Sermon for December 29

The reading

Mark 1

 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
    ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. ⁸ I have baptized you with^[f] water; but he will baptize you with^[g] the Holy Spirit.”

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;^[h] with you I am well pleased.”

¹² And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³ He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news^[i] of God,^{[j] 15} and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;^[k] repent, and believe in the good news.”

¹⁶ As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” ¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

The message


Welcome to the start of our journey to Easter. During the next few months, we will read through the Gospel of 

Mark.  This account of the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus centers around a series of escalating 
conflicts between Jesus and the religious authorities over how they understand God being and working in the 

world.  There is no real, significant change on the part of the religious authorities. They do not relent.  They 

keep doubling down on keeping things the way they are, they are afraid of any change they cannot time and 

control, let alone the great changes that Jesus is talking about.  At times it looks like they are concerned with 

their own power and wealth, other times concerned about the reaction of Rome to this new religious 

insurrection, other times with the ancient traditions and keeping the status quo. Whatever the reason, its 

always  fear that leads them to confront Jesus.  Jesus also does not relent, does not back down, does not water 

things down so people can just hear a little, change a little or be kind of, sort of saved, so a handful of sins are 

forgiven or people are brought most of the way to God.  

In the first chapter, we already see conflicts. John is in the wilderness, outside of the religious power structure, John has no official approval or authorization, he has no known pedigree, education or family inheritance of authority, he has the word of God and what he is experiencing and seeing happen through Jesus. John is not teaching what the government or religious authorities approve of or want to hear (hence his arrest to shut him up), There is a quick conflict between John and Jesus, who should be listened to. Before it even starts really, John points to Jesus, the one more powerful than I, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.   There is Jesus temptation, a confrontation with evil and chaos.  There is conflict within the first followers, between their old lives and following Jesus, this will not be part time work or a side hustle.

The Gospel of Mark is urgent. I think of the quote, If not us, who, if not now, when. In recent history, it was said by RFK and Regan but attributed to thinkers as far back as Hillel the Elder about 2100 years ago. Things are urgent, the kingdom of God is here.  In Mark (and the other Gospels), the thing Jesus talks the most about is this kingdom of God (the second most talked about is money, economics).  There is a lot of uncertainty and debate over what exactly the kingdom of God means.  I see it as God’s breaking into the world (think Christmas, God really with us).  It is not only urgent to realize what God is doing, it is urgent to tell what God is doing. The command or law that Jesus speaks about more than any other is evangelism  “go and tell the others, share the good news” The first line of Mark, the letter is introduced as the good news, that is a greek word evangelieon and the root of evangalism and gospel.  This book is meant to bring people to faith.

The Gospel of Mark is very fast paced, its very structure points to the urgency.  In the original Greek the phrase Kai Ethos meaning “and immediately” appears all the time. Jesus’s 3 years of ministry rapidly go from healing to miracle or sign of power to healing to a new city to another healing to a conflict to a healing to a miracle or sign of power.  There are 2 stops for a collection of teachings (mostly parables about the kingdom of God).  The Gospel of Mark was written to be read, start to finish, in one meeting (about 90 minutes). It was meant to impact a community, to bring people to faith.  The original manuscripts end with an empty tomb and fear, without a real resurrection appearance, you need to share, act on it, it will be completed in you and you sharing the faith.  


The Gospel of Mark is considered to be the first written of the 4 Gospels and draws from a strong oral tradition.  A consensus of scholars date Mark to the time right before the failed Jewish revolt against Rome starting in 66. Historically people have attributed it to John Mark as a summary of Peter’s preaching (Acts 12:12 then this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Acts 15  Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, ³⁸ but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia  and had not continued with them in the work. (perhaps bothered by what he saw in ministry to the gentiles, Mark returned to Jerusalem) They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,) There is very little evidence or certainty about this claim but it is the oldest attribution to the Gospel of Mark. 


In our reading today, the first chapter of Mark, a lot happens. We go from the start of John the Baptist’s ministry to the start of Jesus ministry and the call of the disciples in 21 verses.  There is no Christmas in Mark, no birth narrative, that is unnecessary, the very voice of God has already told us who Jesus is, John’s preaching has told us he is fulfilling the prophesy.   


