A Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent
February 24, 2002
Pastor Laura Gentry
John 4:5-42
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Once, while I was an interim pastor at a church 70 miles from my home, out in the desert east of Los Angeles, I was contacted by a former member of the church who wanted to talk with me. She had moved another 50 miles south of the church but had some important things to tell me about the church I was serving and somehow convinced me to come down and visit her. I arrived there quite safely and we had a great visit. But she, trying to be helpful, told me about a great short cut I should take on my way back. Without a map in hand and with her rather flimsy directions in my head, I set out on the return voyage. After about and hour of driving on some twisty, empty roads where I didn’t see another car, I came to realize I had not gone a very good way. The sun was baking down on me in my Miata. The temperature was well over 110 degrees and the water bottle I had in the car was empty. I put the top up for shade but I was still severely dehydrated and in great danger. I really wanted to just pull over and wait for someone to help me but there were no other cars on this road and so I knew this was not a good option so I keep driving and driving. It was on this sojourn that I came to appreciate the vital necessity of water.
Needless to say, I eventually got back to the freeway and survived the ordeal and it was also the catalyst to make me spring for adding air conditioning to my car.
And the Middle Eastern desert climate in which Jesus lived, such dryness was a way of life. It was a place of chronic drought. People understood their desperate need for water in this desert environment and they didn’t have the option of getting their car air conditioned. One of the primary tasks of women was to go each day to the well, to draw water for the family. Many women had to walk miles to get to the nearest well, and so retrieving water consumed much of their day.
It is here, at the well, where Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman in our Gospel text for today. Now this is an extremely unlikely place for Jesus to be. He is a foreigner in Samaria, which is located in modern day Turkey. A proper Jew would not have even wandered through this country, but would have traveled around it. Instead, Jesus goes right on into it, and not only that, he goes to the well. This was traditionally a place reserved for women. Seeing Jesus there must have been shocking for the Samaritan woman—perhaps as shocking as a modern day woman finding a man sitting in the lounge of a ladies’ restroom! And to top it off, he begins a conversation with her. Again this was a great social taboo. Men and women who were not married to each other were not to engage in a conversation. This is still the case in some places of the Middle East. Earlier this month in Saudi Arabia, a married woman was having a conversation with a male colleage in the Starbucks of a government building and when authorities recognized that she was not related to the man she was sitting with, she was arrested and jailed. Imagine how much more shocking it was in Jesus’ day for him to engage a woman to whom he was not related in conversation?
And of course, there were religious taboos against a Samaritan and a Jew conversing. This was also forbidden. So here is Jesus breaking two major rules so that he can reach out to this person at the well.
Now it is easy to see how confused the woman was when Jesus just shows up and asks her for a drink. She asks, “How is it that you a Jewish man are asking me, a Samaritan women, to give you a drink?” Ignoring her question, Jesus introduces his metaphor of water. He says, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying it to you, you would have asked and been given living water.”
The confused woman, thinking he means fresh water—water which flows from a spring—replies something about Jacob's well not having any such water. Besides (and I always love this random aside) she notes that he has no bucket. Befuddled, she asks where Jesus could find “living water” in the desert.
Jesus continues with his spiritual imagery, saying: “Everyone who drinks of the water from this well will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty.” Still thinking literally, the woman says she'd certainly like to have some of that water because she is tired of her tedious daily trips to the well.
In saying this, Jesus is not talking about a literal spring in the desert, but he is identifying himself as that spring. Jesus himself is the gift from God, which gives life. He is the “water,” that can quench her spiritual thirst foreverr. So in this first part of their conversation, Jesus establishes that it is he who is the spring of life.
As the story continues, we discover that this woman of Samaria has a deep, deep spiritual thirst. Her life has been difficult. She has been married five times and each time, the marriage ended in divorce or the death of her spouse. We don’t know how these relationships ended but because of the cultural context, we can be sure that each divorce must have been devastating for her. Now she was living in an unmarried relationship—which was a very shameful situation in ancient Samaria.
In her conversation with Jesus, he reveals that he already knows about her marriage history, and she recognizes immediately, that he is a prophet. So, she seeks wisdom from him about which mountain is the proper place for worship: is it Mount Gerizim where the Samaritans worship, or is it Mount Zion in Jerusalem where the Jews worship? Jesus won’t get caught up in this on-going theological debate. He explains that neither is the exclusive place where God will be present in the future, but that true worship must be be done in “spirit and in truth.” Once Jesus is risen from the dead, all will see that he is the Messiah, and to be in his Spirit is to worship in spirit and in truth.
