Living the Truth

I don’t suppose we really know what to expect as we anticipate the gospel reading on Christ the King Sunday. Perhaps the image that comes into my mind is of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey as the crowds wave palm branches and shout Hosanna to the King. Of course, we know Jesus is not an earthly king, so maybe our images of his kingship are more likely to be images of Jesus feeding the 5000 or walking on water – images that display his awesome power. Perhaps the image of Christ as King that comes to mind is of Jesus standing before the crowds on that Good Friday wearing a crown of thorns and being mocked by the soldiers. But this image of cruelty and suffering and humiliation doesn’t exactly match what we think of when we hear the words Christ the King. And yet this image comes the closest to revealing the tension of this day – the day that marks the end of the Christian year and points forward to Advent.

Today our gospel reading comes from the 18^th chapter of John. The caption in many Bibles reads “Jesus on trial before Pilate.” But today, as the gospel is read, listen for who is on trial. Is it Jesus before Pilate? Or is it Pilate before Jesus? Who is the one in authority here? Who speaks the words of truth?

³³Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ ³⁴Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ ³⁵Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ ³⁶Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ ³⁷Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ ³⁸Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’

 

Christ the King Sunday is one of my favorite Sundays. I love the fact that we mark the end of the Christian year by remembering and affirming Christ’s Kingship. It feels both celebratory and anticipatory to me. We celebrate all that God has done through Jesus, loving us unconditionally, freeing us from bondage, saving us from sin, and giving us new life and hope and joy. And we anticipate that day when “the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever!” (Rev 11:15). And on that day there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain and we will be his kingdom, serving our God and Father forever and ever.  Amen!

And yet, here we are on this Sunday after Thanksgiving, this Sunday after Black Friday, this Sunday when many of us have already decorated our homes for Christmas and yet Advent doesn’t begin until next Sunday, and I wonder if we really believe that Christ is King. Do our words affirm Christ’s kingship? Do our actions reveal that Jesus is Lord of our lives? Do our choices testify to the Truth?

In my reading this week I learned that Pope Pius XI established the feast of Christ the King in 1925 in response to the increasing secularism he saw in the world. The war to end all wars – World War I – was past, but already tensions were growing. People were living in fear, struggling with economic depression, and desperately looking for answers. Mussolini was already in power in Italy and Hitler’s power was growing daily. People were looking to these powerful men for answers, listening for new truths and eager for relief. The Pope felt it was important to call on Christians everywhere to declare their allegiance to Christ, to look to Christ and Christ alone for answers, for relief, for the truth.

Here we are almost 90 years later, still shocked by the growing secularism in this world. People still live in fear, we are still struggling with an economic depression, and we are still looking for answers. Our leaders have different names, and many are no where near as evil as Mussolini and Hitler, but still wars continue to rage, people continue to starve to death, and Christ’s kingdom seems a very long way off.

It is in this place of discomfort and fear and even hopelessness that we turn to today’s gospel reading. At first glance, as we see Jesus standing before Pilate, we sense our own discomfort and fear and hopelessness. For it is clear from the start that the crowds want Jesus dead. Jesus has been betrayed by a friend, abandoned by his followers, and now stands alone before the Roman governor – the man who has the power to kill him or set him free. In the scenes that follow, we know Jesus will be flogged and mocked and crucified. The scene is terrifying, we sense a loss of control; this is not a story of Christ the King.

But let’s look more closely at who is on trial here. Who is the one who is being questioned? Who is the one who is being given the opportunity to embrace the truth? Pilate has just encountered the Jewish leaders who bring no specific accusation against Jesus – they just call him a criminal. When Pilate tells them to deal with the problem themselves they come back with the statement, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” The Jewish leaders are manipulating Pilate. They have put him in a difficult position. He knows the Jewish leaders fear insurrection. As the governor it is his job to keep order – to keep the peace. And yet there doesn’t appear to be an insurrection. The followers of Jesus seem to have abandoned him. So Pilate, in his uncertainty about what to do, questions Jesus: “Are you the King of the Jews?”

And Jesus immediately turns the tables and puts Pilate on trial: “Why do you ask? What have others told you about me?”

Pilate becomes defensive: “I am not a Jew. I don’t care about you or your little band of followers. You’re no threat to me. And yet the Jewish leaders have handed you over to me and now I have to deal with you. Tell me: What have you done?”

Jesus’ answer speaks volumes: “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

This answer confirms for Pilate that Jesus is not a threat to him. Pilate tries to placate the crowds and release Jesus. But the crowds want Jesus dead. They cry for the release of Barabbas. They shout, “Crucify him!” They announce that they have no king but the emperor. And Pilate wavers – in his uncertainty, Pilate takes the easy way out – Pilate gives in to the pressure of the crowd and hands Jesus over to be crucified.

Pope Pius XI was concerned about growing secularism. People looking for easy answers instead of turning to the Truth. People wavering between various opinions instead of looking to Jesus. People turning to their own means, listening to society’s ideas, and accepting the world’s ways of doing things; all in the name of finding security and comfort and perhaps even happiness. 

