Throughout the season of Advent, we have been encouraged to be ready for the coming of our Lord. This morning's Gospel reading reminds us that it isn't just his coming for which we need to prepare, but also for his delay.
You know the story (Matthew 25:1-13) of the ten maidens who took their lamps and went to wait for the bridegroom. When the bridegroom is delayed, five had brought a supply of oil for their lamps; five had not. Those unprepared for the wait went to buy more oil, and while they were gone the bridegroom arrived.
There are times in our lives when Christ comes to us. There are also times when our request for His presence seems to go unanswered. In those instances, we are called upon not simply to be ready for his arrival, but ready for his delay.
When I speak of what I think to be one of the advantages of being a 54 year old campus pastor as opposed to a 30 year old campus pastor (yes - I have been at this for 24 years) I speak of the long-term view of life which I am able to share. Delays seem unending when we are in the midst of one. They seem much shorter when looked back upon with many years in between. The injuries and set-backs are real; and they are traumatic to us as we live through them. But they will pass and there will be opportunities for learning lessons.
We need not only be ready for the coming our Lord; we need to anticipate and brace ourselves for those times when He seems to be delayed. This is the message of Matthew 25.
Pastor Chris
PS. The semester ends tomorrow. This will be my last offering till classes resume on January 11. God bless your Christmas and may you have opportunity to share the gifts of God's precious Word and promise.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, December 14
Perhaps is it our Advent theme which is causing me to notice scriptural references to hunger, but I am finding them everywhere these days.
UniLu has adopted a theme of hunger for our Advent mid-week meals and worship services. Our spring LSM Retreat will also address issues of hunger.
This morning, I was reading from Matthew 24. As Jesus is giving his final instructions to the disciples he says: "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?"
Perhaps it is this week's busyness associated with exam meals which remind me of the comfort being fed brings. But I can see how much it changes lives and attitudes when the wise and faithful servants set the food before those in need of nourishment.
In our culture we have become so immune to hunger that we fail to notice those for whom hunger is a daily reality. Yes, this is true - not just in the far reaches of the world but also in our own backyards. One of the speakers on last year's Spring Break Trip reminded us that 26% of SC residents had a hunger related incident in 2009.
Jesus tells us to feed the hungry. The scriptures are full of references to do so. Why then are there still so many hungry people in the world?
UniLu has adopted a theme of hunger for our Advent mid-week meals and worship services. Our spring LSM Retreat will also address issues of hunger.
This morning, I was reading from Matthew 24. As Jesus is giving his final instructions to the disciples he says: "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?"
Perhaps it is this week's busyness associated with exam meals which remind me of the comfort being fed brings. But I can see how much it changes lives and attitudes when the wise and faithful servants set the food before those in need of nourishment.
In our culture we have become so immune to hunger that we fail to notice those for whom hunger is a daily reality. Yes, this is true - not just in the far reaches of the world but also in our own backyards. One of the speakers on last year's Spring Break Trip reminded us that 26% of SC residents had a hunger related incident in 2009.
Jesus tells us to feed the hungry. The scriptures are full of references to do so. Why then are there still so many hungry people in the world?
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Devotion - Tuesday, December 13
I typically don't cut and paste these morning offerings, but I read this this morning, and it seemed to be a good reply to questions often asked me about prayer. Realizing how we struggle with prayer, I thought this piece worth sharing.
"To pray is nothing more involved than to let Jesus into our needs. To pray is to give Jesus permission to employ His powers in the alleviation of our distress. To pray is to let Jesus glorify His name in the midst of our needs.
"The results of prayer are, therefore, not dependent upon the powers of the one who prays. His intense will, her fervent emotions, or his clear comprehension of what he is praying for are not the reasons why his prayers will be heard and answered. Nay, God be praised, the results of prayer are not dependent upon these things!
"To pray is nothing more involved than to open the door, giving Jesus access to our needs and permitting Him to exercise His own power in dealing with them.
"He who gave us the privilege of prayer knows us very well. He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
"That is why He designed prayer in such a way that the most impotent can make use of it. For to pray is to open the door to Jesus. And that requires no strength. It is only a question of our wills. Will we give Jesus access to our needs? That is the one great and fundamental question in connection with prayer."
Ole Hallesby, Prayer
"To pray is nothing more involved than to let Jesus into our needs. To pray is to give Jesus permission to employ His powers in the alleviation of our distress. To pray is to let Jesus glorify His name in the midst of our needs.
"The results of prayer are, therefore, not dependent upon the powers of the one who prays. His intense will, her fervent emotions, or his clear comprehension of what he is praying for are not the reasons why his prayers will be heard and answered. Nay, God be praised, the results of prayer are not dependent upon these things!
"To pray is nothing more involved than to open the door, giving Jesus access to our needs and permitting Him to exercise His own power in dealing with them.
"He who gave us the privilege of prayer knows us very well. He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
"That is why He designed prayer in such a way that the most impotent can make use of it. For to pray is to open the door to Jesus. And that requires no strength. It is only a question of our wills. Will we give Jesus access to our needs? That is the one great and fundamental question in connection with prayer."
Ole Hallesby, Prayer
Monday, December 12, 2011
Devotion - Monday, December 12
I am never sure whether to call attention to finals week, or provide a distraction. TriCounty students have finished up their exams, but the exam period for Clemson begins today. These days are tiring, trying, and have the potential to up us in a really bad mood.
No one likes to be "tested." We might realize that it is the way in which we best discover our ability to synthesize information. We may come to understand that exams are a celebration of all that we have to know. But there is a nervousness about putting forth our best effort only to have someone evaluate whether this is good enough.
The lectionary of readings I follow has me reading through the opening chapters of Revelation. In the third chapter we read the notes to the seven churches. In these, the author speaks words of evaluation. In most, there are things to be commended and things which need attention. Some of the notes are stern; some might be considered harsh. But the overall effect is to realize that in each of our lives there are some things we do well and some things which could use improvement. We stand firmly on the traits we do well, in order to address those which need to be strengthened.
Perhaps it helps to remember that you are not in school merely to pass courses or do well on exams. You are here to prepare for what comes next. It might be difficult to see the correlation between this particular final exam and your contribution to making the world a better place, but there is one. Your desire to serve God and to aid others by means of a productive career is the future which follows your successful completion of these courses.
God be with you during this week; and God strengthen you.
No one likes to be "tested." We might realize that it is the way in which we best discover our ability to synthesize information. We may come to understand that exams are a celebration of all that we have to know. But there is a nervousness about putting forth our best effort only to have someone evaluate whether this is good enough.
The lectionary of readings I follow has me reading through the opening chapters of Revelation. In the third chapter we read the notes to the seven churches. In these, the author speaks words of evaluation. In most, there are things to be commended and things which need attention. Some of the notes are stern; some might be considered harsh. But the overall effect is to realize that in each of our lives there are some things we do well and some things which could use improvement. We stand firmly on the traits we do well, in order to address those which need to be strengthened.
Perhaps it helps to remember that you are not in school merely to pass courses or do well on exams. You are here to prepare for what comes next. It might be difficult to see the correlation between this particular final exam and your contribution to making the world a better place, but there is one. Your desire to serve God and to aid others by means of a productive career is the future which follows your successful completion of these courses.
God be with you during this week; and God strengthen you.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sermon - Advent 3 - December 11, 2011
Advent 3B.11
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Making Way for What Will Follow
Who wakes up in the morning and says, “I want to be the one who makes it possible for the one who follows me to do great things?” “I want to be the one that everyone overlooks in order to get to the person who is next in line?” Judi, do you want to be the teacher known as the one who made your pupils appreciate the teacher they will have next? Dr. Gauderer, do you want to be the surgeon who sets the stage for that surgeon who saves the life of the patient?
I don’t want to be the campus pastor who makes it possible for the next campus pastor to make Christ known across the Clemson campus.
It is not a role we seek. It is not a way of seeing ourselves which attracts a whole host of adherents. And yet, this is the role of John the Baptist. His job, from beginning to end, was to call attention to the one who would follow him. John does it well. So well that the whole world comes to know of the one whom he precedes. But any mention of John, in the generations which followed, was due solely to his unwavering dedication to do nothing other than become lost in the amazing events which were unfolding after him.
They come to John, to ask him, “Are you the One we have been looking for?” “NO!” He assures them. “Then are you a prophet?” They were wanting some sort of category or classification for him so they will know what to do with him and with his words. But John could not be placed is a pre-determined box. What he was preparing them for was unlike anything that had ever happened before.
But he is trying. He knows his place. And he is doing what it is that he came to do – preparing them for what is going to come next.
Trained by a world which insists that we distinguish ourselves from the competitors, we are unlikely to wake up in the morning hoping to become the one who proceeds the one who does great things. But there are few roles more important than taking an active role in preparing for the work Christ is about to do.
There are two events in today’s worship which fall into the realm of “important because of what is coming next”. Two opportunities for us to struggle, just a bit, with the awkward discomfort of knowing that even on our best days we are little more than a launching pad. Two opportunities for us to realize, hopefully in a huge way, that unless there is a successful launch little of what follows will meet our hopes and God’s expectations.
Let’s start with the baptism. Baptism is the place where all of us begin our journey. The baptismal waters “wash away our sins.” We must remember Luther’s instructions in the Small Catechism that it is not the water alone which does this but the water combined with the Word of God. There is nothing holy about the water in that font, there is something extraordinary about the about the event which surrounds the pouring of that water over the head of baby Lily. Baptism is the starting point of a life of understanding that regardless of what we might do or not do; regardless what we think or don’t think; and even setting aside what we believe or don’t believe; God has made a commitment to us. God desires a response; God’s love requires a response; but that is what it is – our response to what it is that God has done for us. Anything different is modern-day expression of the ancient heresy of synergism.
The sacrament of Holy Baptism is a sacred gift to the Church and to God’s people. But it is not some magic act, performed by some secret society. It is the beginning of a life-long commitment to making real the love of Christ and the gifts of God’s grace. It is the event which prepares us; it is the launching pad; to what we hope, to what we pray and commit to making real in the life of the one(s) who are baptized.
And then there is today’s Farewell and Godspeed. Whenever asked about the work of Lutheran Campus Ministry-Clemson, I turn the question toward those who have received alumni from this ministry. I remind folks that the true measure is what happened here is what happens after graduation. It can be gratifying to have young adults who look back fondly at their years in Clemson and speak of coming for Wednesday night meals or participating in one of the retreats. But what we are looking to accomplish is something a bit long term – will those who pass through LCM-C remain Disciples of Christ in their new homes? As wonderful as these experiences we share might be, they only truly serve their purpose when they leave one with the unquenchable desire to find a community of followers in your new home. These experiences are the start to an event or a series of events in your interaction with Christ.
No one sets out to be the one who make ready for what is coming next; but preparing the way is an important task, it is an essential task. When done correctly, it makes all the difference. Unless it is done we are likely to lack an understanding of the significance of what is coming next.
This morning we share in to such experiences. When you go home this afternoon you can evaluate your individual opportunity for a third. This third opportunity is one under your control and within your ability. I encourage you to evaluate how much of what you are doing in these next fifteen days is being done as an end in itself and how much is happening in order to prepare for something else. Are your planned Christmas events an end in themselves or do that set the stage for the re-entry of Jesus into your life? Is the emphasis on what you have been able to accomplish (getting family together, keeping them together, setting aside the tendency is to bicker and fight, finding just the right gift for under the tree,) is the emphasis on what you have been able to accomplish – or – is it on what God is accomplishing?
Well planned celebrations of the season will earn us the accolades of family and friends; but that which is eternal is only encountered in those events which serve to point us to the One of whom angels sing.
May your Christmas be merry and bright, and may all your celebrations serve the purpose of making ready the entry of Christ into your life and into the world which you inhabit.
Amen.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Making Way for What Will Follow
Who wakes up in the morning and says, “I want to be the one who makes it possible for the one who follows me to do great things?” “I want to be the one that everyone overlooks in order to get to the person who is next in line?” Judi, do you want to be the teacher known as the one who made your pupils appreciate the teacher they will have next? Dr. Gauderer, do you want to be the surgeon who sets the stage for that surgeon who saves the life of the patient?
I don’t want to be the campus pastor who makes it possible for the next campus pastor to make Christ known across the Clemson campus.
It is not a role we seek. It is not a way of seeing ourselves which attracts a whole host of adherents. And yet, this is the role of John the Baptist. His job, from beginning to end, was to call attention to the one who would follow him. John does it well. So well that the whole world comes to know of the one whom he precedes. But any mention of John, in the generations which followed, was due solely to his unwavering dedication to do nothing other than become lost in the amazing events which were unfolding after him.
They come to John, to ask him, “Are you the One we have been looking for?” “NO!” He assures them. “Then are you a prophet?” They were wanting some sort of category or classification for him so they will know what to do with him and with his words. But John could not be placed is a pre-determined box. What he was preparing them for was unlike anything that had ever happened before.
But he is trying. He knows his place. And he is doing what it is that he came to do – preparing them for what is going to come next.
Trained by a world which insists that we distinguish ourselves from the competitors, we are unlikely to wake up in the morning hoping to become the one who proceeds the one who does great things. But there are few roles more important than taking an active role in preparing for the work Christ is about to do.
There are two events in today’s worship which fall into the realm of “important because of what is coming next”. Two opportunities for us to struggle, just a bit, with the awkward discomfort of knowing that even on our best days we are little more than a launching pad. Two opportunities for us to realize, hopefully in a huge way, that unless there is a successful launch little of what follows will meet our hopes and God’s expectations.
Let’s start with the baptism. Baptism is the place where all of us begin our journey. The baptismal waters “wash away our sins.” We must remember Luther’s instructions in the Small Catechism that it is not the water alone which does this but the water combined with the Word of God. There is nothing holy about the water in that font, there is something extraordinary about the about the event which surrounds the pouring of that water over the head of baby Lily. Baptism is the starting point of a life of understanding that regardless of what we might do or not do; regardless what we think or don’t think; and even setting aside what we believe or don’t believe; God has made a commitment to us. God desires a response; God’s love requires a response; but that is what it is – our response to what it is that God has done for us. Anything different is modern-day expression of the ancient heresy of synergism.
The sacrament of Holy Baptism is a sacred gift to the Church and to God’s people. But it is not some magic act, performed by some secret society. It is the beginning of a life-long commitment to making real the love of Christ and the gifts of God’s grace. It is the event which prepares us; it is the launching pad; to what we hope, to what we pray and commit to making real in the life of the one(s) who are baptized.
And then there is today’s Farewell and Godspeed. Whenever asked about the work of Lutheran Campus Ministry-Clemson, I turn the question toward those who have received alumni from this ministry. I remind folks that the true measure is what happened here is what happens after graduation. It can be gratifying to have young adults who look back fondly at their years in Clemson and speak of coming for Wednesday night meals or participating in one of the retreats. But what we are looking to accomplish is something a bit long term – will those who pass through LCM-C remain Disciples of Christ in their new homes? As wonderful as these experiences we share might be, they only truly serve their purpose when they leave one with the unquenchable desire to find a community of followers in your new home. These experiences are the start to an event or a series of events in your interaction with Christ.
No one sets out to be the one who make ready for what is coming next; but preparing the way is an important task, it is an essential task. When done correctly, it makes all the difference. Unless it is done we are likely to lack an understanding of the significance of what is coming next.
This morning we share in to such experiences. When you go home this afternoon you can evaluate your individual opportunity for a third. This third opportunity is one under your control and within your ability. I encourage you to evaluate how much of what you are doing in these next fifteen days is being done as an end in itself and how much is happening in order to prepare for something else. Are your planned Christmas events an end in themselves or do that set the stage for the re-entry of Jesus into your life? Is the emphasis on what you have been able to accomplish (getting family together, keeping them together, setting aside the tendency is to bicker and fight, finding just the right gift for under the tree,) is the emphasis on what you have been able to accomplish – or – is it on what God is accomplishing?
Well planned celebrations of the season will earn us the accolades of family and friends; but that which is eternal is only encountered in those events which serve to point us to the One of whom angels sing.
May your Christmas be merry and bright, and may all your celebrations serve the purpose of making ready the entry of Christ into your life and into the world which you inhabit.
Amen.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Devotion - Thursday, December 8
Jesus spends a lot of time arguing against the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a group of folks within Judaism who felt that the laws of Moses were not being emphasized or upheld. They were zealous in their attempts to identify every single law and see to it that they (and their neighbors) lived according to these laws.
Jesus tells them that they are placing the emphasis in the wrong place.
They had developed some rather strange teachings. In Matthew 23:13-26 Jesus speaks of some of these. He says, "'Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath." You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold of the temple that has made the gold sacred?'"
Or course, it is easy to see the errors of others - what is more difficult is seeing the mislaid intentions in our own practices, or beliefs.
Later in this same section, Jesus makes a comment which perhaps can guide us. He says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for your tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."
Following Jesus means continually looking at my footprints and repeatedly asking whether I am where I ought to be. It means being open to hearing that I have strayed and it means accepting correction when it is offered. Following Jesus involves continual motion, moving toward the kingdom and moving in response to those whom Jesus came to set free.
