Sunday, December 31, 2017

Happy New Year RUMC December 31, 2017

The sermon for December 31 is a dialog sermon with the congregation.  It is not possible to anticipate how that will go and put it here.

However, I am talking about change and the changes that are coming our way in the church in 2018.

The Leadership team has been working hard in recent months.
             In recent months…
            A few months ago, the leadership team created a new committee we AIM. The all people in ministry team. Their Job is to help us make our dream of every member in ministry a reality. Helping to make sure that every person is acting out their faith in a ministry, big or small, inside or outside the church.

            2 months ago, the leadership team has committed to young adults and young families and asked the nominating committee to intentionally seek out young leaders, not to take their place, but to help us intentionally reach out and include young adults and young families. We did that. And This month we elected our 2018 leadership team have 4 new leaders under 40. That is almost 30%.

            Finally, this month we adopted the recommendations of the HSCI Worship action team charged with making our Sunday worship more comfortable for people of all ages. They are calling for some changes.
        •             Some you might not notice or care about.
        •             Other things you will notice. Hopefully, you will ask, “Why didn’t we do that 10 years ago?”
                     We worked very carefully to create an environment that will be welcoming
and comfortable for everyone. The changes are pretty simple:
                           Improve hospitality and Fellowship as we gather
                            creating a softer and more meditative environment with lights and the flow of the service.
                            Instituting a couple of things requested by young families, While there is nothing better than hearing a child giggle in worship some have asked for a
                            children’s church alternative for 3 year old’s to third grade during part of the service
                             nursery option for parents who might prefer to use it.
            Most things will not change:
                              The music won’t change,
             the Bible centered teaching will not change
              the sense of sharing community won’t change,
             the worship time won’t change,
              (most importantly,) you do not even have to give up your favorite spot.

            These three things position us for one of the most exciting years we have had since I arrived. 



To help you reflect on how you handle change in your life and in particular in the church,, I have selected Bible stories in which characters respond to something new in a variety of ways.  See which one(s) best describe you...


KNOW- God is a God of change….Read Revelation 21:1-8

GROW- Reflect on how you handle change.
            Maybe you have lots of excuses to avoid change.
            Read Exodus 3. How did God deal with Moses’ excuses?
            Maybe change scares you.
            Read numbers 13. How did Moses respond to the fear of the spies?
            Maybe you think change is crazy.
            Read 1 Samuel 17 Was David crazy?
            Maybe you think change should come very slowly.
            Read Matthew 14:22-33. What happened when Peter didn’t commit?
            Maybe you like things the way they are.
            Read Matthew 9:16-17 What was Jesus advice about new things.
            Maybe you say, “we have never done it that way before” why change now?
            Read John 3 What was Jesus’ answer?
            Change is OK if everyone changes to become “like us?”
            Read Acts 15 What was the church’s answer?
            Maybe you accept change gratefully, trustingly, and hopefully like Abraham?
            Read Genesis 12

GO-  What changes do you hope for in 2018? Personally? In your family? Our church? Our community? Our country? Our world?

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Voices from the fringe: Matthew 12/24/17 RUMC

Voices from the fringe: Matthew
12/24/17
RUMC
Did you hear that story? I can’t believe I missed it! They were right there in front of me and I didn’t even realize it.
Every time I hear that story from Luke, I could kick myself. I was right there in Bethlehem. I saw the couple from Nazareth. I remember them because she looked like she could give birth about any minute. And when they came to the table to enroll and pay their taxes, they asked if there was anywhere they might stay because the inns were full. I felt sorry for them but just said, “No I don’t. Keep moving please.” 
It was my first assignment as a new tax collector. I was sent from my home territory of Galilee to learn from the best how to get just a little more money out of each person. The more I could get, the more I could keep. Even though we were hated by most of the people, it was profitable, IF you were an effective persuader. We called it “persuasion.” Others called it thievery, lying, or even extortion. They weren’t wrong and they hated us for it. No matter what we called it.
Getting back to the story. Had I known who they were, I would have gladly given them MY room. …Well, to tell the truth, I probably would still have sent them on their way because that is the kind of person I was. I’m not like that anymore. Now… I’m different. At that time, I had no idea who was right in front of me. Honestly, I didn’t put it all together until I heard Luke’s version of the gospel. Jesus didn’t talk about his birth, that’s why I didn’t record these events in my gospel that you call the gospel of Matthew. Now that I know the rest of the story as Luke tells it, I understand a lot better.

