What is Advent in the wake of such tragedy?
How can we “Prepare for Christmas” when there is so much pain and hurt?
These were the circumstances God chose to change things and enter this world of wailing and crying –
this world of unjust actions by a few.
Yes, this is precisely when God became one us.
It is in times like these that we need a little Christmas.
And, it is times like these that we need a little Advent in church to help us prepare for Christmas –
a real Christmas.
Third Sunday of Advent
Jeremiah 31:15-17, 31-33
Matthew 2:16-18
So, this is our third Sunday of Advent –
that time the church sets aside for us to use to prepare for the coming of Christmas.
The theme I am working with this year is
Preparing for Christmas . . . when times are tough.
I personally have found this to be a particularly tough week.
There was this killing at a shopping in mall in Portland, Oregon.
And Friday, the event in Newtown, Connecticut.
(And these events were right after the event in upstate Pennsylvania where a man pulled his gun during church and shot the organist.)
I was pretty much glued to the television Friday as events unfolded and more and more details of the tragedy were uncovered.
And sometime yesterday, I decided I just could not go on with the sermon I had planned for today.
The first response I had was to pray . . .
Pray for those innocent children,
pray for those adults who lost their life protecting the children . . .
Pray for the children who survived the tragedy . . .
(some having seen the bloody lifeless bodies of their friends and teachers) . . .
Pray for the families of those children who perished,
pray for the families of all the children in the school who are now dealing with the aftermath .. .
Pray for the professional responders who arrived at the school building in very short order,
and entered the building not knowing what they would find,
and observing the carnage laid out before them,
and escorting all the hiding children from the building to safety and to reunite with their families,
and dealing with all the those little lifeless bodies.
(There were pictures of some of these responders – grown men – weeping openly at what they had seen and what they had to do.)
And, prayers for the whole community now weeping for the overwhelming loss.
"For those who bear tonight the unbearable burden
of unimaginable grief,
who in their agony yell at the forces of fate...
For those who moan and those who faint,
for those who rage and those who pray,
we moan and pray along with you.
For tonight, those were our children too.
Dear God, May a legion of angels
come upon these parents.
Bring to them an otherworldly touch,
an otherworldly comfort,
an otherworldly sense that their children are well --
that they are safe with God
and shall be with them always.
Give to those who grieve what no mortal can give...
the touch of Your Hand upon their heart.
May all touched by this darkness
be Lit by Your grace.
Please wipe away all tears, dear God.
as only You can do."
What is Advent in the wake of such tragedy?
How can we “Prepare for Christmas” when there is so much pain and hurt?
Of course, we were reminded a couple of weeks ago, that this is precisely the way things were when that first Christmas came to be.
Times were tough all over.
Lives were controlled by forces over which there was no control.
What Rome wanted, Rome got.
What Herod ordered, Herod got.
In fact Herod was so ticked off at the wise men’s trickery, that he flew off the handle,
and sent out armies to find and murder all baby boys in the land under the age of two.
There was wailing and crying all around.
These were the circumstances in which folks were living then.
These were the circumstances God chose to change things and enter this world of wailing and crying –
this world of unjust actions by a few.
Yes, this is precisely when God became one us.
Emmanuel! , we say.
God-is-with-us.
The Christmas message is a message of hope in a hopeless world.
The message of hope in a hopeless time.
The message of hope for folks who had little reason for hope.
John would write “light came into the world of darkness.”
And this gets us back to what Advent is for, and what Advent does for us.
Advent is the time for us to be reminded of what we really celebrate at this time of year.
Yes, it’s true, like the rest of the world around us, it is so easy for us to get distracted from this most basic message of our faith.
It is so easy for us to begin to think Christmas is about something else –
something like gifting presents,
or sending cards,
or going to parties,
or family dinners,
or singing of carols,
or any of the other “secular traditions” that have
sprung up at this time of year.
After all, Christmas makes us feel good.
That is, unless we are too stressed out.
Unless we our loneliness takes over.
Unless the tough times of our life prevent us from celebrating like we are told we should.
Unless we are ill, or experiencing pain, or simply unable to do much of anything at all.
Unless there are no children in our lives – so we see nothing to celebrate.
Unless we are just too old to care much anymore.
Unless we experience a tragedy in our lives –
a tragedy that trumps celebration.
Then Christmas does not make us feel good.
But, this is when our church says Christmas begins to make the most sense.
This is when Christmas becomes real.
This is when Christmas takes on whole new meaning.
You see, Christmas is about Emmanuel!
Christmas is about God being with us now.
Christmas is about hope.
Christmas is about hope in a hopeless world.
Christmas is hope in hopeless times.
“The time will come,” the Lord says through the prophet Jeremiah, “when I will be your God and you will be with me.”
Christmas is about Emmanuel . . . in times of trouble.
Christmas is about Emmanuel . . . in times of distress.
Christmas is about Emmanuel . . . in times of distraction.
Christmas is about Emmanuel . . . in times of uncertainty.
Christmas is a recognition that God is with us.
God is with us –
comforting the distraught,
aiding the afflicted,
giving new life to old bones,
bringing relief to the displaced.
God is with us.
The light shines in the darkness.
And the darkness cannot put it out.
It keeps on shining.
Christmas is not to be belittled.
We ignore the message of Christmas at our own peril.
“We are lighthouses of sacred love”, Anne Lamott says.
But, it is so easy to get distracted, isn’t it?
It is so easy to not get it.
It is so easy to forget, or to overlook, or to obfuscate the message and meaning of Christmas.
We so need this time in church at Advent to hear about Christmas.
Because when we don’t understand Christmas, it is easy to get bogged down in the wailing and the lamenting,
and the wondering why and wither,
and the projecting and conjecturing.
And – especially in days like we have been through – it gets overwhelming.
What to do?
Inaction becomes the order of the day.
We get depressed – and the song is no longer sung.
But, Christmas is about God being with us.
Christmas is about God embracing us.
Christmas is about God entering our very being – pulsing through our veins –
providing the life force
from which we can never sever.
We are not alone.
God knows. We are not alone.
God wants us to know. We are not alone.
We don’t have to experience our feelings alone.
We don’t have to live our lives in isolation.
We don’t have to have secrets that we keep hidden.
God is with us.
Caring.
Sharing.
Providing.
Enabling.
Like I’ve said every Sunday, it is in times like these that we need a little Christmas.
And, it is times like these that we need a little Advent in church to help us prepare for Christmas –
a real Christmas.
Listen to these words from Madeline L’Engle from her poem, First Coming:
God did not wait till the world was ready
till ... nations were at peace.
God came when the heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
God did not wait for the perfect time.
God came when the need was deep and great.
God dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. God did not wait
til hearts were pure. In joy God came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
God came, and God’s light would not go out.
God came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain.
God came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
God came . . .
And became one of us . . .
A more significant act has never happened.
And it is something worth celebrating.
It is something worth singing about.
It is something worth talking about.
It is something worth sharing.
Friends, even in these most depressing times –
especially in these most depressing of times –
my hope is for you to have the most blessed Christmas ever.
Amen.
The Congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service, Sunday, December 16, 2012.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Advent 2012: Preparing for Christmas . . . when we don't feel like it
You and I are going to walk from here to Bethlehem?
That must be 70 miles as the crow flies – and the pathway is up and down, around and about.
No way!
And don’t give me any of that donkey stuff –
with this belly I couldn’t even get on one,
much less put up with his swaying and bouncing.
Because Mary made that trip (even when she didn’t feel like it) you and I experience a faith in this God who is with us - always.
This God who never abandons us.
This God who is a part of us –
providing pulses of life in all kinds of situations.
The story of Christmas is our story.
So, this is the second Sunday of Advent 2012.
Advent is this time set aside for the church to prepare for Christmas.
Last week we looked for messages of hope and help preparing for Christmas when times are tough.
For most of, these are not ordinary times – the life we are experiencing is not what we signed up for.
Times are tough for a lot of us.
And we are reminded that times were particularly tough in the days of Herod and Joseph and Mary and their families and friends.
And that’s exactly when God chose to move into the neighborhood and become one of us.
And, today, I want to explore how it is hard for some of us to get into the Christmas spirit sometimes –
it is hard to prepare for Christmas when you don’t feel like it.
I was thinking this week specifically about the plight of little Mary.
Have you ever thought about how she must have gone through a roller coaster of emotions?
She was just a girl, really.
From what we know, she was about 13 years old.
She had been told that a marriage had been arranged with the village carpenter’s apprentice – and she was pretty excited about that.
Not to have a husband was to continue to be burden on her mother and father –
and life was just better with a spouse.
And, one had been found for her.
We don’t know how much time had passed since her betrothal had been announced, but she and Joseph had been spending some time getting to know one another, and make specific plans about where to life and what they would need to set their new household, and such.
The future for Mary was promising.
And, then the angel came.
She didn’t understand that all.
She was fearful.
“But, how can that be?” was her response to the angel’s announcement.
Her future was up in the air now.
What about Joseph?
What about their plans?
What about her parents?
What about her friends?
What about the village?
What would her life be like raising a baby without a husband?
Her future looked bleak.
We don’t know just how long she harbored her 13-year-old feelings before she told Joseph about her situation.
But, apparently she did try to tell him.
And, apparently he wasn’t buying it.
Of course he couldn’t go through with the arrangement now.
Mary was damaged goods and carried unclaimed baggage.
That’s when the angel came to Joseph.
And, Joseph ended up doing the right thing and agreed to take Mary anyway.
Things were looking up for Mary.
No doubt, life was still hard for her – as well as for Joseph – in their village.
For sure no one else was convinced about their “immaculate conception” story.
They would have been shunned by their village, their families, their friends.
She had no one else at this point.
They had to turn to each other.
Times were tough for Mary and Joseph.
And, this ridiculous census was announced.
What was this about?
Why did Joseph have to travel so far?
Especially now.
She had been carrying this baby for a long time.
The time was surely at hand.
And, now he was to leave to town?
At this time?
Please!
Mary was stressed.
“Wait, wait! And now you want me to do what?
Why do I have to go with you?
Look at me – heavy with child.
How am I supposed to get there?
We don’t have a car.
There is no bus, no taxi, no train.
You and I are going to walk from here to Bethlehem?
That must be 70 miles as the crow flies – and the pathway is up and down, around and about.
No way!
And don’t give me any of that donkey stuff –
with this belly I couldn’t even get on one,
much less put up with his swaying and bouncing.
To be sure, Mary didn’t feel like going.
Folks make that pilgrimage walk today.
Today, it takes folks 28 days to make that walk – walking at a pace presumably not too fast for an eight-month pregnant girl.
Do you think for one minute, Mary felt like doing that?
But, she did do it, didn’t she?
And, of course, the story goes on: after they finally arrived at Bethlehem, Mary suffered a double indignity - there was nowhere to stay.
Finally, after some wheeling and dealing, and a compassion-hearted inn-keeper, make-shift shelter was provided.
So, the young, frightened, country-girl, sheltered in a barn – presumably in the company with an assortment of farm animals.
Mary didn’t feel like making the trip in the first place, that’s for sure.
And she didn’t much feel like bedding down in the barn, either.
But she did.
Was she driven by her faith – bolstered by the encounters with the angel and her cousin, Elizabeth – or by her circumstance – having to accompany her betrothed because there were no other alternatives?
It really doesn’t matter much.
It is a wonder the baby didn’t come somewhere along the way.
When our first child was late, Suzanne received all kinds of advice:
go home and rearrange the furniture,
try to move the refrigerator,
go sit in a double feature movie.
(Just for the record, we did NOT have her try to move the refrigerator, but we did go to the circus for four hours one afternoon,
and watched a double feature movie showing of Oklahoma and South Pacific another afternoon.)
But, alas, there was no Laurie for Suzanne,
and no Jesus for Mary.
Mary did show a strong belief in her destiny as described by the angel Gabriel.
The song she sings after her visit with cousin Elizabeth demonstrates a familiarity with a radical restructuring of society that is about to be brought about.
For sure, Mary didn’t feel like making that trip.
But, she did.
And, that she did is a message of hope for all of us today.
Of course, we know how the story turns out.
