Category: Homilies

John 1: 1-18

Confession and Forgiveness

 

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,

whose steadfast love is everlasting.

Amen.

 

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Silence is kept for reflection.

God-with-us,

we confess that we have turned away

those seeking shelter, claiming there is no room when we have plenty.

We have made power and wealth our idols, while you show us true glory: a baby in a manger.

We have overlooked the shepherds, expecting good news in prettier packaging.

Too often, we have valued violence instead of your peace.

Turn us from our ways to your ways.

Grant us the grace to begin again.

Free us from all that keeps us bound, and forgive our sin, through Jesus Christ, who gives himself for us.

Amen.

 

Hear the good news and rejoice!

We are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, ☩ forgiven in Christ,

and freed to respond in joy.

Amen.

 

Gathering Song:

I Wonder as I Wander

 

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, you have filled all the earth with the light of your incarnate Word. By your grace empower us to reflect your light in all that we do, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

 

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-14

⁷ Thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
“Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel.”
⁸ See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
those with child and those in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
⁹ With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.

¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.”
¹¹ For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
¹² They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
¹³ Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
¹⁴ I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says the Lord.

 

Word of God. Word of Life.

Thanks be to God.

 

Psalm: 147:12-20

¹² Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion,
¹³ who has strengthened the bars of your gates
and has blessed your children within you.
¹⁴ God has established peace on your borders
and satisfies you with the finest wheat.
¹⁵ God sends out a command to the earth,
a word that runs very swiftly.
¹⁶ God gives snow like wool,
scattering frost like ashes.
¹⁷ God scatters hail like bread crumbs.
Who can stand against God’s cold?
¹⁸ The Lord sends forth the word and melts them;
the wind blows, and the waters flow.
¹⁹ God declares the word to Jacob,
statutes and judgments to Israel.
²⁰ The Lord has not done so to any other nation;
they do not know God’s judgments. Hallelujah!

 

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. ⁵ He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight ⁹ he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. ¹¹ In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, ¹² so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; ¹⁴ this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

 

Word of God. Word of Life.

Thanks be to God.

 

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. Alleluia. (Ps. 98:3)

 

The Holy Gospel according to John

Glory to you O Lord

Gospel: John 1:1-18

 

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. ¹² But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
¹⁴ And 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. ¹⁵ (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

 

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you O Christ

 

Years ago…I was part of a church where the youth group had a “Living Nativity”.

• A manger was set up on the side of the church where there was busy street traffic…
• Complete with straw and some live animals from a local farm.
• Youth of the church would take 30-minute shifts dressed as Mary…Joseph…shepherds…wise men…
• And folks from the community would drive by and see and consider.

 

The Lord be with you

 

One year I was inside helping with costumes when a 6-year-old little boy came in from his shift.

• I said: “Hey Tommy…how did you like being a shepherd in the living nativity?”
• “It was ok…I guess” he replied.
• “But next year…I think I want to be a pirate”
• You know…the pirate who was at the birth of our Lord.

 

Since the Christmas stories from Luke and Matthew are so different from each other…

• It can be hard to keep track…
• But I’m pretty sure there was not a pirate mentioned.
• I love that we have two different accounts of what happened that first Christmas.
• They both have their charm and their own power.
• But today we have just heard the Christmas story in John.
• There is no manger or angels in that one…just these mystical verses:

 

In the beginning was the Word…and the Word was with God…and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him…and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life…and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in darkness…and the darkness has not overpowered it…

And 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.

 

It is this story about the birth of Christ that I could not stop thinking about on Saturday…December 21^st.

• Because it was the Winter Solstice.
• The longest night of the year.
• And we do feel it…don’t we?
• These short days and long nights.

 

But on Saturday night…December 21^st…

• In the darkness of the longest night…
• These words from John were on repeat in my head:
• A light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overpowered it.

 

Here’s the thing about light:

• Even the tiniest bit of light scatters the deepest darkness.
• It never happens the other way around.
• Darkness has no effect on light.
• Darkness cannot touch it.
• Cannot extinguish it.
• Cannot do a thing to it.

This is what we desperately need to know this Christmas.

• What happened the night Christ was born over 2,000 years ago…
• And 6,652 miles away is still visible.
• Like a star.

 

If you remember how the story goes…they tried to kill him…and it did not work.

• They arrested him…put him on trial.
• They did not even have an overworked Public Defender to defend him.
• They beat him…stripped him…mocked him…killed him.
• And put him in a grave.
• And even then…the light still shone.
• He rose from the tomb shining bright as ever.

 

What has come into being in him was life…and the life was the light of all people.

 

Darkness thinks it is so clever…does it not?

• Darkness believes it is so powerful.
• But compared to the light of Christ?
• It is nothing.

 

If there is anything I want us to hear this Christmas it is that.

• A light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overpower it.
• A light shines in this world and this world cannot overpower it.
• A light shines in us and we cannot overpower it.
• A light shines in our depression and our depression cannot overpower it.
• A light shines in our loneliness and our loneliness cannot overpower it.

 

Merry Christmas…beautiful children of God.

• May the light of Christ scatter the darkness in our hearts and minds.
• Even if it does not feel like it…
• May we remember that the days are getting longer now.
• And as always…may our soul feel its worth.

Song of the Day:

Of the Father’s Love Begotten

 

Prayers of Intercession

 

Filled with good news of great joy, let us offer our prayers for the church, the earth, and all people.

A brief silence.

O God, you reveal yourself in this assembly. In water, wine, and bread, show us again and again your grace upon grace, that your church boldly testifies to your love. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

You reveal yourself in creation. In seedlings and planets, microorganisms and galaxies, awaken us to the cry of the earth. As you nourish your people like a watered garden, empower us to nourish our creaturely companions. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

You reveal yourself in every land and in the farthest parts of the earth. Deliver people who suffer under oppressive regimes. Thwart the foolish plans of unjust leaders. Give wisdom to our elected officials. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

You reveal yourself in every human being. Help us recognize your image in our siblings in Christ who are in the strong grip of addiction, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, or other illness especially: John & Lisa Mountain, Terry Vernon, David & Carol Beazley, Margaret Miller, Bill Treichler, Shirley Treichler, Hope Garrett, Julia Busby-Morgan, Lisa (Bob & Doris’s daughter.  Chad Rudzik, June Gust, Ellen Cuoco, Vicki Salzgeber, John Satino (June’s son’s dad), David Wilfong (Esther Gustason’s son-in-law), Clinton Nelson, Clementine, Annie Clapper, Stacey Bryant, Pam Hendry, Betty Hurley, Erin Shayota, Michael Bender, the family of Andrea Shultz.  Grant us compassion in our care for your people. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

You reveal yourself anew every day. In this new year, renew this congregation and its ministries in our witness to the good news of the incarnation. Transform the way we have always done things into your new future for us. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

God of community, your Spirit holds us together. Sustain our care for one another especially: Church of God – Pastor Troy…SDA – Pastor Ralph…Bay Point Christian – Pastor Randall…St. Barts – Father Ethan… DayStar Life Center…Canguros Day School. Inspire us to seek new ways to live together and to embrace the diversity of thought and identity in our communities. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

You reveal yourself in the lives of your holy ones. We give you thanks for those who set their hope on you, trusting the inheritance we receive in you. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

We commend these prayers to you, O God, trusting your grace made known to all, through the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

 

Pray with me:

 

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.

