Is God Revealed or Hidden in Christ?

John 1:1-14; Luke 1:46-55: “The Unassuming Presence of God”

As I was thinking about the Birth of Christ in Bethlehem, and how nobody would have suspected it. And, as I thought about the final day when Christ comes in the glory of God, I couldn’t help but think: nobody will suspect it either. Of course, we are told he will come in glory, but knowing God, it will be understated the way God does everything. Probably most of the world, and even God’s devoted followers will miss it. God is like that – very subtle.

We don’t have eyes and ears to hear the deep truths of God so often, nor are we able to suspect the unexpected ways of God in this world.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem,but who knew? Who would have known? And, he grew up among his people as the son of Mary and Joseph. His father was a carpenter. Not an important man in Israel. The wise men who were not Jews lucked into it, and found him. Besides that, just a few shepherds and animals saw the glory of the birth of God’s Son.

Sometimes we might wonder, “why does God make such subtle appearances? Why doesn’t God make his appearances real clear so that nobody can be mistaken? If God really wanted to be known, why didn’t he choose Rome or Assyria or Egypt – some great nation as his chosen people, instead of choosing the Hebrew people? Why does God make such subtle appearances, so that you might perceive it is God,but then again you might miss it altogether.

And, what about the resurrection appearances? Weren’t those clear? Well, really. Jesus is walking right beside two of his followers on the Road to Emmaus, and they don’t recognize him – and, they don’t even realize who they had been talking to until he has broken bread at the table with him and he disappears. And, what about Mary thinking he was the gardener when she was right beside his empty tomb?
All I can answer is that God is like that. As Karl Barth once said: “God reveals himself in hiddenness.”

I know that you can tune into many channels and go to many churches in which preachers will tell you how plain it all is, and how God makes himself known as clear as day, but the truth is: God doesn’t seem to be that way at all. Or, at least not the God we know in Jesus Christ.

Jesus thanked God that he hid himself from the wise and revealed himself to the simple. Jesus also told those he had healed not to spread the word about being healed by him.

And, for a religion that claims that the ultimate revelation of God is in the crucifixion of Jesus, we ought to wake up to the strangeness of that revelation, and that it has something real important to tell us about God. Because, no one would guess or think that an instrument of torture would be a symbol of God’s ultimate revelation on earth.

I have to confess: I love the strange ways of God, even though I get turned around and confused by it at times. I love that God honored above all humans the one who was humiliated by the powers of the world, because that one human, Jesus, was true to God and truly loved human beings. To me, it just strikes a chord so deep and assures me that it is the story that is really true – so strange it must be true – nobody could have made this one up.

And, I have to confess I give thanks everyday that God chooses to stand with the weak and the poor and challenges the ways of the strong and the rich.

God reveals his truth in a quiet kind of way. If you are wanting a big show and all that, well, God will probably not appeal to you (lots of brand of religion might, but not the true God), because God is simply not that way. Our God is just so humble. It is almost ridiculous how humble the Creator of all is. But, God is. He came among his own and his own received him not.

What more can I say about this than that it makes me so thankful, so happy to be a creature of this God. This God, who thought so much of us and well, didn’t think too much of himself, that he gave of himself to bring Jesus, his Son into the world in Bethlehem just over 2,000 years ago and gave and gave and gave of himself even unto the death of his Son on the cross, and continues to give of God’s very self to sustain and heal the world today. God has come among us, and though we tried to cast him out, he has found a place among us, a quiet and unassuming presence – imagine that, the living God, who is with us in such a humble way.

I ask you to bow prayerfully as you listen to the song of Mary, words from the Apostle Paul, and words from John’s Gospel, about the mystery of God coming in Jesus, the Christ.

Mary's Song:

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Paul's Words to the Corinthians:

21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

From the Gospel of John:

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and yet, the world did not receive him. He came to his own people, and his own people did not receive him. . . The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

“He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and yet, the world did not receive him. He came to his own people, and his own people did not receive him.” I can’t get any closer to the heart of the mystery of God’s humility than that. I can’t say it any better than John did so long ago. “He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet, the world could find no place for him and cast him out. He came to his own people, the Jews, and they could not find a place for him, and cast him out.”

This one is our Christ, the Christ of the world. This one is the Word made flesh, who dwelt among us full of grace and truth.

And, to come to celebrate this subtle appearance of the living God; to come to celebrate what surprises and defies human calculation and expectation, is to welcome the Christ and claim a place for him on this earth and in our midst and in our hearts. And, to come and celebrate the humble ways of our God that defy the ways of human power and pride, is to claim not just a place for Jesus the Christ, but to claim the best place for him in our world, in our homes and in our hearts. For, he is the opposite of kings and presidents and prime ministers and generals and dictators and corporate executives – thank God. And, his ways are ways of peace in a violent world; his ways are ways of humility in an arrogant world; his ways are ways of mercy in a world that loves to blame and condemn. And, we have to confess: “his ways are not our ways,” but by God’s grace maybe day by day, our ways will become more like his ways. Amen.

Acts 1:4-14: Waiting in the Spirit; waiting on the Spirit

Acts 1:4-14 (Advent: Waiting in the Spirit, waiting on the Spirit)

"And while staying [1] with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with [2] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers."

In the Apostles’ Creed, we say: “crucified by Pontius Pilate, dead, buried, he descended into hell; and on the third day, he rose again from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the God the father, almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”

Often in Christian preaching, we speak of everything being accomplished in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Now, we do talk about the Return or Second Coming of Christ as a day of judgment and rapture. But, the waiting around period between now and then, well, we have mostly just talked about that as if it was a time for human decision – to choose God’s way in Christ or reject God’s offer of salvation. The way churches generally talk about the present age is as if human beings are the ones who are acting, and as if God is just waiting around to see what we do.

And, when you look at it that way, Advent becomes a very human-centered celebration. Because, the Christ has already come, been crucified and has risen. If you look at it that way, God has already done his work; now is time for us to do ours which God will judge one day as Jesus comes.

But, that way of looking at things has it all backwards, because Advent is all about celebrating God’s action, not ours – what God did in the past and what God is doing now and what God is going to do in the future. God is always the initiator, and we are always the responders to God’s promptings in our spirit.

To talk about this in a doctrinal way, our problem seems to be that we don’t have a place for the Holy Spirit in our belief system. And, if you look at the Apostles’ Creed, they just sort of threw it in with some other beliefs and didn’t seem to include the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son. But, let me turn this back in a practical direction and refer to the history we are told in Scripture.

In the Bible, we are told that after Jesus has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven, that his followers were gathering each day and praying as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised that this Spirit would come from on high and lead them where they should go. The book of Acts is all about this history of the Holy Spirit being poured out on earth. This coming of the Spirit was the first fruits of the great harvest. It was the beginning of a new age in God’s relationship with human beings and all creation. And, it turned the people’s hearts towards an evergrowing movement towards the coming of God’s glory to the whole earth.

And, the Holy Spirit was poured out in that upper room in Jerusalem, and tongues of fire appeared upon the heads of every person that was there praying. And, though the Spirit came and rested upon them on that day, the Spirit remains God’s Spirit and not ours to possess. So, that the Spirit comes and goes as God wills. The Apostles did not from that day on possess God’s Spirit, but possessed a zeal to wait and pray for its coming and guidance over and over. In a real way, they had learned the movement of faith: from waiting prayerfully and expectantly for God’s Spirit, celebrating joyfully and in obedience when the Spirit comes, and then waiting again with hope when the Spirit in its fullness had departed.

At Advent, we are as those disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem. Their crucified and risen Lord has left them and ascended to heaven, but had promised that the Holy Spirit, the comforter and exhorter, would come to them from God. And, they had felt Jesus’ absence as they waited for the Spirit to come. And, they prayed, remembering the glory of God in Jesus’ life and death and resurrection. And, then, the rush of wind came through the room, and a rush of power and life came into their bodies, as God blessed them and lifted them and set them on a new path.

This is the time of waiting; this is the time of expectation. This is the time of doubt, as well, and we hope, but don’t know for sure that our hopes will be satisfied. As we dream and don’t know whether our dreams are in touch with reality.
Our passages tells us that Jesus’ disciples worried over when the kingdom would come, and they sat looking into the sky because their Lord had departed from them. This gives the image of some perplexed and perhaps disturbed people of faith.

I can certainly imagine that many of those followers of Jesus gathered in that upper room had doubts and fears as they waited. Some of them may have not seen Jesus after he had risen. Some of them had. Some of them had probably already been threatened or had close calls with those who were intent on persecuting Jesus’ followers. And, surely at least a few of them thought: “is it really worth it, putting myself in for all of this, when nothing may happen anyway, when I might just wait and wait and be shown to be a fool?”

Our scripture tells us that after they had seen Jesus taken up into the heavens:
"they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers."

And, in times like that, one’s heart is tested; in times like that, one’s faith is tried. And, in times like that, the followers of Jesus came together and prayed. And, . . . . we live in times like that. None of us has seen the risen Lord, unless somebody is holding out on us around here. All of us have experienced some times of real disappointment. There are worries right now in many of our hearts that we can’t seem to get rid of, because the trouble we are worrying over just isn’t resolved. Maybe it will be resolved today; maybe not for a long, long time. We wait as those who just don’t know, but as those who believe.

