Love: God With Us

Love: God With Us—Psalm 80: 1-7, 7-19; Matt. 1: 18-25

When was the time you felt most loved? Was it when your parents wrapped you up in a warm hug? Was it when you and your spouse said, “I do,” 30, 40, or 50 years ago? Was it when you became responsible for a child who looked to you for everything they needed to know in life? Was it when your fur baby curled up next to you, content and happy just to be in your presence? There are many times and points in life where we can say we truly felt loved. 

But, by contrast, there are many points where we can say we felt unloved, cast aside, or even hurt by others. This may come in cruel words, divorce, family breakdown, the bitterness of aging, a death. The whole of the human condition is seeking love in a place and people who are all themselves broken and trying to learn how to love and overcome their own struggles. A friend of mine used to say, “Momma loved me the best she could. She never knew love growing up—it was horrible. And she could be so bad sometimes, but I knew she loved me in whatever way she was able.” 

Love can be very hard to understand and practice in our lives. In the novel, The Giver, author Lois Lowry writes about a society that has eliminated medically and socially all feelings, thoughts, and choice. Everything is pre-programmed and perfectly balanced, from food, to jobs, to who will be “mating partners” and so on. They specifically eliminate love because it is so messy and difficult at times. But in our Gospel lesson for today, we read about how important Joseph’s love for Mary truly was. 

In the time Joseph and Mary were set to be married, Mary would have been 14-17 years old, and Joseph would have been 20s to 30s because he would have learned a trade first. The marriage would have been arranged by the families. And per the custom of the day, Mary would have become Joseph’s property as women had little to no rights on their own. Becoming pregnant outside of marriage carried severe consequences. In cases of willing behavior, both parties could be put to death. In cases of forcible assault, both were stoned, but only the man was killed. Joseph could have caused sever shame and consequences to Mary. 

Joseph, though, was a good and kind man. Despite this being an arranged marriage, he clearly loved Mary as he did not want to have her disgraced or harmed. He was simply going to end their engagement. She could have quietly had the baby and sent it off for adoption. Joseph cared for and loved Mary enough to spare her suffering and punishment. 

Love is God sending Jesus into the world to teach what it means to love the Creator and to love one another, not in our broken and messy way, but in God’s way, perfect, and complete. Joseph didn’t break it off with Mary, or subject her to cruelty and disgrace. His decision was on his own merit, for God had yet to visit him in a dream. Love seeks to do what is best for another person, the one we love, even if it requires sacrifice on our part. That is why at Easter we sing in “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, “Love’s redeeming work is done.” Love’s work was a sacrifice and a new birth or new start.  

Many of us find love to be a complicated thing in our lives. We have some in our circle of folks we know who we are close to and love dearly. We have some who are a bit more problematic, but we can do so in small doses. And some perplex us, vex us, and stress us. This becomes hard when we are called to love them just the same, even as Jesus has loved us when we perplexed, vexed, and stressed him. 

The Psalm for today laments a time when the people felt unloved and cast aside. It pleads for God to look upon them again and save them. It talks of the scorn and sorrow they feel in this time. Indeed, there are times we have all felt this way. Sometimes it’s based in trauma. Sometimes it’s a struggle to accept healthy boundaries. How many stories have we heard of teenagers having meltdowns when they’re told they can’t go to a party, stay out late, or take the car, and their response to parents is, “You just hate me! That’s why you do this!” 

But the Psalmist also acknowledges that being in a place of disagreement does not mean someone is unloved. It says, “Strengthen the man you love, the son of your choice. Then we will never abandon you again.” It was not that they were unloved, cast out, or rejected. It was that they had to learn how to do better. Love is sacrificial, active, redemptive, but love also sets healthy boundaries and says “no” when appropriate. 

The reason love is so messy is because it binds us to that other person. We worry about them, care for them, think about them, regardless if it’s romantic, familial, or friendship. It’s that level of care which causes stress when things are bad in their lives. I cannot tell you how many grandparents worry about their grandkids, or children each and every day. Let me give you a personal example. Years ago, I bought a house in Macon. It’s been more than 10 years. The church bought me a Christmas tree, and each member gave me ornaments. 

Now, I do not put up that 10-foot tree anymore. My tired self in a small apartment can only do a 6-foot tree. But every year I still take out every single ornament given to me by the church members and put them on the tree. Many of them have died and earned their reward. Each time I look at the ornaments, I think of the good times and the love that was shared. Some of them have gone on to live in new places or left the church for other places of worship. And some of those were uncomfortable departures. But I can remember a time of fun and love, when we all shared a good time when I look at the ornament. Some are still here, right in the pews today. And as I look at those ornaments, I am grateful for you and thank God for the love we share in faith. 

When the angel appeared to Joseph, God already knew he was a good man. Joseph did not need a heart of stone turned. He simply needed insight and direction. The whole purpose of the birth of this child, the angel told Joseph, was to be Immanuel, God with us. That’s what love is—God with us. On our own, we love in a way that is imperfect, broken, marred by our own traumas, struggles, and social norms. But God’s love for us is perfect, whole, and complete. It is redeeming, reconciling, and never-ending. 

That is the message of Christ’s birth and life—how to love God and love one another in the way God loves us. Good Friday and Easter speak to the redemptive work of love. But Christmas speaks to the life-changing miracle of God’s love for us, and our understanding of how to love one another. 

So this Christmas when the stress creeps in, the worry starts to float around, and you get fully over-peopled by the get-togethers, remember that the miracle of this season is God’s love for us. Because of that love, God sent Jesus into this world, first to teach us who to follow God and love each other, and second to show what sacrifice and redeeming love look like. This is a season in all the hustle and struggle to remember that gift, Immanuel, God with us. 

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/902119608911123/

Joy Is Contagious

Isaiah 35: 1-10; Matthew 11: 2-10

I saw a joke the other day that said, “I faked having an illness to leave work early. The next day, 3 more colleagues called out because they caught it. What a sorry bunch of liars they are.” Tis the season these days for contagious things to swirl in our lives. With the cold weather, the cold virus, crowds, events, and just winter in general, tis the season to need your cough syrup. We tend to see the word contagious in a very negative light. It’s almost exclusively referring to something bad or infectious. But good things can also catch on from person to person. Joy is one such thing. Too often we see folks come into this sacred space and sing “Joyful, joyful we adore thee,” like they’re singing about cleaning the bathroom in a gas station. 

Or we sing “Joy to the world, the Lord is come” like our sad aunt Sandy showed up unexpectedly at Christmas. The Season of Advent is a time of waiting for the ultimate joy of the whole world, a Savior come to save us, love us, and give us hope for all eternity. There are three things we must remember from our lessons today: Joyfulness may be a bit hard to find, joy and hope are interwoven together, and joy is a shared experience. 

 Joyfulness is sometimes a bit hard to find. Jesus asks in our Gospel lesson what the people expected from John the Baptist. Did they come looking for fancy robes and great palaces, a weak man who said his peace then cowered away? Instead, Jesus says they found the prophesied messenger who hailed the coming of a Savior. I am certain that John the Baptist is not what people expected. Frankly, he would have looked like a crazy, rambling, homeless guy. And yet there was authority and a spiritual strength in his voice and words. Sometimes, God speaks good news or words of wisdom from the most unlikely of places. 

