Jesus Is Coming: Tell the Truth

We have been talking about how to celebrate a non-traditional, counter-cultural Advent through our study of The Advent Conspiracy and through a sermon series about what it really means that "Jesus Is Coming."
Last week we read Matthew 3:1-12, about John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness to "prepare the way of the Lord." We talked about how Jesus turns the world-as-we-know-it upside-down. And we talked about the epidemic of bullying today and in Jesus' day, and how Jesus came to stop the bullying.
This week our scripture is Matthew 11:2-11. It is again about Jesus and John the Baptist. John sends messengers to ask Jesus if he is indeed the Messiah. Jesus replies with the truth: "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor." [TNIV] In other words, Jesus came for the last, the lost and the least. Jesus came to speak the truth to power, always a dangerous undertaking. John the Baptist spoke the truth to power and ended up with his head on a platter. Jesus spoke the truth to power and ended up on the cross - but then showed us that the cross was not the end.
Today's reading from the devotional book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young says this about taking risks with Jesus:
"Be willing to go out on a limb with Me...Your desire to live a risk-free life is a form of unbelief...In order to follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your tendency to play it safe...As long as you stay close to Me, My sovereign Presence protects you wherever you go."
Jesus Is Coming. Tell The Truth. No Matter The Cost. Do Not Be Afraid.

Losing Focus

Several of you have asked for the text of the YouTube video we watched in worship last Sunday. It was uploaded to YouTube by Lastrumpet 08. Here it is:
"My child you lost focus because you concentrate on your current situation, your circumstances that you are in. The things of this world are distracting you all the time.
Some are worried about the wrong things in life. I promised, seek first My kingdom and My righteousness then I will add all the other things unto you.
Do not lose focus but yield to My Spirit who will guide you every step of the way. If you focus on Me all the time you will walk in faith, not by sight because you will know I will not fail you. I will work all things out for good at My time. Trust Me.
My child, if you focus on the storms you will sink. Get your eyes off the storms and focus on Me. I will calm every storm. I am greater than the storms.
My child, do you understand your problem? You keep losing focus all the time.
You must practice, remind yourself all the time to stay focused on Me, not on the things of this world. It will sidetrack you.
Think about the things above, My everlasting Kingdom, not the things on this earth, it will vanish but the things above are of eternal value.
Focus on Jesus."

Stay Focused

The Gospel reading for the 1st Sunday of Advent is Matthew 24:36-44. In it, Jesus says, "If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
So...how do you stay focused on Jesus in the midst of all the Thanksgiving and Christmas hullabaloo? I just learned that a member of my congregation arrived at church last Sunday morning, looked at the bulletin and saw that we were not singing any of the traditional Thanksgiving hymns, and walked out. I'm such a silly pastor...I thought it was more important to stay focused on the church holy day of Christ the King Sunday than on the secular holiday of Thanksgiving - the day before Black Friday, the kick-off of the Christmas shopping madness. And if this individual had only stayed long enough to hear the announcements, s/he'd have learned of the ecumenical Thanksgiving service to be held on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving. That service includes the hymn "Come Ye Thankful People Come."
This is the problem in the USA today. People -even people who call themselves Christians - don't want Jesus. People want "the holiday season" with all the Hallmark trimmings. No matter that you post "Jesus is the reason for the season" on Facebook - if you spend all your time, energy and money on the trappings of the secular season, you're not getting it. Santa Claus has triumphed over the incarnation, and the Easter Bunny has triumphed over the resurrection.
What do you think would happen if all of us who call ourselves Christians forgot about our decorations and shopping and fancy meals and just focused on the birth of Jesus and how he taught us to live? Would this world look a whole lot more like the Kingdom of God?

