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All of us are on a journey of faith in our lives. At Faith Lutheran in Okemos, Michigan we bring people one a journey of faith each week and share that journey with the world.
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Now displaying: February, 2019
Feb 24, 2019

This is the sermon based on Luke 6: 27-38 from February 24, 2019.

Feb 23, 2019

Last week, our gospel focused on call.  It specifically focused on Jesus’ call to Peter and the disciples.  Today, Jesus addresses the disciples, those who have chosen to follow him, those who have made a real commitment to follow him.  Today, as Jesus comes down from the mountain to the plain to speak, it is clear the writer of Luke’s gospel wants us to know that Jesus’ words today are spoken to the disciples, to the church, to those who follow him.  As Jesus looks out on the followers who stand before him, he sees the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the women, and the slaves, and he begins preaching a radical sermon proclaiming the promise of a new society.  This Great Sermon on the Plain is a call to a radical way of discipleship, a way of living in the world that turns the way of the world upside down, because what he is essentially saying is, “Blessed are all of you who are disregarded by the powerful, for you are God’s beloved community.”  In this sermon, as Jesus lays out his vision of a new community, he blesses history’s losers!   The blessings he proclaims were truly a protest against injustice!  No wonder it was radical.  And, no wonder it is still radical today!

Before we begin to look at what Jesus is saying, it is important that we understand what the word “blessing” means as used here in scripture.  The Greek word for “blessing” ascribed to Jesus in these Beatitudes is makarios.  This word means both “happy” and “favor.”  In the Christian scriptures, the word specifically means God’s favor, often called “grace” or “abundance.”  So, what Jesus is saying is “Favored are the poor.”  He is not saying “Be happy for poverty.”  Essentially, he is saying to the people, “God privileges the poor.  If you are poor, you are favored by God.  God’s gifts are with you.”  In the culture of that time, this was shocking, and I must say it is still shocking in our time because our social structure is not all that different from quid pro quo Roman culture and society.  In this Sermon on the Plain, Jesus turns things upside down and drives home the topsy-turvy news regarding the order of things in God’s kingdom. 

Jesus is speaking directly to the disciples and each one of us as he invites us into his holy venture to live out our faith. Jesus is not describing an ideological agenda or a political platform.  He does not provide us with an abstract or empty definition of discipleship or sainthood.  He is not listing for us qualifications describing some “how to” method to get into heaven.   Jesus is describing a vision of God’s reign which he totally and completely embodies.  What he is doing is calling all of us to become faithful and effective agents of God’s reign right here and right now.  And, quite frankly, for those of us who live in middle class to upper class America, his words to us are so very, very challenging.  The “rules of engagement” of Jesus’ reign stand in sharp contrast to the presumed rights of the prosperous as he talks about wealth, abundant food, the good stuff of life and all that we consider blessings.  Jesus’ words and vision are simply at odds with the way things are in our lives and in the world.  Jesus knows that we are possessed by our possessions and the so called “blessings” we feel we have and enjoy.  Quite frankly, most contemporary people have a very different idea of what makes a blessed life.  Theologian, Diana Butler Bass, when talking about this passage, says that most people think of blessings in this way:

Blessed are the rich, for they own the best stuff.  Blessed are the sexy and glamorous, for everyone desires them.  Blessed are the powerful, for they control the kingdoms of the earth.  Blessed are those who get everything they ever wanted; they alone will be satisfied.  Blessed are the famous, for their reward is eternal life.  Money, beauty, power, achievement, and fame – we hold these things in esteem.  If only we had them, or just one of them, we would be blessed.  (Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, pl 140.)

 

Yes, these aspects of life are what we tend to name as “blessings.”   But, Jesus sees these as characteristics of the lost and proclaims woe to any of us who find ourselves looking at life in this way.  By proclaiming woe to this way of life, Jesus announces the evil and injustice in our way of living and thinking.  Jesus says the poor and the hungry are the ones who are blessed, for their fortunes are going to be reversed.  He says, “Are you weeping?  You are blessed because you will laugh.  Do people hate, exclude, and revile you on account of the Son of Man?  Jump for joy, for your reward is great in heaven; their grandparents hated and excluded the prophets too.”  Jesus is saying God is not impressed with what we consider blessings.  In fact, all that we consider “blessings” misrepresents his message.  Oh, yes, Jesus is again turning this world, our thinking and even our conventional assumptions about religion upside down.  Jesus blesses those who suffer, and he curses those whose wealth, comfort, and prestige are built upon this same suffering. 

