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.

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 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.

Journey #5 December 29, 2019 Carroll First UMC

Journey #5  December 29, 2019

Carroll First UMC

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?  Some did.  Others might not have…but that is kind of the nature of Christmas, isn’t it?  It is full of surprises.  Some good, others disappointing.

Studying the Christmas story can be like that.  You see this is the kind of stuff that they don’t teach us in Sunday school, but the truth is that the widely popular picture we have in our minds of just what happened on that first Christmas has some minor inaccuracies in it. None of them change the story, but I find them interesting.

 You may be surprised to find out that there probably wasn’t an Inn or an innkeeper in the Christmas story.  The word that has been translated “inn” is more accurately a guest room. Remember they were poor and could probably never have imagined staying at the Bethlehem Mariot. And since Bethlehem was Joseph’s hometown they probably didn’t need to.  It is much more likely that there was no room in the guest room of the family home.

An alternative thought is that there was room for them to sleep, but with all the cousins and nieces and nephews also staying in the guest room, there was no privacy for them to have a baby. So instead of there being no “room,” maybe they needed their own “place.”  

 So, they went to the stable. The stable, in those days, was essentially the family garage, and very likely (like most houses) it was a cave rather than a wooden barn. So, we can think of this as the family fixed up the garage or basement for the expecting parents.  That’s a surprise, isn’t it? This picture shows the cave under the church of the nativity (called the Grotto of the nativity) and the arrow points to a star on the floor is the traditional spot of Jesus’ birth.

 Similarly, the manger was probably not a wooden box as we envision it.  Wood was a precious commodity in that part of the world.  More likely, it was a stone feeding trough.  I have a feeling if I want an authentic stone manger next year, Nina will tell me I am on my own.

I don’t mean to burst you bubble, but I want you to think critically and have an open mind to learning that not all our romantic ideas of Christmas are 100% historical.

 Today, however, I want to spend most of our time talking about the angels.    What’s so surprising about angels?  Well, first, this is the 4th time we see angels in this story.  (One each at Mary’s, Joseph’s, and Zechariah’s annunciation and now to the shepherds) Nowhere in the Bible, do angels appear more often than in the Christmas story. 

 Angels are messengers.  Messengers from God to people.  God had been trying to get his message of good news and great love and grace to people for 5000 years.  His message kept getting lost somewhere in the spam filter of our brains.  This time God was just bound and determined that we would get the message. 

So far in this story, God’s messengers have appeared to a respected, but skeptical Jewish priest (Zechariah) and a poor little girl named Mary, a common Jewish laborer (Joseph), and now to the shepherds..  God used a mass marketing advertising campaign before Jesus was ever born to make sure that, if not everybody, at least somebody was listening.

 Today we read of perhaps the most spectacular angel message of all-- this is the Super bowl commercial of angel messages. 

 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.10But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11

 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

 2This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’  13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’

Let’s look at the angel's message because I think it will tell us something important about God, something about Jesus, and something about being a disciple of the newborn king.

 The first thing the angel said was “don’t be afraid for behold.”  This must have been quite a shock to the shepherds.  “Don’t be afraid for behold.” 

I was interested in the combination of Greek words here because they are so vivid and active.  If I were be play amateur Bible Translator, I would translate this as “don’t run away like a frightened lamb.  Stop and REALLY SEE … REALLY SOAK IN this sight and this message.  The angel said, “Do not be fleeing but be seeing”

 Then the angel says, “I have good news for you and all people.” Now, we must understand the audience.  Good communication is always directed at a specific audience.  There were in that region- around Bethlehem- Shepherds.  Now shepherds were among the lowest rung on the ladder of workers in Israel. Of course lower would have been someone who had an unclean job like swineherd, picking up dead carcasses or tax collector.  

Shepherds were dirty, smelly, perhaps a little rough around the edges-- but they were also for the most part humble, honest people.  Notice it was not just to regular shepherds that the message was directed.  “There was in that region shepherds out in their fields keeping their watch over their flocks by night.”  This was the night shift of shepherds.  Talk about the lowest of the low.  These guys are the underling…wanna-a-bees that worked for the shepherds who went to be with their families after a hard day in the field.  It was to these second-class shepherds that the angel's message came.

