Jan. 31, 2021 Fourth Sunday of Epiphany

 Mark 1:21-28  (The Message)

21 Then they entered Capernaum. When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching. 22 They were surprised at his teaching - so forthright, so confident - not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars. 23 Suddenly, while still in the meeting place, he was interrupted by a man who was deeply disturbed and yelling out, 24 "What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you're up to! You're the Holy One of God, and you've come to destroy us!" 25 Jesus shut him up: "Quiet! Get out of him!" 26 The afflicting spirit threw the man into spasms, protesting loudly - and got out. 27 Everyone there was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity. "What's going on here? A new teaching that does what it says? He shuts up defiling, demonic spirits and sends them packing!" 28 News of this traveled fast and was soon all over Galilee.

There are two places to stand in this text:  With the people who were amazed or with the man possessed by an evil spirit, who experienced the power of Jesus Words.

We probably see ourselves with the first choice - for we are not demon possessed!  Yet it is the demonic who goes home with something.  So what might it mean if we stood with him?

It would mean we have our own demons which need to be recognized and confessed.  Obvious ones: alcohol, drugs, tobacco, caffeine, money,; less obvious: greed, pride, selfishness, dishonesty, lust for power and prestige.  We need to be exorcised, cleansed, changed if we are to “put on the new nature”, that is, if we are to put on “compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, for bearing one another, and forgiving each other, ...putting on love...”

Eph. 3:12-14 

We have our own demons 

which need to be 

recognized and confessed.

Prayer thoughts for the week:  “Lord, help me recognize my own demons,  confess them, and be set free, ‘putting on love’.”

Mark 1:14-20 (The Message)

 Jan. 24, 2021  Third Sunday of Epiphany

14 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: 15 "Time's up! God's kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message." 16 Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work. 17 Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." 18 They didn't ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed. 19 A dozen yards or so down the beach, he saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee's sons. They were in the boat, mending their fishnets. 20 Right off, he made the same offer. Immediately, they left their father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed

This is where the action comes; the doing; the getting involved in that which disturbs our otherwise complacent lives and causes us to stand up for something, do something, say something it would be easier to leave unsaid or undone.

It means getting involved in life for God.  Or better yet, letting God get involved in life through us.  It means we are called to do what Jesus would have us do, not what we want to do.  And that means compassion will be at the core of all we do.

To follow Jesus is to be led where we would not otherwise go and to be doing what we would otherwise not be doing.  And it would be doing this now!  Ours is not to reason why God loves so.  Ours is but to do and die to self so we can live in the grace which delights in being gracious and merciful.  Not judgmental but compassionate!

As we enter a new year with great potential we need to hear Jesus call to follow him into the issues and challenges which we face, daring to trust that “the goodness of God” is at the heart of it all, and needs to be in our hearts too!   

“The process of signing on with Jesus 

consists of relinquishing what is old 

and treasured and receiving what 

is promised in the goodness of God.”  

Walter Brueggemann

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to be less judgmental, more compassionate; that your goodness may be reflected in my living.”  Amen

Jan 17, 2021 Second Sunday of Epiphany

John 1:43-51 (The Message)

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, "Come, follow me." … 45 Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, "We've found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It's Jesus, Joseph's son, the one from Nazareth!" 46 Nathanael said, "Nazareth? You've got to be kidding." But Philip said, "Come, see for yourself." 47 When Jesus saw him coming he said, "There's a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body." 48 Nathanael said, "Where did you get that idea? You don't know me." Jesus answered, "One day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree." 49 Nathanael exclaimed, "Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus said, "You've become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven't seen anything yet! 51 Before this is over you're going to see heaven open and God's angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”

Nathanael asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” implying that his expectations were blocked by his preconceived thinking.  Had he stopped with these words and not continued on with Jesus until he heard and came to believe more then he ever expected he would never have said, “Rabbi!  You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”

He discovered more then he expected, because he was open to more then he dreamed possible.  He was open to God’s surprises!

