LUKE 24:1-12
Have you ever been a failure? Have you ever failed? You tried. You did what you through was right but it didn't work. You didn't succeed. You failed.
Maybe it was on the job. You thought you understood what your supervisor had told you. You thought you knew your job. But you failed.
Maybe it was the stock market. You followed all the rules, buy low – sell high. You did your part, then in one week the market drops, you lost all the growth, you lost some of the principle. You thought you were doing right. You thought you were careful, but no, you failed.
Maybe it was a marriage.
Maybe it was a friendship
Maybe it was a sport
It could have been so many things...
If you have ever failed, then you can imagine what Peter felt. He was a failure. He had followed Jesus. At times, he seemed to understand... “Jesus, you are the Messiah.” he would say in one breath, then reprimand Jesus for talking about his impending death in another. He had learned so much. He was looking forward to a long rule with Jesus. He was looking forward to being “The Rock” but not without Jesus. In the final meal, the passover meal, Jesus tells the Disciples that one will betray him, but Peter says “not me”. In the Garden Peter draws his sword to defend Jesus and injures Malcheus, but is reprimanded by Jesus. Jesus heals Malcheus and goes peacefully with the guards.
Peter is confused. Peter is scared. Peter denies that he even knows the one he once called Messiah. Peter had failed.
Some of the stories tell us that he had gone to the lake to fish during the days. I understand that. When I am down, when things aren't going right, when I'm tired of the daily grind of life, I like to go to the woods, to the lakes, to the wilderness. I like to get away. I can understand Peter.
But what I can't imagine is what was going through his mind. Did he finally understand what Jesus was talking about? Did he ask himself why he didn't stand up more? Did he wonder if he could have saved Jesus from the hands of the Romans? Did he wonder just how he had failed? Did he blame himself for what Jesus was going through?
I don't know. What I do know is that I, and I suspect some of you, are more like Peter than we care to admit. We ask ourselves, “How is it that we keep on failing?” “How is it that we don't seem to understand?” “Was it our fault that Jesus had to die?”
I can't imagine all that was going through Peter's mind on that Sunday some 1977 years ago when Mary Magdeline came rushing into the Upper Room to tell the Apostles that Jesus had been Raised from the Dead. According to Luke, nobody believed them, that is no one except Peter. It seemed as foolishness to them, but not Peter, he got up and ran to the tomb, saw the linen cloths, and went home amazed at what had happened. Amazed... what a word...
NRSV - Amazed... NIV – filled with wonder NASV – marveling
Any of these words and expressions fit for what Peter was going through on that day. Can you imagine the thoughts as he walked back home? “Is that what he meant by 'rebuild the Temple in three days?'” “Is this what he was preparing us for?” “Did someone take him, who would do that, no, He had to have risen, but where is he?” “What will this mean for us now?”
Ahhhh, there is a question for us as well. As we peer into the empty tomb, as we hear the cry of the women that “He is risen”, what will it mean for us now? What does it mean that he is risen? Well,
It means his teaching is true.
It means that we have a hope that we too will rise.
It means that we have a future with Christ.
And it means something else too... Let me illustrate with a story.
In the book Travels in Alaska, John Muir told a story of his encounter with the Stickeen and Sitka Indians of Alaska in the late 1800's. The two tribes had been at war for some twenty years and winter was approaching. The Chiefs met together and the Stikeen chief said to the other, “My people are hungry. They dare not go to the salmon-streams and berry-fields for winter supplies, and if the war goes on much longer most of my people will die of hunger. We have fought long enough; let us make peace. You brave Sitka warriors go home, and we will go home, and we will all set out to dry salmon and berries before it is too late.”
The Sitka chief replied: “You may well say let us stop fighting, when you have had the best of it. You have killed ten more of my tribe than we have killed of yours. Give us ten Stickeen men to balance our blood-account; then, and not till then, will we make peace and go home.”
“Very well” replied the Stickeen Chief, “you know my rank. You know that I am worth 10 common men and more. Take me, and make peace.”
The offer was accepted, the Chief stepped forward and was shot down in sight of the fighting bands and peace was made. The Stickeen Chief sacrificed himself for his people. Had he not given his life, then many more would have died from both the Stickeen and the Sitka as a result of war and starvation. The Chief saved his people.
Years later when missionaries came and told the story of Jesus to the Stickeen and Sitka people, they already knew of the sacrifice of one for many. As was recorded of the Indian people, they replied to the missionaries, “ Yes, your words are good, the Son of God, the Chief of Chiefs, the Maker of all the world, must be worth more than all mankind put together; therefore, when His blood was shed, the salvation of the world was made sure”
Salvation was brought to us, to you and me, on that day when Peter was amazed and today,
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene
and wonder how he could love me
a sinner condemned unclean
Oh, how marvelous
Oh, how wonderful
and my song shall ever be
oh, how wonderful
oh how marvelous
is my Saviors love for me.
Today we stand amazed before a table that is set. A table that symbolizes all that Christ has and continues to do for us. Let us stand amazed, let us gather at this table, and let us go home, but let us also do as Peter and go forth into the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to a world that needs to know of his love and grace.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Laying Down the Branches of Our Life
Luke 19:28-40
Some of you may remember the coronation of Jean-Bedel Bokassa in 1977. Bokassa took over the presidency of the Central African Republic by cout-d’etat in December 1967. Within a year he had invalidated the Constitution of the Country and created a new form of Government. In 1972 he named himself “President for Life.” Then, on December 5, 1977 he crowned himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.
At 10:10 AM trumpets and drums announced the approach of His Majesty.
The beginning of the parade had eight of Bokassa’s 20 official children proceed down the royal carpet to their seats.
They were followed by the heir to the throe, Jean Bidel Bokassa II – dressed in a white admirals uniform with gold braid. He was seated on a red pillow to the left of the throne.
Bodassa I’s favorite wife, Catherine, one of nine of his wives, paraded next to her throne wearing a $73,000 gown that was hand sewn with pearls.
Bokassa then arrived in an imperial coach decorated with golden eagles. His coach was drawn by Six matched Anglo-Norman horses.
The Central African Empire Marine Band struck the hymn “The Sacred March of His Majesty,” a song written especially for the event. Emperor Bokassa I strutted proudly to his throne. He was bedecked in a 32 pound robe decorated with 785,000 strewn pearls and embroidered in gold.
The emperor wore white gloves and pearl slippers on his feet. On his head, he wore a gold crown of laurel-wreaths, similar to those worn by Roman consuls of old and a symbol the he was favored by the gods.
As the “Sacred March” ended, Bokassa I seated himself on his $2,500,000 eagle throne.
He took his gold laurel wreath off and placed a crown on his own head that contained a 70 carat diamond in the shape of Africa. The lavish coronation ceremony cost $200,000,000 and all but ruined the country’s economy.
Contrast that with how Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Jesus sends for a young Donkey to ride. Not a stallion. Not a noble animal, but a Donkey. For those that were watching and waiting, this was a clear sign of who Jesus was claiming to be. Prophecies had claimed it to be true: Zechariah 9:9, written some 250 years before Christ, tells us:
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king [a] comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
But by our standards today, Jesus wouldn’t have been coming to town in a Rolls Royce, or a Lincoln Limo as we expect royalty to come. No, Jesus didn’t even come in a Mustang, He came in the equivalent of a new Pinto.
Jesus didn’t come with glitz and glamor, Jesus came into Jerusalem, the place where he was to die, being heralded by his followers as the Messiah that he was. Jesus was rejoiced over by the Disciples and celebrated by the people along the way. He knew the rest of the story. He knew what was to happen at the end of the week, but, that didn’t stop him. Romans 5:8 reminds us that, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus knew that the people that were celebrating on Sunday were going to be crucifying him on Friday. Though I think Jesus hoped with every step that the people would truly turn and follow him, he also knew that you and I would need the salvation he was to offer at the end of the week.
Oh, that Sunday was a day of celebration. A day that Jesus enjoyed. I can just see Jesus smiling as he told the Pharisees that “if they keep silent, then the rocks will cry out.” In other words, some things just must be said, I am the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. I will be worshiped.
Today is an enjoyable day for us as well. We come together on this Sunday. We celebrate. We have an Easter Egg hunt. We rejoice with our family and friends. We wave palm branches and sing praises to our King. Today we Crown Jesus king of our lives, yet, by Friday we have crucified him with our actions. Today we vow to be good. In the church we try to do good. Then, by the time we get to the end of the week we have lived our lives in such a way that our actions are the very reason that Jesus had to face “Good Friday.” Just in case some of you are as self-righteous as I can be sometimes and think that you have done well this week, that you didn’t sin. Were you completely honest this week? Did you always say kind things about people? Did you gossip any? Did you lust after anyone? Did you covet your neighbors wife, husband, dog, car, truck, tractor….
You get my point.
We crown him on Sunday and Crucify him by Friday.
That is the fact of this week. I can’t sugar coat it. I can’t change it. I may want to. I could make this sermon all lovey dovey. I could tell you how wonderful you are. I could make you feel good. But that is not what happened between Sunday and Friday. To get to Easter we can not forget what happened the week before.
In fact, we can’t forget what we talked about last week: the cost of following Jesus. That is as much a part of the day and the week as the palm branches.
You see, I look at these palm branches as a symbol of control of our life. These palm branches are those sins that keep us from Christ. These palm branches are the busy lives that interfere with our relationship with God. These palms represent all those things that get in the way of our commitment to the life Jesus taught us. Today, I invite you to lay yours down. I invite you to lay down the palm branches of your life and fully give your life to God. I invite you to take a step toward the life that Jesus taught you to live. I invite you to hear the Holy Spirit’s call on your life to do what you were called to do, to be who you were called to be, and to live a life worthy of that calling.
Given the choice, without the intervention of God in our lives we would be more like Emperor Bokassa than we care to admit: lavishly bestowing upon our lives hundreds, if not millions of dollars worth of nothing. Given our way, we would follow the example of a man that thought he was a god rather than the God who became a man.
Today, I invite you to lay down the branches of your life and allow Jesus, the God who became a man to take them up and make them to be what they need to be. Won’t you let him?
Some of you may remember the coronation of Jean-Bedel Bokassa in 1977. Bokassa took over the presidency of the Central African Republic by cout-d’etat in December 1967. Within a year he had invalidated the Constitution of the Country and created a new form of Government. In 1972 he named himself “President for Life.” Then, on December 5, 1977 he crowned himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.
At 10:10 AM trumpets and drums announced the approach of His Majesty.
The beginning of the parade had eight of Bokassa’s 20 official children proceed down the royal carpet to their seats.
They were followed by the heir to the throe, Jean Bidel Bokassa II – dressed in a white admirals uniform with gold braid. He was seated on a red pillow to the left of the throne.
