Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11 Guess who's coming?

            “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me!” I have said these words to you and NOW I ask you this one question: Are you going to listen to me?! Are you going to listen to every word I say? Are you going to hang onto my every syllable? I would hope so because I have just spoken some of the most important words to you in our faith life.

            These words are not mine. They come from the prophet Isaiah. This is one of my most favorite books of the bible. There is so much that Isaiah has to say and he says it over some very important parts of the history of the Jewish people. A little history lesson is needed first. There are 66 chapters in this book and chapters 1- 39 (sometimes called first Isaiah) happens in what we know as Israel. Chapters 40-55 (Sometimes called second Isaiah) happens when the people are conquered and are forced into exile to Babylonia (modern day Iraq). Then chapters 56-66  (sometimes called 3^rd Isaiah) is written when the exile is over and most of God’s people are returned to the promised land.

            So we find ourselves in chapter 61 where the people have returned. It is also important to note that this exile didn’t mean that everyone got exiled. Only select people were exiled. There were people left behind that had to fend for themselves in the land of being conquered. So you can guess what happened: rules get changed, people who once owned things didn’t own them any more. Land that had been handed down through generations were now handed over to other people or families. So all the exiled people came back and not all their stuff was theirs any more. That is a problem, isn’t it? Imagine going away from your home or farm for a year—it had been in your family for generations—only to come back and find out it is not yours. It may now belong to someone from another country, or your next door neighbor.

            Either way you look at it, it is a sad thing. This loss of whatever it is that they lost causes sadness, anger, being a victim of a conqueror. That doesn’t seem to make sense and it does not seem fair does it. They should have gotten what was theirs back. It makes sense, doesn’t it?

            That is why the words “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me!” are so important. These are not Isaiah’s words that he chose to say at the time when people had returned to this Promised Land. Isaiah was merely the mouthpiece for God, almighty. Isaiah is telling the people that God is the one now speaking. He (Isaiah) is telling the people that God sent him to bring Good News to the oppressed, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to captives, and release prisoners.

            This news that Isaiah brings is Good News to these people who have lost everything; even their homes. God is using him to tell them that all is not lost, that there is a new day coming when there is that one thing to hold onto that used to be so far off to those who went into exile; and that one thing that they held onto is in the here and now and that is hope. Isaiah tells them that the God is proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor. He is telling them that Hope has arrived because they ARE now back in the place where God called them to be…the land that God gave to them.

            Isaiah is telling the people of the Promised Land that Mourners will be comforted, cities that lie in ruins will be rebuilt, and they will be given a mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. Throughout this scripture reading, the prophet Isaiah tells them that all things will be made new. God is making that promise that God will return a brokenhearted people, broken-spirited people, and a people who felt that there was no hope…BUT all that will be made new because God promises to make all things new.

            God goes further in the promise of a new and everlasting covenant. This promise brings a knowledge of these people who endured all this and all the following generations will know that God blessed them. This covenant that God promises will leave these new generations clothed in salvation and wearing robes of righteousness. Isaiah uses the picture of a wedding, this beautiful picture, to tell the people of how precious this relationship will be; you know that time when all the bride and the groom look their best, and everyone puts on their best attire to show the importance of this relationship.

            Brothers and Sisters in Christ, this is a time when we can relate to this story. We are sitting in this advent time and it seems like the world is turned upside down. People are angry everywhere, from what I have noticed, I mean, I am not usually in the cheery Christmas Spirit at this time of year but this year, I am feeling excited about things wanting to be a little peppier than usual and the majority of the news is stories of yelling, killing, unemployment, and it seems like you have to dig deep in the most obscure places to find a good story. It is like the world is turned upside down. Sometimes it feels like Hope, in this time and place, is lost.

            But we can receive a lot from the Words of Isaiah. I think we can look to this prophecy that God is bringing the promise of Hope into our world. We know the Hope, we see it in the manger once a year, don’t we? It is the Hopes and Fears of all the years, as the song says. Isaiah tells us that this everlasting covenant that God brings is the same blessings that are brought to these chosen people who have returned from exile. God promises to bring Good News to the oppressed, binding up the broken-hearted, liberty, and release. God will bring the year of the Lord’s favor to where there will be hope and comfort to a people who need those things.

            The Lord’s favor is coming in the form of a child. We are preparing for the hope that we are certain to see and experience in this coming Christ child. We are waiting with anticipation in the child that will bring comfort to a hurting world, a child that will bring Good News to the poor, A child that will comfort our broken hearts, and a child that will wear the garland instead of ashes and the Son of God who will be anointed with the oil of gladness. We await this child who is our mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit AND who brings the garment of salvation through his baptism and the robe of righteousness for our sake…for us; so that we will know that we have been blessed.

            God’s everlasting covenant comes to us in this little child and God promises that Jesus Christ will do all these things for us and my prayer is that because of what God promises and what Jesus does for us, we all say “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God! AMEN

Isaiah 40: 1-11 & Mark 1:1-8 "And Advent/Christmas Has Its Promises to Keep"

Isaiah 40: 1-11 & Mark 1:1-8

            Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: AMEN!

            So, as you know by now, I am a music fan. Sometimes a song just pops into my head when it comes time to think about a sermon and the scripture. Today was no different. One of my nephews got me hooked on this contemporary rock group that only gets together around this time of year. The group is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I have seen them three times and would love to see them again. When I found out they had a video album all acted out, I went and got it.

            My family and I were watching this video this past weekend and Robin and I will be watching it again before Christmas. There was this one song that began calling to me as I read this week’s scripture. The song is called “Promises to Keep.” One verse of this song goes right to the heart of our scripture readings: “And the dream is still alive, from that first December morning, and it always will survive as long as we can see, that the dreams we find in life are the dreams we tend to seek AND CHRISTMAS HAS ITS PROMISES TO KEEP.”

            That very last part “and Christmas has its promises to keep,” is what got to the heart of this second week in Advent. How so you might ask? The promise of the coming savior did not start with the birth of Jesus. This promise began long before that night in Bethlehem. It began in the words of Isaiah. In our first reading the prophet Isaiah (that voice in the wilderness) cries out “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Isaiah is telling us to make our paths straight for God’s coming into the world. He says that when we make straight the way that mountains and hills will be made low (I was going to break into Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, but another time). Everything will be level.

