This is a special musical presentation of This Little Light of Mine by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church.

I still vividly remember the time fifty plus years ago when I first came to Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos. I was in High School, and I came with my mother to Faith Lutheran Church for a gathering of the Michigan District ALCW (the American Lutheran Church Women).  I clearly remember that day because Evelyn Frost was the speaker. I am sure some of you who are long time members remember her.  Evelyn’s remarks on that day made a huge impression on my young, formidable mind.  The gospel passage on which she spoke was the gospel reading we have today.  I remember being fascinated as she talked about salt, the many properties and varieties of salt, and the multiple ways in which salt is used.  As I studied today’s gospel reading, that experience of roughly fifty years ago came to mind.

Salt and light.  Today, Jesus tells us we are the salt of the earth, and we bring light to the world.  Last week we heard Jesus launch his ministry by beginning his inaugural address, the message we now call the Sermon on the Mount.  Last week we heard him begin with The Beatitudes, that wonderful vision that lifts up the most unlikely people – the poor in spirit, the meek and the merciful, those who mourn and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted.  Last week we heard Jesus call these most unlikely of people “blessed.”  Today, Jesus continues his sermon by addressing the crowd as “you,” and offering them words of both reassurance and challenge.  The “you” he addresses is plural.  It is to be heard by us not as privately pious Christians but as the Body of Christ active in the world God so deeply loves, even if that activity is at times risky business.  As Jesus continues, he uses the metaphors of salt and light.  And, like that second generation of Christians to whom Matthew was writing, we listen with the crowd to hear that we, too, are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.”  

One of the fascinating things I remember Evelyn Frost so eloquently talking about was the existence of multiple types of salt.  If we were to go out shopping for salt we would find pink, black, gray, flaky, rock, crystals, iodized, and un-iodized just to name a few. Some salts are better used when cooking, while others are best as a finishing touch. Some salts are not edible but are used for chemical purposes, like melting ice on winter roads.  Salt is something that is necessary for human life.  And, when we hear Matthew’s gospel today and remember that it was written for early Jewish Christians, it is thought-provoking to note that some early Christian communities placed salt on the tongue of the newly baptized.  Given the wide varieties of salt around the world, its culinary and chemical significance and its many uses, Jesus’ comparison of believers to salt is even more meaningful.   As Christians, one might say we are chemically the same through the work of the Spirit.  However, we are called to different uses and work.

And, when we think about Jesus calling his followers light, we must remember light is not just the opposite of dark. The word “light” is also the opposite of heavy.  In today’s Old Testament reading, Isaiah calls Israel to a fast that is about reducing a certain kind of heaviness – the heaviness others carry. The fast that God has chosen should lessen the burden and heaviness of those who are oppressed.  The fast that God has chosen should lessen the heaviness and struggles of the poor, the widows, the orphans, the resident aliens among us, the most vulnerable, and all those on the margins. Lighting the world as children of God should also involve lightening the weight of war, poverty, destruction, oppression, and division.

Today’s gospel reading epitomizes Matthew’s understanding that the Christian movement built upon and perfected the righteousness prescribed in the Jewish commandments and the call of prophets like Isaiah.  When talking about Jesus’ words to us today, Lutheran theologian and professor, Barbara Lundblad, connects his message to the words of the prophets before him when she writes:

For Jesus, salt and light came out of a long tradition of biblical teaching: salt and light were images for the law of God. Salt and light must take us back to the fullness of the law and the prophets, and the fullness of Jesus’ radical teaching in this Sermon on the Mount. The prophets plead for fullness of life: freedom from oppression, bread for the hungry, homes for those who have none, clothing for the naked. Is this not what it means to be the salt of the earth, to keep this prophetic word alive in the midst of our world? If we lose this vision, if we give in to other values, if we forget God’s longing for justice, our salt has lost its taste. If you think Jesus’ call is impossible, remember that the One who is our bread is with us and within us, empowering us to be salt and light in this world.

Yes, this is the righteousness prescribed in the Jewish commandments and the call of the prophets, and it is the righteousness called forth in the kingdom of heaven, the in-breaking reign of God.  This is the righteousness Jesus proclaims as already here when transformation is taking place through him.  The Christian community receives the call to be salt and light and this gospel message is about bringing transformation not only to our individual selves or the members of a specific church or faith community, but transformation to the entire world. 

Now, it is important to look again at Jesus’ words to us.  He says, “You are the salt of the earth….you are the light of the world.”  As Lutheran pastor and theologian David Lose says:

Jesus isn’t saying, “You should be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” Or, “You have to be,…” let alone “You better be,….” Rather, he is saying, you are. As in already are. Even if you don’t know it. Even if you once knew it and forgot. Even if you have a hard time believing it.  Jesus is making to his disciples a promise about their very being, he is not commanding, let alone threatening them about what they should be doing. And that’s worth tarrying over, as so many in our congregations and world experience God more like a divine law-maker and rule-enforcer than generous gift-giver…..In today’s reading, Jesus is making promises and giving out gifts. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world, and this is, like Jesus’ words we heard last week, sheer blessing.  And, it is about identity, about our very being, which in turn leads to doing.  It is all about living into the God-given identity we already have. 

Listen again to Jesus’ words to us today as I read them from Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message.  Listen as Jesus speaks to you:

Let me tell you why you are here.  You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth.  If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?  You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.  Here’s another way to put it:  You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.  God is not a secret to be kept.  We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.  If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you?  I’m putting you on a light stand.  Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine!  Keep open house; be generous with your lives.  By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. 

As I think back to that time in the early ‘70’s when I came here to Faith Lutheran Church and heard Evelyn Frost speak, I realize she truly was salt-seasoning bringing out God-flavors to all who listened.  She was God’s light-bearer whose words brought transformation in my life. And as I think about my past eight years with you, while preparing for retirement, you have been God’s light-bearers and you have brought transformation to so many lives. I give thanks that you truly are a shining light in this community.  As I prepare to leave, my prayer for you is that you will continue to keep open house; and continue to be generous with your lives.  I pray you will continue to faithfully open up to others and, by doing this, prompt people to open up to God, the One who is so very generous to all and showers us with overwhelming love.  I pray you will continue to shine the light of God’s overwhelming, unconditional love for all people!

This is a special musical presentation of For Everyone Born by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church.

Grace to you and peace from God our parent, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Ahh yes, the Beatitudes, one of the passages of the Gospel that everyone seems to have heard and many love it. A nice passage providing hope for the future, even possibly for after we die and are joined with the saints in the heavenly kin-dom. A passage letting us know that even if things aren’t all that great here on Earth, that they will be much better once we are with God. Or is it?  Is this what it is about?  I think there is a lot more here.

Just like much of Jesus’s life and preaching, Jesus was being counter-cultural here. He was going against everything that society, religion, and government was telling people. Wealth, religious piety in high positions in the church, power, strength, fighting for what they thought was right, forcing people into their ways, happiness - were all things society, then, and still today, values as a whole.

In other parts of the Gospel, John the Baptist and others tell people to repent, which means to turn around. They were being told - “Hey - you are going the wrong way - you are on the wrong path - turn around!” They were being told that they were living their lives not as God intended.

In today’s Gospel, the message changes to tell us which people are blessed. As Pastor Ellen very nicely explains in her study guide for today’s readings, “Jesus begins his message, the inaugural address of his ministry, by saying, “Blessed.”  Now, the Jewish people really knew their Hebrew scripture and they knew the Psalms. They knew that the great Law Psalm, Psalm 1, begins with exactly the same word, blessed.  You see, Psalm 1 begins like this, “Blessed is the one who walks not in the way of the wicked but in the way of the Lord.”  And ashar, the Hebrew word for blessed, really means something like ‘You are on the right road.’”

So we are switching from telling people that they are on the wrong road - to telling us who is on the right road, the right path, headed in the right direction - and it isn’t anything like what society is telling people.

The ones on the right path are those who are poor in spirit - maybe they feel like they aren’t worshiping correctly, or don’t have the resources to worship as society tells them they should. Those who want righteousness and peace, not war and violence. Those who are truly pure in heart - not just putting on a show for others. The ones who were probably shunned or outcast from society because of who they were and what they believed in or had the means to do, were now being told that they are on the right path, they are blessed.

