Scripture: Luke 13:31-35

​In 2003, our space exploration program, NASA, was badly in need of a win.  This is because the organization’s last two exploration missions to Mars had ended in disaster.  In 1998, a climate monitoring satellite was lost due to an embarrassing math error and then in 1999 an expensive polar lander failed to survive the landing.  Hoping not to get a third strike, the highly ambitious Mars rover Opportunity was launched in 2003.  The rover landed successfully and began its ninety-day mission.   After completing this mission, the rover was still operational, so NASA scientists extended the mission.  They then found ways to smartly conserve the power of the rover to keep it going.  Opportunity was the little rover that could, and it kept on keeping on.  Opportunity finally went offline due to a massive dust storm in June of 2018.  When this happened, Opportunity had operated for 57 times more than its designed lifespan and exceeded it’s initial mission by fourteen years and 47 days.  Opportunity is a testament to human ingenuity and teamwork.  The team of engineers and scientists had to work together to overcome a variety of challenges to keep the rover going thousands of miles away on a completely different planet. 

The Opportunity rover is a shining example of keeping to the mission and pressing on in the face of adversity.  While the context is completely different, this morning’s scripture gives us another example.  The gospels give us small glimpses of Jesus’s ministry which about three years.  While we have a lot of snapshot stories, we do not get a lot of details.   This morning’s scripture gives us a glimpse at some of the adversity and struggles that Jesus faced.   We also get an authentic view at how the pressure and enormity of the mission Jesus had weighs on him in his melancholy lament for Jerusalem.  In this morning’s scripture we read of Jesus’ commitment to his mission in life, and how he was determined not just to keep to the mission but to do so with compassion.   In this morning’s scripture Jesus gives us an example of how we can keep on keeping on and be faithful no matter what we face.

This morning’s scripture is one that does require a little bit of context to understand. For instance, the political situation in Israel was complex.   By the time of Jesus’ ministry Israel was divided up.  Large parts of Israel, including Jerusalem and the coastal regions were part of a Roman province administered by Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor.  Other regions were client states, small kingdoms that were ruled by the descendants of Herod the great.   The Herod mentioned in this morning’s scripture is one of those descendants.  The kingdom of Herod Agrippa consisted of the regions around the Sea of Galilee and the Eastern side of the Jordan river.  In other words, Herod Agrippa ruled the area that Jesus spent most of his ministry. 

There is debate among biblical scholars why the Pharisees warned Jesus.  Some point out that this is proof they were not all bad.  They may have disagreed with Jesus, but at this point at least they did not think he deserved death and were trying to protect him.  Others have a less generous reading of the scripture and think that the Pharisees were trying to intimidate Jesus into leaving this region and heading to neighboring Judea where Herod would have no jurisdiction.   No matter what the motivation was, the Pharisees had a point.  Herod could have been perceived as a threat to Jesus.   The gospels already established that Herod did not like prophetic truth tellers because he had arrested and executed John the Baptist.   The gospel of Luke foreshadows this threat before this morning’s scripture in chapter 9.  There it is recorded that Herod hears about the miracles that Jesus is doing, the crowds that Jesus is gathering, and how people were whispering Jesus might be a prophet of old.   To this Herod replies in Luke 9:9, “But Herod said, ‘I beheaded John.  Who, then, is this I hear such things about? ‘ “

The threat to Jesus was real, but Jesus was undeterred.  He boldly stated he would keep on with what he was doing.   He told the Pharisees he would continue to be faithful to proclaiming the good news, because Jesus knew that his appointed time had not come.  Jesus knew that when he did eventually go to Jerusalem it would not be to save his life, but to lose it.  It is as if while making this proclamation, that Jesus realizes what his eventual sacrifice would mean for the people of Jerusalem.  Jesus wanted to save them.  He uses the lovely image of a mother hen protecting her chicks, but he knows that is not possible.  He knows that the people he wishes to save are going to crucify him and turn their back on him.  The gospel of John states it most plainly in verse 1:11, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” When I read this morning’s scripture, I cannot help but hear heart break in Jesus’ voice.  Jesus had the power to do miracles, to raise the dead, and ultimately Jesus displayed the power to defeat death itself.  Yet, Jesus could not make the people accept forgiveness.  He could not force them to say yes to God’s yes of grace and acceptance, and that is why Jesus expresses such sorrow for Jerusalem. 

 Even though Jesus was under threat, and even though Jesus knew that there would be people who reject his message and the forgiveness he offered, he did not give up.  As he stated in this morning’s scripture, “In any case, I must keep going on today, tomorrow, and the next day.”  Jesus knew he had a mission to fulfill, he knew that he was going to make all things new, reconcile people with their creator, and defeat sin and death once and for all.   In a similar way, as followers of Christ today we also have a mission to fulfill.  This is because our Lord and savior commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves, he urged us to do for the least of these, and he commissioned us to make disciples of all nations.
 
In our United Methodist tradition, we have taken the directives given by Christ and we have summarized that our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.   It is our mission to share the life changing, good news of Jesus Christ with people who do not yet know him so that they too may be his disciple.  It is our mission to work together to transform this world to be a more kind and loving place that better reflect the kingdom of God.   In this morning’s scripture we see Jesus is fully committed to keep on keeping on fulfilling his mission despite the potential resistance he faced and despite the weight of what he was doing.   When it come to living into our mission to make disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world, we can look to the example of Jesus to overcome the obstacles that we face.

 In this morning’s scripture, Jesus is distressed and saddened by the state of Jerusalem.   There is a sense of urgency and a longing to see the city saved.  One of the obstacles that we face is that we often lack the same sense of urgency.   Perhaps, we should feel a little bit more pressure to live into our mission to make disciples.  In 2007 16% of people in the United States claimed to have no religious affiliation.  Seven years later that number had risen to 20%.   Today 28% of Americans claim no religious affiliation. These are people who do not know God’s love, they do not know Jesus, and most of them do not really think much about that.   We do not need to go to the nations to make disciples, there are plenty of people right here in Rensselaer who do not know Jesus.  Our mission, as followers of Christ, is to make disciples.  It is to let these people know that Jesus loves them.  

The reality is we do not lack for people around us that we can share the good news with.  However, research shows that as American Christians the lack of urgency to do so is a real obstacle.  According to a study done by Lifeway research in 2019, over a quarter of regular church attenders do not even pray for opportunities to tell others about Jesus.   The same study found that less than half of all Christians have had a conversation about Jesus with a non-Christian in the past six-month time period.   There seems to be an especially steep lack of urgency within the United Methodist church.  In their book “Get Their Name” Bob Farr, Doug Anderson, and Kay Kotan’s research showed that the average member of a United Methodist church invites someone to come to worship with them only once every thirty-eight years. 

I understand, we are all busy.   We all have too much pulling us in too many directions.   We all have our own problems, and we all have dozens of concerns that take up all the mental bandwidth we can manage.   And yet, people need Jesus.  Rensselaer needs Jesus, and friends it is our mission to share the good news.  In this morning’s scripture, Jesus feels like he must keep on, he longs to gather people to know him.  If we are being honest, we all know that our to-do list is never going to get finished.  Things are never going truly slow down in a little bit.  If we want to make disciples, at some point we have to choose just do it.  I am not saying that we need to be going door to door, but we need to be more willing to share Jesus when God gives us the opportunity to do so.  In the very least, can we all please (please) agree to invite someone to come to church with us more than once every thirty-eight years? 

When it comes to the transforming the world part of our mission statement, one of the other obstacles we face is the enormity of it all.  It is not hard to look around and begin to identify things that are wrong, to see ways that our world is deeply broken, and see problems that desperately need someone to fix them.   However, it is a much more difficult thing to do anything about it.  When we look at the ways that generational poverty impacts people, that systemic sins like racism continue to rear their ugly head, or the ways that global exploitation and inequality causes problems it is much hard to figure out how we can do anything about it.  In the face of such big problems, under the shadow of such incredible darkness, and staring down so much evil it seems anything that we could possibly do is so inconsequential it would not even matter. 

Jesus came to change the world.  This morning’s scripture gives us a hint that he faced some stiff opposition, but he still kept on.   Even if we cannot fix the world’s problems we can still transform it through our actions.   There is a story that speaks about this.  It is an old story that has been around for a while, so you might have heard it before, but it is a tale that resonates deeply with me.  Along a coastline a strong storm blew in and greatly churned waters.   The next morning the beaches were littered with whole hosts of sea creatures that the waves had stranded on the sand.   Several people came out to gawk and see the spectacle of the debris.  They were surprised to notice one young boy walking the beach, finding star fish and throwing them back into the ocean.   One man went down and asked this boy what he was doing, he simply replied, “Saving star fish.”   The man, not really satisfied with that answer asked, “Why?”   The boy, not quite sure what the man was not understanding replied, “Because they need saving.”   Perhaps this man was just having a bad day, but he did not find this boy’s naive outlook very endearing.  He bluntly stated, “Why bother?   Look how many have washed up on this beach there is no way one little boy can save all of them.   Even if you do, they are just starfish.  What does it matter?”   The young boy reached down, grabbed a washed-up star fish, through it back in the sea and replied, “It matters to that one.”  

In this morning’s scripture we get a glimpse at the opposition and struggles that Jesus faced in fulfilling his God given mission.  We see how the weight of what Jesus was doing, was pulling on Jesus.   Yet, we also see how Jesus was committed to keep on keeping on.  We also have our own mission to make disciples and transform the world.  We face obstacles, but may we be willing to keep on today, tomorrow, and the next day.   May God give us a sense of urgency to share the good news and may we be willing to help people, because even if it is just one person- it matters to that one.   Trinity United Methodist Church, as followers of Jesus it is our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  So may we keep on keeping on.   
 

When the very first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896, fencing was one of the sports included and it has been part of every Olympiad since.   Fencing only really coalesced as a sport shortly before those first Olympics.   The first officially recognized fencing tournament was not held until 1880, and it was not until 1894 that an internationally agreed upon rule set for fencing was adopted.  Starting in 1894 three different forms of fencing were recognized: foil, epee, and saber.   However, in 2019 the road was opened for a new fencing style. In 2019 The French Fencing Federation, which is one of the more influential international federations, formally recognized lightsaber as an official fencing technique.  With this recognition they created standards, rules of play, and all the other trappings that are part of international fencing.   This means in France, lightsaber dueling is an officially recognized sport.  It also means that over time more national fencing federations around the world might also recognize lightsaber dueling so that someday it could even be an Olympic sport. 
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There are fencing clubs in Indiana that will teach lightsaber as a technique (sadly not any that close to here).  It does not matter if the fencing technique is lightsaber or something much older like saber, the basic concepts are the same.   One side attacks, the other side attempts to block which in fencing is to parry, and then the blocker attempts to riposte which is striking back quickly after a parry.  This riposte is a new attack that must now be parried.  This continues until one side scores a hit or one side pulls back and disengages.  Attack-parry-riposte is the basic flow of all forms of fencing, including lightsaber.  It is also the same pattern that we see in this morning’s scripture.  The devil attacks, Jesus parries, and there is a back and forth with the devil trying to find a weakness in Jesus.

