Sermon - Dedication - Christmas 1B

1^st Sunday after Christmas (B)                                                                December 27. 2020
Luke 2:22-40                                                                                    Panzer Liturgical Service

It’s the Sunday after Christmas, and in some ways, it’s back to the ordinary. Most of us haven’t taken our trees down yet, the Christmas lights are still on the house and there is Christmas food still in the refrigerator waiting to be eaten. But the wrapping paper is put away, and the boxes that hold the decorations are waiting to be repacked. The anticipation of the season has diminished, leaving us with a feeling that hard to describe.

It’s hard for us to separate our celebration of Christmas as a religious holiday from our observance of all of the secular festivities that ring in the New Year. For many of us, our holiday from work is not yet complete. Only after January 1^st do we feel the necessity to get back in the swing of things. Only after one more opportunity to overindulge do we feel the obligation to make and keep (for at least one day or week) our New Year’s resolutions, as realistic or dreamlike as they may be.

But just for a minute, let’s try to think of what it might have been like in the days immediately following Jesus’ birth. The long trip to Bethlehem… the unexpected labor and birth… the visit of shepherds and angels. In the days following the baby’s birth, what activity would surround Joseph and Mary’s life?

According to Jewish law, on the eighth day after the birth, the parents and the baby would go to the temple. The couple would offer a sacrifice in thanksgiving for the birth of the child. The mother would go through a rite of purification by the priest so that she could return to her wifely and community duties. And the child would be circumcised, and as a first-born son, his life would be dedicated to the Lord’s service and honor.

And those are the things that Mary and Joseph did. Their dedication to the Law of Moses and to the Jewish life led them to the Temple in Jerusalem to complete the required ritual. And when they got to where they were going, there were two unexpected visitors. First came Simeon... described by scripture as a righteous man, who had been told by the Lord that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. As Mary and Joseph entered with the child, Simeon took the child into his arms and sang the following song:

"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,

 according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

 a light for revelation to the Gentiles

 and for glory to your people Israel" (Luke 2:29-32).

And he after blessing the child, he brought a message, a warning to Mary: "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul too" (Luke 2:34-35). And then came Anna, seen as a prophet by the worshiping community as a prophet, who when she saw the child praised God for sending the one who would redeem God’s people.

It was an extraordinary day. In the midst of the expected… in the process of performing the expected ritual, a blessing was received and a piece of the future uncovered. The dedication of our two prophets is obvious as Luke describes them… Simeon is a righteous and devout man… Anna is a widow who fasted and prayed at the Temple every day. Who would have expected that in the midst of going through the motions so much would be revealed? And by two such as Anna and Simeon. They are not the prophets we expect, but they have an important message that still strikes home today.

Today, I have drawn closely from my Methodist heritage in preparing this service and sermon. John Wesley, born in 1703, never set out to form a new denomination. Wesley himself had grown up in a church family, the youngest of fifteen children. Rescued from a parsonage fire at the age of five, his family regarded his miraculous recovery as a sign of God’s blessing. Wesley later used the phrase, "a brand plucked out of the fire", quoting Zechariah 3:2, to describe the incident to others. This story became a part of the Wesley legend and was often used to give substance to his extraordinary work and special calling.

After a personal conversion in 1738, years after his ordination as an Anglican priest, Wesley’s focus on ministry changed from parish focused to community focused, preaching and starting ministries to help Anglican clergy and laity focus more closely on their baptismal vows. First hosting a “Holy Club” at Oxford University when he was a student, and then Methodist Societies in Anglican communities throughout England, Wesley called for people to renew their covenant relationship with God and with others. Today, these Covenant Discipleship groups are a place where members practice practical discipleship together… reading the bible, discuss of the foundational beliefs of the Christian faith, and participate in the acts of mercy or outreach and mutual accountability.[i]

John Wesley’s understanding of faith in this particular way appeals to many, not just those in the Methodist traditions. His Covenant Service is one that has been celebrated by many other Christian congregations. The theology of this service was not Wesley’s own invention. In 1663 (40 years before Wesley’s birth), Richard Alleine, a Puritan, published “A Vindication of Godliness in the Greater Strictness and Spirituality of It.” In 1753, this work was again published in John Wesley's A Christian Library. Wesley adapted one chapter in Allen’s work, "The Application of the Whole," into a worship service, and on Monday, August 11, 1755, he used this liturgy in what probably was the first celebration of the Covenant Service in the Methodist movement.

Wesley found the service rich and meaningful, as expressed in his Journal: "Many mourned before God, and many were comforted" (April 1756); "It was, as usual, a time of remarkable blessing" (October 1765); "It was an occasion for a variety of spiritual experiences ... I do not know that ever we had a greater blessing. Afterward many desired to return thanks, either for a sense of pardon, for full salvation, or for a fresh manifestation of His graces, healing all their backslidings" (January 1, 1775). In beginning, Wesley used this service when a congregation was in the need of a new start or special boost. Eventually, these services were held in most Methodist societies, usually on New Year's Day. Even so, the service was so identifiable with John Wesley that it was conducted whenever he visited the Methodist Societies throughout England.

The heart of the service, focused on the Covenant Prayer, asks persons to commit or recommit themselves to God. This prayer asks us to take seriously the covenant that we have made with God and with each other during our lives. Whether we study at home or in a group, whether it’s a bible study or learning more about the doctrines and history of the church, Wesley reminds us that we need to take seriously our original commitment to be in service to God and one another.

Today, Wesley’s Covenant Service is often held on New Year's Eve or Day and therefore is sometimes called a Watch Night Service. Historically, a Watch Night Service would be three hours or longer, including readings from Scripture and hymn singing… that’s certainly one way to ring in the new year! As we use the Wesley Covenant Prayer today mirrors the themes of today’s readings. In the Isaiah reading, we hear the prophet proclaim, “I will not keep silent…” In the Galatians reading, we are reminded that we are the children of God, adopted into God’s family with the same status and responsibilities as Jesus, naturally born of Mary… and we are even more – we are heirs – inheritors of all the gifts that God has promised.

And our two New Testament prophets have confirmed without hesitation that God’s promises to them are made real as they hold the child in their arms – He is the good news that they had been waiting for all of their lives. Declaring the same message to those gathered, Simeon and Anna profess the faithfulness of God for allowing them to see for themselves the fulfillment of God’s promise for themselves.

