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. 
 

Scripture:  Luke 1: 39-45

I do not remember my exact age at the time, but I remember being a child in the basement at Milan UMC for children’s church one Sunday.  It was around this time of the year, and the teachers had decided for this particular Sunday we were going to sing Christmas Carols.  We had just finished singing one song and the next song requested was “Jingle Bells”.  I immediately responded “Hey! That’s not a Christmas song.” 

Elementary school me, was both right and wrong about that.  The song really has nothing at all to do with Christmas.   However, years of tradition have paired the song with Christmas so even if the lyrics have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus or the celebration of the holiday it is still considered a Christmas song.  There are several songs that are considered Christmas music that actually are not about Christmas.  Like Jingle Bells a lot of these are winter themed songs such as Winter Wonderland and Let it Snow.  However, there is one Christmas song that has nothing to do with Christmas but most of us do not even realize it.   That song is “Do You Hear What I Hear? 

If you quickly run through the lyrics, it sounds like it fits this time of the year.  It has a star, it has shepherds, and it has a baby shivering in the cold.  However, if the song was referring to the birth of Jesus it would be at best a very stylized and loose retelling that was taking a lot of liberties with the story found in the bible.  It is close, but it does not quite fit.  That is because the song was not originally written as a Christmas song. Do You Hear What I Hear was written in 1962.  The song writer, Noel Regney, was known for a poetic, avant-garde style.   The song was written during the height of the Cuban Missile crisis, and the song is a plea for peace during that time.   Given the context some of the lines become chilling.  Consider the verse: Said the night wind to the little lamb, Do you see what I see? Way up in the sky little lamb, Do you see what I see?  A star, a star dancing in the night With a tail as big as a kite.  

That is not a reference to the star the Magi followed.  It is about a nuclear missile. The song is not some artistic rendition of the Christmas story it is a plea for peace in the light of potential nuclear holocaust.  This is not just me reading into the song, the song’s author has explicitly stated this as well.   It is a bit ironic that the song is called “Do You Hear what I Hear?” because most people when they listen to it do not actually hear what the song’s author intended them to hear.   I think there is a faith lesson for us as well.  Much like we miss the meaning of the song, we can miss the work and wonders of God all around us. God can be at work in the world, inviting us to join and we do not see and we do not hear what God is up to.    This morning’s scripture from Luke gives a great example of how not to miss God at work. 

To place this morning’s scripture in full context, it takes place in the gospel right after the angel appeared to Mary and announced that she would bear God’s son.   From a practical standpoint it makes sense that Mary left her small hometown of Nazareth and headed to visit her relatives.  She was unmarried and pregnant.  Nazareth was a small town, so you people would have been talking.  It made a lot of sense to lay low someplace else for a while.  The scripture states that Elizabeth lived in the Judean hill country.  This would have been days of travel away from Nazareth.  The relationship between Elizabeth and Mary is not clear.   It is likely that Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin or Aunt. Like a lot of the people we meet in the Bible, we do not get a full snapshot of Elizabeth.  We must read between the lines to get a fuller picture of who Elizabeth is. 

 From the gospel of Luke, other than a relation to Mary, we know Elizabeth was married to a man named Zechariah.  Zechariah was a Levite, which means he spent part of the year serving at the temple.   We also know that before the birth of John the Baptist, Elizabeth was childless.  We do not know how old Elizabeth was, but Luke 1:36 references Elizabeth’s old age.  It was likely she and Zechariah had been unable to conceive for quite some time.  It needs to be mentioned in the culture of this time, when a couple had difficulty conceiving it was always viewed as the woman’s fault.  It was seen as a divine judgement against her and it would have been a source of great shame.    I imagine for Elizabeth it felt deeply unfair as others began to have children but she could not.  As the years went on, she could have gotten bitter and blamed God.   Being childless was a mark of shame and hurt in the lives of Elizabeth and Zechariah, but all indication is despite that they remained faithful to God

The fact that Elizabeth was with child was a miracle.  It was so unlikely that even Zechariah did not believe it was possible.  In the gospel of Luke it is recorded that while Zechariah was at the temple serving the Angel Gabriel came to tell him that Elizabeth would conceive the boy who would grow to be John the Baptist.  In response to this angelic message, Zechariah questions how this is even possible because of his and Elizabeth’s age.   Elizabeth’s response was much different though in Luke 1:25 it is recorded, “The Lord has done this for me,” she said.  “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” 

Elizabeth had experienced the miraculous nature of God, she had experienced God’s favor.  She knew God was willing and capable of doing good things.  Elizabeth had experienced God’s favor so she was more attuned to what looks like.  When Mary came to visit Elizabeth, Elizabeth was herself six months pregnant.  It is not uncommon in the sixth month of pregnancy for the baby to be kicking and moving quite a bit.  Yet she was able to discern that this was not an ordinary kick.

The scripture does give us a bit of a clue as to what is happening here.  Verse 41 states “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”  Upon the greeting of Mary, the baby kicked as if to ask “Do you hear what I hear?” and thanks to the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth did indeed.  The scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit is what helped Elizabeth discern what was happening.  However, Elizabeth was able to recognize Mary and the child that she was carrying for what they were because she was in a place where she could hear the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

Elizabeth had ears to hear and eyes to see enough to know this was not just an ordinary kick.   She was receptive to the possibility of God being at work in the world, and she was open to the leading of the Holy Spirit which brought her to the truth:   The Messiah was coming, God was moving, and soon it would come to pass that God is with us.   Considering God’s goodness, Elizabeth responded in the most appropriate way:  with uncontainable joy!   Elizabeth did not miss what God was doing in the world.  Thirty years before Peter would be the first disciple to declare Jesus was the Messiah, Elizabeth was already stating as such in this morning’s scripture.   Her heart soul could loudly hear what God was communicating.   She absolutely did not miss it.  As we consider this morning’s scripture, there are a couple of pointers we can get from Elizabeth about how we can better hear and see the movements of God. 

First, Elizabeth recognized God’s provision.  Perhaps this might have been a little easier for her.  She had spent years feeling like she was cursed, only to have God show that God had a special plan.  Perhaps because Elizabeth had experienced God’s provision in her own life she was more likely to be looking to see where God is going to show up next.   This is what allowed her to recognize that the kick was more than kick and it is why she was open to the Spirit’s leading to the revelation that Mary carried the Savior of the world.   Perhaps because Elizabeth had experienced God’s provision in her own life, she was more likely to be looking to see where God is going to show up next. 