"Sainthood for Dummies"

This week's scripture, Luke 6:20-31, is Luke's version of Matthew's "Sermon on the Mount." It is often called "The Sermon on the Plain" because it takes place after Jesus and the disciples have come down from the mountain on which Jesus has chosen the 12 apostles. The first part of the text, verses 20-26, the "blessings and woes" are addressed specifically to Jesus' disciples. The second part, verses 27-31, are addressed to all who are listening.
If you're familiar with the "...for Dummies" series of books, this reading could be called "Sainthood for Dummies." In the Protestant tradition we believe that all Christians are part of "the communion of saints" referred to in The Apostles' Creed. "Sainthood" is not for set-apart holy people, but for all believers. And The Sermon on the Plain is Jesus' summary of how "the saints" are called to live.
Questions for reflection: What do the "blessings and woes" mean to you? Is this the same or different from what they might have meant to Jesus' original listeners? Do you find them comforting or threatening? How about the instruction to "do good to those who hate you"? How hard - and how counter-cultural -- is that! Do we, individually and as a society and a nation, "do to others as you would have them to to you"? Or are we more likely to "do to others as they have done to us," or even "do to others before they have a chance to do to us"? How might the world be transformed if every Christian made the effort to live out The Golden Rule every day?

A Fresh Start

Today's scripture is from Luke 19:1-10. As Jesus continues on the road to Jerusalem, teaching and healing as he goes, he comes to Jericho. There a crowd gathers to see him. In that crowd is a man named Zacchaeus. The scripture says that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, and very wealthy. Zacchaeus was also short so, in order to see Jesus, he had to climb a tree. Jesus sees Zacchaeus sitting in the midst of the foliage and calls him out. Jesus tells him that he's coming over to Zacchaeus' house to spend the night. The crowd gets very upset because Zacchaeus made his living by cheating them, by collecting more taxes than the people really owed. They are angry that Jesus is spending his time with the likes of him. But Zacchaeus has a conversion experience due to his encounter with Jesus. He publicly promises to give half of what he owns to the poor, and to pay back 4 times as much to the people he's cheated.
So...who is Zacchaeus today? The bailed-out bankers? The Wall Street weasels? The ponzi-scheme practitioners? Do we think they deserve a fresh start? The crowds around Jesus didn't think Zacchaeus merited Jesus' attention, yet it was Jesus' attention that turned Zacchaeus' life around...and had great positive impact on the lives of those in his community.
The last verse of this scripture says, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Are there ways in which you are lost in your life? You may not be unscrupulously wealthy like Zacchaeus, but there are many other ways of being lost. The story of Zacchaeus tells us that, no matter how lost you are, or how you are lost, Jesus is looking for you. Jesus can find you even if you're hiding up in a tree, or down in your basement, or deep in a bottle. And Jesus offers what we all need most: a fresh start. A chance to wipe the slate clean, to make amends and to have all be forgiven, to go forward into a new life with Jesus as our guide. Will you take Jesus up on his offer? Will you welcome him into your home? Will you stop lying and cheating your way through life and get honest with yourself, with others, and with Jesus about what your true priorities are? Will you, like Zacchaeus, be willing to change your priorities? If the answer is "yes", then you have already received your fresh start. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory in Jesus Christ.

God's Pledge

This Sunday's scripture lesson will be from the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 31, verses 27-34. Jeremiah criticizes the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem for being unfaithful to God. He predicts that God will judge the people with a painful future. But once the people are suffering, Jeremiah speaks words of comfort, healing and restoration from God to the people of Judah. These verses from chapter 31, especially verses 31-34, are God's pledge to God's people. God pledges to make a new covenant with the people, a covenant in which God's law will be written in their hearts.
Questions for reflection: Have you ever experienced a time of "exile", a time in which you felt, and lived your life, far away from God, a time when you were unfaithful to God? What was that time like? What does it mean to have God's law written on your heart? How is this different from learning God's law by reading the Bible, going to church, discussing your faith with your Christian friends? Why does God pledge to write the law on our hearts? Is it possible to be unfaithful to what is in the very core of our hearts? What does it mean to you to return from exile, to "come home to the Lord"?

Through the Eyes of A Child

This Sunday will be our annual Children's Sunday. Karen Golden, our Director of Educational Ministries for Children and Youth, will be preaching. Her scripture text is: Mark 10:13-16: The Little Children and Jesus. Our children and youth will help to lead worship.
Questions for reflection: Do you remember what it was like to see life through the eyes of a child? How was it different from the way in which you see life now? What does it mean to have the faith of a child? What is the difference between a "childish" faith and a "childlike" faith? To which does Jesus call us in this scripture? Reflect and pray on this statement from Karen's message: "Whether we are children or were once children, we are all children of God."

