Author: Chip Salzgeber

John 1:43-51

In our gospel Jesus engages Philip and Nathanael.

• In the process…both men become Jesus’ disciples and experience joy.
• In the paragraphs preceding our reading John the Baptist and his followers call Jesus:
• “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
• Jesus then calls two disciples…
• One of whom is Andrew.
• Andrew then goes and finds his brother Simon.
• He tells Simon about Jesus and brings him to meet Jesus.
• Jesus then changes Simon’s name to Peter (Petros – stone or rock).
• And in this way…initiates him into his band of followers.

 

This pattern continues…

• Jesus travels to Galilee and immediately finds Philip.
• Jesus calls Philip to follow him and Philip does so.

 

Jesus’ call is “Follow me.”

• It is a call to a way of life!
• It is not a call to an intellectual creed or philosophy.
• It is a call to a relationship!

 

Well then…how does Jesus find the people whom he calls?

• His method is simple.
• He simply walks around.
• He simply lives his life.
• He walks around and engages the people with whom he has contact.
• This is the 21^st century…this is the 1^st
• In other words…in the 21^st century…we do exactly what Jesus did in the 1st century.

 

I follow the Jesus’ model in the same way.

• As such…I simply go about my day.
• In prayer…yammering…to myself…self-talk.
• I walk around and reach out to those who cross the threshold of my life.
• I have no agenda other than to be friendly and helpful to the men and women whom I meet.

 

My daily prayer is this:

• “Lord…in my journey today…who will you place in front of me?
• Who will you place in my path?
• Who needs to make a claim on your love through me today?
• Who needs to discover your joy today?
• Bring them into my path.
• ”

 

Try out this prayer as you move through your day.

• Through the halls of your school.
• The spaces of your place of employment.
• The check-out line at your grocery store.
• Your seatmate on the airplane you are flying on.
• The person sitting across from you in the waiting room.
• You will be surprised by what occurs.

 

Jesus continues to call his disciples today.

• Jesus is constantly on the move.
• Leading his people to spread God’s joy…grace…mercy and justice.

 

Our gospel reading models sharing the Gospel in a way that comes naturally to us.

• We do not have to create a new vocabulary or mimic the words of others.
• Philip just describes Jesus as he experienced him…and this is enough.

 

Why is this enough?

• Our personal story is sufficient because it is ultimately Jesus’ love who engages the other person.
• We matter-of-factly say:
• “This is how my life used to be…and let me share with you how my life is now.”
• And the response just might be:
• “I want what you have…I want the peace and joy that you have.”
• And we say:
• “Come and see.”

 

Our daughter Jennine was six years old…and we decided she was old enough to have her room redone a bit.

• You know? New paint. New bedspread. New carpet. New pictures.
• And when we were changing what was hanging on her walls there was a crucifix hanging there.
• Well…we were going to thrift shop the three or four pieces of artwork.
• But she insisted on giving her four-year-old brother the crucifix.
• We said:” But your brother really doesn’t know what that is yet…he’s too young to know.”
• And our daughter said: “Yes…he does know what it means!”
• And we said: “How do you know that he knows what it means”?
• And she said: “He knows because I told him what it means…
• I taught him how to sing…Jesus loves me…this I know.”
• “Come and see.”

 

And my son in law.

• He was shopping at Target and noticed a woman with her child being knocked and pushed around by a man who apparently was her husband.
• When her husband disappeared to another part of the store my son in law gave her his business card and said:
• “Call if you need help.”
• And a couple of weeks later she did call.
• My son in law referred her and her child to a safe house.
• “Come and see.”

 

The Gospel is not about convincing the world with our words and deeds.

• It is about inviting others into an relationship with Jesus’ love.
• Jesus is the one who engages.
• And we are Jesus’ hands and feet.
• We merely issue invitations to others to come and see.
• And Jesus does the rest.

 

“Teacher…where are you staying?”

• I am sleeping under the bridge with the homeless who have no one…who have no place.
• I am sitting at the same table with the poor kid no one wants anything to do with.
• I am watching TV with an elderly couple who live alone.
• I am holding the young woman who is terrified of the surgery she is facing.
• I am with your children when you are not there.
• I am with your spouse when you are apart.
• I am with you when you are feeling lost and alone.
• I am putting my shoulder to yours in bearing your crosses of illness…despair and catastrophe.

 

Where am I staying?

• Come and see.

Matthew 2:1-12

There is a popular meme (idea) that pointedly claims that if there had been “Three Wise Women” instead of “Three Wise Men” they would have:

• Asked for directions…arrived on time…helped deliver the baby and brought practical gifts.
• Mary might have appreciated a month’s supply of diapers.
• They would have cleaned the stable…made a casserole and there would be peace on earth.
• And if they were Lutherans…they would have brough a red Jello salad.

 

Anyway…the word “Epiphany” refers to something “made manifest” or “revealed.”