Amen.

Blessing

The God of love,

Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit,

lavish you with grace,

illumine your path,

and increase your joy,

today and always.

Amen.

 

Sending Song:

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

 

Dismissal

Go in peace. The Word of God dwells in you richly.

Thanks be to God.

Luke 2: 41-52

Sunday, December 29, 2024
First Sunday of Christmas

 

Confession and Forgiveness

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,

whose steadfast love is everlasting.

Amen.

 

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Silence is kept for reflection.

God-with-us,

we confess that we have turned away

those seeking shelter, claiming there is no room when we have plenty.

We have made power and wealth our idols, while you show us true glory: a baby in a manger.

We have overlooked the shepherds, expecting good news in prettier packaging.

Too often, we have valued violence instead of your peace.

Turn us from our ways to your ways.

Grant us the grace to begin again.

Free us from all that keeps us bound, and forgive our sin, through Jesus Christ, who gives himself for us.

Amen.

 

Hear the good news and rejoice!

We are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, ☩ forgiven in Christ, and freed to respond in joy.

Amen.

 

Gathering Song:

O Little Town of Bethlehem

 

Prayer of the Day

Shine into our hearts the light of your wisdom, O God, and open our minds to the knowledge of your word, that in all things we may think and act according to your good will and may live continually in the light of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

 

First Reading: 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

¹⁸ Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹ His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the Lord”; and then they would return to their home.
²⁶ Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people.

 

Word of God. Word of Life.

Thanks be to God.

 

Psalm: 148

¹ Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise God in the heights.
² Praise the Lord, all you angels;
sing praise, all you hosts of heaven.
³ Praise the Lord, sun and moon;
sing praise, all you shining stars.
⁴ Praise the Lord, heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
who commanded, and they were created,
⁶ who made them stand fast forever and ever,
giving them a law that shall not pass away.
⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps;
⁸ fire and hail, snow and fog,
tempestuous wind, doing God’s will;
⁹ mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars;
¹⁰ wild beasts and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds;
¹¹ sovereigns of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the world;
¹² young men and maidens,
old and young together.
¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
whose name only is exalted, whose splendor is over earth and heaven.
¹⁴ The Lord has raised up strength for the people and praise for all faithful servants,
the children of Israel, a people who are near the Lord. Hallelujah!

 

Second Reading: Colossians 3:12-17

¹² As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³ Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 

Word of God. Word of Life.

Thanks be to God.

 

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Alleluia. (Col. 3:15, 16)

The Holy Gospel according to Luke

Glory to you O Lord

Gospel: Luke 2:41-52

 

⁴¹ Now every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. ⁴³ When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. ⁴⁴ Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” ⁴⁹ He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰ But they did not understand what he said to them. ⁵¹ Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

 

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you O Christ

 

Luke records nothing Jesus says until he is 12 years old.

• And when Jesus finally does speak in Luke…he seems sort of…well…full of himself.
• So…we ask questions about what Jesus knew about himself.
• And when he knew…or would know…
• What we believe about him all these centuries later.
• That he was both fully human and fully divine.
• And that the risen Christ is alive in the world today through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord be with you.

 

In the story we read today…Jesus was supposed to be walking with his parents as they left Jerusalem after Passover…

• And headed to their home up in Nazareth.
• But…instead…the clever boy stayed in the temple…
• Baffling Torah teachers with his penetrating wisdom.
• Once Joseph and Mary find him there…after three days…
• Mary…shocking in her irritation…levels at him a charge of abandonment:
• Child…why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.
• But Jesus is having none of it.
• Why were you searching for me? he asks. Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?
• Well…give young Jesus this…he knows who his Father is.
• He understands from whom he comes and from whom he receives authority to speak.
• It is a bold confidence that one day will get him executed by the Roman thugs who ruled the Holy Land.
• Jesus wants Mary and Joseph to know that he knows who his true Father is.
• Did you not know? he asks.
• It is a sharp question…demonstrating a brashness one might expect from a young god.

 

Did you catch how long Jesus was missing from his parents?

• How long he might have been…as Mary and Joseph perhaps feared…dead?
• Three days…and what happens some 20 years after this story?
• Jesus is in fact dead for three days…
• From the crucifixion to the resurrection.
• That astonishing…unpredictable apocalyptic event that changed the very DNA of the world.

Was that three-day absence just a coincidence?

• We may think so…but that is not how books about prophecy and the fulfillment of prophecy work.
• So…we are given at least a hint about what might happen later in the life of the Messiah.
• We do not know exactly what Jesus was saying or doing to wow the temple Torah teachers.
• But by the end of this event…we know we are dealing with no ordinary 12-year-old.
• The boyhood stories are designed to show that Jesus had these powers from an early age.
• But we are assured that Jesus was obedient to his parents when he went back to Nazareth…
• By not provoking any more revealing incidents like that in the Temple.

 

But now…let us hear a word from Jesus’ earthly father…Joseph…about losing Jesus for three days.

• Mary…as we have noted…is quoted in today’s story…but Joseph is not.
• But let us turn to a fictional Joseph…
• One who expresses what the real Joseph was feeling.
• Here is what Joseph might have said when the just-discovered 12-year-old Jesus in the temple says:
• Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?:

 

• The way Jesus said father was almost enough to break me. I knew exactly which father he was talking about and that he was finally acting out over what he heard laid upon him a few months before (when Mary and I finally told him of his divine origin). It seemed impossible that this could be the same happy child I had grown so to love. He seemed instead a new person, a new man, and one who knew who he was by knowing now who I really was.

 

Just think for a moment about Joseph.

• We can imagine what must have been Joseph’s deep confusion about what was happening to him.
• He knows only that he loves Mary and does not want her hurt.
• So…when she first told him she was pregnant…
• He decides to hide her away…
• But then is convinced in a dream not to do that…
• Is convinced to marry his Mary…
• And to act for all the world as though nothing strange has happened.

 

I mean…think about it.

• The night of Jesus’ birth…the bizarre events of Joseph’s previously simple life roll on.
• His pleadings to Bethlehem’s innkeepers have been ignored…
• And…no doubt…in shame and resignation…
• He has brought his wife to a miserable stable.
• Filled eventually with visionary strangers.

 

Poor Joseph…He would have done so much more for Mary.

• He would have found a pleasant room.
• He would have hired the best midwives.
• He would have built with his own strong arms and hands a wooden cradle for this lovely baby whose origins baffled him.
• Joseph would have edited God’s disturbing but beautiful Christmas story into dullness.

 

And so…now it is for us to decide…anew…how to understand the Christmas story.

• How to understand who Jesus is.
• How to respond to his life and death.
• How to respond to his birth and resurrection.
• How to respond to his call to each of us to honor God by how we live our lives.

 

Maybe the first thing to do is to adopt for ourselves Jesus’ assumption that his parents should have known he would be in his Father’s house.