Mark starts with a bold proclamation: Jesus fulfills prophesy, he is the waited for one, the Messiah, the savior.  We start in the middle of stuff, John the Baptist is preaching in the wilderness, how long has he been there, who cares, this is not modern day news reporting, who cares, this is good news.  How did he get there, who cares, this aint history class, this is the good news, God is here.   Who trained him, who cares,  who recorded his words, no one, what is he teaching “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me” (I bet you thought I would say who cares to that one too).

Okay, we are onto Jesus now, after what all the gospels indicate as a very normal life of a young man in this area, Jesus appears, gets baptized and the voice of God declares “this is my son, the beloved”.  Now in less then 10 verses, we have already had one of the great prophets, the Holy Spirit and the very voice of God attest to who Jesus is. There is no baptism party here, its off to the wilderness for temptation, what exactly happened there in the wild, who cares, point is Jesus endures.  The creation, Satan and angels now all attest to who Jesus is. No time for a nap after the temptation, John is arrested (why, who cares, more important things to talk about).  Jesus starts his public ministry.  proclaiming the good news of God  and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” There it is again, good news, good news, the kingdom of God is here,

Jesus solo career does not last long, He is the only one literally going to hell and back, to the cross, grave and resurrection to defeat sin and death, but he will not be the only one proclaiming good news, good news, the kingdom of God, God is here.  Jesus calls his first disciples, Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  And immediately they left their nets and followed him. There is no time for what on earth does that mean, do we need nets rods or spears to fish for people,  where are we going, should I pack my winter sandals or summer shirt, what about my family, who will watch my boat, what time will we be home, whos going to feed my cat.   The answers to all those questions do not matter.  They get caught up by the good news and they follow Jesus.  That is what the Gospel of Mark was written to do, to bring people to faith in Jesus. 

Sermon for Christmas 2019

The reading

Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The message



This is my 11^th Christmas here at St Jacobus.  In December of 2009, I was serving as the pastor here (or anywhere) for about 2 weeks before Christmas Eve.  I had gotten to know only a handful of people by then. I think a decent number of people here now were there that night as well.  I wanted things to be awesome but I figured people would give me some slack, everyone seemed nice enough and I was a new pastor in a new church community.   


I can’t really remember what my sermon was about that night (I assume something to do with the birth of Jesus).  I do remember sharing a story.  It was connected to a friend’s mom and her work in the public library with teaching adults to read.  One of her students had been through a rough life, he was sick with HIV at a time when that was a death sentence. The man got in trouble throughout his life and had limited to no opportunities for good work or education.  He was determined to have an impact on something before he died.  What he wanted most was to be able to communicate with his young children, to write letters to them, something to remember him by. He did learn to read and write and was able to send those letters.  As a thank you gift for my friend, he made an art project. He took a pile of different stones and glued them together in a bowl.  He died a few months after giving it to her.


My friend held on to this rock sculpture for years. She didn’t keep it to herself, this was too important of a gift to be left collecting dust on a shelf, too much care went into this to just leave it in a box in the basement, there was too much to be shared in this story to just forget about it.  Over time, whenever a rock fell off, she would give it to someone and tell them the story.  A few weeks before I started here, a group of us were hanging out.  She pulled me aside, gave me a few rocks and told this story.  Over my years in ministry, I held unto them tightly and secretly but eventually, I realized that’s not what they are for. Now, I have shared a few of these rocks with people and one still sits someplace on my desk (That is not an easy place to spot things).              


I did not share this story tonight because I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I share it again 10 years later because we can think of Christmas like that rock sculpture. Christmas has all different sized, shaped and colored parts and pieces fit together and Christmas needs to be shared.  


