Lent: Faithful Answers for Difficult Questions

I Just Want to Be Ok—Job 2:1-10; Mark 5: 1-20

            Many of us have grown up in families that have a particular way of dealing with struggles and the tough times of life. There are in fact a number of lyrical phrases in life that describe this particular therapeutic method. They sound something like this: suck it up, buttercup, just put up or shut up, deal with it, man up, get over it already, bite the bullet and go on, and the award winning one that work every time when someone is upset—“just calm down.” I have never, ever in my life found one person for whom being told to just calm down ever works.

            As we begin our Lenten journey of faithful answers in tough times, we look at the idea of suffering today, wondering aloud, “I just want to be okay.” Today’s scriptures tell two stories of people who endured suffering in life but found the way through, and make no mistake, it’s almost always a way through and not a way around. Here are the lessons we can take away: we never know the depths of another’s suffering and struggle, some folks don’t want to do better so you need boundaries, healing can be fast or long timeline, so build a good circle cause not everyone is going to support you.

            The truth is that we never know the depth of another person’s struggle. Both of scriptures for today tell of a very deep level of suffering. Job, in the span of a day, lost all his family, his livestock and farming, his servants, and on day two his health. The only thing he didn’t lose was his wife, and frankly, she probably should have been the first thing to go. Likewise, the Gerasene man was hounded and tortured by his demons, abused by the locals who tried to control him with violent and exploitive means, and living in abject suffering. Job sat in quiet sadness. The Gerasene man howled loudly. And here is proof that there is no right way to go through a period of suffering.

            There are times in life you have to go through a bad period, a low point, a set time where you will wonder, “Why can’t I just suck it up and be okay?” But though we may all suffer, there is no right or wrong way to do so. It’s not our role to judge and evaluate another’s suffering. We are to simply be with them. Job held it together through untold physical suffering. I can come unglued from a papercut. We are all going to have struggles in life, so let’s make it a point to be a present, loving care to someone instead of trying to evaluate their state.

            The one time where you do have to be careful is people who don’t want to do better. This is an area I fundamentally don’t understand. The Gerasenes saw the power of Jesus to heal, to help, to save this man from the worst of suffering and demon possession. One would think they’d flock to Jesus asking how can this holy man help us!? But instead, they run away and beg Jesus to leave. They reject every aspect of what has been done. Now, there are political, social, and economic reasons for this. But how do you reject this man who offers such hope and power?

            There are people like this. They say they want help, but in reality, they seek attention. And if you are in the place of trying to be okay in your own life, you cannot fix them. Jesus can help them, but you are not the great fixer or a savior. God alone does that. I’ll give you an example. I remember a pastor friend of mine had a church visitor who they prayed over and “delivered” again and again for the same thing over and over. He was confused why this kept happening. Finally, I said to him, “You cannot be delivered from the demons you’re in love with.” In the end, the Gerasene man wanted healing. The Gerasene people wanted rid of the healer because they were the ones in love with their own figurative demons.  

            So, let’s talk about what it looks like to come to a path of healing. For some it is pretty fast, for others it’s a long-term journey. When Jesus encounters the Gerasene man, the evil inside of him recognized Jesus and his holy presence almost immediately. That evil being held inside of him shrieked and begged Jesus to leave him alone. Here’s the depth of Jesus’s compassion. He didn’t destroy that spirit…he sent it to pigs at that spirit’s own request. Jesus wasn’t the cause of the pigs’ demise, he only granted what the bad spirit asked for.

            There are some bad habits, bad people, and bad trauma which can be addressed almost immediately when the light of healing is shined on it. A friend of mine had a lot of trouble with a co-worker who was constantly tearing her down, badmouthing her, and trying to start trouble. Upon finding out, she went to that person and demanded they stop. Shortly thereafter the offensive coworker was fired. There are bad people, bad habits, bad situations where we can say, “Stop,” and set a boundary, and end the problem…or send it off to live with the pigs. That takes some faith and a lot of courage.

            But sometimes we need a large amount of faith and a good circle of friends. Job was in a much different place. He had no idea why his suffering was happening. He had no power over the situation to say, “Stop!” He did not have a Jesus in his life to support him. Sometimes healing in life is a long and slow process. The Book of Job begins in chapters one and two with Job’s tremendous suffering. His restoration comes in the middle of chapter 42. That’s a lot time to wait for God’s response. Sometimes the answer to our prayers is not immediate. Sometimes we’re left with the best we can do, just suck it up, or keep praying. Job may have waited a long time, but God was still faithful.

            Job turned to friends who blamed him, offered no help, and caused more suffering. Job’s wife told him to simply curse God and die. But in the end, Job could still count on God even though he had a long time to wait. But God never left him. God was with Job all the time, and despite the misery in Job’s life, God was still in control of the situation and didn’t leave Job without hope at some point. And Job gives us that great lesson—whether it is a time of great blessing or a time of loss and trouble, blessed be the name of the Lord.

            The common threads in these two stories are first that both Job and the Gerasene man sought God in their time of need, and two God healed and restored both when the time was right. None of that promises an easy journey. In my time as an attorney, I’ve dealt with numerous types of mental health conditions, physical disabilities, life trauma, addiction, and so on. Finding healing is an incredibly difficult journey, no matter what the struggle is. But also, there is nothing that is beyond God’s strength.

            One of the most common questions in the Book of Job is how long did his suffering last? We really don’t know. Most scholars agree it was more than two months. Some speculate 42 months, one for each chapter. But there are many scholars who believe it was years, and some even say decades. The question we’re left with, unfortunately, is not a question of length but of faith. Even when God makes us wait, will we still hold the faith that God is with us. Both of these scriptures and examples show us that God will never leave, but we must continue on in our faith until the end.

            In the end we never know how much a person suffers. There’s a saying in life that you never know what a person is going through until you walk a mile in their shoes. And that is very true. Each person has some struggle in life, and we must remember that and be a supportive part of that journey. But we must also set boundaries and protect our own peace from people who are in love with their own demons and refuse to be a part of the healing journey God offers.

            Healing and help may be fast, or we may have to settle in and wait like Job did. But even though people, family, sanity, and everything else left Job and the Gerasene man behind, God was still there with strength for that day and bright hope for tomorrow. I hear a lot of rough sayings—suck it up, buttercup; get over it and move on; and the grand prize winner…just calm down. I think, perhaps, a much better saying is, “Precious Lord, take my hand.” When we have our faith in Jesus to help us and heal us, we have a hope we can count on every time.

   Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/403209789053514

Transfiguration Sunday

Directions: How to Make Change—II Kings 2: 1-12; Mark 9: 2-9

            When I started as the organist and choir director at Our Savior Lutheran Church in 2005, which feels like yesterday but is 19 years ago, the pastor told me a little joke on my first Sunday getting ready to play the Divine Service. It’s an old joke. He asked me how many Christians does it take to change a lightbulb: Pentecostal—just one as hands are already raised, Presbyterian—none because lights will go on and off at predestined times, Disciples of Christ—one to change the lightbulb and three committees to approve and change it multiple times, Baptist—one to change the lightbulb and 30 to cover the potluck, Lutherans—none, they don’t believe in change.