Now the woman is beginning to discover who Jesus is and what he is offering. Her spiritual thirst, which is even greater than her physical thirst, can be met in the life-giving spiritual water that only God can provide! She he known that the Messiah was coming, but now she realizes that Jesus is this Messiah.
Immediately, the woman abandons her water jar. She forsakes her purpose in coming to the well, for she has taken on a new, more important purpose. She runs off to tell the others about Christ. Her zealous evangelism causes many other Samaritans to believe in him also.
Then, along come Jesus’ disciples. They are clueless as to why Jesus is breaking all the rules to talk to this Samaritan woman. They urge him to get something to eat. Again, Jesus takes the element of a physical need—this time it is eating—and uses it as metaphor for spiritual need. Jesus tells them that the food he has that “they do not know about” is “to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” (v. 34-35) This explains why Jesus has come through Samaria—in order to do God’s work, to share the good news with these people as well. Already, he has evangelized one woman who is currently out evangelizing herself! Doing the will of God both drives and sustains Jesus and it must drive and sustain the disciples as well.
And so in this gospel story, we learn quite a bit about Jesus. We see that Jesus is the Messiah and he bestows the “living water” of Holy Spirit, that he is the Son of God, and that he reveals the truth about God—that doing God’s will of proclaiming the good news is the very food with which is soul is nurtured.
As Jesus offered living water to the Samaritan woman, God offers refreshment for our spiritual thirsts as well. There are times when we in thirsty in spirit—more thirsty than I was on my dehydrating desert road trip. There are times when spiritual drought makes us especially desperate for the water that can give life to our spirits. These are the thirsty times when life seems empty, shallow and without purpose, and we just can’t find peace of mind.. I’m sure you know what it’s like to experience a deep dryness of the soul. The good new, my friends, is that Jesus offers us all that he offered the Samaritan woman. We can have it, too—that is, if we share with her a thirst for acceptance, forgiveness, love and healing for our parched lives.
The season of Lent is a time of attending atively to our deep spiritual thirst. Our Lenten disciplines aim to open the door for God's Spirit to become active in our lives. In our thirsty state, the Lord calls to us: “Come to his living water! Come to me, for I know you thirst for acceptance in a desert of rejection, that you thirst for forgiveness in the parched land of your sins, that you thirst for hope in the dry despair of your failures. While you were still sinners, I came to save you. Come to the living water!” For us, as for the Samaritan woman, there comes, into the drought of life, the life-giving water of Christ, the one who pours his love and grace into every crack and crevice of the dried and broken ground of our spirits.
And when we, in turn, come to him in hope of receiving this water, our Jesus not only gives us a drink, he offers us the whole spring of living water that can run deep inside each of us as an ever-refreshing source of life—life that will see us through all the hard times of drought and direct our wandering hearts back to God. And not only that, Jesus offers us food, the sustaining food of doing the will of God. May we come in hope and be filled. Amen.
Now, may the peace of God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2008 Laura E. Gentry
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
BOASTING OF OUR SHIPWRECKS
A Sermon for
Ash Wednesday
February 6, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
II Corinthians
11:21-31
But whatever anyone dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters;in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus (blessed be he forever!) (NRSV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Tonight marks the start of our Lenten season, you will soon be invited to come forward to receive the cross of ashes upon your forehead with those hard-hitting words “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” We are dust.
For our second reading tonight, we heard the dramatic plea from Saint Paul written in Second Corinthians about boasting. Boasting, he says, is quite easy to do. He especially was one who could have boasted in his accomplishments. He had absolutely the right spiritual pedigree to proclaim himself righteous. He could have bragged and bragged about it.
But instead, Paul goes into a long list of his horrible moments. He tells us of his labors, his imprisonments, the countless floggings he’s endured, and his near death experiences. He brags of times he was beaten with rods, given lashings, stonings, and yes, even 3 shipwrecks. He emphasizes all the danger and trouble he’s been through—even nakedness! Ultimately, he’s making the point that he is weak. Both his own weakness and the weakness brought about by the cruel world have battered this man down.
He does not despair, however, he boasts. He boasts in his weaknesses and invites us to do the same. Yes, our weaknesses!
When have we had horrible moments? I doubt any of us can top Paul. Perhaps we’ve been through times, though, when just about everything went wrong. I am doubtful that any of us have been literally shipwrecked—let alone 3 times like Paul. But I’m sure we’ve had devastating situations that we might deem shipwrecks. Maybe we’ve had an illness, maybe a break up in an important and vital relationship, maybe financial hardship or a crisis of another kind. It’s a dreadful thing to have a shipwreck.
