All in the family room

Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20

Tonight is all about the birth of a child, God incarnated, God-with-skin-on, named Jesus. But his is not the first important birth in the history of the Israelite people. There was Isaac the son of Abraham and Sarah, first son in the line that led to King David. There was Samuel, Hannah’s son, who grew up to be the prophet who anointed David the shepherd boy. And there was John, the long-awaited son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who grew up to be John the Witness who baptized lots of people in the Jordan River.

The song in Isaiah 9 is a reference to two important figures in Israel’s history: King Hezekiah and King Josiah. The song is not a birth narrative but celebrates the reigns of these two men. Originally written for the crowning of Hezekiah after a long war, it was later used in reference to Josiah for his faithful leadership. For Christians, it affirms the authority of Jesus, although he was, and is, a very different kind of king.

… Some churches have plays that tell the story of Jesus’ birth, with children acting out all the parts. Sometimes the adults participate in the storytelling. Here’s one pastor’s recollection of performing a Christmas play.

Timothy Adkins-Jones recalled the time he and his church produced Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity. He and his wife played Joseph and Mary, frantically looking for a place for the baby to be born. His wife was 8 months pregnant at the time and it was the source of hilarity for years.

The idea of Mary and Joseph searching for a room is based on a misunderstanding of a Hebrew word. It was the guestroom that was full, not the inn. And a careful reading tells us that Mary and Joseph had been in town for a while. Verse 6 says, “while they were there, the time came …” They had family in town, a lot of family, since King David had lots of children. They had been in town long enough to have housing arranged, to meet with the midwife, and to have the swaddling and other supplies on hand.

So imagine that Mary gave birth with the midwife and maybe an assistant on hand. There were probably one or two older female aunties and maybe even Mary’s mother in town as well. After the baby is born, he is placed in a manger full of fresh hay. The manger might have been be a hole in the floor, or a movable wooden trough. In today’s world, he might have been settled in a dresser drawer or a laundry basket. Perhaps the animals are inside the house for the night, so they are also present. This precious child, as welcome as all children are, is put to bed surrounded by his family.

And yet, he is not just any child. He is so special that the angels tell the shepherds about him, and send them to see the baby. The shepherds report on the angel encounter, and everyone praises God. They will all give witness to the birth of this child.

… Whether Mary and Joseph spent hours knocking on inn doors looking for a place for Mary to give birth, or they were in a crowded and loving family home isn’t important in the long run. What is important is that our God cares enough about us to make sure we know the true story … that God is always present with us. Sometimes we can even see God in the presence of love or grace offered through another person, a gift from God directly to us.

It happens that this year, there will be no big Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, Israel. The city is in Palestine, within the walled-off region of the West Bank. It is dangerous to go there with the Israel-Gaza war and its echoing conflicts popping up in Palestine. But the church has not abandoned the opportunity to give witness to the birth of the baby.

You may have seen the image on social media. At the center is a baby Jesus from a traditional nativity scene. He has a keffiyeh, a Palestinian scarf, across his body, just as he might look every year in Palestine. But this year, he is surrounded by rubble, as if a bomb fell near him. The pastors of the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem want to remind us that Jesus is present all the time, everywhere. He is still and always Yeshua and Emmanuel.

… As the shepherds left town after seeing the baby, they glorified and praised God. It has long been my practice to have the sending hymn on Christmas Eve be Go tell it on the mountain because this is what we should do, too. We should be so happy that Christ has been born that we don’t hesitate to share this good news with everyone.

So I ask you … How will you be an angel or a shepherd, telling this good news to someone who needs to hear it? Amen

 

 

 

With thanks to Timothy Adkins-Jones:

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christmas-eve-nativity-of-our-lord/commentary-on-luke-21-14-15-20-24

Mary’s dream

 2023 12 24a Sermon

Luke 1:46b-55; Luke 1:26-38

Today, I have lots of questions, with few answers. Maybe you, too, have wondered about these things.

Once upon a time, about 50 years ago, a pastor said to the Bible study group I was in, “In Jesus’ time, all girls wanted to be the mother of the Messiah.” In all my studying over the years, I have never seen anything in scripture or commentaries about that, but we can suppose it’s true. Especially when times were challenging, we know that hopes were high for the messiah to come. And 2,000 years ago, Judea was an occupied country, a province of Rome, with soldiers constantly on the watch for mischief by the locals.

It was a superstitious age, when people believed in spirits, in ghosts, in angels. So, most angels began their conversations with humans like this: Don’t be afraid! I am an angel, sent by God with a message for you. Then they usually tell the person they have a special job for the person to do. The angel encounter with Mary fits this pattern.

Gabriel tells Mary she will be the mother of a boy she is to name Yeshua, which means God saves: ye- for God, shua for saves. This boy will be great, he will be called the son of the Most High, he will inherit the throne of King David, and reign over the house of his ancestors forever.

Mary is puzzled, since as a young woman, she has no husband. Gabriel assures her it will be by God’s power that this happens. The Spirit of God will overshadow her. I imagine this looks like a heavenly dove gathering Mary under her wings and making Mary feel safe while she breathes in God’s Spirit. – At least, that’s what I am thinking today.