            We’ve been talking about changing directions all through Epiphany, and I’ve saved probably the simplest and hardest issue for last when it comes to change: we just don’t like it. My friend used to have a pair of jeans that were old, dirty, worn out, and had more holes in them than a colander. But he kept wearing them to the point of nearing a dangerous exposure. Why? Because it was familiar and comfortable. Friends, I share your struggle, but the truth is, we don’t get much choice. It’s like those death and taxes things—change is assured. So here are three ways of coping: first change is hard, so embrace the difficulty; second change is inevitable, so be ready to roll with it; last change is necessary, so make the most of it when it happens.

First, let’s all just collectively acknowledge that change is hard. But like the old jazzercise or aerobics videos in the 80s said, “Feel the burn.” Change is hard, but we can embrace the difficulty. In II Kings, we read of a difficult coming change in the lives of the Israelites. Elijah had been the prophet for 24 years, and he had accomplished some amazing things, but it was time for a change.

The people say to his servant, Elisha, “Did you know the Lord is going to take away your master today?” Elisha’s response is, “Of course I know…but be quiet about it.” Many have speculated if Elisha’s response was somehow integral to this change of authority in the community, but usually the simplest answer is correct. He’s sad. His mentor of two plus decades, whom he’s been like father and son with, is going to be taken from him today. He doesn’t want to talk about it. Change is hard. And when the time comes, the chariots of fire appear, swoop right between them, and whisk Elijah away in a whirlwind in a matter of seconds. Ejlisha rips his clothes in distress and likely terror. Change is hard and painful.

But what is his request? He asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit and to become his successor. Elisha knew what he was facing was going to be incredibly difficult, painful, and likely very lonely. Prophets aren’t popular. But he embraced the coming change and asked God for what he needed to make him successful in this change of life. Change is hard, but we can make the difficult work.

Change is also inevitable, so we need to be ready to roll with what comes our way. My friend’s toddler was a picky eater. She absolutely loved a “grilled cheese” in a tortilla. But if you called it a quesadilla, she threw a fit and said it was nasty. Sometimes that spirit doesn’t leave us and we want to refuse all change. But change is inevitable. The transfiguration shows the disciples’ struggle to understand that change that was happening. Was Jesus a prophet, rabbi, new person on the block in the Jewish faith?

It had to be difficult to hear the words from heaven proclaiming Jesus as the “dearly loved son.” They weren’t following a familiar teacher, they were following someone and something wholly and completely different. Churches are plagued with this issue. We hear jokes of the “First Church of No Change” and “sitting on the pew of do nothing, go nowhere singing ‘I shall not be moved.’” Faith was never meant to be comfortable. It was meant to challenge us daily how to follow Jesus and for us to challenge the world how to draw closer to the Kingdom of God.

If we’re not challenging, if we’re not growing, if we’re not pushing others toward the love of Christ, then we have to admit we’re only coming to church in the hopes of getting to heaven and nothing more. That’s not good enough. Even the demons believed in and recognized Jesus. We have to roll with the changes and challenges and follow Jesus whom we love and believe in. Change is not a horrible attack on us, it’s an opportunity for us to find new ways of sharing the unconditional and overwhelming love of God with the world. Change is inevitable in life, so let’s see it as an opportunity and be ready to roll with what comes our way.

Lastly, change is necessary, so we have to make the most of it.  We’ve alluded to this idea all along the way in this sermon. The light bulb has to be changed at some point, or we will be sitting in the dark. Change may be hard and inevitable, but it also presents an opportunity to make the most of it. Look back again at Elisha’s words, “When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.’ And Elisha replied, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.’ ‘You have asked a difficult thing,’ Elijah replied. ‘If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.’”

Elisha knew that his closest mentor and friend was about to be gone, and that likely he would now bear the burden of what Elijah had worked on so long. Elisha knew that all of his life was about to change when the chariots took Elijah up into Heaven.  And instead of shutting down, he prayed and asked for the strength to excel and carry on in the work he was called to do. Likewise, the disciples’ lives changed dramatically when they followed Jesus. They went from simple fishermen to being the leaders of this movement started by Jesus. It was a radical change in their lives, but they committed themselves to the work of faith and to following Christ to the very end.

My friends, today is called Transfiguration Sunday in the church calendar because the Gospel lesson tells of this scene of “The Transfiguration.” Now, that word, Transfiguration means “a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state.” (Oxford Dictionary). This is why we must make the most of life’s changes—because they’re necessary. In every change and new place we find ourselves, God is leading us into a closer walk or a more “beautiful and spiritual state.” The more we are adaptive and leadable, the more God can draw us closer and equip us for our work in this world. Change is necessary, so let us take every advantage of the opportunity change presents us.

When the pastor at Our Savior Lutheran told me the joke about changing a lightbulb, he laughed a little bit after the punchline of Lutherans not believing in change. Then he added, “But maybe we should a bit more.” Throughout Epiphany we’ve looked at the places in life that we need new direction or new ways of living as God’s faithful people in this world. Change is hard, change is inevitable, and change is necessary. But in all of that we can embrace the struggle and learn to grow. We can be ready to roll with the punches and push forward, and we can take advantage of the opportunities change and grown can bring us.

My friends, as we draw this series to a close and prepare for the season of Lent, I ask you this: where is God calling you to change directions and grow in faith in your life? In all of life’s journey, we have the opportunity to grow in ourselves and in our walk with God, but it requires us to be adaptable and ready to follow. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary. So, the question remains, will you be ready to follow where God is calling you today, tomorrow, and forever?

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1776880822786077

Fifth Sunday in Epiphany

Directions: Your Story—I Corinthians 9: 16-23; Mark 1: 29-39

            Years ago, a friend’s dad was trying to tell me a funny joke he had heard. Knowing his dad, I anticipated it would be off color. It’s been awhile, so I don’t remember exactly how it goes. I do remember that there was a priest, a bandit, and a politician walking into a bar, then at some point they go out. But what I do remember is that after two of three movements of the group, my friend’s dad stopped for a second and said…”Anyway…” and changed the topic. I asked why he did that, and the reply was, “I’m old. I forgot the punchline. I’ll remember it in a minute.” It’s been 23 years, and I’m still waiting for that punchline. Truth be told he was never much of a story teller

            In many societies, storytelling is a common practice for sharing entertainment, sharing family history, finding a common bond, and learning something new. It’s storytelling that kept the faith alive for the Hebrew people as they shared the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses down over the years so that each new generation knew of the great leaders of the people and the faith. We hear this idea of storytelling and faith woven together in hymns like, “Tell Me the Story of Jesus,” and “We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations,” as well as “I Love to Tell the Story.”

            At the table each Sunday we tell the story again of how Jesus sacrificed himself to give us life and hope. It’s a story with power and holiness attached to it. But there’s something tangible as well. As the hymn says, “Taste and see that God is good.” We don’t just hear the story of God’s love, we take physical, touchable reminders of that love and sacrifice as well.

