Matthew 4:12-23 Turning Toward God is a daily practice

            So Christmas, is now becoming a distant memory right. We are a month away from Christmas and so it is now relegated to that place in our memories of a warm time when family was together, opening presents, and having a wonderful memory. For the most part it is that warm and fuzzy time of the year. Just think, there are only 11 more months till we get that warm, fuzzy feeling again…you're welcome for the reminder.

            Our Gospel reading for today can be related to a memory. It may not be that warm fuzzy feeling, but there is a memory all the same. John is arrested and in jail; Jesus is down at the Sea of Galilee. He made his home there. He has moved out of his parent’s home and is on his own. I wonder if he had a waterfront view, but I guess that is for another time. So he is all moved in…and we don’t know how long he has been there; but we know what it is like when you move to a new area. You start meeting people and making friends.

            With Jesus, were not so sure if he started making friends but Jesus has something to say. He starts telling people to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” Where have we heard that before? We heard it right before Jesus was baptized. John was going around telling people and the Pharisees “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” Jesus is saying the same thing that John was saying. I guess it really is the year to hear things twice.

            I think we need to look at this phrase “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” I think this word “repent” is a misunderstood word. Typically, when we have heard the word repent, we tend to think of one act that we have done and apologize. That’s it, we are taught that repenting for that one act is repentence. So we end up having to repent for each mistake or wrong that we have done. The problem is that we can tend to make mistake after mistake and so this repentence continues. It can become a real pain.

            This word repent is not about apologizing for each individual act. The repenting that John and Jesus talks about is VERY different. This word repent is talking about more than just seeking for forgiveness for one particular instance.

            This word “repent” would be best described as a turning around. The act of repenting does mean that the listeners…and we the readers…do seek forgiveness from the mistakes we make and come with repentant hearts to the cross seeking forgiveness. But it also means turning away from those acts. For example, let’s say you really liked your friends. You like them so much that you will do quite anything to be with your friends. In fact, you like your friends and want to be with them so much that your family time suffers because of being with your friends. It may sound like a childish example but we adults are not immune to it. So, You miss out of family dinners…not thinking about how the family feels…and then having to apologize. Here is another example. You like the people you work with and some of them may be trash talking faith in Jesus and in God. They ask you this question “you’re not one of those Holy Rollers, Are you?”

            Those questions and situations may cause you to respond in a way that God is not hoping you will respond. Repentance calls you to think about what you are doing. This turning around that Jesus is proclaiming calls you to think about your actions before you act. Jesus is calling you to think about other people’s feelings and the consequences of our actions. In the case of the family, maybe God is calling us to say that our family loves us so much that the AND I don’t want to be separated and so I am going to spend time with my family. In the situation of  whether someone wants to know if you ARE a “Holy Roller” maybe God is calling you to respond about how you feel about Jesus Christ…God…and the blessings in your life.

            The point is that Jesus is calling us all to look at our behavior; the good and the bad. Jesus is calling us to take stock in our lives; not just one instance here or there, but the whole part of our lives. This is all about changing our future actions and what our actions and reactions will be in the future. There is a saying about diets. “diets are fads” and do you know why? Because they are supposed to last until you reach your goal weight and then they end. Once you reach that goal weight, you stop the diet and the weight eventually comes back. I know this from personal experience. But in order for the weight to stay off, your whole life has to change; you have to take what you have learned through the process and change your way of thinking. So that your new eating habits take root in your brain and your actions change and you begin new habits. It is the same with diabetes, quitting smoking, and with addictions.

            But the same is also true with our faith and this whole concept of repentance. If we turn our lives toward God and away from things that can get us in trouble OR participate in things that distract us from God and our faith THEN we, too, will have to think about our actions, responses, and consequences. What Jesus is calling us to is a changing of our lives from this moment on. That is a pretty tall order! And we may want to say, but I have turned to God and I don’t need to turn any more…my turning is done.