The first few rocks in the bowl, the shiny ones on top that get people’s attention is social Christmas, A time of  gifts, popular gifts, expensive gifts, cheap gifts, regifted gifts, badly wrapped gifts, all sorts of gifts, office secret santas, fruit cakes, crowded malls, overworked delivery people, open bars, carols that powerfully share the gospel but just sound like happy background music, I had dinner with a few friends. One of them mentioned he makes a series of about 15 Christmas stops to see friends, doctors and co-workers. My friend never seemed too religious and I was curious so I asked “are all these people you go see Christians, do they celebrate Christmas”, he told me “oh no way” without it seeming odd.  Social Christmas is what inspires those “keep Christ in Christmas” car magnets and bumper stickers


Then there is church Christmas, the rocks in the rest of the bowl, to quote another bumper sticker, the reason for the season. Church Christmas is not the fulfillment of wish lists and letters to santa, it is the fulfillment of prophesy.  In Luke’s Gospel the story of Christmas starts with a census, Luke includes this detail about the census primarily to show and explain how Jesus fulfills the prophets words about the Messiah, that the savior would be from King David’s family line (the genealogy presented is hard to verify) and the savior would be born in little old Bethlehem of Judea, which is not where Mary and Joseph lived.   


Social Christmas might be a party but church Christmas is shock and confrontation, Christmas offends. Those are rocks, hard to see, way on the bottom of our Christmas bowl.  Jesus birth is a historical event and it has a context, It happened in a particular time and place, one that even today, does not treat non-tourist Christians well.  Jesus is born to a people oppressed by Rome, Jesus genealogy including women and non-Israelites. Mary is a pregnant, unwed mother, Jesus is born on the margins, born in a cave since there was no room anywhere else, In Matthew’s Gospel, we learn right after Christmas, Jesus, Mary and Joseph become refugees in Egypt, hunted by King Herod, chased down by their own government and certainly not protected by the religious authorities.  Today, some churches and people around the country have put up Nativity scenes with Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in jails or cages, a confrontational reminder of where we might put those kind of people today. God comes to us in a very unexpected way, a sign that to God, everyone counts.  


Social Christmas is about being the life of the party but Church Christmas is rooted in death, Those are the rocks we always talk about but often don’t really think about.  The hymn we will sing after this message is the same one I’ve used in that spot for 11 years (anyone notice that). It’s there because I really like the song but also for the verse, “How Jesus the savior was born for to die, for poor ordinary sinners like you and like I”, that this the ultimate reason for Christmas, the work of this child born tonight. Jesus was born for us, Jesus died for us, Jesus resurrected for us.   


Social Christmas with quiet days at work (well not for me), trips home and 10 or 12 days off from school is a break. Church Christmas is not a vacation, its work, its what we do with the bowl. It’s the decision that Christmas is too important to keep on a shelf or in a storage box. I wanted to share a short poem, literally called “the work of Christmas” by Howard Thurmann. 


 When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone, 

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins: 

To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among all To make music in the heart.

Tonight, we celebrate Christmas but every other hour, we are living in the time when the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home and shepherds back with their flock, that’s what we go home to and God is still with us.  

  

Sermon for December 22

The readings 

Luke 1:5-13, 57-80

5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth

Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

Once when Zechariah was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty,  he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense.

Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.  Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.  But his mother said, "No; he is to be called John."


They said to her, "None of your relatives has this name." Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him.   He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And all of them were amazed.  Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God.   Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea.  All who heard them pondered them and said, "What then will this child become?" For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.


Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.

 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David,

 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant,

 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,

to grant us  that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 

to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.

By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace." 

The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.


The message


This morning, we come to the end of our very long Advent. The wait for Christmas is almost over.  Well, our wait has been long by church standards where Advent lasts 4 weeks, the people of Israel, the people of God waited hundreds of years for the first Christmas.  As we look forward to Tuesday and Wednesday,  I wanted to share a recap or summary and remind us how we got here, to the birth of John the Baptist, the voices in the wilderness crying out “God is here with us” and to the birth of Jesus, the one that John points to as the fulfillment of God’s promises.


We started in September with Genesis and creation, we started with a powerful expression that God is with creation, God is with us. We heard the second of 2 creation stories in Genesis. This one speaks of God in the garden, interacting with the world and the first people, talking, seeing, hearing, touching, experiencing the good creation. (The first creation story speaks of the God we cannot see, hear or fully experience, the God in heaven looking down, saying “it is good”.)   Throughout our Old Testament series we heard a lot about the ways people have seen and felt God is here with us.