Our personal experiences with God providing for us may not be as dramatic as Elizabeth’s but we all have stories about God’s provision.  One of the things I appreciate about our United Methodist tradition is that we believe God’s grace is previenent in our lives.   This is a fancy way of saying that God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s provision is always present in our lives.   We believe it does not matter how far someone is away from God, God’s love does not give up on them and God continues to provide.   This means that when that unexpected blessing comes, that means when a series of seemingly coincidences aligns just so, that means when exactly what we need seems to fall right in our lap, it is God.   It is not Karma, it is not fate, it is not the result of good vibes, or a reward for doing good work.   The book of James states “Don’t be deceived my dear brothers and sisters, every good and perfect gift is from above.”   God provides, and we are the proof.  We could probably sit here all afternoons sharing stories of how God has answered prayers, how God worked in our lives, and how God gave us exactly what we needed when we needed it.

Because God has proven God’s self to us time and time again, then like Elizabeth we should be expecting and looking for what God is going to do next.   When we are looking for God at work in the world, then we will find God at work because God is a loving God who provides out of God’s goodness.  When we expect God to show up then like Elizabeth, we will hear the leading of the Holy Spirit and we will be the ones asking those around us, do you hear what I hear? 

The second pointer we can get from Elizabeth is how she reacted to what God was doing.   She reacted with joy.   When we consider how good God has been to us, how perfect the works of God are, joy is truly the most appropriate response.  And yet, I realize that there are times when joy seems far away.   I realize there are times when the weight of all that we are going through can be so crushing and suffocating that it takes all the wind out of sails.  I know some of us have gone through some rough patches over the course of the past year, but even in the valleys and hard spots of life we can still find reasons for joy, because God is still at work, and God’s care is still there for us.   God is good-all the time.   This is true even when things are not going quite like we want them to go.   

A simple exercise can help us see how true this is.  In this season of gift giving, consider taking a few moments to list out all the ways that God has provided for you over the past year.  Focus on the good, on all the reasons you have to be thankful.  I have confidence we will be amazed when we do this.  As we begin to consider the ways God was there for us we will likely become aware of God’s goodness and provision in ways we were not previously aware of.  Being aware of God’s provision makes us more likely to hear, to see, and to notice just how truly good God is.   When we become more aware of how God provides when we catch glimpses of God’s goodness, then our reaction should be like that of Elizabeth’s:  She proclaimed in a loud voice a mixture of surprise and joy.

​So may you have ears to hear and eyes to see how good our Great God is.  May you know that God has and God will continue to provide for you.   May you remember that every good and perfect gift comes from God.   May that fill you with joy.    May you be able to exclaim in a loud voice, God is good, all the time.   And all the time, God is good.  
 
           
 
 
 

Scripture:  Luke 3:7-18

  Every holiday season there seems to be some sort of hot toy that a lot of kids want and that sells out everywhere.  This year one of those toys is a remote-controlled Minecraft creeper that explodes.   I realize that some of you have no context to understand what I just said, but I am sure you kids or grandchildren can help explain it to you.   Every now and then though a toy comes along that leaves most parents at a complete loss as to why it is so popular and unable to understand why kids would ever want it.   As I look over a list of popular toys from the past, one that really rises to the top in my mind as a real head scratcher is the pet rock.  The pet rock only had one year of breakout popularity in 1975, but during that time it sold more than a million units at $4 each, which equates to over $20 today.  The pet rock was literally a rock in a box.  That is it.  The pet rock was before my time, so I am missing whatever it was that made the joke appeal to a million people 49 years ago.  A lot of things that get inexplicably popular are like that.  Either you had to be there for it or you just have to kind of get it, because from the outside looking in or from the present looking back it can be hard to see what the appeal was. 

This morning’s scripture gives me the impression that John the Baptist might have been the same way.   The gospels mention that John garnered quite a lot of popularity.  In fact the gospel of Mark quite hyperbolically states, “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.”   While it probably was not the whole countryside, John managed to draw a crowd.  He managed to do this despite being based in an isolated area and despite insulting his audience by calling them a brood of vipers.  Despite these obstacles, John was inexplicably popular during his time.  While what worked for John, would very much not get over today, we can still learn from the message of John the Baptist today.  If we take that message to heart, I think we can find it is a gift that keeps on giving and can fuel our faith all year round. 

 When we consider the ancient context that John lived in, his popularity and ability to draw a crowd is even more remarkable.  The traditional baptism site that John operated at was along the Jordan River outside of Jericho.  From Jerusalem to Jordan would have been a day journey both ways.   John the Baptist was not some sort of roadside attraction that people stopped at because they happened to be passing by.   It required real effort and intentionality to get to him.  Plus, it is not like John the Baptist had a marketing campaign and mass media advertisements to get the word out.   Some people came out to see him for the specactle of it all or because they were curious if the rumors were true.  As verse 15 of this morning’s scripture states, “The people were waiting expectantly  and were all wondering their hearts if John might possibly be the messiah.   However, those with curious expectation could not have been the entirety of the crowds.  There were those who were drawn to the wilderness for John’s message and what he was offering.  As we read last week, John’s message was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

For the people of John’s day, the idea of baptism would not have been a new one.   The idea of immersing one’s self in water for ritual cleanliness was a common Jewish practice.  In the Jewish law there are several things that can make someone ceremonially unclean.  Immersion was a physical act to symbolically show cleanliness.   In ancient Judaism this was done through a ritual bath called a mikveh.  In Jerusalem, outside of the ancient temple steps, there are the remains of several of these mikvehs.  When the Israelites would go to the temple, they would first bathe in one of these as an act of worship to present themselves clean and unblemished before God.  A mikveh has steps that lead down into the bath, and there is a clear division on the steps indicating two sides.   A person would walk down on one side, unclean, immerse themselves in the waters and come up the other side clean.  The ritual bath of the Mikveh was to wash away the imperfections that made someone unclean, John’s tweak to this formula was repentance.   

The baptism that John was offering out in the wilderness would have felt like what the people were used to, but at the same time a baptism for the repentance for the forgiveness of sins was something new.   To repent is more than just to be made ceremonially clean.  As my endless piles of laundry and dishes attest to, being clean is only a temporary status.  That which has been washed can get dirty again. Repentance is meant to be more. Repentance means to turn around completely, it is a true 180.   John’s message was an invitation to re-focus on God because God’s kingdom was coming.   Those that came to John the Baptist wanted a fresh start, they came too baptized to acknowledge their need for repentance, and their desire to start over. 

