A Sermon for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany
January 20, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Do you remember the 80s television program called, “That’s Incredible!”? See the promo above. It was a docudrama program highlighting unique, unusual and incredible real-life stories that were reenacted for our viewing pleasure. The show, hosted by Cathy Lee Crosby, Jon Davidson and Fran Tarkenton, was only a half hour, but it was packed with amazing tales we just had to see so that we could marvel about their incredibleness during our recess conversations. The show was primarily about entertainment, but it did sometimes cover very serious stories as well.
I remember watching an episode about a group of kids who snuck into a construction storage yard to play hide and seek. They had crawled in through the gates, which were loosely chained and began running around the various materials and machinery in the yard. Once they had sufficiently cased the area, they decided that it would be a great place to play their game, as there were endless hiding places.
One little boy thought that he had found an excellent hiding place underneath a small pile of 20 inch diameter steel pipe. The pipes were resting on some worn out palettes, which were suspended over a shallow ditch. The boy figured if he could crawl into that ditch, no one would ever find him.
The earth was soft and loose from recent rain and the boy dug an opening for himself and crawled underneath. He watched his friends through the cracks of the pipes, yet no one saw him. After a while, everyone else had been found and they yelled out that he had won the game and needed to come out of his hiding to claim his victory. Excitedly, the boy scrambled to get out of the ditch, but just then, the earth gave way and the palette collapsed on him, crushing his legs and trapping him beneath the pipes. The tumbling of the pipes alerted his friends and they ran to him find him. When they saw him, they were shocked. They asked if he was alright. He told them that his legs were pinned and that he could hardly breathe.
Now the boys knew they were busted. They would be found out for their trespassing—but they had to risk it in order to save their friend. They sprinted to their homes to see if any parents were available to help. The only one they could find was the trapped boy’s mother. Out of breath and panicked, they hurriedly told her the story and within seconds, she whisked them all into her car and sped to the construction yard. The mother hadn’t even had time to put on her shoes, so barefooted, she squeezed through the fence and ran to her son’s side. She ordered one of the children to go call 911. But the boy was running out of time. He told his mom that he couldn’t feel his legs. Suddenly, overwhelmed with adrenaline, the mother took a hold of the pipes herself. This very small woman had an unknown strength in that moment. She single-handedly lifted the pile of pipes high enough that the other children were able to drag the boy safely out from underneath them!
The medics and police arrived later and were amazed to see that the boy was free, especially after looking at the pipe that he had been under. They determined that it should have taken TWELVE MEN to lift the half ton of pipe that this tiny woman had moved alone! Yes, the show was right...that’s INCREDIBLE!
And as we look at today’s epistle lesson to the Corinthians, I am reminded of this incredible story because what Paul is trying to convey to the Christians here is equally incredible. In fact, it is more incredible.
Let me explain. In this letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells them: “In every way you have been enriched in [Christ], in speech and knowledge of every kind—just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift .” He’s telling them that they have all they need to carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ in the bustling Greek city of Corinth. In fact, he explains, they are not lacking in any spiritual gift at all! That’s incredible!
Certainly these Christians didn’t feel like they weren’t lacking in any spiritual gift. They probably felt they were lacking in every spiritual gift. They thought that they were quite ill-equipped to share the gospel of Christ. They were relatively new converts to the faith. They were regular folks. Their young church was fraught with all kinds of problems. They have splintered into many opposing factions, there is rampant immorality, believers are taking each other to court, there is confusion about their doctrine on marriage and about laws concerning what foods are legal for Christians to eat. They’re also having problems with worship and there are even abuses of the Lord’s Super going on. And they can’t agree on the theology concerning the resurrection. I wouldn’t blame Paul if he were angry and frustrated with this troubled lot.
Yet, instead, he is bursting with praise and thanksgiving for the Spirit’s work among them. It doesn’t look like he is just saying it either—he seems truly grateful for their ministry. And he is encouraging them that there are incredible things in store for them, if only they depend upon God. But how is it that Paul can be so soundly joyful and optimistic in the face of such problems?
Paul can maintain his rejoicing attitude because his heart is clearly grounded in two theological convictions. First, his faith is in an active God who loves human beings. This is not a God who thunders commands down from heaven and remains separate from us. Paul sees God’s love for us above all in the death and resurrection of Jesus. And he experiences that love in his own life as a missionary and he sees it in the many people who also experience God’s love and become converts to the faith. Secondly, Paul’s positive attitude is also grounded in the fact that he believes the future belongs to God. Jesus Christ has already won the victory for us, and therefore, our future is certain. Paul looks at the present problems and recognizes that’s not all there is—the future is so much better that it will someday make today’s problems look like nothing. Yes, God has acted in the past, and acts in the our lives in the present, and will act to redeem the world in the future, when God will be all and all (Rom. 15:28)
Therefore, with the power of God so vibrantly at work within us, as Paul describes, we must recognize that we, too, are equipped to do incredible things. Gatorade now has a slogan that says, “Is it in you?” I think it is an appropriate question when we think of the strength and wisdom it takes to do God’s work. Is it in you? Can you confidently say, “Yes! It’s in me! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! I have the power to make incredible things happen, earth-shattering things!
I would venture to guess that most of you would modestly answer, “Well, I’m not sure if it’s in me. It might just be indigestion.” But the truth of the matter is that it IS in you! You are not lacking in any spiritual gift. God has given you everything you need to do the work to which you have been called right here in your own community. As believers, you can be sure that God’s Spirit is actively working within you. You simply need to believe it, and with faith, go out and use it—use that Spirit to preach and to teach, to heal and to forgive, to serve and to care, to sing and to paint, to design and to build.
You see whatever gifts you have—these things are gifts from God. If we fully realized that , it would bring a whole new atmosphere and character to our lives. The mother on “That’s Incredible” did not realize she had the strength of twelve men, until she was called upon to use this inner strength. If we would but use our skills and talents for the kingdom of God, even more incredible things could flow from our lives.
It is in you, and that’s incredible. Let us pray: Gracious God, we give you thanks that you are so actively involved in our lives and that you have put your Spirit within each one of us. Help us to use it to do good works in your name, that our lives may be incredible, filled with the richness of your presence. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2008 Laura E. Gentry
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
MARKED TO MAKE OUR MARK
A Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord
January 13, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." (NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The astronaut stepped onto the Moon's surface. As he put his left foot down, he proclaimed: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Many of you, I’m sure, remember watching it on TV in 1969 when Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Armstrong and his colleague Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin collected data and performed various exercises - including jumping across the landscape - before planting the Stars and Stripes flag on the Moon’s surface. They also unveiled a plaque bearing President Nixon's signature and an inscription reading: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind."
Those astronauts and the country who sent them there certainly made their mark upon the Moon. Their footprints, the American flag and the plaque all bear witness to the fact human beings found a way to reach the moon. We left our mark.
As Christians, we have to ask ourselves about the mark we leave. No, we’re not doing exotic space missions but we’re doing something with the lives we’ve been given. We’re doing our thing, living our lives, taking care of our families, working our jobs, being who we are. And as we do these things, we wonder: is there anything that will leave a lasting impact?
At the beginning of this new year, as we hear about the beginning of the ministry of our Lord at his baptism. We are here in the brand new year of 2008. What’s going to happen this year? Will we do anything important? Will your and my life make a mark on the surface of this world? What will we be remembered for?
The occasion today—the day on which we see Jesus begin public ministry—gives us an important insight into what it means to have purpose in life, how we can contribute, be meaningful to this world, have an genuine sense that we have in some way fulfilled what we were put into this world for.