Jesus tells them that they are placing the emphasis in the wrong place.
They had developed some rather strange teachings. In Matthew 23:13-26 Jesus speaks of some of these. He says, "'Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath." You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold of the temple that has made the gold sacred?'"
Or course, it is easy to see the errors of others - what is more difficult is seeing the mislaid intentions in our own practices, or beliefs.
Later in this same section, Jesus makes a comment which perhaps can guide us. He says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for your tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."
Following Jesus means continually looking at my footprints and repeatedly asking whether I am where I ought to be. It means being open to hearing that I have strayed and it means accepting correction when it is offered. Following Jesus involves continual motion, moving toward the kingdom and moving in response to those whom Jesus came to set free.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, December 7
Our Advent there of "Hunger" receives a new twist with today's appointed Old Testament reading. In Amos 8 we read, "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine upon the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it."
Interesting that the prophet does not say that the famine is NO word from God but rather a famine of "hearing" the words of the Lord. God does not cease to speak; the people do not hear.
They dash about but they cannot find the words of God. They fail to remember that the words of God are written on their hearts.
We live in a world which at times seems to. E experiencing such a famine. We search for that which is close at hand but unnoticed or appreciated. We experience a famine of hearing Gods word. This famine is sometimes noticed by us; it is painfully felt by the world-by a world in which indifference and self-satisfying behaviors allows children to go hungry and sisters to have no shelter.
May God save us from the horrible famine which ravages us of our spiritual food and strengthens us for the work of God's Kingdom.
Interesting that the prophet does not say that the famine is NO word from God but rather a famine of "hearing" the words of the Lord. God does not cease to speak; the people do not hear.
They dash about but they cannot find the words of God. They fail to remember that the words of God are written on their hearts.
We live in a world which at times seems to. E experiencing such a famine. We search for that which is close at hand but unnoticed or appreciated. We experience a famine of hearing Gods word. This famine is sometimes noticed by us; it is painfully felt by the world-by a world in which indifference and self-satisfying behaviors allows children to go hungry and sisters to have no shelter.
May God save us from the horrible famine which ravages us of our spiritual food and strengthens us for the work of God's Kingdom.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Devotion - Tuesday, December 6
Happy St. Nicholas Day!
December 6 is the feast day of St. Nicholas. Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century, he was a generous and giving man. It was rumored (though no one ever saw him) that he would slip out at night and leave gifts for the poor and destitute. Why did the townspeople suspect it was Bishop Nicholas? Because some claimed to catch a glimpse of his red Bishops' Robes, departing from the place where the gifts were left.
One legend tells how a terrible famine struck the island and a malicious butcher lured three little children into his house, where he slaughtered and butchered them, placing their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham. Saint Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, not only saw through the butcher's horrific crime but also resurrected the three boys from the barrel by his prayers. Another version of this story, possibly formed around the eleventh century, claims that the butcher's victims were instead three clerks who wished to stay the night. The man murdered them, and was advised by his wife to dispose of them by turning them into meat pies. The Saint saw through this and brought the men back to life.
In his most famous exploit, a poor man had three daughters but could not afford a proper dowry for them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment would have to become prostitutes. Hearing of the poor man's plight, Nicholas decided to help him but being too modest to help the man in public (or to save the man the humiliation of accepting charity), he went to his house under the cover of night and threw three purses (one for each daughter) filled with gold coins through the window opening into the man's house.
The legends associated with St. Nicholas are linked to the development of a modern-day imitation. Perhaps this modern-day knock off could learn a few things from the original. Rather than giving gifts to folks whom we want to please or impress, we could provide gifts for those who need them the most?
Happy St. Nicholas Day! Use this greeting in your interactions with others. Perhaps they won't know the history of St. Nicholas, and maybe they too could be reminded of the saintly act of giving.
December 6 is the feast day of St. Nicholas. Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century, he was a generous and giving man. It was rumored (though no one ever saw him) that he would slip out at night and leave gifts for the poor and destitute. Why did the townspeople suspect it was Bishop Nicholas? Because some claimed to catch a glimpse of his red Bishops' Robes, departing from the place where the gifts were left.
One legend tells how a terrible famine struck the island and a malicious butcher lured three little children into his house, where he slaughtered and butchered them, placing their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham. Saint Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, not only saw through the butcher's horrific crime but also resurrected the three boys from the barrel by his prayers. Another version of this story, possibly formed around the eleventh century, claims that the butcher's victims were instead three clerks who wished to stay the night. The man murdered them, and was advised by his wife to dispose of them by turning them into meat pies. The Saint saw through this and brought the men back to life.
In his most famous exploit, a poor man had three daughters but could not afford a proper dowry for them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment would have to become prostitutes. Hearing of the poor man's plight, Nicholas decided to help him but being too modest to help the man in public (or to save the man the humiliation of accepting charity), he went to his house under the cover of night and threw three purses (one for each daughter) filled with gold coins through the window opening into the man's house.
The legends associated with St. Nicholas are linked to the development of a modern-day imitation. Perhaps this modern-day knock off could learn a few things from the original. Rather than giving gifts to folks whom we want to please or impress, we could provide gifts for those who need them the most?
Happy St. Nicholas Day! Use this greeting in your interactions with others. Perhaps they won't know the history of St. Nicholas, and maybe they too could be reminded of the saintly act of giving.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Devotion - Monday, December 5
How appropriate that during these opening days of Advent, that the appointed Old Testament readings would come from Amos. I encourage your to open your Bible and re-read the powerful words of this prophet.
His words are particularly meaningful for us, here at UniLu, this Advent. Our Advent worship services are focused on the issue of hunger. Care for those who lack food is a high concern for Amos.
In Prophetic Voices, Hagen Staack writes, "What were Amos' reasons for speaking as he did...? The first is that Israel's faith must manifest itself in concern for the poor, for the underdog, for the suffering, for those at the bottom of the social ladder. Amos insisted ... that the quality of social justice is the gauge of righteousness in people.
"One could hardly ascribe to Amos grand social schemes outlining comprehensive social service organizations to care for the poor and destitute. Of these he knew nothing. What he wanted to see was each individual, each person in the nation, caring for his brother, for his neighbor."
When this Advent reaches its ending, let us hope that it will have moved each of us to consider the hunger in our own lives and to seek opportunities to satisfy that hunger. When this Advent reaches its ending, let us pray that we will see in the Babe the way of God. The message of God's salvation can only be heard after those surrounding the vessel of that message take some long shifts in caring for the vulnerable little baby.
This Advent, in addition to our prayers asking that God would come into our lives and into our world, let us pray that God will come into the lives of our neighbors. And, then, let's be prepared to hear God inform us that we are the means by which that arrival is to happen.
His words are particularly meaningful for us, here at UniLu, this Advent. Our Advent worship services are focused on the issue of hunger. Care for those who lack food is a high concern for Amos.
In Prophetic Voices, Hagen Staack writes, "What were Amos' reasons for speaking as he did...? The first is that Israel's faith must manifest itself in concern for the poor, for the underdog, for the suffering, for those at the bottom of the social ladder. Amos insisted ... that the quality of social justice is the gauge of righteousness in people.
"One could hardly ascribe to Amos grand social schemes outlining comprehensive social service organizations to care for the poor and destitute. Of these he knew nothing. What he wanted to see was each individual, each person in the nation, caring for his brother, for his neighbor."
When this Advent reaches its ending, let us hope that it will have moved each of us to consider the hunger in our own lives and to seek opportunities to satisfy that hunger. When this Advent reaches its ending, let us pray that we will see in the Babe the way of God. The message of God's salvation can only be heard after those surrounding the vessel of that message take some long shifts in caring for the vulnerable little baby.
This Advent, in addition to our prayers asking that God would come into our lives and into our world, let us pray that God will come into the lives of our neighbors. And, then, let's be prepared to hear God inform us that we are the means by which that arrival is to happen.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Devotion - Thursday, December 1
Today is World AIDS Day. For a number of years, the Day was widely noted across campus. A number of events would be held, to call attention to the pandemic and to educate persons on prevention.
We (LCM-C) were heavily involved in this. We hosted a campus/city wide vigil at UniLu. When the AIDS Quilt was brought to Clemson, we were one of the sponsors.
The groups of us who made our way from Clemson to Tanzania observed the AIDS crisis from a global perspective. Three Orphan Homes were built, to provide shelter for families devastated by deaths of parents and/or grandparents.
But of late, World AIDS Day has received less attention among us. This despite a relatively stable rate of infection. (Estimated 56,300 new infections a year - and South Carolina infection rate is among the highest in the US.) It is almost as if we have made our peace with the presence of this murderous entity. Surely we are not so hard of heart to think "That is their problem, and not mine."?
When Christ saw the sick and suffering he had compassion for them. He bound up their wounds and he cared for them. On World AIDS Day, perhaps we can remember his response and reconsider our own.
We (LCM-C) were heavily involved in this. We hosted a campus/city wide vigil at UniLu. When the AIDS Quilt was brought to Clemson, we were one of the sponsors.
The groups of us who made our way from Clemson to Tanzania observed the AIDS crisis from a global perspective. Three Orphan Homes were built, to provide shelter for families devastated by deaths of parents and/or grandparents.
But of late, World AIDS Day has received less attention among us. This despite a relatively stable rate of infection. (Estimated 56,300 new infections a year - and South Carolina infection rate is among the highest in the US.) It is almost as if we have made our peace with the presence of this murderous entity. Surely we are not so hard of heart to think "That is their problem, and not mine."?
When Christ saw the sick and suffering he had compassion for them. He bound up their wounds and he cared for them. On World AIDS Day, perhaps we can remember his response and reconsider our own.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, November 30
At lunch yesterday, Gina relayed a comment made by a professor. Seems he wanted to say that Martin Luther was a proponent of predestination. As soon as she asked me about this, Allen reminded everyone to prepare for a ten minute answer. Since I was only allowed ten minutes, I thought I would return to the subject this morning.
Here is what I wanted to say yesterday: Luther wanted no one to ever question the depth of God's love for them. In his own life, he had struggled with this question. He wanted to take off the table issues of whether we have done enough, or believed enough, or thought the right thoughts - with regard to being welcomed into God's salvation. "That is God's decision." And the decision is decidedly "Yes." Remember the scriptures say "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us."
Another German (Rahner) is reported to have said, "Christian Scripture demands that I believe in Hell. My experience of God tells me no one is there." Like Luther, it was his way of taking from Jesus' followers the fear of God, replacing it with the assurance that God loves us, welcomes us, and has forgiven us of our sins. "Stop worrying about this." Hasn't God done enough to convince us that we are not sinners in the hands of an angry God?
All of this came back to me this morning, as I read the appointed second lesson. From 2 Peter 3.1-10 I pulled this verse: "The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." If God has to wait a thousand years, God will wait. God will be patient with us because more than anything God wants us to know that we are loved. If we are worried that we teeter on the edge of condemnation, we fear God rather than love God.
We are predestined. Predestined to be loved by God, welcomed by God, saved by God. Nothing we have done, nothing we could do, can nullify the act of God. Salvation is ours. Now - go on with your life, living in that confidence. This is what has been pre-determined.
Here is what I wanted to say yesterday: Luther wanted no one to ever question the depth of God's love for them. In his own life, he had struggled with this question. He wanted to take off the table issues of whether we have done enough, or believed enough, or thought the right thoughts - with regard to being welcomed into God's salvation. "That is God's decision." And the decision is decidedly "Yes." Remember the scriptures say "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us."
Another German (Rahner) is reported to have said, "Christian Scripture demands that I believe in Hell. My experience of God tells me no one is there." Like Luther, it was his way of taking from Jesus' followers the fear of God, replacing it with the assurance that God loves us, welcomes us, and has forgiven us of our sins. "Stop worrying about this." Hasn't God done enough to convince us that we are not sinners in the hands of an angry God?
All of this came back to me this morning, as I read the appointed second lesson. From 2 Peter 3.1-10 I pulled this verse: "The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." If God has to wait a thousand years, God will wait. God will be patient with us because more than anything God wants us to know that we are loved. If we are worried that we teeter on the edge of condemnation, we fear God rather than love God.
We are predestined. Predestined to be loved by God, welcomed by God, saved by God. Nothing we have done, nothing we could do, can nullify the act of God. Salvation is ours. Now - go on with your life, living in that confidence. This is what has been pre-determined.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Devotion - Tuesday, November 29
After Jesus enters Jerusalem, he enters the Temple. We are told that he is displeased with what he sees. In one version, we are told he fashions a whip out of rope. He drives the money-changers out of the temple. He overturns their tables and says to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you make it a den of robbers."
Jesus understood the Temple to be God's. The use he saw of the Temple was not consistent with what he knew the purpose of that place to be. This angers him. And he responds.
There may have been some there that day who applauded. Others may have seen, as Jesus saw, that the Temple had come to be misused. Others were taken aback. They had become so accustomed to the activities in the Temple that they ceased to evaluate whether it was appropriate. It simply was the way things were.
How does Jesus respond, upon observing our practices? This might be asked of what we do together (as the assembled people of God, in our sanctuaries,) or it might be asked of the conduct of God's children (you and me) in our daily lives. Are we making the use of these things which God would expect?
Worship/prayer - these are opportunities to commune with God. They are times in which we express the concerns of our hearts and lift up the prayers of our hearts. They are also times when God comes to us. These encounters with God inform us in our understanding of who God is and what it is that hopes for us. Surely those encounters need a critical eye - an eye which asks whether it is obviously a house (or time) or prayer, or an encounter beneficial for other interests.
Jesus enters the Temple and acts in such a way as to make all aware of how it is that God intends us to order and structure our surroundings and our lives. As we move into these days of Advent, our task is to invite Jesus to enter. This is difficult work in that welcoming him means being prepared to hear his critique of what he sees when he arrives.
Jesus understood the Temple to be God's. The use he saw of the Temple was not consistent with what he knew the purpose of that place to be. This angers him. And he responds.
There may have been some there that day who applauded. Others may have seen, as Jesus saw, that the Temple had come to be misused. Others were taken aback. They had become so accustomed to the activities in the Temple that they ceased to evaluate whether it was appropriate. It simply was the way things were.
How does Jesus respond, upon observing our practices? This might be asked of what we do together (as the assembled people of God, in our sanctuaries,) or it might be asked of the conduct of God's children (you and me) in our daily lives. Are we making the use of these things which God would expect?
Worship/prayer - these are opportunities to commune with God. They are times in which we express the concerns of our hearts and lift up the prayers of our hearts. They are also times when God comes to us. These encounters with God inform us in our understanding of who God is and what it is that hopes for us. Surely those encounters need a critical eye - an eye which asks whether it is obviously a house (or time) or prayer, or an encounter beneficial for other interests.
Jesus enters the Temple and acts in such a way as to make all aware of how it is that God intends us to order and structure our surroundings and our lives. As we move into these days of Advent, our task is to invite Jesus to enter. This is difficult work in that welcoming him means being prepared to hear his critique of what he sees when he arrives.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Devotion - Monday, November 28
If there is one thing I dislike about campus ministry it is the way in which the academic calendar upsets the liturgical calendar. Lent is interrupted by spring break; Easter is overshadowed by the end of the semester; and Advent is never allowed to be four weeks long. We sometimes hear critiques of young adults as persons with little sense of delayed gratification. Surely the cutting short of Advent adds to the attitude of "We don't have to wait that long, do we?"
Advent is the beginning of our Church Year. Advent I was yesterday. For the next three Sundays we will continue our slow approach to the events of Bethlehem. During these days we are encouraged to wait, watch, and hope.
Waiting, watching, and hoping do not occur naturally in our culture. We are more inclined to find ways to make it happen, to fix the problem, to go out and grab it. Waiting, watching, and hoping are skills which need to be refined.
These skills can only happen in the lives of those willing to consider the voids in their lives. They are only important to those who long for something, and are willing to admit it is something that must come to them from another source. Waiting, watching, and hoping are traits of those who know their need for God's intervention.
You just returned from Thanksgiving Break. You have a ton of work to do before final exams. How, in the midst of all that activity, can you devote time to sitting quietly, waiting? It is tough.
But only those who recognize their need for Messiah will recognize Messiah's arrival. Only those who give voice to their hope will see those hopes realized.
With a profound understanding of the other demands on your time and the countless interruptions in your life, I encourage you to find opportunity to practice the disciplines of Advent - wait, watch, hope. (And remember these are not to be confused with "getting ready for Christmas." They do not involve putting up color lights.) Become aware of your need for God's presence.
Advent is the beginning of our Church Year. Advent I was yesterday. For the next three Sundays we will continue our slow approach to the events of Bethlehem. During these days we are encouraged to wait, watch, and hope.
Waiting, watching, and hoping do not occur naturally in our culture. We are more inclined to find ways to make it happen, to fix the problem, to go out and grab it. Waiting, watching, and hoping are skills which need to be refined.