God’s message that came to the lowliest of the low shepherds. The angels say, “to you and to all people.” The message also came to men and women, wealthy and poor, religious, non-religious, and even people who followed other religions like the Magi. To all people and to us. No matter who you are, no matter what kind of life you live, no matter how religious you are or are not, no matter what you have done or used to do, no matter what family problems you have, or how you have hurt your loved ones, no matter what you think in the dark quiet corners of your heart; God’s message of love for you reaches out from God’s heart to yours.  To you and to all people…

 What did he want the shepherds to "behold "? 

He wanted them to see “good news of great joy.”  It is news of great joy, not great fear.  How long do you suppose it had been since these lowest of low, night shift shepherds had heard good news?  As we look back on 2019, how much good news has there been.

There isn’t much good happening in Washington, or south Korea, or China, or Jerusalem.

 The United Methodist denomination is coming apart at the seams.

There are hurricanes and the death of Haden Fry.

There is the opioid addiction crisis, the condition of the mental health system, and the broken healthcare system.

A person just gets beaten down by all the bad news.  When you are already on the bottom of the social ladder like the night shift shepherds, there isn’t very far to go down, but that doesn’t make the darkness any easier. 

             I suspect they were ready for some good news of Great joy. I am too. And I’ll bet you are too.  That good news is “God has come this day in the city of David.  a SAVIOR who is CHRIST the LORD”

 I don’t know about you, but I could use a savior. A savior comes to save us from our sins and guilt, however Paul reminds us that sin that lives in us. I need someone to save me from a life of complete narcissism focused on wanting “more more more” I need someone to save me from screwing up my marriage.  I need someone to save me from being the worst person I can be. I need someone to save me from my guilt and shame, from hopelessness and despair, from fear and a living death.  I need someone to save me from my self-centeredness, self-absorption, resentfulness, bitterness. 

I need someone to save me in order to free me from regret and guilt over things past.

I need someone to save me so I can be loving and seek justice and offer compassion.  Don’t we all need someone to save us from the ugliness of our shared human condition?  Don’t we all need a Savior to make us the people God wants us to be?

“A savior who is Christ.”  Christ is the Greek version of the word messiah. 

Messiah is a Divine King expected to come to rule and raise the people out of darkness into the light of the kingdom of heaven.

I don’t know about you, but I could use a messiah or divine king lead me out of my brokenness and deliver some healing and hope. We could use a divine king to lead our church nation and world out of the hole we are digging for ourselves and into God’s glorious light. We all need a messiah.

“A savior who is Christ the Lord.” I don’t know about you, but I could use a Lord. I need a reason for being that is beyond my self-centered desires. I need to be focused on serving someone greater than I. I need a Lord to serve.  Someone to live for, someone to honor and obey and serve?  Don’t we all need a Lord?

We need a savior, a messiah, and lord.  The angels said, “To you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is the messiah and the lord.” We all need a savior to save us from ourselves (which is to say sin) …We will need a messiah to give us hope beyond our own small existence. We all need a Lord to bring us meaning and purpose beyond ourselves.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’

This is the tag line at the end of the commercial.  It is God’s tag line saying, “I’m God, and I approve this message”

Are you willing?  How badly do you want salvation?  How much do you need the hope of a savior? 

Are you willing?  How badly do you need to be lifted out of darkness into the light of divine hope by the messiah come to all people as a baby born in a manger?

 Are you willing?  Willing to lay your life before the Lord of Life who died for our sake to free you from the death grip that sin has on your heart? Are you willing? 

If you are wiling but have never made the commitment to discipleship, or if you feel like you need to renew it. Pray silently with me right now.

If you are willing let’s stand and proclaim Jesus as Savior, Christ, and Lord using the ancient words of the Nicene Creed.

Journey #4 Carroll UMC 12/22/19

Journey #4 Carroll UMC

12/22/19

  Finally! … Christmas is almost here so we finally hear what most people call “the Christmas story.” They might say that everything before this was setting the stage. In musical terms, they might say that all that came before was prelude.

If they say it was JUST setting the stage, or JUST prelude they would be mistaken… because the way the stage is prepared is important to the story. And the prelude is critical for preparing us for worship. You might not be as aware as I am of it, but our musicians spend a lot of time looking for the right prelude for every service.

The passage before us today, about Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, does look back on a long salvation history, which provides the context and helps us to understand the how the Christmas story fits into God’s big picture of salvation. All the generations before all God’s mighty acts of the past are the perfect prelude to God’s decisive act in Jesus Christ.