• When you come up with a brilliant idea…you might say that you have had an “epiphany moment.”
• Today…the word “Epiphany” communicates to us the “showing forth” or “the revelation” of Christ in the world.
• Epiphany takes its themes from the journey of a group of pagan magi who left familiar territory to find the Christ child and explore this child’s authenticity for themselves.
• And so today offers a rare opportunity to rescue the magi from their fixed places in the annual Christmas pageant…
• And restore them to their biblical roles as key witnesses to both the threat and promise of the Christ child.

 

The story of these wise men is only found in the gospel of Matthew.

• And…Matthew does not say that there are three wise men…nor does he call them kings.
• Three kings from the Orient bringing gifts to Jesus in a manger is a charming story…
• But it’s not actually the one we find in the Bible.
• A closer reading of Matthew shows that we have no idea how many people were there.
• The Holy Family most likely opened their doors to an impressive entourage that included the Magi themselves…a half dozen…A dozen?).
• Plus…their servants and the attendant luggage.
• With this group were the pack animals and a few camels.
• The neighborhood must have been abuzz.

 

And we don’t know how far east they came from. (Lebanon? New Jersey?)

• And they were not
• They were Magi…as in magicians.
• And not the cute kind you hire for your kid’s birthday party.
• Yet history made them out to be kings.
• Maybe because of the reality that they were magicians is too distasteful.
• Since no one really wants the weird…slimy…circus guy to be the first to discover the birth of our Lord.
• But the Epiphany story of Herod and his infanticide reveals a God who has entered our world as it actually exists.
• Not as the world we often wish it would be.”

 

In Matthew…the emphasis is on Jesus’ mission…entering the deep brokenness of this world.

• Among Matthew’s Jewish community…they were finding it difficult to accept that God came for all…and not just a few.
• They were clinging to the idea that if you want to follow Jesus…
• To be one of his disciples…you had to first be a Jew.
• And if you were male…then you had to be circumcised.
• Then if you were to become Christian…you had to continue to fulfill all the rules of the law…like food laws.
• So…Matthew…right at the start…includes this unusual story.
• And…this is the mystery…that God…this infant King…
• Is now revealed to all
• And God has come to transform all human history…all peoples of all

 

The wise men in today’s gospel…who came to seek the baby…were the epitome of Gentile idolatry and religious hocus-pocus.

• They were not models of religious piety.
• They were magicians…astronomers…stargazers…pseudo-scientists…fortune-tellers…horoscope fanatics.
• But Matthew makes them the heroes in his first story following the Savior’s birth.
• The wise men should not be there.
• They are heretics. They don’t worship the right God.
• They are the wrong race…the wrong denomination…the wrong religion.
• They don’t know how to worship correctly.
• Certainly…they give the child gifts of gold…frankincense and myrrh.
• But those are elements used in their magic.
• They would have been much better models of unbelief and false trust than models of faith…trust and worship.
• But…Matthew wants to make it very clear that Jesus came for all people in this very broken world.
• And that is why these wise men are found in this gospel.
• That should give us pause as we continue to share God’s inclusive love…hospitality and welcome.

 

God not only sent his Son into this violent and faithless world to live in it…but also to save it!

• God comes into the world and shines a brilliant star for all people.

 

But here is the extremely hard part:

• God also comes into the world for the Herods…the crazed men who walk into schools and shoot and kill innocent teachers and children…the terrorist…even our enemies.
• For every single one of us…God comes to shine a light that no darkness will overcome.
• It is how we accept and share and reflect that light that matters.

 

God enters a world that is deeply broken and not filled with peace.

• But enters a world that is deeply loved by God.
• A world that God finds worthy of saving.

 

The wise men who journeyed to Bethlehem exposed God’s intention…

• And desire to welcome all into the joy of God’s presence.
• May we continue to be transformed and reflect the light of such infinite and inclusive love.

Luke 2: 22-40

Today’s gospel reading has a wintry feel to it.

• It seems designed for a dark night…a cold night.
• You might expect the presentation of our Lord at the Temple…the ritual purification of the child Jesus and his acceptance as a member of the people of Israel…to be a joyous event.
• And…in a way…it is.
• But there are undercurrents throughout the story that hint at a tragic dimension to the occasion.

 

It reminds me of Frosty the Snowman when I was a kid.

• The song lyrics had a tragic dimension for me.
• Christmas was over and so was poor Frosty.
• Frosty the Snowman
  Was a jolly happy soul
  With a corncob pipe and a button nose
  And two eyes made out of coal.
• But then: Oh…Frosty the Snowman
  Knew the sun was hot that day
  So he said: “Let’s run…and we’ll have some fun.

Now…before I melt away.”

• Poor frosty…poor me…back to school. The same old grind.
• As I said…the story has a tragic dimension.

 

That is…Jesus’s presentation is the culmination of Simeon’s life…and the end of it.

• The righteous and devout old man had learned from the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
• But now that the day has come…the old servant of the Lord knows that his time has ended.
• He has been dismissed in peace…and his part in the story of God and the people of God is almost at an end.
• He will melt away.

 

But first he has some news to deliver.

• That Jesus is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel.
• And to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.
• So far…so good…but then he adds to Mary that “a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
• The uncomprehending parents are amazed.
• Even more when the prophet Anna approaches and begins to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

 

The news is so profoundly mixed…that it is hard to imagine how Joseph and Mary could respond to it.