And, people tell us that God will take care of it, but how do they know what God will do? Maybe it is God’s will that we bear a problem a long time – you never can tell when you are not God. And, surely we are not God! And, if experience and Scripture are reliable, it seems that what God really wants doesn’t always happen on earth anyway. Do you think God wants little babies to be killed, and innocent civilians to be slaughtered around the world? I can say with confidence: God does not want this, and in fact, hates this. But, it happens, doesn’t it? So, God’s will in those situations is simply defied on the earth. But, that is when I turn to a passage in Romans: “All things work to good for them that love God and are called according to his purpose.” And, that doesn’t say: well, there is a good purpose in that bad thing. No, it says something more like: God can bring good out of horrible things. It acknowledges that things happen that are not in God’s will, but it affirms that God can reach into any situation and begin to create out of the chaos.

And, that gives me some confidence, because it assures me that somehow God is present. God is at work even in the darkness of suffering bearing it until the dawn breaks. It doesn’t assure me that God will fix the problem today – that could happen, but probably not. But, I feel deep in my heart That God wills and God works, and where God’s will is not done in the first instance, he continues to work until he overcomes the evil and brings about his gracious and merciful will in the end. And, God never gives up on us and on this earth and on the mess we have made of this earth, but his Spirit groans over the wounds of the creation, and God brings healing in his time. Just as God’s Spirit brooded over the tomb of the dead Jesus, God’s Spirit broods over the face of the chaos of this earth. And, that is what I hold fast in my heart this Advent as I wait and as I hope for what will come.

Because, I believe that God’s light continues to shine in the darkness; that God’s Spirit continues to go into dark places, even the dark places of my own heart and life. There is this still small voice that I find in the quietness and even in the despair of life, that makes me know that though it may look bleak, God is present. And, though the darkness may last, God’s Spirit is here and the darkness will not have the last word over me or you or this world. And, as I brace myself for the long haul of faith, my heart begins to sing that solemn song of the pilgrim: “I want Jesus to walk with me. I want Jesus to walk with me. All along my pilgrim journey, I want Jesus to walk with me.”

I may not believe that I can overcome all problems; but, something deep within me believes in God, and that God really will in the end bring good and overcome evil. But, that is on God’s time schedule, not mine. And, sometimes it’s hard being human and trying to live on the eternal time schedule, because we live our lives in accordance with limited understanding and human needs and a human time frame. The disciples asked Jesus: “when will the kingdom come?” Jesus said: “it is not yours to know times fixed by the father in heaven.” Our feeling that we need to know what we can never know. And, surely that leads to some real complaining in our hearts at times. The Psalmist wisely prays: “O Lord, have mercy and remember that we are dust.” And, our God knows our frame, our flesh and blood life, our limited understanding, and the struggle to live human life with respect for an eternal time frame that we can’t fathom. God knows that we are dust. God walked this earth in human flesh - this we believe and so we hope - in these days of waiting and expectation and worry. Amen.

Notes from sermon I thought about preaching but never finished

“I decided to know nothing among you, but Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

I was stopped dead in my tracks the first time I really heard this passage read. I was sitting in the office of Dr. Charles Cousar, as we translated it from the Greek. And, I looked at him very seriously and asked: “What does Paul mean by that?” I asked because those words hit me deeply, as if I had heard something that was too deep for me to understand, but too full of truth for me to look away from.
Maybe hearing this passage hasn’t affected you much today. But, maybe as we think through it together this morning it will.

These words affected me so much, because first I knew that Paul knew all kinds of things: he knew the scriptures, he had revelations directly from God, he was an apostle and colleague of the other apostles, though he mostly went it alone in the gentile mission. If you read Paul’s letter to the Romans, you see that Paul had a penetrating mind, an insight into God’s truth as applied to all of life.
But, Paul had decided . . . he made a decision to KNOW NOTHING AMONG THE CORINTHIANS, BUT JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.

Now, this passage hits me just as hard and deeply as it did some 25-26 years ago, when I started seminary. And, it holds out hope for an anchor in a sea full of change. These words present to us a starting point in our quest to understand the way of God and to follow in this way of the crucified Lord.

Are you interested in that this morning? Do you want to understand the way of God in this world and follow in it? Or, did you just come to get a little manna to sustain you along the path of the world, a path you haven’t received from God, but have received from the world?

I’m asking these questions, because you might have made a better choice about where to attend this Sunday morning if you wanted to get some fuel to walk in the ways of the world. You might have done better to watch the t.v. preachers who make it all seem so simple, and, it really is simple for about all of them because they have accepted the definitions of what is good and what is true from society, and simply are providing advice about how to achieve societal goals. Their preaching, however,is nothing but psychology with some biblical language as icing on the cake.
I’m asking these questions because I’ve been on vacation and been able to get away from things a little and see a little more clearly. The way of Christ is not the way of the Church, and has never been the way of the Church. It is a way that challenges the Church as it challenges the surrounding culture. Almost all of the churches of our day don’t preach Christ and him crucified. I’m not sure I’ve preached him in truth except just now and then. Because, I’ve tried to use all the traditional, holy language of the church, to make sense of things in way that fits in with our psychology and sociology and whatever else you want to call it.
The way of Christ is something we in the Church know almost nothing about, except in those times when we sing a spiritual like “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” And, sing it until it moves into our souls and we understand in our bones what we can’t grasp with our minds.

And, Paul knew that he had found the bedrock, and the spring of living water, and he would not stray from it again. I DECIDED TO KNOW NOTHING AMONG YOU, EXCEPT JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.

And, in a time when the churches have all sorts of different ways of preaching about Jesus and the victory of Jesus and the victorious life of those who follow Jesus, I am going back to the old, old way of Paul’s preaching – preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified. And, maybe with all the up language that is popular in the church now and the gospel songs that are supposed the take us to heaven, and all those great emotional highs, well, I will stick with not knowing any of that, but only Jesus Christ and him crucified – him executed for a crime he didn’t commit, in a world he was too good for, doing the will of a God who we have not yet started to understand even after all these years.

For those of you who feel like you just can’t ever find a solid path in life, a way out of sin in life, have you ever stopped to wonder. Have you ever wondered whether you were simply on the wrong path? For those of you who think you know all about faith, and just wish others were as wise as you were, have you ever stopped to wonder that perhaps your wisdom is that wisdom of the world that God destroyed in the cross of Christ? Have you ever wondered things like these?

WILL YOU DECIDE TODAY TO KNOW NOTHING - NOTHING BUT JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED? WHICH MEANS TO REJECT EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU HAVE KNOWN IN AN EFFORT TO KNOW THE UNKNOWN – THE VERY TRUTH OF THE CRUCIFIED LORD? WILL YOU STEP INTO THIS DARKNESS OF FAITH WHERE ONLY GOD CAN SEE, WHERE ONLY GOD CAN LEAD?

*Comment: In some ways I thought this sermon had too much anger and presumption in it, and in other ways, I thought it was really going in a good direction. Sometimes our anger really has some truth in it, and if we could just sort out the true part from the junk that comes from the expression of our less honorable intentions! If you can learn to analyze your anger honestly, then you can really find some truth and you can also really find that you have a good bit of bullshit mixed in with it. If you would speak the truth, you might as well accept that you will also speak some bullshit or falsehood. Because, at those times when you really speak something deeply true, you feel it strongly and take the risk. But, it is also the case that there are times when you feel it very strongly, but "it" is bullshit and not truth. If you want to make sure you never speak passionately about bullshit, then you will have to give up on ever speaking the truth. Without taking the risk, your speech may be well-considered, but it probably won't ever open hearts or minds.

I guess this comment is a bit of a sermon to myself as I reflect on why I didn't see this sermon through to the end. It brought me to a point of complaining about church without getting me to the point of knowing whether I was simply whining or really onto some holy insight.

Memory

Philippians 3:3-11; 12-16 (The Transformation of Memories: Rewriting our past)

The Apostle Paul had a watershed experience in his life, that divided his past as a Pharisee of the Jewish faith from his present as a follower of Jesus, the Messiah. Wherever Paul went to preach the Gospel, whether in the presence of gentiles or Jews, he had to give an account of his past and how he had been transformed by the Gospel of God. Because, before Jesus revealed himself to Paul, Paul persecuted the church of Jesus Christ. So, Christians that first heard Paul speak still worried that he would turn on them and turn them in to the Jewish authorities for prosecution. So, Paul did a lot of thinking about how his past was to be understood. And, he reflects on this in Romans 7 and also in Philippians, chapter 3. Paul is in the process of rewriting his history in a sense – from the perspective of faith in Jesus Christ, the son of the Living God.

The past does not exist except in our memories. But, the past does exist in the present memories that we have. So, in a sense we carry the past within us. We write books of history, biography and autobiography to carry the past with us in the present and into the future. But, our memories are not like books in which things are recorded clearly; nor are our memories like photograph albums in which a certain number of pictures are clearly preserved in a certain order; and our memories are not like audio or video recorded tapes of all that we have experienced.