In the dark and cold of winter, as we prepare for the longest night and the coldest arctic blast of the month, we may be slightly more annoyed than joyful. If we are adding up how many people we have to buy gifts for and looking at our bank account to buy gifts, we may be frustrated that everybody may just be gifted our presence and not actual presents this year. We may be estranged from family or have lost many members of our family. We may have illnesses, struggles, or just general seasonal depression at this time of year. The people in Jesus’s day expected a lot from the herald of the Messiah and from the Messiah himself. Neither John nor Jesus was what they expected. And yet, in spite of the confusion and unexpectedness of it all, there was Good News of great joy for all the people. Joy can be hard to find, but if we look, it may be all around us. 

That is because joy is more than a happy feeling. It’s a spiritual gift rooted in hope. Jesus tells the disciples of John the Baptist to report the Good News, “The blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” The whole point of this message was to offer hope to John the Baptist in prison that salvation of the people who walked in darkness was happening. It is that hope which could bring him joy in prison. Without that hope, John’s life, freedom, and message would have been a waste. But it was the hope found in Jesus’s work which brought him joy. His suffering and his preaching of the Good News were not in vain. The Messiah had indeed come. 

We miss out on joy because we live without hope. I remember Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, saying in an episode, “End of the road. Nothing to do. And no hope of things getting any better. Sounds like Saturday night at my house.” I see too many people who share this same sentiment. Nehemiah, when the people needed encouragement, said, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” As Christians, no matter what the world hands off to us, we live in the joy of Christ for we have hope in all circumstances, and the joy of the Lord is our strength!

When the angels came to the shepherds, they told of “Good news of great JOY for all the people.” That joy wasn’t based on having a good feeling, or getting everything they wished for in life, or anything at all like that. The good news of great joy was found in realized hope. The Savior, the Messiah had been born that day, love incarnate, and hope for all of humanity. Isaiah’s prophecies testify to the hope that brings joy: encouragement, strength, springs in the wilderness, overcoming evil, overcoming fear, the end of sorrow. All of these are depictions of hope and are found in the Good News of Christ. Joy is rooted in hope. 

Finally, joy is meant to be shared with others. One joyful and laughter filled moment was sitting in a Christmas service and hearing the minster say with conviction that Jesus was born in Birmingham. Now I’ve shared the humor with you. In that instance the hope was that he would keep saying it. [S9] Joy is watching one of your best friends walk across the stage, ironically in Alabama, to receive his hard earned, 5 year-long doctorate degree. It was a moment of joy shared by everyone in his life who loves him. 

A friend of mine has an elderly pitbull who is in the last stages of life. Despite the temptation to focus on every negative thing, he focuses in on making his dog’s last days filled with joy. That simple act brings joy to them both. In a world where we talk about colds, the flu, and covid being contagious, I pray we are the ones who make joy, laughter, and hope contagious. After all, we too have good news of great joy found in a small child in Bethlehem, or Birmingham, depending. 

For us as disciples of Christ, that Good News of great joy should be at the forefront of everything we say, every day we live. If we are going to proclaim that we believe in Christ then we must live it, no matter how hard life is, nor what circumstances befall us. Because as bad a life can get, there is hope in God’s promises to us. And in that hope, we find our joy. 

I found joy this week in a good friend finding hope. A buddy of mine immigrated to Miami last year. Since that time, he’s been in two major car accidents, struggled to get his business to flourish, and had his marriage break down shortly after they came here. A few weeks ago, he said, “I’m tired. I’ve failed, and I’m going back home. There’s no hope for me.” He told me he was praying for a sign. Out of nowhere, he got hundreds of orders in one week fueling his business again and allowing him to buy a car. He texted a few days ago that he is ready to extend his visa, open a brick-and-mortar store, and asked me to help him learn English, so he can make a more permanent life for himself. He found hope, and in that hope, he also found joy. 

Growing up, we used to sing a song about joy in Sunday School. It says, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, WHERE? Down in my heart. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, WHERE? Down in my heart to stay.” Let’s try it. The truth is the hardest part is the last two words: to stay. Life can steal our joy and make us think hope is gone. May we remember in this Advent and Christmas season that we have Good News of great joy, in our own hearts and for all people. Amen.

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/3263419443826719/

Peace is a Verb

Peace is a Verb : Isaiah 11: 1-10; Matthew 3: 1-12

Every good fairy tale starts the same way: “Once upon a time in a land far, far away…” And they all close out in the same way, “And so, they lived happily ever after.” The beginning is pastoral, and the ending is peaceful. What comes in between, however, is often filled with strife, drama, chaos, and danger. Most of us would say we want peace in our lives, our communities, and our world. But we have to remember that all stories have some level of conflict before reaching the happily ever after. In a world that often is filled with chaos and conflict, we as followers of Christ, are called to be peacemakers, for Jesus is the Prince of Peace. 

This Sunday in Advent we celebrate Jesus as the Prince of Peace and we work in our own ways to make peace in this world. Sometimes, peace begins with a really heartfelt apology and endeavoring to do better.  John the Baptist preached to the people, “‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.’ The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, ‘He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’” 

Sometimes we overthink repentance a bit. It has become quite a large and complicated theological term representing many different levels of sorrow in different churches. At the very core though, repentance is simply being remorseful for what one has done wrong and working to change or do better. Thankfully it is not as complicated as calculus. How many broken friendships, broken churches, broken relationships, and places of strife and struggle could be healed if there was a heartfelt apology and a consistent effort to do better? 

It’s that latter part that often causes the problem. John the Baptist accuses the Pharisees of understanding where faults may lie but refusing to do better or make a change. He challenges them, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” This translation uses the term snakes. Older translations call them a “brood of vipers,” which fits because it speaks to their poison and toxicity to be destructive and vicious. 

Peace and forgiveness are not so difficult when someone is humble and apologetic and sincerely tries to do better. Peace and forgiveness are tested to the limits when someone gleefully remains a viper, never acknowledging their hurt or wrongdoing and never, ever working to do better in life or by the ones they have wronged. Those are the times peace eludes us. 

John the Baptist doesn’t spare his words. Those who don’t repent and acknowledge what they have done wrong, the vipers that are happily viper-y, will meet a fiery end. Without repentance, without forgiveness, without seeking to show forth the fruits of God in one’s life, there is no pathway to grace. That person cannot receive grace, nor can they offer it. They are both ungraceful and ungrace-filled. Does this literally mean they are thrown into a fiery hell? Maybe, maybe not. But it certainly tells us that fire, destruction, and chaos will be the sum total of their lives. 

What we must avoid in life is becoming the Pharisees and Sadducees. There are far too many ways the viper can creep in and take over. Bitterness that we leave unresolved, trauma that we haven’t addressed, brokenness that we don’t speak of…all of these things can lead us to a place where we are stingy with grace and are dismissive of peace. We must lean on God and continue to have faith in Jesus all throughout life, in the hurts and the happiness, if we are to remain the wheat and not end up the chaff. 