Today, we will include Wesley’s covenant prayer in our worship. This prayer gives us an opportunity, as we begin a new year, to rededicate our lives to the Lord. It is a reminder that becoming a person of faith is a process, through hard-attained work, through trial and error, learning from our mistakes and the experiences of others. Becoming a person of faith is a matter of asking for forgiveness and then believing in and accepting that forgiveness and going on with the business of living faithful lives. It is a lifelong process, and it’s a good and joyful thing to come together regularly to recommit ourselves to that promise.

As we join together in praying a small portion of Wesley’s covenant service, hear these directions as they come from John Wesley on how to live out our dedication to God each day, as I paraphrase them from his own writings.

 1.    Set aside time, more than once to be alone with God, asking for God’s love. Remember the covenant that you share with God and its requirements. Ask yourself if you still are giving your life freely to Christ. Consider your sins. Consider the ways God calls us to follow. Be honest with God and honest with yourself. Receive the forgiveness promised as the gift it is meant to be.

2.    Be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.

3.    Claim God’s covenant. Rely on God’s promise to give your grace and strength, so that you can keep your promise – do not trust you own strength alone, because it will not be enough.

4.    Resolve to be faithful. You have given to the Lord your hearts, you have opened your mouths to the Lord, and you have dedicated yourself to God. With God's power, never go back.

5.     And last, be prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord regularly. Fall down on your knees, lift your hands toward heaven, and open your hearts to the Lord.[ii]

I come from a tradition that doesn’t always talk so much about being saved as it does about renewing our commitment to love and serve Christ every day. It’s sometimes a confusing conversation with others who are not used to this language. A friend once remarked, “I feel like I’ve been saved six or seven times.” My response to her, “My friend, you’re a life-long Methodist, you just keep renewing your baptismal covenant as many times as you feel the need – there’s no limit on how many times we can recommit our lives to Christ. 

This Covenant Prayer is a way of doing that – not in the light of disaster or crisis, not because our previous commitments weren’t enough. We pray this prayer regularly to remind us of the serious and joyous nature of the life that Christ calls us to live. 

Please join me in the Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition found in your bulletin. And if this prayer has been meaningful to you today, keep your bulletin, sign and date it, and keep it as a reminder of your covenant renewal today.

Peace, Deb

(c) Deb Luther Teagan December 2020

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[i] UMC Discipleship – Covenant Discipleship Groups

 https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/covenant-discipleship-groups-an-introduction

[ii] UMC Discipleship – Instructions for the Covenant Service

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/covenant-renewal-service

Sermon - A Savior for Us All - Christmas Eve 2020

 Christmas Eve (Year B)                                                      December 24, 2020

Luke 2:1-14-20                                                         Panzer Liturgical Service

If we think of Advent as the time of preparing for a wonderful party, then the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany are the party themselves. In Advent, we have heard messages of hope and promises of salvation through the words of the prophet Isaiah, and from the mouth of Jesus’ cousin and predecessor, John the Baptist. In Christmas and Epiphany, we are invited to celebrate the fulfillment of those promises in the gift of Jesus Christ. Our closing hymn this evening, “Joy to the World,” reminds us that the news is too good to keep to ourselves: "Let every heart prepare Him room,  and heaven and nature sing…

These are the days of singing for all of creation. God’s word is fulfilled. The Lord has come, and through him, we will all be saved. Tonight, we celebrated the birth of a child, but not just any child, mind you. Tonight, we celebrate the birth of God’s own son, the very coming of God in the flesh.

The theological term is “incarnation,” means, “God made flesh.” The whole Christmas story, as we piece it together, tells of people who were truly in awe of what was happening around them. The newborn child in the manger, his parents, the angel-struck shepherds smelling of sheep and sweat, the wise men, and their costly, aromatic gifts, all were waiting for God’s blessing. And that blessing came in the person of Jesus Christ, growing from infancy to childhood, and beginning a ministry among God’s people.

Tonight, we celebrate this incarnation, the fleshing out of the story of God’s love for all of God’s people: it is a story of the extraordinary filling the ordinary; it is God’s glory manifested in earthly, ordinary things.

On an ordinary Christmas Day, most of us will sit by our Christmas trees, empty our stockings, open our gifts, play with our toys, try on our new clothes, and share in a special meal. Then we will clean up, gather up the trash, and declare Christmas over and done – forgetting that December 25^th is the first day of Christmas, not the last. We will judge it as a success or failure by the general mood of the participants at the end of the day, and by how full we feel when going to bed. But maybe this year will be different. Maybe our experience of the last nine months with all of the changes brought about by Coronavirus pandemic has taught us to think differently about the holiday.

This year, the telling of the story feels different. Previous distractions are gone… no travel, no parties… it’s easy to feel like something has been taken away. But this year, I am reminded that the story of Christmas is about more than the hoopla we build around the holiday. I am reminded more than ever that this night celebrates a miracle. And not just a story of something that happened in the past. The Christmas story is a story for today, and it is true and real and relevant to our lives because it asks us to change the way we live.

Have you ever thought about what if you had to tell someone if they had never heard of Jesus’ birth? How would you share what Christmas means to you? What would you say? It’s not bad to love the shopping and gifts and movies and carols… it’s perfectly OK to plan for travel and fun as we gather with family and friends. But this year, in the absence of the grand holiday experience, how profound the story of Jesus’ birth really is. For the Christmas story is not just a personal story… it’s a story about how everyone got welcomed at the manger.

The presents, the trees, and the wreaths, the shopping, the wrapping, and giving, are neat. But they are not what Christmas is all about. The story’s key ingredients of love and sacrifice can only be embodied most fully within the story of God’s love. Christmas is about the birth of a baby, and everyone loves babies. But Jesus wasn’t just any baby. He was different – more than special. He was God’s gift to us. God sent him to us so that we could have a King, the kind of king that God would choose for his beloved children, the kind of king the world had never known. 

And as we tell this story, we are compelled to ask, why did God choose this way to bring us a Savior? Tonight, we meet a baby born helpless, surrounded by animals and shepherds, born in poverty to a couple of limited means, living in a place that wasn’t even their home, in the quiet of a winter’s night. It’s not the way we expect the story to go. But it’s the story we have to tell.

This night is a defining moment for Christians of every time and place. It was also a defining moment for God. On this night, God came to us.

