When love came down: Miraculous love 11/30/14

When love came down: Miraculous love

11/30/14

Most of us are familiar with the old movie, “Miracle on 34^th Street.” It is the story of how Santa Claus was defended in a New York courtroom.

Do you suppose there will be a miracle on Spruce Street this year? Or West Street? Or Blackhawk? Or Pine? Or Park? Or whatever street you live on?

Do you expect a miracle this Christmas?

·       Some might say that it will be miracle if they get through the season without getting too grumpy.

·       Some might say it will be a miracle if they can pay their credit card bill in January.

·       Some might call it a miracle if the harried clerk at the store actually smiles and says, “Merry Christmas.”

·       Some might say the real miracle will be if Uncle Joe doesn’t pass out drunk under the Christmas tree this year.

·       Others might say the real Christmas miracle is that they only gain 5 pounds over the holiday instead of ten.

Perhaps each of us has a different idea of what a Christmas miracle would be for us. But I suspect that most of our so-called miracles are pretty small.

·       Is it a Christmas miracle that I arrive at Wal-mart just in time to get the last of this season’s most popular toy off the shelf? Probably not.

·       Is it a Christmas miracle that the turkey turns out golden brown and juicy this year? Probably not.

·       Is it a Christmas miracle that you don’t have to work the holiday this year? Probably not.

·       In spite of all the hype and hoopla, I think most of us have learned to have pretty low expectations for the holiday. And frankly most of us have no expectation of any true miracle.

First, we have to ask, what is a miracle?

§  Some say that a miracle is an event that is impossible to explain by natural causes.[1] This definition relies on our knowledge to define a miracle. Anything we don’t understand, and therefore can’t explain, is a miracle. It also either excludes divine action, or assumes that the creator is not active in creation except by miracles.

§  CS Lewis says, “A miracle is an interference with nature by supernatural power.[2]” This definition labels the creator as “interferer.” I don’t want to think of God as an outside interference in our lives.

§  Some say that a miracle is a direct action of God in the world. That assumes that God does not routinely act in the world an in our lives. That is a rather deistic view of miracles.

§  I would rather think of miracles as a divine action that changes the course of the natural order.

ü The natural order is that, if you have a jar containing water now, unless you either empty it or add something, it will continue to be a jar of water, not a jar of wine like in the miracle story in the gospels.

ü The natural order is that a person with leprosy will continue to get sicker until they die, not that they will be healed and return to a normal life, as they were when Jesus touched them.

ü The natural order is that storms come and go on their own schedule, not at the beck and call of someone in a fishing boat like Jesus.

Yet, the wine, the healing and the calming of the storm all happened at Jesus command … they changed the course of the natural order and are therefore miracles.

When it comes to the Christmas miracle, the natural order of things is that God is God and people are people. The natural order of things is that although God works in our lives, God guides our footsteps, God loves us more deeply than we can imagine, God judges us and forgives us; God has never become one of us. In the incarnation, that natural order was changed when God put on skin and moved into our human neighborhood.

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.[3]”

ü The first Christmas miracle is that the creator became one of the creatures.

ü The first Christmas miracle is that the divine took on the shape of the ordinary.

ü  The first Christmas miracle is that the great love of God came in flesh to people who were quite unlovable.

ü That is the first Christmas miracle.

ü The first Christmas miracle is that “A child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.”[4]

If that was the end of the story, we could all sing silent night and go home to get ready for New Years. But that is not the end of the story. There is a second Christmas miracle.

 The second Christmas miracle is that it worked!

The second Christmas miracle is that “The people who walked in darkness

 have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.”[5]

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The second Christmas miracle happens when we live out God’s values and priorities in our own lives for the sake of those around us.

§  The second Christmas miracle is that a terrified young woman said to the angel, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

§  The second Christmas Miracle is that Joseph didn’t do the sane thing and divorce Mary as soon as he found out about the baby.

§  The Second Christmas miracle is that the crude and crusty shepherds were interested enough to get up and go to Jerusalem.

§  The Second Christmas Miracle is that the Wise men went home by a different route, changed men.

§  The second Christmas miracle is that people like you and me were changed by the first Christmas miracle. The second Christmas miracle is that the first Christmas miracle worked.

ü We are no longer a people of darkness.

ü We are no longer a people of selfishness.

ü We are no longer a people of deceitfulness.

ü We are no longer a people of hopelessness.

ü We are no longer a people of brokenness.

ü We are no longer a people who live only for ourselves, this life, and this world.

ü We are a people of the miracle.

ü We are a people transformed by the miracle of the gracious incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.

ü We are people transformed by the miraculous power of Christ in our lives.