To prove that this is real, not just the dream of a young Judean girl, Gabriel then shares some news. Go check with your old auntie Elizabeth. She thought she would be childless until she died, but she is now 6 months pregnant!

Mary agrees to participate in this miraculous event. The author of Luke doesn’t tell us how Mary broke the news to Joseph, her fiancé. Though, the author of Matthew tells us there was some trouble that required the appearance of an angel to resolve. Luke tells us that Mary went to spend time with Elizabeth during the older woman’s third trimester.

Having been a pregnant woman with friends who were also pregnant, I know the conversations they had. But then, these two have the added feature of divine action, which added elements I can only dream of to their time together.

As Luke tells the story, Elizabeth greets Mary by telling her that baby John leapt in her womb when she and baby/ fetus Jesus arrived. And that Mary sang a song, which is our psalm today. The traditional beginning is: My soul magnifies the Lord, so we have called this the Magnificat. We get to sing one version of it later in the service.

My practical, somewhat skeptical and seminary-trained mind wants to know if Mary actually wrote this on the spot, if she developed it as she travelled to visit Elizabeth, if she wrote it over time, or if Luke wrote it for her, decades later.

I also have wondered – assuming she wrote something like it – how the boy Jesus would have heard it. How would it have influenced him as he grew up?

… Pregnant women – at least those who want to be pregnant – are excited to be having a baby. Being pregnant changes our lives. We focus on what we need to do to have a healthy pregnancy, what we will need when the baby arrives, whether it’s a girl or a boy, and we pray that the baby will be whole and healthy.

We wonder what they will grow up to be. We hope they will follow in our footsteps, or we hope that they don’t follow in our footsteps. We hope they will change something in the world, make the world a little better for those who follow.

But we never imagine they will be the messiah!

… Until he was about 5 years old, Mary would have been Jesus’ main influence. Once he was old enough to learn something about his father Joseph’s craft, he would have spent more time in the workshop or at the jobsite. And he would have learned the Torah and its meaning. There are legends, but no scripture stories, about Jesus’ childhood in any of the canonical Gospels, other than the Luke story about him in the temple when he was 12.

Did he have special knowledge, extra information about the Hebrew Scriptures, as the Son of God? Or did his childhood as the son of a skilled laborer in a poor community, combined with his mother’s song and teaching, give him a different point of view than the traditional priestly interpretation?

When we look at the song itself, how much of it did Jesus do? Certainly, he left the toppling of thrones to others, but his teaching and living definitely fulfilled all the merciful, uplifting stuff in the rest of the song. And it has influenced people ever since it became known to the world. 

… In my studying this week, I was intrigued by a story. There was a small town with a monastery which had once been a thriving community. But over time, there were fewer monks living there. They found it hard to get along with each other, and the abbot was worried they would need to close the monastery.

One day, the abbot had a conversation with the local rabbi, telling the him about the problems they were having. The rabbi said he had no answers, but he could tell the abbot that the messiah was among them. The abbot reported this conversation to the monks, and before long, they were all getting along much better. They were kind and forgiving with one another. The monastery was thriving so well that young men were asking to join.

… The messiah came to Judea, born of a young woman and a young man, with the help of God’s Holy Spirit. His teaching changed how people saw each other, perhaps because of a song his mother wrote.

Let’s pay attention to this song and look for the messiah to come among us at an unexpected time. Amen

 

John the Witness

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

John the Baptizer Witness

Today’s Gospel reading is quite similar to last week’s story from Mark about John the Baptizer. Except this week John the author puts John the Baptist in a different role. Yes, John baptizes people, but this ministry is more in the background to his real purpose. In today’s reading, we find John engaging in a back-and-forth conversation with the Pharisees.

Who are you? Are you the messiah? … No.

Who are you? Are you Elijah? … No.

Who are you? Are you the prophet? … No.

Who are you? … I am the voice crying in the wilderness.

Then why are you here? … I have been sent to prepare the way for the one who is to come. I, myself, am not worthy to stoop down to untie his sandals.

… The focus in John’s Gospel is how Jesus is the Son-of-God. John the Baptizer is important as the Witness to the coming of Jesus into their midst. I’m going to refer to John the Baptizer as John the Witness today, to help us see how important this role of witnessing is.

Some speculate that Jesus had been one of John the Witness’s disciples, but that is not clear here in John’s Gospel. John the Witness doesn’t state that he knows who this “one” is, only that he is declaring that the “one” is coming. If Jesus has been with John, then he likely has recognized God’s powerful presence in Jesus, and knows Jesus is the one he is announcing here.

It’s also important to note that John the Witness doesn’t baptize Jesus in John’s Gospel. He is named as one who baptizes, but there is no story of John baptizing Jesus. It may have happened, but there is no story about it. It wasn’t important to John the author. This is another reminder that each author tells the story in their own way, emphasizing what is important to them and for their audience.

In many medieval paintings of the crucifixion, John the Witness is present. When he is there, he is usually shown pointing at Jesus, witnessing to Jesus beyond death.