Now, quite honestly, as we live in the cushioned environment of our so called “blessings,” many of us would probably say, “I am not poor, but I identify with the poor,” or “I work with the poor,” or maybe even “I send money to the poor, I care about the poor.”  We might even want to quibble about the definition of “poor,” or “hungry” or “weeping.”  Surely, we the faithful, are among the blessed.   So, if we are honest with ourselves, we need to ask, “If we are not the poor, the hungry, the weeping, or the excluded, what are we to hear from this so-called “good news?”  Pastor Laura Sugg, when asking this question, suggests:

Luke’s Jesus is fulfilling God’s compassion for the oppressed.  Jesus’ first words to people in Luke’s Gospel repeat the words from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (4:18a) Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus lives this out by talking with those on the margins, challenging the status quo, and convicting those who feel certain they are righteous.  (Feasting on the Word, p. 240.)

 

The kingdom of God that Jesus embodies is not some abstract theological term about a time and place the world has never known.  Jesus is calling us to be faithful agents of God’s reign right here and right now.  God’s kingdom, God’s reign, breaks through when we love our enemies.  It takes hold when we do good to those who hate us.  It comes alive when we bless those who curse us.  It shines brightly when we pray for those who abuse or mistreat us.  It shows up when we honor the request of the beggars.  When we live our lives by the principle of “do unto others as you would have them do to you,” and when we love all others as God calls us to love, we truly live out our citizenship in God’s kingdom and bear witness to God’s reign. 

I must say, living this kind of life is not easy.  In fact, it is very difficult.  It means we must become vulnerable and that is a condition most of us would rather avoid.  But, Jesus is always unsettling us and, as he tells us that the order of things in God’s rule is reversed, we discover that life with God means knowing what poverty and hunger and sorrow and being cursed look like.  It means knowing how it feels to be overlooked and discounted.  It means knowing what it is like to be hated.  And, it means allowing ourselves to become vulnerable, living in solidarity all others, and admitting our total dependence upon God.

Listen again to Diana Butler Bass’ words about this passage.  She writes:

When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor,” he overturned the politics of blessing.  He preached that blessings were more than happiness.  They were a social vision.  God gives gifts to everyone, but especially to the vulnerable and those at the bottom of society.  Gifts are not only for the few, but wildly distributed for all.  And the people at the bottom?  The losers?  God’s favor resides with them.  God has uniquely blessed them. 

 

What is the proper response to gifts?   Blessing is an invitation to give thanks…..a blessed community is a grateful community.  [When Jesus spoke to the people on that day, that gathering] started as a crowd, and the way opened for them to become a society formed by gratitude. (Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, pl 142.)

 

Jesus calls us to live into this social vision of a blessed community as he speaks to us today.  The world desperately needs such grateful, inclusive, open, blessed communities.   I pray God continually forms us and shapes us into this kind of community of grace and gratitude.

Feb 10, 2019

This is a special music presentation of Deep Water by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir with a solo by Tammy Heilman. 

Feb 10, 2019

We are living in a time when being the church is not easy.  Quite frankly, being the church is increasingly difficult and, across the board, we find more and more people leaving the church.  As faith communities, we are having to learn some new ways of being together.  We truly need to seek out and re-ground as people of faith because our lives are filled with countless distractions.  The church, along with multiple public institutions, is experiencing a massive shift within culture.  That shift affects participation on many levels and there are likely multiple reasons for this shift.  It is as though we are living at a pivot point in time.  We know some of the ways we have done things aren’t working as they used to, but we are not yet sure what the next thing will look like.  Certain events in our lives also create these shifts or pivot points in time.  These are moments that divide time, a point from which things will never be the same again.  And, quite frankly, such moments often create a sense of fear and moving forward often seems risky.  However, such times of change can beckon us to a deeper place in life, a place where we are called to live more faithfully, a place where we truly begin to get beyond ourselves, let go of our self-centeredness and live for others.