The baby was born – healthy baby and healthy mom – without the help of a midwife or medical attention.
The baby was named Jesus –
and was recognized by all as Emmanuel!
God is now with us.
God chose to demonstrate this new reality through this unwed, homeless, teenage mother
in a hick-podunk town (mostly unheard of and ignored by the rest of the Roman Empire),
and in a barn at that.
Here in 2012, it may be hard to get in the Christmas spirit.
We just may not feel like it – for a variety of reasons.
We may be grieving a loss,
we may be experiencing a debilitating illness,
we may just be tired,
we may be too busy or too distracted.
We may come up a very good excuse.
But, let’s remember Mary.
She surely did not feel like making that trip.
But, because she did step out and make the effort, look what happened.
The skies opened up.
The angels came out.
The heavenly chorus rang out.
The shepherds came in to town to see the new born.
Magi came from the East to pay homage.
And the powers of rule were scared spitless –
So much so that Herod sent out the order to kill all the baby boys in the land born near the suspected day.
Mary did not feel like making that trip.
But because stepped out and acted on her faith,
the world was changed.
Emmanuel was made known.
Societal structure was turned upside down.
The Kingdom of God was ushered in.
Because Mary made that trip (even when she didn’t feel like it) you and I experience a faith in this God who is with us - always.
This God who never abandons us.
This God who is a part of us –
providing pulses of life in all kinds of situations.
This God who is manifest through acts of compassion, and justice.
Because Mary made that trip when she didn’t feel like it,
you and I – and everyone we meet –
literally everyone we meet –
can celebrate Christmas even if we may not feel like it.
Because, time and time again, our experience shows,
and clinical research confirms,
that when we make the effort to celebrate events like Christmas –
even if we don’t feel like it –
magic happens.
The heavens open up.
We start seeing angels.
We hear the music.
We smile.
We sing.
We might even dance.
We gift one another.
We acknowledge one another.
We actually converse with one another.
The spirit of Christmas overtakes us
and we actually become a part of the message.
The story of Christmas is our story.
It is the story of Mary, yes.
It is the story of Emmanuel, yes.
It is the story of God and the inauguration of God’s Kingdom, yes.
But, the story of Christmas is the story of us.
This week Anne Lamott relayed a comment Wendell Berry told her some thirty years ago:
“It gets darker, and darker, and darker,
and then Jesus is born.”
That’s what Mary found out.
That’s what millions of believers throughout the ages have found out.
That’s what many in this room have found out.
It is just when things seem to be getting darker and darker and darker that the light comes and illuminates the world around us.
For sure, Mary experienced a brightness in her soul after making the trip she didn’t feel like making.
And, the thing is, you and I can try it out.
We can test it out for ourselves.
If you just don’t feel the Christmas spirit,
remember Mary and take action:
go to the Christmas party at the pastor’s house,
buy a turkey for a neighbor,
buy a gift card at the Acme and hand it to a person coming into the store,
make a call to someone you haven’t spoken to in over a year,
write a note to someone who is not expecting it,
sing a song of Christmas,
do something for another,
offer a prayer for another’s wellbeing,
well, the list goes on.
Like Mary found out, it will make a difference.
Like Auntie Mame said:
especially when we don’t feel like it,
we need a little Christmas, right this very minute.
We need a little laughter,
we need a little singing,
we need a little Christmas –
even when we don’t feel like it –
especially when we don’t feel like.
Amen.
The congregation of The Maxlife Church: Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, experienced this sermon during a worship service the Second Sunday of Advent, December 9, 2012.
That must be 70 miles as the crow flies – and the pathway is up and down, around and about.
No way!
And don’t give me any of that donkey stuff –
with this belly I couldn’t even get on one,
much less put up with his swaying and bouncing.
Because Mary made that trip (even when she didn’t feel like it) you and I experience a faith in this God who is with us - always.
This God who never abandons us.
This God who is a part of us –
providing pulses of life in all kinds of situations.
The story of Christmas is our story.
So, this is the second Sunday of Advent 2012.
Advent is this time set aside for the church to prepare for Christmas.
Last week we looked for messages of hope and help preparing for Christmas when times are tough.
For most of, these are not ordinary times – the life we are experiencing is not what we signed up for.
Times are tough for a lot of us.
And we are reminded that times were particularly tough in the days of Herod and Joseph and Mary and their families and friends.
And that’s exactly when God chose to move into the neighborhood and become one of us.
And, today, I want to explore how it is hard for some of us to get into the Christmas spirit sometimes –
it is hard to prepare for Christmas when you don’t feel like it.
I was thinking this week specifically about the plight of little Mary.
Have you ever thought about how she must have gone through a roller coaster of emotions?
She was just a girl, really.
From what we know, she was about 13 years old.
She had been told that a marriage had been arranged with the village carpenter’s apprentice – and she was pretty excited about that.
Not to have a husband was to continue to be burden on her mother and father –
and life was just better with a spouse.
And, one had been found for her.
We don’t know how much time had passed since her betrothal had been announced, but she and Joseph had been spending some time getting to know one another, and make specific plans about where to life and what they would need to set their new household, and such.
The future for Mary was promising.
And, then the angel came.
She didn’t understand that all.
She was fearful.
“But, how can that be?” was her response to the angel’s announcement.
Her future was up in the air now.
What about Joseph?
What about their plans?
What about her parents?
What about her friends?
What about the village?
What would her life be like raising a baby without a husband?
Her future looked bleak.
We don’t know just how long she harbored her 13-year-old feelings before she told Joseph about her situation.
But, apparently she did try to tell him.
And, apparently he wasn’t buying it.
Of course he couldn’t go through with the arrangement now.
Mary was damaged goods and carried unclaimed baggage.
That’s when the angel came to Joseph.
And, Joseph ended up doing the right thing and agreed to take Mary anyway.
Things were looking up for Mary.
No doubt, life was still hard for her – as well as for Joseph – in their village.
For sure no one else was convinced about their “immaculate conception” story.
They would have been shunned by their village, their families, their friends.
She had no one else at this point.
They had to turn to each other.
Times were tough for Mary and Joseph.
And, this ridiculous census was announced.
What was this about?
Why did Joseph have to travel so far?
Especially now.
She had been carrying this baby for a long time.
The time was surely at hand.
And, now he was to leave to town?
At this time?
Please!
Mary was stressed.
“Wait, wait! And now you want me to do what?
Why do I have to go with you?
Look at me – heavy with child.
How am I supposed to get there?
We don’t have a car.
There is no bus, no taxi, no train.
You and I are going to walk from here to Bethlehem?
That must be 70 miles as the crow flies – and the pathway is up and down, around and about.
No way!
And don’t give me any of that donkey stuff –
with this belly I couldn’t even get on one,
much less put up with his swaying and bouncing.
To be sure, Mary didn’t feel like going.
Folks make that pilgrimage walk today.
Today, it takes folks 28 days to make that walk – walking at a pace presumably not too fast for an eight-month pregnant girl.
Do you think for one minute, Mary felt like doing that?
But, she did do it, didn’t she?
And, of course, the story goes on: after they finally arrived at Bethlehem, Mary suffered a double indignity - there was nowhere to stay.
Finally, after some wheeling and dealing, and a compassion-hearted inn-keeper, make-shift shelter was provided.
So, the young, frightened, country-girl, sheltered in a barn – presumably in the company with an assortment of farm animals.
Mary didn’t feel like making the trip in the first place, that’s for sure.
And she didn’t much feel like bedding down in the barn, either.
But she did.
Was she driven by her faith – bolstered by the encounters with the angel and her cousin, Elizabeth – or by her circumstance – having to accompany her betrothed because there were no other alternatives?
It really doesn’t matter much.
It is a wonder the baby didn’t come somewhere along the way.
When our first child was late, Suzanne received all kinds of advice:
go home and rearrange the furniture,
try to move the refrigerator,
go sit in a double feature movie.
(Just for the record, we did NOT have her try to move the refrigerator, but we did go to the circus for four hours one afternoon,
and watched a double feature movie showing of Oklahoma and South Pacific another afternoon.)
But, alas, there was no Laurie for Suzanne,
and no Jesus for Mary.
Mary did show a strong belief in her destiny as described by the angel Gabriel.
The song she sings after her visit with cousin Elizabeth demonstrates a familiarity with a radical restructuring of society that is about to be brought about.
For sure, Mary didn’t feel like making that trip.
But, she did.
And, that she did is a message of hope for all of us today.
Of course, we know how the story turns out.
The baby was born – healthy baby and healthy mom – without the help of a midwife or medical attention.
The baby was named Jesus –
and was recognized by all as Emmanuel!
God is now with us.
God chose to demonstrate this new reality through this unwed, homeless, teenage mother
in a hick-podunk town (mostly unheard of and ignored by the rest of the Roman Empire),
and in a barn at that.
Here in 2012, it may be hard to get in the Christmas spirit.
We just may not feel like it – for a variety of reasons.
We may be grieving a loss,
we may be experiencing a debilitating illness,
we may just be tired,
we may be too busy or too distracted.
We may come up a very good excuse.
But, let’s remember Mary.
She surely did not feel like making that trip.
But, because she did step out and make the effort, look what happened.
The skies opened up.
The angels came out.
The heavenly chorus rang out.
The shepherds came in to town to see the new born.
Magi came from the East to pay homage.
And the powers of rule were scared spitless –
So much so that Herod sent out the order to kill all the baby boys in the land born near the suspected day.
Mary did not feel like making that trip.
But because stepped out and acted on her faith,
the world was changed.
Emmanuel was made known.
Societal structure was turned upside down.
The Kingdom of God was ushered in.
Because Mary made that trip (even when she didn’t feel like it) you and I experience a faith in this God who is with us - always.
This God who never abandons us.
This God who is a part of us –
providing pulses of life in all kinds of situations.
This God who is manifest through acts of compassion, and justice.
Because Mary made that trip when she didn’t feel like it,
you and I – and everyone we meet –
literally everyone we meet –
can celebrate Christmas even if we may not feel like it.
Because, time and time again, our experience shows,
and clinical research confirms,
that when we make the effort to celebrate events like Christmas –
even if we don’t feel like it –
magic happens.
The heavens open up.
We start seeing angels.
We hear the music.
We smile.
We sing.
We might even dance.
We gift one another.
We acknowledge one another.
We actually converse with one another.
The spirit of Christmas overtakes us
and we actually become a part of the message.
The story of Christmas is our story.
It is the story of Mary, yes.
It is the story of Emmanuel, yes.
It is the story of God and the inauguration of God’s Kingdom, yes.
But, the story of Christmas is the story of us.
This week Anne Lamott relayed a comment Wendell Berry told her some thirty years ago:
“It gets darker, and darker, and darker,
and then Jesus is born.”
That’s what Mary found out.
That’s what millions of believers throughout the ages have found out.
That’s what many in this room have found out.
It is just when things seem to be getting darker and darker and darker that the light comes and illuminates the world around us.
For sure, Mary experienced a brightness in her soul after making the trip she didn’t feel like making.
And, the thing is, you and I can try it out.
We can test it out for ourselves.
If you just don’t feel the Christmas spirit,
remember Mary and take action:
go to the Christmas party at the pastor’s house,
buy a turkey for a neighbor,
buy a gift card at the Acme and hand it to a person coming into the store,
make a call to someone you haven’t spoken to in over a year,
write a note to someone who is not expecting it,
sing a song of Christmas,
do something for another,
offer a prayer for another’s wellbeing,
well, the list goes on.
Like Mary found out, it will make a difference.
Like Auntie Mame said:
especially when we don’t feel like it,
we need a little Christmas, right this very minute.
We need a little laughter,
we need a little singing,
we need a little Christmas –
even when we don’t feel like it –
especially when we don’t feel like.
Amen.
The congregation of The Maxlife Church: Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, experienced this sermon during a worship service the Second Sunday of Advent, December 9, 2012.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Advent 2012: Preparing for Christmas . . . when times are tough
Christmas is for adults.
In my opinion, Christmas is the very most significant celebration we have in our church.
Because Advent and our celebration of Christmas is so out of synch with the rest of the world around us, we need all the help we can get to help us see the significance to our faith.