That is only one example of not seeing what was right in front of my eyes.
As I said, I was from Galilee and that is where I spent most of my career.  As it turns out Jesus’ path and my path crossed several times through the years. Still, I didn’t see anything special about him.
Then he started his ministry. I spent a lot of my time collecting tolls, some would say committing highway robbery, collecting fees from people as they came and went on the roads provided to them by the Holy Roman Empire. You see wherever there was a crowd, and a lot of people traveling; that was a good place for me to set up shop. Jesus tended to gather huge crowds. Therefore, I often set up my tollbooth near where Jesus was teaching in order to collect from his followers. I heard him day after day, but again I couldn’t see what was right before my eyes.

I’ll never forget the day he taught on that mountain. The day he taught the beatitudes. Yes, I was there. How else do you think I was able to record them word for word in my gospel?
I wasn’t paying much attention, but my ears really perked u when I heard Jesus say
·          “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely.
I started to listen
Soon Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I don’t remember if he was looking at me, but he was certainly talking to me. I knew it. But I had a job to do and I was still glad to relieve them of their earthly treasure.
Then he said, No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” Now, no matter what others thought, I considered myself as good a Jew as the next guy, and no one was going to tell me that I couldn’t be wealthy and serve God too. Well, I packed up and left. I had heard enough for that day. 

I heard enough that day, but for some reason, I kept going back.  After that, I started noticing his power to heal.  He healed lepers, people who were possessed, crippled, and blind. But even more notable, from my perspective, he healed Samaritans, slaves, Greeks, Romans, women, children, clean and unclean, unrighteous as well as the righteous. Those were my kind of people. Most folks would say that publicans, or tax collectors, fall somewhere below all those outsiders and maybe even below the stray dogs that roam the streets. But Jesus… he treated people differently.
Then it happened… one day… out of the clear blue sky, he walked past my booth and called me by name. “Matthew, come follow me.”
My first thought should have been to blow him off, but it wasn’t.
I can’t explain it, but suddenly all my priorities were turned upside down. The money I wanted so much didn’t seem as important. The three shiny new chariots on which I was making payments, suddenly that didn’t mean anything. I always dreamed of a big house in the best part of Jerusalem, suddenly I didn’t care where I lived. I didn’t even care if I got that big screen TV…. (I wasn’t sure what a TV was, but whatever it was, if no one else had one, I wanted it.)
When Jesus said, “follow me” all that I wanted was to get up and follow him. Maybe in part because I was so lonely. None of my fellow Jews would have anything to do with me. None of the guys from the synagogue would come hang out. None of the Pharisees or scribes wanted to be seen with me. I was really quite lonely. Could it be that Jesus, who accepted everybody else, would even accept a tax collector? I never thought it possible, but he made me see that Gods love for me had been there all the time. It was right in front of me and I didn’t see it.  
He opened my eyes to a world that was there all the time, but I just could not see it for my greed. I could not see it because I shut myself away so I wouldn’t have to hear the names they called me, or see the looks of hatred that shot through my heart.
Jesus was like that. One minute I was sitting at my tax booth, the next I was a disciple of the son of God. I saw it over and over, as I followed him. One minute a guy was a fisherman the next a head disciple of the Messiah. One minute a woman was a harlot on the street corner, the next she was washing Jesus feet wither hair. One day a man was a leper feared and rejected by everyone, the next he was healed eating at a table with God’s only son.
That is the way God works. God uses the most ordinary things to do extraordinary things. God uses the ugly to do beautiful things. God uses the lowly and despised to perform miracles. God used a tax collector for heaven’s sake, to write a gospel from which you still read today.

