Sermons

Numbers 6:22-27  Philippians 2:5-11  Luke 2:15-21  Psalm 8

Today, on the eighth day of Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name.

NAMES are important.

When we are baptized into the Body of Christ we are named before the Lord, marked as his own forever as we are presented for His service.

The names we give to our children will impact them for their lifetimes.

When someone important to us forgets our name, it hurts; and, more positively, when someone remembers our name when we had not expected that particular person to remember our name, our self-esteem is lifted.

Politicians seek to develop particular skills in remembering names of potential supporters.  Clergy and schoolteachers recognize the power of calling parishioners and students by name.

Tennis shoes were just tennis shoes until Nike launched the Air Jordan in 1984.  Carrying the name of Michael Jordan, Nike has introduced a new version of the ever popular shoe yearly, keeping the adoring public in expectation of the newly introduced collectors’ item for over 30 years.  We are now up to Air Jordan XXXI “Chicago”; get your pair from Nike for $185.00.

Names are a “control thing.”  Naming rights signify control.  Super Bowl 2017 will be held in NRG Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday February 5.  NRG Energy, Inc. is a large US-based energy company with corporate offices in Houston.  The stadium is part of the enormous NRG Energy Park sports complex, which received its name in the year 2000 as the result of a 32-year naming rights contract at a cost of $300 million.  Throughout Super Bowl evening, we’ll learn more about NRG and we can expect the half-time show, the instant replays, and the scoreboard to boast names of other significant corporate contributors willing and able to purchase mere moments – dollars per second – of the limelight of our attention, hoping that their names will be seeded in our memory.

Names are a “control thing.”  We can trace the history of naming rights to the creation of the world and throughout our biblical history.

Today, the eighth day of Christmas, we celebrate the Holy Name – the name that is above every name.  In verse 21 of the second chapter of Luke’s Gospel we learn that eight days following Jesus’ birth, the time had come for him to be circumcised and named.  This second chapter of Luke, from which our Gospel lesson comes, recounts the only and very minimal information in the entire Bible of Jesus’ childhood and youth.

These ritual acts associated with Jesus’ birth and naming that are described for us in our lesson from Luke are in keeping with the traditional Jewish laws of Moses.  Jesus and his parents were faithful Jews loyal to the Jewish traditions of their heritage.

Yet, Jesus’ name was not the typical family heritage generated name.  At the Annunciation, Mary had been instructed by the angel to name her child Jesus.  The Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion states, “proper names in ancient times had a significance to which no parallel exists to the present day.  The name was taken as representing the essence of the bearer.”  We note in Biblical history that when a significant change in mode occurred in a person’s life, the name was changed to represent the point of change of being.  A name was changed to signify a person’s newly accepted covenant with God.

So, we see that from the beginning of time until today, name holds great significance.  In our story of the nativity, when the angel appears to the shepherds, he announces the birth of a Savior, Messiah, Lord.  The Greek translation of Lord is Kyrios.  Kyrios is the very same term as that used for God’s holy and personal name throughout the Greek translation of the Old Testament.  In today’s lesson, Mary, as instructed by the angel, names the child Jesus – the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which translates “The Lord has saved.”  Thus, the name Jesus means “the Lord has saved,” – Lord being the same term used as God’s holy and personal name throughout the history of God’s people and until the birth of Jesus.  Jesus’ name affirms him as Lord – God eternal, true God from true God.

This significance of the name “Jesus” is emphasized in today’s excerpt from Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  Here, Paul meticulously points our attention to the reality of the humanity and the reality of the divinity of Jesus Christ; the reality of these two natures of humanity and divinity is expressed through the name Lord.

For Paul, the name of Lord carries with it its secular historical meanings of master and owner, later evolving politically into an official title for Roman emperors and, then religiously, as a title for Greek and Roman gods.  For Paul, the name Lord encompassed all these historical, political, and religious meanings.  Jesus as Lord is Master and Owner of all life, King of all Kings.[1]

These familiar verses that we read from the second chapter of Philippians have come to be regarded as the Christ Hymn.  “Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  [NRSV Philippians 2:9-11]

Jesus, the name that speaks the essence of the bearer – the Lord has saved.

The prophet Jeremiah says, “You, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name.”  [NRSV Jeremiah 14:9b]  Let us not forget, we are the Lord’s covenant people, called by His name.

Our Christian sacrament of baptism has replaced the Jewish tradition of circumcision and naming on the eighth day.  Whether we are baptized as infants or teenagers or mature adults, as we are baptized, we are named, and presented to the Lord for service as Christians in the Body of Christ serving the world.

There is no $300 million contract necessary in order to be called by the Holy Name; you will not need the newest pair of Air Jordan’s; the price is paid.  Jesus, true to the essence of his name; Jesus the Lord has saved.

Isaiah 52:7-10  Hebrews 1:1-4,(5-12)  John 1:1-14  Psalm 98

Our emergency EXIT lights that hang above nearly every doorway throughout the church building are a big issue around here.  Our wardens Bill Menheer and Ray Camden will confirm that these lights require constant attention – keeping the bulbs replaced or the entire fixture replaced is an ever-present hassle.  If Church Insurance or the fire marshal shows up and finds one of these lights not working, we are cited for this critical safety violation.

We scoff and shake our heads at this bother.  And, yet, when we find ourselves in the dark, particularly in a crisis, our first goal is to get light restored.  We keep a flashlight where we know we can find it in the dark when our power goes out at home; airlines assure us that if the cabin lights fail during flight, the aisles will be lighted for our safety; our Christmas trees are not very festive without lights; when we head down an otherwise dark hall here in this building, our path is lighted by the ever-present emergency exit light, which is to our advantage.  We want to know that if we are plunged into darkness, light will soon be available.  When, we are in the darkness, we just can’t think of much else until we have light.

Yet, I am known to creep around in the dark.  When I go out at night to walk the dogs, I refuse to turn on the floodlights; I want to see the moon and the stars and the bright planets that are visible.  I can always be depended upon to tell you the moon’s progress – waxing or waning.  There is great satisfaction in strolling under the bright moonlight.