            I would love to and have thought that. But I also learned that this turning toward God is a constant process. I will give you an example. In our scripture, Jesus calls two fishermen and then two more. Well, I have fished a couple of times in my life, but I am not a fisherman. For these four it was their business. Well, I have to adjust my life…I have to turn toward the Gospel to see that this does not apply only to fishermen. I have to look at where Jesus is. He is in Galilee; it is the land of the gentiles. This is a Good Jewish boy. The one that God sent to the Jewish people to save them and here he is in the land of people who may not know God because until then the people were in darkness, as our Gospel says, and now they have seen this great light. Turning away from this darkness means that I need to see the light.

            In our daily modern lives, we have seen so many things. We have seen the invention of telephones, cell phones, computers, many of us watched three men travel to the moon, land, walk around, and then come home. We see medical breakthroughs in the treatment of cancers and other diseases. Our world has changed from that time of Jesus and this Gospel. Each one of these things that I mentioned can cause us to turn toward God and the Good News that Jesus brings into the world that we are loved and blessed. These things can cause us to take stock in our lives and to keep us centered in God’s love and the teachings of Jesus Words and actions to know that God is present in this world and active.

            Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near. Those are the words that God wants us to hear. Know that there is another way in the world. It is not an easy way, but it is a way that tells us that we always have a place to go in times of joy and in times of sorrow. It is a place where we can lay our burdens at the foot of the cross of forgiveness and it is the joy of an empty tomb and the praise of resurrection.

            Jesus does not promise that his call is an easy one. His call of turning toward the Gospel does promise that we are not alone. God gave us the gift of one another to go through this together and share our joys and struggles…to help one another and celebrate together God’s blessings. Thanks be to God! 

John 1:29-44...How would you respond to Jesus Question and Invitation?

            Okay, so last week, we talked about the baptism of Jesus through Matthew’s Gospel. Today much of what I said about John being number 2 is right here in John’s Gospel. The quick review is John witnessing the fact that Jesus, the one who will take away the sin of the world is now at the river to be baptized. Apparently, this is so important in our lives that we need to hear this two weeks in a row. I agree that it is important to hear twice because it drives the point home as to who Jesus is and what Jesus will do in this world; both with us and for us.

            There is something added in this Gospel reading this morning. It is a gift, two gifts actually, that many of us might not see as gifts. Wouldn’t it be fun to spend the entire service looking for this gift? No need to worry, I won’t put us all through that. This gift comes after John has witnessed to us, the readers, exactly what he saw and testified to. Two disciples begin to follow Jesus. They have no names at this point but they begin to follow. Jesus turns and asks them “what are you looking for?” I know it may sound a little ridiculous but think about that question, what are you looking for?

            You might be asking me or saying to yourself “how is that a gift?” Think about it for a moment. Here is this guy that John calls “the lamb of God” and God’s Holy Spirit has just descended on him like a dove, the day before. You have heard all this spoken…you might have even heard the words “this is my Son with whom I am well pleased.” So you see this guy the next day and HE asks you “what are you looking for?” This is your big chance. This is your chance to ask the questions about God and this new “rock star” that is in town. What are you going to say.

            It might be like this one time when I was two feet away from this icon of a Nascar driver. His name was Sterling Marlin and I was two feet away from him. He and everyone at the racing shop stopped waited for me to ask for his autograph walked out the door and all the employees were laughing because rather than ask the question I always wanted to ask a driver, I walked away terrified. I even said to my brother “That was stupid and they are gonna laugh at this one.” I was still in the room and said it loud enough for all to hear.

            Believe it or not this question is important. It is important because the Son of God wants to know what they are looking for. Jesus is calling them to think about what it is that they are looking for. Although it does not say this in our scripture, the question is extremely general. It is almost a setup question like: What are you looking for…the bathroom, a good hotel, peace and tranquility, someone to take away your sins, someone to tell you that you are loved. This question is very vague.

            This is why the question of what are you looking for is a part of who we are as Christians. Jesus’ questions calls us to search our hearts because at any given moment this question could have a very different answer. At one time, it could be that we are looking for a God who will forgive our sins. It could be that we are looking for a God to take away pain in our lives or in the lives of friends. It could be that we are looking for a job, the strength to make it through tough times; that we are looking for a sign from God that we are loved or making a difference in the world.

