Let the Children Come

September 23, 2018 Mark 9:30-37 Let the Children Come 18th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Children’s Time And he sat down and called the twelve, and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." (v. 35) Object: A human pyramid. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you like to be first? (Let them answer.) Almost all of us like to be first. I remember when Jesus was walking down the road and listening to his disciples talking about which one was first with him. They all wanted to be the most important person that Jesus had among his followers. Jesus didn't say anything while they were talking, but he listened to them as they each told why they thought that they were the most important person to Jesus. Each one thought that he was first with Jesus. I need someone to be first. Do I have a volunteer who would like to be first for a little experiment that I am going to do this morning? (Take the largest child who volunteers to be the first one and then each child after that so that you can build a human pyramid. Hold their hands so that they do not fall or hurt one another.) Isn't this fun? I wonder how the person who wanted to be first feels now. The first one is on the bottom and is helping to hold every one else up. He is not only the first, but also the hardest worker in the group. He is helping to serve everyone else by being first. That is the thing that Jesus told his disciples when they finished their walk. He asked all of them who wanted to be first to remember that being first with him meant that they had to be willing to serve everyone else. The person on the bottom of our pile wanted to be first, so he got the chance to hold up the whole group. Being a leader is fun, but it also has tremendous responsibility. You have to help others to be a leader. Jesus needs leaders, but he needs leaders who want to work and do things for others. That is the way it is to be with Jesus. The disciples thought about that for a long time. Most people want to be first because they like the other people who are already leaders. Most people forget that it took a lot of work to become a leader. If you want to be first, or be a leader, then you must also be ready to serve or help others. How many of you want to be first now? How many of you would rather be a follower than a leader? That is your decision, but whatever way you want to be with Jesus, he wants you to know that he loves you just as much as he loves the other. Amen. Mark 7:30-37 Jesus predicts his death 30 From there Jesus and his followers went through Galilee, but he didn’t want anyone to know it. 31 This was because he was teaching his disciples, “The Human One[a] will be delivered into human hands. They will kill him. Three days after he is killed he will rise up.” 32 But they didn’t understand this kind of talk, and they were afraid to ask him. 33 They entered Capernaum. When they had come into a house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about during the journey?” 34 They didn’t respond, since on the way they had been debating with each other about who was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be least of all and the servant of all.” 36 Jesus reached for a little child, placed him among the Twelve, and embraced him. Then he said, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me isn’t actually welcoming me but rather the one who sent me.” Footnotes: a. Mark 9:31 Or Son of Man Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible I can’t remember if I told this story before in this congregation, but there is a village in Africa, when they greet one another instead of saying hello, how are you- they say so how are the children. Children are dependent on their parents in order to be taken care of. So if the children are okay, then the rest of the society is okay. If the children are happy, then the rest of the community is happy. Children are an important part of our world, our community, our church. Once again, the way that we treat our children, determines the wellbeing of our church. The wellbeing of our souls. Jesus loves the little children. And our scripture for today is just one scripture where Jesus uses children to prove a point to the disciples. The most popular picture of Jesus is Always Jesus with a bunch of children on his lap. A member gave me this figurine. I treasure it because it had been a part of her family. In this scripture, in teaching a lesson. Jesus grabs the children and says that if we want to be great in the kingdom of heaven, then we must welcome the children. Actually Jesus grabs the children again in chapter 10. Jesus says let the children come, and whomever welcomes a child in their midst welcomes me. Children have not always been a treasured part of our society. As a matter of fact, thinking of children is a relatively recent development. In Jesus’ time children were considered lower than slaves. They were nonpersons that were tolerated. Even in the early church priest taught that if your house was burning, you would save your dad first, then your mother, then your wife, and if you had time then you saved the children. But if they were lost, you didn’t worry about it. So it was pretty controversial for jesus to tell us to welcome the children. When we welcome children, we welcome God. Author and business consultant Ken Blanchard tells the wonderful story of a little girl named Schia. Maybe you remember that beautiful story. When Schia was 4 years old, her baby brother was born. Says Blanchard, “Little Schia began to ask her parents to leave her alone with the new baby. They worried that, like most 4-year-olds, she might want to hit or shake him, so they said no. “Over time, though, since Schia wasn’t showing signs of jealousy, they changed their minds and decided to let Schia have her private conference with the baby. “Elated, Schia went into the baby’s room and shut the door, but it opened a crack--enough for her curious parents to peek in and listen. They saw little Schia walk quietly up to her baby brother, put her face close to his, and say, ‘Baby, tell me what God feels like. I’m starting to forget.’” (8) This lesson about the children is actually the end of a very important lesson in Mark 9. Jesus explains to the disciples that he is going to die and be resurrected. They have no idea of what he is saying to them. They never get what is going on. As a matter of fact, instead of listening to Jesus, like children they start to argue amongst themselves. Jesus asks them why they were arguing. And like children that know when they are wrong – instead of answering, they get quiet and say nothing. If Jesus were amongst us today – and asks our church what we were arguing about – he would get a mouthful – we argue about the same things, who belongs, who is right who is wrong, who needs to be corrected, who is most like us, which one of us is greatest and deserve to it next to Jesus. We are still fighting to see who is going to be first in line. Sometime back, there was a story that came out of the Special Olympics. It seems that a contestant tripped and fell while running a race. Instead of just charging down the track oblivious to another competitor's distress, the other contestants stopped, went back, picked up their fallen comrade, then all ran together to the finish. First. Last. Who cared? Everyone made it across. That was all that mattered. We can learn a lot from our children about our faith and how we should treat others. Jesus uses the children to teach a valuable lesson to all Christians about greatness, leadership about being a good Christian. He turns the tables on what it means to be #1. I think that many of us can relate to this last story. The Way Up Is Down! - Mark 9:30-37 There once was a palace servant who longed for more than anything else in life to be a knight. He yearned to represent his king and vowed within himself that if he ever had a chance to be a knight he would serve his king as the noblest knight