In this morning’s scripture we get a glimpse at some of the types of people that this message was highly appealing towards.  Verse 12 and 14 specifically mention tax collectors and soldiers.   These are people who probably would have been interested in second chances.  Tax collectors and soldiers had a reputation, likely somewhat deserved, of using their authority to take advantage of others for personal gain.  Socially they would have been considered traitors with how they served the Roman empire and spiritually they would have been considered unclean because of their association with non-Jews.  However, John makes the point that it is not just the soldiers, the tax collectors, and the known sinners that need to repent.  That is the point that John is making in verse 8.  Here John refutes a theoretical argument by saying “And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘we have Abraham as our father,’”.  John is trying to cut off anyone from saying they do not need to repent because of their background or who they are.  One of the major points being made by John the Baptist in this morning’s scripture is that all needed to repent and turn away from their sins.  

 John offered a baptism that was a symbolic action to represent an act of repentance and a turning from a life of sin, but as John himself said there was one to come who was more powerful, who is the real messiah.  Jesus offers real forgiveness of sins and grace that fully reconciles us with God.   Because of Jesus when the day of judgement comes, we can be confident that we are gathered with the wheat because the penalty of our sins has already been erased and by his righteousness we are fully redeemed.  This is possible for all who earnestly repent of their sins and seek forgiveness.  There is a good chance that if you are here today, you know this and you have experienced this saving grace in your life.  
The problem is that even after we have been saved by grace and forgiven we still struggle with the “go and sin no more part.”  We find ourselves falling into the same habits we thought we escaped.  Even though we are forgiven, we still find ourselves turning back to the same unhelpful things we repented and turned away from in the first place.  Now thankfully, grace is not a one and done proposition.  Nor is it even a three strikes and your out situation.  The grace and love of God is greater than we can fathom, and we can have an assurance that when we fall short, God will forgive us again. 

I am thankful that God’s grace and patience does not run out, but I also would like not to need it so regularly.  I cannot speak for you, but I want to be able to repent and mean it.  I want to turn away from that which I know I should not do, that which I know is not right, and that which I know is not best for me and stay that way.  As followers of Christ, I hope we all want to be more like Jesus in our everyday life, and that means we go and sin no more.  It means that when we repent and we turn away from the sins we committed, me are able to stay away.    It can be a struggle, and I am thankful that when I stumble God’s grace is there, but I do think the words of John the Baptist can be helpful to us here. 

In this morning’s scripture John urges the crowd to repent, but he urges them to do more than repent.  He states, “produce fruits in keeping with repentance.”  He then gives several examples:  Share with those who are without, he tells the tax collectors to act with integrity, and the soldiers to be content with what they have.  John’s message is more than just repent, it is more than just stopping doing the things you know wrong, but it is stop doing them and replace those actions with something better.  That is what it means to produce fruits in keeping with repentance.  It means that we make the mindful choice to do something that brings us closer to God and more Christ like instead of taking actions that move us away from God.  

When I think about this works practically in our lives, I am reminded of the time I spent at Edinburgh UMC.   That church had a gym, and the teens would play basketball every Sunday night before youth group. And since I wanted to be involved with the youth ministry, that meant I played basketball every Sunday night.  I am not very good at basketball, I am too short, and I was never that great at handling the ball.   At the beginning my goal was not to embarrass myself too much.  After doing this for five and a half years I was still not a great basketball player.  But I was much better than I was when I started.  While I had not got any taller every other skill needed for basketball, especially shooting, was notably better than it was before I started playing basketball once a week.  It is a simple truth about human nature, the more we do something the better we get at it.  The same is true for repentance. 

We can tend to treat faith development in our lives as a checklist.   Once we accomplish a task, such as reading a book of the bible, we mentally cross it off the list and consider the job done.   We often treat repentance in the same way.  When we become convicted of our sin and seek forgiveness.  We treat it as a one and done thing, where we said the prayer and now we hope this time is sticks.  That’s now how repentance is supposed to work though.  It is a process.  It is a commitment to turn away from set of behaviors and instead embrace a better set of behaviors.   Repentance is like showing up to play basketball once a week.   There are going to be a lot of mis-steps, missed shots, and questionable plays but eventually all of that practice and experience will add up and there will be noticeable improvements.  If we consistently seek to say no to that which pulls us away from God and say yes to that which makes us more Christ like then there is only one possible outcome.  We become more like Jesus and our lives bear the fruit of repentance. 

John the Baptist found popularity, because his message of repentance connected with a lot of people.   Perhaps, that is a message that connect with you today.  Perhaps, there are behaviors or choices you keep making that you know deep down are not what is best for you.  If you feel that in your soul today, then may you repent.   May you turn away from that which is wrong for you and turn towards God.   May we not treat repentance like a single moment in time, but may we commit to the process.  May we trust that God’s grace is there for us when we fall short and may we consistently strive to be the righteous person we know we can be.  Wherever we are in our walk with God, may we all seek to live righteously may we all be committed to repenting of our sins and not turning back to them, and may we find that the provision and strength that God gives us to do that is the gift that keeps in giving.  

Scripture:  John 18:33-37

In the middle of the 1920’s, dark clouds were gathering on the edges of the world stage.   The war to end all wars, was still a recent memory, it’s scars still being felt.  Across the world various nationalistic and ideological forces were on the rise.   For instance, In 1924 a communist led coup was fended off in Estonia, while the growing power of the Soviet Union violently put down a rebellion in Georgia.  Then in 1925 Mussolini came to power in Italy on a platform of fascism and nationalism.  That same year in Germany Adolf Hitler published his manifesto Mein Kampf, and in the Spring of 1925 the overtly racist and nationalistic Ku Klux Klan held a parade where more than 35,000 of them marched in their hoods and robes on the streets of Washington D.C.  It was at this time when nationalistic forces, allegiance to ideologies, and violence was gaining momentum that Pope Pius XI issued a Papal bull that declared the creation of the feast of Christ the King.  This special holy day was meant to remind Christians across the world that their primary allegiance was to Christ- not to a leader, not to a party, not to a political ideology, not to a flag, but to Jesus the king of kings and Lord of Lords. 

Unfortunately, throughout the 1920s and 1930s, nationalism and violent political ideologies continued to rise.  This led to more and more Christian denominations to think that Pope Pius XI had a point, and they also began to see the important of recognizing and celebrating Christ the King Sunday.  By the middle of the 20th century, it became enshrined in the lectionary, the three-year cycle of scripture readings, as the last Sunday before Advent.  Which means today is Christ the King Sunday. 