Yet Paul tells us that it’s okay to be broken and beat up by life. It’s okay to have been shipwrecked. In fact, it is these very shipwrecks that draw us near to God. It is only then, when we are at the bottom, that we can admit to ourselves that we are merely dust, heading for dust again. It is only then that we can confess our sinfulness. It is only then that we can truly grasp our deep need for God and begin to turn back towards our Creator, seeking redemption.
This Lent, we are invited to engage in an emphasis on prayer. Because we are shipwrecked souls, ash in need of redemption, we cry out to God.
But it is not simply our own doing. We pray because the Spirit woos us into prayer. The Spirit wants us to connect with God, to open our hearts and to pray. Martin Luther explained that our faith is always a result of the Spirit. In the catechism, he wrote:
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Spirit calls me by the gospel, enlightens me with God’s gifts, makes me holy and keeps me in the true faith.
Because of the Spirit’s work within us, we thirst for God. Our hearts are restless and search for God. We know that we cannot live without the Grace of God holding onto us.
During these 40 days of Lent, we engage in an intentional repentance, an intentional turning to God for redemption. And prayer is a marvelous way for us to do this.
How much are you praying now? What are the obstacles in your life to prayer? For example, you are busy and can’t seem to fit prayer into your schedule or you pray at bedtime and fall asleep before you can pray very long. Maybe you just don’t feel equipped to pray because you have never learned much on the subject. Whatever our obstacles, Lent is a time to face them head-on. We can’t afford to let them stand in our way. These are our souls we’re talking about and they need to connect with God.
So what if we’ve failed along our journey? So what if we’ve made some poor choices and been hurtful? So what if we’ve been shipwrecked? We boast in these things because it opens us up, it invites God to stoop down and breathe life back into our broken and tattered selves. How much healing and life awaits us! How much joy and peace! Let us not neglect to take up our spiritual disciplines this season and to pray with all our hearts that we may be one with God. 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, February 3, 2008
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
A Sermon for the Transfiguration
February 3, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 17:1-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (NRSV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
These days when you go to an internet movie discussion site, you often see the label “Warning: Contains Spoilers.” This means that the description of the film will give away the ending. So if you are planning to see the film and you don’t want to know what happens, then by all means, don’t read on. But sometimes, you want spoilers.
I remember some years back, I went to see a movie in the theatre with my husband. When the movie got to a tense and uncertain juncture, many of our fellow moviegoers were sobbing and sniffling. We could hear wet noses all around. William turned to me to see if I was alright. I admit it: I can sniffle with the best of them over a good drama. But this time, I was just fine. I wasn’t even a tad misty, much to his surprise. You see, a friend had already told me the spoiler so I knew that everything was going to be okay in the end—even though the movie’s plot was looking rather bleak. I could even handle the protagonist’s suffering.
Now today’s Gospel lesson really ought to have the warning label: “Contains Spoilers!” Because it gives us a glimpse at the resurrection—the end of the Jesus drama. The Transfiguration iis what I would call a spoiler, a divine ‘sneak preview’ to those disciples considered part of Jesus’ inner circle.
We know this story well. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up the mountain then then his face becomes radiant and his clothes a dazzling white. The images of Moses and Elijah appear in their midst and begin speaking with Jesus. Peter speaks up and mentions how it is good for them to be there and suggests creating three dwellings for the men. Immediately a cloud overtakes the men, from, which they hear a voice that informs the disciples that Jesus is God’s son and that the disciples are to listen to him. Shrinking in fear, the disciples fall with their faces to the ground. Moments later, Jesus bids them rise and the images of Elijah and Moses are gone. From there the four men descend the mountain and Jesus bids them not to speak of this incident to anyone until he has ascended to heaven.
The disciples have just received a preview, but what type of preview is it? The Transfiguration is another incident in which Jesus is arrayed as the Messiah, the anointed, the one sent to fulfill God’s plan of redemption for the world. The image of Jesus in heavenly splendor, his face radiant with the power of God and his clothes a remarkable white are precursors to the day of his ascension when, indeed, he will reside in heavenly splendor surrounded by the host of heaven. The images of Moses and Elijah are equally significant. Moses was set apart to present God’s law to the children of Israel. Moses himself had a transfiguring moment on top of Mt. Sinai when he spoke to God and received the tablets containing God’s law for Israel. Moses appears at the transfiguration representing the law of God, the Law that Jesus fulfills perfectly. The prophet Elijah appears as the greatest of the prophets signifying that Jesus fulfills the prophecies regarding the one to come. While Jesus is talking to with Moses and Elijah, presumably about the way in which he will make his transition to heaven, Peter enters in with his own talk.