Paul recalls his past as a strict and well-trained Jewish leader, a Pharisee among Pharisees, as he says. His life was all about living in the Jewish customs, zealously guarding the traditions of his elders. He remembers all of this, but now it all looks so different to him because he has come to a new position and perspective in life, knowing that the way of Jesus is the true way of God in the world. Paul remembers his past, but after Jesus he understands this past very differently than before Jesus. He even goes so far as to say: ‘forgetting what lies behind, and I press on to what lies ahead…” Memories can be transformed – at least the sense and affect on the present can.

We really know very little about how and why we have memories, but we do have them. But, what are they, really? As I try to think back on my earliest school years, I remember that very new school building at Cedar Bluff, and I am trying to remember who my first grade teacher was. I can’t even see her face. I can only remember that Scott McGlothlin threw a big rock on my ankle out on the playground on the first day of school. That is really all I can remember about first grade at Cedar Bluff. Now, second grade, I remember Mrs. Cope, my teacher, who I liked very much. I was sort of her pet. That’s the last time that ever happened with a teacher in my life. And, I remember the last day of school in second grade. I was over at my friend’s house – the Beacraft’s, and we were all getting ready to walk to school for the last day of school. We did that back then, even though we were little and we had to walk across Kingston Pike and about a mile down Cedar Bluff Road. But, there was almost no traffic back then, and I had my older sister to walk with me with the other kids. But, I remember that morning so well, because we were watching the news about Robert Kennedy being shot. That was 1968; I was seven.

That’s about all I can remember about first and second grade in school. If I had to write a chapter on my life in first and second grade, I don’t think it would be too detailed. Now, as I continue to think, I remember my friends back then, and I can remember a number of things that happened around home or in the neighborhood. In fact, I have a lot of home and neighborhood memories, and almost no school memories. These memories are jumbled. But, I can remember a number of times from those early years.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that our memory of our lives is a selective memory, and its not as if we can control or select what we remember. Of course, as I have started trying to remember and started telling some stories, I have started to remember more. That is a strange thing about memory as well. It waits to be awakened, to be created, or recreated. You know how it is to sit around and tell stories, and that brings on more stories – it touches parts of us that have fallen asleep. What is memory? I am not sure. But, it is at the very center of who we are, and what we are as human beings.

I wonder what happens if you have no one to tell stories with. No one to share experiences with, no one to remember with. Does your memory go to sleep? Do you lose access to past experience? Do you quit carrying the past in the present? I’m not sure. Sometimes those who are left alone a lot continue to remember very actively.

Our memory profoundly shapes how we understand our selves and who we are. It is a mysterious thing. Why we retain certain memories, seem to lose others. Some strong memories don’t fade, but must be understood one way or another. Like Paul’s memory that he had actually arrested Christians and locked them up and even turned them over for punishment because they proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the very Son of God. Paul couldn’t get that out of his head, but he got something else in the center of his mind – that he was loved by God and that he now followed in the way of Christ. He understood his former life in this light. Forgetting what lies behind, and press on to what lies ahead.

I’m still trying to get some idea of what memory is. Well, let me turn things another direction. If the past exists as present memory, then the future exists in the present as anticipation of what will happen. That is, we can only imagine the future. But, still it has some type of existence in our minds, maybe in that same part of us that we remember. What I am getting at is that whether we are remembering the past or anticipating the future, it is an act of imagination. Now, remembering the past, our imagination is working with some real experiences we have been through to create, or summon up a memory that can be told about. But, in dreaming up how something might go in the future, we are working with real experiences of how things have happened and imagining them happening in either the same or different ways in the future. Jackson Browne, in a song called “Fountain of Sorrow,” has a line a really like: “Though the future’s there for anyone to change, still, you know it seems that it would be easier sometimes to change the past.” Imagination and memory. It may be that we have to reimagine our past before we can imagine a new future.

Paul thought back on his life as a Pharisee in the letter to the Romans: “the good I wanted to do, I could not. The evil I didn’t want to do, that I did!” But, then he recalls what happened. He says: “Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ!” Whereas Paul was trapped in sin, he looks back on all that from the perspective a living faith in Christ, and gives thanks for a new life in the Spirit. With the memory of deliverance in Jesus at the center, Paul reinvisions his entire history.

And, in the Christian faith, there is one memory that we share and that is at the center of all our remembering. And, that is to be our memory of Jesus, and his being broken for us on the cross of wood. Somehow, as we remember Jesus deep in our hearts and minds, and hear: “take, eat, this is my body, broken for you. Take this cup, drink, this is my blood shed for you.” Jesus life poured into our lives. Jesus’ past poured into our present. Jesus’ past being what is most important in our collective past. And, Jesus’ destiny calling us forward. For on that third day, the tomb was shaken by a power beyond all powers, the power of the Living God who raised Jesus from the dead as the first born of a new creation.

We remember Jesus’ death – we remember it deeply within. We remember it in worship and prayer and in times alone. And, out of this remembering comes a new creation within our memories. Because, remembering him brings new light to our pasts, and shapes them in the direction of a future. We often think of the past shaping what is to come. But, I would like for you to think about your future giving shape to what is past. Because, if I am going in a good direction in life, my past looks one way; if I am going a bad direction, my past looks another way.

For example, if I have just been sentenced to 15 years in prison, my past looks one way – as something leading to a bad result. But, what if I have just found a great job, my past, which may be fairly dark, looks another way, as leading to a good result. When you hear a person tell the story of their life, and if they feel they have arrived in a good place, they will usually tell even the hard parts with a sense of accomplishment and meaning, even if it is painful to tell about. When you hear a person tell the story of her life, and they feel they have arrived in a bad place, it is hard for her to tell of the past without a deep sense of tradgedy.
Jackson Browne’s words come back to me. “Though the future’s there for anyone to change – still you know it seems, it would be easier sometimes to change the past.”
Because you have been called to a good destiny by God, I want to encourage you to rewrite your past. What, am I crazy? No. Your memory is not simply a bunch of photographs of what has happened. It is a story you hear about your life, pieced together from recollections and feelings about things that have happened in life. When you come to new understandings, you can rewrite portions of your history.
Let me close with this. Let’s assume that each of us has written an autobiography: a detailed 10 chapter book about our lives. One chapter on early childhood, then adolescence, etc. And, then each year as we get older, let’s say that we take out this book and reread it. And, each year, we realize that we are going to need to rewrite this chapter or that, because we have come to understand that part of life differently. For instance, I am writing the chapter about my struggles as a teenager, and feeling angry at limits placed on me by my parents. Do you think that chapter would look different if I wrote it at 18 years old or 30 years old, and then different again if I wrote it when I was 75?

That is what I am talking about with memory. And, that is what I am talking about today. Can you remember Jesus life and death at the center of your heart and mind, and then begin to wonder again about your own history? It may be time to rewrite your story guided by the Spirit of the Living God. The Spirit that calls to life things that have died; the Spirit that heals the wounded and makes the blind to see. Paul says: “forgetting what lies behind, and press on towards what lies ahead in the upward callilng of Christ Jesus, my Lord.” But, we know from Paul’s writings, that he does really forget what lies behind. He talks about his past as a Pharisee, but he talks about it in light of his new identity, his new destiny as a follower of Jesus , the Christ of God.

So, remembering what lies behind from the perspective of this new life we have in Christ Jesus. Remembering from this good present in which God embraces us, not for who we have been, but with an eye towards what we will become. Remembering it all from this perspective of a present and living faith from God, we say “thank you.” We say: “thank you, God,” for what we will become. Amen.

Psalm 72; Isaiah 11:1-10: Advent 2010

First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10

11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

11:2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

11:3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;

11:4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

11:6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

11:7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

11:8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.

11:9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

11:10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Second Reading: Psalm 72:1-14

1 Give the king thy justice, O God, and thy righteousness to the royal son! 2 May he judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with justice! 3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! 4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor! 5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations! 6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! 7 In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more! 8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! 9 May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! 10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! 11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! 12 For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. 13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. 14 From deceit and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.

Psalm 72 was written in the days of the kings of Israel, in hopes that a future king would bring God’s holiness and truth and mercy to Israel. Consider how great this hope was for a righteous king that would come from God and establish God's will.

This king, it is said: “He will have regard for the poor and needy. He will hear their cries . . .

“He will redeem their souls from violence and deceit . . . And, their blood will be precious in his sight.”

I hear these words,and I know there aren’t any kings of Israel that lived up to this hope. But, a few tried. And, this hope kept arising in the faith of the Jews in history, even when they were often betrayed by leaders, and even when they were carried away as slaves by the Babylonians almost 600 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And, even when they were being oppressed some 200 years before the birth of Christ by the Seluecid ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes, who tried to humiliate them and defile their places of worship. The hope for a true king, that could deliver justice . . . that hope never died among the Jewish people. For, they were a people born out of the Red Sea, and led towards a new land by Moses, the righteous prophet of God.

And, these words from Psalm 72 echo down through history even til today: “He will redeem their souls from violence and deceit . . And, ,their blood will be precious in his sight.”