It is somewhat surprising that having a day to emphasize the kingship of Jesus only came to being less than 100 years ago.  Especially from our American perspective, it feels like something that belongs to medieval times.   As Americans, we tend to not think that highly of the idea of kings.  I mean we did kind of fight a whole war over the idea of being able to declare our independence.  The idea of a person having power and authority as birth right goes against the rugged individualism, self-determination, and emphasis on choice that is at the core of our cultural identity.  Yet this morning’s designation and this morning’s scripture is there to remind us that if we consider ourselves a Christian, then our knees should bend because we do have a king.   This morning’s scripture can challenge us to pause and consider what does it mean for us if Jesus is truly Lord of our lives. 

Referring to Jesus as Lord or even king is so common in our flowery religious language, that we lose sight of the fact that declaring the Lordship of Jesus was (and is) a deeply political statement.   In the Roman Empire there was supposed to be only one lord, and that was Caesar.  Caesar was the emperor.  The Senate, the representatives of the people, answered to him.  The military, the greatest fighting force the world had ever seen, obeyed his command.  In the first century, as far as the Romans were concerned Caesar was the sovereign ruler of the civilized world.

 This is what landed Jesus in front of Pontius Pilate in this morning’s scripture.  The Scribes and the Pharisees wanted Jesus dead, and they knew the only way they could get that done legally is if they got Jesus punished for treason- for declaring himself king instead of Caesar.  In this morning’s scripture Pilate is examining Jesus to see if he can find cause to execute Jesus for challenging the authority of Caesar. Jesus said my kingdom is not of this world and that he came into this world to be a king that testifies the truth.  Even a mighty king, an Emperor like Caesar was temporary, and even an empire like the Roman Empire eventually falls.   The kingdom of Christ is not of this world, because it is an eternal kingdom.  Pilate struggled to understand what Jesus was saying, because he was thinking only in terms of earthly political movements and conserving the status quo, but the kingdom of Christ is based in a truth that makes all things new in a world without end. 

Trying to come to terms with what Jesus meant when he claimed Jesus was king was difficult for Pilate, and I think it can be difficult for us as well.  Pilate struggled because Jesus was a king completely unlike that of the Roman Emperors.  We find it difficult to relate to Jesus as king, because in our modern context we really do not know what it even means.   As already mentioned, as Americans we do not like the idea of someone having full authority over us, so we tend to greatly minimize that part of following Jesus.  In the abstract we acknowledge that Jesus is the son of God and our Savior.  When it comes to how we relate to Jesus, we tend to overemphasize a personal connection.  I realize this really dates me, but I can remember a phrase from when I first started in youth ministry.  This was twenty years ago and at that time there was marketing and T-shirts.  that stated “Jesus is my homeboy.”   I think homeboy is about as far away from King as we can get.    The implication of calling Jesus our homeboy is that Christ is just another friend, another acquaintance, another part of our large social circle.   

Jesus as homeboy might be the most cringe example, but there has long been a push to emphasize Jesus as our buddy.  A common phrase from the 1970’s and the 1980’s sums the problem up well.  At that time, it was popular to say that “Jesus is my co-pilot.”  The implication is that we have just as much authority in our lives as Jesus.  The implication in the statement is that Jesus is our equal, or that we are the ones in control and we just hang out with Christ when it is convenient for us (like Sunday mornings at 9:00).   Jesus is unlike any king because in Jesus we have a savior who does understand us, who has walked our path, who knows our pain, and who will listen to our every trouble in prayer.  What a friend we have in Jesus, but our relationship with Jesus must be more than a friend.  Jesus walks along side us in life as a friend, but ultimately Jesus also sits on the throne as king. 

In this morning’s scripture Pilate tries to figure out what kind of king Jesus is, and if we want to get being a follower of Jesus right we also need to know what kind of king Jesus is.  Pilate wanted to know if he is the king of the Jews, but Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world.    Jesus is a king by birthright.   Jesus is of the line of David, but more importantly Jesus is the son of God, who came to rule all who are God’s people.  More than that Jesus is a king of character, a king of integrity, and a king of righteousness.  Jesus is honest, Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind, and Jesus is loving.  He is a king of action and a king of deeds.  He healed the sick, made the lame to walk, and the blind to see.  The demons fear him, but the outcast, the marginalized, and the forgotten love him. 

 He is a king on a mission.  He came to serve-not be he served.  He delivers the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed, and he forgives the sinners.   He is a king of love, and it is out of love that he was obedient even to the point of death on a cross.   It is out of his amazing love that our king died for us.  Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place, and give him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.   He is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords.  His kingdom is not of this world, because this imperfect world cannot contain his perfect kingdom.   He sits at the right hand of God the Father.  He is faithful and true.  The alpha and the Omega.  The beginning and the end.   He is worthy of all praise and glory, and honor for ever and ever and ever.   That, my friends, is the kind of king that Jesus is.   And I must ask, is he your king? 

Jesus is our savior, and Jesus can be our friend, but Jesus must be our king.  He must be the Lord of our lives.   As Americans in the 21st century we have little concept of what it means to have a king, but history can serve as our guide.   In medieval times there was a ceremony that I think still teaches us about what it means to follow Jesus as our king.   When someone, usually called a vassal, swore to serve a king they did so through a ritual called homage.  In Homage the king promised the vassal that he would care for them, always look out and act in the vassal’s best interest and consider the life of the vassal equal to his own.  In return the vassal would bend the knee, put his hands between the king’s and promise that the will of the king would be greater than his own, and that his life was entrusted into the hands of the King.   In homage, the vassal was willing to follow the will of the king over his own desires.    Through his death and resurrection Jesus has proven that he cares for us to the point that he is willing to go up on a cross for us.   Jesus has proven himself as a king worth following. 

The way that we follow Jesus is that we keep his commands and do what he told us to do.    Jesus commanded to love God with all of our being.  The examples Jesus gave us to follow in that regard is to seek time alone with God, to rely on God to provide, and to truly pray not my will but your will be done.    Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  The example Jesus gave us to follow is to have compassion for the vulnerable, to pay attention to the outcast, to serve the poor, to forgive the hard hearted, and to love those who are different than us.   Jesus is a king, but instead of being first he made himself last.  He was a servant to all and that is the example we should follow.   Those are the directions Jesus led us in and if we are not seeking to actively follow the lead of Jesus then we are not really following Jesus.

