This Faith Is Ours Pt. 1

Our Identity: Gen. 9: 8-17; I Peter 3: 18-22

            In Disney’s 1951 Alice in Wonderland, young Alice encounters a caterpillar smoking hookah. Through the puffs of smoke, he asks her a tough question, “Who are you?” Alice is caught off guard. She responds that she doesn’t really know anymore. She’s changed a number of times since this morning—grown, shrunk, encountered wild creatures—and can’t really say with certainty who she is. The nosy caterpillar asks her again with more assertiveness: Who. Are. You? We begin this Lenten journey with a new series—This Faith is Ours—looking at how our faith speaks to us in ways that deepen our spiritual connectedness to God and our call to seek justice in the world. As we begin today by looking at our identity, we need to ask ourselves the same question the caterpillar posed: “Who are you?”

            Identity is defined as what a person is. There are many ways we identify ourselves in terms of work, relationships, hobbies. You may refer to yourself as a musician, or a singer. You may identify yourself as someone’s spouse. You may identify by who your parents are, or where you’re from. Identity is whatever you use to explain to someone who and what you are. One of the classes I took recently in seminary focused on the writings of a Catholic priest named Thomas Merton. In his book New Seeds of Contemplation, Merton writes, “The secret of my identity is hidden in the love and mercy of God.” (35).

            As those who have chosen to follow Jesus and have placed our trust in him, we should say that first and foremost our identity is as a child of God. If you want to unravel the secret of your identity—of who you are—it is found in the love and mercy of God. I have a friend, who is a pastor and was having a rough week. He said, “I’m tired, I’m weary, I have nothing to give this Sunday. I can’t do this anymore!” In a sense, his trials and struggles had caused an identity crisis and had shaken him to the very core of who he was. The answer to that is found in remembering that relationship with God and the reminder that we are children of God first and foremost. 

            We will all experience times in our lives of mini or major identity crises. We will be unable to make music like we once did, unable to do the work we may have loved, not be able to go out and run around in ways we remember. We all live an experience here on earth where we gradually become less and less able than we once were. There is a temptation to see this as depressive and ruinous to our spirits and faith. But I Peter 3 offers a reminder, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.” Focus in on those words, “to bring you safely home to God.” That struggle, as we pause here and say, “Wow, I think I’m losing it,” gives way to the promise of God that even as you lose it here, you have gained it all in God’s kingdom of hope. 

            Never, ever forget that you are child of God. You are created by the Holy One who loves you. You are redeemed by Christ who came to this earth for you. And you are guarded and led by the Holy Spirit which dwells as God with you. At all times, and in all your comings and goings here on earth, you remain near to the heart of God, loved and protected, redeemed and guided by the Almighty one. 

            There is another quote, however, in Fr. Merton’s book which we need to look at in terms of our scripture. Here is the quote, “Not to accept and love and do God’s will is to refuse the fullness of my existence.” (33). What exactly does this mean? Well, if you remember from your Sunday School Classes, our God is a God of promises. For example: God made a covenant with Abraham to follow God into the promised land, and Abraham would become the father of many nations. God also promised, or covenanted, to send the Messiah to save and redeem the people. 

In our Old Testament today we see God making another covenant. A covenant is a promise or an agreement. As a modern example, if you own a home in new subdivision, you may have homeowner covenants. If you live in an apartment, you have a leasing agreement which are basically covenants. But in the Bible, covenants have a holy aspect because they are promises made with God or through the power of God. In the Disciples of Christ, we have many different people from different places, races and ethnicities, styles of worship, and yes, even political beliefs. But here we covenant with one another in and through God to work together as a church to show and teach God’s love and grace to all and to work in this world to heal, help, and save. 

In Noah’s day, God punished the world for its wrongdoing. The judgment was to be destruction by a flood which covered the earth. And, as the story goes, only 8 people made it on the ark to be saved along with two of every kind of animal. When the flood was over, God gave a rainbow to make a solemn promise, a covenant, that floods would never destroy the whole world again. Fire may still be an option on the table depending on what book of the Bible you may be reading, but God promised floods are a no-go now. 

We can rely on those promises, or covenants, as children of God because our God keeps the promises made to us. Even the old hymn reminds us that we are “standing on the promises of God.” For our part, though, we must seek God’s will and do what God calls us to do. That is where we find the fullness of our existence, the best of life, here on Earth is in knowing we are walking closely and carefully with that same God who is Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. 

            So, we come full circle. I doubt any of us will see a talking, smoking caterpillar philosophically asking us who we are while we are shrunk to 3 inches tall. And, if you do, please head to your doctor immediately. But the question from the movie still remains: who are you? The answer to that question of your identity is that you are a child of God—one whom God leads here on earth and will also lead home to everlasting life. But even as we walk here on earth, we should follow God’s will, listen to that still, small voice speaking to us and guiding us, for the fullness of life here on earth is found in following God with every step we take. 

            How do we find this identity? Charlotte Elliot, the writer of our final hymn asked this same question. She had wandered far away into a lonely, sad, and bitter place. The answer was simpler than she could have ever imagined, “Why, you just come as you are.” You are created by God, redeemed by Christ, and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps then, our identity is not found in who or what we are, but in the question of whose we are. Never forget whose you are.

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/135230076517491/videos/472537530789634

Christian Leadership in Present Times: Final

Leadership Moves Forward—Gen. 50: 14-24; John 14: 1-6

            As we wrap up our series, Christian Leadership in Present Times, we reflect a little today on what it means to move forward—on why our lives and successes depend on us living into God’s future instead of fading into the struggles of the past. Back home, there is a saying. Now, I cannot find the origin of this, but I know I heard it growing up once or twice, but then, you hear a lot growing up in Appalachia. Here’s the saying, “You’ve got to get on with the gettin’ on.”  Leadership moves forward because, as we learned from Lot’s wife last week, forward is really the only way to go. 

            In our Old Testament today we arrive near the end of Joseph’s life. His father, Jacob, has died, and the fear of the past has fallen heavy on Joseph’s brothers. If you recall the story of Joseph, his brothers plotted to kill him out of anger and jealousy. However, in a last-minute decision, they sold him into slavery instead. Trial and tribulation haunted Joseph as he went from slave, to Potiphar’s honored servant, to prisoner, to the King of Egypt’s most trusted leader. If anyone had a reason to dwell on past wrongs in his life, it was Joseph. 

            His brothers understood this as well. In their minds, Joseph was biding his time until he sought revenge for what they had done to him. What we learn about Joseph, though, is that he was truly a strong leader. He had moved forward, followed the presence of God, and gotten on with the getting on of life. He had truly forgiven his brother’s sin against him and believed they were in a good relationship together. The brothers took every precaution trying to make sure Joseph wouldn’t destroy them. You might even miss it, but they went back to their old, deceitful tricks sending him manipulative messages allegedly from his father in order to manipulate Joseph’s grace towards them. 