Peter makes a suggestion that three dwellings be made for them. It is a suggestion that is virtually ignored by Jesus, but Matthew does not tell us why. Biblical scholars suggest that the dwellings that Peter might be referring to would be those maintained by the pagan religions of the day. Booths, shrines if you prefer, were placed in various places in, and around, Judea where people could go to make offerings to a particular god. Peter did not know how else to react to what he was witnessing. He sees a radiant Jesus accompanied by Moses and Elijah and his only response is, “we have to make this pay somehow, we have to make this last.” The suggestion to build three dwellings is Peter’s attempt at sustaining the glory of the transfiguration, as if he could contain the majesty portrayed in these three characters so people could come and make offerings on the mountaintop at will. In making this suggestion Peter was reducing Jesus to a pagan deity, hence Peter was ignored.
What we receive next is the resounding voice, presumably the voice of God, declaring that Jesus is the beloved son and we should pay him the attention. This voice comes deliberately because the mountaintop experience these men have observed is not going to last. The glory of the transfiguration is a preview of the future glory that we will all enjoy on the day of resurrection, but until then we must come down from the mountain and enter into the valley of death in the season of Lent.
We are heading towards Lent, a time to go inward, to really reflect upon our mortal condition, to focus upon the stuff we are made of—Lent is a time to make a solemn progression towards the cross of Christ, our cross. However, we know how the story ends. We know it doesn’t end with the cross of shame and death. We’ve seen the radiance of Jesus’ face, we’ve heard the voice of God—we can deal with Lent because we’ve already read the spoiler. It is precisely this preview of the ascended Jesus that gives us the strength to make it through the cross and beyond.
God did not have to provide this instance of the Transfiguration. God could have chosen to send us straight towards the cross with out any inclination of what lies in store. Even in light of the transfiguration, even in light of the glory of Easter we still see those who are hesitant—so caught up with the cross that they are stymied, unable to move for fear of suffering and death. Jesus has revealed just enough for us to know that although the way of the cross will be difficult, it will in no way be the end, but rather a door that we all must pass through before we are met on the other side, by Jesus. Even Jesus had to come down from the mountain. Transfigured as he was, in conversation with Moses and Elijah, glorified by God… even he had to enter into the suffering that was required to fulfill God’s plan of salvation.
Lent may not be our favorite liturgical season. We may not like the austere nature of Lent. The pains of our human condition may be disagreeable to our chosen interests, but remember this: each one of us goes into Lent with a preview of the coming attraction. God has not forsaken us. God has provided a beacon that will illumine the way ahead of us. It is the one preview that we find ourselves excited to see. We like what it has to offer us. May we enter into the season of Lent following Jesus' example of prayer and obedience. May we be transfigured by our acts of repentance and drawn closer to God than we’ve been in the past. 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
February 3, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 17:1-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (NRSV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
These days when you go to an internet movie discussion site, you often see the label “Warning: Contains Spoilers.” This means that the description of the film will give away the ending. So if you are planning to see the film and you don’t want to know what happens, then by all means, don’t read on. But sometimes, you want spoilers.
I remember some years back, I went to see a movie in the theatre with my husband. When the movie got to a tense and uncertain juncture, many of our fellow moviegoers were sobbing and sniffling. We could hear wet noses all around. William turned to me to see if I was alright. I admit it: I can sniffle with the best of them over a good drama. But this time, I was just fine. I wasn’t even a tad misty, much to his surprise. You see, a friend had already told me the spoiler so I knew that everything was going to be okay in the end—even though the movie’s plot was looking rather bleak. I could even handle the protagonist’s suffering.
Now today’s Gospel lesson really ought to have the warning label: “Contains Spoilers!” Because it gives us a glimpse at the resurrection—the end of the Jesus drama. The Transfiguration iis what I would call a spoiler, a divine ‘sneak preview’ to those disciples considered part of Jesus’ inner circle.
We know this story well. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up the mountain then then his face becomes radiant and his clothes a dazzling white. The images of Moses and Elijah appear in their midst and begin speaking with Jesus. Peter speaks up and mentions how it is good for them to be there and suggests creating three dwellings for the men. Immediately a cloud overtakes the men, from, which they hear a voice that informs the disciples that Jesus is God’s son and that the disciples are to listen to him. Shrinking in fear, the disciples fall with their faces to the ground. Moments later, Jesus bids them rise and the images of Elijah and Moses are gone. From there the four men descend the mountain and Jesus bids them not to speak of this incident to anyone until he has ascended to heaven.