… God chose to plant himself into the womb of a poor, unwed girl, through nine months of forming fingers and toes and ears and eyes. Then there was the birth… like a million before it. God came into the world as other babies do. With tears mixed with laughter, fear, pain, exhilaration, joy, exhaustion. Anguish for Mary. Trauma for God. Finally, after all of that, God drew his first human breath and smelled what? The warm stench of straw and animals. You can’t get more humble than that. (Betsy Wright, The Virginian-Pilot, 12/16/95)

 The question of Jesus’ birth comes up at a time in the history of the early Church when people are trying to understand the miraculous understanding of Jesus as fully human and fully divine. What better way to see the full humanity of Jesus than to see him as a baby?

In Jesus, God becomes totally accessible. In Jesus, God isn’t the one we hide from, as Moses did behind a rock or covered his face, waiting for God to appear. No, in Jesus, we have a God we want to hold in our arms, a God who brings wonder, a God who embodies love in every way!

The nativity of Jesus is an entrée into Jesus’ life. It hits us at a personal level. There’s nothing more special than a newborn baby. But Jesus’ birth was also a world-changing event. It affected everyone, from shepherds to angels to traveling kings. We won’t know it until many years later, but this little baby, born in poverty and political upheaval, will turn the world on its ear. His life, his ministry, his death, and his resurrection will change everything we thought we knew about God, and what God expects of us.

God’s choice to bring his son to us was God’s ultimate sacrifice, for he had to know what a cunning and sinful people we are… that we would not fully accept the challenges that Jesus’ ministry lays before us, and that we would crucify him with our unbelief. But he sent him to us anyway. And on this night, we celebrate and believe in a love that is bigger than ourselves, bigger than we can imagine, a love in which our faith leads us to believe.

So, what can we say to convince someone of God’s love? I think this is the hard part. We can and should speak the truth of Jesus’ love, but the message only makes an impact on others if what we speak gets fleshed out. The love of Christmas is not only a feeling… it’s a way of life for the whole year… for our whole lives. And when we are called to love God, ourselves, and others, that means not only loving those who are easy to love, but everybody and everything God created. On this day, and every day, we are called to live out our love for Christ and be advocates and workers for God’s peace. That is the hard work of Christmas.

The birth of Jesus is supposed to amaze us – that’s why angels bring the news of good tidings of great joy. But the lowliness of Jesus’ birth also says some about our misunderstanding about power… Jesus comes as an infant King, even though the people were looking for someone to stand up to the Roman rulers and their oppression. And when the Word came, it was to people just minding their own business, families gathering for a census, shepherds taking care of their sheep, all unaware that a miraculous thing would take place nearby.

Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth reminds us that while the world wants to build borders and walls, dividing people by their differences, we are called to move toward one another, in terror and in joy. This baby came promising both peace and change to how we are called to live – one is not possible without the other.

The story of Christmas Eve is not just a story about this one night… it’s the beginning of a lifelong story that has the power to change the world if we will let it. This year, we celebrate on Christmas Eve together because, even during a global pandemic, because the thought of sitting home is something we are not prepared to do. And before we go home, we will gather outside in the cold, masked and appropriately social distanced, to light candles and sing the words of probably the most famous carol of them all. What a great reminder that we are not alone.

Tonight, we look to the manger where we see the savior of the world, swaddled in warmth and in the safety his parents provide. Jesus lies there, fragile and dependent, representing all of us – of every age – who need the care of family and neighbor. It is a reminder that we are the children of God, swaddled by the love of God. And we are the ones called to share that love with all so that they can know the good news, as well. It is the message of today, and every day. 

Poet Howard Thurman said it this way:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
    To find the lost,
    to heal the broken,
    to feed the hungry,
    to release the prisoner,
    to rebuild the nations,
    to bring peace among brothers and sisters,
    to make music in the heart. (Seasons of Communion, p 16).

 In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

* * *

See Robb McCoy & Eric Fistler, Pulpit Fiction Podcast – Christmas Eve
https://www.pulpitfiction.com/notes/christmaseve

See Melinda Quivik, Worshingpreacher.com
Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Eve 2020
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christmas-eve-nativity-of-our-lord/commentary-on-luke-21-14-15-20-18

 

Sermon - A Circle of Trust (Advent 4B)

Fourth Sunday in Advent – Year B      December 20. 2020    

Luke 1: 26-45 Liturgical Service, Panzer Chapel

In the early 1980s, an article was published in The Christian Century which claimed Mary as a significant role model for women. One pastor wrote back, saying that if Mary is only a role model for women, “that would be tragic. Half of humanity would miss Luke’s point.” Luke saw Mary as a significant role model for all of us, women and men alike.

And why do we need this? Because every day we find that the world cannot possibly live up to its promises or our expectations. People we trust let us down, situations are not what they seem, and we find ourselves desperately in need of direction and hope.

But Luke shows us someone who is very much like us. He gives us Mary, as the mother of our Lord, and as an example of the faithful trust. Mary heard the angel’s word, she believed, and she acted out that trust in discipleship. She responded to God’s word, both in song and indeed, as she brought into the world a Savior, who we call Christ the Lord. And he gives us Elizabeth, who confirmed Mary’s unlikely story, and affirmed the gift her faithfulness would provide for the world. We all want (or are afraid) to be a Mary, but sometimes our great gift is to be an Elizabeth.

Everybody who has ever given birth to a child has a birth story. Whether it’s going into labor, getting to the hospital (or sometimes not getting there), the circumstances surrounding the delivery, some of the most often-told stories are those about being born. And none of us has a birth story more remarkable than the story about Jesus’ birth.

I imagine it was a pretty stressful time for Mary. An angel visitation, a disturbing message, an unusual burden to bear. And while she was convinced by the angel’s explanation, I’m sure that she needed confirmation to make sure that it was not all a dream. So, after the angel visitation, she took off to see Elizabeth. Maybe she needed to confirm what the angel had told her about Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Maybe she needed to say, “You’re not going to believe this, but…”

What a wonderful trusting relationship to share -- being able to have Elizabeth know without even being told all that Mary was going through. What a safe place to stay -- a place to process all that had happened so far and all that would happen in the future.

 If you think about most of our church nativity plays, we take the events of the Matthew and Luke nativity stories and meld them into a scene of peaceful harmony… a baby… a manger… a mother… livestock, shepherds and gift-bearing kings usually round the whole thing out. But no matter what our gospel writers convey, I’m willing to bet that that’s not really how it happened. I imagine it was a confusing and difficult time for Mary and Joseph. Mixed with the joy of bringing this miracle baby into the world, I imagine that fear was also the emotion of the day.