 When it comes from our American perspective, perhaps this is the biggest change in thinking we need to make in regarding Jesus as king.   We tend to think of leaders as a bit more temporary.  The leaders we follow change a lot.   The average tenure of a CEO of a company is only five years.  Professional sport coaches lead for even less time as they average only four and a half seasons.  And we decide every four years who the leader of our country is going to be.  We are used to short tenures in leaders.  If Jesus is our king, that means we are following him for the long haul.   This means that over our entire life Jesus reigns and has absolute authority.  His will be done, his kingdom come.  Not ours.  That means Jesus is not our co-pilot, Jesus is supposed to be our king.   Jesus is not just our king for an hour on Sunday morning.   If Jesus is our king, then he is the leader of our life every day and he is the Lord of all. 

​Over the next few weeks, we will almost certainly be singing carols like “Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn king” and “Joy to the world the Lord is come! Let earth receive her king!”.”   May those not just be songs that we sing because we like the tunes, but may they be declarations of our faith.  May Christ be the leader that you follow in your life.  May you follow his examples and keep his commands.   May Jesus be your King.  And may you give all praise, honor, and glory be to the king of kings and the lord of lords!  Jesus is the king who was and is and will come again.   Long live the king!
 
 

Scripture:  Hebrews 10:19-25
               As I may have mentioned before, I really love Star Wars.   One of the aspects that I like about the movies are the incredible soundtracks.  Every time a soundtrack for a movie, or a remastered release of a soundtrack, became available I made sure to get it on CD.  Unfortunately, I cannot do that anymore.  There are still new Star Wars soundtracks available.  For instance, all the Star Wars shows on Disney+ like the Mandalorian have official soundtracks, but they are now only available digitally.  The availability of media and the format it is available on has changed a lot.  In regard to music, I think Gen X, people in 50’s to late 40’s have it the worst.  For a lot of them their first music was on records, but they were encouraged to replace their records with a new music format, the 8-track.   Unfortunately, those did not last long before they had to replace their music with cassette tapes, but by the 1990’s those were largely replaced with CDs, which had a good run.  However, with the release of the iPod and then the iPhone portable CD players were faded out by digital music players.  For a lot of people today they no longer have music on physical media or even digital files but instead must pay a monthly fee for the privilege of streaming the music they used to own across a lot of different formats. 

It might be my age showing, but when it comes to media like music or movies or books, I really prefer having it in a physical form.  However, I imagine that is not the case for most of the people younger than me.  In our era of technological development, it seems the only constant is that something new is coming.  As soon as a technology starts to gain prominence in the marketplace, upstarts come along to supplant it, make it obsolete, and become the next new thing.  I suppose that is how it has always been isn’t it?  In recent decades the time it takes for something to be obsolete has become a lot shorter, but throughout human history we have consistently looked to innovate, push the envelope, and change the paradigm in a way that makes the way it used to be done obsolete. 

This applies to more than just media formats and other forms of technology.  For instance, over the past several years there seems to be a constant trickle of think pieces and editorials that put forth that church has become obsolete.  The arguments are with podcasts and online services, no one really needs to go to church anymore.  They can get the message of their choice, on demand, whenever they want.  Others argue that in our busy world asking people to give an hour for a worship service, especially on a Sunday morning, is unreasonable and unrealistic.  Often these opinion pieces are being written in response to some sobering statistics.  54% of churches report that when it comes to attendance they are declining.  One quarter of all Americans consider themselves as religiously unaffiliated, and this is not just a younger generation issue.  Of boomers, that is people between the ages of 59-78, that attended church before Covid, 22% of them do not attend any church now.  

These statistics are not great news, they can be troubling and disheartening.  It is easy to see why some have begun to wonder, if in American culture, church has become obsolete.  Which is why scriptures like this morning’s are so important.  This morning’s scripture does a great job of reminding us why we are Christians in the first place, and why it is so important we do not give up meeting together. 

Hebrews can be a tricky book of the bible, and it can be especially tricky to pull individual sections out of, because it is written in such a systematic way.  Many of the books of the new testaments are epistles, they are formal letters that follow a conventional format.  Hebrews, is not that.  Its composition is more like ancient speeches and public speaking rhetoric.  Hebrews builds a systematic case for the supremacy of Christ as the ultimate savior.   This morning’s scripture comes from a transition point in Hebrews where the primary argument for Jesus has been made and is being summarized before the sermon shifts to its last point.  

The main point being summarized in this morning’s scripture is a poignant reminder to us today, but for the original audience it would have been a new way of thinking.   Because Hebrews was written to an audience of a Jewish background, the argument is made from a Jewish perspective. Under second temple Judaism, the primary way people worshipped God and atoned for their sins was through bring a sacrifice to the temple, where the priests then made the sacrifices on behalf of the people.  Using this framework, Hebrews make the case that Jesus is our ultimate connection to God because Jesus is the ultimate priest and the ultimate sacrifice. 

In the ancient world priests were the intermediaries who were the middleman between people and the deities.  Hebrews offers up that it is Jesus who serves as the ultimate and final high priest because Jesus is able to fully unite us with God in a way that no other priest can.   In Hebrew 4:14-15 we find these words, “We have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are- yet he did not sin.”   Jesus, being both fully God and fully man, is able to understand us as we are, but also sits at the right hand of God the Father.  It is Jesus, who understands us, that connects us with God. 

Not only does Jesus connect us to God the Father unlike any other priest has ever been able to do so, but the sacrifice also that Jesus made on our behalf does more than just represent the punishment for our sins, it erases them.   Jesus, the high priest, by the sacrifice of his own blood, obtained eternal redemption for all who claim him.  Hebrews states this plainly right before this morning’s scripture in 10:10 where it states, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

These two points that Hebrews spends most of its space to make that Jesus brings us to God as both the ultimate high priest and ultimate sacrifice reach their conclusion in this morning’s scripture when the author of Hebrews wrote: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a since heart and with full assurance that faith brings.”   

The statements made in Hebrews were revolutionary for their time, but today the idea that Jesus forgives our sins, reconciles us with God, and connects us with our creator is foundational doctrine of Christianity.  Even though it is a fundamental part of what we believe, we still need to read scriptures like this morning’s from time to time because we need the reminder of the foundational truths we hold to.   This morning’s scripture makes the claim that because of Jesus we can draw near to God.  We can have assurance that God hears our prayers, that God forgives our trespasses, and that God leads us to love and good deeds.