Jesus came from the northern county called Galilee down toward the city of Jerusalem, and to the Jordan River. It is a small but world famous river. When God's people, the twelve tribes came out of Egypt and were about to enter the "promised land," they had to cross this river, from east to west. It miraculously parted so they could go through on dry land. Only through water, as once before they came through the Red Sea out of Egypt, could they enter the Promised Land.
Now there is John the Baptist, a rather eccentric man for a good number of reasons, and he is doing something weird at this river. He is telling people in no uncertain terms: "Change!” He declares. You’d think he was running for President with that mantra. But he’s not talking about political change, he’s taking about personal change. “Get a new attitude! “ He says, “Turn away from your sin. Get ready for God’s coming!" As a sign that people were willing to change meaningless routines of life, to turn toward God instead, they were dunked by this John in the River Jordan. This was a clear sign that they had repented and were now eagerly awaiting the coming Messiah.
Jesus comes to John at the Jordan to get himself baptized. John knows this Jesus is the one he has been preparing people to meet. “What in the world does he need baptism for?” John must be thinking. He is the perfect one, without sin. He has the power to straighten every crooked aspect of life. He sure doesn’t need to repent, he’s already going God’s way.
So, of course, John tries talk Jesus out of Baptism. But Jesus explains that he has come to fulfill all righteousness! He has come to make everything right. The only way he can make everything right is by taking that which is "un-right" upon himself. He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might have this rightness with God. He is stating that from this moment on he will do right, be right, and amend all that is bad in the lives of people.
And as Jesus comes up out of the water, heaven opens. It is hard to imagine just what the author means by saying that the “heavens open” but it certainly must have been amazing. Many artists have attempted to illustrate this scene simply because it sounds so compelling.
Then Spirit of God, appearing like a dove, rests on Jesus! This dove is not simply a symbol of peace, as often the dove symbol is used. The dove is the symbol to God's people of the Spirit that hovered over the face of the deep chaos and darkness at the beginning of time. A new creation is taking place! Now this Spirit is upon Jesus. He will be the light of the world! He will be the Sun of righteousness. He will be the end to darkness, to despair, to that which lurks in the dark shadows of the heart.
And then the voice. The voice is speaking to the crowds around John, to us who crowd around Jesus today. The voice from heaven says, "This is my Son, whom I love."
Until this time, these people known as Israelites, Jews, the people of Israel were called God's Son, God's children. You had to belong to "them" in order to be part of God's family. Now, Jesus is called, God's Son! He is a new beginning of "God's people." From now on, all who are part of his family are in God's family. The old barriers are gone. By getting united with Jesus in baptism, you and I join God's family. As God’s children, we just might make our mark in history after all!
God’s voice from heaven says, "with him I am well pleased." These words are reminiscent of the prophet Isaiah’s words about the coming of the "Son of God". In Isaiah’s prophesy, he says that the Messiah will be a servant. He comes not to show off how powerful he is, but to serve. He has come to give us the righteousness we need to be in God's family.
This Jesus makes his mark, not by flying do the moon or doing anything big and lofty, but by serving people. Here already at his baptism, he begins his serving us by putting himself under the law—he who is above all laws. He will do all we do not do in serving others. He will take the consequences of our failure to trust God's ways are the only ways. It will get him nailed–nailed to a cross. There he will be a servant to the end. Even when taunted to show that he is really the God he claimed to be, he will remain true to his mission—royally and divinely to serve you and me so that we could be in God's family, righteous before the heavenly Father.
Jesus begins at his baptism to serve; we begin to be his family and serve from our baptisms. We are adopted into God’s family when the waters of our baptism flood over us and we are washed clean of impurity, dying once for all to the old loyalties to self, world, and evil. And God marks us. In our baptisms, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.
Will we make our mark in this world? I don't know. I do know that every time we serve others, as God in Jesus served us, we fulfill the law of Jesus. Theologians like to call this our “baptismal vocation”. The root of the word vocation comes from the word voice and means a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action. In our baptism, God calls us to a particular course of action: to a life of love—a countercultural life that includes and cares for all of God’s people. This is quite a vocation we’ve been given! We don’t have to go to the moon but God expects us to make our mark!
Loving and serving others means we are aware of our failures. We must be aware that we stand before the perfect God. We must accept our baptismal vocation and follow the lead of Jesus—to forgive others as we have been forgiven. Living out this calling means that we do so in the Spirit’s power, as Jesus did, asking for help at every step of the way, for our human nature will always want to get in the way and keep us from following God’s will. Martin Luther explained that baptism is something that is done in church one day but that takes the rest of our lives to complete.
Jesus today reminds us by being baptized, that we too are baptized, that we have been marked with his cross and called to a whole new way of life. We have been marked in order that we may leave a mark by doing God’s will.
What mark will you leave on this world? How does being marked with the cross of Christ make a difference in your life? How will you fulfill your baptismal vocation to live a life of love? How exciting to remember, as we enter this new year, that we have been marked by the cross of Christ and we are full empowered to make our mark! Amen.
Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2008 Laura E. Gentry
January 13, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." (NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The astronaut stepped onto the Moon's surface. As he put his left foot down, he proclaimed: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Many of you, I’m sure, remember watching it on TV in 1969 when Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Armstrong and his colleague Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin collected data and performed various exercises - including jumping across the landscape - before planting the Stars and Stripes flag on the Moon’s surface. They also unveiled a plaque bearing President Nixon's signature and an inscription reading: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind."
Those astronauts and the country who sent them there certainly made their mark upon the Moon. Their footprints, the American flag and the plaque all bear witness to the fact human beings found a way to reach the moon. We left our mark.
As Christians, we have to ask ourselves about the mark we leave. No, we’re not doing exotic space missions but we’re doing something with the lives we’ve been given. We’re doing our thing, living our lives, taking care of our families, working our jobs, being who we are. And as we do these things, we wonder: is there anything that will leave a lasting impact?
At the beginning of this new year, as we hear about the beginning of the ministry of our Lord at his baptism. We are here in the brand new year of 2008. What’s going to happen this year? Will we do anything important? Will your and my life make a mark on the surface of this world? What will we be remembered for?
The occasion today—the day on which we see Jesus begin public ministry—gives us an important insight into what it means to have purpose in life, how we can contribute, be meaningful to this world, have an genuine sense that we have in some way fulfilled what we were put into this world for.
Jesus came from the northern county called Galilee down toward the city of Jerusalem, and to the Jordan River. It is a small but world famous river. When God's people, the twelve tribes came out of Egypt and were about to enter the "promised land," they had to cross this river, from east to west. It miraculously parted so they could go through on dry land. Only through water, as once before they came through the Red Sea out of Egypt, could they enter the Promised Land.
Now there is John the Baptist, a rather eccentric man for a good number of reasons, and he is doing something weird at this river. He is telling people in no uncertain terms: "Change!” He declares. You’d think he was running for President with that mantra. But he’s not talking about political change, he’s taking about personal change. “Get a new attitude! “ He says, “Turn away from your sin. Get ready for God’s coming!" As a sign that people were willing to change meaningless routines of life, to turn toward God instead, they were dunked by this John in the River Jordan. This was a clear sign that they had repented and were now eagerly awaiting the coming Messiah.
Jesus comes to John at the Jordan to get himself baptized. John knows this Jesus is the one he has been preparing people to meet. “What in the world does he need baptism for?” John must be thinking. He is the perfect one, without sin. He has the power to straighten every crooked aspect of life. He sure doesn’t need to repent, he’s already going God’s way.