This morning’s scripture is a well-known one.  The temptation of Jesus appears in some form in the gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke.   By the traditional lectionary, this story in some form is the gospel lesson during the first Sunday of Lent.   In all versions of the scripture right after being baptized Jesus is taken away by the Spirit to the wilderness. It is commonly assumed that this wilderness is the area between Jericho and Jerusalem.  This is a dry desert reason.  While Jesus was in this region he fasted for 40 days.  He would have been hungry and weak.  In this morning’s scripture it states, “for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”  The gospel of Luke alone implies that Jesus faced temptations throughout the forty days, but all three gospels that have this story contains the same three temptations. 

While none of us have ever been offered power over all the kingdoms of the world Like Jesus was, that particular temptation shares elements with more common temptations.  If we take the three temptations that Jesus faced and break them down to what is really behind these temptations, then we can see that they are like the temptations we face.  We can learn from how Jesus handled these temptations so when we are confronted by the desire to act sinfully, we can parry and riposte successfully. 

The first temptation that Jesus faced was to turn stone into bread.  This does not seem like a big deal.  After all, Jesus endured a fast longer than most of us could handle.  He was in real need of food.  It does not seem unreasonable for Jesus to use his power to keep himself nourished.  Except it was by the leading of God’s spirit that Jesus was out in the wilderness.  The long fast was clearly a directive from God.   The temptation here is to obey God or meet his physical needs.  The first temptation of Jesus was one that asked him to prioritize himself over obedience to God.   While none of us would have faulted Jesus for making stones into bread, the general temptation here is one of selfishness.  All the temptations Jesus faces in this morning’s scripture are dialed up to eleven and are the most extreme examples.  Yet, we face similar temptations as this one.  When we are just a little uncomfortable, we are much likely to focus on ourselves than pay attention to others or be obedient to God. 

Many of the temptations we face daily are ones that are selfish in nature.  Many of the temptations we face regularly are ones that center ourselves at the expense of others.  We face these kinds of temptations so often; we sometimes do not even properly recognize them as being tempted to sinful actions.  This is because we are all amazing at justifying our actions.   It does not matter how selfish or self-centered someone’s actions are, People tend to be really good at coming up with reasons why it is OK this one time to do whatever it is. A small example we have all encountered is the person with a nice car who purposely parks so that they take up multiple spots to keep anyone from parking close to them.  It seems this never happens during down times when there is a ton of space, and these people never tend to the back of the parking lot.  They seem to always do this closer to the front and the park so that their car effectively takes up at least three spaces.  Even though it is a jerk move, the person who does this has likely rationalized in their mind why it is acceptable for them to act that way.  They see their actions as perfectly justifiable, because they are putting themselves above all else.   Whenever we have a self-centered want it is not hard for us to succumb to the temptation to perceive that want as a need and then justify our actions as to how we meet that perceived need.    This first temptation is one of selfishness, to put ourselves first.  We regularly face temptations to do things that put ourselves first above loving our neighbors or loving God.   

The second temptation that Jesus faced is perhaps the most straightforward.  Devil offered Jesus power.  We all know the proverb: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”   We have all seen this.  From the school yard bully who pushes around smaller kids because they can, to the middle manager who terrorizes employees because they can, to the international dictators who invade other countries because they can.  We have all seen and unfortunately many of have suffered the consequences of someone else’s sinful acts motivated by a desire for power.  Think of all the lies, the people hurt, and broken lives that have been created in human history for the quest of power.   Jesus was offered more power than any one person has ever been offered, so he understands the alluring temptation that power offers.  Yet, Jesus once again  parries the devil and quotes scripture.  Jesus once again focuses on God, and Jesus shows us that instead of seeking power to rule our petty little kingdoms we should worship and serve the one and true Almighty God. 

The final temptation Jesus faced was more of a dare.  The temple complex in Jerusalem was built on a hill overlooking a valley.  In the time of Jesus, it had been thoroughly developed and at one place from the top of the wall to the bottom of the valley would have been about 450 ft in the day of Jesus.  This is the spot the devil took Jesus, dared him to jump and have the angels catch him.   This was an appeal to Jesus’ pride.   Like Jesus was here, we are also tempted by pride regularly.   This temptation comes in the form of a challenge, and often that is how we are tempted into pride as well.  We feel challenged, and we are so convinced our rightness we refuse to back down no matter the cost.  Pride is when we think too much of our own selves.  Pride is when we refuse to admit we might be wrong, refuse to apologize, or when we refuse to consider the position or feelings of others.   It is the opposite of humility and pride is one of the great catalysts of sinful actions.  C.S. Lewis points this out in Mere Christianity.   He wrote, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” 

We do not face the exact temptations that Jesus faced but we face the same kinds of temptations.  If you think about all the wrong in the world, then many of the ways that people are mean and unkind to one another can trace back to selfishness, lust for power, or pride. These are temptations that all of us face.   The particulars might look different for each of us, but we are tempted in much the same way Jesus was.  We face temptations daily, and they can often be hard for us to parry. Temptations have a nasty way of turning into bad habits which can become lifestyle choices or crippling addictions.  It can feel like we are bombarded by cultural messages, peer pressure, and our own personal demons to give into temptations.  It can all be so much that it can seem impossible to block, much less riposte and push back.  Jesus being fully God and fully man, knows the temptations we face and Jesus showed us how to deal with them.  

It is worth noting just how little Jesus engages with Devil in this morning’s scripture.   Devil is attempting to tempt Jesus, and Jesus barely gives him the time of day.  We do not see Jesus arguing with Devil, we do not see him trying to put the devil in his place or fighting in anyway.  It is less an epic duel, and more Jesus swatting away an annoyance. In fact, the only thing that Jesus says to the devil are quotes from scripture. 

  By quoting scripture, Jesus does more than just say “no” to the devil’s temptations. Every time Jesus is tempted in this morning’s story, he quotes scripture so that he focuses on the right thing.  He quotes scripture, but notice the scripture that Jesus quotes.  Each one connects to his relationship with the Father.   Jesus resist temptation by leaning into his relationship with God.   Jesus says no to the darkness by clinging to the light.  This is an example we should follow.   When it comes to the temptations, we face we tend to overcomplicate it.   We constantly are thinking of ways to justify our behavior.  We are constantly looking for reasons why this time it is OK, because it is an exception. Or we create arbitrary lines so that our selfish or prideful behavior is excusable because at least we did not go across that line.  Following the example of Jesus though cuts right through all of these games we play with ourselves. 

 Instead of making how we wrestle with our temptation complex, we can make it simple.   Every time we are tempted we face a choice, and we can boil that choice down to the most common denominator.  The choice is to say yes to temptation and take a step away from God or we say no to temptation and take a step closer to God.  We either say yes to what tempts us or we say yes to God, we cannot do both.   So let’s follow the example of Jesus and lean into our relationship with God.  

We will not always get it right.  Instead of parrying the temptation and riposting into our relationship with God, the temptation will land. There will still be times where we fall short where we say yes to something else other than God.   When that happens, we also face a choice.  We can fall into guilt, we can allow temptation to gain a stronger foothold as we continue to give in.   We can be weighed down by the weight of our shame and guilt or we can turn back to God.   We can confess or sins, we can repent, we can believe the gospel and we can be forgiven again.  The blood of Christ is strong enough to break every chain.  Even if we have wandered down a dark path, God the Father will always accept us back with open arms.

This morning’s scripture is a hopeful reminder that like Jesus we too can resist sin, but this morning’s scripture is a realistic reminder that all too often we miss the mark.   Perhaps that is why the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is traditionally read at the start of lent.   May we not lust after power or in selfishness focus on ourselves in prideful ways. Like Jesus may we be quick to turn to scripture and may we strive to keep our focus on hearts, our minds, and our souls focused on God.   In this season of lent may we fully to commit to repent and believe the gospel.   
 
 

Scripture:  Luke 9:28-36

 Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of this country and third president of the United States, might be best known for being the author of the Declaration of Independence.   The foundational document famously contains these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”  In the Declaration of Independence, we get a glimpse of Jefferson’s faith.  However, the faith that Thomas Jefferson held is one that deviates greatly from the Christianity that many of us profess and believe today.   We know this, because Thomas Jefferson created his own edit of the gospels.  The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, commonly referred to as the Jefferson Bible, is a work that he composed.  He did this by literally cutting sections out of the four gospels and piecing them together to create one document that Jefferson believed capture the essence of Jesus’ life and teachings.   In doing so Jefferson left out a lot, specifically anything that seemed supernatural, including the resurrection.   Jefferson did this because he personally did not believe in the truth of those elements of the gospel, so he literally removed the parts of the bible he disagreed with.   Needless to say, this morning’s scripture did not make Jefferson’s cut. 

Thomas Jefferson believed that the miracles of Jesus like walking on water were based in superstition not in reality.  His edit of the gospels was his attempt to create what he believed to be a more factual or authentic view of Jesus.  Jefferson is not alone in this.   Since the time of Jefferson there have been scholars who have strived to capture the historical Jesus.  Even to this day, there is a steady trickle of academically minded books that are published to further explore and define the historical Jesus.  A lot of this work focuses heavily on the culture and time that Jesus lived and how these forces shaped Jesus as a man.  Much of the work focused on the historical Jesus defines Jesus only as a person in a particular time and place.  Like Thomas Jefferson, the majority of it discounts the more supernatural elements. 
I do think there is a lot of wisdom to considering the historical context and we can learn a lot from serious scholar inquiry into the culture of Jesus’ time.  However, this morning’s scripture is a reminder that Jesus is more than just a historical figure.   Jesus is more than just a man, and the only way to ignore this is to cut out whole parts of the bible.  This morning’s scripture reminds us that Jesus is the son of God and this morning’s scripture helps us realize how we should relate to Jesus the Christ, when his glory is fully revealed. 
 
 The story of Jesus’ transfiguration is found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  While all three gospels have minor differences in the details they emphasize, all three gospels agree on the major details.   All three gospels have Jesus taking Peter, John, and James up a mountain to pray.  While there have been some historical disagreements about where this took place, most biblical scholars today agree that the mountain in question is Mount Hermon.  This is the largest mountain in Northern Israel, reaching over 9,000 feet, and the summit is snowcapped.  This was not just a brief hike.  This morning’s scripture implies that the event of the transfiguration happened at night and woke the disciples up.  So Jesus and the disciples had journeyed aways into the wilderness as they ascended the mountain. 
 