• Well…maybe we should be in church every Sunday.
• But we also may have a larger vision of what constitutes the house of God.
• Psalm 24: The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it…the world…and those who live in it.”

 

So…we are to respond wherever the living Christ is active in our world.

• Well…we cannot be everywhere that the Spirit is moving.
• But we can be somewhere.
• We can be at work loving our neighbors…feeding the hungry…
• Housing those with nowhere to lay their heads…

 

The entire world is God’s house.

• And like Jesus…we want to be here.
• Working to make sure that God’s house of healing is open to all.

 

Song of the Day:

What Child is this

 

Prayers of Intercession

Filled with good news of great joy, let us offer our prayers for the church, the earth, and all people.

A brief silence.

For those who teach and those who learn, we pray. Bless the education ministries of your church. Guide Sunday school teachers, college and seminary professors, and Bible study leaders in our ongoing faith formation and curiosity. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

For the thriving of creation, we pray. Protect the habitats of pangolins and porcupines, penguins and parrots, and all wild animals and creeping things. Increase our knowledge of the natural world and the care of its inhabitants.

God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

For the nations of the world, we pray. Raise up rulers who lead with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Let your peace rule in their hearts and in all lands. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

For the well-being of your people, we pray. Keep watch over all who travel this holiday season. Accompany those who are alone or ill especially: John & Lisa Mountain, Terry Vernon, David & Carol Beazley, Margaret Miller, Bill Treichler, Shirley Treichler, Hope Garrett, Julia Busby-Morgan, Lisa (Bob & Doris’s daughter.  Chad Rudzik, June Gust, Ellen Cuoco, Vicki Salzgeber, John Satino (June’s son’s dad), David Wilfong (Esther Gustason’s son-in-law), Clinton Nelson, Clementine, Annie Clapper, Stacey Bryant, Pam Hendry, Betty Hurley, Erin Shayota, Michael Bender.  Console parents and children whose relationships are strained or severed. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

For the ministry of this place we pray. Let the word of Christ dwell among us. In times of conflict, clothe us in love and move us to forgiveness. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

God of community, your Spirit holds us together. Sustain our care for one another especially: Church of God – Pastor Troy…SDA – Pastor Ralph…Bay Point Christian – Pastor Randall…St. Barts – Father Ethan… DayStar Life Center…Canguros Day School. Inspire us to seek new ways to live together and to embrace the diversity of thought and identity in our communities. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

For your holy, beloved, and chosen ones of every time and place, we give thanks. Draw us all into everlasting praise and joy. God of grace,

receive our prayer.

 

We commend these prayers to you, O God, trusting your grace made known to all, through the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Pray with me:

 

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.

Amen.

 

Blessing

The God of love,

Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit,

lavish us with grace,

illumine our path,

and increase our joy,

today and always.

Amen.

 

Sending Song:

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

 

Dismissal

Go in peace. The Word of God dwells in us richly.

Thanks be to God.

Luke 2:1-14

Nativity of Our Lord – 2024 – Luke 2:1-14

 

Nick E. Silverio is in his 60s.

• White hair…a widower…with spectacles balanced on his nose…a white mustache.
• His features are benign and nonthreatening.
• He is of medium height and wearing trousers that are cinched just a bit high around the waist.
• If we were to pass him on the street…we might not even notice him.

 

He may not look like someone who is making a difference…but he is.

• Nick is a member of the Order of St. Lazarus…and the founder of A Safe Haven for Newborns…
• A non-profit based out of Miami.
• Nick wants to save children from abandonment.
• Here in America…too many babies are abandoned for heartbreaking reasons.

 

In Alaska…a mother leaves a newborn in a box on a street corner with a note (the baby survived).

• In New Mexico…a mother is seen on video tossing a bag into a dumpster.
• People looking for food later found the baby in that bag (this baby survived).
• In Illinois…a baby was found in a duffel bag in front of a fire station in freezing temperatures (this baby did not survive).
• In Nebraska…a baby was found on a blanket on the side of a road after the mother gave birth (the mother was found…and the baby survived).

 

Nick’s organization has saved more than 300 babies who are alive today…

• And have a chance to become the President of the United States…a Supreme Court Justice…a scientist finding a cure for cancer…a great mom or dad to their children.

 

All 50 states…the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have policies that decriminalize the leaving of an infant on the doorstep of a firehouse or church.

• These Baby Moses laws are meant to offer parents…many of them teenagers…a way out…rather than doing harm to the child.
• Those who find these abandoned babies are amazed and wonder:
• Who is this baby?
• How did this child end up at the door of a church or a firehouse?
• Often there is a note that explains what is going on with the baby.

 

In ancient Palestine…children were both valued and vulnerable.

• In about 4 BC…following a decree by Emperor Augustus…a particular young couple were nervous.
• The girl was with child…and there was some question about its paternity.
• They were looking at a long journey.
• And Mary…for that was the mother’s name…was very close to her time.

 

Although there was no thought of giving birth to the infant and then abandoning it…

• The parents must have been concerned about the baby’s safety.
• Soon they would discover that…because of the emperor’s edict…
• Every inn…hotel…motel and Airbnb in Bethlehem had a NO VACANCY sign.
• So…the survival of the baby was becoming an issue.
• The good news? The baby survived.
• It was born in a barn and laid in a feeding trough for cattle…
• Wrapped nice and tight in bands of cloth.
• The shepherds ran into town and found the baby safe and lying in the manger.
• And the shepherds began to talk:
• They made known what had been told them about this child…
• And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said.

One can only imagine the buzz floating about in this sleepy town not far from Jerusalem…

• And King Herod wondering: Who is this baby?
• And Joseph? A normal guy…was wondering…not only Who is this baby? But also Whose is this baby?

 

The shepherds were informed as to the identity of this child when they heard some lyrical notes spoken by an angel in the nighttime sky:

• Do not be afraid…for see…I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people…
• To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior…who is the Messiah…the LORD.

 

This is a baby that got its start as the child of questionable legitimacy.

• A baby born of a poor couple with grim prospects and little money.
• But for the mercy of an innkeeper…who knows where the child might have been born?
• Anyone’s guess…not in a barnyard feeding trough…
• But perhaps on the street in a gutter.
• Or in a shepherd’s cave on a cold winter night.
• Maybe in a vineyard hidden away amongst the vines.
• This is the child who is called by the angel…a Savior…Messiah and Lord. How extraordinary!

 

Together…these three titles convey the profound significance of this Bethlehem baby as the fulfillment of God’s intention of deliverance for humanity.

• Identifying this baby as the Savior…who is the Messiah…the Lord…
• Proclaims his role as the divine Son of God sent into the world to bring redemption…
• Fulfill prophecy and establish God’s kingdom.

 

And so…for us on this Christmas Eve…we would ask:

• Is this a baby we will abandon?
• Nick Silverio and his organization have saved more than 300 babies.
• Are we willing to save The Baby…the Christ child.

 

On this Christmas Eve…we reaffirm that the Christ Child is our Savior…our Messiah…our Lord.