However, if we know our earth science, we know that the moon has no light except that reflected by the sun; though we refer to the quarter moon and half moon – the waxing and the waning, the moon doesn’t change; the light of the moon is dependent upon the ever present light of the sun and the position of the earth; the moon has no light of its own; it simply sends back to us on earth the reflection of the light of the sun, which is always shining somewhere in the world.

Light is an important theme for the writer of John’s Gospel.  The Word (capital W) that has come into the world is the true light.  We affirm that, and will reaffirm that in just a few moments when we stand together to recite the Nicene Creed:  “God from God, Light from light, true God from true God.”  Jesus the Son is the true light; his light is the light of God.

Our lesson emphasizes that John the Baptist was not the light, but that he had come to testify to the true light that was coming into the world.  John the Baptist was a reflection of the true light, which is Jesus Christ.

Just as for John, the true light does not radiate from us; it is the reflected light of Christ; it is reflected upon us into the darkness of the world.  Being the reflection of the light of the world requires our remaining close to Christ.  It is the light of Christ reflected in us that comes into the chaos of the world.

I pray this Christmas is a renewal of your joy, perhaps a time to understand more clearly the awesome impact of the Incarnation – the true light of the Word made flesh coming to live among us.   Do not let the glory of this season go unnoticed – the grace and truth of the Word made flesh.

There is no evil that is not overcome by the goodness of God; the vast darkness of the night sky only serves to accentuate the brightness of the sun’s reflection on the moon.

As you carry with you a renewed sense of joy of the Word made flesh, remember that you are the reflection of the light of Christ – the light of grace and truth that shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

Isaiah 9:2-7  Titus 2:11-14  Luke 2:1-14(15-20)  Psalm 96

Wow!  It is Christmas again!  I think we all agree that Christmas comes quicker and quicker every year.  As children, we waited in awesome wonder, seemingly endlessly waiting for Christmas to come.

My brother and I would beg my mother to drag out the decorations earlier and earlier each year.  We had a favorite tree ornament that, I’m sure, came in a flimsy carton of ordinary ornaments from WT Grant’s in Great Bridge.  But, my brother and I thought this particular ornament was the most beautiful ornament ever.  It is a small round ball of clear glass; it has alternating bands of white snow-like glitter and transparent green.  We had never seen an ornament so unique, and we would take turns being the one to hang it on the tree year after year, standing in awe of its beauty.  To anyone else it is non-descript and 1960’s out-of date, but I treasure it still because of these memories, and it now hangs on my tree every year.

Why is it that that sense of awe wanes as we grow older?  The faithful simplicity and freedom from inhibitions that allowed us to be present there next to the manger, waiting endlessly for the babe’s arrival, gets diminished and distracted by the cares of adulthood – perhaps diminished to the point that we come to worship on this eve of the Nativity wondering what happened to the awe, maybe wondering why we are even here.

We don’t stand on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay wondering what happened to the awe.  Whether the mountainous waves are crashing on shore as a terrific storm approaches or mere tiny ripples are lapping gently peacefully onto the sand, the constancy of the sea reminds us of God’s power.  The sea is awesome.  We never outgrow that sense of awe; the sea is a constant reminder of the omnipotent omnipresence of our Creator God.

Neither should we allow ourselves to outgrow the sense of awe that we come to celebrate and relive on this night.  Just as the sea is constant, so also, is our all-powerful, ever present, all knowing Creator constant in his love for us.

This love is so powerful and so constant that God the Father sent God the Son to be born of human flesh – God the Son, to live and die as one of us, to take the sin of all creation upon himself, rising victorious above evil and death so that we and all creation might be redeemed of the sin we brought into the world.  God came among us in the meek, seemingly powerless human nature of Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth, born in a stable in Bethlehem; God is forever constant with us in the all powerful divine nature of Christ –the Messiah, Emmanuel – God with us.  How can we ever allow the awe of this truth to wane?

God’s love for us is so awesome that he came to be born as one of us, to suffer and die as one of us.  God’s pure love comes with no expectations, except to be love.

In love, God the Son being born of human flesh assures us it is okay to be human.  Jesus Christ was born of human flesh to help us understand that it is not God who punishes us for our sins, but our human sins themselves that punish us.  Jesus came to show us how to live as redeemed humans in relationship with all God’s creation.  How can we not remain in awe of this love that transforms our painful sins into God’s guidance for how we are to live in relationship with one another?

Jesus doesn’t wait for us to become saints before he calls us to follow him.  Remember his motley crew made up of fishermen, a tax collector, a carpenter, a hotheaded zealot, and other virtual unknowns.  Two of them were so arrogant as to request that they be seated on the left and right of Jesus’ heavenly throne.  Even after three years of such a close relationship, Jesus’ very human disciples denied him, doubted, and betrayed him at the end of his earthly life.  But, they were redeemed by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and they were transformed into amazing apostles, spreading the awe of the Good News of the Christian message to all the world.

The disciples were human like us – as Jesus was human; they were redeemed as we are redeemed because of Jesus’ humanity; they followed as we are called to follow – all through the awesome power of God’s love come down to us in the Incarnation that we are gathered here to celebrate, the awe of the Incarnation into which we are to live each day.

So, we are here on this night because of the constancy of God’s love – love so powerfully awesome that God the Father sent God the Son to be born of human flesh, to live among us that we might know how we are to live.

Come, little children.  Come into the warmth and light of the stable.  Kneel beside the manger; be present in faithful childlike simplicity, uninhibited by the world.  Kneel there so close that you can feel the calm breath of the Christ Child; kneel there where you can gaze into the new baby’s big dark eyes; kneel there, suspended in awesome wonder, as the babe turns to look at you.  Kneel there where you can see so clearly your own reflection in the eyes of the tiny Christ Child – your own reflection in the eyes of the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, God Incarnate.

Isaiah 35:1-10 Canticle 15 James 5:7-10  Matthew 11:2-11

A highlight of our recent trip to Africa was a safely distant encounter with 5 lions at the Chobe National Park in Botswana.  These quite docile kitties were snuggled together for their 20-hour daily nap, snoozing in the shade, sheltered from the brutal heat of mid-afternoon African sun.  There was an occasional bored acknowledgment of our paparazzi presence.  I’m confident, however, that any one of the five could have devoured this entire pulpit with one swat and gulp.