Don’t make the same mistake I did.  I wasted so much of my life looking meaning in all the wrong places when it lived just in the next town the whole time.
Don’t make the same mistake I did; searching for love or trying to buy love, when God’s love was available just for the accepting.
Don’t make the same mistake I did; trying to be so important, that I missed seeing what was really important.
Don’t make the same mistake I did; thinking that you don’t deserve love, or are never good enough because God’s love is not based on whether we deserve it.
God doesn’t come to the high and mighty, or the respectful, or the accepted.
God doesn’t come wrapped in shiny paper, or in a checkbook register.
God’s love came in a manger, in a baby, in a humble teacher, in a man on a cross.

Where is God coming to you? In the simple act of giving a gift to someone who didn’t expect it? In the prayers for peace contained on the Christmas cards you receive. In the music of the holidays? In church? Sitting by a hospital bed? God is in all those places.
Where is God coming to you? In the encouraging words of a coworker, in the helping hand of a neighbor, in the stranger who says Merry Christmas.
Where is God coming to you? In the hustle and bustle of life or in the quiet stillness of the night.
Where is God coming to you? In beautiful, shiny wrapping paper, or wrapped in yesterday’s newspaper.
How is God coming to you? In the messy craft project gift that you receive from a child. In friends laughing? In tears shed in the middle of the night? In the flickering of a single candle lighting a room?
How is God coming to you?  In a child’s excitement. A smelly guy on the street corner. In the black woman ringing the Salvation Army bell, in the grieving widower next door.
How is God coming to you, as a nosy neighbor, a lonely child, a depressed single mother?
Maybe, just maybe, God coming in the person sitting next to you right now… and you didn’t even notice it.
Just open your eyes and you just might find God in the most unexpected place.

In my day. God did not come just to the high and mighty, to kings and emperors, to captains of business and 1%ers, preachers, and Sunday school teachers. No, God came to a teenage mom, a carpenter, some shepherds, a Samaritan, and some Greeks. God came to the lame, the blind, the possessed… and God came to tax collectors. 
God comes to everyone who will open their hearts and their lives to receive the miracle of God’s love in Jesus Christ.
Slow down. Be quiet. Stop worrying. Stop searching high and low for God. Just open your eyes and look right in front of you, or beside you, or inside of you, and see the miracle of Christmas.  