• Joseph cannot help but be aware that his own presence in the crowning moments of the story is not alluded to.
• Indications are…that this good…gentle man who was willing to spare Mary shame and disgrace…
• Will not see the redemption of Israel through the child who is…by his mercy…and yes…his obedience to God’s call…his son at least in the eyes of the Lord.

Joseph knows only that the story will go on…and that…like Simeon himself…he has played his part…and he will melt away.

• But Mary? Mary is promised nothing but that a “sword will pierce her soul.
• We know this…because we know how the story turns out.
• The sword will not be literal.
• It will be the mother’s agony of seeing her beloved son rise to great heights.
• Only to be disgraced and executed by the tortuous methods of the Roman Empire.
• A death reserved only for rebels and traitors.

 

What are the parents to make of this prophecy…glorious and dire…terrifying and yet hopeful…culminating in the redemption of Israel?

• What on earth is going on with this reading?
• How can the redemption of Israel be welcomed if it comes with so much loss?

 

The following is a glorious and dire…terrifying and yet hopeful event…in my own life…among many…I will share:

• It happened in front of my apartment in the city when I was in seminary.
• One night a young woman walked rapidly past my apartment being followed by a car.
• The driver was talking to her…or shouting…two students going in the opposite direction paused as though concerned.
• The woman hurried on…and the car kept pace…clearly following her…the students would have helped…but had no haven to offer.
• Leaving my own door ajar so I would not be locked out…I ran to catch up with her.
• And then slowed so that she would not be frightened by my approach.
• “Can I help?” …I asked… “Would you like to use my telephone?”
• She paused…not sure of me and not quite understanding.
• I repeated the offer of assistance.
• The car had turned around and was coming toward us.
• Then a warm smile appeared on her dark face and she relaxed.
• “Thank you so much” …she said … “but the people in the car are my friends.
• And we are just looking for number 56 on this street.”

 

This is one way of saying just how the redemption of Israel can be welcoming when it comes with so much loss.

• It is the warm smile of a dark face on a nighttime city street.
• It is surprise at being so wrong concerning someone we had every right to expect to be just one more frightened person…one more victim.
• It is to be surprised by life at times and places where all our previous experience has prepared us to expect death.

 

The faithful one is betrayed…the man of peace is beaten…the healer dies…and they lay him in a tomb.

• It happens all the time…and it is so normal.
• And it is why the students and I were sure that the people in the car were harassing the woman walking the sidewalk.
• It happens all the time.

 

What does not happen all the time is to find the tomb empty.

• What does not happen all the time is the reversal of what is usual.
• What does not happen all the time is an empty tomb or a smile instead of harassment on a nighttime city street.

 

What does not happen all the time is  Frosty the Snowman waving goodbye and saying:

• “Don’t you cry.

I’ll be back again someday.”

Luke 2:1-14

It is roughly 100 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

• According to Google Maps…
• It would take about 34 hours to travel the distance on foot…
• Not counting stops for rest…
• And this does not consider marauding bandits…
• Flash floods washing away roads…
• And full-term pregnancy.
• But this is the journey that Joseph and Mary make.

 

The journey is not a choice.

• Caesar Augustus has spoken.
• And like it or not.
• Impending birth notwithstanding.
• They make the exhausting 100-mile trek to fill out some government forms.

 

Joseph and Mary are like poor and defenseless people of every place and time.

• At the whim of whatever Caesar or compassionless bureaucrats direct.

 

Well…there is irony here…is there not?

• That is…while Joseph…Mary and their unborn child are headed to Bethlehem to be counted…
• The fact is…
• They really don’t count!
• Not to Rome anyway.
• They are faceless nobodies.
• They are numbers in the files of an uncaring empire.

 

But their hope is not in Caesar Augustus.

• There hope is in God.

 

They are embraced not by the imposed pax Romana.

• “The peace” of Rome.
• But in the peace of the God of mercy.
• They count!
• To God!

 

Tonight…little Bethlehem is the center of light for humankind.

• God has become one of us.
• And because he has become human…
• We realize the sacredness of our own humanity.

 

We…who travel between the Nazareth’s and Bethlehem’s of our lives…

• Count!

 

We…who are often overwhelmed by feelings of nothingness…

 

We…who find ourselves so beaten down that we do not want to get up again…

• Have reason to hope.

 

Because of Emmanuel: 

• God is with us.

 

 

This “silent…holy” night…

• A savior is born in our midst.
• In Christ…
• We count…
• We matter…
• We belong…
• We are holy…

 

We realize…in him…the holiness within us.

• His light illuminates every morning of our lives.
• His presence brings hope and joy to our messy…
• Grimy stables.

 

We behold his face in the faces of our spouses and children and friends.

• We make room for him in our welcoming of every visitor to our own Bethlehem stables.
• Where all of us count.
• Where all of us matter.
• Where all of us are holy in the eyes and heart of our God.