But didn’t Pilate do exactly this? Rather than listen to the truth of what Jesus was saying, Pilate listened to the crowds – the fickle crowds who also did not hear the truth; Pilate accepted the world’s solution to this so called threat standing before him wearing a crown of thorns – death on a cross – an easy solution for a governor; Pilate used his power to find security and comfort at least for himself – Pilate took the easy way out.

And isn’t this what we do today? Maybe it looks a little different today in our own lives and in this community, but we still seek security and comfort and even happiness in things other than God.

Here we are, just two days after “Black Friday” – which actually this year became “Black Thursday.” How many of us were out shopping at 10 pm on Thursday? Or up at 5 am on Friday to get those unbelievable deals? Why do we do this? Do we really believe we’ll find happiness as we slog our way through the crowds looking for that elusive bargain? Do we really think we are finding security and comfort in our relationships by wading through traffic to buy one more gift for a person who probably won’t remember the gift three months from now? Do we really feel the pressure to cave in to the cultural impulse to “shop ‘til we drop”?

Of course most of us don’t. Most of us, in fact, are just a tad sickened by the profound commercialization of Christmas. And yet we participate in it. Why?

I think it is because we have been taken captive by a false idea that things can make us happy. The media has convinced us that we need more, bigger, better, newer stuff. And in response we either relentlessly consume more and more, or we feel inadequate that we can’t. In fact, I’d argue that a whole lot of us waver between feelings of compulsion to buy and spend more (whether we can afford to or not) and feelings of guilt knowing that this isn’t helpful to us, to those around us, to the orphans in Zimbabwe, or to this planet.

Must Pilate’s fate be ours? Because here’s the thing – Jesus makes Pilate a promise: “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” But Pilate doesn’t listen, throwing back the question, “What is truth?” Pilate embraces the secularism of his time rather than the truth. But we might listen. We might embrace the truth. And if we do, what might we hear? It’s simple, actually: Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. Jesus is the way to comfort and security and even happiness. Jesus is the unwavering truth, the One who is in control. Jesus promises us abundant life, a life full of blessings.

We don’t need more stuff. We don’t need to feel insecure if we can’t afford more stuff. We don’t need to rely on earthly rulers for comfort and security. We will never find our way by embracing the things of this world. But this is easier said than done. It is easier to cling to the bargains of Black Friday than to embrace the truth of that Good Friday so long ago. It is easier to swallow turkey with all the trimmings on Thanksgiving Thursday than to wrap our head around Jesus’ words, “This is my body given for you.” It is easier to put up Christmas trees and listen to holiday music than to consider the tension of the “already not yet” of Christ’s kingdom.  What do we do with the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, in this time and place?

The answer is so simple and yet so complicated. We declare Jesus King of our lives. When Jesus is Lord of our lives we see this world differently. We see that we don’t need Pilate’s power; we have Jesus’ compassion. We don’t need Pilate’s insecurity and desire to please others; for God love us beyond all measure.  We don’t need to be trapped by the things of this world; for we have been given new life in Jesus Christ.  We don’t need to conform to the ways of this culture; for we have been called to a higher truth. Jesus Christ is King and Lord of all.

On this eve of a new Christian year, what would it take for each one of us to truly live as those who believe that Jesus is King? What would we have to change in order to enter into this season of Advent truly preparing for Jesus’ coming – not just as a baby born in a lowly manger, but also as the King of Glory? How do we wrap our heads around the truth of a king who wore a crown of thorns instead of a crown of gold and whose weapon was a cross and not a sword?

I think we all know that declaring Jesus King of our lives takes turning away from the things of this world and turning toward Jesus. It takes loving God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. It takes letting go of our fears and insecurities. It takes embracing Christian community in all its complexity. It takes this crazy leap of faith because making Jesus king of our lives is so counter-intuitive, so contrary to this culture, so different from the ways of the world, and yet, so amazing. It takes Jesus.

And Jesus is calling you. Jesus is calling me. Jesus is inviting us once again to follow him, to place our trust in him and him alone, to allow him to be King and Lord of our lives. Will you answer this call?

Response: The Summons (TFWS 2130)

The Summons

by John Bell 

1. Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown
In you and you in me?

2. Will you leave yourself behind
If I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
And never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
Should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer
In you and you in me?

3. Will you let the blinded see
If I but call your name?
Will you set the pris’ners free
And never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean,
And do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean
In you and you in me?

4. Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

5. Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
In you and you in me.

Falling Into Place: A Note from Pastor Sue

July 6, 2012

I love puzzles. My family used to spend hours gathered together around a table putting together 1000 and 1500 piece puzzles. Frequently we would plug away for hours staring at the pieces and making almost no progress, and then suddenly the pieces would start falling into place and in what felt like a few minutes a significant portion of the puzzle would suddenly be complete.

These past few months have been a little bit like putting a puzzle together. Pieces have been scattered all over – pieces I knew fit together – but nothing seemed to be falling into place. But in these past two weeks, suddenly two big sections of the puzzle that is outreach at Saxapahaw United Methodist Church have begun to fall into place. Sure, a few pieces are still missing, but for the first time I can see where we are going. And let me tell you – it is exciting!