            What does that mean? It means that there is no place that will be able to escape the glory of the Lord. There is no place that one could hide because God will be able to find us all; whether we want to be found or not, and sometimes we may not want to be found. God will find us all. With all things level it means that God’s love and mercy will be everywhere. There will not be one place that can escape God’s merciful and loving touch.

            But it does not end there. In our Gospel reading we have another voice crying in the wilderness. This guy John who just happens to be the cousin of Jesus is this guy who is a little eccentric, to say the least; but, he cries out to “prepare the way of the Lord and his paths straight!” We have heard this before in Isaiah and now this messenger of God is telling us that this there is this person coming who will baptize us with the Holy Spirit…not just water but with more than that is pretty incredible.

            What John is telling us is that this one who is more powerful that John is bringing a lot more than just good tidings. John is telling us that God has made a promise. It is the promise to come into the world and be with a broken world. He is telling the people of Jesus time that there is someone special coming who going to do more than just take a look around; and this person brings the authority of almighty God.

            John is telling us that the promise that was made by God through Isaiah is coming to them and to us. John is telling us all to be prepared because God’s promise is that our lives are about to change, forever! It is the promise of God to come into the world to see and experience just how tough this world is. SO I would change the lyrics of the song to say “Advent has its promises to keep.”

            And we know the promise that is coming because the promise will be fulfilled on the night of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. God’s promise is going to be kept. With that promise comes the call to make straight the way of the Lord. I think this is part of what advent is about; What does it mean to make the Lord’s path straight? It means that we prepare our hearts and minds and bodies to be changed. We open ears and eyes to see the coming of the Lord. We get ready for God to have a straight line into our hearts; and the way that we can do that is by letting go of all those things that distract us from God’s love.

            When we are focused on worldly things we become distracted. As we spoke this past week at the women’s bible study, this world is so full of loud noise. Noise in social media (I am not against social media), people yelling at one another rather than talking TO each other, people always wanting to be right rather than compassionate…with all this we put stumbling blocks in to our minds and our hearts. We put up barriers from past hurts, actions, and sometimes want to say or do hurtful things to others because we have been hurt.

            John is telling us that one of the ways to clear all that away so that God can get to our heart is to release all that. Confess our troubles, our sins, those moments when we may not be the most upstanding person and confess them to God. By confessing these things to God, we get rid of barriers so that God has that direct line to our hearts and minds. When we prepare by seeking God’s mercy and love AND forgiveness, we realize the promise of God and experience the anticipation of the coming Christ to change our hearts, open our eyes, and experience the love of God: AMEN!

Mark 13:24-37 From Happy New Year to Judgement Day, It's not what you think?

1^st Sunday in Advent

Mark 13:24-37

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: AMEN!

            Okay, I don’t know about you but we talked last week about being the New Church year and looking back…”out with the old and in with the new,” right? And here on this first Weekend of Advent, Jesus takes us right to the end of times. We get the last several weeks of Matthew’s parables and we get judgement to start off the New Year! How positive; I mean, we go from hearing about the weeping and gnashing of teeth to the time of judgement! It doesn’t sound like a good time to be starting this new church year. It does not sound like this is something we can be joyful about or be anticipating like we see the in television ads that have been lurking and airing since Halloween, right?

            Although it does sound like this reading is out of place, it is not. It is not out of place because of this message that Jesus sends. First, we should remember where this scripture comes from. There are only 16 chapters in the Gospel of Mark. This reading is in chapter 13; Jesus is well on his way to Jerusalem to be handed over. HE knows his mission and he is on it. He has the disciples in tow as well as many other followers. Jesus knows what is going to happen and it is not going to be pretty. Jesus knows that he will be judged based on what he said and what he did.

            That is something to think about for a moment. I mean, we talk about what is going to happen to him. We look at the story as knowing what happened to Jesus; what we might consider the end of the story (being handed over and crucified).

            I believe this message today is different. It is not to focus around what is happening to Jesus who is on his way to the cross. I believe today’s message is to look, really take a look, at what Jesus did in his life. It is easy to go over a list of things and state them, but what does it mean to ponder his words and his actions in your heart? What does it mean to sit with the story of Zacchaeus, a tax collector who is the scourge of society, and share a meal, OR a leper, who is not to be touched for fear of being made unclean by that one touch. What does it mean to ponder this story of Jesus raising his good friend Lazarus, who is thought to be dead?

            How often do we sit with one, just one, of those stories and think about what it means to us in our lives? I see so many commercials out there telling us that Christmas is coming and it is time to spend, spend, spend; sometimes it drives me crazy! I was at Home Depot the other day and I told the cashier that their product placement was very good “because it made me want what they were selling!” Isn’t that insane? When I look back on today’s Gospel reading and pondered this reading I realized that I was focusing on the wrong thing.

            I was focusing on the end of the story. I was focusing on the Christmas aspect of things rather than the Advent sort of things. That is what this entire scripture reading is about. It is about preparing our hearts and minds for the coming of the Christ child. Jesus is not telling us that we should be scared about what is to come. Jesus is telling us that we are to be aware, awake, and alert. Those are not words that should scare us. They are words that should call us all to look at ourselves and our lives.

            This scripture reading is meant to put us all in a mood to think about what we have done, what we will do, and where God is in our lives and in all that we do. That can sound pretty heavy to deal with, but I believe that God is calling us all to think about our words and actions in the world. It is a time to look at the times that we fell short. It is a time to look at the world and acknowledge that it is broken in so many ways.

            But the Good News is that Jesus is coming. As we prepare for his birth, we might not have to jump around, excited, and yelling and screaming that Christmas is coming; BUT maybe it means that we sit with the Word of God, pray in anticipation that God is sending a son into the world, for you and me, to walk with us…to help teach us how to live in God’s light and love. Maybe it means sitting quietly, feeling relieved that Jesus will come into this world because it is so difficult and that relieve can be what sustains us…knowing that God is with us.

            I believe that God is telling us to take stock in our lives, to be aware that things we do in life have consequences, whether positive or negative; that what we say and do is important in how we live our lives and how we treat our neighbors, our family, friends, and even our enemies. As I said earlier, this world is broken and we don’t always treat each other too kindly. Jesus tells us to pay attention to that because our actions do matter in this life and in the next.

            Brothers and Sisters in Christ, this advent season can be spent however we prepare our hearts and minds. Jesus is coming and it does not have to be a scary time. It can be one of parties or quietness with the Word of God. God created us all different and so we prepare differently. Whichever, way we prepare remember, God’s Son is coming to be with us, show us, and walk with us. May we all take the time during this advent season to prepare for the coming of the Son of God in our lives and in our hearts and minds, for the Kingdom of God draws near, thanks be to God.