Christmas is basic to our faith.
Christmas explains a lot about what our faith is about.
These are tough times for many people.
And it is hard, sometimes, to “get in the Christmas mood” when times are tough.
It seems to me that the Christmas stories come more real to us when we are going through tough times.
More real, that is, if we take time read the stories, to hear the stories, to tell the stories.
First Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 40:3-5,9
Luke 1-38
Today is the first Sunday of Advent –
Advent is the season set aside by the church for centuries as time to prepare ourselves for Christmas.
For the church in the Western world, Christmas happens on December 25 –
and the Christmas Season continues for 12 days until what we recognize as Epiphany, January 6.
There are Christians that celebrate Christmas day at other times, but we won’t get into that today.
The season of Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas.
So, this year we have 24 days to prepare for Christmas.
Many churches don’t make much out of Advent.
Presbyterians didn’t used to.
But, for the past 35 years, or so, I have placed great emphasis on this time before Christmas.
Because Advent and our celebration of Christmas is so out of synch with the rest of the world around us, we need all the help we can get to help us see the significance to our faith.
Christmas is basic to our faith.
Christmas explains a lot about what our faith is about.
In my opinion, Christmas is the very most significant celebration we have in our church.
It is that important.
But, we won’t hear messages about this anywhere else this year.
It is very possible to even attend church for 50 or 60 years and never hear messages like this.
But, Christmas succinctly and effectively summarizes our relation to God and to each other.
Christmas is about Emmanuel! – God being with us.
Christmas is about God – the Creator of the universe and all the worlds that are and all that dwell therein – the omnipotent, the almighty, the Great Jehovah, the Great I Am –
Christmas is about God becoming one of us.
Christmas shows just how radical this faith we are a part of is.
God, the Ground of all Being, no longer is relegated to some other-worldly plane.
Our God is here, not there.
We say “Christmas is for children” –
and we do so enjoy the look on children’s faces when they get caught up in the wonder of the season;
But, really, Christmas is much much more.
Christmas is for adults.
As the world around us celebrates Christmas with the parades,
the decorations,
the commercials,
the music,
the sales,
we use this time to prepare for Christmas
amidst believers,
looking anew at the Biblical stories of Christmas to hear what Christmas really means –
to our faith,
and to us.
One contemporary theologian wrote last week:
“We in the Christian churches need to take back the message of the coming birth of Jesus.
The time leading up to Christmas is not primarily about fluffy angels, or even worse, to be confused with guys in red suits or shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
The central message about the impending birth of Jesus should be, as it is in the Bible, about how God-with-us means overturning the extremes of wealth and poverty.
The coming of Jesus is the coming of a strong prophetic message: the Kingdom of god is here and now, ‘in our midst.’”
(Susan Thistlethwaite, professor of theology at Chicago Theological Seminary)
Today, I want to look at how we can prepare for Christmas when times are tough.
There is no question that times are tough these days for many many people.
We have been through four years now of the worst depression in what, 80 years?
Folks seen their savings diminish radically,
their pensions disappear (totally in many cases),
and what we thought was a secure investment in a house became a burden instead of an asset.
Many have experienced the recent loss of a loved one – and the loss seems to be exacerbated at holiday times.
And many come to this particular season in ill health – suffering great pain just trying to do our daily do.
These are tough times for many people.
And it is hard, sometimes, to “get in the Christmas mood” when times are tough.
When we read, or hear, or tell, the Christmas stories, it is so easy to overlook the underlying backdrop in which the stories are told.
Mark, Matthew and Luke are very clear about when these stories take place.
What to us may seem like a casual throwaway dropping of a name or two here and there,
is to the story-tellers concrete citations that these birth stories take place during tough times –
very tough times.
Yes, Israel had their own “country-state” governed by Herod from the capital city, Jerusalem.
But, Israel was taken over by the Roman Empire and was subject to Roman rule.
What the Caesar in Rome wanted, Caesar got.
Rome ruled in matters of taxation, laws, education, and all sorts life matters.
These were not good times for folks who practiced a faith that demanded unqualified allegiance the God who led them out of Egypt and gave them 10 commandments and so many purity laws that they were to follow for the faithful life.
These were not good times to be a woman –
and certainly not a young girl.
Women in general, and young girls in particular were thought of as property and had no rights at all.
Young girls were traded off in marriage at a very young age.
The stories of Christmas are set in tough times, indeed.
It seems to me that the Christmas stories come more real to us when we are going through tough times.
More real, that is, if we take time read the stories, to hear the stories, to tell the stories.
Because, what the early disciples knew to be true –
And what our fathers and mothers in the faith affirmed for thousands of years, now –
that God –
the Creator of the Universe and all the worlds that are
the Author of life itself
the Power the infuses the turbines and the nuclei of the world –
became incarnate –
became one of us –
at a particular time in history,
in a particular place,
to a particular people,
in a particular way –
through a baby being born to a young unwed immigrant couple in an unlikely place at an unlikely time –
a time when things were tough all over.
That God entered our world and became incarnate is an essential tenet of the faith we have come to inherit and to know.
It seems to me that it is very good news –
good news that should be shouted from the roof-tops –
that in tough times God came to be part of our lives.
It was in tough times that Emmanuel was affirmed.
In the midst of persecution by Rome and Rome’s puppet, Herod, Emmanuel – God came to be a part of us.
To a frightened, underaged, unwed mother who was about to loose it all (possibly her life itself) –
Emmanuel – God was with her.
To Joseph, trying to do the right thing, and be fair, not understanding at all, Emmanuel – God came to be.
And it particularly good news for you and me,
especially in the tough times we are living in,
Emmanuel!:
That’s the message of Christmas!
Our God is with us.
Today.
And in the days ahead.
No matter what happens around us.
No matter what personal tragedies we experience.
No matter how tough the times are for us.
Emmanuel!
God is with you.
God is with you,
comforting,
consoling,
healing,
leading,
enabling,
ensuring,
enlivening.
I encourage you to take time this year to prepare for Christmas by reading the stories,
join in the conversations,
tell others what we are doing here.
Emmanuel!
When times are tough, let us find a song to sing.
A song like:
We need a little Christmas
right this very minute . . .
I need a little angel
sitting on my shoulder,
need a little Christmas now.
For we need a little music,
need a little laughter,
need a little singing
ringing through the rafter,
and we need a little snappy
“happy ever after,”
need a little Christmas now.
Emmanuel!
God is with us –
especially when times are tough.
Amen.
The congregation of The MaxLife Church heard this sermon during a worship service the first Sunday of Advent: December 2, 2012.
In my opinion, Christmas is the very most significant celebration we have in our church.
Because Advent and our celebration of Christmas is so out of synch with the rest of the world around us, we need all the help we can get to help us see the significance to our faith.
Christmas is basic to our faith.
Christmas explains a lot about what our faith is about.
These are tough times for many people.
And it is hard, sometimes, to “get in the Christmas mood” when times are tough.
It seems to me that the Christmas stories come more real to us when we are going through tough times.
More real, that is, if we take time read the stories, to hear the stories, to tell the stories.
First Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 40:3-5,9
Luke 1-38
Today is the first Sunday of Advent –
Advent is the season set aside by the church for centuries as time to prepare ourselves for Christmas.
For the church in the Western world, Christmas happens on December 25 –
and the Christmas Season continues for 12 days until what we recognize as Epiphany, January 6.
There are Christians that celebrate Christmas day at other times, but we won’t get into that today.
The season of Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas.
So, this year we have 24 days to prepare for Christmas.
Many churches don’t make much out of Advent.
Presbyterians didn’t used to.
But, for the past 35 years, or so, I have placed great emphasis on this time before Christmas.
Because Advent and our celebration of Christmas is so out of synch with the rest of the world around us, we need all the help we can get to help us see the significance to our faith.
Christmas is basic to our faith.
Christmas explains a lot about what our faith is about.
In my opinion, Christmas is the very most significant celebration we have in our church.
It is that important.
But, we won’t hear messages about this anywhere else this year.
It is very possible to even attend church for 50 or 60 years and never hear messages like this.
But, Christmas succinctly and effectively summarizes our relation to God and to each other.
Christmas is about Emmanuel! – God being with us.
Christmas is about God – the Creator of the universe and all the worlds that are and all that dwell therein – the omnipotent, the almighty, the Great Jehovah, the Great I Am –
Christmas is about God becoming one of us.
Christmas shows just how radical this faith we are a part of is.
God, the Ground of all Being, no longer is relegated to some other-worldly plane.
Our God is here, not there.
We say “Christmas is for children” –
and we do so enjoy the look on children’s faces when they get caught up in the wonder of the season;
But, really, Christmas is much much more.
Christmas is for adults.
As the world around us celebrates Christmas with the parades,
the decorations,
the commercials,
the music,
the sales,
we use this time to prepare for Christmas
amidst believers,
looking anew at the Biblical stories of Christmas to hear what Christmas really means –
to our faith,
and to us.
One contemporary theologian wrote last week:
“We in the Christian churches need to take back the message of the coming birth of Jesus.
The time leading up to Christmas is not primarily about fluffy angels, or even worse, to be confused with guys in red suits or shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
The central message about the impending birth of Jesus should be, as it is in the Bible, about how God-with-us means overturning the extremes of wealth and poverty.
The coming of Jesus is the coming of a strong prophetic message: the Kingdom of god is here and now, ‘in our midst.’”
(Susan Thistlethwaite, professor of theology at Chicago Theological Seminary)
Today, I want to look at how we can prepare for Christmas when times are tough.
There is no question that times are tough these days for many many people.
We have been through four years now of the worst depression in what, 80 years?
Folks seen their savings diminish radically,
their pensions disappear (totally in many cases),
and what we thought was a secure investment in a house became a burden instead of an asset.
Many have experienced the recent loss of a loved one – and the loss seems to be exacerbated at holiday times.
And many come to this particular season in ill health – suffering great pain just trying to do our daily do.
These are tough times for many people.
And it is hard, sometimes, to “get in the Christmas mood” when times are tough.
When we read, or hear, or tell, the Christmas stories, it is so easy to overlook the underlying backdrop in which the stories are told.
Mark, Matthew and Luke are very clear about when these stories take place.
What to us may seem like a casual throwaway dropping of a name or two here and there,
is to the story-tellers concrete citations that these birth stories take place during tough times –
very tough times.
Yes, Israel had their own “country-state” governed by Herod from the capital city, Jerusalem.
But, Israel was taken over by the Roman Empire and was subject to Roman rule.
What the Caesar in Rome wanted, Caesar got.
Rome ruled in matters of taxation, laws, education, and all sorts life matters.
These were not good times for folks who practiced a faith that demanded unqualified allegiance the God who led them out of Egypt and gave them 10 commandments and so many purity laws that they were to follow for the faithful life.
These were not good times to be a woman –
and certainly not a young girl.
Women in general, and young girls in particular were thought of as property and had no rights at all.
Young girls were traded off in marriage at a very young age.
The stories of Christmas are set in tough times, indeed.
It seems to me that the Christmas stories come more real to us when we are going through tough times.
More real, that is, if we take time read the stories, to hear the stories, to tell the stories.
Because, what the early disciples knew to be true –
And what our fathers and mothers in the faith affirmed for thousands of years, now –
that God –
the Creator of the Universe and all the worlds that are
the Author of life itself
the Power the infuses the turbines and the nuclei of the world –
became incarnate –
became one of us –
at a particular time in history,
in a particular place,
to a particular people,
in a particular way –
through a baby being born to a young unwed immigrant couple in an unlikely place at an unlikely time –
a time when things were tough all over.
That God entered our world and became incarnate is an essential tenet of the faith we have come to inherit and to know.
It seems to me that it is very good news –
good news that should be shouted from the roof-tops –
that in tough times God came to be part of our lives.
It was in tough times that Emmanuel was affirmed.
In the midst of persecution by Rome and Rome’s puppet, Herod, Emmanuel – God came to be a part of us.
To a frightened, underaged, unwed mother who was about to loose it all (possibly her life itself) –
Emmanuel – God was with her.
To Joseph, trying to do the right thing, and be fair, not understanding at all, Emmanuel – God came to be.