And that same miraculous power that transformed us, calls us to transform the world.

We are a people who can never be the same because Emmanuel- God is with us.

We are a people changed by the fact that God came and moved in to our neighborhood as one of us.

ü Our darkness has been turned to light and we are to be the light to the nations.

ü Our selfishness turns to generosity, and we are called to do unto the least of these.

ü Our Deceitfulness turned to truth, and we are called to the truth that sets all people free.

ü Our hopelessness turned to joyous expectation, and we are called to do everything in our power to see that the kingdom vision of God is fulfilled.

ü Our brokenness turned to wholeness, so that we too might mend fences.

ü Our transformed lives are turned outward to transform the world into the kingdom of God.

Jesus was not the messiah most people were expecting, or for which they were hoping. He resisted the world’s obsessions with wealth, pleasure, power, and recognition. He identified with the weak and powerless, the widow, and the orphan. He did not condemn but defended the sinner. The first Christmas miracle is that Jesus was the perfect embodiment of God’s values and priorities.

The second Christmas miracle happens when we live out God’s values and priorities in our own lives for the sake of those around us.

 We have received a miracle in order to be a miracle. You are the second Christmas miracle.

I want you to take a moment and write on one side your paper three miracles the world needs this Christmas. Look at the world around you and think of three miracles the world desperately needs.

Now, I want you to flip that sheet over, and write one specific way you can be part of making one of these Christmas miracles happen this year.

·       It might be giving a special gift to a poor family.

·       It might be a special donation to the food pantry.

·       It might be starting a wave of peace by making peace with someone in your family or community.

·       It might be praying.

·       It might be inviting someone to Christmas dinner so they don’t have to be alone. Or Christmas eve worship so they can meet the newborn babe for the first time.

It might be anything you can dream.

Now, during the song, “Love came down at Christmas” I want you to take your papers and place them in the miracle boxes the ushers will pass through the congregation. We will place the wrapped miracle boxes beneath our Christmas tree and they will represent our commitment that each of us can be a Christmas miracle this year.

[1] Wayne Grudem

[2] Chapter Two of C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947)

[3] John 1:14

[4] Isaiah 9:6-7

[5] Isaiah 9:2

God’s purpose is looking for a church, and a people RUMC Stewardship Sunday 2014

God’s purpose is looking for a church, and a people

RUMC Stewardship Sunday 2014

·        What would you call a fire station that never fought a fire? A firefighters club?

·        What would you call a hospital that never treated a patient? A country club for doctors?

·        What would you call a mechanic who never repaired a vehicle? Probably unemployed.

·        What would you call a teacher who never taught anything? A babysitter, and a pretty poor one at that.

·        What would you call a congregation whose sole purpose seemed to be dusting the pews and keeping the lights on?

Now let me ask you,

·        would you be very happy that your taxes go to that firefighter’s club?

·        Would you pay your hospital bill at the Country Club for doctors?

·        Would you take your car to the unemployed mechanic who never repaired a car?

·        Would you pay tuition to go to class with that babysitter?

·        Would you want to support a church if all they did was dust the pews and pay the electric bill? Of course not. Believe me, there are churches who hold gatherings on Sunday morning, have potlucks, marry and bury people, but they have no idea what it means to be the church.

Thank God that we are clearly not one of those congregations. I think these generosity videos this year have done a wonderful job of using pictures to describe what it means to be church and how this congregation lives that out. So let me put some words to it.

So what is the church meant to be?

We read from Isaiah this morning, and you may be wondering, “What does that have to do with the purpose of the church?” Well, that particular passage from Isaiah appears again in scripture. Does anyone know where?

At Jesus first recorded sermon.

Listen to the story from Luke chapter 4.

¹⁴ Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵ He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

¹⁶ When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
 because he has anointed me
 to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
 and recovery of sight to the blind,
 to let the oppressed go free,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”[1]

Isn’t it interesting, that Jesus used this passage from Isaiah as his very first sermon. That sermon was pretty important because, like a rocket, it set the trajectory for his whole mission and ministry, and in turn laid the foundation for the church..

Is this an upper story or a lower story passage? Listen again “Good news to the poor… release to the captives… recovery of sight to the blind… set the oppressed free.” That is an upper story vision isn’t it. Our lower story can only dream of good news, release, recovery, or freedom. To see that come to be in our lower story, would require a pretty radical change in our world wouldn’t it? It would be turning the world upside down and inside out.

But that is exactly what God’s upper story vision is about… a world turned upside-down.

That is why Jesus came… to turn the world inside-out.

·        Transformed lives, transform relationships.

·        Transformed relationships, transform communities.