… Paul writes encouraging the Thessalonians to remain faithful. They should pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances, and in this way witness to Jesus.

There are many who believe that the line in Paul’s letter, “pray without ceasing” means to devote oneself to prayer 24/7. This belief has led to the establishment of monastic communities, where the siblings gather up to 7 times a day for prayer.

Instead, I believe it means to be so aware of the good things God has given us, that our daily activities are all done with the recognition that God is present at all times. When we work, our desire can be that those who purchase our product, or receive our email, or pay their bills, or grade our papers, will be blessed. Our kindness in answering an email or phone call or text goes a long way to spread the news that God reigns in our hearts. In our lives, then, we are witnessing to Jesus without saying a word, and we’re doing it all day long.

That doesn’t mean we don’t ever have to say Jesus’ name in public, of course. If we never say “Jesus”, people won’t know whom we worship and serve. Witnessing happens when we pray a thanksgiving for our meal in a restaurant. Witnessing happens when we say “God bless you” to someone who needs such simple good news. Witnessing happens when we invite someone to an activity at ULC. Witnessing happens when we hand a bag of snack food and water to a hungry person.

… Witnessing happens when we welcome everyone, especially those who are not always welcome. Witnessing happens when we accept that younger people don’t do things the way we used to do them. Witnessing happens when we tell someone that we will pray for them.

Witnessing happens every time we show God’s love to someone. Witnessing happens when we place our offering in the basket or mail it to the church or the synod or Lutheran World Relief or the school in Haiti.  

Mostly, witnessing happens when we tell a person who doesn’t know God that God loves them. People who don’t know about church have no idea that Jesus is about love and forgiveness and acceptance. Many people today weren’t taken to church as children, so they have no concept of what church is, what belonging to a church family can do for them, and with them.

People who belong to churches with lots of rules don’t know that God doesn’t care as much about rules as they have been led to believe. Even people who believe in Jesus need us to help them remember that Jesus loves and welcomes them just as they are. That is witnessing.

… It was almost 75 years ago, in 1949, that people began gathering in Gainesville to plant a Lutheran church and student center at the University. The goal was to witness to the community, and especially to the students, with the Lutheran understanding of Jesus. By 1951, there was a Sunday school, a women’s group, and an active student group. One of the first tasks, after a building was located for the new church, was to find an organ. I suppose students of that day appreciated organ music and traditional worship.  

By the ‘60s and ‘70’s, folk services were extremely popular. I know Chicago Folk Service well because it was attractive to students and young adults of my time. It was a great way to witness to students, with its then-radical lyrics and music.  

In the past, campus ministry was like Sunday School for college students. It is so different today that we need to begin by finding out what students do want or need, and then seek to provide it. The question for us today is, if we want to continue doing campus ministry: what does it look like? And what do we need to do to make it happen? How do we witness to students today in a way that makes sense to them and gives them the opportunity to draw closer to God?

I invite you this week to be aware of opportunities to witness to Jesus. He is the one who is coming, just now as a baby, but soon as a teacher and healer, and crucified and risen one. How do you share that good news with someone else? As Paul says, when Spirit is urging you to speak up, “Don’t quench the Spirit!” by remaining silent. Amen

 

The Gospel Era

Isaiah 40:1-11; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

So begins the story of Jesus, written by an unknown person, although there are some who think it was John-also-known-as-Mark, mentioned in Acts. The book was written around the year 70, during or right after the first Jewish revolt against Rome. It appears to have been written after the fall of Jerusalem in August of 70, but that is not certain.  

The first sentence of a piece of writing is intended to give a strong indication of the point of the writing. In the case of the Gospel of Mark, it is very clear what Mark intends to tell us.  

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Mark declares that this is a beginning, which means there is more to come. Mark ends in Chapter 16, with the angels saying to the women that the tomb is empty and Jesus will meet them in Galilee. Mark includes no resurrection appearances; there is no description of any meeting of the risen Jesus with the disciples in Galilee. So, the story is not finished. It’s just the beginning.

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

It’s good news. Literally, it’s euangelion, gospel. Good news should be shared. This story is worth sharing with everyone.

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Jesus Christ … Mark names Jesus as the messiah. Christus is the Latin interpretation of the Hebrew word messiah. You may remember it means anointed one. Special people in the Hebrew Bible are anointed: Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Saul, David, and Samuel, and others.

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

And Jesus is the Son of God. Not “a” son of “a” god, but “the” son of “the” God. Jews at that time were unusual in their belief that there is only one God. In the mythology of the Greeks and Romans, many of the gods had human children, hybrid, human-divine children. In the decades around the time of Jesus, the emperors had declared themselves to be god-like, sons of a god. Jesus is different: he is the only Son of the only God.

… Mark continues: John the Baptizer appears on the scene, calling all to come to repent of their sins and be baptized. And “the whole world” was coming to see and hear him. It is clear that he intends to portray himself as the ancient prophet Elijah. He wears the clothing of the prophet, lives a subsistence wilderness diet, and scolds the leaders of Judea, just as Elijah did.