Would any of us want to be Mary? Pregnant out of wedlock in a society that didn’t tolerate that kind of behavior… About to marry a man she hardly knew, bringing a ready-made family into the world, and all at the will of God. Mary must have really trusted God! She had to have trusted God right down to the tips of her toes to know that in the end, it would be OK... that in the end the Lord’s word and work would be fulfilled.

Would any of us want to be Mary, knowing that her son would be born in less than honorable circumstances, far away from home? Knowing that her husband would die before her son reached the age of adulthood and that Jesus would leave the family business to become an itinerant preacher? Who of us would be happy to see him followed around by a band of disciples who never seemed to get the point of his teachings?

Would any of us want to be Mary, seeing her son convicted and sentenced to die, then sitting at the foot of the cross, watching and waiting for the angel’s word to be fulfilled?

The circle of trust that existed between Mary and God was not just present as she carried her son and gave birth in that stable in Bethlehem. It was not just lived out as she dressed him and fed him and played with him and educated him in her home. It was a circle that extended out as she and Joseph dedicated him at the Temple, and looked for him when he had gone back to talk to the rabbis. And it went out further as she became a part of his ministry, traveling with him throughout the Galilean and Judean countrysides. And it was fulfilled as she saw that same son, our Savior, die.

And because his life did not end at that moment, in his resurrection, she must have felt and believed more fully those words which rang out even before his birth, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

As we draw closer to the day of celebration, we think more about the various characters who learned firsthand about Jesus. They hold a prominent place in our Christmas play. Over the years, we precondition their response to the events without ever wondering what it was like for them. It’s easy for it all to become very familiar. Whether it’s Mary, Elizabeth, or Joseph, the innkeeper, the shepherds, or the magi coming from far away… we assume we know that what they were feeling. We forget that they don’t yet know the end of the story.

There’s a wonderful children’s story – The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. Boy, did she ever get it right when she told the story of a Christmas play gone horribly wrong. It all started when the director broke her leg a few weeks before Christmas… and the six worst kids in the town volunteered to play all the major roles… there was hitting and cussing and general malcontent. Through the rehearsals, we find out the Herdmann kids had never even heard the story of Jesus’ birth… they just came to church for the donuts. And when their fearless leader, Imogene, found out about all of the indignities surrounding the nativity, she just wanted to go beat somebody up.

But on the night of the play, everyone experienced the story in a new way as these novice players acted out the familiar story right before their eyes. And they knew that the children had really “gotten it” when Imogene as Mary picked up the baby and burped it, when Gladys, the meanest Herdmann of them all, pushed her way through the angel choir shouting, “Hey! Unto you a child is born this day!”, and as the Wise Men, dressed in borrowed bathrobes approached the manger scene, carrying the family’s Christmas ham. In this story, the whole town shows up at the Christmas Pageant to see what havoc the Herdmann kids would bring. But everyone left saying, “I don’t know what it was, but this was the best pageant ever!”

We are rapidly approaching the manger, but before we get there, we need something else. Mary has to say, “Yes.” Yes, to carrying Jesus… Yes, to loving and raising him, knowing that one day she would lose him… Yes, to a God who can make impossible things happen and use anyone to get the job done.

The story of Christ starts with Mary… who was willing to take on this unthinkable responsibility, and she is joined by Elizabeth, who didn’t tell her she was crazy but affirmed and supported her in the midst of a scandal that could go wrong in more ways that we can count. Mary’s song rings forth in the world, loud and clear. It is a song of hope, of faith, and of trust that God will not abandon God’s people. And at the same time, it is a song of revelation and revolution.

This is our song, too. Let us a people who sing “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” And let us believe it and mean it, and live it out every day.

I don’t know what that looks like for you, but we are reminded in the Great Thanksgiving each week some of the ways to live out this call: working for “that day when justice shall roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”

The circle of trust begins with Mary, but in these Advent and Christmas seasons, let this trust also be born in us, unbroken from this day and forever more. Amen.

Let us pray:

God of hope, who brought love into this world,
be the love that dwells between us.
God of hope, who brought peace into this world,
be the peace that dwells between us.
God of hope, who brought joy into this world,
be the joy that dwells between us.
God of hope, the rock we stand upon,
be the centre, the focus of our lives
always, and particularly this Advent time. In your name we pray, Amen.

Read more at: http://www.faithandworship.com/prayers_Advent.htm#ixzz3MRopvo5n 
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Sermon - Can I get a witness? Advent 3B

3^rd Sunday in Advent – Year B                                           December 13, 2020

John 1:6-8, 19-28,

You know who you never see on the front of Christmas cards? John… John the Baptist, that is. After all, he’s not the poster child for “Have yourself a merry little Christmas,” is he?[i] Last week, we got a vivid description of him from Mark’s perspective – a manly man, a hermit, a recluse, maybe even to some, a little bit weird. He probably wasn’t the only one. It was a trying time in first-century Palestine. The Roman authority was ruling with an iron fist, and the Jewish community was waiting for the promised savior – a Messiah – to save them from the life that they were just barely enduring. John told anyone who would listen – “I am not the one who is promised, but I have come to prepare the way for him to come. Knowing what we do know, John would have done just as well if he said, “Get ready folks … it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

This week we encounter John again but from a different perspective. Written 50-60 years later, the writer of John’s gospel shows us a different side of John. No longer is he described as “the baptizer” … now he is a witness, someone who has seen Jesus. But he’s also something more. John is willing to testify for Jesus … to tell the truth about Jesus, which will end up costing him his life.

There is no nativity story in Mark’s gospel… it all starts with John, Jesus’ cousin and prophet extraordinaire, proclaiming the beginning of Jesus' ministry, soon to come. In the next few weeks, we will hear the stories of Jesus’ birth from two different perspectives. We tend to mash the Matthew and Luke versions of the story together into one crazy Christmas pageant, but a study of the gospels reveals that each narrative was written with a particular audience in mind

20 years later, Matthew wrote to a primarily Jewish audience, and focuses on how Jesus fulfills the role as the Messiah promised through the Old Testament prophets. Luke wrote to a primarily Gentile audience, and focuses on how Jesus came to save everyone – the least the last and the lost. Matthew’s nativity features events which address Jewish expectation. Luke’s nativity welcomes the meek and lowly – angels sing to shepherds and welcome the whole outcast crowd at the manger.

The writer of John’s gospel, writing another 40 years later, does relate Jesus’ coming to another significant event… the creation. We didn’t read these verses today as a part of our lesson, so I’ll include them here:

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

For John, Jesus didn’t come first as a prophet or a baby. Jesus was present from the beginning, at creation. John’s gospel frames Jesus’ coming in a whole new way… John understands something very profound and proclaims that loud and clear.