            Joseph had moved on and found hope and success. His brothers still lived in the guilt of the past. They could not forgive themselves, and in turn they could not believe in Joseph’s forgiveness either. There are many times Joseph weeps in the Genesis story—for fear, sadness, relief. But here, Joseph weeps in grief for his brothers. They were trapped by the guilt of their past, and it cost them the joy found in Joseph’s forgiveness and the hope found in God’s forgiveness. 

            We all struggle with this idea of “you’ve got to get on with the gettin’ on.” The other day someone sent me a joke that said, “When I was a child, I thought piranhas and quicksand were going to be more of an issue as an adult.”  Laying aside what we see in adventure movies, I would suggest that quicksand is actually a big problem, but not exactly like you think. For many of us, our past is a quicksand of sorts. We become mired and bogged down in guilt, in grief, in hopelessness, in anger at wrongs against us. We get stuck and cannot get on with the gettin’ on. There’s an old quote said in a variety of ways, but my favorite is this, “The past is a nice place to visit, but certainly not a place to stay.” 

            Into this struggle, this figurative quicksand comes Jesus with a rope to pull us out and keep us moving forward. Too often, I think we sit and debate the meaning of today’s scripture in John. Is Jesus the way, a way, the only way, which way, and now the thought’s gone away. Don’t overcomplicate it. When Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” it’s not a theological essay, it’s an invitation to you and me who may be stuck in the quicksand or setting up residence in the past never to move forward. 

            This is what Jesus offers us: a way forward, the truth of God’s grace, and life both here and hereafter. Jesus is there to help you get on with the gettin’ on in life. You may have major points of life that haunt you—failures that you live with, abuse and trauma that lingers, addictions that pull you back down over and over, spiritual abuses by manipulative church leaders, dark secrets and dull aches that seem to arise at the most inconvenient times and when you think everything is okay in life. 

            There’s help—professional, medical, spiritual, and otherwise. If there are deep-rooted issues, don’t go it alone. There is no shame in seeking help. But also remember that every step forward into your future, Jesus walks with you showing the way forward, revealing the truth that God loves you and offers grace without condemnation, and that life here and forever is a gift from God that we should take full advantage of. 

            We cannot stay in the past, whether it’s suffering that won’t let go, nostalgia that lures us back like Lot’s wife to Sodom and Gomorrah, or spinning our wheels here and now. There’s a temptation to believe that things were better in the past, and it’s just more comfortable there. Maybe it is. But that robs us of the future God is calling us to and the present God is gifting us now. Don’t sacrifice where God is leading you—the way, the truth, and the life—for a fond memory in the distance. The future may be hard, but God has called us to move forward, but in that has promised to be with us each mile of the journey. My Nanna sometimes says, “I don’t recognize this world very much anymore.” But even in that tension of so much new and changing, she still sends me Facebook messages from her own Facebook. 

            We have to adapt, move forward, get on with the gettin’ on. Sometimes that looks like forgiveness for wrongs done to us like Joseph. Sometimes that looks like letting go of our own faults and failures and embracing God’s grace like the brothers. Sometimes that looks like growing and adapting to change even when we’re just not sure. In any case, God calls us to move forward and promises to be with us, for great is God’s faithfulness unto us. All throughout the Bible people are on the move—travelling to the promised land, returning to rebuild Jerusalem, following Jesus around Judea, or as Paul taking long missionary trips. God leads each one of us forward with a calling, a hope, and a promise of God’s powerful presence.

            Joseph is the example of one who forgave, who moved on and followed God. In the end, God brought him through full of hope and joy. His brothers, however, could not leave their past behind, and seem to have suffered their entire lives for it. Friends, God forgives, God heals, and God walks with us. Jesus is the way forward, the truth of grace, and the life of hope and promise. As the old hymn says, “Yes, I feel like travelin’ on, oh I feel like travelin’ on. The Lord has been so good to me, yes I feel like travelin’ on.” We walk with God, whose faithfulness unto us is so great, and who gives us strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. So let us get on with the gettin’ on.  

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/120519616643475

Christian Leadership in Present Times Pt. 6

Leadership Is Investing in Others: Gen. 19: 15-29; John 17: 1-19

            Investing can be a tricky, risky business. Whether it’s retirement funds, playing the stock market, or just trying to spin a buck or two, investing can be a risky and costly adventure for us. As we continue our series Christian Leadership in Present Times, we look at this idea of investing, not in stocks or bonds, but in people and in God’s beloved children around us. We have to ask from the very get-go of this sermon, “Is it worth the risk to invest in other people?” Not to spoil the whole sermon, but the answer is yes. God has invested in us, and so, we are called to invest in others in ways that show grace but also which preserve our safety and boundaries. 

            In the Old Testament for today we read the story of Lot’s escape from Sodom and Gomorrah. Because of Abraham’s prayer, God sent angels to see if the cities were worth saving. The conclusion was that there was not even ten righteous persons within the cities to have them preserved, so the angels prepared Lot and his family to escape the coming doom. Even the escape proved to be difficult. Lot dawdled around taking his sweet time. He complained about going to the mountains till God promised he could go to the village of Zoar. Sadly, though, Lot was not the only difficult one. His wife disobeyed the order to not look back, and as a result, she lost her life turning to a pillar of salt. 

            Let’s focus in on her for a moment. God knew her heart. God knew that her heart was still in Sodom and Gomorrah, and that she couldn’t leave it behind her. It wasn’t necessarily that she disobeyed by looking back. It was that she continued to long for a place that was unrighteous. God knew her heart. Even though she may not have been evil herself, she was still very much charmed by the wickedness of the two cities. Even though God knew her heart, God still offered her the opportunity to find grace and to be saved from the destruction. God knew she would look back, but God still invested the time and energy to give her the opportunity for grace.  

            That’s one of the things I love best about God: grace is present even in our times of brokenness. God is still working and re-working in each of us to invest grace, power, and the Holy Spirit in us to strengthen us, to save us from our own selves. It’s a grace that is present even in the midst of our faults. That’s because God doesn’t say, “You have to be perfect to come.” Instead God says, “Come as you are,” even when that includes all our faults and brokenness. God still invests in us and works through us. 

            We often struggle with that idea of being okay with or investing in people who may be broken or messy. Society has a long history of shortcomings in this area. In part of my legal work, I get to help people with disabilities, and studies show that people with disabilities are victimized by assault, robbery, or sex crimes at a rate of double or triple the non-disabled population. But sometimes it’s not just a physical or intellectual disability that makes all of society nervous. 