·        Transformed communities, transform institutions.

·        Transformed institutions, transform governments and the world.

Once God’s transformation really begins, it doesn’t take long before the world is a new place where good news, release, recovery, and freedom are not just part of God’s upper story, but part of our lower story. Where God’s vision becomes our reality. Where God’s kingdom has come and God’s will is being done.

That is God’s plan for the world.

AND God’s plan is that the church is the catalyst for that transformation.

·        It is through the church that God is working to transform the world.

·        It is through the church that God is bringing good news, release, recovery, and freedom to God’s world.

And I want to be part of that. Don’t you?

I want to be part of seeing God’s kingdom come, God’s will being done. Don’t you?

I want to be transformed, and see my relationships transformed, and see my community transformed, and institutions and governments, and the whole world. Don’t you?

I want to see the new heaven and the new earth, God’s new creation become reality, and preferably in my lifetime! Don’t you?

That is something that we can all get behind, isn’t it? That is something we can all support, isn’t it? That is something I would give just about anything to see, wouldn’t you?

Wouldn’t you?

When we talk about generosity, that is what we are talking about. Participating in God’s vision for the world.

Generosity is giving of our time, our love, our energy, our hope, our strength, our lives, and yes- our money in order to be part of God’s vision for the world, supporting the work of the coming kingdom of God. Proclaiming good news, release, recovery, and freedom. And we can all get behind that. We all want to give generously to that, don’t we? Don’t you? At least I hope we do.

My friends, that is why the church is here.

That is why the church is here… to be bearers of God’s vision, to change the world by the power of God. To be God’s hands and feet in transforming the world.

You see it on the bulletin every week; you see it on the web page every time you visit. You see it in the enews every week. You see it at the top of my emails. Hopefully you have heard me preach it several times… “Where the love of Christ transforms lives.” We are here to change the world.

·        Starting with each and every one of us, working our way out…

·        starting with worship and education that was featured in today’s video.

·        Rolling on to nurture, loving one another, which was featured in last week’s video.

·        Culminating in outreach to our local community and missions to the greater world that was featured two weeks ago. Until the kingdom comes and God’s will is done.

I hate paying bills. It’s no fun paying the electric bill, or the water bill, or medical bills or a car repair bill. There are other things that I would rather do with my money.

The same is true for the church. It is no fun being asked to pay the electric bill, the water bill, the pastor’s health insurance, or the snow removal bill. Frankly, if that is the only reason to give to the church, you’d be better off paying your own electric bill, water bill and medical bills.

There may be some people who want to pay the electric bill and insurance, but when I give to the church, I give in order to be part of something bigger than the electric bill and insurance. Robyn and I tithe to the church because we want to be part of something bigger- much bigger.

I suspect you do too.

Sure, I know the truth, and so do you- that those things are a necessary part of the church budget. But this year, we are asking you to back up from those necessary details, and see the big picture.

·        Don’t just give to the church… give to transform lives.

·        Don’t just give to the church… Give to make sure that relationships are restored- because that is the beginning of transforming the world.

·        Don’t just give to the church… Give to make sure that Keri and Mindy are taught about the love of God, because that is a first step in changing the world.

·        Give so that Irma, and Wayne, and Evelyn, and Jim are loved and given care —because that is a small step toward seeing God’s kingdom reality.

·        Give so that the family next door will be able to get food from the food pantry.

·        Give so that together we can reach the people of this community who so desperately need to know that God loves them and be taught how to love others--- because that moves us all closer to experiencing the world the way God envisions it for us.

·        Don’t give to the church… Give so ramps can be built as bridges communicating hope and love across generations and disabilities.

·        Give so that Noah, and Bellen, and Sylvana, and Brook, and a thousand other kids can go to camp and enjoy learning about Jesus.

·        Give so that someone who is dying, won’t die alone without Christ.

·        Give so that people will speak loud and clear on our behalf to congress and the president to help them see the way of God’s kingdom.

·        Don’t give to the church… Give so that John Pena in Nigeria is able to teach people to be pastors and lead churches in their own country.

·        Give so that 7 year old Ambrosio in the Philippines can know Jesus, so that a James in Haiti who has no legs will be gifted with a PET (personal energy transportation) and will be able to leave his home, and 9 year old Annabella in Rural LeCayes Haiti will have a bed and food tomorrow.

·        Give so that Yong in North Korea will have a Bible even though his government forbids it, and so that Doug and Kelly can raise up church leaders in China.

Do I need to go on?

·        Don’t give to the church… Give so that Haley on the other end of town can learn the words to Jesus loves me next summer in Vacation Bible School.