In all three gospels, the story of the transfiguration takes place about one week after Jesus ask his disciples “but what about you?  Who do you say I am?” and Peter answers, “God’s messiah.”   It is then in the transfiguration that Jesu’s glory is revealed.   Jesus meets with Moses, the keeper of the covenant that makes God the God of the Israelites and the Israelites the people of God.   Jesus is revealed as the fulfillment of the covenant.  As God’s messiah it is through Jesus is through him that all people can become God’s people.   While transfigured Jesus meets with Elijah as well.  The prophet Malachi declares that Elijah will come before the day of the Lord, the day that God deals with sin and evil once and for all.  As the messiah, Jesus did this.  His atoning sacrifice defeats sin and death and reconciles us to God.   Just in case Peter, James, and John missed all of this, God the Father even declares this “This is my Son, whom I have chosen, listen to him.” 

It is truly a remarkable scene.  It is a story that is included in these three gospels to explicitly make the point that Jesus is not just another man.   It is a story that confronts us with the divinity of Jesus.   It must have been an incredible sight, and one that was overwhelming.  This morning’s scripture records after it was all over “the disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.”   The gospels make it clear that Peter is not afraid to talk, yet even he is stunned into silence by what he witnessed.  Perhaps, if we put ourselves in the disciples’ shoes it is easy to see why they felt this way, and we get a glimpse of how we can best relate to and interact with Jesus. 

 I can only begin to imagine what witnessing the transfiguration must have been like for Peter, John, and James.   They were woken up by a bright light and a lot of commotion.  I wonder if they were confused at first, unsure if they were dreaming or if this was real life.  All three gospels struggle to convey what the disciples saw, and they all choose different imagery to get the idea across.  Here in the gospel of Luke, the description is that the clothes of Jesus became as bright as a flash of lightning.   One of the details that I wonder about, is how did the disciples know who Jesus was talking to.  The implication is that they must have heard something of the conversation Jesus was having with them to deduce that the two people Jesus was talking to were Moses and Elijah.  Again, I must wonder what was going through the minds of the disciples when they realized this.   Moses is a person they would have been taught to look up to and emulate their whole life.   It truly must have been incredible for them.  It is no wonder they were silent; how could they begin to find the words to describe something so amazing and beyond explanation?

Despite how just awe-inspiring it must have all been, Peter had to say something.  As I already stated, Peter is not afraid to talk, so he interrupts this divine moment to offer to build three shelters, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  I especially like how in this morning’s scripture reading, Luke adds a parenthetical comment of “He did not know what he was saying” to drive home the absurdity of what he was offering.   Yet, perhaps we should not be too hard on Peter.  He was likely thinking back to the stories that he had learned in the bible.   Multiple times in the Old Testament, when someone had an encounter with God they would build a structure and give it a special name.   One example of this in Genesis, after Jacob encounter God in a dream, Jacob builds a pillar of rocks and calls the place Bethel, meaning house of God.   Perhaps, that is the kind of thing that Peter had in mind.   Peter wanted to commemorate this event, freeze it in time, and make it a moment of great importance that could be celebrated and venerated for years to come. 

Honestly, we probably are not that different from Peter.  This was a profound, spiritual experience for Peter.  He saw before him the heroes of his faith, and he saw the glory of God messiah fully revealed.   Today, when someone has an encounter that has immense spiritual importance to them or when someone feels the presence of God in a powerful way it is referred to as a mountain top experience.  Often these mountain top experiences become formative in the lives of people.  They become moments that they look back on with fondness and they often hope to recrate that same feeling in the future.  We may not build little monuments to commemorate these moment, but in our memories we certainly enshrine these holy encounters.   In this morning’s scripture Peter wanted to do the same when he had a literal mountain top experience with Jesus.   However, in doing this he kind of missed the point in a couple of ways.  

First, Peter wanted to build these structures to memorialize the transfiguration.  He wanted a lasting monument to the time that Jesus was transformed before him and radiated as brightly as the lightening flashes.  He wanted this spot to be remembered where the glory of the messiah was fully revealed.  The point that Peter misses here, is that for Jesus this was not necessarily anything special.   What changed is how Peter saw Jesus, who Jesus was did not change.  The bright and radiate messiah, chosen by God is who Jesus always has and always has been.  Peter saw Jesus as he is in this morning’s scripture, but that does not mean Jesus was transformed or changed.   The bright, glowing Jesus and the regular Jesus at the beginning and the end of this morning’s scripture are the same person.

This is where I think the quest for the historical Jesus misses the mark.  Jesus the historical man and Jesus the son of God are the same Trying to only focus on the humanity of Jesus while ignoring Jesus as the glorious messiah is an attempt to keep Jesus manageable.   If he is reduced to only a man who managed to have a large influence on history, then Jesus can be just another remarkable historical figure.  A smaller, less magnificent Jesus is easier for us to handle.  It is easier for us to keep Jesus in a nicely contained box in our lives, instead of being overwhelmed by his goodness, his glory, and his grace.  When people take the Thomas Jefferson route and cut out the parts of the bible that point to Jesus’ divinity, then it makes it so they do not have to bow down and worship Jesus as Lord and God.  

There is danger in going the other way as well and only focusing on the divinity of Jesus.  This gets closer to how Peter specifically missed the point.  When we only focus on the glorified version of Jesus, then we overly spiritualize Jesus.  We make Jesus a person that we can only meet in holy places and the only response we can have is one of awe and worship.   However, doing this means we forget the very first thing Jesus said to his disciples- the first thing he said to Peter.   He did not say worship me, he said follow me.   When we focus only on the divine and spiritual side of Jesus, we run the risk of making Jesus a place we come to worship and not a teacher to follow.        

 The second way that Peter missed the point is in how he tried to honor Jesus.   His whole idea of building shelters was misguided, but his heart was in the right place.  He suggested it because he wanted to honor Jesus.  Like Peter we should want to honor Jesus.  We should want to honor him because Jesus is fully God and fully man.   He is the glorious messiah shining like the brightest light and he is the Son of Man who was obedient to the point of death on a cross.  He is the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, the living water, and the Great shepherd.  He is savior who defeated sin and death and he is the great rescuer who brought about forgiveness for each one of us.  He is the son of God whose glory has been revealed.  

We should seek to honor Jesus but building monuments to commemorate a moment is not the best way to honor him.  We do not honor Jesus by building taller steeples or putting religious monuments in public spaces.     Fortunately, in this morning’s scripture we are told the best way to do this.  In fact, it is God the father who tells us this.  The best way we can honor Jesus, as God says, is to “listen to him.” We honor Jesus by listening to him.  

Jesus told us to love God with all of our being and to seek the kingdom of God above all else.  Jesus gave us a new command to love one another, so that we may best learn to care for the needs of the world.  Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves and set an example of love that is sacrificial.  He pointed out the people we should be extending this care and kindness to are the least of these, those who are most in need of care and inclusion.   If we want to honor Jesus then we listen to him and we actually do it. 

 So may we not put Jesus in a box by trying to define him too narrowly.   May we not seek to turn Jesus into a memorial that we only come to when we want to find or relive a mountain top experience.  Instead, may we see Jesus as he truly is, the messiah, the son of God, the savior of the world.   And may, please, listen to him. 
              
 

Scripture:  Luke 6:27-38

 I had a class in high school where the teacher loved to give group projects.  Almost every week there was some project that was supposed to be done throughout the week and then presented on Friday.  I became popular in that class among a certain group of students, and they would all scramble to claim I was their partner.  This is because they knew that if they did not do their part of the group work, I would just do end up doing it for them.  I wanted to get it done and I wanted a decent grade and more often than not the most efficient way to accomplish both of those things was to just do it myself.  While it was not as bad in higher education, in both college and even in seminary I was involved in group projects where I ended up covering the work of someone else.  Whether it was for school or work, chances are most of us have experiences where a person did not pull their weight on a group project, someone else covered for them, but the person who did not do the work gets the same grade and recognition as everyone else. 

At some point we have probably all heard the pithy proverb “work smarter, not harder.”  The idea behind this is to always find the most efficient way to get the job done. However, some people twist this a little bit, and they see working smarter and not harder as figuring out how to do the least amount of work and still get paid.  The person who does not really contribute to a group project might be a more common example, but other people take this idea to the next level.  Perhaps one of the most incredible examples is Joaquin Garcia, a low-level bureaucrat from Spain.    His job could be done at one of two locations, a water treatment plant or a central office.   He told the treatment plant he would be at the central office, and he told the central office he was at the water treatment plant.  In fact, he was at home doing whatever he wanted.   He pulled this lie for an amazing fourteen years, and he only got caught when he was to be recognized for twenty years of loyal service, and no one could find him.   Being able to do the minimum amount of work and still get paid is a balancing act that requires an odd level of skill, this is why when sociologist Roland Paulsen wrote his article about the subject for the Atlantic Magazine, he entitled it “The Art of Not Working.”  
 
The art of not working is all about getting the most you can while giving the least.  There are many who try to build their life of this philosophy, and there are some who would insist this is just practical wisdom and clever living.  In this morning’s scripture, Jesus describes a different way to live.   Jesus describes the art of grace, which is the opposite of the art of not working.  The art of grace is all about giving the most and being at peace with receiving the least.    The art of not working is all about finding ways to not work harder for personal benefit, but the art of grace is all about working harder to be more like God.

This morning’s scripture has similarities to a section of the sermon on the mount found in the fifth chapter of the gospel of Matthew.  However, the gospel of Luke once again tends to be a little bit more into the nitty gritty of everyday life.  For instance, the gospel of Matthew states to pray for those who persecute you, and this morning’s scripture does state something similar in pray for those who mistreat you.   Now praying for someone, even someone who has been unkind to us, is something that we might begrudgingly do.  However, this morning’s scripture takes it a bit further.  Not only should we pray for them.  Jesus tells us to do good for those who hate us.   Jesus tells us if anyone who takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  Jesus then sums up why we should be willing to do these things in verse 31: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” 

Since the 1600s, this has been referred to as the golden rule.  There is a decent chance that even someone without a church background could give you a decent paraphrase if you asked the, “What is the golden rule?”   Not just as Christians, but as society, we seem to recognize this teaching of Jesus as important.  Despite that we collectively do not always do our best at following it.   In fact, so much of conventional wisdom seems to go against this teaching of Jesus.

For years I have seen social media memes that some might describe as “tough love” memes.  I imagine the people who make these posts like to think they are “Just telling it like it is.”   These posts meant to be shared and re-shared over and over again will have matter of the fact statements such as “Respect is not given, it is earned” or “facts do not care about your feelings”, These could be seen as hardy salt of the earth proverbs, but the problem is they all go against the golden rule.   Because if respect is earned not given then that means we do not need to treat someone with respect until they meet the standard we set as right.   If facts are always more important than feelings, then that gives us permission to ignore the feelings of those we disagree with.  This is not how any of us want to be treated.  We do not want to be judged by someone else’s arbitrary, subjective standard or have how we feel ignored. These are not tough love statements, because there is no love in them.  In the same way, it is common to encounter people who believe, “If you respect me, I will respect you.”  They often declare this belief as if it is a fair statement that grants them some sort of moral high ground.  Yet this is a statement that Jesus directly refutes in this morning’s scripture. 