I don’t even like to wake our dogs from a nap; I assure you I was not eager to disturb these enormous and ferocious beasts.  We had been cautioned not to wave our hands outside the jeep, and of course not to exit the jeep – though I don’t recall it being necessary, actually, for the guides to give us such instruction.

The concept is that as one large composite unit we did not represent a threat to the lions; separated from the group however, one would become a suspicious nuisance attracting investigation and, perhaps, consumption.

Later, as our group travelled up the path a bit, we came upon a young man whose Subaru was stuck in the deep sand; our guides offered an unsuccessful tow, but in the end, after calling alternative help, we had to leave him behind.  He was eventually rescued, I’m sure, but driving away from him, I felt a sense of aloneness for him, abandonment by us even for one so seemingly foolish as to set out alone and ill-equipped in such treacherous terrain.

In our Old Testament lesson this morning, the prophet Isiah is speaking to the people of God who have felt the abandonment of exile in Babylon.  Judah had fallen in the 6^th century BC; the Great Temple of Jerusalem destroyed and her people scattered and held captive by the empires to the east of Israel.  Today’s words of prophecy from Isaiah bring hope to God’s people – whether feeling separated and abandoned in ancient Babylon or in 21^st century America.

These words appear at an odd place in the book of Isaiah.  Nearly 2/3 of the earlier chapters of Isaiah are filled with words of warning and woe about the judgment that was to come for the people of God, still residing at home in Judah, complacent in their faith.

But, here amidst the doom and gloomy prophecy are the beautiful words of hope and joy that we read this morning.  Condemned to exile, in this state of abandonment and hopelessness, fraught with fear, the people of God sense this inbreaking of God expressed through Isaiah.  Unexpectedly, inexplicably amongst the woe, God’s words voiced by Isaiah inspire patience in suffering.

James, too, is writing to the people of God who are experiencing spiritual exile.  The first century Jewish Christians to whom James writes were scattered by decades of political and religious persecution that had driven God’s people from their homeland to various areas of the known world.  James exhorts them and any one of us feeling abandoned to be patient as we wait for the coming of the Lord.

Ah, we are not abandoned; God has always and is forever gathering us into his Kingdom.  We are never separate from God; we are one composite unit in God’s presence.  Remaining one composite unit, we are insulated, resistant to evil.  The message of James and Isaiah would have been interpreted with great joy by the exiled people of God willing to listen – exiles in foreign lands, persecuted for their faith in the one God.  Sensing this inbreaking of the Spirit, they were assured that God was present, hope restored.

In this morning’s Gospel lesson, even in the gloom and doom of a 1^st century Roman prison, John the Baptist is assured of the inbreaking of God in the person of Jesus Christ.  In the eleventh chapter, Matthew reports that John the Baptist had been imprisoned by Herod Antipas.  It was this John to whom Jesus himself had come for baptism.  From what we have read of John, we know that he would have been the type to wave his arms outside the Jeep, fearlessly awakening the ire of the sleeping lions – the Pharisees and Sadducees and Herod Antipas specifically.

Yet, held in a dark and dank Roman prison, John is assured that he is not abandoned; Jesus, whom he knew, is the Messiah.  As the result of Jesus’ life and ministry, the blind see, the lame walk, the leper is cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor receive good news.  In the dark dank Roman prison, John leapt for joy, just as he had leapt for joy in his mother’s womb upon encountering the expectant Mary, just as he experienced the joyful ecstasy of the presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit at the baptism of the Son in the Jordan River.  The awakened lions could not take away John’s joy even as they threatened earthly death.

The joy of the people of Judah in exile, the joy of the early Christians under persecution, the joy of John the Baptist in the brutal Roman prison is inexplicable, except by God – all this joy is the inbreaking of God – the clear sense that God had not abandoned them, even in their dire earthly situations.

God continues to break into our earthly lives, bringing us that same sense of joy, even on difficult days when we might tend to think God has deserted us.  God, suddenly, unexpectedly breaks through the gloom of our grief and sorry and chaos like the sun suddenly, unexpectedly breaks through the clouds on a rainy day.

This joy is the specific focus for today – the third Sunday of Advent.  Today is Gaudete (gou-day-tay) Sunday.  The name is the Latin word for “Rejoice.”  In today’s lessons, as on every 3^rd Sunday of Advent, we hear prophecy of hope and promise – from Isaiah: we are assured of the days to come when the desert shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing.

Gaudete Sunday is the day we take a break from our penitential focus of the season of Advent to celebrate our joy – symbolized in the rose colored candle we light today.  Whatever our gloom, God breaks through to assure us we are not abandoned.

“O come, O come, Emmanuel; ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.”  Come, Emmanuel, break into our hearts with the joy of the Incarnation – the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ that assures us we are never abandoned – alone and stuck in the deep deep sand, within nose-range of sleeping lions, we are not abandoned.  God is present, the joy of Christ breaks into our earthly lives.  Gaudete!

Isaiah 2:1-5 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:36-44 Psalm 122

As my daughter, stepson, dear friend, and I embarked on the first legs of our trip these past two weeks, in Atlanta, our Boeing 777 had been successfully loaded with nearly 400 passengers prepared for the 8,439-mile trip to Johannesburg, South Africa.  It is complicated, frustrating, and time consuming to get 396 passengers of every imaginable description on board, carry-ons stowed in the overhead compartments, seat belts fastened, and everyone settled in for the 14½ hour flight.  It was late evening; we were already tired and ready for bedtime, hoping at least for some decent catnaps as we cruised all night high above the Atlantic.

But, we had indeed accomplished the boarding and were prepared to back away from the gate when my pastoral senses detected the veiled urgency in the flight attendant’s voice and footsteps as she approached her coworkers from the back of the plane.  “Did you hear that?” she said, with calm but obvious concern.  Uh oh.  I remember thinking this was going to be potentially good sermon material.

