Dec. 27, 2020 Christmas 1

Luke 2:34,35

34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Jesus came as a sign; a sign of God’s love.  A sign to be spoken for or against.

Many spoke against Jesus in his days - those who loved their religious ritual and formalism more then a living faith.  They didn’t want to lose their importance as religious leaders to one who would make it so easy to be a child of God. The Rich Young Ruler spoke against Jesus; he wanted to buy his way in, not enter through the grace of God. The Pharisee’s spoke against Jesus - they were too proud to live by grace.  

The question we all have to struggle with is   “Do I speak against the sign God has given us?”   

Do I love as I have been loved, even those most difficult to love?

"It is Christmas every time you let God love 

others through you...yes, it is Christmas every 

time you smile at your brother and offer

him your hand."    Mother Teresa

This is the final posting for 2020, a turbulent year indeed!  May I add that it is my prayer that 2021 will begin a coming together in a way which transcends politics and becomes a sign that love will win out in then end.  Jesus love is a sign to be spoken for - even in politics - certainly in human relationships!  It is our calling and our challenge!  

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to celebrate the mystery and joy of Christmas every day of the year.  Even the dark days, by being a sign of your love for all in all that  I do and say.”

Dec 20, 2020 Advent 4

Luke 1:26--38 (The Message)

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth 27 to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. 28 Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You're beautiful with God's beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. 29 She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. 30 But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: 31 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, be called 'Son of the Highest.' The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; 33 He will rule Jacob's house forever - no end, ever, to his kingdom." 34 Mary said to the angel, "But how? I've never slept with a man." 35 The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. 36 "And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months' pregnant! 37 Nothing, you see, is impossible with God." 38 And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her. Blessed Among Women

 

Smuggling God Into The World

The extraordinary occurs in the ordinary, the uncommon in the common, the divine in the human.  This is the mystery we celebrate in Christmas.  Where ever love is in human form, something of God is there too, in divine form.  Our task is to “keep our eyes skinned“, open for the miracle which is hidden in the common.

It wasn’t as easy as it looks, believing this promise and living with the mystery.

Consider Mary as Barbara Brown Taylor seeks to capture the moment the angel comes to her.

“If you decide to say No you simply drop your eyes and refuse to look up until you know the angel has left the room and you are alone again.

Then you smooth your hair and go back to your spinning or your reading or whatever it is that is most familiar to you and pretend that nothing has happened...Or you can set your book down and listen to a strange creature’s strange idea.  You can decide to take part in a plan you did not choose, doing things you do not know how to do for reasons you con not entirely understand.  You can take part in a thrilling and dangerous scheme with no script and no guarantees.  You can agree to smuggled God into the world inside your own body.”  (Mothers of God, pp. 150-53 

“And that’s not only how Christmas 

happened. It is also how Christmas 

happens as we ‘smuggle God into 

the world’ in our living”.

Prayer thought for the week:  “ Lord Jesus, you ‘rule the world with truth and grace…and the wonders of your love”.  Give me the courage to smuggle You into my world

through love.”

Dec 13, 2020 Advent 3

John 1:6-8, 24-27 (The Message)

6 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God 7 to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. 8 John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light. …

24 Those sent to question him were from the Pharisee party. 25 Now they had a question of their own: "If you're neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?" 26 John answered, "I only baptize using water. A person you don't recognize has taken his stand in your midst. 27 He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I'm not even worthy to hold his coat for him."

“Love came down at Christmas,

love all lovely, love divine;

love was born at Christmas,

star and angles gave the sign.”

And the world did not know him...

And his own people did not recognize him. 

And as strange as it sounds. even among us,  more often then we would like to think, 

he stands as “One whom we do not know.”

He is among us in places we least expect, in people we find it difficult to be civil toward let alone love and in ways we are far from wanting to take as our way on this earth.  For His way is the way of love and that is the hardest thing for us to come to in this world.  We say we know what love is yet we reject it as the way to run our world.

It is too soft, we say; too sentimental, too easy, too forgiving.  It’s a good way to get yourself killed,  And of course, that’s exactly what happened to this Baby who commands so must attention at this time of the year.

     

Without love, as Paul reminds us so emphatically in his hymn to love, no matter what we do or believe, we are nothing!

That’s what makes this season such a powerful time of the year.  This is no casual thing we are celebrating.  This is the cosmic event of all time! 