So, of course, John tries talk Jesus out of Baptism. But Jesus explains that he has come to fulfill all righteousness! He has come to make everything right. The only way he can make everything right is by taking that which is "un-right" upon himself. He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might have this rightness with God. He is stating that from this moment on he will do right, be right, and amend all that is bad in the lives of people.
And as Jesus comes up out of the water, heaven opens. It is hard to imagine just what the author means by saying that the “heavens open” but it certainly must have been amazing. Many artists have attempted to illustrate this scene simply because it sounds so compelling.
Then Spirit of God, appearing like a dove, rests on Jesus! This dove is not simply a symbol of peace, as often the dove symbol is used. The dove is the symbol to God's people of the Spirit that hovered over the face of the deep chaos and darkness at the beginning of time. A new creation is taking place! Now this Spirit is upon Jesus. He will be the light of the world! He will be the Sun of righteousness. He will be the end to darkness, to despair, to that which lurks in the dark shadows of the heart.
And then the voice. The voice is speaking to the crowds around John, to us who crowd around Jesus today. The voice from heaven says, "This is my Son, whom I love."
Until this time, these people known as Israelites, Jews, the people of Israel were called God's Son, God's children. You had to belong to "them" in order to be part of God's family. Now, Jesus is called, God's Son! He is a new beginning of "God's people." From now on, all who are part of his family are in God's family. The old barriers are gone. By getting united with Jesus in baptism, you and I join God's family. As God’s children, we just might make our mark in history after all!
God’s voice from heaven says, "with him I am well pleased." These words are reminiscent of the prophet Isaiah’s words about the coming of the "Son of God". In Isaiah’s prophesy, he says that the Messiah will be a servant. He comes not to show off how powerful he is, but to serve. He has come to give us the righteousness we need to be in God's family.
This Jesus makes his mark, not by flying do the moon or doing anything big and lofty, but by serving people. Here already at his baptism, he begins his serving us by putting himself under the law—he who is above all laws. He will do all we do not do in serving others. He will take the consequences of our failure to trust God's ways are the only ways. It will get him nailed–nailed to a cross. There he will be a servant to the end. Even when taunted to show that he is really the God he claimed to be, he will remain true to his mission—royally and divinely to serve you and me so that we could be in God's family, righteous before the heavenly Father.
Jesus begins at his baptism to serve; we begin to be his family and serve from our baptisms. We are adopted into God’s family when the waters of our baptism flood over us and we are washed clean of impurity, dying once for all to the old loyalties to self, world, and evil. And God marks us. In our baptisms, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.
Will we make our mark in this world? I don't know. I do know that every time we serve others, as God in Jesus served us, we fulfill the law of Jesus. Theologians like to call this our “baptismal vocation”. The root of the word vocation comes from the word voice and means a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action. In our baptism, God calls us to a particular course of action: to a life of love—a countercultural life that includes and cares for all of God’s people. This is quite a vocation we’ve been given! We don’t have to go to the moon but God expects us to make our mark!
Loving and serving others means we are aware of our failures. We must be aware that we stand before the perfect God. We must accept our baptismal vocation and follow the lead of Jesus—to forgive others as we have been forgiven. Living out this calling means that we do so in the Spirit’s power, as Jesus did, asking for help at every step of the way, for our human nature will always want to get in the way and keep us from following God’s will. Martin Luther explained that baptism is something that is done in church one day but that takes the rest of our lives to complete.
Jesus today reminds us by being baptized, that we too are baptized, that we have been marked with his cross and called to a whole new way of life. We have been marked in order that we may leave a mark by doing God’s will.
What mark will you leave on this world? How does being marked with the cross of Christ make a difference in your life? How will you fulfill your baptismal vocation to live a life of love? How exciting to remember, as we enter this new year, that we have been marked by the cross of Christ and we are full empowered to make our mark! Amen.
Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2008 Laura E. Gentry
Sunday, January 6, 2008
SHINE YOUR LIGHT!
A Sermon for Epiphany
January 6, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.(NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We have just celebrated the birth of the Christ child—of God becoming flesh to live with us, to love us and to save us. We’ve delighted in the joy of Christ being born in us today, making Christmas an ever-unfolding miracle.
And now we move on to the next liturgical season: Epiphany. In fact, today is the festival of Epiphany and rarely does it fall on a Sunday. So this is an exciting day for us to celebrate Epiphany together ON Epiphany. But what, you ask, is Epiphany anyway? It is not one of those church seasons like Christmas or Easter that everybody knows about.
An epiphany is a moment of sudden revelation, an “aha” experience. Today, we hear the story of the magi following the light of the star to find the infant Jesus. They are religions advisors who have come from the East—the area of today’s Iran and Iraq—and been on a very very long journey, perhaps giving them a rather nasty case of camel sickness. And there aren’t necessarily three of them like the “We Three Kings” songs declares. There are three different kinds of gifts, yes, but the gospel of Matthew never specifies how many magi there were. And they are not Jewish people, but Gentiles who have heard the good news of the one true God. After overcoming all of the obstacles in their path, the magi see the glory of the child for themselves. It must have been an awesome encounter with the living God in human form, shining even brighter than the star that had lead them to his side.
Beginning in the 3rd century, the Eastern orthodox church celebrated this story as a church feast, to honor the visit of the Magi as well as the baptism of Jesus. Light of the star and water of baptism—these became the guiding symbols to move us deeper into the mystery of these ancient stories.
Light—this is a powerful symbol, especially this time of year. Notice how this season is placed right here after the winter solstice. At last, here in the deep of dark winter, when the sun has it’s lowest arc in the sky, the days are getting longer. Yes, bit by bit, each day grows longer—by about 2 minutes. It is barely perceptible, but yet the sunlight is dawning upon our frozen landscape. The sun’s light is the source of all life upon our planet. Similarly, the Son of God shines a spiritual light upon our world of dark and sin. And so this symbol is most poignant during the time of year when physical light is so precious and we look eagerly forward to more and more light.
Water—this is another powerful symbol. Our bodies are about 70% water. Even our bones are 50% water. It is the lifeline for our physical existence. We need water because we are water. Water is a symbol that figures prominently throughout the holy scriptures. Consider the prayer we hear each time there is a baptism, which mentions various stories of water as symbol of life, cleansing and rebirth. And again, this symbol is powerful this time of year—at least for those of us in a wintery climate—because much of the water is frozen and we await the time when the rivers and streams will flow freely again.
Now back to the story of the magi. They have followed the beacon of light to meet with the baby king. And when they arrive, they open their travel gear and produce amazing gifts to present the holy family: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Expensive gifts, indeed, but they cannot compare with the gift that God has given to them, and to us: the Savior.
Furthermore, it says that they came with a bit of fear and trepidation. They have met with Herod on their way through Jerusalem and he has really shaken them up. The wise men always look so serene in the nativity sets but they were people just like you and me with issues and fears to overcome in their journey to Jesus. Yet they made it and brought him their finest gifts.
They are a great inspiration to us as we look upon this story today. They can help us to consider all kinds of faith questions on this Epiphany celebration.
How does God shine forth divine glory to us in our present time? As Christians we believe that God’s revelation is ongoing. It didn’t stop when the Bible cannon was solidified. It didn’t stop when Jesus ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit is very much alive and with us, guiding us, inspiring us and giving us God’s infinite wisdom. So what is it that the Spirit is trying to get through to us today?
Are we open, as the magi were, to receive this revelation? Since we know that the Spirit is speaking, we must be eagerly listening. Are we doing this? Do we actually want to hear what God wants for us and for our world and are we willing to respond in the way we ought?
Jesus has shined the spotlight on all the injustices of our world. He announces God’s long-plotted plan for peace—for a world with equality and justice for all with no violence, oppression, poverty or injustice of any kind. That’s a daunting vision. Are we embracing it and working to bring it into reality? We, no doubt, have fears like the magi did.