Jesus is the light of the world.

That statement flips every expectation we have about Messiah on its head. Jesus didn’t come to be a white knight on a horse, riding in to slay our enemies and whisk us off to freedom. No, Jesus is the light that illuminates the darkness of the world and helps us to see the world around us as it really is. Jesus is the candle in the darkness. Jesus is the rest stop in the middle of nowhere. Jesus is light and life and everything we need to know to be the people God created us to be.  A simple concept, yes, but very, very hard to grasp all the time.

You have to give John credit. He was a very memorable witness. Each of the gospel writers gives him credit for ushering in Jesus’ ministry. John provides context for Jesus’ coming. He says, “I am not him – I’m just the warmup act.” And he baptizes people – washes them with water in the Jordan River as a symbolic act of cleaning them from their sins. This itself was a promised sign. It’s why the priests and the Levites ask, “are you the one who was promised? Or maybe you’re the prophet Elijah who has come back to usher in a new age… what’s your story … why are you here?” And John’s answer is simple. “I am not him, but he is coming soon.” John is a witness, preparing the way.

"Witness" is one of those weird words. It is both a noun and a verb. In one way, a witness sees something. This person knows that something happens and remembers it. But a witness also tells the story. In the courtroom, witnesses are not just judged on the story they tell, but by how credible their version of the story is. Can it be corroborated by other witnesses? Does it feel true over the passage of time? Does is feel likely in comparison with known experiences from the past and expectations for the future?

We don’t hear about John’s lineage here, but next week we’ll encounter Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin. John is the baby that leaps in her womb. There’s every likelihood that Jesus and John grew up knowing each other, maybe every playing together as children. But John doesn’t know Jesus is the promised Messiah from cozy family gatherings. John knows Jesus is the Messiah because it was a fact revealed by God, as we see later on in verses 32-34. Seeing the dove descend on Jesus’ head at his own baptism was the confirmation that John needed to witness or testify to others about who Jesus is… in John’s mind there is no doubt that Jesus is the Son of God.[ii]

The same is true as we hear the Magnificat, the response of Mary to the angel to brings her incredible, terrifying news. Mary has words, for sure, and they are words of power – words that see how God’s choices can turn the world upside down. Mary’s words are revolutionary. But so are John’s… both are a witness to their own experiences of God – words they could not keep to themselves.

All of this leads to the question of the day: What does this mean for us?

Some days I wish that it was so easy to just be the witness who sees but follows silently along. But Jesus doesn’t want us to be passive participants in the Kingdom of God. Action is required. Sometimes it’s speaking… sometimes it’s doing. Let’s not be fooled into the belief that we must have all the words if we are going to talk about him when all Jesus wants us to do is open our mouths and say a few words with faith. We think we have to fabricate the grand gesture, displaying extravagance when a just-in-time simple gesture of love is all the witness required.

I just finished facilitating a PWOC study on the book, Everything Happens for a Reason and other lies I’ve loved by Kate Bowler. Kate was a 35-year-old Ph.D. candidate and associate professor in American Christianity at Duke Divinity School when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. Ironically, her field of expertise was in the prosperity gospel, a branch of North American Christianity which, simply defined, believes that an increase in our faith will increase our health and wealth, and conversely, that if we are lacking in those areas, it is because of a lack of faith or unconfessed sin. Kate accidentally writes a memoir of her first-year journey through cancer, which has her questioning assumptions of sickness from her own perspective and through the reactions of others she meets along the way.

We had a great class. Our reading of Kate’s memoir offered many of us permission to process our own griefs, and to ask the questions that arise when we are confronted with the reality that life is really not fair. In the end, in two appendices, she lists first unhelpful things to say to those going through a crisis, and ends with the helpful things… I’m going to spare you the things to absolutely never say because they are a different sermon for another day. The helpful things, well, they are not just about what to say, but about how to make our words and actions reflect what we believe in what it means to love and to serve God and those living in the world around us.

Here they are:

1 – I’d love to bring you a meal this week – can I email you about it… BTW, it doesn’t have to be a meal… it could be a load of laundry, or watching kids, or a ride to a doctor’s appointment… the question is really, how can I lighten your load today?

2 – You are a beautiful person… it’s a good reminder that we are not defined by our circumstances.               

3 – I’m been thinking of you and I’m on your team. No judgment, no analysis, no platitudes… just being.

4 – Can I give you a hug? It’s important to ask permission to enter someone’s space… but people in crisis are often bereft of human touch because we don’t know what to say… this was obviously written before a time of extreme social distancing.

5 – Oh, my friend, that sounds so hard. Sometimes all we want is affirmation that we are not going crazy.

6 – **** Show up and sit in silence**** It’s not for others to entertain us in their struggles… perhaps it’s one of the hardest things, just being there.[iii]

Can you see what those things have in common? They are about presence… they are about meeting and loving people where they are… they are about understanding that the best testimonies are not always filled with beautiful words but helping people believe that they are not alone.

Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a witness. But I’ll bet that God thinks of that way. Jesus’ story starts with John’s witness, not just to the person of Jesus, but to the light which points to Christ. Our witness, our involvement with other people, our giving of ourselves in even the smallest ways can be the light that infuses the darkest times in others’ lives. [iv]

And if you’re worried that the job requirements for being a witness are good public speaking ability or great organizational skills, you’re thinking about this too hard. All you have to do to be a witness is to see a situation or a person who needs a word of hope. Many of us are here this morning because, at some time in your life, you saw the Light of the World, believed, responded in kind.

All of us have a story about how we came to know Christ. Some people’s stories are very dramatic – worthy of a documentary or Lifetime movie of the week. But many of us have very quiet stories of how we came to trust Jesus… our stories are still in progress. And while many of us are Christians because many generations before us were Christian, we don’t inherit our faith like we do brown eyes, blonde hair, or bad knees.

For a long time, I thought I had to have a set testimony… complete with scriptural references and deep theological insight. But eventually, I realized that I just needed to see Christ alive and active in my everyday life and be willing to talk about that when people needed to hear about it. The good news of Jesus became something that I had just share, just because it was too good to keep to myself.

My friend Will Willimon tells a story of the first real witness he experienced. He was an elementary-aged child and preparing to ride the bus, but realized that he didn’t have any money to pay for the ticket. He only needed 50 cents, but without it he was stranded. Another boy, about his age, was standing nearby. He saw Will’s dilemma, thrust his hand into his pocket, and pulled out a handful of change… “Here,” he said. “Take what you need.”