 I was taught that Mary and Joseph likely took an eastern route from Nazareth along the Jordan River to Bethlehem. This would have been the safer route, skirting the territory of the Samaritans and it would have been an easier route in some ways.

 Several scholars are arguing that they would have taken the more direct route because, even though it went through the heart of Samaritan territory, with Mary 9 months pregnant they would have taken the shortest route possible.

 If that is correct, it must have been like traveling in a time machine to some of God’s most important acts in history.

As they left Nazareth by the south way and descended from the hills, straight ahead was the beautiful green, almost Eden like Jezreel plain. How could they not remember God’s first words, let there be light, and God’s sovereign power in the act of creation, with this view in front of you, how could you fail to give thanks for the beauty of creation and the God who made it?

 The valley is called the Jezreel valley. Jezreel comes from the Hebrew word that means “God sows.” How much more obvious do the hints have to be? They had to be reminded that "the earth is the lord’s and the fullness thereof.” And from one end of the earth to the other God is not only creator but master and lord.

   On their left was the Jordan river in the distance and on the other side is the wilderness in which the Israelites wondered for 40 years.

On their right was Mount Carmel the sight of Elisha’s famous showdown with the priests of Baal. Straight ahead was Mount Gilboa, the sight of King Saul’s death. You see how all this prelude is beginning to form a picture? A picture of a loving God and a reluctant people.

 As they ascended the Mountains of Gilboa, on their right and left were thousands of olive trees. From which came the oils of anointing used by the high priest to anoint every king in Israel’s history.

The oil was a sign of divine Choosing, but it is also the power of forgiveness and healing. This olive oil would later be used by the disciples to heal the sick, by Mary Magdalene to lovingly anoint Jesus’ feet. And it was brought by the women to prepare Jesus body for burial on the first Easter morning.

There is no way to see all of this and NOT remember all of the kings, prophets, messengers, and healers through whom God had been working for so long.

 Passing through the mountains would have been a slow, difficult 2-3day trip. They would probably have spent two nights. Logically, they probably stayed where other travelers seem to have stopped. One was Abrahams spring, which provided water to the father of the faith, Abraham.

 Another night was probably at Jacob’s well where Jacob settled after making up with his brother Esau. This is also the well where Jesus would meet the Samaritan woman and offer her “living water.”

These wells remind us of God sustaining provision for the people. When they needed water, there was a well. When they need hope, God provided hope. When they needed guidance, God showed them a plan. When they needed food, God provided Joseph in Egypt with storehouses of grain for them, or in another story, anam which fell from the sky providing them nourishment. Part of the prelude is we have a God who comes through when we need something.

 Finally, as they head toward Jerusalem, they encounter the most difficult part of the journey. The hills get steeper. The fertile valleys are gone. The journey goes through the treacherous Samaritan mountains. These mountains contained the infamous Jericho road of the Good Samaritan fame.

And you can imagine Mary saying, “I don’t think I can go any further.” And Joseph reassuring her, “We’re almost there dear. Just a little further.”

Similarly, when Israel had been lost, God said, let me take you a little further. When Israel felt like the road was too treacherous, God said let me take care of that for you. Part of the story of the past is that God had always been faithful. From the Garden of Eden to the Ark, to Jacob’s well, to that very day when Mary and Joseph set out on this journey.

 On the 9th or 10th day, they would have crested a hill and seen Jerusalem laid out before them. This was the city of Zion, and it was dominated by the temple and the wall. The Temple, of course, was the seat of religious power, the wall is a sign of strength. Of course, this would not be the last journey to Jerusalem. There would be others and of course. There would be one very bad one when Mary would come to stand at the foot of the cross, as the child she carried on this journey was hung as for the sins of the world.

  From Jerusalem, it was only 6 miles, another hour and a half, to Bethlehem. The last leg of the trip went through the arid and rocky hills of the Judean countryside. Until on the 10th or 11th day, they arrived in Bethlehem.

The road of faithfulness is not always a comfortable road. It is not always a safe road, it is not always the road we want to take, but we go anyway. The road of faithfulness for a young woman charged with giving birth to God’s son is not easy, but Mary did it. The road of marrying one who may have been unfaithful is not easy, but Joseph did it anyway.

  For Mary and Joseph, the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was a hardship and a nuisance caused by living in an occupied land. They were probably too exhausted to appreciate the sweep of salvation history they had seen along the way.