The disciples have just received a preview, but what type of preview is it? The Transfiguration is another incident in which Jesus is arrayed as the Messiah, the anointed, the one sent to fulfill God’s plan of redemption for the world. The image of Jesus in heavenly splendor, his face radiant with the power of God and his clothes a remarkable white are precursors to the day of his ascension when, indeed, he will reside in heavenly splendor surrounded by the host of heaven. The images of Moses and Elijah are equally significant. Moses was set apart to present God’s law to the children of Israel. Moses himself had a transfiguring moment on top of Mt. Sinai when he spoke to God and received the tablets containing God’s law for Israel. Moses appears at the transfiguration representing the law of God, the Law that Jesus fulfills perfectly. The prophet Elijah appears as the greatest of the prophets signifying that Jesus fulfills the prophecies regarding the one to come. While Jesus is talking to with Moses and Elijah, presumably about the way in which he will make his transition to heaven, Peter enters in with his own talk.
Peter makes a suggestion that three dwellings be made for them. It is a suggestion that is virtually ignored by Jesus, but Matthew does not tell us why. Biblical scholars suggest that the dwellings that Peter might be referring to would be those maintained by the pagan religions of the day. Booths, shrines if you prefer, were placed in various places in, and around, Judea where people could go to make offerings to a particular god. Peter did not know how else to react to what he was witnessing. He sees a radiant Jesus accompanied by Moses and Elijah and his only response is, “we have to make this pay somehow, we have to make this last.” The suggestion to build three dwellings is Peter’s attempt at sustaining the glory of the transfiguration, as if he could contain the majesty portrayed in these three characters so people could come and make offerings on the mountaintop at will. In making this suggestion Peter was reducing Jesus to a pagan deity, hence Peter was ignored.
What we receive next is the resounding voice, presumably the voice of God, declaring that Jesus is the beloved son and we should pay him the attention. This voice comes deliberately because the mountaintop experience these men have observed is not going to last. The glory of the transfiguration is a preview of the future glory that we will all enjoy on the day of resurrection, but until then we must come down from the mountain and enter into the valley of death in the season of Lent.
We are heading towards Lent, a time to go inward, to really reflect upon our mortal condition, to focus upon the stuff we are made of—Lent is a time to make a solemn progression towards the cross of Christ, our cross. However, we know how the story ends. We know it doesn’t end with the cross of shame and death. We’ve seen the radiance of Jesus’ face, we’ve heard the voice of God—we can deal with Lent because we’ve already read the spoiler. It is precisely this preview of the ascended Jesus that gives us the strength to make it through the cross and beyond.
God did not have to provide this instance of the Transfiguration. God could have chosen to send us straight towards the cross with out any inclination of what lies in store. Even in light of the transfiguration, even in light of the glory of Easter we still see those who are hesitant—so caught up with the cross that they are stymied, unable to move for fear of suffering and death. Jesus has revealed just enough for us to know that although the way of the cross will be difficult, it will in no way be the end, but rather a door that we all must pass through before we are met on the other side, by Jesus. Even Jesus had to come down from the mountain. Transfigured as he was, in conversation with Moses and Elijah, glorified by God… even he had to enter into the suffering that was required to fulfill God’s plan of salvation.
Lent may not be our favorite liturgical season. We may not like the austere nature of Lent. The pains of our human condition may be disagreeable to our chosen interests, but remember this: each one of us goes into Lent with a preview of the coming attraction. God has not forsaken us. God has provided a beacon that will illumine the way ahead of us. It is the one preview that we find ourselves excited to see. We like what it has to offer us. May we enter into the season of Lent following Jesus' example of prayer and obedience. May we be transfigured by our acts of repentance and drawn closer to God than we’ve been in the past. 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 27, 2008
DANCE A NEW DIRECTION
A Sermon for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany
January 27, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 4:12-23
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. (NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
During the time I was attending Luther College, I did an exchange with Saint Olaf College for a January term class, so I spent a month in Northfield, Minnesota taking a drawing class. I was amazed at how the intelligent students at this prestigious school behaved at meal time. Right next to the cafeteria, there were two large, walk-in closets with sturdy hangers for the big winter coats Saint Olaf students need for braving the cold Minnesotan winter winds. And above those hangers were shelves for storing the students’ heavy book bags. Surely the architects of the student union had thought of everything. But what they had not factored in was the vim and vigor with which Saint Olaf students come to dinner. I remember the first time I entered the cafeteria area—there were NO coats hung in the easily-accessible closets, NO backpacks stashed neatly on the shelves—NOT ONE! No, the entire floor outside the cafeteria was covered in coats and hats and gloves and book bags. They were strewn every which-a-way from the lounge furniture to the floor, right up to the very entry of the cafeteria—like they couldn’t get out of their coats fast enough to eat. As we approached the mess one day, a classmate looked at me and said, “It’s hard to believe the students here are so smart the way we throw our clothes on the floor like a bunch of little kids.”