AMEN!

Matthew 25: 14-30 Use your talent! Be A risk taker...in a good way of course!

            It is really good to be back with you. I missed you last week. I have to tell you that I love the Gospel of Matthew. This is my favorite Gospel of the four (quick quiz, what are the four?). There is just so many rich stories in here. While my wife felt stuck with the bridesmaids (and I heard about that one), it might feel like I got stuck with the one about investing and burying the mason jar with cash out in the back yard. I don’t feel like that is the case. I like this parable.

            This parable tells the story of the “man who went on a journey…” We don’t know much about this man. We don’t know what he does for a living BUT we do know that he travels, and he has slaves (so there is a little bit of prominence there) and he gives talents to those slaves. This is a very trusting man because he gives these talents and then goes away. So one might assume (and I know what happens when we assume, but play along with me here) that he is VERY trusting and smart, he must know everything about these slaves. If he is willing to trust them and leave then he must know something about them.

            There is a way that we can know that he trusts them. In Jesus time, a talent was a financial amount of currency. 1 talent was worth 6000 Denarii which, to make the math short and simple, was 20 years of salary; that is equivalent to about half a million dollars in today’s currency. That is a lot of money; the likes of which some of us may never see in one place at one time. That is how we know that this man trusts his slaves in our parable.

            The slaves are not given any instructions as to what to do with this money. There is no mention of what he wants them to do with the talent(s). With no instructions he leaves and the salves go on their merry way. Jesus doesn’t give us any more information other than the slaves go off and make trades and deals and increase what they have so that when the man comes back there is even more to give back. I am not sure, in today’s world, that any of us would be willing to part so easily with this money; without restriction, limitation, or instructions.

            So here is my burning question. Who is the “man” in this parable? Is this man, God? Sometimes, we like to automatically assume that it is God. SO, let’s go down that road. If this man that gives out all this money is God, then why don’t we call this parable, the parable of a foolish God? God knows who these slaves are. He gives talents according to their ability. This all-knowing and all-seeing God knows the hearts of these slaves. God knows enough to give one slave five talents, another two, and the last one he gives one talent (which is a lot of money). Wouldn’t God know that this third slave is going to bury it in the yard because this one is not a risk taker; this slave likes to play things safe? So why would God throw this person out into the darkness…the outer darkness where no light can get and allow him to weep and gnash his teeth. Why would the God we know allow that to happen; because it flies in the face of who we know or think we know God to be?

            I find this assignment of God to the strict and unforgiving to be troubling. Throughout our bible, we do see places where God is angry, where God casts out and punishes; BUT even after those times, God, Immediately promises love and restoration. In this parable it appears to be so final and that goes against what we hear and witness in scripture and through God’s Word and the actions of Jesus Christ. We have proof of that by witnessing the path that Jesus is on which is the path to the cross; to be sacrificed for our sake and for our sin. A sign of God’s love and commitment to and with us.

            Whether this man is God or not is not the lesson that is being taught to us here this day. It is not even about the money. To think of talents only in monetary forms restricts us and does not allow us to be open to God. This parable is a metaphor to all the gifts that we have been given. It asks us to see the possibilities that we all are different in so many ways.

            This parable is a metaphor to the various gifts that we have been given by the glory and blessings of God. This parable points out that we are all different. We have different vocations and we all have different hobbies, likes, and dislikes; and it is because of that that makes this whole world frustrating and interesting. I can’t imagine how boring it would be if we all liked the same thing, television shows, music (that could start a war right there), hymns, worship styles, friends, and the list goes on and on. Being blessed with so many people who have so many different gifts allows us, as the body of Christ, to use those talents and have different forms of ministry all located within the same building, community, and world.

            Jesus is telling us this story so that we think about the talents that we have been given. Think about those things that we have been blessed with. I am not talking money BUT I am talking about who has gifts for teaching, singing, being an acolyte, outreach, visitations, leading youth, working together as a community, and all those Good things that God put into us and DO. That third slave is a lesson to us in two ways: First, we are to know that we all have gifts. Sometimes it may not be readily seen by us (because we are our own worst critics), but God did not create garbage. God creates Good things and every one of us has gifts that are still useful, no matter what age, income, social status, and so on. We figure out those gifts through our interactions with one another. God put us all on this earth to help each other out and one of the ways we can do this is by helping to see and looking for the gifts in others and lifting those up; so that, we can see those gifts.

            The way this third slave is a lesson is that Jesus tells us to go and do. God does not want us to be like that third slave and go bury out talent in the backyard. God wants us to go out and use that talent that God has given us and try it out; whatever it is. Go out and put your craftwork to good use. Make something for people, use your carpentry skills, farming skills, banking skills, caring skills, teaching skills…whatever gift you have share it with others for the glory of God. Go out and DO…use the gifts that God has blessed you with; because if you bury those blessings then you aren’t using the gifts that has given you. They sit and they waste away because they are not being used.

            There is one drawback to this encouragement of using the gift. Some might be afraid that they think they have a gift and they may fail. Martin Luther says, “Sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more.” Don’t get the wrong idea…THAT DOES NOT MEAN TO SINK ALL YOUR MONEY INTO A LOTTERY TICKET HOPING IT WILL BE THE ONE! It does not mean to go out and do whatever sin you want! It means that when we try to do something because we feel called and find it does not work out, then that is okay! God does forgive and God puts us all together in this world to help each other when we fall; and most of all, Christ is there…God is there when we fall short of God’s grace and glory.

            The other burning question that I have about this text is: “What does it mean for the church?” If all the things apply to individuals then how does it apply to this church? It applies in the very same way. This congregation is made up of many different people with many different gifts and passions and these are all gifts from God. It means that we are called to use the gifts that we have been given to DO things for the glory of God and if we don’t succeed at them then we try something else. It is important for us to think about the gifts we have here. You would be surprised at the gifts that I see in all of you at any given moment; from our youngest people (just because you are young doesn’t mean you have nothing to offer) to our oldest (God is not done with us because we retire).

            So where does God call us to use our talents as Immanuel Lutheran Church? What can we do to use the gifts that God has blessed us with to give glory to God and to share the love of God in our homes, church, in Manchester, and in the world?

AMEN!

Mark 10:35-45 The best seats in the house, really?!