John does this baptizing outside the purview of the temple authorities, without their permission, and without offering a mite, the smallest coin, to the temple offering box. Temple leaders are keeping a close eye on him. However much attention he draws, he always points away from himself to the one who is coming, one much greater than he. We know he points to Jesus, but at this moment, he doesn’t name him.

John lifts up a passage from Isaiah, and gives it a new slant. He is the voice crying out in the wilderness, calling for a way to be made for the one whom God is sending to them.

… Mark is announcing the beginning of a new era, the gospel, or good news, era. From the resurrection on, we have entered a new way of thinking about God.

Throughout the history of the Jewish people, they have chosen to follow the One God whose name is I-Am. I-Am said to the folks over and over again, I am your God and you are my people. I choose you and I want you to choose me.

I-Am’s messages came through leaders, first Moses and Aaron, then judges like Joshua and Deborah, and later the prophets. During the Babylonian Exile, in the 500s BCE, the priests and other leaders decided they needed to write down the stories of God’s interaction with the people. This writing, then, became the main source of God’s message to the people, interpreted by the official priests and temple leaders and rabbis.

With Jesus’ arrival on the scene as the only Son of the only God, people were able to hear God’s message directly from God. This is indeed a new era, focused on the gospel, the good news brought by Jesus, the Son of God.

… From Peter, we learn what we are to do, how we are to live in this new gospel era. We are to repent, and live lives of faithfulness and holiness. In the early years after the resurrection, there was an expectation that Jesus would come back during their lifetimes; so Peter’s audience should wait patiently for that event, even though they had already been waiting a long time, decades, for that return.

Now, 2,000 years later, we no longer expect Jesus to return in a dramatic way. We do expect to see Jesus in those we encounter through the eyes of God’s Holy Spirit, who teaches us to treat everyone as if they were Jesus himself.

… There are many challenges to us today, in this Gospel Era, to be the church, to be Jesus’ hands and voice, welcoming and respecting all people as he would welcome them.

At UELC, we are in a time of listening to God for guidance; it’s a time for courage, a time to make bold decisions. It’s a time to look to God for a vision of the future that we dream of but are afraid is not possible. It’s a time to remember that the tomb was and still is empty.

In this Gospel Era, we remember that God is with us always. We are baptized and sent to look for Jesus’ presence among us. This week, I hope you will be aware of those around you and welcome them as Jesus would. Amen

 

 

Anticipation

 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37

As I read and prayed about the texts for this week one, word kept coming to me: anticipation. Fortunately or unfortunately, it came with an ear worm of Carly Simon’s song, an-ti-ci-pa-a-a-a-tion.

Anticipation can be positive or negative. For example, we anticipate our birthdays positively or negatively. As children, we count ½ birthdays because we have such a positive anticipation of getting older. Comedian Jack Benny made a big deal about never having birthdays after he turned 39. He lived to age 80. Obviously he had a negative anticipation of birthdays, at least when he was on stage.

Advent always begins with a look at the future hopes, anticipations, of the disciples. The gospel reading comes from Chapter 13 of 16 in Mark, so it’s shortly before Jesus’ death. What does the end time look like? When will it happen?  In answer, Jesus gives a description, and then says, but no one, not even he, knows when it will occur.

There will be signs, so watch for them. The signs will be as obvious as a fig tree with fresh shoots indicating the new growing season is coming. And then, despite his declaration that no one knows when this will happen, Jesus says he believes it will be soon.

… As a result of the unknown timing, the response is to be alert, aware of the signs. In response to these words, the disciples and early followers like Paul believed the end times were coming soon. “Don’t make major changes in your lives, so you can focus on being ready for Jesus to come again.”  

We, 2,000 years later, are still called to keep awake, to anticipate, Jesus’ coming. But for many of us, the anticipation of a cataclysmic event seems unlikely. Some define the second coming as having happened at Pentecost, with the wind and fire and exuberance of the entry of the Holy Spirit into the crowd. So, there is no need to look for a major event in the future.

The awareness, the alertness, should be focused on looking for Jesus’ presence all around us. Paul reminds us that through the Holy Spirit, we have been given gifts to use. Instead of waiting for the end times and Jesus’ spectacular return, let’s watch for Jesus’ presence in those we encounter each day and use our gifts in the relationship. Further, let’s anticipate that he will show up often.

Here are a few ways we might notice Jesus appearing today:

… Jesus was at the bargaining table as Hamas and Israel struggled to find a way to release hostages.

Jesus has been with the hostages, and will be with them as they heal from the trauma. Jesus has been with the families of the hostages as well as with those whose loved ones have been killed. He has been there even with those who don’t believe in him. And Jesus has been and continues to be in Ukraine and Sudan and every war-torn place on earth.

Jesus is present with students as they prepare – or not – for finals.

Jesus is with those who grieve loved ones, especially during the holidays.

I think Jesus would have enjoyed the night at the Phillips Center with Paula Poundstone as she made fun of a variety of situations and human foibles.

Jesus is with us and with all who hunger and thirst for justice and fairness, and with those to whom they have been denied or limited.