And it particularly good news for you and me,
especially in the tough times we are living in,
Emmanuel!:
That’s the message of Christmas!
Our God is with us.
Today.
And in the days ahead.
No matter what happens around us.
No matter what personal tragedies we experience.
No matter how tough the times are for us.
Emmanuel!
God is with you.
God is with you,
comforting,
consoling,
healing,
leading,
enabling,
ensuring,
enlivening.
I encourage you to take time this year to prepare for Christmas by reading the stories,
join in the conversations,
tell others what we are doing here.
Emmanuel!
When times are tough, let us find a song to sing.
A song like:
We need a little Christmas
right this very minute . . .
I need a little angel
sitting on my shoulder,
need a little Christmas now.
For we need a little music,
need a little laughter,
need a little singing
ringing through the rafter,
and we need a little snappy
“happy ever after,”
need a little Christmas now.
Emmanuel!
God is with us –
especially when times are tough.
Amen.
The congregation of The MaxLife Church heard this sermon during a worship service the first Sunday of Advent: December 2, 2012.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Let ThanksGiving Become ThanksLiving
Be thankful in all circumstances.
This is what God wants from you.
Leviticus 19: 16-18
I Thessalonians 5:15-18
On this first Sunday of November, we are beginning a month of Thanksgiving here at Christ Church.
Thanksgiving is not just for one day out of the year,
but Thanksgiving is very basic to how we see and understand our faith.
As we heard last Sunday, the most basic part of our faith, the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, begin with a thanksgiving for the faith that propelled our forefathers and mothers gave witness to.
Paul could write to the believers in Thessalonia,
Be thankful in all circumstances.
This is what God wants from you.
And, it is a message you and I need to hear in Drexel Hill today:
Be thankful in all circumstances.
This is what God wants from you.
Now, we can say that thanks giving is a good thing, and perhaps we can buy into the scripture study that tells us that God wants no sacrifice without thanks giving,
but, these days social scientists are collecting mounds of evidence that promotes positive affects of giving thanks at all times for all things.
The evidence mounts:
People who make simple exercises of thanksgiving as a way of life,
people who make thanks giving into thanks living,
people who have an "attitude of gratitude"
are in better physical health,
sleep better,
have lower levels of stress hormones in their blood,
and are happier than those who don’t.
One contemporary writer declares:
The most psychologically correct holiday of the year is upon us.
Thanksgiving may be the holiday from hell for nutritionists, and it produces plenty of war stories for psychiatrists dealing with drunken family meltdowns.
But it has recently become the favorite feast of psychologists studying the consequences of giving thanks.
Cultivating an “attitude of gratitude” has been linked to better health,
sounder sleep,
less anxiety and depression,
higher long-term satisfaction with life
and kinder behavior toward others, including romantic partners.
A new study shows that feeling grateful makes people less likely to turn aggressive when provoked.
Be thankful in all circumstances.
This is what God wants from you.
Of course, it is difficult for us to be thankful at all times, isn’t it?
But, time and time again, evidence piles up with personal testimony to what can happen when folks purposely change their behavior and look for things to be thankful for – even when times are tough, and it seems there is nothing to be thankful for.
But, today, there is good news to be heard.
There are many research projects today that have developed techniques and tools we can use to help us in our task to
Be thankful in all circumstances.
Work at the University of California and t the University of Miami
teaches what can happen when a person does something as simple as taking an inventory and writing down five things for which you are particularly grateful - simple things, little things, big things - like a friend’s generosity, perhaps;
or something you may have learned,
or a sunset you enjoyed.
The gratitude journal they suggest is brief —
just one sentence for each of the five things —
and as they teach it, it is done only once a week,
but after two months there are significant effects.
Time and time again, people keeping the gratitude journal are more optimistic
and feel happier.
They report fewer physical problems
and spend more time physical exercising in some fashion.
A study of polio survivors and other people with neuromuscular problems showed that folks who kept a gratitude journal reported feeling happier and more optimistic than those in a control group,
and these reports were corroborated by observations from their spouses.
These grateful people also fell asleep more quickly at night,
slept longer
and woke up feeling more refreshed.
“If you want to sleep more soundly, count blessings, not sheep,” the researcher advises in his book on gratitude research.
Now gratitude or thanksgiving is not be confused with indebtedness.
Sure, you may feel obliged to return a favor,
but that’s not gratitude, at least not the way psychologists define it.
Indebtedness is more of a negative feeling and doesn’t yield the same benefits as gratitude, which inclines you to be nice to anyone,
not just a benefactor.
Be thankful in all circumstances.
This is what God wants from you.
And it is also has great benefits for us.
In an experiment at Northeastern University, researches sabotaged each participant’s computer and arranged for another student to fix it.
That was the test.
Afterward, the students who had been helped were likelier to volunteer to help someone else —
a complete stranger — with an unrelated task. Gratitude promoted good karma.
And if it works with strangers ....
Now, the thing is, we can try it out.
You don’t have to take my word for it.
You don’t have to sit there and think, “well, that sounds nice, Preacher, but it’s not very realistic.
Well, I’m here to tell you it works!
No matter how dysfunctional your family, gratitude can still work, says a researcher at the University of California, Riverside.
Just try it out, she says.
On one day
“Do one small and unobtrusive thoughtful or generous thing for each [person you meet]
“Say thank you for every thoughtful or kind gesture. Express your admiration for someone’s skills or talents — wielding that kitchen knife so masterfully, for example.
And truly listen, even when your [uncle Bob] is boring you again with [that same story he tells over and over again].”
Don’t counterattack.
If you brace yourself for insults, consider a recent experiment at the University of Kentucky.
After turning in a piece of writing, some students received praise for it while others got a scathing evaluation: “This is one of the worst essays I’ve ever read!”
Then each student played a computer game against the person who’d done the evaluation.
The winner of the game could administer a blast of white noise to the loser.
Not surprisingly, the insulted essayists retaliated against their critics by subjecting them to especially loud blasts — much louder than the noise administered by the students who’d gotten positive evaluations.
But there was an exception to this trend among a subgroup of the students:
the ones who had been instructed to write essays about things for which they were grateful.
After that exercise in counting their blessings, they weren’t bothered by the nasty criticism —
or at least they didn’t feel compelled to amp up the noise against their critics.
“Gratitude is more than just feeling good,” says Nathan DeWall, who led the study at Kentucky.
“It [actually] helps people become less aggressive by enhancing their empathy.
“It’s an equal-opportunity emotion.
Anyone can experience it and benefit from it,
even the most crotchety uncle at the Thanksgiving dinner table.”
Why does gratitude do so much good?
“More than other emotion, gratitude is the emotion of friendship,” one researcher says.
“It is part of a psychological system that causes people to raise their estimates of how much value they hold in the eyes of another person.
Gratitude is what happens when someone does something that causes you to realize that you matter more to that person than you thought you did.”
Another exercise you can try is called a gratitude visit.
This exercise, devised by folks at the University of Pennsylvania, begins with writing a 300-word letter to someone who changed your life for the better.
Be specific about what the person did and how it affected you.
Deliver it in person, preferably without telling the person in advance what the visit is about.
When you get there, read the whole thing slowly to your benefactor.
“You will be happier and less depressed one month from now,” Dr. Seligman guarantees in his book “Flourish.”
Be thankful in all circumstances, our Book says.
This is what God wants from us . . .
Worshiping in a local church on a regular basis
can cause people to feel and act more gratefully, as demonstrated in experiments at Baylor University.
Other research shows that praying can increase gratitude.
One person speaks about how keeping a gratitude journal has affected her life.
She has been suffering from fibromyalgia and had become quite overwhelmed by the constant pain in her life.
And, she took the challenge of using a gratitude journal on a regular basis.
Every night as part of her bedtime routine, she would try to list five things she was particularly thankful for.
She writes:
Sometimes I struggled to find 5 things for which I was grateful;
occasionally, one of those was, "I'm grateful this day has ended."
But I stuck with it.
Gratitude is not about "looking at the bright side" or denying the realities of life.
Gratitude goes much deeper than that.
It's about learning from a situation,
taking the good to help deal with other challenges in the future.
It's about finding out that you have more power over your life than you previously imagined.
You can stop being a victim of your circumstances and reach out to the joy in living.
If you open your heart to the good in your life, gratitude becomes as much a part of your life as breathing.
I have found joy at every turn, from appreciating the beauty of nature to improved relationships with family and friends.
I still have muscle pain and fatigue.
Those symptom levels remain fairly constant.
But that journal opened the door to unconditional happiness with the hand I was dealt.
I can look beyond the pain and fatigue and look forward to each day and the joy it will bring.
Be thankful in all circumstances, our Book says.
This is what God wants from us . . .
And, during this month of Thanksgiving, I hope to share ways our thanks giving can be turned into thanks living –
because we do live with an attitude gratitude
things change for us.
Things actually change for us.
And it is real.
You can feel it when it happens.
And, when you do, nothing short of a miracle happens.
Be thankful in all circumstances, our Book says.
This is what God wants from us . . .
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon as part of the worship service November 4, 2012.
Sharing thoughts from: A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day
By JOHN TIERNEY, Published: New York Times, November 21, 2011
and
The Healing Power of Gratitude By Joan Buchman
This is what God wants from you.
Leviticus 19: 16-18
I Thessalonians 5:15-18
On this first Sunday of November, we are beginning a month of Thanksgiving here at Christ Church.
Thanksgiving is not just for one day out of the year,
but Thanksgiving is very basic to how we see and understand our faith.
As we heard last Sunday, the most basic part of our faith, the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, begin with a thanksgiving for the faith that propelled our forefathers and mothers gave witness to.
Paul could write to the believers in Thessalonia,
Be thankful in all circumstances.
This is what God wants from you.
And, it is a message you and I need to hear in Drexel Hill today:
Be thankful in all circumstances.
This is what God wants from you.
Now, we can say that thanks giving is a good thing, and perhaps we can buy into the scripture study that tells us that God wants no sacrifice without thanks giving,
but, these days social scientists are collecting mounds of evidence that promotes positive affects of giving thanks at all times for all things.
The evidence mounts:
People who make simple exercises of thanksgiving as a way of life,
people who make thanks giving into thanks living,
people who have an "attitude of gratitude"
are in better physical health,
sleep better,
have lower levels of stress hormones in their blood,
and are happier than those who don’t.
One contemporary writer declares:
The most psychologically correct holiday of the year is upon us.
Thanksgiving may be the holiday from hell for nutritionists, and it produces plenty of war stories for psychiatrists dealing with drunken family meltdowns.
But it has recently become the favorite feast of psychologists studying the consequences of giving thanks.
Cultivating an “attitude of gratitude” has been linked to better health,
sounder sleep,
less anxiety and depression,
higher long-term satisfaction with life
and kinder behavior toward others, including romantic partners.
A new study shows that feeling grateful makes people less likely to turn aggressive when provoked.
Be thankful in all circumstances.
This is what God wants from you.
Of course, it is difficult for us to be thankful at all times, isn’t it?
But, time and time again, evidence piles up with personal testimony to what can happen when folks purposely change their behavior and look for things to be thankful for – even when times are tough, and it seems there is nothing to be thankful for.
But, today, there is good news to be heard.
There are many research projects today that have developed techniques and tools we can use to help us in our task to
Be thankful in all circumstances.
Work at the University of California and t the University of Miami
teaches what can happen when a person does something as simple as taking an inventory and writing down five things for which you are particularly grateful - simple things, little things, big things - like a friend’s generosity, perhaps;
or something you may have learned,
or a sunset you enjoyed.
The gratitude journal they suggest is brief —
just one sentence for each of the five things —
and as they teach it, it is done only once a week,
but after two months there are significant effects.
Time and time again, people keeping the gratitude journal are more optimistic
and feel happier.
They report fewer physical problems
and spend more time physical exercising in some fashion.
A study of polio survivors and other people with neuromuscular problems showed that folks who kept a gratitude journal reported feeling happier and more optimistic than those in a control group,
and these reports were corroborated by observations from their spouses.
These grateful people also fell asleep more quickly at night,
slept longer
and woke up feeling more refreshed.