            Some may struggle from a mental health condition or a mental illness. Some may have a physical shortcoming. Some may have past prejudices or beliefs to work out. Some may still wrestle day in and day out with good, old-fashioned sin. We tend to look at the worst as individuals and society, and we can quickly and easily point out that something is wrong. 

            That, however, is not how God sees people. God doesn’t see the worst in us—the messiness, the worry, the struggle, the feelings we push down and hide away for fear that they will make us appear to be the messy ones. In every person who stands in need of grace, God invests everything available—redemption, resurrection, hope eternal, and a holy, unfailing love. We need to look no further than the cross to see that God invested everything, absolutely everything for us to have that kind of relationship with God which loves us beyond the brokenness. God sees not the mess within, but the opportunity for God’s kingdom to grow within us. God sees the inherent value and dignity within each one of us—created by God, loved by God, and redeemed by that grace. 

            We can even look to the Gospel of John and Jesus’s prayer to see how Jesus invested in his own disciples. These are just a few examples: Jesus says he gives eternal life to each one given to him. He gave his followers God’s message. Jesus prays, “Now protect them by the power of your name, so that they will be united just as we are.” Jesus speaks of protecting the disciples, prays for God to keep them safe from the evil one, and to make them holy. All throughout this chapter is Jesus’s awe-inspiring prayer, pouring out his love for his disciples and pleading with God to keep them safe and strong. 

            Jesus invested in them. He taught them to heal, to preach. He showed them signs and miracles. He revealed to them holy truths coming down from the very wisdom of God. For their part, they were not perfect. They deserted him in the garden. Peter denied him over and over. They hid in fear after the crucifixion. The fussed amongst themselves over who would be the first in the kingdom, so by no means were they perfect. They were broken, messy people. But Jesus loved them, and Jesus invested in them all along the way until they came alive and burst forth with the power of the Holy Spirit empowering them like never before. 

            How do we, then, invest in others like God does? First, we have to realize that when we invest our time and energy into other people, we are really investing God’s grace working through us. When you speak, the Spirit of God speaks through you. When you help, it is with the hands and feet of Christ. When you pray, it is backed by the power of the Almighty. Investing may be too costly for you or me, but nothing is ever too much or too costly for God. But we must have faith that God can work. 

We must also remember that it’s not our job to fix the people around us. We can help, certainly, but we cannot heal and restore all by ourselves. That has to be God’s work. Our job is to provide the opportunity for God’s grace to work. But investing is still risky, and people may cling to their brokenness. Love them anyway. Pray for them anyway. Continue to provide opportunities for grace anyway. God never turned a cold shoulder to Lot or Lot’s wife—the opportunity to be saved from the destruction and to find God’s grace was always there.

Our faith calls us to invest in others, yes even the messy and broken, even the ones who hide in the appearance of perfection, even the ones who may let us down. The church is intended to provide the tools and space for people to have a relationship with God and to know God’s love in their lives. Invest, regardless of the risk, but always make sure that what you invest is the grace of God to heal and to restore even those who appear to be the most broken. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/258479789019728/

Christian Leadership in Present Times Pt. 5

Leadership Seeks Peace—Psalm 3; Matt. 26: 47-56

            Seek peace. That kind of commandment seems a bit out of our reach these days, doesn’t it? We’re surrounded by a world of turmoil, of hostility, of volatility, of conspiracy theories, and of fighting. As we come back again to our series, Christian Leadership in Present Times, we encounter a rather abrupt stop today. When exactly was the last time we felt peaceful and at peace? There are actually two types of peace—and we see both in our song and scripture today. One type we will hear in our closing hymn, “Peace, peace, wonderful peace, coming down from the Father above.” Essentially, all is calm, and we are given God’s gift of peace in our lives. The other type we hear in the opening hymn, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” Here, peace is something we work for—instead of being at peace we make peace happen in a troubled world. Today, we need to consider both of these types of peace. 

            First, let’s consider what it means to be at peace. There are two very big reason why we have no peace in our lives: we feel unsafe, or we feel unloved. In our Psalm today, we hear a song of peace for someone who feels trouble and danger around them. There is fear that God will not rescue even as enemies rise against the Psalmist. But the writer says, “You, O Lord, are a shield around me: you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.” One of the biggest issues of the past year is the very powerful fear that we are not safe. 

            We have worried about becoming sick and dying from the virus. We have worried about our leadership in Washington. We have worried about church decline. We have felt that every institution in our life: health, good government, and faith is crumbling and falling apart around us. A year ago, the biggest worry was whether or not the church would sing the hymn I like. Now we have to worry when we can safely leave our houses to go to church and gather again. We may have different philosophies and politics, but we’re all united by our thinking of apocalyptic doom. I guess it’s different paths, same destination. 

            The Psalmist felt that same fear, begging for God’s rescue and safety from enemies. But there is a clear note of trust. We hear in verse 4, “I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain.”. In verse 5 we read that the Psalmist sleeps well. In verse 6 we hear the resolution that the Psalmist is not afraid. And finally, in verse 8, the assurance that victory comes from the Lord. The Psalmist found peace because of that deep trust in the Lord. 

            Sometimes, too, we lose our peace because we feel unloved. Writer and missionary Elisabeth Elliot speaks to that, saying, “In my own life, I think I can honestly say that out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God.” The struggle in our lives can never be connected to the amount and depth of God’s love for us. God’s peace doesn’t necessarily provide you with the answer, expectation, or meaning you want for suffering. Instead God’s peace comes in the form of God’s presence and the reminder that in all situations God loves us even to the extent of the pain of the death and miracle of resurrection. To find peace, we must look for God’s presence and remember God’s unfailing love. 

            But we don’t just live our lives at peace, we also have to work for peace in this world. The story we read in Matthew usually comes close to the Easter season, but it speaks to us now of Christ making peace happen in the midst of turmoil. Jesus is confronted in the garden. The whole scene is tense—Jesus had been praying in earnest while the disciples slept. Judas had betrayed Jesus for some money. In perhaps one of the most gut-wrenching scenes prior to the crucifixion, Judas greets Jesus warmly, as a close friend, in an act of complete and evil betrayal. Jesus’s disciples prepare to fight, and at least one attacks wounding a servant of the high priest. 

            Jesus stopped his disciple before any more blood could be shed.  Some gospels, including Luke and John, even say that Jesus healed the servant’s ear, and they identify Peter as the disciple so ready to fight. Jesus’s response to the fight is to say, “Put away your sword. Those who use the sword will die by the sword,” in verse 52. This is a really tough scripture for many of us. Jesus and the disciples would have been more than justified in fighting, in starting a revolution and going to war against the oppressive Pharisees and Sadducees. We could find any number of reasons to justify violence and defense here. 