Silence reigned; moments passed; an ominous air of uncertainty began to prevail.  Finally, the loud speaker brought word from the captain: a massive luggage carrier, backing away from the plane had collided with one of the engines of our enormous plane, leaving it extensively damaged.  Finding another plane was only a remote possibility.  Our fate was undetermined.

We deplaned, muscling our heavy baggage and returning to the gate where we first heard the inkling – something about crew timing out if we didn’t get in the air by 10:00 p.m.  Surprisingly though, bringing a glimmer of hope, another plane was located and brought to the gate; we were told the hour-long servicing and fueling process had begun, and we were instructed to reload as quickly as possible.  But again, hope faded; seated and prepared for take off the second time, the diminished presence of crewmembers became noticeable.  Ten o’clock had come and gone; the announcement about which we had been warned came over the microphone: our crew had timed out; it would be illegal for them to make the flight.  We were to deplane once again and cue up to receive alternate flight arrangements and/or overnight accommodations.

Now, we recognized that this was an unexpected crisis, and we sympathized with the unfortunate baggage handler team whose negligence had created this mess.  But, we were a bit incensed by the airline’s seeming lack of crisis preparedness.  Surely, this was not the first ever last minute crisis occurring mere hours before the required crew change.  It must have been immediately obvious that this plane wasn’t going to fly.  What caused such delay in finding a backup plane and calling in a back up crew?  We’re talking 400 passengers, most of us with baggage for multiple weeks.  Herding us and our baggage on and off two planes with obviously little chance of making the flight seemed monumentally inefficient.  How long did it take to determine that the obvious and only resolution would be to re-accommodate 400 unhappy travelers cued up and waiting for assistance into the wee hours of the morning?

The experience, of course, is simple in comparison to the urgent message of necessary preparedness in anticipation of crises as described in our Gospel lesson.  But, comparing the two situations, we see that we can learn from our very earthly experiences such as these to gain insight into the reality of what seems for us very ominous, even frightening warnings of the consequences of being unprepared for the second coming of Christ and/or the end times – predictions of doom and gloom.  Jesus implores us to be ready in anticipation of the unexpected hour of the return of the Son of Man.  Jesus provides our resources for rising above the crisis.

Do we ring our hands, lash out at one another, and melt down in panic; or do we remain calm and focused on the resourcefulness that our faith in Jesus Christ provides?  – Finding Christ in one another and all creation, worshipping regularly together, studying the scriptures, praying endlessly, focusing on our relationships within the Body of Christ.  These are the resources our Christian faithfulness provides.

Did we ring our hands and throw a tantrum and browbeat the flight crew of our doomed flight to Johannesburg?  No, my dear friend and I remained patient while the youngsters got on their phones to make alternate plans.  As anxiety grew for many of our fellow flight companions mired in uncertainty, the four of us were in a dead trot toward the Air France gate for our successfully rebooked flight through Paris.  Hours later we found ourselves on a delightful late afternoon taxi tour of the City of Lights all decked out for Christmas.  Our driver quite skillfully planned our arrival at the Eiffel Tower just at the top of the hour when the lights covering the entire tower sparkle for a full five minutes.  Afterwards, we returned to the airport in time to attempt again the overnight flight to Johannesburg, arriving finally a half day later than expected – a full 48 hours after leaving home on Monday morning, but with a great story to share!

Jesus never promises that our earthly life will be an unhindered primrose path.  In fact, he warns us time and again that our Christian discipleship will be filled with uncertain detours and pitfalls and threatening crises.  But, Jesus provides us with the resources to work through the crises that threaten; he admonishes us to take up these resources and be prepared and open to the unexpected inbreaking of God into our daily lives.  And, above all, Jesus admonishes us to remain unafraid.

The Season of Advent that begins today is a joyful time of preparation – getting our house in order for the coming of the Christ child – joyful expectation of the celebration and opportunity to experience anew the glorious Christmas story that we have loved since earliest childhood.  Today’s Gospel lesson alerts us that we are also to anticipate and prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which he has promised at an unexpected hour.

The words of our Gospel lesson, words from the mouth of Jesus, may seem ominous and confusing and even quite distressing.  We are reminded that God’s judgment is real, but God’s judgment is meant to restore our relationship with God; God’s judgment is not intended as retribution.  And, we are reminded of our responsibility to one another in seeing that all are prepared to meet Christ when he comes again.  If, when Christ comes, our neighbor in the field is left behind, we who know the good story of the saving grace of Jesus Christ have neglected the fullness of our Christian mission.

Sharing our Christian relationship with one another, worshipping together regularly, praying endlessly, studying the scriptures that contain all things necessary for our salvation – all these are the necessary ingredients of our preparation for the promised second coming of Christ; all these are the necessary elements of our Blessed Advent; all these are the essentials that allow us to kneel amongst the sweet smelling hay of the cattle stall and embrace the monumental glorious reality of God Incarnate – the Word made flesh – God coming to earth in the human person of Jesus Christ to live and die as one of us.

What could possibly stand in the way of your resourceful preparation in anticipation of these glorious promised events?  Jesus’ words are not ominous to those who are prepared, and we are all gifted with the resources to be prepared.  These are words of inspiration for the journey – a journey far-surpassing even an unanticipated sparkling evening in Paris.

Therefore, you must be ready, for the Son of Man – Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, our Savior and Redeemer – is coming at an unexpected hour.  Believers rejoice!  From today’s words from the prophet Isaiah: “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”

Malachi 4:1-2a  Psalm 98  2 Thessalonians 3:6-13  Luke 21:5-19

In this morning’s Gospel lesson, the people gathered around Jesus in the Temple are admiring the Temple’s magnificent adornments.  Jesus is speaking to them prophetically about the chaos and tragedy of the coming destruction of the Temple.  This glorious earthly Temple, the crux of Jewish religion and society, would be destroyed for the final time by the Romans just a few decades after Jesus’ time there.

Jesus’ words are rich in meaning and symbolism.  It is more accurate to say that he is speaking metaphorically about the chaos and tragedy of the days surrounding the Crucifixion that is to come.