Also to note is that who is described as blessed tends to be based on who they are, not what they do.  “Blessed are the merciful”, not “blessed are those who show or act with mercy”. “Blessed are the pure in heart” not “blessed are those who act correctly”. This is showing that we are on the right path, blessed, by being true to who God created us to be, not because of doing what we think are the right things to please God. As noted in today’s Micah reading, the people of God often had it wrong as to what would please the Lord - they think that offerings of a calf, or thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of oil would please the Lord. However, they are told that isn’t what the Lord wants - all that is required is “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Also, the promises for us, are for us now - not for some far off future. We often think of the kin-dom of God or the kin-dom of Heaven as where we’ll go when we die, but as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer “your kin-dom come”, we are calling for the kin-dom to come to us here, in our lives today, as has been promised to us. It may be hard to see the comfort or mercy or inheritance we receive now when we are on the right path because it is often hidden by society and the ways of the world, but the promise is there for us now, and if we open our hearts and minds to receive it, we’ll start seeing it amidst the turmoil of the world.

So the Gospel is telling people that they are blessed, on the right path, because of who God created them to be, even though society says otherwise. We have all been called blessed in our baptism, not through our actions. We are all God’s children because of who we are since we were created whole as a child of God.

So how does this pertain to us today? Before we get there - a brief story about me.

You all know me as “Rich”.  However, that isn’t my only name.  My legal name is “Richard” and that is what I use when signing legal documents and in more formal situations. Although I don’t remember it, I’m sure I was baptized as “Richard” as well. When I was a baby and infant - up until I started kindergarten, I was called “Ricky”. Then, and this is one of the strange things I remember from my childhood, after church one Sunday, by the coat rack, my dad talked to me and said that I’d be starting school soon and if I had thoughts about what I wanted to be called in school - and I decided on “Richard.”  So in elementary, middle, and part of high school, I was “Richard.”  Then somehow in high school my friends started calling me “Rich,” even though I still used “Richard” for everything.  Well, “Rich” stuck around and I eventually started using it myself, and that is who I am today.  Except for my family.  My family still calls me “Rick.” Oh yeah, and occasionally growing up when I wasn’t behaving the right way, my name became a very stern “Richard Dale”.  So here I am, one person, the exact same person God created me to be, with a handful of names over the years.

And God is like that. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, Creator, Holy Ghost, Jesus, Savior, Abba, Teacher, Servant, Holy Wisdom, and so many more names - all referring to our one God. In Islamic scripture it says they have 99 names for God, but when they list out the names, there are more than that.  So while God has many names, each name looking at a different aspect of God, there is still one God. Different names don’t change who God is, God is still God.

During the transfiguration of Jesus we are told, “And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” [Luke 9:29] yet even with his drastic change in appearance, the disciples knew who Jesus was. The appearance of Jesus was just that - his appearance, who Jesus is, didn't change. Just like me - I didn’t always have a beard and I used to have more hair on the top of my head, that has changed. I wear different clothing. None of that changes who I am, a child of God. I was created whole, and that stays the same.

So, names and appearances don’t change who we are or who God is. The nature of who we are is always the same - a child of God, exactly how we were created whole. Many things about us may change, a little bit or drastically, over the years, but the very nature of “self” remains the same.

So, the beatitudes today. Just as Jesus was counter-cultural and declared people to be on the right path, declare them blessed, for who they are, against what society said of them - that is the call of us as proclaimers of Christ today. To be counter-cultural today and proclaim God’s unconditional love for all, to proclaim that people are created whole as a child of God, and are on the right path, are blessed.

We live in a society that wants to call gay, lesbian, and bisexual people as groomers and proclaim they are corrupting our youth. That transgender people are perverts and against God’s nature and that they shouldn’t exist or participate in society. That our black and brown siblings should go back where they came from, they aren’t welcome here, and that they are criminals and their lives don’t matter. That our Asian American siblings are also not welcome here, that they come from countries that bring disease, and do nothing but cause problems. That Native Americans should adopt “our ways” and be happy with small pieces of land we “give” to them. Our society constantly vilifies these people, declares they are all on the wrong path and need to repent. Society is often against these people so much that society will often murder them either directly or indirectly by not providing the care they need.

This is where we, as proclaimers of Christ, come in - we must proclaim to these people the true message, the counter-cultural message, that they are loved, they are children of God, not because of anything they do, but simply because they are God’s children. They are created whole in God’s image and they are blessed. Living into the person God created us to be is what puts us on the right path with God.

In case my message wasn’t clear before when stating that names and appearances don’t change who we truly are, I am talking about our transgender siblings here. God loves our transgender siblings for exactly who they are, who they were created to be, a beloved child of God. From before birth and continuing forever, God loves them for who they are. No matter what appearance they have today, yesterday, or tomorrow; no matter what name or pronouns they use, and no matter how often they might change - God loves them, and all of us, for our very being.

Declaring God’s truth of God’s unconditional love and proclaiming it to the world, shouting “You are blessed” to everyone that society calls “other” or  “unwanted” is hard work. As Jesus showed, very hard work - to the point that going against society, religious leaders, and the government got him murdered.  Yes - to fully live into God’s call to us can be risky. Fully living into our call is what is needed if we are going to stick to the truth of our call as stated in Micah 6:8, to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

No doubt this is hard work, no doubt we are going to get it wrong, but that is where the good news comes in - we have been given grace by God, through our faith in Jesus, so that we can do this work.  As my friend Pastor Rachel Laughlin mentioned in a comment on Facebook recently, “Grace isn't a pass for not trying. ‘Should we continue in sin so that grace may abound? By no means!’ writes Paul in Romans 6:1-2. Grace is freedom to boldly strive to do justice and mercy and love our neighbors even when we aren't sure how to do those things well. It is freedom to fail at all of it, then try again and again and again as we learn and grow.”

We have been created whole by God, every single one of us, we are blessed by being God’s children and living fully into who God created us to be, let us go and boldly strive to continue to proclaim that to all. Amen.

This is a special musical presentation of Come to the Table by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church.

I am sure some of you remember former United States Senator John Ashcroft, who also served as Attorney General during the George W. Bush Administration.  A story has been told about his father, J. Robert Ashcroft.  I don’t know if this tale is true, however, it provides a great illustration. According to the story, in January of 1995, J. Robert Ashcroft had fewer than forty-eight hours to live and he was holding on to life, hoping to see his son, John, sworn in as a US Senator the following day.  As his family and friends gathered around, J. Robert Ashcroft asked his son to play the piano while everyone sang, “We Are Standing On Holy Ground.”  After the song, the frail old man spoke some powerful words, saying, “John, I want you to know that even Washington can be holy ground.  Wherever you hear the voice of God, that ground is sanctified.  It’s a place where God can call you to serve him.  Wherever we are in our vocation…..that place is a holy place of service for God.”

Called!  It is one of the great biblical themes. God calls!   And all who follow Jesus are called.  Wherever we are in our vocation, whatever we are doing with our lives, God calls us.  Even in a place like Washington, DC.  Even in places like Okemos, Haslett, Williamston, East Lansing, Perry, Mason, Holt, Laingsburg, Owosso, Dansville, DeWitt, Grand Ledge, Charlotte, Eaton Rapids, St. Johns, and Lansing, MI. Even in the most unlikely of places and situations, God calls us, and that place is a holy place of service for God. It is holy ground.

In today’s gospel reading, we hear the call stories of Simon, Andrew, James, and John.  All these men were fishermen.  Now, at that point in time, fishing was not a relaxing, easy job.  It was hard, difficult, dirty work.  There was nothing easy about it.  Anyway, as we meet up with Jesus in today’s reading, we find him walking beside the lake one afternoon and he sees these four fishermen busily working. Two are trying to catch fish and two are mending their nets.  As he walks by, Jesus disrupts what they are doing and says to each of them, “Follow me.” 

Truthfully, the response of the four men makes me wonder.  Their response is rather hard to believe, because Jesus essentially offers them a job with no pay when he says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.”  Jesus does not say, “Come, follow me, and make more money than you could ever make fishing.”  I could understand a response to that summons.  But no.  Jesus’ call and the response of the four really seems implausible.  And yet, the gospel reading today says they immediately dropped their nets, they immediately dropped what they were doing to head off to God-knows-where, to lives that were uncertain and a life they could not begin to imagine!  The disciples’ immediate acceptance of Jesus’ unusual invitation is a dramatic, life changing encounter.  Jesus comes along, disrupts their lives, and summons them from the fabric of family relationships.  He summons them from the midst of the workaday world.  And he calls them into a new set of relationships and a new vocation.  I must say, this is one big, heavy duty fish story!!