Perhaps if a man in old camel hair, wildly unkempt and dirty, eating bugs and shouting were to come to us and ask, “What’s the matter with you?” with actual concern, it would startle us out of our troubles. In seeking the kingdom of God, in seeking more of Christ in our lives, we also are making peace in this world because we live in the way the Prince of Peace would have us live, doing what John the Baptist calls, “producing good fruit.” 

So why is the sermon title, “Peace Is a Verb” if we’ve spent the whole time talking about fairytales and repentance? Peace isn’t something that just comes along in our lives, it’s active, seeking, living, and working. In olden time and in our modern day we look for a place and situation where all is calm and no strife exists. But that doesn’t really exist unless we make peace, does it? Every day is a choice to engage or let go, to complain or to give thanks, to throw something at another person’s head, or to just mutter, “Bless their heart.” 

Isaiah prophesies about a time when all will live at peace. In that time justice will prevail. Exploitation of the vulnerable will be done and over. The very force of his word will destroy wickedness. Isaiah is talking about the work of Christ in reconciling and putting to right all the things that have become broken and off balance in the world. 

We hear this wonderful discussion of the wolf and lamb living together, the lion being safe near a young calf, cows and bears, children being able to play safely in the den of a cobra. It’s hard for us to imagine this level of peace. And the truth is that God is the only one who can create such peace. God is the one who can make life so that “nothing will hurt or destroy in all [the] holy mountain.” But, this all requires us to take the first step. No peace can be made, hurting and destruction cannot be overcome unless we take that first step. Peace is a verb. 

In school we learned about the structure of sentences. They all have a subject, the who is doing something, and the verb, the what being done. For peace to reign in our lives and world, we must be the subject and the doer. We must be the first to seek repentance when we have done wrong. We must be the first to forgive when we are wronged, even if, even if they aren’t the least bit sorry. Why? Because Jesus said from a cross, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus teaches us to take the first step. If we want to live a peaceful life, we must do as Jesus teaches. 

We may not end up with a fairytale life, but we can have a peaceful life. The prophet John the Baptist said to the people, “Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!” In quoting Isaiah, John was calling on people to ready their hearts and minds for Jesus to work in and through us. 

I was visiting a friend the other day and they had the new cartoon Spiderman on for their kid. The theme of the show, which I was certainly not drawn into as an adult, was on the Hulk being able to let things go because when he got mad, he reacted. And every time, his reaction made each and every situation worse. My friends, as followers of Jesus, we must live as a people of repentance and forgiveness, of seeking to be first in our lives, families, and world to put divisions and struggles to rest, and to seek instead, reconciliation in the broken and fragmented places of life. 

We may not be promised a fairytale life, and in some cases it may be more like a soap opera depending on the day. But the same Jesus who is the Savior of all, and the Prince of Peace promises to be with us in this world, and in faith, there will be a happily ever after. 

Worship service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1381614237079393

Hope Stays Ready

Hope Stays Ready—Isaiah 2: 1-5; Matt. 24: 36-44

Sometimes living as a people of hope in this world is hard task to do. This Thanksgiving, I saw the decline as my family ages: my dad had a melanoma removed from his head, my uncle has a blood cancer, my dad’s wife is still recovering from colon cancer, my other uncle is on a walker because of a hip injury, and my grandmother’s mind continues to falter as she approaches 90. Sometimes we sarcastically want to pray, “Dear God, thank you for everything falling apart all at once, instead of stretching it out over a long time to make it easier to process.” 

Living with hope in this world is often hard. We won’t get into all the trials and troubles going on outside of our own personal lives. But as followers of Christ, we are a people of hope because of our faith in God. That hope often lives in us DESPITE the obstacles around us. There are three things we can learn about hope from our scriptures today: hope looks forward, hope keeps us grounded in unexpected situations, and hope looks for what is best.  

First, hope looks forward. In our Gospel, Jesus says, “You…must keep watch!” He uses the example that if a homeowner knew when a burglar would come to steal everything out of the house, the owner would prevent the burglar from breaking into the house. Unfortunately, burglaries and Jesus’s return share a common theme: we don’t know when it will happen.  What Jesus is saying is that they must be prepared for anything at any time. But also, there is a subtext. We cannot live dwelling on mistakes and struggles of the past. 

I’ve met a number of folks who simply cannot get beyond the past. It may have been someone who hurt them or something they themselves did, but they cannot move beyond it. If you get stuck in the past, whether it’s the allure of former good times or a struggle that we cannot let go, we will not be prepared and watching for Jesus. How many blessings do we watch people ignore or miss out on because they are stuck, unable to get over something from months, years, or even decades ago? We must be prepared for where God is taking us and leading us, not in things 20, 30, or even 40 years ago. 

We also cannot live in the trials of the present. A friend of mine makes a good analogy. Sometimes, when we are stuck in traffic or the never-ending line at Walmart or Kroger, we get incredibly frustrated, impatient, and irritated. But don’t let that rob you of the joy of putting on elastic waist pants and laying down on the couch when you get home. I was talking to a friend the other day, and this person spent the entirety of the 20 minute conversation complaining about all the things going on in their life. They ended the conversation by saying they’d be out of touch because they’re spending 10 days in Europe on vacation. All the things they were struggling with in the present robbed them of the hope from that vacation. Hope looks forward to all the places we can go, and to the final place of hope eternal. 

Hope also keeps us grounded when unexpected things happen. In the Gospel, Jesus talks about the days of the flood. Even as Noah prepared, the people went to banquets and parties. They continued to party even when Noah got on the boat itself. The only time they realized what was happening was when the floods swept them away. A friend and mentor used to say to me, “Expect the unexpected.” There is little more frustrating than the idea that unexpected things will happen when you least want or expect. But hope keeps us grounded. 

A friend of mine went to buy a car the other day. He signed all the paperwork, paid $6,0000, and left in his new-to-him car. Three days later, the transmission went out. Buried in that paperwork he didn’t read was a waiver of all guarantees on the vehicle. Though the trial was unexpected, it was somewhat predictable. Noah lived in hope that even though a world-wide flood was unexpected, God would take care of him and his family. 

When the unexpected comes, we must stay grounded with our hope in God. In life, we must expect the unexpected. Hope looks forward knowing that unexpected things may come our way, but hope also keeps us grounded in the knowledge that God will take care of us when such things do come our way. You have to have both because you cannot look forward if you live in fear of terror. And you can’t trust God if you never look forward. Hope keeps us grounded when the unexpected comes. 

Lastly, hope looks for what is best. Isaiah gives a vision of hope to the Hebrew people. When the people go to the mountain of the Lord, some great things will happen: God will teach us Godly ways, God will settle conflict amongst nations, God will show people how to turn weapons into tools of harvest and food, God will end wars and fighting, and we will walk in the light of God. 

We live in a time where we see a lot of fighting and war. Conflict rages in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. We see simmering disputes between our own nation and Venezuela, and quiet hostilities all throughout the world. We see far too much of humanity using God’s word to confirm their own beliefs instead of conforming their lives and thoughts to God’s word. Hatefulness and name-calling, arguing, split families, all of this is a problem in our world. There’s even a crime show devoted exclusively to murders between neighbors. 