Every time I read today’s Gospel lesson from Matthew, I imagine Peter and Andrew dropping their fishing nets with the same sort of recklessness as those Saint Olaf students. Matthew tells us that Jesus approaches them with the simple call: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Peter and Andrew were fishing with the kind of nets that are thrown from the shore. And Matthew doesn’t tell us if they neatly pack up their nets or not when they hear Jesus’ call. He just says that, “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
“Immediately” isn’t even Matthew’s favorite word like it is Mark’s. In the Gospel of Mark, just about everything happens immediately, but not with Matthew. So we have to sit up and take note that he uses this word twice in the course of a short passage. Immediately Peter and Andrew leave their nets and follow Jesus and immediately James and John leave their boat, their nets, and even their father, and follow him. To me, this sounds like a wild abandonment paralleled only by savagely-hungry college students.
When I heard this story as a child, I remember wondering why those fishermen just left their nets and followed. I mean, they were leaving their careers, their families, their whole lives to follow Jesus—and at this point, they don’t even really know Jesus. What in the world would posses them to do so—and to do it immediately, without even deliberating about it for a while? They don’t fuss around with lots of excuses like: “Well, perhaps I’ll follow you at a more convenient juncture in my life—perhaps on a day when the fishing isn’t to good...” No, they throw down their nets in messy heap and follow immediately. But why? As a kid, I could never figure it out.
Well, perhaps the key to unlocking this mystery lies in the fact that Jesus was out preaching a message of repentance. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” cries Jesus along the shores of the Galilee. In our modern world, I think many people are confused about what it means to repent. In confirmation, I learned that it means: to feel so sorry about your sins that you never want to commit them again. While this is an accurate definition, it left me feeling deeply sorry for my sins, but with no where to go from there. Many people share that view of repentance, believing it is nothing more than a Christian concept thrown around to make them feel guilty.
But when I got to college, a theologically astute dance professor of mine explained that to repent means, “to turn around.” In fact, to help us to embody this teaching, he would have us dance around any way we wanted and then he’d yell, “REPENT!” and we’d all swing around 180 degrees and dance in the opposite direction. For me, this changed my whole perception of repentance. It is not just about turning away from our sinful path, but it is about turning towards and running into God’s arms of love. So what if we have to give up our old lives? We are given altogether new ones! God turns us around and gives us a new direction in which to dance.
Perhaps if we look at the story of the calling of the disciples in this light, we can understand why they followed. We can get a sense of why Peter and Andrew are so hasty to throw down their nets and follow and why James and John actually bail ship in order to become fishers of people. In that simple call; “Follow me,” Jesus offers these men a brand new future—and it is so full of life that they can’t stand to delay their response. It is an offer they can’t refuse. They want to follow him right now. They immediately throw off their past and turn around into God’s arms.
And where does Jesus lead them from there? To a life of evangelism. Their whole mission is to be fishers of people: to turn the world around, the way they were turned around. They spend the rest of their days letting people know that they are walking in darkness—but that that’s not the whole story. They proclaim that the light has dawned, and the world must turn around and embrace it.
Have you ever been working around the house at dusk? You can be working away and not even notice the sun setting and the light becoming dimmer and dimmer until someone else walks in the room and says, “Why are you sitting in darkness?” and flips on the light switch with a reprimand like, “Don’t ruin your eyes!” You see, when you are in the darkness, it is hard to notice it because you forget the brilliance of the light. The call to be fishers of people, is a call to bear witness to the light, so that those walking in darkness will understand what they’re missing and will turn around to find the light for themselves.
Isaiah’s ancient words ring just as true now as they did in his day: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.” (Isaiah 9:2-4)
We, too, have been called to follow Jesus and be fishers of people. We are also called to immediately drop whatever is holding us back and to go out and bear witness to the light. Certainly, we have seen our neighbors walking in darkness, carrying their heavy burdens in pain. Perhaps we have been doing some of our own darkness-walking and burden-carrying. And to all of us, Jesus urgently calls: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near—turn around and dance in a new direction! Dance my way!
