail - I'm a member of the church but haven't been active for a long time. I'd like my child and spouse baptized. Can we do this privately? Can we do this without any pre-education? Can we do this without ever talking to one of the pastors? Can we do this without ever darkening the church door again? (I made those last two requests up).
About a year ago I met with a family who presented with 3 children and a baby. They wanted to join the church, enroll all the children in Sunday School and get the baby baptized. Great! Turns out each child was baptized in a different local church of our denomination - each about two years apart. The family had joined each church in succession. Children had never gone to Sunday School anywhere. I started to think that this had a lot to do with family stresses and shame. They were ashamed that they never followed through on their promises. I discouraged them from attaching to us and asked them first to contact their last pastor (a friend of mine, the gentlest soul in the world) and work with her about accommodating their family and it's needs. MP thought I had driven them away. But I felt that unless they heard a word - a considered and thoughtful word, not a shaming word - that asked them to reflect on the separation between their words and actions, they would never come to terms with God's call to them. They did not return. I didn't ask my friend if they came back to her church.
And then there are the 12 year olds who are dropped off on Wednesday night for confirmation who have never been to worship or to Sunday School - really, never. Those parents I get really angry at. And they are the ones we have the most issues with.
Friday, October 3, 2008
day off????
Well, something of a day off. The realtor came back to take new pictures of the house, off we go again hoping to make that change. Then back to work on the sermon. Sermons have not been flowing for a few months. Off the blog I've been collecting thoughts why that may be. I'll post them as I sort through them.
I am blessed to have a spouse who does get it - gets the day in and day out issues of parish ministry - because he once was there himself. He listens to me grouse about squeezing sermon writing in between loads of laundry, and lack of leadership and mixed signals and he just shakes his head.
My dear Aquila has worst days than any of mine in the parish. As a chaplain he's been at the Big Trauma Hospital for 6 months, and has filed more trauma reports in those 6 months than were filed in the last year. (he was asked if he was a trauma magnet) And the community had another child injured in a car accident this week. Those are times he knows he really 'does ministry' but I know he lays awake. (it's much quieter).
I think sermon writing is one of the reasons I'm beginning the blog. To practice writing - not really polished writing - but writing down the bones - as part of finding and refining my voice.
His Majesty Fuzzy the Bunny zkiller is on the keyboard! oryrrrr. Purr, Purr. Me, Me. The pure unadulterated self-centerness of the cat. Priceless
I am blessed to have a spouse who does get it - gets the day in and day out issues of parish ministry - because he once was there himself. He listens to me grouse about squeezing sermon writing in between loads of laundry, and lack of leadership and mixed signals and he just shakes his head.
My dear Aquila has worst days than any of mine in the parish. As a chaplain he's been at the Big Trauma Hospital for 6 months, and has filed more trauma reports in those 6 months than were filed in the last year. (he was asked if he was a trauma magnet) And the community had another child injured in a car accident this week. Those are times he knows he really 'does ministry' but I know he lays awake. (it's much quieter).
I think sermon writing is one of the reasons I'm beginning the blog. To practice writing - not really polished writing - but writing down the bones - as part of finding and refining my voice.
His Majesty Fuzzy the Bunny zkiller is on the keyboard! oryrrrr. Purr, Purr. Me, Me. The pure unadulterated self-centerness of the cat. Priceless
Saturday, September 27, 2008
not so bad preacher
Well, I have already preached at one service and the 'borrowed' sermon just didn't feel right. And it was long for me - and the choir is singing for the first time and singing three(!) pieces.
So I went back to the computer and here is a new sermon. It's all me - so I can post it. And no stories, even, just talking about the text. Now the question is can I deliver it without notes on such short notice?
I'm getting closer to the sense that this is a difficult text because it should speak right to us - all of us comfortable tourist Christians. As least we might have to consider that tax collectors and prostitutes are our fellow worshipers. And that we aren't any better than they are. I'm pretty sure that most of the folks at the church I'm preaching at think they are better than prostitutes.
Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus. Do we really? He's pretty tough most of the time.
THE GOD OF SECOND CHANCES. – Matthew 21:23-32
We hear today about mixed messages. You know about mixed messages don’t you – it’s when your spouse says “Yes, dear” in THAT tone of voice that makes it really clear that YES is really a NO. It’s when someone says ‘let’s get together’, but never can find the time. It’s when the politicians say . . . whatever they say – but it never turns out the best!
Mixed messages – that’s what those two sons in Jesus’ story are guilty of. The words and the deeds don’t match up. One says Yes – I’ll do it, but he does not. The other say’s No way, Jose – but thinks better of it, and he goes and does his father’s work.