Many of us, throughout life, face big decisions about family, about jobs, about faith.  There are times in our lives when we stand at a fork in the road and must make decisions.  Sometimes, there are experiences in our lives when we need to take risks.  And there are even times in our lives when we must sacrifice something to follow Jesus.  But chances are that for most of us, the situation will never be as dramatic as it was for these four disciples.  It is not very often that we drop everything to start a new life.  And yet, the call is the same for each one of us.  Jesus comes along, disrupts our lives, and summons us from the fabric of family relationships.  He summons us from the midst of the workaday world.  And he calls us into a new set of relationships, a new vocation.

God calls us, each in our own setting, to repent, to turn in a new direction, to open our lives to a radical renewal that may upset and re-orient our neat little, hard-won patterns of comfort and familiarity.  God calls each of us to follow and open our lives to a radical change that will upset our unquestioned assumptions and the privilege we enjoy without even being aware of it.  Just how willing are we to have our lives turned upside down in order to follow this Jesus?  Truthfully, we might have questions about such a call, a call where Jesus disrupts what we are doing and seemingly calls us to abandon family and occupation. 

Well, I really don’t think Jesus asks us to abandon family or work.  But God calls us to live differently within those relationships.  Our work and family life are transformed when God calls us to follow. The disruption in our lives and the call to follow is not to destroy, but to renew, and our lives are transformed in the process.

And yet, the call to follow does mean leaving something behind.  Following Jesus means letting go of old securities and certainties and trusting the God who promises to be with us wherever we go.  It means leaving behind that which has enslaved us, leaving behind that which controls us, letting go of the fear that imprisons us, and letting go of our need to control.  And the call to follow Jesus means letting go of self-centeredness, that intense focus on self.  Remember what Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”  Following Jesus means living a countercultural life and dying to self as we are summoned from life’s easy ruts of comfort and safety to enter the future without knowing exactly where we are headed.  Yes, we do leave something behind.  But the call to follow means finding security in a new place.  When we follow Jesus, it means we live our life under new management as Jesus becomes Lord of our life. To be called means we are invited into a relationship with Jesus, and that relationship is all about love, grace, and compassion.  To follow Jesus means being led by the one who frees us, who embraces us, and who lovingly claims us as God’s own.

And what we will find out as we follow Jesus, is that living in relationship with him connects us to a whole new set of relationships.  Jesus not only calls us, but then sends us out to be fishers of people.  We will find that the grace that calls us and the love that invites us leads us to new places in life, and that means we will form some new, even unlikely relationships – sometimes relationships with people we would otherwise never meet.  We will find that, just as the disciples were sent, we, too, will be sent to fish for people, carrying God’s message of love and proclaiming the good news of a gracious God to a hurting, broken world.  And there is nothing more sacred than carrying and proclaiming that news.  There is nothing more sacred than walking with people through life’s painful times and sharing God’s good news of grace.  There is nothing more sacred than walking with people through the tough, challenging times of life, and sharing the good news of God’s love.  Yes, it is grace that calls us, love that invites us, and it is compassion that moves us and takes us forth to do this work of discipleship.  And, wherever we are called to serve, we will find ourselves in a sacred place, we will find ourselves on holy ground.  Even as we work with the former residents of Knob Hill apartments, as we work with the refugees in our care, as we gather food for the hungry and daily stock the pantries, as we sit with people in the hospital, as we hold the hands of the dying, as we have coffee with someone who is hurting, as we sit behind our desks at work and interact with our colleagues, as we do the work of advocacy and seek justice for the most vulnerable in this world.

I think that is precisely what J. Robert Ashcroft was trying to communicate to his son, John.  God calls us every hour of every day, wherever we find ourselves, to share the good news of God’s love in a broken world.  That is the call, the vocation, and the mission of each one of us! And when we do this, we stand on holy ground.

This is a special musical presentation of I Am For You by the Chancel Choir with a solo by Tammy Heilman at Faith Lutheran Church.

I am technologically challenged.  Just ask my husband.  I am challenged when operating the TV remote and trying to access various streaming services; I am challenged when trying to show a DVD or connect my computer to the large TV in the Fellowship Hall; and I am challenged when something happens to my computer.  While technological understanding comes very naturally to some (my husband for example), I always find myself befuddled and cannot seem to make sense of what needs to be done.  I have always been one of those people who needs to learn and verify things experientially.  I am an experiential learner and I usually must seek out someone to show me what to do, how to do it and thereby, through that experience, finally understand.

Because I am an experiential learner, I appreciate the sequence of events described in today’s gospel reading.  Today we are told of John the Baptist who has the experience of baptizing Jesus.  John has the experience of seeing the Spirit descend upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and then he is able to confidently point to Jesus as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  John’s experience gave him insight and he could then assuredly proclaim who Jesus is.

Because of John’s experience, two of his disciples decide to follow Jesus to try and learn more about this unusual man.  As they begin following him, Jesus turns to them and we hear the very first words Jesus speaks in the gospel of John.  What is so fascinating is that Jesus’ first words appear in the form of a question as he asks, “What are you looking for?”  Jesus, as he frequently does, uses a question to draw these two men into relationship, into the experience of relationship with him.  It is helpful to look at the original Greek when listening to what Jesus asks.  Jesus’ question would be better translated as, “What are you seeking?” or “What do you hope to find?” or “What do you long for?”  And, what I find so captivating is this – Jesus speaks these same words to each one of us as we meet him.  Jesus asks a question that goes directly to the deep yearnings of our hearts.  Jesus’ words invite us to look into the depth of our being and ask, “What is my deepest longing, what is it I hope to find in this one called Jesus?” 

I believe there are many seekers around us who are asking the same question.  As a Faith community that desires to engage the greater community, this is something we should keep in mind. I know there are many in our greater community who are longing for something more, something deeper in life.  As we work to connect to those beyond these walls, I have to ask each one of you, what is the hallmark of this Faith community that we can lift up so others may see who we are, see whose we are, and what we offer in this place?

It is interesting that the disciples reply to Jesus’ question by asking where he is staying.  Again, it is important to look at the original Greek as we try to make sense of this experience.  The disciples’ question to Jesus goes much deeper than simply asking about a geographical, physical location.  The Greek word used implies they are really asking about where Jesus is dwelling, where he is abiding (a word we find used over and over again in the gospel of John).  The disciples are asking Jesus where he is remaining, abiding, and indwelling.  This question takes us to a deeper place.  They want to know where they can come and simply experience being with him.

We live in a culture that is all about doing.  Our lives are all about what it is that we do or must get done.  I intently feel this focus on doing, this doing aspect of life every single day.  And I am very aware of it every time we gather for worship.  Quite honestly, the plethora of focal points that demand intense doing in people’s lives takes away from participation in the life of the Faith community.  Each focal point attempts to demand ultimate concern in people’s lives, and a life of faith no longer fits in that ultimate concern slot.  Furthermore, in a culture where more and more of us have our faces buried in our phones or tablets, simply being with, abiding with, intentionally remaining with, and being present to someone is increasingly rare.  So, what does it mean for us to reply to Jesus’ question by desiring to come and simply be with him?

It is intriguing that Jesus does not offer an answer to the disciples’ question.  Instead, drawing them ever more deeply into the experience of relationship, Jesus’ response is a simple invitation to “Come and see,” an invitation that is profoundly relational and experiential.  His invitation is non-threatening, simple and very clear.  Jesus’ response is so beautiful because it is open ended and does not require any prior pre-judged concepts of Jesus. And isn’t that the miracle of the Jesus journey?  Despite the countless layers of doctrine, dogma, and varied identities the church has put onto Jesus, as well as the requirements so many communities put on prospective followers before they even begin a faith journey, Jesus does not do this.  His invitation is simply to come, see, and experience.  Come and see.  It is an invitation to unprejudiced, undetermined encounter and relationship.  It is an adventure where the disciple and the teacher live together in relationship.  It is an invitation to come and participate in this Jesus reality and it is the pathway to life, eternal life which, in John’s gospel, means life that truly matters.