Sunday, December 17, 2017

Voices from the fringe: Herod December 17, 2017 Reinbeck UMC

(SLIDE 1 fanfare)
Voices from the fringe
December 17, 2017
Reinbeck UMC



 (Entering in a wheelchair) Hurry up slave I don’t have all day. Slow down you’re going to crash men into the furniture. No, you fool put me in the middle where everyone can see me! I hate being pushed around. I am used to doing the pushing. I am the one who pushes, and everyone else jumps.
I’m sure you all know who I am. But I’ll warn you. I will not tolerate getting my name wrong. It is not just Herod. It is Herod the Great. No excuses. I employ 2 fulltime executioners, and I keep them pretty busy. Got it?
“The Great” is important as opposed to my bumbling sons and grandsons “Herod The Lesser,” “Herod Agrippa,” and “Herod Antipas.” I have to admit Antipas was able to get rid of that Jesus. That was only because he was in the right place at the right time. 
You probably wonder what I’m doing here. Feels a little odd to me, too; more uncomfortable than I thought it would be. They warned me of that. But I have to warn you about something and I’m not about to leave before I do that.
Before I get to the important stuff, I just want you to know that if I weren’t dead there would be trouble here. I’ve seen it before. I’ll bet you have had a second-rate Christmas pageant where some snot-nose kid pretends to be me, wearing his dad’s old bathrobe and a cardboard crown, tries to look as mean as he can. Last year some 3rd grader, in a Baptist church in Memphis, pompously announced he was “Harold the Grape”! What’s that make me? An old raisin? That’s beside the point, though.
  I need you to understand is why I made the choices I did. I’m not going to deny that I did some pretty unpleasant stuff. Being king is a rough business, especially in the situation in which I found myself. My father was appointed procurator of Judea by Julius Caesar in 47 B.C. (according to your calendar),  and he, in turn, appointed me military prefect of Galilee. It was a chance to make a name for myself. I did my job with the sort of efficiency and dedication the Romans love, so I somehow survived the upheaval in Rome when Caesar was assassinated.
  I kissed up to Marc Antony, the new emperor, and by 40 B.C. I was declared “King of the Jews” by the Roman senate. The Jews didn’t think much of me because I was only partly Jewish. The Romans, on the other hand, were suspicious of me because I was partly Jewish. Tough position to be in, let me tell you. To survive, to have the power necessary to rule that unruly backwater of the Empire, I needed to consolidate my position. And it wasn’t easy. If people wouldn’t love me, I had to make them fear me. If the people wouldn’t willingly offer me their allegiance, I had to take it by force. If I couldn’t maintain order, the Romans would send their armies and, believe me, it would have been far worse for the Jews. If you don’t look out for yourself, no one else will. Therefore, I protected myself, whatever it took.
Don’t kid yourselves that you wouldn’t have done the same. Oh, I know, the record isn’t pretty. It’s true that I had my wife Mariamne killed, but you need to realize that I married her for political, not romantic, reasons. There were three of my sons that revolted against me, and we had to take care of them. I know it looks bad. But we — all of us — use the power at our disposal, don’t we?
You don’t think you would have done such a thing? Really? Have you ever felt threatened by someone? Ever felt the knife of jealousy thrust deep into your heart? Ever wanted to get rid of a person? Oh, you don’t think you would murder, of course not, but I am sure you use whatever means at your disposal. Maybe you have twisted the truth and passed on gossip disguised as Christian concern? Maybe you gave someone the cold shoulder to manipulate them? Your courts have made it all so neat and tidy to get rid of a spouse. But the results are the same. I’m pretty sure you are more like me than you want to admit. And I was not all bad. To this day, there are ruins of cities I built still hugging the Mediterranean. And the beloved Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem — I built it. But am I remembered for any of these things? No!