            I spent a long time living in apartments. From the time I graduated high school till seven maybe eight years ago. During this time of living in apartments, I kept thinking that I would really love to buy a house sometime. You know, that place you can call your own where no one can tell you to keep the music down (not that I would have it up that loud in the first place). I could do whatever I wanted. Then it happened, I got married and we bought a house. I thought this was going to be the best. Then things started breaking. Within the first year, the pilot light went out and we thought we would need a new stove, this was not right, that was not right, and the list of things needing to be done began to grow. As soon as things began to pile up, I realized that I wished we had moved into an apartment. That would have been much easier.

            Today’s Gospel reading from the Gospel of Mark has a similar theme. James and John were with Jesus, they had been with him for quite some time. They were personal witnesses to the life and ministry of Jesus. They saw Jesus heal people, feed four thousand and five thousand people in two different settings and they saw Jesus standing with Elijah and Moses. Transfigured from just this guy walking around and talking about God TO being in the presence of two most important messengers from God and they heard God’s Words “This is my son the beloved; listen to him.”

            They sat and listened to Jesus tell of his death and resurrection for the third time. They were “amazed” and “afraid” when they heard Jesus tell the story of how he would be handed over to be killed. They heard and saw some amazing and horrifying things about this person that they trusted and cared about. But their focus was on something other than the message and the mission that Jesus was on; they focused on their desire for Jesus to do what they were asking. They wanted Jesus to attend to their desire. It didn’t matter to James and John where Jesus was heading (which was Jerusalem, by the way). It did not matter that there were ten other people who witnessed many of the same things that they did. They just wanted what they wanted and Jesus, by their observation, was the one to give it to them.

            Jesus says, “What do you want?” They go for broke. James and John want it all! They want to sit at the right and left hand of the Son of God. That’s not too big an order to fill, is it? They want to be right up there with the powerful people. Knowing what they know about Jesus and the fact that God said those words directly to them?! They must have thought they were entitled to some kind of position because, maybe, they thought they were chosen to see the transfiguration and hear God. Maybe that meant they were in. So who could blame them for wanting that place…those seats beside Jesus? Who is to say that we might not have wanted to sit next to Jesus?

            We could put ourselves in the position of the other ten. They got angry when the two asked told Jesus what they wanted. Who knows why but we might have shared in that anger because these other ten sacrificed as much as James and John to follow Jesus. They all gave up something to go on the road with Jesus and witness all the acts and learned about God’s love and mercy. They too were afraid when they heard Jesus telling of what was going to happen to him (three times)!

            Jesus bring their wish or desire closer to home with this question: “Are you able to drink from the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They answer “yes.” While that is a bold statement it also shows that they still don’t get it; just like I did not get it about the house! Even after hearing Jesus tells about his death for the third time, they are still focused on those two seats. Jesus has to point out to James, John, and the others that the focus is not on who gets the best seats in the house. Their focus, the disciples focus, should be on the mission that they are all on together. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and it is to those powerful people in the world who don’t want to believe that he is the Son of God. It is those powerful people whose way of life and living by the law is threatened because Jesus comes to talk and teach about God’s love and forgiveness.

            Jesus is pointing out to the disciples that their mission is more than a seat or a chair. It is not about power and authority. IT IS about making God known in the world. Their mission is about sharing the Good News that God sent a son into the world to teach God’s act of healing, compassion, and mercy is more important than a seat. Their mission is to continue God’s teachings and God’s work in this world so that all people will know the love of God through God’s word and God’s action.

            That mission that the disciples are on is also our mission. Our mission as children of God is to make God’s love known…in fact, it is your mission statement “Our purpose is to love God and bring people into a growing relationship with Jesus and His church.” We acknowledge that Jesus showed us God’s love and that Jesus went to the cross for our sake; for the forgiveness of our sin. We embrace that God loved us so much that God’s only Son was sacrificed out of love for a broken humanity in a broken world that tells us power is everything; that if you have power you have it all.

But we also embrace that God is the one who created all this. God created the heavens and the earth and all that is within them; God created you and me out of love and God sent Jesus into the world to teach and show us about God’s love; not to hold onto and keep for ourselves but so that we could share God’s love that we have been taught with others.

In order to go out into the world to do God’s mission work, it takes a commitment (Just like owning a house). Today is the day we celebrate our commitment to God. It is our commitment of our hearts to the mission that God calls us to in being the Body of Christ in the world. It is the commitment of our minds to the struggles and the joys that come with being a disciple of Christ. And it is the commitment of all the blessings that we have been given and commit them all to God’s service and God’s ministry as a church, as the body of Christ, and as children of God.

Today we look to our commitment to God for the coming year. We have spent weeks hearing about how much this church means to us. What it has meant to be Holy Spirit and what it has meant to have a place where we can be in communion with one another; a place where we can support, pray for, and have fun together. We have been asked to pray for where God calls us in our commitments and today make the commitment of our first fruits to God’s service, God’s ministry. These commitments that we make today are about the ministry we do as a church and as God’s children. It is about being able to continue the current ministries (Sunday School, youth groups, bible studies, being in contact with our college students and military members, and so much more) and looking to what other ministries God may be calling us to in the larger community. This is an exciting time to look at our blessings that we have been given and ask that question “What do you want us to do, God?” It is exciting because we know that God has blessed this congregation since it began and God carried us through the tough times and so now we look to the future; it may be scary and cause anxiety but God has been with us every step of the way and continues to be with us.

So, today, as we commit ourselves and our blessings to God’s service and ministry may we always ask for strength, courage, guidance, and joyful hearts: AMEN!

Revelation 7: 9-17, Psalm 34:1-10, 22, and Matthew 5: 1-12 Words of God's encouragement

Sunday, November 2, 2014

All Saints Sunday

Please pray with me: may the words from my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer: AMEN!

            As I was preparing for this week’s sermon, I took some time to listen to each of the texts. The problem is that they all spoke to me. No wonder, because it is All Saints Day. This is the day that we remember all those who have died in the church this past year. So each one of these readings spoke to me in a very different way. In our Bible Study this past week we dug deep into these Beatitudes and really got to the heart of what God was saying. Today, I feel a sense of looking at the bigger picture.

            Our first reading from Revelation goes to the heart of this day. In this letter to the churches we see the vision of this “great multitude” that is singing about salvation and that it belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the lamb.” These are words of encouragement, throughout these verses. They are encouragement to those who lost loved ones, to those who might be facing their own mortality, and to those who are living lives of gratitude and thanksgiving to a God who sent Jesus, the lamb, to take away our sins. These are most definitely words that can sustain us at times of sadness and grief.