who ever lived. His dream came true. His great day came. At his knighthood ceremony, the former servant, now a knight, made a special oath within himself. He vowed that from that day forward he would bow his knees and lift his arms in homage to no one but his king. As a knight, he was assigned to guard a remote city on the edge of the kingdom. On the day he took up his duties standing at attention in full armor at the city gate, an elderly peasant woman passed by on her way to the market. In a rickety cart, she carried some vegetables she had grown and hoped to sell. As she passed the knight, her rickety old vegetable cart hit a bump on the road and turned over. Potatoes, onions, carrots, and peas spilled everywhere. The peasant woman scurried to get them all back in her cart to no avail. She looked toward the knight in hopes he would help her but already he had forgotten what it was to be a servant. The knight stood there, unmoved, holding his pose. He would not bend to help her. He just stood at attention keeping his vow to never again bow his knees or lift his arms in homage to anyone but his king. Years passed, and one day an elderly one-legged man hobbled by on his old crutch. Directly in front of the knight, the old man's crutch finally gave out and broke in two. "Sir knight," the old one-legged man begged, "please reach down and help me to get up again." The knight, unmoved by the old man's predicament, made no response. He held his pose proudly and remembered he had vowed that he would neither stoop nor lift a hand to help anyone but his king. Decades passed, and the knight grew older. One day his granddaughter came by and said, "Papa, pick me up and take me to the fair." But, even for his own granddaughter the knight would not stoop, for within himself he had made a vow to bow only to his king. Finally, the day came for the king to come. This was the day for which the knight had longed since the day of his knighthood. As the king approached to inspect him, the knight stood proudly and stiffly at attention. As he did, the king noticed a tear rolling down the proud knight's cheek. "You are one of my noblest knights," said the king, "why are you crying?" "Your majesty," the knight replied, "I took a vow that I would bow and lift my arms in homage to you alone, but now that you are here I am an old man unable to keep my vow any more. The years of standing here stiffly at attention, waiting for you to come, have taken their toll. The joints of my armor are rusted and I can no longer lift my arms or bend my knees." The wise king replied, "Perhaps if you had knelt to help all those people who passed by you, and lifted your arms to reach out to all the people who asked for your help, you would have been able to keep your vow to pay me homage today." Jesus Christ says, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all" (v. 35)… In other words we have to use it or lose it – our faith, not our knees. The more we are able to exercise our faith, the easier it becomes. The children are our future, they are also amongst us as the present. Let the children come. Other illustrations..... I like what Robert Fulgrum, a Minister Emeritus in Edmonds, Washington, said: "Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain but there in the sand box at nursery school. Think of what a better world it would be if the whole world had cookies and milk around three o'clock every afternoon and then laid down with our blankets for a nap or if we had a basic policy for our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. It is still true no matter how old you are when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together." (4) That's good! That's really good! I don't want to get too nostalgic with regard to this point. I've always loved the story about the grandmother who got a note from her son and daughter-in-law that her grandchildren would be coming to spend a week with her. She loved her precious little granddaughter and lively little grandson, and when she thought about the pleasures that awaited her with them in her home, she went to church and put five dollars in the offering plate as a token of thanksgiving. She kept her grandaughter and grandson for that week and what a week it was. When they went home, she went back to church and put in a twenty dollar bill in the offering plate in thanksgiving. We're aware of that side of it, but what would we do without children; children to teach in Sunday School, and children to run through the halls on the way to worship. As we seek to minister to them, we grow. They keep us in touch with what really matters in life. When we think that life is a matter of accumulation, domination and accommodation the sound of a baby's cry can bring us back to earth. Jesus is trying to teach the disciples an object lesson about greatness, about servanthood, about leadership. What would we do without children--children to teach in Sunday school, and children to run through the halls on the way to worship? As we minister to them, we grow. They keep us in touch with what really matters. When we think that life is a matter of accumulation, domination and accommodation, the sound of a baby’s cry can bring us back to earth. A child’s laughter can brighten our entire world. A child’s love can give us something to live for, and a child’s faith can help keep a parent on the right track. “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me,” says Christ. “And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” Amen. Today’s lesson reminds us that children are great teachers. An anonymous author has made a list of some things you don’t know until you have kids. For example, without kids you wouldn’t know: Who John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt is. You wouldn’t know how to change a diaper in the dark, in a parked car, on a standing child, and all of the above simultaneously . . . You wouldn’t know which lines of “The Cat in the Hat” and “If I Ran the Circus” can be skipped over without a child noticing. Or the locations of public restrooms all across town. Or, how little sleep a human body truly needs to function. You wouldn’t know almost every Disney lyric ever penned. Or why they call them Happy Meals. Or the blessedness of naps. And finally, without children you wouldn’t know how much you can love one human being. (3) Business writer Ann Crittenden tells about a friend who found a three and a half year old boy sitting and staring at a little box containing wooden figures around a table, depict¬ing the Last Supper. She asked him what he was thinking. The three and a half year old looked up and said, “You know, if Jesus could give a friend a party, he’d invite the whole world.” (7) Dick Gregory, a very controversial figure, a black comedian and activist, once told about taking his oldest son to Mexico to a place where there is no electricity. He said they lived in a hut. He was in the hut one night when his son ran in and said, "Dad, Dad come here. I'm scared. I want to show you something." Dick Gregory says he went out and his son showed him the stars. It suddenly dawned on Dick Gregory that having been born and raised in Chicago the boy had never seen a sky full of stars. All of the lights and all of the buildings simply blotted out the wonder of the nighttime sky. Dick Gregory said he laid on his back with a straw in his mouth and together they looked at the Big Dipper and the Milky Way. They saw some shooting stars even. He said, "I cried that night; not for him, he had never seen that many stars, but for me." He said "I grew up looking at the stars and got so hooked into the vicious cycle (of living) I never remembered the day they left. I got so hooked into this chase that I never missed the stars." (3) That is gospel, my friend. What matters is that we all make it across, even the least among us. That was Jesus' message that day in Capernaum. That is Jesus' message today. And remember, "Whoever welcomes one such...in my name welcomes me..."

