Sermon for December 27, 2015

The reading

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men[a] from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;  and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.  They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

    who is to shepherd my people Israel.’

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”  When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

The message

We are a little early for the celebration of the Epiphany or Three Kings, which is traditionally January 6 (or the closest Sunday). Since we have started to follow the narrative lectionary, we are journeying through the scripture in chronological or time order.   The arrival of these visitors to see the infant Jesus, is the next significant thing that happens after Jesus birth. At the heart of this story is the meaning of the gifts given by these three kings, wise men, astronomers, or magi Honestly, no one is quite sure who or what they were. People are not even sure if there was in fact three. People have historically assumed there were three since there were 3 gifts.  We do not know if others traveled with them and simply said “hey, let me get in on the gold with you” or “can you put my name on the card with the myrrh, I’ll pay you later”.   The meaning of the gifts is pretty clear.  Gold, an always valuable commodity throughout human history, to represent Jesus royalty and kingship, Frankinsence, a type of incense used for worship to represent Jesus divinity and myrrh, a perfume used in anointing the dead, to represent that Jesus will die and rise again for the forgiveness of our sins.  With these gifts, the  foreign visitors announce just who exactly it was born on Christmas, God with us, the king of kings, the savior who will give his life for ours.

This text has a deep meaning for me, in how I understand our ministry and time here at St Jacobus.  I expected a small crowd today (I was surprised by how many people came to church though) so I will also share most of this in the January newsletter.   For me, this story focuses on an often overlooked character. The star that points to Christ. The visitors follow the star. It points them to Christ, leading them on a long, strange trip through all different environments, cultures and communities.  Once the visitors arrive, that star disappears, it goes back to being just a regular star amongst the countless billions in the night sky, it no longer marks where Jesus is, it no longer points to Christ. 

Today, we take on the responsibility and work of the star, we point to Christ, the center and heart of this place, the reason, not only for the season, but for life. 

What does pointing to Christ looks like? 

For us, we are at the end of an exciting year.  Our food pantry continues to grow, serve more people and include other volunteers, churches and communities.  We have completed a series of much needed captial improvements. The new playground  is almost done, the roof over the office and kitchen is complete, there is new carpet in this space, and in a few days, the work of repairing and refinishing the pews will start. We continue to own and be responsible for a school that serves over 150 families with quality early education and faith. We may only have 2 or 3 children on Sunday mornings but on Fridays, we have church services with 60 or 70 children from 3 to 7 years old. We have a vision for the future of this place and a relationship that is improving every month.  Under Drew’s deeply faithful and committed leadership and because of so many dedicated members, we have a great music program.  When I first arrived here a little more than 6 years ago, everyone said there was something special about this community. That has proven true time and time again and that has endured challenges, obstacles and losses with hope and faith.  The most amazing thing about this year is the way that the members of this church have cared for those of us who were sick, suffering and recovering, That is what pointing to Christ looks like for us.   There is work to be done, whatever is holding us back, whether its being shy, quiet, uncomfortable, or uncertain, we need to get over it and we need to share God’s love with more people.  We have something special here, a meaning, faith and community people are desperate for in today’s meaningless world, we need to show and tell people an alternative to fear, greed and anxiety is here.

The fujianase, South Asian, Indonesian, Filipino, Hispanic, Bengali  and other churches that worship or hold events here, they share in the work of the star, pointing people of all different languages and cultures to Christ.  They make the star burn hotter and shine brighter. During your average week, over 600 people worship here at St Jacobus, This number is spread out over our school and the churches that share the space with us.  That is larger than this church has ever been. They are empowering their young adults, teaching full Sunday school classrooms, helping with immigration struggles and organizing community events. The things that we are still trying to get together.  There is a lot of stress, anxiety and complicated things that come with the management of this place. As much as I hate to say this, I am not an administrative and time management wizard. This works because of the understanding, cooperation and faith based help of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  I admit things could be neater and cleaner, we will get there as time goes on. 