            This question of what are you looking for is a gift from Jesus, the Son of God. It is a gift because God understands through Jesus Christ that this is a tough world. It is not easy living in a world where situations are changing constantly. Society wants you to do one thing to be part of the crowd or rebel against something; wants you influence your decisions and get you to be on one side or the other; purchase this or that so that your life can be complete. Jesus is giving us the gift, through this question of really searching our hearts for the subject of this question. He is calling us to be intentional about what we think about so that we can block out the society and culture issues to reveal what is in our hearts.

            The second gift of this passage is the disciple’s response and Jesus’ response. It is kind of funny, when you think about it, that they respond with “Rabbi, where are you staying?” That is an odd answer to a question. But listen to Jesus’ response. He does not indicate where he is staying. He does not say that he is staying at the local Howard Johnsons, Holiday Inn, or give them an address. Jesus response to them is “Come and See.” He is offering an invitation. Notice he does not put any requirements on them like “stay behind me because I am the star” or walk two feet to the left and behind. He invites them to come along. Walk with me and you will see.

            That too is a gift. They can’t answer the first question and when they answer with a question, no one laughs or thinks these two disciples are awkward; they are invited to go along by the one who takes away the sin of the world. That is pretty powerful because here is this all important person who is going to do these things to help the world out inviting them to go along. I cannot even begin to imagine how they felt at the moment. I would think they would be stunned! Don’t you?!

            Friends in Christ, maybe we don’t feel so stunned. Maybe we think “oh that’s nice” but it is not enough to be stunned, shocked or surprised, or even excited. Maybe it is because we have become so de-sensitized to everything that goes on in the world that we don’t even think about these questions in our scripture; our hearts can become dark and clouded because of the world. BUT WE SHOULD be shocked, surprised and excited because these questions are asked of us every week. It is important to hear Jesus words of “what are you looking for” every day.

Jesus asks that of us in this scripture. What are you looking for? Jesus thinks enough of you and me to ask us, what are you looking for? Jesus wants to know what we are all looking for. Think deep down in our hearts about that question every day and search for what we feel is most important in our lives; so we are taking the time to give back to God what truly lies within our hearts. That we do not let the things that can darken our hearts remain but that we can open our hears so that, the light of Christ will always be in our hearts and at the center of our hearts.

There is another reason to be excited, shocked, and surprised at these gifts. Just as Jesus said to the disciples “come and see” we, too, are invited to come and see. We are invited to begin the journey with Christ. We are invited to see the “lamb of God” in action; taking away the sin of the world. We are invited to share the love that God has for us in the relationship that Jesus shares with us all. We are invited to see the healing, the struggles and the love poured out for us and with us. We are invited to “come and see” the love of God and the forgiveness for us in the bread and wine that is Jesus body and blood; at this, the Lord’s Table.

Today we celebrate a man who heard the call of “what are you looking for.” He was looking for the right to be treated like any other person; with respect and dignity. He was looking for the world to treat him and his brothers and sisters with the same dignity as any other man or woman. He searched deep within his heart looking for God’s guidance. He answered Jesus’ invitation to come and see and held the light of God’s love within his heart.  He wrote these words that are now etched in stone at his memorial; “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hatred, only love can do that.” When we hear Jesus, the son of God ask “what are you looking for” will we look to the light of Christ within our hearts and what will be our response? When we receive the invitation to “come and see” will we also invite others to come and see: AMEN

Matthew 2: 1-12 What's it all about...Power!

            Today we are celebrating Epiphany, that moment when the “Three Wise Men” arrive at the home to see the young child, Jesus Christ. It took them twelve days to get there. Ya know, I never knew that until I was in my late 20’s. I thought everyone showed up at the same time the night he was born. I mean, that is how it is shown on television specials and in songs.  I used to literally think, they go into the stable, the baby is born, Angels get the shepherds, the wise men show up and everything is wrapped up in this one night. That is how I always thought that it went. So I am sitting in this church on a Christmas Eve and all the sudden I hear that it took the wise men 12 days to show up. That was the first time I started wondering “what else don’t I know about this story?”

            This story of Jesus birth that comes from the Gospel of Matthew has a lot of things that just seem “unbelievable” in it. We heard the story on Christmas Eve as our Gospel of Luke tells us. It is the beautiful story with the angels singing “Glory be to God in the highest heaven…” Matthew’s story is quite different. There is the beautiful story that tells of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Side note: Christ is not Jesus’ last name. In this Gospel of Matthew is where we see Jesus’ calling is to be THE CHRIST and I will cover more of that over the course of the year. In Matthew’s Gospel, the story of Jesus, Immanuel, brings with it a struggle from the moment he was born.