            Our psalm poses another sense of encouragement. It is not for those who lost loved ones, but it serves those who struggle. “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall ever be in my mouth.” No matter the situation, our psalm encourages us to reach out to God, call out to God, and even cry out to God, in good times as well as times of struggle; for in both of these readings, Revelation and Psalm 34, those who hunger or lack will be satisfied when the Kingdom of God comes. There will be no hunger and there will be no lacking for God will provide all that we need.

            Our second reading in First John brings things a little closer to home. In this letter we hear that because of the gifts that God has given us, we “should be called the Children of God.” I have always found that title to be humbling and such a gift. It means that we know to whom we belong. We do not belong to the world but we belong to the one who created us; and through our baptism, we have been claimed by the God who created the heavens and earth, and all that is within them. It means that we are also part of a bigger picture. It is not just you OR me in this world, but it is all of us.

            And here we are at the Beatitudes. This where Jesus helps to show us that this day is not just about loss through death. The Theologian David Lose who is the President of The Lutheran Seminary at Phildelphia said that “loss” comes from “leave-takings from jobs, changing jobs, struggles with illnesses, the exhaustion of caring for loved ones, to name a few. There are many struggles that we all go through and at any given time we suffer or struggle.

            These are just a few of life’s situations that can knock us down, strain our faith, or cause us to wrestle with God. All these things that I mentioned and more can cause us to feel tired, exhausted and it can shake our faith to its very core. We can end up feeling that there is so much unfairness that we just can’t catch a break! We may even think that because we have fallen short because of our actions or inaction that we might not even matter to God.

            It is at this time when these Beatitudes can mean so much to us. Jesus, the Son of God, is speaking about blessings. His words are “Blessed are…” For the English scholar those are all in the present tense. That means that as soon as it is said the blessing has happened. These blessings are immediate and they are everlasting. This second part of all our Beatitudes also tells the people who are blessed what is going to happen when their time comes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. All these beatitudes are something that we can all hold onto, because Jesus is telling us the promises of God’s blessings. As children of God these promises are made to us and we can find comfort in the words, the compassion, and mercy that God has delivered and gifted to us through Jesus Christ, God’s only Son.

            The last of the Beatitudes is a truth that can knock us for a loop. With all the promises of being comforted, being shown mercy, and so much more; we hear the words of Jesus to say “blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Jesus tells us that it will not be an easy road. All this comfort, peace, and mercy being shown is because it means we are going to need it as disciples of Jesus Christ.

            We know the brokenness of the world. We know that society wants to put ourselves before others, put our needs over everyone else’s. We are bombarded with ads telling us how to spend our money, who to spend it on, who should be our friends, who we should cast out, believe this or that, the way we should think…let’s face it society is competing for every aspect of our lives and when we give in to society rather than seeking God’s guidance or reading scripture to help us decide what is important that is when we can also experience loss…loss of ourselves and loss of who God calls us to be.

            But that loss is not permanent because there is always the place for us to come back and feel that sense of connection, that sense of being reclaimed and that is here at the Lord’s Table. We come to this table to celebrate what God has done for us; claimed us as God’s own child and forgave us for the mistakes that we make in our lives. Through the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ we have been promised the gift of forgiveness and God mercy.

            It is at this table where the sacrifice of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, was for you and for me so that nothing would stand in the way of God’s love for us, not even death. It is on this beautiful morning when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ where God proves to us the promise of everlasting life. Where God proves to us that there will be a time where there will be no more hunger or lacking…AND that those tears of weeping will be dried up because we will all be together again in the kingdom of Heaven.

            SO today, as we remember those whom we have lost, we also, hold onto God’s Words of encouragement where there will be no more hunger, there will be peace, comfort and mercy, and we WILL see the face of God, together: AMEN!  

Jeremiah 31: 31-34.. "What once was old is new again."

            I would have loved to start this off with singing “Jeremiah was a bullfrog” and was prepared to do it but then I went back and listened to the lyrics; so, that’s not happening this evening/morning.

            While I won’t sing that song, I do think it is important to know who Jeremiah was. He was one of the prophets. As I told the Sunday school kids last week, many of the prophets have the same story. When God first calls them, they say “no”. The typical response is “Who, Me? Not me, you must mean someone else!” Then God calls them again and says “it is you that I want.”

            Many times, we can attribute this NO because it is about what God wants these prophets to say. God is going to give them tough words to tell people; and these people may not be ready to hear what the prophet is about to say. The key to that is that the prophet does not always, in fact rarely, has Good News to share. Jeremiah is an exception, because most of the prophets are adults and know that they could be in for a rough road. Jeremiah is only a boy and God calls him to deliver some bad news to the leaders of the day. But, like all prophets, Jeremiah says yes to God’s call.

            This land that Jeremiah was born in was in turmoil for a very long time. It was the land of Judah. At any given time, there was Egyptian rule, then Babylon took over and here is this young boy he is telling of God’s wrath and punishment for Judah because of their lack of faith and their breaking of God’s law. We know the law that is being talked about in the book of Jeremiah; it is those stone tablets that Moses went up to the mountain to receive…the Ten Commandments…God’s law has been broken and so the people are being punished and, eventually, exiled out of their homeland.

            All this can be pretty devastating for a young boy to set out proclaiming what God tells him to say. This Good and faithful servant does not let God down. HE does what he is called to do; and his ministry as a prophet lasts for 40+ years.

            Why is all this information necessary? It is necessary because throughout Jeremiah’s prophecy, there is one thing, one resounding theme that brings us through to today’s reading. Throughout Jeremiah’s work and calling, we hear God crying out to the people whose ancestors have made a mess of things by not listening to God. Through Jeremiah, God calls to all the people who were exiled because of unfaithfulness and offers a chance to fix the relationship.

            God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and he took them down the hill to give to the people as they were being led out of captivity. We know what happened. The people got impatient and built idols before Moses could deliver the Ten Commandments. God was ready to destroy them but Moses reminded God of God’s promise not to destroy; and so they got the commandments and taught these laws to one another.

            But something got sidetracked. As we humans, typically do, the people went off in another direction; sometimes hearing the law, learning it, and then figuring it only applies if I do this or that OR saying “I’m not really coveting or stealing,”…you know finding loopholes. SO things go off the rails and the people stray. When it comes to being in such a hotly contested region and conquerors being overthrown every couple of years, they may have done what they had to to get along with whoever was conquering them; and that is part of the problem. They weren’t asking God what to do. They were just trying to get along with their captors. It is a tough spot to be in and I don’t think we could imagine what they were going through.