John’s message was a message of light – of hope – of love. Remember this as you speak and live your witness to the world, and the one standing next to you in need of just this very word.

As we close the sermon today, I’d like you to pray this prayer with me… repeating each line as I lead.

Lord, open my eyes

To your presence in our world.

Make my open eyes to see others around me

Who have yet to see

What you have given me.

Enable me, in word and deed,

To show them the good news. Amen.

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[i] James Howell’s Weekly Preaching Notions, December 13, 2020 Advent 3

[ii] Courtney v. Buggs, The Power of Testimony, Working Preacher.org, Dec 13, 2020

[iii] Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a Reason and other lies I’ve Loved, Appendix 2, 2018, pp 173-174.

[iv] Will Willimon, “Witnesses to the Light”, Dec 13, 2020, Pulpit Resource, Vol 48, No. 4

Sermon - Ready, Set, Wait... (Advent 1B)

Advent 1B                                                                                           November 29, 2020

Sermon Text: Mark 13:24-37                                   Panzer Liturgical Service, Stuttgart

St Patrick Church, Carlisle, PA

Think about all the things you’ve had to wait for in your life… vacations, graduations, weddings, the birth of children, reunion after deployment, moving, yes, and even dying. Waiting is hard!

And here we are, waiting again. The Christian year ended last Sunday as we celebrated the Reign of Christ the King. And while the stores and our streaming channels are filled with the symbols of commercial Christmas, we still have more waiting to do. As much as we want to jump right into the good news of Christmas, we must hold out for four weeks more. But trust me, we are not waiting in vain. There are plenty of things to do during this season of waiting. Advent is a time of preparation, for while we get ready for the coming of the Christ child at Christmas, we are also waiting for Jesus to come again to bring a new heaven and earth together under his reign.

Advent is one of my favorite parts about living in Germany, and it’s disappointing, but appropriate, that our usual festive displays and activities have been curtailed this year by our concern for the health of our families and communities. It’s a good thing I have hundreds of pictures of previous Advent adventures, and hopes for ones to come in the years to come. The many signs of the season can be duplicated in our own homes… greenery and wreathes signifying everlasting life, lights signifying the defeat of darkness, the gathering of family and friends to enjoy fellowship together, even if we’re meeting around a virtual table with Facetime or other technology to bring us closer together.

It’s important to remember that the season of Advent is not just about the coming of Baby Jesus. It is a time when we are reminded that Christ will come again, to reign in glory and in power. For a few minutes, let us look to see how ready we are, and what kind of place we are inviting the Christ child, Christ Triumphant, to come and live.

If you were listening to the lectionary lessons for today, you should have noticed something right away. Upon first reading, you might only hear about darkness, fear, doom, and gloom. Today’s gospel lesson seems weird to us because it is not about the baby Jesus at all. In fact, Mark didn’t say anything about Jesus as a baby at all. Mark wrote only 20-25 years after Jesus’ death to a first-generation community eager to hear the story of Jesus’ life – his ministry, his death, and his resurrection. From this chapter in Mark, we continue with the theme of apocalypse… what will happen at the end of these dark times, and what will bring us together as we wait? Mark wants us to look forward to the promised return of Christ.

This is the essence of Mark’s gospel. Over and over again, Mark reminds us that we need to be prepared when Jesus comes again to reign eternally. Mark wrote to a people who took Jesus literally at his word – they were all about being ready for the day and time to come. Almost 2000 years later, we have to ask, “How ready are we for Jesus’ return?”  

Of course, we don’t think about Christ’s coming, in the same way, that first century Christians did. The destruction of the Temple that Mark alludes to has already happened. Most of the first Christians lived while the first apostles were still alive… they followed Peter or John or James. Those who came later were at the very least disciples of Paul and Barnabas, first and second-generation disciples who talked with Peter, and traveled with Mark. These Christians expected that when Jesus promised to return, he meant in their lifetimes, and they looked forward with great anticipation to the day of his coming. 

But like a seven-year-old waiting for Christmas vacation, the people got weary and frustrated in their waiting. As the years, the centuries passed, they began to doubt it would happen. They began to think “He might never come.” Some of them reverted back to old ways and gave up on this idea of the risen Messiah. And Mark uses Jesus’ words to remind them of the absolute necessity of always being ready for his coming. “Keep awake. No one knows the time or place. Keep awake!”

How many of you have every worked third shift? These are the hours between “going to bed” and “getting up” time, and there’s a reason why these folks often get paid a little bit more. For over three years, I worked third shift on Friday and Saturday nights in the blood bank at Duke University Hospital to support myself during seminary. And I found that it was hardest to stay awake when there was nothing to do. We thought we wanted nights when we could read a few chapters in the books that we brought along, or looked forward to being able to get a few stitches in on our needlework. But inevitably, those were the nights when we wanted most to sleep. It was actually the work of the job that kept us awake and alert. It was crossmatches and blood typing and getting the hospital ready for the next day’s work that kept us going all night, ready for whatever came our way. Those were the nights I felt really needed and necessary to life in the world around me.

And that’s pretty much the same advice that Jesus gives here. Stay awake and ready by doing the business of the kingdom. Be prepared. Do the things that need to be done. Represent the Lord. Don’t get carried away by the hustle and bustle of the outside world, because it will take you to places you do not want to go.

How is this possible, we ask? And how do we translate Jesus’ directions into something meaningful for the Advent of 2020? Bombarded from all sides by “commercial Christmas,” it is sometimes hard to remember what Christmas and even Christian faith are all about. People stand up and say, “Merry Christmas,” but their lives do not reflect God’s grace and love. The Christmas trees and wreathes and gatherings are beautiful, but if that’s all our Christmas celebrations are about, we are missing the point. The presents and shopping and running are exhausting, unless we use some of that energy to help others to know some of the comforts, peace and love that we know.

This passage is often called “The Little Apocalypse.” We think that the word apocalypse means “end times” but it actually translates to “revealing,” Keeping that in mind tells us that this is not a prediction about the end times or a description of the end of the world. Instead, it is a reminder that faith isn’t lived out only on high holy days. I’m sure that every denomination and congregation has C&E members… those who come at Christmas and Easter and feel like they have done their duty. And I’m certainly not saying that Christmas and Easter celebrations are not important.