It is not just churches doing the work of the star here. The 12 step groups, AA and CA who meet her, gather every week to walk together and provide one another with support, comfort and help as they face addiction and recovery.  Coach Pablo, who runs the winter Soccer program has a real vision for the role of sports in changing the world and making things better.  His program teaching sports skills but also stresses academic achievement, community and dedication.  He recently torn his ACL and has used this horrible, painful injury to show the hundreds of young people in his program that you can recover and heal but you need the help and prayers of others.  

When you are part of this, you experience a glimpse of how wide God’s story is, how many ways God’s amazing Grace can be shared. You work together in new ways, share new ideas, and you encounter people you would have never met otherwise.  You also meet surprising moments of grace.  For me, one happened last week. Mary, the crossing Guard at PS 12, called me over one morning, sort of upset.  She let me know that she received a 50 dollar Amazon gift card as a Chrismas present from one of the school families. She said it was too much. She did not deserve it.  They shouldn’t have given her so much money. She half-jokingly said, there should be a Christmas message in that.  There was, Christmas is a time when God is not fair, God gives us way more than we deserve.  I look forward to another year of being the star that points to Christ.  

Sermon for Christmas 2015

The reading 

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. 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. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 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.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 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: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

 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.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The message  

Words of welcome

This November, I spent 10 days in Italy. My mother and I went to Rome, Florence and Venice.  The trip was a vacation and meant for sightseeing. We wanted to experience the famous places, world renowned art and ancient sites.  As third and fourth generation Italians, we also wanted to see our homeland, the place where our grandparents and great grandparents immigrated to the United States from during the early 1900s.  It was not meant to be a spiritual or religious pilgrimage but it is hard not to think about faith when you are immersed in a place that has been a center of Christianity, for better and worse, for billions of people over almost 2000 years.  My trip led me to think a lot about the anticipation, excitement and shock of Christmas.

Seeing Italy itself was time of great excitement and anticipation.  I was a 15 or 20 minute bus ride from the Roman Coliseum, a few train stops from the Vatican, a flight of steps from entering the Sistine chapel and a line of 20 or 30 people away from seeing Michelangelo's David. I found myself walking down a marble staircase in a huge, ornate church, to the actual burial site of St Paul.  I was often a few moments from actually seeing and experiencing the places, paintings, sculptures, ruins, and churches that I had always heard about, studied in art or history class or had only seen in prints and photos. There was a constant sense of excitement, wonder and awe at actually being there. 

    

One of the most powerful experiences I had on my vacation was when I saw some old graffiti in the burial area under St Sebastian’s church. I saw a fish drawn outside the tomb of a Christian about 1800 years ago. The fish was one of the popular, secret symbols of the persecuted early Church. The letters in the Greek work for fish, Ichthus, spell out “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior”.  I knew that early Christianity was illegal, that saints and martyrs were often killed in cruel and painful ways, I knew there were stretches of history where people worshiped Jesus in secret under threat of death, but to see this small fish drawn there, reminded me that these things really happened. There it was again, that sense of excitement, wonder and awe.     

Tonight is Christmas, an event that should be filled with excitement, wonder and awe.  It is bigger than seeing famous places or paintings. It is bigger than opening the college acceptance letter from the only school you really want to go to, asking the love of your life to marry you and not being sure what he or she will say, getting your first real job and feeling unqualified, or meeting your favorite artist, author or musician, whose work, sound and words have deeply impacted you for years. What happens tonight is bigger than all that.  This is the moment of Jesus birth, the event when God is born as one of us, the cosmic happening by which we are all saved, the time when, as Paul wrote to the missionary Titus, the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.  To hear, “ she gave birth to Jesus, her first born son and wrapped the lord in bands of cloth , and laid him in a manger” should be more awe inspiring than seeing really famous paintings.  “Do not be afraid, for see I am bringing you good news of great joy, for to you is born this night a savior” should be more interesting then checking out an old city.  Here is the true excitement, wonder and awe. 

Christmas is certainly stepped in joyful memories, beloved songs and cherished traditions but to be honest, Christmas is not exactly new and exciting.  We have heard the story before, many times.  We sing the same songs, we set the tree up in the same place and put decorations in the same spaces. At my Grandmother’s house, we would decorate for Christmas. There were about 30 boxes of different figurines, toys, wreaths, ornaments and other decorations  to be carried up from the basement and placed around the house.  Over time, everything started to end up in same exact spot each year.  We knew they fit, the hangers were there already and it was a lot less complicated to keep it that way.