Living in relationship is what this faith journey with Jesus is all about.  When we respond to Jesus’ audacious invitation to come and see, we begin an experiential journey of continual discovery as we learn that this God of whom Jesus speaks is all about relationship and love.  We will discover more about our very selves, and we will grow in ways we never before thought possible.  We will discover true life that is always relational, life that is all about a flow of love and a dance of grace. 

Jesus' answer, "Come and see!" is an answer that captures a primary message of John's Gospel:  If you want to know the Word made flesh, come and see Jesus. If you want to know what love is like, come and see Jesus. If you want to experience God's glory, to be filled with bread that never perishes, if you want to quench your thirst with living water, to continually be born anew, to abide in love, come and see Jesus.  If you want to behold the light of the world, to enter into life everlasting and to experience life that truly matters, come and see Jesus.  If you want to know God, come and see Jesus!

On this weekend we remember Martin Luther King, Jr.  We remember the work he did, work which brought transformation to culture.  He was able to do that work because he answered Jesus’ call to come and see.  He was a person who abided in Christ’s love, abided in Christian community, and through community brought change to so many people’s lives. That abiding enabled and brought forth necessary change in culture.  It happened because all kinds of people came together and experienced living in relationship as the body of Christ. 

I said at the beginning that I am an experiential learner and I deeply want to live a life that truly matters.  As I long for this in life, I cannot think of a better learning experience than responding to Jesus’ invitation to come and see and experience the joy of living in relationship with Him.  And, that is something one richly experiences when you live in relationship to others in the Faith community, when you participate in the life of the Faith community, and when we live together as the Body of Christ in this place.  Lutheran professor, Andy Root, when talking about living together in relationship as a community of Faith, writes:

Relationships of persons encountering persons are the very way that we encounter Jesus Christ…..[We live together and go through life together], sharing in the humanity of each other as the very joyous journey of sharing in the life of God.  

As we move into a new year, let’s be intentional about making this journey together.  Come and see, experience what the body of Christ has to offer.

This is a special musical presentation of Noble Magi, a Quartet by Mike Eschelbach, Diane Hill, Linda Triemer & Rich Triemer at Faith Lutheran Church.

I have a friend who, when discussing people or individuals, will often say, “That person has a unique story, and his/her story should be honored.”  I share this statement because on this day, it is important to remember that each one of us has an important story to share about our identity, about who we are as a person.  You see, every single one of us has a valuable story to tell about the priceless identity each one of us has been given in baptism.  Today, as we remember and give thanks for our baptisms, we remember these words that were spoken over us, “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ in your life – forever.” 

Think about that!  Wow!  What a story that is to tell! 

Today’s gospel reading gives us the story of Jesus’ baptism.  Now, quite honestly, John did not know what to do with the fact that Jesus came to him to be baptized.  And, from the time Jesus first presented himself for baptism by John until today, Christians have puzzled over why Jesus had to be baptized. At that time, the act of baptism was understood to be an act of repentance and the cleansing of one’s sins.  So, John does not understand why Jesus, whose sandals John is “not worthy to carry” should seek to be baptized. Instead, John declares to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you.”  Why should the Son of God need to be baptized?

Theologian, Frederick Dale Bruner, says that he considers Jesus’ first miracle to have occurred at his baptism. The miracle is that Jesus was humble. The divine Son of God humbles himself by allowing John to baptize him. This act of humility is an act of obedience to God and an act of pure love as Jesus begins his ministry. This first action Jesus takes as he begins his ministry is to deeply enter into solidarity with all of humankind and all of creation. Jesus did not need to be forgiven. However, for us, he goes down to the river of repentance with all the other sinners to be baptized. He willingly enters into the depths of human life and is baptized.  And, Jesus’ baptism, his first adult act as recorded in Matthew’s gospel, gives us a clear indication of how he will act for his entire ministry and life. The Son of God, out of love for human beings and all of creation, comes down to us and with us, on our level, identifying with our needs and our brokenness. His baptism, then, foreshadows how his life will also end, on the cross. In his death, Jesus experiences the worst we could ever experience as mortal humans. But, because Jesus united with us in baptism, we are united with him in both his death and resurrection. Through his humility, Jesus comes down to us in the depths of our humanity and shows us that we are beloved!  He shows us that God loves us!

Yes, there definitely is a story to tell about baptism.  I love what Richard Rohr says when talking about this aspect of Jesus’ ministry.  He writes, “Jesus did not come to change the mind of God about humanity. Jesus came to change the mind of humanity about God.”  Just think about that.  “Jesus did not come to change the mind of God about humanity. Jesus came to change the mind of humanity about God.”

 Yes, Jesus came to proclaim that we are God’s beloved!  You see, it is all about what God in Christ has done for us!  Remember, when Jesus was baptized and the Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove, a voice from heaven said, “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”  That word “beloved” is such a beautiful word.  To be beloved is to be adored.  To be beloved is to be cherished and to be treasured.  And, this is also the promise given to us in our baptism.  You see, baptism is first and foremost an act of God.  It is about God claiming us as God’s very own, as God’s beloved children.  It is all about God declaring to us that we belong to God.  And, because we belong to God, baptism is about God telling us that God is well pleased with us!

Now, I don’t know about you, but I think that is a story each one of us should be proclaiming from the mountaintops.  It is a story about our identity!  We no longer need to work so hard to justify ourselves or our existence because we have been given this priceless identity.  We are beloved by God and God is pleased with us!  I am beloved by God and God is pleased with me!  And, it is all because of what God has done!

Yet, that is not always the story we tell ourselves.  Quite honestly, many of us have another story that runs in our head. Sometimes we call this storyteller the inner critic, that one who reminds us of just what a failure we are, or reminds us of the way we think people may only be pretending to like us.  You know, if they really knew the truth about me, they would run away. That inner critic sometimes tells us we are not attractive enough or talented enough or clever enough or intelligent enough to be beloved, let alone have someone be pleased with us.  I know this because I have experienced that inner critic far too often.  And so, in our brokenness, we desperately do all kinds of things as we attempt to justify our existence, just so we can measure up!  Or, we listen to another story, the story the world often tells us.  You know what that story is, the one that says to be truly beloved you must possess something: money, house, good looks, great physical physique, much power. 

That’s why we need to tell this baptism story over and over again – to counter the story of the inner critic, and to counter the story the world often tells. Yes, we tell our baptismal story over and over to counter the stories that make us feel as though we don't measure up or that we don't belong.  You see, we need to remember our true identity, remember how deeply we are loved, and we need to hear that story told to us over and over again and celebrate this precious gift! 

But, there is yet more to celebrate about this gift of baptism!  The story of baptism is not only that we belong to God and are beloved by God; it is a story that we belong to each other, that we are a part of a community, that we are part of a larger story of God's presence in the world.  You see, we, who sometimes feel rejected because we just don’t measure up, are chosen to be a part of something big and beautiful.  Just as God has chosen us in our baptism, God has also made us members of God’s family!  We are part of God’s kingdom.  So, it is important that we come together in worship, not only because we need to hear over and over again that God loves us and has claimed us as beloved children, cherished and treasured.  We also need to come together in worship because our wells sometimes have run dry and we need to feel those refreshing waters of baptism trickling over us, washing over us again and again.  Quite honestly, sometimes life is just so hard we have no words to pray or no songs to sing; we are just that empty. Sometimes it's the community of the baptized that sings those hymns we can't always sing, and sometimes it's the community that prays the prayers we can't always pray, and sometimes it's the community that speaks the words of faith that we might have trouble speaking ourselves or even believing ourselves.  And, we just deeply need to let those words and songs and prayers wash over us, reminding us of God's love, reminding us that in the waters of baptism, God has called us and claimed us as God's own, beloved, delightful and cherished children! 

Jesus entered that baptismal river to become one with humanity and to tell us we are beloved.  That is the story of baptism and the story of our baptisms. That is the mark we carry, and it is our identity.  That's a story worth living in.  And, that is a story worth telling, over and over and over again!  Thanks be to God.

This is a special musical presentation of Mary, Did You Know, a solo by Chris Lewis at Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir.

This is a special musical presentation of Hallelujah to the King by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir.

This is a special musical presentation of He Shall Be Called by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir.