These skills can only happen in the lives of those willing to consider the voids in their lives. They are only important to those who long for something, and are willing to admit it is something that must come to them from another source. Waiting, watching, and hoping are traits of those who know their need for God's intervention.
You just returned from Thanksgiving Break. You have a ton of work to do before final exams. How, in the midst of all that activity, can you devote time to sitting quietly, waiting? It is tough.
But only those who recognize their need for Messiah will recognize Messiah's arrival. Only those who give voice to their hope will see those hopes realized.
With a profound understanding of the other demands on your time and the countless interruptions in your life, I encourage you to find opportunity to practice the disciplines of Advent - wait, watch, hope. (And remember these are not to be confused with "getting ready for Christmas." They do not involve putting up color lights.) Become aware of your need for God's presence.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sermon - Advent 1 - November 27, 2011
Advent 1B.11
Mark 13:24-37
Wishing for the Right Messiah
If you read this week’s E-News from UniLu, you probably noticed my attempt at a Thanksgiving devotional. The impetus for that arose during staff meeting. I was sharing updates on my sister’s medical condition, and Donna comforted me by saying that a number of you, when calling the Church Office, had asked about her. Donna also said that a number had acknowledged a lack of information about my family. That struck me as odd; I think I talk about my family more than I should.
This sister of mine (Carolyn) is thirteen years older than me. Because my mother was in such poor health when I was born, Carolyn the sister fell into the role of “mother.” A role she continued throughout most of my life, and the life of my brother. That brother is only four years older than me, meaning Carolyn also has nine years on him. My parents reported being teased that they raised a baby-sitter, then the rest of their family.
Carolyn has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is particularly difficult to treat – as several of you are already aware. She is anxious; she is sad; but she is also doing okay. Throughout her sixty-seven years she has always done okay. In no small part due to her confidence that God is in control and that therefore all things will be right with the world.
Carolyn would have been a pastor, if that was an option for girls finishing high school in 1961. She has always been the best theologian in the family.
I grew up hearing the story of her Christmas wish list at age 5. Given the opportunity to ask for three things, her is what she asked for:
1) that everyone would have a home to live in;
2) that everyone would have food enough to eat; and
3) that everyone would have a mother and a father who loved them as much as her mother and father loved her.
Somewhat taken aback, the teacher who asked for her list wondered why she would ask for those three things. “Because,” Carolyn is reported to have said, “if everyone had these things, no one would go to war or hurt others or feel a need to steal.”
Just think of what it was like to grow up with an older sister who gave those kinds of answers.
It has been wonderful.
It is the time of year, when we are likely to be asked what we would wish for. The season of Advent is all about anticipating what will come our way. The Gospel text speaks of being awake, alert, and ready. Jesus speaks to a population who had grown complacent, to a people who had lowered their expectations. He tells them to observe the signs, so as not to miss the arrival of the one who would respond to that which was lacking in their lives. As we re-hear those words, I can’t help but wonder if we have grown complacent, if we have lowered our expectations. Would we even recognize Messiah’s arrival, were it to come, today?
What would that arrival look like? Many of Jesus’ contemporaries did not find in him the one whom they were seeking. They wanted something else, so they did not line up behind him or the kingdom of which he spoke. The way things played out, and the effect which he achieved was not what they were looking for. Some were looking for political power. Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world. Some wanted to continue their current way of life, and go out to Jesus when they wanted to hear a really good sermon. Jesus came to their city and their homes and announced that he wanted their every thought and their every action to reflect his presence.
Many of Jesus’ contemporaries did not recognize or were not willing to acknowledge the contours of his kingdom, and so they went away or turned away. Some even joined in the hysterical mob which thought shouting “Crucify him!” would remove from them the pain of knowing that the kingdom had come close to them but that they had chosen something different. They didn’t see what was right before them.
Do we see? Are we prepared to see? Do we even want to see?
I wasn’t here last week; I was at St. Michael, Greenville, helping them with their Stewardship Campaign. But I know the Gospel text you heard last week. It was the story of the separation of the sheep from the goats. They are divided, one from the other, the sheep representing those who do the will of God; the goats those who do not. What they do is feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and visit those in prison.
That text seems to be a justification of works righteousness (that you get to go to heaven if you do the right things, or are sent to hell for doing the wrong things.) Seems to be, until you get to the line where both the sheep and the goats ask “Lord, when did we see you in such a state, and care for you?” The answer exposes that those who do these things do not do them in order to obtain a reward; they do them because they share the mind and heart of God. They do them because they have understood, accepted, and are living the intentions of their master.
That was the text for Christ the King Sunday – the last Sunday of the Church Year, the Sunday on which everything comes to its ending. As we begin the new Church Year on Advent 1, as we return to the state of anticipation, perhaps that ending ought to direct us in considering what it is that we are to look for. Maybe that ending will help us be prepared to recognize (and follow) the Messiah who does speak the word of God and instruct us in the way of God.
It isn’t that God fails to come. The greater problem is our preference to continue to wait and watch for a Messiah more to our liking.
This One, the One spoken of in scripture, will assure us that we have nothing to fear. That neither life nor death nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from God’s love. This one will tell us time and again that God’s peace has come upon us. This one will teach us all things and lead us in all things. This one will help us see that the few loaves and fish is enough to feed everyone, if we possess the courage it takes to share. This one will show us that serving others is the path to life. This one will show us all these things; but many will prefer to wait for another, for something different.
Being awake, being alert, being ready might need to start with being honest about what it is that we are looking for. Are we hoping for some jolly fellow in a red suit who will grant us permission to ask for an IPad, or will we be ready to accept the One whose humble beginnings set the stage for the remainder of his life?
We don’t “wish” for things, we pray for them. And what we pray for is that God would make us aware of how everything we need has already been provided. We pray that what is true for God and in God’s kingdom might also be true in our lives.
Be awake; be alert. Be ready to accept the Messiah and be prepared to live according to what he tells us is the way to eternal life.
Amen.
Mark 13:24-37
Wishing for the Right Messiah
If you read this week’s E-News from UniLu, you probably noticed my attempt at a Thanksgiving devotional. The impetus for that arose during staff meeting. I was sharing updates on my sister’s medical condition, and Donna comforted me by saying that a number of you, when calling the Church Office, had asked about her. Donna also said that a number had acknowledged a lack of information about my family. That struck me as odd; I think I talk about my family more than I should.
This sister of mine (Carolyn) is thirteen years older than me. Because my mother was in such poor health when I was born, Carolyn the sister fell into the role of “mother.” A role she continued throughout most of my life, and the life of my brother. That brother is only four years older than me, meaning Carolyn also has nine years on him. My parents reported being teased that they raised a baby-sitter, then the rest of their family.
Carolyn has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is particularly difficult to treat – as several of you are already aware. She is anxious; she is sad; but she is also doing okay. Throughout her sixty-seven years she has always done okay. In no small part due to her confidence that God is in control and that therefore all things will be right with the world.
Carolyn would have been a pastor, if that was an option for girls finishing high school in 1961. She has always been the best theologian in the family.
I grew up hearing the story of her Christmas wish list at age 5. Given the opportunity to ask for three things, her is what she asked for:
1) that everyone would have a home to live in;
2) that everyone would have food enough to eat; and
3) that everyone would have a mother and a father who loved them as much as her mother and father loved her.
Somewhat taken aback, the teacher who asked for her list wondered why she would ask for those three things. “Because,” Carolyn is reported to have said, “if everyone had these things, no one would go to war or hurt others or feel a need to steal.”
Just think of what it was like to grow up with an older sister who gave those kinds of answers.
It has been wonderful.
It is the time of year, when we are likely to be asked what we would wish for. The season of Advent is all about anticipating what will come our way. The Gospel text speaks of being awake, alert, and ready. Jesus speaks to a population who had grown complacent, to a people who had lowered their expectations. He tells them to observe the signs, so as not to miss the arrival of the one who would respond to that which was lacking in their lives. As we re-hear those words, I can’t help but wonder if we have grown complacent, if we have lowered our expectations. Would we even recognize Messiah’s arrival, were it to come, today?
What would that arrival look like? Many of Jesus’ contemporaries did not find in him the one whom they were seeking. They wanted something else, so they did not line up behind him or the kingdom of which he spoke. The way things played out, and the effect which he achieved was not what they were looking for. Some were looking for political power. Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world. Some wanted to continue their current way of life, and go out to Jesus when they wanted to hear a really good sermon. Jesus came to their city and their homes and announced that he wanted their every thought and their every action to reflect his presence.
Many of Jesus’ contemporaries did not recognize or were not willing to acknowledge the contours of his kingdom, and so they went away or turned away. Some even joined in the hysterical mob which thought shouting “Crucify him!” would remove from them the pain of knowing that the kingdom had come close to them but that they had chosen something different. They didn’t see what was right before them.
Do we see? Are we prepared to see? Do we even want to see?
I wasn’t here last week; I was at St. Michael, Greenville, helping them with their Stewardship Campaign. But I know the Gospel text you heard last week. It was the story of the separation of the sheep from the goats. They are divided, one from the other, the sheep representing those who do the will of God; the goats those who do not. What they do is feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and visit those in prison.
That text seems to be a justification of works righteousness (that you get to go to heaven if you do the right things, or are sent to hell for doing the wrong things.) Seems to be, until you get to the line where both the sheep and the goats ask “Lord, when did we see you in such a state, and care for you?” The answer exposes that those who do these things do not do them in order to obtain a reward; they do them because they share the mind and heart of God. They do them because they have understood, accepted, and are living the intentions of their master.
That was the text for Christ the King Sunday – the last Sunday of the Church Year, the Sunday on which everything comes to its ending. As we begin the new Church Year on Advent 1, as we return to the state of anticipation, perhaps that ending ought to direct us in considering what it is that we are to look for. Maybe that ending will help us be prepared to recognize (and follow) the Messiah who does speak the word of God and instruct us in the way of God.
It isn’t that God fails to come. The greater problem is our preference to continue to wait and watch for a Messiah more to our liking.
This One, the One spoken of in scripture, will assure us that we have nothing to fear. That neither life nor death nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from God’s love. This one will tell us time and again that God’s peace has come upon us. This one will teach us all things and lead us in all things. This one will help us see that the few loaves and fish is enough to feed everyone, if we possess the courage it takes to share. This one will show us that serving others is the path to life. This one will show us all these things; but many will prefer to wait for another, for something different.
Being awake, being alert, being ready might need to start with being honest about what it is that we are looking for. Are we hoping for some jolly fellow in a red suit who will grant us permission to ask for an IPad, or will we be ready to accept the One whose humble beginnings set the stage for the remainder of his life?
We don’t “wish” for things, we pray for them. And what we pray for is that God would make us aware of how everything we need has already been provided. We pray that what is true for God and in God’s kingdom might also be true in our lives.
Be awake; be alert. Be ready to accept the Messiah and be prepared to live according to what he tells us is the way to eternal life.
Amen.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Devotion - Tuesday, November 22
Thanksgiving break starts today. I wonder how many of you are already packed, and ready to depart. Holidays are reminders that while we might say we "go to Clemson," or "live in Clemson," Clemson is not our "home." Our home is somewhere else.
My wife and I experienced different childhoods in that her "home" shifted a couple of times. Her first home was in the city of Atlanta. That home was sold when she was in middle school and she has only been back to see that home on one, maybe two occasions. The home of my childhood was built on land given to my parents by my grandfather. It is 700 yards down the road from his home, the home where my mother grew up. When my parents died, I inherited that home. My niece lives in it now. I am heading to that home later this afternoon.
We are familiar with the saying, "Home is where the heart is," and certainly heart and home are connected. Where we find comfort and assurance and confidence is where we are at home.
Give thanks, this week, for the home that welcomes you. Realize that not everyone has the security of such a place. Give thanks, and consider well how that home might strengthen and sustain your efforts to create a safe zone for others. How might you be able to transform the gift which has come your way into a blessing by which others might be blessed?
Above all, enjoy these days. And be safe. We will be back together come Monday.
My wife and I experienced different childhoods in that her "home" shifted a couple of times. Her first home was in the city of Atlanta. That home was sold when she was in middle school and she has only been back to see that home on one, maybe two occasions. The home of my childhood was built on land given to my parents by my grandfather. It is 700 yards down the road from his home, the home where my mother grew up. When my parents died, I inherited that home. My niece lives in it now. I am heading to that home later this afternoon.
We are familiar with the saying, "Home is where the heart is," and certainly heart and home are connected. Where we find comfort and assurance and confidence is where we are at home.
Give thanks, this week, for the home that welcomes you. Realize that not everyone has the security of such a place. Give thanks, and consider well how that home might strengthen and sustain your efforts to create a safe zone for others. How might you be able to transform the gift which has come your way into a blessing by which others might be blessed?
Above all, enjoy these days. And be safe. We will be back together come Monday.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Devotion - Monday, November 21
The significance of these weeks on the liturgical calendar are too often lost to the secular calendar. Talk of shopping on Black Friday, or the exciting football games on Rivalry Weekend, or cooking the perfect Thanksgiving turkey overrun and overshadow all talk about Christ the King and/or the beginning of Advent. As I read Maggie's devotion for this past Friday, I realized the importance of her commitment - that we are moving into a culture where being a Christian takes us out of step with what is going on around us.
Christ the King Sunday is the culmination of a year's worth of work. On Christ the King we remember the whole cycle of God's interaction with us - we revisit the hope and expectation of Advent, the joy of Christmas, the darkness of Lent, and finally the exhilaration of Easter. The Pentecost Season has allowed us to step back and recall all of Jesus' instructions to us and now, on Christ the King, we are prepared to celebrate Christ as our King. The celebration is an opportunity for dedication. It is our chance to say, "Yes, Lord Jesus. Come into my life as I give my life to you."
It is a short-lived celebration. On the following Sunday (Advent I) we begin the cycle all over again.
Christian faith is always on the move. It seldom sits down or stops. It is therefore appropriate that the self-centered celebrations of Christ the King occupy no more than seven days of our liturgical year. But I hope they will get their due and be remembered, during these seven days.
And what a difference remembering Christ the King can make, on these seven days.
We gather at Thanksgiving to give thanks. The traditions in our particular family may vary, but the underlying theme is giving thanks to God, to our Lord. Rivalry football games are fun, but let's keep them in perspective - they are only a game, and certainly not an occasion to make disparaging remarks about the opponent. And what of all that shopping? My sister, who has taught me so much throughout my life, has recently taught me that if I really want to do something to bring joy into her life, help her to bring food to the bellies of those with too little to eat. "Send a check to the Food Pantry (where she spends so many days fixing meals.)" It is the perfect way to demonstrate your love; by showing that our love is focused in the same direction.
Yes, Christ the King makes a difference in so many ways. Christ, or King, makes all the difference.
Christ the King Sunday is the culmination of a year's worth of work. On Christ the King we remember the whole cycle of God's interaction with us - we revisit the hope and expectation of Advent, the joy of Christmas, the darkness of Lent, and finally the exhilaration of Easter. The Pentecost Season has allowed us to step back and recall all of Jesus' instructions to us and now, on Christ the King, we are prepared to celebrate Christ as our King. The celebration is an opportunity for dedication. It is our chance to say, "Yes, Lord Jesus. Come into my life as I give my life to you."
It is a short-lived celebration. On the following Sunday (Advent I) we begin the cycle all over again.
Christian faith is always on the move. It seldom sits down or stops. It is therefore appropriate that the self-centered celebrations of Christ the King occupy no more than seven days of our liturgical year. But I hope they will get their due and be remembered, during these seven days.
And what a difference remembering Christ the King can make, on these seven days.
We gather at Thanksgiving to give thanks. The traditions in our particular family may vary, but the underlying theme is giving thanks to God, to our Lord. Rivalry football games are fun, but let's keep them in perspective - they are only a game, and certainly not an occasion to make disparaging remarks about the opponent. And what of all that shopping? My sister, who has taught me so much throughout my life, has recently taught me that if I really want to do something to bring joy into her life, help her to bring food to the bellies of those with too little to eat. "Send a check to the Food Pantry (where she spends so many days fixing meals.)" It is the perfect way to demonstrate your love; by showing that our love is focused in the same direction.
Yes, Christ the King makes a difference in so many ways. Christ, or King, makes all the difference.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Christ the King - November 20, 2011
Note: I was asked to assist St. Michael Lutheran with their Stewardship Program. This is the sermon I have prepared for the conclusion of that process.
Christ the King - Year A
November 20, 2011
St. Michael, Greenville
Matthew 25:31-46
Consecration Sunday
A couple of “thank you’s” are in order. I wasn’t sure where they ought to be inserted into the service, so it seems this is as a good a time as any.
The first thank you is to all of you, who accepted the change in schedule, who responded favorably to the invitation to lunch. Change is never easy and seldom welcomed. Thank you for becoming a part of Consecration Sunday and for being here today. I pray that as the morning develops you will come to understand even more clearly why it was so important for all of us to be together, today.
The second thank you is to the Consecration Sunday Team. I began meeting with them on October 17. They had done much work prior to that meeting and they have worked tirelessly since. We all owe them our gratitude and we have all benefitted from their service.