God acts in history, through people, through insiders like anointed kings, called judges, priests and court prophets and through outsiders like Ruth and Cyrus.  God often sets things in motion that no one can see the ending of. Immediately after creation, we jumped past Noah and the flood and heard God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah, an older couple way beyond child bearing age. In their story 2 people’s lives wind down with a bold, impossible promise kept, a covenant, that Abraham will be the father of a great nation, having many descendants. This actually happens. People, when faced with doubts and horrible situations will immediately look back on this promise kept and remember nothing is impossible for the God who gave a child to Sarah and Abraham.


Immediately after that was the odd story of Abraham’s grandson Jacob, on a long, chaotic and complicated journey to become the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. This time is interrupted by wrestling with God, an encounter that left him forever marked and changed.  Thanks to God’s providence, through Jacob’s youngest son Joseph, The people of Israel will save Egypt from a famine (one of those examples of God setting things in motion that no one can see the ending of).  Soon after the work of Joseph is forgetting by the kings and people of Egypt. The Israelites become slaves in Egypt.  400 miserable years later there was freedom, the Exodus, the plagues, the proof of God’s power, and the journey to the promised land.  Immediately after that there was chaos, confusion and complaining. In response there is the law, the commandments, attempts at organizing a nation, the judges, the kings and the prophets.  We had a quick detour with the book of Ruth, the great grandmother of King David.  Unlike many of the other stories, this one is a very local story of one family’s faithfulness, grace, compassion and welcome. A glimpse of the fact that being part of God’s people is not about birth, its about faith and promise keeping.


We moved on to the stories of kings, anointed, called, set apart and for the most part behaving badly, abandoning the faith, forgetting they rule by God’s will, ignoring the fact that they were given power for service to God and people.  The prophets confront the kings and people.  The prophets are largely ignored. As quickly as the united kingdom started, the kingdom splits into two, the north falls to the Assyrians, the prophets say God is with us, God’s promises are still good. Years later, Jerusalem and the south fall to the Babylonians, the temple is destroyed, unfaithfulness is punished.  The prophets say God is with us, God’s promises are still good.  The Babylonian fall to Persia (God again works through outsiders), Jerusalem is restored, the temple rebuilt, the prophets say see we told you so, God is with us, God’s promises are still good. There are hints that the kingdom of God will be expanded, opened to all people.


To get from the reopening of the temple to John the Baptist, the prophet crying out God is with us, God’s promises are still good, we have jumped over about 450 years of ancient history, of rule by one empire or another.  A time known as the intertestamental years, There were a lot of books written in this time that were not considered authentic and did not make it into the cannon of the bible, despite being seen as sacred books in the early church. Writings like the books of Maccabees, which tell the history of several attempted revolts towards the end of this time are listed as aprochyal.    


The new testament starts with angels announcing news, the birth of John the Baptist, the voice in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. There are similarities in the story of John the Baptist and ones we have experienced over the past few months.  Like Abram and Sarah having a child well beyond child bearing years, Elizabeth and Zechariah also have a child born when knowledge said that’s impossible. Like Mary, Joseph and so many before, the first reactions to the appearance of an angel and a word from God is fear, confusion and questioning. 


The time before and right after the birth of John, Zechariah is mysteriously unable to speak.  Like the prophets before him, Zechariah finds a way to communicate God’s word, writing “his name is John”.  Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth insists the child will be named John.   Most of the community and his immediate family view this as crazy, there is no John in his family, no reason to pull this name out of nowhere, to deny tradition, to not name the child Zechariah after his father. Was Elizabeth taking advantage of Zechariah in his state of being unable to speak.  Today it would be like naming a child “cheeseburger”  “off green” or “Christmas ornament”. Unless Zechariah himself tells them, this boy will not be named John, Zechariah writes, “his name is John”. This act of obedience allows Zechariah to once again speak.  When he does, he shares his song of praise and thanksgiving to God. Like the verses of Moses, Mariam and Isaiah, Zechariah’s song powerfully and timelessly expresses what God has done.   