            Much of this faith we live is bound up in stories. We, too, hear the stories of Joseph’s overcoming, David’s strength, Jonah’s disobedience, and Jesus’s miracles, love, and teaching. We hear these stories with a purpose, and that purpose is to affect and change our lives and behavior. Gospel stories and Biblical narratives are an opportunity to hear of God’s goodness and be changed by it in some way. We must never squander that opportunity.

            But each one of us has a story as well. And there is a collective wisdom, history, and knowledge in this church that can tell powerful stories of faith and overcoming, of how God and the Good Word helped and led in times of trouble or suffering in life. Your story is important too because it tells of how we live in relationship to God’s love and a very confusing modern society here and now.

            Now please don’t shriek in horror and dread of what I just said. The Bible is still the authoritative book on God, faith, and Christ’s love, but it’s your stories of life which teach the practical application to others. This is exactly what Paul did—he made the story of Christ adaptable. He writes in I Corinthians:

When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. I Cor. 9: 20-23.

            To those of us who grew up hearing that the truth of God’s word never changes, these words by Paul might seem somewhat scandalous at first glance. He said what?? But if you read closely, it is not the truth of Paul’s message which changes, it’s the context and application. Paul writes that he tries to find some common ground with every group he meets, first to be a decent person and second to make sure the story of faith he shares is relevant, appropriate, and finding a context which resonates with the hearer.

            I remember a youth pastor who came to speak to my high school youth group’s camp. He had finished up a few years of youth ministry in the inner city in Camden, New Jersey. He had learned how to adapt and work with the tough local youth. One young man wanted to pray for the first time. He was a gang-banger with a tough reputation who was struggling with life and faith. The pastor told him just to pray to God as if God is his friend. The young man started, “Sup bruh…” which was followed by a string of cusswords, so the pastor had to interrupt and reorient the young man to pray as if it were his grandmother. Sometimes context is very important to understanding.

            Understanding the context of your calling, your sharing, your stories of faith is important. Even in a small church like this, there are stories of faith and experience that can help folks so much, especially those who are trying to change direction and find their way in life. Here we have people who can tell of living with a loved one who is in decline or has an impairment. We have people who can tell of coping with and finding faith in the midst of a struggle with mental illness. We have people who can tell of overcoming tough physical medical issues. We have stories of navigating toxic people in life and families; stories of starting over alone either by choice or because you just have to keep on, and stories of living in America when you look differently, speak differently, or remember a time of segregation that few in the younger generation would understand or appreciate.

            All of these stories are important to share because they teach us, especially our youth, how to live a faithful life in hard times. If you don’t believe me, just look at the Golden Girls. Forty years later, if you mention a St. Olaf story or you say, “Picture it—Sicily—1916,” everyone knows what you’re talking about. So, the question for us, as God’s people, is this: who are we telling our stories to? Sometimes we’re a bit quick to give tough advice and often times give it unsolicited. But we don’t tell the stories that will inspire, encourage, and uplift. My mom could have told me 1,000 times that I needed to go get a good education and make something of myself, but no teenager was going to listen. What I did listen to, however, was the story of how Nana set sail for America at 18 by herself because she loved a soldier boy and thought she could do a bit better for herself here.

            Even Jesus tells the importance of sharing our stories in his own example. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus says, ““We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.” Jesus often offered words of wisdom, but when the people really needed help, Jesus told a story. He told of a Good Samaritan, a prodigal son, wheat and chaff, fruit bearing trees, mustard seeds, and so much more.

            How often do you tell your stories to others, and especially the harder stories of your life? We have a bit of a “we don’t talk about such things” attitude in society, but what if we did share? Imagine if we sat down with the teenager or young adult in our lives and, instead of saying to them how bad their decisions are, we said, “When I was 17, I made a bad decision, here’s the story and how it affected me.” What if we were honest, vulnerable, and invited conversation, just like Jesus did, when people needed to find a new direction, needed healing and help, or needed to go and sin no more. Perhaps an even tougher question is when was the last time we shared stories of a church that welcomes and loves, heals and helps, and has a pretty fantastic congregation of folks?

            You might be a bit of messy storyteller and joke deliverer like my friend’s father. But when it comes to stories of faith, that’s okay. You don’t have to be Mark Twain or Agatha Christie to tell a powerful story. You simply need the heart, the love, and the faith. The question is not how great of a story can you tell to help those in need, but instead, the question is found in the last verse of our last hymn: “’Are ye able?’ still the Master whispers down eternity, and heroic spirits answer now, as then, in Galilee.” Amen.

 Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/405487718805961

Fourth Sunday in Epiphany

Directions: What If I Have a Problem? Deut. 18: 15-20; Mark 1: 21-28

            A friend of mine posted (what I hope is a joke) on Facebook the other day. His post says, “I meet a woman outside the mall crying. She had lost $200, so I gave her $40 from the $200 I had found a few minutes ago. When God blesses you, you must bless others too!” And all I could think was, “NO! That’s not how this works!” The same day another friend shared on Instagram a video of a little girl of about 4 or so with her mother. Her mom told her that she could be part of the problem, or she could be part of the solution. The little girl replied, “Mmm, I think I’m gonna be the WHOLE problem.” And sometimes life is just like that little child, no offense to her.

            When we gather ourselves up, find a new direction, follow God’s signs, we still, sometimes, encounter problems on the journey. Today Deuteronomy and Mark give us three problems and one solution. The three problems are not listening, bad voices or bad advice, and self-doubt. The solution to all three is God’s strength in some form or another.

            The first problem when we try to set a new course is not listening when we need to. In Deuteronomy, the people complain to God that hearing the voice of God was too much for them. So, God offers that there will be a prophet who speaks on God’s behalf. The people are to listen to this prophet. Then God says, “I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet claims on my behalf.” And from there, Israel sets a course of listening to God’s prophet about half of the time…maybe less. At one point, it gets so bad that God says to Ezekiel that the people are so hard hearted they will not listen to any message, but Ezekiel must speak anyway.

            We are often a people who like to speak, but don’t always like to listen especially if the message is hard for us to hear. This often goes in tandem with the second problem—bad advice. God goes on to say that “any prophet who falsely claims to speak in [God’s] name or who speaks the name of another god must die.” Two of the greatest human failures are not listening and listening to the wrong people speaking. Both listening and following advice should come down to one simple thing—the truth. If we are unwilling to hear the truth or are not told the truth, then we will find problems.

            Our struggle comes from the fact that we are often challenged when we really listen to truth, and we don’t like to be challenged. If a preacher stands in the pulpit and says something like: Jesus healed the sick without charging payment, challenged religious authority over the politics, loved the marginalized, and was likely not patriotic, because who could imagine Jesus giving a pro-Rome message, that preacher might meet some resistance and some angry parishioners.

Likewise, a preacher who says that Jesus gives limitations on doing whatever we want in life, tells us we can be a bit selfish at times, and then calls us to be mission and evangelical-minded instead of “sitting there like a pudding” as one pastor friend said, then that preacher may also find a hostile congregation depending on who makes up the persons in the pews.