A final thank you is a personal one. I want to thank you all, for allowing me this glimpse into your congregation, into your ministry, and into your lives together. It has been a blessing to me, far beyond the ability of words to express. Thank you. Thank all of you. While my glances from afar had indicated the health and vitality of this congregation, my six weeks working with you have confirmed the wondrous ways in which St. Michael is a community centered on the Gospel and committed to the ministry of Christ.
There is a certain amount of what is going to happen today which is the result of careful planning and meticulous attention to detail. That is why we needed to say “Thank you” to the Planning Team. They have done their tasks well. But their careful planning and their attention to detail could only accomplish so much. What comes after that, the deepest blessings of this day, come our way as a result of plans larger than our own. I asked the Team, at our meeting last Sunday evening, whether their planning had intended for Consecration Sunday to fall on Christ the King Sunday. The answer was “No, not really.” It was more a matter of trying to complete all this before the busyness of Thanksgiving and Advent. Plans larger than our own were at work in making these two coincide. And I want to take a few minutes to point out how appropriate it is that this has occurred.
By now you should have a reasonably good understanding of Consecration Sunday. Even if you missed the temple talks of the past three weeks, your presence here, at 10:00 am rather than 8:30 or 11:00 means you know something about what is going on. Consecration Sunday is an opportunity for us to come together as a community, for us all to come together, and consider what it is that God calling upon us to do. What we will be able to do, as a congregation, is to be built upon what it is that God is calling each of us, as individuals to do. Consecration Sunday shifts the locus of action. Rather than saying, “This is what St. Michael will be doing in the coming year – can you join the effort.” We ask, “What is God calling you to give?” and build the ministry of St. Michael around those offerings. This morning we encourage you to see yourself as one who has been consecrated, for service to God. This morning we will ask you to consecrate your financial resources, making them an instrument for the work of God’s Kingdom.
That is what Consecration Sunday is about.
But today is also Christ the King Sunday. And long before there was a Consecration Sunday, Christ the King Sunday as been on our liturgical calendar as a time to come together and do the same thing. We assemble on Christ the King in order to look back over the previous year, consider all that God has done for us, and then decide whether all of this is going to make any difference in the way we live our lives. The liturgy of Christ the King Sunday forms around the question of whether we will proclaim Christ as our King? Or will we go off looking for another?
Christ the King is a “consecration Sunday,” whether or not it happens to coincide with the Stewardship Committee’s planning.
Consecration Sunday provides us with the opportunity to make tangible our devotion to the one we affirm as our Lord and Master, our devotion to Christ the King.
Neither of these is a gimmick or trick. We are not setting up some sort of “show” for our giving, and we are clearly not in the business of setting up measuring sticks for faithfulness. No one is to feel pressured into doing more than they know they are capable of doing. The presence of any such emotions would mean that all of this is a colossal failure. And let me repeat what you have heard many times already - determining our response to God with regard to financial sacrifice is not to be taken as some sort of test of how deeply we love God. We will have done a disservice to Consecration Sunday and to Christ the King Sunday if any such thoughts are present among us.
That is the disclaimer. Let me return to the main message. Your devotion to Christ is shown through your participation in worship, your personal prayers, and your service to others. Using the image from today’s Gospel reading, we become the sheep of God’s fold, who go about these tasks without ever stepping back to consider them, or perhaps even to realize that they are indicators of our consecration. Today we want to pull ourselves back a bit from the activity and consider the match between what God has entrusted to us and what we are capable of giving back.
In the Gospel lesson, the Son of Man comes and he sits on his throne and he separates people, one from another. At first, those being separated don’t understand why they are being put into one group or another. Notice that both groups ask, “Lord when?” Those who have done the will of their father ask. Those who have failed to care for the least among us also ask. Neither group engaged in their actions with the intention of obtaining a particular reward. Both were living out their lives in accordance with what they considered to be important. When the Son of Man comes, he sits down among them and allows their actions to reveal what they truly value.
The reason for Consecration and for Christ the King is to make sure that we are aware of how our actions reveal what it is that we value in our lives. We need to be encouraged to consider what our behavior says about what we hold dear.
I have said my “Thank yous” and I would never take any of them back. But I hope I won’t offend anyone by saying that in these last four days a few of the well-laid plans were abandoned. As much energy and effort as had been put into Consecration Sunday, and as important as the events of this day are to all of us, everything shifted on Tuesday with the death of Lum Leonard. Nothing we had planned for this morning would be allowed to take precedence over celebrating the life of our brother in Christ and making sure that the news of his resurrection was proclaimed. All of this special stuff we had planned was set aside so we could go back to what it is that we do every day of every week of every year. The “sheep” gathered yesterday to acknowledge one of their own. Yesterday’s gathering is the true consecration, the powerful celebration of Christ as King. Today’s events affirm that we are committed to continuing to do what it is that we have done so well in the past four days.
God has done much. Exceedingly much. Embarrassingly too much. What are we able and prepared to do in return? On Consecration Sunday we have the opportunity to decide. On Christ the King Sunday we join our responses with those of God’s children in every time and every place.
Amen.
Christ the King - Year A
November 20, 2011
St. Michael, Greenville
Matthew 25:31-46
Consecration Sunday
A couple of “thank you’s” are in order. I wasn’t sure where they ought to be inserted into the service, so it seems this is as a good a time as any.
The first thank you is to all of you, who accepted the change in schedule, who responded favorably to the invitation to lunch. Change is never easy and seldom welcomed. Thank you for becoming a part of Consecration Sunday and for being here today. I pray that as the morning develops you will come to understand even more clearly why it was so important for all of us to be together, today.
The second thank you is to the Consecration Sunday Team. I began meeting with them on October 17. They had done much work prior to that meeting and they have worked tirelessly since. We all owe them our gratitude and we have all benefitted from their service.
A final thank you is a personal one. I want to thank you all, for allowing me this glimpse into your congregation, into your ministry, and into your lives together. It has been a blessing to me, far beyond the ability of words to express. Thank you. Thank all of you. While my glances from afar had indicated the health and vitality of this congregation, my six weeks working with you have confirmed the wondrous ways in which St. Michael is a community centered on the Gospel and committed to the ministry of Christ.
There is a certain amount of what is going to happen today which is the result of careful planning and meticulous attention to detail. That is why we needed to say “Thank you” to the Planning Team. They have done their tasks well. But their careful planning and their attention to detail could only accomplish so much. What comes after that, the deepest blessings of this day, come our way as a result of plans larger than our own. I asked the Team, at our meeting last Sunday evening, whether their planning had intended for Consecration Sunday to fall on Christ the King Sunday. The answer was “No, not really.” It was more a matter of trying to complete all this before the busyness of Thanksgiving and Advent. Plans larger than our own were at work in making these two coincide. And I want to take a few minutes to point out how appropriate it is that this has occurred.
By now you should have a reasonably good understanding of Consecration Sunday. Even if you missed the temple talks of the past three weeks, your presence here, at 10:00 am rather than 8:30 or 11:00 means you know something about what is going on. Consecration Sunday is an opportunity for us to come together as a community, for us all to come together, and consider what it is that God calling upon us to do. What we will be able to do, as a congregation, is to be built upon what it is that God is calling each of us, as individuals to do. Consecration Sunday shifts the locus of action. Rather than saying, “This is what St. Michael will be doing in the coming year – can you join the effort.” We ask, “What is God calling you to give?” and build the ministry of St. Michael around those offerings. This morning we encourage you to see yourself as one who has been consecrated, for service to God. This morning we will ask you to consecrate your financial resources, making them an instrument for the work of God’s Kingdom.
That is what Consecration Sunday is about.
But today is also Christ the King Sunday. And long before there was a Consecration Sunday, Christ the King Sunday as been on our liturgical calendar as a time to come together and do the same thing. We assemble on Christ the King in order to look back over the previous year, consider all that God has done for us, and then decide whether all of this is going to make any difference in the way we live our lives. The liturgy of Christ the King Sunday forms around the question of whether we will proclaim Christ as our King? Or will we go off looking for another?
Christ the King is a “consecration Sunday,” whether or not it happens to coincide with the Stewardship Committee’s planning.
Consecration Sunday provides us with the opportunity to make tangible our devotion to the one we affirm as our Lord and Master, our devotion to Christ the King.
Neither of these is a gimmick or trick. We are not setting up some sort of “show” for our giving, and we are clearly not in the business of setting up measuring sticks for faithfulness. No one is to feel pressured into doing more than they know they are capable of doing. The presence of any such emotions would mean that all of this is a colossal failure. And let me repeat what you have heard many times already - determining our response to God with regard to financial sacrifice is not to be taken as some sort of test of how deeply we love God. We will have done a disservice to Consecration Sunday and to Christ the King Sunday if any such thoughts are present among us.
That is the disclaimer. Let me return to the main message. Your devotion to Christ is shown through your participation in worship, your personal prayers, and your service to others. Using the image from today’s Gospel reading, we become the sheep of God’s fold, who go about these tasks without ever stepping back to consider them, or perhaps even to realize that they are indicators of our consecration. Today we want to pull ourselves back a bit from the activity and consider the match between what God has entrusted to us and what we are capable of giving back.
In the Gospel lesson, the Son of Man comes and he sits on his throne and he separates people, one from another. At first, those being separated don’t understand why they are being put into one group or another. Notice that both groups ask, “Lord when?” Those who have done the will of their father ask. Those who have failed to care for the least among us also ask. Neither group engaged in their actions with the intention of obtaining a particular reward. Both were living out their lives in accordance with what they considered to be important. When the Son of Man comes, he sits down among them and allows their actions to reveal what they truly value.
The reason for Consecration and for Christ the King is to make sure that we are aware of how our actions reveal what it is that we value in our lives. We need to be encouraged to consider what our behavior says about what we hold dear.
I have said my “Thank yous” and I would never take any of them back. But I hope I won’t offend anyone by saying that in these last four days a few of the well-laid plans were abandoned. As much energy and effort as had been put into Consecration Sunday, and as important as the events of this day are to all of us, everything shifted on Tuesday with the death of Lum Leonard. Nothing we had planned for this morning would be allowed to take precedence over celebrating the life of our brother in Christ and making sure that the news of his resurrection was proclaimed. All of this special stuff we had planned was set aside so we could go back to what it is that we do every day of every week of every year. The “sheep” gathered yesterday to acknowledge one of their own. Yesterday’s gathering is the true consecration, the powerful celebration of Christ as King. Today’s events affirm that we are committed to continuing to do what it is that we have done so well in the past four days.
God has done much. Exceedingly much. Embarrassingly too much. What are we able and prepared to do in return? On Consecration Sunday we have the opportunity to decide. On Christ the King Sunday we join our responses with those of God’s children in every time and every place.
Amen.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Devotion - Thursday, November 17
It is getting to be that time of the year - the time when we see the stress levels go up and the self care going down. I feel it too. I realize that when you are the busiest, I tend to get busy, too. I think it is something in the air that affects us all. We fail, during this time of the year, to allow ourselves to find our rest in God.
I not only write a morning thought, I read a couple. This one spoke to me, and I thought it worth sharing with you. It is, as you will be able to tell, part of a short series - on mysticism - and it addresses allowing ourselves to find that rest, in God.
The final experience of mysticism, after the optimistic explosion that we usually call hope, and the ensuing sense of safety, is of deep rest. It’s the verb I’m told that is most used by the mystics: “resting in God.” All this striving and this need to perform, climb, and achieve becomes, on some very real level, unnecessary. It’s already here, now. I can stop all this overproduction and over-proving of myself. That’s Western and American culture. It’s not the Gospel at all.
We’ve all imbibed the culture of unrest so deeply. We just cannot believe that we could be respected or admired or received or loved without some level of performance. We are all performers and overachievers, and we think “when we do that” we will finally be lovable. Once you ride on the performance principle, you don’t even allow yourself to achieve it. Even when you “achieve” a good day of “performing,” it will never be enough, because it is inherently self-advancing and therefore self-defeating. You might call it “spiritual capitalism.”
I not only write a morning thought, I read a couple. This one spoke to me, and I thought it worth sharing with you. It is, as you will be able to tell, part of a short series - on mysticism - and it addresses allowing ourselves to find that rest, in God.
The final experience of mysticism, after the optimistic explosion that we usually call hope, and the ensuing sense of safety, is of deep rest. It’s the verb I’m told that is most used by the mystics: “resting in God.” All this striving and this need to perform, climb, and achieve becomes, on some very real level, unnecessary. It’s already here, now. I can stop all this overproduction and over-proving of myself. That’s Western and American culture. It’s not the Gospel at all.
We’ve all imbibed the culture of unrest so deeply. We just cannot believe that we could be respected or admired or received or loved without some level of performance. We are all performers and overachievers, and we think “when we do that” we will finally be lovable. Once you ride on the performance principle, you don’t even allow yourself to achieve it. Even when you “achieve” a good day of “performing,” it will never be enough, because it is inherently self-advancing and therefore self-defeating. You might call it “spiritual capitalism.”
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, November 16
Our Tuesday night bible study group has completed the chapters associated with the Old Testament. Our study guide is an overview, introduction to the whole bible. It is a wide swipe, but it is allowing us to get the basic story line, and to note what are referred to as the Major 31 stories in the Bible.
The OT summary spoke of the stories in general terms. The topic which occupied us the most last night was "Called and Claimed." Not dissimilar to one of our Sunday Morning discussions, we talked about what it means to be called by God, what a call is like, and how specific any such call would be. "Does a call from God mean that there is a particular plan for my life?" "Would that call identify for me my job choice, or even better the particular company with whom I would be employed."
Would that our call from God were that specific. It rarely is.
I have shared with you that there are multiple Greed words in the New Testament which are associated with the concept of faith. The one most applicable to this discussion is the one visio. It is a way of encouraging us to see (vision) the world as Christ sees the world. Our call from God is to look at the world as if we were looking through the eyes of Jesus.
This call, is a call from God to see. It is a call to observe. It is a call to perceive things from the position of Jesus.
As a result of this call, we approach the world with compassion. As a result of this call, we are aware of injustice. As a result of this call, we are prepared to make the sacrifices necessary for the betterment of the kingdom.
God has called each of us. God has claimed us as sons and daughters. This call, that claim lie behind and under every decision we will make. It won't tell us where to plant our foot (what our next step will be) but it will tell us where to focus our eyes.
The OT summary spoke of the stories in general terms. The topic which occupied us the most last night was "Called and Claimed." Not dissimilar to one of our Sunday Morning discussions, we talked about what it means to be called by God, what a call is like, and how specific any such call would be. "Does a call from God mean that there is a particular plan for my life?" "Would that call identify for me my job choice, or even better the particular company with whom I would be employed."
Would that our call from God were that specific. It rarely is.
I have shared with you that there are multiple Greed words in the New Testament which are associated with the concept of faith. The one most applicable to this discussion is the one visio. It is a way of encouraging us to see (vision) the world as Christ sees the world. Our call from God is to look at the world as if we were looking through the eyes of Jesus.
This call, is a call from God to see. It is a call to observe. It is a call to perceive things from the position of Jesus.
As a result of this call, we approach the world with compassion. As a result of this call, we are aware of injustice. As a result of this call, we are prepared to make the sacrifices necessary for the betterment of the kingdom.
God has called each of us. God has claimed us as sons and daughters. This call, that claim lie behind and under every decision we will make. It won't tell us where to plant our foot (what our next step will be) but it will tell us where to focus our eyes.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Devotion - Tuesday, November 15
I wrote to you yesterday of Jesus sending out the disciples. Continuing to read from Matthew 10, we realize that his instructions to them included words of warning. (I probably should have included something about that along with yesterday's encouragement for you to "Go.") He tells them that the going would not be easy.
One of the quandaries we face is whether it was only those first disciples who faced rejection, betrayal, and death, or if it is a warning that remains in effect for us modern-day disciples. Is the danger over? Or is there something about the message of Jesus which continues to make his disciples targets?
Maybe you can arrive at an answer to that question by considering whether the culture around us accurately reflects the vision Jesus has for us?
We have had two deaths in our student population in the past two weeks. The circumstances of the first has not been disclosed; the second is rumored to be the result of alcohol poisoning. We can distance ourselves from that and say, "I am not part of that crowd," but these individuals and their crowd are our community.
South Carolina has a new law regarding undocumented persons. Setting aside the mood or intention of the law itself, the language being used by those discussing the law is painful to hear. These are humans, children of God, yet we speak of them with horrific words.
The first disciples of Jesus faced physical beatings, imprisonment, execution. We may not face these same threats, but speaking the Word of God continues to make us suspect, unpopular, even shunned. The world may say that it "loves Jesus" and "believes in Jesus," but we have a ways to go when it comes to following Jesus.
Until that time comes, those who speak on behalf of Jesus are likely to continue to feel as if we are sent out as "sheep in the midst of wolves." (Matthew 10:16)
One of the quandaries we face is whether it was only those first disciples who faced rejection, betrayal, and death, or if it is a warning that remains in effect for us modern-day disciples. Is the danger over? Or is there something about the message of Jesus which continues to make his disciples targets?