Whatever is happening, anywhere and anytime, we can anticipate that Jesus is present.

… And, Jesus is with us as we work and pray and wait our way through the time of transition from one pastor to the next. This time is one of hard work for a congregation and its leaders.

In order to clarify the future of ULC, President Becky and I have called for a conversation to discuss the importance of campus ministry. We can’t imagine not supporting students in a variety of ways, but how important is it? How much money can we put toward it? Who will volunteer to make it work? This conversation is scheduled for January 21 after worship.

Last week, Pat and I attended a meeting on Zoom with Sarah Locke, a campus minister in Jacksonville. The more she talked, the more we realized that we don’t know what we don’t know about campus ministry. We want Sarah to come here and educate us about what campus ministry is like today. We want her to come before our conversation so we are better informed as we look to the future.

Becky and I anticipate, or at least we hope and pray for, a lively discussion and a better sense of direction for the congregation on January 21.

… I hope this week, this month, as we wait together and anticipate the coming of baby Jesus, God incarnated, that we will watch for Jesus’ presence in whoever we meet and wherever we go, and wherever he leads us into the future. Amen

 

Reign of Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46

Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the Church's new year’s eve. Since it’s the end of the year, it makes sense to reflect on the past year. You’ll notice that the hymns today follow the church year. These hymns reveal who Jesus is and who we are as we seek to follow him.

We wait in Advent for a savior to make our lives better:

we celebrate the incarnation of God as an infant at Christmas, and the promise he brings for the future:

we look for the light of the star guiding the magi, and the holy light of the transfiguration of Jesus during Epiphany;

we prepare for Jesus’ death in Lent and ponder how we can follow him, since we are reluctant to go all the way to the cross with him;

we rejoice in the resurrection at Easter because we need to be reminded that the tomb is empty;

 and we embrace the coming of God’s Holy Spirit at Pentecost, filling people then and now with God’s love and energy.

The Gospel reading expresses how we spend the summer each year sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning from him just as the first followers did.

 … Today has traditionally been called Christ the King Sunday, but Jesus never wanted to be a typical king. He never wanted to sit on a throne and wear fancy clothing and order people to obey him. He never wanted to be separate from the people, his people. And he definitely had no plans to gather an army to evict the Romans from Judea.

So, I follow a newer pattern of calling this Sunday the Reign of Christ. Repeatedly, Jesus promises that the kingdom / Reign of God has come near and invites us all to find new life there. When we reflect on what Matthew teaches us about Jesus, it’s clear that he is showing us how to care for each other with God’s help. From the Beatitudes to the resurrection and final sending out of the disciples, Jesus calls us to see ourselves and each other as equals.  

… The Gospel reading is about sorting the sheep from the goats, sorting the people who actively care for others from those who ignore or abuse others. This is in essence Jesus’ whole message: When we care for those in need, we are also caring for Jesus.

This weekend, I can’t help thinking about the conflict between Israel and Hamas. It’s tempting to judge the various actors in this conflict and assign one group or another to the sheep or the goats. We want to label them as righteous or unrighteous. But the truth is somewhere very much in between.

I believe Jesus is weeping for every single person in the region, for the weakest hostage, for the Gaza resident who has lost what little they had, and for the meanest Hamas soldier. Jesus weeps for the frustration of the Palestinians as they seek recognition from Israel that they have a right to exist. Jesus weeps for the Israelis who want to live without fear of attacks by Palestinians. Jesus weeps for the soul-deep pain that has caused some Palestinians to become violent and join extremist organizations.

Jesus’ vision of his realm is that each person has value in God’s eyes and that we would all respect each other as God’s beloved children. In Jesus’ realm, all concerned in this current matter would join him at a table, break bread together, and work out solutions to their differences that give to each person the feeling that they have been heard.

… In Jesus’ realm, we are all partners with him in sharing the good news that God loves all people regardless of social status, ethnicity, faith, etc. In our own lives, in our own circumstances, we are Jesus’ hands and voice seeking to bring his realm into being. We do this one by one, through our relationships with others.

And we join with the author of the letter to the Ephesians in prayers for wisdom and enlightenment in our relationships. We give glory to God, and we ask that we may be guided by God’s Spirit in following our Divine Shepherd, Jesus. 

This week, I pray that all may know God’s peace, that all may experience life in the Reign of God, and that we may each be an active partner with Jesus in sharing the reign of God with others. Amen

 

 

 

Giving Thanks

Deuteronomy 8:7-18; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Luke 17:11-19

Our scriptures today are about giving thanks in several settings. They remind us of the longstanding promises of God to provide for us and our thankful response to such benevolence.

… As the people prepared to enter the land promised to them long ago, Moses reminds them that this land and its produce is given to them by God. They are to remember often to thank God for this gift.

In Second Corinthians, Paul has been collecting offerings to support the church in Jerusalem. The believers there have been suffering from persecutions already, only 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Jews are unhappy with them, the Romans are unhappy with them, and life has become hard. Paul has asked all the churches established by then to contribute to a fund he will carry himself to Jerusalem.