It's Okay to Cry

This week's scripture is from Lamentations 1:1-6. The Book of Lamentations, which comes between Jeremiah and Ezekiel, is a mini book of psalms of lament about the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. It is a community crying out to God in despair over the terrible things that have happened to them.
We also live in a community in which painful things have happened to many of us. In addition to all the "normal" troubles of life, such as illness and family problems, we are in the midst of a serious economic crisis. Many people have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and new ones are hard, if not impossible, to find. Many people are losing their homes due to unethical mortgage lending practices. Many people are losing their retirement savings, or are already retired and finding it very hard to make ends meet. Yet we live in a culture that tells us it's not okay to cry.
The Bible teaches something very different. The Book of Lamentations and many of the psalms are examples of people pouring their hearts out to God in tears. We live in a culture that is so afraid of any sign of weakness that this kind of lament is foreign to us. Yet it is most necessary. God will strengthen us in our weakness, but first we have to admit to that weakness. We have to admit that we can't do it all by ourselves and that often our attempts to do so only make matters worse. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 God says to the Apostle Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Reflect on this: when was the last time you cried to God? What happened when you did? If it was so long ago that you can't remember, what stops you? What do you think of this statement that's making the rounds on Facebook: "Depression is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that you have been strong for too long"? Depression is often described as "anger turned inwards." What happens to you when you don't cry: do you get irritable, angry, even rageful? Or do you get depressed?

Hitting Bottom

This week's Gospel lesson comes from Luke 16:19-31. It is one of Jesus' hardest teachings about the purpose of wealth in this world. When read with Matthew 25:31-46, we receive a full picture of what it means to live as Jesus' disciples. We cannot merely say, "Lord, Lord," we must live our lives as the Lord Jesus wants us to live.
Questions for reflection and comment: Who are the beggars at your gates? How have you responded? Have you ever been a beggar at a rich person's gate? How did that person respond? What does Jesus mean in verse 31: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead"? What will it take to convince you that Jesus means what he says about the moral obligation of those who have much to help those who have little? Does Jesus tell us anything about Lazarus' moral character in this parable? Does Jesus make a distinction between "the deserving poor" and "the undeserving poor"? Does he tell us how Lazarus became a beggar -- through poor choices or through no fault of his own -- or does that simply not matter to Jesus?
What do you know about Abraham, Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament?
For further study: Abraham's story is told in the Book of Genesis. Moses' story is told in the Book of Exodus. For prophetic references read Amos: 5: 21-24, 8:4-12; and Micah 6:6-8. How are these scriptures reflected in Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus?

The Slippery Slope

This week's scripture lesson is from Luke's Gospel, chapter 16:1-15. In it, Jesus tells the parable of the "dishonest manager", or the "shrewd manager." This is one of the most confounding of Jesus' parables. It appears, on a quick reading, that he is praising the manager for his dishonest ways. Upon deeper reflection, this is not the case at all.
Questions for prayer and reflection on this parable are: What is Jesus' attitude towards wealth in general, as reflected in all the Gospels? How does Jesus portray the overall character of the manager? What "slippery slope" is he on? Is this parable of particular value to us as we face the current economic crisis? If so, how? What is "the word of the Lord" to us in this parable? What does it mean, in practical terms of daily life, that we cannot serve both God and money?

Joy in Heaven

For Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010 please read Luke 15:1-10
This scripture contains 2 of Jesus' best-known parables: the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin. The context is: Jesus has collected a crowd of "sinners" who are anxious to hear his teachings. The religious leaders do not like this. They criticize Jesus for welcoming and eating with "sinners." So Jesus tells 2 parables to demonstrate how there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over all the righteous people who do not need to repent.
Questions for reflection and comment: Who are the "sinners"? Are the religious leaders as righteous as they think they are? Who are the people that Jesus is really calling to repentance here? What's the difference between the way in which sheep get lost and the way in which a coin gets lost? In other scriptures Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd who seeks out the lost sheep. What is the significance of Jesus using a woman as the example of the one who seeks out the lost coin? According to this scripture, with whom should present-day Christians spend most of our time: with other Christians, or with those whom church and society label "sinners"?