And Jesus isn’t shy about applying this story to the situation at hand. Those religious leaders who don’t want to admit to the truth of John’s baptism of repentance were the same ones who were conniving to discredit Jesus, and for pretty much the same reason.
Repentance really wasn’t something they were interested in. The idea that someone could repent and return to the Good Favor of God – especially if this repentance was not marked by sacrifices and membership in the pharisiatic party – this idea was not on their 10 ten list of ways to organize the better sort of people The better sort of people didn’t have anything to repent of, really. And the other sort of people – well, it worked out well if they knew their place, which was to continually pay others to pray and sacrifice for them.
So Jesus delivers the punch line of his story – and it is a punch line. In this way the tax collectors and the prostitutes will be in heaven before you. It’s really not very nice. Those people, the so-called sinners – may have said no once to God’s invitation – but now – in this time, they are saying yes – yes to the word of repentance preached by John, and yes to the hope they find in Jesus.
And you Pharisees, so righteous in your keeping of the laws, so ready to judge others – are like the son who says yes, but doesn’t follow through. You are the one who will be judged for you are so sure of yourself, and not open to the word of God – which is the call to repentance.
No longer a mixed message from Jesus, but a strong warning – recognize the sign – (the U-turn signs) – the ministry of John called people to repent, the ministry of Jesus promised the kingdom of God to those who loved God with their hearts and minds
and souls.
Those were the signs of the Second Chances. The second chance for tax collectors and prostitutes, and fisherman and housewives. The second chance for shepherds and merchants and even for pagan mothers and Roman soldiers to find the one, true, loving God of grace and healing. Without going through the temple, without having to keep an impossibly long list of laws – God’s Grace was offered to all those who needed a second chance.
The authority of John and the authority of Jesus doesn’t come from arguments about who has given more to the temple, or who has kept more of the law perfectly. The authority doesn’t come from family lineage or massive scholarship.
Jesus’ authority comes from knowing the heart of the Father God. The authority comes from being at one with the heart of the Father God. And that is the authority that should make all of us sit up and take notice.
This little story cuts to the heart – our heart – because we have to ask ourselves where we stand. Which son are we?
It is not faithfulness just to have the right words on our lips and judgment of others in our hearts. It doesn’t mean to look good when others can see, and act in ways that are not loving, fair and good when away from our church family.
On the contrary – Jesus invites us to walk with the tax collectors and prostitutes on the path of repentance. Maybe not quite the company we’d thought we keep, but there it is.
To be on the kingdom road means to recognize we always have a second chance – a chance to return, to cancel our NO, with the Yes that is our faithful service, our true worship of heart, mind and soul.
To be on the kingdom road is to be a work in progress, always realizing that we can be changed by God’s Holy Spirit to be more transparent to his Will, to go deeper into his Call, to recognize His hand in our lives.
To be on the kingdom road is to know that discouragement is never final, that suffering is not all that we are, that even grief and despair are shadows that can be dispelled.
The message Jesus sends is this: whatever we have been – we can come home. Where ever we have traveled to, no matter how long we’ve been away, we are always welcome in our father’s house.
That’s what is at stake when we recognize Jesus’ authority. Our second chance, our way home. Believe it.
So I went back to the computer and here is a new sermon. It's all me - so I can post it. And no stories, even, just talking about the text. Now the question is can I deliver it without notes on such short notice?
I'm getting closer to the sense that this is a difficult text because it should speak right to us - all of us comfortable tourist Christians. As least we might have to consider that tax collectors and prostitutes are our fellow worshipers. And that we aren't any better than they are. I'm pretty sure that most of the folks at the church I'm preaching at think they are better than prostitutes.
Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus. Do we really? He's pretty tough most of the time.
THE GOD OF SECOND CHANCES. – Matthew 21:23-32
We hear today about mixed messages. You know about mixed messages don’t you – it’s when your spouse says “Yes, dear” in THAT tone of voice that makes it really clear that YES is really a NO. It’s when someone says ‘let’s get together’, but never can find the time. It’s when the politicians say . . . whatever they say – but it never turns out the best!
Mixed messages – that’s what those two sons in Jesus’ story are guilty of. The words and the deeds don’t match up. One says Yes – I’ll do it, but he does not. The other say’s No way, Jose – but thinks better of it, and he goes and does his father’s work.
And Jesus isn’t shy about applying this story to the situation at hand. Those religious leaders who don’t want to admit to the truth of John’s baptism of repentance were the same ones who were conniving to discredit Jesus, and for pretty much the same reason.