 

Once we have seen God in a stable…

• We never know where we might see him again.
• If God is present in this least favorable place…
• There is no place or time so lowly or earthbound…but that holiness can be present…too.
• For just when God seems the most helpless…
• God is the most strong.
• And just where we least expect him…
• He comes most fully.

 

On this Christmas Day…

• Look and see God in your stable in all those you love.
• Know in every season of the New Year the joy of “preparing him room” in your hearts and homes.

Luke 1:26-38

This is like a bomb going off.

• Do you see?
• Can you consider what it meant for this young woman to nod her head to this?
• And she did. She said yes.
• And she suffered for it the rest of her life!
• A reproach hung over her that was undeserved…the rest of her life.
• It nearly wrecked her relationship with her future husband.
• It was an awful trial for this young woman to have to face this.

 

The Lord knew that Mary…by His grace and help…could go through this.

• A lot of people could not.
• He designed this for her.
• He sent His angel with this trial to her.
• And it was a severe trial.
• For this to happen to Mary in this way.
• It was going to completely take away her good name.

 

How can you explain such a thing?

• Who would believe you?
• The man that she was planning to marry.
• He loved her and she loved him.
• He thought that the obvious had happened.
• In his mind he was deeply disappointed in her.

 

But he was a kind man…the Bible says:

• “Not willing to make her a public example”.
• Which he could have done.
• He could have put her away privately…secretly.
• And he would have done it…too.
• Except for one thing.

 

The One who gave Mary this trial stepped into the picture.

• He appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth.
• And so…Joseph picked up his side of this trial.
• It does not look like a favorable way for the Son of God to come into the world.
• Does it?
• With such reproach hanging over her.
• This may have proved too much for Mary’s strength.
• And even her trust in God.

 

And so…we have the rejection.

• The shame.
• The ridicule.
• The reproach.
• “Mary has always been such a good girl…but see now….”
• All those things that go with human life.

 

And so…Mary visits her cousin.

• And it was just like the Lord had told her.
• And her cousin received her and believed the story she had to tell.
• And…indeed…she said the babe in her womb leaped for joy when she first heard her voice.
• All of this was what sustained this sister and helped her in this trial.

 

But like the hawkers on the TV infomercials…there was more:

• “For with God nothing shall be impossible.
• And Mary said:
• Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”

 

She did not just say:

• “Lord…you sent this angel and I guess I don’t have anything to say about it.
• I am just stuck.”
• She did not just go on and doubt in her heart and say:
• “Well…I guess we’ll see if this will come true.”
• No…she accepted what the Lord had given her.
• “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”

 

The handmaid of the Lord.

• This speaks volumes about how this young woman walked with God.
• “Lord…I am yours.”
• “Lord…I belong to you.”

 

Are we ready for service?

• Can God just tap us on the shoulder and tell us:
• “I want you to do this today”?
• Are we the Lord’s handmaid?

 

Mary was.

• And she was only 13?
• 14?
• “Behold the handmaid of the Lord…be it unto me according to your word.”

 

“Lord…I accept the trial.

• I accept the reproach of the trial.
• I accept the consequences of doing what You want me to do.
• I am Yours…
• I belong to You…Lord.
• Be it unto me according to your will.”

 

Do you see this same young woman…now getting older steadily?

• She was a mother many times over.
• Jesus had brothers and sisters.
• She had a many-pierced heart.
• This was a trial that went on and on and on.
• It was her part to be blessed among woman and it was her part to be tried among women.

 

Great blessings…great trials.

• Do we want the blessings?
• The trials must be there too.
• Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

 

Are we willing to say:

• “Lord…I accept the trials that you have for me.
• Behold the handmaid of the Lord!
• I want what You have got for me!”

John 1:6-8, 19-28

There are both written and silent witnesses to the overwhelming light that burst into the night sky on July 6, 1054.

• About two hours after midnight…the Chinese royal astronomer Yang Wei-te was a witness to a great light.
• He saw what he called a “guest star” in the constellation of Taurus the Bull.
• According to Yang…it was a reddish-white color and displayed pointed rays all around.
• The star was so bright it was visible in broad daylight for 23 days.
• And visible at night for a couple of years.

 

Japanese astronomers were also witnesses to the light…and recorded its appearance in their archives.

• And thousands of miles away…the Native Americans we now call the Anasazi were witnesses to the light.
• They did not write it down but we know…anyway.
• How?
• Go to Chaco Canyon…in New Mexico…and you will find gently crumbling ruins of an ancient civilization whose trade routes spanned thousands of miles.

 

About three-and-a-half miles north of the Pueblo del Arroyo…

• You will find yourself standing under a rock ledge where someone painted a many-pointed star…
• A crescent moon and a handprint.
• Many believe this is a record of one who also saw the same star as the Chinese and Japanese astronomers.

 

We know what they were seeing was not just a nova…

• An exploding star nearing the end of its life…
• But a supernova.
• Supernovas occur when the largest stars have spent much of their fuel burning fiercely bright.
• With a breathtaking suddenness…they collapse into their now solid iron cores…
• And often become for a short time brighter than all the billions of stars in their home galaxy combined.