Let me start with the possibility of a daycare at Sax UMC. Last November God placed Monica Pallett in my path. She is a talented woman with an extraordinary vision for a daycare in Saxapahaw. She loved our church, seeing great potential for a top-notch five-star daycare in our building. We spent the next six months working through our largest obstacle – an adequate septic system. The first major piece of the puzzle fell into place when we were approved to put in a septic system that would meet the needs of a maximum capacity daycare. Immediately after that several other pieces fell into place. John Jordan generously offered $20,000 toward the necessary building improvements. Rick Christy and the Fire Marshall discussed upgrades we need to make to the building no matter what to comply with fire code. And several highly qualified women have contacted Monica to talk about partnering with her in this ministry. While there is still much hard work to be done, we clearly have what it takes to have a successful daycare in this church. I see the Holy Spirit working powerfully as these pieces are falling into place and cannot help but praise God for this extraordinary opportunity to serve the children of this community.

The second big part of this puzzle has been our desire to open a food pantry to feed the hungry in Southern Alamance. From the start, we have wanted an ecumenical food pantry – something that draws together the churches across the area into a shared ministry. Yet from the start we have run into incredible diversity in our theology and practice – just what did Jesus mean when he called us to feed the hungry? One of the incredible gifts of this congregation has been the recognition that we had the resources to purchase a location for the food pantry, giving us a starting place. We now own the future food pantry of Southern Alamance on Highway 87 just north of Rumley Road. While this was a major piece of the puzzle, the next pieces did not fall into place until recently. Last week Brenda Allen, the executive director of Loaves & Fishes, made an extraordinary offer. She suggested that we allow Loaves & Fishes to start and run the food pantry for a year, giving us a solid foundation, the resources we need to get started, and time to see which churches actually want to be involved. Then, when the folks of Southern Alamance take over it will truly be a shared ministry of the community. Again, there are many details to work out and much hard work to be done, but I have been blown away by how powerfully the Holy Spirit is smiling down upon us. God is clearly calling us to be kingdom builders.

This Sunday, July 8, the Church Council will meet to discuss our next steps. Beyond affirming the Trustees decision to make the needed changes to the building for a daycare, we will start to envision a Daycare Transition Team. Who are the people who can best help us envision a successful, five-star, Christ-centered daycare? Beyond discussing the needed improvements to our food pantry building, we will vote to approve inviting Loaves & Fishes to start this food ministry and discuss the details. These are big decisions and very exciting steps!

What can you do? First of all, pray. Pray every day for these ministries. Pray for God’s blessing. Pray for wisdom and guidance. Pray for the people who have given and who will give of their time and gifts to bring these ministries to fruition. Secondly, volunteer to help. We are going to need everything from visionaries and planners to builders and doers. Third, ask questions. Ask the Trustees. Ask the Church Council. Ask me. Together with God I know we can do great things!

Grace and peace through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Sue

Confronting Unclean Spirits

Mark 1:21-28

January 29, 2012 / Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

I can’t remember the last time I saw a commercial for Ivory soap, but the ad that ran during the late ‘80’s had a jingle that has stuck with me:

I want my clean as real as Ivory

It’s gotta be 99 point 44,

I want my clean as real as Ivory

Nothing less and nothing more

I want my clean as real as Ivory

It’s gotta be pure that’s for sure

I want my clean as real as Ivory.

(1988 ad for Ivory Soap)

Ivory is pure soap that claims to leave you really clean.  Isn’t that what we want out of a soap? Of course I always wondered if it is 99.44 % pure, what happened to the other 0.56 %?  Does that mean that it is 0.56% impure?  Does that leave us 0.56% unclean?

Which leads me to wonder – just how clean am I? I washed this morning with Ivory soap – like I have for years.  Is my “clean” clean enough? Have I washed away all the impurities? Can I enter into the presence of the Lord as I am?

Of course, it isn’t the external cleanliness that I’m actually worried about.  Somewhere during my lifetime we quit worrying about what we looked like on the outside when we came to church – everything from stained blue jeans and a t-shirt to a silk dress with high heels is acceptable. What matters is just how clean you are on the inside, or at least how clean you want to be.  God is concerned about our purity and holiness. Ivory soap is almost 100% pure. A pure metal has had all the undesirable elements removed. How pure are you?

It matters because when we enter into this sanctuary we enter into sacred space – a place where we expect to encounter the Holy Spirit. If we are unclean or impure then we are not fully prepared to encounter the holy. That which is holy cannot exist in the same space as that which is unholy. Which is what we witness in today’s gospel lesson:

Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum when suddenly there was a man with an unclean spirit who cried out, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”

Interesting questions! Clearly the unclean spirit is picking a fight with Jesus! What business does the Holy One of God have with an unclean spirit? Can it be anything other than destruction? Jesus, who is teaching with power and authority, simply utters, “Be silent and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit obeys him, surprising and amazing everyone who is present. This truly is a new teaching, with authority. Something people have never seen before. Even the unclean spirits obey Jesus!