• Not only do our lives depend on it.
• But the lives of others…indeed the world.
• Merry Christmas.

Luke 1:39-45

So… here we have a young woman…likely between 13 and 15 years of age.

• She is a peasant…and she is engaged to a religious man.
• An angelic figure visits her saying that she has found favor with God and is going to conceive a son by the Holy Spirit.

 

I know that there are many who have a difficult time believing that Mary was a virgin.

• But…for crying out loud…for me…the harder thing to believe was that the Angel Gabriel found someone to say yes!
• If I ever would have said yes to something so bizarre…
• I would have done so…only…if I knew what was in it for me.
• Namely…how am I going to be blessed by this God who wants to use me.
• But Mary…based on very little solid evidence or information…said:
• I am God’s and let it be with me according to God’s Word.
• She said yes.

 

The Lord be with You.

 

Oh…but I wonder…how many young women said no that night before the angel Gabriel found one who would say yes?

• And if there were a string of young women saying no that night you really cannot blame them…can you?
• I mean…here’s the thing…a few verses later Elizabeth calls Mary blessed.
• And Mary sings that for generations to come people will call her blessed.
• But think about how the story played out for Mary.

 

Is that what being blessed looks like?

• We usually use that word a bit differently.
• You’re so blessed to have that new boat.
• Well…how exactly is Mary using that word?
• Did she feel blessed as her unwed belly grew under the gaze of disapproving others.
• Did she feel blessed when laboring amongst sheep and straw?
• Mary…common and favored and from a nothing town.
• Did she feel blessed when her heart dropped realizing she left her 12-year-old in Jerusalem?
• At his arrest did she feel blessed seeing ropes dig into the wrists of God made flesh and the flesh of her flesh?
• Did she feel blessed when they lifted him up?
• Blessed are you among women.
• But if that is what blessing is…I might have to pass.
• It was hard enough sending my kids to middle school.
• Golgotha is a whole other matter.

 

But I think Mary of Nazareth had a particular wisdom from God.

• I do not think that she was always and forever full of nothing but virtue and pure acceptance.
• But I am sure she was not just another Jane Doe.
• That…yes…she gave…was fierce.

 

No one else was his mother.

• Just Mary.
• Blessed is Mary among women.
• Common and favored.
• And blessed is the fruit of her womb…Jesus.
• God and Man.
• This is why Martin Luther said:
• We hail Mary…Queen of Heaven…because in her we come to know that ours is the God who comes nearest to us in our brokenness.

I think Mary deserves our devotion because…

• In her we see what casting our lot with God really looks like.
• And we see what being blessed by the God of Israel really looks like.
• Namely…that being blessed means seeing God in the world…
• And trusting that God is at work even in things we cannot see…or understand…or imagine.

 

Mary saying: God…I am yours. Let’s do this thing…She said yes.

• She did not say yes because she thought by doing so God was going to shower her with cash and prizes.
• No…here is where this girl had some serious savvy.
• She got something I struggle to understand:
• Getting a blessing is not the same as getting a present.
• She said yes not based on the expectation of things being awesome for her.
• She said yes based on the expectation that God can create something out of nothing.

 

To be a people marked by the faith of Mary is to be a people who say Ok…

• I do not understand what is going on…
• And I know that my life is not going to end up looking like one I would choose out of a catalogue…
• But I trust that God is at work in all of it.
• Blessedness is being used for God’s purpose more than it is getting what I want…or things being easy.

 

Christmas itself is not about getting what we want…

• Or making sure we are giving others what they want.
• To experience Christmas is to trust that God can do this thing again.
• God can again be born in me…in you…
• In this broken and gorgeous world.

 

In the 4th century St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote:

• What was achieved in the body of Mary will happen in the soul of everyone who receives the Word.
• God is at work in us in much the same way God was at work in Mary.
• So…may the God through whom nothing is impossible help us to be Mary.
• Saying a fierce…or timid…or quiet…or confident…YES.
• May it be with us all according to God’s Word.

Luke 3:7-18

What then should we do?

• That is what the crowds ask John the Baptist in today’s gospel.
• They are asking about the treatment that will begin to heal the hurt in their lives and world.
• It has been a familiar question in my life…and I bet it has been in your life too.
• What then should we do?

 

The Lord be with you

 

I wonder how many times we have asked that question throughout our lives.

• Anyway…it is a question I have asked repeatedly.
• I started asking it in childhood and continue to ask it today.
• It is not a question we ask only once.
• And it is not a question that is answered once and for all.
• What then should we do?

 

I asked it when I was thinking about my future…

• Making decisions and trying to grow up.
• And growing up is hard at every age.
• And I still am trying to figure out what I am going to do when I grow up.
• I asked it when I was in over my head and life was overwhelming.
• I asked it when a relationship got difficult and painful.
• I asked it when I had really messed up and did not know where or how to begin cleaning up the mess.
• I asked it when grief and loss broke my heart…when dreams were shattered…and when I was scared.
• I asked it when I was inspired…excited…and passionate about a new interest…a sense of calling…or a long-awaited opportunity.
• I asked it every time I came to a transition in my life regardless of how I got there.
• What then should we do?

 

It is a question that opens something within us.

• It is a reminder that life is always unfolding before us.
• It is a step on the journey of uncovering…discovering and recovering ourselves.

 

I have come to realize that when I ask that question…I am not just looking for information.

• I am really looking for myself.
• It is not just a question about what I should do.
• But about who I am and how I want to be.
• And that is what is going on with the crowds who ask John:
• What then should we do? 

 

Here is why.

• John has just called the crowds a brood of vipers and told them to bear fruits worthy of repentance.
• Anticipating their next move…he tells them to not even begin defending…excusing…and justifying themselves by claiming:
• We have Abraham as our ancestor.
• (Tribal….).

 

John is anything but indifferent to the crowd.

• He is angry with love and concern for them.
• It is like a parent’s anger at their child who runs out into the street without looking.

 

And so here is what John is saying:

• You sons of snakes…take responsibility for yourselves and stop wasting your life.
• I do not care what your name is or who your tribe or family is.
• This is about your life…not Abraham’s.

 

John is not rejecting Abraham’s legacy.

• He is making a distinction.
• Abraham’s legacy is not a fixed path to be followed.
• It is a light that illuminates the crowds’ path of life.
• Abraham’s legacy is not a lifetime guarantee.
• It is a promise that they do not walk that path alone.
• They must…however…walk the path of life for themselves.
• Abraham cannot walk it for them.
• And that is also true for you and me.

 

John is turning up the heat…holding up a mirror…and closing the exits.

• And that is when the crowds ask:
• What then should we do?
• It is as if they are saying:
• If we cannot do what we have always done…if we cannot stand behind Abraham…if we cannot make him responsible…We don’t know what to do.
• We have never done it any other way.
• We do not know who we are apart from Abraham.
• We have never taken responsibility for ourselves…
• Who we are…or how we want to be.
• What then should we do?

 

Their question is a confession that things are not going all that well.

• Their question is a symptom that they have lost themselves.
• Their question is a symptom that their lives have become untethered from their deepest self.
• Their question is a symptom that they have become untethered from the one who is more powerful.
• Their question is less about what they should do.
• Their question is more about who and how they want to be.