In verses 32-33: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners do that.”   There is nothing good or godly about being respecting the people who you think have earned it.  It is not much of a virtue to claim we are kind to those who have proven they are worth our kindness.   In fact, the beauty of the art of grace we do not need to prove ourselves to receive it.   Thanks be to God for that amazing truth, because we would all be in a sorry state if we had to earn grace.   

Treating others the way that we want to be treated, means we let go of our standards of behavior and measurements we try to hold people to.  It means we give others the benefit of the doubt and we treat people with a basic level of dignity and respect even if they have nothing to earn that basic level of dignity and respect.   We should be willing to do that for others, because God was willing to treat us mercifully even when we did not deserve it.   In Romans Paul writes about this: “All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.”  We have all done what we know is wrong, we have all made the willful choice to put ourselves first, we have all acted in ways that cause harm and deny God’s goodness.  By God’s standard we are all ungrateful and wicked.   If God used the standard of “respect is earned, not given” we would all be rightfully doomed.
 
Thankfully, that is not God’s standard.   God is a God of Holy Perfection, God is a God of justice, but God is also a God of extravagant mercy.  It can be seen consistently throughout the entirety of scripture that God consistently chooses side of mercy.   After stating we all fall short of the glory of God, Paul makes this clear in Romans when he writes this beautiful truth: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

 Do to others as you would have them to do, is all about treating other people the way that we want to treated.  It is about treating others the way that God treats us.   Ultimately the way we want to be treated is with grace and mercy.   Treating other people in the same way is the art of grace.  Unlike the art of not working, the art of grace is in fact hard work.  It requires us to actively put others first.  When it comes to doing that in our lives, I think there are two things we should keep in mind as we learn how to be more grace-full people. 

First, we should consider verse 35 of this morning’s scripture.   Here Jesus reiterates that we should love our enemies and be good to them.  The example he gives for how we do this is give to them without expecting to get anything back.  We should do this because God is merciful, and God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.   Far too often, we tend to shun mercy and kindness because we assume the worst of people.  We hold those in need with cynicism and suspicion instead of mercy.  We should follow the teachings of Jesus and the example of God the father and lead with mercy.   Instead, cynically assuming people in need are just trying to take advantage of the system, we should try to meet the needs of others if we can.

 I understand there are bad apples out there.  I understand there is a need for wisdom and discernment, but we should not let jaded cynicism or assuming the worst stop us from helping people.  If we were truly in need, we would want people to help us out, so that is what we should do for others.  We should show mercy to others.  If it turns out they are trying to scam us out of a few bucks, then come the day of judgement that is on them.   We should strive to be faithful in being merciful, doing good for all, giving without expecting anything back, and being kind to everyone, even the ungrateful and wicked.  Because that is the way that God treats us.  

Second, this morning’s scripture is all about how we relate to our enemies.  It addresses how we are to respond to those who have wronged us.  Jesus challenges us to reconsider who we label enemies and why do that in the first place.    It is frightfully easy to take those who we disagree with or who seem incredibly different and brand them our enemies.  This is often done by labeling others as “those people”, we instantly create an “us vs. them” scenario.  When we do that, it becomes very natural to say things like “respect is earned not given” to those who we consider not us.

When we tear down those “us vs them” walls it becomes much easier to love others.  We should realize that all people belong to the same group, specifically all people need Jesus.   Saints and sinners, friends and enemies, us and them- we all need Jesus.   Instead of lumping people into little categories we should draw the circle wide to include everyone, because there is only one category of people, we should put people in and that is the category of people who need Jesus.   I need Jesus, you need Jesus, we all need Jesus. Out of God’s endless mercy, God has sent his only son, that all who believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God has been merciful to us, and when we realize that we are in the same category of people who need Jesus it is easier for us to be merciful to everyone else.
 
 In this morning’s scripture, Jesus challenges our default assumptions and urges us to lead with grace.  This can be hard work, because it requires us to put others first and to lead with mercy.  Yet, it is worthwhile because as Jesus states in this morning’s scripture, “your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High.”  So may we lay aside our cynical attitudes and may we be willing to treat people with mercy and compassion.  May we not divide others into categories or label anyone our enemy, but may we recognize and value the sacred worth of all people.  May we be kind to others the way that God is kind towards us, may we love the way that Jesus loves.   Using mercy, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness as your colors of choice may your life be a beautiful masterpiece that illustrates the art of grace.    
 

Scripture:  Luke 6:17-26

Often one of the qualities that some of our most loved movies have in common regardless of the genre or when they were released is how quotable they are.  Many of us likely have beloved quotes from some of our favorite movies that are often floating around somewhere in the back of our minds.   Given how much we love a good movie quote, it is odd just how often we get them wrong.  For instance, one of my absolute favorite movies is Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and arguably the most well-known quote form that movie is “Luke, I am Your Father.”  But that line does not actually appear in the movie.  In the same way nowhere in all of Star Trek television or movies does Captain Kirk ever say the phrase “Beam me up Scotty.”   There are dozens and dozens of examples of movie quotes that are misremembered.  Often it is just a simple issue of remembering the scenes but not getting the words quite right.  However, there are a few instances that are a real head scratcher.  For instance, one of the supposed most well-known quotes from the movie Casablanca is “Play it again Sam.”  That line is not anywhere in the movie, the closest is a character saying, “Play it once Sam, for old times’ sake.”, which is not even that close.  For whatever reason, there are some quotes from movies that we tend to collectively remember incorrectly, and the incorrect quote is what becomes the one spread far and wide.
          
  I would not fault you if you thought something similar was happening with this morning’s scripture.  Because this morning’s scripture might sound familiar to us.  One of Jesus’ best-known teachings are the “beatitudes” a series of “blessed are” statements.  This morning scripture sounds very similar but also may not sound quite right.   Unlike misremembered movie quotes, that is not quite what is happening here.   It turns out in the gospels there are two versions of the beatitudes.   The more familiar version is found in the gospel of Matthew where this morning’s scripture comes from the gospel of Luke. There are some minor but fairly important differences between these two versions.  For instance, the first statement found in Matthew is “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, where Luke records “blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” 

The statements of blessing in Matthew tend to be spiritualized whereas the statements in Luke tend to be focused on the physical conditions of the people Jesus is speaking to.   This morning’s scripture from Luke also contains statements of woe which Matthew does not have.  So given those differences it is not surprising that the Matthew blessing statements are the more popular and more well-known ones.  They tend to feel a lot safer and more comfortable.  This morning’s scripture really presses against some of the culture messages we are inundated with.  This morning’s scripture can cause us to question our assumptions about what it means to be blessed, but this morning’s scripture can also point us to how we can more authentically be a disciple of Jesus. 

Blessed is a tricky word to define.  Like a lot of abstract concepts, it is an idea we feel like we have an understanding of but it is an idea we struggle too fully articulate.  The opposite of being blessed is being cursed, and that is a state we generally want to avoid.  So often we usually hear people claim they feel blessed when the circumstances of life work out in a way to give feelings of happiness or peace.  We often reduce the idea of being blessed to an attitude of focusing on the positive rather than the negative.   While focusing on the good in our lives instead of dwelling on the hardship can do wonders for our general outlook, it is kind of hard to square that understanding of being blessed with what we find in the bible, especially in this morning’s scripture.   Because poverty, hunger, sorrow, and being hated are objectively not great places to find oneself.  Yet, those are the very qualities that are lifted up in this scripture as being blessed, which really brings about the question what does it mean to be blessed? 

We find the concept of being blessed throughout the bible.  The way blessing and being blessed are described are varied with a lot of depth throughout the bible, but a common trend does emerge.  Being blessed means to have God’s attention.  The blessed in the bible are the people that God has a special care for.  To be blessed means that God has a specific concern for you.  Blessings, which are often positive in the bible, are the physical results that come from being blessed.  Often when we count our blessings, we consider the positive in our life to be an indication that we are blessed, but it often works the opposite in the Bible.  Being blessed does not mean comfort or an overabundance of blessings.  Being blessed means that God has a special care for you.   In that light, this morning’s scripture begins to make more sense. 

 When Jesus says blessed are the poor, blessed are the hungry, and blessed are you who weep, that is exactly what he is saying.  Those are the people who are blessed.  This is not to say that Jesus is glorifying or idealizing poverty, but rather Jesus is reinforcing a theme found throughout scripture.   Consistently throughout scripture God is on the side of the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, and the marginalized.   Throughout the bible God is the protector, defender, and ultimate advocate for the poor.  Psalm 146 gives a good example of this.  Verses 7-9 state, “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.  The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts u those who are bowed down.  The LORD loves the righteous.  The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow.”

  The poor, the hungry, the oppressed are blessed because God’s favor and protection is upon them.   This is a reality in the kingdom of God.   In their book Deep Justice in a Broken World Chap Clark and Kara Powell put it this way, “Any biblically rooted understanding of the kingdom of God cannot be separated from God’s commitment to uphold justice by providing for the needy . . . God who reigns over all of creation looks upon the brokenness of his children, and in his mercy takes special favor of behalf of those most affected by humanity’s sin and rebellion.”  Those who have been systematically impacted and hurt by the broken and fallen state of the world are the ones God has special care for, and that is why they are blessed. 

Even if a fuller understanding of a biblical notion of blessed, this morning’s scripture can still be difficult for us because of the statements of woe.  I do think the beginning of verse 20 is key to understanding this morning’s scripture.   It states, “Looking at his disciples, he said . . .”   This morning statements of blessing and woe were not a general teaching but were directed to his twelve closest disciples, and that context is incredibly important.

 This morning’s scripture takes place early in the ministry of Jesus.  The scripture that immediately precedes this morning’s is when Jesus had finalized picking the twelve.  Then this morning’s scripture begins with a great number of people gathering.  I imagine what this had to be like for the 12 disciples.  They had just been honored by Jesus to be chosen as one of his closest followers.   Now a large crowd from all over has assembled, they spent the day watching Jesus do miracle after miracle.   I imagine those twelve men had to be overflowing with excitement.  They had to feel like they were on the ground level of something that was going to be big.  They saw how huge the crowd was, and they might have thought this was only the beginning.   Perhaps they saw fame in Jesus’ future which also meant fame in their future.  Just like today they would have known that fame leads to influence and power and wealth.   I have to wonder if any of the disciples that day felt like they had hit the jackpot, they had hitched their wagon to the right star, and they were on their way to having it made. 

If any of the disciples felt that way, then when Jesus looked at his disciples and delivered the statements of blessings and woe, it would have been a dose of reality that re-grounded them in what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus.   Jesus starts by reminding them who God is for and concerned about, which means the people that Jesus is concerned for.    Jesus then reminds them that if their focus is on wealth, comfort, and reputation then their focus is on temporary earthly things and not on heavenly things.  If our focus in on ourselves and on what we can get, then our focus is not on God.   It also means that our focus is not where God is focused and we are not focused where Jesus was focused.