This reading leaves us at the edge of Christmas, the birth of Jesus is close. Sometimes, this reading also challenges us to speak, to share the Gospel, to show people here is your God, to speak the love of God in our relationships, work, prayer, worship and actions. I often hear people share St Francis well known quote: Share the Gospel, if necessary, use words.  I often work under that principle, on all sorts of different projects, with other churches, communities and groups, with service days, neighborhood clean ups but there is of course, a time to use words, to say whey we do these things, to share the faith, joy, hope, wonder and excitement that comes from knowing you are loved by God, to share our own songs, to say Blessed be God, for God has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them, in our own language.   to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death

Sermon for December 15

The readings 

Ezra 1:1-4; 3:1-4, 10-13

1:1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom, and also in a written edict declared: 2 "Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them!—are now permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem; 4 and let all survivors, in whatever place they reside, be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods and with animals, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem."

3:1 When the seventh month came, and the Israelites were in the towns, the people gathered together in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his kin set out to build the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as prescribed in the law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set up the altar on its foundation, because they were in dread of the neighboring peoples, and they offered burnt offerings upon it to the Lord, morning and evening. 4 And they kept the festival of booths, as prescribed, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the ordinance, as required for each day.

10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments were stationed to praise the Lord with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, according to the directions of King David of Israel; 11 and they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel." And all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, old people who had seen the first house on its foundations, wept with a loud voice when they saw this house, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away.

Luke 2:25-32

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon;^[a] this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.^{[b] 27} Guided by the Spirit, Simeon^[c] came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, ²⁸ Simeon^[d] took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

²⁹ “Master, now you are dismissing your servant^[e] in peace,
    according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

The message


As I thought about today’s reading on the end of the exile and rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, a series of current, powerful images that show enduring faith, that God is still here after tragedy came to my mind. I saw or thought of pictures from a church gathered for worship in the Midwest, folding chairs replacing pews and a plastic table serving as an altar in the middle of rubble, a few feet from where their church used to be, showing God is still here in a town and community recently wiped out by a tornado.  Then there were the faithful gathered outside Notre Dame praying and singing hymns like built on the rock, the church shall stand, even when steeples are falling, as fires raged and steeples literally fell. Days later, people gathered inside the shell of Notre Dame wearing hard hats and safety gear as they participated in the first service there after that devastating fire, showing the world, our building may be lost but we are not, God is still here . I thought of the worship services in and around ground zero after Sept 11^th, prayers around iron beams shaped like crosses and in damaged church building serving as places of work and rest, God is there, hearing those why and how could this happen questions.  We could think of the service at First Baptist of Sutherland Texas the Sunday after a mass shooting killed over 20 people in the middle of church.  We could look at emergency workers in repurposed rooms praising Jesus and praying as they start shifts caring for Ebola victims in countries all around Africa without most of the protective equipment and knowledge you would need.  Locally, in the past few months, we saw the community of Trinity Middle Village gather for the first worship service after their pastor, Jay Longan died.  The bishop and many others came to their service, to show Pr Jay is gone but God is still here. After a fire, tornado, mass shooting, terrorism, in midst of an outbreak or death of a leader,  All of these are very difficult times to declare God is good, God loves you, In each example, others, outsiders, helped. Each one is a public showing that God is still here.   

This week, our readings report the Old Testament version of enduring faith after devastation, tragedy and generations of suffering. This morning, we complete our Old testament reading cycle and we hear passages from the book of Ezra (originally combined with the book of Nehemiah).   Ezra and Nehemiah were 2 eyewitnesses and leaders during the return from exile in Babylon.  Decades before, in a series of actions the prophets blame on the disobedience, idol worship, fear and faithlessness of Israel’s kings and people, the Babylonians invaded and destroyed Jerusalem, including the temple built under King Solomon with God’s direction.  By the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Persian Empire had defeated and destroyed Babylon.  Cyrus the king of Persia, had a different approach to dealing with conquered people and lands (which Israel was).  For Persia, it was hands off, mostly, collecting tribute but letting the people be. The Babylonians used violence and fear of violence to keep people from revolt. The Persians preferred / reasoned that freeish, satisfied subjects would have less reason to revolt. 