Marching in the Light of God

McGilvary Seminary Chiang Mai Thailand January 2015 Teach the song – We are marching in the light of God Alexander the Great threatened people in submission, not by fighting but by marching. He would tell people to surrender, and then tell his soldiers to march. They would march near a cliff, but he would not tell them to stop – the soldiers would just keep marching over the cliff. With an army that dedicated, people would surrender without having to fight. People have been marching for a cause ever since. The song that we sung is from south Africa where during apartheid and beyond, people marched to be recognized. I participated in marches as a child, African americans in the 60’s and 70s asked for their civil rights. And recently I have been watching the news are the marches continue. America – in my community marching is important for civil rights. It appears that young men are not given a chance. There are marches every where all over the nation. As I arrived in Thailand there seems that news from France has dominated the airways. People are carrying signs saying we are Charlie –it is a unity march. Just as marching is not new, the reasons that we march are not new – injustice, freedom, to let your voice be heard, to correct a wrong, to show solidarity. Injustice and oppression go back a long time. The book of Isaiah show injustice for the Hebrew people. Injustice has taken over – slavery and injustice. I preached this text for Christmas. This Christmas season has been filled with marches, fighting for justice. Advent starts in Isaiah – the place where God speaks clearly. This is one of the few places in the bible where God speaks himself. God says I have heard the cry of my people. God will comfort my people – god will correct the injustice of te world. God will create a better life for those who are marching. As I watched the marches on tv, I ask what will it take to make a better world? How long will we have to march before the world is a wonderful place for all of those who are crying out. As we identify the pain of the world. Who has the authority to make it better, who will bring justice? Listen to prophecy – God says that he will intervene. But will intervene by sending a strong leader – a man of God who speaks with authority. he will speak and do the world of the lord. I cannot help but to ask – where is that leader today – who is speaking for God in all of these marches – how do you see God in these marches? Is the prophecy about Christ? Christ is the suffering servant who will die to save the people. He endures pain so that all can have a better life. I was very young during the marches for civil rights of African Americans – former slaves – who are free, but still not respected. The church was a very important part of the history of marching. Many pastors were leaders of the movement – they trained people to protest and march and still be obedient to God. Unfortunately many leaders were killed for their leadership. As a child, my mother was very active in the movement – she worked for the community action agency. I was a part of the day care – I learned to march with her. When I was 3 years old – Robert Kennedy an important leader was killed. I went to school that day – the adults in my life were sad and devastated. Everyone was quiet – no wanted to talk to us kids to help us understand what was going on. Finally the lady in the cafeteria explained that the adults were sad and disappointed, every time that thought justice was on the way – the door slammed. Someone doing the work of the lord was killed. She explained that we were the generation to make a difference – it was up to us to bring about justice Where there were hatred bring peace, in violence peace. As the world has lost leaders – we were to ones to step up. I will never forget that day and the lunch ladies words. On that day – at 3 I pondered what it meant to be a leader. How to stand up and do the work of God. Samuel in our scripture was a young man. The story says that he heard a voice calling his name. He couldn’t figure out who was calling him. Finally his master explained that it was God, and that the next time who heard the voice to say - speak Lord your servant is listening. Hear God, Listen to God, obey God’s calling. I think it is an important lesson for us to hear – listen to God’s voice. We are leaders of the church. We are the hands and feet of Christ in the world today. God appoints each of us to be at the forefront of the march for justice, for peace, for unity. As I watch the news, every march, every protest, Where is the voice of God. but the response comes in the form of a leader. A suffering servant who will sacrifice so that his people can have what they need. It is important to remember that as leaders of the church – you and I are those leaders. We cannot be afraid to stand up and speak what we know about God, justice, love and peace, A pastor tells a story of her son, who asks what does God’s voice sound like? When you hear it you will know. You may hear God’s voice as a young child is being bullied and no one does anything – you go home and hear god’s voice speaking telling you to speak up and to make a difference. The son kew God’s voice and heard what it said. He finally spoke up and said I am gonna listen to God’s voice no matter what Today, God speaks to us in so many ways – scripture, teaching, television, world events, friends, suggestions. It is important to recognize God’s voice. Know what he is saying, know what to do. It is so important as a leader to know God’s voice. Pray, read scripture, stay close to god you cant go wrong. As we watch the marches on tv, what will happen? When will justice finally arrive? Most importantly who will speak for God. who will bring about the kingdom of God where all will be treated well, all respected, all just. God still speaks You are the leaders of the church. God’s people need strong leaders. Speak so others know, Act so others see. Have you heard God’s call? Is God calling your name? Will you go forward for God? Christ is the suffering servant – the messiah. But he asks you to follow, to understand the prophecy in scripture. People will continue to march. The need new leadership to connect their lives to God. May you be the leadership as we march to a brighter future! Let us sing! Amen

The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Us

