The readings (today,
we worshipped like it was 1867, these readings were the appointed ones for the
first Sunday of Advent, 1867)
Romans 13:11- 14
11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to
awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works
of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light 13 Let us walk honestly, as
in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness,
not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not
provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Matthew 21:1-11
And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to
Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying
unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find
an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if
any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and
straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion,
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt
the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7
And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set
him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way;
others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the
multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the
son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the
highest. 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved,
saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of
Nazareth of Galilee.
Sermon for December 3rd 1860 worship
The Second Sunday
On the first Sunday in December 1867, the second worship
service was held in this place. It was a new church and community then, founded
to care for the faith and life needs of local residents, primarily German
farmers. It was originally named St James Evangelical Lutheran Church of the
Unaltered Augsburg Confession of Newtown Long Island but was always known as St.
Jacobus Lutheran Church. The first Sunday was packed for two services. There
were curious neighbors, lots of friends, guests from local congregations and
other visitors who came out for the grand opening, for the first worship
service. Now the community here that
Second Sunday, they were the church, the people remaining after the special
guests where gone. On the second Sunday, we had the people who took
responsibility for paying the bills, for making sure things were safe, clean,
neat, ready and centered on good, active faith, They were the ones who took on the
responsibility to make sure this then new building was being used well, that it
would be here for 150 years and counting.
They were the ones who saw and knew about the mounting bills, things
that still needed to be done and stuff they still had to figure out. They were
the ones who probably thought, “what did we get ourselves into”.
They are also the ones who prayed “God help us” and trusted.
Those second Sunday people did some amazing things and made some bold, faith
based decisions. They said no to a free
land donation because that particular property was too far from the community
center. Instead, they choose to purchase this property because its location
meant being in relationship with more people.
They were the people who did not join the other churches in the area
because they said those communities was little more than social clubs and they
wanted a church, a place where the Good news of God’s grace, forgiveness and
love was seriously taught in word and deed.
They were the people who ended their relationship with St. Jacobus’ first
pastor, firing him because he could not provide sufficient proof of his
credentials to serve as a Lutheran pastor. Like him or not, they could not
trust someone who seemed dishonest and might not be properly trained and
educated to teach and lead them. They were the people who rented the now long
gone German Reformed Church of Newtown on Sunday afternoons for worship while
St Jacobus was being built in the early 1860s, dealing with all the
difficulties of being in a place that was not theirs. Those second Sundayer were the people who held
2 worship services on the first Sunday, German in the morning (since they were
all German) and English in the afternoon, since they knew and understood that
would not always be true. It was not all
good. There were arguments and disagreements.
Early church meeting minutes from 1868 contain a paragraph about the
pastor scolding them for not paying their promised pledges to the church, being
behind on paying the stone masons and other workers who built St Jacobus and
not bothering to attend church business meetings. The people here on that Second Sunday were
not heroes or church building geniuses, they were something better, People of
faith who knew and cared about their community, considered the future, made
prayerful decisions and put the Word of God first. They prayed “God help us” and trusted.
That was a brief celebration of who started this church, who
was here on that Second Sunday. Now I
would like to talk about what they heard on that second Sunday. They heard the
same scripture readings we just did, Romans 13 with Paul’s urging to put on the
armor of light and avoid sin and Matthew 21 about Jesus triumphant entry into
Jerusalem. If I had to make an educated guess about that morning’s message, I
would say the pastor spoke condemning words on sin, on the ills of drunkenness,
envy and laziness.
I am going to look at the Gospel reading though. This is a
very familiar reading, its just shared at the wrong time of year. Matthew 21 is the story we read outside these
church walls during a short procession on Palm Sunday. We gather on the steps in
front of the church, pray and walk around the community. This mini parade has taken on a new
significance for me the past few years as we pray and listen to God’s word in
the places we care for, on the overpasses we paint and neglected streets we clean
and the occasional homeless we try to care for.
I know a lot about what Matthew 21 means for Palm Sunday,
I’m not so sure what it means for the first Sunday of Advent, the season of the
church year set apart to gather around the hope and expectations of Christmas,
waiting for the moment in history when the grace of God appeared bringing salvation
to all. Keeping with this theme of first
and second Sundays, I think of Palm Sunday as the first Sunday, the story of
Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem, welcomed as a king by great crowds of
the curious and desperate. There was a
lot of Ground work done before Jesus enters Jerusalem. Almost 3 years of healing the sick, restoring
sight to the blind, of caring for the outsider, of eating with tax collectors
who earned their fortune ripping off their own neighbors on behalf of the Roman
Empire, of eating with prostitutes, of breaking laws to teach the meaning of
laws, of calming storms, feeding vast multitudes of people with a few fish and
loaves, of answering challenges from opponents with wisdom and authority, of
exorcising demons and restoring spiritual and physical life. Those are the reasons that the city was
packed.
They “prayed “God help us” and trusted, at least for a
little while. This joyful parade that
turns out to be a little too much for the religious authorities and political
elites, Their own power was in jeopardy, their fragile peace with Rome was in
jeopardy, their traditions were in jeopardy.
A week later, on the second
Sunday, Jesus is dead and buried. Most of that crowd went from yelling welcome
to our king to crucify him, Peter had
denied him 3 times, Judas betrayed him,
the other guys were hiding out in fear, By the second Sunday, only a handful of woman
remained by Jesus side, traveling out to the place where he was buried, to
complete their care for him and anoint his body in adherence to their shared
traditions. They prayed “God help us” and trusted. That second Sunday is the most important day
though, the women find the empty tomb, encounter the Risen Christ and Go and
tell the others the good news, he is risen from the dead.
For Advent, the first Sunday was one of great hope, for
victory, for God’s ultimate triumph and restoration. The prophets spoke loud,
bold hope into deep depression, hopelessness and suffering. Actual Christmas, the second Sunday is more
of a whimper, a child born away from home, in a stable, to an insignificant
family of an oppressed people,
Today, is our second Sunday here in Woodside. The first 150
years are history. The people that were
here that second Sunday in 1867 would be shocked at what they saw. To realize this church had female pastors,
openly welcomes people of all sexual orientations, says all people are welcome
at holy communion, lets non-pastors read, serve communion and pray on behalf of
the congregation, that pastors were so lazy they only preach for 10 or 15
minutes instead of a hour or two, that we have so few people in the pews and so
few children in classes, or that we did not have worship in Chinese, Spanish or
other languages dominantly spoken in our neighborhood. My
first Sunday here, almost exactly 8 years ago (I started on December 10th,
2009) . Looking at the numbers,
attendance, budget, a sparse list of ministries, a nostalgic desire for the
good old days, the relationship with our school, things that needed to be
repaired, a brief history of decline and leaders who were rightfully tired
after hard, faithful work, I wondered “What did I get myself into”?
Let’s be second Sunday people like the founders of this
church, People of faith who stay with it in daily challenge, who know and care
about their community, consider the future, made prayerful decisions and put
the Word of God first. As we celebrate
150 years, I invite you to pray “God
help us” with me and trust.
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