            This struggle that is created is the struggle of power. This little-bitty baby born in a crib is more powerful than any king on earth; because this little baby is the Son of God; son of the God who created the heavens and the earth. This is the Son of the God who delivered Noah and his family from the flood, the God who delivered his people from captivity in Egypt. So This God is powerful and this child is special. This amount of power did not go over well with Herod. Another side note: Herod  was the family name and there were a bunch of Herods. This was the Father of them all. This was “Herod the Great.” This guy was so power hungry that he would and did have his own brother killed because the brother was a threat to his power. So this Herod did not want anyone taking his power.

            Herod was so concerned about losing his power that he had heard about this special child being born. He heard what was being said it he was not happy. In fact, he was so concerned about this child that he ordered what can and is often called the “slaughter of the innocence.” I encourage you to read the account of Jesus’ birth in this Gospel.

            I tell you all this to bring you to this point of where we are today. Today, the wise men have travelled so far to see this child. They have been following the star for days and now they are in the town of Jerusalem and ask to see the boy King. That sets everyone off …and even gets Herod worried. So begins this struggle. Herod starts worrying that there is a threat to his power, a threat to the land that he was given by Rome; a threat that he cannot do what he wants, when he wants, and no one is going to tell him otherwise.

This threat means that his armies become unstable, he loses his authority, and no one will listen to him or give him the respect he believes is required. There would be no more bowing down to him and worshipping him but that everyone will look to the “NEW GUY” or kid for all the answers. There won’t be any statues to Herod BUT they might even start building statues to this new person. That would be downright UNACCEPTABLE! Who knew that this one little bitty baby, born in a barn would cause so much trouble?

The Good this is that this is exactly what happened. This birth of Jesus did upset the world. This child came into the world and brought God’s light into the world. It would be a light of responsibility. A light of understanding that it IS God who created the heavens and the earth and it the God of Israel who delivered a people out of slavery AND that it is this God who is mightier than earthly kings.

This child…this light that comes into the world is also a light showing Mercy, Grace, and love. Jesus coming into this world brings the truth that God loves us; so much that he sent a son to walk with us so that we KNOW we are not alone. God walks with us through this world when there is pain and mourning and joy. The light that is Jesus shows God’s mercy in showing us that we can always turn to God…not as a crutch to make mistakes and say “God must forgive me.” But as our partner to say “there is another way” to help us learn from our mistakes so that we try not to make the same mistakes twice. This light that is Christ came into the world to show us the mercy in forgiveness; that when we come to God with repentant hearts asking for forgiveness, we hear the words “this is my body given for you…this is my blood shed for you.”

The light of Jesus the Christ that comes into the world brings us the gift of grace; the grace to know that we are loved by God. The grace to forgive one another, whether it is through mistakes or difference of opinion, and work together in the kingdom of God. It is the ability to share that grace with others and bring the light of God’s grace to others.

This birth of our Lord, Jesus changes our world. It turns things upside down for us. I don’t know about you but I always like to be in control of my life. I am sure we all at one time or another thought of ourselves as islands; invincible. We had control over everything we did, we have the power to do things; control our time, our jobs, social life. Yet Jesus comes into our lives and sets our lives on its ear. For example, Some of you might have thought you’d be single and all the sudden, God puts someone in your life that changes that. You might have thought you were stuck in your career and then a job opportunity comes up. You might have thought you were alone. Then a friends calls and helps you through a tough time or shares a moment of joy with you. A moment where you wonder if God is punishing you for something and then you hear God’s words of love for you.

Jesus has a funny way of shedding God’s light on our lives. Thank God that Jesus did come into this world to show us all the gift of love and mercy. Thank God in this season of light we now have the Son of God walking with us through this tough world. I would even say thank you to God who brings light and turns our world upside down with these most radical gifts of love, mercy, and forgiveness for a world so hungry with power and control.

May we give ourselves…our lives, our hearts, our minds over to the light of the world, Jesus the Christ: AMEN!