            Listening and advice are a struggle for us because we often just don’t like the message, and it’s hard to accept. A prophet is sent to give boundaries, not a message of comfort or gentle platitudes. And truthfully humanity doesn’t like that and has never liked that. The Israelites often strayed from listening and heeding advice and turned to bad advice because they didn’t like the boundaries God gave them. And, as if our struggle to listen and the penchant for bad advice aren’t enough, we often wrestle with self-doubt in the same mix.

            The Israelites found themselves incapable of hearing God’s voice. The people in Mark’s Gospel struggle to accept and hear Jesus’s authority over teaching, healing, and matters of faith. They doubted their own eyes and ears, and truthfully many of us struggle with self-doubt tied to bad advice and not listening. How many good things have we talked ourselves out of because we doubted our abilities? How many times do we belittle ourselves and mask it as humor because we wrestle with self-doubt? How many times do we cut ourselves off at the knees because it’s easier to wallow in despair than find joy in God’s blessings, talents, and calling in our lives? How many times do we listen to voices (even in our own head) telling us we’re not good enough or something is wrong with us? Or better yet, how many bad situations do we talk ourselves into because we don’t listen, follow bad advice, and wrestle with self-doubt or let’s just call it low self-esteem? Here’s a bit of truth to listen to and good advice to remember—God created you, and God does not make mistakes in what God creates.

            Too often we forget God’s strength which can lift us up and help us. A friend of mine starts every day off looking in the mirror and imagining God saying these words to her, “You are beautiful, made in God’s image. You are loved, for Christ gave his life for you. And you can make a difference because God’s strength goes with you.” God’s strength is powerful and can work the miraculous in our lives. We hear the key word in Mark over and over. The people were amazed at Jesus’s teaching, for he taught as one with real authority. The people are further amazed when Jesus casts out the demon. And they ask what kind of teaching this is because it has such authority. Even the evil spirits obeyed him.

            God has that kind of authority, but it begs something from us—trust. Every problem comes down to one big question for us. Do we trust God’s authority and strength over our lives and struggles, in God’s time and in God’s way. Sometimes we have to admit that our biggest problem, which brings together not listening, bad advice, and self-doubt, is that we just don’t like how God is handling things. It hurts our ability to trust. But sometimes we also expect God to handle things the way we want, but we don’t necessarily want to do our part as well. That starts with being able to trust in God’s authority and accept the good and bad in life as part of a brilliant plan. If we believe that God intelligently designed the entire universe, then we must trust God’s authority to work through our lives as part of that universe.

            I think of the scripture in Job where his wife comes to offer support. After losing everything and being stricken with illness, her best advice to Job is to curse God and just die. Problems are part and parcel of life and the human experience. They are awful, annoying, and sometimes painful. But in the end God has authority and wisdom, and we must have trust that even in struggle God has the ultimate authority both here and now and hereafter.

            I want to leave you with a quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you don’t know that name, he was a German Lutheran pastor who preached and stood against Hitler during World War II. He was eventually accused of plotting to overthrow Hitler and imprisoned. He was ultimately executed by the Nazis less than one month before Germany surrendered. He had these words of encouragement: “I am sure of God’s hand and guidance…You must never doubt that I am thankful and glad to go the way which I am being led. My past life is abundantly full of God’s mercy and, above all sin, stands the forgiving love of the Crucified. Ultimately all authority on earth must serve only the authority of Jesus Christ over humankind.” At all times, may our trust in God’s strength and authority never waiver.

            For us there are three big problems—we often don’t listen; when we do listen, we listen to bad advice; and on top of it all we live with struggles of self-doubt. So, what do we do when we run into problems? The words in Mark’s gospel are clear. Jesus has authority and strength, and we, ultimately, must learn to trust that authority and strength both here and now, and for the hereafter. God does not make mistakes, and that includes you and your life too.

Third Sunday in Epiphany

Directions: How to Start a New Trip—Jonah 3: 1-5, 10; Mark 1:14-20

            I remember 16 years ago now, when I moved to Georgia, I had a bit of a “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto” moment. At the very onset, something about living here, 400 miles away from anyone I knew, did not feel like home to me. Thankfully, that has changed. I remember going to the Kroger on North Avenue off Gray Highway and being so confused as to how two Krogers—the one in Danville, Kentucky, and this one—could be so incredibly different. As I was checking out, the cashier asked where I was from. When I said Kentucky, she said in the thickest, Southern drawl I’d ever heard, “Kentucky! Son, you almost a foreigner down here.” And I’d never felt more out of place in my life.

            Last week we looked at lessons on God giving us a sign. This week, we consider, exactly, how do we start this journey with God? A friend of mine once told me, “There’s no real mystery to following God; you just get up and go, and you don’t worry about the rest.” But the truth is that most people are homebodies and not exactly the most adventurous of souls. I get that. If given the option of a great adventure or a night at home on the couch, Indiana Jones, I am not. And in wanting to feel at home, many people look to church for that sense of feeling “at home.”

            The problem is there are so many different people in the church. This is the only place where we endeavor to take people of different races, backgrounds, nationalities, worship styles, political beliefs, socio-economic status, and ages and try to BOTH give them a sense of home and a common mission to go out and do something for God’s kingdom. It’s almost, almost easier to herd cats. But that’s exactly what Jesus did. He called fishermen, tax collectors, men and women of various places in life and backgrounds and said, “Come, follow me.” The Gospel tells us that those whom Jesus called dropped everything and followed him immediately.

            So, if we are to both find a home in church and a common mission, what is that mission? Well, it’s to save the world—literally, figurately, and theologically. And we do that through honesty, communication, and love. In reading our Hebrew Lesson, we see that Jonah got best two out of three on this. He excelled in honesty and was good enough communication. When he finally went to Nineveh after being sent twice by God, he walked into the city and said, “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed.” You know it’s a miracle those people repented. He didn’t mention God. He didn’t mention repentance. He didn’t give them a method to avoid destruction. He just went in and said, basically, “Y’all doomed.”

            It takes all three—honesty, communication, and love—to create this sense of being at home and accomplishing God’s mission or call. Communication without honesty is pointless. Honesty without communication leads to anger, and any of them without love is just an excuse to be mean. Look to the Gospel. Jesus calls the disciples, and they follow immediately. Then they are steeped in Jesus’s wisdom, teaching, and miraculous work in saving the world. They see this done in both the theological sense of him saying, “Go and sin no more.” But they also see Jesus feed the hungry, love everyone, accept them, and heal their troubles. They see Jesus wade into the messiest parts of people’s lives and help them be made whole. And in response, they go and do the same until the end of their lives.

            Think of when your family feels most like a family and home—it’s when everyone is together for a common reason, doing a common thing. For the church to be a family, our commonality is this mission for God’s kingdom—to save the world. We don’t wade enough into the messy points of life enough anymore. We’re too keen to say fix yourself, then come here. It doesn’t work that way, for we are called to do the healing, the helping, and the saving. That is our mission. Now, we also have to hold folks accountable. If people keep going back to the same mistakes, same old habits, same old sins (if we’re going to call it that) again, and again, and again, then it’s clear they don’t want help. They want enabling to wallow in their mess, and they do not want healing. And the church can’t do that.