Tonight, we come together to celebrate and reflect upon the God who pours God’s very self into a human person, the God who stands outside of time, yet entered time and became human, the God who took on flesh and bone to dwell among us. Tonight, we celebrate the mystery of the God who is infinite but becomes finite; the God who is all powerful but becomes all-vulnerable.  We reflect upon the God whose very womb gave birth to all of creation, to the entire cosmos, but now is born of a woman’s womb to bear the good news of God’s grace and love for this world.  We reflect upon the living, creative Word that spoke the universe into being, but now cries from a baby’s lungs.  We reflect upon the breath of God that swept across the dark waters of the deep separating the day from the night, but now quietly exhales, breathing softly on a teenage mother’s cheek.  Tonight, we reflect upon and celebrate the gift of incarnation – the ultimate gift of love.  We celebrate God coming among us and to us with skin on. We celebrate God’s unconditional love for this world made manifest for all to see in the person of Jesus.  And, as we ponder this mystery, will we recognize him, will we know him when he comes among us? 

Yes, as we come and stand in awe of this great mystery, we must ask ourselves, “Will we recognize him?” because this One who takes on our flesh is willing to dwell in what we might consider the most despicable of places, the most vulnerable of people, and the most wretched of circumstances. God gave God’s own true Son to us to show us how deeply God loves this world and how each one of us is immeasurably loved, but will we know him when he comes?

I share with you a story that may be helpful as we ponder this question.  The story is about an old shoe cobbler who had spent his life making new shoes and repairing old shoes.  One Christmas Eve night, he dreamed that Jesus would come to visit him the next day. The dream was so very real that he was convinced it would come true.  So, the next morning he got up, went out and cut green boughs, used them to decorate his little shop, and got all ready for Jesus to come and visit. He was so sure that Jesus was going to come he just sat down and waited for Him.

Well, the hours passed, and Jesus didn’t come. But an old man came. The man was a refugee who had walked for miles after fleeing danger in his home country. He was seeking a safe place to live. This old refugee came inside the cobbler’s shop for a moment to get out of the winter cold and get warm. As the cobbler talked with him, he noticed the holes in the old man’s shoes, so he reached up on the shelf and got him a new pair of shoes. He made sure they fit, made sure the man’s socks were dry, and then sent him on his way.

Still, the cobbler waited. But Jesus didn’t come. However, an old woman came. A woman who was hungry because she hadn’t had a decent meal in days. They sat and visited for a while, and then he prepared some food for her to eat. He gave her a nourishing meal and sent her on her way.

Again, he sat down to wait for Jesus.  But Jesus still didn’t come. Then he heard a little boy crying out in front of his shop. He went out and talked with the boy and discovered that the boy had been separated from his parents.  The little boy was afraid and very lonely, and didn’t know how to get home. So, the cobbler put on his coat, took the boy by the hand and led him home.

When he came back to his little shoe shop it was almost dark and the streets were emptied of people. Then, in a moment of despair, he lifted his voice to heaven and said, “Oh Lord Jesus, why didn’t you come?” And, in that moment of silence, he seemed to hear a voice saying, “Oh shoe cobbler, lift up your heart. I kept my word. Three times I knocked at your friendly door. Three times my shadow fell across your floor. I was the man with the bruised feet. I was the woman you gave food to eat. I was the homeless boy on the street.”

Yes, Jesus had come, and the cobbler had truly experienced Christmas. Jesus had come and the cobbler just didn’t realize it. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said:

Christ comes in the form of the beggar, of the dissolute human child in ragged clothes, asking for help. Christ confronts you in every person that you meet. As long as there are people, Christ will walk the earth as your neighbor…

Yes, the God of the cosmos, the cosmic Christ, who left God’s place in glory to take on human flesh in the person of Jesus and visit us in this dark dreary place, has come to give us God’s very self, all because of God’s unconditional love for all people and all of creation, and God’s love for you. Christmas is about God pouring God’s very self into all creation, and Christ’s presence is continually and forever being born among us. To be Christian is to see Christ in everyone and everything.  That is the reality that shapes and informs everything we do, the way we live.  So, celebrate Christ’s coming tonight, tomorrow, and throughout all twelve days of Christmas.  And then, celebrate and continue to live the meaning and work of Christmas every day throughout the year. As Howard Thurman said:

When the song of the angel is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flocks –

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost, to heal the broken,

To feed the hungry, to release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations, to bring peace among people,

to make music in the heart.

This is a special musical presentation of O Come, Lord Jesus Come by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir.

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

American political satirist and journalist, P. J. O’Rourke, once said, “Family love is messy, clinging, and of an annoying and repetitive pattern, like bad wallpaper.”  I agree with him - family love is very messy, and the messy, dysfunctional aspects of family life too often become systemic, passed down through generations.  Quite honestly, life is very messy.  And the Bible is brutally honest about this messiness in our lives as it contains stories of all kinds of people in the depth of messiness and dysfunction.  One of the beautiful aspects of scripture is that it speaks the truth about our very lives, the truth about the messiness that creates all sorts of systemic problems within families and communities, the messiness that prevents us from living in relationship with others, the messiness everyone experiences in some form.  And it is so fascinating that when looking at the messiness in our own lives, our reaction to it or our inability to thoughtfully respond in a healthy manner is usually rooted in some aspect of fear.

In today’s gospel reading, we meet up with Joseph as we hear Matthew’s version of Jesus’ birth.  While the gospel of Luke focuses on Mary, the gospel of Matthew focuses on Joseph.  And guess what?  Joseph faces a very messy situation!  Matthew does not give us the sweet, saccharine, syrupy, heart-warming stories of angels and shepherds and a baby born in a cattle stall.  No.  Matthew focuses on Joseph and the heart-wrenching struggle he was facing.  The woman to whom Joseph is engaged, the woman to whom he is already contractually espoused, is pregnant.  Mary and Joseph have not yet moved in with each other, they have not yet had sex, and Joseph experiences extreme heartache as he faces a very messy problem.  Mary is pregnant and this could only mean one thing, she has been unfaithful.  Can you imagine the emotions Joseph must have had when he heard this news?   Anger, shock, hurt, disappointment, betrayal, fear and a need to distance himself from the mess.

Yet, as Matthew describes Joseph and the situation in which he finds himself, Matthew calls Joseph “righteous.”   Now, to be righteous, according to Torah, one must strictly follow the law.  Therefore, as a good law-abiding Jew, Joseph could have had Mary stoned to death.  After all, stoning was the punishment commanded in chapter twenty-two of Deuteronomy for engaged women who slept with other men.  But Matthew also tells us Joseph was a man of compassion.  So, instead of stoning Mary, Joseph decided he would quietly dismiss her as his wife.  A quiet dismissal would hopefully minimize the public disgrace she would have to face.  It is fascinating that, in the depth of his fear and the messiness, what never occurred to Joseph was that there is yet another way to be righteous - the way of acceptance and forgiveness and grace. Joseph, all on his own, couldn't possibly imagine how God could be present in so difficult, so utterly messy, so heartbreaking, so embarrassing, and so dangerous a situation as Mary's pregnancy.  Therefore, God had to help him.  

Joseph was afraid.  He was afraid to take Mary as his wife.  The gospel writer tells us that, in the deep darkness of sleep, God came to Joseph in a dream.  An angel of the Lord spoke to him saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  God brought truth, grace, forgiveness, and love into the irrational depths and quandary of Joseph's mind, heart and being.  In ways deeper and more magnificent than the mind can possibly imagine, God changed Joseph.  And because God changed Joseph, Joseph became a channel of God's grace in the world.

In the depth of the messiness of life, in the mire and sludge of the unexpected and unexplainable, in that which Joseph perceived as betrayal, in the overwhelming darkness of an experience that created fear – yes, in that place, Joseph finds God present to him.  God penetrated the darkness and the fear within Joseph, and that experience of God led Joseph to take Mary as his wife and name the child “Jesus” which means “God saves.”

Now, Matthew was writing to a Jewish Christian audience, people who intimately knew Jewish scripture.  So, the gospel writer connects Joseph’s experience to the words of the prophet Isaiah, the words we heard in our first reading today.  The prophet says:

“Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and they shall name him Immanuel.”   (Immanuel is the Hebrew word for “God with us”). 