No one’s perfect. It’s ironic that I should be remembered in history for that brief conversation with three wise astrologers from Persia. Who would have thought anything momentous or historic was happening?
It had been one of those days. The chief contractor on one of my building projects had inconsiderately dropped dead; I had heard that a group of crazy fundamentalists had locked themselves in a synagogue in Jericho and vowed to fast until the Messiah came, and one of my wives told me the latest court rumor about another of my wives. I could have used a Messiah myself at that point, but rarely do we know what we really need.
 So I had just reached for a bottle of Scotch. That’s when my aide- a squirrelly little guy who always smelled like he hadn’t bathed in a month and had a bald spot in his beard, a thoroughly unpleasant creature, but loyal, oh so loyal — he came into my office announced with a shower of spit falling on my latest papers from Rome--- that some foreign visitors had just arrived bearing greetings. I started to tell him where he could put their greetings when they walked into the room.
After the usual diplomatic niceties, they got to the point: “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” You know the story. You’ve heard it told many times.
They assumed that the next “King of the Jews” would be my son and they would find him in the palace. I knew nothing about that. I had to get to the bottom of it. I did know that was my title granted from Rome. I couldn’t allow anyone else to take it from me even if he was only a baby today, eventually, he would grow up, and I couldn’t allow that.
I summoned my theologian who told me tradition said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; we gave the astrologers directions to Bethlehem and told them to let us know what they found there. When they slipped across the border without getting back to me, I got worried. What if they did see some newborn royalty and had pledged their allegiance or vowed a treaty with him to undermine me? I will admit the truth: I was threatened by this baby. If He was the Messiah, my days were numbered. My reign was based on force, but if one came who had the power to sway the people’s hearts, I would soon be forced from my throne. If there was any truth in this, he was a dangerous person and I knew I had to deal with it swiftly.
I couldn’t take any chances. I had to destroy Him. I had to protect myself. I know. It looks like a heinous crime. “The slaughter of innocents” the church has called it. Yes, I suppose some might say that. But if that’s what it took to get rid of this dangerous influence, that’s what I had to do. He was dangerous to me and fear makes you do strange things. Doesn’t it?
I’m asking you. Do you ever feel threatened? You should. They said he was a king— a king in a way that I could never be, King of the Universe, the eternal Lord. And that is threatening. Make no mistake about it. You, too, are threatened by Him. You think you are king of your life, but you and Jesus can’t both be Lord. You make such a sentimental mush about Christmas. Choirs and gift-giving and Sunday School pageants (Harold the Grape… for one gold coin I’d just …) Never mind… back to you. 
Christmas has a dangerous message: a new king has been born. And you must do one of two things with Him: worship Him as Lord or force Him out of your life. I had my chance; I made my choice.
You have to make a choice too. If you are going to celebrate Christmas, you need to know that this sweet little baby is not so sweet. This child is not innocent. This Jesus who claims to be king is a dangerous guy.
Think about it.
•           You must be born again… what kind of crazy talk is that?
•           Take up your cross and follow me… you don’t want to do that.
•           Forgive your enemies…really? If I did that, they would have stabbed me in the back 100 times over.
•           Love your neighbor, the poor, the Samaritans, the centurions, the tax collectors and the list goes on and on… love just makes you vulnerable to being hurt. That’s not for me. And not for you either.
•           Son of God? Not likely…but even if he is, don’t YOU want to be in charge of your life?
•           The greatest will be a servant…are you kidding me? That’s just crazy talk.
I tell you, that you have romanticized this baby in the manger with his sweet little mama, and proud little papa. He is here to take over your life. He is here to change the world forever, and you will be the ones who lose your power, you are the ones who will be asked to give until it hurts, you will be the ones who are asked to rub shoulders with the undesirables. You will be the ones who are left to finish the work he starts. You will be the ones who will have hopes dashed when he doesn’t come back as he promised.
You are the ones who will have to give to the poor, visit the sick, care for the imprisoned, accept the migrants and the homosexuals. You are the ones who will be asked to stand up for the weak and defend those who are abused. You are the ones who will have to look at that horrible cross and wear it around your neck and sing songs about it.
You will be the ones who are asked to forgive as you have been forgiven.
 You are the ones who will be asked to love as you have been loved.
 You are the ones who will be asked to share his peace as he has given you his peace.
 You are the ones who will be asked to share his joy as he has filled you with joy.
 You are the ones who will have hope you never had before.
Wait a minute… I think I am losing my argument. Love, peace, hope, joy… I can’t win against a king like that… Just believe me… this Jesus is a dangerous guy… stay away from him.

 Get me out of here.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Voices from the fringe Joachim Mary’s father Reinbeck United Methodist church December 10 2017

Voices from the fringe
Joachim Mary’s father
Reinbeck United Methodist church December 10, 2017