Jesus’ message in this morning’s scripture was meant not for the multitudes, but it was meant for his closest followers.   If you consider yourself a disciple or if you consider Jesus to be your Lord and Savior that means the truth of this scripture is that it was intended for you to hear.   This means the first aspect of this scripture, that God is on the side of the poor and the oppressed, is for us to hear.  If God’s focus is on those who are the most without and the most in need, then that is where our focus should be.  If God is the protector and defender of the poor and marginalized, then it means those are the people we should be seeking to help and shelter as well.  The poor, the hungry, the hurt, the hated are the people this morning’s scripture defines as blessed because God is on their side.  Perhaps as the people of God, it is our job to be the blessings for those who are so blessed.   As the body of Christ, as the hand and feet of Jesus, we should have compassion for those that God cares about and seek to meet their needs. 

In the same way the dose reality the woes hit the original disciples with should also re-center us on what it means to follow Jesus.  These woes are the inverse of the four “blessed are you” statements.   They point us to where our focus in life should not be.  We cannot be sharing the love of God and being a living example of Christian witness if our focus is on the things that Jesus pronounced woe upon.   If our focus is on accumulating more and more wealth then we are not going to be very good at generously providing for others the way that God generally provides for us.  In the same way if all our time, energy and effort goes to make ourselves comfortable, to create an environment where we never weep, then we cannot see the great hurts in the world.  If we do not see the hurts, then we cannot join God in trying to tend to those hurts. 

 There is a lot of hurt in this world.  There is a lot of injustice and pain in the world, and if the magnitude never brings us to tears then it’s because we are intentionally ignoring it.   For instance, current data estimates 10 children die a minute from preventable causes.  In the past half hour that is over 300 children, half of which are infants who died and did not have to.  That SHOULD cause us to weep.   It should break our hearts.  If our focus is on acquiring wealth, getting the finest food in life, and ensuring we are always happy and comfortable then our focus cannot be on God, or the people God wants us to focus on.  I know we do not have the resources to save them all, I know we cannot help every hurt, but we can still help. We may not be able to fix all the world’s problems, but we can, we must do something.  Every small faithful step we take builds for the kingdom of God and aids in the transformation of the world. Every time we give of our resources to help someone else, every time we give our time to help provide for another person, every time we stop to truly see and recognize the need of another person then we are joining in on the sacred work of God.  We are a blessing to those whom God has special care for.    

This morning’s scripture can be uncomfortable because it challenges us to pursue compassionate actions instead of personal comfort.  This scripture reminds us that the way of Jesus is to focus less on ourselves and more on others.  So may we have compassion and care for the people that God has special care for.   May we love what God loves and be saddened by what saddens God.   May we have generosity for the poor, compassion for the hungry, and weep with those who weep.  May we realize that being blessed is not about what we have but by how we can be a blessing to others.    
 

Scripture:  1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Songs have been written to cover just about every topic imaginable, but there is one subject that seems to be the most popular:  A crazy, little thing called love.   It is estimated that more than 100 million love songs have been recorded.  The variety of love songs is staggering as they appear in all genres.   The songs tell us that love is all we need and that we will do anything for love.  Yet most of these songs do not actually define love, they won’t do that.  There are some that give some definition.  Tina Turner cynically asked “what’s love got to do with it, and defined love as a secondhand emotion.   Other songs are a bit more positive and assure us that love will never give you up, never let you down, and never hurt you.  Singers of all varieties love to crone about love and hit the high notes when they proclaim, “I will always love you”, but they rarely actually say what love is.  

On the one hand, perhaps they do not need to.   Perhaps they do not need to define love, because on some level we know what love is.  Love is less something we explain and define and more something we feel on a deep level-which is why it is such a good topic for songs.  Yet on the other hand, how we use words matter and definitions are important.  Love is a kind of hard word to define in English, because of how the word is used.  English has more than 170,000 words.  It is one of the languages with the most words in active use in the world, yet we use the word love in a lot of different contexts.   We use the word love to define the attraction and connection between two people.  We use the world love to define how we relate to the divine, and we use the word love to describe how we feel about pizza.

 Because we do not ever define the word well, it does lose some of its meaning.  Grammy winning song writer Jimmy Webb points this out in his book Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting.   Where he wrote about love that the word is “overused and has no good rhymes.”  Despite the fact it is overused, especially in songs, I think Jackie DeShannon was right when she sang “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.  It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.”  If that is true, then it is important to define just what this world needs.  It is important to answer the question, “What is love?”  And this morning’s scripture goes a long way in helping us do just that. 

There is a decent chance that you have heard this scripture before, because this is the go-to scripture for weddings.   It makes sense, and it kind of works.  After all, if a newlywed couple treated each other with love as it is described in this scripture then they would be off to a great start.   However, this morning’s scripture is not about weddings.   This morning’s scripture is part of the same general thought that started in 1 Corinthians 12 and continues into 1 Corinthians 14.  The past two weeks we explored 1 Corinthians 12, as a reminder and to get us all on the same page.   The church of Corinth had a question about spiritual gifts.  While we do not know the exact question, we can infer from Paul’s writings that it had something to do with some gifts being more important or special than others.   Specifically, we get the idea that there were some in the Corinthians church who seemed to believe that those who spoke in tongues or prophesied were somehow better than those who did not. 

Paul really tries to emphasize this is not the case.  He points out that all spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s purposes, and he points out that the church is like a body where all fulfill their role, and all roles are needed and equally important.   From there he turns to this morning’s scripture, to teach the Corinthians the most excellent way.   The point that Paul makes is that the most amazing spiritual gifts are not worth much if our motivation is not in the right place.   The church of Corinth desired these charismatic, exciting outward manifestations of the holy spirit, but Paul is urging them to instead desire an inward change.  Their faith is not defined by the outward stuff they can do, but rather by a changed heart, a heart defined by love. 

 Thankfully, Paul then goes on to define love.  In just a couple of verses he does a much better job than most love songs at telling us what love is.  Paul describes love as an entity and gives it characteristics.  Love is not this independent thing, but rather it is an internal attitude that impacts and effects our thoughts and actions.  So by describing the characteristics of love, Paul is telling us how love should impact and influence our thoughts and actions.   Love should lead us to being patient and kind.  It is out of love that we should refrain from being envious, being blinded by pride, or act in anger towards others.  Love should motivate us to protect others, and love should be a source of strength in our life that keeps our hope from wavering and enables us to preserve, because we know love never fails.  

This kind of perfect love that Paul describes is the very love that God has for us.  God proved this love to us through Jesus.  On the night he gave himself up for us, Jesus met with his closest disciples in an upper room.   The gospel of John records he told them many things including Greater love has no one than this:  to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.”  One of the disciples who was in the room that night used this experience to give their own definition of love in the epistle that he wrote.  In 1 John 3:16 he wrote: “This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his lie for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”  

Love is Jesus Christ crucified.  It is through the cross we see the perfect love of God displayed.  A love that does not keep record of wrongs but blots our sins, transgressions, and iniquities.  A love that is kind beyond measure, a love that is not self-seeking but fully selfless, a love that perseveres, and a love that never, ever fails.  This morning’s scripture defines love, and the mighty acts of Jesus Christ prove this love.  Love, as defined by this morning’s scripture is not just a poetic word.  It is not just a theoretical or ethereal concept.   Love is an attitude of the heart that inspires us to action. 

Jesus himself was clear about what kind of actions we should be motivated towards.   He said the greatest command is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.  He said the second command is like it to love your neighbor as yourself.  Jesus demonstrated this love.  He demonstrated his love for God by being obedient to God to death, even death on a cross.  He demonstrated his love for neighbors by laying down his life both for his friends and for the whole world.  The love that Jesus put into action, was the perfect love of God and one of the final points that Paul makes in this scripture, is that we too can love in this way. 

After Paul defines love so well in verses 4-7, the scripture does seem to take a bit of a turn.   Verses 10 and 11 state: “but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”  In this morning’s scripture Paul ties maturity to perfection and perfection to love. 

 This connection between maturity, perfection, and love was one that fascinated John Wesley, the found of the Methodist movement.  It was a connection that he saw repeated throughout the scripture.  In our United Methodist tradition, we believe that faith is not a static thing, but through the Holy Spirit working in our lives our faith grows and matures.  As our faith matures, it transforms and changes us to the point where we reach Christian perfection.  Christian perfection does not mean we are flawless.  There can still be missteps, bad connections and accidental fumbles.  Christian perfection is when we truly and fully love God with all of our being, we truly and fully love our neighbor as ourself, and we willfully do not sin.

Christian perfection is when we learn to love perfectly.  Christian perfection is when the definition of love that Paul gives in this morning’s scripture is also a description of who we are.  One of the things we still believe that we got from John Wesley is that Christian perfection is not a theoretical ideal.  This is not some sort of impossible standard that we will never reach, but that this is a reality we can live into.  About loving others, Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect.”  Jesus would not have told us this if it were not possible.  So we believe that Christian perfection is a level of maturity we can reach.    Not only can we achieve it, but we should strive for it and make it our goal.   

This is the same the point that Paul made for the Corinthians in this morning’s scripture.   They were desiring flashy spiritual gifts, but Paul urged them to not strive for these gifts but to strive for love.   The Corinthians wanted outward manifestations of the Holy Spirit, but Paul urges them to desire an inward change.  This morning’s scripture urged the Corinthians and us to pursue a perfect love that will change us from the inside out, that will bring us to maturity, and that will lead us to fully love God and love neighbors just like Jesus did. 
            
Jesus gives us the perfect example of perfect love to follow.   He loved sacrificially, and we can do the same.  Jesus sacrificed his life for the whole world, but we can follow the example of Jesus without going to the same scale as Jesus.  Instead of the whole world, we can start with one person at a time.   Instead of giving our lives like Jesus did, we can offer up what we have.  We can sacrificially give of our resources, not just our excess, but we can share what we have to provide for those who do not have.  We can sacrificially give of our time to meet the needs in the world around us.  We can also sacrifice our assumptions, our comfort, our belief that our viewpoint is always the right one so that we better have empathy, we can better have compassion for, and we can want mercy for people who might be different than we are.  In following the example of Jesus and relying on the empowerment of the holy spirit we can become perfect in love.

This morning’s scripture lays out the most excellent way.  It succeeds where many love songs fall short, and it defines love.  May we desire that the Holy Spirit works in our life so that we may be perfected in love.   May we pursue Christian perfection, not as a theoretical goal but as, by the grace of God, an achievable transformation of our hearts and lives.  May truly and fully love God with all of our being.  May we truly and fully love our neighbors.   Friends, the Beatles really were right.  All the world needs is love, and may we be the ones to show it to them what love is.    