In our first reading today, we find the prophet Isaiah had one of these pivotal moments, a moment that defined the rest of his life.  He was in the temple and he experienced something so life changing it was as though he was born anew.  For Isaiah, that pivotal moment came when he had a vision in which he saw God in such grandeur and glory, that the hem of God’s garment filled the entire temple.  Just think about it.  Isaiah saw God as so transcendent, glorious and enormous that only the hem of God’s garment could be seen.  Imagine how much more could not be seen.  For Isaiah, that moment of experiencing God’s presence and grandeur, God’s regal brilliance and transcendence, was a moment of call, a decisive moment that defined the rest of his life. 

In that moment, Isaiah began to see that God is inexpressibly bigger than our human minds can even begin to imagine.  Witnessing the glory of God and feeling engulfed in the song of holiness praising God, Isaiah found himself feeling lost, unclean and unworthy.  As he confessed his inadequacy, his lips were touched with a burning coal.  And, in that moment God spoke, touched Isaiah’s lips with purifying fire, and the grace of God’s holiness and the healing power of God’s presence removed Isaiah’s guilt.  Isaiah was forever changed.  Having been healed, Isaiah hears God’s need for some help.  How startling!  God, the ominous, robe-clad, glorious one needs something!  Isaiah raises his hand and humbly utters the words, “Here am I, send me.”

This was a pivot point in Isaiah’s life, an experience after which nothing would ever again be the same.  This life changing, call experience is not only found in our first reading.  It is also seen in today’s gospel passage from Luke.  Peter and his colleagues are at the water’s edge, feeling discouraged as they clean their fishing nets.  Having worked all night long and having caught nothing, they are experiencing much fatigue.  In the depth of that dismal experience, Jesus enters the scene and Peter has an encounter that is pivotal and life-changing. 

Jesus has been teaching and healing across Judea and he now comes face to face with Peter and the other fishermen in their discouragement.  To better address the pressing throng of people that have gathered around him, Jesus improvises and commandeers Peter’s boat.  He tells Peter to row out into deep waters.  Jesus is no fisherman, but most people who have spent any time near fishing towns along the Sea of Galilee would know that you don’t catch anything worth catching when you play it safe in shallow waters.  So, Peter does as Jesus instructs and, to his great surprise, finds unexpected abundance.  Peter then feels his unworthiness, he falls to his knees at Jesus’ feet and says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  Jesus proclaims a word of grace as he tells Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 

And, in that grace-filled moment, suddenly and without warning, Peter found himself at the most critical crossroad of his life.  He could continue with what was comfortable and remain a fisherman, or he could risk it all on the promises of this compelling prophet.  He could remain in his own village and keep his same friends, or he could walk away from it all, leaving the comfortable bubble in which he had been living, and step into a new future.  He could stick with the predictable or he could move into the deep waters of the unknown.  Is it any wonder Luke tells us that Peter was afraid?  He was afraid of making the wrong decision. He could continue his routine and eek out a living or he could shoot the moon.  As we know, he chose to follow Jesus, and his life was never again the same.

I grew up imagining that when Jesus issued an invitation to the twelve disciples he intended to have as his inner circle, each one enthusiastically replied, “Yes, of course I will follow you!”  However, today I doubt it.  If Jesus led by persuasion and not force, if he challenged but did not coerce, I wonder how many other people were extended invitations but replied, “No thanks.  My life may not be perfect, but I’m not desperate for a change.  The promise of a richer life is enticing, but where’s the guarantee?  I’m afraid to let loose of the security and the predictability of my routine for something unfamiliar.  Granted, Jesus, you make it sound rewarding, but how can I be sure?”   I wonder how many people said, “Thanks, but no thanks.”   In fact, three of the gospels tell the story of a wealthy young ruler who was invited to become a follower of Jesus but turned around and walked away.  I wonder how many others declined the invitation.