Yet in it all, as God’s people, we are to use hope to look for the best in life and in people. Sometimes we have to look to the small things. For me, that was getting to spend a few days with my momma. We may find a bit of hope in family, children, the excitement of a coming trip, or anything else. But hope always looks for what is best. I had a good conversation with Mom while I was home about counting blessings. 

Too many people seem to focus on all the bad stuff and recount everything that is wrong. But hope tells us to start counting everything good: is there a roof over our head, food on the table, people around us who care about us? Misery can be clingy stalker, but hope helps us to escape into what is good in our lives. 

When we have strife here on Earth, we must be mindful that one day the strife will end. Part of having faith and hope is believing that God has something beautiful and amazing prepared for us when our time here is done. We may not know that what or when about that eternal hope, but we have faith as part of our faith in God that it is real, and one day God will call us home. 

Hope always looks forward, keeps us grounded when the unexpected comes, and helps us look for what is best when that unexpected becomes a struggle. Pamela Cranston wrote a poem in 2011 about looking for hope called “An Open Door.” I want to close by sharing it with you. 

Look how long

the weary world waited,

locked in its lonely cell,

guilty as a prisoner.

As you can imagine,

it sang and whistled in the dark.

It hoped. It paced and puttered about,

tidying its little piles of inconsequence.

It wept from the weight of [despair],

draped like shackles on its wrists.

It raged and wailed against the walls

of its own plight.

But there was nothing

the world could do to find its own freedom.

The door was shut tight. It could only be opened

from the outside.

Who could believe the latch

would be turned by a pink flower —

the tiny hand of a newborn baby?

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1662674341361148/

Happy Thanksgiving, What’s for Dinner?

Happy Thanksgiving, What’s for Dinner? Deut. 26: 1-11; John 6:25-35

If you know me, you know that I have very strong feelings on green bean casserole. Why would someone ruin perfectly good green beans by making them look like vomit in a casserole dish. In a world of amazing casseroles, side dishes, and appetizers, who thought this was a good idea? And who put it at Thanksgiving? That holiday, Thanksgiving, has a long history in our country. The first Thanksgiving that we typically learn about and see pictures of was in 1621 in Plymouth Colony, but the first recorded event was 1623 after a drought. George Washington was the first president to issue a Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789, though it was only one time. In 1863, Abraham Licoln established a national Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday in November. And finally, it became a federal holiday in 1941. Thanksgiving, thankfully, has a very bipartisan history in our government. Today, as we approach this day of thanks, we reflect on three things: God’s provision, God’s love, and giving thanks. 

First in our scripture we see God’s provision. In the exchange between Jesus and his disciples, the manna from God was brought up. They ask Jesus for a sign of his authority. This was not meant to be dismissive or insulting to Jesus. It was very typical for any prophet or spiritual leader to give signs to the Hebrew people going all the way back to Moses. They say to Jesus that Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus corrects them that Moses did not give manna. God did. In Deuteronomy the people are told to give God an offering of the first produce they harvest. This shows their trust in God’s provision, because if God doesn’t provide, there’s no offering of thanks. 

In trying times, we have to trust in God’s provision for us. That can be hard. When I saw the price of coffee at the grocery store the other day, I almost said something I’d have to repent for later. Yet this season is a reminder for us to be grateful that there is food available. Many times in history, people have faced famine, hardship, and the cruelty the elements of life in this world. The early settlers gave thanks and celebrated, not because it was a national holiday, but because they literally were grateful to have enough food to survive the winter without starving to death. 

There’s a beautiful promise in John, echoed in other gospels. “Don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.” I know that it is easy to worry a lot in our day-to-day life. I think worry is a constant human condition. But Jesus means here not to be preoccupied by this. Trusting in God’s promises is far more powerful than living life from one calamity to the next because even when life seeks to knock you down, the God of all will pick you up and bear you through. 

Another excellent reminder in this scripture is God’s love for us. Jesus tells the disciples, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” An older friend of mine says sometimes life is like making chicken and dumplings. There’s a lot of easy ways to do it, but the long way from scratch is always the best. God’s love is much like that. In some aspects, it is easy to enjoy God’s love and blessings. Being loved is often easy, and we enjoy it. But living and sharing that love can be hard at times. 

A friend of mine says that it’s so easy at Thanksgiving to go home hug his family, catch up, and just enjoy being in their presence. But the moment they start talking politics at Thanksgiving dinner, he realizes he’s about to save a lot of money on Christmas presents. Two of the hardest parts to our faith are trusting when we don’t see the solution and loving the way that Jesus does. In some ways it’s so hard for us to process the idea that Jesus loved Judas. Jesus loved Pilate. Jesus loved Herod. Jesus loved the pharisees. Their downfall and turmoil was not because Jesus hated them and wanted to see them suffer like a villain. It was because of they didn’t love Jesus nor want to follow him. 

I think Jesus knew that two of our greatest struggles in life are trust and love. Many of us have an “I’ll do it myself” attitude. Many of us feel more comfortable walking an extra 45 minutes around the grocery store to avoid talking to that difficult person we know. But we have to trust and love because God has trusted us and loved us. God trusts us with this earth which God created. God trusts us with the people on this earth, who are made in God’s image. God loves us enough to offer us grace and redemption even when we are ugly acting, unthankful, and have the attitude of 7 day old green bean casserole. But most importantly God trusts and loves us enough to call us children, family. 

A friend of mine has a tough relationship with his parents. They tend to be difficult, sometimes manipulative, and very narcissistic. Life has taught him that safety is found in separation from their toxic ways of being. He can love and pray for them without being snagged in the web of turmoil. But he has a very expansive friend network who have become family, a chosen family. That’s how God loves us. We’re not children of God because of obligation or being born into it. We are the family of God because we are chosen and loved by God. 

Because of this we can give thanks. In our Deuteronomy lesson we read how the people were instructed to take a good portion of their first produce of harvest and bring it to the place of worship. They were to deliver it as an offering before the high priest in memory and honor of God’s fulfillment of God’s promises to them. Giving thanks is a bit like making chicken and dumplings as well. We can do so many ways that are cheap, quick, and easy. Or we can take our time to be truly thankful, to stay in a space of gratitude and love before God. 

One of the hardest tests of faith is whether or not we can continue to be thankful and have an attitude of gratefulness even when our trust is broken and we feel like life and people have bruised us. Can we continue to be thankful and grateful when we feel unloved and abandoned? Sometimes trust and love are hard enough that thanksgiving seems impossible. But in those times, Jesus tells us, like the disciples, “The only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he sent.” Now, there are great works of faith and good behaviors we should be inspired to do FROM our faith. But faith really is as simple as belief. The rest is just how we follow and live out what we have believed. 

If ever I go home for Thanksgiving and there’s green bean casserole but no sweet potato souffle, my trust will be broken, and my sense of love would be tested. In some ways, that’s a joke, but in other ways, it teaches us how fragile trust can be. And when trust is broken, it often feels like we are unloved. When we live in faith, that is never the case. God loves us unconditionally. God’s promises are trustworthy without question. Jesus says to us, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 

In faith, we find all that we need to be nourished and fulfilled. This Thursday we will celebrate a day of Thanksgiving. Some folks celebrate that day. Some do a whole 30 days of Thanksgiving for the month of November. But gratefulness isn’t about one day or one month. Living a grateful life means each and every day relying on and showing forth our trust and love just as we are loved. So, Happy Thanksgiving, my friends, and may your casseroles be your favorite.