            But Jesus lived the very lesson he taught—turn the other cheek, and blessed are you when you are persecuted, insulted, or have evil spoken against you from the Beatitudes. Jesus’s choice assured that he would be beaten and killed. But the whole way he lived in the very peace he taught, not lashing out, stopping the bloodshed, and condemning a life lived by the sword. Living at peace in this world does not mean beating everybody else into silence and submission. That’s called oppression. That’s what Rome did to make peace in the rebellious Judea. Jesus, instead, protected his very enemies in the garden from harm even as his very act of peace caused his own death to soon come. 

            Jesus was even at peace with his betrayer Judas. Now, as I am not like Jesus all the time, if Judas had come up to me and betrayed me with the warmest greeting possible between friends, I would have smacked the snot out of him. Jesus, however, addressed Judas as “my friend,” and simply tells him to do what he has come to do. Living at peace is so hard because it requires us to lay down our own swords and defenses and instead trust God’s infinite wisdom whether that keeps us safe as the Psalmist or leads to our suffering like Jesus. 

            Peace is often very difficult to find in life. If we are troubled, we sometimes have to trust in God to give us peace in spite of what is around us. That kind of peace can only come as a gift from God. If we see turmoil in the world around us, we must go out and teach that war, fighting, and tension are not the answer. Instead we must live in open communication and respect for one another. So today I pray that you find that peace which passes all understanding and is such a miraculous gift. But I also pray you set the example. Confront wounds, miscommunications, anger, and resentment. Do so gently and with love. Be peacemakers in our dysfunctional world who remind people that God loves them and will bring peace in our time. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/135230076517491/videos/2907654682826338

Christian Leadership in Present Times Part 4

Leadership Is Being Willing to Fail: Deut. 1:26-40; Matthew 14: 22-33

            We return this week with another installment on our series Christian Leadership for Present Times. I hope by now that you realize this series on leadership isn’t just for specific people or church leaders. We all have to show leadership in our faith. Leadership is being willing to share the Good News with others, being willing to stand for what is right, being a powerful prayer partner within your own church, family, or community. We all have to take ownership of our faith and stand up for God’s grace in this world. Sometimes that means we will fall flat on our faces…a total fail. 

            I remember a couple of years ago we decided to do a big Easter egg hunt on the Saturday before Easter. We put together signs and eggs to be hidden. We advertised and had crafts, games, and prizes for the kids. We made this big effort to bring all these kids and families to the church to see and experience the community of faith here. That morning, however, it was raining and around 52 degrees. Three kids showed up that day, and they only came because Kathy called and asked a friend to bring her kids over. The whole event failed miserably. But faith sees beyond failure. In every perceived shortcoming, there is lesson and a point of growth. 

            In our Gospel lesson, Peter sank, but Peter had to sink, so he would know he needed God. Sometimes we live with a bravado or overconfidence in our capabilities that make us think all will be well no matter what. We look to our talents, our abilities, our education, and we plow ahead without prayer, without spiritual preparation, confident in our own capabilities. When Peter saw Jesus, he hopped right out of the boat and started doing the miraculous. 

            But, as usual, the storm around him broke his confidence and fed his fear. Sadly, he took his eyes off Jesus and turned his attention only to the storm. When he did that, he sank. We have to remember in every struggle that our eyes must be “fixed and stayed” as the King James Version says on the Christ who will deliver us. Psalm 27 reminds us, “The Lord is my light and salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” Peter had to sink because he needed a reminder. He needed to turn his eyes from the storm ahead to Jesus whose power led him to walk on water. The moment Peter began to struggle he called out “Save me, Lord!” in verse 30. Jesus immediately pulls him back up to safety. Peter may have sunk, may have failed in his faith, but Jesus pulled him back up to safety when he was in danger. Never, ever, take your eyes off Jesus who is strong to empower, to save, and to deliver. 

            Sometimes, though, not only do we look away from Jesus, we become captivated on the belief we will fail. Israel missed the promise because they became obsessed with the fear of failure. Peter may have sunk, but Israel didn’t even try! They were told to go in and conquer the nations living in the promised land. Instead they went full stop and said no. They became overwhelmed by the strength of the people living there, believed they were powerless, and even talked about finding giants. They believed, ridiculously might I add, that God had brought them all this way just to have them destroyed. 

            Their worry and focus on the fear of failure wrongly convinced them that the same God who parted the Red Sea, got them out of Egypt, led them by a cloud and fiery pillar, fed them manna, and brought water out of a rock was now going to abandon them. God’s busy, and God’s not going to waste all that time for no reason. Like Peter, they became consumed by the fear and lost their faith. Peter had to learn that God would save him. The Israelites should have known that God had already saved them. Thus, they were sent back to the desert and told they would never be the ones to inherit God’s promise. That would be saved for their children. Never let the fear of failure consume you and cost you the promises coming from God’s goodness and power. 

Finally, like Peter, let your doubts and questions lead you back to faith in the Holy One. When Jesus took hold of Peter and pulled him back up safely above the water, Jesus fusses at Peter for his behavior. “You have so little faith! Why did you doubt me?” Jesus says in verse 31. It’s two weeks in a row now that Jesus has asked about why his disciples have so little faith. Last week they wondered who this could be. This week, they get it. They worshipped him and proclaimed him to be the Son of God. 

We all will fail from time to time. We all will fear that we are going to fail from time to time. Instead of letting those times be the collective story of your life, let them remind you to call out to Jesus, the Savior and Deliverer. I read an article the other day on living without regrets. One of the ten tips said to “turn failures into stepping-stones.” Essentially, look at failure as an opportunity to grow and learn a lesson. Failures are never the be all end all, instead, failure is just a lesson or stepping-stone in disguise. 

Peter had to take the risk of getting out of the boat. If we never leave the boat, we will never grow. He ultimately sank; he failed. But that failure taught him to call out to Jesus to help him and pick him back up from the churning waters. Peter had to sink so he could see how amazing the strength of Jesus truly is. There was never a fear that Jesus was going to let him drown. Peter was loved, just as we are loved. God wasn’t going to let the Israelites be overpowered and destroyed in Canaan. God loved them and had made a promise. 

But maybe the biggest question or lesson here isn’t about Peter sinking, Jesus walking on water, what level of faith they had, or even the short-sightedness and fear of the Israelites. All of that is about learning the lesson in the midst of failure. Before we can even begin to learn the lesson, though, we have to be willing to take the risk. Instead, maybe the question for us is this: do we trust Jesus enough to climb out of the boat in the first place?