Even more significantly, he is speaking of the “birth pangs” of the end of time, which tends to strike fear in all of us.  From our Gospel lesson, we learn that characteristic of these fear-filled times are false leaders exalted by others and claiming to be the “one” who will save the world.  These times bring violence and turbulence – wars and insurrections; there will be arrests and persecutions.  Being prepared to confront these times is to know Jesus Christ, so that keeping our eyes focused on our faith, we are led through the chaos, whether it be the simple chaos of our daily lives or the ultimate chaos of the end of time.

Those who are prepared will be able to endure the violence and persecutions.  To be prepared requires the understanding that the true temple of our faith is not a magnificently adorned earthly building; the true temple of our faith is Jesus Christ.  Jesus says, “By your endurance you will gain your souls.”  “Not a hair on your head will perish.”

The writer of the second letter to the Thessalonians implores us to be prepared by fulfilling our fair share of responsibility to one another.  In these years not so long after Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension, the Thessalonians took to heart the expectation that Jesus would return again soon.  In fact, they were so self-assured of Jesus’ soon-to-be return that they had become complacent in their ministry to one another; they began to see no need to do the work of the Church.

These words in the letter to the Thessalonians remind us that we are called to continue being faithful and recognizing our responsibility as members of the body of Christ, regardless of our life situation.  It is our responsibility to explore the expectations of our faith – to be prepared to endure the “birth pangs” – to be prepared not as consumers of church but as members of the Body of Christ – the Church. 

As consumers in the marketplace we expect, at the least, a fair deal that corresponds directly with our cash input.  We want quality products and good customer service.  From the Church, however, we too often expect way more than a fair deal.  If we are consumers of Church, we expect high standards of perfection from the Church regardless of our input.

I use the example of the car going to the gas station.  Once a week, I drive to the gas station; I get just enough gas to drive back home and get back to the gas station the next week.  There is not any extra fuel that allows for trips to visit friends during the week, to drive a neighbor to the doctor, or to venture to the grocery store to purchase food, not even enough fuel to stop along the way for lunch with family as I make my weekly journey to and from the gas station.  Even so, I demand that I have the very best customer service in response to my once a week limited purchase and that the gas I purchase be of the very best quality at a discounted price; I want my visit to the gas station to be pleasant, uplifting, and well worth my valuable time.

If my car could speak, it would say, “My purpose is to go to the gas station and get fuel; I have fulfilled my purpose in life.”  But, life is an end in itself, not at all fulfilling, and my car and I are not at all prepared for any opportunities or emergencies that might arise.

If we are consumers of Church, we misinterpret our purpose and duty as going to church; we fail to recognize that we are the Church.  We are the Body of Christ.

It is our responsibility to recognize ourselves as the Church – the Body of Christ – and to be prepared for the coming of the kingdom just as Jesus exhorts us to be prepared.  It is in our preparation – our understanding of ourselves as the Church that we are able to endure the birth pangs of the end of time.

Stewardship is a huge piece of the theological practices expected of us as members of the Body of Christ – the Church.  There are many misconceptions about stewardship, specifically, money and the Church.

We might feel that the Church is not doing the same great things that other charitable organizations are doing, or that somehow the Church should be able to go on meeting our high expectations for great ministry with limited funds.  In tomorrow’s mail, as in everyday’s mail, millions of glossy eye-catching mass solicitations will go out across the country from organizations and institutions that have no shame or hesitation about begging for your money.  In fact, these groups invest enormous amounts of your contributions in these well-crafted initiatives to solicit your continued financial support.  They do that because it works.

Certainly, many of these are wonderful organizations that oversee great charitable and educational causes throughout the world.  They build homes and feed the hungry and educate our children.  But, they don’t baptize our children; they don’t visit us and pray with us and bring us Communion when we are in the hospital; they won’t be there to commit our bodies to the ground – earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.  These organizations, as wonderful as they are, won’t be there to continue to pray that our souls may rest in peace; they won’t be there to console our grieving loved ones.  Who will be there for these most sacred life changing events?  The Church will be there.

On Wednesday afternoon a young woman arrived at the church office with a pickup load of items for resale.  She is moving and wanted us to have these things to raise money for our mission and ministry.  In the course of getting the truck unloaded and the items stored, the young woman said time and again, “Everyone in the neighborhood knows about this church; y’all are wonderful; you do so much for so many people; this is a wonderful church; everybody around here knows that, because you do such wonderful things for this community.”

Being prepared for the end times about which Jesus is speaking is to know Jesus Christ, to experience Jesus Christ in one another.  Being prepared for the end times is accepting our responsibility to see that others around us know Jesus Christ.

Knowing Jesus Christ and making him known is the essence of our faith – the essence of our stewardship of God’s creation.  “Brothers and Sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.”  [2 Thessalonians. 3:13]

Daniel 7:1-3,15-18  Psalm 149  Ephesians 1:11-23  Luke 6:20-31

All Saints’ Day is the day set aside to remember, honor, and celebrate those gone before us who accepted the call of God in striking and meaningful ways – those among God’s children who humbly recognized most intensely their poverty in their need for God – those who truly hungered for the fullness of constant awareness of the presence of God.  We might explain this kind of life as living into God’s Kingdom.  Living into the Kingdom is a way of life.  Jesus describes the characteristic of living into the Kingdom in our Gospel lesson for this All Saints’ Day.

Blessed are you who are poor, you who are hungry, you who weep.  Blessed are you who are hated, excluded, reviled, and defamed on account of your faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is saying, “Blessed are you who suffer for the brokenness that we have brought into this world as we turn against one another, against God.  Blessed are you when you are not part of the world.”  Saints give themselves to the suffering necessary to bring God’s Kingdom to earth as it is in heaven.

The list of saints from ancient times and saints more modern goes on and on.  Checking the calendar in the Prayer Book, we find someone’s feast day celebrated almost every day.

How does one become a saint?  We need saints.  Every day brings news of tragedy – humans lashing out in violent actions against their neighbors; desperate suffering as the result of natural disasters, wars, crime-riddled streets, and corruption in governments and corporations all over the world.