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1554863072320705/

For the Sake of Your Soul

For the Sake of Your Soul—Malachi 4:1-2a; Luke 21: 5-19

How many times have we prepared for the end of the world? In 2020, when COVID raged and ravaged communities, it felt like the end of the world in many ways. But with protections, distancing, and a vaccine, we eventually overcame it. 2012 was another such time. The Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world, and people prepared for that coming. And then there was Y2K. I remember actually hearing people convinced Jesus would come back in 2000, or that all of technology would collapse. Those are just in my lifetime, so I’m sure many of you could tell other stories of impending doom and fearmongering. 

Part of that problem is we live with too much fear and worry. The Gospel lesson does not necessarily help that. Jesus talks about destruction, false prophets, wars and insurrections, earthquakes, famines, plagues, terrifying things, and even miraculous signs. None of this helps calm the worry about the future since Jesus is predicting a coming terror to his disciples. Indeed for those who already fear the future, Jesus’s words only add fuel to the fire of fear. 

Jesus, however, does not stop there. His predictions get even scarier. He talks of great persecution, of being dragged into courts and religious halls to be unjustly tried and punished. Growing up Bapticostal, this scripture was often used to instill great fear in us. There was an us versus them mentality. We lived with this belief that the church was incredibly small and fragile, and that any day someone may come to your door to make you suffer and cause your martyrdom. 

Genuine faith cannot come from fear. Jesus is not telling his follower this to compel them to faith, but to reinforce and encourage the faith that is already within them. Jesus concludes the terrifying portion of his words with this: “But not a hair of your head will perish! By standing firm, you will win your souls.” We have talked a lot about standing firm lately. It seems to be a bit of a theme. The problem is we live in world where truth has become relative instead of absolute. I remember my law professor talking about truth. He said, “Whose truth? Your truth or my truth?” which is the most lawyer thing I’ve ever heard. 

Standing firm means that in the midst of scary situations, and troubling times we don’t compromise on our faith in Jesus and our mission for the kingdom of God. I remember growing up in youth group we were asked all these traumatizingly terrifying questions about whether we could still hold our faith if we faced an executioner or the lions like the early Christians. I’ve since learned that we’re probably not going to face real lions in a coliseum a la the Roman empire under Nero. But our faith will be tested. 

When we see the trials and troubles in the world, when we are personally affected by grief and tragedy, when we are faced with fewer blessings than we’ve always enjoyed in life, will we still stand firm in our faith, or will we cave in and give up? And I mean that question to be as challenging and confrontational as it sounds. The greatest persecution we face isn’t some unseen entity trying to kidnap and forcibly convert us. It’s the pain, fears, and suffering in our own mind and spirit that lets the doubts sneak in and steal our faithful resolve away. 

It all reminds me of the Serenity Prayer written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. The most popular version reads like this, “O, God, grant us the serenity (or peace) to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other.” Though, Niebuhr’s original prayer reads like this, “The victorious man in the day of crisis is the man who has the serenity to accept what cannot be helped and the courage to change what must be altered.” 

Friends, standing firm in faith means we recognize there are some aspects of life that cannot be changed: aging, sickness, other people behaving terribly, and so on. But there are places where we can make a difference for the good of our faith and God’s kingdom. Much of that comes from a place of what I like to call, “Even if…” It works like this, “Even if I become ill, I will have faith in Jesus. Even if great tragedies come in natural disasters or death and heartache, I will have faith in Jesus. Even if the sky should fall, I will have faith in Jesus.” Living in the “even if…” is very hard because standing firm when the trials come like a tidal wave is hard, even with God’s help it is still a struggle. 

Micah, though, gives us a promise. We are told that punishment will be reserved for the wicked, and those who follow God with rise with healing in God’s wings. Sometimes, it is easy for us to see only the trial, only the grief, only the struggle or loss before us and forget that God’s promises extend all the way to the end of time. Whatever trials and struggles we face now pale in comparison to eternity with the one who created us, redeems us, and sustains us. 

When we stand firm, God’s mission remains before us. II Thessalonians 3:13 tells us, “As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.” Even in the midst of trials and struggles and all the things we cannot change, there are still some places where we can make a difference and do good. A visiting pastor at my college church said, “No matter how bad life may become, there is still some way we can find joy in sharing the good news of Jesus’s love for others.” 

There are a lot of things that make us weary. Watching the news these days feels like getting attacked by a vampire. Dealing with long doctor visits, work, struggling with grief, living with physical or mental struggles, all of these things can drag us down and make us weary. But collecting cans for a food bank, hugging and speaking a good word of faith to each other, writing notes, praying, sharing a meal and word of thanksgiving together, all of these things can nourish and restore our souls, and keep us from becoming weary. 

There are many hurting people around us, who need to hear this good news. Recently, news reports told of a man who went to immigration court with his wife. They were going through a proper, legal process to become citizens, and by all reports had followed every step correctly. At the courthouse, she was taken by ICE into a separate room and never returned. Distraught and panicked, he tracked her phone to a detention facility, where the signal died. He was told he could look her up online eventually. In the end, despite trying to do what was right, he was left distraught and suffering. 

Friends, it is easy to be overcome by the trouble of life. It creeps in and causes doubts and disillusionment, and all manner of discouragement. Sometimes all we can do is fight back. Standing firm means relying on God’s promises in the times we are most blessed and when the trials of life are at their hardest for us. God’s love and promises never waiver, and neither should our faith. 

It is often easy to be overwhelmed by life’s trials and by all the scary or downright weird things happening in our world today. Jesus predicted that there would be troubles. He warned against false prophets, and he prepared us for the coming struggles of life. Yet he also reminded us to stand firm. In standing firm we will remember God’s promise that we will rise up with healing in God’s wing. And we can remember that in times of fear and trouble, our souls can find nourishment and rest in working for the good of God’s kingdom, for we will not grow weary if we focus on doing what is good with appropriate boundaries. 

I pray my friends that you can stand firm. Don’t let what you see and hear in this world cause you to doubt or question God’s love or God’s promises. Stand firm in the faith for the sake of your soul. 

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/2174348676422601/

A Letter from Paul

A Letter from Paul—Haggai 2:1-9; II Thess. 2: 1-5, 13-17

I have often wondered what it would look like if Paul wrote a letter to the American churches. In Philippians, he begins by saying, “I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons. Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.” In Galatians, he begins by saying, “May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.” In I Corinthians, Paul writes, “I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.” And in this very epistle, II Thessalonians, Paul writes, “Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.” 

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of jokes about what Paul would write to the churches in America. Most of them have incorporated humor with a stern rebuke of the United States and her churches. My favorite one was the old Blues Clues where he sings, “We just got a letter,” then it cues to an angry Paul. And, in truth, Paul could have some strong rebukes in his letters. He could be impatient and fiery with churches that were slacking in their duties or turning back to old sinful and pagan ways of doing things. Paul had little tolerance for misbehavior in the churches, but note how every single one of these letters begins. 