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/2154238181376260

Christian Leadership in Present Times, Part 3

Leadership is Facing Fear—Judges 6: 14-21; Luke 8:22-25

            This week, in our series on Christian Leadership in Present Times we consider one of the strongest questions or issues we have when we suddenly or unexpectedly find ourselves in leadership positions—the fear that goes with it. A friend of mine was preparing for a large presentation a few years ago. He had the support of all the coworkers around him and employees who worked under him. He was prepared, energized, and ready to offer a powerful presentation. As he sat down in the room and got situated, he looked back over his shoulder and suddenly realized they were not there. In this instance he was on his own and the job fell to him. 

            That old anxiety rose up deep from within. He felt first the knot in his throat, the pounding in his temples, the blurriness of his vision, and finally the dreaded churn in his stomach. He ran from the room overtaken by the anxiety, the fear, and the dry heaving. Fear and anxiety (and I don’t mean the actual diagnosable disorder here) are such powerful and paralyzing forces in our lives, but faith and the call to lead for Christ push us to move beyond our fear and anxiety and find God’s power in our lives. Facing fear with God’s help demands that we go as God sends, that we seek Jesus in the storm, and that we rest safe in God’s power to deliver. 

Facing our fears and our anxieties, with God’s help, demands that we continue to follow on as God leads us. Even when the dread looms strongly in our lives, we must put one foot in front of the other and keep walking because God will walk with us. It is easy, though, when we become anxious or fearful to get this paralyzing sensation. It’s like everything around us stops, and we cannot go forward even when we know we have to do so. 

Gideon struggled with this. God called him lead the Israelites to conquer the Midianites, and God said to him, “Go with the strength you have…I am sending you!” Gideon, however, went to that age-old phrase which rears its ugly head every time we are worried or just don’t want to do it, “But, Lord…” I’m weak, I can’t, I’m tired, it’s too much, no, no please!” God gave Gideon a sign, then another, then another. God promised to be with Gideon. The Holy One, the God of All, who is the foundation of our life and relationship and faith promised Gideon, and Gideon didn’t trust it. Sometimes you don’t need a sign, you just need to get up and go. 

But maybe it’s worse than expected. Not only is there anxiety and fear, but the storm can clearly be seen, and it’s rocking the boat so hard that you feel destruction is imminent.  What do you do? Simply put, we should seek Jesus. The disciples in our Gospel found themselves trapped in a storm described as “fierce.” All hope was gone—the wind was howling, boat getting full of water, and danger was beginning to overwhelm them just as the colossal waves were overtaking the boat. Side note here: not only did Jesus sleep through the raging storm, the shouting disciples, and the rocking boat, he had to also be soaking wet if it was filling with water. If you ever wondered what the peace of Jesus looks like, there you have it. 

What did the disciples do when it became too much? They sought Jesus. In an instant he calmed the storm. Seeking Jesus should be the first thing we do, not the last resort. Jesus didn’t keep the storm from happening, but he made sure the disciples did not get harmed. He calmed the storm just at the right time. There are two ways God works here: you either get delivered from the storm or you get delivered the strength to withstand the storm. Either way, to be a leader, you and Jesus must deal with the storm together. 

But we must still find our way to Jesus in the midst of the storm around us. If I were to confess to you now, I would have to say that I’m worried and anxious every day. It’s one of my many human qualities. I worry about what I can say to lead a congregation far more experienced and mature in faith. You’re not old by any stretch, but you have a few more collective life experiences than I do. I worry about how COVID is going to affect my church members, each and every one. I worry about those who are alone and in isolation that the strain may be too great. The news, work, managing relationships with other people—all of this gives me so much anxiety, and I know for you the storm is very real too. Each and every time the waves crash and the lightning cracks, there is a reminder; however, that Jesus is sleeping nearby, not because he doesn’t care, but because he is the Prince of Peace. Seek Jesus as soon as the storm clouds form. 

            Finally, we can rest safe in the Savior who has the power to calm the storm. Elisha Hoffman was a musician, choral leader, and hymnwriter. He taught many students the art of church music and worship. One day he received two messages in the same day from former students. Both of their wives had died, and they were devastated. Devastated himself and fearful of what his students would have to endure in grief and heartache, Hoffman turned to his Bible and found the scripture Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is your refuge, and [God’s] everlasting arms are under you.” From there he wrote a familiar verse, “What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms?” 

            We can rest safe because the God who created all things has the power to deliver us from evil or deliver us the strength to withstand what comes against us. Gideon wanted sign after sign from God, but eventually, and with only a few hundred fighters, he conquered the Midianites through God’s help. As soon as the disciples sought Jesus to help and save them, Jesus came out and spoke to the storm, and it stopped. He says to the stunned disciples, “Where is your faith?” The Gospel of Matthew adds that he rebuked them, saying, “O you of little faith.” 

            Sometimes, in the worst storms we have, all we have left is our faith. Sometimes, when we see ourselves in leadership roles, the first thing we say is, “But God!” or “I can’t!” We ask for signs we already know are there like Gideon, or we lose our faith in one fell swoop when the storms come up like the disciples. Your faith in God to give strength is the most precious thing you have. We will still be anxious. We will still have fears. We will still endure pain, heartache, and all the other troubles, storms, and battles here on earth. The loss of a loved one still hurts deeply. The sickness we face still saps the joy out of us and gives us great fear in its place. The dull ache of exhaustion will still cripple us from time to time. That’s probably the bad news. 

            But the good news is that God will be there with us. Just as God led Gideon to victory, God will be our strength and shield. Just as Jesus calmed the storm, we will be helped when we cry out to the Savior. When I’ve called out to Jesus, I’ve learned a lesson. I still had to face the problem before me. But I knew that God was with me. And when you face fear and anxiety, God will be with you too. When Jesus asks, “Where is your faith?” may we joyfully say, right here in the God who fought with Gideon and calmed the storm for the disciples. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/2958609907689503

Christian Leadership in Present Times, Part 2

Leadership Is Service: Isaiah 50: 4-7; John 13: 1-17

            We continue, this week, our Epiphany series on Christian leadership and how that looks in today’s society. In many instances these days we find ourselves in leadership positions unexpectedly, or even when we’d rather not stand out front. Last week we looked at calling and commitment. This week we look at the ways in which leadership is about service. When I visited one of the European art museums in college, I was captivated by the enormous paintings of kings and queens dressed in royal robes, perched triumphantly on a horse or standing triumphantly in a backdrop of victory or power. The strength, the triumph, the sheer look of importance was awe-inspiring and made one feel so small compared to these historic leaders. 