Another car bomb exploded in Iraq, and over twenty people are killed. Another child wanders through the streets of another city of the world, with nothing to eat and no one to take care of him or her. Another child is sold into sexual slavery somewhere in the world. Another man is robbed and beaten. A woman is raped. Others are deceived into buying this or that, and they can’t afford this or that, and now others will soon take all that they have in interest and penalties, and they won’t be able to rest at night.

“He will redeem their souls from violence and deceit. . . And, their blood will be precious in his sight.”

Blood spilled on all the continents of this earth, it is precious in his sight, just as it means nothing to so many who cause that blood to be spilled.
Yes, the hope for a truly good king, with justice and compassion and an ability to deliver. That hope runs right down into our day. And, that hope has a foundation in the history of this world, because it is a hope grounded in God’s saving presence in human history. “When Israel was in Egypt’s land, let my people go. Oppressed so hard they could not stand, let my people go. Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt’s land. Tell ole Pharoah to let my people go!” And, for once, God’s will was done on earth, as the slaves of Israel were set free, as his people came through the Red Sea into a wilderness of freedom under the leadership of Moses.

Yes, this hope has a foundation in the history of the world, because God has been revealed as the God of liberation, and God delivers to heal and make whole and bring peace. As it says in our passage from Isaiah: “There shall be peace, because all the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.”

To know God is to be at peace in one’s body and soul and throughout ones relationships with others. To not know God is to be at enmity within one’s own mind and soul and body and to be at enmity with others. It is the greatest blessing to be full of the knowledge of the Lord, a knowing that fills heart, soul and body – the knowledge that is a living faith and devotion to the living God of all life.
But, the Israelites knew back then when our Psalm was written and when Isaiah prophecied . . . they knew back then that they needed a savior, a deliverer, who could bring hope to the hopeless, solutions to problems that overwhelmed their society and world. They yearned for a king who was more than a king, a king who was a savior sent from God, to pour out God’s will onto the earth, and liberate human beings who were caught in their own webs of violence and deceit and sorrow. “They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

As it says in Isaiah 14:3: “And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage in which thou wast made to serve.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Yes, I said, Come, Lord Jesus. Because, he alone is that ruler, that authority, that savior that is just, holy, full of kindness and compassion. O, we see glimpses of his truth in human beings on this earth. We see men and women and children who show compassion and work for justice, but none has the ability to set things right in the deepest places. Certainly, there are people of good will that do good things,and we give thanks and praise to God for that, but no one among humanity has the power and wisdom to really set things right, to answer the deepest questions of the human heart and heal the wounds of the broken link in the chain of creation. And, we are that broken link in the chain of being. We, human beings, “bleeding wound that will not heal,” as Bruce Cockburn used to sing. But, even with our wounds, we human beings bear an image of glory within us. Our good deeds and creative work and humor and kindness bear witness to this image of the Creator who is all goodness and wisdom and love and truth and fairness. But, our evil deeds bear witness to the cloud that separates us from our God who brought all things into being. Our darkened thinking and self-destructive actions, our words and deeds that undermine others’ sense of purpose and meaning and hope – these bear witness to another reality,our alienation from God, others and even our separation from who were are made to be. This cloud between us and God,between us and each other, between us and ourselves, is the reality of sin, which is the brokenness in our communion with God and each other and even ourselves.

Whatever it is that drives us to hurt and destroy what is good and beautiful in life, I for one, would like rid of it, or to at least be able to gain some power over against it. Highest hope, to be liberated from all destructive and self-destructive impulses and desires – that would be to be full of the knowledge of the Lord. That would bring peace to me, to those who are influenced or impacted by me, including not only humans, but other animals and the natural environment I affect and live in.

“They shall neither hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” Those are wise words.

But, is there really one who can bring reason to our unreasonableness? Is there really one who can comprehend the deepest problems of humanity and can rebuild the human race in goodness and wisdom and mercy? Clearly, if there is, he or she is not like anyone we have ever known. Though, we have seen glimpses of this goodness and truth and mercy through human beings we have known. Because, humanity has something very high about it, something very promising and hopeful that just can’t seem to be crushed even by all the evil we humans have thrown out on each other. There is at the heart of the human race, a beauty, and this beauty and goodness is not an abstract idea or mere wish, this beauty and justice and love and hope at the heart of humanity is a living being, who is one with the flesh and blood of humanity and one with the Spirit of the living God. This is our hope: born of a virgin in Bethlehem of Judea, a little over 2,000 years ago. His mother was named Mary, his father Joseph. He grew up in a small town in the hill country of Judea called Nazareth. And, how God poured out the Divine life through Jesus’ human flesh, we can never really understand, but somehow, we do understand in a way that touches our souls but evades our minds, in a way that lifts our hearts and dazzles our heads with delight. Because, now as we hear this hope of so long ago, something tells us:

THESE WORDS ARE TRUE. THIS HOPE IS REAL. MY HEART IS LIFTED BY THESE WORDS. AND,SOMETHING ABOUT THESE WORDS IS MORE TRUE THAN ANYTHING I HAVE EVER HEARD. THEY ARE TRUE, BECAUSE HE HAS COME AMONG US, FRIEND OF TAX COLLECTORS AND SINNERS AND PEOPLE TO THE RIGHT AND LEFT AND SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN. HE IS THE VERY SON OFGOD, FLESH OF OUR FLESH AND YET ONE WITH THE HOLY BEING OF GOD. OPENING A WAY TO GOD, OPENING A WAY TO OUR NEIGHBOR, AND EVEN OPENING A WAY TO OURSELVES.

"He will redeem their souls from deceit and violence…"

HE WILL REDEEM OUR SOULS FROM DECEIT AND VIOLENCE . . .

"Their blood is precious in his sight . . ."

OUR BLOOD IS PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT.

AND, HIS BLOOD IS PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD, AND OUR SIGHT. ALLELEUIA, AMEN. MORE LOVE TO THEE, O CHRIST, MORE LOVE TO THEE.

Showing Respect For God: Romans 2:3-4

Romans 2:3-4 “Showing Respect for God”

When you have done wrong, forgiveness is a very gracious thing. But, forgiveness comes from outside of you, from someone else to you; repentance comes from within you. And, repentance means a change from sin to righteousness. To experience forgiveness, causes and encourages repentance; but, repentance can begin before you experience forgiveness. In human relationships, if you’ve done something wrong, you usually are going to have to change your ways, before the one wronged can begin to forgive. In many ways, I think forgiveness is overrated. What is important is turning from what is wrong towards what is right. If you are really repentant, and someone withholds forgiveness, well, you can’t do anything about that. The most important thing is to be at peace with God, acting righteously before God. We would do better to speak of repentance and reconciliation, and leave off talk of forgiveness for a while. If you really desire reconciliation, you will repent/change towards the good, and you will forgive] The yearning for reconciliation or peace with others motivates us to change towards what is good, and motivates us to set aside disagreements, forgive wrongs done. If you love someone, there is a strong desire towards reconciliation; but, what if someone wrongs you, and you don’ tcare much at all for them? The motivation to forgive must come from somewhere other than your yearning for reconciliation.

Paul has begun this letter to the Romans by explaining that God has made himself known in the things he has made, and that there is some reflection of God in the conscience of every human who has a sense of what is right and what is wrong. But, here in this second chapter, Paul turns towards those who believe in God, those who count on God’s forgiveness. And, he has some pretty sharp things to say.
“Do you think that you will escape judgment when you are doing the very wrongs that you judge others for?” “Or, do you despise the richness of God’s mercy, that is meant to lead you to repentance?”

What Paul is saying here is “you cannot mock God and get a way with it.” And, it is mocking God when you take his forgiveness for granted, and continue in those same sins with no change in your life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this “cheap grace” which is taking God’s mercy for granted, and failing to realize how costly that grace really is. Grace that couldn’t overcome sin in the world until Jesus, the Son of God, was put to death, buried, and raised as the first-born of a new creation. The people of Israel knew the One True God; they heard the teaching of the prophets, experienced the liberation from slavery; but, the grace of God could not find a resting place among the people, only a few here and there. When Jesus came, the grace of God shone on the earth, but there was no resting place for the Son of God, because the power of sin was so strong in human beings, that they could not receive the Saviour. They rejected that grace of God that they needed so badly. There was something twisted in human beings, that couldn’t be straightened out, except by that one person, Jesus, who shared the divine and the human experience in his flesh and blood. In him humanity was true, God’s grace found a resting place in Jesus human flesh. And, Jesus leads us in that way on this earth. A way in which God can be honored in human flesh. But, there is a cost on this way. Because, God’s grace does not find a resting place in us until we take up the struggle against sin; until we turn against the sin within and without.