For Jesus is pure love coming to dwell in a world where hate has its sway and such love is always on the cutting edge of life,  going where we do not want to go and asking us to follow in places we would never go alone.

“Love came down at Christmas… 

Star and Angles gave the sign.”

Prayer thoughts for the week:  

“Lord, help me to keep love at the center of my life, living Christmas every day.

Help me to follow your lead and go where love is needed!”

 

Dec 6, 2020 Advent 2

 Mark 1:1-8  (The Message)

1 The good news of Jesus Christ - the Message! - begins here, 2 following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Watch closely: I'm sending my preacher ahead of you; He'll make the road smooth for you. 3 Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight! 4 John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change (repentance) that leads to forgiveness of sins. 5 People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. 6 John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey. 7 As he preached he said, "The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will change your life. 8 I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism - a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit - will change you from the inside out."

Today we are reminded not to rush headlong into our celebration of Christmas.  To not start the celebrating until we have had time to be still and discover again how deep is God’s love.

We are reminded that we may well need to clean up our own act first, to come to repentance and open ourselves to change, before we can really celebrate Christmas.

Repentance - sounds like pouring cold water on a happy time, but it isn’t.  It is the way to make a happy time happier.  For it opens us to the joy of forgiveness and the joy of Christmas.  God waits for us to come to repentance, so God can love us in a way which makes a real difference in our lives.  So God can soften our hard hearts and make us  more loving, as God is loving.

There is something of Scrooge in all of us.  

We are reminded today to confess this

so we can truly celebrate the mystery 

of Christmas.

Prayer thoughts for the week:

“Lord, help me be open to changing my mind and heart, so your love can

be at work in me and through me.  Keep me from thinking I don't have any 

Scrooge in me, and help me to confess and be forgiven.”

Nov. 29, 2020 Advent 1

Mark 13:32-37  (The Message)

32 "But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father. 33 So keep a sharp lookout, for you don't know the timetable. 34 It's like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and commanding the gatekeeper to stand watch. 35 So, stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. 36 You don't want him showing up unannounced, with you asleep on the job. 37 I say it to you, and I'm saying it to all: Stay at your post. Keep watch.”

The word watch often goes with the word out.

“You better watch out, you better not pout...”

It carries more of a sense of a threat of something bad happening rather than a promise of something good happening.

This produces more fear, guilt, apprehension,  which leads to up tight, unhappy living and believing.  How contrary to the spirit of Jesus, who came that we might have life abundantly!

So...lets put in a different preposition - in.

 

Watch in faith, in joy, in thankfulness, in anticipation of something good going to happen.  Watch in faith for the mystery of God to unfold before your very eyes. 

It will...it has...it does...it is happening now!

 

Watch in faith for the mystery of God 

to unfold before 

your very eyes. 

Prayer thoughts for the week:

“Lord, open my heart and mind to the joy which is coming,

watching in anticipation of the mystery of your coming to unfold 

before my eyes.”

Nov. 22, 2020 Christ The King Sunday

Mt. 25:34-40

34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. 35 And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, 36 I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 "Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? 38 And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' 39 40 Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me - you did it to me.”

There are two clear surprises in this parable.  

First that God noticed it when a small thing was done to meet some small persons need and then that that small person, who didn’t count for anything in the annals of human history, was a close friend of the King and counted for everything in the Kingdom of heaven.  Now that’s a couple of surprises worth noting! 

For as one commentator remarked,

“If we continue to think first and foremost of our own narrow concerns, if we resist stretching ourselves to imagine or experience the enormous suffering due to social sin throughout our world, if we will not countenance personal inconvenience to think or do anything about the systematic oppressions enforced on our fellow human beings, it seems reasonable to conclude that the lively regenerating gospel of Jesus Christ has not worked its way into the marrow of our bones or the sinews of our hearts.”

These are sobering words meant to wake us up and motivate us to not give up and be indifferent; to wake us up and let the regenerating Gospel of Jesus Christ work its way into the marrow of our bones and the sinews of our hearts, there to do its transforming thing and make us more sensitive, kind and gentle in our attitude towards others, especially those who are homeless and powerless and friendless.

To pray and actually mean 

“Thy Kingdom come,” 

we must also be able to say 

“my kingdoms go.” 