·        Give so that Shelby will have a Wesley foundation to minister to her now that she is out of our daily reach.

·        Give so that Ruth will have an audio version of THE STORY so she can feel a part of what we are doing.

·        Give so that your neighbor’s electricity won’t be turned off.

·        Don’t give to the church… Give so that Mark Stransky can repair the homes of the poorest people in Virginia.

·        Give so that our college students will know that their church has not forgotten them.

·        Give so that a friend having a bad month can get food from the food bank.

·        Give so that Lilajean can worship in her living room on Saturday morning.

·        Give so that you can see the smiles on the children’s face during the Christmas program.

Do you see what I mean?… there are so many great reasons to give generously that the silly electric and water and insurance bills suddenly fade into the background. Not that they aren’t important, because they are necessary in order to do many of these things I have named, but they ought not be our biggest reason to give. Again, keeping the doors open is not enough of a reason for me to give to the church, but I thank God and the good people of this congregation that there are so many great reasons to give generously to the work of God through this church.

Obviously I am not just talking about money here.

·        I AM talking about being generous giving our money.

·        But I am also talking about being generous giving our material wealth.

·        I am also talking about being generous giving our time.

·        I am also talking about being generous giving our abilities.

·        I am also talking about being generous giving our love.

·        I am also talking about being generous giving our prayers.

·        I am also talking about being generous with our lives because God has been generous to share his mission with us.

God has a mission… to change the world, and he is looking for a church to help.

In so many ways through the generations and years this church has said, “yes.” You have heard some of the fruit of that commitment today. You have images of the ministries that we do in the generosity videos. You can see our commitment to the kingdom in the accomplishments we celebrated at charge conference. In so many ways, this church has stepped up to be part of God’s mission… God’s plan…God’s upper story vision for the world.

God is also looking for people. People who will be generous in all these ways, with their money and material things, their time and abilities, their love and their prayers. God is looking for people who will give their lives… their whole lives generously to the work of the kingdom.

Let me be frank. God is looking for you.

·        And you.

·        And You.

·        And you.

·        And you.

·        And you. To live generously enough to see his kingdom come and his will be done through you and because of you, in big ways and small ways.

God has a mission and he is looking for a church… as a congregation we have said yes… now he is looking for people to pour their lives, their love, their, abilities, their time, their energy and yes, their money into his mission.

Will you be one of them? Will you be part of God’s kingdom work?

In order to change the world, we need your money and material things, your time and your abilities, your love and your prayers. In fact God is looking for people who will give their lives…

Will you?

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[1] Luke 4:14-21New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Who do YOU say that I am? Reinbeck UMC The Story Chapter 25

Who do YOU say that I am?
Reinbeck UMC
The Story Chapter 25

Today we stand at the heart of THE STORY. We have talked about the upper story as God’s hopes, plans and actions, and the lower story as the stuff that happens here on earth. We have talked about God’s story and God’s vision for us, and we have talked about our story as people created with a certain degree of freedom and self-determination even to the point of choosing whether, or how, we will participate in God’s upper story.  
We have talked about Jesus as God’s upper story crashing into our lower story in order to reveal God’s vision for us and restore us to right relationship with our creator and each other.
 Here in Chapter 25 we are confronted with THE question of the story. We have seen the miracles. We have heard the teachings. We have mused over the parables. We have seen prophecies fulfilled. We have seen expectations dashed. The evidence is before us and like a jury; being sent to deliberate each one of us has to come to our own verdict.
The pivotal question comes from Jesus’ own lips. “Who do you say that I am?”

This story, and this exact question, appear in all three synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In all three, Jesus has been teaching and healing for some time. The disciples have been traveling with him for perhaps 2 years; listening, questioning, and observing. But what are they learning? Jesus wonders if they are “getting” his message. You might consider this a midterm exam.
First Jesus asks, “Who do men say that I am? Who do people say that I am? Who do the crowds say that I am?”
• The answers range from silly, “John the Baptist risen from the dead.”
• To the traditional, “Elijah” who was supposed to come before the messiah appeared.
• To the logical, “Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Because he sounded more like a prophet than a regular rabbi.
We can find a similar range of opinions about Jesus today.
One of the most popular descriptions of Jesus, for many years now, has been that he is a good man, or a wonderful teacher, or a great philosopher no too different from Buddha or Confucius, or Mohamed. There are many people today to have a Mount Rushmore kind of approach to spirituality. They look up to any variety of teachers and philosophers and choose the teachings that apply to that moment, or the ones that fit their agenda, or the ones that suit their needs.
This spirituality of convenience is so popular that these folk are even found in our churches. These are people who believe that Jesus is mostly a great teacher; who believe that the Christian life consists entirely of asking, “What would Jesus do?” and doing it. These are the “I live a good Christian life” folks and they don’t want to be bothered with any talk of faith, or discipleship, or servanthood, or sacrifice.