            But then I saw another portrait. Jesus, the Savior of All, not posed in triumph or glory, but humbly washing the dirt off of his disciples’ feet. The guide note for the painting referred to it as “the Servant Leader in action.” The Lord and Savior, the King of All Glory, was here as the Servant Leader washing dusty feet of his rough and tumble disciples. It’s an odd scene to picture, isn’t it? We’ve come to accept this narrative from John, but do we really stop to think how truly odd the idea is of the Son of God kneeling down and washing feet? 

            It appears to be an example many of us and our leaders have forgotten—that in order to be a leader you must be a humble servant. We need only to look at the frightening events of this week to see this. We witnessed the first mob breach of the capitol since the War of 1812 excluding minor incidents. This summer we witnessed violence and anger as well, and no one in high places had a clue what to say or what to do. When people are angry, fearful, worried, or suffering, they turn to their leaders for help, and what do we do when there are no answers to be found from those tasked with answering? 

            Peter, a great leader in the church, didn’t understand what was going on either. He protested to Jesus that he would never wash Peter’s feet. Peter was shocked by the very idea that Jesus would do the work normally reserved for the lower servant in the house. But Jesus reminded him, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” Peter then wants to be washed everywhere, but Jesus teaches him a lesson. We must target the places where the sin or dirt has gathered and make sure we have washed them clean. Jesus didn’t need to fix all of Peter—he only targeted where the dirt and dust had gathered from the journey. Target where the dirt has gathered. 

            Being servant leaders means we address gently and openly those things that keep us from our relationship with Christ. It is painful and uncomfortable to bring up sins, wounds, and problems deep within that have weighed on us for years. It is uncomfortable to lead by this example of being the wounded healer, but Jesus didn’t leave the dust alone to settle. He gently addressed the old habits and wounds of the woman at the well, reminding her of her past and providing her a way to drink the living water. Jesus didn’t let the dust settle on Peter or the disciples’ feet. He washed their feet then told them to do the same, not prophesy and preach, not to be powerful and mighty, but to wash feet. 

            In many ways, Jesus turned things upside down. He told the disciples that he had given them the example to follow, then he identified himself as the servant and messenger and said this: “Do as I have done…I tell you the truth, the [servants] are not greater than their master, [n]or is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message.” The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. Blessed are the poor (in Luke) and the poor in spirit (in Matthew). Care for the least of these, my brethren. To be baptized in the waters of servanthood is so very different than those awash power who we continue to worship. 

            Perhaps the biggest lesson Jesus is teaching here is that if you live in pride, the gospel will never make sense; however, if you seek the heart of the humble servant, you will actually live the gospel good news. I’m reminded of the words from Micah 6:8 which asks what the Lord requires of us. The answer is to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly. Grace abides in the idea of humility, repentance, and love. Justice lives in the idea of mercy, forgiveness, and that the even the Son of God took on the role of a humble servant. There’s an old saying with a few variations which goes like this, “If serving is beneath you, then leadership is beyond you.” 

            In a world where we continue day after day to feel tension, to see the shadow of a conflict, and even to see what many call “open revolt,” we can begin, or even continue, to feel ground down, weary, and like the suffering has become overwhelming. But I still believe in the God who says to us, “Morning by morning new mercies I see…strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow!” Our problems may not be solved in an instant or with the wave of a magic wand, but they are in the hands of the God who created all and is still the Savior of All. 

            Of all the ghastly images we saw this week of our capitol damaged and destroyed, one image stood out to me the most, but in a good way. Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey was photographed, unbeknownst to him and late after business had ended. He was on his knees with a trash bag, still in his suit, cleaning up the debris that was left. When asked about it, all he really said was that he loves the capitol, is honored to served, and added, “What else could I do?” The leaders still willing to kneel down and pick up trash, still willing to wash the feet in the same way the lower servants would remind us that there is still strength for today and hope for tomorrow. 

            When Jesus’s final test of servant leadership came, he rose to the occasion. Isaiah often gives us prophetic words about the suffering of the Messiah. Here in Isaiah 50, the writer says, “I offered my back to those who beat me…I did not hide my face from mockery.” It’s a reminder that Jesus’s call to be a servant leader took him from washing the disciples’ feet, to the suffering of the cross, and only eventually unto glory.

            To be Christian leaders, we must follow the example of Christ. But, be prepared, for Christ did not walk the pathway of ease or comfort. Christ knelt down and washed the feet of his disciples—fishermen, a tax collector, and even his own betrayer. He showed them that the heart of pride must be targeted and changed into a heart that embraces justice, mercy, and in each of those, humility. Yet you’re not called to a miserable task or to something that is gross, unbearable, or ugly, for even as Jesus tells us to be the servant, Jesus reminds us that the last shall be first in God’s kingdom. As Jesus said, “Do as I have done.” So now, may we be ready for the work.  

Service Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/743354386596844

Christian Leadership for Present Times, Part 1

Leadership is a Calling: Gen. 1: 1-5; Mark 1: 4-11

            This morning we start a new series on Christian Leadership and how that looks in today’s society. In these days we who follow God find ourselves in the position of being the Christian leaders unexpectedly or even undesirably. As a world filled with internet, Netflix, and all other manner of entertainment draws people, the church by comparison is seen as old, stodgy, and out of touch. I believe, however, that characterization is untrue. The church may not be as glamorous and glitzy as the latest Netflix show, but the church provides something our entertainment cannot—timeless truth, a mission to serve and save, and a calling to stand up for those on the margins of society to whom entertainment has turned a blind eye. 

            We have, though, become paralyzed by the predictions that the age of the church is beyond us and that the church will soon be relegated to obscurity. I believe that, too, is untrue. The church has not lost the power of God’s Spirit. Instead, the church and all of God’s people, are tired and timid, worried about frivolous things, and in need of a re-direction to God’s mission. God’s people need to find again this sense of urgency for God’s mission here on earth—for grace, for wisdom, for welcome, and for justice, but most of all for people in need of God’s life-changing love. 

            We begin today with the very basics of what it means to follow God and lead in faith. That very basic premise is that we are called by God. God’s voice has spoken over the ages to creation, to God’s people, to the unfaithful, and to all of humankind. God’s voice speaks to us in prayer, in the Word, and in push of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Over and over I hear you all tell me that the only motivation you felt to do God’s calling was something moved you or spoke to you and encouraged you with wisdom.

            We see today in the creation narrative of the Old Testament that all of existence began with a word spoken by God, calling forth something new out of nothing. Earth was formless, empty, and mostly just a bunch of vast nothingness. But the Spirit of God was present, and God spoke to say, “Let there be light.” This was the beginning of God making things new and amazing where once there was nothing. 