Richard Rohr

 

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, regenerate my heart and mind so I can accept all you have created and love.  And give me the courage to work towards the elimination of systemic oppression still very prevalent in our land.”  Amen

Nov 15, 2020 Pentecost 24

Matt 25:14-30  (The Message)

14 "It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. 15 To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. 16 Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. 17 The second did the same. 18 But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money. 19 "After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. 20 The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. 21 His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.' 22 "The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. 23 His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.' 24 "The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. 25 I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.' 26 "The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? 27 The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. 28 "'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. 29 30 Throw him out into utter darkness.'

The emphasis of this parable is on the servant who did nothing - who was afraid to fail so he didn’t try.  The parable warns us against doing nothing with our talents...our uniqueness...our creativity...our ideas and skills...our unique self.

When we don’t use it we lose it!   It is okay to fail; make a mistake, have a flop.

God has a cure for mistakes.  It’s called forgiveness. It is not okay to do nothing.

Dare to risk making a mistake and discover what God can do even with the little  you might have. It can make a big difference in someone's life.  And yours too!

“In this one sense, we human beings 

are akin to the battery in a flashlight; 

unused, it corrodes.  What we do not 

use is wasted; what we do not share 

we cannot keep.”  Loomis

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, give me the courage to try, and try again,

until I too can be a part of the goodness of your Kingdom on earth.”

Nov. 8, 2020 Pentecost 23

Matt 25:1-13 (The Message)

1 "God's kingdom is like ten young virgins who took oil lamps and went out to greet the bridegroom. 2 Five were silly and five were smart. 3 The silly virgins took lamps, but no extra oil. 4 The smart virgins took jars of oil to feed their lamps. 5 The bridegroom didn't show up when they expected him, and they all fell asleep. 6 "In the middle of the night someone yelled out, 'He's here! The bridegroom's here! Go out and greet him!' 7 "The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. 8 The silly virgins said to the smart ones, 'Our lamps are going out; lend us some of your oil.' 9 "They answered, 'There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.' 10 "They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. When everyone who was there to greet him had gone into the wedding feast, the door was locked. 11 "Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, 'Master, we're here. Let us in.' 12 "He answered, 'Do I know you? I don't think I know you.' 13 "So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.

It is by grace that we are saved, yet grace which makes no difference in who we are and how we are, becomes no grace at all.

The five foolish bridesmaids remind us that we dare not take grace (oil in our lamp) for granted.  We must always be ready when the moment of ministry comes.  The moment to live out our gift of grace.  This takes a lot of attention to our own spiritual health, asking ourselves “how is it with my soul?” often.  And then being filled with God’s grace.

The five wise bridesmaids who had enough oil and could not share it reminds us that:

There are some things no one can do for me - I have to do it for myself.

I have to be responsible that there is enough oil in my lamp.  So we are ready to be responsible to others, with enough oil in our lamps to be a source of hope, comfort, and joy to them.  

We need to be ready to give 

the gift we have been given - 

the gift of grace!

Prayer thoughts for the week:

        "Lord, reminded me often that life and everything in it is a gift before it is a right.

          And help me keep my lamp full of oil so I am ready to be "a random act of kindness".

            reflecting your love for me and through me."

Nov. 1. 2020  All Saints Sunday

Matthew 5:1-12  (New Revised Standard Version)

The Beatitudes

5 When Jesus[ saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The word “Saint” is often terribly misunderstood.  We use it in many inappropriate ways.  We don’t use it to describe ourselves.  We even think of a saint as someone who is “so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.”

A saint is someone who:

takes time to be with God, and who takes time to be with people.  

is poor in spirit, meek, hungers and thirsts for righteousness.  

is sensitive to the sadness of life and open to receiving and giving comfort.

is merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, even when persecuted because of their faith. lets faith be a vibrant part of their living, in ways far different from the ways of this world.

To be a saint is to walk in God’s grace and walk as instruments of God’s grace in a world desperately needing God’s grace.

To be meek is not to be weak.  

To be merciful is to walk tenderly with others. 

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to live the Beatitudes.  They cover it all.

All that I need and all that the world needs!  Sinners who live as Saints!  Amen

 

 Oct. 25, 2020  Reformation Sunday

Matthew 11:16-19

16-19 “How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, ‘We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.’ John came fasting and they called him crazy. I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riffraff. Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

The people of Jesus day did not want anything to change.  They wanted the promised Messiah to be according to their liking, not someone who would challenge them to change their way of thinking about God and about living in God’s love.  They wanted an exclusive God who would favor them and be harsh on others.  They wanted to” have their cake and eat it too.”