Every single one starts with a warm, loving, and gentle greeting. They all offer praise to God and prayers and kindness to these churches. Some of Paul’s letters are abrupt. I Corinthians is a very hard read and a pointed rebuke of that church. Yet even in rebuke, Paul takes time to offer words of love, thanks, and kindness. He also makes it clear his rebuke of that church comes from a place of love and a desire for theme to do what is right. But his introduction, first and foremost, is based on loving kindness. 

That’s the first thing we must remember as Christians is that everything we say and do must first be filtered through the lens of God’s love. Jesus gave only two commandments: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. All that we say and do in this life should start in this place—the love of God and love of neighbor. Paul writes to Thessalonica not to be fooled or easily shaken by what they see and hear. As old as the Gospel itself are people who are trying to exploit that gospel for their own purposes. 

Paul writes that they should not be fooled by what people say about God. They must be grounded in God, living and doing as Christ has called them. Too often I think we are distracted by the anger and hostility of the world around us. In times of economic and personal struggle, frustrations and anger tend to be heightened. I learned an important lesson this week in Miami. First, if you think Atlanta traffic is bad, it’s like driving in Lizella compared to Miami. As my friend was driving to dinner, someone cut him off and they rolled down the window and started yelling at each other in Spanish. I don’t know a lot of foul language in Spanish, but I’m certain I recognized one or two things. Then they both laughed, said, “Love you bro!” and drove off. The shouting was mostly for fun, not to be mean. 

This is why love and joy go hand in hand. We expect meanness and anger in our world because it is so prevalent. Everywhere we turn, hostilities rage. It is okay, no, actually, it is Christ-like to begin from a place of love and work to a place of reasoning together. 

Perhaps this is why Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “Stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.” Standing in faith does not require us to become an ogre. Paul encourages the churches to have a solid faith, right practice of faith, and to stand firm in the faith, speaking truth. But he also makes sure that love and joy are a part of the whole package. We must live as people whose love and joy are of God and not of this world and all its insanity. 

Everywhere we go, there are so many people with angry, fearful, and bothered looks on their faces. We are fast becoming one of the more unhappy nations on this earth. We live in fear of every little thing that occurs, watching rapt to the television to see what horrors await us today. Where have we gone to seek joy in life? When was the last time we did something we found fun? You cannot find joy in your life if you lock yourself into a mental and physical prison of dread and misery. Yes, sometimes circumstances are bad. Sometimes life is not easy. But Paul writes that they were called “to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Remember that our Gospel is not a legal document, it’s a story of Good News and hope for the whole world. Sometimes we need to remember that Jesus didn’t die on a cross to fix our problem. He died to save us from sin and death. Haggai prophesied during a time of rebuilding, after the people were released from slavery in Babylon. Yet the work was hard, and rebuilding was very slow-going. Rubble and destruction still surrounded them. But Haggai said this on behalf of the Lord, “And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.” 

That spirit is always with us. Do not be afraid. Do not be consumed by present troubles, for God has an ultimate plan. It’s easy to focus on what struggle is right in front of us: high costs, expensive healthcare, turmoil and discontent. But God tells us that God’s spirit is with us, always, and we should never fear, only have faith in God. 

So how do we stand firm, yet live in love, yet also have joy in trouble? Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.” When Paul makes a point, he often calls on the Lord Jesus Christ, or God the Father, or refers to the grace and hope and work of Jesus. But when he uses all three it’s a big deal. That is because Paul knows how hard it is to live in a place where we feel everything is a battle. 

We need that grace of eternal comfort, wonderful, hope and strength in every good thing we do and say each day of life. That is why so many preachers pray, “May the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart be pleasing and acceptable.” Ministers, and the faithful alike speak for God, speak in the love and grace of Jesus, and we must pray that God will help us to say what is right, meaningful, and ultimately faithful. Everyone must be treated with love. Life must be filled with joy. And we must stand firm on the faith we believe, speaking truth. 

All of that seems like a big ask. But that tall order challenges us to believe in God’s help and grace even more. Living faithfully is impossible unless we ask for and rely on God’s help and grace. I laughed the other day. Someone sent me a comic of Paul writing a letter to the American churches. It said, “To the churches in the U.S. grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 1, WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?” 

I have come to believe that, though humorous, that isn’t true. I believe it would be much more like this, “To the church in the United State, grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus. We are always praying for you. Now, come together, and let us do the work set before us in love, in joy, and in grace.” 

worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1176260971131361/

Spent Your Life?

Spent Your Life?—Isaiah 1: 10-18; Luke 19: 1-10

For some time, it became very popular to read a poem called “The Dash” at funerals. It was written by Linda Ellis, and it says this: “I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning…to the end. / He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered the most of all was the dash between those years. / For that dash represents all the time they spent alive on earth, and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth. / For it matters not how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash. What matters is how we live and love, and how we spend our dash. / So think about this long and hard: are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged. / To be less quick to anger and show appreciation more, and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before. / If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile, remembering that his special dash might only last a while. / So when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you lived your dash?

In our Gospel lesson for today, we encounter Zacchaeus. He was a man of short stature, or vertically challenged, as some of my friends call it. Zacchaeus was not what you might call a good man. He was a tax collector, and most of the tax collectors in Jesus’s day were notorious for being cheats, liars, and abusing or exploiting the people for their own profit. From the way Luke reads, I am certain Zacchaeus was the same. The people called him a “notorious sinner.” People who are ethical and upright usually don’t earn such a name from the general public. We also can glean from his conversion story that he was both aware of his wrongdoing and oblivious to how bad it might actually be. He offers half his wealth to the poor and offers to make restitution several times over to anyone he may have cheated. 

It seems the people of Judah were faring no better than Zacchaeus in the lesson from Isaiah. We have heard the same indictment of the people 2 weeks in a row. Isaiah and Jeremiah both told Judah of their sins, exploitation, and oppression. Between the two prophets, Judah heard the same prophecy from God for over 100 years. Isaiah was around 750 BC and Jeremiah 650 BC. The people were cruel and inhospitable to others, to the vulnerable, to the oppressed, widow, and orphan. They were unjust. They lived with all the dressings and symbolism of their religion, but none of the actual good fruit is should have produced.

Last week we heard of their downfall. This week we see God pleading with them to be restored and redeemed. God asks them to come and settle things. God tells them exactly what to fix in order to be in God’s will and following God’s way. Then God waited for 100 years. And nothing happened to change their wrongdoing. Isaiah prophesied in 750 BC, Jeremiah in 650 BC, and Babylon attacked Israel in 597 BC. Their lives could have been different. Their closeness to God could have been restored. But they were too attached to doing things their way instead of following what God wanted them to do. And to make themselves feel better they called their selfish way, God’s way, living fraudulently before God and lying to themselves about it all.  

Zacchaeus, however, had a real and true change of heart. He simply wanted to see Jesus. So, because he was vertically challenged he climbs a tree too look down and see Jesus pass by. It’s safe to say that Jesus knew what was going on in Zacchaeus’s heart. Jesus could see that he was a man standing right on the line of making a change, and one encounter with Jesus could change everything. Whatever we do, we cannot underestimate the power of meeting Jesus. 