Cyrus’ decree on the return and rebuilding is right in line with this approach "That decree allowing Israel’s return to Jerusalem and encouraging the rebuilding of the temple is why Cyrus is the only non-Israelite in the Old Testament referred to as the anointed, one called by God for a specific purpose.  This is why the prophets and people see the Lord working through him to keep the great promise of restoration. That promise of return to Jerusalem has been part of the words of the prophets we heard over the past few weeks, spoken to people in deep fear, grief, anxiety and doubt.  First there was Jeremiah speaking news to people who lost everything, even hope.  The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David;, then there was Isaiah,  A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord; build a level road⁷  through, O herald Zion. Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem!²⁰   Shout, don’t be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”

Here, these promises are fulfilled by an outsider, Of course, we have no reason to assume they will only be filled once or that this is all God had in mind.  We will see these promises kept again, At the start of Luke’s Gospel, Simeon goes to the temple, the one that Ezra and Nehemiah witness and record the building and opening of hundreds of years earlier. Simeon sees God is still here, God’s promises fulfilled in his glimpse of the new born Jesus.  for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. This song has been known as the nunc dimitus (Latin for now you dismiss) and been part of church worship at the end of the day, before sleep, since the early 4^th century, we can rest in peace, knowing  no matter what, God’s promises are good.

The return to Jerusalem and reopening of the temple was a big day, a great crowd with relighted faith, new fire, shouting “God’s promises are good”,  but not everyone was celebrating. As the first exiles returned, plans and construction started, people built an altar, offered sacrifices and worshipped in the rubble of the first temple, relighting an again almost forgotten faith. As work ended, they still worshipped there. They thought it was less holy, less important, less historic, even less connected to God’s promises. People insisted here is your God, in the same place us and our ancestors  knew. Then there were those who saw God doing something new, who walked wherever it was the Lord led them, who say here is your God, in whatever place prayer is said, people are cared for, community shared, God’s word heard, God’s praises sung, God’s love shared, God’s welcome practiced. The exited and the mourning are together and that means a place for ministry and care.   

Over my 10 years and 1 week here, we have not faced the sort of tragedies I started with the images of, a mass shooting, tornado, invasion by another empire or devastating fire. I cannot say how we would react for certain, I hope we would act in ways that show God is still here.  We have faced the loss of great pillars of our church, we have mourned and cried for those who have died while proclaiming God is still here and held farewell parties for those who have moved on to live in and bless another place. God is still here, We have dealt with at least 2 or 3 things that I really worried could have ended our work here, none of them did.  

Last week, we had our big day, a chance to celebrate my 10 year anniversary as a pastor and as a pastor here.  In my sermon that morning, I ended up focusing on the verses from Isaiah and Mark that tell the prophets their job description, Go and show the people “here is your God”. Isaiah ends up sharing God’s presence in telling people God’s promise of restoration and change, John the Baptist does this work of sharing God’s presence by pointing to Christ, by being a voice in the wilderness crying out here is your God.  Originally, I was going to go in an entirely different direction, I wanted to focus on God doing something new, in the readings and in our community. As Isaiah declares Comfort, comfort my people,” says your¹  God. “Speak kindly to²  Jerusalem³  and tell her that her time of warfare is over,⁴  to a people defeated, exiled and weakened to a point of helplessness, comfort is God doing something new, an unknown outsider in the wilderness declaring a new meaning in baptism and confronting the old ways of faith practice is God doing something new. They celebrate and weep together, sing psalms together,

           

We have to ask ourselves what do these displays of faith mean for people who are okay, what can these stories say to a community that is okay. Sure they inspire but it reminds us the mourning and celebrating are often together, especially when the church is so diverse, world wide and different.  When you are okay, walk with someone who is not, when you are not okay, tell someone, when a church is strong, help another, when a church is safe, listen to and pray for the persecuted, when a Christian is eager to do more, find places for them to work, when a friend in faith is worn out, give them a break,  In  the midst of community worshipping after a mass shooting, do something about guns and healthcare, encourage others  

Sermon for Sunday, December 8th

The readings

Isaiah 40:1-11

40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”  says your¹  God.