Repentance really wasn’t something they were interested in. The idea that someone could repent and return to the Good Favor of God – especially if this repentance was not marked by sacrifices and membership in the pharisiatic party – this idea was not on their 10 ten list of ways to organize the better sort of people The better sort of people didn’t have anything to repent of, really. And the other sort of people – well, it worked out well if they knew their place, which was to continually pay others to pray and sacrifice for them.
So Jesus delivers the punch line of his story – and it is a punch line. In this way the tax collectors and the prostitutes will be in heaven before you. It’s really not very nice. Those people, the so-called sinners – may have said no once to God’s invitation – but now – in this time, they are saying yes – yes to the word of repentance preached by John, and yes to the hope they find in Jesus.
And you Pharisees, so righteous in your keeping of the laws, so ready to judge others – are like the son who says yes, but doesn’t follow through. You are the one who will be judged for you are so sure of yourself, and not open to the word of God – which is the call to repentance.
No longer a mixed message from Jesus, but a strong warning – recognize the sign – (the U-turn signs) – the ministry of John called people to repent, the ministry of Jesus promised the kingdom of God to those who loved God with their hearts and minds
and souls.
Those were the signs of the Second Chances. The second chance for tax collectors and prostitutes, and fisherman and housewives. The second chance for shepherds and merchants and even for pagan mothers and Roman soldiers to find the one, true, loving God of grace and healing. Without going through the temple, without having to keep an impossibly long list of laws – God’s Grace was offered to all those who needed a second chance.
The authority of John and the authority of Jesus doesn’t come from arguments about who has given more to the temple, or who has kept more of the law perfectly. The authority doesn’t come from family lineage or massive scholarship.
Jesus’ authority comes from knowing the heart of the Father God. The authority comes from being at one with the heart of the Father God. And that is the authority that should make all of us sit up and take notice.
This little story cuts to the heart – our heart – because we have to ask ourselves where we stand. Which son are we?
It is not faithfulness just to have the right words on our lips and judgment of others in our hearts. It doesn’t mean to look good when others can see, and act in ways that are not loving, fair and good when away from our church family.
On the contrary – Jesus invites us to walk with the tax collectors and prostitutes on the path of repentance. Maybe not quite the company we’d thought we keep, but there it is.
To be on the kingdom road means to recognize we always have a second chance – a chance to return, to cancel our NO, with the Yes that is our faithful service, our true worship of heart, mind and soul.
To be on the kingdom road is to be a work in progress, always realizing that we can be changed by God’s Holy Spirit to be more transparent to his Will, to go deeper into his Call, to recognize His hand in our lives.
To be on the kingdom road is to know that discouragement is never final, that suffering is not all that we are, that even grief and despair are shadows that can be dispelled.
The message Jesus sends is this: whatever we have been – we can come home. Where ever we have traveled to, no matter how long we’ve been away, we are always welcome in our father’s house.
That’s what is at stake when we recognize Jesus’ authority. Our second chance, our way home. Believe it.
bad preacher
Stolen preaching idea and stories. Use my own connectors. Definitely will preach from pulpit this week, even though that's a problem with the uber-contemporary service. Will preach from the music stand, so to speak, or perhaps by that time I'll feel okay about winging it.
I find the Matthew text, about the challenge about Jesus authority, and the story of the two disobedient brothers, disturbing and very, very relevant. Disturbing because it is very, very relevant. How does one speak truth and hold up a mirror without sounding like a scolding mother?
We - my people and myself as well - should see ourselves in these stories and squirm. Who has authority in my life, our lives? How often do we say 'Yes' and not follow through?
The image of pilgrimage did not pan out for sermonizing - but it is part of the struggle for me. Am I a pilgrimage through life, or only a tourist? Is my comfort the key?
I had thought to challenge people - write down the favorite 5 hours to TV you expect to catch this coming week. (House, Project Runway, the packer game). Okay - now, watch only those 5 hours. Find something else to do with the rest of your time. Take walks, go back to that hobby, read a book, make love.
Only problem, I'm not sure I could do it.
I find the Matthew text, about the challenge about Jesus authority, and the story of the two disobedient brothers, disturbing and very, very relevant. Disturbing because it is very, very relevant. How does one speak truth and hold up a mirror without sounding like a scolding mother?
We - my people and myself as well - should see ourselves in these stories and squirm. Who has authority in my life, our lives? How often do we say 'Yes' and not follow through?
The image of pilgrimage did not pan out for sermonizing - but it is part of the struggle for me. Am I a pilgrimage through life, or only a tourist? Is my comfort the key?
I had thought to challenge people - write down the favorite 5 hours to TV you expect to catch this coming week. (House, Project Runway, the packer game). Okay - now, watch only those 5 hours. Find something else to do with the rest of your time. Take walks, go back to that hobby, read a book, make love.
Only problem, I'm not sure I could do it.
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