Scripture:  1 Corinthians 12:12-31

When I was in high school, I wanted to be in the school plays, but there was an unspoken rule that if you wanted any chance to be cast in the Spring play then you also had to participate in the Fall musical.  So, for that reason I showed up to audition for Bye, Bye Birdie.  When the director/music teacher asked what part I sing, I told him I didn’t.   He told me that was nonsense and that anyone could sing.  I was cast in background roles in that musical, but I then did get cast in the Spring production.   The next year I once again showed up to try out for the musical which was the Sound of Music.  I was cast as the butler, which is the only role in the entire production that does not sing a single note.  I am not a very musical person.  In fact, I am one of the most musically challenged people I know.   If I attempt to sing and actually get the right notes it was probably because of dumb luck.  I never ever attempt to clap along to music, because I would fail to stay on beat with a metronome, and any kind of dancing that requires rhythm is a terrible, terrible idea.  Everyone has things they are good at, and music is very much not one of mine.  

   Even though I am terrible with musical things, I can still appreciate good musical ability.   In the realm of music, one of the things that I find most incredible is marching band.   You may not be aware but there are actual competitive marching bands.  They are part of an organization called DCI (Drum Corps International) and they travel the world competing against one another.  Just like only the best athletes make it to the professional level, only the best musicians and marchers make it on a DCI corp.   To see a marching band at that high of a level is kind of incredible.  Several dozen people, organized in different instrument sections, are all moving in perfect harmony with one another.   They cease to be individual musicians but become one marching entity.  It is impressive and amazing, and I think a good marching band can be a faith lesson for us.  A marching band illustrates what a church should be like when we assemble, and it gives us a good example to better understand this morning’s scripture. 

This morning’s scripture from 1 Corinthians immediately follows last week’s scripture and is really part of the same thought.   Last week we considered the first half of 1 Corinthians which was focused on Spiritual Gifts.   One of the major points that Paul made there was that all spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit to do God’s work.   In the church in Corinth, there was obviously some drama brewing about these spiritual gifts though.  Specifically, we get the image that some people were claiming that some gifts were superior and better than the others.  In last week’s scripture Paul explicitly states this not the case, but then in this morning’s scripture he doubles down on that claim with his well-known Body of Christ metaphor. The body is only complete with all the parts together and one part is not any better than a single other part.   It is a well-known metaphor but putting it into practice has always been a bit tricky.  

If the church is the body of Christ, then it feels like sometimes the right hand literally does not know what the left hand is doing.   I think it is fair to say that the body of Christ has a bit of a coordination problem, and we can struggle with all the parts working together sometimes.   This morning’s scripture shows that coming together on the same page has been a growing edge for faith communities from the beginning.  Unity between believers and working in perfect coordination for the common good has continually been a learning process for us.  

This is why I think marching band can be a good place for us to look for an example of what the church could be like.    One of the things that is so impressive about marching bands is that in some instances hundreds of people are perfectly united for a common goal.  When done correctly the move in perfect sync with each other.  All these different people, in different instrument sections all come together to create something that is bigger than themselves.   It is as if all these individuals almost move and work like one body.  This is what a church should be like.  As a faith community we should move together in perfect unity, all working for a common purpose.  We should be united in love to serve God and spread forth God’s compassion in the world.   In considering what kind of example a marching band gives us; I believe there are three things we can learn about how to better be the body of Christ

First, everyone has a part to play.   Marching band works because everyone does what they are supposed to do when they are supposed to do it.    Sometimes this means marching in place while another section of instruments gets to do fun and complex choreography.    However, all of the sections are essential to fulfill the bigger picture.  This is why Paul wrote in his body metaphor “The eye cannot say to the hand I don’t need you! . . .On the contrary those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable”   In the body of Christ we all have a role to play, but sometimes we lose sight of that.
              Verse 18 of this morning’s scripture states, “In fact God has placed, the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”    God has an idea of how we can best serve Him and how we can make the most impact in our mission of making disciples and transforming our world.   However, sometimes we do not go that way because we feel that we should do something else.   In seminary I met someone who was a worship leader in her church, but it took her years to claim that.   Despite having a beautiful singing voice, she did not sing for years.    This is because her home church she grew up in had several gifted sopranos who could kill the high notes. However, this woman was very firmly an alto, and she grew up feeling that if she could not get the high notes then she was not well suited to lead music in front of others.  We can sometimes limit ourselves and hold ourselves back from fulfilling the role God has for us.

   Aiong the same lines, I remember reading a story once from a pastor about a man in his church who was having a lot of frustration.    He wanted to serve God and fulfill a role in the church.   This man was an accountant, so of course the church put him on the finance committee.   That was not where he felt he should be though.  Since he worked in business, he was nominated for Trustees instead.   That was also not a good fit.   What this man wanted to do was work with young children.   He tried to volunteer in the nursery, which is where all of the young mothers served.  This was a larger church with a lot of young mothers, so he was told that they did not need them.  The man went to the pastor out of frustration, and the pastor intervened and had him added to the nursery rotation.    It did not take long until he became a permanent fixture in the pre-school nursery.   He was the absolute favorite of every child, and he loved those little kids with the love of God.  It took him awhile to fulfill his role because others assumed they knew where he fit in best.    We all have a part to play, and we should follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and fulfill that role.  

The second thing we can learn about the body of Christ from marching bands, is that it takes work.  I know that the annual band camp is more like boot camp than summer camp.  Years ago, I served as the youth pastor at Avon UMC, and marching band is a really big deal at Avon High School.   Every year in the late summer, the band students in the church would complain that the freshmen cannot march.  Of course, they tended to forget that when they were freshmen, they could not march either.    Learning to march in time takes time and practice.   For a marching band to work in perfect coordination takes a lot of practice and effort.  Every member of the band must memorize the music as well as the choreography.  Then they must execute it in sync with everyone else at the same time.   This is why marching bands practice for hours and hours a week.    It takes a lot of effort to perfectly move together as one.

Being the church, being the body of Christ, is the same way.   It takes effort, being the church is more than just showing up on Sunday morning and putting our check in the plate.  To be the church we have to do the work of the church.  If we want to see new disciples of Jesus Christ being made, then we must be willing to be the one who is sharing the good news.  If we want to see this world transformed into a more kind and loving place, then we need to be the ones who are seeing the needs in our community and meeting those needs.  We can count on God moving and the Holy Spirit empowering, but we have a role to play and work to do when it comes to making disciples and transforming the world by sharing the love of God.  

It also takes grace.   Because as individuals, trying to work together to do the work of the church, we will not always get it right.  There will be missteps, there will be balls dropped, there will be mistakes, and there will be things that just do not work like they are supposed to.   When that happens in the church, we should be the model of forgiveness, the model of how to try again, and the model of how to come alongside someone and support them unconditionally.   When it comes to fulfilling the role in the body of Christ that is the perfect fit for us, it is something that will take effort and practice as we learn how to do it right.   The church as a whole needs to be a place that is full of support and grace while we learn how to serve God.  Because if one part suffers every part suffers with it; if one part is honored every part rejoices with it. 

The final thing we can learn from marching band is from the motivation that drove people to be part of the band.  For people who pursue marching band beyond high school, they do it for only reason.  It is the for the love of the music.  The love of the music and desire to be part of it is what motivates people to do things like join a DCI corp.  It is their passion for playing that makes all of the hard work and training worth it.  I think as Christians we should have similar feeling What should bring us here to assemble is the love of God.  What should bring us here is a tug we feel in the depths of our soul because we know that we love because God first loved us.    We know that God’s love for the world was fully revealed on the cross, and because of that our sins have been forgiven and we have been reconciled with God.  Our motivation for being here, for being part of the body of Christ should be because we know the great love of God and we desire to fully participate in that love by sharing it with others.   However, just like the band we find this is where we belong, because we are not alone.   A love of music motivates people to march and a love of God should motivate us to be part of the church.  A community of faith where we assemble, each doing what God has called us to do, in perfect harmony, in complete unity, to make disciples and transform the world.  

Paul wrote, “Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is part of it.”    No matter how long you have been a Christian, no matter how long you have been a part of this church, you are part of the body of Christ.   There is a role for you here.   There is a way that God’s love can be shared and that God can glorified that only you can do.   May you find your place in the body of Christ.   If you are not sure about what that may be, then I would love to sit down with you to talk and pray about it.    We are one body because as Paul wrote “we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body.”   Christians assemble so that we may faithfully march to the beat of God’s drum.   
 

               In the world of professional tennis, Naomi Osaka quickly gained a lot of attention as a prodigy and the next big thing.  She started competing professionally at the age of 15.  While still a teenager she began qualifying to compete in grand slam event, the highest level of play in professional tennis.   By the age of 22 she was ranked as the number one women’s tennis player in the world and she was considered one of the most marketable athletes out there.  In 2020 she ranked eighth in the number of endorsements from companies.  However, in 2021 she stepped away from tennis.   In explaining her reasoning for this decisions she said, ““When I win, I don’t feel happy. I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad, and I don’t think that’s normal.”  Tennis had more or less been or life and it was no longer a source of joy in her life.  Fortunately, after a hiatus she did eventually find her joy and returned to tennis, but that is not always the case.  At high level competition, athlete burnout is a problem.  

​However, this is not an athletics problem.  It is an issue that can impact a lot of young people who are gifted in some way.  A lot of young people who are labeled gifted and put into accelerated programs or who train and practice at high levels can experience extreme burnout later in life.   This is common enough, that it even has an official name of gifted kid syndrome.  Gifted kid syndrome is when a child that's endowed with above-average abilities becomes exhausted as a result of too much pressure from unrealistic expectations they set for themselves or others place on them.  The pressure and expectation to always preform above average means that doing so feels like doing the bare minimum and anything less than being the best of the best feels like failure leads to exhaustion and burnout.  Gifted child syndrome happens because a person with above average abilities also gets saddled with above average expectations that no one can realistically achieve.  

I think in churches we tend to have the opposite problem.  The problem we tend to have is that in our faith no one tells us that we are gifted, and so expectations of what we are capable of are low or nonexistent.  No one tell us we are gifted, so it becomes the natural assumption that we are incapable of doing something truly special.   Yet, this morning’s scripture flies in the face of that because this morning’s scripture tells us that if a faithful follower of Jesus then you are gifted.  Verse seven of this morning’s scripture states this explicitly: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”   All disciples of Jesus have spiritual gifts.  We are all gifted.  The question this morning’s scripture should leave us considering is how then, are we going to use those gifts?

In the bible we have two of the letters that Paul wrote the church in Corinth.  1 Corinthians is very much a letter written to a specific church, in a specific place, to address specific questions.  We know that it was part of an ongoing conversations with the church, because Paul references other letters he wrote them that we do not have.   This had led biblical scholars to believe that this morning’s scripture is the beginning of an answer to the question that Paul received from the church about spiritual gifts.  That is why it begins with verse 1 with the “Now about the gifts of the Spirit.”   While we do not know the exact question Paul was asked, biblical scholars have tried to reverse engineer what the concerns of the church in Corinth were based on Paul’s response. 

In general, 1 Corinthians is written to a church with a lot of internal division.  This church seemed to struggle with taking sides and with keeping an attitude that treated all members of the church as valued and equal.  Based on this morning’s scripture, the question related asked to Paul about spiritual gifts seems to be along the same line, because he is quick to emphasize that no gift is more important than the other and that spiritual gifts are found in all the believers not just the special.