The people were unhappy that Jesus went to such a man’s house. Surely Jesus wouldn’t go and share a meal in the house of a well-known sinner? But it was that meeting and that presence of Jesus which changed the heart and soul of Zacchaeus. He committed to giving half his wealth to the poor. He committed to repaying any anyone whom he had cheated. And when a man is willing to part with his money, you know a change has happened. We cannot underestimate the power of people encountering Jesus. 

Now, Jesus himself may not wander by and come to lunch. And even if he did, I have no idea what I would cook. Within us, however, is that presence of Jesus…Immanuel, God with us. Wherever we go and in whatever home we dine, we should bear the image of Jesus. After all, we are Jesus’s representatives here on earth. If we claim to follow him, people should be able to see Jesus through us. 

Back home, I have often heard a saying. When you favor someone in your family very strongly, especially if they have gone on to that eternal reward, folks will say, “Lordy, it’s just like talking to your Momma,” or uncle, dad, or other family member. What a testimony it would be to our faith if, after meeting us, someone said, “Wow, it’s like I met Jesus in them.” In a world of turmoil and spite, how nice would it be for us to reflect Jesus to each and every person. We may still have to flip some tables from time to time, but how amazing would it be to simply let ourselves reflect Jesus to the world? 

That is why we celebrate the saints of our church on this day. They taught us about God, about faith, and showed us how to practice our faith in this world. I’m a firm believer that a much younger saint or even a very flawed human who still seeks Jesus can teach us something about living our faith in this world. God can teach us something in the life of every saint, if we are willing to look. 

Jeff willingly shared about his love of encouraging high school and college wrestlers. Despite some struggles in mental health, he worked to be very encouraging. And he was a dedicated father and grandfather to his family. Mary Wynne showed what it means to have trust in God and grace in the face of suffering. She also showed me how to make a mean low country boil. And Dot Jackson showed what it means to be a loving partner to her husband, mother, and faithful soul. Few could set a better example of what it means to be a dedicated church member and a faithful follower of God. 

Both Zacchaeus and the people of Judah were given a chance to live their lives according to God’s will. Zacchaeus made a change, and his encounter with Jesus led him to follow Jesus, him and his household. Salvation came to them that day. Judah chose not to follow God’s call to return to their faithfulness. They were soon destroyed by the Babylonians. When the story of our lives is told, what is most important is the dash, just as the poem says. When our time on earth is done, what lessons will the coming generations of the faithful take from us? And most importantly, will we be able to say with confidence that we lived each dayfor Christ on our journey here?

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1665104427783658/

Great Expectations

Great Expectations—Jeremiah 14: 7-10, 19-22; Luke 18: 9-14

The Bishop Marvin Winans went viral for all the wrong reasons recently. It was not for a homeless shelter, a food ministry, a clothing ministry, for an untold number of baptisms, but for scolding a member publicly because she gave too little offering.  Let’s watch it together. Video of Rev. Winans scolding member for only bringing $1,200 in offering instead of $2,000 as instructed.]. Yet he is not the only one. There are many televangelists and so-called ministers who have demanded large offerings, unduly influenced members and viewers for sewing ministry seeds for money, or simply outright asking for a private jet. This seems to be their expectation. 

 Having expectations is nothing new. When I was growing up, my parents had expectations for how I would do in school. Our employers have or had expectations of our job performance. Our medical practitioners have expectations of how we take care of ourselves physically and psychologically. Life, in general, comes with expectations. Our scriptures today talk about two types of expectations. The Jeremiah lesson tells us about basic expectations and failure to meet those. The Gospel lesson talks about inflated expectations and the need to avoid those. 

When it comes to faith there are a few basic or minimum expectations of us. We hear in Jeremiah where a people had gone astray, and God’s patience had worn out. The prophet Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, tells of the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem shortly before the nation was conquered and led off into exile in Babylon. The crux of Judah’s problems stems from their unfaithfulness to God. They have gone their own way in religious worship and observance. They call it the worship of God, but they have made idols within their worship and made human reforms that led them to glorify themselves over God. In Jeremiah 6, God says to them, “Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path and you will find rest for your souls.” But, God says, they do not want that way. 

Jeremiah 7:3 has the clearest indictment of all, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land.  But don’t be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the Lord’s Temple is here…But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice;  only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.” 

The people of Judah failed in every way to meet God’s minimum expectations for their life and behavior. They chose sin and dressed it up as piety. They chose evil and King Josiah passed laws to call it proper. You cannot follow God or turn to God if you convince yourself your sinfulness is perfectly okay. It’s like when I say one small piece of chocolate won’t hurt me at 9PM at night. 10 minutes later, I wonder where the whole bag has gone. It’s like Bishop Winans, who is preaching God, but exploiting his church members. No matter how beautiful and popular we make our wrongdoing, it will never magically become good, or Godly. God calls us to minimum expectations of faithful behavior exhibiting the truth of our faith, and we cannot get around this. 

But sometimes we also have an inflated sense of expectations. The Gospel lesson tells us about this. When the Pharisee went to the temple to pray, he didn’t call on the name of God, praise God, or offer prayers for others. He exalted himself before God. He told God how good he was doing. If he even went one step further, and thanked God for helping him accomplish all these good things, it would have been different. But he made it clear that this was on his own merit, and not because God had helped him. 

The real problem, however, was his pride, his inflated expectations of himself, led him to be condescending to others. He said to God, “I’m glad I’m not like that tax collector,” a cheat, a sinner, probably an adulterer just for good measure. And there is the tax collector, mindful of his despised and miserable position in society, praying to God, “Be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” It’s easy to judge someone when you’ve never listened to the earnest prayers of their heart. The Pharisee used his position and prominence, the inflated expectations others had of him, to engage in cruelty and bullying, and to some degree cowardice. He didn’t rebuke the tax collector to his face for something the man had done wrong. He let his snide hatefulness flow out from a prayer. 

This scripture has much in common with Judah in Jeremiah’s day. As the Gospel lesson says, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves shall be exalted.” Too many in our society live their lives like the Pharisee. They have inflated expectations of themselves, they pray with malice, and they fail to give God the credit for the good things they actually do. We would be better served with more of the tax collector. He’s not a religious leader, a deep thinker, or even really loved in his society. He merely comes up and offers himself before God, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” How much could we accomplish in our world if we simply prayed for God’s mercy and grace on a daily basis? 

The problem with inflated expectations is that they lead to pride. The Pharisee actually worked hard to live in righteousness—following the religious laws, praying, doing the right things as the rules demanded. But he was still empty in his soul. In a place where God’s love and grace should live, he was filled with pride and self. Good actions are no substitute for a hateful soul. And as Proverbs tells us, pride goes before a downfall. Jesus told this story to make a point. It is in our faith in Jesus and following him, that we find ourselves faithful. It is not found in our own confidence in our right way of doing things. We cannot follow Jesus and be filled with scorn. We cannot follow Jesus and bully others. We cannot follow Jesus and be filled with pride. We cannot follow Jesus and condone cruelty in our prayers. Instead, we must say, “O Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.” 