Many will say, “How can a just God allow this to happen in his creation?”  Many will say… , but not the saints.  Saints hear God’s voice speaking to them, “How could you let this happen to my creation?  I created this all for you.  How can you let my people suffer?  What are you going to do about it?”

In our Old Testament lesson, we read of Daniel in exile in Babylon at the time of King Nebuchadnezzar.  The lesson describes Daniel’s dreams of the world powers that would rise and fall in this war torn area of the world where some of these same earthly powers continue to rise and fall – the Babylonians, the Medes, the Persians, the Greeks.  The four evil beasts represent these four earthly powers and the four winds, indicating threats from every corner of the world.

The Book of Daniel is the account of the many ways Daniel and his faithful Jewish friends, exiled in Babylon, are threatened by their captors who attempt to force them into submission to this earthly king and his court.   Daniel and his friends remain faithful to the one God, the one King of all kings.  Daniel would not pay homage to the pagan king; he would go to the Lion’s Den rather than turn from his faith and submit to these earthly kingdoms that would rise and fall.

Like Daniel, saints prefer the Lion’s Den to a life of separation from God – a life of misdirected faith in earthly powers that rise and fall.

Saints understand that God’s Kingdom does not rise and fall as do our earthly powers; God’s Kingdom is victorious, confirmed in victory through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Saints help us to understand that our greatest fear is not the evil and death of this world; our greatest fear is separation from God.  As we live into the Kingdom alongside the saints, we come into constant awareness of the presence of God.  God does not separate from us.

What saint do you honor today?  Perhaps it is one of those from our parish, listed in our bulletin, who died just within this past year.

Marcia told me the story this week of her first call to the Church of the Advent upon moving into the area, first to Ward’s Corner.  Leda Hood answered the phone and assured Marcia that, yes indeed, Advent was the very closest Episcopal Church to her new location.  It was a while before Marcia realized Leda had manipulated her map a bit – We’re so glad she did.  Being a saint requires seeking the greater good, which sometimes means stretching the truth a bit.

Often someone becomes a saint for us through a seemingly simple action.  If you’ll bear with me, I’d like to share a very personal story:

As the mother of two daughters under 2 years of age, life was a stretch.  With a very delicate prematurely born infant confined to home through the winter, I was unable to attend worship on Sundays at the Methodist Church where I was a member.  An acquaintance, who had recently retired and returned to town, had taken the task of beginning a Sunday school at the nearby Episcopal Church.  Learning of my situation, she called to offer to come by each Sunday to pick up our older daughter so that she could be a part of the newly formed Sunday School.  I can still recite her exact words on the phone that day.  She kept her promise; neither of our daughters has any recollection of childhood without Sunday School; years after my friend’s death, Sunday school continues to thrive at St. George’s Episcopal Church.  And, when spring came that year, I was assured God was calling us to the Episcopal Church; our family became increasingly active members.  Twenty-five years later I was ordained priest in the Episcopal Church.

I share this story because it exemplifies simple actions that God uses to guide us into being saints for others.  And, I share this story to emphasize the importance of our living into the Kingdom, living into God’s constant presence, in such a way that we are open to God’s guidance.

In the midst of our pledge campaign, we live into God’s Kingdom, listening to God’s call.  What time and talent is God calling you to share through the mission and ministry of the Church of the Advent?

Live into the Kingdom of God.  Pray fervently as you consider your pledge of time and talent as you seek to be a good steward of God’s creation.

Consider:  What saint, through a seemingly simple act, has been the catalyst for redirection in your life?  What life is God calling you to redirect?

Isaiah 1:10-18  Psalm 32:1-8  2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12  Luke 19:1-10

Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem, passing through Jericho when he encounters Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus, as all of us learned as children, was a wee little man.  Though small in stature, Zacchaeus loomed large in political power – a tax collector, chief tax collector no less – the first century IRS.

As we have walked along with Jesus through the accounts recorded in Luke’s Gospel, we have plodded along slowly with burdensome intention, like the ox that symbolizes Luke.  Through the miracles of healing and the lessons of the parables, we have witnessed and learned from Jesus’ teaching and examples.  Luke’s Gospel is recognized for his focus on the marginalized – foreigners; outcasts; the poor; women desperate for help that only Jesus can bring; widows and children destined to be cast underfoot until Jesus intervenes.

Fulfilling his short three-year ministry in Galilee, Jesus turned his face to Jerusalem, fully knowledgeable that he would die there.  Along the southward journey, passing through Jericho, Jesus’ attention was drawn to wee little Zacchaeus, perched in a sycamore tree.  Luke tells us that Zacchaeus hurried toward Jesus, happy to welcome him.  Of great irony is the fact that the joyful Zacchaeus sought out and embraced by Jesus was a tax collector – a man of material wealth in a profession associated with ultimate corruption.

Typically, tax collectors were of Jewish heritage; their vocation required that they purchase the privilege from the Roman ruling party to collect taxes from their neighbors – taxes for the purpose of supporting the Roman government.  And, typically, tax collectors were wealthy, likely corrupt; accumulating their personal wealth from the excess amounts they would collect above the amounts they turned over to the government.  As you would speculate, tax collectors were not among the most popular of the Jewish community; time and again, throughout the Gospels, tax collectors are referenced as the epitome of sinfulness; not only greedy, but deceitful traitors to their own people.

Yet, even Zacchaeus, the tax collector, is redeemable.  Jesus invited himself and was welcomed into the home of Zacchaeus presumably to share a meal – the sharing of a meal being recognized in Jewish tradition as an opportunity of shared hospitality and the sealing of a relationship.  This public exhibition of redemption and acceptance is a radical and reckless act for Jesus – a radical and reckless act that heightens the controversy that surrounds Jesus, accumulating evidence that will culminate in his crucifixion.

The extent of God’s redemption of us is radical and reckless and extreme.  Even I am included; even you are included.  God is reckless in his redemption of us.

God’s radical and reckless redemption of Zacchaeus is not a new thing.  The prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of 8^th century BC Judah who have fallen into faithlessness and are desperately in need of redemption.  The prophet Isaiah, whose name translates “the Lord gives salvation,” brought God’s message to the people of Judah.  Isaiah is comparing them to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah whose faithlessness led to total destruction.  For the people of Judah, thankfully, a remnant would be preserved.