“If you want to sleep more soundly, count blessings, not sheep,” the researcher advises in his book on gratitude research.
Now gratitude or thanksgiving is not be confused with indebtedness.
Sure, you may feel obliged to return a favor,
but that’s not gratitude, at least not the way psychologists define it.
Indebtedness is more of a negative feeling and doesn’t yield the same benefits as gratitude, which inclines you to be nice to anyone,
not just a benefactor.
Be thankful in all circumstances.
This is what God wants from you.
And it is also has great benefits for us.
In an experiment at Northeastern University, researches sabotaged each participant’s computer and arranged for another student to fix it.
That was the test.
Afterward, the students who had been helped were likelier to volunteer to help someone else —
a complete stranger — with an unrelated task. Gratitude promoted good karma.
And if it works with strangers ....
Now, the thing is, we can try it out.
You don’t have to take my word for it.
You don’t have to sit there and think, “well, that sounds nice, Preacher, but it’s not very realistic.
Well, I’m here to tell you it works!
No matter how dysfunctional your family, gratitude can still work, says a researcher at the University of California, Riverside.
Just try it out, she says.
On one day
“Do one small and unobtrusive thoughtful or generous thing for each [person you meet]
“Say thank you for every thoughtful or kind gesture. Express your admiration for someone’s skills or talents — wielding that kitchen knife so masterfully, for example.
And truly listen, even when your [uncle Bob] is boring you again with [that same story he tells over and over again].”
Don’t counterattack.
If you brace yourself for insults, consider a recent experiment at the University of Kentucky.
After turning in a piece of writing, some students received praise for it while others got a scathing evaluation: “This is one of the worst essays I’ve ever read!”
Then each student played a computer game against the person who’d done the evaluation.
The winner of the game could administer a blast of white noise to the loser.
Not surprisingly, the insulted essayists retaliated against their critics by subjecting them to especially loud blasts — much louder than the noise administered by the students who’d gotten positive evaluations.
But there was an exception to this trend among a subgroup of the students:
the ones who had been instructed to write essays about things for which they were grateful.
After that exercise in counting their blessings, they weren’t bothered by the nasty criticism —
or at least they didn’t feel compelled to amp up the noise against their critics.
“Gratitude is more than just feeling good,” says Nathan DeWall, who led the study at Kentucky.
“It [actually] helps people become less aggressive by enhancing their empathy.
“It’s an equal-opportunity emotion.
Anyone can experience it and benefit from it,
even the most crotchety uncle at the Thanksgiving dinner table.”
Why does gratitude do so much good?
“More than other emotion, gratitude is the emotion of friendship,” one researcher says.
“It is part of a psychological system that causes people to raise their estimates of how much value they hold in the eyes of another person.
Gratitude is what happens when someone does something that causes you to realize that you matter more to that person than you thought you did.”
Another exercise you can try is called a gratitude visit.
This exercise, devised by folks at the University of Pennsylvania, begins with writing a 300-word letter to someone who changed your life for the better.
Be specific about what the person did and how it affected you.
Deliver it in person, preferably without telling the person in advance what the visit is about.
When you get there, read the whole thing slowly to your benefactor.
“You will be happier and less depressed one month from now,” Dr. Seligman guarantees in his book “Flourish.”
Be thankful in all circumstances, our Book says.
This is what God wants from us . . .
Worshiping in a local church on a regular basis
can cause people to feel and act more gratefully, as demonstrated in experiments at Baylor University.
Other research shows that praying can increase gratitude.
One person speaks about how keeping a gratitude journal has affected her life.
She has been suffering from fibromyalgia and had become quite overwhelmed by the constant pain in her life.
And, she took the challenge of using a gratitude journal on a regular basis.
Every night as part of her bedtime routine, she would try to list five things she was particularly thankful for.
She writes:
Sometimes I struggled to find 5 things for which I was grateful;
occasionally, one of those was, "I'm grateful this day has ended."
But I stuck with it.
Gratitude is not about "looking at the bright side" or denying the realities of life.
Gratitude goes much deeper than that.
It's about learning from a situation,
taking the good to help deal with other challenges in the future.
It's about finding out that you have more power over your life than you previously imagined.
You can stop being a victim of your circumstances and reach out to the joy in living.
If you open your heart to the good in your life, gratitude becomes as much a part of your life as breathing.
I have found joy at every turn, from appreciating the beauty of nature to improved relationships with family and friends.
I still have muscle pain and fatigue.
Those symptom levels remain fairly constant.
But that journal opened the door to unconditional happiness with the hand I was dealt.
I can look beyond the pain and fatigue and look forward to each day and the joy it will bring.
Be thankful in all circumstances, our Book says.
This is what God wants from us . . .
And, during this month of Thanksgiving, I hope to share ways our thanks giving can be turned into thanks living –
because we do live with an attitude gratitude
things change for us.
Things actually change for us.
And it is real.
You can feel it when it happens.
And, when you do, nothing short of a miracle happens.
Be thankful in all circumstances, our Book says.
This is what God wants from us . . .
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon as part of the worship service November 4, 2012.
Sharing thoughts from: A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day
By JOHN TIERNEY, Published: New York Times, November 21, 2011
and
The Healing Power of Gratitude By Joan Buchman
Sunday, October 21, 2012
A Large Crowd of Witnesses
Faith helps us be all we can be.
Faith helps us endure all we must endure.
And faith reminds us that we do not live our lives alone.
There is One who is with us.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us - cheering for us.
We can make it through all kinds of times of trouble.
Hebrews 12:1-2a
For anyone paying attention, you may realize that this is one of my all time favorite Biblical texts.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us!
What a great thing to be reminded of – anytime, but especially on this day –
homecoming Sunday –
when some will remember a time when . . . .
Or a certain somebody –
or somebodies . . . .
There is such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us:
All the folks that ever have attended this church throughout its 85 year history –
as well as all the saints from all the ages.
All assembled in the gallery cheering and rooting for you – and for me – and for all of us.
Not only do you and I have a race to run,
but we need to make arrangements to continue the tradition for the others needing encouragement to run the race that are coming up after us –
like all those who went before us here in this church did.
Just before these words from our scripture, the 11th chapter of Hebrews gives many dynamic examples of Old Testament men and women who did great works for God by faith.
“By faith Noah . . . built an ark . . .
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going . . .”
Then the 12th chapter begins with these words that give us our text for today: “THEREFORE, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
It’s a vivid picture.
In the grandstand of our lives there are cheerleaders: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, and other Old Testament heroes,
as well as Paul, Peter, and leaders of the New Testament church.
And there are our loved ones, family and friends, who have gone before us.
The message is, the reality is,
We are not alone in our faith journey.
No matter how discouraging the events of our lives are,
we can make it through with the encouragement of those who have gone before.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us!
This is not a text for a cynic, for the cold of heart or spirit.
This is a text for believers.
It is very much like that text that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me . . .” (Philippians 4:13)
Those words are precious to the believer.
To the world, they mean nothing at all.
Some of you know that Suzanne and I adopted a dog a few years ago.
This dog was about 4 and half years old when he came to our house having been rescued off the streets of Albany, New York.
The dog obviously has been abused and is very fearful of any and all people.
Except us.
He knows who feeds him.
He knows who keeps him warm in the winter and
provides him with a place to sleep and companionship and a safe environment.
Now, he thinks it is his job to protect us from all intruders and suspected terrorists –
a list which includes any and all who have the nerve to drive down the cul-de-sac in front of our house,
or walk within a hundred feet of our house,
or ride a bike near our house,
or even slow their car or truck down as they go by our house on the highway.
Now, the thing is, he has a very keen sense of hearing.
That dog hears things long before I do –
and sometimes he hears things I don’t.
A while back, I happened upon a television show about dogs and what research tells us about how they do what they do.
It had a segment there on what and how dogs see – and showed the viewers a screen that let us in on just what a dog can and cannot see.
Apparently, dogs don’t see in all the colors that we do,
and dogs don’t see all the fine detail that we do,
but dogs have a more panoramic view than we do,
they have a much wider field of vision –
dogs can see about two times what we can see without moving our eye.
But, the real unusual part of how a dog sees, is that although they cannot see the fine detail, they can detect very slight movement – anywhere in their field of vision.
So, they see a rabbit and they are off after the rabbit.
Fact is, they don’t know it’s a rabbit.
What they see is that there was a movement over there and they can pin-point where it was with great accuracy.
Likewise what and how a dog hears was of great interest to me.
Dogs can hear sound four times the distance that we can.
And, they can hear sounds that we are not even capable of hearing – they can hear sounds that are three times higher in frequency than we can.
This ability means that a dog is flooded with sounds at any given time.
And the miracle is that they have an ability of discernment.
Not only can they selectively discern what noises they react to,
but, they can pick out specific sounds that make up a whole.
You and I hear a vrooom of car going by.
But a dog can discern individual sounds that make up that whoosh sound you and I hear.
They can hear that the car is missing on cylinders 2 and 4,
has a loose wheel cover on the right front tire,
and a slight rattle of the radio antenna slipping in the wind,
and a hundred other individual sounds that make up the vroooom you and I hear as the car goes by.
Not only do they hear these individual sounds, they can discern which sounds are associated with their owners car –
the sounds of the neighbor’s cars,
and the UPS truck,
and all kinds of other vehicles that pass by.
My dog hears sounds I simply do not hear.
And so, I am thinking that just because we cannot hear a sound does not mean that it does not exist, right?
The fact that we cannot hear it says more about our limitations than it does about the sound.
So it is with things of the spirit.
There are realities that are perceived only by those in tune with God’s Spirit.
One of these is that great cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
providing us with encouragement and strength.
Benjamin Weir was a Presbyterian missionary in Beirut, Lebanon.
Some of you will remember when he was kidnapped by Muslim extremists and held hostage for sixteen months.
During that time he was locked in a barren room and unable to see another human being.
His hands were tied.
He was blindfolded most of the time.
Even when the blindfold was taken off he had no view from his tiny cell.
But this did not defeat him.
An electric light cord dangled from the ceiling.
The bulb had been stripped off, leaving three fragile filament wires exposed.
For Benjamin Weir, these wires became a symbol of hope.
They reminded him of the life-giving fingers of God reaching down to Adam in the Sistine Chapel.
“Here God was reaching toward me,” he would write later, “reminding me, saying, ‘You’re alive.
You are mine;
I’ve made you and [I’ve] called you into being for a divine purpose.’”
And he could see the horizontal slats of the shutters on the French doors.
There were 120 of them.
What could those horizontal pieces of wood stand for?
He decided these represented that great cloud of witnesses we are reading about this day, champions of our faith past and present,
who through times of trial have observed the faithfulness of God.
Finally his eyes lighted on two white circles near the ceiling, one on the right hand wall, the other on the left.
In reality, these were plastic covers for electrical connections, but in Benjamin Weir’s imagination they were something else.
They were ears – the ears of God.
“The Lord hears the groaning of the saints,” Benjamin Weir remembered.
As he reminded himself of all the blessings of our faith, he was greatly encouraged and spiritually strengthened.
By the end of the day, he said, he was humming, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one.”
You see when the guards came in, they could only see a broken light bulb,
a French door with slats
and two plastic covers on the walls,
but this Presbyterian missionary could see much, much more.
He could see the hand of God at work in his life, even in these dismal circumstances.
And so Ben Weir came out of his hostage experience stronger than he went in.
That’s faith.
I wonder if I could do that.
In my research file, I have an article that was published in the magazine RUNNER’S WORLD. The article was about a unique phenomenon which they called, “The Bislet Effect.”
The Bislet Effect is named for Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway.
More than 50 track and field records have been broken over the years at Bislett.
No other stadium can boast of this kind of record setting.
And it’s not because of the frigid weather in Norway.
Runners do not run faster in the cold.
And it’s not the altitude.
The secret seems to be the track itself.
As tracks go, it is narrow. It has six lanes, and the stands that surround it are very close to the track itself and they are very steep.
According to RUNNER’S WORLD, when 21,000 fans all scream, “Go, go!” in this kind of up close and personal setting, you run faster.
The crowd forces you to keep your rhythm and push harder for one more stretch, for one more turn –
and the runners respond.