Sometimes it is easy to think that we are covered faith-wise if we work really hard to be perfect. Or perhaps we believe that all is well if we follow the rules like Judah did. Or maybe we think our grace is found in giving $2,000 instead of $1,200. I promise I won’t turn away a $2,000 tithe. The problem is we look down on the one who comes only to pray that God would be merciful and has little else to offer. 

As I read the Jeremiah scripture, I understand God’s anger a bit more. All God asks is that they turn to God and love God, treating others as God has commanded. When they get in trouble for doing wrong, their response is, “Help us for the sake of our own reputation, [Lord].” The arrogance in that prayer verses “Show mercy to me, a sinner,” is astounding. It’s a clear reminder that we must have our priorities in order when it comes to faith. 

God doesn’t love us and offer grace because of our perfection, or our performance. Faith is not some grand sales pitch that wins the quarterly market for the company. Simply, and completely, God wants you, your heart, your love, your trust, and your willingness. All God asks for is your faith and trust, and your willingness to follow in this world. God doesn’t even ask for a $2,000 donation to the building fund. All God wants is you. It took a tax collector to show what that really looks like. In a world filled with people whose pride keeps them doing religious things with a broken soul, remember that God simply wants you because God loves you so very much.

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1365582948561975/

Keep Asking

Keep Asking—Psalm 121; Luke 18: 1-8

Comedian John Crist has a routine called, “I Ain’t Praying for That.” He starts it off by saying, “Have you ever had someone ask you to pray for something so wild and crazy that you think, ‘Nope, I’m not praying for that?’” Some examples he cites include the following: pray that I pass my drug test tomorrow, my kid has tendonitis in his thumbs from holding his iPad for 14 hours at a time, winning an MMA fight… “Lord let me beat the ever-loving fool out of this other person made in your image, in Jesus name…” 

I have seen and heard a few questionable prayers myself. I was asked to pray for someone’s love life by laying hands on their Christian Mingle app on the phone. I remember in high school, back in Kentucky, the guy who owned an adult store found Jesus and made it a Bible store because he got arrested for a few indecency misdemeanors. A church we visited started praying over his wallet to bless him in his new, allegedly, faithful endeavor. Sadly, God said no. The man made a fortune in the adult store business and went broke selling Bibles. I think that situation needed more prayer than folks realized. 

There is, though, power in prayer and in speaking the concerns and hopes on your heart and soul. In our Gospel, Jesus talks about a judge with little regard for God or people. A widow asks him repeatedly for justice in her dispute with an enemy. Eventually he grants it to her.  Growing up, this story was always presented as if the judge came to his senses and did what was right, it just took a while. But nothing like that happens. The only reason this woman gets justice is because she drove him crazy, and the irritated judge gave her justice just so she would go away, not at all because it was right. 

Another pitfall, or misreading, is that the woman is given what she wants. I remember hearing, growing up, that we should keep asking God over and over for what we want because eventually God will listen like this unjust judge. But the Gospel says that God will grant justice to God’s people and swiftly. It says nothing about getting what you want.  Perhaps in some ways we misunderstand prayer. It’s not creating a giant wish list for Santa or a heavenly genie who grants us all that we desire in life. 

Prayer is about calling on God for divine intervention in terms of healing, justice, mercy, and comfort. Too often folks see prayer as a Janice Joplin-esque way of asking, “O Lord, won’t you send me a Mercedes-Benz?” Prayer, however, is about the power of God to intervene in this world to right the wrongs of evil and corruption and harm to God’s people. In our world today, we’ve lost our way with prayer because we are too simple and short sighted with our prayers. 

Now, there is nothing wrong with praying over small and simple things—for a good day, for a friend, for illness in those around us, for our church, and so on. But how often do we then expand and pray that God’s justice would be done on this earth, that we would be voices and agents of God’s Word and God’s justice in this world? How often do we pray that God’s peace and mercy would end wars, heal divisions, bind up wounds, and teach us how to better love God and neighbor in this world. But here’s the real question. If we do pray it, how much do we actually believe it…or live it? 

Several years ago, people became captivated by a small book on the prayer of Jabez, a somewhat obscure short prayer in I Chronicles. His prayer to God was this: “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do and keep me from all trouble and pain!” While there is specific prayer for his own needs, it’s that first part that is powerful. Expand my territory is the phrase he used. It could mean that he wanted more land, more influence, more work with God. 

One commentator said this about the prayer of Jabez, “God blessed Jabez, not with prosperity in return for his prayers, but with provision for the will God wished to execute through his life. With Jabez, we must not read his prayer as a request for personal blessing, but as a cry for God to bless him as a part of God’s covenant people.” The prayer he made was one to empower him as God’s representative in this world. His name means pain or sorrow, but he knew God had the ability to bless him in way that he could live for God and work for God’s justice in the world in any circumstance.

The crux of this story of the unjust judge is that if someone as corrupt and terrible as the judge can somehow find a way to justice when pestered endlessly, God who is the author of justice and redemption, will give it in the right time and in the right way, if we ask and have faith. But the question in the Gospel remains, “When the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” Let me ask the question this way. What does it say about our faith when we wind up surprised that our prayers actually worked? 

God’s timing and God’s no to our prayers are not a reason to lose faith. If our faith takes a nosedive every time God says no or makes us wait, we don’t have an investment in faith, we have a rental. God is not the genie obligated to grant every wish. God is the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all life, and God has plan and calling for us and our lives. 

But God also expects us to follow where we are guided or sent. God expects us to speak for what is right, to live in a way that shows Jesus, to stand up for justice and mercy in a world that is often filled with corrupt judges. At the end of the day, if we are comfortable with this story of how the widow finally received justice, then we are not living with enough faith and urgency in the will and work of God. That is why Jesus asks how many will be found faithful. 

At the end of the day, no matter what level of injustice, impropriety, and possibly straight up evil reigns on this earth, God’s power and presence are with us. The Psalm reminds us of this. “I look to the hills, does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” That is one of the most definitive statements of faith and trust we can have. A friend of mine says her morning devotion is reciting that every day. She gets up and says, “Today may be easy. Today may be hard. I may have to search for help in different places. But always the help I need comes from the Lord, who made heaven, earth, and even me. And God will watch over me wherever I go, now and forever.” 

How we pray is incredibly important to our faith. If we pray too simply, too specifically, or too shortsightedly, we may often find disappointment in God’s no’s. But maybe we can pray like the prophet Amos, who in the midst of the people’s selfishness and wickedness, cried out, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream!” Maybe we can call on God and pray that God’s will would be done instead of asking God to do what we think God should do. That’s wishing, not praying. Our help comes from God, and we must remember that, always. 

Prayer can be a bit hard for us. We might be asked to pray for some strange things. I’m with John Crist. There are some things I’m not praying for. I’m not anointing your dating app. I’m not praying over your drug test. If it’s that questionable whether you can pass, you’re on your own with God’s good graces. But there are times we must pray—for God’s justice, for God’s healing, for God’s presence to guide us, for God’s wisdom to inspire us. Prayer expresses the hopes and concerns on our hearts, but it also is a time when we respond to God’s call: how can I live for God in this world. The Gospel wraps up by questioning whether many will have the faith needed. My prayer today is that our faith is overflowing and the Son of Man finds all of us faithful.

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1490775198918154/