Over the past twenty centuries, how many people have stood at that crossroad?   How many have taken the life-changing risk of turning to God, letting go of playing it safe in the shallow waters and instead follow Jesus to the places where he leads?   And, how many have instead chosen to just play it safe?   How many of us have really committed to following Christ, but at important junctures we have veered off course?  Following Jesus entails adopting his agenda, which to some people sounds threatening or even scary.  However, when we adopt Jesus’ agenda, it does not mean giving up fun for something boring; giving up excitement for dreariness or spontaneity for rigidity.  It means looking outward rather than inward; it means following his way rather than responding to selfish impulses.  It means going to the places where Jesus goes, living for others and not safely staying within the confines of a church building or the safety bubble in which you live!

I once saw a cartoon in the New Yorker that showed two attractive people sitting at a table in a coffee shop.   The man is saying to the woman, “I’ve tried a lot of strategies, and I’ve discovered that being completely self-serving is the strategy that works best for me.”  There is an “It’s all about me” way of thinking that permeates our society today.  Regrettably, it fails to see that self-centeredness cuts you off from others, limits your vision and restricts your possibilities.  Self-centeredness is blind to the rewards that ensue from making a sacrifice for another and really loving all others.  It does not understand the genuine well-being that emerges from being grateful to God for the blessings of life.   It never experiences the power of forgiveness and transformation.  It cannot fathom the satisfaction that is derived from making a commitment to something greater than yourself. 

We live in an age where most people shy away from commitments.  Yet, people long for a better marriage, hunger for stronger friendships, ache for a purpose in their lives and pray for a sense of harmony with God – all of which only derive from making commitments. Like Peter, are you afraid of the changes that might ensue if you fully commit to following Christ wherever he leads?  I challenge you to risk and move out more deeply into the grace-filled waters of a life of faith.  You will experience a life of deep meaning, life that really, truly matters, and life will never again be the same.

Feb 4, 2019

This is a special music presentation of Without Love by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir with soloist Ursula Blasmacher on viola.

Feb 4, 2019

If you remember last week’s gospel reading which Rich so powerfully proclaimed, Jesus had gone to his hometown synagogue and read words from the great prophet Isaiah, saying:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, to preach good news to the poor."  Well, today, we get the rest of the story.  After reading from Isaiah, Jesus sat down.  The people’s eyes were fixed on him, and he said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  The first public word spoken by Jesus himself in Luke's gospel is the word "today."  That word is a favorite of Luke's.  It appears twelve times in Luke's gospel.  "Today" conveys a real sense of immediacy.  Furthermore, Jesus unabashedly says the words of Isaiah are "fulfilled in your hearing."  Hearing Jesus' words, connecting them with the fulfillment of scripture and seeing Jesus' ministry of "release" on behalf of the poor – all of this Jesus claims is taking place right now, today, in and through him as he lives out the love of God for all people. 

Well, initially, the people who are present react positively to Jesus’ words.  They are proud of their hometown son.  They are so impressed that Luke tells us, “"All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth." Jesus is, well, bigger than Jesus, the Jesus they had always known.  He is a huge success, becoming a star!  But then, Jesus spells out an important aspect of his mission as he revisits other points in Israel's history when God had sent prophets.  Jesus reminds the people that the prophets of Israel were sent to care for, heal, and empower outsiders – those Gentiles who were considered “other,” as well as Jews!  Well, it is an understatement to say the people now react adversely to Jesus’ words.  This is an inconvenient truth they do not want to hear, and Luke tells us, "All in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff."  They intended to kill him!

Jesus, the hometown hero whom they had eagerly welcomed back, speaks some very profound words, but they are words the people do not want to hear.  It is as though Jesus intentionally attempts to provoke and anger them.  He intentionally engages them as he seems to say, “I am not here to make you famous.  I am like the great Old Testament prophet, Elijah, who didn’t get fed during a sustained period of drought in his homeland of Israel, but instead went outside of Israel to Sidon.”  Jesus is really pushing their buttons.  The people of Nazareth knew Sidon all right.  It was in the neighboring country.  They knew their history and they also remembered Elisha, Elijah’s successor, didn’t cure anyone locally but he cured a man, a sworn enemy of Israel, a person from the despised country of Syria!  Jesus is proclaiming that the scope of God’s mercy and God’s love goes beyond his community of Nazareth.  Indeed, God’s love and God’s kingdom even includes foreigners, those they considered enemies. 