 

What is the self from which we are living today?

• That is the unspoken question in today’s gospel.
• Who we want to be…and how we want to be.
• Who or what is the Abraham in our life today?
• Are we living our life or someone else’s life?
• What is connecting us to the one who is more powerful?

 

Every time we lose a piece of ourselves and latch on to some Abraham we descend into a valley.

• Every time we lose a piece of ourselves and latch on to some Abraham…we walk a crooked path…or stumble over rough ground…and it hurts.
• It hurts us and it hurts others.
• What then should we do?
• How then do we want to be?

 

It will be as simple and obvious as a person who has two coats sharing with someone who has none.

• Well…this is Stephen…and he gets it.
• Stephen Dick is a high school senior. He plays football for the Flagstaff Arizona Eagles.
• In June of 2023…Stephen suffered a massive seizure in the weight room during football practice.
• Stephen was diagnosed with brain cancer.
• His teammates immediately rallied around Stephen and his family…they were with him every step of the way.

 

This past summer…Stephen was contacted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

• Stephen’s wish was not a trip to Disney World or going to the Super Bowl or an awesome…impossible-to-get tickets-for rock concert.
• Stephen’s wish? Football helmets.
• Fifty-five state-of-the-art Riddell SpeedFlex helmets…the safest helmet on the market at $560 a helmet-$30,800).
• Make-A-Wish arranged with former Cardinal’s wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s foundation to purchase the helmets.

 

Stephen knows all-too-well the fragility of the human brain.

• I wanted to reduce the risk for my teammates anyway I could Stephen explained.
• In presenting the helmets to his stunned teammates…Stephen said:
• I just can’t have this wish be for me…every single person has been there for me…I am so grateful for you. You are family to me.

 

And Stephen’s teammates and family members got their biggest wish…too.

• After successful surgery and chemotherapy…Stephen’s brain scans are clear…and he is on the road to full recovery.

 

Stephen understands what John proclaims at the River Jordan:

• We can only realize the presence of the Messiah in our lives when we step beyond ourselves to embrace the needs and hopes of others.
• What then should we do?
• How then do we want to be?

 

It is as simple and obvious as a person who has two coats sharing with someone who has none.

• It will be that simple and obvious.
• What then should we do?

John 18:33-37

I wonder about Christ the King Sunday.

• I wonder about Christ the King Sunday because unlike Lent and holy week and Advent…
• Which have been celebrated for more than 1000 years.
• Christ the King has only been a part of the Liturgical calendar since the 1920s.
• And it was added for…I think…political reasons?
• In the fallout of World War One and amidst the Kaisers and Kings and Czars…
• It felt to the church that it was time to reassert that Czar Ferdinand or Kaiser Wilhelm is not king.
• It was time to assert that Christ is king.
• So…100 years ago…or so…Christ the King was added to the church year.
• So…I wonder about this day.

The Lord be with you

And I wonder about the reading from John’s Gospel because…to me…it is out of context.

• Every Sunday we speak of how on the night that Jesus was betrayed he gathered with his faltering friends for a meal that tasted of freedom.
• Well…on that same night…he then taught them and then prayed for them for a long time.
• And after the prayer he and his disciples went to a garden.
• And in the garden…knowing that Jesus would be there…
• Judas…with 30 pieces of silver rattling around in his pocket…
• Betrayed his friend and teacher and Lord.
• And brought with him a heavily armed detachment of soldiers and some police and religious authorities.

And Jesus asked who they were looking for.

• They answered “Jesus of Nazareth”
• And Jesus said: “I am he”.
• And they fell to the ground.
• Unarmed…with no money or status… Jesus said:
• I am he…and the police and soldiers fell to the ground.

But then Peter…the most vocally earnest follower of Jesus…

• Drew his sword and cut the ear off this man…by the name of Malchus…
• Who ended up being not even a police officer or soldier but the slave of the high priest.
• Then Jesus was arrested and subjected to brutal persecution and then brought to Pilate.
• And this is where our reading for this morning begins.
• Which is why the context matters.

So…Jesus…Pilate asks…are you a king or are you not a king?

• And Jesus says…my kingdom is not of this world.
• Well…no kidding.
• If we are going to celebrate a king today…
• At least it could be one who will wipe out all the racists and those who do violence to women…
• And those who hurt children…
• And everyone who is more interested in protecting the wealth of the rich than protecting the wellbeing of the poor.

I want Christ to be a king who can wipe out Isis and Al Qaeda and Hamas and Radicalized Zionists.

• And the people who messed with the Rays baseball team midseason…
• And those who cancelled Anne With An E after just three seasons.
• But considering the number of bombings and shootings and hate crimes that are daily events…
• Then…if Christ is my king…he is doing a lousy job of smiting my enemies.

But here’s the thing.

• The problem is that when that vengeance seeking…
• And violent part of me calls out to have a king who would destroy my enemies…
• I would be the one that same king would have to destroy.
• Since God is the God of all and I too am someone’s enemy.
• And where does that leave me?

That is…as much as I believe in non-violence…

• Does not mean that there is not also violence in myself.
• As much as I believe in non-violence it is simply unrealistic for me to believe that the only reason…
• I have not taken up arms is anything other than the fact that my privileged…
• Peaceful…educated…high standard of living is acquired by violence elsewhere…
• That is safely out of my sight.
• Since…let’s be honest…the life I lead of relative peace and prosperity is procured by child labor…sweat shops and military actions.

(Allow me to digress: I am thankful that I live in the USA and live a prosperous and peaceful life. I am a US patriot. I am thankful for those who serve my county and allow me to live in a legal system of laws and justice that is the envy of the world. I live in two kingdoms. One foot in the kingdom of the world and the other foot in the kingdom of God. Jesus…the Christ of God is the King of the Kingdom of God).

So…given the way my left foot benefits from violence.

• Given the fact that I too want my enemies to be destroyed…
• What this broken world needs is not a king with the greatest arsenal…
• Or a CEO who can protect our wealth.
• We need a Lord who saves us by refusing to play that game.

When Jesus says that his kingdom is not of this world…

• He is saying that His kingdom is not of this world because His power is not centered in our endless cycle of violence.
• Jesus is not a defender…a protector…a soldier…a police officer…a secretary of state.
• Jesus is a savior.
• A savior who knows that more violence will never save us from our addiction to violence.

Which brings me back to that garden that night.

• And that is…the only true hope…is not to be the betrayer.
• Or the one who draws the sword.
• The only true hope is to be one of those who falls to the ground…
• When the unarmed…and unimpressive Jesus of Nazareth says:
• I am he.

Because the violence in us that has been from the beginning…

• Since Cain killed Abel…
• That thing within the human heart that wishes to destroy the enemy…
• Is destroying us.
• So…we do not need any more kings of vengeance or of worldly power or kings closing the border.
• What we need is a King in a cradle.
• We do not need to throw up our fists.
• We need to fall on our knees.

For that is what we do before a king.