Rev. Harriette Cross Englewood-Rust United Methodist Church December 14, 2014 Isaiah 61:1-11 Year B The Spirit of the Lord is upon us The debate continues – do we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? People continue to say that we have strayed away from the true meaning of Christmas. They say that we have taken Jesus out of Christmas. And then there is the endless discussion of how xmas is the world’s way of x-ing Christ out of Christmas. You do know that the x is the greek letter chi- the first letter of Christos. And as far as taking Christ our of Christmas. I don’t know if Jesus was ever in Christmas. The historical Christ was born in the spring. Cultures all over the world celebrate December as a turning point . December 25th is an old Roman holiday. It is not a matter of taking Christ out of Christmas, but it is a way of putting Christ in Christmas. The point is for us to remember God’s promise to bring change. We have to put flesh on the prophecy in Isaiah 61 – the spirit of the lord is upon me to feed the hungry, to free the captives and to preach good news. That is God’s promise to the righteous victims. God recognizes that we live in an unjust system – there are those who suffer just because of where they are. God promises to raise up a righteous leader to change the system. Today is solidarity day – many people are marching to say that #blacklives matter I think that we have to remember the prophecy that God is going to send a person to act on behalf of God. I am still listening for he voice of God in this situation. I think that the prophecy of Isaiah still applies for today. Who is speaking in this situation and who is leading with God’s authority. This whole story is unfolding and yet to emerge. God is in the season of advent and Christ himself must be our leader. Once again it is not a matter of God being taken out of the movement, but God must be put in it. I went to see the new movie – Exodus – God and King. And of course it did not go exactly as the book says it was. It was a strange movie. But I have found that every movie has at least one good line. In this movie – Moses has led the Hebrews across the red sea and they are in the desert. One of them says to Moses – We are not slaves any more. And Moses responds, you may not be a slave anymore, but you are still not free. That is us today. Freedom is a process. We have to discover there God is in the process, where the world is,and where we are. It is a process to go from Hebrews to Isrealites – those who struggle with God and prove victorious. This particular issue is not an us and them matter, the police are part of our families and our community. There are many people right here in this community that profit from injustice. We mourn the loss of Demario Baily, who was a student across the street at Johnson Prep. The principal said that there should be marshal law all throughout the south side. What does that mean? And where is God in that solution? What does God want us to do in this situation. We have to put Christ in the situation. Once again we have to put Christ in Christmas. We have to be Christ for the world. THE GIFT OF THE SKATES So how do we recognize His authority in our lives? How do we express our faith and our love to Him? By committing ourselves to His mission. Jesus doesn’t say anything about saving sinners and getting them into heaven. The primary priority of his mission is to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” So why do we do what we do? Not just because it’s a good thing but because Jesus is the mashach, the Messiah. The way we recognize His Messiahship is that we give ourselves to him and his mission. Elizabeth English tells the story of Christmas 1949 when she and her husband Herman locked the doors to their small town appliance store at 11 PM. They were dead tired and had sold out of everything including record players, bicycles, dollhouses and games. They had only one lay away package left and the person never came for it. The next morning, Elizabeth, Herman and their 12 year old son Tom woke up and opened their gifts. But it just wasn’t the same. Tom was growing up and all he asked for was clothes and a few games. His childish exuberance of past years was gone. As soon as breakfast was over, Tom went next door to play, Herman mumbled that he was going back to sleep and Elizabeth found herself cleaning up the aftermath of breakfast and the opened gifts. And the holiday doldrums set in. It began to sleet with snow mixed in and the wind rattled the windows. Suddenly, she had a feeling hit her that she should go on a walk. "That's crazy," she thought, looking out the window and she fought it for an hour but finally gave in. She told her husband she was going to walk to the store. "That was crazy," he said, but she put on her coat, gloves and scarf and went anyway. She shivered as she tucked her hands in her pocket. When she got to the store, she was surprised to see two small boys, exclaiming, "There she is. See, I told you she would come." They were half-frozen and one of the boy’s face was wet with tears. "What are you children doing here? You should be home on a day like this!" They were poorly dressed with no hats or gloves and shoes that barely fit. "We’ve been waiting for you. My little brother Jimmy didn’t get any Christmas gifts and we want to buy skates. We have $3, see." It broke Elizabeth’s heart to tell them that they had sold out of everything. But then the layaway package came to mind. "Wait a minute" as she went to the shelf praying that they would be the right size. And miracle upon miracle, they were. They were a perfect fit. When they handed the money over, Elizabeth refused to take it, and she was rewarded with awe and wonder and joy in the boy’s eyes when they realized she was giving them the skates. "Now take that money and get some gloves!" she said. Then she said to the boys, "How lucky you were that I came." "I knew you would come," the older boy said. "How?" "I asked Jesus to send you." And upon hearing that tingles went down Elizabeth’s spine. God had planned this. As they waved goodbye, she turned home to a brighter Christmas than she had left. Family and friends soon arrived, and we had a delicious diner and a wonderful time. But the one thng that made that Christmas really joyous was the one thing which makes every Christmas wonderful--Jesus was there. (From a sermon by Tim Smith, Good News to the Poor, 10/19/2009) Christ is in the world when Christians are present in the world.when Jesus said that spirit of the Lord is upon me – he was empowered to be the messiah, and he did the work of the messiah. The spirit is upon us to preach good news, the feed the hungry and to free the captives. If you want to put Christ in Christmas we have to reach the oppressed, brokenhearted, captives, prisoners, and the mourners – the righteous victims. This is the 3rd week of advent – we light the pink candle – the candle of joy. the documentary on recent studies in happiness, called "Happy" and available on Netflix Canada -- probably also Netflix America) says recent studies indicate that all of us have our own baseline of happiness (that is pretty constant throughout our life, and is the happiness quotient we normally return to after spikes of ecstasy or drops of sorrow), and that this personal baseline or happiness quotient is determined 50 % by genetics, only 10 % by circumstance or situation (like money, status, job, possessions, health, etc -- in other words, all the things we strive for, to make ourselves happy), and 40 % by activities we choose that help create contentment and happiness (like exercise, walking, healthy living, charity, meditation, etc) we put Christ in the world by what we do. Where can joy be found? What does justice look like in this world? 2832 Where Is Happiness? Not in Unbelief—Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: “I wish I had never been born.” Not in Pleasure—Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.” Not in Money—Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.” Not in Position and Fame—Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.” Not in Military Glory—Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, because he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.” Where then is happiness found?