There was no room for change in their thinking or believing!

The Reformation is about change.  We don’t like change either .  We even use the Bible to keep us from change.  God wants to make a new covenant with us.  We don’t want it.  We want the old covenant where we know what to expect and are more in charge.

God’s Word is an instrument of change and will, if we let it, change the way we look at things. It “is the source of all that is creative in the life of the Church.”  (Luther) It sets us free to be new and different people.  People who put love at the center of life and let nothing keep it from doing its thing.

Today, for us, the Reformation has to do with our attitude towards all who are different, be the difference color, race, creed, sexuality, or any other differenced we can think of.  White supremacy is an evil in our midst created in part because we refuse to believe that “You cannot own a child of God.”  (Movie - “The State of Jones”)

That is, no one is superior to any one else!  We are all equal before God!  

The reformation we need, in our hearts and in our country is the rejection of exclusivity and the acceptance of inclusivity as God’s will - to put love at the center of our lives and let it lead us into redemptive change in our living.

Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, you have included me in your love.  Help me to be inclusive in my heart and mind,  doing that which is well pleasing in your sight. Amen”

Oct. 18, 2020 Pentecost 20

Matt. 22:15-22 (The Message)

“15 That's when the Pharisees plotted a way to trap him into saying something damaging. 16 They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod's followers mixed in, to ask, "Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don't pander to your students. 17 So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" 18 Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, "Why are you playing these games with me? Why are you trying to trap me? 19 Do you have a coin? Let me see it." They handed him a silver piece. 20 "This engraving - who does it look like? And whose name is on it?" 21 They said, "Caesar." "Then give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his." 22 The Pharisees were speechless. They went off shaking their heads.”

“A Loaded Question”

A loaded question is one that has more hidden then revealed.

A loaded question doesn’t deserve a straight answer.  

In fact it can’t be answered straight.

The issue at stake in this text is not simply the payment of taxes.  It is the issue of the plurality and priority of the claims on one’s life and substance.

The issue at the heart of the text is how much are we willing to struggle with our faith as “a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life”. (P.T. Forsyth)

How much are we willing to struggle with putting our faith into action in love.

The answer Jesus gave left them with the struggle to be responsible for their own answer.  And to determine where the hypocrisy was in their lives. (We all have it - hypocrisy - like it or not!)

Each of us have the responsibility to determine as best we can where the hypocrisy is in our lives and then work at being more genuine, more inclusive, more truly human. 

For if the image of Caesar is on the coin, then the counterpart to that which Jesus leaves unsaid, is that Gods image is on us!  All of life is to be lived in gratitude to God who created us and sustains us with His love.

“How do you know when the night is over and the day has dawned?”  an old rabbi asked his students.  “It is when you can look into the face of any man or woman and see there the face of your brother or sister.  Because, if you cannot do that , no matter how bright it is, you are still in the dark.”

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, open my eyes to see my brother or sister in all who pass my way.  Amen

Oct. 11, 2020 Pentecost 19

Matt. 22:1-14  (The Message)

8 "Then he told his servants, 'We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren't up to it. 9 Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.' 10 The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on - every place filled. 11 "When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn't properly dressed. 12 He said to him, 'Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!' The man was speechless. 13 Then the king told his servants, 'Get him out of here - fast. Tie him up and ship him to hell. And make sure he doesn't get back in.' 14 "That's what I mean when I say, 'Many get invited; only a few make it.'"

We are shocked and surprised by the treatment of the one who came to the feast without a wedding garment. We do want to have our cake and eat it too.  As Dr Helmut Thielicke says, “We seat ourselves at the banquet table without a wedding garment when we allow our sins to be forgiven but still want to hang on to them.” 

When we have no intention of being changed by God’s grace!

“Christian satiation is worse then hungry heathenism.”  Dr. Helmet Thielicke

Indifference and complacency are both dangerous to faith.  They take the life out of it.  

God expects to see something    

different in our lives because

we have been to his banquet.

Prayer thoughts for the week:

“Lord, help me to live as one who is being changed by grace.

keep me from smug complacency which fails to be graceful towards others.

Let something different happen in and through me because I have been forgiven.”