Maybe you can arrive at an answer to that question by considering whether the culture around us accurately reflects the vision Jesus has for us?
We have had two deaths in our student population in the past two weeks. The circumstances of the first has not been disclosed; the second is rumored to be the result of alcohol poisoning. We can distance ourselves from that and say, "I am not part of that crowd," but these individuals and their crowd are our community.
South Carolina has a new law regarding undocumented persons. Setting aside the mood or intention of the law itself, the language being used by those discussing the law is painful to hear. These are humans, children of God, yet we speak of them with horrific words.
The first disciples of Jesus faced physical beatings, imprisonment, execution. We may not face these same threats, but speaking the Word of God continues to make us suspect, unpopular, even shunned. The world may say that it "loves Jesus" and "believes in Jesus," but we have a ways to go when it comes to following Jesus.
Until that time comes, those who speak on behalf of Jesus are likely to continue to feel as if we are sent out as "sheep in the midst of wolves." (Matthew 10:16)
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sermon - November 13, 2011
Matthew 25:14-30
No Instructions - Just Gifts
Jesus is talking about the “Kingdom of heaven.” It isn’t immediately apparent that this is the context for today’s Gospel reading. The 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel is all about the Kingdom. The previous parable was introduced with the words, “The kingdom of heaven will be like….” When he finishes that first parable, he moves on to a second. Like the first, it is about the kingdom. Like other places in the Gospel, where Jesus is speaking of the kingdom, he again uses grandiose images and outrageous comparisons.
The kingdom of heaven is as if a man, going on a journey, were to summon his slaves and entrust them with his property. The end of the story answers a question one would surely ask before taking such action – “Are these slaves meritorious enough to be entrusted with the man’s possessions?” Two will prove to be; one will not. At the beginning of the story, we don’t know this. All know is that the master entrusts them with his possessions. And the amounts with which he entrusts them would suggest that he has great hopes for them.
We might miss this point in the story, unless we are familiar enough with units of measure in the times of Jesus’ life. Can anyone convert 5 talents, or 3 talents, or 1 talent into modern-day sums of money? You need to be able to convert the amount in order to realize that in this parable we are talking about a master who entrusts to his servants with a tremendous treasurer. In order for the parable to speak to us, the modern-day servants who oversee the kingdom, we need to be able to understand the worth of that which God has entrusted to us.
I have been stalling. Giving you time. Has any one come up with the conversion? I have done this math with you before, in other sermons. Start with a denarii. A denarii is the amount of money a laborer would earn in the course of a day. A talent was equal to about 6,000 denarii. A talent would represent the amount of money a laborer (a slave or servant) could earn in about 20 years.
To turn this into an actual number, let’s use $7.50 as an hourly wage. In 8 hours they would earn about $60. If we set $60 as the value of a denarii, then a talent would be worth approximately $360,000. The kingdom is as if a man going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave $1.8 million, another $720,000, to another $360,000.
Now, we are an affluent congregation. It might be the case that some of our children work minimum wage jobs, while they are in school, but most of us are far removed from jobs than pay $7.50 an hour. As a result, these numbers might not be as impressive to us as they were for Jesus’ immediate hearers, or as they would be to the households meeting at some of the country churches around Pickens County. So work the math using your own ideas of annual income. 20 years of wages is the amount Jesus is talking about. This is the amount (times five in one instance, times two in another) that he gives to the servants – without so much as a suggestion of what they are to do with it.
How can this be like the kingdom?
The kingdom of which Jesus speaks is known for its grandiose nature and its outlandish gifts. The kingdom of which Jesus speaks is that place where God comes to us and invites us in as sons and daughters. In this kingdom, our sins are forgiven, we are assured of salvation, and promised that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God. That which is entrusted to us, placed in our hands as the waters of baptism are poured over our heads, is a treasure of unimaginable worth. Our master has only “gone away” in the sense that the physical Jesus has been transformed into the resurrected Jesus. As this transformation was taking place he said to you, “Go and teach all persons… baptize them,” and welcome them into the kingdom.
Understanding the value of the talents the master leaves with the servants in the parable helps us to understand the value of that which God has entrusted to us.
These gifts, this treasure, is ours on two levels. It encourages us to think of what God has given us as individuals and what God has given us as a community. In either instance, the point remains the same – our master has given us much, so much, an insane amount of much, and then steps back to see what we will do with it.
What will we do? What have you done? With that which God has entrusted to you?
In the parable, two of the three do as their master had hoped – they make good use of that which they had been given. They double the initial gift. In acknowledging their accomplishments, the master tells them that since they have been trustworthy in a few things, he will put them in charge of many things. They are to enter into the joy of their master.
Given the grandiose nature of the initial gifts – 100 years of wages for the first, 60 years of wages for the second – it is difficult to imagine what more the master might have to give. Perhaps it is a reference to the treasures which are not measureable in coin or hours but rather in things eternal. These two servants are acknowledged for taking what they had been given and putting it to good work. They are good and faithful servants. They are the kind of persons Jesus hopes will be found at every turn in the kingdom.
But what of the other servant. It isn’t that he did anything wrong, does he? He protects that which belongs to the master and is capable, upon the master’s return, of giving back to him all that he given. But this is not what the master had hoped he would do with it.
Any time there is mention of weeping and gnashing of teeth, we can be pretty sure this is not where we want to be. We do not want to find ourselves in the position of the one who fails to make use of that which God has given us. We can be sure that this is not the end toward which we ought to be moving. It is best to avoid the disappointment of the one who has given us that which is nothing short of an absolutely amazing gift.
I started out trying to help you understand a modern day conversion for a “talent.” The other direction that conversation could have gone is to explain how the popularity of this story contributed to the middle ages adaptation of this word as a reference to one’s God-given abilities. It isn’t always money which is left in our care – it is also our ability to tell a story, to communicate the things which are of value, or to be the one who provides love and compassion. These “talents,” as well as our ability to solve a math problem, or build a turbine engine, or keep the accounts of a number of share-holders, are the things which God has given us, to see how we will use them – to discover how these talents might increase the goodness of God’s creation.
Each and every one of us, sitting here today, has been handed at least one talent. Each and every one of us has been entrusted, by our master, with an unimaginable treasure. Each and every one of us struggles to know what to do with our talents. God is the one who gave them to us; but in most cases God has not handed us an instruction manual. I don’t believe that God is “testing” us, so much as God wants to give us the freedom to choose how we will make use of the things he has provided. And his reaction to the third servant may have arisen out of disappointment, or been a reaction to the uncharitable opinion that third servant had of his master. He is pretty harsh in his description of a man who had handed him 20 years of wages. God has handed you and I these talents, and God is watching what we will do.
What will you do?
Amen.
No Instructions - Just Gifts
Jesus is talking about the “Kingdom of heaven.” It isn’t immediately apparent that this is the context for today’s Gospel reading. The 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel is all about the Kingdom. The previous parable was introduced with the words, “The kingdom of heaven will be like….” When he finishes that first parable, he moves on to a second. Like the first, it is about the kingdom. Like other places in the Gospel, where Jesus is speaking of the kingdom, he again uses grandiose images and outrageous comparisons.
The kingdom of heaven is as if a man, going on a journey, were to summon his slaves and entrust them with his property. The end of the story answers a question one would surely ask before taking such action – “Are these slaves meritorious enough to be entrusted with the man’s possessions?” Two will prove to be; one will not. At the beginning of the story, we don’t know this. All know is that the master entrusts them with his possessions. And the amounts with which he entrusts them would suggest that he has great hopes for them.
We might miss this point in the story, unless we are familiar enough with units of measure in the times of Jesus’ life. Can anyone convert 5 talents, or 3 talents, or 1 talent into modern-day sums of money? You need to be able to convert the amount in order to realize that in this parable we are talking about a master who entrusts to his servants with a tremendous treasurer. In order for the parable to speak to us, the modern-day servants who oversee the kingdom, we need to be able to understand the worth of that which God has entrusted to us.
I have been stalling. Giving you time. Has any one come up with the conversion? I have done this math with you before, in other sermons. Start with a denarii. A denarii is the amount of money a laborer would earn in the course of a day. A talent was equal to about 6,000 denarii. A talent would represent the amount of money a laborer (a slave or servant) could earn in about 20 years.
To turn this into an actual number, let’s use $7.50 as an hourly wage. In 8 hours they would earn about $60. If we set $60 as the value of a denarii, then a talent would be worth approximately $360,000. The kingdom is as if a man going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave $1.8 million, another $720,000, to another $360,000.
Now, we are an affluent congregation. It might be the case that some of our children work minimum wage jobs, while they are in school, but most of us are far removed from jobs than pay $7.50 an hour. As a result, these numbers might not be as impressive to us as they were for Jesus’ immediate hearers, or as they would be to the households meeting at some of the country churches around Pickens County. So work the math using your own ideas of annual income. 20 years of wages is the amount Jesus is talking about. This is the amount (times five in one instance, times two in another) that he gives to the servants – without so much as a suggestion of what they are to do with it.
How can this be like the kingdom?
The kingdom of which Jesus speaks is known for its grandiose nature and its outlandish gifts. The kingdom of which Jesus speaks is that place where God comes to us and invites us in as sons and daughters. In this kingdom, our sins are forgiven, we are assured of salvation, and promised that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God. That which is entrusted to us, placed in our hands as the waters of baptism are poured over our heads, is a treasure of unimaginable worth. Our master has only “gone away” in the sense that the physical Jesus has been transformed into the resurrected Jesus. As this transformation was taking place he said to you, “Go and teach all persons… baptize them,” and welcome them into the kingdom.
Understanding the value of the talents the master leaves with the servants in the parable helps us to understand the value of that which God has entrusted to us.
These gifts, this treasure, is ours on two levels. It encourages us to think of what God has given us as individuals and what God has given us as a community. In either instance, the point remains the same – our master has given us much, so much, an insane amount of much, and then steps back to see what we will do with it.
What will we do? What have you done? With that which God has entrusted to you?
In the parable, two of the three do as their master had hoped – they make good use of that which they had been given. They double the initial gift. In acknowledging their accomplishments, the master tells them that since they have been trustworthy in a few things, he will put them in charge of many things. They are to enter into the joy of their master.
Given the grandiose nature of the initial gifts – 100 years of wages for the first, 60 years of wages for the second – it is difficult to imagine what more the master might have to give. Perhaps it is a reference to the treasures which are not measureable in coin or hours but rather in things eternal. These two servants are acknowledged for taking what they had been given and putting it to good work. They are good and faithful servants. They are the kind of persons Jesus hopes will be found at every turn in the kingdom.
But what of the other servant. It isn’t that he did anything wrong, does he? He protects that which belongs to the master and is capable, upon the master’s return, of giving back to him all that he given. But this is not what the master had hoped he would do with it.
Any time there is mention of weeping and gnashing of teeth, we can be pretty sure this is not where we want to be. We do not want to find ourselves in the position of the one who fails to make use of that which God has given us. We can be sure that this is not the end toward which we ought to be moving. It is best to avoid the disappointment of the one who has given us that which is nothing short of an absolutely amazing gift.
I started out trying to help you understand a modern day conversion for a “talent.” The other direction that conversation could have gone is to explain how the popularity of this story contributed to the middle ages adaptation of this word as a reference to one’s God-given abilities. It isn’t always money which is left in our care – it is also our ability to tell a story, to communicate the things which are of value, or to be the one who provides love and compassion. These “talents,” as well as our ability to solve a math problem, or build a turbine engine, or keep the accounts of a number of share-holders, are the things which God has given us, to see how we will use them – to discover how these talents might increase the goodness of God’s creation.
Each and every one of us, sitting here today, has been handed at least one talent. Each and every one of us has been entrusted, by our master, with an unimaginable treasure. Each and every one of us struggles to know what to do with our talents. God is the one who gave them to us; but in most cases God has not handed us an instruction manual. I don’t believe that God is “testing” us, so much as God wants to give us the freedom to choose how we will make use of the things he has provided. And his reaction to the third servant may have arisen out of disappointment, or been a reaction to the uncharitable opinion that third servant had of his master. He is pretty harsh in his description of a man who had handed him 20 years of wages. God has handed you and I these talents, and God is watching what we will do.
What will you do?
Amen.
Devotion - Monday, November 14
Once Jesus has called his disciples, and spent some time with them, he sends them out into the world. He instructs them to preach as they go; heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. (Matthew 10:5ff) From this, we might come to understand that the prime activity of Jesus' followers is to be out there, somewhere, telling others.
Why has this changed so much?
I was with a wonderful group of individuals last night. Among them were parents of one of our current students; among them were parents of an individual I hope will choose to come to Clemson in 2013. I spoke to these parents of our efforts to welcome students and encourage them to become involved in the worship life at University Lutheran and the programs of Lutheran Campus Ministry-Clemson. I stumbled back over that conversation this morning, as I turned to the bookmark in my bible and read the appointed Gospel lesson. Jesus sent the disciples out; we are stopping short of his expectations when all we do is welcome them in.
Perhaps it has to do with the suggestion (suggestion - not fact) that we live in a "Christian Nation." The assumption is that everyone has heard the story and everyone has had at least a dozen invitations to learn all they want to know about God's grace. Perhaps.
Maybe it has to do with our nervousness. We are fearful that someone will ask us a question or challenge our comments and we won't know how to respond. Maybe.
Unfortunately, the result remains unchanged. We may be very involved in the community which bears the name of Jesus, but choose to remain comfortable inside that community, rather than reach out to others.
After looking inward for a long period of time we may even forget the call to look outward.
Jesus sends his disciples out. They are told to "go." They are discouraged from making a lot of preparations. Just go, and see what happens.
I leave those same instructions with you. "Go." You don't need to have all the answers - it fact it is more helpful when you do not. You need not have a reply for every possible response, you only need one replay. What I find most truthful and most helpful is merely to say, "I have peace and a contentment in my life."
Go.
Why has this changed so much?
I was with a wonderful group of individuals last night. Among them were parents of one of our current students; among them were parents of an individual I hope will choose to come to Clemson in 2013. I spoke to these parents of our efforts to welcome students and encourage them to become involved in the worship life at University Lutheran and the programs of Lutheran Campus Ministry-Clemson. I stumbled back over that conversation this morning, as I turned to the bookmark in my bible and read the appointed Gospel lesson. Jesus sent the disciples out; we are stopping short of his expectations when all we do is welcome them in.
Perhaps it has to do with the suggestion (suggestion - not fact) that we live in a "Christian Nation." The assumption is that everyone has heard the story and everyone has had at least a dozen invitations to learn all they want to know about God's grace. Perhaps.
Maybe it has to do with our nervousness. We are fearful that someone will ask us a question or challenge our comments and we won't know how to respond. Maybe.
Unfortunately, the result remains unchanged. We may be very involved in the community which bears the name of Jesus, but choose to remain comfortable inside that community, rather than reach out to others.
After looking inward for a long period of time we may even forget the call to look outward.
Jesus sends his disciples out. They are told to "go." They are discouraged from making a lot of preparations. Just go, and see what happens.
I leave those same instructions with you. "Go." You don't need to have all the answers - it fact it is more helpful when you do not. You need not have a reply for every possible response, you only need one replay. What I find most truthful and most helpful is merely to say, "I have peace and a contentment in my life."
Go.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Devotion - Thursday, November 10
In Matthew 9, Jesus is approached by a man, whose daughter has died. Jesus goes to the man's house. When he arrives, the "flute players" are already there - the community has begun to gather in order to mourn the child's passing, to prepare her body for burial, and to support the family in their grief. Jesus tells them they are premature, that "the girl is not dead but sleeping." They laugh at him.
Before I go on, I need to share a note from my seminary course on Matthew. It was a part of the culture at the time that the flute players showed up, uninvited, when a death occurred. They would play their instruments, and then then they would expect payment. So, when Jesus speaks of the girl not being dead, their laughter may have been somewhat motivated by the suggestion that they were going to be denied the opportunity to collect their coins. They were a part of the death ritual of the community, but they were there to profit from the death, not genuinely mourn the girl's passing. There is a lesson here - that not eveyone is sad to see a death; that some see death as an opportunity and they seek to exploit it.
Jesus knows that life is God's to give; Jesus knows that even where and when death is all that others can see - he finds life.
Think not so much about those in your family or circle of friends who have been buried. Think of those (perhaps even yourself) who continue to draw breath, but who have ceased to experience the fullness and the promise of the life God has for us. Think of those persons (hopefully not yourself) who fail to see the opportunities set before them but choose instead to face corners and remain tethered. They may not be there totally of their own choosing. Like the ancient flute players, there are persons in the world who look enthusiastically for those susceptible to the suggestion to be dead rather than to live. They attempt to keep us in the places where death is the choice to be made.
Into those lives (and into your own) Jesus comes to announce that life is there, that life is ours, that while others may see death his vision is one of the living.
In Matthew 9, there are no fancy words or actions, nor even a prayerful outcry. Jesus simply takes the girl by the hand, "and the girl arose." Simple, really.