What Paul is saying here is: “if you aren’t really bothered by sin, and if you let sin come and go as it pleases in your life without a fight, then you have no business with God’s forgiveness.” Because when you are open to God, when you receive God’s grace, you are filled with respect for God, and a desire to please God. As Paul says: “Don’t you know that God’s mercy is to bring you to repentance.” If you think you are receiving God’s forgiveness, but you are not turning against your sin, then it may not be God’s forgiveness, but just a cheap substitute, cheap grace, which God has nothing to do with. God’s forgiveness comes with the power of repentance, the power to change. Now, change doesn’t come all at once; it is usually a step at a time – with a stumble or two along the way – but, the change keeps going, the eyes of the heart are fixed upon the glory of God.
False religion is built on cheap grace. And, yes, sometimes that cheap grace is accompanied by a lot of false, sentimental preaching. True religion is built on costly grace. And, James gives a good description when he says: “True religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows and keep yourself unstained by the world.”
And, it takes some effort and some struggle to do those things: care for those in need; remain holy/dedicated to God, not lesser gods. I would like for all of us to come before our Holy God this morning, face God’s holiness, to know God’s power, and to give God the pure praise of our hearts. And, if we can come before God in this way, to truly come with that deep reverence for God’s wisdom and power and goodness, with deep gratitude that we are able to seek God and to live before him. If we can start right here, then the grace we will find will comes as forgiveness, and the power of repentance, the power to overcome sin and become living examples of God’s goodness and grace.

But, don’t think you can tell God what to do, when to do it, and don’t think God is waiting around to serve you and me. God is about his business, and we need to come before God with a concern for God’s business/God’s will, and ask humbly that we could be humble workers in God’s business. When we do that, God’s Spirit begins to move within us and through us. We experience ourselves drawn to love and honesty and life, and we experience that there is little room within us for sins like condemning, lusting, envying, and hating.

Can you rest just a minute in prayer? Can you draw near with me and seek that Holy Presence that created all that is and that sustains all that is? Can you let that reverence/ that deepest respect for God awaken in your heart, and guide you?

Let us pray.

Remembering Mary Magdalene

Mary’s life had been changed when she heard the teaching of Jesus, and came to know the healing of God through Jesus. What had once been a life of torment had become a life of purpose. She had come to understand that Jesus was the Messiah of God. But, there were many around them that didn’t see Jesus the way she did. There were Jewish leaders who thought he was a trouble maker, and there were some Roman leaders that didn’t like prophets who caused hostility among the Jewish people. The Romans were the rulers over the Jews in those days, and they had seen what trouble Jewish religious fanatics could be.

But, Mary knew what these authorities didn’t know. She knew the power of Jesus’ holiness. She knew the purity of his presence, and the cleansing air of his teaching. And, then the day came when Jesus’ days were up, when the soldiers came to arrest him, for some trumped up blasphemy charges. Trumped up by those who were threatened by Jesus truth, the truth of God which exposed the falsehood of man. And, after his arrest, he was given a mockery of a trial, and sentenced to death by crucifixion. There were no appeals from the death sentence, just a painful and lonely walk carrying the instrument of death on your own back. And, Mary followed in grief as her Lord walked to his place of execution. As he walked closer to that dark place of suffering, her hope was crushed, her heart was broken. But, she still followed, right to the place where he was hung on a cross, within earshot of the hammers and so that she heard his cry as he died. The male disciples may have fled, but she didn’t – she couldn’t she held onto her Lord as long as she could, the only way she could, through her grief, sharing his suffering of this humiliation and pain.

And, she watched as Joseph of Arimathea asked for the corpse of Jesus, and buried Jesus in his own tomb. And, she watched as they rolled the great stone against the tomb to seal it. But, then on that third day, early before dawn, she went with the other Mary to show respect and love for her fallen master and teacher and friend. She held on to him in her grief, seeking to anoint his body in the tomb. She was grieving his death in the way of her people. There had been no memorial service, no gathering in his honor, for he was buried after being executed as a criminal. Mary was trying to rescue some semblance of decency from this indecent horror done to her lord.

And, as she came in her grief, and looked towards the tomb, she noticed the stone was rolled away, the tomb was opened, and the body of Jesus was gone. One more cause of upset. Not only had he been disfigured and cruelly killed, now someone had disturbed him even in death and caused an even deeper wound to those who loved him. “Woman, what are you looking for?” They have taken away the body of my lord, and I do not know where they have laid him!!!

Mary had discovered the empty tomb, which caused her a terrible fright and poured salt into the wounds of her heart. She had discovered the depths of her own sorrow and pain, the pain that comes from the loss of those we love, and the loss of our deepest dreams and hopes. There she was. She had discovered a depth of pain and hurt and emptiness that she could never have imagined. That’s exactly where she was – in the valley of the shadow of death.

But, then after seeing the tomb empty, and seeing two angels in white sitting, she began to weep and turned away from the tomb. Then, the angels said: “Woman, why are you crying?” She said: “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.” “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Not only had this cruel death ripped her hope and dear master from her, but now she was deprived of the chance to mourn him. She turned from the tomb, and saw a man standing. He said to her: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Mary thought he was the gardener and said, begging: “sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

It was a moment of deepest sorrow, and the deepest expression of love. And, the man turned to her and said: “Mary.” And, she turned immediately to him and cried out: “Rabonni, which means “master.”

She discovered the empty tomb, and the depths of her empty heart, and she continued to love him in her sorrow and grief. And, when she felt all was lost, she heard his voice. She didn’t recognize him with her eyes but with her ears. He didn’t make him self known to her by his appearance but by his Word. “Where you there when they crucified my Lord, where you there when they nailed him to the tree, ,where you there when they laid him in the tomb? “ Mary was. And, I hear Mary sing: “where you there when I saw the empty tomb? Where you there when all my hope was gone?” Where you there when he spoke my name out loud? Where you there when my heart began to live? Where you there when my despair was shaken by hope? Where you there when I began to doubt defeat? Where you there when my shaky faith arose on the troubled soil of sorrow? Where you there when I first believed, but couldn’t quite believe? Where you there when I said: "I believe, help thou my unbelief?" "Where you there when my heart began to sing in the freedom of faith!" Amen.

"The Lord is my Shepherd: Looking for a Center of Gravity in Life"

To get through one week in this life with an open heart and mind requires a lot of balancing, regrouping, reflecting. It just takes a lot of give and take inside for a person to travel through a week and still be intact psychologically and spiritually at the end of the week.

It is easy to get off-balance internally, and for the off-balance way of being to become the status quo. What is needed is some internal sense of spiritual balance that can adjust and change with all the challenges while maintaining some sense of continuity. I guess I am trying to talk about "the soul" again. What I am wanting to talk about is having a "center of gravity in life." A center that is strong enough that it allows you to venture out and try on new thoughts, new perspectives without losing a sense of where you have been as a person and where you are hopefully going.

Psalm 23 leads us into the experience of "having this center of gravity" in God. These words reflect a profound "God-orientation" in living. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the quiet waters. He stills my soul."

This "God-orientation" means that I am turned and drawn towards God in my living. That whereever I go, whatever I do, I am always drawn back to God, prone to turn my heart God's way, and be influenced and guided and restored by the Spirit of the Living God.

The only real center of gravity we can have in life is found in a real relationship with a living being. An analogy is found in the relationship of a child to a parent. As a child grows up, his or her center of gravity psychologically or spiritually is what helps her have the courage to venture out while not losing a sense of who she is. But, this center of gravity isn't necessarily found in strict rules for living that are internalized, but in a living, vital relationship between child and parent. Only this living bond is strong enough and adaptable enough to respond to the real struggles and challenges of life. In the same way, with regard to religious faith, it is not primarily a set of rules that are internalized that provides the center of gravity for living. It is the living bond, the relationship with the great Other, God, that is a well of living water, a source of renewal, a voice of judgement calling us back.

Our center of gravity is in finding ourselves truly in relation to others: human, God, and other creatures as well. In these vital relationships, we are not only sustained, but we help sustain others. In these vital relationships, what is deep in us is respected and strengthened. But, it is in the One vital relationship that we find the Center of Gravity that orients and refashions and revitalizes all our other relationships and keeps them alive and oriented towards God, the source of all life and love and hope and purpose.

"The Lord is my shepherd... I shall not want... Though I should walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil... Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

In the end, the great thing is that God has a profound "human-orientation." Without that there would be no power to draw us, to call us, to restore and renew us. Without the deep and pervading Love of God at work continuously in this world, there would be a nothingness. With this Spirit binding all things together, there is always hope, always a chance that our spirits will relax just a little and be renewed by that grace.

Another Look at 1 Corinthians 13

This is the love passage. The part of the Bible often read at weddings. This passage about love has been used in the context of romantic love.
But, Paul was addressing a church community about how to get along with each other. He didn’t write this for a couple getting married, though it would be some good advice for that occasion too.

No, Paul had written this letter known as 1 Corinthians to a group of Christians that were really having trouble getting along with each other. They were having problems with sexual immorality, lawsuits among members, arguments over theology and pastoral leadership, and disputes over how to conduct worship services and communion, and trouble with the rich looking down on the poor. So, in the Corinthian church there was a real need for some teaching to bring things more into line with the way of God’s peace and love in Jesus.

Paul writes: “I will show you a still more excellent way (to get along with each other).” And, that way is love.

. . . but if I have not love, then I am nothing. It is important to note what Greek word Paul uses for love. And, that word is Agape. You see, in Greek, they have a word for friendship love, romantic love, and then this other kind of love that seems the foundation of all love: Agape.