I doubt that many of you even knew my name until today. I am Jochim, Mary’s father. My name doesn't appear in the Bible anywhere but that's okay. My wife, Anna, and I are happy to take a back seat to the most important story ever told.
I think it would be good if you knew me just a little bit better. I have been very fortunate in life. My sheep and my vineyards have flourished. I've been able to share that wealth with others. I'm not bragging about any of that, but I think it's important for you to understand that I was well respected in Nazareth and the surrounding cities.
There was only one thing lacking in my life. My wife Anna and I had never been able to have children. We tried many years without success. I grieved in my heart deeply that I was never able to bring Child into the world. We were so broken over that, but I went out in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights fasting and praying that God would answer my prayer for a child. Anna was very sad about our childlessness, but also but it also broke her heart when I left. She began to mourn doubly for the child we never had, and thinking she would soon be a widow.
I was amazed when an angel came to me in the desert and promised that and I would be given a child. About that same time, Anna was amazed because an angel came to tell her that she would bear her child and the whole world would honor the child. The angel also told her that I would return with my flocks.
Upon my return, there was great celebration in our household. Then, just as the angels had promised, nine months later Anna brought fourth of beautiful baby girl whom we named Mary.
In the desert, I promised God that if we were able to have a child we would dedicate that child to the temple for Godly service. When Mary was 3 years old, we took her to the temple and dedicated her. As we were leaving, the priest picked Mary up, kissed her on the cheek, and blessed her, saying: “The Lord has magnified thy name in all generations. In thee, on the last of the days, the Lord will manifest His redemption to the sons of Israel.”
When Mary was 12 years old, the priest, Zacharias, was told to go find all the widowers of the region. They would come seeking a sign from God to see who would be Mary’s husband. Of all the widowers in Judea, the carpenter Joseph was selected by God when a dove appeared from nowhere and flew about the temple. The priest gave Mary to Joseph as his betrothed.
 Joseph took her home made sure she was safe and comfortable and went about his construction business. 6 months later, he returned home to discover that Mary was pregnant.
She had a wild story. It was the story about angels coming to tell her that she would bear a child. She earnestly told all of us that she had not been unfaithful to Joseph. She explained that this was a child given to her by the Holy Spirit of God and this child would be a special child. Emmanuel, God with Us.
You might think that a story like that would be hard to believe, and it was at one level. I know as a father that I should have been very upset. I should have gone searching for the scoundrel that did this to my daughter. I should have felt dishonored and disgraced. I should have been afraid for her. But I wasn’t.
I remembered the promises made by the angel and the priest. I looked into my daughter's eyes and I saw something remarkable. All I saw in her dark brown eyes was deep peaceful faith and extreme joy; a faith that I could hardly understand and a joy that bubbled over. A faith that ran deeper than any faith I had experienced a joy at least as great as my joy when I was told that Mary would be born. All I saw in her was pure faith and pure joy that had to be a gift from God.
 Think about the circumstances. She was young, betrothed; Joseph had been away for some time. I know the whole village was looking at her as an adulteress. In spite of the fact that she could have been dishonored, rejected, and even stoned if Joseph believed that she was unfaithful; I didn't see any fear in her; just peace and deep faith.
 As she recounted the story of the angel, her response to the angel spoke volumes to me. She said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” When Mary greeted cousin Elizabeth, she had a beautiful song of faith to sing. It was so moving I wrote it down so I would never forget it… now where is that.
  (Video)
 I know, it sounds crazy, but I ask you… How could I not believe in her faith? How could I not believe that she experienced something remarkable? How could I not believe what she was telling me? 
Yes, it sounds crazy... But I guess the question is where does crazy stop and faith begin.
People thought Noah was crazy but when the rains came, his faith was proven.
People thought Abraham was crazy, but when Isaac came, his faith was proven.
People thought Moses was crazy, but when they crossed into the Promised Land after 40 years, his faith was proven.
 People thought that David was crazy for facing Goliath, but when the giant fell, his faith was proven.
People thought Solomon was crazy for building the magnificent temple. But when it opened and people were able to worship there, his faith was proven.
Everyone, including Joseph, was sure that Mary had been unfaithful, except for Anna and me. We were the only ones who believed her.
The angel came to Joseph, and he believed too. Everyone else thought we were crazy for believing Mary, but when the baby was born, and the angels sang, and the Magi visited, and the dove appeared at his baptism, and the Miracles and teaching begin... And when the tomb was empty... I have to ask who's crazy now?
I have tried to live a life of faith in God, but I look back at the faith of that young child placing her life in the hands of God, I realize that my faith doesn't add up to much.
 I have tried to live a life of faith in God but when I think of that young child singing that song of faith in spite of her circumstances; when I think of her facing the ridicule, and condemnation, and judgment of the whole city; when I think of her courage, her single-minded devotion to serving God, her total submission to God's plan, my faith doesn't add up to much.
I have tried to live a life of faith in God but when I think of Mary standing at the foot of the cross watching her son, my grandson, and more importantly God Son, dying on that cross, my faith doesn't add up to much.
I have tried to live a life of faith in God but when I think of Mary discovering the empty tomb of our Lord on that Easter morning so long ago; when I imagine her in her heart singing her song all over again. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...for the Mighty One has done great things ... holy is his name”… when I think of her heart fairly bursting with joy, believing from the very beginning that what the angel said would finally be proven in the end; I realize that my faith doesn't add up to much.