—the answer is simple, in Christ alone. —The Bible Friend Our joy is in Christ, and in Christ alone. Putting Christ in Christmas is not in lights, baby Jesus, singing or putting money in the red kettle. The true spirit of Jesus, the messiah came forth to serve the righteous victims. To feed the hungry, to free the captives, to preach good news to the poor. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us this year – we have to work to put Christ in Christmas! Amen. Extra illustrations…… Merry Xmas For years folks have complained about that "XMAS" abbreviation. They shout, "Keep Christ in Christmas," decrying the commercialization of the whole season as much as the use of "X." Half of the complaint is valid. No one would deny that the season has been taken over by the wizards of mass marketing in their quest to be the first-est with the most-est. Most of us remember the not too distant past when Christmas advertising began on the day after Thanksgiving. Now we get it in late September. I am told that buyers for the major retail chains begin their search for Christmas merchandise in February and March. There is no question as to the over-commercialization of Christmas. As to the other part of the complaint...the X...there is less validity. To the English-speaking world, X is simply the twenty-fourth letter of the alphabet. But to the Greeks, the ones in whose language the New Testament was written, those diagonally-crossed lines are the letter "Chi," the first letter in the name "Christos," the Messiah. Through the years it has been an acceptable abbreviation for Christ. If you look at the lecture notes I took years ago in seminary, you will see it all over the place. To backtrack a moment, I am less than accurate when I say that "X" to us is only a letter of the alphabet. Any math student would happily correct me. In algebra, it represents an unknown: 2+3=X...3x3=X. But in Christianity X represents someone you do know. David E. Leininger, Adapted from “Merry Xmas” _________________________ Principal Rainy, of whom a child once remarked that she believed he went to Heaven every night because he was so happy every day, once used a fine metaphor about a Christian’s joy. “Joy,” he said, “is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the King is in residence there.” These words have been made into a popular chorus. Our attention is often directed to the two shortest verses in the Bible noting that “Jesus wept” is the shorter of the two. But in the Greek we find this “shortest” verse has three words whereas the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (“Rejoice evermore”) has only two. However, one surely can see the lovely connection between the two verses. The Christian’s joy flows from the sympathy and grace of their Saviour. Jesus wept—we rejoice evermore. —Daily Readings God’s Daring Plan Once upon a time – or before time, actually before there were clocks or calendars or Christmas trees – God was all there was. No one knows anything about that time because no one was there to know it, but somewhere in the middle of that time before time, God decided to make a world. So God made a world – this world – and filled it with the most astonishing things: with humpback whales that sing and white-striped skunks that stink and birds with more colour on them than a box of Crayola crayons! The list is way too long to go into here, but let’s just say that at the end when God stood back and looked at it all - God was pleased. Only something was missing. Everything he had made was interesting and it all fitted together really well, only there was nothing in the world that looked exactly like him. So he got busy making his signature piece, something made in his own image, so that anyone who looked at it would know who the artist was. So God decided to make two things, which were alike but different, and both reflections of him – a man and a woman who could keep him and each other company. Flesh was what he made them out of – flesh and blood – extremely flexible and warm to touch. God watched his two creatures stretch and yawn, laugh and run. And he liked nothing more than walking with them in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening. It almost broke God’s heart when they got together behind his back, did the one thing he had asked them not to do and then hid from him – from him! Things were different after that. God still loved the human creatures best of all, but the attraction was not mutual. Human beings had other things on their minds. It was not long before most human beings forgot all about him. Without God, they got into so much trouble that it almost killed him to see what they were doing to each other. God shouted to them from the sidelines, using every means he could think of, including floods, famines, and messengers. But they didn’t seem to hear. Babies were the exception to this sad state of affairs. Babies did not go to war. They never made horrible speeches, or littered, or refused to play with each other. They depended on other people for everything necessary to their lives. Almost everyone seemed to love them and that gave God an idea. Why not create himself as a baby and come to earth to sort everything out? He tried the idea out on his angels in heaven and at first they were all quiet. Finally the senior archangel stepped forward to speak for all of them. He told God how much they would worry about him. People could do anything they wanted to him, and there would be no escape for him if things went wrong. Could he at least create himself as a magical baby with special powers? It would not take much – just the power to become invisible, maybe, or the power to hurl bolts of lightning if the need arose. The baby idea was a stroke of genius, the angel said, it really was, but it lacked adequate safety features. God thanked the angels for their concern but said ‘no’, he thought he would like to be a regular baby. How else could he gain the trust of his creatures? How else could he persuade them that he knew their lives inside and out, unless he lived a life like theirs? It was indeed a daring plan, but once the angels saw that God was dead set on it, they broke into spontaneous applause. At this, God turned around and left the room, shedding his robes as he went. The angels watched as his midnight blue robes fell to the floor, so that all the stars on it collapsed in a heap. Then a strange thing happened. Where the robes had fallen, the floor melted and opened up to reveal a scrubby brown pasture speckled with sheep and – right in the middle of them – a bunch of shepherds sitting round a camp fire. It was hard to say who was more startled, the shepherds or the angels, but as the shepherds looked up at them, the angels pushed their senior member to the edge of the hole. Looking down at the human beings who were all trying to hide behind each other, the angel said in as gentle a voice as he could muster, ‘do no be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a saviour who is Messiah, the Lord.’ And away up the hill from the direction of town came the sound of a newborn baby’s cry. As I look at the scriptures for Sunday, I am thinking about the gift of joy. What does that mean in, to, for our time? What does joy taste like? What does joy look like? What does joy feel like? Can we touch joy? HOw does it touch us, transform us, heal us? Any thoughts would be welcome.