            So some of the people get exiled to Babylon. It is a long journey and they are moved out of the Promised Land to this other place. A place where they did not know anyone, there was no familiarity with the place and, worst of all, it is not the place where God called them to be. I am sure there was some anger, frustration, anxiety, and maybe even some depression about whether or not they would even have a future.

            Once again, here comes Jeremiah with God’s proclamation. God is now using Jeremiah to talk about something “new.” Through Jeremiah, God is saying that there will be a “new covenant with the house of Israel!” I would hope that among all those negative feelings about being kicked out of their land, there would be some ears perking up at the sound of something new. God says that this is not like the old promise when he took the people out of Egypt. Nope, this one is all new. Maybe some of those negative feelings begin to change into positive feelings because something new and big is about to happen!

            In our reading of Jeremiah today, something new and exciting is happening. This something new is the fact that God is not abandoning them. In fact, God has never left them. Some of these people turned away from God but God has not left them. God is asking them to come back to a relationship with God and God is willing to make a New Covenant with the people of Israel.

            God is promising to give them the law in a new way. The old way was to give it on stones and to teach. We all know that when it is taught, sound travels to and into the ear for the brain to process. The new thing is that God promises to put God’s law into their hearts. God is going to instill in them God’s law in a place where it cannot escape. In the one place that is very sacred to the lives of the disciples; to the one place that is deep within them so that it cannot get out or be loop-holed…the heart.

            God is not stopping there either. By putting God’s law in their hearts, everyone will know the Lord and God promises to forgive their iniquities and “remember their sin no more.” That is a pretty amazing promise! To have a God that will forgive for sins or things that they have done that might have turned them from God. That just might make the want to turn back toward God. There is not even a word about what the Israelites have to do. This whole scripture reading is about what God will do to seek a relationship with the Israelites! There is no “if you do, I’ll do!” God is saying “I am making you a new promise…”

            That is something that we can imagine. We can imagine it because we have experienced it. We have seen God’s promise of putting God’s law in our hearts and witnessing God’s promise to forgive iniquities and remember “our” sin no more. Through the birth and the ministry of Jesus we are witness to God’s law being put into our hearts through Jesus’ relationship with us and our relationship with Jesus. When we do things that turn us away from God, we too can hear the Word of God through the actions of Jesus Christ reminding us of the New Covenant that God made so that we turn back toward God.

            Through the death and resurrection of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ we are witnesses to the never ending mercy and forgiveness of God. To know that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, went to the cross and suffered for our sake…for you and me is part of God’s promise in the hopes that we do not turn away from God but give praise and thanks to God, The creator of all the universe, for thinking that we, you and me, are so special that we are worth that sacrifice. It does not mean that we go looking for loopholes. It means that we will make mistakes but God will not and does not abandon us in light of those mistakes.

            It also means that God calls us to share the mercy and forgiveness that we have been shown and that the death and resurrection was not just for us here in this room but that it was for all. God promised the people of Israel that they would be delivered out of captivity and God kept that promise. This did not happen overnight. It took a long time for God’s promises to be kept. God does not make the promise that “even though you are forgiven” that the road is going to be easy; BUT God will keep the promise of not abandoning us. God walks with us day and night…God is right here for the asking: AMEN!

Matthew 22: 15-22 Whose Image?

Matthew 22: 15-22

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen!

So are you ready for the question that can come from this text? “What’s in your wallet?” We have heard that one before haven’t we? Who knew that such a simple question would become a trademark phrase?

But there is something to this phrase, not only in our personal lives but in our faith life. Here we have something like a parable but not quite a parable. This exchange definitely is a teaching lesson. The biggest difference between this and a parable is that we don’t hear those familiar words “The kingdom of heaven is like…” Here, we know the identity of the characters in this event; the Pharisees are present and the Herodians are also there. We are not totally sure who the Herodians are but we know they support the family of the ruler Herod and the continuation of Roman rule. We also know that the Pharisees are in control of the temple. They are the one’s collecting the taxes and exchanging it from the currency used by the Jewish people to the Roman coins.

There is something we need to know about this word “tax.” This tax that was being required to be paid was not a property tax or income tax. This was what was called a tribute tax; meaning that the Jewish people were under Roman occupation and they had to pay a “tribute;” kind of like a gift to the oppressor for continuing to oppress them.

So the two groups, the Pharisees and Herodians, both had something to gain from this arrangement. As long as the tax existed, the Pharisees changed the money and they would be secure in their positions. As long as the tribute continued to be paid, the Herodians could keep their station and lifestyle because Herod would continue to be in charge. However, if that all fell then they had everything to lose.

So these people are going to trap Jesus. They have it all planned out, so they think. There are only two choices in this question. If Jesus says to pay the taxes then he is a fraud and gives into the rule of Rome and the Roman Emperor who was treated as a God. If he says “don’t pay your tax!” then he is committing a crime and the Herodians and Pharisees can report him and, I’m sure they hoped, that they could get rid of him.

Jesus did not respond the way they wanted him to respond. He answered them with a statement that they were “fools and hypocrites!” He doesn’t mince words and they are not intended to be nice. He asks for a coin; “whose picture is on the coin?” And we hear the answer to this question: “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

Jesus is doing something pretty incredible here. One could say that he is advocating the paying of the tax. He is giving into Caesar! NOT SO! Jesus is pointing something very important out to these testers. Romans expected to be treated as God’s and considered themselves God’s. They put statues of themselves all over the place and they put their own image on coins. This image on coins forced Jewish people who believed that it was the God of Israel who is there only God to violate the first commandment.

Jesus is pointing out to these testers that they have given in to Roman rule. Remember they, the Pharissees and Herodians have everything to lose if the tax is not paid…if that coin with the image of the Roman god Caesar is not paid their whole world comes crashing down. They lose power, control, and their fortunes. It all goes away if people don’t pay that tax! Their whole lives are defined by that tax being paid because it carries so much more than just money (i.e. the power, control, and wealth as I just said).