Paul makes it clear that he is not demanding they contribute, because some of these Corinthian believers are also experiencing persecutions. But just like the clients of Bethel New Life, there are folks who have less than they have. And in the same way that Moses shared God’s promises to the Israelites, these Corinthians will discover abundance when they give.

… The familiar story of Jesus healing the lepers makes us cringe a bit. We want to understand why ten were healed, and only one turned around to say thank you. It’s easy to ridicule, to blame, to shame the nine. 

We need to understand the religious and political conditions of the time. Jewish people who have leprosy have been trained since birth that the priest and the rabbi holds the power over their lives. It is the priest who judges if the skin is clean or still contagious. It is the priest who will give them permission to return to their family and community. But, it sure seems to us that they should have at least nodded a thanks to Jesus for the healing before heading off to see the priest.

So, we need to offer them some grace. We look back 2,000 years and know who Jesus is. In that time, the cross hadn’t happened, the resurrection hadn’t happened. Jesus was just some preacher, teacher, healer among several others of the era. They didn’t owe him any special honor.

The Samaritan, on the other hand, does not feel compelled to see the priest of a religion that is not his own. He does turn around and say thank you before returning to his own family and community, and perhaps his own priest. … This doesn’t mean we don’t think the nine should have been polite and said thank you, too.

…

I know people who claim that what they have, their nice houses, their fashionable clothing, the latest technology, they have it all because of their own hard work. God plays no role in their lives, as the creator, as the giver of this abundance. They might give to a worthy cause occasionally, but mostly, they keep what they receive for their own uses.

And I know other people who claim that everything they have, their houses, their clothing, their technology, they have it all because of God’s abundance. They work hard to tithe, giving 10% to the church and making additional gifts to other causes.

Are their lives better either way? I can’t really say, but I can share my own experiences. For a long time, back when I was a young mom, I wanted to give more than a couple dollars a week to my congregation, but that was what it seemed the budget allowed.

I was especially influenced by an experience at Bethel New Life Church on Chicago’s West Side. All the clients were urged to tithe. And I was told by the clients themselves that they did so happily because there was always someone who had less than they had.

I promised myself while I was at seminary that when I was out of school that I would begin tithing. I have kept that promise to myself. Mike and I support several congregations and give often to Lutheran World Relief and Lutheran Disaster Response and occasionally to other causes. I can only say that it feels good to give to others some of what God has given me. And I thank God that I can be so generous.  

… This week, we as a nation pause to say thank you. We remember our history, how 400 years ago Europeans landed on the shores of this continent and were met by indigenous peoples up and down the east coast. We know that in some cases, the Europeans were killed, but in others they were welcomed and taught how to survive in this foreign-to-them place. We remember the hospitality offered at shared meals and the thanks they all gave for successful harvests.

It is good for us to remember that God is the original source of all our abundance and to remember to say thanks for everything. This week I hope you take some time to give God thanks for all the good things in your life. Think about the big things – family and friends, house, income, good doctors, but also the little things: the ability to walk, to eat, to remember, to use both hands. Amen

Making choices

 Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25; Matthew 25:1-13

Today, we are learning that it can cost us to make certain choices.

Joshua tells us today that we have to make choices about following God. We have reached the end of the sequential telling of Hebrew Testament stories for this year. We started early in Genesis, meeting Abram and Sarai, who made the choice to go where God told them to go. We followed their adventures as they made more choices, sometimes to be patient, sometimes to take matters into their own hands. And we followed their children and grandchildren, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and his wives and children.

We heard the stories of Moses and Aaron as they confronted Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s choices. We learned that the people who left Egypt grumbled, not always trusting Moses and God to provide for them. The lectionary has skipped over the stories of what Jews call the Conquest, as they entered the land and took it over from the Canaanites. They believe God gave them this land, that it is theirs to occupy and possess and develop.

At this moment, the fighting for control is over, the tribes are going to settle into the portions of land given to each family group. But, before they do, Joshua wants a recommitment to serve God. It’s rather like us reaffirming our baptism each year – we agree to follow God and God agrees to be present with us. Joshua reminds the folks to get rid of any foreign idols and stop worshiping them. Remember which God brought you here, and worship only that God!

He uses the famous line: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” And he wants everyone else to make the same commitment. Through the centuries, we have made this same promise, to follow this God and no other.

… Bridesmaids in the Gospel reading have been forced to make choices, too. It’s a parable, so we know there will be a surprise ending when Jesus tells the story.

Here is the situation: the groom travels from his home to the home of the bride, where the bridesmaids are to be waiting and watching for him to arrive. He asks to see the bride, lifts her veil, and the wedding celebration begins.

Waiting for the groom can be long. He may be partying along the way, celebrating already. It makes me wonder if that was the origin of the stag party in more modern times. (I didn’t research that.) All the girls grow tired and go to sleep. In the meanwhile, they have continued to burn their lamps, because that’s how to keep light in the house. They want to be ready to welcome the groom with a lighted pathway when he arrives.