The blog is back!

My apologies for neglecting this space over the summer.
The purpose of this blog is for readers to have the opportunity to read, think about, pray about, and comment on, the scripture that will be used during worship on the following Sunday.
For Sunday, September 5, 2010: Read Luke 14:25-33.
Questions for reflection: What does it mean to "count the cost" of something before we do it? How do we "count the cost" of things we say/do in our secular lives? Are there often unintended consequences to even our best thoughts and actions? What does Jesus mean when he asks us to "count the cost" of being his followers? What, if anything, has it cost you to follow Jesus? What is the difference between "cheap grace" and "costly grace"? Has believing in "cheap grace" weakened our commitment to Jesus Christ here in the USA? If so, how?

Healing; Casting Out Demons

Read Matthew 8:28-34 and Luke 13:10-17: What does it mean to you that Jesus was able to cast out demons and evil spirits? Do you imagine demons to be miniature devils with horns and a tail, wearing red pajamas? Or are they something more insidious, more sly, more dangerous than that cartoon characterization? Are there any "demons" in your life: demons like addictions, irrational fears, bitterness and hatred, anything that keeps you from trusting God? Meditate on these scriptures and on the power that Jesus has over the demons in them. Then ask Jesus to cast out the demons in your life, whatever they may be.

"Unbelievable!"

Read Luke 24:1-12, Luke's account of the Resurrection. Read it as if you were reading it for the very first time. Does it sound "unbelievable"? How would you feel if you were one of the women at the tomb? One of the men back at the house? How would you feel if you were Peter? What does the Resurrection of Jesus mean for your faith, for your life? Have you ever experienced "resurrection" - times when one or more doors closed for you, times when you felt lost and deadened, only to find a new door or window flying open? Between now and Easter Sunday allow yourself to experience the "good-by" of the Last Supper and the despair of the crucifixion. And on Easter morning, wake up with the joyful assurance that He Is Risen! Christ Is Risen Indeed! A happy and blessed Easter to all.

For God So Loved The World

Yesterday was "John 3:16" day on Facebook. Read John 3:16. Read it in several different translations. Meditate on it and let its meaning sink deeply into your heart.

Whose Job Is It?

Read Matthew 28:16-20: This scripture is called "The Great Commission." Right before the resurrected Christ is taken up to heaven, he gives these instructions to his followers: go to all nations and make disciples in his name. Sometimes in the church we forget that this is our true mission statement, directly from the mouth of Jesus. Sometimes we forget that the mission statement of The United Methodist Church is: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Sometimes we live like this story:
"This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could it but Nobody realized the Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done."
Does this sound familiar? What will you do next time there's an important job to be done in the name of Jesus Christ, for the mission and ministry of his church?

Psalm 63:1

Read Psalm 63:1. How often do we seek a realtionship with God with the same intensity that we would search for water in the desert? Trying to live without a relationship with God is like living "in a dry and parched land where there is no water." As we prepare to water and fertilize our gardens with the coming of Spring, let's also remember to water and fertilize the gardens of our souls.

Building the Church

Read Acts 1:1-14 The Book of Acts is about building the Church. It shows how the first generation of disciples carried the Good News of Jesus Christ "to the ends of the earth." But before they did anything or went anywhere, verse 14 tells us that they gathered together in prayer as they awaited the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit.
What does this teach us about building the church today? Too often our established congregations forget about "building the church" and instead spend their energy "keeping up the building." What is the real purpose of a church building? Is it a place in which to build mission and ministry, a place in which to gather together in prayer so that we may be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be Christ's witnesses "to the ends of the earth", a place from which we practice extravagant generosity in the name of Christ? Or is the building to be kept as a pristine sanctuary, an empty museum of a long-ago era, even a mausoleum for the relics, the dry bones, of a once-living faith?
This is the real question, the real litmus test, of the faithfulness of any congregation to the call of the Gospel. And as we journey through the Book of Acts we will see that all the obstacles we face to building the Church today -- and more -- were faced and overcome by the faithfulness of those first generations of witnesses for Christ. May the Holy Spirit empower us to go and do likewise.