The prophet Isaiah calls us to “Arise, shine; for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. … Lift up your eyes and look around.” We must consider what that means for our daily lives.
We don’t have to let fear or apathy win the day. The glory of the Lord has risen upon us! We are bearers of God’s marvelous light. We have opportunity to shine the light, to be lights burning brightly in the darkness.
As baptized children of God, we are fully capable of doing so. Through water and the word, we have been claimed as God’s own children, forgiven, promised eternal life and given the daily strength and wisdom to shine God’s light.
Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2008 Laura E. Gentry
January 6, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.(NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We have just celebrated the birth of the Christ child—of God becoming flesh to live with us, to love us and to save us. We’ve delighted in the joy of Christ being born in us today, making Christmas an ever-unfolding miracle.
And now we move on to the next liturgical season: Epiphany. In fact, today is the festival of Epiphany and rarely does it fall on a Sunday. So this is an exciting day for us to celebrate Epiphany together ON Epiphany. But what, you ask, is Epiphany anyway? It is not one of those church seasons like Christmas or Easter that everybody knows about.
An epiphany is a moment of sudden revelation, an “aha” experience. Today, we hear the story of the magi following the light of the star to find the infant Jesus. They are religions advisors who have come from the East—the area of today’s Iran and Iraq—and been on a very very long journey, perhaps giving them a rather nasty case of camel sickness. And there aren’t necessarily three of them like the “We Three Kings” songs declares. There are three different kinds of gifts, yes, but the gospel of Matthew never specifies how many magi there were. And they are not Jewish people, but Gentiles who have heard the good news of the one true God. After overcoming all of the obstacles in their path, the magi see the glory of the child for themselves. It must have been an awesome encounter with the living God in human form, shining even brighter than the star that had lead them to his side.
Beginning in the 3rd century, the Eastern orthodox church celebrated this story as a church feast, to honor the visit of the Magi as well as the baptism of Jesus. Light of the star and water of baptism—these became the guiding symbols to move us deeper into the mystery of these ancient stories.
Light—this is a powerful symbol, especially this time of year. Notice how this season is placed right here after the winter solstice. At last, here in the deep of dark winter, when the sun has it’s lowest arc in the sky, the days are getting longer. Yes, bit by bit, each day grows longer—by about 2 minutes. It is barely perceptible, but yet the sunlight is dawning upon our frozen landscape. The sun’s light is the source of all life upon our planet. Similarly, the Son of God shines a spiritual light upon our world of dark and sin. And so this symbol is most poignant during the time of year when physical light is so precious and we look eagerly forward to more and more light.
Water—this is another powerful symbol. Our bodies are about 70% water. Even our bones are 50% water. It is the lifeline for our physical existence. We need water because we are water. Water is a symbol that figures prominently throughout the holy scriptures. Consider the prayer we hear each time there is a baptism, which mentions various stories of water as symbol of life, cleansing and rebirth. And again, this symbol is powerful this time of year—at least for those of us in a wintery climate—because much of the water is frozen and we await the time when the rivers and streams will flow freely again.
Now back to the story of the magi. They have followed the beacon of light to meet with the baby king. And when they arrive, they open their travel gear and produce amazing gifts to present the holy family: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Expensive gifts, indeed, but they cannot compare with the gift that God has given to them, and to us: the Savior.
Furthermore, it says that they came with a bit of fear and trepidation. They have met with Herod on their way through Jerusalem and he has really shaken them up. The wise men always look so serene in the nativity sets but they were people just like you and me with issues and fears to overcome in their journey to Jesus. Yet they made it and brought him their finest gifts.
They are a great inspiration to us as we look upon this story today. They can help us to consider all kinds of faith questions on this Epiphany celebration.
How does God shine forth divine glory to us in our present time? As Christians we believe that God’s revelation is ongoing. It didn’t stop when the Bible cannon was solidified. It didn’t stop when Jesus ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit is very much alive and with us, guiding us, inspiring us and giving us God’s infinite wisdom. So what is it that the Spirit is trying to get through to us today?
Are we open, as the magi were, to receive this revelation? Since we know that the Spirit is speaking, we must be eagerly listening. Are we doing this? Do we actually want to hear what God wants for us and for our world and are we willing to respond in the way we ought?
Jesus has shined the spotlight on all the injustices of our world. He announces God’s long-plotted plan for peace—for a world with equality and justice for all with no violence, oppression, poverty or injustice of any kind. That’s a daunting vision. Are we embracing it and working to bring it into reality? We, no doubt, have fears like the magi did.
The prophet Isaiah calls us to “Arise, shine; for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. … Lift up your eyes and look around.” We must consider what that means for our daily lives.
We don’t have to let fear or apathy win the day. The glory of the Lord has risen upon us! We are bearers of God’s marvelous light. We have opportunity to shine the light, to be lights burning brightly in the darkness.
As baptized children of God, we are fully capable of doing so. Through water and the word, we have been claimed as God’s own children, forgiven, promised eternal life and given the daily strength and wisdom to shine God’s light.
Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2008 Laura E. Gentry
Sunday, December 30, 2007
GOD WITH US
A Sermon for the First Sunday after Christmas
December 30, 2007
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 2:13-23
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son." When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more." When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean.”(NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today, the first Sunday after Christmas, we hear the Gospel lesson known as the flight to Egypt—how the Holy Family had to leave Bethlehem to protect the Christ child. Now this reminds me of the story about the pastor who visited the Sunday school class and saw all the children’s art work up on the wall. The pastor could tell that each one depicteda Biblical scene and he went through and tried to determine what each one was. There was one with a barn and a man and a woman. It was obvious that this was Joseph, Mary, and Jesus at the manger. Another had sheep, men, and angels in the sky. The shepherd scene, he concluded. Another had a caravan with camels and a star in the sky—the wise men seeking the Christ child. They were all quite obvious.
But one puzzled him. It was an airplane with three figures going up the steps boarding the plane and one other figure in the cockpit. He thought and thought until he had to ask what it meant. The young artist spoke up, "It's Jesus' flight to Egypt." Ok said the pastor but who is that up in the cockpit? "Oh, That's Pontius the pilot."
Most of us have finished our Christmas celebrations. This is often a joyous time of year—a time of family, festive meals, gifts, carols and general merriment—certainly not a time of wailing and death. We prefer to rejoice in the birth of Jesus, rather than dwell upon suffering. But Jesus did not come into the safe and joyous setting we see in the art of our Christmas cards. In taking on human flesh, he was subjecting himself to the same risks humans face. Already as an infant, Jesus finds himself in great danger.
The today’s reading from the gospel according to Matthew, we hear how God again directed Joseph through dreams—this time, to protect his family. In the first dream, the Lord warned Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. And so Jesus is, thus, spared from an infant death. Others will not be, however. Wailing and loud lamentation are heard as all the children two and under are slaughtered. Scholars estimate that since Bethlehem was a small town, perhaps twenty to thirty children were killed. This event fulfills Jeremiah’s prophesy of Rachel’s lamentation. Jeremiah was referring to Rachel’s sorrow over her descendent being led away from the promised land in the Babylonian exile of 587 B.C. Now, as Matthew uses this prophesy, Rachel’s voice—the voice of Israel’s history—now symbolizes the anguish of these mothers whose children have been lost to the evils of Herod. Rachel’s voice carries with it the all the sorrowful weeping of the world, a world that intimately knows suffering and death.