• Fall on our knees before a God whose love comes to us in delicate unprotected…unarmed…defenseless flesh.
• Fall on our knees before the one who loves without caution…
• Without measure…without concern for pre-existing conditions.
• Fall on our knees before the one who submitted to the very worst that humans are capable of.
• Who let the twisted thing in us…
• The betrayal and flogging…and violence and vengeance…to murder Him.
• And He did not say: “I am going to get you back.”
• But said: “you are forgiven.”

Fall on our knees.

• Because His kingdom is not of this world’s values.
• It is not a kingdom that guards its borders or arms its citizens or takes hostages or bombs theaters.

Christ is our king because the human violence competition…

• The need to be right and the need for everyone else to be wrong.
• And the belief that God favors us above all others…
• Is seen by Jesus for what it is: so…so small.
• This is why we need a savior who draws all people to himself…
• In the pure love of a crown of thorns and a throne of a cross.
• What can we do but spread our trophies at his pierced feet.
• And call him Lord of all.

Mark 13:1-8

Do not be alarmed.

• That’s the first thing I have to say about today’s gospel.
• And it’s the same thing Jesus told the disciples.
• “Do not be alarmed.”
• Do not be disturbed or troubled by all these things. Do not be frightened.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Jesus also told the disciples that he’s not talking about an ending but about a beginning…the birthing of new life.

• He’s describing a movement toward wholeness…fullness…and completion.
• Today’s gospel theme is that of “making all things new.”
• And I think it’s exactly what we need to hear these days when it looks as if many things are coming apart at the seams.
• Today’s gospel overflows with good news.
• And yes…it is difficult and challenging.
• But it is worth all our attention and effort.

It’s a gospel about hope.

• It’s a gospel about opportunities and possibilities.
• It’s a gospel about finding meaning and new life.
• It’s a gospel about our future.
• And who among us does not sometimes wonder…worry…or even become alarmed about our future and the future of our world?

 

When I become alarmed about the future I am not really focused on the unknown and a time yet to come.

• I am more focused on the known and the present time.
• I want to know if the temples I have built will withstand the test of time.
• Will the center hold?
• Will my relationships endure?
• Will my attainments and accomplishments continue to give identity…meaning…and security?
• Will the order I have created for my life…well-being…and joy remain intact?
• Are the foundations and reference points of my life stable and strong enough to last?

 

That is…I am focused on the large stones and large buildings of my life.

• So…when I hear Jesus say:
• “Not one stone will be left upon another…all will be thrown down.”
• I get a bit twitchy.

 

Jesus says the very things that I am most focused on are coming down.

• I cannot help but wonder if I have missed the point and been distracted from what really matters.
• From the new life that is waiting and wanting to be birthed in me and through me.

 

I believe that is what is going on with the disciple who says to Jesus:

• “Look…Teacher…what large stones and what large buildings!”
• I think he has missed the point and has distracted himself from what really matters and is calling for attention.

 

What I mean is…what this disciple says does not make sense to me.

• This surely was not the first time this disciple…an adult Jewish man…had been to or seen the temple.
• He had grown up going to the temple.
• He had gone to the temple with Jesus at least twice before this day.
• The large stones and buildings of the temple were not new to him.
• He had seen it all before.
• It was not his first rodeo.

 

You see…there is a disconnect between what he says and what has just happened.

• Jesus and his disciples have just left the temple where they sat opposite the treasury watching the crowd put money into the treasury.
• Many rich people put in large sums.
• But a poor widow put in one penny…all she had.
• Jesus says to his disciples:
• “Truly I tell you…this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.”
• With those words Jesus has cracked the mortar between the stones of power…wealth…prestige…reputation…position and security.
• A separation has begun.

Jesus holds up the widow as an example.

• She is not the example the disciples or we would hold up.
• She has no wealth…no power…no position…no security.
• She is the one we overlook…ignore and sometimes abuse.
• And the first thing…the only thing…any disciple says is:
• “Wow! Look how big that building is.”
• They don’t get it.
• Do we get it?

 

Is this disciple trying to change the subject?

• Is this disciple trying to distract himself from what Jesus has just said?
• ..we have all done it.
• We change the subject or distract ourselves…
• So…we don’t have to deal with the elephant in the room.
• The vulnerable…painful and broken parts of our lives.
• Is that disciple looking at the large stones and buildings…
• So he does not have to look at himself in relationship to the widow?
• Is he feeling the large stones and buildings of his life beginning to shift and separate?

 

When have we felt that shift and separation?

• I felt it happening when I resigned a call without having another call.
• I feel it every time a loved one dies.
• In the beginning…I remember my temple coming down the day the bishop sent me a letter questioning my call to the ministry.
• It is all those times I look at what is happening outside of me instead of what is happening inside of me.
• It is there whenever I refuse to see…acknowledge and receive the widow and her way of life in my life.

 

Well…it is an uncomfortable place to be…and we have all been there.

• Jesus says it looks and sounds like “war and rumors of war. Nation will rise against nation…and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and famines.”

 

Every one of those is an image of separation:

• Nation separated from nation…kingdom from kingdom…the earth from itself.
• Even the widow is an image of separation.
• She’s separated from her husband and the life she once had.
• Those images describe not only what is happening around us but also within us.
• It’s showing and telling us something we don’t want to see…hear…or deal with.
• It’s too frightening…painful and uncertain.

 

Let us then consider this:

• That they are not separations that destroy but separations that create and give birth.
• That they are an opening…a space…for something new to come to life.

 

And it is here that Jesus speaks with such tenderness and reassurance.

• “Do not be alarmed…this must take place…this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”
• It’s as if he is saying: “Do not worry.
• This is normal. You’re going to be OK.
• I am the Midwife who will get you through this.”

 

What if…in these times when it feels like our lives are shifting and separating and everything is being thrown down…

• We trust the Divine Midwife and just push a little.
• Push with faith…push with hope…push with love…push with anticipation of something new.

 

The Divine Midwife next to us whispering:

• “Push…push…push.
• It is almost here.”
• What might be birthed?

Mark 12:38-44

Many years ago…I went back to visit and preach at my home congregation in Green Bay.

• The sending hymn concluded…I stood in the back of the sanctuary…next to the baptismal font…greeting worshipers.
• A woman…I recognized from growing up in the congregation…approached me.
• She was crying too hard for me to totally understand what she was saying.
• So…I hugged her instead…and asked if I could give her a blessing…which she accepted.
• And then…here is what she shared with me.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

“As a lifelong Lutheran grace has been a part of my faith that I’ve never really noticed.

• Until recently…my fiancé was killed in a car accident on the way to our wedding rehearsal.
• Now I see God with tears running down His face when I am brought to my knees sobbing and I hear Him whisper in my ear:
• ‘Child…see what I have brought you’ …
• When someone drops off a casserole…or a gift card…or just scrubs my floor.
• And maybe that is the meaning of this awful storm.
• God is here and I feel Him like I never had before.”

 

What this young woman did not realize is that what she shared with me was the casserole from God I needed…saying:

• “Child…see what I brought you?”
• As it was during an exhausting part of my ministry when we were very short staffed in the large congregation I served.
• I was totally burned out and this pilgrimage back to my childhood congregation was a healing balm.
• And ever since I keep seeing these widow’s mites…
• These easily overlooked gifts…these casseroles from God in the form of simple things.

