Windows into heaven: Light from the heavenly banquet communion FUMC 1/25 and 1/26

Windows into heaven: Light from the heavenly banquet communion             

FUMC 1/25 and 1/26

Picture it. You are invited to a great banquet. The invitation comes engraved on that really high-quality paper

 Finally, the night comes, and you walk into the room and the beauty of the room and table takes your breath away. The beautiful decorations say, “Someone went through a lot of work for me.” You are ushered to your place at the table. You’re surprised to se that you are surrounded by people you know and love, or maybe people you always wanted to meet.

 While everyone is laughing and celebrating, the food starts coming out. And it keeps coming out... and it keeps coming out. Baskets of food, plates of food, bowls of food, gravy boats of food, Oh, and then my favorite… the deserts start coming out. There is more food than an army could eat in a year.

Although there are thousands of people at the table, the host talks to each one… and even knows your name. If you need something, he gets up to get it himself… because he told the servers to sit down at the table and enjoy the feast.

It is the best night of your life. And best of all, the host says, “the table is always set, come back any time!”

Does that sound kind of like a fairy tale? You know like you have just fit into the glass slipper or found a genie in a bottle? You might think it is fanciful, but communion is just such a banquet. Maybe it is even better because you don’t have to dress up and you won’t gain any weight.

 The Jews, before Jesus, of course, ate together often. There were a lot of occasions and a lot of festivals, but Our first reading today talked about Passover as one of those family banquet times.

In new testament times, and even today, Passover is still the ultimate banquet. Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples on the night of his arrest. We refer to it as the last supper. We think of it like this…

Wait until I start again

 but it probably looked more like this.

Our window today is what I call the “light of the great banquet.” Of all the windows this one is probably the most straight-forward.

             

 Let’s start overall. The backgrounds of each window Is blue. In stained glass art, the color blue is used to denote heaven or eternity. This great banquet is not just the one that happened 2000 years ago. It is not just the communion we will share today. It is those, but it is so much more.

It is a banquet prepared from the beginning of the world when God gave Adam and Eve a banquet in the garden of Eden and they stuffed themselves on the apple appetizer. And It is the wedding banquet described at the end of time in Revelation 19 where the Lamb (Jesus) takes the church as his bride.

Communion is the eternal past rolled into the eternal present and tucked inside the eternal future. When we receive communion, we are partaking with all those who celebrated Passover before Jesus. We share with the disciples where Jesus invited us to, “Do this in remembrance of me.” We are partaking with the early church in the catacombs, Martin Luther and John Wesley, and everyone since. We receive with all those who do today. And we are communing with all those who will be.

Think about it. All of eternity past, present, and future all packed into that one little cup. That’s pretty amazing.

 Let’s move to the two outside windows the Window with the wheat on the left and the window with the grape vines on the right. The scrolls don’t seem to have any special meaning except they are place to write a scripture.

The wheat banner contains John 6:35. “I am the bread of life.” The crowd from yesterday’s feeding of the 5000 has followed Jesus to the other side of the lake. They are harassing Jesus, clamoring for a meal like the one they had yesterday. with 5000 other people. Jesus replies, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”. Hear that. NEVER as in eternity.

There is one other thing here. There are 10 heads of wheat. 10 is an important number in the Hebrew tradition. 10 is made by adding the numbers 4 and 6. In Hebrew Numerology we talked about the number 6 in that front window up top. 6 blue gems represent humanity. Not coincidently the 6 heads are in two groups of three… oops, 3 again… trinity. Those 6 heads surround 4 heads in the middle. 4 is the number of physical creation. The Bread of communion is a cooperative effort of God the creator (represented by the trinity) creations fruitfulness (the number 4) and humanity’s sowing and tending the crop and it all comes together here.

The other window again has the banner. It also has a grape vine, with no fruit. No grapes are shown.

There are how many leaves? 3 which means trinity, Out of God grows the vine (Jesus) who brings life and we as the branches must stay connected to the vine to have life. The banner is John 15:5. If we read that including the verse the vine.

Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Jesus.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Maybe, whereas the wheat window reminds of the cooperative role of life and therefore no fruit without God.

 Then we come to the centerpiece of the window: the cup and grapes. If you notice, the cluster of grapes that lays in the cup is  still attached to the branch.