We know nothing about the man who was possessed by an unclean spirit except that he showed up at the synagogue that Sabbath.  He has no voice.  We don’t know if he was well known by the community or a stranger who was passing through. We don’t know if he looked perfectly normal or if it was clear that something was wrong. All we know is that when the unclean spirit who possessed him saw Jesus it recognized Jesus and named the danger. And Jesus responded with power and authority, freeing the man of this unclean spirit.

The point is, in Mark’s gospel, this first miracle of Jesus is an exorcism. The unclean spirit convulsed the man and cried with a loud voice as it came out of him. This unclean spirit is clearly some sort of demon. I suspect many of us would prefer to leave the world of demon possession in the realm of fantasy – we want to believe that movies like The Exorcist have no basis in reality.  And yet, history is full of stories of demon possession. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote extensively about the assaults of demons, and even John Wesley participated in an exorcism.  Hear what Wesley wrote in his journal on Tues. Oct. 23rd:

At eleven I preached at Bearfield to about three thousand, on the spirit of nature, of bondage, and of adoption.

Returning in the evening, I was exceedingly pressed to go back to a young woman in Kingswood... She was nineteen or twenty years old, but, it seems, could not write or read. I found her on the bed, two or three persons holding her. It was a terrible sight. Anguish, horror, and despair above all description appeared in her pale face. The thousand distortions of her whole body showed how the dogs of hell were gnawing her heart. The shrieks intermixed were scarcely to be endured. But her stony eyes could not weep. She screamed out, as soon as words could find their way, “I am damned, damned; lost forever! ... I am the devil’s now. I have given myself to him. His I am. Him I must serve. With him I must go to hell... I must, I will, I will be damned!” She then began praying to the devil.

We began: Arm of the Lord, awake, awake!

She immediately sank down as asleep; but, as soon as we left off, broke out again, with inexpressible vehemence: “Stony hearts, break! I am a warning to you. Break, break, poor stony hearts! ... You need not be damned, though I must.” She then fixed her eyes on the corner of the ceiling and said: “There he is: ay, there he is! come, good devil, come! Take me away. You said you would dash my brains out: come, do it quickly. I am yours... Come just now. Take me away.”

We interrupted her by calling again upon God, on which she sank down as before; and another young woman began to roar out as loud as she had done. My brother now came in, it being about nine o’clock. We continued in prayer till past eleven, when God in a moment spoke peace into the soul, first of the first tormented, and then of the other. And they both joined in singing praise to [God] who had “stilled the enemy and the avenger.”[1]

I suspect even John Wesley was uncomfortable with demon possession and exorcism, and yet there is no doubt about what he experienced.  I know and you know that there are unclean spirits in the world, even today.

So, before we try to dismiss the power of demons and claim that unclean spirits can simply be explained in terms of illness or addiction or sin, we need to read Mark’s gospel.  Today’s story is the first of many exorcisms, pointing to an important theme running through this gospel. Mark’s gospel is a story of spiritual warfare: good vs. evil, sin vs. sanctification, the Holy Spirit vs. unclean spirits, life vs. death, wholeness and health vs. sickness and disease, the power of Jesus vs. the wiles of the devil.

The unclean spirit recognizes Jesus as the Holy One of God and challenges his power: “Have you come to destroy us?” Jesus doesn’t waste a moment or a breath – for that is exactly what he has come to do: “Be silent and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit has no power to do anything but obey.

No one wants to be possessed by unclean spirits. And yet, at some point in our lives most of us wrestle with them. Unclean spirits of doubt, fear, and shame. Unclean spirits of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Unclean spirits that claim power over us, leading us to deny the love of God and the power of the cross.

Friends, we deny the power of the gospel when we ignore the ongoing spiritual warfare in our lives. We deny the authority of Jesus Christ when we allow unclean spirits to reside in us. While most of us have not and hopefully will never confront full-blown demon possession, we have all experienced some sort of unclean spirit. Unclean spirits possess us, leading us to self-doubt and even self-destruction. Unclean spirits consume us, sometimes becoming lord of our lives, haunting our waking hours, and denying us sleep.  Unclean spirits lead us to question God’s love for us; unclean spirits isolate us; unclean spirits can lead us to depression and addiction and sin.

We deny the power of the cross when we ignore the ongoing spiritual warfare in our lives.  As Jesus hung on that cross he took on all the powers of hell – all of the demons and unclean spirits in this world – and silenced them. He crushed their authority. Satan no longer has power where Jesus is concerned.  When we invite the holy into our lives, there is absolutely no room for the unholy.  When Jesus is Lord of our lives, no one and nothing else can be lord.

I’m here to tell you that Jesus has authority over all of the unclean spirits in our lives.  I’m here to tell you that Jesus loves you more than you could ever know.  I’m here to tell you that through the cross you have been set free from all of the powers of hell and death.  Jesus has claimed each one of us as his own! And yet, he has given us the freedom to choose who is Lord of our lives.  Have you chosen Jesus as Lord?