Bodassa I’s favorite wife, Catherine, one of nine of his wives, paraded next to her throne wearing a $73,000 gown that was hand sewn with pearls.
Bokassa then arrived in an imperial coach decorated with golden eagles. His coach was drawn by Six matched Anglo-Norman horses.
The Central African Empire Marine Band struck the hymn “The Sacred March of His Majesty,” a song written especially for the event. Emperor Bokassa I strutted proudly to his throne. He was bedecked in a 32 pound robe decorated with 785,000 strewn pearls and embroidered in gold.
The emperor wore white gloves and pearl slippers on his feet. On his head, he wore a gold crown of laurel-wreaths, similar to those worn by Roman consuls of old and a symbol the he was favored by the gods.
As the “Sacred March” ended, Bokassa I seated himself on his $2,500,000 eagle throne.
He took his gold laurel wreath off and placed a crown on his own head that contained a 70 carat diamond in the shape of Africa. The lavish coronation ceremony cost $200,000,000 and all but ruined the country’s economy.
Contrast that with how Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Jesus sends for a young Donkey to ride. Not a stallion. Not a noble animal, but a Donkey. For those that were watching and waiting, this was a clear sign of who Jesus was claiming to be. Prophecies had claimed it to be true: Zechariah 9:9, written some 250 years before Christ, tells us:
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king [a] comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
But by our standards today, Jesus wouldn’t have been coming to town in a Rolls Royce, or a Lincoln Limo as we expect royalty to come. No, Jesus didn’t even come in a Mustang, He came in the equivalent of a new Pinto.
Jesus didn’t come with glitz and glamor, Jesus came into Jerusalem, the place where he was to die, being heralded by his followers as the Messiah that he was. Jesus was rejoiced over by the Disciples and celebrated by the people along the way. He knew the rest of the story. He knew what was to happen at the end of the week, but, that didn’t stop him. Romans 5:8 reminds us that, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus knew that the people that were celebrating on Sunday were going to be crucifying him on Friday. Though I think Jesus hoped with every step that the people would truly turn and follow him, he also knew that you and I would need the salvation he was to offer at the end of the week.
Oh, that Sunday was a day of celebration. A day that Jesus enjoyed. I can just see Jesus smiling as he told the Pharisees that “if they keep silent, then the rocks will cry out.” In other words, some things just must be said, I am the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. I will be worshiped.
Today is an enjoyable day for us as well. We come together on this Sunday. We celebrate. We have an Easter Egg hunt. We rejoice with our family and friends. We wave palm branches and sing praises to our King. Today we Crown Jesus king of our lives, yet, by Friday we have crucified him with our actions. Today we vow to be good. In the church we try to do good. Then, by the time we get to the end of the week we have lived our lives in such a way that our actions are the very reason that Jesus had to face “Good Friday.” Just in case some of you are as self-righteous as I can be sometimes and think that you have done well this week, that you didn’t sin. Were you completely honest this week? Did you always say kind things about people? Did you gossip any? Did you lust after anyone? Did you covet your neighbors wife, husband, dog, car, truck, tractor….
You get my point.
We crown him on Sunday and Crucify him by Friday.
That is the fact of this week. I can’t sugar coat it. I can’t change it. I may want to. I could make this sermon all lovey dovey. I could tell you how wonderful you are. I could make you feel good. But that is not what happened between Sunday and Friday. To get to Easter we can not forget what happened the week before.
In fact, we can’t forget what we talked about last week: the cost of following Jesus. That is as much a part of the day and the week as the palm branches.
You see, I look at these palm branches as a symbol of control of our life. These palm branches are those sins that keep us from Christ. These palm branches are the busy lives that interfere with our relationship with God. These palms represent all those things that get in the way of our commitment to the life Jesus taught us. Today, I invite you to lay yours down. I invite you to lay down the palm branches of your life and fully give your life to God. I invite you to take a step toward the life that Jesus taught you to live. I invite you to hear the Holy Spirit’s call on your life to do what you were called to do, to be who you were called to be, and to live a life worthy of that calling.
Given the choice, without the intervention of God in our lives we would be more like Emperor Bokassa than we care to admit: lavishly bestowing upon our lives hundreds, if not millions of dollars worth of nothing. Given our way, we would follow the example of a man that thought he was a god rather than the God who became a man.
Today, I invite you to lay down the branches of your life and allow Jesus, the God who became a man to take them up and make them to be what they need to be. Won’t you let him?
Estimate the Cost
Luke 14:25-33
Some called them the “Auca Indians” meaning the Savages. They were actually the Waorani Indians, one of the indigenous peoples of the Rain Forrest of Ecuador that segregated themselves by families. Each family lived independently of the others until food was short or wives were needed then one family would raid the other family and take what they could. As family members were killed by spear, the other family would avenge the death of their relative and so the cycle of violence continued year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation.
These were a people that lived in fear, fear of a raid by the other families, fear of illness, but mostly the fear of “Jumping the Great Boa.” This expression was their way of explaining how one crosses over from this life to the next. Their legends told them that the great Boa guarded the afterlife and only those strong enough to jump over the boa could enter eternity, otherwise they become “termites” – the bugs of the earth. To gain strength they had to spear others. To gain power for eternity they had to take the life of others.
By the mid 1950’s this once great people had become so violent that they numbered only in the hundreds and decisions of the Ecuadorian government and foreign oil explorers threatened to wipe out the remaining members of the tribes.
Nate Saint, a former WWII fighter pilot and now missionary to the area did not want to let this happen. He and four others began what they called the “Operation Auca.” They began flying over the Waorani tribal village, dropping care packages. They even devised a method of circling and dropping a bucket on a rope to the village. As they circled the bucket would remain almost still. The Waorani could take the gift from the “Great Wood Bee” and let it return. At times the gift might be a knife, a trinket or toy, a live chicken, a colorful cloth… Eventually one of the Waorani warriors returned a gift, a parrot, to the bucket. This was Nate’s sign that they were ready to be contacted.
They knew of no one who had ever contacted the Auca and lived to tell about it but they were compelled to contact these people. They felt that it was only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that the cycle of violence could be ended. The day Nate was to fly in to make first face to face contact with the tribe his young son, Steve, asked him, “If they attack will you use your guns”. Nate replied, “Oh no, They aren’t ready to go to heaven, but we are.” On January 6, 1956 Nate and the others landed on a sand-bar of the river at the edge of the Waorani territory and set up camp. On January 7, three Waorani visited their site and seemed peaceful.
What is more important is that they knew that the missionaries were peaceful. However, in a lie to cover up a hidden relationship between two of the three original visitors to the beach, the rest of the tribe thought they were hostile and on January 8, Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Nate Saint were speared to death at their camp sight. They gave their life for the Gospel in what has been called the most publicized missionary massacre of the 20th century.
They gave their life for the gospel but what do we give? What is the cost of the gospel here in Wortham, TX? What does it cost us to follow Christ? The truth is, it doesn't cost us much to follow Jesus. We live in a time and place where many of us don't have to turn our backs on our family religion in order to be a Christian. Instead, it is our families that have “raised us in the ways of the Lord.” We live in a time where in some circles it costs more to not be a Christian than to claim to be a Christian.
When Jesus was walking among the people of Judea and Samaria, there wasn't much cost to follow him either. At least not in a casual way. The people who followed him were looking for a great leader, a great teacher, a great miracle worker. They found that in Jesus. The problem was that they didn't fully understand what it meant to follow him. They thought it meant walking around, hearing some teaching, traveling from town to town. They thought it meant being a better Jew. They thought it meant becoming a Jew. They thought it meant continuing as things are and being a little better. Jesus was telling them here that there is more to it than that. Jesus was telling them that families would turn against them. Jesus was telling them that some of them would loose their life. Jesus was telling them that there was a cost to following him. So, what is it that he was telling them? What was he asking them to consider?
1.Is there anything in life that is more important than their relationship with God? He was asking them to think of family – mother, father, sister, brother, wife, children... He was asking them to take inventory of their life and their priorities. Today the question is the same.
Is there anything in life more important than your relationship with God? Is your relationship with your family not only a priority, as it should be, but is it taking the place of your relationship with God? What about your job. Is your job taking precedence over God? Is money more important than church? Is your reputation more important than your witness?
What else was Jesus telling the people, and us?
2.He was telling them to carry their cross. When I hear that I think of these guys walking down the highways with their 4 X 4 Cross nailed together with a wheel on the bottom. You may even know some of the people who have participated in this image of “carrying a cross”. But some how I don't think that is what Jesus meant by this.
The people hearing this phrase would have had a different meaning. As they walked the highways and byways of the near east, they would have seen crosses lining the way with victims in various stages of death and dying. For them to carry ones cross would be akin to telling someone to carry ones noose, or carry ones electric chair. It meant to bear the very method of death that was inflicted by the powers that be. It also meant that they were to give up control of their life.
For those that read these words after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we know that it means we are to give our life over to Christ. We know that it means that to follow Christ, to live as Jesus, to truly be a Christian means that we give up control of our destiny, we give up control of our life, we give up control.
3.Finally, Jesus was telling them to make sure they knew the cost before they commit. Now, when I think of this one I can't help but follow the analogy that Jesus started. Most of you know that I have a Rent House in Hillsboro that Renee and I remodeled when we lived there. When we started the job I planned, I prepared, I estimated, I got Bobby the builder in there and we planned and estimated. I wanted to know how much it was going to cost to remodel this house before I got started because I had to pay for it. I wanted to make sure that I didn't bite off more than I could chew. As it was, I learned that you always need to plan to spend about 30% more than you think and it will take about 30% longer than you think to finish the job. Even when you estimate the cost, you have to be ready to accept the fact that it may actually cost more.
Another area that my mind goes is the cost of being a church member. For so long we have allowed there to be no cost to becoming a member of the Methodist Church. When someone comes to join we usually say something like this... “Oh, you want to join this wonderful church. Well, I can speak for all of us, we are so happy to have you (meaning – we are so happy to have anyone join the church). I just have one little question to ask you. It's just this thing we ask as Methodists. Ummm, will you do your best to support the church with your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?, and I know you will so I want to extend the right hand of fellowship.” Mary Sue will you play one more verse of 'Just as I Am' while Margaret and Armond go to the back of the church to meet their new family.”
You see, there really hasn't been a cost. Membership has been a privilege, not a responsibility. Since the 1960's when that mindset for membership began, the United Methodist Church has been in a constant decline. While other denominations, both conservative and liberal in social and theological teachings have upped the requirements of membership and seen phenomenal growth, we in the Methodist church have been afraid to offend someone and actually hold people to their membership requirements. As a result we have seen our denomination shrink from 10.6 Million member in 1970 to less than 8 Million today. What has happened? We have lowered our expectations for our members to that of being a warm body that shows up when it is convenient.
Time and time again we have seen this fact. High expectation churches grow while low expectation churches die. My question for us is what are we?
Do we expect our members to actually show up? Weekly? Twice a month? Once a month? At least on Christmas and Easter?
Do we really expect our members to pray for the church? The leaders? The pastor? The Conference?
Do we actually think our members should give of their finances & their time? You mean it's not an either / or?
Do we really expect our members to tell others about the church and more than that, tell others about Christ?
In short, yes. You are expected to be in church when you are in town. You are expected to serve and reach out in ministry to others. You are expected to give... a tenth. You are expected to pray for me, the leaders of the church, and the District and Conference leaders. You are expected to tell others about God and the church.
Is there a cost? I don't know if you could call it that. Maybe you could.
I know Nate Saint thought of his sacrifice as a cost when he lay dying on that sand bar in the jungles of Ecuador.
In the Waorani dialect, there was no word for friend or friendship. As Nate Saint lay dying on that beach looking up at the warrior Micayani, he uttered the words, “Qua Bia Ganumbua” The closest thing that he could say to “I am your sincere friend.”
It was those words and the fact that though these missionaries had guns yet they did not fight back, that stuck in the mind of Micayani. In the weeks that followed it was the wives’ of the missionaries and Nate’s sister, Rachael, that actually made contact with the Waorani and lived to tell about it. With the help of Dayumai, the sister of Micayani who had some years earlier escaped the violence of the family and been living with Rachael, the ladies began to present the message of Jesus’ love to the “Auca’s”. They lived through Polio epidemics, spearing attacks from neighboring tribes, and many other hardships but the power of the gospel was worth it.
In 1969, the first copies of the Gospel of Mark in Waorani were dedicated at “God’s Speaking House.” Kimo, one of the original warriors who attacked Nate Saint’s party some 13 years before prayed, “Father God, You are alive. This is Your day and all of us have come to worship You. They brought us copies of Your Carving, enough for everybody. We accept it, saying, ‘This is the truth.’ We want all of your carving.”
That is the power of the Gospel. That is the power of the cost of following Christ. Through the good news of Jesus, lives are changed.
Prior to the 1960’s the Waorani Indians seldom had more than two generations present in a family. Disease, but mostly spearings, killed off the adults before they could see their grandchildren. Today, because of the Christian example of forgiveness lived out by the families of the Five Missionaries, the Waorani Indians are again a thriving population of Indigenous people of Ecuador. Micayani is a minister who preaches to visitors and tells them the story of the lives he took, the forgiveness he found, and the beauty and power of the Gospel.
Five missionaries gave their life for the Gospel and the power of that Gospel has since changed the lives of thousands in the rainforest of Ecuador. The Gospel has the power to do the same for you today if you will let it. No greater love is there than this, that one would lay their life down for another. Jesus loves you and Jesus can make a difference in your life. What do you want to do with that message? When you estimate the cost, is it worth it?
Some called them the “Auca Indians” meaning the Savages. They were actually the Waorani Indians, one of the indigenous peoples of the Rain Forrest of Ecuador that segregated themselves by families. Each family lived independently of the others until food was short or wives were needed then one family would raid the other family and take what they could. As family members were killed by spear, the other family would avenge the death of their relative and so the cycle of violence continued year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation.
These were a people that lived in fear, fear of a raid by the other families, fear of illness, but mostly the fear of “Jumping the Great Boa.” This expression was their way of explaining how one crosses over from this life to the next. Their legends told them that the great Boa guarded the afterlife and only those strong enough to jump over the boa could enter eternity, otherwise they become “termites” – the bugs of the earth. To gain strength they had to spear others. To gain power for eternity they had to take the life of others.
By the mid 1950’s this once great people had become so violent that they numbered only in the hundreds and decisions of the Ecuadorian government and foreign oil explorers threatened to wipe out the remaining members of the tribes.
Nate Saint, a former WWII fighter pilot and now missionary to the area did not want to let this happen. He and four others began what they called the “Operation Auca.” They began flying over the Waorani tribal village, dropping care packages. They even devised a method of circling and dropping a bucket on a rope to the village. As they circled the bucket would remain almost still. The Waorani could take the gift from the “Great Wood Bee” and let it return. At times the gift might be a knife, a trinket or toy, a live chicken, a colorful cloth… Eventually one of the Waorani warriors returned a gift, a parrot, to the bucket. This was Nate’s sign that they were ready to be contacted.
They knew of no one who had ever contacted the Auca and lived to tell about it but they were compelled to contact these people. They felt that it was only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that the cycle of violence could be ended. The day Nate was to fly in to make first face to face contact with the tribe his young son, Steve, asked him, “If they attack will you use your guns”. Nate replied, “Oh no, They aren’t ready to go to heaven, but we are.” On January 6, 1956 Nate and the others landed on a sand-bar of the river at the edge of the Waorani territory and set up camp. On January 7, three Waorani visited their site and seemed peaceful.
What is more important is that they knew that the missionaries were peaceful. However, in a lie to cover up a hidden relationship between two of the three original visitors to the beach, the rest of the tribe thought they were hostile and on January 8, Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Nate Saint were speared to death at their camp sight. They gave their life for the Gospel in what has been called the most publicized missionary massacre of the 20th century.
They gave their life for the gospel but what do we give? What is the cost of the gospel here in Wortham, TX? What does it cost us to follow Christ? The truth is, it doesn't cost us much to follow Jesus. We live in a time and place where many of us don't have to turn our backs on our family religion in order to be a Christian. Instead, it is our families that have “raised us in the ways of the Lord.” We live in a time where in some circles it costs more to not be a Christian than to claim to be a Christian.
When Jesus was walking among the people of Judea and Samaria, there wasn't much cost to follow him either. At least not in a casual way. The people who followed him were looking for a great leader, a great teacher, a great miracle worker. They found that in Jesus. The problem was that they didn't fully understand what it meant to follow him. They thought it meant walking around, hearing some teaching, traveling from town to town. They thought it meant being a better Jew. They thought it meant becoming a Jew. They thought it meant continuing as things are and being a little better. Jesus was telling them here that there is more to it than that. Jesus was telling them that families would turn against them. Jesus was telling them that some of them would loose their life. Jesus was telling them that there was a cost to following him. So, what is it that he was telling them? What was he asking them to consider?
1.Is there anything in life that is more important than their relationship with God? He was asking them to think of family – mother, father, sister, brother, wife, children... He was asking them to take inventory of their life and their priorities. Today the question is the same.
Is there anything in life more important than your relationship with God? Is your relationship with your family not only a priority, as it should be, but is it taking the place of your relationship with God? What about your job. Is your job taking precedence over God? Is money more important than church? Is your reputation more important than your witness?
What else was Jesus telling the people, and us?
2.He was telling them to carry their cross. When I hear that I think of these guys walking down the highways with their 4 X 4 Cross nailed together with a wheel on the bottom. You may even know some of the people who have participated in this image of “carrying a cross”. But some how I don't think that is what Jesus meant by this.
The people hearing this phrase would have had a different meaning. As they walked the highways and byways of the near east, they would have seen crosses lining the way with victims in various stages of death and dying. For them to carry ones cross would be akin to telling someone to carry ones noose, or carry ones electric chair. It meant to bear the very method of death that was inflicted by the powers that be. It also meant that they were to give up control of their life.
For those that read these words after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we know that it means we are to give our life over to Christ. We know that it means that to follow Christ, to live as Jesus, to truly be a Christian means that we give up control of our destiny, we give up control of our life, we give up control.
3.Finally, Jesus was telling them to make sure they knew the cost before they commit. Now, when I think of this one I can't help but follow the analogy that Jesus started. Most of you know that I have a Rent House in Hillsboro that Renee and I remodeled when we lived there. When we started the job I planned, I prepared, I estimated, I got Bobby the builder in there and we planned and estimated. I wanted to know how much it was going to cost to remodel this house before I got started because I had to pay for it. I wanted to make sure that I didn't bite off more than I could chew. As it was, I learned that you always need to plan to spend about 30% more than you think and it will take about 30% longer than you think to finish the job. Even when you estimate the cost, you have to be ready to accept the fact that it may actually cost more.
Another area that my mind goes is the cost of being a church member. For so long we have allowed there to be no cost to becoming a member of the Methodist Church. When someone comes to join we usually say something like this... “Oh, you want to join this wonderful church. Well, I can speak for all of us, we are so happy to have you (meaning – we are so happy to have anyone join the church). I just have one little question to ask you. It's just this thing we ask as Methodists. Ummm, will you do your best to support the church with your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?, and I know you will so I want to extend the right hand of fellowship.” Mary Sue will you play one more verse of 'Just as I Am' while Margaret and Armond go to the back of the church to meet their new family.”
You see, there really hasn't been a cost. Membership has been a privilege, not a responsibility. Since the 1960's when that mindset for membership began, the United Methodist Church has been in a constant decline. While other denominations, both conservative and liberal in social and theological teachings have upped the requirements of membership and seen phenomenal growth, we in the Methodist church have been afraid to offend someone and actually hold people to their membership requirements. As a result we have seen our denomination shrink from 10.6 Million member in 1970 to less than 8 Million today. What has happened? We have lowered our expectations for our members to that of being a warm body that shows up when it is convenient.
Time and time again we have seen this fact. High expectation churches grow while low expectation churches die. My question for us is what are we?
Do we expect our members to actually show up? Weekly? Twice a month? Once a month? At least on Christmas and Easter?
Do we really expect our members to pray for the church? The leaders? The pastor? The Conference?
Do we actually think our members should give of their finances & their time? You mean it's not an either / or?
Do we really expect our members to tell others about the church and more than that, tell others about Christ?
In short, yes. You are expected to be in church when you are in town. You are expected to serve and reach out in ministry to others. You are expected to give... a tenth. You are expected to pray for me, the leaders of the church, and the District and Conference leaders. You are expected to tell others about God and the church.
Is there a cost? I don't know if you could call it that. Maybe you could.
I know Nate Saint thought of his sacrifice as a cost when he lay dying on that sand bar in the jungles of Ecuador.
In the Waorani dialect, there was no word for friend or friendship. As Nate Saint lay dying on that beach looking up at the warrior Micayani, he uttered the words, “Qua Bia Ganumbua” The closest thing that he could say to “I am your sincere friend.”
It was those words and the fact that though these missionaries had guns yet they did not fight back, that stuck in the mind of Micayani. In the weeks that followed it was the wives’ of the missionaries and Nate’s sister, Rachael, that actually made contact with the Waorani and lived to tell about it. With the help of Dayumai, the sister of Micayani who had some years earlier escaped the violence of the family and been living with Rachael, the ladies began to present the message of Jesus’ love to the “Auca’s”. They lived through Polio epidemics, spearing attacks from neighboring tribes, and many other hardships but the power of the gospel was worth it.
In 1969, the first copies of the Gospel of Mark in Waorani were dedicated at “God’s Speaking House.” Kimo, one of the original warriors who attacked Nate Saint’s party some 13 years before prayed, “Father God, You are alive. This is Your day and all of us have come to worship You. They brought us copies of Your Carving, enough for everybody. We accept it, saying, ‘This is the truth.’ We want all of your carving.”
That is the power of the Gospel. That is the power of the cost of following Christ. Through the good news of Jesus, lives are changed.
Prior to the 1960’s the Waorani Indians seldom had more than two generations present in a family. Disease, but mostly spearings, killed off the adults before they could see their grandchildren. Today, because of the Christian example of forgiveness lived out by the families of the Five Missionaries, the Waorani Indians are again a thriving population of Indigenous people of Ecuador. Micayani is a minister who preaches to visitors and tells them the story of the lives he took, the forgiveness he found, and the beauty and power of the Gospel.
Five missionaries gave their life for the Gospel and the power of that Gospel has since changed the lives of thousands in the rainforest of Ecuador. The Gospel has the power to do the same for you today if you will let it. No greater love is there than this, that one would lay their life down for another. Jesus loves you and Jesus can make a difference in your life. What do you want to do with that message? When you estimate the cost, is it worth it?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tough Words
Tough Words
Luke 4:14-21
As some of you may know, I made a rushed trip to East Texas this weekend. I had received word that my grandmother was in the hospital in Linden and my mom was sick from the medications after her surgery so, I left Friday morning to go check on them. I found that everyone is doing better, still sick, but better, and I spend the night with mom. When I left Saturday morning I took a detour back through my home town and had some interesting realizations.
I drove into town remembering who had lived where and what had once been on the road where I was driving. I turned on the road where I once lived and went up the hill. The woods I played in as a child were still on the right, but the woods on the left, where I got hurt once, are gone. I continued up the street and saw the house I grew up in. The trees and bushes dad planted were still there and growing. It looked the same, yet something was different. The toys in the back yard were different. The shed in the back was falling down. The yard looked different. It was the same, but different.
From there I drove through the neighborhood and then across town to the old city park were I learned to swim. It had a new pier around the swimming area and a new boat ramp, but the swings and merri-go-rounds were the same. I drove on to one of my old fishing spots. It was the same old rocky point, but they had repaired an area that had washed out and made a walking trail next to the lake. It was the same, but different.
I left there and drove through the neighborhoods where my friends had lived. I was amazed at how little the houses had changed, even some of the cars were the same. I could tell where the Guerreros lived, The McCords still had the same VW Rabbit, and the Tilley’s still had the same old brown 1987 F-150. As I drove around I couldn’t believe that some of the same political figures from my childhood were still running for office, then as I looked closer at the political yard signs I realized – it’s not the same people, it’s their children and grandchildren running for office now. Everything was the same, but different.
I had driven to town with the expectation of progress but I left with the realization that, while things seem different, little changes unless something drastic happens.
I wonder if that isn’t what Jesus felt as he returned to his hometown to preach. I wonder if that isn’t what the people felt when they saw him. Their own home town boy, raised there in Nazareth by their home town boy Joseph, the carpenter.
Jesus has come back home. The people had heard rumors of how well he was doing. They had heard that he was a great teacher of the Scriptures and finally they could see for themselves. He came to the synagogue and took his place among the teachers. Others read, and then it was his turn. He rose from his seat, accepted the scroll that was handed to him, and then did something out of the ordinary. Rather than read what was rolled to on the scroll, he begins rolling through the scroll until he finds what he wanted to read. From the Isaiah scroll, he reads, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” “Ahhh, he reads so well” they think. As he sits down to begin teaching them they are spell-bound. “He is good” they think, “someone to truly be proud of, and someone that understands us. Look at the passage he read, he does understands us. God is restoring us.”
But something was different. It was the same, but different. Though he seemed the same, at least physically, he was different spiritually. Something had changed. It changed when he was born of the Spirit. It changed when the Holy Spirit descended upon him as a dove in the River with John. It changed when he opened his mouth and began to speak. “Is this not Joseph’s Son? Is he not the Carpenter? He spoke so well, as though he had authority.”
He was saying the words they thought they wanted to hear. We’ll get into the words that changed all that next week, but in the midst of his reading and explaining, they thought he was telling them God was setting them free, that God was healing them and their land. What they didn’t realize was that Jesus was describing the ministry that was to follow in his life – a ministry to the least, the last, the lost - A ministry of spoken words and actions that bring hope to the hopeless.
What Jesus was describing was the work of the ministry that he was beginning and would be continued by the Body of Christ. That is you and me. In the passage read and the explanation given, Jesus is describing the ministry that you and I are to be about – a ministry to the least, the last, and the lost – a ministry of spoken words and actions that bring hope to the hopeless. What does that translate into in today’s world?
Helping out in times of natural disaster – Going to or supporting those who go to offer aid to those in need. Our neighbors in the Canton, Sulphur Springs, and Athens areas are struggling to clean up after all the storms. Not to mention the devastation in Haiti that we continue to learn about. Few of us can give our presence in situations like this but we can give our prayers, gifts, and our service by creating health kits and flood buckets.
Healing the sick and visiting those who are isolated – We can go see those who are sick. We can call those who are shut in. We can offer love and grace to those who needed it in tough times. In doing this we are bringing hope to the hopeless. We are bringing grace to those who need it.
Tell others about what God has done for us – I know, you think this is where the sermon title came from. We have this misconception that it’s hard to talk about God. The truth is we talk about anything that is important to us. We get excited and tell others when HEB has a good special on their Meal Deal – like right, if you buy 2 lbs of ground meat; you get all the fixin’s for a taco meal. I know you have had conversations about the loss of the Cowboys last week. And I sure know some of you got excited about the win the week before. We get excited about these things, why can’t we get excited about what God has done for us? Why can’t we tell people about what the church has done for us? I think we can. I think, if you put your mind to it, you can get past the tough words, get past your fears, and tell others about church, about God, about what Jesus did for you some 2000 years ago and what he still does for you today as you receive the grace and mercy of God fresh and new in your life.
I want to challenge you today to do three things this week. I want you to write this down too. Take out your bulletin, get the pencil in the pew-jacket in front to you, and write on the lines in the back of your bulletin these 3 challenges.
1) Find a way to help out with Haiti or the tornado damage in North East Texas.
2) Visit someone that is lonely – a shut-in, someone recovering from illness or surgery, someone in prison or jail. Visit someone that is lonely.
3) Tell someone about what God has done for you and invite them to your church.
I expect you to do these things.
You know something else about the words that Jesus spoke to his home town crowd that day…
They were not words just for them. They are words for a world that needs to hear them. AND
These were not words just for you. They are words for a world that needs to hear them.
You’re job is to take the words out into that world and spread God’s love and grace in a world that needs to know God’s mercy. So Go, pass it on. Make a difference.
Luke 4:14-21
As some of you may know, I made a rushed trip to East Texas this weekend. I had received word that my grandmother was in the hospital in Linden and my mom was sick from the medications after her surgery so, I left Friday morning to go check on them. I found that everyone is doing better, still sick, but better, and I spend the night with mom. When I left Saturday morning I took a detour back through my home town and had some interesting realizations.
I drove into town remembering who had lived where and what had once been on the road where I was driving. I turned on the road where I once lived and went up the hill. The woods I played in as a child were still on the right, but the woods on the left, where I got hurt once, are gone. I continued up the street and saw the house I grew up in. The trees and bushes dad planted were still there and growing. It looked the same, yet something was different. The toys in the back yard were different. The shed in the back was falling down. The yard looked different. It was the same, but different.
From there I drove through the neighborhood and then across town to the old city park were I learned to swim. It had a new pier around the swimming area and a new boat ramp, but the swings and merri-go-rounds were the same. I drove on to one of my old fishing spots. It was the same old rocky point, but they had repaired an area that had washed out and made a walking trail next to the lake. It was the same, but different.
I left there and drove through the neighborhoods where my friends had lived. I was amazed at how little the houses had changed, even some of the cars were the same. I could tell where the Guerreros lived, The McCords still had the same VW Rabbit, and the Tilley’s still had the same old brown 1987 F-150. As I drove around I couldn’t believe that some of the same political figures from my childhood were still running for office, then as I looked closer at the political yard signs I realized – it’s not the same people, it’s their children and grandchildren running for office now. Everything was the same, but different.
I had driven to town with the expectation of progress but I left with the realization that, while things seem different, little changes unless something drastic happens.
I wonder if that isn’t what Jesus felt as he returned to his hometown to preach. I wonder if that isn’t what the people felt when they saw him. Their own home town boy, raised there in Nazareth by their home town boy Joseph, the carpenter.
Jesus has come back home. The people had heard rumors of how well he was doing. They had heard that he was a great teacher of the Scriptures and finally they could see for themselves. He came to the synagogue and took his place among the teachers. Others read, and then it was his turn. He rose from his seat, accepted the scroll that was handed to him, and then did something out of the ordinary. Rather than read what was rolled to on the scroll, he begins rolling through the scroll until he finds what he wanted to read. From the Isaiah scroll, he reads, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” “Ahhh, he reads so well” they think. As he sits down to begin teaching them they are spell-bound. “He is good” they think, “someone to truly be proud of, and someone that understands us. Look at the passage he read, he does understands us. God is restoring us.”
But something was different. It was the same, but different. Though he seemed the same, at least physically, he was different spiritually. Something had changed. It changed when he was born of the Spirit. It changed when the Holy Spirit descended upon him as a dove in the River with John. It changed when he opened his mouth and began to speak. “Is this not Joseph’s Son? Is he not the Carpenter? He spoke so well, as though he had authority.”
He was saying the words they thought they wanted to hear. We’ll get into the words that changed all that next week, but in the midst of his reading and explaining, they thought he was telling them God was setting them free, that God was healing them and their land. What they didn’t realize was that Jesus was describing the ministry that was to follow in his life – a ministry to the least, the last, the lost - A ministry of spoken words and actions that bring hope to the hopeless.
What Jesus was describing was the work of the ministry that he was beginning and would be continued by the Body of Christ. That is you and me. In the passage read and the explanation given, Jesus is describing the ministry that you and I are to be about – a ministry to the least, the last, and the lost – a ministry of spoken words and actions that bring hope to the hopeless. What does that translate into in today’s world?
Helping out in times of natural disaster – Going to or supporting those who go to offer aid to those in need. Our neighbors in the Canton, Sulphur Springs, and Athens areas are struggling to clean up after all the storms. Not to mention the devastation in Haiti that we continue to learn about. Few of us can give our presence in situations like this but we can give our prayers, gifts, and our service by creating health kits and flood buckets.
Healing the sick and visiting those who are isolated – We can go see those who are sick. We can call those who are shut in. We can offer love and grace to those who needed it in tough times. In doing this we are bringing hope to the hopeless. We are bringing grace to those who need it.
Tell others about what God has done for us – I know, you think this is where the sermon title came from. We have this misconception that it’s hard to talk about God. The truth is we talk about anything that is important to us. We get excited and tell others when HEB has a good special on their Meal Deal – like right, if you buy 2 lbs of ground meat; you get all the fixin’s for a taco meal. I know you have had conversations about the loss of the Cowboys last week. And I sure know some of you got excited about the win the week before. We get excited about these things, why can’t we get excited about what God has done for us? Why can’t we tell people about what the church has done for us? I think we can. I think, if you put your mind to it, you can get past the tough words, get past your fears, and tell others about church, about God, about what Jesus did for you some 2000 years ago and what he still does for you today as you receive the grace and mercy of God fresh and new in your life.
I want to challenge you today to do three things this week. I want you to write this down too. Take out your bulletin, get the pencil in the pew-jacket in front to you, and write on the lines in the back of your bulletin these 3 challenges.
1) Find a way to help out with Haiti or the tornado damage in North East Texas.
2) Visit someone that is lonely – a shut-in, someone recovering from illness or surgery, someone in prison or jail. Visit someone that is lonely.
3) Tell someone about what God has done for you and invite them to your church.
I expect you to do these things.
You know something else about the words that Jesus spoke to his home town crowd that day…
They were not words just for them. They are words for a world that needs to hear them. AND
These were not words just for you. They are words for a world that needs to hear them.
You’re job is to take the words out into that world and spread God’s love and grace in a world that needs to know God’s mercy. So Go, pass it on. Make a difference.
From Emmanuel to Evangelism
From Emmanuel to Evangelism
Isaiah 43:1-11
Last week we celebrated a new year and this past Wednesday we celebrated Epiphany. Since 336 AD the Western Church in Rome has celebrated December 25th as the celebration of the Incarnation – God with us, Emmanuel. Somewhere along the way though, no body really knows exactly when it started, the Eastern Church, at Constantinople, began celebrating Epiphany on January 6th as the time of the Christian Theophany, of God appearing to humanity as Jesus Christ. They celebrated with gifts and parties to remember the birth of Jesus and the appearing of the Wise Men. In Rome, the first evidence of a celebration of Epiphany and the Three Wise Men seems to appear around 361 and it was made a part of the Roman calendar in 380. Even though Rome recognized Epiphany, Christians on each side of civilization, from Turkey to Rome celebrated Christmas differently until the Second Council of Tours in 566 AD where the Roman and Byzantine Churches (that’s the Western and Eastern Churches) came together and decreed that Christmas would be celebrated from Christmas Eve to the Twelfth Night, or the Eve of Epiphany, thus Christmas would be a period of 12 days from Christmas to Epiphany – And that is how we came up with the 12 Days of Christmas.
Many of today’s Christian calendars recognize Advent as a time of preparation for Christmas, Christmastide to be the period from Christmas Eve through the Sunday after Epiphany, also known as the Baptism of our Lord. That is why we still have all our decorations up and that is how I came up with the sermon title, From Emmanuel to Evangelism. We have celebrated a time of Christ being born, of God with us – Emmanuel to the beginning of the ministry of Jesus – the Evangelism or the spreading of the Good News.
So now you say, OK preacher, that all makes sense, thank you for the history lesson, but what does that have to do with the Scripture you picked? To that I would say good job, your paying attention – today’s sermon text isn’t about the New Year, the Three Wise Men, the Baptism of Jesus, or about Jesus at all; it’s from the Old Testament, Isaiah 43:1-11 but let us see if somehow all this can tie together in the end.
Isaiah 43:1-11
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia* and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.’
Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
Let all the nations gather together,
and let the peoples assemble.
Who among them declared this,
and foretold to us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to justify them,
and let them hear and say, ‘It is true.’
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no saviour.
Ahhhh, Emmanuel, God is with us. Even in this text we hear the ringing of the words, ‘Do not fear for I am with you.’ The people of Israel had fallen away from God, they had chosen to follow another way and that way led them far from God. Chapter 42 talks of the anger of God burning against the Israelites for falling away but then, Isaiah reminds them that God is with us, Isaiah reminds them that God restores, Isaiah reminds them that they are God’s witnesses. Isaiah reminds them that there is a time for a new start and that time is now.
10 days ago some of you made a new start. You proclaimed a resolution to get organized and yet you still can’t find your car keys in the morning, or resolved to get out of debt, then pulled out the credit card to pay for that burger and fries, or you declared that this would be the year you got in shape but not before I finish off that ½ gallon of Blue Bell. So many of us make our resolutions each year and there is a reason for that. A New Year is a time for a new start. It is a time to begin anew, fresh. The problem is that it’s sometimes hard to start fresh and new, sometimes it takes a little remodeling.
I don’t know about you but remodeling is hard work. Oh, I don’t mean slappin’ a few coats of paint on the wall and having carpet laid, I mean sheetrock crushin’, stud rippin’, wall buildin’ remodeling. My only personal experience with this is our house in Hillsboro. Before Renee and I and the family moved in we had some remodeling to do and this remodeling involved cutting a whole in one wall to make a door, knocking out a couple of walls, building a couple of walls, and rebuilding the floor in some places. Now, there comes a point in a remodel job like that when you walk in and look around and think, you know, it really didn’t look that bad before, what have I done? You look around at the mayhem and then realize, you can’t stop there, as much damage as you have done you’ve got to move ahead. Then when you finish you forget about the pain, you forget about the busted walls and the broken studs, and you just enjoy the beauty of the finished product. That’s the way it is with our lives sometimes.
Max Lucado writes,
God loves to decorate. God has to decorate. Let Him live long enough in a heart, and that heart will begin to change. Portraits of hurt will be replaced by landscapes of grace. Walls of anger will be demolished and shaky foundations restored. God can no more leave a life unchanged than a mother can leave her child’s tear untouched….
This might explain some of the discomfort in your life. Remodeling of the heart is not always pleasant. We don’t object when the Carpenter adds a few shelves, but He’s been known to gut the entire west wing. He has such high aspirations for you. God envisions a complete restoration. He won’t stop until He’s finished…. He wants you to be just like Jesus.
You see, God is making us new. God is remodeling us. God wants the best for us. When we set those resolutions to do better, God is with us and God wants us to follow through with them. God wants you to quit smoking because that is what is best for you. God wants you to spend more time with your family because that is what is best for you and your family. God wants you to help others more because that is a part of loving God. God wants you to learn something new because that helps you reach more people and it keeps you mind active. God cares about you enough that he came down here, put on human flesh, lived as a baby, was raised by a mommy and a daddy, was revered by Kings and loved by paupers, was baptized in the River Jordan, taught along the hills and valleys and the highways and byways. Then, Jesus, our God in the flesh cared enough for you and for me that he allowed himself to be beaten and bruised, hung on a cross, and die. Jesus cared enough for us that he rose from the dead and offers us new life.
God came here to be with us and God wants us to accept that new life, to grow and be new. But the story doesn’t end there. Yes, bad things happen and God is with us. Yes, good thing happen and God is with us. Our passage reminds us of that, but our passage also reminds us of another thing. Verse 10 reminds us that “You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen.” I realize that this passage is talking about Israel but I think that Isaiah’s words from the Lord are for us as well. We are the witnesses for God here on the earth. The Christmas season is just one way that we as the people of God witness to the life of Christ. We celebrate Advent and prepare for Christ to come. We open our church on Christmas Eve and have one of the larges interdenominational services in the community every year. We speak about Christ and sing the songs about his birth in Wal-Mart and in our car. We carry the celebration through till this week and we use it as a witness to the world but the witness can’t stop there.
God doesn’t remodel our lives for our own good alone. God is with us so that we can tell others the good news. From Emmanuel to Evangelism – or an easier way to remember is, From God with us to spreading the good news. That is what this season has been about. Today is another day that we can go forth and spread the good news of the new life Christ has given us. Go, Go tell it on the Mountain. Go, Go spread the good news of what God has done. Go, God and remind the world that Christ is with them, just as he is with you.
Isaiah 43:1-11
Last week we celebrated a new year and this past Wednesday we celebrated Epiphany. Since 336 AD the Western Church in Rome has celebrated December 25th as the celebration of the Incarnation – God with us, Emmanuel. Somewhere along the way though, no body really knows exactly when it started, the Eastern Church, at Constantinople, began celebrating Epiphany on January 6th as the time of the Christian Theophany, of God appearing to humanity as Jesus Christ. They celebrated with gifts and parties to remember the birth of Jesus and the appearing of the Wise Men. In Rome, the first evidence of a celebration of Epiphany and the Three Wise Men seems to appear around 361 and it was made a part of the Roman calendar in 380. Even though Rome recognized Epiphany, Christians on each side of civilization, from Turkey to Rome celebrated Christmas differently until the Second Council of Tours in 566 AD where the Roman and Byzantine Churches (that’s the Western and Eastern Churches) came together and decreed that Christmas would be celebrated from Christmas Eve to the Twelfth Night, or the Eve of Epiphany, thus Christmas would be a period of 12 days from Christmas to Epiphany – And that is how we came up with the 12 Days of Christmas.
Many of today’s Christian calendars recognize Advent as a time of preparation for Christmas, Christmastide to be the period from Christmas Eve through the Sunday after Epiphany, also known as the Baptism of our Lord. That is why we still have all our decorations up and that is how I came up with the sermon title, From Emmanuel to Evangelism. We have celebrated a time of Christ being born, of God with us – Emmanuel to the beginning of the ministry of Jesus – the Evangelism or the spreading of the Good News.
So now you say, OK preacher, that all makes sense, thank you for the history lesson, but what does that have to do with the Scripture you picked? To that I would say good job, your paying attention – today’s sermon text isn’t about the New Year, the Three Wise Men, the Baptism of Jesus, or about Jesus at all; it’s from the Old Testament, Isaiah 43:1-11 but let us see if somehow all this can tie together in the end.
Isaiah 43:1-11
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia* and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.’
Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
Let all the nations gather together,
and let the peoples assemble.
Who among them declared this,
and foretold to us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to justify them,
and let them hear and say, ‘It is true.’
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no saviour.
Ahhhh, Emmanuel, God is with us. Even in this text we hear the ringing of the words, ‘Do not fear for I am with you.’ The people of Israel had fallen away from God, they had chosen to follow another way and that way led them far from God. Chapter 42 talks of the anger of God burning against the Israelites for falling away but then, Isaiah reminds them that God is with us, Isaiah reminds them that God restores, Isaiah reminds them that they are God’s witnesses. Isaiah reminds them that there is a time for a new start and that time is now.
10 days ago some of you made a new start. You proclaimed a resolution to get organized and yet you still can’t find your car keys in the morning, or resolved to get out of debt, then pulled out the credit card to pay for that burger and fries, or you declared that this would be the year you got in shape but not before I finish off that ½ gallon of Blue Bell. So many of us make our resolutions each year and there is a reason for that. A New Year is a time for a new start. It is a time to begin anew, fresh. The problem is that it’s sometimes hard to start fresh and new, sometimes it takes a little remodeling.
I don’t know about you but remodeling is hard work. Oh, I don’t mean slappin’ a few coats of paint on the wall and having carpet laid, I mean sheetrock crushin’, stud rippin’, wall buildin’ remodeling. My only personal experience with this is our house in Hillsboro. Before Renee and I and the family moved in we had some remodeling to do and this remodeling involved cutting a whole in one wall to make a door, knocking out a couple of walls, building a couple of walls, and rebuilding the floor in some places. Now, there comes a point in a remodel job like that when you walk in and look around and think, you know, it really didn’t look that bad before, what have I done? You look around at the mayhem and then realize, you can’t stop there, as much damage as you have done you’ve got to move ahead. Then when you finish you forget about the pain, you forget about the busted walls and the broken studs, and you just enjoy the beauty of the finished product. That’s the way it is with our lives sometimes.
Max Lucado writes,
God loves to decorate. God has to decorate. Let Him live long enough in a heart, and that heart will begin to change. Portraits of hurt will be replaced by landscapes of grace. Walls of anger will be demolished and shaky foundations restored. God can no more leave a life unchanged than a mother can leave her child’s tear untouched….
This might explain some of the discomfort in your life. Remodeling of the heart is not always pleasant. We don’t object when the Carpenter adds a few shelves, but He’s been known to gut the entire west wing. He has such high aspirations for you. God envisions a complete restoration. He won’t stop until He’s finished…. He wants you to be just like Jesus.
You see, God is making us new. God is remodeling us. God wants the best for us. When we set those resolutions to do better, God is with us and God wants us to follow through with them. God wants you to quit smoking because that is what is best for you. God wants you to spend more time with your family because that is what is best for you and your family. God wants you to help others more because that is a part of loving God. God wants you to learn something new because that helps you reach more people and it keeps you mind active. God cares about you enough that he came down here, put on human flesh, lived as a baby, was raised by a mommy and a daddy, was revered by Kings and loved by paupers, was baptized in the River Jordan, taught along the hills and valleys and the highways and byways. Then, Jesus, our God in the flesh cared enough for you and for me that he allowed himself to be beaten and bruised, hung on a cross, and die. Jesus cared enough for us that he rose from the dead and offers us new life.
God came here to be with us and God wants us to accept that new life, to grow and be new. But the story doesn’t end there. Yes, bad things happen and God is with us. Yes, good thing happen and God is with us. Our passage reminds us of that, but our passage also reminds us of another thing. Verse 10 reminds us that “You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen.” I realize that this passage is talking about Israel but I think that Isaiah’s words from the Lord are for us as well. We are the witnesses for God here on the earth. The Christmas season is just one way that we as the people of God witness to the life of Christ. We celebrate Advent and prepare for Christ to come. We open our church on Christmas Eve and have one of the larges interdenominational services in the community every year. We speak about Christ and sing the songs about his birth in Wal-Mart and in our car. We carry the celebration through till this week and we use it as a witness to the world but the witness can’t stop there.
God doesn’t remodel our lives for our own good alone. God is with us so that we can tell others the good news. From Emmanuel to Evangelism – or an easier way to remember is, From God with us to spreading the good news. That is what this season has been about. Today is another day that we can go forth and spread the good news of the new life Christ has given us. Go, Go tell it on the Mountain. Go, Go spread the good news of what God has done. Go, God and remind the world that Christ is with them, just as he is with you.
Lord I Want to See
Mk. 10:46-52
A group of blind men were wandering in the jungle. Now, don’t ask me what a bunch of blind men were doing in the jungle, just work with me here. ANYWAY, so they were wondering in the jungle and they all came upon a large object in their trail. They couldn’t move it, they couldn’t get past it, and they didn’t recognize it.
As one of the men started feeling what was in front of him he said it was about as big around as a tree trunk, was rough, and hard, yet at the same time it seemed to almost feel like a flesh.
Another man said, no, no… it is thin and soft and floppy, like a sheet of leather.
Yet another said no, it is thin like a snake only firmer and with fur on the tip.
And still another said no, it is like a root that has been broken off, on the one end it is damp and odd but then it seems to connect on the other end to a tree or a boulder.
Finally, a native came upon them and saw what they were doing and asked, “What are you guys doing to that poor elephant.”
Each of the men were describing the elephant from their own experience, from their own perspective. Pardon the pun; they were blinded by their own limited vision. How often are we that way? How often do we have trouble seeing beyond our limited experiences? How often is it that we need to back up and open our eyes to see the big picture?
Take for instance the Health Care debate going on in our nation right now. I have heard a number of arguments about what to do about the issue. On the one hand we hear the argument that the health care in the United States is about personal choice and responsibility. No one has a right to health care; our rights are to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, not entitlements. If you want health insurance then go get it.
On the other hand, I hear the argument that the cost of health care has skyrocketed recently. Doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies are charging more and more to add to their profits and offset the cost of litigation from all the malpractice lawsuits. With all the increases in health care costs people are loosing the opportunity to pursue a life of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The only agency big enough to handle this debacle is the federal government.
If your experience is of having little or no insurance for yourself or a loved one you have one view of the issue. If you have good insurance or good health care regardless of insurance then you have another perspective of the situation. If you work in the healthcare field you have yet another perspective.
Our experiences limit our vision. To truly settle the issue, we need to look beyond our limited experience of the issue. We need to open our eyes and expand our vision. The question is how do we do that? How do we see differently?
This is what happened to Bartimaus. Ol’ Bart was their minding his own business begging for alms at the gate of Jericho. Now it wasn’t uncommon to find beggars there since most of the labor was physical in nature and you couldn’t get a job if you had a disability. However, in Bart’s case he was a step down from most of the beggars. You see, according to William Barclay, the blind were looked upon as having been punished by God. So, Bart’s sitting there, a nobody among nobodies, hoping for enough of a hand-out to get him through one more day when he hears a crowd coming. I can just see him asking, “Hey, who is that, it must be a teacher because I hear lots of people but only one voice over the crowd.” Then the reply, “Oh, that’s that Jesus from Nazareth”.
Having heard all the stories of Jesus, Bartimaus knew him. Bart knew who Jesus was and what he had done, and Ol’ Bart starts to cry out a prayer that we should all be praying, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” “Jesus, the Chosen One of God, have mercy on me.” When Jesus hears him, Jesus doesn’t walk the other way because he’s a begger, because he’s blind, because he’s a sinner, because God has punished him… NO, Jesus calls Bartimaus to himself, and asks him what he wants. And Bart Said, “I want to see.”
This is the interesting point in the story. The conflict that Bartimaus brings us is our own contrast between vision and sight. Edward Sims writes, “Recognition has to do with vision; seeing has to do with sight. Bartimaus had vision to recognize Jesus. He asked for his sight to see. We have the sight to see and ask for the vision to recognize.” We can see but do we recognize Jesus?
This is even more striking if you back up and read it in context with the other blind man passage of chapter 8. When we do this we realize that the story is less about the miracle of Bartimaus and his sight and more about the vision of the disciples.
They, like we, could see. They had seen the miracles of Jesus. They had witnessed the miracles and heard the teachings. Bart had only heard the stories from others, yet he believed. He had no experience with Jesus and yet he believed.
Our experience can be a vital part of our faith but it can also limit us. I saw a perfect illustration about this once on the show Medical Miracles. There was a little boy who was born blind. The doctors had hopes of healing him and giving him his sight. After dozens of surgeries and the painful rehabilitation from each of them he still could not see. But now, because of a new surgical treatment with an Artificial Corneal Implant there was once again hope that he may be able to see. They prepped him and performed the surgery and all went well. BUT the next day, when the patch came off and it was time to open his eye, he couldn’t do it. He started to, but he was scared. His experiences of the past had been so painful that he just didn’t think he could open his eyes. I don’t know if he was afraid that he would open his eyes and see or if he was afraid that he would open his eyes and not see. In the end, he found the courage and opened his eyes and saw his family for the first time.
Fear can be a terrible hindrance. Bartimaus had nothing to fear. He was already at the bottom of the social ladder. If he believed in who Jesus was and it turned out to be right or wrong, either way, his life could only get better. For the disciples it wasn’t so. They had plenty to fear. Maybe it was fear that had kept them from looking beyond their limited sight. If they looked beyond their limited sight, then they would have to face the cost of what it meant to follow Christ. If they had the vision to recognize Christ, then they would have to change.
That is the same way with us. If we begin to align our vision with that of God, we have to change.
-We will have to see differently. We will have to see people as God sees people. We will have to see ourselves as God sees us.
-When we align our vision with God’s we will have to see our need for revival, individually and as a church. And I’m not just talking about having a few special worship events with a better preacher and some special music. I’m talking about a revival of our relationship with God and how we as a church relate to one another and God.
- When we align our vision with God’s we will have to see beyond our idea of SS and Christian Education – It’s not just for children and youth. Sunday School and Christian education is a life long process. It is one of the ways we strengthen our relationship with God. Not only that but we will have to see beyond our idea of discipleship as learning from someone else and begin to disciple and mentor others.
- When we align our vision with God’s we will have to see that we are all teachers. We are all always teaching. The question is “what are we teaching?” Seeing differently means that we will begin to recognize that we are always having an impact on others regardless of where we are and what we are doing. It is like the story I heard about a 5 year old boy at one of the churches in our Conference. This little boy, Davey, is severely autistic but he is constantly walking up to people and telling them, “Jesus loves me… and… Jesus loves you.” This boy is teaching others about Jesus love.
OR The story I heard about John, a 9 yoa boy with ADHD who had been disrupting his parents and the entire church during worship when a youth, Kris, came and asked if she could sit with him. Now John sits with Kris each week and gives his parents a break. She tries to help him focus, she gives him something to do, and she helps him learn what church is about. John is learning about Christ through the patience and kindness of Kris.
Kris has a vision and because of her vision, John is beginning to have vision, they are beginning to see beyond their own limited sight because of God’s grace.
I know this sermon seems to have bounced around a bit so I will bring it all together here. Up to this point we have been talking about seeing differently. We started out talking about how
we need to open our eyes and expand our vision, THEN we saw the contrast between vision and sight and I hope that I have made the point that we need vision more than we need sight. FINALLY while our experience can be helpful in increasing our vision, we need to be careful that we do not let it limit us.