But authentic Christian faith is lived out every time we gather for worship, when we decorate the chapel for the holidays, and when we can safely do so, share fellowship after service and practice discipleship in studies and mission projects in the community. It is about being ready to recognize Christ in the world around us…To see him in the faces of our neighbors and our enemies. Jesus’ words actually drive us back to the present, where we are called to see our present circumstances as the gift God has given us to serve the Kingdom in the world today.

And while it seems like a strange passage a few weeks before Christmas, there are a couple of things I’d like to highlight about the gospel lesson. First, it’s super confusing, because their idea of time and ours are different. We think about nanoseconds… dividing time into smaller and smaller increments. But they thought of time in wide, grand swatches. Our days are marked by appointments on a calendar. Theirs were marked by four key observations of the day around them – evening, midnight, cockcrow or daybreak, and daytime.

Waiting for Jesus to come back wasn’t about sitting and waiting for the end of the world. It wasn’t about shedding day-to-day responsibilities. It is about believing the promise that the Savior us near. David Lose writes, “Mark, in other words, isn’t pointing us to a future apocalypse (“revealing”) but rather a present one, as Christ’s death and resurrection change absolutely everything. For once Jesus suffers all that the world and empire and death have to throw at him…and is raised to new life!… then nothing will ever be the same again. Including our present lives and situations.”[i]

God comes to us as we are, whether we think that we’re not yet good enough, or if we think that we don’t really need him. And he uses us to be the hands and feet of Christ – to share love and peace and grace, even when things don’t work out the way we plan or think we need them to be.

I encourage every family to take whatever opportunities are available to give others a brighter Christmas. Make an Advent wreath at home – it doesn’t have to be in a circle – or have purple and pink candles. The very act of lighting the candle, of bringing increasing light into a dark work, makes a statement all by itself. Take a name from an Angel Tree. Donate to a charity or mission project. Figure out a way to share with people who have need… no gift is too small. Value your togetherness with family. Treasure your friendships with others. Know that the love with which God loved the world when Jesus was born is still alive today, living in each one of us.

I think that’s the way we should experience Advent. It’s not just about preparing for the coming of the baby in the manger. It’s about experiencing the reality of Christ among us, and Christ working in us, every single day. In a real sense, Jesus is coming again. And each year, we have the opportunity to be better prepared, to share more love, and to live more joy than we did the year before. But we can’t do anything if we sleep through the season, unaware and unprepared.

While on a South Pole expedition, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, "It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go! We would have never made it out alive otherwise." They replied, "We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, 'He may come today.'"

The greatest threat to justice and mercy is complacency.[ii] If we don’t pay attention, we can become blind to the needs of those around us. We can become so focused on our own situations that we become immune to the cries of those suffering. When we keep watch, we must remember to see hear others' cries for help, even if their experiences are different from our own. Inevitably, we will fall asleep, or lamps will go out. We will miss the sign of the fig tree, whose changing leaves signal a new day, just as the signs around us will suggest that the time of deliverance and judgment is near at hand. But do not dispair. The promise of Jesus' coming brings us hope - hope for the near future and hope for the coming of Christ, whenever it will be. 

The season of Advent reminds us to be prepared, to watch with expectation, to wait faithfully for Christ to come. The question is always, “Are we ready?” Are we ready for the Christ Child to come this Christmas? Are we prepared for Christ to return in glory, as if he will come tomorrow? Advent is all about getting ready. Get ready… get set… get ready to wait, but stay awake. For the Lord is coming … again. Amen.

 Peace, Deb

(c) Deb Luther Teagan, November 2020.

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[i] David Lose, In the Meantime… “Advent 1B: A Present-tense Advent,” posted Nov 27, 2017, http://www.davidlose.net/2017/11/advent-1-b-a-present-tense-advent/

[ii] Bob Cornwall, “Awake, awake, the Son of Man is Coming,” Ponderings on a Faith Journey, 11/25/2020 www.bobcornwall.com

 

Sermon - Where Do We Stand? (Christ the King Sunday 29A)

Matthew 25:31-46                    November 22, 2020        Panzer Chapel Liturgical Service

Well, we made it – the last Sunday of the Christian year – where we celebrate the Reign of Christ and think about what it means for Christ to be king of our lives. It is then fitting that this week’s gospel lesson is about judgment. One of the roles of ancient kings was to act as a judge for important matters that came before him. In the early part of his reign, King Solomon was known for his wise decisions and counsel. His wisdom wasn’t just related to the facts of the case… he was often able to get to the heart of the matter.

If we step back and look at the whole of Matthew’s gospel, the theme of judgment runs throughout, sometimes more veiled than others. But as Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time, hailed at the beginning of the week as the Son of David, he knows that it will not end well for him. As the days of his final week continue, he reminds disciples and followers at every turn that his going and coming would look nothing like they were expecting. They would not know the day and time. They would not know how long they would have to wait. Nonetheless, they should always be prepared, for if they were not ready for the reign of Christ to come in all its fullness and glory, they would be shut out.

For those of us who want to emphasize the love of God and not the wrath of God, these are difficult lessons to hear. But within this warning, we find a call to live out ministry in a particular and peculiar way. For when we are called to a ministry of transformational justice, we affirm our belief that a God who is love and a God who brings judgment can be one and the same. In this week’s gospel lesson, we hear about our responsibility to care for those in need, the poor, the marginalized, and even those we mistakenly believe we should have no regard for.

This is not a new message. Some of the most significant stories of the Old Testament are of the judgment brought by God to those who did not show hospitality to those in need. Likewise, the biggest blessings come to those who share the little they have with those who have an even greater need. Matthew’s listeners would have certainly understood that applied to them, too.

In this one last parable, Jesus is explicit in relaying the message that he is the stranger among them. Righteousness is not bestowed based on what people believed or professed… it was given based on how people treated one another, especially those whom society did not value.

This is a troubling message for those who put all their eggs in the “saved by faith alone” basket. Paul’s letters to the Romans and the Galatians would lead us to believe otherwise. But the writer James has a different perspective, suggesting that our works are the true expression of our faith… “faith without works is dead.”

In the early church and still today, there are differing opinions on how we demonstrate faith before God. Paul is concerned about imposing on new Gentile Christians the rigors of Judaism, like circumcision or keeping the dietary laws. James seems to be concerned that people are concentrating too much on what they believe and not carrying that through to the way they are treating the people around them. But here’s the good news.