            In 2024, we need to find a change in direction for both ourselves and our churches. Let’s practice this work of honesty, communication, and love more deeply and carefully. The disciples took the lessons Jesus taught them and all the things they had seen, and they put it all to work.  They went out and made a difference in the world for people who needed it. They proclaimed salvation, and created a place of healing, help, and a safeness where people could find themselves in the God who loved them. We must do the same.

            But in some ways, Jonah also got it right. Though his message lacked any semblance of love or compassion, he said what Nineveh needed to hear—now is the time to be accountable or else. Thankfully, God in the New Testament is not always so severe as God in the Old Testament. But life is still very full of consequences, and as the kids are so fond of saying these days…you can still mess around and find out if you’re not careful. I edited that saying just a bit to make it church-appropriate.

            So, if we take all these sometimes messy, different people and put them together, how do we give them a sense of being home and a common mission? We practice together and with the world love, communication, and honesty. Think of going on a long family road trip. For some that is an adventure. For others, it might be a nightmare. But either way, none of it works without those three things. If you don’t love the kids, you will kill them the thousandth time they ask if you’re there yet. If you don’t practice communication, someone is going to miss the bathroom in a bad way. And if you’re not honest, you’ll miss the opportunities of being together.

            As a family of faith, we are on a journey together. Sometimes it is easy, and sometimes, we need to let God give us a bit more direction or even change direction for us. Jonah ran as far away from God’s calling to go to Nineveh as he could. And as the story goes, God called him back in a very big and miraculous way. Many of the disciples had their own lives, jobs, and families. Jesus gave them a call that changed their direction completely. They were changed from a daily routine of life to living a powerful mission for God’s kingdom. Jonah’s (final) obedience to God saved an entire gigantic city and kingdom from destruction. The disciples started a movement that truly changed the world. When God gives the directions, great things can happen in our lives and churches.

            Where are the places in our lives that we need to change direction and start a new journey? Faith is meant to be both a place which feels like home and which gives us a common mission rooted in love. We create a home here and join together in God’s mission to save the world—literally, figuratively, and theologically—when we practice following God’s call through honesty, communication, and love. Which of those three do we struggle with the most and need God to give us a new direction? Where do we need to find more accountability like Nineveh, or more compassion like Jesus? Or better yet, where do we need to find more zeal and excitement for God’s call like the disciples did? It’s a lot to process.

            A friend of mine once told me the secret to changing directions and starting a new journey with God’s calling. It’s so simple to say, but so hard to really do. “There’s no real mystery to following God; you just get up and go, and you don’t worry about the rest.” May we always be willing. Amen. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/3776474615962486

Second Sunday in Epiphany

Changing Direction: Looking for Sign-- I Sam. 3: 1-20; John 1: 43-51

            Back in my college days, I almost got arrested. True story! I came up to a traffic stop on the road. I was tired, but I had not had a drop to drink. As I approached, the officer closest to me signaled me to come through, and the officer a few feet down from him signaled me to stop. I stopped, went a little bit, stopped, and rolled my window down to ask for clarity, and I was promptly pulled out the car and given field sobriety tests. It probably didn’t help that I told them both (with no attitude whatsoever), that when you give two different signals at the same time, no one can follow the signs!

            So, let’s talk a bit about signs to follow in the coming year. Many of us can agree that 2023 was a fairly tough year with personal and global challenges. And the other day I heard someone say that 2024 doesn’t seem so promising either, so maybe 2025 will be my year. We need a bit of a change of direction. So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to look at examples and ways of changing directions. The first is recognizing the sign and following life’s directional signs. Two of the hardest signs to follow are accepting the sign given and actually following through with the calling when you see a sign.

            What does a sign look like? We read in the Gospel that Philip encounters Jesus and immediately follows him. Nathanael, however, is still a bit unsure. When hears Jesus hails from Nazareth, he says, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?” There is some evidence that Nazareth could have been considered a bit of a Podunk town in that time, and it was never expected that great things would come from there. But Jesus gives a sign. He speaks of Nathanael as if he knows him personally. Then he tells Nathanael that he saw him under the fig tree—a very prophetic vision. Nathanael accepted the sign. He calls Jesus, the “Rabbi…the Son of God—the King of Israel.”

            All it took was a sign, and Nathanael accepted it. In the I Samuel scripture there’s a different kind of sign. God again is speaking to humanity, but for Eli, the signs are not good. Eli has been the anointed prophet for some time. He was a good man, a man of God who recognized God’s voice speaking to Samuel. But the words received spell suffering and destruction for Eli and his entire household. Eli loved God, but he lacked discipline and integrity when it came to his prophetic work and even managing his own family. Though he personally was a good man, he had failed miserably in his calling. To his credit, however, he accepted this difficult sign. He was resigned to the fact that he no longer had God’s favor because of his failures.

            Accepting and resigning ourselves to a sign in life is hard. Sometimes it’s good news and other times not. I remember years ago when I decided to hike the steps to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, there was a sign that said, “Only 230 more steps to go from here.” I’m still not sure if that was a good sign or not, but it was a sign. When you get to a point in life that you feel something isn’t working, you’re miserable, or everything seems to be going wrong, it’s time for a change. The question is—do you have the courage to walk with God to make the change.

            I’m not sure Nathanael had that courage. When we read a list of the twelve disciples, there’s no Nathanael listed. He recognized the sign. He believed and had faith and said confidently that this man, Jesus, was the Rabbi and the Son of God. But he didn’t follow. This is the only time Nathanael is mentioned. Jesus comments on his very new and small faith saying that they would all see much greater things than just a vision of Nathanael under the fig tree. Nathanael’s faith may soon grow. But he didn’t follow even with the sign he was given.

            Eli, however, has a much more mature faith. When Samuel finally listens to God’s vision, God basically says that Eli is about to be severely punished and Samuel would be the prophet. When morning comes, Samuel is CLEARLY avoiding Eli, but old Eli wants to know what God said to Samuel. Upon hearing Samuel’s vision, Eli says, “It is the Lord’s will. Let [God] do what [God] thinks is best.” Sometimes the signs are hard. I remember growing up I had a Magic 8 Ball. It was a little toy that you shook up and it gave you little answers to questions. Sometimes it would generate an answer which said, “Signs point to no,” and all the kids hoping for a positive sign would be disappointed.

            Sometimes we get signs that it’s time to start something new, do something different, learn a new way. Sometimes, we get disappointing signs: the cancer has returned, it’s a progressive disorder, you need more help, your relationship is broken, you simply can’t do this. Faith is when we accept and move forward regardless of what the sign is. I cannot imagine Eli’s pain and disappointment. God provides one of first visions in a long time, and it’s an indictment and judgement of Eli’s behavior. And Eli’s answer is, “Let God do what God thinks is best.”