And, it is not the word for romantic love, eros that Paul uses here. It is not the word for friendship love, philos, that Paul uses here. It is the word, Agape, which is so often used in the New Testament to speak of the Love of God.

Romantic love has a lot to do with the one you love, and your attraction to the one you love. It is force that draws you and holds you.

The love between friends, is a different kind of love than romantic, but it does have to do with an attraction of a less intense sort to the friend. It has to do with really liking and being liked, really respecting and being respected.

But, Agape, this kind of love, is not restricted to friends or lovers, but has to do with what’s inside of you. It is a condition of the soul that allows you to “love” stranger or friend, lover or even enemy. It is a condition of the soul which is of God, and formed by the grace of God in your soul. Agape. This is the love Paul speaks of.

And, listen to how he describes it. “Love is patient and kind. It is not boastful or irritable or arrogant or rude or proud. It does not seek its own way, but the way of the other. Love believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Remember, he is telling this to church people who are fighting with each other about what is moral, about what is true, about which way to worship, about who’s the best preacher, about who ought to speak out in services. And, they are fighting with each other about who owes who money, etc, and there are threats of lawsuits. Those who have a lot are not showing much concern for those who don't.

So, it seems to me that Paul is talking about love to help these people think differently and act differently towards those they don’t love. In fact, he is counseling them to show love towards those they don’t even like.

And, Paul clearly puts the emphasis on inner change. That is, this love he is talking about is a condition and a reality of our souls. My neighbor does not have to change before I can love him. Demanding that others change and conform to your wishes is a way of being arrogant, irritable, rude and conceited. Looking for change within yourself takes the pressure off of others. Like the church sign I saw said: “Lord, I’ve got a problem – me.”

The love between friends and couples is an attraction. In some ways it is the experience of being drawn to someone. In that sense it is somewhat passive. You don’t sit down and intentionally decide very often who will be your friend or your mate. It happens.

But, this love that Paul talks about here seems more deliberate, more intentional, more a matter of the will at the start. Patience, seeing things from the perspective of the other, encouragement of another, endurance. These things are matters of the will. This Agape love is fired by the experience of grace, but it is characterized by a strong will and making some real decisions on how to act towards others.

If you carry yourself in such a way that it irritates me, I need to look inward. Because that irritation is first of all my responsibility to handle. Once I get that log out of my eye, then I can turn and help you get the speck out of your eye. Am I impatient, ill-tempered, rude towards people? If so, I need to look inward, into my own soul first, for I am responsible for the condition of my soul.
That is a primary responsibility. To look within and seek God’s help and open our souls to the coming of God’s healing and redeeming grace and wisdom. And, that’s how this love starts. That’s how this love of God in our hearts is received,discovered and renewed.

And, this divine love poured out through the Spirit can take up residence in your soul. There is a holy place within you in which the Spirit of Christ can dwell. When that Spirit has room in you, it awakens your spirit to true life and to love.
This love is strong. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. As for prophecies, they shall fail; as for knowledge, it will pass away. Three things remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.

Love is a condition of the heart and soul and mind; it is internal and it is always reaching out, going out to meet others. That’s what it means to be a loving person. It means that your heart is renewed by God’s peace and kindness and that your heart goes out towards others showing understanding and peace and concern.
I am working on this sermon very early in the morning. I will be going to work in around three hours. I will get some phone calls pretty soon after I get to work. Then, I will decide what cases I am going to work on, which people I will call up, what research I’ll do, and in the middle of that, I will get some more calls from people wanting to know something about their case. And, I will also be interacting with my co-workers at the Public Defender’s Office. And, I will speak with a person or two in church by phone, and probably communicate by email with at least two or three people in church. I will either talk to or email the architect and contractor.

All in all, I will have the chance to encounter and deal with a number of people and consider a number of people as I decide what to do today.
And, I wonder right now: how will I do? How is the condition of my soul as I approach this day? Paul would show me a better way to do things. A way he calls love.

It is not arrogant or boastful or rude. It is patient and kind. It hopes for the best for others. It endures.

Is that spirit of love in me? Is that the condition of my heart? O, Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high. O, Lord, help us to be children of quietness and heirs of peace. O, Lord, fill my anxiety with your peace; replace my criticism with your acceptance; replace my anger with your love; replace my hurry and worry with your patience and trust; replace, O Lord, my heart with your heart, so that I may dwell in your presence, and under the guidance of your living Spirit. Make my heart one with your heart; my desires one with your desires; my love one with your love.

Break down every wall within me, every barrier within me that keeps me from loving my neighbor as myself.

Amen.

Sexual Orientation and Ordination in the Presbyterian Church: Reflecting On it Again

Here is what I wrote in the summer of 2004 to try and express the common faith of the Presbyterian Tradition, which has always tried to read the Bible as a whole when addressing moral issues. I wrote this to find a way to address the very contentious issue in my denomination over whether persons who have a homosexual orientation should be allowed to be ordained as ministers. ************************************************************************************
We, regardless of sexual orientation, confess that we fall short of the glory of God in the expression of our sexuality. We acknowledge that we are part of a society that is saturated with unholiness of thought, word and deed in matters of sexuality.

We confess that God created human beings, male and female, in God’s goodness and that the gift of sexuality is a blessing from God that we have so often turned into a means of manipulation, bondage, hurt and self-destruction.

We confess our tendency to worship the creature rather than the creator, becoming idolatrous when we fail to love God with all our mind, and soul, and body.

We confess that we are so far from being made whole that we can only place ourselves humbly in the hands of God trusting that by God’s grace we will move step by step towards holiness in thought, word and deed.

We are unable to judge how far along the way that we or our brothers and sisters are towards sexual holiness. For we are not complete, but putting the past behind us, we look forward to the upward call of Christ Jesus, our Lord. God alone is judge. We leave the judgment of our brothers and sisters, and ourselves, in God’s gracious hands.

We encourage all members of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. to consider others first in choosing how to express themselves as sexual beings as we join together in discerning God’s guidance in this fragile and precious area of human life.

We confess that we are not our own, but we are God’s – body, mind and soul. We confess that we are not our own, but we are God’s – in life and in death.

We have been embraced by God’s love. We do not have time to judge. We do not have the desire to condemn. If the Holy and Righteous Son of God came into the world, not to judge, but to save; then how can we as an unclean people do anything but love and believe in God’s love for each other?

We confess that the log in our eye keeps us from being able to remove the speck from our brothers’ and sisters’ eyes. We realize that our unholiness makes us unable to receive the type of truth and clarity that our world needs. But, we trust that God is preparing us each day to receive that truth and clarity that we need to proclaim the Gospel.

We confess that we are simply not wise or holy enough to declare on this matter of human sexuality and sexual orientation. We also know that God has not called us to “straighten out” others but to show mercy. We confess that part of this mercy is that we become able to provide clear guidance to children and youth and all who struggle for clarity in this area of life. We commit ourselves to providing such guidance as God’s Spirit finds room within us to work.

We acknowledge that there is an apparent conflict between what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans, chapter 1 and acceptance of homosexual practice, but we also acknowledge the tremendous force of the Gospel Paul preached that shattered barriers, culminating in Paul proclaiming that ‘in Christ there is no Greek or Jew, no male or female, no slave or free.” We also acknowledge a tension in the New Testament between such celebration of the Gospel’s freedom and passages which sanction the subordination of women and institution of slavery. We look to the holy ground of scripture for new revelations through God’s Spirit, a Spirit that opened the doors of the church to those who had been excluded (Gentiles, eunuchs, tax collectors, prostitutes, Samaritans). We celebrate the powerful Gospel of Jesus Christ that Paul preached, and assert that the freedom of that Gospel sometime es pushed ahead of Paul’s ability to receive and understand the egalitarian consequences of the Gospel in all areas of human life.

We acknowledge that parts of scripture which at one time seemed to stand as barriers to full participation of women and enslaved persons in society and church leadership have been overcome in our tradition by the witness of other parts of scripture through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We acknowledge that we in the Reformed tradition have rarely bound ourselves to a simple, literal understanding even of specific ethical commands in Holy Scripture, whether the passage be Jesus’ clear prohibition on divorce except in cases of adultery, Jesus’ instruction to give up all possessions and follow him, or Jesus’ prohibition against self-defense and use of “the sword.”

We confess that the Bible is God’s holy ground, and when we step onto such holy ground in faith we should do so with fear and trembling. The Bible is not a tool in our hands, but a tool in God’s hands to be used by God’s Spirit to awaken faith and to bring about God’s glory in human beings. We have been accustomed to questioning the Bible for answers, instead of first allowing God to question us through the Bible. Having failed to answer God’s question of us first, we confess that we may be asking the wrong questions of scripture and that may be why the Word of the Lord is rare in our day.

We acknowledge that the Apostle Paul was humble enough when addressing sensitive moral/social issues such as divorce, marriage after the death of a spouse and marriage to unbelievers to admit at times that he did not have a word from the Lord, but nonetheless bore his responsibility and offered what advice he felt was in accordance with the will of God.