 How about you? Would you have that much Faith? Could you have that much faith? 
I have to admit, I probably only believed because of my love for my only daughter, Mary.
No one is asking you to believe what I tell you because of who I am. I am asking you to believe because of who Jesus was:  God himself in a womb and the cradle, Teaching and healing, living and dying, and rising again for your salvation and mine.

I don't ask you to believe for my sake,   for Mary's sake, for Jesus sake... but for your sake: for your salvation. Have faith and rejoice… for your savior has come.

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Voices from the fringes: Zephaniah --- Advent 2017 December 3, 2017

Voices from the fringes
Advent 2017
 December 3, 2017
 Where is that pastor of yours? He drags me here across 27 centuries to talk to you and he doesn't even show up!
 He is probably scared because he’s familiar with my work. The book that bears my name in your Old Testament doesn't have a very good reputation. There are many who think that it's nothing but doom and gloom, threats, and destruction, fear and judgment. He's afraid of me.
 He's not wrong. At least not completely wrong. About 75% of my book is judgment. It starts out,                 "I will utterly sweep away everything from
the face of the earth, says the Lord.3 I will sweep away humans and animals;  I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.I will make the wicked stumble. I will cut off humanity  from the face of the earth, says the Lord."
 I know that sounds harsh but in my day there were many people who followed the God Baal, people who worship stars, people who worship all kinds of foreign gods even wearing the clothes of those nations to be more like them.
In my day, people were complacent saying, “The Lord will neither do good nor do harm because God is powerless.” Sound familiar? I believe you would call them spiritual but not religious today. They believe that God could not or would not either help them or harm them. He was just a powerless being watching helplessly over creation.
In my day, and again this will sound familiar to you, some people didn't care about anything but building bigger and better houses, having bigger and better vineyards, drinking more and more wine, becoming more and more powerful. All of life revolved around them and their pleasure,
  That's why I wrote " That day will be a day of wrath,  a day of distress and anguish,a day of ruin and devastation,  a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities  and against the lofty battlements." 
The truth is neither their silver nor their gold would save them. Neither their magnificent mansions nor their vast vineyards give them refuge. Neither powerful friends nor their huge egos could save them.
 I tried to warn them. I wrote You better change "O shameless nation, before you are driven away like the drifting chaff, before there comes upon you the fierce anger of the Lord,  before there comes upon you the day of the Lord’s wrath. " 

Why did I want to warn them? I don’t know. Maybe I wanted to warn them because, like my great-grandfather, the famous King Hezekiah, I really did care for the people individually, the nation as a whole, and our relationship to God.
After Great Grandpa Hezekiah's death, of course, uncle Manasseh took the throne and led the nation down a terrible road. He seems to have forgotten that when the northern kingdom did that, they lost everything and were deported to Assyria. He encouraged the people to worship other gods, and undid the righteous policies of his grandpa Hezekiah. I blame Manasseh for a lot of the mess, but in the end, each person must take responsibility. I want them to know that they WILL face judgment.
Of course, Manasseh didn’t live forever. Things have been better since  Josiah became King. He tried to turn the nation back toward God. But it was too little too late. Josiah’s reforms would not last long. Soon the people of Judah would return to their wickedness and their rebellion against God and God would be forced to act.
That’s what I tried to tell them. But they would not listen. It wasn’t long before Babylon swept through our nation, destroyed our cities, our homes, and everything we owned. Then to add insult to injury, they carried our people off to exile in Babylon.