In Jesus the kingdom of God has come near – in Jesus we have glimpsed this holy space, this pure light, this unending joy – in Jesus we have encountered the Holy One of God. And Jesus longs to be Lord of our lives – Jesus longs to silence the unclean spirits that consume us. Jesus has won the battle – the strife is over – victory belongs to our God. Let us claim this victory today!

Let me close with a prayer found in your hymnal:

Silence, Frenzied, Unclean Spirit (UMH #264)

“Silence, frenzied, unclean spirit!”
cried God’s healing Holy One.
“Cease your ranting! Flesh can’t bear it.
Flee as night before the sun.”
At Christ’s words the demon trembled,
from its victim madly rushed,
While the crowd that was assembled
stood in wonder, stunned and hushed.

Lord, the demons still are thriving
in the gray cells of the mind:
Tyrant voices, shrill and driving,
twisted thoughts that grip and bind,
Doubts that stir the heart to panic,
fears distorting reason’s sight,
Guilt that makes our loving frantic,
dreams that cloud the soul and fright.

Silence, Lord, the unclean spirit
in our mind and in our heart;
Speak your word that when we hear it,
all our demons shall depart.
Clear our thought and calm our feeling;
still the fractured, warring soul.
By the power of your healing
make us faithful, true, and whole.

---

[1] http://www.puritanfellowship.com/2009/03/john-wesley-casting-out-demons.html

Stepping Into The Storm

Mark 1:14-21

January 22, 2012 / Third Sunday After The Epiphany

Storms are common on the Sea of Galilee.  Furious windstorms can come up quite suddenly causing damaging waves.  All of the gospels tell of storms on the Sea of Galilee.  Apparently these storms occur because of the differences in temperature between the seacoast and the mountains beyond. The Sea of Galilee lies 680 feet below sea level. It is bounded by hills, especially on the east side, that are 2000 feet high. These heights are a source of cool, dry air. In contrast, directly around the sea, the climate is semi-tropical with warm, moist air. This large difference causes large temperature and pressure changes. This results in strong winds dropping into the sea, funneling through the hills and causing sudden storms.

On top of this, the Sea of Galilee is relatively small and somewhat shallow, just 200 feet at its greatest depth. Shallow lakes are easily whipped up by the wind since there is nowhere for the energy of the wind to be absorbed. This means the waves can be quite large, quite literally swamping small boats that are out on the water when a storm comes up.[1]

This morning the first verse of our opening hymn began:

Jesus calls us o’er the tumult of our life’s wild, restless sea;

Day by day his sweet voice soundeth, saying “Christian, follow me!”[2]

Both the tune and the words make turning and following Jesus sound very appealing. We are invited to turn away from the wild, restless sea of our lives – the one where sudden storms come up that can cause boat-swamping waves. Turn away from that tumult and follow the sweet voice of Jesus. How can we respond in any other way except, “Yes! I will follow you!”

Many of us do turn to Jesus during the storms of our lives, seeking comfort, healing, and hope. It is in our times of greatest turmoil that we know we need Jesus, and we pray and read scripture and seek his will for our lives. Upheaval in our lives leads us back to the solid rock that is Jesus Christ, and we rejoice that he always welcomes us back.

The thing is, today our gospel lesson doesn’t talk about storms.  As Jesus walks along the shore, it is very likely that this is a beautiful day on the Sea of Galilee – a day when the water is calm and the sun is shining – a day when mothers might even bring their children to play at the water’s edge. Simon and Andrew are fishing – we can imagine them standing waist-deep in the water casting their nets into the sea.  James and John are mending their nets on the shore as their father Zebedee sits in the boat and watches.  It sounds like a delightful day for these career fishermen.

When Jesus saw Simon and Andrew he called to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men!” Likewise, when Jesus saw James and John he called, “Follow me!” And all four men left their boats and their nets and followed.

Imagine being Zebedee, the father who is left sitting in the boat.  He’d spent all his life teaching his sons the family business – how to fish, how to mend nets, how to keep the boats storm worthy, how to sell the fish at market...  He taught his sons the same things his father taught him – how to make a life on the Sea of Galilee.  Day in and day out, for as long as he could remember, he headed out to sea with his sons, praying for a good catch to take to market.  Day in and day out he watched his sons grow into the business. Slowly he had given them the authority to manage the business.  Slowly he was reaching the point where he would retire and leave the fishing business to his two sons.  And then along comes this fellow saying, “Follow me!” and the sons drop everything and go! Talk about upheaval! What is Zebedee to do?

Jesus’ call to follow comes on an ordinary day – a day when the fishermen were doing what they did best, working to earn a living.  There are no storms in their lives.  Actually, James and John are doing well enough that they have hired hands working with them! And yet, they leave their families, their livelihoods, the only way of life they have ever known – they leave everything to follow Jesus. Talk about tumult! Their behavior makes no logical sense.