The truth about this Isaiah passage is that when Isaiah spoke these words to King Ahaz, the king was not very hopeful.  When invited by the prophet Isaiah to “ask a sign” of God, Ahaz was not interested.  In fact, Ahaz said, “I will not ask.”  You see, Ahaz was living in fear and he was sure he would be defeated at the hand of the conquering Assyrians.  However, Isaiah – good prophet that he was – was persistent.  He pointed to the perennial sign of hope and new life for all people in any time saying, “a young woman will conceive and bear a son.”  The truth about Isaiah’s words to Ahaz is that the baby of which he was speaking was already in utero.  We are not told who the mother of that baby was.  But, because a newborn child is always the promise of hope, even in hard times, Isaiah names the child as a sign of God’s presence:  Immanuel God with us. 

Immanuel, God with us!  These are powerful words packed full of meaning and, centuries after Isaiah, Matthew connects these words to Jesus’ birth. These words gave Jesus identity and, as theologian Daniel Patte suggests, they do not simply describe Jesus.  No, these words “Immanuel, God with us” were part of Jesus’ very vocation.  Jesus’ calling was and is to manifest and make known God’s presence in people’s lives and save people from their sins. Jesus’ calling then and now, is to manifest and make know God’s presence to us in the depth of our fear and the messiness of our lives.

Joseph discovered that the presence of God in the depth of the messiness of life drives out fear.  God’s presence moved him beyond fear.  Joseph also discovered that the experience of God’s presence brings forgiveness.  And, he discovered God’s presence brings change – change within self, change within the mess, and change to the world as he perceived it to be.

We live in a world that is notorious for crushing hope.  We live in a world that is notorious for turning love into a stingy commodity as if there is not enough to go around.  We live in a world where we participate in creating systemic messes - messes in our lives, messes in our families, messes in our communities, monumental messes in our country and colossal messes in the world.  So, I ask you, what are the messes in which you live?  Listen to the voice of God’s presence in your life, the voice that will penetrate the darkness of any situation, the voice that always says, “Do not be afraid.”   Listen to the voice that always says, “You are loved, and your sins are forgiven.”

Christmas is all about God’s presence to us, Immanuel God with us. Christmas is all about incarnation.  Christmas is about the love and grace of God that is on the way, the love that is in fact already here!!  Christmas is all about God putting skin on God’s dream for the world – about God’s dream becoming flesh in this very broken, messy world.  Christmas is God’s invitation to each one of us to experience within ourselves the love that forgives sin and the love that comes to bring healing to the world.  And, it is only the presence of Immanuel, God with us, that transforms the systemic, predictable, messy patterns of living and enables us to live into the dream of God where all things are made new.  Yes, love is on the way and the Child will be born again in us, in the depth of our neediness, in the depth of our messiness, in our hurting and in our pain, and in our deep longing for God.  Do not be afraid because the hopes and fears of all the years are met in this One, Immanuel, God with us – this One who is, in fact, already here!

Today's sermon was the Children's Christmas Pageant at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan. Please join along and celebrate the great work of our young church members!

This is a special musical presentation of Creation Will Be At Peace by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir.

I have a quotation by theologian, Soren Kierkegaard, hanging above my desk and I read it every week. His words have meaning for me as I work on my sermon.  This is what he said, “People have an idea that the preacher is an actor on a stage and they are the critics, blaming or praising him [or her].  What they don’t know is that they are the actors on the stage; he [or she] (the preacher) is merely the prompter standing in the wings, reminding them of their lost lines.” In other words, as we gather to worship, the liturgy that we experience week after week, that work of the people, is a work that we do.  We hear the readings and proclamation of Scripture and then we act out the Gospel in the ritual drama of a meal.  We believe that God acts in our words and, in that ritual of drama making, the Gospel happens.  And then, that work of the people happens not simply in the context of Sunday morning worship, it continues to happen as we leave worship and live our lives throughout the week. I really appreciate Kierkegaard’s words when he says the gathered people are the actors and the preacher is the prompter standing in the wings reminding the people of their lost lines.

I am reminded of Kierkegaard’s words as we hear today’s gospel reading about this unkempt, eccentric preacher, John the Baptist.  John is the one standing in the wings of the wilderness on the banks of the Jordan river, crying out lost lines to the actors saying, “This is it!  Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.  Turn around, turn back to God.”  And, I have to say that for someone who might be considered a “prompter standing in the wings,” he is the one who is stealing the show. 

You just gotta love John the Baptist.  He is such a colorful figure.  I love it when he appears on the scene each Advent.  This intriguing, eccentric, prophetic figure is the one who introduces us to the narratives of Jesus’ ministry in all the gospels.  And, in Matthew, he bursts on the scene with this fiery, passionate, colorful language as he proclaims his message of repentance.

So, what is repentance?  When we look at the word, metanoia, which is the Greek word for repentance in scripture, it refers to far more than simply being or saying one is sorry for past sins.  It is far more than mere regret or remorse for such sins.  While that is in part what repentance means, the heart of the word refers to a turning away from the past way of life and turning to the inauguration of a new one.  It literally means, “If you’re on the wrong road, turn around and go the other way!” 

          Another understanding of repentance, one that I find so meaningful, comes from Lutheran theologian, Richard Jensen. He describes repentance as it relates to baptism.  And, by the way, baptism is something that John the Baptist is doing as he calls people to repent.  Jensen writes:

The daily baptismal experience has many names. It may be called repentance. Unfortunately, repentance is often understood as an "I can" experience. "I am sorry for my sins. I can do better. I can please you, God." So often we interpret repentance as our way of turning to God. That cannot be. Christianity is not about an individual turning to God. Christianity is about God turning to us.

In repenting, therefore, we ask the God who has [already] turned towards us, buried us in baptism and raised us to new life, to continue his work of putting us to death. Repentance is an "I can't" experience. To repent is to volunteer for death. Repentance asks that the "death of self" which God began to work in us in baptism continue to this day. The repentant person comes before God saying, "I can't do it myself, God. Kill me and give me new life. You buried me in baptism. Bury me again today. Raise me to a new life." That is the language of repentance. Repentance is a daily experience that renews our baptism. [Touched by the Sprit, p. 49]

I would add that we should note the command to “Repent,” as we find it in today’s reading, is in present tense.  This denotes continual or repeated actions: "Keep on repenting!" "Continually be repentant!" It isn't like a door we pass through once that gets us into the kingdom.  Repentance is the ongoing lifestyle of the people in the kingdom of God.  And, repentance and its seal in baptism signal another theme to be sounded repeatedly in Matthew’s gospel: God's power is present, but it is not unrelated to what we do.  One thing is clear for Matthew, God's power calls for and enables a transformed new life of discipleship. Repentance then directs our vision not so much to sorrow for the past, but to the promise of a new beginning. The promise is that, because God's reign is so near, it has the power to bring about this new orientation of life.

And what is this new orientation?  Well, it is Gods’ vision for this world, God’s deep desire for peace and equity for all people.  It is what we find in Isaiah’s vision in our first reading today, Isaiah’s hope-filled vision for all of creation.  In Isaiah, we are given images of God’s dream for this world – images of righteousness, of equity, of peace, of the cessation of harm and war, of the unity of all nations under the rule of God.  As people who live into the reign of God, that is people who live into the presence and power of God, we live into a world where God’s reign is so near it has the power to bring about this new orientation of life.   

I find it interesting that dreams, especially hope-filled dreams, have a way of shaping what it is we are enabled to see. One theologian suggests, “Hope-filled dreams are like lenses that train us to interpret and to act in the present. Each generation learns to dream the visions that are taught by those who have dreamed before and by those who are able to keep dreaming in the present. To borrow a metaphor, every Christian needs to have a ‘hope chest.’” 

Every Christian needs to have a “hope chest.” For Christians, our hope chest holds this vision of God’s dream for the world.  And, so we dream not just about what is, but about what it might be if God's reign, God’s kingdom, is indeed drawing near.  God invites us to dream something beyond what we can presently see.  We are invited to dream God’s dream about a different world where there is no predator or prey, no fear or hatred.  And, this is the dream that sets our course as we live into the reign of God, as we live into the presence and power of what God is already doing in this world. 

So, on this second Sunday of Advent as we prepare our hearts to make room for Christ’s arrival, I encourage you to turn around, turn toward God who has already turned toward you, and live into God’s dream for the world.  I think we will again be surprised at what God is up to.  We will again be surprised that the God of the universe was willing to enter into our very lives and our history and take on our vulnerability in order to give us hope.  The God we know in Jesus comes to earth, into our very existence, to take on our lot and our life and give us hope by being with us and for us, inviting us into abundant life, life that truly matters and has meaning.  And, this God who comes down out of heaven to pitch a tent among us in the person of Jesus, is inviting us to live into God’s dream for this world, helping us to see in the face of our neighbor, not a competitor for scarce resources, not an enemy, not a person to fear, but a sibling in Christ, our very own kin.