2 “Speak kindly to²  Jerusalem³  and tell her that her time of warfare is over,⁴ 

that her punishment is completed.⁵   For the Lord has made her pay double⁶  for all her sins.”

3 A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;

build a level road⁷  through the rift valley⁸  for our God.

4 Every valley must be elevated, and every mountain and hill leveled.

The rough terrain will become a level plain, the rugged landscape a wide valley.

5 The splendor⁹  of the Lord will be revealed, and all people¹⁰  will see it at the same time.

For¹¹  the Lord has decreed it.”

¹²  6 A voice says, “Cry out!” Another asks,¹³  “What should I cry out?”

The first voice responds:¹⁴  “All people are like grass,¹⁵ 

and all their promises¹⁶  are like the flowers in the field.

7 The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the Lord¹⁷  blows on them.

Surely humanity¹⁸  is like grass.  The grass dries up,

the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”¹⁹ 

9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion. Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem!²⁰ 

Shout, don’t be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”

10 Look, the Sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior;²¹   his military power establishes his rule.²²   Look, his reward is with him; his prize goes before him.²³ 

11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm;

he carries them close to his heart;²⁴   he leads the ewes along.

Mark 1:1-4 

The beginning of the good news^[a] of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.^[b]

 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,^[c]

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,^[d]
    who will prepare your way;  the voice of one crying out in the wilderness  ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,   make his paths straight,’”

⁴ John the baptizer appeared^[e] in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins 

 The message

Welcome and thank you for being here today, and more importantly, for being part of the work of this church, school, shared ministry space and community. Today, St Jacobus and I celebrate 10 years of ministry together, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and I celebrate 10 years of ordination together.   I spent the last few weeks worried about just how many people would show up, bracing for disappointment and worrying about running out of seats and food (depending on my mood I guess). As we gather for worship, I honestly am more concerned with caring for those who are here, recognizing and remembering those who are no longer with us, thinking about those who could not be here and looking forward to what we do outside these paneled walls. 


For an anniversary or that sort of occasion most churches usually have a guest pastor, invited to share a message and say nice things about the person being recognized (in this case, that’s me).  It’s not that I have no friends or mentors, I didn’t get 25 “It would be an honor but no thank you or I have another appointment or my dog is sick or I would but I don’t want to”. I am preaching now for no reason other than, I am a do it yourselfer, one of those people who will youtube or google or ask someone how to do just about anything, whose been on Web md more than to the doctor, one of those people who struggles to ask for help.  Over 10 years, I have learned that is not healthy in a church. Here we center around salvation is God’s gift through Christ, we cannot earn or achieve God’s grace, you cannot diy it into heaven. That was one of the hardest things for me to understand at seminary (I would always ask questions which revealed that drive for diy salvation) When I did get it, when I understood our salvation was based on God’s promises and God’s goodness, it was an instant of great relief and joy, good news I wanted to share.  Also, church is a place where good, sustainable ministry must be done together, patiently, with prayer, support, diversity and listening and the use of people’s gifts.  Its not always the most efficient and I wont always get my way but we are church together,     


This sort of occasion also usually means a review of accomplishments, maybe a power point with some moving words, top 10 countdown and colored lights, a projector showing pictures from 2009 until now. We don’t need all that, us being here is enough. 10 years ago, smart people looked at this church, the membership, attendance numbers, budget, reserves, giving, preschool and condition of the building and thought the ministry and mission of this church was over, that our Gospel work in this diverse and ever-changing neighborhood was completed. Give them the well done good and faithful servant and shut off the lights.


I do not say this very often but they were right, what was here would probably not have survived. Over these past10 years, we have become something new. A sustainable place of churches and groups that live and work together to share the gospel with the people entrusted to us. The members and leaders of this church knew we had more to give our community and more work to do, We exist for the work of the prophets, the work we hear Isaiah and John the Baptist do in this morning’s readings, to show and tell others, Here is your God, It is better and brighter when we do not try to diy that work either, the kingdom of God is way bigger, more inclusive and diverse then we imagine, we should be too.  