God will make all things Right

December 7, 2014 God will take care of everything Second Sunday of Advent Year B Isaiah 40:1-11 We start out this morning with one of the most inspirational verses from the bible. 5843 “Comfort Ye” Possibly no Bible chapter has exerted a greater influence on the world’s leaders than Isaiah 40. Handel begins his Messiah with “Comfort ye”; Luther pored over it in the castle at Salzburg; John Brown read it in prison at Harper’s Ferry; Oliver Cromwell went to it for help in time of storm; Daniel Webster read it again and again when he was crushed and broken in spirit; Tennyson called it one of the five great classics in the Old Testament record. —J. H. Bomberger The words of this verse are “Comfort, Comfort you my people. What makes these words more amazing is that God himself is speaking, and God is speaking to all of his angels and to all of us. God is saying that the people have suffered long enough, and it is time for them to know that things will get better. The scholars note that God does not say comfort once, but he says comfort twice. That means that God has spoken comfort for the people, but that God is also saying that anyone who speaks thus forth on God’s behalf must repeat God’s message of comfort. There must be absolute peace from all of the madness, this is a time of comfort. God guarantees comfort through his presence, his word, his people, and as we will see unfold – though his appointed leader with the power to bring this comfort to the people. Now what I find interesting, God’s word is timeless and applies to all situations. The Hebrew word used in Isaiah for comfort is nahum. Nahum also means to repent. But the underlying meaning of nahum is to take a deep breath. What happens when you have been tense for so long – you tend to tense up your muscles and you hold your breath. When you are finally comforted and feel as if things are okay – you take a deep breath. You let the air in. so God could be saying take a deep breath and think about what has been going on, and how you can repent and make things different. Or he is saying make a point to go to someone who is tense, and tell them that it is okay to breathe now – because your pain and suffering will be relieved. Ironically, what has become the slogan of our latest protest sweeping the nation – I can’t breathe. Eric Gardner’s last words as he was choked to death by the New York Police – I cant breathe. There was no relief for him. He never got the chance to live in the promise of God – comfort. And thus we march and protest all over the nation and in many other places in the world. There are those who are protesting even today in church to say that black lives matter. That the justice system does not serve and protect our black men, and the lesser knows stories of our black women. I celebrate that this is a new generation that has gotten involved in the protest. One of my biggest fights with my son growing up was around racism. I would point out how racism was still a part of life in America, and he would argue that we live in a different age, where everyone is treated equal. He and other youth that I would talk to would say that the protest of the 60’s were no longer relevant because the world has changed. And now that they are coming of age and seeing the world as it is, they too realize that the world has not changed. Racism is alive and well. And that we still have reason to protest and demonstrate. Every week, it seems that the plot thickens, and we are reminded of just how insidious injustice for black people really is in America. And as the story unfolds – I have more and more questions. Where is the comfort in this situation? What will it take to bring comfort to the hearts and souls of our people? I cant help but to think about the example that Isaiah brings to this situation. We have lived in a world where there is pain, and discomfort for generations. The hearts and souls of the people even in Isaiah’s time was uneasy. So uneasy that God himself spoke up and said give them comfort. As I said, God promises comfort in several different ways. God’s presence, his word, his people. But the whole point of Isaiah is that God’s promises that a leader will rise up with the power to fix the situation. That God has sent comfort in the form of a leader. God says comfort twice, because he knows that not only will his presence make a difference, but that all those who speak on God’s behalf will do God’s work. As I look at the protest, that is my question, where is our leader – who is speaking and doing the work of God. and I wonder, who will take responsibility for the change? Who will repent? I think that in time we have become weary of leadership, and putting our trust in people. Isaiah says that people are like grass, in time we fade away. God is hesed – constant – steadfast- but people are not. But the good news, the comfort for is that God, God’s word, God’s promise can never be taken away. God’s promise is that there will be comfort – in God’s presence, God’s word and the faith of God’s people. A colleague – Rev. Larry Hilkeman would always remind us that God is here, God’s is always present in our pain and suffering. Often it is God who sheds the first tear, before we are even fully aware of what is going on. God is there at the beginning of the situation, and God will be present in the end. As we approach this advent season, we are in the dark. We are not for sure of what the future holds. But we know who holds the future. We are getting our homes, and our community and our church ready to welcome the King of Glory. Last week we said that the best way to prepare was to acknowledge the awesomeness of God. This week we focus on one of God’s primary characteristics. In today’s world it is also God’s most overlooked characteristic. That is God’s righteousness. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com In our protest, in our lifting up the lives of black people, in those who stand in solidarity – the people of the world are not asking for change, they are announcing that a change has come, they have loosed change in the world, and with that loosing – we will all have to change with it. Justice will prevail, because justice is a basic trait of an unchangeable God. When we see the face of God – the only response there is to be like God, and to live in justice. In shalom. When there is justice, there will be peace, and when there is peace for the people, there will be justice amongst the people, and when I live in a world of justice, I have no choice but to have peace. Comfort. I can breathe easy again. Justice starts with the presence of God. God's Treasure Tom Long asks the question in his book Shepherds and Bathrobes: "Have you ever noticed where God placed his treasure on this earth?" The treasure is not gold, but gospel. Not silver, but good news. Not hard, cold cash, but grace, love, and peace. He points out that God could have left it with the politicians, those who are responsible for collecting taxes, building schools, and passing laws, but God didn't. God could have left this treasure with Zechariah, the high priest, but his unbelief took him out of the picture. Tom Long states that God left the treasure in the least likely of places: in the love, care, and nurture of a first century peasant woman chosen as the "handmaiden of the Lord." God's treasure was left with the most powerless figure in the ancient world. Doesn't that tell you something about God's grace in today's world? John A. Stroman, God's Downward Mobility, CSS Publishing Company. This advent we are reminded that God’s appointed leader has already come. Christ is the messiah who