Yes, John the Baptist is standing in the wings prompting us and giving us our lost lines.  He is there pointing beyond himself to God, telling us the advent of a new age is upon us.  He is telling us that, in the person of Jesus, God is guiding us as we move through the wilderness of life and live into God’s kingdom of hope and love.

This is a special musical presentation of A Carol for Advent by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir.

On this first Sunday in Advent as we usher in a new church year, we begin a time of waiting.  Waiting is something all of us experience.  In many ways, one could say our whole life is spent waiting. We wait for all kinds of things.  A recorded voice puts us on hold as we wait on the phone while our ears are pumped with thin, irritating music. Our order hasn't come yet and we are hungry.  The driver in front of you is going so slowly and you cannot pass because of oncoming traffic. Certain circumstances cause us to ask questions like:  Will the rain or snow ever stop?  When will the paint finally dry? Will anyone ever understand? Will I ever change? Our kids ask, “How long is it until we get there?” or “How many days until Christmas?”  Life is simply a series of hopes, times of waiting, and only partial fulfillments.  Quite honestly, the human condition does seem to be a state of living with constantly unsatisfied desire as we wait for something that is truly fulfilling.  Advent invites us to understand with new patience that condition, that very difficult state of being.  Advent means coming, and so we wait for God’s coming.  We wait as we prepare for God’s greatest event.  And, as we begin this time of waiting, the first words given to us are from the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah’s world was a chaotic, unjust, broken, hurting, warring world.  Israel was a storm-tossed nation that was threatened by the powerful Assyrians to the north and east and menaced by the Egyptians to the south and west.  The king and his advisors were occupied with what they needed to do to protect themselves.  Events were out of control and fear was running rampant.  The people were waiting for God to reveal a word concerning their situation.  And, into that turmoil and storm-tossed world a voice stood out, the voice of Isaiah.  Through the prophet Isaiah, God did speak, does speak, and continues to speak.  The prophet Isaiah speaks of seeing a reality that is deeper than the reality the people were living.  He proclaims God’s vision for the world, holding up a vision of God’s future, the One to whom the future belongs.  He proclaims:

“Look!  Focus your eyes upon the mountain of the house of the Lord…For it shall rise up and be established as the highest of the mountains…And people of all races will come and say:  ‘Come, let’s climb God’s Mountain, go to the House of the God of Jacob.  He’ll show us the way he works so we can live the way we’re made.’  God’s message comes from Jerusalem.  God will settle things fairly between nations.  God will make things right between many peoples so that they will turn their swords into shovels, their spears into hoes.  No more will nation fight nations; they won’t play war anymore. Come, let’s live in the light of God.” (The Message)

Into that chaotic, warring world, Isaiah speaks a word of hope and a word of peace.  Centered on God’s dream for the world, Isaiah’s vision involves more than a geographical location:  it is a place of light and truth, of justice and judgment, where God’s supreme power and authority are honored and enacted.  It is a vision place, a place of no more war.  Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann, has compared these words from Isaiah to the “I have a dream” speech from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Like Dr. King, Isaiah provided words of hope and peace as the people waited for that future God promised, a future that was very different from what was visible to them at the present moment. 

We are living in a chaotic, unjust, broken, hurting, warring world.  World leaders and their advisors are occupied with what they need to do to protect themselves. We have again experienced more gun violence and multiple mass shootings. Fear is running rampant in many places within our culture.  And, into this turmoil and storm-tossed world a voice stands out, the voice of Isaiah.  As we begin a new church year by intentionally waiting, Isaiah speaks and promises us a time when God’s ways will fully shape how all of us live.  Every single person – “all nations….all peoples” will be streaming toward the bright light of peace, and there is enough, for all.  It may not look like that right now, but Advent is about taking the long view of things and seeing where the arc of justice bends as we look to the future.  And, as we wait for that time of God’s fulfillment, God invites us not just to imagine and dream but to make God’s dream a priority in our everyday lives by living into that dream.  As people of faith, we live holding up a vision of God’s future for this world.  God’s vision for the world is not yet fulfilled but, if we believe that God has brought justice to the world, we live that justice and share in the work of making the world more just. We have been instructed in the Lord’s ways; now is the time to walk in them and take the Word of the Lord forth into the world – caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, working for peace, unity, and enduring justice for all people, especially those most in need of hope.  That is the work of the church. 

Many of you probably remember the story of Ruby Bridges, the little six-year-old who was one of the first African American children to integrate the New Orleans public schools. If you remember her story, every morning the federal marshals would escort Ruby through the lines of angry parents hurling insults, racial slurs, and violent words.  Then the same thing happened every afternoon when school got out.  This went on for weeks and then months, until finally virtually every white family had withdrawn their children from the school.  So, Ruby went to school all by herself for the better part of the semester. The situation caught the attention of Harvard child psychologist, Robert Coles.  Coles decided to go to New Orleans where he interviewed and spent time with Ruby and her parents. He interviewed her teacher, asked how she thought Ruby could tolerate such continual adversity and abuse.   Just listen to the verbatim from that teacher.  She said:

I was standing in the classroom looking out the window. I saw Ruby coming down the street with the federal marshals on both sides of her. The crowd was there shouting as usual. A woman spat at Ruby but missed. Ruby smiled at her. A man shook his fist at her. Ruby smiled. And then she walked up the steps, and she stopped and turned around and smiled one more time. You know what she told one of those marshals? She told him she prays for those people, the ones in that mob. She prays for them every night before going to sleep.

The interview prompted Coles to speak directly to Ruby about her prayers. "Yes," Ruby said, "I do pray for them." Coles asked, "Why? Why would you pray for people who are so mean to you and say such bad things about you?"  Ruby answered, "Because Mama said I should." Coles pressed on with questions. Ruby said, "I go to church. I go to church every Sunday, and we're told to pray for people, even bad people. Mama says it's true. My minister says the same thing. 'We don't have to worry,' he says. He came to our house, and he say, 'God is watching over us.'  He say, 'If I forgive the people and smile at them and pray for them, God will keep a good eye on everything and he'll protect us.'" Coles asked if she thought the minister was on the right track. "Oh, yes," Ruby said. And then in a way of explanation, "I'm sure God knows what is happening. God's got a lot to worry about, but there's bad trouble here. God can't help but notice. He may not do anything right now, but there will come a day, like they say in church, there will come a day. You can count on it. That's what they say in church."

Yes, there will come a day.  You can count on it.  That’s what the church says.  Ruby Bridges lived that as a child.  And, if Isaiah and Dr. King and Ruby Bridges could dream of peace and lift up that vision for us, we too can dream the dream of peace and re-arrange our individual lives and the life of our communities, large and small, to be peace-making communities of generosity, justice, and joy.  We can work to develop communities where people listen to each other, communities of self-examination, of acceptance, of welcome and hospitality, of change – even if that change is not easy or fast. 

Advent is about dreams and visions, the dream of God for this world, and how God’s dream comes true in flesh and blood, in the person of Jesus, and in and through the Church.  As we continue to wait for God’s coming in fullness, the promise of Advent is that what is coming is an unimaginable invasion, an invasion of holiness, an invasion of God in this world.  So, stay awake, and be alert, and wait. God is on the way.  And, as we wait, we do so by living God’s dream for this world in this present moment.  Come!  It is time to live in the light of God!

Over the past few months, I have been thinking a great deal about leadership and the personal characteristics we look for and value in good leaders.  Leadership is something many of us think about as we look to the future. In fact, as I along with Council members are presently looking for leaders who will be willing to serve within the life of the faith community over the next few years, I realize how important it is for us to understand what leadership means in the life of the church.  So, it very interesting that as we come to this last Sunday of the church year, that Sunday when we proclaim the reign of Christ as all in all, we receive scripture readings that force us to really grapple with what meaningful leadership looks like.  On this day we are essentially confronted with the question, “What does it mean for us to name Christ as our leader?  What can it mean for us to name Christ as our King?”