AND… they didn’t know of the events that were just about to unfold.

They couldn’t yet see the angel choir singing “Glory to God.”

They couldn’t imagine the shepherds rushing to the stable to see the baby.

They did not know that the Magi were already beginning their journey to pay homage to the little king.

They couldn’t imagine the crowds thronging around him, the sick pressing him for healing, the people calling out, and “Jesus save us?“

If they had known of the journey Jesus would take on the other end of his life; the journey to Jerusalem and the journey to the cross, then the journey of the first Christmas might have been too much to bear.

They certainly could not imagine that 2000 years later we would still be talking about them.

They couldn’t see any of that. Yet they made the journey. Step by dusty step they faithfully made their way to Bethlehem. Why, because Caesar said they had to? Maybe. But did you ever think that maybe Caesar was part of a bigger plan too? Just like Abraham, and Moses, and Joshua and David and Jeremiah and Elisha and Mary and Joseph and you and I.

 The Christmas story is not just about what happened 2100 years ago on a silent night in the little town of Bethlehem. The story of God’s incarnation does not begin with the angel’s annunciation to Mary. The story of Emmanuel does not begin with Joseph’s faithfulness.

The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the climax of the saga of God’s continuing efforts to be in relationship with people. Coming to be with us as a baby is the absolute clearest way God could say “I am with you” which is what God has been telling his people through all of history. Abraham, “have faith, for I am with you.” Isaac, “have faith, for I am with you.” Jacob, “have faith, for I am with you.” Moses, “have faith, for I am with you.” Wonderers through the wilderness, “have faith, for I am with you.” Joshua and Samuel, “have faith, for I am with you.” Saul and David, “have faith, for I am with you.” Isaiah, Jeremiah, Haggai and Zechariah, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Mary and Joseph- have faith in what seems almost impossible. Even though it will cost you everytyhig, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Peter, Paul, and all the Christians through the ages, “have faith, for I am with you.”

People of Carroll, even when the world is filled with school shootings, and suicide bombers, and lunatic dictators, even as we know Christian brothers and sisters gather in Palestinian held Bethlehem under the watchful eye of Arab guards with machine guns, the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Even as Christians around the world are forbidden to worship on Christmas Eve, Christians in Nigeria are killed, and the faithful in China are imprisoned for their faith, the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Even as the nation faces the impeachment drama and our trusted leaders on both sides of the aisle demonstrate abject selfishness and failure of vision and leadership, the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Even as the doctors say, “it is cancer,” or MS, macular degeneration, or diabetes, or heart failure, or depression… the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Even as your aging parents say hurtful things to you, your spouse betrays you, your children's lives swirl around the proverbial drain, the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Even as your finances are a mess, your job is less secure, and your future is far from certain, the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Even as we watch our beloved denomination list from side to side looking like it could capsize at any time, the Christmas message is “have faith I am with you.”

Jesus did not come to this earth in a vacuum. He came to an underage girl from a poor family, in an occupied corner of the world, under the weight of brutal taxation in a stable among those who would fear him and try to kill him. And in the midst of that, the Christmas message was still, “have faith, for I am with you.”

It is not a new message. It is not the kind of message that gets put up in lights or is tweeted and retweeted, it is not on the front of many Christmas cards, but is the most fundamental message of God’s work in history. It is the most fundamental message of the Christmas story. It is the most important message we could hear and share this Christmas.

 “Have faith, for God is with you.” Immanuel.

The Journey: week 2 Bethlehem 12/15/19

The Journey: week 2 Bethlehem 12/15/19

 In most of our minds, Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, traveled to Bethlehem for the Census, and returned to Bethlehem when Jesus was born. That is because we take Luke’s story and Matthew’s story, and roll them up on a nice neat ball. This is handy, but it is not quite biblical.

Before we journey 80 miles to Bethlehem for this week’s message, Let's ask, “How did Mary and Joseph meet if they didn’t live in the same town?” Great question! It seems clear that Bethlehem was Joseph’s hometown. Nazareth was Mary’s hometown. Perhaps their marriage was arranged by their families. Perhaps Joseph met Mary when he worked in Sepphoris and stayed in Nazareth. When we have to admit that we really don’t know something as important as how Mary and Joseph met, we are reminded that although they are major actors, the story is really not about them.