It’s like being surrounded by a cloud of witnesses.
Such faith helps us be all that we can be.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! cheering for us.
We can make it through all kinds of times of trouble:
whether it is trouble with our health,
trouble within our family,
trouble in our economy,
trouble on the job –
whatever it might be.
Friends this is the Gospel.
We can go on.
We follow in a long line of people who have persevered and been victorious.
In 1953 the first people to climb to the top of Mt. Everest were Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa guide.
Some 45 years later, Tenzing Norgay’s son, Jamling Norgay, climbed Mt. Everest.
Jamling Norgay describes what it felt like standing on the world’s tallest peak:
“I looked down on the ruins of the Rongbuk monastery,” he writes, “where my father chased yaks as a very young boy.
Then I turned back and I saw him – my father.
He was right there behind me, off to the side where a patch of rock meets the snow.
His face was shining, beaming.”
Jamling Norgay had a witness to his climb –
his father who had been there 45 years before him.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, so have we.
Faith helps us be all we can be.
Faith helps us endure all we must endure.
And faith reminds us that we do not live our lives alone.
There is One who is with us.
And there is such a large crowd of witnesses all around us!
That’s what this church is about.
That’s what our faith is about.
That’s what we have here –
a connecting place, really:
where we can connect with others,
where we can connect with the world around us,
where we can connect with God,
where we can connect with the large crowd of witnesses that have gone before us.
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, experienced this sermon during a worship service on Homecoming Sunday, October 21, 2012.
Faith helps us endure all we must endure.
And faith reminds us that we do not live our lives alone.
There is One who is with us.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us - cheering for us.
We can make it through all kinds of times of trouble.
Hebrews 12:1-2a
For anyone paying attention, you may realize that this is one of my all time favorite Biblical texts.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us!
What a great thing to be reminded of – anytime, but especially on this day –
homecoming Sunday –
when some will remember a time when . . . .
Or a certain somebody –
or somebodies . . . .
There is such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us:
All the folks that ever have attended this church throughout its 85 year history –
as well as all the saints from all the ages.
All assembled in the gallery cheering and rooting for you – and for me – and for all of us.
Not only do you and I have a race to run,
but we need to make arrangements to continue the tradition for the others needing encouragement to run the race that are coming up after us –
like all those who went before us here in this church did.
Just before these words from our scripture, the 11th chapter of Hebrews gives many dynamic examples of Old Testament men and women who did great works for God by faith.
“By faith Noah . . . built an ark . . .
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going . . .”
Then the 12th chapter begins with these words that give us our text for today: “THEREFORE, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
It’s a vivid picture.
In the grandstand of our lives there are cheerleaders: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, and other Old Testament heroes,
as well as Paul, Peter, and leaders of the New Testament church.
And there are our loved ones, family and friends, who have gone before us.
The message is, the reality is,
We are not alone in our faith journey.
No matter how discouraging the events of our lives are,
we can make it through with the encouragement of those who have gone before.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us!
This is not a text for a cynic, for the cold of heart or spirit.
This is a text for believers.
It is very much like that text that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me . . .” (Philippians 4:13)
Those words are precious to the believer.
To the world, they mean nothing at all.
Some of you know that Suzanne and I adopted a dog a few years ago.
This dog was about 4 and half years old when he came to our house having been rescued off the streets of Albany, New York.
The dog obviously has been abused and is very fearful of any and all people.
Except us.
He knows who feeds him.
He knows who keeps him warm in the winter and
provides him with a place to sleep and companionship and a safe environment.
Now, he thinks it is his job to protect us from all intruders and suspected terrorists –
a list which includes any and all who have the nerve to drive down the cul-de-sac in front of our house,
or walk within a hundred feet of our house,
or ride a bike near our house,
or even slow their car or truck down as they go by our house on the highway.
Now, the thing is, he has a very keen sense of hearing.
That dog hears things long before I do –
and sometimes he hears things I don’t.
A while back, I happened upon a television show about dogs and what research tells us about how they do what they do.
It had a segment there on what and how dogs see – and showed the viewers a screen that let us in on just what a dog can and cannot see.
Apparently, dogs don’t see in all the colors that we do,
and dogs don’t see all the fine detail that we do,
but dogs have a more panoramic view than we do,
they have a much wider field of vision –
dogs can see about two times what we can see without moving our eye.
But, the real unusual part of how a dog sees, is that although they cannot see the fine detail, they can detect very slight movement – anywhere in their field of vision.
So, they see a rabbit and they are off after the rabbit.
Fact is, they don’t know it’s a rabbit.
What they see is that there was a movement over there and they can pin-point where it was with great accuracy.
Likewise what and how a dog hears was of great interest to me.
Dogs can hear sound four times the distance that we can.
And, they can hear sounds that we are not even capable of hearing – they can hear sounds that are three times higher in frequency than we can.
This ability means that a dog is flooded with sounds at any given time.
And the miracle is that they have an ability of discernment.
Not only can they selectively discern what noises they react to,
but, they can pick out specific sounds that make up a whole.
You and I hear a vrooom of car going by.
But a dog can discern individual sounds that make up that whoosh sound you and I hear.
They can hear that the car is missing on cylinders 2 and 4,
has a loose wheel cover on the right front tire,
and a slight rattle of the radio antenna slipping in the wind,
and a hundred other individual sounds that make up the vroooom you and I hear as the car goes by.
Not only do they hear these individual sounds, they can discern which sounds are associated with their owners car –
the sounds of the neighbor’s cars,
and the UPS truck,
and all kinds of other vehicles that pass by.
My dog hears sounds I simply do not hear.
And so, I am thinking that just because we cannot hear a sound does not mean that it does not exist, right?
The fact that we cannot hear it says more about our limitations than it does about the sound.
So it is with things of the spirit.
There are realities that are perceived only by those in tune with God’s Spirit.
One of these is that great cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
providing us with encouragement and strength.
Benjamin Weir was a Presbyterian missionary in Beirut, Lebanon.
Some of you will remember when he was kidnapped by Muslim extremists and held hostage for sixteen months.
During that time he was locked in a barren room and unable to see another human being.
His hands were tied.
He was blindfolded most of the time.
Even when the blindfold was taken off he had no view from his tiny cell.
But this did not defeat him.
An electric light cord dangled from the ceiling.
The bulb had been stripped off, leaving three fragile filament wires exposed.
For Benjamin Weir, these wires became a symbol of hope.
They reminded him of the life-giving fingers of God reaching down to Adam in the Sistine Chapel.
“Here God was reaching toward me,” he would write later, “reminding me, saying, ‘You’re alive.
You are mine;
I’ve made you and [I’ve] called you into being for a divine purpose.’”
And he could see the horizontal slats of the shutters on the French doors.
There were 120 of them.
What could those horizontal pieces of wood stand for?
He decided these represented that great cloud of witnesses we are reading about this day, champions of our faith past and present,
who through times of trial have observed the faithfulness of God.
Finally his eyes lighted on two white circles near the ceiling, one on the right hand wall, the other on the left.
In reality, these were plastic covers for electrical connections, but in Benjamin Weir’s imagination they were something else.
They were ears – the ears of God.
“The Lord hears the groaning of the saints,” Benjamin Weir remembered.
As he reminded himself of all the blessings of our faith, he was greatly encouraged and spiritually strengthened.
By the end of the day, he said, he was humming, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one.”
You see when the guards came in, they could only see a broken light bulb,
a French door with slats
and two plastic covers on the walls,
but this Presbyterian missionary could see much, much more.
He could see the hand of God at work in his life, even in these dismal circumstances.
And so Ben Weir came out of his hostage experience stronger than he went in.
That’s faith.
I wonder if I could do that.
In my research file, I have an article that was published in the magazine RUNNER’S WORLD. The article was about a unique phenomenon which they called, “The Bislet Effect.”
The Bislet Effect is named for Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway.
More than 50 track and field records have been broken over the years at Bislett.
No other stadium can boast of this kind of record setting.
And it’s not because of the frigid weather in Norway.
Runners do not run faster in the cold.
And it’s not the altitude.
The secret seems to be the track itself.
As tracks go, it is narrow. It has six lanes, and the stands that surround it are very close to the track itself and they are very steep.
According to RUNNER’S WORLD, when 21,000 fans all scream, “Go, go!” in this kind of up close and personal setting, you run faster.
The crowd forces you to keep your rhythm and push harder for one more stretch, for one more turn –
and the runners respond.
It’s like being surrounded by a cloud of witnesses.
Such faith helps us be all that we can be.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! cheering for us.
We can make it through all kinds of times of trouble:
whether it is trouble with our health,
trouble within our family,
trouble in our economy,
trouble on the job –
whatever it might be.
Friends this is the Gospel.
We can go on.
We follow in a long line of people who have persevered and been victorious.
In 1953 the first people to climb to the top of Mt. Everest were Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa guide.
Some 45 years later, Tenzing Norgay’s son, Jamling Norgay, climbed Mt. Everest.
Jamling Norgay describes what it felt like standing on the world’s tallest peak:
“I looked down on the ruins of the Rongbuk monastery,” he writes, “where my father chased yaks as a very young boy.
Then I turned back and I saw him – my father.
He was right there behind me, off to the side where a patch of rock meets the snow.
His face was shining, beaming.”
Jamling Norgay had a witness to his climb –
his father who had been there 45 years before him.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, so have we.
Faith helps us be all we can be.
Faith helps us endure all we must endure.
And faith reminds us that we do not live our lives alone.
There is One who is with us.
And there is such a large crowd of witnesses all around us!
That’s what this church is about.
That’s what our faith is about.
That’s what we have here –
a connecting place, really:
where we can connect with others,
where we can connect with the world around us,
where we can connect with God,
where we can connect with the large crowd of witnesses that have gone before us.
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, experienced this sermon during a worship service on Homecoming Sunday, October 21, 2012.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
A Man of Constant Prayer
My personal prayer guide, the one who taught me about prayer and about personal prayer life, was Tevye.
He was a man of constant prayer.
Oh, no, he did not go into a dark room and light a candle and recite holy mantras,
no, he did not engage in long prayers with big learned words,
no, he did not wait for a quiet time when he could be still and know God.
One of my very favorite writers is Anne Lamott.
Anne Lamott, Tevye, and James are all part of the same school.
And we should pay attention to what they say and their understanding of prayer.
James 5: 13-16
One of my very favorite writers is Anne Lamott.
Anne Lamott lives near where Suzanne and I lived in Northern California just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
Anne Lamott makes her living writing and teaching others how to write.
She writes novels and many fine personal essays on events that happen in her life that take on cosmic significance.
She once wrote:
I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives,
human hearts,
spiritual transformation,
families,
secrets, wonder, craziness —
and that can make me laugh.
When I am reading a book like this,
I feel rich and profoundly relieved to be in the presence of someone who will share the truth with me,
and throw the lights on a little,
and I try to write these kinds of books.
And, that’s what I feel when I read her writing.
She continues: Books, for me, are medicine.
Anne Lamott’s life was not an easy one.
It is involves surviving bouts with drugs and booze, hard-living and depression.
Finding herself pregnant at the age of 35, she writes about finding the local Presbyterian Church – the same one I worshiped in many times when we lived there.
About that experience, she writes about how she week after week after week, she would show up at the door of the church right as the service was beginning; but, would not enter the room.
Week after week she stood there listening to what was going on inside, observing the people, listening to the preacher.
She did eventually enter the room, and was warmly greeted and accepted by all – despite her strange looks, her odd dress, her big belly, and her lack of a marital partner.
She credits the people of that congregation of helping her to raise her son.
She tells of the gray-headed ladies doting over the baby, and eager to provide relationships for him through the years.
Now 20, with a son of his own, her son Sam, considers the folks of that congregation as his extended family.
And she writes about how this church has helped her with her faith journey.
She first wrote about this in a book she called:
Traveling Mercies : Some Thoughts on Faith
A few years later, she published Plan B : Further Thoughts on Faith.
And soon her latest book will be published with the title:
Three Essential Prayers: Help, Thanks, Wow!
She describes three kinds of prayers that really can enhance our lives – if and when we do them.