In my years of ministry I have had many surprises which have opened my eyes, my head, and my heart to believe more then I thought possible when I graduated from the Seminary.

Three surprises which have caused me to “see great things” i never expected are:

1.  Alan Jones in his book “Soul Making, saying in the light of God’s grace, “Christian orthodoxy requires that I believe in the logical possibility of hell (or utter lostness or damnation).  It does not require that I believe that anyone is there.  There is nothing to prevent my hoping that hell is empty.”

God’s love is that powerful and God’s grace goes that far!  Omnipotent love!

  2. Wm Johnston, in “Inner Eye Of  Love”, after clearly identifying his faith in “one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all...(I Tim. 2:5,6).”  Ends up saying “that the Risen Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father belongs to all (people) and to all religions.  No one religion, even Christianity, can claim to understand ‘the unsearchable riches of Christ.’ (Eph. 3:8)

The Risen Christ belongs to all people and all religions!  Inclusive love!

       3.  Mother Teresa, in  “Words to Love By”, says of God’s love,   “The same loving hand that has created you has created me.,..We all belong to the same family.  Hindus, Muslims and all peoples are our brothers and sisters.  They too are the children of God.”

Our calling is to Love them all; let God sort them out!  If there is any sorting to be done.

Expect the unexpected indeed!  Live open to surprise, until that day when God meets us “with just one more surprise.”  For God is full of surprise!

“If we don’t expect the unexpected 

we will not see it.”  Jurgen Moltman 

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to be open to surprise. For you are a God of surprises which go beyond our understanding.  Help me to believe that you are a God of limitless grace and in the end, there is “one more surprise”!  

Mark 1:4-11 (The Message)

 Jan 10, 2020 The Baptism of Our Lord

4 John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change 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." 9 At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. 11 Along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life."

It all begins with Baptism, this thing called mission and ministry.

It began with Baptism for Jesus, and it begins there for us.

As one theologian put it, baptism is:  “Not only a Rite of Initiation, not only a signal moment in (our) relation to God as a child of God, but it is also a time of becoming a character in the on going story of God’s work in (our) world.”

It is a commissioning more then a christening; a setting aside for special purpose.  An ordination if you please into ministry.  Baptism is for what we can give to life and to others because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the Cross of Christ forever.  It is not meant to separate us from others; it is meant to make us more open to being the presence of Christ for  others. 

“Baptism is “…a time of becoming 

a character in the on going story 

of God’s work in our world.”

A joyous time!

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to walk wet…rejoicing in your gift of Baptism.  Keep me mindful that this means I have to do something which makes a difference in my world.”

Jan 3, 2021 Christmas 2

John 1:1-14

John’s Christmas Gospel is a powerful, penetrating theological statement about the mystery which is Christmas.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth...From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

What ever else we do with these words, we cannot miss the presence of the words  grace and truth at the center of it all.  However we try to understand what John is trying to say, we cannot dodge these two words and their impact on our lives and our living. 

The Word is full of grace, which gives us hope beyond hope.

The Word is full of truth, which challenges us to believe the impossible dream.

And the TRUTH is, God is love.

And the GRACE is, that God’s love is for all.

As we enter a new year - a year which holds the possibility of dramatic changes in how things are, both individually and collectively, let us take these two words with us to guide our actions and to encourage us to live Christmas every day of the year.

For the mystery of Christmas is more than that it happened.  The mystery is that it still happens!  As the Word (Christ) becomes flesh and dwells through us in our world,

our call and challenge is, in the words of the Prophet Micah to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.”

Lets make America not great again but good again.  Maybe even better then it has ever been in “liberty and justice for ALL!” 

Prayer thought for the week:  “ Lord, give me courage to live your Word of truth and grace in all I do, say, and am.  Keep me humble and use me in your Kingdom on earth.

Amen

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.”