What Jesus is pointing out is not the importance of paying this tax. Jesus is pointing out where and who their allegiance lies with; He is offering to them an opportunity to question whether this Roman emperor is really a god or should be worshipped as a God or is there another who actually is a God. “Is there a God out there that can show that there is more in this world than just a head on a coin?” Jesus invites them to question their faith in this human emperor, who by previous examples seen by all the people is NOT immortal. Who has to put his image on a coin to remind people who he is.

Jesus offers these Pharisess, their disciples, and the Herodians the opportunity to put their faith in a God that is eternal; a God that promises everlasting life, a God who sent a Son into the world, have that Son go to the cross for their and our sake and be raised on the third day; to prove that death does not have the last word and that God keeps God’s promises.

Jesus offers that to us this day and every day as well. Jesus offers us the chance to question where our faith lies. Does it lie within the ability to have power and control over others? Does who we are rely on the amount of coins in our pocket or bank account, the amount of investments that we do or don’t have? Do we hold on so tightly to what we have because we believe those things are what define who we are?

OR, are we defined by the one who gave us life and created us. Do we put our faith and allegiance into the hands of a God who sent Jesus Christ into the world to teach us how to love our neighbors, how to invite others to come and see what the Lord has made and know that it…everything that God has created is GOOD! Do we put our faith into the God who promised eternal life, who promised that in our baptism we are claimed by God and that no matter what, we are ALWAYS God’s child and NOTHING CAN TAKE THAT AWAY! And do we allow ourselves to be shaped and defined first and foremost by God’s love; and do we put our faith and allegiance into a God that we cannot see on a coin, but know the presence of God in our lives, hearts, and minds?

The truth is that we do need those coins in our pockets. We do need the paper with pictures on it to pay the bills, whether it be cash or check, or even debit and credit cards. The point of this is not to demean the use of money because it is a part, a large part of our society. We live in the tension of having to rely on money to survive every day. We can easily run the risk of allowing that to rule and define who we are; BUT it does not define who we are! If I had a $100 bill in my pocket, which I don’t, that does not define me!

What defines us is that we are loved and cared for people. We are so loved that Jesus Christ died for all of us. We are claimed in our baptism by a God that will not let anything keep us from that love. Even though the road is not promised to be easy, being loved, claimed, and forgiven by God is worth the struggle.

Tomorrow/Today God will bring into God’s family Drew Gilbert Marriott. This little guy will have God’s promises that we have; promises of love, care, and support. Drew’s life will be full of ups and downs, just like all of us. This is where we, as his brothers and sisters in Christ, can help him, his brother, Brandy, and Matthew in defining himself as a child of God. We know the road isn’t easy, but we can be here for this family to walk with them in this journey of faith as God calls us to be witnesses to Drew of God’s never-failing and never-ending promises to life everlasting.

So let’s change that question of “what’s in your wallet?” to “whose Image are you created in?” Thanks be to God: AMEN!

Matthew 22: 1-14 being thrown out or being prepared?

Matthew 22: 1-14

Getting thrown out!

On Sunday, October 5, 2014 I challenged the congregation to arrive and worship in clothes that they normally would not wear to worship service on a Sunday. I asked them to trust me and one person was sad because he is a Mason Clown and he could not attend. The following is a summary of the sermon for Sunday, October 12, 2014.

            It is important to get some of the historical background of the book of Matthew and it’s purpose in writing. It was written during what one Theologian calls a “family squabble.” The family squabble is not about believing in God but it is about who Jesus is. Some did not believe that he was the Son of God while others did.

            This community of Jesus believers was a minority community in and amid a larger Jewish community. The “Christians (later called)” were able to use the synagogue to worship in earlier times. At the time of the book of Matthew, they are being pushed out of the Synagogue and have to find other places to worship. One of the purposes of this Good News of Jesus that we call the Gospel of Matthew was to sustain this community with God’s Word in their faith in Jesus Christ.

            In his commentary “Matthew at the Margins”, Warren Carter addresses how this parable is filled with symbolism of the realities in their current world. He points out who the actors are in this parable:

The King = God. Powerful and creator of all that is: seen and unseen.

Son = Jesus. This Son is the bridegroom. It is a direct reference to Matthew 9:15 where Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom.

Slaves = these are the prophets who go out into the world and do as the King asks. They are beaten, killed, mocked, arrested…we have heard that one.

Guests = are the elites. They are the ones born into the church roles of leadership. Pharisees and Saduccees. They reject the Kings invitation 2 TIMES and we know what happens when the King is rejected…

Soldiers come into the picture = Carter points out that the soldiers are Roman soldiers and in 70 C.E. they burn down the temple (possibly doing God’s action because of their - the elites – disobedience). They burn the place down.

No need to worry because this King has more slaves and they go out again. This time the order is to find whoever they can. “Go to the street crossings (our Gospel just says streets but the Greek points out street crossings) and invite everyone you find.” This time the King doesn’t want to waste his time. He wants everyone invited…Guess who hangs out at those street corners? The good and the bad.

The King did not say “go sort out these people” but says invite everyone you can find. The slaves (prophets) do just that; they bring them in “both good and bad.”

The problem is that there is this one guy. You know THAT GUY! The guy who is not dressed properly for this wedding banquet. Everyone knew in that time that there was appropriate dress for weddings. Everyone had some form of proper attire just for weddings, but this guy didn’t even take the time to put on the proper clothes; so the king saw this and he was bound and thrown into the outer darkness. IF there is one place you don’t want to go, it is definitely the outer darkness; the name, outer darkness sounds so….final!

Sticking with Warren Carter’s theme and this is symbolism, what do you think it means to be properly dressed for this wedding banquet? Is it simply wearing the right clothes or is there more to it? How do you think those people might have felt being invited to the King’s banquet hall for a wedding banquet; especially when you have never had any interaction with the King?

We can easily imagine what the good person might have felt; this sense of being special. Maybe “the King wants me to come to one of his wedding banquets?!” OF course there might be the sense of “I have to get just the right clothes” and there is a flurry of making sure the right protocols are followed, words are said, etc.

I would even imagine the bad person might have a different feeling. “This king invited me, am I in troubles, why would they invite me?” there might even be some sense of feeling important and wanting to look good maybe so that you don’t draw attention to yourself or get singled out.

Either way, there is a different feeling that comes over this invitation to these people on the street. There is a process of preparation. In that process can be elation, nervousness, anxiety, jubilation, excitement…a sense that because of that one invitation, your life has changed and it will never be the same.