Anne Lamott begins with the premise the prayer
“is communication from the heart to that which surpasses understanding . . .
communication from one’s heart to God.”
I have admitted several times that my personal prayer guide, the one who taught me about prayer and about personal prayer life, was Tevye (?) – the lead character of Fiddler On the Roof !
Throughout the whole play,
throughout the whole movie,
Tevye demonstrated to us – the audience, the reader, the viewer -
there was absolutely nothing in his life that was devoid of God’s involvement.
He was a man of constant prayer.
Oh, no, he did not go into a dark room and light a candle and recite holy mantras,
no, he did not engage in long prayers with big learned words,
no, he did not wait for a quiet time when he could be still and know God.
No.
Tevye prayed when his horse went lame.
Tavye prayed when his daughter and the town butcher wanted to get married.
Tevye prayed when he and his family were moved out of their historic village.
Tevye lived his life in constant prayer.
“I am a man of constant sorrow,” the song goes.
Tevye was a man of constant prayer.
(That ought to the title and topic of a song!)
And, I believe, Anne Lamott is a product of the Tevye school, as well.
She writes of one type of prayer:
“When we are stunned to the place beyond words... when all we can say in response is ‘Wow!’
that’s a prayer.”
But, I am also sure that Anne Lamott was influenced by the Presbyterian Church she attends.
Where, no doubt, she has read and heard the Bible read.
Ever since the first century, or so, Christian believers have paid attention to this short document we have in our Bible known as the Book of James.
Anne Lamott, Tevye, and James are all part of the same school.
And we should pay attention to what they say and their understanding of prayer.
The Book of James says, when you find yourself in times of trouble, pray.
Of course, it is easy for us to neglect this spiritual gift, isn’t it?
You are I are richly blessed by having been taught about the power of prayer.
It may have started early in your life, when you learned a prayer before bedtime.
Maybe a Sunday school teacher taught you a prayer to say before a meal.
Our worship service begins and ends in prayer.
It is an essential part of our lives.
Prayer has healing power because it is the practice of entering into the presence of God.
We think of prayer only as a means of getting something for ourselves.
Prayer is also a means of giving ourselves to God.
Jesus realized the power of prayer.
It was an important part of his life.
When he was overworked, he sought a quiet place to get away and pray.
When he was afraid of the future, he went off to pray.
When he was disappointed, he sought comfort in prayer.
Prayer helps us deal with our frustration and anger.
Have you ever been so angry with someone that you couldn't stop thinking about it?
A preacher friend offers an antidote to that anger:
Don't pray to stop being angry.
Instead, pray that good things will come to that person who has angered you.
Pray for his welfare.
Pray for blessings to rain upon her.
Amazingly you will feel the hurt and anger drift away.
The obsession with revenge and retribution will dissipate.
That's the power of prayer.
Jesus says that our own welfare depends upon our ability to forgive:
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Matthew 11:25).
The fact is, most Americans do pray.
A recent survey reports that 78% of Americans pray at least once a week -
57% say they pray daily.
Current books in print list almost 2,000 titles on prayer, meditation, and spiritual growth.
After the Bible, books on prayer are among the biggest sellers.
A Newsweek article tells about a 31-year-old woman who drops to her knees at her front door each morning before rushing off to her job as a bakery representative;
and a seventy-year-old bank vice president who prays for twenty minutes while on his stationary bicycle.
A 53-year-old man who prays five times a day says, "I don't look for anything miraculous to happen.
The miracle is being able to speak directly to your maker."
James' first antidote: When you're in trouble, pray!
James also says, "when you're sick, seek the prayers of your friends."
There is strength and power in seeking the support, the comfort, and the nurturing of like-minded fellow believers.
Now, I don’t base the efficacy of corporate prayer on the findings of scientific studies;
But it is interesting to note that several double blind studies have indicated that sick individuals for whom a group of believers have prayed have recovered more rapidly and more completely than those for whom no prayers were raised.
This occurred even though the individuals did not know that they were being prayed for.
Cardiologist Dr. Randolph Byrd conducted a study of 393 coronary patients.
They were divided into two groups.
One group would be the beneficiaries of prayer and the other would not.
No one knew which group the patients were in.
The prayer groups were simply given the first names of the patients, along with brief descriptions of their medical problems.
When the study was completed ten months later, the prayed-for patients benefited in several areas: they were five times less likely to require antibiotics; they were two and a half times less likely to suffer congestive heart failure;
they were less likely to suffer cardiac arrest.
An edition of American Scientist magazine included the article "The Revival of Experiments on Prayer" by Keith Stewart Thomson, former president of the Academy of Natural Sciences.
In the article he wrote, "Evidence is growing that the experience of sharing prayer with friends has a powerful effect on health outcomes.
These benefits are susceptible to explanations that do not necessarily involve the direct intervention of God."
Thomson goes on to note the biblical relationship between prayer and faith or "believing."
Notice that Jesus tells his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours" (Matthew 11:24).
James tell us that when we ask God for anything we must ask in faith:
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
- James 1:6-7
The second antidote is this: "When you are sick, seek the prayers of your friends."
The last antidote, which James offers, is "When you have sinned, 'fess up."
Alcoholics Anonymous has long recognized that repressed and un-admitted guilt leads to deeper and deeper trouble and despair.
When an alcoholic keeps certain facts hidden, it feeds the compulsion to get drunk.
Recovery involves an honest self-evaluation and a public confession of character defects and shortcomings.
With that confession comes relief, forgiveness, healing.
For sure, it's not easy to confess our weaknesses, is it?
It is not easy to say, "I was wrong."
There is something in each of us that insists on being right
and believing that it is always someone else's fault, right?
It really takes great courage to admit failure,
to confess a defect or shortcoming.
But such confessions are part of our spiritual healing and well-being.
Unconfessed guilt festers within us.
It produces impatience, rage, even ill health.
It destroys friendships and leads to isolation and hostility.
We are much more likely to appreciate and respect the person who humbly confesses his guilt than the self-righteous individual who professes to be flawless.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector."
And Jesus said, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." - Luke 18:11, 14b
The biblical message from the book of James gives sound advice, offering antidotes to life's problems.
When you experience trouble, pray.
When you are ill, seek prayer from your friends.
When you’re happy, sing!
When you do something wrong, ‘fess up.
Anne Lamott writes:
acknowledge when you need help – our faith puts us in tune with the ultimate power of the universe;
always, always, be quick with the thanks when things go right;
and when you experience a “Wow” moment – remember the source –
and the more often you do acknowledge the source, the more “wow” moments you will have.
Tevye (and I) (and yes, the Apostle Paul) say:
pray constantly at all times, in all things, all-ways.
James reminds us that prayer has powerful effect.
And, the great thing is.
You can test this out for yourself.
Remember Tevye.
Live a day in constant prayer.
There are many opportunities for prayer.
I have seen lives change.
Attitudes changes.
Health change.
Understandings change.
Prayer has powerful effect.
Try it.
Amen.
The Congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service October 14, 2012.
He was a man of constant prayer.
Oh, no, he did not go into a dark room and light a candle and recite holy mantras,
no, he did not engage in long prayers with big learned words,
no, he did not wait for a quiet time when he could be still and know God.
One of my very favorite writers is Anne Lamott.
Anne Lamott, Tevye, and James are all part of the same school.
And we should pay attention to what they say and their understanding of prayer.
James 5: 13-16
One of my very favorite writers is Anne Lamott.
Anne Lamott lives near where Suzanne and I lived in Northern California just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
Anne Lamott makes her living writing and teaching others how to write.
She writes novels and many fine personal essays on events that happen in her life that take on cosmic significance.
She once wrote:
I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives,
human hearts,
spiritual transformation,
families,
secrets, wonder, craziness —
and that can make me laugh.
When I am reading a book like this,
I feel rich and profoundly relieved to be in the presence of someone who will share the truth with me,
and throw the lights on a little,
and I try to write these kinds of books.
And, that’s what I feel when I read her writing.
She continues: Books, for me, are medicine.
Anne Lamott’s life was not an easy one.
It is involves surviving bouts with drugs and booze, hard-living and depression.
Finding herself pregnant at the age of 35, she writes about finding the local Presbyterian Church – the same one I worshiped in many times when we lived there.
About that experience, she writes about how she week after week after week, she would show up at the door of the church right as the service was beginning; but, would not enter the room.
Week after week she stood there listening to what was going on inside, observing the people, listening to the preacher.
She did eventually enter the room, and was warmly greeted and accepted by all – despite her strange looks, her odd dress, her big belly, and her lack of a marital partner.
She credits the people of that congregation of helping her to raise her son.
She tells of the gray-headed ladies doting over the baby, and eager to provide relationships for him through the years.
Now 20, with a son of his own, her son Sam, considers the folks of that congregation as his extended family.
And she writes about how this church has helped her with her faith journey.
She first wrote about this in a book she called:
Traveling Mercies : Some Thoughts on Faith
A few years later, she published Plan B : Further Thoughts on Faith.
And soon her latest book will be published with the title:
Three Essential Prayers: Help, Thanks, Wow!
She describes three kinds of prayers that really can enhance our lives – if and when we do them.
Anne Lamott begins with the premise the prayer
“is communication from the heart to that which surpasses understanding . . .
communication from one’s heart to God.”
I have admitted several times that my personal prayer guide, the one who taught me about prayer and about personal prayer life, was Tevye (?) – the lead character of Fiddler On the Roof !
Throughout the whole play,
throughout the whole movie,
Tevye demonstrated to us – the audience, the reader, the viewer -
there was absolutely nothing in his life that was devoid of God’s involvement.
He was a man of constant prayer.
Oh, no, he did not go into a dark room and light a candle and recite holy mantras,
no, he did not engage in long prayers with big learned words,
no, he did not wait for a quiet time when he could be still and know God.
No.
Tevye prayed when his horse went lame.
Tavye prayed when his daughter and the town butcher wanted to get married.
Tevye prayed when he and his family were moved out of their historic village.
Tevye lived his life in constant prayer.
“I am a man of constant sorrow,” the song goes.
Tevye was a man of constant prayer.
(That ought to the title and topic of a song!)
And, I believe, Anne Lamott is a product of the Tevye school, as well.
She writes of one type of prayer:
“When we are stunned to the place beyond words... when all we can say in response is ‘Wow!’
that’s a prayer.”
But, I am also sure that Anne Lamott was influenced by the Presbyterian Church she attends.
Where, no doubt, she has read and heard the Bible read.
Ever since the first century, or so, Christian believers have paid attention to this short document we have in our Bible known as the Book of James.
Anne Lamott, Tevye, and James are all part of the same school.
And we should pay attention to what they say and their understanding of prayer.
The Book of James says, when you find yourself in times of trouble, pray.
Of course, it is easy for us to neglect this spiritual gift, isn’t it?
You are I are richly blessed by having been taught about the power of prayer.
It may have started early in your life, when you learned a prayer before bedtime.
Maybe a Sunday school teacher taught you a prayer to say before a meal.
Our worship service begins and ends in prayer.
It is an essential part of our lives.
Prayer has healing power because it is the practice of entering into the presence of God.
We think of prayer only as a means of getting something for ourselves.
Prayer is also a means of giving ourselves to God.
Jesus realized the power of prayer.
It was an important part of his life.
When he was overworked, he sought a quiet place to get away and pray.
When he was afraid of the future, he went off to pray.
When he was disappointed, he sought comfort in prayer.
Prayer helps us deal with our frustration and anger.
Have you ever been so angry with someone that you couldn't stop thinking about it?
A preacher friend offers an antidote to that anger:
Don't pray to stop being angry.
Instead, pray that good things will come to that person who has angered you.
Pray for his welfare.
Pray for blessings to rain upon her.
Amazingly you will feel the hurt and anger drift away.
The obsession with revenge and retribution will dissipate.
That's the power of prayer.
Jesus says that our own welfare depends upon our ability to forgive:
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Matthew 11:25).
The fact is, most Americans do pray.
A recent survey reports that 78% of Americans pray at least once a week -
57% say they pray daily.
Current books in print list almost 2,000 titles on prayer, meditation, and spiritual growth.
After the Bible, books on prayer are among the biggest sellers.