This was simply shocking!   They thought Jesus should save his miracles and teachings for them and not the people they regarded as human trash.  Jesus confronts them, reads their hearts and exposes the darkness of their own souls.  He challenges them and says, “There is no exclusive club for my message.  I am for all people everywhere.”  

What can we say?  Jesus' manner of life – his teaching, his healing, his prophetic ministry – posed a profound challenge to his community. Jesus’ words provoked people and made them look at themselves.  And that meant they would have to let go of their prejudice, not feel threatened, and look at outsiders and others in a different way.  His words meant that maybe they even had to embrace outsiders and those they considered “other”! 

That is always what happens when we hear Jesus’ words.  We are confronted with a challenge.  Do we simply react and feel threatened?  Or, do we thoughtfully respond and allow Jesus’ words to not only challenge us, but change us and transform us?  Yes, Jesus pushes buttons and Jesus pushes boundaries.  In fact, Jesus destroys our imposed boundaries of race, ethnicity, creed, color, country of origin, sexual orientation, you name it.  He is all about inclusion and extravagant love.  And, in this boundary pushing Jesus, we meet a God who loves and lifts up those who would be torn down by society.  His heart is with those who suffer.  He cares about those who are hurting, who are helpless, who are brokenhearted, and who are in bondage. 

Just as Jesus confronted his hometown congregation, Jesus confronts us.  When someone is different or doesn’t meet our expectations, how do we treat them?  Do we accept and welcome them for who they are, or do we reject them because they are different, because they don’t belong?  The truth is, Jesus reads the hearts of faith communities just as he reads our very own hearts.  How do we as the church respond?  Where do we see the church behaving like the congregation in that synagogue?  Where do we see any group suffering from a toxic case of in-group loyalties?  Any group that considers itself to be favored can behave in this way, from a congregation to a nation.  When we are confronted by Jesus’ message, do we react out of prejudice or do we respond out of Christian love? 

Just as Jesus spoke the truth and challenged his hometown folk to love, he continues to challenge us by speaking the truth and challenging us to love.  And, loving others is the most challenging aspect of Jesus’ message.  Love is always challenging because it takes us out of our comfort zones and calls us to action.  Love is a challenge because it requires us to care for those who are different from us, those who disagree with us, and even those we do not like.  Love requires that we cross our self-imposed boundaries and live for others.  Jesus called his hometown folk to come out of their self-imposed tomb of Nazareth and come forth to their true home, the love that is found in the very heart of God.  And there lies the real challenge – such love takes us directly to the cross.

Yes, “the rest of the story” is that Jesus’ hometown folk reacted to Jesus’ call to love by pushing him out of town.  They tried to push him up on a hill and over a cliff.  And, eventually, he was pushed out on to a hill and crucified.  Oh, the call to love is not easy.  It tends to rub us the wrong way and we are challenged by it on a daily basis.  The love of God is so big it challenges our thinking, our way of living, forces us to go to new places and calls us to get beyond ourselves and think of others in a whole new way.  And, the love and grace of God is so radical that it always takes us to the cross, the place where we find we are so deeply loved that we become changed!

The words of Jesus are words spoken to each of us today and they are fulfilled in our hearing.  There is definite immediacy in his words today, right now in our culture and right now in this present moment.  Jesus’ words challenge us as he tells us to embrace the outsiders.  Now, I know some will hear this message and perceive it as political.  This is not political, folks.  My friends, this is the gospel and it is the gospel good news.  This is all about love, the kind of love God has for us and for all people, the kind of love we are called to live. 

Let us pray:  Gracious and loving God.  Keep challenging us.  Keep pushing our buttons.  Keep provoking us to love!  Amen.

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