While that is the main point that Paul seeks to make in this morning’s scripture, it is easy for that point to get muted and for us to get lost in the weeds on this scripture.  A lot of energy around this morning’s scripture gets directed to the so-called charismatic gifts such as miraculous powers, prophecy, and speaking in tongues.   The inherent supernatural aspect of these mentioned gifts tends to garner a lot of positive and negative attention, but when our focus is caught up there not only do we miss the main point that Paul was trying to make, but we overlook some of the other lessons this morning’s scripture teaches us about spiritual gifts.  Instead of focusing on the specifically names gifts in this scripture, we can focus on what this scripture says about spiritual gifts in general.  

There are three general lessons we can learn about spiritual gifts from this morning’s scripture.  First, Spiritual gifts are of God, not of us.   As Paul wrote in verse 4, “there are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit distributes them.”  A spiritual gift is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.   It is the Holy Spirit actively at work in and through our lives.  This means that spiritual gifts are not natural talents we are born with like a good singing voice or that they are skills like throwing a fast ball that can be developed with practice.    Spiritual gifts might work to our strengths, but a spiritual gift is not something we have power over.  It is not something that we can control and pull out of our back pocket like a party trick.

Spiritual gifts are the ways that the Holy Spirit empowers us.  This morning’s scripture was not meant to be an exhaustive list of the ways that the Spirit empowers people.  This morning’s scripture is not the only list of spiritual gifts found in the bible.  Spiritual gifts can, from outward appearances, be quite mundane.  Perhaps those times when we did not know what to say, but we ended up saying the right thing to help or comfort someone was not just dumb luck, but it was the Holy Spirit working through us and using us to make a difference in someone else’s life.  Whenever we do something with the help of God, that would have been beyond our ability without God’s help, then that is a spiritual gift at work in our lives. 

The second general lesson that we can learn about spiritual gifts from this morning’s scripture is why the Holy Spirit empowers us in the first place. It does not matter how common or fantastic the spiritual gift is, they all come from the same source for the same purpose.  Verse six states “There are different kinds of working but in all of them it is the same God at work.” Spiritual gifts exist not to glorify us but to glorify God.  They exist to fulfill God’s purposes.    Spiritual gifts are the way that God enables us to be his hands and his feet.  They are they the way that God equips us to join in God’s mission to bring about redemption on the earth.  Spiritual gifts are the very power of God in us that God uses to transform the world and build for God’s kingdom.  If we wish to experience the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts in our lives then we must be willing to follow and join God in what God is doing in the world.  

The third general lesson about spiritual gifts that we should take away from this morning’s scripture is Paul’s main point. Because it is all the work of God for the glory of God and the purposes of God, no spiritual gift is above any other and to each one a manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  That means, that you-yes you, are gifted by that God.  It means that if you allow it, then God can use you to do something beyond yourself.   You are gifted, and through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit you truly are capable of making new disciples, you are re capable of tending to the hurts of others, you are capable of enabling someone else’s dream, or you are capable of transforming this world to be more like the kingdom of God where justice rolls down like a river, righteousness like an ever flowing stream, and love is over all. 

Gifted child syndrome is when someone has above average ability and then tries to meet unrealisitic expectations.  There is another phenomenon that happens though, when someone else assumes an individual to be gifted.  This phenomenon is called the Pygmalion effect, and I think this effect speaks to how we should treat spiritual gifts.   I think one of the more fascinating studies that shows this is the Rosenthal-Jacobson study that illustrated what they came to call the Pygmalion effect.  In this study an academic competency test was given to all students in an elementary school.  The scores were not shared with teachers, but the teachers were given the names of some the students and told that these students showed potential from the test to be intellectual bloomers over the school year.  The same test was administered at the end of the school year, and those identified to the teachers as potential intellectual bloomers performed well above the other students.  The thing is the students that were shared with the students were picked at random with no regard to how they actually did on the first test.    The highlighted students were not really more gifted or intelligent than the group.   The difference in performance was less based in the ability of the students but rather based in how the teacher treated them.  Higher expectations lead to an increase in performance.  The teacher believed the highlighted students were better and treated them as such.  The result was a self-fulfilling prophecy where they really did become the highest achieving students in the class and this is the essence of the Pygmalion effects. When someone else believes we are capable of meeting a higher standard they end up helping us reach that standard. 
   
Friends, we can be gifted by God to accomplish God’s purposes on earth.  We should believe in one another that God can use each of us.   As a faith community we should be each others greatest encouragers.  All of us have the capacity to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to truly transform this world, so we treat each other as if we each have the capacity to change the world for the better.  We should believe in each other, and we should encourage one another to take big steps of faith that can make a real difference.   We can expect that God can use us, and in holding one another to that standard.  When others believe that we can do so something then, the Pygmalion effect shows that we are more likely to achieve that standard.  This morning’s scriptures that we can all be gifted by the Holy Spirit, and if we believe that about one another then we are likely to allow ourselves to be used by the Spirit and empowered by the Spirit. 

 So you may you believe that you are gifted.  May you believe that through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit God can use to do more than you believed possible to accomplish God’s purposes.   May you be willing and open to be used by God, and may we believe that those sitting next to us in the pews can be used by God.  May we encourage one another, may we cheer for each other, and may push one another to do incredible things for the kingdom of God.  Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit may you use your gifts to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  

Scripture:  Luke 3:15-17; 21-22

When you stop and think of all the scientific progress and knowledge that we as a species have acquired it is truly staggering.   Scientists in a wide variety of fields are discovering new things all the time.    While we may not always be aware of or understand these new scientific findings or breakthroughs, I think we are generally aware that there are smart people at the top of their field who are always expanding the boundaries of human knowledge.   One of the things that might surprise us though is that despite all that we have learned, there are some very common, everyday things that scientists are clueless about.   For instance, science cannot explain why ice is slippery.   Ice, as a solid, is not particularly smooth or frictionless.  The best explanation for why ice is slippery is that it has a very thin layer of water on top of it, but science cannot explain why solid water does this and no other substance does.  Science also cannot explain what causes this thin layer in the first place.   Science also cannot explain what makes magnets work the way they do.   Scientists can observe the effects of magnetism, and they can explain how magnetic forces work, but the “why” is a mystery.  In much the same way, gravity is also a mystery because science currently has no good answer for why gravity is.   It is seeking to answer these unanswered questions that drive scientific discovery in the first place.   Isaac Asimov once said, “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries is not Eureka! But that’s funny. . .” 

 Science and faith share a common denominator in that both disciplines are seeking truth, just from different angles.   In the same way many of our spiritual insights come not from flashes of brilliance but from thinking “that’s funny” and asking questions.   The bible is full of all kinds of instances that can make us say “That’s funny... “There are several scriptural stories that we may be familiar with, but when we really start to ponder lead us down a path of asking questions and discovery.   I think this morning’s scripture is a good example of this.  We believe that Jesus is God incarnate.  So, it is funny then that Jesus had to be baptized.   Why did Jesus get baptized?  I think by exploring this question we can gain a better understanding of our own baptism and the amazing grace of God.  

Baptism is one of the oldest Christian traditions.    The book of Acts as well as Paul’s letters mention the importance of baptism as a way of signifying faith and a new life.  There is an ancient Christian document called the Didache.  This document dates all the way back to the first century and contains a baptism liturgy in it.  For as long as our faith has existed, baptism has been part of it.  We often trace this back to the fact that Jesus was baptized, and his disciples went on to baptize.  Baptism is one of the basic building blocks of the Christian faith and the Christian experience.  So, understanding baptism should be important, but one of our primary examples, Jesus being baptized can leave us with some questions. 

The gospels tell us that John the Baptist offered a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  As this morning’s scripture tells us, he used water.  In doing so, he was utilizing a Jewish concept that has roots in the law that God gave the Israelites in the Old Testament.  In that part of the scripture, we find water being used to wash away spiritual uncleanliness.  The physical outward act of washing with water represented an inward spiritual change.  John built on this concept by emphasizing repentance instead of cleanliness.  The idea was the same.  The outward, physical act of being baptized in the water represented an inward change.  For those baptized by John, baptism was a physical act that marked their desire and commitment to turn away from the sins they had been committing.  It was a symbolic act of a fresh start.    

To this day, the idea of a fresh start, of renouncing a life of sin and embracing a life of following Jesus is still part of how we understand baptism. In our United Methodist baptism part of the baptismal vows is to renounce sin and confess to live a new life with Jesus as Lord and savior.  There are some branches of the Christian tree that particularly emphasize this aspect of baptism above any other element of what baptism is.  However, it is in this emphasis that we can begin to say, “that’s funny”, because If the baptism of John the Baptist was primarily about repentance, then Jesus should not have needed to be baptized.  We believe that Jesus is the Messiah.  That means we believe that Jesus lived the perfect, sinless life.   He literally had nothing he needed to repent for.  He did not need to turn away from what he was doing and live differently.  Jesus was not baptized because he needed to repent.  This means while we can find value in baptism representing an act of repentance, it can not be the only reason why we get baptized as Christians.  The baptism of John the Baptist was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, but Christian baptism is to be more than that.  This morning’s scripture gives us two clues to what other inward, spiritual changes the outward act of baptism represents. 

The first clue is found in what John the Baptist says at the beginning of this morning’s scripture.  John the Baptist speaks of Jesus and says that he will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.  When Jesus is baptized and emerges from the water, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus as a dove.   From the very beginning of our faith the Holy Spirit is linked with baptism.  This is especially evident in the book of Acts.  One of the inward changes that the outward act of baptism represents is the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.  This is demonstrated in our Baptism liturgy.  Right after the water is administered in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the pastor then prays over the newly baptized saying, “The Holy Spirit work within you, that being born through water and the Spirit, you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.”  Baptism marks a new chapter in our faith journey, and it is the Holy Spirit that continues to guide us along the path.

In how we live our lives and in our walk with God, baptism marks a specific time starting point where we are declared to belong to God, and we recognize the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives to make us new creations in Christ.  Baptism is the physical act that signifies and makes the inward change tangible.  However, this change tends not to be a one and done event.  It is a process, where the Holy Spirit working in our lives, molds us and shapes us to be more like Christ.  Being baptized does not prevent us from choosing sin, we can still fall short of the mark.  When we do, then we need to return to God to experience the grace of forgiveness and the grace that entrust God’s Spirit to us in the first place again.   The formal theological word for this is regeneration. The UMC articles of religion put it this way, “We believe, although we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to depart from grace and fall into sin; and we may even then, by the grace of God, be renewed in righteousness.” 

This act of regeneration happens in our lives, because we believe the Holy Spirit is with us and works within us to change us.  The Holy Spirit can work in our lives to improve upon the work begun in our baptism.  As we continue our faith journey the grace of God, the love of God that was declared over us in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can become more real to us and we can better live into it.   Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can become more patient, more generous, or more loving people.  Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can take steps of faith we never thought possible, we can do more than we thought possible, we can meet real needs, and we absolutely can make a real and lasting transformation in the world today.