 Some thought that was the day of the Lord of which I spoke. Though it was certainly an act of judgment, a direct consequence of the faithlessness of the nation, the day of the Lord is a much bigger picture than the Babylonian exile.
 Early on in my book, I write about God carrying a lamp through the streets of Jerusalem. I described God as looking for people who say in their hearts that the Lord will not, or cannot, do anything. The important part of that image is that on the Day of Judgment … on the darkest day in human history, God brought light to search out a remnant. God is a righteous judge, but deep down inside he is a savior. Yes, God searches out those who do not trust him for judgment, but more importantly, God brings a light to search through the darkness to save those who do.
That’s what the last ½ chapter of my book is about.  God is among us to save us.

I am here to tell you that I didn’t know not at the time, but 650 years later, that same God who brought light to the dark streets of Jerusalem to save the people, saw fit to come as a light to the world in order to save the world.
The day of the Lord is more than a day of destruction. It is more than a day of wrath. It is more than a day of distress. It is more than a day of anguish. It is more than a day ruin. It is more than a day of devastation. It is more than a day of darkness. It is more than a day of gloom.
 In the end I write, “The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,    he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” The Lord, your God, is in your midst. The Lord, your God, is in your midst! Isn’t that amazing?  No matter how I say it, or how many times I hear it, I can’t get over it.
“The Lord, your God, is in your midst.” God is in the midst of his people not just for judgment, but for salvation. the Lord your God is in your midst, not just for judgment, but for salvation.

650 years after I preached the day of the Lord, God came in a way I never imagined. In Jesus Christ, God came as a “light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”   In Jesus Christ God came as the light not to destroy, but to save.
 Jesus had his own vision of the day of the lord. He said, “Today, I have come to preach good news to the poor to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” Not just a day of judgment but a year of salvation.

When I was preaching, some 650 years before Jesus, I couldn't imagine it. But when Jesus came, he was God in your midst. When Jesus came it was God in your midst for salvation, Hope, for singing, for shouting, for exultation, for victory.
 Some have said that the last half of the last chapter of my book doesn't belong there because it is so different from the rest. It offers a vision of God in our midst saving instead of slaughtering. Rescuing, rather than retaliating. Healing rather than hurting. Bringing light and life instead of death and destruction.
 In fact, both are true. God is a God who judges. God is a God who cannot tolerate the worshiping of other Gods, the harming of his people, or single-minded self-interest. That is all true.  It is just as true, though, that God put on flesh, God put on skin and moved into the neighborhood not to judge, but to save. God was no longer way up there, unapproachable and incomprehensible. God was here in Jesus Christ bringing the light of divine love to the world that I couldn’t even imagine 650 years earlier.

•           God is a God who cannot tolerate the abuse of the poor at the hands of the wealthy, but instead of destruction, God came in Jesus preaching good news to the poor, feeding the hungry, and serving those whom no one else would touch.
•           God cannot tolerate the hatred between different groups of his children, but instead of the day of the Lord bringing the much-deserved destruction, God lived among you in Jesus to break down the dividing walls between Jews. and Greeks, and Samaritans, and Romans, and tax collectors, and prostitutes. In Jesus the light of the world, God came into your midst teaching love your neighbor
•           God cannot tolerate the lies that make your needs, your wants, your wealth, and your power into the most important thing in the world. But instead of destruction, God came into your midst in Jesus Christ as an example of humility, and gentleness, and servanthood.
•           God cannot tolerate the darkness in which people live. A darkness created by their own unwillingness to open their eyes to God coupled with their blind refusal to open their heart to their neighbors. But instead of destroying you in the darkness of your night, God came in Jesus to be the light that shone in the darkness and the darkness could not overcome it. Not the darkness of my day, and not the darkness of your day.

 I am very aware that the beginning of my writing is dark and frightening and hopeless. But I'm grateful that God is bigger than the darkness, bigger than fear, bigger than hopelessness and that I was granted a glimpse, just a small glimpse, of a loving God not looming over us to destroy us but walking among us to save us.

This advent season may you embrace a God who is mighty and powerful and awesome. But may you also embrace a God so intimate that he can be born in a manger, and in your hearts, so that you too might be light in a very dark world. AMEN