And yet, if we think about it, this is what God calls us to do.  God called Abraham to leave his country and his father’s house to go to a land that God would show him – and Abraham did. Talk about absolute faith in God! And Moses was keeping his father-in-law’s flock when he came upon a burning bush that changed his life. He returned to Egypt – a place of great danger – to demand that Pharaoh let the people of God go. And then he led them through the wilderness for forty years. Talk about stepping out of his comfort zone! The prophet Jeremiah argued, “I am only a boy!” when God called him, and God responded, “Do not be afraid, I am with you!” Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet because he witnessed so much death and destruction in Jerusalem as he prophesied to a people who did not listen. And Jonah traveled to the foreign city of Nineveh – the last place he wanted to be – to tell the people that the city would be destroyed.  

God calls us to leave everything to follow him. God calls us to step out of our comfort zones and do God’s work. God calls us to preach a message of repentance to others – even those who will not listen.  God calls us to bring the good news of the gospel to a broken world.  And Simon and Andrew and James and John did just that, leaving everything to follow Jesus. And Simon who we call Peter became the rock on which the church of Jesus Christ was built.

No one ever said following Jesus would be easy – notice the ominous start to our gospel lesson today: “Now after John was arrested...” We know John was arrested and killed for proclaiming the good news.  And tradition tells us that both Peter and Andrew were crucified. And yet, in Jesus the kingdom of God has come near – so near that we can see it and touch it and taste it and feel it.  In Jesus we have been given the opportunity to not just proclaim the good news but to embrace it and live it.

Three weeks ago we renewed our covenant with God in a covenant renewal service. Last week we renounced the spiritual forces of wickedness and confessed Jesus Christ as our Savior as we remembered our baptisms. Today, Jesus calls us: “Follow me!”  Are you ready to follow Jesus? Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone and take a big risk for Jesus? Are we ready for new opportunities as we seek to feed the hungry in this community? Are we ready to welcome strangers and sinners into our midst and call them brother and sister? Are we ready to leave behind the ease of the known to step into the great unknown? Are we willing to trust that God is calling us to be the body of Christ in this rapidly changing community in ways that scare us, in the confidence that God will be at our sides?

This is the start of a year of possibilities. By summer we may have a daycare operating in our building. By the end of summer we may have a food pantry serving the needs of southern Alamance. By the end of the year we hope to build strong relationships with neighboring churches and other non-profit organizations.  In other words, Jesus is calling us to leave the calm and comfort of our lives and to step out into the storm – a storm that is bound to bring conflict and change – a storm full of new life and hope. 

Are you ready to step out into this storm with me, trusting that God has great things in store for this community? Are you ready to follow Jesus to the cross and death in the absolute assurance that resurrection and new life will follow? What will you do when Jesus calls you, saying “Christian, follow me?”

Jesus calls us from our comfort to a life of risk and faith;

Day by day his challenge calls us, saying “Follow me! Obey!”

In a broken, hurting world, Jesus calls us to respond;

Feed the hungry, save the sinners! Bring new life to one and all.

Jesus, guide us as we serve you, lift our fears and give us strength;

Fill us with your Holy Spirit, help us follow faithfully.

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[1] See http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/ednk-seaofgalilee.html for these facts.

[2] UMH 398.

The Meeting Place

Mark 1:4-11

Baptism of the Lord / January 15, 2012

At the turn of the twentieth century physicists thought they had the whole world figured out. They claimed that we live in this three-dimensional universe where all motion can be predicted and explained in terms of north-south, east-west, and up-down. And while we may experience time as non-linear – some hours feel like years and sometimes time flies – we know that time marches forward one predictable second at a time.

Most of us experience the world exactly this way, but in the early 1900’s Einstein began to show that space and time aren’t as predictable as we thought. Through mathematical models and thought experiments, Einstein opened up a disturbing and unpredictable world of probabilities. A world where the shortest distance from “A” to “B” might actually involve warping space-time so that the two points meet.

For the past hundred-plus years, scientists have delved more deeply into Einstein’s troubling findings, only to discover that the world is less predictable and more mysterious than we could have ever imagined. And yet, there is also this order and this beauty that are hard to explain. This element of mystery leaves many scientists concluding that there must be a God somewhere. 

There must be a God who created the heavens and the earth, and set the moon and the stars in motion. There must be a God who occasionally tinkers with the earth the way a clock-maker might, making minor adjustments and keeping us from chaos. There must be a God up there in the heavens somewhere who imagined and created this incredible universe in all its complexity and mystery and beauty.

You and I recognize this creator God – this God of glory and strength. We affirm the existence of this God who lives in heaven every time we pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” And yet we know this God is doing much more than keeping us from chaos. Our God deeply desires to be actively involved in all aspects of this creation, redeeming the world.  Our God is a God of love who longs to be in an intimate relationship with the pride and joy of creation – you and me and the rest of humanity. We are created in the very image of God to be in relationship with God and one another.

And, in truth, you and I have always known that the world was more complex than the three-dimensional space we can see with our eyes, for we know that there is a heavenly dimension. We know this heavenly dimension is so near that at various times and places heaven and earth actually touch, and in that place we are able to enter into and experience the holiness of God.