In our readings today, the Prophets, Isaiah and John the Baptist set out to show people “here is your God”, present with you. Our readings were not changed for today, this is the last weeks of  an Old Testament series that took us from creation to the time after the destruction of the temple and the return from exile (where Today’s reading from Isaiah happens).  Isaiah 40 is the first chapter of a section known as Second Isaiah. This book offers consolation to the people of Israel, First Isaiah focused on final, dire but ignored warnings of the consequences of unfaithfulness, the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians and the exile of the people to Babylon. Second Isaiah offers promises of hope and restoration.  This will happen soon, God’s work will be done through others, the Persian Empire will conquer Babylon and allows the people of Israel to return home, rebuild the temple and resettle the land, To a city battered and almost invaded for centuries, and then destroyed by war Isaiah say “here is your God”, in the rubble and the promise.  To a people asking “where is God,” why has God abandoned us”,  “I don’t see God anywhere” Isiah says “here is your God”  in the restoration to come.  


Mark writes to a people who had all but forgetten the promises of the Messiah, who have gone from oppression by one empire to another, who were now living as a colony of the Roman empire.   Mark starts by highlighting the work of John the Baptist, the fulfilling of Isiah’s words 500 plus years before, See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,^[ who will prepare your way;  the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, here is your God,  ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,   make his paths straight”, Mark is setting up the time when we will look at the cross and empty tomb and say “here is your God”,  by the end of the book, he will tell people who thought Christ had died, the Romans killed him and his work was little more than magic tricks and happy thoughts, here is your God.  Christ is Risen In the hard to believe words of the prophet Isaiah. in the aggressive and confrontational words of John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah he points to, we hear people cry out, here is your God.  


What does it look like to be a community that does these things, who say to the community of Woodside, Elmhurst, showing people who have forgotten, never heard or don’t care, Here is your God, It can difficult to find the words and actions, Even Isaiah does not know what to say, he asked “what do I cry out”,  the word to say is simple, speak the truth, an honest assessment people have failed to keep the law, to worship God, people are like grass,¹⁸  The grass dries up, the flowers wither. Speak the truth, we have done bad things, bad things will happen.  Remember, nobody likes a condemner or complainer, I think today they are called “trolls”, when they operate online only out of their mom’s basement, they are called internet trolls, people who constantly point out problems, things they do not like but offer no solutions, no help,  don’t be a troll.  Don’t just say Surely humanity¹⁸  is like grass that dries up, make sure to add but the decree of our God is forever reliable.



Over 10 years, I have watched us cry out here is your God, we might not have been clear that is  what we were doing or even knew we were doing it, but its what were doing.  



In welcoming whoever comes in the name of the Lord, we cry out here is your God,  



In the sharing of our building with others who are different, we cry out here is your God.



In the cleaning of a community, caring for public spaces and empowering young people, we cry out here is your God,



In the working together of diverse and different people, we cry out Here is your God, 



In offering, in what we do with our resources, in supporting others, we cry out, Here is your God,



In boldly celebrating prayers answered, we have people on this list who were given hopeless death sentences, who were sick and now are well, we cry out here is your God,  



In the giving of food and offering of prayer to a group of pushy and aggressive people that most others would have given up on, we cry out here is your God, 



In being here, in caring for this building that it might be a light to show others, we cry out here is your God,



In how we work, we cry out here is your God, seriously, how we live out our faith in our daily lives is a bold witness or poor display of being hypocrites.



In operating a school that teaches, values and serves all, we cry out, here is your God,  



In a simple conversation with someone suffering, having a bad day, week, month or year, in sitting with that person, we cry out here is your God



In building relationships around scripture, around faith, we show people here is your God



I remain thankful the past 10 years in this community, for the chance to share that joy of salvation, for the blessing and care of so many, for this place to cry out here is your God,  I invite you to join me for the next 10 as we  Shout, don’t be afraid! Say to the communities of Woodside, Elmhurst, wherever you are, “Here is your God!”