The second clue as to what kind of inward change that baptism signifies in us is found at the very end of this morning’s scripture.  Here a voice from heaven, attributed to God the Father, states, “You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  In Luke’s accounting of the baptism of Jesus, God the Father speaks directly to Jesus.  Jesus is baptized, and God then tells Jesus who he is.   This is a fundamental aspect of what baptism should do in our lives.  Baptism, and the fact that we are baptized should inform our identity and who we understand ourselves to be. 

I greatly appreciate, in fact I love, how our United Methodist liturgy sums up what baptism does for us.  Our baptismal liturgy begins with: “Brothers and sisters in Christ:  Through the sacrament of Baptism we are initiated in to Christ’s holy church.  We are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit.  All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price.”  Friends, the truth of this statement should inform who we understand ourselves to be.   Through baptism it is acknowledge, that God wants us to be part of God’s church.  Through baptism it is acknowledge that God believes that we are worth saving.   Not only are we worth saving, but God believes in us enough that God has invested in us with the Holy Spirit and God believes we are capable of being better versions of ourselves.  This is not transactional; this is not what God provides to us in exchange for worship.  Grace, forgiveness, inclusion into God’s church, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, all of it is a gift, freely given.  It is a gift given out of the great love that God has for us. 

I don’t know if you have ever had the experience of having someone believing in you, someone who encouraged you, told you that you can do it, and inspired you to push yourself to reach the heights they believed you are capable of.  I also don’t know if you have ever had someone in your life who would not give up on you , who would help carry you when you fell and who made sure you had all that you needed to not just succeed but thrive.  If you have been fortunate to have those kinds of people in your life, then you know that when some believes in us and when someone pushes us to be our best, it informs who we are.  We internalize their message and make it part of who we understand ourselves to be.   This is exactly, what baptism does.  A large part of baptism is that it is the ritual we used to acknowledge that God believes in us, God will not give up on us, and that God has entrusted us with all we need to be a thriving disciple of Christ.  Baptism is the physical act that reminds us that our identity who we believe ourselves to be should be informed by what God thinks of us.  

Martin Luther, the great reformer believed this.  When he would wash his face, he would look in the mirror and tell himself, “Remember, you are baptized.”   In fact, when he was discouraged or afraid he would splash water on himself and say, “But I am baptized!”    If you are a baptized believer, then it can be both affirming and powerful to regularly remind ourselves that we are baptized; That we have been claimed for and by God’s love.   As often as we need to rinse and repeat, we can remind ourselves that we are baptized.  In doing so we  remind ourselves that our imperfections, our flaws, and failures do not define us because we have been baptized because God believes in us, God does not given up on us, and that we have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.   We are defined by the confidence that God has in us to be faithful disciples who can make disciples and transform the world. 
 
​This morning’s scripture can cause us to pause and say “that’s funny” as we consider why Jesus was baptized in the first place.  Jesus was not baptized because he needed to repent.  Jesus was baptized to signify a new beginning as he began his ministry with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus was baptized so that God the Father could speak to his identity.  These too are part of the reasons why we are baptized.  If you are not baptized, then may you anticipate your baptism-knowing that the waters communicate God’s gifts to you.  If you are baptized, then may you remember your baptism and be thankful.  May you be thankful that our baptism communicates to us that we are God’s children, that God loves us, and that God believes we can be exactly who God created us to be. 
 

Scripture: Luke 2:41-51
 
            It was a beautiful Spring Saturday in 2014.  At this time Connor was four and was enjoying the weather playing outside.  It was my job to keep an eye on him while also doing some Spring Cleaning.  In doing so, I left the backyard to take something or another to the front yard, and when I came back he was gone.  I had just been in the exterior garage and the door was open, so I checked that.  He was not there.   Assuming he had went inside, I went to check and did not see him.  Abigail confirmed he was not inside.  At this point I started to get a little panicked.  I went back outside and checked the alley, no there.   My heart really began to race.  I ran around the block calling his name.  True panic was setting in and I began to jump to all of the worst case scenarios. We lived in a parsonage that was right next to the church.  It was Saturday, and no events were happening so it should have been locked up.  However, completely out of options I check inside the church and that is where I found him.  It turns out that in the time I had went to the front yard, his Sunday school teacher had walked to the back kitchen door, Connor saw her and followed her in.  All told he was missing for less than three minutes, but those were some of the scariest moments of my life.  I tell this story, because I can in some small measure begin to appreciate how Mary and Joseph must have felt.  However, my experience only barely compares to the one in this morning scripture.  My child was missing for three minutes not three days and I did not have to search an entire city to find him. 

            On Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but after that event the bible skips ahead.  In all four gospels we only get two or three stories of Jesus before he is a full grown man.  There is a story just after Jesus is born and presented at the temple.   Some point when Jesus is a toddler, the Magi visit him in the gospel of Matthew and then we get this story of the age of twelve.   The bible is quick to celebrate baby Jesus but then moves on to Jesus the rabbi.  Within the entire scope of the gospel narrative the birth of Jesus is not that big of an event. 
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            This is different than some of the cultural messages that surround Christmas.  A strong and pervasive cultural Christmas message is this idea of keeping the spirit of Christmas year round.  This message is repeated in various ways in a variety of Christmas specials but perhaps none state it so clearly as the Sesame Street Christmas special which ends with a song where Big Bird and friends sing, “the goodness of loving; the gladness of living these are Christmas too; So, keep Christmas with you all through the year.”

            While the goodness of loving and gladness in life are important, I would argue they are not the true spirit of Christmas.  The true spirit of Christmas is the incarnation, it is the reality that God is with us, and is a light shining into the darkness.  The bible does not dwell much on Jesus as a child but this story we do have I think points exactly how we can keep Christmas with us all through the year. 

            The story in this morning’s scripture can cause us to have some questions.  I think the first and biggest one is how did Mary and Joseph lose Jesus for a whole day?   I do think the context can help fill in the details.   This event happened at the end of the Passover festival.   Passover was and is to this day a big deal in Jewish worship, and it is likely that many of the towns and villages of Galilee emptied out as those who were able made the journey to Jerusalem for the festival.  If everyone is going to the same place by the same way, it makes a lot of sense to travel together.  There is safety in numbers, there is immediate help if needed, and resources can be pooled and shared.  It is likely that every year Mary, Joseph, and Jesus made the same trip, with the same people.   They were not journeying with strangers, they were traveling with a large caravan of family, friends, and close acquaintances.   Given that, it begins to make more sense how they lost track of Jesus.  They were with people they felt safe with, and they had made this journey for several years.  They were probably used to a young Jesus running to be with friends as they walked the journey.  There had probably been other years where they made the journey and from the time they started in the morning, to the time they made camp, never saw Jesus as he was somewhere else within the group.   I can imagine that first night, probably somewhere around Jericho, when everything began to settle and Jesus did not come and find Mary and Joseph.  I can imagine how the initial uneasiness, turned into panic, which blossomed into full hysteria as they began to imagine the worst case scenarios.  

            The other head scratching thing about this story, is how Jesus spent three days without parents in the temple courts.  After all, that is the same amount of time that Kevin Mcallister is Home Alone and apparently everyone seems to be fine with a lone child hanging out in the temple courts.  Again, in the context this begins to make a bit more sense.  First, Jerusalem still would have had excess people.  Passover was the biggest of the three annual Jewish celebrations, and it is likely that those who had to travel far may have planned a longer stay in the city.   Second, the temple courts was the “third place” of the city.  It was the place people congregated and went to.   There were always traveling rabbis, teachers of the law, and other people present to engage with, learn from, or debate with.   Given all of that activity, a single boy would not have garnered that much attention initially.   It was not even that odd for a twelve year old boy to engage with the teachers of the law.   The book of Jewish tradition, the Talmud, records oral traditions that date back to before the first century.  One of the things it contains is the “age of majority”, at what age a boy is to fully engage in Jewish religious life.  The Talmud sets the age of majority at 13, but does state if a child is ready before then, they should be included before then.  At twelve, the teachers of the law would have seen Jesus as a boy moving into the age of majority.  Jesus was at an age where he was supposed to begin carrying and engaging fully with the Jewish religious practices, and likely the Jewish religious teachers were thrilled when the young Jesus first showed so much interest.   That initial impression likely developed into absolute awe as Jesus began to show how much he knew and understood.

The response that Jesus gives to Mary and Joseph when they finally find him point us to how we find the Christmas Spirit year round.  Jesus said to them, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”   Jesus was compelled to be where God was.  The Jewish belief at the time is the temple was a sacred location.  Inside the temple there was the “holy of holies”.  This physical place was understood to be the single spot on earth where the presence of God was greatest.   It was the understanding of the time that it was only in the temple that one could truly encounter the actual presence of God.   From the first century Jewish perspective, Jesus was saying that he would naturally be as close to God as possible, that he would be where God was going to be.  

            This means that we too, should seek to be where God is.  From our modern, Christian perspective, we believe that the presence of God is more than just in the temple.  We believe that because of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God is with us.   We believe that we can encounter God anywhere in the world, but in the gospels we can find at least two specific instances of where we can encounter Christ.   First, Jesus said “wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am among them.”   When followers of Christ gather together, we can and we should encounter the divine.  If we take Jesus at his word, then that means whenever we gather together it should be possible to experience and know the grace, love, and peace that can only come from God.   We often refer to the sanctuary as “God’s house”, and that is because we build our buildings dedicated to God and as a place to gather to worship and encounter God.  However, it is not the building that brings God’s presence here.  God is here in this place because whenever two or more gathered in his name, then God is with us.   We keep the Spirit of Christmas year round when we regularly seek to encounter God and the most reliable way to do that is when we gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ in our Father’s house. 
    
        However, gathering with other believers to worship is not the only way we can encounter God.  If we could only encounter God inside church walls, then that would not be much different than the temple system.  Jesus also made it clear that we encounter him outside our buildings because Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me.”  We encounter God when we go to where God is.  The bible is consistent from book to book that God is where the people need God the most.  We find God among the lost, the hurting, the marginalized, and those in need of hope.  When we leave our sanctuary and go out into the world to serve those most in need then we encounter God.  When we give of our time and resources to serve those who have the least then we work side by side with our Creator.  When we have compassion and mercy on those that others past judgement upon, then God is with us.   When we serve in love and in the name of Christ then we do find the Spirit of Christmas is with us year round.    
            Over the next week our holiday celebrations will wind down, decorations will be put back into boxes, and we will settle back into normal routines for a new year.  May we not stop celebrating and marveling over the true reason for Christmas, the incarnational truth that God is with us.   May we continue to seek this true Spirit of Christmas by committing to worshipping God in fellowship with one another and may we celebrate that God is with us by living our faith out and serving the people God cares for.  For it is only in doing these things that we find the true spirit of Christmas and keep it  with us throughout the year.