There has been much art work done of this event, known as the “slaughter of the innocents.” Artists have tried their best to visually portray what this biblical passage presents—the brutal murder of all the babies in Bethlehem. Perhaps even the most masterful artistic depictions, however, fall short of capturing the true horror of this event. It must have been virtually unimaginable.
And yet the slaughter of the innocents wasn’t the worst thing Herod did. When he came to the throne, he assassinated the whole Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews. Later, he slaughtered three hundred court officers out of hand. He murdered his wife, Mariamne, and her mother, Alexandra, his eldest son Antipater, and two other sons, Alexander and Aristobulus. Even in the hour of his death, he arranged for the slaughter of the notable men of Jerusalem. This was one seriously bad guy—no wonder he wouldn’t stand by and accept the news that a child had been born who was prophesied to be king.
What kind of place has the savior been born into? Is this really the world God has chosen to save? How can it possibly be that this world of callous ambition is the one that God loves so passionately? And why does Matthew have to ruin the beauty of the Christmas story by telling this terrible tale right after the tranquil description of Christ’s birth? This story presents more questions than it does answers.
Then moving on in the scripture lesson, Joseph has a second dream, which tells them that they can return to the land of Israel because Herod has died. Historians tell us Herod’s death happened in 4 B.C. Then, in a third dream Joseph is warned to settle in Galilee rather than in Judea, because Archelaus, the son of Herod, is king of Judea. In every case Joseph follows the Lord's guidance and keeps his family safe. These moves also fulfilled what had been predicted about Jesus by the prophets.
Yet, as I have said, it is strange that the son of God would suffer so much from the very beginning. We’re still singing the Christmas carols in church and Jesus and his family are already on the run. Surely Jesus was what Isaiah prophesied: a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief.
This reminds me of Dr. John Rosen, a psychiatrist in New York City. He is very well known For his work with catatonic schizophrenics. Normally doctors remain separate and aloof from their patients. Dr. Rosen moves into the ward with them. He actually places his bed among their beds. He lives the life they must live. Day-to-day, he shares it. He loves them. if they don’t talk, he doesn’t talk either. It is as if he understands what is happening. His being there, being with them, communicates something that they haven’t experienced in years—somebody understands them.
But then he does something else. He puts his arms around them and hugs them. He holds these unattractive, unlovable, marginalized people and loves them back into life. Often, the first words they speak are simply, "Thank you."
Christ came into a world of sorrow, suffering and danger—he literally moved into our “ward.” He placed his bed among our beds. He felt the pain of human life—even from the very beginning. He walked with the blind and the lame, he talked with the outcasts. And he stood before Pilate and said nothing in his own defense when he was accused and sentenced to death. Then, he went to the cross and rose from the dead for us. He endured all this in order to love us back to life.
And so this scripture demonstrates that Jesus is here not merely to rejoice with us. He is here not merely to commiserate. He is here to save, to call us into life, and to be irrevocably God-with-us, emmanuael. This Christmas, may we live in the reality of this glorious, good news!
Let us pray:
Oh Holy Child, we praise you that you chose to enter into our world of violence, hatred, and danger—to suffer the things which humans suffer in order to triumph over them. Allow our hearts to embrace you fully, as the God-become-flesh, who has come to save us, to call us to life and to be God with us. Amen.
Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
December 30, 2007
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 2:13-23
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son." When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more." When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean.”(NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today, the first Sunday after Christmas, we hear the Gospel lesson known as the flight to Egypt—how the Holy Family had to leave Bethlehem to protect the Christ child. Now this reminds me of the story about the pastor who visited the Sunday school class and saw all the children’s art work up on the wall. The pastor could tell that each one depicteda Biblical scene and he went through and tried to determine what each one was. There was one with a barn and a man and a woman. It was obvious that this was Joseph, Mary, and Jesus at the manger. Another had sheep, men, and angels in the sky. The shepherd scene, he concluded. Another had a caravan with camels and a star in the sky—the wise men seeking the Christ child. They were all quite obvious.
But one puzzled him. It was an airplane with three figures going up the steps boarding the plane and one other figure in the cockpit. He thought and thought until he had to ask what it meant. The young artist spoke up, "It's Jesus' flight to Egypt." Ok said the pastor but who is that up in the cockpit? "Oh, That's Pontius the pilot."
Most of us have finished our Christmas celebrations. This is often a joyous time of year—a time of family, festive meals, gifts, carols and general merriment—certainly not a time of wailing and death. We prefer to rejoice in the birth of Jesus, rather than dwell upon suffering. But Jesus did not come into the safe and joyous setting we see in the art of our Christmas cards. In taking on human flesh, he was subjecting himself to the same risks humans face. Already as an infant, Jesus finds himself in great danger.
The today’s reading from the gospel according to Matthew, we hear how God again directed Joseph through dreams—this time, to protect his family. In the first dream, the Lord warned Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. And so Jesus is, thus, spared from an infant death. Others will not be, however. Wailing and loud lamentation are heard as all the children two and under are slaughtered. Scholars estimate that since Bethlehem was a small town, perhaps twenty to thirty children were killed. This event fulfills Jeremiah’s prophesy of Rachel’s lamentation. Jeremiah was referring to Rachel’s sorrow over her descendent being led away from the promised land in the Babylonian exile of 587 B.C. Now, as Matthew uses this prophesy, Rachel’s voice—the voice of Israel’s history—now symbolizes the anguish of these mothers whose children have been lost to the evils of Herod. Rachel’s voice carries with it the all the sorrowful weeping of the world, a world that intimately knows suffering and death.
There has been much art work done of this event, known as the “slaughter of the innocents.” Artists have tried their best to visually portray what this biblical passage presents—the brutal murder of all the babies in Bethlehem. Perhaps even the most masterful artistic depictions, however, fall short of capturing the true horror of this event. It must have been virtually unimaginable.
And yet the slaughter of the innocents wasn’t the worst thing Herod did. When he came to the throne, he assassinated the whole Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews. Later, he slaughtered three hundred court officers out of hand. He murdered his wife, Mariamne, and her mother, Alexandra, his eldest son Antipater, and two other sons, Alexander and Aristobulus. Even in the hour of his death, he arranged for the slaughter of the notable men of Jerusalem. This was one seriously bad guy—no wonder he wouldn’t stand by and accept the news that a child had been born who was prophesied to be king.
What kind of place has the savior been born into? Is this really the world God has chosen to save? How can it possibly be that this world of callous ambition is the one that God loves so passionately? And why does Matthew have to ruin the beauty of the Christmas story by telling this terrible tale right after the tranquil description of Christ’s birth? This story presents more questions than it does answers.
Then moving on in the scripture lesson, Joseph has a second dream, which tells them that they can return to the land of Israel because Herod has died. Historians tell us Herod’s death happened in 4 B.C. Then, in a third dream Joseph is warned to settle in Galilee rather than in Judea, because Archelaus, the son of Herod, is king of Judea. In every case Joseph follows the Lord's guidance and keeps his family safe. These moves also fulfilled what had been predicted about Jesus by the prophets.
Yet, as I have said, it is strange that the son of God would suffer so much from the very beginning. We’re still singing the Christmas carols in church and Jesus and his family are already on the run. Surely Jesus was what Isaiah prophesied: a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief.
This reminds me of Dr. John Rosen, a psychiatrist in New York City. He is very well known For his work with catatonic schizophrenics. Normally doctors remain separate and aloof from their patients. Dr. Rosen moves into the ward with them. He actually places his bed among their beds. He lives the life they must live. Day-to-day, he shares it. He loves them. if they don’t talk, he doesn’t talk either. It is as if he understands what is happening. His being there, being with them, communicates something that they haven’t experienced in years—somebody understands them.