 

It can be very aggravating to figure out how to hang lights, deal with broken ornaments and bulbs, find new ways to plug 24 different things into one or two outlets or work with tape that does not actually stick although it says “sticks great to everything” right on the roll.  It seems like you never really get things to look the way you want either. We are getting lazy with our sacred and holy night. We all pass those bumper stickers with nativities on them which say “keep Christ in Christmas” but we often forget that is much easier said than done.  For me, keeping Christ in Christmas is not the fight to be able to say “Merry Christmas” instead of “happy holidays”, or advocating for more days off from public school.  It means something much more complicated and aggravating for us.  To keep Christ in Christmas means we have to stop being so damn comfortable with the poverty, inequality, hatred, faithlessness, and violence all around us.  We need to realize because Christ is born, we can do something about it. We need to see one another as children of God, to understand the Christ was born to save us all.  

The people surrounding the first Christmas show us what the excitement, wonder and awe of Christmas looks like. They waited with almost unimaginable expectation, knew it mattered and they changed everything. They spent over 1500 years carrying on traditions, sharing hope and waiting for this night.  During this time, desperate and scared people were sustained by God's word, by the hopes, dreams, visions and promises of priests and prophets.   For those of you here over the past few months or following online, we are at the end of 4 months of Advent.  In September, I changed the list of Sunday readings we follow.  We went from the familiar 4 readings to only 1. Since then, our very long Advent has focused on the Old Testament, the stories of God’s first communications with people and God’s intervention in the religious, political, social and natural world.  That first Christmas was the fulfillment of hope for a long expected Messiah, who would restore people and God to the right relationship. 

That savior did come but they were not totally right in their hope. People expected a king, a general, a great priest, No one could imagine this savior being born out in a barn, to a poor family. No could imagine this savior was to suffer, die and rise again.  Christmas is a shock, a moment of awe unlike any other in human history,  God is born as one of us, to save each of us. Tonight, God is born excluded, in the unwelcoming, cold, uncomfortable filth of a barn to show us that God is present in the unwelcoming, sinful, cold, uncomfortable filth of our world.  Christmas is a life disrupting event that changed everything, that changed everything people thought they knew about God, about sin and death, about life.  Christmas is a shocking revelation of how deep God’s love us for us, a shocking revelation of how far God will go to save us.  No matter how many times we hear it, Christmas matters.  We should be filled with anticipation, excitement, wonder and awe

Sermon for December 20, 2015

The Reading

Luke 1:5-13, 57-80

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.  But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

 Once when he 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

Today, we have our first new testament reading in several months. Over the past 15 weeks or so, we have gone through some of the major events and themes of the Old Testament. We saw God’s promises kept, God’s power to interfere with the world confirmed, God’s message of love proclaimed by Kings and poor shepherds, to rulers and everyday people, and God’s desire for us to be his people.   This was so that we could have a better understanding of the history, hope, waiting for and expectation of God’s ultimate intervention in the world. For us, God acts in the world many, many ways but the single most important, is Christmas, the birth of Jesus, the moment when “the grace of God appears, bringing salvation to all”.  To tell the story of Christmas, we will have a few readings from Gospel of Luke and Matthew (Mark and John, the other two Gospels, do not tell the story of Jesus Birth, John begins with a theological reflection In the beginning there was the word, and the word was with God and word was God,  Mark begins with the work of an adult John the Baptist in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord).

The story of John the Baptist can be complicated and hard to talk about.  He is an extreme man who lives a barely sustainable life in the wilderness and aggressively speaks God’s good word to the poor and powerful.  John does not tell people what they want to hear or suggest that things are okay the way they are.  John demands change in our hearts, minds and actions, offends people, calls the religious authorities a brood of vipers, accuses them of pretending in their faith, and tells crowds to repent for the kingdom of God has come near. He is viewed as a holy man, a crazy man and prophet, all at the same time.  Due to his large following, independence from traditional authority and confrontational word, John grows in fame and influence, in the religious community, John is a force to be reckoned with.  The man lived and worked like he was invincible because he knew God was with him. The heart of John’s message has nothing to do with him though, he points people to Christ, to what God is doing in the world, to God’s fulfilled promise.