Whatever the case may be, last week we became familiar with Nazareth, let’s get acquainted with Bethlehem.  I said Bethlehem is 80 miles south of Nazareth. It is nestled in the hills of the Judean countryside. In those days, Nazareth was a town of about 500 people. Today is a bustling city of 25,000.

 Unfortunately, this is what one sees as they approach Bethlehem today. It is a 21-foot tall concrete wall topped by electrified fencing, two-meter-deep trenches, roads for patrol vehicles, electronic ground/fence sensors, thermal imaging and video cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sniper towers, and razor wire. Bethlem lies just barely on the other side of that wall in Palestinian territory.

 The ugly reality is that the land of Mary and Joseph is a divided land in the midst of an age-old war. On this map, the white area is Israel. The Gold area is Palestinian and Jerusalem is divided East and West. There is a “wall of separation” built by Israel in an attempt to secure its border. Unless you are Palestinian, then they built it to make life hard for the many Palestinians who happen to work in Israel and sometimes have to drive man miles out of their way to reach a gate through the wall and go through tight security just to get to work. And then have to do it all over again to get home. There are two sides to every argument and this is no exception. Let me tell you no matter which side you are on, there is enough madness and blame to go around on both sides of this dispute. That is what one sees as they come to Bethlehem.

 But back to ancient Bethlehem

It was a busy town that may have had many grain mills and bakeries since Bethlehem means city of bread. We know from the book of Ruth, Bethlehem was Naomi’s home and Ruth gleaned in the fields outside town. Her great-grandson, David. was born there and the field where he fought Goliath was about 12 miles away. David was anointed king in Bethlehem and used Bethlehem as a capital city for a while. Historically Bethlehem is one of the most important cities in Judah. In addition, Bethlehem was Joseph’s home.

 The traditional site of Joseph’s home is marked in a cave in the Church of the Nativity Complex under the church of St. Catherine. It was here that he learned his trade, which we usually think of as a carpenter,  but, as I said last week, he could also have been a stonemason. The word means one who builds with their hands.

  In today’s story.

After the angel told Mary that she was to bear the Messiah, she went to a Cousin Elizabeth’s house on the south edge of Jerusalem where she received affirmation and support. While she was there, Joseph went to visit her and found out that she was pregnant. She told him the whole story about the angel and the Holy Spirit and everything, but who could believe such a wild story? He wanted to but it was so hard!

His life seemed to be crumbling around him. His beloved had apparently been unfaithful, and on top of that, listening to her story she may be hallucinating or even mentally ill. How was Joseph feeling that day as he left Elizabeth’s house? I suspect he was feeling just like we would feel: devastated, crushed, afraid, heartbroken and embarrassed. Maybe we should even add angry and disgusted. How could she do this? How could Mary do this to him? And who was the miserable animal who had done this to Mary?

 Joseph left that day with his life upside down, his guts turned inside out, and his heart in his throat. It was only a 6-mile walk back to Bethlehem, (about 90 minutes) but it must have seemed like 40 years in the wilderness.

Haven’t we all been there? Haven’t we all experienced that 6-mile walk?

Maybe your 6-mile walk was when you experienced the unfaithfulness of a spouse or total betrayal of someone you loved and trusted.

Did you walk the 6-mile road during a medical crisis when you thought you or someone you love might have a serious medical problem? You all know about one of my 6-mile roads with Amber’s heart surgery.

Is your 6-mile road a road of grief? Facing life without a spouse, parent, child, or other close relationship is a long hard journey.

How about that job you lost, or the job you really wanted. Was that a 6-mile road?

Have you walked the 6-mile road of bankruptcy or foreclosure?

Do you know all the twists and turns on the 6-mile road of bitter failure and lost dreams?

How about 6 miles of unforgiveness

I suspect we have all been there. Most of us have not been to the holy land but we know very well that 6-mile road that Joseph walked that day. But here’s what I want you to see today. While Joseph walked that long road back to Bethlehem… At Joseph’s deepest darkest moment… God was still at work in Joseph … and God was still working in Mary’s womb. And at our deepest darkest moments… God is still with us and God is still at work for us.

We are not the first, nor was Joseph the first to experience the jumble of emotions that we feel when we walk that 6-mile road.

735 years earlier, Israel and the nation of Aram were fighting in Jerusalem’s front yard. Everyone was in a panic. The prophet Isaiah gave a word of hope to King Ahaz.

Isaiah said God will give you a sign and before long the war will end. .. God gave the sign just as Isaiah said, and the war was soon over.