Paul and James don’t want different things. For both, faith is not just an intellectual enterprise. It is lived out daily, in ways small and large. Because they each wrote to specific groups about their unique problems, we don’t have to hold these two ideas in opposition to one another.[i]

Most people read this parable and want to pick sides. Am I a sheep or am I a goat? Am I on the left or the right? Am I in the wrong or in the right? But what if that is the wrong question? What if that is just an excuse for doing nothing? Dietrich Bonhoeffer is well known for having said this: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

This parable is quite long considering the small amount of information within its verses. The actions of the faithful and the unfaithful are only separated by one word… NOT. The question, “when was it that we saw you…” reminds us that Jesus was then and is now often hiding in plain sight. Those on the left hand of God seem almost indignant that Jesus did not reveal himself to them. Their implied “excuse me, Lord, if we didn’t know it was you, then how were we supposed to know what to do?” makes them the central character in the story.

The big difference with the people on the right hand of God was their willingness to serve, no matter who it was they encountered. Their question, “when was it that we saw you…” takes on a whole new meaning. They entered into the joy of their master without even knowing that it was happening because they served everyone in need. There were no special parties or recognition. They probably served in the midst of suffering, danger, risk, and disappointment. But in the midst of it, always joy. [ii]

When I think back to times when I have served others, I often remember feeling like I was getting more out of the experience than I was giving. I remember working with some SC teens one summer. We had two different experiences in the same week. First, we worked on the trailer of a woman who lived in what I can only describe as squalor. Leaking roof, no running water, it was a very hard place to be. But we did good work. We built a kind of carport roof over her trailer to keep out the rain, and we carted off truckloads of trash that had accumulated over several years. It was an almost crushing defeat when we walked in the last day and saw that she had thrown the trash out the back door, just like she had every other day before. Anger, disappointment, futility… these are the emotions we processed that … it felt like all we had done went totally unappreciated.

Later that day, we went to help on another site that had gotten behind because they found snakes in an exterior wall and had to call an exterminator to help clean them out… yeah, that was fun. But while we were painting the new exterior siding, we heard a woman singing inside, and gradually several people gathered at the window, first to hear her sing, and then to strike up a conversation with her. Mrs. Smalls was lying in a hospital bed in what used to be the dining room. She was a triple amputee from complications of diabetes, and she had in-home dialysis three times per week. And there she was, singing about the goodness of God and thankful for the faithfulness of skinny white teenagers and their youth leaders who had come to build a better ramp for her wheelchair, patch some holes in the roof and siding, all to make her life a life safer and drier.

In the beginning, the kids were afraid of this woman so different from them. At the end of the week, Mrs. Smalls was the cherry on the top of our work week sundae. When we asked the kids why they loved working for her so much, they told us that if someone who had so many problems could see her life as blessed, they needed to think differently about how they saw their lives and the lives of those around them.

The difference between these two work sights and this one group of kids wasn’t really about whether or not they were appreciated. One teen said, “When I was talking to Mrs. Small, and working to paint the room where she sleeps, I felt like Jesus was right there beside me… like he was working with us… and like snuggled up with Mrs. Smalls in that bed, reminding her that life is still good. I hope I remember this feeling forever.”

If you were to sit down and read the gospel of Matthew from start to stop in one sitting, I think you would see an important thread weaving its way through the whole book… the theme of discipleship. This parable isn’t worried about the identity of those who were or were not being served. This is not a judgment on them. This is a judgment on the ones called to serve. This parable is much more concerned with how faith is being lived out. It is about good works as a reflection of the goodness of God’s people in the world, and the glory that brings to God.

When we engage in good works, it cannot be done to draw attention to our actions for our own sake. Our faithful living is a reflection of the goodness of God. We cannot consider ourselves holders or keepers of the mystery of God… faithful discipleship doesn’t work that way. Mission itself is redefined when we realize that God is already outside the circle, outside the walls of our church, or our theology or denominational framework. We are just working to catch up. What a great irony it would be if the judgment we are so afraid of doesn’t come from on high, but is a judgment spoken through the needs of our neighbors and whether or not we have tried to bring care to wherever they are.

Following our US calendar, we usually celebrate Thanksgiving and Christ the King Sunday in the same week. Christ the King Sunday marks the end of the Christian year, which reminds us of the belief in Jesus Christ as Savior and Jesus Christ as Lord and King are two radically different things, but which also much be kept in balance. 

Jesus as Savior feels easy at first until we realize that we actually need saving. And who wants to be that kind of person?  No, most of us want to be the kind of people who save others, the heroes of society, if not for the notoriety that it attracts, at least for the feeling that it gives us inside.  Accepting Jesus as Savior means understanding ourselves differently… that we don’t have all the answers… and all attempts to save ourselves will be met with failure.

Understanding Jesus as Lord and King means something totally different.  It means that we see Christ not only as the orchestrater over our individual lives but over all of humankind.  It means submitting our lives to Christ’s love, completely turning our lives over to Him. And it means doing it over and over because sometimes we get lost and have to start our journeys over again.  In short, seeing Jesus as king means pledging our allegiance and our actions over to a ruler and a leader who will turn our lives completely upside down.

Christ the King rules our lives as our chief teacher and as the center of our values.  His teachings and ministry to the oppressed, his gospel of love, justice, and mercy, and his intimate relationship to God are offered to us as a primary pattern for OUR lives.  Jesus is Lord and King to the extent that we make him and his way of life our central value – a value that overrides the wealth and power that seem to be synonymous with success.

I’ll end with another quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He understood what it meant to speak truth to power. He paid the price, but his words live on.

I discovered later, and I’m still discovering right up to this moment, that is it only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. By this-worldliness, I mean living unreservedly in life’s duties, problems, successes, and failures. In so doing we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own sufferings, but those of God in the world. That, I think, is faith.[iii]

Our call to serve the Kingdom is not mere social service. It is all about love God and loving neighbor in all we do. The sheep are those who understand this. The goats are those who do not. The real question is, where do we stand?[iv]

In the name of the Holy Trinity, Amen.

(c) Deb Luther Teagan  November 2020 

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[i] Bob Cornwall, “Here Comes the Judge,” Ponderings on a Faith Journey, November 18, 2020 (bobcornwall.com/2020/11)

[ii][ii] Dirk Go. Lange, Commentary on Matthew 25:31-46, Nov 23, 2008, www.workingpreacher.com

[iii] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Notable Quotes, The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute, https://tdbi.org/dietrich-bonhoeffer/notable-quotes/

[iv] Bob Cornwall, Ibid.