That is the point of my challenge to you today. Were you nervous wearing these different clothes? Was there excitement in seeing where this was going to go? Was there interest OR maybe there was a lack of interest? Maybe there was a sense of “this is ridiculous” and it doesn’t feel special. No matter how you feel, this has been a successful illustration of this parable.

Most importantly, I want to say that we will not be throwing anyone into the outer darkness. I am not telling you how to dress for church that is up to you; what I am saying is that my hope and prayer is that when we get ready Saturday evening or Sunday morning, there is a sense of excitement. Your heart and soul is preparing you for this time together to hear God’s Word; as Luther puts it “get your hearts and minds prepared to fear and love the Lord our God (The King). Because God’s Word is life changing; living out and sharing the grace and mercy that God first shows us is exciting, anxious, scary, and yet a blessing.

Receiving the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, sacrificed for you and for me is something to praise God and give thanks for God’s never-failing love. My hope and prayer is also that we take those feelings of being special out into the world to share our experiences of God in our lives

Thanks be to God: Amen

Matthew 21: 33-46 Who's the Boss?

            Remember the phrase, “Who died and made you boss?!” It is a phrase usually said in an angry response to someone trying to tell us what to do. IT can be a real question and it can be a question to imply “how are you better than anyone else?”

            Today’s Gospel reading fits right into this type of a question. Once again, we have a parable…a teaching tool from Jesus to the religious leaders and to us. There was this landowner who took the time to build a vineyard with all that is needed to make it productive. Jesus adds the watchtower in this vineyard. That tells me that this is a pretty important vineyard, if the landowner needs to put up a watchtower; whether it is to keep watch over the grapes and the wine or it is to keep watch of who is coming in or out, it is pretty important.

So this owner takes off. He is gone…to another country! I guess that’s okay; and the tenants must have agreed to work the vineyard. I have seen documentaries and taken tours of vineyards and this is no easy task. Just as the farmers have to tend to their crops on a daily basis, the workers in this vineyard do as well. They have to make sure the grapevines are planted in just the right space and spacing apart from one another. They have to make sure the soil is good soil so that the grapes turn out just the way they need to in order to get the best grape for this wine. They all have to have defined jobs so that they are not overlapping. They have to make sure that there is no disease spreading through the vines, how to treat this particular type of grape and the care that it needs; so they have worked hard and NOW it is harvest time.

When the harvest time comes, this landowner sends his slaves back to gather the rewards! He doesn’t show up but sends these people to take what all these workers had worked so hard for. These slaves did not spend the time to make sure all this was done right. They did not read the soil, water the vines, tend the grapes and nurse these plants to health, protect them from bugs or other things that could endanger them! They just come in and are ready to take away all that these tenants had worked for…just take it away! So they are mad! So mad, in fact, they “beat one, killed one, and stone another.” The owner sent another group (more this time) and they did the same thing.

Then the owner sends his Son. “Surely, they will respect my Son! But we know what happens. These tenants don’t listen or respect the son. They figure they will kill him and get this Son’s inheritance. HERE IS A BIG PROBLEM! What in the world makes them think that they will get the inheritance of this landowner? Where in the world does it say in our scripture that these workers have some right to this land? They were tenant farmers. Our scripture does not say that after “a long contractual negotiation, it was determined that the farmers who agreed to be said tenants- in the event of death of the owner son- would inherit said land upon which they worked.” That is not in there so where did they get this notion?

I would suggest that it is because they fell into the trap of believing they would get some kind of reward. They put their heart and soul into this land. They used their talents, their gifts to do what needed to be done so that the vineyard would produce and be successful- because if it succeeds, they all succeed. So they have put so much into this land and the success of this land that they forgot that they were tenants and not the owner.

I would suggest that this is where the leaders of the church, the chief priests and Pharisees began to relate in this story. They are living by the law. They know the rules  about worship, sacrifice, what needs to be done according to the laws of Moses. It is their sole job to make sure that everyone is doing what they are supposed to do as the CHOSEN PEOPLE of God. They live this 24/7/365, just like the tenant farmers. I would imagine that they got so caught up in trying to keep people within the law that they began to feel a sense of ownership, a sense of “I am the one who is keeping you in this relationship with God” or “I will tell you what you need to do to be made clean and acceptable in the eyes of God.”

The problem is that they don’t see that God is the one who is the Boss, the landowner, the creator of this vineyard. We read throughout scripture and we hold to be true that God created all of this; this land, the earth, all its resources, and this universe. God is the one who made all this possible.

I think that we can relate to this as well. We, too, can get caught up in the sense of ownership. When we buy a house, it is ours to do with whatever we want. No one can tell us what to do. When we have worked so hard and followed all the rules, we should be rewarded with a little something (that is our expectation). When we have done our homework, passed tests,  done all that our bosses expected, filled out the forms, spent years working for a company, tilled the land and produced crops to survive, sang in the choir all our lives, led the youth group, taught Sunday school for so many years…we all get caught up in this doing what we are supposed to do and wanting, having, or expecting a sense of ownership.

What Jesus is telling us that it is still and always will be God’s. We do all these things thinking that it is expected, it is part of the check-off list, and it is the law of what we have to do to be a good citizen…a god Christian…and we then get caught up in this “If I just do this then I will get into the kingdom of heaven!” What Jesus is teaching us here is that it is not about solely living by the law. Just because these things can be checked off doesn’t mean you have ownership or entitlement to the kingdom of heaven.

And that is where the second problem with this reading comes from. If Jesus is telling us that it is not solely by the law that we enter the kingdom of heaven, then what else is there? That is the Gospel...The GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ. It is the Good News of living out that God sent Jesus into this world to show us the Good News of God’s care for us, the Good News that no matter how broken we are, God is there with us and for us, The Good News that no matter how hard we try to live by the law we will fall short, AND no matter how many times we fall short, God shows us that we are still loved; so much that God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, will be sacrificed – not simply for the sake of sacrifice – But to show us that we are loved and forgiven and that God wants us to be in a relationship with God; Because of what God has done and is doing for us.

In our reading of Matthew today, we don’t necessarily see the Good New portion of God’s action in the world. Jesus uses some strong language to warn and to compel the leaders of the church and us that living by the law and focusing only on that part of God can cause us to think that we are the owners because we did the work. It is when we look later in this chapter and later in our worship service and hear the words “in the night in which our Lord Jesus was betrayed…” That we hear God’s Good News and invitation to come and be a part of God’s son sacrificed for you and for me; we hear God’s invitation to come and bring all that you are to this altar because you are loved more than you will ever know: AMEN!