At our congregational meeting following the service today, we’ll be looking at a number of things, including ways in which we can continue growing numerically. Most Christian churches are declining in membership, especially small ones. And we search for business strategies to attract new members so that we’ll continue to survive as an organization. I’ve read a great number of resources that address this problem with fancy strategies for growth. But I think at the heart of all church growth is our ability to convey this call that Jesus issues to follow him. Can we make Christ so real for others that he grabs a hold of them and urges them to follow also?
American philosopher, John Caputo, wrote an interesting book called On Religion. In it, he writes:
“Religion kicks in, not necessarily when we sign on the dotted line of some confessional faith or other, but when we confess our love for something besides ourselves, when we bind ourselves over to something other, which means something other than ourselves, when we gather ourselves together and center ourselves on a transforming focus of our love. Something grander and larger than us comes along and bowls us over and dispossesses us. Something overpowers our powers, potencies, and possibilities, and exposes us to something impossible. Something makes a demand upon us and shakes us loose from the circle of self-love, drawing us out of ourselves and into the service of others and of something to come. The religious sense of life kicks in when I’m rigorously loyal, ‘religiously’ faithful to the service of something other than myself, more important than myself, to which I swear an oath which has me more than I have it.”
I think this explanation is powerful. The question for us today is: Does Jesus have us more than we have him? Do we notice him grabbing hold of us and calling us to live a life beyond self-centeredness? Can we can step out in faith like Peter, Andrew, James and John and say YES to this call?
Scripture promises that if you can immediately, recklessly drop your old life and give God your heart, you will be swimming in the light—even in the midst of deep darkness. Jesus desperately wants to touch each one of us and remove our burdens, so that they will be strewn all over the floor like the coats and bags of the hungry Saint Olaf students, and like the abandoned nets of the disciples. God wants to lead us in a new dance so that we will be filled rejoicing—as with joy at the harvest—and our joy can bear witness to the amazing light that God has breathed into our midst in Christ. May we say YES today and dance in a new direction! May God use our YESES to turn the world around.
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 27, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry
Matthew 4:12-23
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. (NRSV)
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
During the time I was attending Luther College, I did an exchange with Saint Olaf College for a January term class, so I spent a month in Northfield, Minnesota taking a drawing class. I was amazed at how the intelligent students at this prestigious school behaved at meal time. Right next to the cafeteria, there were two large, walk-in closets with sturdy hangers for the big winter coats Saint Olaf students need for braving the cold Minnesotan winter winds. And above those hangers were shelves for storing the students’ heavy book bags. Surely the architects of the student union had thought of everything. But what they had not factored in was the vim and vigor with which Saint Olaf students come to dinner. I remember the first time I entered the cafeteria area—there were NO coats hung in the easily-accessible closets, NO backpacks stashed neatly on the shelves—NOT ONE! No, the entire floor outside the cafeteria was covered in coats and hats and gloves and book bags. They were strewn every which-a-way from the lounge furniture to the floor, right up to the very entry of the cafeteria—like they couldn’t get out of their coats fast enough to eat. As we approached the mess one day, a classmate looked at me and said, “It’s hard to believe the students here are so smart the way we throw our clothes on the floor like a bunch of little kids.”
Every time I read today’s Gospel lesson from Matthew, I imagine Peter and Andrew dropping their fishing nets with the same sort of recklessness as those Saint Olaf students. Matthew tells us that Jesus approaches them with the simple call: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Peter and Andrew were fishing with the kind of nets that are thrown from the shore. And Matthew doesn’t tell us if they neatly pack up their nets or not when they hear Jesus’ call. He just says that, “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
“Immediately” isn’t even Matthew’s favorite word like it is Mark’s. In the Gospel of Mark, just about everything happens immediately, but not with Matthew. So we have to sit up and take note that he uses this word twice in the course of a short passage. Immediately Peter and Andrew leave their nets and follow Jesus and immediately James and John leave their boat, their nets, and even their father, and follow him. To me, this sounds like a wild abandonment paralleled only by savagely-hungry college students.
When I heard this story as a child, I remember wondering why those fishermen just left their nets and followed. I mean, they were leaving their careers, their families, their whole lives to follow Jesus—and at this point, they don’t even really know Jesus. What in the world would posses them to do so—and to do it immediately, without even deliberating about it for a while? They don’t fuss around with lots of excuses like: “Well, perhaps I’ll follow you at a more convenient juncture in my life—perhaps on a day when the fishing isn’t to good...” No, they throw down their nets in messy heap and follow immediately. But why? As a kid, I could never figure it out.