            But there is a bit of hope and good news in all the worries over bad signs and bad directions. If we go back to the encounter with Nathanael, we see a man who may not have become one of the twelve disciples, but he was still changed from his encounter with Jesus. In fact, of all the encounters with calling disciples and followers, Jesus spends the most time with Nathanael, the one who had doubts and questions. My friends, when the signs in life are unclear, when you feel like you’ve lost direction, when you see stop, go, and yield all at the same time, and you have no idea which way to go at all, that is the time Jesus is most ready to come and talk with you. There’s an old hymn that says you’ll “Find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.” And so it does.

            The Clergy Coaching Network, which I follow on Facebook, posted this quote by Madeleine L’Engle, “I do not think that I will ever reach a stage when I will say, ‘This is what I believe. Finished.’ What I believe is alive, and open to growth.” Do we find ourselves at times on a pathway that doesn’t work? Where do we need a sign and a signal to make some change in life? When you get to a point that where you say, “I can’t keep doing this,” when we as a church look around and say, “We can’t keep going on like this, won’t be able to pay the electricity bill in 5 years,” we have to pray and say, “Lord, I need a sign.”

            For Nathanael, Jesus told him of a vision where he saw Nathanael then predicted how his faith would grow and the miracles he might get to see if he stayed faithful. For Eli, it was a bad omen. It was time for him to pay the price for letting Israel fall away from God and letting his own sons commit blasphemy and curse God without any correction.

            But for Nathanael, who needed a sign to understand, Jesus came and sat with him and spent more time talking to him than any other disciple in their calling story. For Israel, God made a change and called a prophet with integrity and strength to hold the people accountable and shepherd them back to God.

            Jesus is calling you today, come and make a change. If we’re sitting tired, miserable, sad, lonely, hurting, and angry, let us ask for a sign and prepare to make a change. Jesus will walk with you that whole way. In our world, we need a sign and a change. We live with war, poverty, oppression, exploitation, and far too much hatred and bitterness. We need a sign as well to find a new way that follows God’s call to love, grace, and peace.

            When I approached the traffic stop years ago, one officer said keep going the other said stop. To a 20-year-old, driver already nervous, that’s some bad signs. But thank God that in faith we get a bit clearer direction. What sign is God giving you today? And more importantly are you ready to make the change and follow where God is leading? I hope you’ll take some pen and paper this and answer those two questions sometime this week—what is God’s sign, and how can I follow? Don’t stay stuck. Don’t live in confusion. God always calls us forward in hope and faith.

            Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/751285886448312  

Baptism of Christ

Traditions With More—Genesis 1: 1-5; Mark 1: 4-11

            In the musical Fiddler on the Roof, one of the early songs sung in part by Tevye tells how the people have kept their balance for many, many years…”Traditions!” Then they repeat “traditions” over and over in chorus. Tevye goes on to explain, “Here…we have traditions for everything…how to eat, how to sleep, even, how to wear our clothes.” Traditions! Perhaps sometimes we feel the same way about church. We ask, “Well…why do we…” And we hear the chorus shouting, “Traditions! Traditions! Traditions!” just like in Fiddler on the Roof.

            If you ask someone from the Baby Boomer generation about traditions, they will take you to the China cabinet and show you every important heirloom and how it fits in with every holiday and memory going back over many years. If you ask a millennial or Gen Z person about traditions, they shriek and hiss like a vampire exposed to sunlight. And this is one area where those groups shall never find an understanding unless they meet at the corner of an “they’re an old soul” and “still pretty hip for my age.”

            This leaves the church in a rather precarious position. This is a place filled with traditions, rituals, and elements unique only to church and worship. There’s often a tension between a history of worship and faith going back thousands of years in communion, prayer, baptism, and so on versus the relevance of a modern-day society. Too often when we begin to ask questions in our faith and worship, we hear the frightening and often hated phrase, “But we’ve always done it that way.”

            Yet maybe that’s not quite the evil it is made out to be. Today we read the work of John the Baptist in the Gospel of Mark. John is described as a pretty strange sight. He preached in the wilderness. He dressed roughly in camel hair and leather belts. He ate bugs and wild honey. Were you to encounter John the Baptist on the street, I daresay you might cross over to the other sidewalk. He preached this strange thing that people should repent of their sins and be baptized. Baptism was not exactly practiced in those days. There were some purification rituals that included immersion in water, but it wasn’t exactly a thing widely done. And truthfully repentance wasn’t all that common anymore either.

            And yet, we see in this Gospel lesson that John baptizes Jesus. In some gospels, it is said that John recognized Jesus. In this one it seems there was no forewarning to the dove descending and the heavenly voice proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God and the dearly beloved who brings great joy. Ever since this encounter we have practiced this tradition of baptism in the Christian faith.

            It is one of the most sacred traditions or sacraments of the church, right next to Communion. And I’m sure that if we were to ask, “Why?” we would hear the wise answer, “Because we’ve always done it that way.” Or we might hear the voice of Tevye and the chorus proclaiming, “Traditions!”

            But there’s something more to the practice of baptism than just that. When we accept the faith and become baptized, we walk a similar path to Jesus. We proclaim this faith publicly. We celebrate a Savior who gave of himself, suffered, and has risen from the dead to give us hope and life. Baptism is not the dusty crystal that hides in the back of a cabinet. It’s the precious heirloom that a family cherishes generation after generation because of the importance it holds.

            Church traditions and rituals are nothing to scoff at. If you are in a place of stained-glass windows, organ, hymns, and robed choir and preacher, you still do the same things as if you are in a dark-lit stage with untucked shirts and a fog machine. We sing, we pray, we proclaim, and we go forth to serve. Regardless of how it all gets dressed up, that is what the church has done for centuries.  

            What matters is that, regardless of whether there’s a pipe organ or electric guitar, we sing of our faith in Christ, we pray to God to stay close to our creator and redeemer, and we proclaim the love of Christ that transforms the struggles of society into a place of hope and grace.

            Often we spend too much time debating our ritual and traditions to find something fruitful and inspiring in them. Part of that problem is we have a consumer-based society. Church and worship are not a consumer product. It is a practice, a discipline, and a place to find hope and renewal with God by our side. Faith is a participatory event where we come to live out, share, and participate in the traditions and rituals. Even Jesus came to the River Jordan to be baptized. Now, I highly doubt the Son of God needed to repent and be baptized all that much, but he participated and became a part of the work of faith.

            It’s easy after the 4,500th time of taking Communion or joining with the congregation in the 1,500th baptism to find a staleness and boredom in the traditions we practice. But let’s take a step back. With every baptism we have someone proclaiming that they are covenanting to join our faith. They covenant that they will live, preach, encourage, and teach the unconditional love of Christ for all of us, everyone. Every time we take communion, we meditate on the fact that real love is sacrificing and giving to help and uplift another. It’s not just words that we remember Christ’s sacrifice. We live into that promise of hope and life and the call to give of ourselves in love for others.

            So maybe it’s time to rehabilitate this idea of “traditions!” from boredom and sameness to finding comfort and hope. A friend and I were talking the other day while at the funeral of a mutual friend. She said to me about our deceased friend: he couldn’t stand the rituals the traditions, the same things over and over in church every week. It’s what he struggled with the most. I, on the other hand, love them, and that’s what draws me in the most. I can go anywhere in the world, walk into a church, and find a place that feels like home because we live, practice, and share the same faith and the same practice of faith.