But then he does something else. He puts his arms around them and hugs them. He holds these unattractive, unlovable, marginalized people and loves them back into life. Often, the first words they speak are simply, "Thank you."
Christ came into a world of sorrow, suffering and danger—he literally moved into our “ward.” He placed his bed among our beds. He felt the pain of human life—even from the very beginning. He walked with the blind and the lame, he talked with the outcasts. And he stood before Pilate and said nothing in his own defense when he was accused and sentenced to death. Then, he went to the cross and rose from the dead for us. He endured all this in order to love us back to life.
And so this scripture demonstrates that Jesus is here not merely to rejoice with us. He is here not merely to commiserate. He is here to save, to call us into life, and to be irrevocably God-with-us, emmanuael. This Christmas, may we live in the reality of this glorious, good news!
Let us pray:
Oh Holy Child, we praise you that you chose to enter into our world of violence, hatred, and danger—to suffer the things which humans suffer in order to triumph over them. Allow our hearts to embrace you fully, as the God-become-flesh, who has come to save us, to call us to life and to be God with us. Amen.
Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
Sunday, December 23, 2007
WHAT TO DO WITH A BLESSING
A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 23, 2007
Pastor Laura Gentry
Luke 1:47-55
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This morning, we have come to the fourth Sunday in Advent. Our Advent wreath is all aglow, save the Christ candle in the middle for Christmas eve. It’s light symbolizes how the light of Christ is coming into our world, into our darkness.
We are no stranger to this world’s darkness, are we? The darkness is all around us. It is so obvious this time of year in the over commercialism of the season. I made the mistake of trying to do a wee bit of shopping yesterday and nearly got trompled by the zealous shoppers. I heard on the radio that the number one stress of the Christmas season is finances. Instead of focusing our hearts on the coming Christ child, we worry about how we’re going to pay off the credit card bills incured in the shopping madness.
The second biggest stress of the season, I heard, is grief. People think about the loved ones they have lost and how Christmas just isn’t the same without them. Many people become overwhelmed with loneliness this time of year.
And the carols that fill the air sing of peace on earth, goodwill to all. Yet we look around and say: where is it? Where is the peace? Another Christmas and the military personelle in Iraq and Afghanistan won’t be spending it with their families. The people of the Middle East—on both sides of the conflict—have to live in fear and the constant reality of war. According to WikiPedia—the online encyclopedia, which people from around the world update regularly—there are 30 ongoing wars in the world right now, the oldest of which began in 1948.
With all of these things on top of whatever burdens we’re already bearing, it doesn’t necessarily make us feel in the Christmas Spirit, does it? Quite a few people have mentioned that to me this year. We just can’t seem to get into the Christmas Spirit, they say. We talk of Christmas being a blessing to all of us—that we are blessed with the gift of the Christ child. But how do we rejoice in this gift when we don’t feel like rejoicing?
But what does blessing really mean? Most of us understand blessing, at least on the surface, to be God answering our prayers with what we asked for, and of course we prefer the answers to be given in a timely manner. That’s what we want blessing to be. We pray to God for something, and POOF! Somehow, some way, God provides it, just like we wanted. It’s almost like we want God to be like a big cosmic Santa Claus who rides by on his sleigh showering all the good little Christians with goodies. After all, we’d like to think we’re on God’s “nice” list and so why shouldn’t we be blessed like that?
Yet if we dig into our Gospel text for today, we get a different sense of what blessing is. Mary, the mother of our savior is—we dare not forget—an unmarried pregnant teenager. She didn’t ask God for this. She never prayed to God to get pregnant and bear the Messiah. God chose this for her. This predicament could have gotten her stoned to death. That was the law of her time, and if her fiancé, Joseph, had not believe her angel story and turned her in to the religious authorities, she would have died for what would have been perceived as her sin.
Maybe that’s why she got it out of town so quickly. She went to spend time with her relative Elizabeth. Her older, wiser family member, who also shared an unexpected pregnancy by the word of God. Maybe together they could come to figure out how in the world to deal with being a “blessed women.” Maybe Elizabeth could help her put this blessing into perspective and perhaps even help her appreciate it.
Now Elizabeth’s blessing wasn’t exactly what we’d expect a blessing to be, either. Yes, God had answered her prayers—finally! From the time she’d gotten married, she had been praying for a child. She even promised to give the child back to God for service in the Temple, if only God would grant her a child. But the years went by and no pregnancies ever happened. Elizabeth must have felt that God was not going to answer her prayers. She must have gotten used to God’s painful silence. And then suddenly, when she was way to old to get excited about a prenancy, she finds herself pregnant. Like Sarah, she found herself in a position of dealing with a blessing that was way too long overdue. So Elizabeth, like Mary, has to cope with an unplanned blessing.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid; you will have joy and gladness; you have found favor with God. For nothing will be impossible for God.”
Stunned by the angelic visitation, stunned by the impossible message spoken by Gabriel; stunned by the absurdity of their predicaments, no doubt Mary and Elizabeth asked what it means to be “blessed.” How can something be a blessing when it raises more questions than it answers? How do you live with a blessing that creates more problems than it solves? Mary and Elizabeth, no doubt, felt contradictory emotions. Pregnancy alone does that to women. But the strangeness of their pregnancies surely flooded them with expectations and apprehension; happiness and depression; confidence and nagging insecurities; hopes and fears. Elizabeth was old enough and wise enough to know (as Luke writes in Ch. 12), those “to whom much is given, much is required.” Together, these two women grappled with the irony of being blessed by God: namely, that behind every blessing there is burden.
Both these women were to learn that the sons they were blessed with, were not their own. Both their sons gave up their lives, literally, in service to God. Both mothers suffered the unimaginable and unspeakable horror of having their sons murdered; Mary, we’re told, witnessed her son’s brutal execution. This is the burden on the other side of blessing.
The blessings these women received had two sides: joy and burden. They had been given much, and much was required of them. For them, the meaning of God’s blessing had much more depth than a “Santa Claus” idea of God tossing happy blessings at us. God’s activity in human lives always is surprising; turning up where we’d least expect it; where we’d never think to look for it. God turns the world upside down, making us think again about what’s important, what’s real, what’s valuable.
So here is the interesting thing: if God’s blessings are two-sided (both joy and burden, requiring much from those to whom they are given) then perhaps the opposite is also true: those burdens that come our way in life have the hidden and surprising potential of becoming blessing. If we struggle with our burdens and refuse to let go of them until we receive a blessing, perhaps our upside-down God will turn our burdens over, in God’s time, and bring good out of them.
I think this is what St. Paul was trying to get at when he wrote, to the Thessalonian church, “rejoice always; pray without ceasing; give thanks in all circumstances.” And to the Roman church: “All things work together for good for those who love God.” This reminds me of a poem by Jan L. Richardson from her book "Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas":
With each of our breakings you break,
and with each of our woundings your own wounds grow deeper.
Yet you hold the pieces together
till we learn to make the new connections,
and you guard each throbbing wound
till we have had enough of pain.
You remind us that it is our delight you seek, not our suffering.
And you tell us it is not the wounds that give us life,
but the tending of them in each other.
And you say it is not the breaking that makes us whole
but the mending of the pieces that brings us life anew.
As the season of Advent comes to a close, we prepare our hearts to receive the blessing of the Christ child. God has blessed us richly in this shocking birth of low estate, turning the world upside down. We must open our eyes and ears to look for God being borne in unexpected places. What is required of us is that we open our hearts and arms to receive the both the burden that comes along with our blessings as well as the blessing that comes along with burdens, laying them all, as Mary and Elizabeth did, in the hands of God.
Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understand, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
December 23, 2007
Pastor Laura Gentry
Luke 1:47-55
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This morning, we have come to the fourth Sunday in Advent. Our Advent wreath is all aglow, save the Christ candle in the middle for Christmas eve. It’s light symbolizes how the light of Christ is coming into our world, into our darkness.
We are no stranger to this world’s darkness, are we? The darkness is all around us. It is so obvious this time of year in the over commercialism of the season. I made the mistake of trying to do a wee bit of shopping yesterday and nearly got trompled by the zealous shoppers. I heard on the radio that the number one stress of the Christmas season is finances. Instead of focusing our hearts on the coming Christ child, we worry about how we’re going to pay off the credit card bills incured in the shopping madness.
The second biggest stress of the season, I heard, is grief. People think about the loved ones they have lost and how Christmas just isn’t the same without them. Many people become overwhelmed with loneliness this time of year.
And the carols that fill the air sing of peace on earth, goodwill to all. Yet we look around and say: where is it? Where is the peace? Another Christmas and the military personelle in Iraq and Afghanistan won’t be spending it with their families. The people of the Middle East—on both sides of the conflict—have to live in fear and the constant reality of war. According to WikiPedia—the online encyclopedia, which people from around the world update regularly—there are 30 ongoing wars in the world right now, the oldest of which began in 1948.
With all of these things on top of whatever burdens we’re already bearing, it doesn’t necessarily make us feel in the Christmas Spirit, does it? Quite a few people have mentioned that to me this year. We just can’t seem to get into the Christmas Spirit, they say. We talk of Christmas being a blessing to all of us—that we are blessed with the gift of the Christ child. But how do we rejoice in this gift when we don’t feel like rejoicing?
But what does blessing really mean? Most of us understand blessing, at least on the surface, to be God answering our prayers with what we asked for, and of course we prefer the answers to be given in a timely manner. That’s what we want blessing to be. We pray to God for something, and POOF! Somehow, some way, God provides it, just like we wanted. It’s almost like we want God to be like a big cosmic Santa Claus who rides by on his sleigh showering all the good little Christians with goodies. After all, we’d like to think we’re on God’s “nice” list and so why shouldn’t we be blessed like that?
Yet if we dig into our Gospel text for today, we get a different sense of what blessing is. Mary, the mother of our savior is—we dare not forget—an unmarried pregnant teenager. She didn’t ask God for this. She never prayed to God to get pregnant and bear the Messiah. God chose this for her. This predicament could have gotten her stoned to death. That was the law of her time, and if her fiancé, Joseph, had not believe her angel story and turned her in to the religious authorities, she would have died for what would have been perceived as her sin.
Maybe that’s why she got it out of town so quickly. She went to spend time with her relative Elizabeth. Her older, wiser family member, who also shared an unexpected pregnancy by the word of God. Maybe together they could come to figure out how in the world to deal with being a “blessed women.” Maybe Elizabeth could help her put this blessing into perspective and perhaps even help her appreciate it.
Now Elizabeth’s blessing wasn’t exactly what we’d expect a blessing to be, either. Yes, God had answered her prayers—finally! From the time she’d gotten married, she had been praying for a child. She even promised to give the child back to God for service in the Temple, if only God would grant her a child. But the years went by and no pregnancies ever happened. Elizabeth must have felt that God was not going to answer her prayers. She must have gotten used to God’s painful silence. And then suddenly, when she was way to old to get excited about a prenancy, she finds herself pregnant. Like Sarah, she found herself in a position of dealing with a blessing that was way too long overdue. So Elizabeth, like Mary, has to cope with an unplanned blessing.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid; you will have joy and gladness; you have found favor with God. For nothing will be impossible for God.”
Stunned by the angelic visitation, stunned by the impossible message spoken by Gabriel; stunned by the absurdity of their predicaments, no doubt Mary and Elizabeth asked what it means to be “blessed.” How can something be a blessing when it raises more questions than it answers? How do you live with a blessing that creates more problems than it solves? Mary and Elizabeth, no doubt, felt contradictory emotions. Pregnancy alone does that to women. But the strangeness of their pregnancies surely flooded them with expectations and apprehension; happiness and depression; confidence and nagging insecurities; hopes and fears. Elizabeth was old enough and wise enough to know (as Luke writes in Ch. 12), those “to whom much is given, much is required.” Together, these two women grappled with the irony of being blessed by God: namely, that behind every blessing there is burden.
Both these women were to learn that the sons they were blessed with, were not their own. Both their sons gave up their lives, literally, in service to God. Both mothers suffered the unimaginable and unspeakable horror of having their sons murdered; Mary, we’re told, witnessed her son’s brutal execution. This is the burden on the other side of blessing.
The blessings these women received had two sides: joy and burden. They had been given much, and much was required of them. For them, the meaning of God’s blessing had much more depth than a “Santa Claus” idea of God tossing happy blessings at us. God’s activity in human lives always is surprising; turning up where we’d least expect it; where we’d never think to look for it. God turns the world upside down, making us think again about what’s important, what’s real, what’s valuable.
So here is the interesting thing: if God’s blessings are two-sided (both joy and burden, requiring much from those to whom they are given) then perhaps the opposite is also true: those burdens that come our way in life have the hidden and surprising potential of becoming blessing. If we struggle with our burdens and refuse to let go of them until we receive a blessing, perhaps our upside-down God will turn our burdens over, in God’s time, and bring good out of them.
I think this is what St. Paul was trying to get at when he wrote, to the Thessalonian church, “rejoice always; pray without ceasing; give thanks in all circumstances.” And to the Roman church: “All things work together for good for those who love God.” This reminds me of a poem by Jan L. Richardson from her book "Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas":
With each of our breakings you break,
and with each of our woundings your own wounds grow deeper.
Yet you hold the pieces together
till we learn to make the new connections,
and you guard each throbbing wound
till we have had enough of pain.
You remind us that it is our delight you seek, not our suffering.
And you tell us it is not the wounds that give us life,
but the tending of them in each other.
And you say it is not the breaking that makes us whole
but the mending of the pieces that brings us life anew.
As the season of Advent comes to a close, we prepare our hearts to receive the blessing of the Christ child. God has blessed us richly in this shocking birth of low estate, turning the world upside down. We must open our eyes and ears to look for God being borne in unexpected places. What is required of us is that we open our hearts and arms to receive the both the burden that comes along with our blessings as well as the blessing that comes along with burdens, laying them all, as Mary and Elizabeth did, in the hands of God.
Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understand, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
Sunday, December 16, 2007
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER
On Sunday, December 16th at the 9:00 a.m. worship service, the Sunday school students of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lansing presented their annual Christmas program. This year, they acted out the story of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. This is a touching tale, which demonstrates that all of us—even the most hard-hearted with all of the mistakes of our past—can be affected and find renewal in the message of Christmas.
The program was directed by Susan Libke and Pastor Laura Gentry. A solo of “O Come, Little Children” was sung by Samantha Rosas and the entire group sang 5 other songs. Kai Timmerman was baby Jesus 3 years ago and this year, he graduated to the status of an angel.
Pictured are: (back row) Ethan Libke, Matt Endres, Samantha Rosas, Shawna Erickson, (middle row as Mary and Joseph) Mason Libke and Jazmine Rathbun, (around the manger) Emilio Rathbun, Caelin Peters, Kai Timmerman, MaKaya Peters and Shaun Peters
Sunday, December 9, 2007
THE COMING KINGDOM
A Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent
December 9, 2006
Pastor Laura Gentry
Isaiah 11:1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Every single Sunday as we worship, we pray the Lord’s prayer. And every time we say it, we recite the lines:
"Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven..."