This morning’s scripture reminds us that because of Jesus we can draw near to God with confidence.  This morning’s scripture urges us to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.  That can be easier said than done.   It can be hard to hold to that hope, and it can be hard to remember who we are in Christ, because life can be hard.   It can feel like we are constantly lying to ourselves by saying, “we just need to get through these next couple of weeks, and then things will slow down.”   But it never seems to pan out that way.  We never get that breather we were looking for.   Because when it comes to living our day in and day out lives, It’s always something isn’t it?  There seems to always be a new complication, a new set of bad news, a new burden we were not ready for, or a new emergency we just don’t have the time for.  We can be left feeling empty, hollow, like we are just going through the motions.  We can feel like we don’t even know who we are or who we are supposed to be anymore.  Our modern world comes at us fast and we are left feeling constantly behind, constantly overwhelmed, and constantly so, so tired.  In the middle of all we go through, it is hard to remember the joyful truth of this morning’s scripture and it is hard to remember hope.

Thankfully, this morning’s scripture ends with an encouragement on how we can persevere all that life has for us, hold unswervingly to the hope we have, and remember ourselves as those redeemed by Christ.  This encouragement is for us to “not give up meeting together.”  Our faith is not supposed to just be me and my Jesus.  We were never meant to do this, any of this, alone.  Jesus himself surrounded himself with his disciples.   The experience of faith we read in the bible is always done in community.   When God founded the church in Acts, I think God knew what God was doing.  Christianity, following Jesus, is not a path we are supposed to walk alone.  By design we are supposed to be a Christian as a community. 

I understand the temptation not to do it.  I understand the temptation to think that my faith is between me and God, and I got Jesus so I am good.   I can appreciate how busy everyone is, and how nice it would be to just have a lazy Sunday morning.   I am a preacher’s kid.  In some capacity I have been involved in church my whole life.  I have seen the bad.  I know from painful experience that church people are not always nice people.   So I understand and I  can appreciate why some people are tempted to give up the habit of meeting together. 

And yet, I have also seen the good.   I have seen the beauty of we are.  I have seen how a faith community has come around it’s members who are in need and supported them.  I have seen how churches have included and made a place for those who have struggled to fit in any place else.   I have seen how two people who don’t see eye to eye on anything can still manage to look each other in the eye and pass the peace of Christ.   I have seen we can spur one another one towards love and good deeds, how together we can make a real difference in the world.   Yes, there can be some bad because all churches are full of imperfect people who struggle to get it right at times, but there is good in the church and it is a good worth holding to.  

I am convinced that as people of faith, we need each other in this life.   When the dark comes crashing through, it is within the community of faith that we are reminded that the light of the world has come.  When you need a friend to carry you, the body of Christ is there to pick us up off the ground.   When we feel lost, then we should be able to remind each other that we have been found.  It is in the community of faith that we best remember ourselves, remember the hope we have, and push each forward to being more Christlike. 

As a community of faith we should strive to be a place where we spur one another on toward love and good deed and always encouraging one another because even the our country is moving towards attending church less, the statistics also show that our culture needs us now more than ever.   There is a loneliness epidemic in our country, where 1/3rd of all adults report feeling lonely.   Those between the ages of 50-80 report the highest levels of loneliness.  Loneliness is more likely to impact men, where 15% of all adult men report not having a single real friend.  While Jesus is the only one who can truly satisfy the longings of our souls, this morning’s scripture reminds us that we should not be alone, that we are part of a community of faith.   We proudly will sing what a friend we have in Jesus, but may we strive to be a church where we can say what a friend we have in each other.   There are a lot of hurting people in our country and our community who need a friend, and as a community of faith we should be the place that can meet that need for them. 

​This morning’s scripture reminds us of who Jesus is.  It reminds us that it is only Jesus that has the power to reconcile us with God.  It reminds us that this is possible, that forgiveness is possible, because Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice of himself on behalf once and for all.   This morning’s scripture reminds us of the hope we have in Christ and it encourages us to hold to that hope unswervingly.   It reminds us that in order to do that, we have each other.   So may we not give up on meeting together.   May we encourage each other.   May we help one another.  May we be the body of Christ, where no one needs to feel alone.  May we be a place where others can found.   May we be welcoming and inviting to all.  May people come to know they have friend in Jesus, because the first found a friend in us. 
  
 
 

Scripture: Psalm 127

One of the unspoken requirements that I had to agree to when I got married was to be a White Sox fan.  Since I did not have a huge stake in Major League Baseball, that was fine with me.  I do not know how much any of you follow baseball, but this was a rough season to be a White Sox fan.  This year the White Sox set a major league baseball record by having the worse win/loss record in history.   They only won 41 games while losing 121 of them.    While every team has the goal to win, and every fan has high hopes that this year is going to be the year the reality is that it often becomes clear for some teams that this is not going to be their year.  Those years when the losses pile up and the team never quite comes together are often declared building years.  In a building year the focus becomes less on winning and more on preparing for the future.  It is a time for young players to get experience, for the team to focus on being a team, and for necessary changes to be made.   A good building year can make the difference.  While I know it is not popular to point out in this area, IU football is a good example of this.  Last year they had a mediocre 3-9 season, but the players learned, new players were smartly recruited, and a head coaching change has led to what so far has been an undefeated season. 

Sports teams have building years, but I think the concept applies to more than just sports teams.  It can apply to our personal lives.  Often the goals we set for ourselves are not immediately achievable.  To meet those goals often requires intentional work, the gathering of experience, and making some necessary changes.   Often meeting our personal goals requires a building year or two before we get there.  The same can be true corporately as a faith community.  Better living into our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world can require building years.  It can require intentionality, a willingness to learn what works, what does not work as well as it used to, and an openness to change if necessary.   This morning’s scripture reminds us of the final and most necessary piece of what it takes to build to something new: “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” 

This morning’s scripture comes from a particular part of the Psalms.  If you happened to read along in your bible, then you might have noticed that Psalm 127 is labeled a Song of Ascents.  There are fifteen songs of Ascent found in Psalm 120 through 134. These psalms have a strong worship focus, but they also tend to focus on daily living.  There is a focus on the concerns of everyday people like family and harvest.   With one exception all these Psalms are short which would have made them easy to memorize.  The length of the psalms and their down to earth focus as long led biblical scholars and commentators to understand that the psalms of ascent are called that because these are the songs that pilgrims sang as they journeyed to Jerusalem to worship God at the temple on days like the Passover. 