 

The young woman who had lost her fiancé reminded me of the thing I tend to forget all the time…

• Which is that God shows up in my life repeatedly…in the little things.
• And yet so often these little things are overlooked or under-appreciated by me…
• Because all I can see is what I wish I had…instead.
• My desires keep me from seeing the gifts of God in the present moment.
• A desire for an event to unfold in a certain way or my desire for a person to act in a certain way…
• Or my desire for things in my life to look a certain way.
• It is like I already have a picture painted of what everything should look like…and I hold that up against reality.
• And then judge reality according to how much it resembles the picture I painted.
• And every time I do this I miss something important…or beautiful…or redemptive.
• Because even though it is right in front of me…it was not what I was looking for…so I don’t see it.
• Or…all I can see is what is missing.

 

The story of the widow’s mite is one that is familiar to us.

• How often have we heard it used for sermons on the importance of giving.
• How…even when we are poor…we should be giving to the church.
• And how it is important to give sacrificially.
• But what really strikes me about this story has nothing to do with money.
• What strikes me is that Jesus notices the stuff we tend to not even see.
• The main action that day revolved around the scribes in their fancy robes and their fat wads of cash.
• It is so easy for us to only see the big…flashy fast-moving object.

And yet Jesus sees the smallish things: the tiny copper coin…the widow who is so easily ignored.

• Jesus sees what we hardly notice is there.
• The stuff he uses is not mountains and superheroes and massive SUVs.
• Instead…Jesus uses common…daily…almost unnoticeable things that are hardly worth mentioning.
• Coins…tiny little seeds…yeast.
• Jesus notices what we have a hard time seeing.
• It is…like…you know…turn the page and Jesus can pretty much always find Waldo right away.

 

Several months ago…when I was behind a brand new…shiny Cadillac SUV…the vanity plate read: bcauseIpray.

• Like we are all complete idiots and could easily have a Cadillac SUV if we just prayed hard enough.
• We recoil from this idea of God as divine vending machine…
• Who dispenses cash and prizes to the most righteous.
• But that’s not what I’m talking about here.
• What I am talking about are those stories that are so easily unnoticed…
• And the sneaky ways God brings us what we need.
• For me…those moments happen…the most…when I am smack in the middle of wallowing in self-pity.

A few moments ago…I shared that I had been suffering from burn out.

• And the reason that this journey back to my home congregation was so refreshing.
• I had been ministering for weeks on end without being able to withdraw.
• But the little things.
• My friend Jerry would come into my office and say:
• “Let’s get out of here…let’s go get a cup of coffee…I’ll buy.”
• Or someone would come into my office with a bag of butterfingers.
• They all knew I liked butterfingers.
• Or a family would call and say:
• “You and Susan come on over tonight…have some supper with us…and then we’ll put on a movie.”

That tiny piece of home…that casserole from God got me through the day.

• All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
• Our Lord God works through the small things we so easily do not even take notice of.
• The casseroles…the notes of encouragement just when we need them.
• Paul writes in Hebrews: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers…for by so doing…some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it”.
• It is also true…that sometimes…we are the ones doing God’s desire for someone else…and we do not even know it.

We suddenly think:

• I’m going to reach out to that person.
• Or…I’m going do that kind thing for someone else.
• Or…I’m going to ask this person how they’re doing.
• Those nudges are meant to be paid attention to.
• For when we do these things we never know when unknowingly we are the casserole of God.
• We are the one being used to show God’s love to God’s child.

 

I have been given small kindnesses… casseroles…that mean a great deal to me…

• And the person who offered them has no idea.
• That tiny piece of home…gifts given…casseroles from God.
• Jesus uses little things…
• Daily things…almost unnoticeable things.
• Coins…tiny little seeds…yeast…
• A widow’s mite.

John 11:32-44

So…when I began thinking about this Sunday…All Saints Sunday…I thought about the baseball and football cards I collected when I was a boy.

• You remember…they had a picture of the athlete on the front and their stats on the back.
• And then a slice of bubble gum came with the card inside the wrapper.
• And…of course…we bought cards and traded them too…because we all had our favorite players and teams.

 

The Lord be with you

And also with you

 

So then…I thought…why not Saints Cards.

• Collecting cards with pictures of our favorite Saints…with their stats on the back.
• Instead of the number of home runs and touchdowns…the number of miracles and good deeds.
• Obvious…our cards would have Saint Frances and Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr…and Mother Teresa’s picture on them.
• The gum would be Juicy Fruit…you know…the fruits of the spirit.
• But my stack of Saint Cards would include vast numbers of saints who moved my life forward and nurtured me in positive ways.
• Including saints from the congregation I grew up in.
• Teachers and educators and coaches during my lifetime.
• And a host of saints who I had the privilege of being connected to during my ministry of Word and Sacrament.

 

Today is a day set aside in the church year to remember all these saints.

• But not just the ones who are on trading cards…
• Since it is All Saints Sunday and not just Some Saints Sunday.
• To be clear…this is not like a cult of saints or anything.
• We do not need special saints to intercede for us.
• Why? Because God does not listen to them more since they were better Christians than we are.

 

What we celebrate when we celebrate All Saints is not the superhuman faith and power of a select few.

• What we celebrate is God’s ability to use flawed people to do divine things.
• We celebrate all on whom God has acted in baptism…
• Sealing them…as Ephesians says…with the mark of the promised Holy Spirit.
• We celebrate the fact that God creates faith in God’s people.
• And those people…through ordinary acts of love…bring the Kingdom of Heaven closer to Earth.
• We celebrate that we have…in all who have gone before us…
• What St Paul calls such a great cloud of witnesses…
• And that the faithful departed are as much the body of Christ as we are.

 

It is quite a thing…really…that we are connected to so many.

• Connected to so much faith. So many stories. So much divine love.
• Especially in these days of alienation and trying to find community and belonging.
• I may think that the basis of me being connected to other people is in having theological or political beliefs…
• Or denominational affiliation…
• Or book clubs or musical groups…
• Or bowling or golf leagues…
• Or Facebook groups in common.
• But none of that is what connects us to the Body of Christ.
• What connects us to the body of Christ is not our piety or good works or theological beliefs.
• It is God…a God who gathers up all of God’s children into the church eternal.

 

So…today let us remember all the deeply faithful and deeply flawed saints of God’s church through whom the glory of God has been revealed…

• Is being revealed and will be revealed.
• Let us remember Mary Magdalena and Peter the fisherman and the glorious disciples.
• Let us remember St Frances and Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr.
• Let us remember Trudy Crowder and Janet Alexander and Shirley Gioe.
• Today…let us thank God for gathering so many into the church eternal…some of whom still light our own paths.

 

O blest communion…fellowship divine!

• We feebly struggle…but they in glory shine…
• Yet all are one in Thee…for all are Thine.
• Alleluia…Alleluia!

 

We come here today to honor someone we have loved who has died.