Unfortunately, half of them have failed to pack extra oil for the lamps, so their lamps are out of oil. The other bridesmaids refuse to share, so the 5 run off to the all-night oil store. By the time they get back, the groom has arrived. The 5 bridesmaids knock on the door, but the groom says, “Hey, I don’t know you. You can’t come in here!”

Some folks interpret this story by saying the bridesmaids should have chosen to bring extra oil. Some folks say the other 5 bridesmaids should have chosen to share their oil. And still others say the oil is a side issue. The point Jesus is making is that they should all have chosen to wait and been ready to greet him, whether or not they had any oil.

… Do you say: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord?” Being faithful to God requires making choices, because there are lots of other gods in our lives: money, power, the acquisition of stuff, our families, fear, and so forth.

Remaining faithful means trusting God to be there, to provide what we need. Trusting God doesn’t mean we won’t get sick, that we won’t die. But it does mean choosing to trust God, to wait for God’s answers even if they are a long time coming. Trusting God means choosing to wait for God to provide the best “whatever we are waiting for”.

… I watch CBS News most mornings and saw this story about making choices. Roberta was a correctional officer at a correctional institution for women in Louisiana. She is raising 5 of her grandchildren but it was no trouble to add another baby to the family.

Katie had two months to go on her sentence, but her baby would be born soon. Katie had no family to take in the baby so she asked Roberta if she would take care of her until Katie was released. Roberta agreed and then advised her supervisor, who said doing so was a conflict of interest and Roberta would be terminated if she persisted.

Roberta chose to get the baby from the hospital anyway. She cared for the baby for two months until Katie was released, caring for him as one of her own grandbabies. Katie has some work to do to be ready to have the baby home with her, so for now he is in foster care. And Roberta is working in a factory, and making plans to open a home for women in transition. She doesn’t regret making the choices she did, to care for another woman’s baby for a while.

News of her plan to open a shelter has gone out, and donations are coming in to help, as well as calls from other moms in similar situations.

… This week, I invite you to think about the choices you are making, or need to make. I pray that you are talking with God about your plans, to see if they allow you to trust God and wait for God’s promises to be realized in your life, or if they take you farther away from God. Amen

 

All Saints for All Time

Revelation 7:9-17; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Today is set aside annually as the Sunday on which we honor those whom we call saints, in other words, all who believe in Jesus.

First, a bit of explanation. In the Roman Catholic Church, November 1 is observed as All Saints, which honors martyrs and officially recognized saints, and November 2 is observed as All Souls, a day to pray for deceased believers to be released from purgatory.

After the Protestant Reformation, all believers are saints – whether in heaven or on earth – so all our deceased loved ones are remembered and honored on All Saints Day.  

… Today’s texts help us recognize and honor our deceased loved ones and share our grief with others who are also grieving.

The writer of 1 John calls us children of God. That makes us family, kin with each other for 2,000 years, kin with the ancient martyrs and believers, and kin with those who grew ill and died over the centuries from an assortment of plagues and wars. And we are kin with those who died too young, and kin with those who died of old age.

We join together as kin in sharing God’s love with each other, and we join together in sharing sadness and trouble with each other. Grief shared is easier to bear, and this day is set aside to help us grieve together the death of loved ones, and to be comforted by the caring hearts of others.

… I have heard people say the book of Revelation is “scary and impossible to understand and people shouldn’t ever read it.” Yes, it is a challenge to understand. But the Lutheran understanding of the book is that it is both a religious protest against the political situation under Roman rule, and an encouragement to stay faithful to Jesus in spite of the possibility of persecution. Yes, there are some fantastic, terrible beings and puzzling events in Revelation, and there are also lovely, glorious scenes like the one in our first reading.

The vision John of Patmos sees is of God seated on a throne surrounded by a multitude of believers. These believers have been through the “ordeal”: they have been arrested, tortured, and killed because they refused to worship Roman gods, and would only worship Jesus. 

I notice that the multitude is composed of people of all sorts, from every tribe and every nation and every language. By the end of the first century, when Revelation was written, the good news of the resurrection has traveled all around the Mediterranean, all the way to France and Spain, and along the north coast of Africa – the broad extent of the Roman Empire.

Many Christians in the Middle East and northern Africa are descendants of the very first generations of believers. So, today, we are kin with believers in Jesus in the US, in Europe, in Mexico and Brazil, in China and Korea, in Egypt and Ethiopia and Cameroon, and in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. We are united in honoring our saints and sharing our grief on this All-Saints Sunday.

… The Gospel reading is the familiar passage we call the Beatitudes. Jesus teaches us that we are blessed when we are poor in spirit, when we are meek, when we strive for justice and mercy. Especially appropriate for today is the blessing for those who mourn.

Today, as we remember those we have loved and whom we now miss, we are comforted by our shared grief. Some of us experience fresh grief, for loved ones who died recently. Some of us experience old grief, for loved ones long gone but still missed. We light candles, wanting the light of our loved ones to shine again for a brief time.

… Some of us remember with joy those who have inspired us, who were living saints in our lives. One of those for me was Pam. She was a member of one of my first congregations. While most of the members were supportive and shared my vision, there were a few who were critical and constantly voiced their opinions.