Heaven and earth touched the day Moses came upon a bush that was burning but was not being consumed. As he approached the bush a voice from heaven told him to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. On that day Moses spoke with the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob – the God who longed to come down and save his people.

Heaven and earth touched during the forty days Moses lived on Mount Sinai, receiving the commandments from God. When Moses came down from the mountain his face radiated the holiness of God. And the two stone tablets Moses received from God became a permanent place where heaven and earth touched. After that, the people of God believed that heaven and earth were permanently connected, first in the tabernacle where the ark of the covenant was kept and then later in the temple in Jerusalem. This was the very dwelling place of God on earth – the holy of holies.  People went to Jerusalem for the high holy days so that they might enter into the very presence of God.

Unfortunately, the temple was destroyed and the ark was lost. When a new temple was built it was nowhere near as majestic; on more than one occasion other gods were worshipped there. To many, it seemed as if heaven and earth no longer touched. And the people longed for a Messiah – a Savior – someone who would re-establish the meeting place between heaven and earth.

And then John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins (Mark 1:4-5). Heaven and earth were once again meeting out there in the wilderness. In the waters of the Jordan, people were once again encountering the holiness of God.

But John proclaimed: “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” In other words, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

And in those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  In that moment, as Jesus came up out of the waters, heaven and earth didn’t just touch, but the heavens were torn apart!  The veil that separated heaven from earth disappeared, and God’s Spirit was poured out and a voice from heaven – that same voice that the Psalmist spoke of that flashes forth flames of fire and shakes the wilderness – that voice boomed, “You are my beloved Son and I am well pleased with you.” Wow! What an incredible affirmation of his calling. What an awesome way for Jesus to begin his ministry.

In Jesus, God was doing a new thing. God was establishing a place where heaven and earth not only touched, but met and overlapped, deeply and intimately. In Jesus, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, the world now had the opportunity to not only encounter God, but to see God face to face. And through his death and resurrection, Jesus has become the place where heaven and earth permanently meet, the new Jerusalem. In Jesus, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to experience God’s holiness, even through something as ordinary as bread and wine, or water.

Today, as we remember the baptism of our Lord, we gather around this baptismal font to remember and celebrate our own baptisms. To some, this looks like ordinary water. But this is a powerful place where the past and the present and the future meet as we remember the ways the heavens were torn open at Jesus’ baptism, and heaven and earth powerfully met. This is a place where we remember and celebrate that day when we rejected the evil powers of this world and confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives. We remember, not necessarily in terms of the particular events of that day, but in terms of what God has done for us through our baptism. Whether you were an infant or an adult, dunked or simply sprinkled, on that day – the day of your baptism – heaven and earth met right inside of you. The heavens were torn open and the Holy Spirit was poured out on you! Your sins were washed away and you became a new creation.  You became pure and holy – the very temple of the Holy Spirit. And the voice of God affirmed, “You are my beloved child. I am well pleased with you.”

You are a beloved child of God. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. You have been washed clean in the blood of Jesus. Today, as we remember and celebrate our own baptisms, I wonder: Do we live our lives in such a way that we are temples of the Holy Spirit? Are we open to being filled by the Holy Spirit? Are our bodies and our lives places where heaven and earth can and do actually meet? If not, then what are we going to do about it?

Sleuths for Christ

Ephesians 3:1-12

Epiphany / January 8, 2012

 Have you ever thought about the fact that God created us to be curious? Just think of the two year old who asks “why?” about every little thing, driving us crazy with her insatiable curiosity. Or think about the fact that we all slow down with the rest of the traffic to see the damage caused by an accident, curious and wanting to know more. Or think of Eve and the forbidden fruit – we are naturally curious.

Perhaps that is the reason we like mysteries. How will Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew solve this crime? Was it actually Colonel Mustard with the lead pipe in the dining room? What will the characters on CSI learn this time from their autopsy, forensics and visit to the crime scene?  We like watching as pieces of the puzzle are pulled together to reveal the truth. Of course, these mysteries are always solved by the end of the hour or the end of the book; so we leave satisfied, knowing justice has been served once again.

Today we enter into the mystery of the Epiphany. The three wise men were seeking the child who was born King of the Jews. A star led them as far as Jerusalem and then they were stuck. A conversation with Herod led to a conversation with the chief priests who turned to scripture and said “Bethlehem.” And that is where the wise men found the child with his mother Mary and fell down and worshipped him.  Mystery solved, right? Wrong! Why is this child born in Bethlehem being worshipped like a god? How can he possibly be the King of the Jews?  Actually, the visit of the wise men is more like a mystery revealed than a mystery solved. Who is this child, that wise men would travel from the east seeking him? Who is this child, that all of Jerusalem became frightened upon learning about him?

This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing;

Haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary (UMH 219).

This child is the mystery of our faith.