We confess that God alone is holy and we are not. We do not take our stand on our righteousness, but on the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Just as this righteousness surprised the religious of the world in the days that Jesus dwelt among us in the flesh, so also we expect that God’s righteousness may express itself again in such a way that the religious, both conservative and liberal, may miss the time of God’s visitation and misunderstand the nature of God’s Word.

We confess that we may be those who think we are strong in faith, but are using our so-called freedom to hurt our brothers and sisters. We confess that we may also be those who think we are free when we are actually enslaved by immorality. We confess that we may be those who place moral burdens on others backs that we are not willing to bear.

But, we confess above all that God’s grace is greater than our sin, and that the good work God has begun in us, God will complete in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks be to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is our peace and our hope and our salvation. Amen.*************************************************************************************

Now, my personal views on this matter of sexual orientation focus right in on Paul's declaration: 'In Christ, there is no Greek or Jew; no slave or free; no male or female, but all are one in Christ Jesus.' Galatians 3:28. And, my position of saying that homosexuality in itself should not be a bar any more than heterosexuality should be a bar to ordination comes from my experience that Jesus really means freedom in human life. And, it comes from a deep sense that sexual orientation is usually biologically/genetically determined.

We see in history that God's Spirit continues to reveal just how broad a reach the Gospel has. Gender barriers are falling; racial barriers are falling. We are still learning about the reach of God's redeeming grace and how it breaks down all barriers to true and healthy human unity. The liberty that Paul proclaims with the regard to male and female and Jew and Greek and slave and free surely applies to heterosexual and homosexual as well.

Once we affirm our true unity in God, then we can start understanding the way to be heterosexual and homosexual in a way that helps instead of harms. And, once we understand that our true identity is in God then we will quit making such a big deal about our identity being all tied up in our sexuality. We have put the cart before the horse. The deepest part of us is that we share the humanity of Christ,who is of the very being of God. Once this comes alive in us, then we will be able to grow into a true human being, whether we have this sexual orientation or that. And, how we express ourselves sexually will build up instead of breakdown ourselves and others.

Being Saul

“Being Saul” (1 Samuel 8)

Everytime I read this part of the history of Israel, I feel bad for Saul. First, he didn’t really ask to be king, but when called to be king, he tried to be the best king he knew how to be. He didn’t have any examples before him in Israel, since he was the first king.

He tried to rely on Samuel , the great judge and prophet of Israel. But, Samuel was against Israel having a king from the start, as God had always appointed a judge to lead the people. A judge in those days was like a prophet and priest as well as a judge.

But, as we read, the people were tired of being led by a priest and prophet; they wanted a king like the other nations around them. They wanted someone more like a general, who had a palace. Prophets like Samuel didn’t have palaces.

But, I keep thinking about Saul,and how things started falling apart for him during his reign. It seems like Samuel won’t show up when Saul needs him, and it seems like Samuel is just looking for a reason to condemn Saul and replace him. God seems to abandon Saul as well, as no Word of the Lord comes to Saul. Saul begins to lose his mind, it seems, and then comes David, who is taken into the royal household, especially after David’s miraculous victory over the giant Philistine warrior, Goliath. And, David is trusted by Saul, even playing music to sooth Saul’s nerves. But, soon it becomes clear to Saul that David is overtaking him in popularity, and may replace him as king.

In the end, Saul dies in battle and David becomes king, a very successful king, whom God favors.

But, I want to think about the first king of Israel today: King Saul. Sometimes in this life, we are called to serve in roles that don’t fit who we are. Sometimes the role we serve in is a burden we endure for a time. It was that way for Saul. He seemed to try to bear the role responsibly, but he just wasn’t cut out for it. And, God allowed him to fail as king.

That is the way of life often. We somehow find ourselves playing a position we aren’t good at, we aren’t suited for, and it is frustrating. And, often when we find our way to a role that is not meant for us, to a relationship that is not meant for us, to a way of living that is not right for us, we feel a sense of frustration and failure. Like a golfer trying to play football, it just doesn’t work. Like a carpenter trying his hand at neurosurgery,we just end up in the wrong place at times in life. Like a city boy trying be a farmer, or a country boy trying to be an urbanite. It is just wrong.

And, we all need to find our way to something that is right. Where we can grow and blossom in our living. We need a place where we can come to understand what our real strengths are, and also understand what our real weaknesses are. Poor ole Saul. He seemed to have been chosen because he was better looking than anyone else. But, that doesn’t go too far when it comes to figuring out how to run a nation,lead an army,resolve disputes between nations.

Saul didn’t seek out the kingship. It seemed to seek him out as the will of the people was expressed. Saul was made king to satisfy the people. But, David was chosen to be king to satisfy God.

And, I guess that might be a good thing to focus on here. Saul became king because the people wanted him to be king. Now, as the scripture tells us: God told Samuel the prophet to let the people have what they wanted. But, it was not what God wanted.

That is one thing to worry about: God will stand aside at some point and let us do what we want even if what we want is destructive and unholy. Of course, God pleads with us, works with us, calls to us for a long time before he stands aside and says: well, if you are so deadset on foolishness, go ahead. That’s what God did in Israel. They wouldn’t listen to his prophets, so he finally said: “I’ll let you be like other nations, and be led by and king, and you will end up being made into slaves in your own country.” And, it came to pass in the time of Solomon that the people were made into servants of the royal power.

This story of Saul shows that where we are seeking to please people, to do the will of people, then we have no real center and no real guidance. If we choose to serve humans and not God, then our lives can spin out of control. In your life, there are always going to be pressures from people to get you to be this way or that, to do this thing or that. But, I want to invite you to step aside from those pressures and start thinking about what God would have you to do, who God would have you to be. That is what I am asking you to begin taking seriously right now.

Saul was the one the people wanted. His kingship was a failure. Maybe he should have protested when Samuel tried to anoint him king. Maybe Saul should have asked the holy prophet: “Do you think God really wants a king?” I don’t know. Maybe it was Saul’s fate if there is such a thing as that.
If you are living a life that seems to be falling apart over and over again, its likely that you are living out a life chosen for you by people, and not a life chosen for you by God.

Now, I didn’t say that everything is perfect in a life chosen by God. I didn’t say you will all the sudden have no financial trouble or illness or conflict if you walk in a life set out for you by God.

But, what I am will say is this: When you get where you care more about pleasing God than people, you will start getting somewhere as a person. Your mind will clear up; your heart will begin to feel free; your body will begin to feel alive and rested. When you start really looking to see what God wants you to do, you quit worrying about what others want you to do. And, you start really doing for others what they need. When you start finding out what God wants you to do and who God is calling you to be, you won’t have to be looking to others to assure you that you are worth something or that you are worth loving or worth respecting. When you start listening to God as the one Lord of your life, you will hear God’s assurance in your soul and feel God’s assurance in your body. For our God is the one who has said: “I will not leave you or forsake you. For I have loved you since you were born, and I will receive you in my arms when you die. You are my child. I am your father. I am with you now, and I will have you with me always.”
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Young Man Asks Jesus a Question

Mark 10:17-22

“There came one running, who kneeled before Jesus, and asked: “Good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ And, Jesus said: ‘Why do you call me “good,” there is none good, but God alone.’ You know the commandments: . . .
“The man answered: yes, I have kept these even from my youth.

“THEN JESUS BEHOLDING HIM, LOVED HIM, AND SAID TO HIM:
“ONE THING YOU LACK: GO, SELL ALL YOU HAVE, GIVE THE MONEY TO THE POOR, AND YOU WILL HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN AND COME, TAKE UP THE CROSS AND FOLLOW ME.

“And, he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved, for he had great possessions.”

What must I do to inherit eternal life? Obey the commandments. This I have done from my youth. If you would be perfect, go, sell all that you have, give the money to the poor and follow me.

I think that Jesus saw in this young man a holy desire; a desire for full communion with God and a desire to walk in that holy path that Jesus was on. He also saw that this was a good young man. We are told in the scriptures that when Jesus heard how he loved and respected God’s law, Jesus loved him.

But, the young man walked away sadly, feeling the pressures of his life, the possessions of his life, calling him back. The young man was seeking holiness and freedom; the real restrictions on him though, were the conditions of his own success and status, it seems. Or, we might say that the real restrictions on him were that his life was living him and he wasn’t living his life.

The conditions, pressures, responsibilities of his life were things he was reacting to, responding to, but he wasn’t freely taking up his life each day and choosing freely how to live.

Imagine that after trying for ten years, you have just won the lottery: powerball – 2.8 million! And, you get the chance to meet Jesus. And, you dare to ask him: “what do I really need to do to inherit eternal life?” And, he says: “give your 2.8 million to your neighbor you hate.” Or, maybe he ignores the lottery winnings, and just says: “be kind to your neighbor next door that you hate. That’s all; just do that.”

Or, maybe you see Jesus and have been feeling empty, and you come up to him and ask: “Lord, what do I need to do to get out of this mess of a life I’m in?” And, he says something like: give up that relationship; give up your pills that you rely on more than me; give up your drinking that you rely on more than me; give up your efforts to remain popular with others, since you are seeking to please them more than me; give up your efforts to get wealthy and secure your wealth.; give up your self-hatred and self-criticism and receive life from God, receive grace from God; get up and walk.