comes to change the world. Christ is coming to bring comfort. And as we wait in the world, we have a mission – not to bring comfort – but to speak God’s words of comfort to the people as they move forward. God command us to speak compassionately to the pain. To cry out in the streets, to raise your voice and to shout. Here is the Lord God, coming with strength, with a triumphant art, bringing his reward with him and his payment before him! As the people continue to cry out I cant breathe – God says take a deep breath – you will receive comfort. Let us pray……… God's Special Mission for You Passage: Isaiah 40:1-31 • Lectionary: Advent 2 Item 1 of 2 | Back to Results "... for [God] has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden." (Luke 1:48) You've all heard us speak of Mary in church this Christmas season: do you know what is really so amazing about Mary? (Let them answer) It's not just that she was the mother of Jesus, which is pretty amazing in itself. No, I think the most amazing thing about Mary is that she was such an ordinary person. Mary was just a young teenager when God chose her to be Jesus' mother; in fact, she wasn't much older than some of you. She lived in a small town in a small house with her parents and the rest of her family. Everything about her life was ordinary. The Bible doesn't give any particular reason to explain why Mary was chosen by God. It doesn't say she was especially smart or unusually pretty. It doesn't say she was the bestknown or most popular girl in town. We know she wasn't from a rich or important family; in fact, Mary came from a rather poor and simple family. In other words, Mary was just an average, everyday child ... the kind you play with or go to school with ... a lot like any of us ... a lot like any one of you. Sometimes, we get the wrong idea about the Bible stories we learn in Sunday school. We learn about people like Moses, Samson, Ruth, or Deborah. We hear exciting stories like Daniel in the lion's den or David and Goliath and we think that everyone who does something special for God must be exceptionally strong or brave or bright, and then we think that God couldn't possibly have any use for us since we are all quite ordinary people. Well, the truth is that most of the people in the Bible are not superheroes; most of them are average people like us, with their own strengths and weaknesses. But, it's also true that God had a special mission for every one of them just the same. God's special mission for Mary was to give birth to His only Son, Jesus. He picked an ordinary girl for the job, but Mary had one quality that was very important. She had a spirit which said "yes" when God asked her to do something. What do you think God's special mission is for you? If you imagine that you are God's secret agent, what might your assignment be?

Who is wisest amongst us?

Who is wisest amongst us? September 23, 2012 James 3:13-4:3, 7-8 Mark 9:30-37 17th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Who is Wise amongst you? I have just one question for you today - who is wise and understanding among you? James says - those who show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. I want us to remember that, so let us read that together – those who show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. James has been telling us how to live a life based on the wisdom above. In chapter 1 – and all throughout the book he says that faith without works is dead. Today he is telling us faith without good character is dead. in chapter 2 he tells us that faith is judged according to those who are less then us. In chapter 3 he tells us that we have to be careful about what comes out of our mouth. If we call us ourselves good, then bad language should not come out of our mouth. Today we will look at the end of chapter 3 and chapter 4. He talks about conflict and jealousy, and the importance of not only being gentle to others, but being in prayer to God. But I want to go back to my original question – who is wise and understanding amongst you. We have a lot of examples of wise people – people in our family, people who taught us in school, people who taught us in church, people we see on the news, people we admire. An example of wisdom Some years ago St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City was seeking a new president. Over one hundred candidates applied for the position. The search committee narrowed the list to five eminently qualified persons. Then somebody came up with a brilliant idea: let's send a person to the institutions where each of the five finalists is currently employed, and let's interview the janitor at each place, asking him what he thinks of the man seeking to be our president. This was done and a janitor gave such a glowing appraisal of Dr Myron Mccoy that he was selected President of St. Paul's School of Theology. Somebody on that search committee understood, in a flash of genius, that those who live close to Christ become so secure in his love that they no longer relate to other people according to rank or power or money or prestige. They treat janitors and governors with equal dignity. They regard everybody as a VIP. Children seem to do this intuitively; adult Christians have to relearn it. It is a telling little piece of scripture in verse 32: "But they did not understand." That's a picture that can be hung in the halls of the museum of mankind. When confronted by true greatness, we simply do not see it… Some of you may know that Dr. McCoy was also the pastor here at St. Mark. We all know that no pastor is perfect and does everything right. But let us use this example of his job interview as an example of wisdom. An example of what Jesus calls servant leadership. Servant leadership is when someone puts the needs of those who others may think of as unimportant, before our own. Jesus says that those who want to be first, but put themselves last. Our greatness is in serving others, not ourselves. Our wisdom is in doing the will of God, not what we contrive in our own hearts and minds as what is good. As a matter of fact, James says that wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. But James is also not afraid to list the characteristics of those who have wisdom from the earth. He calls this devilish, unspiritual wisdom. Where there is envy and self ambition, there is disorder and wickedness of every kind. He says that were there is conflict amongst us, there is jealousy and where there is jealousy there is selfish ambition, and not ambition for the things of God. I don’t know if that is always true, but Jesus also talks about selfish ambition in Mark 9. The disciples are back in Capernaum, at Peter’s house. That seems to be the safe house for them to come to when they have been out traveling. And Jesus gives them the news for the second time. He knows that he will be betrayed and killed. Scripture says that they start to have a discussion about who is the greatest among them. Jesus tells us that is not the discussion of a servant leader. In servant leadership, it is not about how great you are, or how talented you are, or how much more knowledge you have then anyone else. In servant leadership is it in how you treat others. It is how you listen, not in how you talk. How you are aware of the needs of those that no one else is listening to. The selfish ambition of the frog I read a story once about a little frog that wanted to go south for the winter. It was too far to hop and he did not have wings to fly. Two Little birds felt sorry for the little frog and together they came up with a plan. The little birds would hold each end of a stick in their beaks, and all