Interestingly, the Greek word for “mystery” refers to something that is hidden or secret – something that is not revealed. Mysteries are only confided to those who are initiated, the way a fraternity handshake is shared only with the brothers. It should be difficult, if not impossible, for outsiders to discover the mystery, which is why a good mystery story leaves us on the edge of our seats until the very end.  But this mystery is curiously different.  This mystery is not like CSI or Sherlock Holmes. This mystery leaves us all wondering just what Paul is up to when he talks about the mystery of Christ.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he writes, “In former generations, [the mystery of Christ] was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”  Just look at Paul’s own life – he didn’t grasp the mystery until he was knocked over the head with it.  Paul was “circumcised on the eight day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteous under the law, blameless” (Phil 3:5-6).  These are the words he uses to describe himself in his letter to the Philippians. Paul should have been on the inside track for understanding the mystery of Christ, clearly one of the initiated.  But instead he was the church’s greatest persecutor. Paul was blind to the mystery until Christ himself struck him down on the road to Damascus asking, “Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:5).  In that moment, Paul’s spiritual eyes were opened and he saw the truth. He then spent the rest of his life sharing the mystery of Christ with the world.

Paul’s story shows us that no amount of data collection and analysis will ever fully reveal the mystery of Christ. You can know it all in your head and still not know Christ in your heart. The mystery of Christ is not like an ordinary mystery. Unlike ordinary mysteries, the mystery of Christ is (1) not a secret; (2) it is revealed and not solved; & (3) it leads to freedom, not imprisonment.

The mystery of Christ is not a secret. Often we point to scripture for evidence of Christ. His coming is foretold in the Old Testament – especially through the prophet Isaiah. The Gospel of Matthew and the Book of Hebrews are full of Old Testament references, revealing the ways Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of old. The mystery of Christ is not a secret; and yet it can never be fully discerned from the facts. The facts point to a deeper truth, a truth that escapes us if we rely solely on the facts.  We sense that the mystery is not a secret, and yet we cannot deduce the truth on our own, no matter how smart we are. No matter how good our intuition is.  The mystery is not a secret, but it often eludes us.

Which is why I believe the mystery of Christ is revealed and not solved. In a typical mystery much time is spent gathering clues and evidence, following a trail that will lead to a solution. But with Christ, rather than piecing clues together, God reveals God’s self – first and foremost as a baby in a manger, God made flesh.  God reveals God’s self most powerfully through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. And today God continues to reveal God’s self through the waters of baptism, and through bread and wine.  Or God may use more ordinary means like a song or a prayer or a walk down the road to Damascus. God reveals God’s self to us through an epiphany – a sudden revelation of the truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, our Savior.  God reveals God’s self to us by grace – this incredible gift given to us that helps us discern the truth and sense the presence of the living God.  And it is by grace that we are set free – free to fall down on our knees and worship Christ the King. 

Which brings me to my third point.  The mystery of Christ leads to freedom.  In a typical mystery someone ends up in jail by the end of the story. Once all the clues are pieced together, someone is found guilty and thrown behind bars. But the mystery of Christ leads to freedom.  We are set free from the chains of sin and death, free to live abundant lives in Christ. 

Now at this point, the curious among us must be full of questions. Why can’t we deduce the existence of God? Why are moments of epiphany so rare and so elusive? Why does God seem so far away, often when we need God the most? And why, if we have been set free, do so many of us live as if we are in bondage? Why do so many of us feel like we live in darkness, unable to see the glory of the Lord shining in our lives?

There are no easy answers to these questions; sometimes the only answer seems to be the one we end up giving the two year old who asks “why” all the time: because; just, because.  But Paul does give us one answer when he tells us just what the mystery of Christ is: through Christ, “the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6). In other words, not only is the mystery not a secret, but all of humanity has been welcomed into this mystery. We are no longer slaves or servants, but brothers and sisters through Christ, all heirs of God’s kingdom. And lest you want to squabble with your brothers and sisters, concerned that you won’t get your fair portion of this inheritance, Paul speaks of “the boundless riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8).  There is more than enough for everyone. This is the power of God’s love poured out for each one of us – we are one in Christ Jesus, all one body.  By grace, all are promised an incredible inheritance.

We all have access to God in boldness and confidence through our faith in Christ Jesus. Faith that is given to us by grace. Faith that encourages us, and keeps us from losing heart. Faith that assures us that Christ will come again in final victory and we will feast together at his heavenly banquet.

In the meantime, we are called to be sleuths for Christ. Investigators who pour over the Scriptures and listen to the Holy Spirit through daily devotions, Bible study, and weekly worship. Detectives who reveal God’s glory in the beauty of a sunset, a broken piece of bread, and a hug from a friend. We are called to go out and track and trail people to catch them up into this great mystery – this deep truth that all are welcome in Christ’s body. And at the end of the day we recognize that the conclusion to this mystery will only come when all of humanity has been apprehended and brought into the light; the mystery will be solved when Christ has been revealed in his fullness to all the world. So we set out again each morning, putting on our detective’s cap and going out into the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone we meet, in anticipation of the day when we will meet Christ face to face.

Let me leave you with Paul’s own words in Ephesians, chapter 3: “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3:14-21).