This morning’s scripture reading is a little different from the other songs of ascent.  It is the only one attributed to Solomon, the King of Israel that followed David and was famed for his wisdom.  Which might explain why it reads like something that sounds like it came out of Proverbs instead of Psalms.  In fact, it almost feels like this Psalm is composed of two completely different wisdom sayings that have been smushed together.  That feeling is an unfortunate byproduct of translation because when we translate this Psalm to English, we lose a lot of the poetry.  In Hebrew this Psalm is composed of two stanzas each with four poetic lines, and each being exactly fifty-seven syllables.  This scripture is not two crammed together thoughts, but two thoughts connected and balanced with one another.  

The first of these thoughts is centered on the importance of centering God.   If our plans for the future, the dreams we want to build on, the work we seek to do is not centered on God then it is done in vain.  All our efforts and short-term gains in the end are fleeting.  This does not mean that we sit back and do nothing.  The scripture does not say the builders do not build or the guards do not watch.  It states without God, their work is for nothing.   As Eugene Peterson, author of the Message paraphrase, wrote about this scripture in his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, “Psalm 127 insists on a perspective in which our effort is at the periphery and God’s work is at the center.” 

The second of these thoughts shows how the theory of the first part is put into practice.   Verse 3 states that children are a gift from God.  This verse should not be read or understood as a judgement upon those who cannot or choose not to have children.  Rather it should be understood within the context of this scripture.   Verse 3 states that “children are a heritage from the Lord.”  The Hebrew word translated as heritage is a complex word.  The other times it is used in the Bible it gets translated as inheritance and is often in reference to the land God promised the Israelites.  The word is one that implies access to life and happiness.  It is a word that looks towards the future.   The idea is that not only are children a blessing to one’s own life, but in the context of the Israelites living in the land that God promised them, children as a heritage from God is part of how God builds for the future. 

This morning’s scripture belongs to a very specific context.  It was a song sung by ancient Israelites on their way to worship God.  It reminded and encouraged the worshippers ascending to the temple, that God should be the center of all their efforts, because unless the Lord builds the house-unless the Lord builds for the future-it is all in vain.  As an illustration of how this is true, the Psalm then lifts up the example of how it is God that provides children, who were necessary to secure the ongoing future of Israel.  We are not ancient Israelites.  The way that we worship God, our social structures, and our context are radically different.  Despite the Psalm’s context not directly applying to us today, I think the greater truths of this scripture are something we can still learn from and take to heart.  This scripture helps us keep in mind what we need to build for the future.  I think this is a message that we here at Trinity United Methodist Church need to hear, because I think we are in a building year. 
 
I think that is true, because of what I have heard from you.  Back in September I met with several of you over the course of six different listening sessions, so that I could learn more about this church and I could hear what your hopes and dreams were for us going forward.  Across all six sessions the most consistent thing I heard from you is that you want to grow.  The number one dream for the future that I heard in every single one of these sessions is that you want to grow.  The dream is that these pews will be full once again.  In listening to you as a congregation, I am confident that you are all in agreement that you want to grow, you want to build towards something more than we are now.  That is a great goal to have, that is something worth pursuing.  As we think about what it means to grow, as we think about how we are going to be strategic in this building year-I think this morning’s scripture should inform our actions in a couple of ways.  

First, we must remember that unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.  It is a laudable goal for a church to want to grow, but we have to be clear about our motivations.   What we want is an easy question to answer: More people in the sanctuary every Sunday.   The harder and vastly more important question is why do we want that?  If the reason why we want to grow is based solely on survival, if the motivation is to get more people so that we can keep on existing just for the sake of existing, then I fear we are building and laboring in vain.  If the reason we want to grow is just to grow because we think that bigger automatically means better and more successful, then we are building and laboring in vain. 

If we want to grow, if we want the Lord to build this house, then our reasons for doing so need to be in the right place.  The reason we want to grow should be because we believe that people need Jesus.  The reason we want to grow is because we believe that the more of us that seek to become more like Christ, then the more effective we can be in transforming this world into a more kind, compassionate, and just place.  The reason we want to grow must be grounded in sharing the grace and reconciliation offered by Jesus so that more people can know the life changing love of God.  The reason we want to grow should be because we are passionate, we are fired up, and we are all in realizing the kingdom of God here on earth. If our hope is built on Jesus Christ, if our motivation is share Jesus so that all the people can be saved, then we can do the work with confidence knowing that the Lord will build the house.  

The second way this morning’s scripture should influence our actions is that it can inspire where we direct our efforts.  This morning’s scripture lifts up children as an example of building to the future.  If it is our dream for the church to grow, then we too, should prioritize young people everywhere.  To reiterate our motivations for doing so should not be out of survival or growing for the sake of growing.  Our motivation should be that young people need Jesus just as much as anyone else.  One of the things that I find most encouraging is that by and large it seems that you as a congregation get that and believe that.   Coming out of the listening sessions, when I asked you all what your biggest dreams were for this church.  The second answer, right after growing, was ministry with young people.  Based off the conversations I have had with many of you over the past few months, I have a strong impression that you all want to love young people, you want to share Jesus with young people, and you desire to see the gospel make an eternal difference in their lives.  

That is all good and worth celebrating.  Yet, I am as aware as you are of our current situation.   We currently do not have a lot of young people, to use the analogy this morning’s scripture uses our quiver is a little low right now.   There are fewer young people than we would like to see and there are more holes in the pews than we prefer right now.  That is our current reality, but there is not a single reason why that must be our future.  We are in a building a year.  Make no mistake, building years take work.   Building years require putting in effort just to figure out the best way forward.  Building years often require making changes.   Building years require learning and stretching outside of our personal comfort zones for the greater purpose of making disciples and transforming the world.

​   There is no way to sugar coat it, all of this is work.   It requires the hard work of introspection, self-examination, and making the necessary changes in our own lives and hearts so that our motivations are truly in the right place.  It also requires the hard work of showing up, of volunteering, of giving from our of time, talent, and resources to invest in a mission greater than ourselves.   Because we are in a building year there is work to be done, but if our motivations are in the right place, if our desire to grow is rooted in sharing God’s love and furthering God’s kingdom then we can be confident that we do not labor in vain.   We can be confident that any growth we eventually see is because it is the Lord that builds the house.  We can be confident of this because  our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.  Friends, it is on Christ the solid rock we stand so may we be willing to get to work. 
                