the frog would have to do was to clamp down on the stick with his mouth and hold on. The sky was clear and everything seemed hopeful for the little frog. Two farmers were standing in a field and saw the little birds carrying the frog and one said to the other, "That was a brilliant idea, I wonder who came up with the plan." The little frog couldn’t keep his mouth shut and He said, “I-I-I-I-I- I”. All he had to was to keep his mouth shut. That is happens to all of us, when we feel that we need to take credit for what God has done is our lives. We don’t get anywhere. When we work together and respect one another, then we get to our destination. James is trying to address how we work together, and reach our destination. We will learn more in chapter 5 about the beauty of Christian community and the love and healing that it can bring. How wisdom for one of us is wisdom for all of us. But James likes to give the bad news first, and in chapter 4 he talks about what happens when God’s wisdom is not put first. When we don’t respect others as children of God. There is conflict and trouble. We become jealous of what we perceive others to have. The dictionary describes jealousy as a painful sorrowful, resentful desiring of others. Where does that come from, but more importantly, where does it lead us as a community? We don’t get very far. Perhaps that is why Jesus was so hard in his disciples when they tried to set up a system where one would be greater than the others. Perhaps that is why he set a little child among them, and reminded them that if they had to ambition to lead, then they needed to be like a little child. Totally dependent on others for their care. The role of a child in the old world You have to remember that in Jesus day, children were not the sweet innocent things we think of in our world today. In our world – we put our children first. In jesus day, if a house caught on fire, first a person had the responsibility to save his father as head of the household, then his mother, then his inlaws, then his wife, and if there was time – you thought about the children. Children were dead last in society. In Jesus world, a child did not have any needs. If you could put yourself into the shoes of a child, then you understood what servant leadership was. But the conversation that the disciples had that day was not totally off base. Their master had just told them that he was going to die. He was not going to be with them. The most obvious concern of all of them was, who was going to lead them. The most obvious person to take over is the person deemed the greatest, the most like Jesus. In the ways of the world, who is going to take over once Jesus is gone. James asks us that question, who is wise and understanding among you. Perhaps that person should be running things. Jesus is trying to help us as the church understand that he did not raise up a leader – he intentionally rose up leaders. Who is going to take over the work of Jesus – we all are. Not one of us does it alone – we do it together. Our gifts, our talents, our servanthood is for the good of us all. For the community. A servant leader never serves alone. Carry Someone with You There was a tribe of Indians who lived a long time ago in the state of Mississippi. They lived next to a very swift and dangerous river. The current was so strong that if somebody happened to fall in or stumbled into it they could be swept away downstream. One day the tribe was attacked by a hostile group of settlers. They found themselves with their backs against the river. They were greatly outnumbered and their only chance for escape was to cross the rushing river. They huddled together and those who were strong picked up the weak and put them on their shoulders; the little children, the sick, the old and the infirm, those who were ill or wounded were carried on the backs of those who were strongest. They waded out into the river, and to their surprise they discovered that the weight on their shoulders carrying the least and the lowest helped them to keep their footing and to make it safely across the river. Jesus is trying to teach the disciples an object lesson about greatness, about servanthood, about leadership. He is saying to them and to us, "Have you lost the childlike joy and love and faith that once were yours?" He is also saying to them and to us, "If you want to walk on secure ground in this world it helps to carry someone with you." King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Who is wise and understanding amongst you – the one - the ones who show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. In the midst of a chaotic world, that can push up in all types of directions. The message for today is that it is important for us to stay grounded. The best way to keep both feet firmly on the ground is to have someone on your shoulders to balance you. In helping others, you help yourself. In caring for others, you care for yourself. The greatest leader is one to serve. James lesson follows the prophets of old. Bad news first so that you can end with the good news. He takes us through the ringer first, and then sets us out to dry in the sun. He talks about the effects of our bad character. James is talking specifically to Christians in the church. He is not talking about bad people. He is saying that sometimes even the best of us get misled. And a lot of the things that we do, especially to one another, come not from being evil but being confused. The come not from being mean, but from getting comfortable with being double minded. From calling ourselves Christian, but forgetting that the fruit of our actions says all that needs to be said about the condition of our hearts. James asks where does all of this conflict and division come from? It comes from jealousy – where does jealousy come from? From wanting something that we think someone else has over us? But we are all children of God – anything we need, we don’t need to take from another – we can pray to God for ourselves. This is where the famous saying you have not because you ask not comes from. And if you did not get it, James says that you asked in the wrong way. There are three answers to our prayers, yes, no, and I need to prepare you to fully receive what you ask for. If we don’t have it yet – God is working it out for us. Finally martin luther tells this story of how he overcame the devil. HOW MARTIN LUTHER OVERCAME THE DEVIL Martin Luther was often very graphic in his description of the activities of the Devil. Asked one time how he overcame the Devil, he replied, "Well, when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart, and asks 'Who lives here?' the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, 'Martin Luther used to live here but he has moved out. Now I live here.' The devil seeing the nail-prints in the hands, and the pierced side, takes flight immediately." It is surely good for every life and for every one to have Jesus as a permanent resident. These assured heavenly blessings are sure to fall upon such bodies. (Sword of the Lord. From a sermon by Bill Butsko, The Blind, 8/5/2010) Who is wise and understanding among you? The one who is at peace with God, and God’s intention for our lives. How much strife is out there in the world because people have not come to terms with God’s plan. They are still trying to come up with their plan. Draw near to God and God will draw near to you. James good news is that you draw near to God by bringing your entire life to God in prayer. Let God take over your heart and your soul. Stay grounded by helping others- and you will finally find the peace that you are looking for. Let us pray……