 

An event like this had to have been very significant for all who saw it.

• The Chinese astronomer Yang wrote to the emperor to tell him it meant there was a wise and virtuous person in the country.

 

In today’s gospel passage…the author is also talking about a witness to a startling light… who pointed to a wise and virtuous person.

• John the Baptist was sent by God…we are told…to witness to the light…but he himself was not the light.
• Jesus is the light.
• Jesus was the wise and virtuous person that John was pointing to.
• He is the light who shines in the darkness.
• The light that the darkness is powerless to overcome.

 

Some say we are descended from the dust of supernovas.

• Some say we are the remains of exploding stars.
• The remnants of cataclysmic explosions blown about on galactic winds that found their way into the cosmic nursery where our own star was born.
• Making it the source of all life.

 

That may or may not be so…but in John’s gospel…this light that shines in the darkness is the source of life for all!

• And that is why John appears.
• Stepping forward in a startling manner from the desert to witness to the light and to baptize others in the water of the Jordan River.

 

We are part of a great chain that continues to this day.

• A chain of witnesses who do not point to themselves.
• But like John…point to one who is greater.
• This is our charge in Advent.

 

Whether it is in the form of an official report:

• “Behold…I bring you tidings of great joy!”
• Or in artwork…like a nativity set.
• Or a Christmas card.
• Or a favorite carol.
• Or a Christmas cantata.
• We are all…appealed to…in this season of Advent…to be witnesses to the light.
• It shouldn’t be that hard. Right?

 

 

But…nowadays it’s harder than ever simply to witness to the glories of the night sky.

• There’s too much light pollution over the whole globe.
• We have the same sort of clutter in our lives…
• Too much light and sound and noise.
• Obscuring our ability to witness to the Light that shines in the darkness of our lives.

 

So…what does an exploding star…John the Baptist and our holiday clutter and fatigue have to do with each other?

• Well…those ancient astronomers were looking outside themselves.
• They were pointing to something greater than themselves.
• John the Baptist was looking beyond to something greater…someone greater than himself.

 

Remember…that bright star 1,000 years ago was not the same as the one that shone 2,000 years ago to call anyone who would pay attention to find their way to the infant.

• The Magi saw a sign in the heavens and acted.
• But Herod and his court were mystified by the report of the wise men.
• Because there was too much clutter from political intrigue and infighting to leave space for gazing into the high sky.

 

There is still a lot of clutter…so witnessing about the light is not going to be easy.

• This is a tough time.
• It is made tougher by the fact that the weight of all this forced merriment can leave us blue.
• Especially as we think about things left unaccomplished or about empty seats at our holiday tables.

 

But Jesus is at the heart of everything to do with the swirl that is rushing around us.

• It may not be obvious…but he is there.
• He is the light about which we witness.

That exploding star from a thousand years ago?

• You may not be able to look up in the night sky and still see it.
• But with a good pair of binoculars or an average telescope you can see the remains of that explosion.
• It is now called the Crab Nebula…and though it can be hard to see…
• It still sends out loud radio and X-ray signals for those who know how to look.

 

And we can still see the remnants of the Star of Bethlehem whenever we see lives changed because of Jesus.

• We can still hear the echoes of the angels who sang that night…
• Whenever we hear of people offering a cup of cold water to the least of these in the name of the infant Christ.

 

And we ourselves are an echo of sorts.

• In this season of distraction…we… through our faithfulness…are the proof that there is still hope to be found amid despair.
• A light that still shines in the darkness.

 

The charge is there for us:

• To look.
• To see.
• To touch.
• To taste.
• To feel.
• To tell.

Mark 1:1-8

So…in the spirit of full disclosure I feel you should know that I am not now…

• Nor have I ever been…a crazy street corner preacher who waves his Bible wildly while shouting red faced at passers-by.
• But I am not ruling it out as a possible career move in the future.
• But…for now… I must say…I feel for those guys.
• Because what could their success rate possibly be?
• I mean…does shouting repent! at people actually work?
• Just speaking for myself…never once has my life changed because a crazy guy with a sign yelled at me from a street corner.

 

I mention this because it feels like maybe John the Baptist was the first and last successful crazy street corner preacher.

• And given the success he had…you know…with all of Judea and Jerusalem coming to partake in his baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
• I wonder what the guy said exactly.
• Why did so many people come to him for his baptism?
• Because bless their hearts…our modern street corner preachers who hold signs that say “repent” don’t have near the same results.

You see…when I hear a preacher shouting “repent” what I really hear is:

• Stop being bad.  Start being good or else God’s gonna be really mad at you.
• Which feels more like a threat than anything else.
• That just never works for me.
• Who wants their spiritual arm twisted until they cry “Uncle” …. it’s like… religious bullying.

 

And I just cannot imagine that it was religious bullying that brought all of Judea and Jerusalem to be baptized by John.

• I mean…fear and threat can create change in behavior.
• But it does not change your thinking.

 

For that kind of change…change in thinking and change of heart it takes truth and promise.