            Instead of being dulled to the power and holiness of our practice of faith, let Christ do a little work. Let him break and bend you just a bit so that the real power of these traditions of faith make a mark on you. In baptism you have given up following the selfishness of life, and you have committed and promised in a covenant to follow Christ in showing love, grace, and peace to the world. It is your testimony and promise now and forevermore.

            The final line in “Traditions” from Fiddler on the Roof says, “Tradition. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as…as a fiddler on the roof!” We come each week not to do the same thing over and over again, but to live out these practices that bring us closer to God. In this place, it is the hope that you will find something holy, something moving, and a place where you feel loved and welcomed even in the midst of the messiness of humanity. So, as we continue to live out our practice of faith, our “Traditions!” may they blend into the hopeful words of “Blessed Assurance,” which say, “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.” Amen.

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/3539344896380349

Epiphany 2024

What Is a Gift? Matthew 2: 1-11

            Let me tell you about the weirdest gift I’ve ever gotten. A few years ago, my friends and I did a Christmas gift exchange. My friend put her husband in charge of the gifts, we went to dinner and were all having fun. As I opened my gift, I was a bit surprised to find Victoria’s Secret women’s underwear. There was silence for a solid 30 seconds. I finally quietly muttered, “Thank you.” Now to be fair, lest you think this story is weird, on Christmas, his wife opened a very nice men’s necktie as a gift to her. Ever since we’ve just done gift cards. It’s safer that way.

            A “gift” is generally defined as an item or present given to someone without the expectation of anything in return. Giving gifts is a big part of our culture. We give people gifts at Christmas, at their birthday, when we visit for dinner, special occasions, and just as a kind gesture. Today we read a scripture of the Magi who came and brought gifts to Jesus. Now, I know every manger scene shows the shepherds and wisemen together at the manger. But the truth is that the wisemen arrived almost two years after Christ was born, so they brought these gifts to a toddler, not an infant.

            And what is the best gift to bring a toddler? Gold, incense, and embalming spices, of course. Things they can make a mess with. There’s an old joke that had it been three wise women, they would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, brought practical gifts, and peace on earth would have started then and there. But instead, we get three late men, who tip off the evil King Herod, and bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

            There was some level of importance to these gifts, however. Gold symbolized Christ as the king, for only kings had gold. Frankincense symbolized Christ as holy and of God because it was an incense used for worship. And myrrh symbolized Christ’s sacrifice of love for us because myrrh was used to prepare a body for burial. Each of the gifts speak to the work of Jesus as outlined in the prophecies the wisemen studied. And when they came to Jesus, they knew they were approaching a king, a savior, and the loving friend of all.

            For us, there is another gift. We talk about grace as a “free gift,” but what does that mean? An old preacher friend said it this way, “God loves you, end of story. You don’t have to buy it, earn it, assemble it, figure it out, or analyze it. You need only accept it and share it.”  

            But if we want to be like the Magi, maybe we need to do a bit more than just accept and share. Maybe we need to seek a bit as well. There are some for whom it hard to find the good and the God in them. I remember a friend said once, “Glad it’s God who has to love them and not me.” But that’s precisely the point, we should. Sometimes, when you get a gift, you can’t figure it out how it works, it doesn’t fit, or you just aren’t sure what to do with it. In those times you have to seek—directions, fit, and acceptance of this gift in your life.

            The same is true with God’s love. It might be hard to love some people…not the people we hate or we see as enemies…but the people who just drive us up the wall. Sometimes we have to look closer to see God in them. But that free gift is given to everybody. And it’s part of our job to love the broken and unlovely, and to work to see that image of God in every human.

            Imagine if we started 2024 this way. 2023 was marked by wars, economic concern, angst, an undercurrent of irritation in life. Imagine if we start 2024 by not focusing so much on all the bad things we see, but one by one, looking for the love of God in every human we encounter. It’s going to be hard. We’re trained to do something different. But imagine if we look for God’s image in the Ukrainian and the Russian, the Palestinian and the Israeli, the liberal and the Trump supporter, and perhaps any and every either/or difference. We’re all God’s children anyway.

            Now that you’ve done your Christmas gifts, and started on your New Year’s resolutions, let’s ask a question: where do you plan to look for God in the coming year? The Magi traveled hundreds of miles looking for Jesus. The shepherds abandoned their fields to go searching. We have a free gift of God’s love right there for us. Where and in whom do we plan on looking for it, starting tomorrow? Happy New Year. Amen.

No livestream today.

Christmas 2024

“Tell Everyone of Christ” Luke 2: 1-20

            One of my Nanna’s favorite Christmas carols (and mine too, I would say) is the song, “O Holy Night.” It is a staple for soloists at every Christmas service, showing off a beautiful vocal range from soft lows to incredible, resounding high notes. It’s one of those carols that we get so lost in the melodies that we often lose the power of the words. The carol also has a much messier history that you’d probably expect. Did you know that for many years the church actually banned the carol from being sung?

The writer, Placide Cappeau, was a lawyer turned wine merchant and poet, who later in life rejected faith and claimed atheism because of his anger and disillusionment at the church. The composer, Adolphe Adam, was a vaudeville and opera musician who was of a Jewish background but made a home in the French Catholic church, and the translator, John Dwight, was a transcendentalist Unitarian, who ran a commune farm in New England. The carol was particularly problematic in the United States because verse three is pointedly anti-slavery and was written 12 years before the Civil War.

So why the history lesson? Hear these words—“Long lay the world in sin and error pining till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope—the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” This hymn is one of the most powerful at describing the miraculous, glorious, and powerful birth of a loving Savior. And yet, practically every word and note were written, not by the very faithful, but by people with little faith looking in at how miraculous this event really was. The whole hymn is written as if it’s a description from an outsider, not someone devoted to following the faith. And they are astounded by the holiness of the Christmas story.

They see a night filled with wonder, hope, a night divine and filled with holiness to the point that humanity falls on its knees overwhelmed. They see a King, a humble man, a friend to all of us in need. They see a Savior who ends oppression, slavery, suffering, and brings reconciliation of all humankind. They write, “Let all within us praise his holy name.” It wasn’t Charles Wesley, Fanny Crosby, or a Gaither group who wrote this. It was an atheist, a vaudeville musician, and a commune farm leader who actually got kicked out of ministry.

This story of a Savior, healer, teacher, and reconciler holds the power to change hearts and minds in a way that’s unbelievable, even miraculous. The story of a Messiah coming to save the people from their physical and spiritual suffering can change humankind. In a world of despair, Christ brings hope. In a world of war and gluttonous quests for power, Christ brings peace. In the dark and cold of our lives, Christ brings joy. And in the lonely and forgotten places, Christ brings love.

For these three, the story of Christ’s birth was not a lullaby but a challenge. And it’s a story that can change all the weariness and misery of the world. Whom do we tell of Christ? I’m not talking the Jesus of Sunday School flannel boards and cut out pictures. Whom do we tell of the Jesus who healed the sick, comforted the suffering, raised the dead to life, and assertively flipped tables in a temple that had become more worldly than holy?