We ask for God’s kingdom to come here. Now. We know that God is love. Where God is, there is hope and life. There is only light with God—there is no darkness at all. In this light, there is peace for all, just as it is in heaven.
And so we pray urgently for this kingdom to come. We know that when this ultimately happens, all that is wrong will be made right. There will not be random violent shootings like the one in the Nebraska mall last week. Injustice will be a thing of the past. There will be no more spam e-mails tricking vulnerable people into making bogus investments. No one would take advantage of the poor and dispossessed. There would not be a third world or even first world—we one world, united for the good of all God’s people.
In this season of Advent, during the darkest time of the calendar year, we light candles on the wreath to show that we still have hope. We have hope in our hearts that this world’s darkness will give way to God’s glorious light. We long for God’s kingdom to come and we believe that it IS coming!
Today, we heard the voice of John the Baptist in our Gospel reading. He comes with boldness, even rudeness, proclaiming that we all must repent of our ways. We have not been working for God’s kingdom to come as we ought. We have turned away from the hope our faith gives to us and instead embraced hopelessness. This cannot go on! The voice of the Baptizer rings down through the years and calls us again to repent for the kingdom of God is near. Though this is a demanding call, it is an exciting one. It is good news that the kingdom is near and we should be prepared to do anything necessary in order to hasten it.
We also heard from the prophet Isaiah in our Advent scriptures today. He paints a beautiful picture of the peace that Christ brings. Listen once again to the poetry of his words and and let the marvelous implications of the scene speak to your heart and mind:
The wolf shall live with the lamb...
the leopard shall lie down with the kid...
the calf and the lion
and the fatling together...
and a little child shall lead them.
The wolf is a terrifying, mortal enemy of the lamb. The lamb is no match for the wolf. A lamb could never escape the brute power of the leopard and a lion would destroy a calf in no time at all. The thought of a child at the center of these images is horrifying. A child is vulnerable and innocent. How fascinating that there is a child in the center of all this danger, providing the leadership.
And Jesus came to fulfill the prophesy—coming as a little baby, weak like you and me. He came as a child to show us the way and to lead us toward that kingdom God desires, where lion and lamb can lay down together in peace.
Jesus said that if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must be like children. I think this means that our inner child is called upon in the business of faith. We must open our hearts as children do to believe—to really believe—that a better world is possible. We are challenged to cast aside our jaded notions, our negative ideas like “there’s always been war, there always will be war, that’s just how it is.” No, we are called upon to use our childlike hopefulness and place our trust in the Christ child.
As we continue our journey through these days of preparation for the celebration of the coming of the babe of Bethlehem, our hearts, along with the hearts of God's people of every time and place long for the time when God will make all things right. We are joined in hope and expectation for the time Isaiah's words express the voice of God, "They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
But here is the catch: We have gathered here today not just to long for the coming of the kingdom of God, not simply to pray for the coming of that kingdom not just to sing the great Advent hymns about that fabulous kingdom to come, we are called to work for it’s appearance. We are the children of God and therefore ambassadors from that kingdom. We live here in this broken world, but our real citizenship is in the kingdom. We must heed John’s call to repentance so that we can turn ourselves around and get busy with the work of turning the world around. That’s our God-given responsibility.
Until Christ comes again to bring about a new and righteous world, we are those who have by faith embraced his coming as the child of Bethlehem and have been formed into the world's visible reminder of the kingdom of God: the Church, the Body of Christ in the world.
We are waiting today for the celebration of the child of Bethlehem. And as the church we wait with Christ to celebrate that day when, as Isaiah prophesied, "The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child will put his hand into the viper's nest." Advent and Christmas are for us, the promise of that God's kingdom will come indeed!
And now, may the peace which passes all understanding keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
December 9, 2006
Pastor Laura Gentry
Isaiah 11:1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Every single Sunday as we worship, we pray the Lord’s prayer. And every time we say it, we recite the lines:
"Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven..."
We ask for God’s kingdom to come here. Now. We know that God is love. Where God is, there is hope and life. There is only light with God—there is no darkness at all. In this light, there is peace for all, just as it is in heaven.
And so we pray urgently for this kingdom to come. We know that when this ultimately happens, all that is wrong will be made right. There will not be random violent shootings like the one in the Nebraska mall last week. Injustice will be a thing of the past. There will be no more spam e-mails tricking vulnerable people into making bogus investments. No one would take advantage of the poor and dispossessed. There would not be a third world or even first world—we one world, united for the good of all God’s people.
In this season of Advent, during the darkest time of the calendar year, we light candles on the wreath to show that we still have hope. We have hope in our hearts that this world’s darkness will give way to God’s glorious light. We long for God’s kingdom to come and we believe that it IS coming!
Today, we heard the voice of John the Baptist in our Gospel reading. He comes with boldness, even rudeness, proclaiming that we all must repent of our ways. We have not been working for God’s kingdom to come as we ought. We have turned away from the hope our faith gives to us and instead embraced hopelessness. This cannot go on! The voice of the Baptizer rings down through the years and calls us again to repent for the kingdom of God is near. Though this is a demanding call, it is an exciting one. It is good news that the kingdom is near and we should be prepared to do anything necessary in order to hasten it.
We also heard from the prophet Isaiah in our Advent scriptures today. He paints a beautiful picture of the peace that Christ brings. Listen once again to the poetry of his words and and let the marvelous implications of the scene speak to your heart and mind:
The wolf shall live with the lamb...
the leopard shall lie down with the kid...
the calf and the lion
and the fatling together...
and a little child shall lead them.
The wolf is a terrifying, mortal enemy of the lamb. The lamb is no match for the wolf. A lamb could never escape the brute power of the leopard and a lion would destroy a calf in no time at all. The thought of a child at the center of these images is horrifying. A child is vulnerable and innocent. How fascinating that there is a child in the center of all this danger, providing the leadership.
And Jesus came to fulfill the prophesy—coming as a little baby, weak like you and me. He came as a child to show us the way and to lead us toward that kingdom God desires, where lion and lamb can lay down together in peace.
Jesus said that if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must be like children. I think this means that our inner child is called upon in the business of faith. We must open our hearts as children do to believe—to really believe—that a better world is possible. We are challenged to cast aside our jaded notions, our negative ideas like “there’s always been war, there always will be war, that’s just how it is.” No, we are called upon to use our childlike hopefulness and place our trust in the Christ child.
As we continue our journey through these days of preparation for the celebration of the coming of the babe of Bethlehem, our hearts, along with the hearts of God's people of every time and place long for the time when God will make all things right. We are joined in hope and expectation for the time Isaiah's words express the voice of God, "They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
But here is the catch: We have gathered here today not just to long for the coming of the kingdom of God, not simply to pray for the coming of that kingdom not just to sing the great Advent hymns about that fabulous kingdom to come, we are called to work for it’s appearance. We are the children of God and therefore ambassadors from that kingdom. We live here in this broken world, but our real citizenship is in the kingdom. We must heed John’s call to repentance so that we can turn ourselves around and get busy with the work of turning the world around. That’s our God-given responsibility.
Until Christ comes again to bring about a new and righteous world, we are those who have by faith embraced his coming as the child of Bethlehem and have been formed into the world's visible reminder of the kingdom of God: the Church, the Body of Christ in the world.
We are waiting today for the celebration of the child of Bethlehem. And as the church we wait with Christ to celebrate that day when, as Isaiah prophesied, "The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child will put his hand into the viper's nest." Advent and Christmas are for us, the promise of that God's kingdom will come indeed!
And now, may the peace which passes all understanding keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
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