Just as simply, Jesus takes our hand. Just as simply, from him and into us flows the life which is God's gift to us.
Before I go on, I need to share a note from my seminary course on Matthew. It was a part of the culture at the time that the flute players showed up, uninvited, when a death occurred. They would play their instruments, and then then they would expect payment. So, when Jesus speaks of the girl not being dead, their laughter may have been somewhat motivated by the suggestion that they were going to be denied the opportunity to collect their coins. They were a part of the death ritual of the community, but they were there to profit from the death, not genuinely mourn the girl's passing. There is a lesson here - that not eveyone is sad to see a death; that some see death as an opportunity and they seek to exploit it.
Jesus knows that life is God's to give; Jesus knows that even where and when death is all that others can see - he finds life.
Think not so much about those in your family or circle of friends who have been buried. Think of those (perhaps even yourself) who continue to draw breath, but who have ceased to experience the fullness and the promise of the life God has for us. Think of those persons (hopefully not yourself) who fail to see the opportunities set before them but choose instead to face corners and remain tethered. They may not be there totally of their own choosing. Like the ancient flute players, there are persons in the world who look enthusiastically for those susceptible to the suggestion to be dead rather than to live. They attempt to keep us in the places where death is the choice to be made.
Into those lives (and into your own) Jesus comes to announce that life is there, that life is ours, that while others may see death his vision is one of the living.
In Matthew 9, there are no fancy words or actions, nor even a prayerful outcry. Jesus simply takes the girl by the hand, "and the girl arose." Simple, really.
Just as simply, Jesus takes our hand. Just as simply, from him and into us flows the life which is God's gift to us.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, November 9
I was reading this morning from Matthew 9. Jesus calls Matthew as a disciple; he ends up sharing dinner with a number of tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees comment on this. Jesus says to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician."
Does this story speak to us in any way? Are we so far removed in time and context that we fail to grasp what is going on here? A fear is that we have become so comfortable with our inclusion in the community of Christ that we no longer hear those words which are meant to shake up that community.
One of last evening's Bible study participants correctly pointed out that we are "all sinners." Perhaps it is our willingness to admit our shortcomings which contribute to our reading Matthew 9 and seeing ourselves in the role of those whose presence with Jesus is questioned. We continue to think of ourselves as the unlikely recipients of God's gracious invitation to sit at his table. And thus we should see ourselves. But we are also those whose names appear on the list of temple keepers; are not many of us among those who arrange the chairs at the table and send out the notices that the meal is being served? We share traits with those who already have a place in the house and around the table. We may be one of the sinners who Jesus beckons to join him; but we are also one of the established guard reluctant to give up our status.
We need to continually understand ourselves to be sinners, welcomed to the table by a gracious and loving master. But we must also be on the lookout for those who are being called to the table, and do not consider themselves worthy. We need to be helpful to Jesus, in making them feel welcome and not part of the reason they feel excluded.
Look around you for the most unlikely of candidates for God's invitation. Look at them with differing eyes, with the eyes of Jesus, and through the experience adjust your understanding of why Jesus came and to whom he came. Allow this to alter the way in which you reach out to those persons and the ways in which you speak to them of God's invitation.
Does this story speak to us in any way? Are we so far removed in time and context that we fail to grasp what is going on here? A fear is that we have become so comfortable with our inclusion in the community of Christ that we no longer hear those words which are meant to shake up that community.
One of last evening's Bible study participants correctly pointed out that we are "all sinners." Perhaps it is our willingness to admit our shortcomings which contribute to our reading Matthew 9 and seeing ourselves in the role of those whose presence with Jesus is questioned. We continue to think of ourselves as the unlikely recipients of God's gracious invitation to sit at his table. And thus we should see ourselves. But we are also those whose names appear on the list of temple keepers; are not many of us among those who arrange the chairs at the table and send out the notices that the meal is being served? We share traits with those who already have a place in the house and around the table. We may be one of the sinners who Jesus beckons to join him; but we are also one of the established guard reluctant to give up our status.
We need to continually understand ourselves to be sinners, welcomed to the table by a gracious and loving master. But we must also be on the lookout for those who are being called to the table, and do not consider themselves worthy. We need to be helpful to Jesus, in making them feel welcome and not part of the reason they feel excluded.
Look around you for the most unlikely of candidates for God's invitation. Look at them with differing eyes, with the eyes of Jesus, and through the experience adjust your understanding of why Jesus came and to whom he came. Allow this to alter the way in which you reach out to those persons and the ways in which you speak to them of God's invitation.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Devotion - Tuesday, November 8
Matthew 9:1-8 retells an encounter between Jesus and the scribes.
It begins with a healing, of which the scribes are critical of Jesus. When he sees the paralytic, lying on his bed, Jesus says to him, "Your sins are forgiven." This is the reason for their criticism. They would point out that only God can forgive sins. Their opposition to Jesus is that he would announce the forgiveness of sins.
The reply Jesus gives them is intended to show that he does have this authority; it is a message for the early Church that Jesus is the Son of God. But this morning I found something else in his words which stuck with me.
Jesus asks these scribes, "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk?'" Having been criticized for announcing the forgiveness of sins, Jesus now gives the command to stand and walk.
Again, this story's purpose in scriptures is to assure us of Jesus' authority. But this morning, with these verses fresh in my head, as I prayed for those of you facing various illnesses and diseases, I found myself thinking how impressed we would be were healing to occur, and yet we overlook the miracle of the forgiveness of our sins.
I don't want to pretend that it is easy to heal someone. Many times disease takes a strong hold of us and will not let us go. But the scribes appropriately understand that healing is in no way comparable to forgiveness. One is an option for many; the other is solely the realm of God.
My prayers will continue to include petitions for healing. May God's grace be with each who suffer in body or spirit. The assurance we have is that our suffering is not a result of unforgiven sin. We can face our challenges confident that Jesus has looked upon us and that he has also said to us, "Your sins are forgiven."
It begins with a healing, of which the scribes are critical of Jesus. When he sees the paralytic, lying on his bed, Jesus says to him, "Your sins are forgiven." This is the reason for their criticism. They would point out that only God can forgive sins. Their opposition to Jesus is that he would announce the forgiveness of sins.
The reply Jesus gives them is intended to show that he does have this authority; it is a message for the early Church that Jesus is the Son of God. But this morning I found something else in his words which stuck with me.
Jesus asks these scribes, "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk?'" Having been criticized for announcing the forgiveness of sins, Jesus now gives the command to stand and walk.
Again, this story's purpose in scriptures is to assure us of Jesus' authority. But this morning, with these verses fresh in my head, as I prayed for those of you facing various illnesses and diseases, I found myself thinking how impressed we would be were healing to occur, and yet we overlook the miracle of the forgiveness of our sins.
I don't want to pretend that it is easy to heal someone. Many times disease takes a strong hold of us and will not let us go. But the scribes appropriately understand that healing is in no way comparable to forgiveness. One is an option for many; the other is solely the realm of God.
My prayers will continue to include petitions for healing. May God's grace be with each who suffer in body or spirit. The assurance we have is that our suffering is not a result of unforgiven sin. We can face our challenges confident that Jesus has looked upon us and that he has also said to us, "Your sins are forgiven."
Monday, November 7, 2011
Devotion - Monday, November 7
Some of Paul's words have been fully and completely heard, accepted, and applied to our lives. Some of what he says, we have truly taken to heart and made a part of our daily lives.
Take, for example, his instructions on eating meat offered to idols. When was the last time you worried (or even considered) whether a meal you were consuming had previously been part of some ritual sacrifice? In I Corinthians 10, Paul gives instructions on how one is to respond, when invited to the house of another. If the meat we are offered does not offend us, then go ahead and eat it. He says.
Have you not applied this to your life? Don't you eat, without concern, as to where the meat was offered?
Perhaps you are thinking, "Sacrifice to other gods is no longer practiced." Perhaps true, but I am anticipating a lot of fires and sacrificial offerings come Saturday as those eighty some thousand gather to adore (if not worship) the god of Clemson football.
I am not attempting to build an argument that we have turned college football into the god upon which we lavish our gifts and devote our time (any attempts to do this would leave me open to questions about my devotion to NASCAR.) But as I read I Corinthians 10 this morning, I thought of all this. Particularly when I got to the first verse of the 11th chapter. "Give no offense... Just as I try to please all.... not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved."
How offensive ought it be that we can turn out 80K+ for a football game, but have a tough time getting 300 to participate in the CROP Walk for World Hunger? What is the value of all those tailgating tents, seen on game day? And why do we find it so difficult to raise enough money to pay for the Homecoming Habitat House?
It might be offensive, to some, when they observe the resources we devote to entertaining ourselves as compared to the resources given to save others.
Some of Paul's words we have heard, accepted, and applied to our lives. Others - well, we might have a ways to go.
Take, for example, his instructions on eating meat offered to idols. When was the last time you worried (or even considered) whether a meal you were consuming had previously been part of some ritual sacrifice? In I Corinthians 10, Paul gives instructions on how one is to respond, when invited to the house of another. If the meat we are offered does not offend us, then go ahead and eat it. He says.
Have you not applied this to your life? Don't you eat, without concern, as to where the meat was offered?
Perhaps you are thinking, "Sacrifice to other gods is no longer practiced." Perhaps true, but I am anticipating a lot of fires and sacrificial offerings come Saturday as those eighty some thousand gather to adore (if not worship) the god of Clemson football.
I am not attempting to build an argument that we have turned college football into the god upon which we lavish our gifts and devote our time (any attempts to do this would leave me open to questions about my devotion to NASCAR.) But as I read I Corinthians 10 this morning, I thought of all this. Particularly when I got to the first verse of the 11th chapter. "Give no offense... Just as I try to please all.... not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved."
How offensive ought it be that we can turn out 80K+ for a football game, but have a tough time getting 300 to participate in the CROP Walk for World Hunger? What is the value of all those tailgating tents, seen on game day? And why do we find it so difficult to raise enough money to pay for the Homecoming Habitat House?
It might be offensive, to some, when they observe the resources we devote to entertaining ourselves as compared to the resources given to save others.
Some of Paul's words we have heard, accepted, and applied to our lives. Others - well, we might have a ways to go.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Devotion - Thursday, November 3
Jesus ends his Sermon on the Mount with a comparison between the person who builds their house upon the sand, and a person who builds their house upon rock. The analogy is that the house built upon the sand is easily washed away when the rains and the floods come. The house built upon the rock stands firm.
Jesus has finished presenting the bedrock of his teachings. He has told us, in the preceding three chapters, what we are to believe and how we are to act. "Follow these," he seems to be saying, "and you will be like the one who builds on rock."
But what if my house is already built? And what if it isn't built on rock? What am I to do?
Most of you are aware of my role in the Clemson Habitat houses. We build the house on campus, on a temporary foundation. The house is then moved to its permanent location. That sounds simple, but it is a lot of work. A lot of work. Moving a house is not easy.
So if I discover (or admit) that my house is not built where it is secure from the rains and the floods, what am I to do? Relocating the house will take a lot of work. A lot of work.
They guys who move our Habitat houses are slick. They have their own set of codes (they whistle instructions.) They go about tasks which seem minor to me, but when it all comes together you can see the reason why they completed that step. Their style might be a model for those wishing to relocate their "house."
First, think about the move. What will it take? Where will the move get you? How can you make sure that the new foundation is secure.
Next, go about it in small steps, not large ones. Few of us will have the opportunity or the desire to pick up, pack up and completely relocate.
Finally, enlist the help of others. Telling them of your desire to relocate and asking for their assistance in completing the task.
Jesus tells us about the foundation which is secure. Sometimes we reside there, happily. Others of us have to move. Moving is possible. It is a lot of work; but it is doable.
Jesus has finished presenting the bedrock of his teachings. He has told us, in the preceding three chapters, what we are to believe and how we are to act. "Follow these," he seems to be saying, "and you will be like the one who builds on rock."
But what if my house is already built? And what if it isn't built on rock? What am I to do?
Most of you are aware of my role in the Clemson Habitat houses. We build the house on campus, on a temporary foundation. The house is then moved to its permanent location. That sounds simple, but it is a lot of work. A lot of work. Moving a house is not easy.
So if I discover (or admit) that my house is not built where it is secure from the rains and the floods, what am I to do? Relocating the house will take a lot of work. A lot of work.
They guys who move our Habitat houses are slick. They have their own set of codes (they whistle instructions.) They go about tasks which seem minor to me, but when it all comes together you can see the reason why they completed that step. Their style might be a model for those wishing to relocate their "house."
First, think about the move. What will it take? Where will the move get you? How can you make sure that the new foundation is secure.
Next, go about it in small steps, not large ones. Few of us will have the opportunity or the desire to pick up, pack up and completely relocate.
Finally, enlist the help of others. Telling them of your desire to relocate and asking for their assistance in completing the task.
Jesus tells us about the foundation which is secure. Sometimes we reside there, happily. Others of us have to move. Moving is possible. It is a lot of work; but it is doable.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, November 2
Having written about Reformation and All Saints', it seemed appropriate to continue the series and comment on today's festival - even though it is a festival observed by neighbors more than by us.
In Mexico, today is observed as the Day of the Dead. On this day, family members will make special pilgrimages to the graves of their family members. They will take with them the foods or drink enjoyed by the departed, leaving these on the graves.
Laura and I made our first trip to Mexico some six years ago. It was for the wedding of LCM Alums. It was an October wedding, weeks before Day of the Dead. We ventured into town and discovered all the decorations on sale for the upcoming holiday. We didn't know much about the tradition, by were intrigued by the skeletons dressed up to symbolize various professions, and numerous famous persons.
You might think it odd, but on that same visit, we left the hotel and walked behind the walled cemetery. What we found there was stark contrast to the orderly, sanitized cemeteries we have in the US. The graves were arranged somewhat haphazardly. The markers were not fancy, carved granite but hand poured concrete with names and dates carved with a stick. Some graves were like a mausoleum; elaborate brickwork with glass enclosures protecting photos or personal items we assumed were put there to acknowledge the life of the deceased.
While we were walking around, we came upon a burial. The casket was small, probably that of a child. The mourners were not only carrying the casket, but also shovels. No attempts at denying death or burial; no professional funeral directors; here was a family doing what needed to be done for the one who had died. It was a terrifying scene; the thought of the loss experienced by the family. But at the same time it was very comforting; to see those who loved the one who had died caring for the body and placing it in the ground.
I don't know as much about the Day of the Dead as I would like. What I do know is that we do it a disservice when we buy our trinkets and see it as a day to party. Like All Saints Eve (Halloween), it is a day which brackets All Saints Day and draws its origins from the necessity of acknowledging death.
The promise of Christian faith is that death has lost its sting. That sting is not removed as a result of denying death, but as we look death squarely in the face. Day of the Dead seems to be a wonderful way of acknowledging how it is that those who have gone before us have shown us how to live. They may have died, but their presence continues to be felt and experienced every day of our lives. On one day, November 2, we visit their graves in order to acknowledge them as an ongoing part of our lives.
In Mexico, today is observed as the Day of the Dead. On this day, family members will make special pilgrimages to the graves of their family members. They will take with them the foods or drink enjoyed by the departed, leaving these on the graves.
Laura and I made our first trip to Mexico some six years ago. It was for the wedding of LCM Alums. It was an October wedding, weeks before Day of the Dead. We ventured into town and discovered all the decorations on sale for the upcoming holiday. We didn't know much about the tradition, by were intrigued by the skeletons dressed up to symbolize various professions, and numerous famous persons.
You might think it odd, but on that same visit, we left the hotel and walked behind the walled cemetery. What we found there was stark contrast to the orderly, sanitized cemeteries we have in the US. The graves were arranged somewhat haphazardly. The markers were not fancy, carved granite but hand poured concrete with names and dates carved with a stick. Some graves were like a mausoleum; elaborate brickwork with glass enclosures protecting photos or personal items we assumed were put there to acknowledge the life of the deceased.
While we were walking around, we came upon a burial. The casket was small, probably that of a child. The mourners were not only carrying the casket, but also shovels. No attempts at denying death or burial; no professional funeral directors; here was a family doing what needed to be done for the one who had died. It was a terrifying scene; the thought of the loss experienced by the family. But at the same time it was very comforting; to see those who loved the one who had died caring for the body and placing it in the ground.
I don't know as much about the Day of the Dead as I would like. What I do know is that we do it a disservice when we buy our trinkets and see it as a day to party. Like All Saints Eve (Halloween), it is a day which brackets All Saints Day and draws its origins from the necessity of acknowledging death.
The promise of Christian faith is that death has lost its sting. That sting is not removed as a result of denying death, but as we look death squarely in the face. Day of the Dead seems to be a wonderful way of acknowledging how it is that those who have gone before us have shown us how to live. They may have died, but their presence continues to be felt and experienced every day of our lives. On one day, November 2, we visit their graves in order to acknowledge them as an ongoing part of our lives.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Devotion - Tuesday, November 1
"The dearly departed," "The Saints Triumphant," there are any number of ways of referring to those who have been for us models of the faith, but now now "rest from their labors." They are the "Saints of the Church," and they serve to inspire us; their service builds up the people of God.