CS Lewis, of whom you might have heard in connection with the Chronicles of Narnia, was more than just a fiction writer. He was a Christian apologist, or one who wrote and spoke to interpret the faith to non-Christians. In Mere Christianity, Lewis wrote this about people who view Jesus as a good moral teacher. He wrote,
 I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say.
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said, would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice ... but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

Lewis’ point is that we can believe Jesus to be a good man up to the point that he claims to be God. Then we have to decide. Either he is a good man and he is God, or he is not a good man because he is either lying or delusional about being God.
• If you believe Jesus was a good man and told the truth, then you must necessarily believe that he was indeed God.
• If you don’t accept that Jesus was God then you must accept that he was not a good man, because neither liars nor lunatics are good men after whom we should model our lives.
Lewis is right as far as he goes. I think there are some other options out there. For instance, in addition to the three options, Liar, Lunatic, and lord, we might add Legend. If Jesus is a Legend then he never really existed, or his story is so exaggerated in the gospels that it is hard to find the hidden kernel of truth in it. The historical evidence doesn’t really support the legend hypothesis.

 If you choose Liar or Lunatic, you wouldn’t be the first. There were people in Jesus’ own day who thought he was a liar or a lunatic.
Mark Chapter 3 is a good example of both. In Verse 21 Jesus’ friends and family said, “He is beside himself.” That is a polite euphemism for he is bonkers. And in verse 22, the scribes accused him of being a liar who claims to be from God, but who is actually from Satan.
We also have to admit that Jesus said some outrageous things.
• He said that the Father sent Him.
• He declared that He came down from God;
• that the words He spoke, God had actually given Him;
• and that everything He did, He did according to the commandment of God.
• He claimed that He would be the final Judge of the world.
• He even claimed that no man could come to God except through Him.
• Jesus commanded His followers to believe in Him,
• love Him,
• obey Him,
• sacrifice for Him,
• worship Him,
• and, if need be, die for Him as they would for God.
If any of you said those things, I would be talking to your family about a 48-hour mental health evaluation. I admit it sounds nuts. In addition, if not nuts, it sounds too outrageous to be true.
Now the New Testament is written clearly to make it obvious to any reader that Jesus is not a lunatic. Lunatics don't
• heal sick people,
• raise dead people and
• dominate demons. Lunatics
• don't speak the way Jesus spoke,
• think the way He thought. Lunatics
• don't act the way He acted. Lunatics
• don't attract women and children. Lunatics
• aren't marked by kindness
• and mercy
• and compassion.
The New Testament is also clear that Jesus is not a liar.
• Liars don't raise dead people either.
• Frauds don't heal sick people.
• Swindlers don’t collect large groups of followers and keep them for long. It is too hard to fool all the people all the time.
• Charlatans don't cast out demons, and
• neither do they die for their cause, and
• having been buried rise out of the grave.
Let me say that those who respond by writing Jesus off as either a liar or a lunatic are, for all I can tell, reasonably well intentioned, and thoughtful folk.

But they are wrong. There is the third option based in faith and truth.
• What if everything Jesus said true?
• What if Jesus was whom he said he was?
• What if he really was the son of God?
• What if he really was the word that was with God in the beginning?
• What if … what if?
• What if he really did heal the sick by the power of God?
• What if he really did cast out demons into swine and drive them into the sea?
• What if all of that if true?
• What if…
• What if he really did die and was buried,
• and what if on the third day, he really did rise from the grave?
• What if?
• What if all of that is true, and Jesus asks you,  “Who do YOU say that I am?”
How about you, “Who do YOU say that Jesus is?”
How about you, “Who do YOU say that Jesus is?”
How about you, “Who do YOU say that Jesus is?”

You have a choice to make.
There is no more fudging, no more watching like a bystander, no more reading THE STORY as interesting history.
• Today it either becomes our story… or not.
• It is either my story… or a lie.
• It is either your story… or just crazy talk.
In today’s passage, Jesus requires each of us to take a stand for him or against him. Where will you stand? On this decision rests the whole rest of THE STORY.
If Jesus is not God, then the crucifixion and resurrection are meaningless.
If Jesus is not God, then the story of the church in Acts and the rest of the New Testament is a colossal mistake.
If Jesus is not God, the kingdom of God, the new heaven and the new earth are just fanciful dreams.
Today is the day. This is the moment. Jesus stands before you and asks, “Who do you say that I am?”
How will you answer?