• Namely truth and promise that is external to us…
• And comes only from God reaching into the graves we dig ourselves into…
• And then bringing out new life.
• Because if repentance comes from something other than an external word of truth…
• About who we are and who God is…
• It’s not repentance…it’s self-improvement.
• And what happened that day by the banks of the Jordon was way more than just a massive wave of self-improvement.

 

OK then…John’s preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was not so that sinners would confess and stop being bad.

• Instead…it was so that all would hear the truth about this God who comes near to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
• Not so that we might be good…but that we might be new.
• John says to them: “Prepare the way of the Lord.
• Get ready for something new…there is one who is coming who will change everything.”

 

So…John prepares the people to receive the Gospel by making room for it.

• How? By washing away their old ideas and expectations.
• The untruth and sin and shame and all competing identities float away in the Jordon…
• Because the real thing was finally here.
• Because in Jesus…God is doing a new thing…
• Not to make us good but to make us new.
• And that is how Mark begins his gospel:
• “The beginning of the good newsof Jesus Christ.”
• Good news…because any truth that I generate from within me simply does not have the power to save me.

 

Well…we all have had conversations with family members or friends who are non-religious.

• They say: “I just don’t really need anything outside of myself to give me meaning or comfort.” REALLY.”
• We all answer something like this:
• “I desperately need something outside of myself because if this is all there is…well…I cannot think of anything more depressing.
• I need an external interruption.
• And I need it a heck of a lot more than I need self-improvement.
• Because I can change my behavior on my own.
• It is my thinking and my heart that only God can redeem.

 

So…true repentance involves surrender more than it involves self-improvement.

• The practice of kneeling in church has military origins.
• It was a posture of surrender…as in…you cannot fight if you are kneeling.
• And so…this kind of surrender…the kind we see in forgiven sinners in the waters of the Jordon…
• Only comes from hearing the truth of who we are and the truth of who God is.

 

Repentance…in Greek…means something close to: “thinking differently afterwards.”

• More than it means changing your cheating ways.
• Repentance is a con artist being a real person for the first time ever without knowing who that person is anymore…
• But knowing he sees it in the eyes of those serving him communion naming him a Child of God.
• Repentance is realizing there is more life to be had in being proved wrong than in continuing to think you are right.

 

Repentance is the adult child saying:

• “I give up on waiting for my mom to love me for who I am…
• So…I’m gonna rely on God to help me love her for who she is…
• Because I know she’s not going to be around forever.”
• Repentance is unexpected beauty after a failed suicide attempt.
• Repentance is what happened to a friend when at the age of 28 his first community college teacher told him he was smart.
• And despite all his past experience of himself he believed her.

 

See…repentance is what happens to us when the Good News…the truth of who we are and who God is…

• Enters our lives and scatters the darkness of competing ideas.
• For it is the external truth of God that liberates us from the bondage of self.
• This is what the daily return to baptism looks like.

It is like the arm of God reaches in to rip out our own heart and replace it with God’s own heart.

• The Gospel is our own emancipation proclamation.
• Every time we hear the absolution…that we are forgiven.
• Every time we hear that we are a child of God.
• And that this is God’s very own body broken and poured out for us.
• Every time these external words of Good News enter our ears…they scatter the darkness of competing claims.
• And to be sure…all of it is the Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ Son of God.

Mark 13:24-37

When I was young…sometimes…my mother would buy me a box of Cracker Jacks at the grocery store.

• Remember the surprise you would get when you opened the box?
• It was usually right on top.
• A small toy.
• And I was delighted.
• Well…one time I got a little red top.
• And I would spin the top and it would go round and round…fast.
• But it would always slow down and begin to wobble and finally stop…and fall.
• Later…I learned that the winding down of my little top was called entropy.
• That is…the running down of a system.

 

You know…our earth is running down too…running out of get-up-and-go.

• Just like my little top.
• Just like I am running down too.
• Running out of get-up-and-go.

 

Well…you know the earth is actually wobbling…it’s called axial precession.

• It says in the Book of Genesis that God made creation…the world out of nothing.
• And Genesis also says that God created order out of chaos.
• That there was an explosive burst of energy.
• And God breathed life into the cosmos.
• And God flung the stars and planets and the solar systems out into the universe.
• And ever since the earth has been winding down.
• You know…in a state of entropy.

 

So…the earth is slowly moving away from the sun.

• Falling out of orbit.
• The Sun is cooling down.
• And there is a decreasing gravitational pull.
• Creating less atmosphere.
• Causing more sun to get through to the earth.

 

The arctic ice caps are melting.

• I have been to Alaska three times and have seen it.
• You know…the melting glaciers.
• Causing oceans to rise.
• New Orleans is losing its delta.
• Rain forests are disappearing.
• Deserts are growing in width and breath.
• There is an increase in carbon dioxide.
• Causing average temperatures to rise.
• All of this causing animals to lose their habitat.

 

Of course…we cannot measure all this stuff that is happening with a twelve-inch ruler.

• Because it’s happening exceedingly slowly.
• But learned women and men can measure this stuff with their fancy scientific instruments.
• But still…much of it…we can taste and see and smell and touch and hear with our five senses.