            Over and over the scripture tells us that God makes things new. Isaiah 43:19 says “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Now, I realize there is a context to Isaiah’s prophecy, but I believe this is a verse that can stand alone as well—God makes all things new—the broken and the tired, the weary and the misguided, and God’s holy church which is in need of an energy boost these days. 

            In the Gospel, we even see that Jesus got a calling. Now, other Gospels add a bit to Mark’s text and say that John the Baptist was confused as to why Jesus would need to be baptized. In short, John says, “Um…what?” when Jesus asks to be baptized. John expected to be baptized by Jesus. In Matthew’s version, Matthew 3:15, Jesus says, “Let it be so now for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus’s baptism marked his commitment to all who saw it declaring that he was committed to God’s calling and to God’s mission for him here on earth. God’s response came from the heavens to say that Jesus was the beloved in whom God was well-pleased. 

            You see God’s calling goes hand in hand with our commitment. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot commit to what you are not called to do, and you waste a calling if you do not commit to do it. Jesus demonstrated his commitment through God’s calling and then dedicated his remaining life to live it all the way, even, to the cross. Ministers talk about God’s call to them. Church leaders talk about how God called them. All who work in this field of faith should have some inkling of a call from God. In response we have all committed to following and living out this calling. 

            But I believe God doesn’t just call the preachers and the teachers. God calls to each and every person sitting in the pew—the lukewarm and the fervent, the worried and the peaceful, those present here and those watching along online. God calls to each and every one of us to be a disciple and follow on God’s mission. That calling can come to us in unexpected ways and take us to unexpected places. 

            I remember years ago my uncle’s antics at his office. They had just installed an intercom system where you could speak into every room from an announcer device on the phone. It was early in the morning about 6 AM. My uncle was downstairs and one other worker (who didn’t know my uncle was there) was upstairs. For a little fun, my uncle got on the intercom that none of the others knew had been installed and announced, “Steve, this is the voice of God. What are you doing?” For at least a few minutes, Steve was utterly terrified at this unseen voice announcing through the office…that is until he saw another car in the parking lot. 

            God’s voice can come to us unexpectedly. My call to ministry sounded very much like a strong South Georgia accent of a retired Methodist preacher, and I’m forever grateful that John Carroll pushed me to become your pastor. God spoke to me through him, and in turn, I made a commitment to you all here in answer to God’s somewhat unexpected calling in my life. 

            The hardest part of such a sermon is that God speaks to each of us differently through the Word, through the Holy Spirit, and through those around us preach and teach prophetically. Everyone wants to know, “what is God calling to me?” My response is that figuring out the Holy Spirit is much like herding cats. What I can tell you is that we have two main duties in our commitment side of it all: to listen and to tell. 

            We must listen carefully as we read God’s Word to be moved by the wisdom and guidance there. We must also be prepared to tell this Good News both in how we live and in what we say. God’s timeless truths have not changed—there is still grace for the wayward ones, healing for the broken, strength in God’s presence, and justice we must seek. After Jesus was baptized and publicly made his commitment, he set about doing these things. Jesus spoke out against evil, oppression, and exploitive inequality. Jesus healed all those who suffered. And Jesus offered grace to all who needed to be made anew. 

            If we are to follow God, it begins with listening to God’s calling in our lives then committing ourselves to living as the disciples here on earth. Being a leader for Christ is no big magical, mystical, unattainable thing. It simply starts with a calling and a commitment. As a result of that commitment we serve and work in this world and we tell the good news of God’s grace. I encourage you today to look past the tiredness, the struggle, and the stagnant mold. Pull out and dust off your commitment, find anew how amazing it can be to follow the God of all hope, of all love, and who breathed life into all things—and yes, even still, breathes new life into you and I this day. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/307658963983508

Epiphany

The Light Goes Into the World: Isiah 60: 1-6; Matthew 2: 1-12

            If I were to be truly, truly honest with you, I’d have to say that I don’t really care for the story of the Magi coming to visit Jesus. Yes, I preach it every year, but it’s such a difficult passage to continue making creative every year. I could talk about the Gentiles who came from the east to worship Jesus, but we’ve covered that. I could talk about the gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and how they symbolize Christ’s kingship, Godliness, and death and resurrection. However, I’ve done that twice now here. I could talk about the flight to Egypt, but that might get a bit political. I could even talk about Herod’s response, but the murder of so many innocents is terrifying. 

            Where does one go with this scripture on how these sages from the east came to Bethlehem and worshipped the Christ-child who was now likely almost a toddler? Perhaps, there are still a couple of things that resonate in this narrative from Matthew’s gospel. We focus in on two important things here in the story: they were led by the light, and they dared to take the journey. 

            There is a long history in the Bible of the importance of God’s light to the people. In the beginning God split the light and the darkness and decreed that the light would rule over our waking hours and the darkness over our sleeping hours. In many instances, God’s brilliant light blinded the enemies so that Israel would not be conquered. In the wilderness, as the Israelites marched to the Promised Land, God led them by a pillar of fire, or light, by day. In the New Testament, we see the light from a start leading the Magi. We also see that God came to the Apostle Paul and used a blinding light to reach his soul and change it for good. 

            We also hear about this guiding light in the hymn “O Holy Night” which says, “Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, so led by light of a start sweetly gleaming… here came the Wise Men from Orient land.” Now, this light could be Jupiter and Saturn aligning. It could be something non-miraculous and easily explained by science; however, the Gospel tells us that it was a miraculous light or star of God that led them. This is how God moves and works in and through us, using that heavenly and miraculous light of Christ to lead us. 

            We must step into this light and follow God’s guiding. Yet in John 3:19, we are told that “people loved darkness more than the light because their [deeds] were evil.” God has called us to come out of that sin—the sin that leads us away from God’s light, love, and grace. Sometimes the very ones who miss the light sit weekly on the pew of their church…or watch in their pajamas at home. You cannot follow God’s light and have a heart with prejudice and hate. You cannot follow God’s light and be filled with bitterness and resentment. You cannot follow God’s light and follow your own selfish desires too. You cannot follow God if there is anything else there in between you and the Holy One. 

            One of the things that has worried me most in the past year is to watch the church literally disintegrate in the wake of this pandemic. In years past when people were fearful and worried, they turned in droves to the church to find solace and comfort in the words that speak God’s holy peace to us. But that has not happened this time. The church has quarreled and fought against public safety requirements and defied logic and science altogether. Instead of being the source of comfort in the time of struggle, the churches have become the place where the disease spread the most in many places. 

            Frankly, I’m not all that convinced people are watching church online either. It’s a nice idea, but your worship should not come with a fast-forward button. Many churches have found themselves with only a third to a half of congregates returning and budgets crippled by the those who don’t continue to support because they’ve come to feel they don’t need the church. For the first time in my life and probably in yours, a majority of people say they feel fine without and do not need the church, and by extension, regular faith in their lives. Let that sink in for a moment. 