Well, perhaps the key to unlocking this mystery lies in the fact that Jesus was out preaching a message of repentance. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” cries Jesus along the shores of the Galilee. In our modern world, I think many people are confused about what it means to repent. In confirmation, I learned that it means: to feel so sorry about your sins that you never want to commit them again. While this is an accurate definition, it left me feeling deeply sorry for my sins, but with no where to go from there. Many people share that view of repentance, believing it is nothing more than a Christian concept thrown around to make them feel guilty.
But when I got to college, a theologically astute dance professor of mine explained that to repent means, “to turn around.” In fact, to help us to embody this teaching, he would have us dance around any way we wanted and then he’d yell, “REPENT!” and we’d all swing around 180 degrees and dance in the opposite direction. For me, this changed my whole perception of repentance. It is not just about turning away from our sinful path, but it is about turning towards and running into God’s arms of love. So what if we have to give up our old lives? We are given altogether new ones! God turns us around and gives us a new direction in which to dance.
Perhaps if we look at the story of the calling of the disciples in this light, we can understand why they followed. We can get a sense of why Peter and Andrew are so hasty to throw down their nets and follow and why James and John actually bail ship in order to become fishers of people. In that simple call; “Follow me,” Jesus offers these men a brand new future—and it is so full of life that they can’t stand to delay their response. It is an offer they can’t refuse. They want to follow him right now. They immediately throw off their past and turn around into God’s arms.
And where does Jesus lead them from there? To a life of evangelism. Their whole mission is to be fishers of people: to turn the world around, the way they were turned around. They spend the rest of their days letting people know that they are walking in darkness—but that that’s not the whole story. They proclaim that the light has dawned, and the world must turn around and embrace it.
Have you ever been working around the house at dusk? You can be working away and not even notice the sun setting and the light becoming dimmer and dimmer until someone else walks in the room and says, “Why are you sitting in darkness?” and flips on the light switch with a reprimand like, “Don’t ruin your eyes!” You see, when you are in the darkness, it is hard to notice it because you forget the brilliance of the light. The call to be fishers of people, is a call to bear witness to the light, so that those walking in darkness will understand what they’re missing and will turn around to find the light for themselves.
Isaiah’s ancient words ring just as true now as they did in his day: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.” (Isaiah 9:2-4)
We, too, have been called to follow Jesus and be fishers of people. We are also called to immediately drop whatever is holding us back and to go out and bear witness to the light. Certainly, we have seen our neighbors walking in darkness, carrying their heavy burdens in pain. Perhaps we have been doing some of our own darkness-walking and burden-carrying. And to all of us, Jesus urgently calls: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near—turn around and dance in a new direction! Dance my way!
At our congregational meeting following the service today, we’ll be looking at a number of things, including ways in which we can continue growing numerically. Most Christian churches are declining in membership, especially small ones. And we search for business strategies to attract new members so that we’ll continue to survive as an organization. I’ve read a great number of resources that address this problem with fancy strategies for growth. But I think at the heart of all church growth is our ability to convey this call that Jesus issues to follow him. Can we make Christ so real for others that he grabs a hold of them and urges them to follow also?
American philosopher, John Caputo, wrote an interesting book called On Religion. In it, he writes:
“Religion kicks in, not necessarily when we sign on the dotted line of some confessional faith or other, but when we confess our love for something besides ourselves, when we bind ourselves over to something other, which means something other than ourselves, when we gather ourselves together and center ourselves on a transforming focus of our love. Something grander and larger than us comes along and bowls us over and dispossesses us. Something overpowers our powers, potencies, and possibilities, and exposes us to something impossible. Something makes a demand upon us and shakes us loose from the circle of self-love, drawing us out of ourselves and into the service of others and of something to come. The religious sense of life kicks in when I’m rigorously loyal, ‘religiously’ faithful to the service of something other than myself, more important than myself, to which I swear an oath which has me more than I have it.”
I think this explanation is powerful. The question for us today is: Does Jesus have us more than we have him? Do we notice him grabbing hold of us and calling us to live a life beyond self-centeredness? Can we can step out in faith like Peter, Andrew, James and John and say YES to this call?
Scripture promises that if you can immediately, recklessly drop your old life and give God your heart, you will be swimming in the light—even in the midst of deep darkness. Jesus desperately wants to touch each one of us and remove our burdens, so that they will be strewn all over the floor like the coats and bags of the hungry Saint Olaf students, and like the abandoned nets of the disciples. God wants to lead us in a new dance so that we will be filled rejoicing—as with joy at the harvest—and our joy can bear witness to the amazing light that God has breathed into our midst in Christ. May we say YES today and dance in a new direction! May God use our YESES to turn the world around.
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
THAT'S INCREDIBLE!
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
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 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
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