 

In the same way the Old Testament Hebrews believed there was a kind of spiritual entropy.

• A spiritual winding down of God’s relationship with humankind.
• That God had only so much Love.
• That God had only so much grace.
• That God had only so much forgiveness.
• That God had only so much tolerance.
• That God had only so much restraint.
• That God had only so much time.
• That God had only so much patience.
• That God had only so much hope.
• That God had only so much cope.

 

But Jesus declaims to the people:

• “But in those days…after that suffering…the sun will be darkened…and the moon will not give its light…and the stars will be falling from heaven…and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
• There will be signs in the sun…the moon…and the stars…and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
• People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world…for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
• Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
• Now when these things begin to take place…stand up and raise your heads…because your redemption is drawing near.”

 

Hopelessness:

• Cosmic entropy.
• The universe careening out of control.
• Being flung chaotically into outer space.
• Human trafficking.

 

But Jesus says:

• “Heaven and earth will pass away…but my words will never pass away.”

 

So…natural law does not have the final say…the final word.

• Christ reverses this winding down:
• By his vicarious intervention in the universe.
• By his personal and benign and friendly identification with the earth.
• By his glorious incarnation.

 

In Christ…God will never run out of Love.

• In Christ…God will never run out of forgiveness.
• In Christ…God will never run out of tolerance.
• In Christ…God will never run out of restraint.
• In Christ…God will never run out of forbearance.
• In Christ…God will never run out of time.
• In Christ…God will never run out of patience.
• In Christ God will never run out of hope.
• In Christ…God will never run out of grace.

 

Jesus asks us to “be on watch and pray always…

• That you will have the strength to go safely through all those things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
• Jesus says: “Heaven and earth will pass away…but my words will never pass away.”

Matthew 25: 31-46

There is a whole world of Christians out there who take Matthew 25 seriously.

• Who believe that when we feed the hungry…cloth the naked…and care for the sick we do so to Jesus’ own self.
• We even have this great slogan:
• God’s work…our hands.
• No question.
• The work many of us do serving the poor is informed by our Christian faith as well it should be.
• We are the only feet and hands that Christ has so we are to be little Christs out in the world.

So…I could preach a homily about how actually caring about the poor is part of following Jesus.

• But most of us already are on board with that.
• And when we read this Matthew 25 text we are inclined to think:
• Look! Even Jesus agrees with us!
• We are probably missing something.

 

OK then…we are tempted and prone to move forward with a social justice kind of…” here’s what Christianity REALLY means checklist.

• And we end up not really needing Jesus so much as needing to make sure we successfully complete the right list of tasks.
• Because in the end we leave Jesus idling in his van on the corner while we say:
• “Thanks Jesus…but we can take it from here.”

 

So…while we as people of God are certainly called to feed the hungry and cloth the naked.

• That whole Christian “We are blessed to be a blessing” thing can be dangerous.
• Dangerous when we think we are placing ourselves above the world.
• Waiting to descend on those below so we can be the “blessing” they have been waiting for like it or not.
• It can easily become a well-meaning but insidious blend of benevolence and paternalism.
• It can easily become hustling the poor so that we can feel like we are being good little Christs for them.

 

Jesus says: I was hungry…and you gave me food…I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

• Which means…Christ comes not in the form of those who feed the hungry but in the hungry being fed.
• Christ comes not in the form of those who visit the imprisoned but in the imprisoned being cared for.
• And to be clear…Christ does not come to us AS the poor and hungry.

 

The poor and hungry and imprisoned are not a romantic special class of Christ like people.

• And those who meet their needs are not a romantic special class of Christ like people.
• We all are equally as Sinful and Saintly as the other.
• No…No…No…Christ comes to us IN the needs of the poor and hungry.
• Needs that are met by another so that the shining redemption of God might be known.
• And we are all the broken and the needy and the ones who meet needs.

 

Years ago…I met James Crumley…at the time the current church-wide bishop…at a synod retreat I was hosting when involved in Outdoor Ministry.

• We sat together at the closing worship celebration.
• That weekend I discovered that his wife had recently been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
• During a particularly un-sing-able hymn that I totally disliked…
• I realized he was crying.
• So…throwing my snotty opinions about church music aside…
• I just had to sing that terrible hymn twice as loud because my grieving brother in Christ could not sing.

When the liturgy ended…even though I was a very young pastor he had just met…and he was a bishop…

• I asked him if he would like me to pray for him and anoint him with oil.
• And his eyes teared up and he said thank you…yes.

 

Well…I committed to pray for him every day and checked in occasionally by phone (no text and email then).

• After we prayed…I asked him:
• “Who pastors Bishops?”
• He whispered: “no one.”

 

So…here’s the thing.

• I don’t really think I was the one who allowed Christ to be revealed in this encounter.
• It was Bishop James Crumley.
• Because James Crumley allowed himself to bear a need that someone else could…however imperfectly meet.
• And when the grief of our brother was cared about Jesus was cared about.

 

I am not a good example of this.