               

Scripture: Psalm 146

In recent years there has been a big rise in people working from home.  This is because it became a necessity during the height of the pandemic, but it has continued because many workers, especially younger ones, have found they prefer it this way.  The results speak for themselves.  One study found that employees that work from home are 47% more productive than those that work in an office.  However, there are some unintended downsides to this, such as a loss in social skills.  One survey of young adults, ages 18-27, found that for those who work or attend school remotely 50% reported feeling like their social skills have decreased.  This is not just a young person issue.  The findings of a 2020 study found that for most people social skills begin to deteriorate in their late 30’s and into their 40’s.   Social skills, like all skills, deteriorate if we do not actively develop and use them regularly.   Even though remote work is not going anywhere, all people still need the ability to interact face to face, which is why a lot of professional focused media has focused on this.  For instance, Harvard Business Review, the job finding website Indeed, a professional educators website, and more have all published articles in the past two years about how to introduce yourself to someone else. 
While these articles have different authors, they essentially all say the same thing.  Introducing yourself, according to these articles, requires three steps.  First, focus on the present, establish who you are and what it is you do.  Second, focus on the past and explain where you have come from and what you have accomplished.  Third, focus on the future and push the conversation forward with what clearly stating future expectations are goals.   All the articles are confident that this is the secret formula to a perfect introduction that is not long and rambling but also not too abrupt and short.  While the order may not be quite right, this morning’s scripture serves as an appropriate introduction to God.  This Psalm gets to the point of who God is as revealed by scripture.   This morning’s scripture should give us a better understanding of who God is, but as God’s people it should also help us see who we can be. 

It is not by random chance that this psalm serves as an introduction to God is.  Psalm 146 through Psalm 150 are a set of psalms that all go together.   Each of these songs begin and end with Hallelujah which means Praise the Lord.  These Psalms are a unit that go together to express all the reasons why God is worthy of all our praise.  It makes sense then that the first psalm in the series would serve as the introduction.  This introduction to God does not follow the recommended past, present, future format recommended by all of the articles.  This is because God does not change life shifting shadows.  God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.   So, what this scripture states about who God is, is just as relevant today as it was when it was first written.  There are four major things that this scripture states about who God is. 
 
First, verse 6 state that God is the maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.   Understanding God not just as our creator, but the creator of all, is a fundamental way we understand God.  After all, Genesis 1:1 begins with in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  We believe God is the Creator, but I am not sure we always appreciate how remarkable of a creator God is.  This morning’s scripture states that God created the sea and everything in it.  Do you know how much is in the sea?   It is estimated that there are over 30,000 species of fish in the oceans.  It is an estimate, because one thing scientists are sure of is that we have not found them all yet.  That is just fish, that says nothing about all the creatures that God created that live in the ocean, or the creatures that live on land because then there is even greater diversity.  For instance, there are more than 17,000 different types of butterflies on our planet, and it is estimated there are more than 350,000 different species of beetles.   That says nothing of the more than eight billion people alive today, all who have been hand crafted by God and are fearfully and wonderfully made. 
That does not even touch the heavens, whose size and scope is almost beyond our comprehension.  Our galaxy alone, the Milky Way, is believed to have more than 100 billion stars, and the low-end estimates put the number of galaxies in the universe at over 200 billion, each with billions of stars.  If you were to count every single grain of sand on every beach on earth, that number would be less than the number of stars in the universe.   All of it is created by God.   God as a creator is more imaginative, more productive, and more awe-inspiring than we can wrap our mind around.   God is an infinite creator of infinite creativity. 

 The scope and scale of God’s creative nature, can be incredibly intimidating, which is why the next thing this scripture teaches us about God is so encouraging.  Verses 7-9 of Psalm 146 make it clear, that even though God is a creator on a massive scale, God cares about people.  God cares about us.   This morning’s scripture points out that God cares for the righteous; that is those who seek to follow God.  This morning’s scripture also points out that God has great care for more than just those who already love God.  Verse 9 states, “The LORD watches over the foreigner, and sustains the fatherless, and the widow.”
 
In a tightknit and patriarchal culture foreigners were the perpetual outsiders while widows and orphans were the most vulnerable and marginalized members of society.  This morning’s scripture states that God cares for the very people who are easily forgotten, vilified, or taken advantage of.   Throughout the scriptures, from the Torah to the prophet, to the teaching of Jesus, and then the early church we find this is a consistent message.  God is on the side of the powerless and disadvantaged.  This morning’s scripture tells us how God is there to help those who can not help themselves.   It states that God upholds the cause of the oppressed and God frustrates the way of the wicked.  This is because God is a God of justice.   God is a God of love who cares for all the people that God created, because that is an essential part of who God is. 

The final aspect of who God is that this scripture reveals to us is that God is forever.   God is faithful forever and God reigns forever.   This morning’s scripture begins by pointing out the folly of putting our trust in human leaders, who cannot save.   They are fleeting, but God is not.   This morning’s scripture states that God gives sight to the blind, that is to say God meets the needs of those in need.  It also states that God lifts up those who are knocked down.    Because God is forever, those are not fleeting promises.  

This Psalm does a wonderful job at summarizing some of the aspects of who God is that we see in scripture.  It gets right to the point in stating that God is the Creator of all, God cares for the vulnerable, and God is forever.  This scripture seeks to communicate to us who God is, and if we take what it states to heart then this can shape how we interact with God and how we interact with the world.   Keeping in mind that God is forever, can really help ground us and keep us from getting consumed with worry and dread.   We may feel knocked down, we may feel things are not right, but we can trust that the Lord lifts up those who are down.   We can trust that God is never early, God is never late, and that God is going to do exactly what God states because God is forever.   Because God is forever, and because God is the one who saves, then our anxieties can be tempered.   Because no matter what the results of this Tuesday are because The LORD reigns forever; God is God of all generations. 

This morning’s scripture tells us that God is a God of justice. Because this is part of who God, is we can have confidence that in the end good wins out.  I think the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best, “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.”   If part of who God’s nature is to have special care for those who are vulnerable, then as people who seek to follow God we should too.  God upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food for the hungry, so we should as well.  We care for those in need because God cares for those in need.   We act with love and compassion to those who can not help themselves, because that is the attitude that God has towards them and us.  

Finally, when we consider the vastness of God’s creation and the creative nature of God, when we consider that God created stars beyond number yet still loves us on an individual level, then there is really only one response we can have:  Praise the Lord!   Praise the Lord, O my soul!  I will praise the Lord all my life.  I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.   Friends, how can we not?  

​This morning’s scripture gets right to the point of who God is, and if we take it seriously it also tells us who we should be.  We should be God’s people, whose hope is in the LORD, because God is forever faithful.  We should be God’s people, who seek to love the oppressed, the disadvantaged, the marginalized, and the needy because God loves those people.   We should seek to be God’s people who declare Hallelujah!   This scripture tells us who God is, and by the grace of God may it define who we are.   May we praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!