• Our hearts are heavy with the loss of someone dear.
• We have our own beloved dead to remember this day.
• People who we would rather still have here in this sanctuary as a living person.
• And not as a name spoken at church the first Sunday of November.
• We would rather be standing behind them in line for communion than adding them to the litany of saints.

 

All Saints Sunday’s meaning is connected to being part of this mystic body of Christ because it means that death is never the final word.

• Because in both life and death we are connected to God and to one another.
• The letter to the Ephesians calls this the inheritance of the saints.
• That God gathers us all up into the divine love of Christ and makes us a body both now and in the life to come.
• That even those whose names are eventually forgotten are always and forever held in the light of God in glory.
• Because while death is a wrenching painful reality to us…it is meaningless to God.

 

Not that God is untouched by the pain of death…after all…

• Jesus had real friends who died…and he stood outside the tomb of Lazarus and wept.
• And then…he raised Lazarus from the grave…
• As though before Jesus was to defeat death for good…
• He needed first to give it a good slap in the face.
• God in Jesus was so moved by compassion and love for those like Trudy and Janet and Shirly that his hand is ever extended to them.
• A God who…in Jesus was so full of grace…that he went to a cross we built for him.
• A God who in Jesus descended to the dead as though to say to us: “even here I will find you and not let go.”
• Because death has no sting…death is rendered meaningless to a God of resurrection. 
• And lest we forget…it is a God of resurrection who we worship.

 

So…O Jerusalem…what can we do but also give thanks for this table we are about to gather around.

• A foretaste of the heavenly banquet around which the saints are already gathered.
• We give thanks that around this table we are tied to the whole communion of saints.
• United with all who have ever received bread and wine and told it was Jesus and it was for them.
• We are joined here with angels and arch angels…cherubim and seraphim.
• We are joined with the church on earth and the church in heaven.
• And all who have called on the name of God.

O blest communion…fellowship divine.

• We feebly struggle…but they in glory shine.
• Yet all are one in Thee…for all are Thine.
• Alleluia…Alleluia! Amen.

John 8:31-36

Reformation Sunday…a day in the liturgical year where we celebrate the protestant reformation…and there is indeed…a lot to celebrate.

• We’ve come a long way Baby.
• We are no longer under the Pope.
• Our clergy can marry…we let people read the Bible for themselves.
• We now ordain women.
• And so today we celebrate

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Yet…what do the texts assigned for today talk about?  Sin.

• What we get on Reformation Day is a lot of talk about sin and law.
• All sin and fall short of the glory of God and all who sin are slaves to sin and that through the law comes knowledge of sin. Sin…sin…sin.
• The people who decide what the readings are for things like…Reformation Sunday…
• Did not get the memo that what we are really celebrating is our own awesomeness…
• And how much cleverer we modern Christians are than those who came before us who naively believed in things like sin and Law.

Plus…in an age of self-care and therapy and high self-esteem…

• And especially in so-called progressive Christianity…sin is not such a popular topic.
• As a matter of fact…in the Lutheran church planting business these days…
• There is a trend toward eliminating the confession and absolution at the beginning of our liturgies.  Why?
• Because it is a downer and people do not want to hear they are sinners.

But Martin Luther had a way of talking about sin that makes a whole lot of sense.

• He reminds us that sin is bigger than simple immorality.
• Sin…according to Luther…is being curved in on self without a thought for God or the neighbor.
• In that case…sin is missing the mark…
• And it is all the ways we put ourselves in the place of God.
• Sin is the fact that my ideals and values are never enough to make me always do what I should.
• The “shoulds” in our lives are the things that make us see how far off the mark we are.

No matter what we think the “shoulds” are:

• Personal morality and family values and niceness and conservative political convictions…
• Or inclusivity and recycling and eating local and progressive political convictions…
• There is always…no matter how hard we try…a gap between our ideal self and our actual self.

And…only we know…just how short we fall from the glory of God.

• And in those moments…
• When we are beating ourselves up or trying to deny it…
• Or making promises of self-improvement…
• In those solitary moments we know.
• It looks like a social worker who does not actually look into the eyes of the homeless man he passes every day on the street corner.
• We all know what the law can do to us.
• How cruel the distance between our ideal self and our actual self can feel.
• And that feeling of not ever really hitting the mark.
• And that feeling…is the feeling of the Law convicting us.

Martin Luther knew what it felt like for the Law to convict him…accuse him…and leave him with nowhere to rest.

• And if you want to know what really sparked the Protestant Reformation it is this.
• Feeling this way…Luther read that passage we just heard from Romans:
• Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…they are now justified by his grace as a gift.

And he believed it to be true…

• And because he believed that God’s grace is a gift…
• He no longer accepted what the church had for so long taught:
• That we are really saved by the works of the Law.
• The medieval church had pawned off Law as Gospel and Luther dared to know the difference.
• And then he became a preacher of Grace and that changed everything.

But here’s the thing: pawning off Law as Gospel is not a medieval thing.

• And it is not a Roman Catholic thing.
• It is a human thing…and we do it all the time.
• The church does it…we do it…society does it.  It is like a disease.

So…in celebration of Reformation Sunday…I offer you a way to spot the difference between Law and Gospel:

• You can tell the Law because it is always an if-then proposition.
• If you follow all the rules in the Bible God then will love you and you will be happy.
• If you lose 20 pounds then you will be worthy to be loved.
• If you live a perfectly righteous Green eco lifestyle then you will be worthy of taking up space in the planet.
• If you never have a racist or sexist or homophobic thought then you will be worthy of calling other people out on their racism and sexism and homophobia.
• The Law is always conditional and it is never anything anyone can do perfectly.
• Under the Law there are only two options: pride and despair.
• When fulfilling the “shoulds” we are either prideful about our ability to follow the rules compared to others.
• Or we despair at our inability to perfectly do anything.
• Either way…is bondage.

The Gospel is different…the Gospel is a because because because because proposition.

Because God is our creator and because we rebel against the idea of being created beings and insist on trying to be God for ourselves…

• And because God will not play by our rules and because in the fullness of time when God had had quite enough of all of that…
• God became human in Jesus Christ to show us who God really is.
• And because when God came to God’s own and we received him not…
• And because God would not be deterred…
• God went so far as to hang from the cross we built and did not even lift a finger to condemn…
• But said forgive them they know not what they are doing.
• And because Jesus Christ defeated even death and the grave and rose on the third day…
• And because we all sin and fall short and are forever turned in on ourselves and forget that we belong to God…
• And because God loves God’s creation…
• God refuses for our sin and brokenness and inability to always do the right things to be the last word…
• Because God came to save and not to judge and therefore…
• Therefore…we are saved by grace as a gift and not by the works of the law…
• And this truth will set us free like no self-help plan or healthy living or social justice work “shoulds” can ever do.

This….is why we will never get rid of the confession and absolution in the liturgy.

• It is Law that puts us in the position of hearing Gospel.
• It is a moment when truth is spoken…without apology and without hesitation.
• And for the only time all week…it will crush us…it will break us…and then put us back together.
• It re-forms us…it is re-formation.
• And this is most certainly true.