What was it that drew the man to Jesus to ask what he asked, and what was it that kept him from following when he got the answer that would free him? The young man came, like so many come, looking for deliverance from the conditions of his life that keep him from being free. That keep him from being able to live life fully.

And, probably what bothered Jesus the most was that Jesus saw that this man would make a great disciple, if he could just experience the freedom and joy of trusting completely in God. But, Jesus understood the young man, because Jesus understood how insecure human life can be, and when you have a house and some money, you don’t want to risk that security because it can be a hard world out there. If you have something, its hard to give it away, because who else is going to look after you, if you don’t? Who else is going to look after your wife and children and parents, if you don’t? And, so Jesus was sad as he loved the man, knew what life is like, and wished the young man could step outside his life for just a minute to experience what life is like in the Spirit of God.

We work hard in this life to have a place to live, to have health insurance if we can get it, to have a way to get around town, to have money to buy groceries for ourselves and our families. We work hard to make sense of life, and keep things in balance. We work hard to make it through life’s hardships, and carry on responsibly. But, sometimes we work so hard and worry so much, that we forget that life comes to us as a gift each day. We aren’t creating life each day – it is a gift from our Creator. We aren’t sustaining life each day – God does that with his Spirit. But, we are receiving and cooperating and passing on life from God. It is a joyful, not burdensome task when we understand this. I imagine that the rich young ruler, like most of us, just hadn’t learned this yet.

Sometimes it feels like life depends on you. But, life and the power of life and the goodness of life is being offered to you each day by God. What is yours to learn is how to recognize and receive this life from God, and how to pass it on. That’s what Jesus was trying to teach this young man. To learn that life is a gift from God’s hand, a gift to pass on to others as we live it. Jesus meant to teach the man that you can’t possess life, but you can celebrate it and live it fully if you know the author of Life.

Jesus stood among the men and women and children of his day saying “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me will not hunger.” I am the way, the truth and the light . . . he who comes to me I will in no wise cast out.. . And, Jesus said: “I have come that they might have life and that abundantly.”

The rich young ruler came to Jesus; about how he could be everything God wanted him to be. And, I invite you to come before the Lord today in this same spirit. To come to this Table with a desire to be all that God has asked you to be. To come to this Table today with a yearning to follow the way of Jesus in this world. And, I ask: “What must I do, Lord, to become a faithful man devoted to you in all of my life?” “What must I do to become a faithful woman devoted to you in all my life? “ To know you more clearly, To love you more dearly; to follow you more nearly – day by day. And, to hear God’s answer, you need to go deep within. To a place that only you and God’s Spirit can go. To the inner sanctuary of your soul, the holy of holies within. There, the Christ waits, to lead you to life, to awaken your joy, to celebrate with you the gift, the glory, the purpose and the promise of life in God.
But, there are other voices calling to you: voices within and voices without. Voices that tell you you are not worthy to follow in the way of life; voices telling you you are not able to follow in the way of life; voices telling you that it just doesn’t matter, and that what matters is either how you look, how others think of you, and what you power or wealth you have. Amidst all these voices, listen for that still small voice of the Lord; let those who have ears to hear, hear what the Spirit is saying.

I close with a prayer from Richard of Chichester:

Thanks be to you,
O Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which you have given us;
for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us.
O most merciful redeemer,
friend and brother,
may we know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly,
for your own sake. Amen.

Rediscovering the Goodness of Life: A meditation on Ecclesiastes 9:1-10

1: For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
2: All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
3: This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
4: For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5: For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6: Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
7: Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
8: Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9: Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
10: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

Ecclesiastes 9:1-10

To some, this passage may seem depressing. To many, Ecclesiastes seems too much of a negative book for them to spend much time with. As I said once at 1st United, if Ecclesiastes was a musician, he would have played the Blues. The only way he knows of feeling better is looking the hard things in the face, and thinking about the parts of life that really trouble him.

A few basic things are really bothering Eccesiastes about life:
Death comes to all, whether they have lived righteously or wickedly. A man may have worked to build something up in life, but who knows whether those who follow him will use it well or waste it foolishly. And, human beings are burdened with toil and worry all the days of their lives, and then they go to the dead. If that’s the whole story to life, then, yes, it does seem a pretty dark picture.

He was talking on like this. And, really seems to be complaining about life, until he touched on death. “But, then they go to the dead.” That is a sobering note, and it sobers the old teacher up a bit too.

And, something stirs within him, sort of life he’s reminded; “I’m still alive,” and he says: “But, to him that is joined to the living, there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.”

He looks at the grave, then he looks back at life, and the vitality of it, catches him up and picks him up. Life may have its problems, but it is life. It is something. It may be crazy and unfair often, but to have a share in life, is really something.

I went to a visitation for the family of a 95 year old woman who had died. Over 30 years ago, her husband had killed himself. People thought that this woman wouldn’t make it long after that. But, she looked back at life after seeing the horrible face of death, and she decided to live. She found out how to live on, and she was there for her family and lived life fully and joyfully and she lived well right up until the end of her life.

There is something about life itself that makes us cling to it and celebrate it. You probably know how it is when you’ve had a real scare in the hospital or in a car wreck or with an illness, and suddenly you realize you are going to be o.k. It just feels so good to be alive, to have another day, to take another breath, to be able to eat and drink and talk and walk and smell the rain coming, or smell the ribs cooking. Life, being alive, is something that we lose sight of in the day to day struggles we have in the routines we get into. And, like Ecclesiastes, there are times when we just sing the Blues about life: it is unfair, those who are arrogant get the most, those who are fair don’t, those who have connections get the promotions, whereas those who work hard just get to work harder to make-up for those who don’t work hard and on and on and on. Now, there are plenty of things to complain about in life, as there were in Ecclesiastes day, but then there is THE SHEER FACT OF LIFE ITSELF AND THE CHANCE TO PARTAKE OF LIFE, TO SHARE IN IT, THAT JUST OVERCOMES ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE.

A number of times in this book, Ecclesiastes finds comfort in these words: “Then I saw that there was nothing better than to eat, drink and take enjoyment in one’s work all the days of this life.”

THE SHEER FACT OF LIFE ITSELF AND THE CHANCE TO PARTAKE OF LIFE, TO SHARE IN IT, THAT JUST OVERCOMES ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE.

AND, THAT’S WHAT I AM PROCLAIMING THIS MORNING. ‘MORNING HAS BROKEN, LIKE THE FIRST MORNING; BLACKBIRD HAS SPOKEN, LIKE THE FIRST BIRD . . . “
SOMEHOW RIGHT IN THE MIDST OF LIFE, WE START FEELING LIKE WE ARE DEAD; SOMEHOW RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF LIFE, WE LOSE CONTACT WITH THE VITALITY AND ENERGY OF LIFE ITSELF – THE MOST PRECIOUS OF ALL GIFTS OF GOD.

Ecclesiastes has some good words for us:
"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
8: Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9: Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
10: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."

This is the time to live. This is our time on earth. As the poet Rilke says: “this once is just so much, only this once and no more, to have been of earth, this once is irrevocable.”

God has provided for us to live fully on this earth. This is the creation we are a part of. We draw near to God when we open our selves to the created order, and enjoy it, notice it, learn of it and learn to live in it fully. We are of earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We live and move and have our being among all the things that God has made. I don’t know how to get this said just right,but let’s honor the God who gave us life by living life fully. Lets quit walking around like we are already dead when we are still alive. There will be a time to die, but, you know, its not yet. And, til that day comes, lets live life fully. When you have a real interest in life, a good dream, get to work on it. When you have a love, let it be known. When you have somebody near you to love, then love them. Don’t wander around with your head all caught up in feeling dead. Live your life as fully as you can to the honor and glory of God.

And, I know, there are going to be days when depression reigns, but deal with it like Ecclesiastes did, by being honest about some things that really bothered him about life. Say them outloud and to God, and listen to. But, then after you’ve looked inside a while, look outside. Look at that bird that is sitting on the window seal, and notice the colors. Look at that sunset this evening. Look at the funny things people do. Look at those who are right around you, and listen and let something unfold. Listen to some good music. Open your eyes to what is around you in this world. Receive the gifts of being alive, engage with others, enjoy the beauty, think on the craziness, wonder about the mystery, and as my Dad and I always did when we really needed to remind ourselves of how good life really is: Go get some pork, start a fire with hickory wood or charcoal, and go sit out by it with someone you trust and talk and get a few tastes off the grill and drink or two and, well, just remember why God put us here: to enjoy the goodness of all that he has made.

God wills the joy of human beings. If we understand this and experience it in our souls, we will walk in the Spirit of God, knowing his goodness and living in that goodness towards ourselves and others.

And, as we draw near to this Holy Table of the Lord, I say to you: “Eat this bread with thanksgiving; drink from this cup with gratitude to the one who gives us all things.” Let this bread and this cup awaken the life within you, so that you realize just what you’ve got right here and right now. What you’ve got is life and a share in it. The old teacher had it right, a living dog is truly better than a dead lion. Having a share in all this mess we call life is really something to be thankful for.