Do you want to know what the sign was?… the sign was that a woman would have a child and before that child was able to know right from wrong the two nations would both fall to Assyria.

Isaiah put it this way:

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[c] a sign: The virgin[d] will conceive and give birth to a son, and[e] will call him Immanuel. (which means God with us)[f] 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

Bottom line… Isaiah’s message was that God was still working even in the midst of this terrible situation.

Fast forward 735 years and the birth of another child would be a sign, another child who will be called Emmanuel, another child that will prove that even in the midst of our deepest darkest moments God is still with us and God is still working. Of course, the Child Matthew is writing about is Jesus. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

I said God is still working. We see God’s hand was working in Joseph even while he walked back to Bethlehem. It was a long enough walk that he began to think again. His head cleared and he began to think clearly again. He was no less devastated, no less crushed, no less afraid, no less heartbroken, and no less embarrassed. But God began to change his heart. He began to think, “I do not want to see Mary killed for this.” (That was the punishment for adultery, and this would be considered adultery.)

Maybe I will just end the engagement quietly. He would let people think whatever they are going to think about him. He would still have to pay the bride price that was due at the wedding. That was his legal obligation. But then it would be over.

Having that settled in his mind he arrives home and falls exhausted into a deep sleep.

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew continues:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” [g] (which means “God with us”).

Now you see why I was talking about Isaiah. Because Matthew quotes him right here the First chapter verse 23. By quoting this passage Matthew is remind all who would read this story that God is with us and God will save his people. Isn’t that what the incarnation is all about? God with us?

God was with Israel and it was saved.

God was with Joseph and he got up from that dream and took Mary as his wife, becoming the guardian of the Christ.

In this story, God speaks two words to us today. The first word is Immanuel, which means God is with us.

The second word is Jesus, which means God saves.

 No matter how bad things look, “Immanuel” God is with us and “Jesus” is our savior.

No matter how dark your 6-mile road gets. The God who is the creator of light is working in you - God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter how impossible your situation may seem. The God for whom nothing is impossible is working in you - God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter how much you have been hurt, or how much your heartaches. The God who healed bodies and cast demons out of the possessed is working in you- God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter what kinds of obstacles are thrown up in front of you. The God who calmed the storm is working in you- God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter how weak and weary you are. The God who gave Jesus the courage to pray “thy will be done” as he faced the cross is working in you- God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter how hopeless your life might seem. The God who raised Jesus from the dead into glorious life is working in you - God is with you and Jesus saves.

My friends, never forget those two words. Immanuel and Jesus.

God is with you and he will save you.a

AMEN

Journey to Bethlehem Carroll UMC 12/7/19 (Saturday night only)

Journey to Bethlehem

Carroll UMC 12/7/19 (Saturday night only)

This week we focus like a laser on a story we all know very well:  the Christmas story.

Now you might think you know everything there is to know about birth of Jesus, after all you read it and hear it every year right.  You come to Sunday school and we learn about it every year, Right?

I know this is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible, but I think that is an even better reason to study it.  Because it is so familiar, it often goes in one ear and out the other without ever making contact with even one brain cell.

So, we’re only going to take a small bite.  Let’s start where the story starts, in Nazareth, and focus on the annunciation.

Nazareth is in the northern part of Israel.  In the part they call Galilee.  Do you see Jerusalem and Bethlehem way down at the bottom in Judea?  And Samaria in the middle?  Nazareth was just a little town.  Not Carroll Little… more like Lidderdale little.  In fact it was so little that in most of the lists of Galilean towns of the day, Nazareth is not even mentioned.

It was so unimportant that when Phillip told Nathaniel that they found the messiah and he was from Nazareth, he asked “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Nazareth was like most Lidderdales in one other way. Lidderdale is 5 miles from Carroll. Nazareth was 4 miles from its nearest neighboring city: Sepphoris.  In fact most of the people from Nazareth walked for an hour to travel the 4 miles to Sepphoris in order to work.  Sepphoris was a very important city with lots of jobs and theatres and stores.  Nazareth didn’t have any of those things.

We suspect that Joseph was among those who walked to Sepphoris to work. The empire had a big construction project in Sepphoris about that time and being in construction he certainly could have found work. I said he was in construction, rather than a carpenter, because although the word carpenter is not WRONG the word used in the bible is actually more like tradesman. Somebody who is more than a laborer, because they had skills. Historically we know that not too many things were built out of wood in those days.  Mostly they built with stone. So, some have suggested that he was more like a stone mason.