By this time in the history of God’s people, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been annexed into the Assyrian Empire further to the north.  Judah, the Southern Kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital, existed in a tenuous security and stability, under constant threat by surrounding enemy powers.  Time and again, Judah’s kings had sold themselves short, desperate to appease their pagan enemies rather than trust God, depending upon their earthly powers to remain sovereign in the face of looming disaster.  It was not to be; in the decades to come, Judah and its capital Jerusalem would be destroyed and her people taken into exile.

We learn from Isaiah that God’s people had rebelled, were continuing to rebel.  Isaiah laments, “Why do you continue to rebel?” – suffering “bruises, sores, and bleeding wounds” from the sole of the foot to the head.  The rebellion continued; the people of Judah were carried off into exile, the great Temple of Solomon destroyed; the people of Judah were scattered, forced to struggle to maintain their identity, struggling to remain God’s chosen people.

God’s judgment is real; God’s judgment is a cleansing fire.  God’s judgment became a cleansing fire for the people of Judah.  The words of the Lord through the voice of Isaiah assure the people of Judah that their sins, which are like scarlet, shall be like snow.  Scarlet is the color symbolic of wickedness; snow represents the white of purity.  Isaiah words bring hope and comfort to a people who surely considered themselves non-redeemable.

Even the people of Judah with the bruises and sores and bleeding wounds of sinful rebellion were redeemed, restored to their homeland in the years to come just as Isaiah indicates.  God’s redemption of his people – of all creation is radical and reckless.  God’s redemption is radical and reckless because God’s love for us is radical and reckless.  God’s love is radical and reckless in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Is our love for one another radical and reckless?  Do we love without fear of our love being rebuked or misunderstood?  Do we share our blessings freely and generously without concern that those gifts will be squandered?  Do we “redeem” one another in our acceptance and respect for one another?  Jesus did and does show us how this is to be done.

Zacchaeus came down out of that sycamore tree with great joy to greet Jesus.  When have you been greeted with such joy?  When have you greeted others with such joy?  When we greet one another with great joy, when we love (even those difficult to love) without fear, we live out God’s radical reckless redemption of all creation.

Jesus, going knowingly to his death, embraced Zacchaeus, sharing the joy of Zacchaeus’ faithfulness, sharing the joy of Zacchaeus’ redemption.  Our embrace with Jesus is equally joyful, joyfully living into God’s radical and reckless redemption of all creation.  “Happy are those whose transgressions are forgiven, and who sins is put away!”  [Psalm 32:1]

Jeremiah 14:7-10,19-22  Psalm 84:1-6 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18  Luke 18:9-14

The Pharisee about whom Jesus is speaking stood praying alone in the Temple, surely dressed in his finest elitist array of robes and tasseled stoles, praying loudly enough to be heard by those in the vicinity.  “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.”  How fully confident, he was, that he had secured his place in the kingdom through his own earthly efforts and religious prowess.   This bold misconception or distortion of faith repeats itself throughout the history of God’s people.  The Church’s culpability in the misconception continues.

One thousand years after Jesus’ time and throughout most of the Middle Ages, the Church found security in the notion that God’s favor had to be earned through works or monetary offerings.  Faithful Christians would pursue monastic orders or participate in a Crusade or pilgrimage – or sponsor others to go on their behalf, too often guided by the misconception that these efforts were necessary to earn entrance into heaven.  The practice of requiring the purchase of indulgences was to become a common and quite corrupt means of funding the works of the Church.  Priests were known to insist that salvation was dependent upon these burdensome offerings – offerings used to support the building and maintenance of the great cathedrals and, even at times, to support the lavish lifestyles of the religious elite.

In this atmosphere, the faithful were not only concerned about their own salvation, they were compelled to assure the salvation of deceased loved ones – turning over oppressive amounts of their livelihoods in the false assurance of shortening loved ones’ time in the tormenting experiences of purgatory – that ominous state after death in which debts must be paid before entrance is granted into heaven.

By the late 15^th century, the Church’s sale of indulgences had increased significantly.  That practice was that once Christians had confessed their sins, as required, to the priest, the appropriate penalties were imposed for sufficient punishment of those sins; these penalties were the price paid in exchange for the granting of remission of those sins.  The payment of adequate penalties on earth either monetarily or through particular works would be considered by the Church to be satisfaction of the debt owed as penance for sins – penance that would duly shorten one’s time in purgatory.  That’s quite an aggressive stewardship campaign.

As you might imagine, this arbitrary selling of indulgences led to serious abuse, and guilt-ridden Christians could be easily exploited by unscrupulous church leaders seeking monetary support for their buildings and positions.  By the early 1500’s this exploitation had drawn the ire of a little known Augustinian monk and professor in the German town of Wittenberg by the name of Martin Luther.  It would be Martin Luther who would post his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle of Wittenberg for all to see – 95 disputations against the practice of collecting indulgences under the assumption of earned salvation.  And, with the help of the most modern of innovations known as printing, Martin Luther would circulate his theses throughout Europe.  Next year will mark the 500^th anniversary of this event.  The following year, 1518, this circulation of reformist complaints would win Luther’s excommunication by the Roman Church and it would ignite the Protestant Reformation that would adopt various forms and groups with various causes.  Protestantism was born; Martin Luther had unknowingly and unintentionally sparked the Lutheran Church.  The sparks became a roaring fire; the Ante Baptists, the Calvinists, the Anglicans, and numerous other faith traditions would follow suit.

Martin Luther drew upon the apostle Paul’s use of the phrase justification by grace, a doctrine repeated time and again in Paul’s letters to the early churches.  Paul instructs his followers of the state of righteousness granted as a gift of God’s grace by virtue of our redemption by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It is our Lord who has paid the cost of our redemption.