The complex and beautiful story of John and his family can be defined with a single word: Faithfulness.  It is a story of people who believe God’s promises, who trust God’s word,  who understand and fulfill their obligations.  There is faithfulness on a few levels, People being faithful to each other, people being faithful to their promises, people being faithful to God and most importantly, God being faithful to God’s promises and God’s people.  

John’s parents Zechariah and Elizabeth are faithful.  They are good people who do the right thing as best they can. The husband and wife keep the law and commandments and seriously follow the old testament religious regulation of their lives.  Each of them knows the law and scripture well and Zechariah takes his work as a priest seriously. They had no children years but remained together and did not lose hope that God could provide them with a family.  None of this really prepares them for what is next.  While working at the temple, Zechariah is randomly chosen to offer incense in the sanctuary. I imagine Zechariah felt good, this work was a great honor and great responsibility, If he thought like many of us, he probably felt like the Lord had something to do with it, that there was a reason he was selected.  

There, in the total seclusion of the inner sanctuary, things got real. An angel of the Lord appears to him, calms him with the words “do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard” and sends his life into joy and chaos with the news that their prayer for a child that he and Elizabeth never gave up on, would happen: “your wife will bear you a son and you will name him John”.  A visit from an angel can be a hard thing to process. You have to realize you are not imaging things, you know people are going to think you are making it up, you will be entrusted with great responsibility and there is a lot of pressure to make sure you do what your told.  Zechariah’s fear is the normal reaction by people to angels and their messages. Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds on Christmas, Paul, everyone really, responds with fear. In the same way we say “hello” or good morning when we first meet someone, angels say “do not be afraid”.  I think this fear is because these moments show people all that God stuff is not just a tradition, something we were raised with, a guide to a living a decent life, a psychological escape or way to quiet the masses, This God stuff is actually real. When we pray, someone hears it, when we sin, there are consequences, when we receive God’s forgiveness, our sins are gone, when we share communion, Jesus is present, when we die, there is a place for us.  Personally I do not think I have ever been visited by an angel. God can be revealed to us in other ways though, though worship, serving, scripture, prayer and the comfort of knowing we are loved. However, we hear God, it should be a moment of fear and great joy 

Zechariah and Elizabeth remain faithful. They never claim to be great or special, they are simply two of all people that God is faithful towards. Our reading did not mention it but right after the encounter with the angel, Zechariah is left unable to speak. That leaves Elizabeth responsible for answering questions over and over again, witnessing to God’s grace, faithfulness and power and explaining how she could be pregnant, why Zechariah cannot speak and why, for no obvious reason, her son should be named John. Elizabeth and Zechariah are faithful to God’s message, obeying the instructions and the child is named John.  At that point, Zechariah’s speech is restored and he picks up right where Elizabeth was, witnessing to God’s grace, faithfulness and power.   

With his first words as a father, Zechariah proclaims,

God is faithful: “God has raised up for us a mighty savior in the house of his servant David as he spoke through the words of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us””

God keeps promises, The Lord 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

 God loves us  “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”.

God calls John and each of us us to proclaim God’s love: 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.

The child born to Elizabeth and Zechariah, whose unexpected life inspires Zechariah’s words,  grows up in faith and comes to be known as John the Baptist, the one who announces “God is here”. John does not claim to be special or great, he simply points to Jesus, instructing his followers to follow Jesus instead.  John, like his parents, does his work faithfully, understanding his work as preparing the world for Christ and announcing God’s loving presence in the world, a job he does until the moment is his killed. 

We are now a few days from Christmas, through our readings, worship, song, life and service, we have prepared the way of the Lord.  I hope everyone can join us Thursday evening as the waiting ends and we gather to declare all these things have come to be, “Christ our savior is Born”    

Sermon for December 13, 2015

The Reading

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

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: “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.  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; 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.”

When the seventh month came, and the Israelites were in the towns, the people gathered together in Jerusalem.  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. 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. 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

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; and they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,  

(at this time we had a pause in the reading as the choir sang a piece based on Psalm 100)

“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.  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, 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.