            We must return to being led by the light of Christ, not by our reaction to news media, not by our reaction to the political climate, not by our reaction to what we don’t like. The Wise Men journeyed and hastened hundreds of miles to Christ through tough terrain and bitter weather. They ignored Herod and his political evil. They journeyed with a message found in gifts. We, too, must journey with a gift—the gift of this Good News of a Savior. 

            The truth of the matter is that church and faith are not found watching a production on television, Facebook Live, or YouTube. They are not found in proudly defying science or safety or good sense, going against God’s will just to prove a point. Church and faith are found in people who call one another to check in, to pray, to share love and hope. Church and faith are found in people who step into the breach where there is suffering to heal, help, and restore. Don’t forget, Christ spent most of his ministry here healing and helping those in need and teaching those hungry for a word of hope. Church and faith are found in people all across their homes sharing bread and cup together and being united in Christ’s table wherever that table may be found for God can come to our worship where we are just as God comes here. 

            The church and faith are found where we take and shine the light of Christ in the world, for that too, is a gift given to us to share with the world. You might think it a bit odd for me to pick the hymn “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.” It’s a bit older and somewhat obscure these days, but there’s a point to it. The story comes from the 1800s and inspired Philip Bliss to write the hymn. 

            Rev. Dwight L. Moody was preaching once and told a story about a ship on Lake Eerie near Cleveland, Ohio. It was dark that night and the waves were crashing hard from a storm. As the ship was battered back and forth, the Captain and Pilot were speaking. They both saw this one, lone light from a lighthouse on the shore and no other lights around it.  The Captain was perplexed and asked if they were at Cleveland. The Pilot responded he was sure of it. The struggle was that all they could see was the light at the top of the lighthouse. There were supposed to be lower lights along the shore lighting up where the rocks and hazards were, and to steer the ship away from danger and toward the big light from the lighthouse. Those lower lights had gone out. 

            The Pilot and Captain were sure they could manage the ship without the lower lights, but they miscalculated. The ship was hurled into the dark rocks because none of the lower lights were burning, and the journey ended in a fatality. Rev. Moody concluded with this, “Beloved the Master will take care of the great Lighthouse. Let us keep the lower lights burning.” God’s light, high in the heavens is still shining brightly as ever, but what about our lower lights here along the shore on Earth? Is there any light left there for others to find safety? 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/228097158806233

Christmas Lesson & Carols

Christmas Sermon: Isaiah 9:2-7; Titus 2: 11-14; Luke 2: 1-19

            “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart,” from Luke 2: 19. I often wonder what Mary was pondering in her heart, and what thoughts were going through her head. If we look at a definition of “ponder,” the dictionaries say essentially that it means to think carefully or to think long and hard about something before coming to a decision or reaching a conclusion. I imagine in Mary’s heart she pondered the angel, her words of how this could be, the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in her life. 

            I wonder if she pondered the depth and power of the evil that would rise against her and soon crucify her child born of the Holy One. I wonder if she pondered the pain and suffering she would experience as a mother. I wonder if a mooing cow or nosy sheep interrupted her thoughts in the stable. And most of all I wonder if she came to a conclusion or if the pondering never stopped. 

We, too, are given a lot to ponder in our hearts about the birth of Christ, especially from these scriptures for today. For instance, we can ponder on the words of Titus 2:11, “for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all.” That grace of God has appeared to all of us, brings us light and hope, and salvation in our lives. It’s grand and expansive welcome, this grace of God. I know we hear a lot about narrow the gate, but also wide is the welcome. Titus’s words say to all of humankind. Don’t be choosy where God has spoken and said that grace has appeared unto all. 

            We see this idea reflected even in the manger scene as told in Luke 2. There were shepherds who lived out in the fields and made their living simply by tending their herds. There were wisemen or kings, as the old song says, who came later on at epiphany to worship the Christ Child. There were angels watching. Joseph and Mary both poor and humble people from a outlier city considered rural and unimportant were present before the holy child. For goodness sakes, there were even barn animals in the stable. Everyone and everything was symbolically present for the birth of the holy child born to bring grace and salvation to the world. 

            Titus 2:13 also tells us about “looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” All of these diverse people were called to the manger, but they had to choose to come. The shepherds had to choose to leave their flocks by night. The Magi had to choose to follow a star to something miraculous in the prophecies. Joseph and Mary had to trust to come to Bethlehem even as the trip was dangerous and long. All came looking for this blessed hope born in a manger. 

            And so, we see that God brought hope to earth, and in this hope Christ teaches us to live in peace with one another, to find joy in the most dismal of circumstances, and to welcome others with the same unconditional love which God gives us. I wonder if Mary pondered all these things—if she considered that as a person who was still held by the power of sin that she birthed a child who was perfect and holy and would bring grace and salvation even to her. 

            The questions for us, then, is do we still ponder in our hearts about following Christ? Do we still gather ourselves up like the shepherds and Magi and hasten to the manger and become moved by the Savior of the world? Do we trust like Mary? Do we obey like Joseph? Do we welcome all with the same grace of God as told to us in Titus 2? 

            Or if I may, let me challenge you a bit more, do we speak out against oppression and evil in this world? I’m not talking about going full-blown “John the Baptist,” but in small ways telling a friend not to use a foul name for someone. Telling someone making a certain joke is not funny. Telling someone to speak about and treat others with the dignity and respect that should be available to all of God’s creation. 

            I have a bit of a humbling story on my own self in this case. When I was in my early 20s it was popular to use the term “retarded” for something bad or negative. And one time, being young and dumb, I used the phrase, “That’s retarded.” A good friend of mine, standing next to me, whirled around and said, “My uncle lives with Down’s Syndrome. Don’t you ever, ever, use that phrase like that again. You need to apologize.” She stood up and protected her vulnerable uncle. She convicted me and offered grace all in the same instance, and I work now protecting vulnerable adults both as a job and as a ministry. That conviction and grace worked through me.

            So, may we all ponder in our heart like Mary did. May we think carefully and critically. But be careful! Don’t stop at just pondering, for pondering in one’s heart demands that a conclusion be reached. Accept that hope of Christ’s holy light and the grace that leads to salvation. Be changed in the power of Christ to live at peace with one another, to find unexplainable joy even as the evil and darkness rage about you, and to find a love which invites all to a relationship with God and God’s people and which welcomes those who are lost and broken in this life. Take a moment and let us ponder in our hearts, then let us prepare the rest of our lives to live it. Merry Christmas and Amen. 

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