  “You cannot bear fruit unless you abide in me” … unless you are attached to me. The juice becomes the blood of Christ, not because of us, but because of who God is. As we abide in Christ, we are filled with the life giving, sin forgiving, fruit bearing life of Christ. That is the reason we tear off a piece of bread and hand it to you. Communion is not something you take, but something God gives. We receive communion… by no worth, or work of our own.

Surrounded by the wheat on one side representing the partnership, and the grape vine on the other representing the sovereignty of God, communion becomes the perfect union between our work and God’s work in salvation and in the coming of the kingdom.

 Going back to that banquet table, look around. You’ll probably find people who surprise you. Individuals you judged as unworthy. Groups you may have stereotyped because of a few individuals. People with whom you disagree. It is a good thing for them that Jesus is the host because we probably would not have invited them. But then it is a good thing for us too, because we are as unworthy as anyone to be at the table. A community… like a family is not filled with cookie cutter people. We are enriched by people of different colors, ideas, ages, beliefs, and lives. God’s community gathered around h table is the most diverse community ever gathered… and yet.

And the word communion is the word of “union.” It is not enough to have a widely diverse guest list, but if the union falls apart there is no community. When we are around the table of our Lord Jesus Christ there is no us and them. There is no mine and yours. There are no turf wars. There is no bickering or bullying, there is no too old or too young, there are no church members and guests. … why? … because if one member hurts, we all hurt. If one member is lifted up, we are all lifted up. And besides being one with each other we are one with Jesus, abiding in him who is the head of the body of Christ.

This is the table of community. The table of unity in Christ Jesus. A table of unity with Christ Jesus. It is a table of grace.

during communion, we will be playing Philipps Craig and Dean’s song “table of grace.” But I really want to point out the first words.

Hear the good news, you've been invited

No matter what others may say

Your darkest sins will be forgiven

You will always have a place

At the table of grace, the cup's never empty

The plate's always full and it's never too late

To come and be filled with love never ending

You're always welcome at the table of grace

Play short video table of grace

 

Windows into heaven Week 2- Carroll UMC

Windows into heaven

Week 2- Carroll UMC

This is our second week on the windows in the church. Last week we talked about what I have come to call the “eternity window.”

 This week we move to what I call the “Promise window.”

Look at our windows here. In what shape are our windows designed? How many of you have noticed that each of the windows along the side is in an angel?  See it?  What is an angel? An angel is a messenger. These beautiful angels bring us a message.  Now the angels are collected into groups of how many?  3? What did I say last week about 3? When we see three of anything in a church the first thought should be trinity. These angels are bringing us a message from the divine triunity- who was, is and always will be.

 Each angel has different message, but I have tried to see an overarching theme in each set of three.  I call this window the “promise window.” Technically maybe it should be the covenant window, but covenants and contracts are so legal and technical. In terms of our relationship to God, I think promise is the best word. There are three promises in this window.

 Let’s start with the 10 commandments in the middle.  These would represent the Mosaic covenant or promise.  In Exodus chapter 19, God promised Moses

 

The promise is twofold:

•            Keep my commandments and you will be my treasured possession.

•            And Keep the commandments and you shall be a priestly nation.

In chapter 20 God lays out the 10 commandments they are to follow if they want to be God’s treasured possession and a priestly nation.

Now, I didn’t notice until this week that there is a little greenery behind the tablet. I could not find anything about the combination of those symbols. But look closely isn’t the vine in the shape of the cross?  And when we see vines in stain glass it usually depicts the true vine through whom all life comes. New life comes to us, the branches, through Jesus, the vine.

 

•            Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live Proverbs 4:4

•            Keep my commandments and live Proverbs 7:2

•            If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. Matthew 19:17

I think the combination of the commandments and the living cross is a great way to of speak of the promise of life for those who are faithfully obedient.

Much more could be said about the message of the central angel, but today I want to focus more on the other two.

 Right-hand angel shows a boat and a bird. What do you suppose that is about? I know that the Sunday school Children have been studying this.  I wonder if we have someone who has listed very carefully in Sunday School and could come help me with this window.

I’ll just ask a few questions and see if you can help us.