The message

Today is the last Sunday of our Old Testament readings for the church year.  Since September we have shared an overview of the scriptures that were the Bible to the people of Israel, Jesus and his first followers.  This experience was a very long Advent, giving us a chance to experience what we are waiting for, to see where the hope and expectation for a messiah came from and understand why it was necessary for Jesus to be born as one of us, suffer, die and rise again to restore our relationship with God once and for all.   We started at creation, where God forms order out of chaos, creating a world, environment and life from nothing.  We went through the stories of God communicating with the world by speaking to and directing people like Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Miriam, Ruth. Moses, the Judges like Deborah and the Kings like David and Josiah. Here God makes an covenant with them and all the people of Israel. Included in this agreement was the promise of being a great nation, freedom from slavery in Egypt, and the special status as God’s people.  This  group of promises was contingent on Israel worshipping God and keeping the law and commandments.  

Just like we do whenever we try to live as God asks, the people of Israel constantly fail to keep their part of the agreement.  They forget about what their God has done and what the Lord promised, they worship foreign gods like Baal and seek their protection and salvation though questionable deals with neighboring empires. In response to this disobedience, God punishes the people.  There was a cycle of sin, punishment, repentance and restoration that happens over and over again. During this time, God communicates with the world though a different group of people. This time, it is the prophets like Hosea, Isaiah and Huldah,  They all work in different contexts and times and they all use different examples and language but they share a few similar themes.  First, God is aware of the people’s sin and is disappointed and angry. God will punish the people for their disobedience.  God will allow the enemies around them to overwhelm and defeat them.  There will be a time of oppression, suffering and great loss.   The second shared theme of the prophets is that the suffering will not endure forever, God’s promises will.  The prophets share news of hope for the hopeless, light for people in darkness, the promise of a Messiah, sent from God to make all things new. 

    

This morning, we have one of the last major stories in the Old Testament.  The scriptures end with the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.  About 70 years before this return and rebuilding, we have one of the most tragic and shocking events in the history of Israel.  The Babylonians defeat Israel. The people of Israel had gone through defeat before. This time was different though, the Babylonians destroyed the center of Israel’s faith, the temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem. In addition, the people were sent into exile, scattered away from the promised land of the covenant. 

The people of Israel suffer total defeat and God does not intervene to help them.  Years before, the prophet Jeremiah announced this would come to be along with a promise of restoration.   

In Jeremiah Chapter 25, we hear “For the Lord says, ‘Only when the seventy years of Babylonian rule are over will I again take up consideration for you. Then I will fulfill my gracious promise to you and restore you to your homeland: .

 and again in Jeremiah Chapter 29

“ This whole area will become a desolate wasteland. These nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years.’ But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon an everlasting ruin. I, the Lord, affirm it! I will bring on that land everything that I said I would. I will bring on it everything that is written in this book. I will bring on it everything that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations”

The restoration comes as God once again intervenes in history,  The Babylonians are defeated by the Persians.  With the Persian victory, the people of Israel return home: 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.  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

The people gather out of exile and return to Jerusalem.  The city was restored, the temple rebuilt, the people celebrated and sang. This was new life, new community, new joy, just like in creation, God has created and rebuilt something where there was nothing. 

After this great celebration, the people of Israel continue to live in and around Jerusalem but they remain a conquered people, a colony of one empire or another.  They maintain faithful hope that God’s promises are true, the prophets words would come to be, a Messiah would come to them, born from King David’s family line and complete the restoration of God’s people. Around 500 years after the return from exile, Israel is a colony of the Roman Empire and Jesus is born.  Of course, their expectation is that the Messiah will raise an army, take a throne and make Israel a world power once again. God ends up doing something else, dealing instead with the permanent forgiveness of sins, the welcome of all people and the promise of eternal life.  

Over the next few weeks, we will look at the birth of John the Baptist from Luke’s Gospel, the Christmas story and the visit of the 3 kings. After that we will start a reading of Mark’s Gospel that will bring us from Christmas to Easter.   As we complete our journey through the Old Testament, there are a few things we should remember, that will inform the next part of God’s story. We must remember, God keeps God’s promises, God acts in history, God intervenes in the world and God works though us.