Martin Luther continued to argue this theology in opposition to the Church of Rome.  Luther shared his fervent zeal with fellow reformer John Calvin, the father of Presbyterianism who was igniting his own sparks.  Together, Luther and Calvin maintained that the receiving of this justification requires no human cooperation with God – it is all from God.  Thus, it is justification freely given; never lost; without the necessity of purchase through crusades, pilgrimages, indulgences, or strict obedience to a particular set of norms; and certainly not because we deserve it, as exhibited in the self-righteous grandstanding of the Pharisee of Jesus’ parable.

Justification by faith, in the words of Martin Luther – a uniting of Christ to His believers in which the good of Christ belongs to us who believe, and our sinfulness belongs to Christ.[1]  By faith in Christ, we are in direct relationship with God.  Of course, God sees all our misconceptions and weaknesses that allow us to miss the mark – to sin time and time again.  But, in one holy event – God’s coming to earth in the human person of Jesus Christ to live and die as one of us and to rise victorious over sin and death – we are made holy; we are justified by faith; we are united in peace with God, made holy in the gift of God’s grace.

So, then, are we to assume from this understanding of God’s gift of justification that works are unnecessary or unexpected?  Absolutely not!  Good works are the manifestation of faith.  Jesus came to earth to live and die as one of us.  The faith that is divine is manifested in the life and works of the human Jesus.  We are justified through faith by God’s grace; our sanctification is the process that follows; our good works are our natural response to the love and acceptance.  We cannot separate our good works from our faith anymore than we can separate the divine Jesus from the human Jesus.  But, works are defined on God’s terms.

Like the tax collector of our parable, humbly, we stand before God, acknowledging our dependence upon God’s mercy.  Humbly, we keep fighting the good fight, until we, like the Apostle Paul, have finished our course.  Our Lord, the righteous Judge, has reserved for each of us our crown of righteousness, no indulgences required; all expenses paid.

Genesis 32:22-31  Psalm 121  2 Timothy 3:14-4:5  Luke 18:1-8

When Dorothy’s house comes down in the Land of Oz, she is immediately aware that she is not in Kansas anymore.  She is eventually joined by her committed friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.  But, she wants to go home, and she is persistent in that goal.  Together, with her new friends, they begin the difficult journey along the Yellow Brick Road, encountering witches and flying monkeys, as the trek to the Emerald City where they are told the Wizard, and the Wizard only, can make it possible for Dorothy to return to Kansas.

Arriving, finally, after the long and frightening journey to the Emerald City, they are initially refused entrance.  It is Toto who pulls back the curtain and reveals the self-proscribed Wizard.  Through pure determination that overcomes their fears, Dorothy and her friends break down the barriers and gain the Wizard’s cooperation and friendship.

It is only after this long arduous ordeal that Dorothy learns that she has had the ability all along through her possession of the ruby slippers to orchestrate her return home.  Her leaving is bittersweet, but what a joy to return home and find all her friends had mysteriously joined her there.  She had been home all along.

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus is continuing to emphasize this same kind of perseverance we find in Dorothy, the same perseverance we find in Jacob in our lesson from Genesis.  Jacob is alone; he has sent his family away for safekeeping as he awaits a visit from his estranged brother Esau.  Jacob had stolen the family birthright from Esau many years ago; he is fearful of the encounter.  Night falls and Jacob is accosted by a stranger with whom he wrestles through the night.  Jacob is alone, afraid, fighting for his life in the dark.  The stranger would be identified as God; Jacob’s perseverance through his nightlong struggle with God culminates in a covenant.  Jacob would now be known as Israel – “the one who strives with God.”

 Jesus needs to foster this kind of perseverance in his disciples.  He is urgently preparing them for a time when he is no longer present with them on earth.  Jesus continues to emphasize to his disciples that their lives of mission and ministry going forward will require persistence in faith.  And, to accomplish this persistence in faith, they will need to be persistent in prayer.

Prayer is a mysterious throughout our lives.  Does God really answer our prayers?  Do we change God with our prayers, or does God change us.  Prayer may not make all things right in our estimation on our terms, but I do know that without prayer, things seem to go very wrong.  Being persistent in prayer sometimes requires praying that we might be persistent in prayer.

It is through persistent prayer that we best determine God’s will for our lives, that we best determine God’s answer for our prayers.  Sometimes God says “yes;” sometimes God says “not now;” usually God says, “I have a better idea;” through persistent prayer we see that better idea more clearly.  It is through persistent prayer that we see more clearly the injustice in our world and in our own hearts.  We pray to be persistent and constant in prayer.  We pray that we will come to be totally aware of our dependence on prayer.

There is an old story of a girl watching a holy man pray by the riverbank.  Approaching the holy man, the girl asks that he teach her to pray.  In response, the holy man leads the girl into the river and instructs her to hold her face close to the water.  There the holy man pushes her face under the water until she struggles to be free.

Gasping for air, the girl asks, “Why did you do that?”

“This is your lesson,” responds the holy man, “When you long to pray as much as you long to breathe, then you can learn to pray.”

Prayer is the breath we breathe.

Jesus, instructing the disciples how to pray, begins by encouraging them to pray that their earthly existence will be equivalent to that in heaven.  Jesus instructs the disciples and us to pray that on earth as it is in heaven, God’s name will be hallowed; God’s kingdom will come; and God’s will will be done.

Whether it is a Yellow Brick Road, or rosary beads, or a comfy chair in a quiet meditative spot in our den, Jesus exhorts us to focus our prayers with intension, to make our prayers the breath we breathe – to pray without ceasing that our earthly sense of separation from heaven will become thinner and thinner.

Think of our war weary world and our bitterly divided country.  Imagine hundreds of millions of prayerful people of God, praying that God’s kingdom will reign here as it does in heaven.  Imagine the hundreds of millions of hearts that would be changed by persistent prayer.

God has known each of us from the time we were formed in our mother’s womb.  We are in his midst and he has called us by name.  God wants only what is best for us.  Keep open that conversation with the one who loves you beyond imagination; don’t stop, even if confronted by the Wicked Witch; don’t stop, no matter what.  There you will find strength for the journey; there you will find rest in God’s unconditional love; there you will find your clear call to the mission of God’s kingdom – the kingdom that is here and now and is to come.