It is truly difficult for most Americans to understand living under royal rule.  After all, our identity as a nation was borne out of the experience of breaking away from royal rule and kingship.  When we think of a king, we tend to think of a ruler with authoritarian power.  When we think of kings and leaders with power, we think of those who oversee the work and bureaucracy of a nation. And we hope for a leader who is honest, has integrity, grants citizens a measure of security and affirms the values of the majority of the people.  We look to leaders who promise a better tomorrow for all people.  We tend to think of kings and rulers as people who hold positions of honor, people who are looked up to.  When we picture a king, we think of looking up to one who has power, to one who has been exalted. 

So on this last day of the church year, as we think about leadership, we look to Christ as our leader and ask what it means for us to name Christ as our king and Lord. Theologian, Robert Capon, in Hunting the Divine Fox, presents an interesting assessment of what American popular religion perceives Christ to be like, and I have to say it doesn't look much like Jesus.  He writes:

. . . almost nobody resists the temptation to jazz up the humanity of Christ. The true paradigm of the ordinary American view of Jesus is Superman: "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It's Superman! Strange visitor from another planet, who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American Way." If that isn't popular christology, I'll eat my hat. Jesus -- gentle, meek and mild, but with secret, souped-up, more-than‑human insides -- bumbles around for thirty-three years, nearly gets himself done in for good by the Kryptonite Kross, but at the last minute, struggles into the phone booth of the Empty Tomb, changes into his Easter suit and, with a single bound, leaps back up to the planet Heaven. It's got it all -- including, just so you shouldn't miss the lesson, kiddies: He never once touches Lois Lane.

You think that's funny? Don't laugh. The human race is, was and probably always will be deeply unwilling to accept a human messiah. We don't want to be saved in our humanity; we want to be fished out of it. We crucified Jesus, not because he was God, but because he blasphemed: He claimed to be God and then failed to come up to our standards for assessing the claim. It's not that we weren't looking for the Messiah; it's just that he wasn't what we were looking for. Our kind of Messiah [our kind of king] would come down from a cross. He would carry a folding phone booth in his back pocket. He wouldn't do a stupid thing like rising from the dead. He would do a smart thing like never dying.

Well, today we are given a picture of Christ the King, this one we call “Lord.”  And, in the picture we are given, this King is not revealed to us by looking up, but by looking down.  The royal face God reveals to us through the person of Jesus does not aspire to the heights of glory, power, wealth or fame.  No, to see the kingship revealed in Jesus the Christ, we must look down to the lowly life Jesus chose to walk.

So, what can it mean for us to name Christ as our King?  On this day, the writer of Luke’s gospel gives us an answer as he completely shatters our perceptions of what a king or ruler should look like. Our gospel reading is one in which Jesus, our King, is being derided, mocked and taunted.  Luke gives us the picture of one who has been falsely charged with fomenting rebellion against Rome.  He gives us a picture of Jesus on the cross, insulted, mocked and killed.  Today, we see Jesus, our King, as one who hangs there dying.   And what is revealed in this passage is miserable, deeply moving and shocking.  Quite frankly, we would prefer to hide our face rather than watch someone who is truly honorable be tortured, because even our compassion is not able to help this one who hangs there, this one we call “Lord.” 

The last moments of Jesus’ life all seem to be in stark contrast to what is valued as great in our world, to what we think kingship and leadership look like.  Jesus did not and does not come in power.  In fact, he refuses to come in power but instead appears in wretched vulnerability, humility, and love.  And, in doing so, he breaks a law, the law of death.  He breaks this law by ushering in God’s law of love.  You see, Jesus does not come vowing retribution even on those who crucify him.  Instead, he comes as one who is vulnerable and offers forgiveness and suffering love.  This Jesus does not come down off the cross to prove that he is a king with power.  Instead, he remains on that instrument of torture, humiliated, and representing all who suffer unjustly. 

This King we see hanging on a cross rules by pouring out redemption, forgiveness, and suffering love upon the entire world.  As Jesus hangs on a cross, we see a King who does not lord his greatness over all others, but instead forgives enemies and offers redemption to criminals.  And, in Jesus’ crucifixion and death, we discover that this leader, this King, is one who is numbered with the criminals.  This leader is counted as one of the transgressors.  This innocent One does not hang out with those in power but with the sinners, with the criminals, with the weak and the vulnerable, living and dying in solidarity with all those the powerful despise.  And, as this King is ruling from a cross, he calls us to follow his example by serving, forgiving, and loving all those in our lives, loving all those we consider “other.” 

So, what does it mean for us to name Christ as our King?  Well, for any who call Jesus “Lord,” it means we are called to join God’s “insistent, consistent, and persistent solidarity with the weak, the oppressed, and the forgotten of this world.  In short, the church of Jesus Christ reveals itself as faithful to its Lord only in so far as it stands with those who are most vulnerable.” (David Lose)  Whatever our desire for strength and security happens to be, the leader to whom we look is the one who leaves behind all strength and power and status, emptying himself and taking the form of a servant (Phil 2:7) in order to redeem those who are weak, vulnerable and lost.  And, guess what?  That includes us!   This one whom we call “Lord” is the one who redeems us today, forgives us always, showers and bathes us in suffering love, and sets us free to stand with those in need around us as we see in them the very presence of the God who always takes the side of the vulnerable.  That is what good leadership, true servant leadership, looks like.

This is a special musical presentation of Sing to the Lord by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir.

Today, Tammy Heilman gets what she purchased at our Raise the Roof Silent Auction.  Today, she, and all of you, get a five-minute sermon!!  So, because I only have five minutes, I am going to get right to the point.  Today’s gospel was not written to predict the end of time! It is an apocalyptic reading and it was written to help people stay faithful and live with a sense of courage, hope, and comfort when they were facing times of great anguish. These gospel words were written in the late 80s for early Gentile Christian communities facing persecution and times of great suffering.

In this reading, Jesus seems to be communicating a message that says suffering becomes an opportunity for testimony, and God will supply the words that need to be said. He says suffering provides an opportunity for those who have been changed to really tell of their hope in the depth of their struggle.  Such hope bears witness to the God who is deeply present in the depth of suffering and pain.

So, today I share a story, just one example of such testimony and reliance on hope and God’s presence in the depth of great suffering. This story tells of the witness of African American musician, Thomas Dorsey, who was the composer of the well-loved hymn, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” Through this hymn that has become a gift to the world, Dorsey shares remarkable testimony that was born out of loss, grief, and chaos.  Born in Georgia in 1899, Dorsey was the son of a Baptist minister and he became a prolific African American songwriter and gospel and blues musician.  As an adult, he moved to Chicago where he found work as a piano player in churches, theaters, and clubs.  He struggled to support his family by balancing his work between playing in clubs and churches.  But, he ultimately devoted his work exclusively to the church.

In August of 1932, Dorsey left his pregnant wife in Chicago and traveled to be the featured soloist at a large revival meeting in St. Louis.  After the first night of the revival, Dorsey received a telegram that simply said, “Your wife just died.”  Dorsey raced home and learned that his wife had given birth to their son before dying in childbirth.  The next day his son died as well.  Dorsey buried his wife and son in the same casket and withdrew in sorrow and agony from his family and friends.  He refused to compose or play any music for quite some time.

While still in the depth of despair, Dorsey said that one day as he sat in front of a piano, a feeling of peace washed through him.  The following words just came to Dorsey as gift as he sat there:

Precious Lord, take my hand,

Lead me on, let me stand;

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;

Through the storm, through the night,

Lead me on to the light;

Take my hand, precious Lord,

Lead me home.

In the depth of his suffering, Dorsey’s words were honest testimony about his experience, yet words that communicated a trust and hope in the One who walks with us, even through the most difficult and chaotic times of life.  These words came to him as gift and they became a testimony and gift to the world. 

As we presently face various forms of natural disaster, climate change, political uncertainty, personal struggles, and a deeply troubled and warring world, we can remember and trust that, no, these things do not necessarily mean the world is coming to an end anytime soon.  What we can trust is this:  Jesus tells us God is always with us and gives us the strength to endure and remain faithful.  We can remember that the words we speak in times of trial and challenge will come to us as gift.  Christ possesses a wisdom our troubled world and Christ’s troubling opponents cannot calculate or even begin to comprehend.  Christ will speak the Word of God’s kingdom through Christ’s church, of which we are a part.  And, that Word is the creative and redeeming Word that created all things in the beginning and continues to create in its speaking as we allow God to work through us, the Body of Christ in this place.

This is a special musical presentation of Find Us Faithful by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir.