Worship for Sunday, February 20, 2011

Worship for Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Seventh Sunday in Epiphanytide

Theme: All Is Ours

We are God’s temple, called to be a holy people. Let us offer prayers for all in need of

God’s mercy.

For the church of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

Lord, have mercy.

For our Regional Church, and ministers Bill, LaTaunya, Steve, and Brenda, and all who minister in Christ, and for all the people of God.

Lord, have mercy.

For those chosen to govern peoples and nations especially our mayors, city councilors, and county commisioners, and for the welfare of their people.

Lord, have mercy.

For the poor and the alien, the deaf and the blind, and for all who suffer from oppression.

Lord, have mercy.

For our enemies and all who persecute us.

Lord, have mercy.

For all who are sick and in need of prayer, and for the dying and the dead.

Lord, have mercy.

Loving heavenly Mother and Father, thank you that your Son loved us

even when we were enemies, and that he prayed for those who killed him.

Teach us to be merciful like you, and do good to all people, even to those who do us harm.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23

¹⁰God was kind and let me become an expert builder. I laid a foundation on which others have built. But we must each be careful how we build, ¹¹because Christ is the only foundation.

¹⁶All of you surely know that you are God's temple and that his Spirit lives in you. ¹⁷Together you are God's holy temple, and God will destroy anyone who destroys his temple.
¹⁸Don't fool yourselves! If any of you think you are wise in the things of this world, you will have to become foolish before you can be truly wise. ¹⁹This is because God considers the wisdom of this world to be foolish. It is just as the Scriptures say, "God catches the wise when they try to outsmart him." ²⁰The Scriptures also say, "The Lord knows that the plans made by wise people are useless." ^21-22So stop bragging about what anyone has done. Paul and Apollos and Peter all belong to you. In fact, everything is yours, including the world, life, death, the present, and the future. Everything belongs to you, ²³and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

+++

“The Living Temple”

ure with

Two Catholic schoolboys were so disruptive in class that the teach sent them to see the priest. She dragged them down to the office and Said, “Father, I can’t teach these two little heathens anything. May be you could try.”

The priest brought one boy into the office while ordering the other one to sit outside.

He closed the door and asked the boy, “where is God?”

The boy stood silent.

“Once again, where is God?”

Silence.

The priest was starting to understand the teacher’s frustration, and said, “I’m only going to ask you one more time--where is God?”

Once again, silence.

The priest threw the boy out into the hallway and closed the door. The kid then sat down next to buddy, who asked him, “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure,” the boy replied, “but I think that somebody’s kidnapped God, and their trying to pin it on us.”

The JerusalemTemple was a complex structure with progressively restrictive areas. As you can see, there were different courts with varied access. The biggest area was the court of the women. Up the steps, men could enter the court of the Israelites--if they were circumcised and not deformed. Further in, the priests could go--the court of the priests was where the slaughterhouse sand altar were located. Further in was the sanctuary, and within the sanctuary was the holy of holies, or most holy place. This is the place where the very presence of God was said to reside. It was considered to be so holy that only the High Priest could enter it, and only do so on one day of the year--Yom Kippur--the Day of Atonement. The High Priest could enter that place with the sacrifice which would atone for the sins of the people.

Perhaps if the boys had paid attention in class, they might have given that as an answer--but the question that answer would qualify might be, “where was God?”

Paul had a different answer.

the first letter to the church at Corinth lets us know that this was a very sick church. They had moral problems, fellowship problems, Christology issues, and factions.

In fact, a part of today’s reading refers to the faction problem. Some of the members of that church identified more with the teachers they followed. Some said they were of Paul, some of Peter, some of Apollos. They not only strongly identified with their particular teachers, but thought that only their little group had it right.

I smiled when I read Marjorie Lybarger’s obituary yesterday, in which she was identified with the Wilcox Bible Class. I think that the strong identity we have with our groups within the church is great. The Pioneers class. The Chapel class lunch get-togethers. The Christian Builders’ Christmas party. If our group identities became like the Corinthians, that would not be good. It would be like saying, “if you’re not in the Wilcox class, you’re doomed!”

But, we’re not that way. Because, what holds us together as a church is not our particular interpretations of doctrine, our identity with a particular teacher or group, and certainly not our politics. What holds us together is Jesus Christ--and it was the same for the church in Corinth. Paul says that the only foundation that a church can have is that of Jesus Christ.

The differences between Paul, and Peter, and Apollos are miniscule if the church is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Paul here calls the church a temple and this is significant.

The Temple in Jerusalem was build on a solid foundation--the Temple Mount, or Mount Zion. And on that foundation, the Temple was constructed that was magnificent that it could contain the very presence of God.

But Paul says that the church that is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ houses the Spirit of God. The place where God lives is no longer the Holy of holies on Mount Zion, but wherever the church is gathered in the name of Jesus. What was it Jesusa said? “wherever two or more are gathered in my name…?”

It’s important to note that the “you” that is the Temple of God’s Spirit is plural. The King Jimmy--400 years old this year--renders it “ye.” You plural. Y’all. Youse. You’uns. Unlike the image on the cover of the bulletin today, the Spirit of God doesn’t live in one rock--but in the house of living stones--as 1 Peter describes it.

The Contemporary English Version, from which I read today, gets it right when it says that “all of you surely know you are God’s temple.

This is huge--God is no longer limited to a place, but lives wherever people are built together on the foundation of Jesus Christ. This is huge, indeed.

Because when we are God’s temple, we have nothing to fear. Paul says to this very sick church that they don’t need to worry about whether they are Paul’s or Peter’s. Because, in God’s temple, all belong to all. We are all Paul’s and Apollos’ and Peter’s. And all these teachers belong to us.

Indeed, writes Paul, everyting--all--belongs to us. The world, life, death, the present, the future belong to us--because we belong to Christ, and Chriswt belongs to God. That sounds like that phrase that keeps popping up in my funeral services. In life, in death, in life beyond death, we belong to God.

And therefore, we don’t need to worry about anything.

All of you have been given a personal invitation to gather here next Saturday for the discernment process called New Beginnings. We’re going to spend some time together as one, and then several weeks in groups around the city looking at what we’re passionate about, what we’re really good at, and what resources we have to do what we’re passionate about and good at doing. And in so doing, we will try to discern what the Spirit of God is calling us to do and to be.

In order to do this, we have to confess that we don’t know everything that is out there. And while the unknown can be daunting, we have nothing to fear. Why? Because Paul says it right here. Everything is ours. The present, the future. All of it. Why, because we belong to God.

What do you think?

Offertory Prayer

For the healing of the nations, we present a portion of the riches that you have entrusted to us. Make of us people of healing and grace in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Benediction

God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sends you holy ones out to love in the face of evil.

We leave this building to be the temple of the Holy Spirit for the world. Alleluia! Amen!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Worship for Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Sixth Sunday in Epiphanytide

Theme: Radical Faith

Prayers of the People

We praise you, God, for guiding the Church with your commandments and other teachings. Continue to cultivate us, construct us. Lord of All, (congregational response: heal and teach us.).

We exalt you for the human race and magnificence of creation. Bless the State of Ohio, and those who lead her, our Governor John, our Senator Kris, and our representative Jay. Bless the United States and people all around the world, that we may be one according to you love. Bring peace to Egypt. Make us all instruments of liberty and equality. Lord of All, . . .

Loving God, we are in awe of love. We thank you for such a mysterious and beautiful gift. Help us to use love in accord with your love. Guide us to bring comfort to the lonely on Valentine’s Day. Lord of All, . . .

It is easy for us to get caught up in jealousy, mean-spiritedness, and divisive competition. Tutor us to be one, cooperative, working together to promote love. Lord of All, . . .

You have shown us love through healing. Heal everyone in need now. Guide our hands to assist you. Lord of all, . . .

Hear us as we pray in silence.

We know you hear us. We thank you for taking care of us. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Matthew 5:21 ¶ "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’

22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.

23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,

24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.

26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

27 ¶ "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

31 "It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33 ¶ "Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’

34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

“The ‘Buts’”

This week, I couldn’t help myself in thinking about President Jimmy Carter--then Candidate Jimmy Carter, who 35 years ago gave an interview to Playboy magazine. In the interview, Carter confessed to a sin that probably most of America never much thought of before: “I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times…”

Mort Sahl had a great joke that came out of that--playing on the old Goldwater ’64 slogan. Remember the Goldwater slogan? “In your heart, you know he’s right.” Speaking of Carter, Sahl’s version was, “In his heart, he knows your wife!”

This all comes out of the passage before us today, a snippet of the Sermon on the Mount. At first look, it might seem that Jesus is picking on various unrelated things--murder and anger, adultery, divorce, and swearing oaths. But, as Disciples scholar Ronald Allen points out, “the four themes cohere around a common motif: broken relationships.”

New Testament scholars refer to this passage and the one that follows as the “six antitheses.” I prefer to think of them as “the buts.”

Here’s where you come in, I will make a statement that Jesus quotes from the Law, and you yell out, “but!”

We can all see that murder is wrong--but Jesus points out that the relationship is broken when anger begins and is not rectified.

We can all see that adultery is wrong--but Jesus points out that the relationship of husband and wife can be torn apart by a leering, fleeting look.

The law, says Jesus, says it’s ok to swear an oath, but what does that say about the rest of what we say? Do we then just assume that if you don’t say “I swear” you must be lying?

The Law existed for the same reason it exists today--so that people can live together in community. Any community of human beings has to have some guidelines as to how its members live out their life together. That’s why we have stop signs and speed limits.

Now, even though Jesus says in the passage that immediately precedes this one that he has come to fulfill the Law, not destroy it. But, as Disciples’ scholar Eugene Boring points out--no rabbi ever contrasted his own pronouncement with what God had said in Torah.

In fact, Rabbi Jacob Neusner, who is a foremost authority on ancient Judaism, and a leader in Christian-Jewish dialogue, says that it is here--right here--that Jesus separates himself out from the rest of the Jewish tradition. He gives a clear indication of departure from the Torah by the use of that word--BUT. It is right here that Jesus lays it out--you can go the old way, or you can go the new path.

What Jesus’ audience found so amazing is that this Rabbi didn’t just quote the scripture--he spoke of this own authority. Matthew makes it clear that from this point on, large crowds followed Jesus everywhere he went--choosing Jesus over Torah. Or did they?

Boring writes that Jesus is not so much departing from Judaism and Torah, but radicalizing it. Now we complete misuse the term in our context. We think of a radical as someone who is way different from us in our faith or our politics. We’ll speak left- wing radicals, and far-right radicals, but that’s not what the word means.

In radicalizing the faith, Jesus does not depart from Torah, nor does he expand it. We may think that Jesus is expanding the law--making it bigger, but nothing could be further from the truth. Literally, radical means root--taken from the same word--radix--from which we get the word radish.

Radicalizing the faith makes it--not bigger, but smaller--by getting down to the roots. Jesus drives us down under the soft, conventional, pretty, bushy leaves of the faith which we can plainly see above ground to the small, pithy, sharp, and even bitter root.

To follow this radical Jesus, is not about making big choices, but small ones.

Kill? Of course you wouldn’t, but the root of killing is anger.

Illicit sex? Of course you wouldn’t. But, at the root of sexual relationship which don’t honor God is the treatment of someone made in God’s image as a thing.

So, what would this radical Jesus say to a bunch of folks who call themselves by his name and gather around his table week-in and week-out, say his words, and eat bread and grape in as seemingly absent minded state? What does Jesus say to us this morning as we prepare to gather around his table? If he told those folks on the mountain way back when that they should turn back from worship and mend relationships. What would he tell us?

Leave the bread and wine on the table. Go reconcile with your neighbor, and the come worship. Leave the elements and go away, then come back. Really? How long is this gonna’ take, cause, if you get to the buffet line before noon, the Baptists will get it all.

Does Jesus mean for us to take this literally? In his time, worshipers would come to the Temple from all over the world--traveling days and weeks to get to Jerusalem would Jesus really expect them to drop their offering and run off to make nice?

Let’s say that if we don’t take this teaching literally, we take it seriously. Joey Jeter reminds us that the opposite of remembering is not forgetting, but dismembering. What a perfect metaphor for celebrating communion in the midst of broken relationships--what you get is a dismembered body of Christ!

Most of you know that I grew up in the fellowship of the a capella Churches of Christ. Now, we Disciples have common roots with the Churches of Christ, but we are very different.

For a very long time, it was very difficult to go back--to worship in that context, after having becoming a Disciple. But, when my Mother was living, nothing pleased her more than having me take her to church. And nothing could please me less than going to church with my Mother. I’d rather do 30 days in Richland County lockup.

But, I was a good son. So, I went. On one such occasion, I found myself sitting on the back pew of my parents’ church in Chattanooga. I’d just heard the worlds’ worst sermon--so bad that God has blocked it from my memory completely. I sat as the communion elements were passed--with no music, so you hear each person snap off a piece of the unleavened bread. With each snap, I got more and more agitated and angry. What was I doing there with those people? I loathed being there. The thought of sharing the body and blood of Christ with those people disgusted me.

The tray was passed to me, and I started to simply pass it on, but, something happened. I held the tray and looked at it, as Jesus’ words convicted me--rolling across the centuries, across my barriers, across my prejudice, across my own shame. Jesus words cried out to me for reconciliation and peace.

I looked up, and suddenly became aware that I was surrounded, not by those people, but by my brothers and sisters who welcomed me as Christ would. Communion that morning--and every Sunday since--has become for me both the conviction to work for reconciliation, and means of grace to do it.

I’ll never forget the taste of that bread that morning. It was so different, so fresh, so strange. It tasted, well, like one of these.

Offering Sentences

Giving is an act of faith. We believe that what we have to offer makes a difference in this world. But more than that, we believe in the One who is behind our giving. We may not "see" God with these "eyes of flesh"; we may find it difficult to even catch a glimpse of what God may be doing around us and in us. Likewise, we may not see the effect of what we give, of what we do for Christ. But still, we believe, trusting in the One who is faithful, whose "new mercies" we often can only see by faith, day by day. I invite you, my sisters and brothers in Christ, to give now as an act of faith.

Offering Prayer

Holy God, your holiness makes us more than uncomfortable. In times of surface living, when we think we are doing pretty well in our relationships and actions, we gloss over your demanding call to fulfill your teaching. Forgive us, we pray. Prompt us to realize how totally every one of us relies upon your grace. We bring you these gifts of our finances and our prayers, not to earn our way to you, but in overflowing gratitude for your grace. This we pray by your power through the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Benediction (Deuteronomy 30)

Go forth to walk in God's ways.

May your ways be blameless.

Hold fast to God in all you do.

Your hearts belong to God.

May the love of God be yours.

God's blessings rest upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Worship, Sunday, January 16, 2011

Worship for Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Second Sunday in Epiphanytide

Theme: Come and See

O God,

you spoke your word and revealed your good news in Jesus, the Christ.
Fill all creation with that word again, so that by proclaiming your love to all nations
and singing of your glorious hope to all peoples,
we may become one living body--your presence on the earth.

We thank you for redeeming life through redeeming lives. We especially thank you today for the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. We thank you for his legacy of loving others--even those who would hate us.

We thank you for the life of Mary Delp, who elevated us with music and inspired us with her tenacious fight for life. Now that she can fight no longer, we pray that you will comfort those who grieve her loss--and all who grieve.

We thank you for new life in the tiny person of Piper Reining. Let us never fail to be in awe of life.

Bring healing to all wounds,
make whole all that is broken,
speak truth to all illusion,
and shed light in every darkness, God of every land and nation,
you have created all people
and you dwell among us in Jesus Christ.
Listen to the cries of those who pray to you,
and grant that, as we proclaim the greatness of your name,
all people will know the power of love at work in the world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

John 1:35-42

35The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him. 36When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, "Here is the Lamb of God!" 37John's two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.

38When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, "What do you want?"

They answered, "Rabbi, where do you live?" The Hebrew word "Rabbi" means "Teacher."

39Jesus replied, "Come and see!" It was already about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.

40One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, "We have found the Messiah!" The Hebrew word "Messiah" means the same as the Greek word "Christ."

42Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, "Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas." This name can be translated as "Peter."

“Come and See”

This is the story of Andrew.

But, I’m going to tell it backward.

The General Board of the newly constituted Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was seeking a new symbol for the church--something that could serve to easily identify our churches and that would say something about us.

The story is told that Bob Friedly, who later would edit two different Disciples magazines (and who’s also from New Orleans), sat down to lunch in September of 1970 with Ronald Osborn, a Disciples Historian who was a dear friend of mine up until his death in Oregon a dozen or so years back. The legend goes that Ronald began drawing on his placemat with a red felt tip pen. He drew a chalice with a a St, Andrews cross on it. Another version of the story is that it was not lunchtime, and the thing was drawn on a bar napkin.

At any rate, the crude drawing was sent immediately a commercial artist. The logo went around the church like wildfire, becoming adopted as our symbol even before the General Assembly made it official the next year.

Why a St. Andrews cross? The Chalice was an easy choice--we are known throughout the wider church for our weekly-if-not-more-frequent gatherings at the table. But why St. Andrews?

Osborn said the idea came to him in a couple of ways. The early leaders of our movement were all Scots, giving us historic ties to Scotland. And Andrew is often called the “First Evangelist,” which we’ll get to in a moment. At that time, and even earlier in our history, we prided ourselves on evangelism. More on that, later, too.

Around the tenth century, St. Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland. Some centuries before, some relics, that is body parts were taken there and the church in Scotland is deeply rooted in Andrew’s lore.

Speaking of Andrew’s lore, the traditions hold that Andrew left the middle east after Jesus’ ascension to go and preach the Gospel in what is now Eastern Europe--Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Georgia, the Island of Malta, and Greece, where he was martyred for his evangelistic efforts.

So, the legend goes that he deemed himself unworthy to die on a cross similar to Jesus’, and was bound to an X-shaped cross, from which he preached for three days before dying.

In the Gospel of John, Andrew appears three times--and each time he is an evangelist as he is bringing someone to Jesus.

In the last reference to Andrew--in the 12^th chapter--some Greeks who were in Jerusalem for Passover, and they wanted to see Jesus. They went to Philip and then Philip went to Andrew, then the two of them went to tell Jesus. Interesting that Philip and Andrew were the only real Greek names among the Disciples. Maybe that made the Greeks comfortable in asking them to help them get to Jesus.

In his second appearance in John’s gospel, the merry band of followers of Jesus had gone out across the Sea of Galilee, and a crowd gathered, because people were hearing about Jesus, and wanting to be around him. John tells it that there were 5,000 folk there--not counting the women and children, because in those days, women and children didn’t count.

Jesus wonders how they are going to feed these people--probably closer to 20,000. Philip figures it would take a year’s pay to buy enough food--that is if you could find a deli open. And Andrew pipes up, “Uh, there’s this kid over here with a lunch box--whaddya got--five fish and two pieces of bread. No, five loaves, two fish.”

He brings the boy to Jesus, and something miraculous happens.

Today’s scripture is the first appearance of Andrew in the Gospel of John. Andrew asks Jesus, “where do you live?”

And Jesus replies, “Come and see.”

Andrew spends a day with Jesus, probably just walking around, because Jesus didn’t own a house--or even an apartment.

Andrew then performs the very first act of evangelism--he runs to his brother Peter and says, “we have found him! Come and see!”

The late great Sri Lankan missionary David Niles once described evangelism as simply, “one beggar telling another where to find bread.”

I’ve told you before that I have a personal goal to invite at least one person to church every week. Friday I was at breakfast with Denny and invited three people--so I can coast for a couple of weeks.

Come and see what we’re doing a First Christian Church. Come and meet some really nice people. Come and hear our amazing organist. Come and listen to fantastic preaching.

No. I invite them so that they can come and see Jesus. So that we as a body, can invite them to experience Christ in our midst. Come and see--come and meet Jesus at 3^rd and Bowman.

Andrew encountered Jesus, and nothing could stop him from running and telling his brother that the Messiah was here!

There’s a lot of folks in our community who are hungry--and I don’t just mean the folks that were here in our fellowship hall yesterday. Those folks were hungry! But, they are also hungry for the bread of life. And we, as the spiritual descendants of Andrew, are given the task to run and tell everyone we can--come and see. Come and see what we’ve found--together in this place.

What do you think?

If Jesus could feed twenty thousand with a picnic lunch, imagine what he can do with our tithes and offerings!

Dearest God, you have given us so much. We bring this gifts to you that you might multiply them, use them, and use us to bring your kingdom of love and justice to bear on this world. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

And now in our going,

may God bless and keep us.

may the light of God shine upon us

and out from within us

and be gracious unto us

and give us peace

and the will to practice peace.

For this is the day we are given;

these are the lives we are given.

Let us rejoice in the miracle that it is so.

Amen.

Worship, January 2, 2011

Worship for Sunday, January 2, 2011

The Epiphany of our Lord

Theme: Revealed to the Whole World

1^st Lesson: Ephesians 3:1-12

3:1 Christ Jesus made me his prisoner, so that I could help you Gentiles. 2You have surely heard about God's kindness in choosing me to help you. 3In fact, this letter tells you a little about how God has shown me his mysterious ways. 4As you read the letter, you will also find out how well I really do understand the mystery about Christ. 5No one knew about this mystery until God's Spirit told it to his holy apostles and prophets. 6And the mystery is this: Because of Christ Jesus, the good news has given the Gentiles a share in the promises that God gave to the Jews. God has also let the Gentiles be part of the same body.

7God treated me with kindness. His power worked in me, and it became my job to spread the good news. 8I am the least important of all God's people. But God was kind and chose me to tell the Gentiles that because of Christ there are blessings that cannot be measured. 9God, who created everything, wanted me to help everyone understand the mysterious plan that had always been hidden in his mind. 10Then God would use the church to show the powers and authorities in the spiritual world that he has many different kinds of wisdom.

11God did this according to his eternal plan. And he was able to do what he had planned because of all that Christ Jesus our Lord had done. 12Christ now gives us courage and confidence, so that we can come to God by faith.

Morning Prayers

O God of light and peace, whose glory, shining in the child of Bethlehem, still draws the nations to yourself:

dispel the darkness that shrouds our path, that we may come to kneel before Christ in true worship, offer him our hearts and souls,

and return from his presence to live as he has taught.

God of revelation,

as we gather in praise for the gracious mystery of your Son, we remember the many needs of your church and your world.

We pray for:

· the sick

· those who grieve

· those who govern

· those who serve

· those whose resources are not enough

· those who do not know your belonging

Guide us on the path of salvation, O God,

that the radiance and power of your Holy Spirit

working in the world will gather together all peoples and nations in one community

to offer you worship and proclaim your splendor. Amen.

Second Lesson: Matthew 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men^a from the east came to Jerusalem ²and said, "Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east^b and have come to worship him."
³When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. ⁴Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"
⁵They told him, "He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,
⁶'Bethlehem in the land of Judea,
you are very important among the towns of Judea.
From your town will come a leader,
who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.' "
⁷Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. ⁸He told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too."
⁹The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰They were thrilled and excited to see the star.
¹¹When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh^c and gave them to him. ¹²Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.

About ten years ago, our family visited the Mashantucket Pequot museum in Connecticut. The Pequot tribe was nearly wiped off the face of the earth by Kate’s ancestors, but they got even. They built what is now one of the five biggest casinos in the world called Foxwoods.

And they took a tiny billion or two from what they’ve taken back from us and built this massive museum to tell the story of their tribe. When you have your own museum, you can tell the story any way you want.

About twenty five years ago, Kate and I went to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. When you have your own library, you get to tell the story any way you want. The war in Vietnam can be depicted as a “disappointment.”

There’s a Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle which tells the story of the settling of the Northwest by Scandinavians, and a National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia--both designed to recount the history of America in their own way.

An article this past week in the New York Times by Edward Rothstein describes an even more recent trend in the “me, me, me,” museum and exhibit syndrome. There’s now an exhibit at the New York Hall of Science on Muslim inventions. And a new exhibit on the ruins of the original “President’s House” in Philadelphia retells the story of the first ten years of the Presidency of the United States from the perspective of the slaves who were owned by George Washington.

Please hear me: I think it’s absolutely crucial for us to hear these voices which may have been silenced or muted in the past--after all, it is winners who write the official version of history. We need to hear the stories of the non-winners--the folks on the margins.

The problem then becomes not which is true, but what “center” is it that holds us all together?

Paul, in the Ephesian letter before us today looks at the incarnation of God in flesh as the center that holds everything together. God chose the nation of Israel to be a “light to the nations.”

In other words, Abraham and his descendants were chosen--not because they were “special,” but for the mission of showing God’s love to the rest of the world. But, the plan failed miserably--or if you’re a predestinarian-gone-to-seed, like some folks I know, the failure of that plan was intended by God to pave the way for Jesus to come into the world.

Either way, the Epiphany of Our Lord, and the reading from Matthew which is associated with it are significant. What they signify is the revelation, the revealing, of Christ to the whole world.

The tradition of the church is that the first “foreign missionaries” are the magi who came with gifts to Joseph and Mary’s home in Bethlehem. While we don’t know their number, we sing “We Three Kings” because three gifts were described. And we have given the three magi names and assigned them to the corners of the earth. The tradition is that they left Bethlehem after worshiping the babe and scattered to the North, East, and South of the known world--telling the story of God-in-flesh--God With Us.

While we can’t know the objective facts of this event, we can look at the significance. In this event, as Paul describes it, the whole world (Gentiles--eqnasin--which literally means others as in other nations) is now a part of the body that is connected to God. The promises of God, made to the Jewish people, are now the promises to everyone.

In Galatians, Paul sums it up in one sentence, “²⁸Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. ²⁹So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham's family, and you will be given what God has promised.”

In other words, this Epiphany event was supposed to unify the world--so that no matter how we tell our own stories, Jesus Our Christ is at the center of them all.

So why should care and think about this? We often think of this event as compelling us to bring our gifts to the Christ child. That’s fine, but we should consider this: we are the eqnasin--the others the Gentiles. We are the recipients of the gifts of the magi, in that we are those to whom Christ had been revealed. We not only know of Jesus Christ, but have been brought into the family of God through him.

So, the greatest gift we can give to Christ is to continue the spreading of the Good News--to take the joy of the magi and continue to share it with a world that is hurting. We are called to Bethlehem (here) to see the child, and then to go joyfully into the world (out there) to continue to reveal the Good News to the whole world and parts of Ohio.

But, talk is cheap. The Pequots, the Indian nation with the casino and museum we started our sermon with, were told the Good News by the Christians who came into their territory four centuries ago. But, very few of them became Christians--because in their view, those who called themselves by Christ’s name were not very Christ-like. Christians, at least as the Pequots saw them, didn’t act like Christians.

Talk is cheap. Mohandas Gandi, whom the Indian people gave the title Mahatma, was a follower of Jesus Christ--yet he never became a Christian. Why? Because he knew too many of us.

Talk is cheap. Malcolm Little was the son of a minister who didn’t see that being Christian made people better. He ended up embracing Islam and became known as Malcolm X.

There’s a whole bunch of people out there--hurting people--who need to have Jesus revealed to them. The magi and Paul are dead and gone. That leaves us--not only to tell this wonderful story of Jesus--but to live it out. To let the Christ-Child be so embodied in us that our lives will show our neighbors that Christianity is not made up of empty words, but of changed lives.

What difference does it make to you that Jesus has been revealed to you--by Magi, scripture, church? What difference does it make in your life?

What do you think--or maybe, what do your neighbors think?

For today’s offering, cash or checks preferred, gold accepted. Frankincense and myrrh, not so much.

Instead of gold and frankincense and myrrh, we bring to you, O God, the treasures you have first given to us - our hearts, minds and bodies, to be used in your service. We offer these gifts - of money and our lives - as signs of our total giving, praying that they will be used to herald the coming of your kingdom. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The Light has pierced our darkness.

Go in the name of God -

Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, to follow that

light.

Worship December 26, 2010

Worship for Sunday, December 26, 2010

The first Sunday in Christmastide

Theme: In-Carna-Tion

Morning Prayers

We come here today to sing our songs of celebration and to uncover the light that burns within us and in our world

in both the day times and the dark times,

in both the broken times and in the times that are whole.

God you are with us in the fields we stand watch in,

In the stars we follow,

In the ways we are angels to each other

And in the new life that is born to us every minute

of every day of this earth’s time.

Today we sing joy to the world that your mystery is all around.

So hear us when we tell you that we know we are a blessed people here.

And there is a heavenly peace in many of our lives because the gifts we have are many

And the love that surrounds us is strong.

But we also know that in other parts of the world,

And even for some of us here,

This day is cracked with the noise of sickness, sorrow, And of war,

And the voice of loved ones lost.

For these places and these people we ask that

every one of our hearts prepare for them a room

Where heaven and nature sing the sounding joy

Of all that is hopeful and full of promise in this life.

Come, let us adore each other,

All of us who are faithful and triumphant.

Come, let us adore each other,

All of us who have doubts and feel defeated.

Let us sing together in exultation

About the glory of all that is highest and

most lovely in our world.

And when our songs are over,

And when we have returned to our own, ordinary time, May we know, if only for a moment,

That all is calm and all is bright.

All is calm. All is bright. Amen.

Isaiah 63:7-9

⁷ I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, because of all that the LORD has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

⁸ For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely"; and he became their savior ⁹ in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Message “The Saving Presence”

Everybody has a favorite verse. Maybe a whole chapter. Maybe a whole book.

And chances are, that even if you don’t set about to memorize that favorite slice of the Bible. You can recite at least part of it. You know…

“The Lord is my…”

“For God so loved…”

Mine is, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us…” Those are my very favorite words in all of the Scriptures. Not even a whole verse. The Word became flesh and lived among us.

God became human like us. Like us, in every way but sin. The Word became flesh…

David, a Presbyterian friend of mine in Oregon once told me how he answers those who ask him about his salvation, and I think I’ve told you before. If I have, I’m telling you again.

To those who ask David, “When did you get saved?” he answers, “Same time you did--two thousand years ago on a hill outside Jerusalem.”

A good answer, don’t you think?

For many people, the notion of Substitutionary Atonement rings right--the idea that it is in Jesus’ crucifixion that we are saved, in that he takes our place as a divine/human sacrifice. In so doing, he achieves for us at-one-ment with God.

This whole idea grows out of the agrarian society into which Jesus was born, a society for which animal sacrifice made sense. God (and all the gods with lower-case “g”s) could be appeased by offering a sacrifice. In more primitive cultures, Death needed to take place in order to preserve life.