So, he probably traveled from unimportant Nazareth to important Sephoris for work. In fact, Nazareth was so small and unimportant that next to Sepphoris it was nothing.  For instance, the houses in Sepphoris had beautiful hand laid tile mosaic floors in, like the one we see up here.  They had all the latest and most beautiful things.   The people of Nazareth couldn’t afford those things.  In fact many of them lived in caves.  The rock was soft so people would find a cave and carve out the rock to make the rooms they needed.  If they had another child, they just dug out another room.  Sometimes the cave was also the barn.  The animals would stay near the entrance of the cave while the family lived in the next rooms back.

That is where Mary probably lived.  Mary lived in poor little Nazareth.  If her family owned a business or had any money they probably would have moved to Sepphoris.  But they didn’t.  They may have even lived in a cave which they might have shared with their animals.

   This is the church of the annunciation.   This church is built on the spot where we believe God spoke to Mary through the Angel Gabriel.     Inside the church is a little cave entrance.   Inside that cave entrance is what people say was Mary’s house.    Well it wasn’t really MARRY’s house.  It was her father’s house.  It wasn’t really her house because Mary was only 13 or 14 years old.  Does that surprise you?  Mary was just a little girl.  Now, you have to understand that women had a life expectancy of 25-29 years old.  So in order to have 10 or so babies before they died, they had to start when they were 15.  It was not unusual for a 13 year old to be engaged as Mary was.  

Think about that… when the angel told her that she was going to have a baby, He was telling her that she was about to become an unwed teenage mother.

If you were God, and could chose anyone in the world for one of the most important missions in the world,  Carrying  god’s son inside of her for 9 months, and then giving birth to him, wouldn’t you chose the wife of the emperor or the high priest, or the governor, or at least a rabbi or someone with some importance and prestige? 

Well… that’s not what God did.

If you were God, and you wanted to get the world’s attention, would you start in Sepphoris or Nazareth?  I would probably go to the big town to look for a wealthy family, or a one that was well known in the community.  One who could afford to give my son all the best things of life and perhaps introduce him around to some of the other important people of the region.  Wouldn’t that give him a good start in saving the world?

Well… that’s not what God did.

God chose a little girl from a lower middle class family who lived in a cave in a little Podunk Nazareth in northern Israel to be the mother of God.

Once again, just like when he chose Noah, or Moses, or David, or Amos God chose the poor, the weak, the young, and the disadvantaged to do the most important work in salvation history.  But that is the kind of God that God is.

 Do you know where the word Nazareth comes from.?  It comes from the Hebrew word Netzir.  Which means shoot.  It refers to the shoot that sprouts froth from a dead stump.   Have you ever seen anything like this?  A stump that looks dead, suddenly sprouting forth with green shoots and leaves?

I have many times.  Certain kinds of trees just keep doing that over and over.

Why do you suppose the founders of Nazareth called it Netzir or shoot?  I think they were looking back to the words of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah.  They talk about a Shoot that shall spring forth from the stump of Jesse.  What they are saying is no matter how bad things may seem, God has a way of

•             bringing something good from something bad… well maybe not just bad,

•             bringing something big from something small,

•             something important from something unimportant. 

•             Bringing something strong from something weak.

 You might not be the biggest, or the best at anything.  You might not be the most athletic, or the best dressed, or the smartest.  You might not have much money.  You might think you are pretty unimportant or even kind of useless.  You know “what good am I?”

But God can use you.

You might be the last picked when they choose up kickball teams—I always was…  but God can use you.

You might be the one everyone teases, I was-- but God can use you.

You might never be wealthy, but you know what?... God can still use you If God can use an unwed teenage mother from Nowhere Nazareth…. He can use any one of us.

When God has a job for you, he might not come as an angel, or in a bolt of lightning or in a burning bush. 

•             God might just come as a friend asking for help. 

•             God might come in the lonely person you see at school or in the park.

•             God might come as an elderly person who needs help shoveling their snow.

•             God might come as the man with the red kettle standing outside of Walmart.

I don’t know when God will need you but he will.

I don’t know how God will call on you.  But he will.

I don’t know why God will call on you.  But he will.

Just Be ready, and like Mary say “Yes.”  “Yes Lord. Here I am “AMEN