• I do not like asking for help.
• And I don’t mean setting up chairs and tables.
• I mean…if I am hurting or in pain it’s like torture to admit it and even worse to humble myself to ask for help.
• It’s as though I think that I am not deserving of the care I give others…which…of course…is totally arrogant.

 

So…I wonder…in this Christ the King text…about how we withhold Christ from each other when we pretend…we have no need.

• When we are only the ones being the blessing to others…
• We keep Christ from being revealed in our own needs that could be met by another.

 

I just do not think the giving of grace includes two separate classes of people:

• The ones who hunger.
• And the ones who offer food.
• The fact is…we are both bearers of the Gospel and receivers of the gospel.
• We meet the needs of others.
• And we have our needs met.
• Remember that those who sat before the throne and said:
• Huh? When did we ever feed you Lord?

 

We never know when Jesus will come and touch us in all of this.

• All that we have is a promise.
• A promise that our needs are holy to God.
• A Promise that Jesus is present in the meeting of needs.
• And that he is a different kind of king.
• A king who rules over a different kind of kingdom.

 

Because it looks more like being thirsty and having someone…we do not even know…or not even like…give us water…

• More than it looks like polishing a crown.
• That is the surprising scandal of the Gospel.
• Jesus bumps us out of our unconscious addiction to being good.
• So that we can look at Jesus as he approaches us on the street and says:
• “O brother…O sister…you look broken…you look like you could use a cup of cold water and a good meal.”

Matthew 25:14-30

Today’s parable commends a watchfulness like last week’s parable of the ten bridesmaids.

• In the parable of the talents…
• The slave who is given one talent is incredibly careful and watchful with it.
• A talent is a lot of money.
• It would take a laborer some 15 years to earn a talent.
• And this man is given one.

 

Imagine that Elon Musk stops by your office with a briefcase full of money.

• He says:
• ” There is five million dollars here.
• Would you look after it until I can pick it up in a few months?”
• Now what?
• Five million dollars!

 

You are the sort of person who does not normally withdraw more than $100 from an ATM at any given time.

• Mostly because you do not want to be mugged for more than you can afford to lose.
• And so…you agree to watch the money.

 

When you are alone in your office again you practice walking.

• Carrying the briefcase.
• You are nonchalant.
• You look natural.
• And you decide you can make it to your car just fine.

 

Eventually…you get all that money home…

• The people you have dinner with know that you are distracted.
• But it’s not unusual for you because you are a careful…watchful person.
• So…it raises no questions.

 

Long after everyone else is asleep you are staring at the ceiling.

• Considering your options.
• Running scenarios.
• Did you lock the front door?

 

So…you tiptoe downstairs.

• Yes…it’s locked.
• You go back upstairs.
• You lie down again…your mind running non-stop.
• When you were checking the lock on the front door did you accidentally unlock it?

 

Sometime in the middle of the night it is clear that you cannot go on like this.

• You know that no investment is entirely secure.

 

If you hand the money over to somebody.

• A bank?
• Anything could happen!
• You think of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse a few months ago.

 

And if you lost that money?

• You could never…for the whole rest of your life…earn enough to get it back?
• What were you thinking when you said you would do this?
• And shortly before sunup…
• You are in the backyard with a flashlight…
• And a shovel…
• And lots of huge zip lock bags full of money.

 

At what point…exactly…did carefulness and watchfulness turn into cowardice?

• When does carefulness and watchfulness come to inspire the scolding?
• ” You wicked and lazy slave!”

 

How is it that even our virtues turn on us?

• And our good intentions land us in outer darkness?

 

The servant explains his actions by saying:

• “I was afraid…
• I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground.”

 

Well…fear is not always a bad thing.

• When Jesus is preparing the disciples for their mission…
• He dismisses one kind of fear…
• And commends another to them:
• “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…
• Rather be afraid of God who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”

 

It is right for the servant to be afraid of one who has the power to say:

• “As for this worthless slave…throw him into the outer darkness…
• Where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth…”

 

It is right to be afraid of such a one…

• All the way up until that one stands before you…
• In the person of His Son…Jesus…
• Risen from the dead…and says:
• ” Do not be afraid…
• Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee…
• There they will see me…”

 

Those brothers…would be the ever so careful and watchful.

• And cowardly disciples.
• After all…they all ran and hid when Jesus’ was arrested.

In the end…things are different than stories of the end might have led us to expect.

• The grace of reversals.
• The cowardly disciples move from brokenness to wholeness.

 

Jesus said: “Not a single stone here will be left in its place…every one of them will be thrown down.”

• But these stones are not the final stones.
• The final stone to be thrown down is the one that stands at the entrance of what has become an empty tomb.

 

And instead of being cast into outer darkness…

• The ones who were afraid and hid…
• Are cast out into all nations…
• To make disciples.

 

They are called and sent…and accompanied by the Holy Spirit.

• “Low…I am with you always” …Jesus says…
• ” To the close of the age.”

 

It’s a miracle really.

• The God who raised Jesus from the dead…will raise us up with him.
• Not even our fear and cowardice can foil the mission of the one who is God with us.
• “Do not be afraid…
• He is going on ahead of you…
• To Galilee…
• There you will see him.”