On this day, we pick up where their labors left off. On this day, we become the models of prayer. We remember them before God and we pray that their witness will not have been in vain. On this day we give thanks for All the Saints, and we petition God to assure us that they are aware of our love and that they are comforted by our remembrance.
A tradition on All Saints' Sunday is to name those who have left us in the past year. Among those, for me, are my mother-in-law and my campus pastor. Representing the two aspects of my life (home and vocation) their deaths left huge voids. On this day of prayer and remembrance, I will remember all the things they gave me and all that they taught me in the hope that I can draw from these the wisdom to live in this family and to work among God's people.
Remember and give thanks for those who have guided your life of faith. Remember and give thanks for their presence among you and for their role in shaping your own life. Remember and give thanks for All the Saints.
On this day, we pick up where their labors left off. On this day, we become the models of prayer. We remember them before God and we pray that their witness will not have been in vain. On this day we give thanks for All the Saints, and we petition God to assure us that they are aware of our love and that they are comforted by our remembrance.
A tradition on All Saints' Sunday is to name those who have left us in the past year. Among those, for me, are my mother-in-law and my campus pastor. Representing the two aspects of my life (home and vocation) their deaths left huge voids. On this day of prayer and remembrance, I will remember all the things they gave me and all that they taught me in the hope that I can draw from these the wisdom to live in this family and to work among God's people.
Remember and give thanks for those who have guided your life of faith. Remember and give thanks for their presence among you and for their role in shaping your own life. Remember and give thanks for All the Saints.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Devotion - Monday, October 31
A weekend away has left me feeling as if today is a day to rest and recuperate, but I look at the calendar and realize it is Halloween. I wonder if you all will rest this evening,or if you will be out in force, reveling in the day.
Halloween is shunned by some in the Christian community. It is seen as an inappropriate nod to the things demonic. We do tend to see more costumes involving witches than resurrected saints. There are all sorts of stories on how the tradition grew and expanded. I am enough of a cynic to believe that its current popularity in American culture has more to do with marketability. Thanksgiving has lost out to "the first shopping day for Christmas," so Halloween is the event you can sell. Folks are decorating for Christmas by the last week in November, but there would be time to put up one set of decorations for October 31, take them down, and get ready for Santa's and snow globes.
Halloween is All Hallow's Eve. It falls on October 31, the day before All Saints' Day. On All Saints we remember and honor all those who have passed, giving thanks for their presence among us and seeking their aid in our continued pilgrimage. There is a passing reference in the Resurrection narratives to the graves opening and the saints mingling among God's people. While this is intended as a reinforcement of witnessing to the faith, some interpret it as ghoulish warnings to those who are unfaithful.
There was no "Halloween" in Martin Luther's day. All Saints' Day was (still is) a day of holy obligation, so all the faithful would have made their way to worship on that day. This made the evening of October 31 the perfect day for Luther to post a notice on the door of the Church, that he wanted to start a debate about the practices of the Pope. Thus, October 31 is observed among Lutherans as Reformation Day.
Enjoy your day. If you are planning an evening's activity, have fun. It is a day for frivolities, not for serious evangelism, but you might store away a few thoughts about the origins of this day and be prepared to remind your fellow party-goers that tomorrow is All Saints, and to encourage them to follow up their day of fright and screams with a day of prayerful remembrance.
Halloween is shunned by some in the Christian community. It is seen as an inappropriate nod to the things demonic. We do tend to see more costumes involving witches than resurrected saints. There are all sorts of stories on how the tradition grew and expanded. I am enough of a cynic to believe that its current popularity in American culture has more to do with marketability. Thanksgiving has lost out to "the first shopping day for Christmas," so Halloween is the event you can sell. Folks are decorating for Christmas by the last week in November, but there would be time to put up one set of decorations for October 31, take them down, and get ready for Santa's and snow globes.
Halloween is All Hallow's Eve. It falls on October 31, the day before All Saints' Day. On All Saints we remember and honor all those who have passed, giving thanks for their presence among us and seeking their aid in our continued pilgrimage. There is a passing reference in the Resurrection narratives to the graves opening and the saints mingling among God's people. While this is intended as a reinforcement of witnessing to the faith, some interpret it as ghoulish warnings to those who are unfaithful.
There was no "Halloween" in Martin Luther's day. All Saints' Day was (still is) a day of holy obligation, so all the faithful would have made their way to worship on that day. This made the evening of October 31 the perfect day for Luther to post a notice on the door of the Church, that he wanted to start a debate about the practices of the Pope. Thus, October 31 is observed among Lutherans as Reformation Day.
Enjoy your day. If you are planning an evening's activity, have fun. It is a day for frivolities, not for serious evangelism, but you might store away a few thoughts about the origins of this day and be prepared to remind your fellow party-goers that tomorrow is All Saints, and to encourage them to follow up their day of fright and screams with a day of prayerful remembrance.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Devotion - Thursday, October 27
The appointed lesson for today comes from the 6th Chapter of I Corinthians. Paul has been addressing concerns about the community in Corinth. Here, he deals with issues of sexual morality. Paul has some stern words for those who fail to realize that bodies are important. He writes, "Do you not know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?"
I must insert a thought which those of you attending our LCM some-what annual "sex talk" have heard me say: Most of the talk we hear about sex is way too simple. Too much of what we are told ignores the complex nature of our sensual selves. These thoughts are consistent with what it is that Paul says about our bodies in I Corinthians.
Our bodies are not like a sweat-shirt, which we use in whatever way we choose. Our bodies are not like a car, which we own and thus have the ability to either treat kindly or badly. Our bodies are a gift from God; the temple for God; and something about which God is deeply concerned.
Let us not forget that the God whom we worship set aside a heavenly body in order to take on a human body. There is something sacred about our bodies.
How, then, ought we to treat them? Certainly with respect and honor. Surely in a way which reflects the value God has for them.
It is too light a thing to say "You can do this," or "that is not allowed." The complexity of our existence should not be reduced to a few simple axioms. When we misuse our bodies, or the body of another, something more significant is going on than merely breaking some rule handed down to us by some interpreter. We are violating the sacred trust God has in us and for us. We are rejecting the role God desires in our lives.
Another unhealthy trend in modern religious life is the privatization of piety. We take everything as a matter "between me and God." We fail to understand the communal nature of our faith. If you want to evaluate whether your actions are appropriate, ask yourself one simple question: "Can I discuss my choices with other members of the community?" If I can, there is a reasonable expectation that my actions are not shameful and potentially hurtful. If I cannot, it may mean that I am acting shamefully.
This issue is way too complex to address in a few short paragraphs. But the Lectionary brought me to this text and thus forced me to reflect on it. Rather than read this offering as answer, use it to begin your own thinking about the sacredness of your body and as encouragement to see in others the same.
I must insert a thought which those of you attending our LCM some-what annual "sex talk" have heard me say: Most of the talk we hear about sex is way too simple. Too much of what we are told ignores the complex nature of our sensual selves. These thoughts are consistent with what it is that Paul says about our bodies in I Corinthians.
Our bodies are not like a sweat-shirt, which we use in whatever way we choose. Our bodies are not like a car, which we own and thus have the ability to either treat kindly or badly. Our bodies are a gift from God; the temple for God; and something about which God is deeply concerned.
Let us not forget that the God whom we worship set aside a heavenly body in order to take on a human body. There is something sacred about our bodies.
How, then, ought we to treat them? Certainly with respect and honor. Surely in a way which reflects the value God has for them.
It is too light a thing to say "You can do this," or "that is not allowed." The complexity of our existence should not be reduced to a few simple axioms. When we misuse our bodies, or the body of another, something more significant is going on than merely breaking some rule handed down to us by some interpreter. We are violating the sacred trust God has in us and for us. We are rejecting the role God desires in our lives.
Another unhealthy trend in modern religious life is the privatization of piety. We take everything as a matter "between me and God." We fail to understand the communal nature of our faith. If you want to evaluate whether your actions are appropriate, ask yourself one simple question: "Can I discuss my choices with other members of the community?" If I can, there is a reasonable expectation that my actions are not shameful and potentially hurtful. If I cannot, it may mean that I am acting shamefully.
This issue is way too complex to address in a few short paragraphs. But the Lectionary brought me to this text and thus forced me to reflect on it. Rather than read this offering as answer, use it to begin your own thinking about the sacredness of your body and as encouragement to see in others the same.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, October 26
I want to refer, once more, to the experience of Monday evening. I sat with a group of students engaged in interfaith dialogue. The wisdom of the model, developed by the students, was to ask "What does your religion say about the topic, but also share with us how you feel."
There are a number of places where our practice does not match our doctrine. We don't often examine these. It is when we try to explain the foundations of our faith that we bump up against the practice of our faith.
Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew, continues to serve as content for my prayers. Today, I read "You have heard it said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'"
We stumbled over Sunday's lesson on loving neighbor. This is itself a challenge. Remembering that Jesus had something to say about who all is to be included in the category of "neighbor," we realize that he means for us to love all those we encounter, not merely those who belong to the same social clubs as we.
Now, he tells us to love our enemy; to pray for those who persecute us.
The crisis in Libya is horrific. The murder of Gaddafi has exposed the world's blood thirst. Can our response stand the test of Jesus' Sermon?
Loving our neighbors gets reduced to loving those who are in our family or members of our congregation. This is a lessening of what Jesus teaches. Celebrating the death of another, even one who was a tyrant, cannot be considered an act in line with the words of Jesus.
We sometimes hide behind comments like, "The world now is so different from when it was when Jesus was here." That is certainly true. But Jesus knew the world would change, he only hoped and prayed (served and died) so that the change which was to come might result in a world more aligned with God's vision of what the world might be like.
There are a number of places where our practice does not match our doctrine. We don't often examine these. It is when we try to explain the foundations of our faith that we bump up against the practice of our faith.
Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew, continues to serve as content for my prayers. Today, I read "You have heard it said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'"
We stumbled over Sunday's lesson on loving neighbor. This is itself a challenge. Remembering that Jesus had something to say about who all is to be included in the category of "neighbor," we realize that he means for us to love all those we encounter, not merely those who belong to the same social clubs as we.
Now, he tells us to love our enemy; to pray for those who persecute us.
The crisis in Libya is horrific. The murder of Gaddafi has exposed the world's blood thirst. Can our response stand the test of Jesus' Sermon?
Loving our neighbors gets reduced to loving those who are in our family or members of our congregation. This is a lessening of what Jesus teaches. Celebrating the death of another, even one who was a tyrant, cannot be considered an act in line with the words of Jesus.
We sometimes hide behind comments like, "The world now is so different from when it was when Jesus was here." That is certainly true. But Jesus knew the world would change, he only hoped and prayed (served and died) so that the change which was to come might result in a world more aligned with God's vision of what the world might be like.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Devotion - Tuesday, October 25
A small number of us attended last night's Interfaith Dialogue Dinner. It was an enjoyable evening. After sharing a meal, we broke into two groups and discussed topics identified by the participants. Our sub-group had representatives from the Christian community and from Islamic communities.
One of the topics we picked at random from the slips of paper was "Divorce." We found, for the most part, agreement between us. We realized, as persons talked, that extreme views are held by followers of Jesus as well as those who have chosen the path of Mohammad.
One "Christian" held the position that this is not allowed. Another, from a Roman Catholic background, raised the issue of annulments. The Muslim student with us pointed out that divorce was allowed in her communities, and that contrary to what many Americans think, it is an option for women as well as for men. An older Islamic gentleman, pointed out that a male can divorce by saying "I divorce you" three times, publicly, but that a women must go to the courts for her pronouncement. This slightly differing interpretation brought out some additional views from the Christian perspective - views in which divorce was more acceptable.
This morning, I replayed the discussion in my mind after reading the appointed text. Still reading from Matthew 5, the verses contain Jesus' words about divorce. He speaks of it as unacceptable.
Acknowledging that my primary audience for these writings are the students, I want to use these brief sentences to address the things which are most likely to be of concern to you.
First, some of you come from divorced families. You already understand why Jesus would speak harshly of divorce. You know the tear which occurs, not merely in the lives of those who divorce but also in the lives of those who share life with them.
At the same time, you are aware of the heartache and pain which preceded the divorce. And in most instances, you come to acknowledge that the tearing apart of lives has allowed for more peaceful lives to emerge.
Second, I would lift up for you the importance of understanding the covenant of marriage and encourage you to engage in many conversations about it - long before you are anywhere near saying "I do." We make too many assumptions about our understanding of the bond made by the exchange of rings and vows. Jesus attempts to warn us of the disastrous effects of making bad relationship choices. You are likely to have made a few of these yourself, or seen bad choices in the lives of roommates or friends.
We need to understand that marriage is more than an extended date. It is a pledge to build a life together. It is a promise to support and care for the other. It is an earthly opportunity to experience unwavering devotion and commitment. Those traits are more easily shared when they are linked to the One whose unwavering devotion and commitment gives rise to our faith life.
I commend these inter-faith dialogues to you. They are revealing; they also create an opportunity for you to reflect on issues which are very important, but are too infrequently discussed.
One of the topics we picked at random from the slips of paper was "Divorce." We found, for the most part, agreement between us. We realized, as persons talked, that extreme views are held by followers of Jesus as well as those who have chosen the path of Mohammad.
One "Christian" held the position that this is not allowed. Another, from a Roman Catholic background, raised the issue of annulments. The Muslim student with us pointed out that divorce was allowed in her communities, and that contrary to what many Americans think, it is an option for women as well as for men. An older Islamic gentleman, pointed out that a male can divorce by saying "I divorce you" three times, publicly, but that a women must go to the courts for her pronouncement. This slightly differing interpretation brought out some additional views from the Christian perspective - views in which divorce was more acceptable.
This morning, I replayed the discussion in my mind after reading the appointed text. Still reading from Matthew 5, the verses contain Jesus' words about divorce. He speaks of it as unacceptable.
Acknowledging that my primary audience for these writings are the students, I want to use these brief sentences to address the things which are most likely to be of concern to you.
First, some of you come from divorced families. You already understand why Jesus would speak harshly of divorce. You know the tear which occurs, not merely in the lives of those who divorce but also in the lives of those who share life with them.
At the same time, you are aware of the heartache and pain which preceded the divorce. And in most instances, you come to acknowledge that the tearing apart of lives has allowed for more peaceful lives to emerge.
Second, I would lift up for you the importance of understanding the covenant of marriage and encourage you to engage in many conversations about it - long before you are anywhere near saying "I do." We make too many assumptions about our understanding of the bond made by the exchange of rings and vows. Jesus attempts to warn us of the disastrous effects of making bad relationship choices. You are likely to have made a few of these yourself, or seen bad choices in the lives of roommates or friends.
We need to understand that marriage is more than an extended date. It is a pledge to build a life together. It is a promise to support and care for the other. It is an earthly opportunity to experience unwavering devotion and commitment. Those traits are more easily shared when they are linked to the One whose unwavering devotion and commitment gives rise to our faith life.
I commend these inter-faith dialogues to you. They are revealing; they also create an opportunity for you to reflect on issues which are very important, but are too infrequently discussed.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Devotion - Monday, October 24
It is seldom a good ideal to return to one's own sermon with a thought on Monday morning. If the sermon is over, let it be over! Right? However, as I was reading the appointed Gospel for today, I could not help but notice a common point.
Matthew 5:21-26 contains Jesus' reminder that it isn't only our actions which run us afoul of God's desires, it is the inclinations of our hearts. Much like yesterday's Gospel, in which Jesus told the Pharisees it wasn't keeping all the rules which pleased God, rather loving with all our minds, and heats, and will, which please God, so here, Jesus helps us see that the mood of our hearts and the attitude with which we approach others makes a great difference.
Jesus says, "You have heard it said 'You shall not kill.' But I tell you everyone who is angry with his brother or sister shall be liable to judgement." Those insult another, those who utter "You fool!" are liable. It isn't merely what we do but how we approach another which affects our righteousness.
It is a lot easier to avoid the outward actions than it is to restrain ourselves with regard to how we feel. I may not strike my adversary, I may even avoid saying bad things about them in the presence of others, but the tough test is altering the way I feel about them in my heart.
Jesus told the Pharisees that they were concerned with the actions; he wanted them to look at their hearts and see what they discovered there. What resides in your heart is the strongest indication of whether you have indeed become the person Christ hopes you will become.
Matthew 5:21-26 contains Jesus' reminder that it isn't only our actions which run us afoul of God's desires, it is the inclinations of our hearts. Much like yesterday's Gospel, in which Jesus told the Pharisees it wasn't keeping all the rules which pleased God, rather loving with all our minds, and heats, and will, which please God, so here, Jesus helps us see that the mood of our hearts and the attitude with which we approach others makes a great difference.
Jesus says, "You have heard it said 'You shall not kill.' But I tell you everyone who is angry with his brother or sister shall be liable to judgement." Those insult another, those who utter "You fool!" are liable. It isn't merely what we do but how we approach another which affects our righteousness.