•            What do you see in that window? (ark)

•            Who is in the ark? (Noah and animals)

•            I know that Noah built the ark, but can you tell us why?

o            Because God commanded him

o            In order to Stay out of the flood waters

•            Do you know why there was a flood?  (It was because people were very sinful.) We might say that means they didn’t live by God’s commandments. To be fair, Noah lived long before God gave people the 10 commandments. They should have known, however, that when people lie, steal, cheat, and kill that makes God very sad… maybe even a little mad, but not scary mad. God is mad enough, though that God decided to give the world a good cleaning.  Noah as the one good man in the world who did not need to be cleaned, so he was instructed to build an ark.

Does anyone see another ark in our sanctuary? First, take just the sanctuary… then cut off the floor so you have just the walls and roof. Now flip it over and see if it will float?  If it wouldn’t float, it looks like it could. 

•            Now, what else do you see there? (Dove)

•            What was the dove for? (So, Noah knew when it as safe to get off the boat.)

 There is one other part of the story that is missing.  Do you know what?  The rainbow. What did the rainbow mean? God would never destroy the earth by flood again. And God made a promise.  God said

You did a great job… can I ask you one last trick question and a knock knock joke? …Knock knock!... who’s there? Noah…. Noah who?

You Noah lot about Noah and the ark, don’t you?  Thanks for helping

             

 So, there’s one last angel in this window.

That is the angel of the baptism with the promise of eternal life. 

Today is Baptism of our Lord Sunday so we read the story of Jesus’ baptism.  It Is Baptism of Marlee Sunday.  And it is a day for us all to remember that we were baptized and be thankful.

Baptism was first an act of repentance and cleansing and second, affirming whose they were.

And Jesus baptism adds one more thing.  In Jesus baptism, it was not all about him. The dove came down and the voice spoke this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.  In his baptism, God named him and claimed Jesus as his own.

Now notice the flowers?  As always, a vine in stained glass makes us think of the vine that brings life to the branches. But there is more here. Besides being the second appearance of the vine in these three windows this is a specific kind of plant.

This is a lotus plant and flowers. Lotus flowers grow in the mud and muck of the bottom of shallow lakes. They grow from the ugliness of the bottom until finally emerging into the light where its leaves float on the surface of the pond and it blooms.

Our world is rooted in the muck of sin. We are mired in the muck of sin.

God used an ark to save Noah from the mud and muck of the flood.

God carved the commandments on the hearts of his people when he still had the mud of Egyptian slavery and the muck the red sea on their feet.

God Saved us once and for all from the muck of our sin by drawing us to the mystery ad miracle of baptism.

We need to be cleansed… we need the miracle and mystery that is baptism.

•            The miracle is that God has created a way to raise us from the muck and mire of sin and make us clean.

•            The Mystery of baptism is that in this mighty act of redemption God speaks to you.  God speaks to me.  God speaks to anyone who will submit to the mysterious miraculous waters.  just as God spoke at Jesus’ baptism,

•            In that Mystery, God speaks again to claim us and names us as God’s own.  God places his brand on our foreheads and says to all creation this one is mine… this is my child… this one loves me back. 

•            This one is special.

It seems that often with God’s promise, God gives a sign. The Rainbow of hope for Noah, the heavy stone tablets of the law. In Jesus’ Baptism, it was the dove and the voice from heaven. In our baptism, God gives us a sign.  Kind of like a brand that tells the world that this one belongs to God.   A reminder to us that God knows us, claims us and names us as beloved children.

 I don’t know about you, but I need reminders all the time. Just ask Sherri or my wife. But especially I need to be remined that God has adopted me, cleaned me up, and staked his claim on my life.

I don’t know what God’s brand looks like, but I think a rainbow is as likely as anything. 

A rainbow-reminder that no matter how hard it is, no matter how much temptation we may face, no matter how much we may fall to sin. When the clouds part God’s rainbow is a reminder to God of God promise to never leave us and never forsake us. And it is a reminder to us of God’s goodness, God’s faithfulness, and God’s grace.

May this baptism renewal be a celebration of all that God is to us and all we can be in God.

 Come remember you are baptized and be thankful.

 

Windows into heaven #1 let the light shine: Eternity Window January 5 and 6 2020

Windows into heaven #1

let the light shine: Eternity Window

January 5 and 6 2020

Close your eyes for just a moment if you will. Is it dark in there? It should be.

Let’s take a tour of the darkness.