Pam was ill from a medical accident and homebound. The first few times I visited, she welcomed me with hot water and a choice of tea bags, and a plate of homemade cookies. It was important to her to be the host. After a few more visits, she asked me to carry the snacks. I assured her that I would be happy to visit her even when the time came for her to be in bed with tubes and there were no snacks.

She is one of my saints because when I visited, she gave a brief update on her own health, then asked about the congregation. I usually just talked about the things that were going on, who was ill or recovered, etc. She often asked questions when she wanted to know more. One day when I visited, she guessed things had been rough for me. She knew the people well, and listened with compassion as I shared the struggles I was facing. Then she asked what she could do and did it.

She is one of my saints because she put the needs of others before her own failing health. She was a caring person just when I needed one, offering compassion and justice at the same time. She made me feel like family, like kin. I was blessed to be in her presence.

… We all have those for whom we give thanks, who have been saints for us. Some of them are birth-family relatives, and some of them are adopted family, but kin just the same. So, this week, I invite you to reflect on the saints in your lives. Give thanks for them, tell them they are important if they are still living, and seek to be a saint for those around you. Amen

Re-formation

 Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Matthew 22:34-46

Today we remember our brother Martin Luther, who sought to reform some practices and teachings he believed the church had wrong. The first practice he wanted to change was the sale of indulgences. Indulgences are a piece of paper that presume to get a person out of purgatory and into heaven faster. Because some folks agreed with him and many more disagreed with him, the result was a break, a schism, in the church.  

We call this the Protestant Reformation, and we often describe it as the church reformed, always reforming. Always reforming means always changing.

… Last week I asked the council to consider these two connected statements: “We do not fear change. We fear loss.” When we think about reformation, we think about what will probably change. There are changes we like and changes we don’t. We grieve the loss caused by some changes and we celebrate the newness of changes we appreciate.

Some practices in the Church have been evolving for several decades, since many of us older folks were students. Fewer people attend worship; younger people who do participate can’t afford to be as generous with their time or their money. Music preferences have changed. COVID did a number on us, forcing us to change sooner than would have normally happened.

Church people have lost a lot, when we compare what Church was with what it is today. And yet, many of us have learned to be flexible. We have learned that change can be a good thing. We have adopted the saying, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.”

… Flexibility was a lesson Moses had to learn, quickly and repeatedly. Over the decades between his birth and rescue by midwives and a princess, to his leadership over the Exodus, to his work to reshape, to re-form, the Israelites from Egyptian slaves into a united people, faithful to one God. In today’s reading Moses’ life journey ends before he can enter the Promised Land.

For the last several years, Moses has been training Joshua to take over when Moses’ time ends. Here, Moses gets to see the land spread before him, ready to be invaded and split into sections, one for each tribe.

Back then it seemed like a great plan, God’s plan. Today, we say, “But there were people living there already.  They had no right to do that!” We can’t change history or the attitudes of those in the past.

We can only reform our own attitudes today to make sure such injustices don’t happen again. But that is such a difficult task. Redlining, new road construction, territorial disputes, eminent domain are all modern methods for claiming someone else’s land as our own. Reformation with justice is hard work!

… In the Gospel reading, Jesus is trying to reform hearts and minds to see God’s love is for all people, not just those who live in a certain way. He argues in a very Jewish way with Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes. The various leaders ask Jesus to interpret a passage or principle in the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) or a saying by one of the prophets.

Jesus answered some questions in a way that pleased the leaders and demonstrated that he really knew his Bible. But he answered other questions in a way that challenged traditional interpretation.  This was an important way that Jesus was seeking to reform some of the Jewish faith traditions.

We have two examples of this in today’s Gospel reading. God gave Moses 10 Words, which we call the Ten Commandments. By the end of Torah, there are 613 commandments, which describe the proper ways to have a relationship with God and with each other. The Pharisees want to know which of these 613 commandments is the most important, in Jesus’ view.

Jesus uses two common sayings in his response. He quotes the Shema, a prayer observant Jews say daily. And he quotes an often-cited verse from Leviticus. Jesus says, put simply, You shall love God and you shall love your neighbor.

The conversation then continues about the identity of the messiah. Of course, by now many are thinking that Jesus is the messiah, so they want to know if that’s who he says he is, too. Jesus asks a question as a way to change the way they think about the messiah. The way he phrases the question demonstrates that Jesus believes the Pharisees and Sadducees and others don’t know how to properly interpret scripture. It’s a sort of mic-drop moment. The Pharisees don’t dare ask him any more questions.

… Today, a popular way of interpreting scripture includes the insistence that we behave in certain ways in order for God to love us, and that our goal in life is to gain entrance into heaven.

The difference between this belief and Luther’s teaching is who the main actor is. In the popular teaching, humans are the main actors. In Lutheran belief, God is the main actor. When God is the main actor, we are free to believe what Jesus tells us, that we are already and always beloved and forgiven. God sees our hearts, wounded, broken, imperfect as they are, and loves us despite our defects.

This week, I pray that you think about change and how it has affected your lives. Have they been small, easy to manage changes, or significant reformations? Amen