Bartimaus had vision, and through his vision he regained his sight. Bartimaus called out to Jesus and Jesus met him where he was but Bartimaus knew what he wanted, he wanted to see and by the grace of God he received his sight.
I want to be like Bartimaus, “Lord, I want vision”, yet I am afraid I am more like the disciples than I care to admit.
Afraid to see fully,
-afraid to have vision because of the cost,
-seeking to see only a little of what God is calling me to do and be
BUT through the grace of God, even the disciples received vision as God was revealed in Christ.
Grace is afforded to each of us through Christ as well. As we seek God, we can begin to see more clearly. We can see differently. Maybe today we can see communion as an opportunity to see differently. May God open our eyes that we may see.
A group of blind men were wandering in the jungle. Now, don’t ask me what a bunch of blind men were doing in the jungle, just work with me here. ANYWAY, so they were wondering in the jungle and they all came upon a large object in their trail. They couldn’t move it, they couldn’t get past it, and they didn’t recognize it.
As one of the men started feeling what was in front of him he said it was about as big around as a tree trunk, was rough, and hard, yet at the same time it seemed to almost feel like a flesh.
Another man said, no, no… it is thin and soft and floppy, like a sheet of leather.
Yet another said no, it is thin like a snake only firmer and with fur on the tip.
And still another said no, it is like a root that has been broken off, on the one end it is damp and odd but then it seems to connect on the other end to a tree or a boulder.
Finally, a native came upon them and saw what they were doing and asked, “What are you guys doing to that poor elephant.”
Each of the men were describing the elephant from their own experience, from their own perspective. Pardon the pun; they were blinded by their own limited vision. How often are we that way? How often do we have trouble seeing beyond our limited experiences? How often is it that we need to back up and open our eyes to see the big picture?
Take for instance the Health Care debate going on in our nation right now. I have heard a number of arguments about what to do about the issue. On the one hand we hear the argument that the health care in the United States is about personal choice and responsibility. No one has a right to health care; our rights are to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, not entitlements. If you want health insurance then go get it.
On the other hand, I hear the argument that the cost of health care has skyrocketed recently. Doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies are charging more and more to add to their profits and offset the cost of litigation from all the malpractice lawsuits. With all the increases in health care costs people are loosing the opportunity to pursue a life of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The only agency big enough to handle this debacle is the federal government.
If your experience is of having little or no insurance for yourself or a loved one you have one view of the issue. If you have good insurance or good health care regardless of insurance then you have another perspective of the situation. If you work in the healthcare field you have yet another perspective.
Our experiences limit our vision. To truly settle the issue, we need to look beyond our limited experience of the issue. We need to open our eyes and expand our vision. The question is how do we do that? How do we see differently?
This is what happened to Bartimaus. Ol’ Bart was their minding his own business begging for alms at the gate of Jericho. Now it wasn’t uncommon to find beggars there since most of the labor was physical in nature and you couldn’t get a job if you had a disability. However, in Bart’s case he was a step down from most of the beggars. You see, according to William Barclay, the blind were looked upon as having been punished by God. So, Bart’s sitting there, a nobody among nobodies, hoping for enough of a hand-out to get him through one more day when he hears a crowd coming. I can just see him asking, “Hey, who is that, it must be a teacher because I hear lots of people but only one voice over the crowd.” Then the reply, “Oh, that’s that Jesus from Nazareth”.
Having heard all the stories of Jesus, Bartimaus knew him. Bart knew who Jesus was and what he had done, and Ol’ Bart starts to cry out a prayer that we should all be praying, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” “Jesus, the Chosen One of God, have mercy on me.” When Jesus hears him, Jesus doesn’t walk the other way because he’s a begger, because he’s blind, because he’s a sinner, because God has punished him… NO, Jesus calls Bartimaus to himself, and asks him what he wants. And Bart Said, “I want to see.”
This is the interesting point in the story. The conflict that Bartimaus brings us is our own contrast between vision and sight. Edward Sims writes, “Recognition has to do with vision; seeing has to do with sight. Bartimaus had vision to recognize Jesus. He asked for his sight to see. We have the sight to see and ask for the vision to recognize.” We can see but do we recognize Jesus?
This is even more striking if you back up and read it in context with the other blind man passage of chapter 8. When we do this we realize that the story is less about the miracle of Bartimaus and his sight and more about the vision of the disciples.
They, like we, could see. They had seen the miracles of Jesus. They had witnessed the miracles and heard the teachings. Bart had only heard the stories from others, yet he believed. He had no experience with Jesus and yet he believed.
Our experience can be a vital part of our faith but it can also limit us. I saw a perfect illustration about this once on the show Medical Miracles. There was a little boy who was born blind. The doctors had hopes of healing him and giving him his sight. After dozens of surgeries and the painful rehabilitation from each of them he still could not see. But now, because of a new surgical treatment with an Artificial Corneal Implant there was once again hope that he may be able to see. They prepped him and performed the surgery and all went well. BUT the next day, when the patch came off and it was time to open his eye, he couldn’t do it. He started to, but he was scared. His experiences of the past had been so painful that he just didn’t think he could open his eyes. I don’t know if he was afraid that he would open his eyes and see or if he was afraid that he would open his eyes and not see. In the end, he found the courage and opened his eyes and saw his family for the first time.
Fear can be a terrible hindrance. Bartimaus had nothing to fear. He was already at the bottom of the social ladder. If he believed in who Jesus was and it turned out to be right or wrong, either way, his life could only get better. For the disciples it wasn’t so. They had plenty to fear. Maybe it was fear that had kept them from looking beyond their limited sight. If they looked beyond their limited sight, then they would have to face the cost of what it meant to follow Christ. If they had the vision to recognize Christ, then they would have to change.
That is the same way with us. If we begin to align our vision with that of God, we have to change.
-We will have to see differently. We will have to see people as God sees people. We will have to see ourselves as God sees us.
-When we align our vision with God’s we will have to see our need for revival, individually and as a church. And I’m not just talking about having a few special worship events with a better preacher and some special music. I’m talking about a revival of our relationship with God and how we as a church relate to one another and God.
- When we align our vision with God’s we will have to see beyond our idea of SS and Christian Education – It’s not just for children and youth. Sunday School and Christian education is a life long process. It is one of the ways we strengthen our relationship with God. Not only that but we will have to see beyond our idea of discipleship as learning from someone else and begin to disciple and mentor others.
- When we align our vision with God’s we will have to see that we are all teachers. We are all always teaching. The question is “what are we teaching?” Seeing differently means that we will begin to recognize that we are always having an impact on others regardless of where we are and what we are doing. It is like the story I heard about a 5 year old boy at one of the churches in our Conference. This little boy, Davey, is severely autistic but he is constantly walking up to people and telling them, “Jesus loves me… and… Jesus loves you.” This boy is teaching others about Jesus love.
OR The story I heard about John, a 9 yoa boy with ADHD who had been disrupting his parents and the entire church during worship when a youth, Kris, came and asked if she could sit with him. Now John sits with Kris each week and gives his parents a break. She tries to help him focus, she gives him something to do, and she helps him learn what church is about. John is learning about Christ through the patience and kindness of Kris.
Kris has a vision and because of her vision, John is beginning to have vision, they are beginning to see beyond their own limited sight because of God’s grace.
I know this sermon seems to have bounced around a bit so I will bring it all together here. Up to this point we have been talking about seeing differently. We started out talking about how
we need to open our eyes and expand our vision, THEN we saw the contrast between vision and sight and I hope that I have made the point that we need vision more than we need sight. FINALLY while our experience can be helpful in increasing our vision, we need to be careful that we do not let it limit us.
Bartimaus had vision, and through his vision he regained his sight. Bartimaus called out to Jesus and Jesus met him where he was but Bartimaus knew what he wanted, he wanted to see and by the grace of God he received his sight.
I want to be like Bartimaus, “Lord, I want vision”, yet I am afraid I am more like the disciples than I care to admit.
Afraid to see fully,
-afraid to have vision because of the cost,
-seeking to see only a little of what God is calling me to do and be
BUT through the grace of God, even the disciples received vision as God was revealed in Christ.
Grace is afforded to each of us through Christ as well. As we seek God, we can begin to see more clearly. We can see differently. Maybe today we can see communion as an opportunity to see differently. May God open our eyes that we may see.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas Eve 2009
A Child is Given
Luke 2:10-11
It seems this is the gift giving time of year. We work day and night to find the right gifts, wrap them in the right paper (or put them in a bag from last Christmas and try to salvage some paper for a birthday gift last month...), hide them in the right spot so no one finds them until Christmas day, and then we smile with joy as our loved ones open the gifts.
Sometimes, gifts are special too. I don't mean a package of meat from some steak company on the Internet or a gift card that puts all the pressure on the recipient to find the right gift, I mean those special gifts. I'm talking about those gift you remember for decades, not days.
Though I may have had many such gifts through the years, one stands out when I think of special gifts. It was July 1976. I remember having my birthday party in the driveway and my front yard. We had strung streamers between the posts of the carport. The actual carport had collapsed the winter before due to snow and ice but the poles were there. We had tables set up for the cake and gifts and a place in the dirt to play with trucks and Army Men. It was a six year old boys paradise. I don't remember what the cake looked like, I don't remember who was there. But I remember the gift.
Oh, I got lots of gifts, probably a model, maybe a cap gun, possibly a shirt or some pants, but after all the gifts had been unwrapped I noticed my dad was missing... then I saw him. Coming around the house with my brand new bicycle. It was a Spirit of '76 Huffy bicycle. It had red-white-and blue streamers coming out of the Ape-Hanger handlebars. It had a banana seat with a red-white-and blue pendent above it. It was my my own bicycle, not a hand-me down, not one that I shared, not one with training wheels. It was mine, a big boy bike.
It would have been the greatest memory of that day had it not been for one other thing... Smokey Joe showed up. Who is or was Smokey Joe? Well, Smokey Joe was a little Lynx Point Siamese kitten. I remember the little guy having to jump through the thick St. Augustine grass and almost disappearing every time it it landed in the grass. It was so cute and cuddly. I wanted to keep him. I wanted a cat. It would make the best gift, or so I thought. Except my sister was allergic to cats, my mom didn't like all the hair, and Dad didn't like all the damage they cause with their claws and cleaning up a litter box. So, my grandmother ended up with Smokey and I got to visit my birthday cat for the following 15 years.
You see, Smokey Joe was a great gift, the Bicycle was a great gift, and I'm sure all the other gifts were great too, but Smokey and the Bike were special, I remember them even now some 33 years later.