It is a lot easier to avoid the outward actions than it is to restrain ourselves with regard to how we feel. I may not strike my adversary, I may even avoid saying bad things about them in the presence of others, but the tough test is altering the way I feel about them in my heart.
Jesus told the Pharisees that they were concerned with the actions; he wanted them to look at their hearts and see what they discovered there. What resides in your heart is the strongest indication of whether you have indeed become the person Christ hopes you will become.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sermon - October 23
19th Sun after Pentecost - Year A Pr 30
Matthew 22:34-46
The Greatest Commandment
“Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” I wonder how that question would be answered, were it not taken directly from the Gospel of Matthew? Heck, I wonder how it might be answered, even though most of us have read Matthew, or even committed 22:37 to memory.
“Which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
I really wish I had gotten around to this early enough to have taken a more credible, non-biased survey. What I did do was a bit of surfing - looking at phrases and slogans, at mission statements and guiding principles. What I found were a lot of references to “believing in our hearts and confessing with our lips.” I unearthed a number of “making a decision for Christ,” or more commonly “accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior.” Now, in fairness, one might say that all such slogans or mission statements assume the first and greatest commandment – but they don’t print it. And if you are doing a quick search you are more likely to find “One name under heaven,” than you are to find “love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
Now, I am continually harping on how wrong it is to take a verse out of context. So, let’s make sure that I am not guilty of that infraction here. Jesus is teaching; but more precisely he is interacting with his detractors. We don’t know if he is still in the Temple. We were told back in the 23rd verse of the 21st chapter that that is where he was. There are a number of stories and encounters recorded in the verses which follow. We are never told that he has relocated. There is a reference to “the same day…” perhaps implying that all of these encounters occur during that same visit to the Temple.
Jesus has been confronted by “the elders of the people” (21:23); by the “chief priests and Pharisees” (21:45); by “the Pharisees (and) the Herodians” (22:15); by the Sadducees (22:23); and then, again, by Pharisees in today’s appointed text.
All of these encounters seem to hinge around the question asked of Jesus back there in chapter 21:23. They came to him, wanting to know, “By what authority (is he) doing these things.” They keep coming at him – all of his detractors. And none of them have been able to dethrone him; no one has been able to dispute his presentation of the will and word of God.
Finally, in today’s reading, the Pharisees come at him again. They ask him to tell them “which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
Back to context: the Pharisees were legalists. They were a lay movement within the religious community who felt that the rituals and traditions were no longer sufficient. They were looking for renewal through the observance of the commandments. So, when they ask Jesus which “law” is the greatest, they are really interested in his answer. They are masters at keeping the laws; they are zealous in doing what it is that God instructs us to do. The answer Jesus gives he gives in context. Perhaps he might have answered differently if it were someone else asking the question. Perhaps he knew that they would be most satisfied were he to point to a rule or law which supported their zealous attempts at righteous living.
Jesus opens the book they consider most dear, the book of Deuteronomy, and he quotes Chapter 6, verse 5. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
How are they going to argue with him? They can’t. Here they are, the extreme literalist, insistent on keeping so many laws and rules and obligations, and Jesus reminds them that all of that strict attention to sins of commission and sins of omission amounts to nothing unless it is built upon a foundation of love for God.
“You want to say that drinking alcohol is wrong? Fine. But avoiding strong drink isn’t the first commandment, loving God is.”
“You teach your children not to utter four letter words? All well and good. But a clean mouth won’t make a bit of difference unless that mouth is coupled with a loving heart.”
“You insist on baptizing your babies, and make sure that you commune at least once within a twelve month period? That is good practice. But such practices are outgrowths of loving God, not substitutes for it.”
The Pharisees really liked the precision of being able to say, “This is what you DO in order to be saved.” Jesus tells them it is not what you do but whether you love.
Those who have been coming at Jesus have been haranguing him, trying to entrap him. They have wanted to see his credentials and they have wanted to know his school of thought. When they have tried everything they can think of, they finally give him the green light and he hits them precisely where they live. “It isn’t the rules you keep which make you a faithful follower; it is whether your heart, your life, and your thoughts are consumed with love.”
He has them on the ropes. He has supplanted their attention to the “laws” with “loving,” and he isn’t finished. Turning, once more to their precious collection of stipulations, Jesus quotes for them Leviticus 19:18. Not only do God’s instructions regarding “love” mean loving God, it also is the guiding principal in your relationships with others. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
To add his crescendo to his dispelling their well protected notions of what it meant to be pleasing and perfect, Jesus adds, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
It is only in Luke that this encounter is followed with an attempt on the part of one of those who came to challenge him to save face. Only in Luke is just asked, “Well, just exactly who is my neighbor?” There, and there alone, are these words of Jesus followed by the telling of the parable of the Good Samaritan. In both Matthew and in Mark, the verses which follow are about authority and about getting it right. In Matthew, and in Mark, Jesus’ words on the Greatest Commandment are followed with an exploration of whether the one providing the answers might indeed be the One for whom they have been longing. If he is, then surely, they ought to listen to him.
I am about to run out of time. Some would say that I am already over my time limit. So let me bring this home.
We live in a time when there are lots of folks raising rules and regulations and insisting that to truly be a Christian one must abide by this or that code. The religious talk of our day is overwrought with presentations of what one must do to be saved – and way too much of that talk is preoccupied with obeying this or rejecting that. We are too much like the Pharisees. We have ignored “the greatest and first commandment. And a second (which) is like it.”
We are not going to be reading Luke’s rendition of this encounter. I will not try to cram in a short explanation of who it is that Jesus considers to be our neighbors. You already know. At issue here is whether you will follow, or continue search for an alternative path. We search for that other path because we are not ready to embrace Jesus’ words about loving our neighbor – when those neighbors include the undocumented Hispanics, or those with weird social habits, or even the followers of other gods. I don’t need to help you “understand” who Jesus is talking about when he says, “love your neighbor.” You already know and understand. My job – on this day – and with this text - is simply to force you to answer the question of whether you do follow Jesus and therefore are prepared to accept what he says.
‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
Amen.
Matthew 22:34-46
The Greatest Commandment
“Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” I wonder how that question would be answered, were it not taken directly from the Gospel of Matthew? Heck, I wonder how it might be answered, even though most of us have read Matthew, or even committed 22:37 to memory.
“Which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
I really wish I had gotten around to this early enough to have taken a more credible, non-biased survey. What I did do was a bit of surfing - looking at phrases and slogans, at mission statements and guiding principles. What I found were a lot of references to “believing in our hearts and confessing with our lips.” I unearthed a number of “making a decision for Christ,” or more commonly “accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior.” Now, in fairness, one might say that all such slogans or mission statements assume the first and greatest commandment – but they don’t print it. And if you are doing a quick search you are more likely to find “One name under heaven,” than you are to find “love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
Now, I am continually harping on how wrong it is to take a verse out of context. So, let’s make sure that I am not guilty of that infraction here. Jesus is teaching; but more precisely he is interacting with his detractors. We don’t know if he is still in the Temple. We were told back in the 23rd verse of the 21st chapter that that is where he was. There are a number of stories and encounters recorded in the verses which follow. We are never told that he has relocated. There is a reference to “the same day…” perhaps implying that all of these encounters occur during that same visit to the Temple.
Jesus has been confronted by “the elders of the people” (21:23); by the “chief priests and Pharisees” (21:45); by “the Pharisees (and) the Herodians” (22:15); by the Sadducees (22:23); and then, again, by Pharisees in today’s appointed text.
All of these encounters seem to hinge around the question asked of Jesus back there in chapter 21:23. They came to him, wanting to know, “By what authority (is he) doing these things.” They keep coming at him – all of his detractors. And none of them have been able to dethrone him; no one has been able to dispute his presentation of the will and word of God.
Finally, in today’s reading, the Pharisees come at him again. They ask him to tell them “which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
Back to context: the Pharisees were legalists. They were a lay movement within the religious community who felt that the rituals and traditions were no longer sufficient. They were looking for renewal through the observance of the commandments. So, when they ask Jesus which “law” is the greatest, they are really interested in his answer. They are masters at keeping the laws; they are zealous in doing what it is that God instructs us to do. The answer Jesus gives he gives in context. Perhaps he might have answered differently if it were someone else asking the question. Perhaps he knew that they would be most satisfied were he to point to a rule or law which supported their zealous attempts at righteous living.
Jesus opens the book they consider most dear, the book of Deuteronomy, and he quotes Chapter 6, verse 5. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
How are they going to argue with him? They can’t. Here they are, the extreme literalist, insistent on keeping so many laws and rules and obligations, and Jesus reminds them that all of that strict attention to sins of commission and sins of omission amounts to nothing unless it is built upon a foundation of love for God.
“You want to say that drinking alcohol is wrong? Fine. But avoiding strong drink isn’t the first commandment, loving God is.”
“You teach your children not to utter four letter words? All well and good. But a clean mouth won’t make a bit of difference unless that mouth is coupled with a loving heart.”
“You insist on baptizing your babies, and make sure that you commune at least once within a twelve month period? That is good practice. But such practices are outgrowths of loving God, not substitutes for it.”
The Pharisees really liked the precision of being able to say, “This is what you DO in order to be saved.” Jesus tells them it is not what you do but whether you love.
Those who have been coming at Jesus have been haranguing him, trying to entrap him. They have wanted to see his credentials and they have wanted to know his school of thought. When they have tried everything they can think of, they finally give him the green light and he hits them precisely where they live. “It isn’t the rules you keep which make you a faithful follower; it is whether your heart, your life, and your thoughts are consumed with love.”
He has them on the ropes. He has supplanted their attention to the “laws” with “loving,” and he isn’t finished. Turning, once more to their precious collection of stipulations, Jesus quotes for them Leviticus 19:18. Not only do God’s instructions regarding “love” mean loving God, it also is the guiding principal in your relationships with others. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
To add his crescendo to his dispelling their well protected notions of what it meant to be pleasing and perfect, Jesus adds, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
It is only in Luke that this encounter is followed with an attempt on the part of one of those who came to challenge him to save face. Only in Luke is just asked, “Well, just exactly who is my neighbor?” There, and there alone, are these words of Jesus followed by the telling of the parable of the Good Samaritan. In both Matthew and in Mark, the verses which follow are about authority and about getting it right. In Matthew, and in Mark, Jesus’ words on the Greatest Commandment are followed with an exploration of whether the one providing the answers might indeed be the One for whom they have been longing. If he is, then surely, they ought to listen to him.
I am about to run out of time. Some would say that I am already over my time limit. So let me bring this home.
We live in a time when there are lots of folks raising rules and regulations and insisting that to truly be a Christian one must abide by this or that code. The religious talk of our day is overwrought with presentations of what one must do to be saved – and way too much of that talk is preoccupied with obeying this or rejecting that. We are too much like the Pharisees. We have ignored “the greatest and first commandment. And a second (which) is like it.”
We are not going to be reading Luke’s rendition of this encounter. I will not try to cram in a short explanation of who it is that Jesus considers to be our neighbors. You already know. At issue here is whether you will follow, or continue search for an alternative path. We search for that other path because we are not ready to embrace Jesus’ words about loving our neighbor – when those neighbors include the undocumented Hispanics, or those with weird social habits, or even the followers of other gods. I don’t need to help you “understand” who Jesus is talking about when he says, “love your neighbor.” You already know and understand. My job – on this day – and with this text - is simply to force you to answer the question of whether you do follow Jesus and therefore are prepared to accept what he says.
‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
Amen.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Devotion - Thursday, October 20
I found in this morning's Opening Prayer much to think about. As we contemplate the reasons or ways in which we fall short of God's hope for us, this prayer provides insight.
"Almighty God, you who call me to prayer, and who offer yourself to all who seek your face, pour out your Holy Spirit upon me today and deliver me from coldness of heart, a wondering mind, and wrongful desire."
Coldness of heart prevents me from caring for others in the way that God cares for them. My eyes have seen the photos of starving children and my ears have heard the cry of the oppressed but the coldness of my heart causes me to say, "I have taken care of myself, they should do the same."
A wondering mind takes me in many differing directions rather than focusing on and following the way of Christ. Today I may see the path clearly, but the affairs of tomorrow choke the attention to the path and soon I am living no differently than those who have made no commitment to follow Christ.
Wrongful desires arise when what I see are the things that I do not have, when I covet, when I seek my own gratification. Whereas coldness of heart leads to sins of omission, wrongful desires lie behind sins of commission.
In our prayers, let us ask God for assistance in each of these areas. We cannot sit back and merely avoid evil - we must be active in bringing about the good. Our hearts must warm to the needs of others. Our busy schedules cannot serve as justification for failing to study and meditate on the word of God. And while I have never advocated the radical response of plucking out eyes or cutting off hands, we need to realize that any wrongful desire which leads us away from God must be removed from our lives.
This morning's prayer concludes:
"By the power of your spirit place within me steadfast love and devotion, so that today I may worship and serve you with all my life."
Amen.
"Almighty God, you who call me to prayer, and who offer yourself to all who seek your face, pour out your Holy Spirit upon me today and deliver me from coldness of heart, a wondering mind, and wrongful desire."
Coldness of heart prevents me from caring for others in the way that God cares for them. My eyes have seen the photos of starving children and my ears have heard the cry of the oppressed but the coldness of my heart causes me to say, "I have taken care of myself, they should do the same."
A wondering mind takes me in many differing directions rather than focusing on and following the way of Christ. Today I may see the path clearly, but the affairs of tomorrow choke the attention to the path and soon I am living no differently than those who have made no commitment to follow Christ.
Wrongful desires arise when what I see are the things that I do not have, when I covet, when I seek my own gratification. Whereas coldness of heart leads to sins of omission, wrongful desires lie behind sins of commission.
In our prayers, let us ask God for assistance in each of these areas. We cannot sit back and merely avoid evil - we must be active in bringing about the good. Our hearts must warm to the needs of others. Our busy schedules cannot serve as justification for failing to study and meditate on the word of God. And while I have never advocated the radical response of plucking out eyes or cutting off hands, we need to realize that any wrongful desire which leads us away from God must be removed from our lives.
This morning's prayer concludes:
"By the power of your spirit place within me steadfast love and devotion, so that today I may worship and serve you with all my life."
Amen.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, October 19
We return to class today after two days of Fall Break. (I realized that I failed to remind non-Clemson readers that there would be a two day absence of morning devotions.) Rest is a good thing; rest is an important thing; rest is something God has insisted we have.
"Sabbath" is one of those words we hear rarely and generally only in a specific context. When we hear the word, we associate it with "Sunday," or with the day on which God rested. The insertion of Sabbath into our week is God's way of ensuring that we are forever reminded of the need to take our rest. While one day is set aside for our renewal, renewal is to be an ever present part of our lives.
I spent some of the just completed "sabbath" days rushing around and being about various tasks. I took in the NASCAR Race on Saturday; I participated in the Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic, United Methodist (LARCUM) Bishop's Day. But I was fortunate enough to have days to visit with my brother and sister, to spend time with my wife and father-in-law. If you were on Facebook yesterday, you might have seen that I even got in an afternoon nap.
Today, it is back to classes; our LCM programing resumes and there are several students lined up to come see me and share how God is present in their lives. This is as it should be. What I hope is different is that the experiences of these past four days might trigger within me a remembrance of how wonderful it is to have opportunity to rest, time to enjoy what is wonderful about the life God has given me. That is what it means to have a bit of Sabbath inserted into our lives.
"Back to work," or "Off to class." But remember, God is with you and as much as God expects you to use your time and your talents wisely, God also hopes that you will remember you are not only pursuing a degree, or earning a living, you are also building a life - a life as one of God's precious children. Do what you must; remember who you are and who God has called you to be.
"Sabbath" is one of those words we hear rarely and generally only in a specific context. When we hear the word, we associate it with "Sunday," or with the day on which God rested. The insertion of Sabbath into our week is God's way of ensuring that we are forever reminded of the need to take our rest. While one day is set aside for our renewal, renewal is to be an ever present part of our lives.
I spent some of the just completed "sabbath" days rushing around and being about various tasks. I took in the NASCAR Race on Saturday; I participated in the Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic, United Methodist (LARCUM) Bishop's Day. But I was fortunate enough to have days to visit with my brother and sister, to spend time with my wife and father-in-law. If you were on Facebook yesterday, you might have seen that I even got in an afternoon nap.
Today, it is back to classes; our LCM programing resumes and there are several students lined up to come see me and share how God is present in their lives. This is as it should be. What I hope is different is that the experiences of these past four days might trigger within me a remembrance of how wonderful it is to have opportunity to rest, time to enjoy what is wonderful about the life God has given me. That is what it means to have a bit of Sabbath inserted into our lives.
"Back to work," or "Off to class." But remember, God is with you and as much as God expects you to use your time and your talents wisely, God also hopes that you will remember you are not only pursuing a degree, or earning a living, you are also building a life - a life as one of God's precious children. Do what you must; remember who you are and who God has called you to be.
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