And when we tell of this Jesus do we believe in the power that he has? The power of the Christmas story is not just that we hear a good lesson, or follow some philosophies, but instead, it is a life-changing story of hope, love, and reconciling all of humankind to a place of peace and holiness. Faith isn’t a weapon. Faith isn’t something we compel, argue, or debate. Our sole job is to first believe in this hope of Christ, and second to share the good news. Don’t overcomplicate what we have been called to do. In serving Christ we live like him, following his example, and we tell others of the good news—of that life-changing hope and love.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is getting Christmas crackers. In England they’re small, wrapped tubes with a gift inside. Two people pull—one on each end—and with a loud pop the tube comes apart and someone ends up with a little paper crown and a small gift. There’s a bit of excitement, a pop of surprise, and a bit of fun all rolled into one. The same is true for our faith. As we journey to and arrive in Bethlehem, I pray we still feel the surprise, the wonder, and the hope of hearing the good news of a Savior born for us.

Remember that we live every day with Christ in our lives—Emmanuel, God with us. So, I promised to keep it short today; thus, I’ll leave you with the challenge in the closing words of “O Holy Night.” It’s a call to us to do our part in making the good news known to all: “His power and glory ever more proclaim. His power and glory ever more proclaim.” Amen.

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/261520266940139  

Advent 3: Joy

Tell of the Good News—Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11; Luke 2: 8-15

            Sometimes I like to watch goofy videos online to pass time. I laughed hysterically at one recently. A daughter came home with her husband for a visit and to tell some big news to her mother. She proceeded to place a hamburger roll in the oven. Her mom was very confused by this. Finally, the daughter said, “It’s a bun…in the oven.” Her mom says, “Yes, I saw you put it in there. I know what it is.” The exasperated daughter says, “No mom, I have a bun in the oven.” Her mom says, “Yes, I know. You just put it in my oven. It’s already baked, so I don’t know why.” Finally realized that her mother would never get it, the daughter says, “Mom…bun in the oven. Come one. I’m having a baby.” Her mother, was absolutely shocked and excited. Sometimes, it’s easy to miss the good news in life.

            If I were to ask each of you to name a couple of troubles in your life, I’m betting you could throw the list together rather quickly. But if, instead, I asked you to tell me some good news in your life, I wonder how many would have to think for a moment? So, let’s ask it and think on it. What is your good news today, here and now, and how could you share that good news with others?

            Christmas is about good news. Luke’s Gospel, and particularly the birth of Jesus, is one big, incredible announcement of good news to all the world. In fact, the words Gospel and Good News are often used interchangeably in many churches: “The Gospel of the Lord for you this day!” And “Hear now the Good News from Luke.” If you look a bit further, a rough translation of “gospel” mean “good telling, good story, or good news.” And yet we find so many people who are absolutely miserable during the Christmas season when the greatest story of good news ever told just happens to be read.

            I think sometimes we see the practical and forget the magical. We understand the story of Jesus in terms of a teacher, a Rabbi, who showed us how to be forgiving and reconciled. We understand that he taught justice, healing, care for the poor and struggling. We see an announcement of good news to the lowly shepherds out in the fields and to the most wealthy and great Magi or wisemen the eastern part of the known world could send. We understand practically that Jesus’s birth was good news for all people: Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, male or female, all people, everywhere.

            But I think we still miss a bit of the magic or the holy in this good news. Have we read the story so much that it seems like just a bit of good prose to us? Have we lost the attraction and mystery of things unexplained, hope we don’t quite understand; joy which lifts or souls even if it doesn’t really make full sense to us? Are we so “aged,” jaded, and disillusioned that there’s nothing holy and awe-inspiring left for us in the birth of a Savior who loved the whole world?

            It’s hard for us to understand with unexplained things like angels, miraculous births, holiness, and so on. So maybe we need to start by anchoring ourselves in something we can grab on to. One of my favorite African-American spirituals is the hymn, “Ain’t a That Good News.” It says, “I got a Savior in-a that kingdom, ain’t a that good news? Imma gonna lay down this world, gonna shoulder up my cross. Gonna take it home to my Jesus, ain’t a that good news?” There’s a joy in the melody and the lyrics that is simply contagious. Ain’t a that good news? Start there, right there.

            In life there is good news. The angel said to shepherds, “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy to all people.” When the angels were gone, the shepherds were still there, sitting in a dark field, surrounded by what were now pretty startled sheep. Shepherds in that day and age were despised. They were seen as dishonest people who used others’ lands for their own sheep. But something was different this night. There was good news for them, not just kings and priests, but for them too. There was joy that they could take hold of in that dark night. The boring routine of their lives was interrupted by a joy which brought a holy love to them.

            Isaiah, many years before, spoke the prophetic words of this good news. He writes, “The Spirit of the…Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor,” comfort to the brokenhearted, release for the captives, freedom for prisoners, and God’s favor to those who mourn. Israel, at this point, was still captive. These were little more than words, a prophecy for them, but the hope of what could and would come brought good news of great joy. And for them in their time, it was enough for comfort.

            Don’t miss the good news. Each year at Christmas, we seem to struggle more and more with finding our way to Bethlehem and the birth of a loving Savior. It’s not quite so magical and powerful now as when we were filled with wonder at the beauty of this gospel story. For many, I wonder if Luke 2 is treated like a fairy tale similar to that of Santa and the North Pole. I heard someone say the other day that the Christmas Gospel Story is just one of the Christmas-themed stories they enjoy. We will never find our way to Bethlehem so long as we continue to be enthralled by all the bad news in life and fail to let our spirits be renewed by the Good News.

            This Christmas, however bad things may be around you, let yourself be a little broken and vulnerable to a story of good news. Maybe instead of starting out with “I hate everything!” start out with a bit of good news, “Today is another day that God is going to love me.” It may not change what’s going on. The shepherds were still shepherds. They still had to do hard work. They had to live in a society that didn’t like them. They still had struggles. But I daresay that if you read this story a couple more times, especially on down through verse 20, that the good news changed them in a powerful way, even if it didn’t change their life’s circumstances.

            There is always good news. Blogger and preacher Dr. Shermaine Sanders starts her blog posts off saying, “God’s got good news for you today!” For the people of Israel, that good news was that one day their captivity, oppression, and suffering would end. The Spirit of God was upon the writer in Isaiah to bring good news that God had not forgotten them, God still loved them, and God would eventually deliver them. Many years later, when Christ was finally born, the angels proclaimed from the heavens, “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy!”

            What is the good news in your life? What word of hope or inspiration can you share with others? A friend of mine recently started over in her mid-forties with a new career and had to go back to graduate school to make it happen. She had lived in the same town, had the same friends, made a real home where she was for her entire life. And even though everything in her life changed in just a few short weeks, if you ask how things are going, all you get is good news.

            God has good news for you today. What is your good news? Will you look for it? Will you let that good news be your strength and hope in life? Will you tell that good news with others who need to hear it? May the Spirit of the Lord be upon us too, and may God anoint us to bring good news in this world. Amen.

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/242341275406481