There are a few things we need to remember about good gifts, the best gifts, special gifts:
1.They always express the personality of the giver
2.They unfailingly meet a need or desire of the receiver
\ Let's think about those for a moment. I don't think it is any secret that I like to hunt and fish. So, I could give a gift to Renee that expressed my personality well if I gave her a new Diamond Archery Black Ice Compound Bow – Come on, it has 80% let of at 70 Lbs and shoots an arrow at 318fps. But, since Renee doesn't like hunting it would meet neither a need nor a desire of hers.
But the bike I was talking about. It expressed the personality of my parents and it met a desire of mine. It was a great gift.
3.There is something else about a really good gift too. You have to receive it. If you never accept the gift, if you never receive the gift, if you never take possession of the gift then it is never yours.
4. Finally, you have to open it. A gift, no matter how wonderfully wrapped, will never serve it's purpose if you don't unwrap it and discover it's purpose for your life.
In other words, a good gift says something about the one that gives it, means something to the one that is to receive it, has to be accepted, and must be unwrapped and made a part of the life of the recipient.
One Christmas-Eve an older gentleman was driving home after the Christmas-Eve Service at his church. It was bitterly cold and snowing but as he drove down the street he notices a young boy sitting on the curb shivering. He pulled up next to the boy and asked, “Is everything alright?, you need to get out of the cold or you're gonna freeze!” But the boy said, “I ca-ca-can't sir” the man told him he would take him anywhere he needed to go if he would just tell him where he lived. It confused the older man even more when the boy told him that he lived in the apartments behind him, some 50' away. “You don't understand,” the boy explained, “My daddy gave me $5 and this list to run across the street to the store, but it was so cold and the wind blew so hard I lost the $5. I've looked for it everywhere and can't find it.”
The gentleman smiled and said “oh, that's OK, just go tell your dad what happened and he'll give you another $5.”
“Mister, you don't know my Daddy, he's been drinkin' and he gets mean. I can't go home and tell him I lost his $5. He'll get real mad.”
So, the man took out his own wallet, gave the boy a $5 bill, walked him to the store, and helped him gather the milk, bread, and other couple of things. The total came to $4 and change. The man told the boy, “now you take that change back to your Daddy and give him what he wanted.” the boy smiled and started to run home but stopped, came back to the older man and hugged him around the leg and said, “Thank you, I wish you were my daddy.” and then ran on home.
That night that man drove around for several more blocks looking for any other little boys that might have lost $5. It seemed, if only for an instant, that he had found the perfect gift.
I know you are all smart enough to know that I'm not talking about Five Dollar Bills or the gifts that are under our trees at our homes tonight. Some of those gifts will be special and they will bring great joy for a while, others of them will be a disappointment as soon as they are opened. All of them will someday fade like the morning fog.
There is only one gift that is truly special. There is only one gift that will last forever. And that gift is not under a tree tonight. That is the gift that Isaiah spoke of some 2700 years ago when he predicted that “Unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” It is the gift of Jesus, a gift that certainly expresses the personality of the giver, it unfailingly meets a need of the receiver, it is a gift we must receive, and it is a gift that we must make a part of our life to realize the difference it can produce.
There is an Old Scottish Legend about a shepherd boy that was tending the sheep one day when he saw a beautiful flower in the field. He had never seen a flower like it so he bent over, picked it and took in its beautiful aroma. Just then the nearby mountain lifted up as if on hinges and revealed a treasure one could only dream of. There were jewels, and diamonds, and gold, and silver. The boy ran to the treasure and began picking up the most valuable items he could carry. Then a voice echoed through the caverns of the mountain, “Don't forget the best.” The boy looked around to see if there was anything better than what he had in his arms and, deciding that there wasn't he started to leave. Then the voice echoed again, “Don't forget the best”. The boy hesitated for a moment then ran from the mountain cavern with his arms loaded with treasures. As he cleared the mountain it crashed to the ground and he again heard the voice, “Don't forget the best – the flower you left inside.” At that moment the treasures in the boys arms turned to dust. He had forgotten the best, the flower, the key to the vault of treasures.
This Christmas, let us not forget the best. In the giving and receiving of gifts let us not forget that
A baby born one blessed silent night,
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives.
(Some of the stories and thoughts were inspired by Steve Halliday and Ed Young, "And He Shall Be Called... Everlasting Father... Rediscovering the First Christmas Gift."
A Child is Given
Luke 2:10-11
It seems this is the gift giving time of year. We work day and night to find the right gifts, wrap them in the right paper (or put them in a bag from last Christmas and try to salvage some paper for a birthday gift last month...), hide them in the right spot so no one finds them until Christmas day, and then we smile with joy as our loved ones open the gifts.
Sometimes, gifts are special too. I don't mean a package of meat from some steak company on the Internet or a gift card that puts all the pressure on the recipient to find the right gift, I mean those special gifts. I'm talking about those gift you remember for decades, not days.
Though I may have had many such gifts through the years, one stands out when I think of special gifts. It was July 1976. I remember having my birthday party in the driveway and my front yard. We had strung streamers between the posts of the carport. The actual carport had collapsed the winter before due to snow and ice but the poles were there. We had tables set up for the cake and gifts and a place in the dirt to play with trucks and Army Men. It was a six year old boys paradise. I don't remember what the cake looked like, I don't remember who was there. But I remember the gift.
Oh, I got lots of gifts, probably a model, maybe a cap gun, possibly a shirt or some pants, but after all the gifts had been unwrapped I noticed my dad was missing... then I saw him. Coming around the house with my brand new bicycle. It was a Spirit of '76 Huffy bicycle. It had red-white-and blue streamers coming out of the Ape-Hanger handlebars. It had a banana seat with a red-white-and blue pendent above it. It was my my own bicycle, not a hand-me down, not one that I shared, not one with training wheels. It was mine, a big boy bike.
It would have been the greatest memory of that day had it not been for one other thing... Smokey Joe showed up. Who is or was Smokey Joe? Well, Smokey Joe was a little Lynx Point Siamese kitten. I remember the little guy having to jump through the thick St. Augustine grass and almost disappearing every time it it landed in the grass. It was so cute and cuddly. I wanted to keep him. I wanted a cat. It would make the best gift, or so I thought. Except my sister was allergic to cats, my mom didn't like all the hair, and Dad didn't like all the damage they cause with their claws and cleaning up a litter box. So, my grandmother ended up with Smokey and I got to visit my birthday cat for the following 15 years.
You see, Smokey Joe was a great gift, the Bicycle was a great gift, and I'm sure all the other gifts were great too, but Smokey and the Bike were special, I remember them even now some 33 years later.
There are a few things we need to remember about good gifts, the best gifts, special gifts:
1.They always express the personality of the giver
2.They unfailingly meet a need or desire of the receiver
\ Let's think about those for a moment. I don't think it is any secret that I like to hunt and fish. So, I could give a gift to Renee that expressed my personality well if I gave her a new Diamond Archery Black Ice Compound Bow – Come on, it has 80% let of at 70 Lbs and shoots an arrow at 318fps. But, since Renee doesn't like hunting it would meet neither a need nor a desire of hers.
But the bike I was talking about. It expressed the personality of my parents and it met a desire of mine. It was a great gift.
3.There is something else about a really good gift too. You have to receive it. If you never accept the gift, if you never receive the gift, if you never take possession of the gift then it is never yours.
4. Finally, you have to open it. A gift, no matter how wonderfully wrapped, will never serve it's purpose if you don't unwrap it and discover it's purpose for your life.
In other words, a good gift says something about the one that gives it, means something to the one that is to receive it, has to be accepted, and must be unwrapped and made a part of the life of the recipient.
One Christmas-Eve an older gentleman was driving home after the Christmas-Eve Service at his church. It was bitterly cold and snowing but as he drove down the street he notices a young boy sitting on the curb shivering. He pulled up next to the boy and asked, “Is everything alright?, you need to get out of the cold or you're gonna freeze!” But the boy said, “I ca-ca-can't sir” the man told him he would take him anywhere he needed to go if he would just tell him where he lived. It confused the older man even more when the boy told him that he lived in the apartments behind him, some 50' away. “You don't understand,” the boy explained, “My daddy gave me $5 and this list to run across the street to the store, but it was so cold and the wind blew so hard I lost the $5. I've looked for it everywhere and can't find it.”
The gentleman smiled and said “oh, that's OK, just go tell your dad what happened and he'll give you another $5.”
“Mister, you don't know my Daddy, he's been drinkin' and he gets mean. I can't go home and tell him I lost his $5. He'll get real mad.”
So, the man took out his own wallet, gave the boy a $5 bill, walked him to the store, and helped him gather the milk, bread, and other couple of things. The total came to $4 and change. The man told the boy, “now you take that change back to your Daddy and give him what he wanted.” the boy smiled and started to run home but stopped, came back to the older man and hugged him around the leg and said, “Thank you, I wish you were my daddy.” and then ran on home.
That night that man drove around for several more blocks looking for any other little boys that might have lost $5. It seemed, if only for an instant, that he had found the perfect gift.
I know you are all smart enough to know that I'm not talking about Five Dollar Bills or the gifts that are under our trees at our homes tonight. Some of those gifts will be special and they will bring great joy for a while, others of them will be a disappointment as soon as they are opened. All of them will someday fade like the morning fog.
There is only one gift that is truly special. There is only one gift that will last forever. And that gift is not under a tree tonight. That is the gift that Isaiah spoke of some 2700 years ago when he predicted that “Unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” It is the gift of Jesus, a gift that certainly expresses the personality of the giver, it unfailingly meets a need of the receiver, it is a gift we must receive, and it is a gift that we must make a part of our life to realize the difference it can produce.
There is an Old Scottish Legend about a shepherd boy that was tending the sheep one day when he saw a beautiful flower in the field. He had never seen a flower like it so he bent over, picked it and took in its beautiful aroma. Just then the nearby mountain lifted up as if on hinges and revealed a treasure one could only dream of. There were jewels, and diamonds, and gold, and silver. The boy ran to the treasure and began picking up the most valuable items he could carry. Then a voice echoed through the caverns of the mountain, “Don't forget the best.” The boy looked around to see if there was anything better than what he had in his arms and, deciding that there wasn't he started to leave. Then the voice echoed again, “Don't forget the best”. The boy hesitated for a moment then ran from the mountain cavern with his arms loaded with treasures. As he cleared the mountain it crashed to the ground and he again heard the voice, “Don't forget the best – the flower you left inside.” At that moment the treasures in the boys arms turned to dust. He had forgotten the best, the flower, the key to the vault of treasures.
This Christmas, let us not forget the best. In the giving and receiving of gifts let us not forget that
A baby born one blessed silent night,
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives.
(Some of the stories and thoughts were inspired by Steve Halliday and Ed Young, "And He Shall Be Called... Everlasting Father... Rediscovering the First Christmas Gift."
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