Frankly, I never got that.

Growing up in New Orleans--where the closest thing to animal sacrifice was the loss of an occasional slow-moving dog to one of the alligators which periodically crawled out of the drainage ditch in our neighborhood--I simply don’t have a reference point for understanding killing something to make God happy.

And so--brace yourselves--you won’t hear me saying something like, “Jesus died to take away our sins.” It’s just not something that is a part of my thinking. I admit that it’s one of several metaphors for salvation in the scriptures, and I understand that it means a lot to many Christians. It just doesn’t mean much to me.

There are many metaphors for God’s salvation in Jesus Christ that are rooted in the scriptures. The reason is this--God’s love and grace are beyond human understanding. We have so many ways of thinking about it because one way of thinking about doesn’t begin to address the matter.

Substitutionary atonement is a pretty dominant model of atonement--Jesus is the sacrificial lamb that appeases a God who demands satisfaction and justice for a sinful world.

There’s the Christus Victor model which understands the place of salvation in the Risen Christ--not in the image of the crucified Jesus--but in the empty tomb and in the appearances to the Disciples. Jesus’ triumph over death is a victory for all of us. We have freed from death by Jesus’ conquest over the grave has given us eternal life with God.

This hits a little bit closer to my heart than the substitutionary model. Salvation doesn’t take place at Calvary on Good Friday, but in the garden on Easter morning. I think that’s why that old hymn, “In the Garden” is such a favorite--because we share that experience of the risen Christ with Mary Magdalene who was the first to experience him.

But for me, the model or metaphor of at-one-ment that works is Incarnational--word-made-flesh, or as we sang on Christmas Eve, “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing…” It’s a theme that runs through the Gospel of John--from the first verse--“in the beginning was the Word…and the Word became flesh and lived among us…” Or in John 3--for God so loved the world that he gave his Son. And in the tradition of John in 1 John 4, “showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life.”

This is where it’s at. So many models of atonement or salvation are transactional, but Incarnation is relational. Substitutionary atonement, at least for me, is something that happens. But, the Word becoming flesh is someone that happens. When God becomes human in Bethlehem of Judea some two-thousand years ago, nothing can ever be the same. Humanity can never be the same--and dare I say it--God can never be the same after drawing in that 1^st breath as a babe in the stable.

If this sermon sounds familiar to you, it’s because I preach some version of it every year--and I going to keep doing it until I get it right!

But, today, the jumping off point was from Isaiah--third Isaiah, which is written to give comfort and direction to the nation of Israel after the Persian Emperor Cyrus permitted them to return home after being exiled in Babylon. While they were in Babylon, they dreamed going home, but home didn’t solve their problems. Rebuilding the Temple didn’t solve their problems.

And the prophet reminds them of how it is that God saves them:

⁸ For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely"; and he became their savior ⁹ in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

The people are not saved by anything they do. Not by worship. Not by sacrifice. Not by keeping the rules.

They are saved by God’s presence. By simply being with God.

And this is the season that we remind ourselves of God’s presence revealed in the life, death, and life again of Jesus, born in Bethlehem so long ago. We read again and again of the Messiah--the Anointed One, the Son of God--born, not in a palace, but a stable. Cradled, not in a crib, but a feed trough. Descended from kings, but born in a working-class family. Coming to save, not as a military leader as so many had hoped, but as a tiny, helpless baby.

Reminding us that God is not “out there” but “right here.” Reminding us that salvation is not so much transactional, but relational. Reminding us that atonement--at-one-ment--is not something that happened, but someone who happens again and again in our hearts.

I don’t know about you, but the next time someone asks me, “when did you get saved?” I’m going to answer, “Same as you--2000 years ago in a Bethlehem stable.”

What would you say?

Offering Invitation

In Matthew, Jesus says, “If you want to save your life,e you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” In Luke, he says, give and you’ll get back way more. Will it work? Let’s try.

Offertory Prayer

O God, our loving Creator and Giver of all good gifts, bless your church and these offerings, strengthen our faith and grant us the spirit of Christian stewardship so that we may give generously of our time, talent and treasure to the spreading of your Kingdom, here in our community and throughout the world. This we ask through Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

Benediction

The Lord bless you and keep you

and make His face shine on you

and give you peace.

Let the hope that was born in a stable

be a sign that God can change the world

through one small child.

May the spirit of Christmas warm our hearts all year long.

Grace and peace be with you

in the name of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.