Let’s start by looking way off in the distance to the dark clouds that hang over places like China, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Somalia the list could go on and on. Dictators and regimes suck up all the light for themselves. For the people in those countries, this is a dark day.

Way off in the other direction lies a dark rumbling of the worlds hungry. They say there is enough food for everyone. Why do we still see starving children, malnourished mothers, and a woman in Haiti gathering kernels of corn to feed her family out of the gutter that serves both storm and sanitary sewer. This is a dark day.

Look a little closer to home, and we see the dark hopelessness of people illegally trying to gain access to our country and our struggle of how to handle the flow of people across our border in a way that is both just and loving. This is a dark day.

Not too far the other direction the dark cloud is stained blood-red by violence; school shootings, church and synagogue shootings, violence against police officers and violence by police officers, gangs are shooting each other and innocent bystanders, a girl is intentionally run over by a car because she looked Hispanic. This is a dark day.

Even closer to home, see the darkness in the homes tiptoeing around an alcoholic. The darkness of abuse of all kinds. Bullies on the playground and at work. People stop taking medicine because they can’t afford it. The mentally ill are housed in jails instead of hospitals. And those we have elected to dark day.

 Isaiah writes, “DARKNESS SHALL COVER THE EARTH, AND THICK DARKNESS THE PEOPLE.” BUT. (YOU CAN OPEN YOUR EYES NOW). BUT that is one of the best words of hope “but.” BUT, Isaiah continues, “THE LORD WILL ARISE UPON YOU, AND HIS GLORY WILL APPEAR OVER YOU.” THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS ABOUT TO SHINE ON US

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  When I walk into the sanctuary my eye is immediately drawn up to the beautiful rose window above the Jesus window and that’s what it makes me feel, like the glory of the Lord is shining upon me. The Jesus window is very cool, but it seems that the slope of the roof, the shape of the window itself, the narrowing of the chancel area first carries my eyes to that beautiful rose window above the Jesus Window.

This window is the one that says to me “darkness may cover the earth, and thick darkness may blind the people. BUT THE LORD WILL RISE UPON US AND HIS GLORY WILL SHINE all OVER YOU.” It reminds me of Matthew 4:16 “THE PEOPLE LIVING IN DARKNESS HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT; ON THOSE LIVING IN THE LAND OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH A LIGHT HAS DAWNED."

No matter how dark the day, Whenever I come into the sanctuary, the light streaming through that window with its sunrise colored amber glass is like dawn to me.

We are not the first of God’s people to see the darkness and hope and light.

Before creation, “DARKNESS WAS ON THE FACE OF THE DEEP.” But God who dwells in glorious light and is light itself proclaimed to the darkness of the chaos, “LET THERE BE LIGHT.”

When darkness once again was on the face of the deep during the flood of Noah. God sent light to create a rainbow as a sign of God’s covenant with all the generations of Noah. “LET THERE BE LIGHT.”

When darkness spread across the people of Israel conscripted as slaves in Egypt, God sent light to a bush for a man named Moses. Moses followed the command to “LEAD MY PEOPLE OUT OF EGYPT. “LET THERE BE LIGHT.”

While the plague of darkness still covered Egypt, God broke through the darkness with the pillar of fire by night, to light the way for the Israelites to escape across the Red Sea.

 The back and forth battle between light and darkness continued year after year and king after king. The prophets by and large promised nothing but darkness.

Until we come to this beautiful and illuminating passage from Isaiah, 60:1-2 “ARISE, SHINE; FOR YOUR LIGHT HAS COME, AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD HAS RISEN UPON YOU. FOR DARKNESS SHALL COVER THE EARTH, AND THICK DARKNESS THE PEOPLES; BUT THE LORD WILL ARISE UPON YOU, AND HIS GLORY WILL APPEAR OVER YOU.”

Can we read that and not think of the angel chorus we talked about last week?

Can we read it without thinking of the wise men following the bright light in the sky we call star of Bethlehem? They were not sure where they were going, they were not even Jewish, but they were sure that they were following God’s light.

That is the story we celebrate today, on Epiphany Sunday. God chose some foreign, non-Jewish astrologers, whom we call magi because their religion included magic (which was strictly forbidden in the Jewish religion.) God chose these foreigners to see a light and believe that it would lead them to the King of the Jews. They followed that light probably for a long time. Maybe 2 years. Whatever the outcome these magi followed a star, God’s light in the sky to find Jesus.

 Do you see the star in the window? A star for us to follow. A star to lead us to the king of Kings and Lord of Lords. It is a 6-pointed star which is a star of David. Jesus was “of the house and lineage of David.” No matter what kind of darkness may surround us, we have this bright star before us. No matter how dark your life may be and no matter how lost we get, if we follow the star the light of Christ, which the darkness cannot conquer, the light of the world, the light that comes to all people, God will be with us because Psalm 139 says “EVEN THE DARKNESS WILL NOT BE DARK TO YOU (O LORD); THE NIGHT WILL SHINE LIKE THE DAY, FOR DARKNESS IS AS LIGHT TO YOU.

1

 The star is surrounded by blue jewels. It seems to be reaching out to the Jewels inviting them in. See the blue Jewels? How many are there in each section (6) Why 6? 6 days you shall work and on the 7th you shall rest. These could represent the 6 days of creation. Alternatively, in Hebrew numerology, 7 is the number of perfection or completion and 6 is the number for an imperfect humanity. We might say that these represent a very imperfect humanity toiling in their day to day darkness. The star has gathered from across the earth (even magicians from far away) Gathering to see the star that proclaimed the birth of the one who was in the beginning and will be in the end. The Alpha and Omega.

 Now notice the arms of the star, or some people call it the flower, are created by overlapping circles. How many of them? Six. The same number as points on the star and the same as the blue jewels. However, there is one more circle the same size.   Right there around the points of the star. Seven circles then. I said that 7 is the number of perfection or completion. Do you know that the circle is also the perfect shape? It is the shape of eternity, no beginning and no end.   The sign for infinity is a circle folded back on itself… a figure 8 on its side, The 6 circles make 3 signs for infinity

(ONE).  

(TWO) 

 (THREE)   If we are being drawn or invited in by the star, we are invited into all

 the circles of eternity …into all the circles of eternal life …

Into the infinite circle of the eternal kingdom of God. We are drawn into participation in the only one who is truly the eternal Alpha and Omega.

 Finally, the circle of red jewels in the middle. They are in 6 groups of three. Whenever we see three, we think of the trinity and when we see red, we think of the blood of Christ.   In the center of red jewels … in the center of the trinity ring (in the center of the whole window… the cross and crown symbolizing Christ is king. 

(I enhanced that picture because zooming in any closer was getting ugly, but you get the point) Jesus is in the center of the trinity Father, SON, and Holy Spirit. In fact, Jesus is in the center of eternity, in fact, Jesus is at the center of the center of the star that we follow, in fact, Jesus is at the center of all the blue Jewels representing, of course, you and me. In fact, Jesus is in the center even when we walk in darkness.

 So, the light of heaven shining through this window could be the light of a star calling to us. If we follow, the star as the magi did, we will cross all the circles of infinity which is only possible by the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. Into the trinity circle, becoming one with God by the blood of Christ, to make Christ the center of our lives. The Risen, Reigning, King of our lives and all eternity.

 He is “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him

  He himself is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.   For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him, God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.”

 Will you follow the star?

We started by closing your eyes. Let’s end by opening them wide. Open your eyes wide and see the light of heaven streaming through the rose window. Feel the different temperatures of the color from the blue to the amber and on to the Red. Look at the symmetry.

It is calling to you? … calling you into the light of Christ.

Is it calling to you?... calling you into the kingdom of God.

Is it calling to you? … Calling you to be a light that shines in the darkness of this world?

Remember I said Epiphany Sunday celebrates the wise men? The word Epiphany actually comes from a Greek word meaning “to appear.”

In Christmas, God appeared right in the middle of the darkness of human existence.

As you look into the window, is it possible that God is appearing to you right now asking you to shine light into the darkness of violence, or bullying, or abuse, or mental health treatment, or some other darkness in our world?

As you look into the window, is it possible that God is appearing to you right now asking you to be a light that will disperse someone else’s darkness?

As you look into the window, is it possible that God is appearing to you right now by piercing whatever darkness may be in your heart or life.

As you look into the window, is it possible that God is appearing to you right now asking you to take a step toward Jesus? Take your first step or take your next step toward Jesus who is himself the light that shines in the darkness.

Jesus is the light that no one can put out.