A Newsweek article tells about a 31-year-old woman who drops to her knees at her front door each morning before rushing off to her job as a bakery representative;
and a seventy-year-old bank vice president who prays for twenty minutes while on his stationary bicycle.
A 53-year-old man who prays five times a day says, "I don't look for anything miraculous to happen.
The miracle is being able to speak directly to your maker."
James' first antidote: When you're in trouble, pray!
James also says, "when you're sick, seek the prayers of your friends."
There is strength and power in seeking the support, the comfort, and the nurturing of like-minded fellow believers.
Now, I don’t base the efficacy of corporate prayer on the findings of scientific studies;
But it is interesting to note that several double blind studies have indicated that sick individuals for whom a group of believers have prayed have recovered more rapidly and more completely than those for whom no prayers were raised.
This occurred even though the individuals did not know that they were being prayed for.
Cardiologist Dr. Randolph Byrd conducted a study of 393 coronary patients.
They were divided into two groups.
One group would be the beneficiaries of prayer and the other would not.
No one knew which group the patients were in.
The prayer groups were simply given the first names of the patients, along with brief descriptions of their medical problems.
When the study was completed ten months later, the prayed-for patients benefited in several areas: they were five times less likely to require antibiotics; they were two and a half times less likely to suffer congestive heart failure;
they were less likely to suffer cardiac arrest.
An edition of American Scientist magazine included the article "The Revival of Experiments on Prayer" by Keith Stewart Thomson, former president of the Academy of Natural Sciences.
In the article he wrote, "Evidence is growing that the experience of sharing prayer with friends has a powerful effect on health outcomes.
These benefits are susceptible to explanations that do not necessarily involve the direct intervention of God."
Thomson goes on to note the biblical relationship between prayer and faith or "believing."
Notice that Jesus tells his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours" (Matthew 11:24).
James tell us that when we ask God for anything we must ask in faith:
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
- James 1:6-7
The second antidote is this: "When you are sick, seek the prayers of your friends."
The last antidote, which James offers, is "When you have sinned, 'fess up."
Alcoholics Anonymous has long recognized that repressed and un-admitted guilt leads to deeper and deeper trouble and despair.
When an alcoholic keeps certain facts hidden, it feeds the compulsion to get drunk.
Recovery involves an honest self-evaluation and a public confession of character defects and shortcomings.
With that confession comes relief, forgiveness, healing.
For sure, it's not easy to confess our weaknesses, is it?
It is not easy to say, "I was wrong."
There is something in each of us that insists on being right
and believing that it is always someone else's fault, right?
It really takes great courage to admit failure,
to confess a defect or shortcoming.
But such confessions are part of our spiritual healing and well-being.
Unconfessed guilt festers within us.
It produces impatience, rage, even ill health.
It destroys friendships and leads to isolation and hostility.
We are much more likely to appreciate and respect the person who humbly confesses his guilt than the self-righteous individual who professes to be flawless.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector."
And Jesus said, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." - Luke 18:11, 14b
The biblical message from the book of James gives sound advice, offering antidotes to life's problems.
When you experience trouble, pray.
When you are ill, seek prayer from your friends.
When you’re happy, sing!
When you do something wrong, ‘fess up.
Anne Lamott writes:
acknowledge when you need help – our faith puts us in tune with the ultimate power of the universe;
always, always, be quick with the thanks when things go right;
and when you experience a “Wow” moment – remember the source –
and the more often you do acknowledge the source, the more “wow” moments you will have.
Tevye (and I) (and yes, the Apostle Paul) say:
pray constantly at all times, in all things, all-ways.
James reminds us that prayer has powerful effect.
And, the great thing is.
You can test this out for yourself.
Remember Tevye.
Live a day in constant prayer.
There are many opportunities for prayer.
I have seen lives change.
Attitudes changes.
Health change.
Understandings change.
Prayer has powerful effect.
Try it.
Amen.
The Congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service October 14, 2012.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The Stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus
The Stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 10:25-37
Tell me the story of Jesus, of unseen things above.
Tell me the old, old story – of Jesus and his love.
This is the fourth week I am talking about the stories of Jesus.
We have lots of stories of Jesus,
– some good stories –
and we should be telling some of them.
We should be telling them, because it is up to us.
We don’t hear these stories anywhere else these days.
They aren’t being told in schools,
they are not on television very often,
and, most families today don’t know the stories in order to tell them to their children.
So, we have an obligation, really, to tell the old, old stories . . . of Jesus and his love.
Three weeks ago we looked at the very oldest stories I could find about Jesus.
The very first stories of Jesus that we know of – the stories that the Apostle Paul would have heard.
Two weeks ago I talked about the stories of Jesus we find in the Gospel of Mark – the earliest Gospel to be published.
And, last week we looked at the stories of Jesus that Matthew heard of and used in that Gospel.
(Just to remind us again, the obvious needs to be stated: no one was following Jesus around with a tape recorder loading sound bytes for future generations.
No one was following him around with a pencil and papyrus.
And, again, as a reminder, none of the documents in our New Testament were written when Jesus was alive –
all of the stories of Jesus we have in our Bible,
the stories we have heard all our lives,
were written long after Jesus lived.)
We know that almost all of our stories of Jesus come from the four Gospels in our Holy Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And, Biblical scholars from all persuasions agree on general dates each of the Gospels were written.
And, it has become clear from studies in last 80 years, or so, studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the Nag Hammadi library,
and other “recent’ discoveries of ancient documents,
each of the Gospels in our Bible comes out of a different community reflecting different traditions, (different denominations, if you will) –
communities of “Christians” that differed in some ways from other communities of Christians –
differed in their practices,
differed in their racial/ethnic make up,
differed in their emphases,
differed in their theology behind their understanding of Jesus.
As we heard a couple of weeks ago: all Biblical scholars seem to agree that the very first Gospel (the earliest one that was written) is the one attributed to Mark.
And the second Gospel to be published is the one we call Matthew.
And, Luke is not published until some 100 years after the execution of Jesus.
It seems that the Gospel of Luke came out of a community of Christian believers in and around Philippi – a Roman colony in Macedonia.
These Christians were primarily Gentile – with very few, if any, Jewish adherents.
This group published the Gospel of Luke – and used it as a resource for their faith.
These believers living in the Roman empire at the beginning of the second century AD, were gentiles – and they were Roman citizens.
And, they were careful not to include any inflammatory words or insinuations against the Roman government.
There are no stories here of Roman soldiers flogging, or mocking, or beating up Jesus – in fact it includes a statement from the Roman governor that there is no basis in Roman law for a charge against this man Jesus.
By this time, the Gospel of Mark was well known – and a good part of the life of Jesus as described there is included in Luke.
As a side note, in the Gospel of Luke as we have it today, a significant part of Mark’s outline appears to be missing.
Several consecutive lines are simply not there – scholars estimate enough to fill about four pages front and back with the typical writing of the day.
This omission leads to the speculation that early on, someone simply lost four pages of the document (maybe the camel ate it).
At any rate, the earliest copy of the Gospel of Luke we have today comes from a time several hundred years after it was published – of course something could have happened to part of it along the way.
So, Luke knew about Mark’s outline of the live of Jesus – what he did.
Luke also shows that the community knew about stories attributed to Jesus.
Many of the stories in Matthew are included in Luke – and some are not.
But, Luke also has many other stories and sayings that are attributed to Jesus that Matthew did not have.
Now, we know even more about these believers that produced the Gospel of Luke.
We know that the Apostle Paul visited Macedonia and Philippi, in particular, and started the church there.
One of his first converts was a Roman Centurion.
He speaks of several women, by name, that he baptized and taught.
So, today we see a document that is put together in such a way as to not aggravate the powers that be, and that is profoundly pro-women.
In this Gospel of Luke, many many stories are about encounters with women.
Women are given respect and equal status as believers within the community of faith.
Only in the Gospel of Luke do we here the stories of Elizabeth and Mary,
the story about Mary and Martha,
the story about the women who came in and doused Jesus with expensive perfume,
the stories of Jesus casting out demons from women,
the story of raising a widow’s dead son out of his coffin,
and the women who went to the tomb . . .
Of particular interest to me is what we read a while ago.
The story of this teacher of the law coming up to Jesus with intent to trap him into saying something particularly incriminating is in both Matthew and Luke – this indicates that it one of the stories that was being circulated after Mark was published.
But, Luke is the only gospel that tells us the story of the Good Samaritan.
This story of the Good Samaritan is probably the most well-known stories we have in our Bible – certainly one of the most well-known stories of Jesus.
A recent survey that 49% of Americans said they would be able to tell the story of the Good Samaritan if asked to do so,
45% said they would not be able to,
and 6% were unsure whether they could tell it or not.
Among those who attended religious services every week, the proportion who thought they could tell the story rose to 69% percent.
It is a most familiar story, right?
We name hospitals, churches, institutions of mercy, even legislation in honor of the good Samaritan – here in this story.
Here, in Luke, we have this lawyer coming up to Jesus (as in Matthew) and asks the question he hopes will entrap Jesus into saying something incriminating.
But, instead of answering, Jesus turns it around and asks of lawyer, “Well, what does it say in the sacred writing?”
Well, for sure, the lawyer wasn’t about to be tripped up, he knew what the scriptures said,
he knew what had been taught to him and to those who had gone before him,
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind';
and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
“Good answer,” Jesus said.
Then the lawyer continues, “So, I understand the first commandment – I repeat the shema five times a day.
But, just who am I supposed to love?
Who is my neighbor?”
And, that famous question, leads into to the famous story Jesus tells about the Good Samaritan.
You remember:
The first person to whom we are introduced is the poor traveler.
He is one of us.
And, he had taken the road from Jerusalem to Jericho which was notoriously dangerous.
It descended nearly 3,300 feet in 17 miles, running through narrow passes at points.
The terrain offered easy hiding for the bandits who terrorized travelers.
And sure enough, just like was feared, this unfortunate fellow had been stripped, beaten, and left for dead.
A first century mugging.
One more random victim in a randomly violent world.
Jesus' audience that day knew how easily it could happen.
For that matter, with a quick glance at the newspaper or TV, his audience TODAY knows just as well.
While hearers then and now would sympathize with the poor fellow, we are not forced to identify with him because in a story that begins with a tragedy, helpers are sure to arrive, right?
If we will identify with anyone, we will wait for our helper/hero.
Hallelujah! Here comes a priest.
If anyone could be expected to stop and help it would be a priest.
But wait.
The priest is not only not coming over to help;
he is passing by on the other side.
No reason is given.
Some have suggested that, as a priest, he could fear ritual defilement with a corpse,
but truth is if a priest on a journey found a corpse, he had a duty to bury it.
Perhaps it was fear.
Those who beat the man in the ditch might be lying in wait to beat him as well.
Perhaps it was simple revulsion.
Have you ever come upon someone after a bloody accident?
Ugly.
Whatever.
"He passed by on the other side." Some hero!
No matter. Here comes a Levite...an "assistant" priest.
The first one was an aberration.
THIS one will come through.
Right.
As the text has it, "he came to the place and saw him, [and] passed by on the other side."
Another hero!
Now what?
By normal storytelling conventions, we can expect we are about to meet a third character who will break the pattern created by the first two.
In the context of our current parable, the expected sequence would be a priest, a Levite, and then...
TA DAH!...our hero will be an ordinary Israelite who will come to the rescue even when the high muckety-mucks of the Temple fail to do so.
The story would have an anti-clerical edge to it along with the reminder that love of God AND NEIGHBOR are commanded,
but a shot at the Holy Joe's would not be any big shock considering the difficulty Jesus regularly has with the religious establishment.
So, enter character number three – a Samaritan. The GOOD Samaritan!
HA! You know those words are not actually uses together.
Nowhere in the Bible will we find the words "Good" and "Samaritan" next to each other.
For those folks who first heard this story, the phrase "Good Samaritan" would have been an oxymoron anyway -
the only GOOD Samaritan would have been a DEAD Samaritan.
No hero here.
The hatred between Jew and Samaritan in Jesus' day was at least as deep as the feeling Jews and Arabs have toward each other today.
The story goes on.
Just as the priest and the Levite, the Samaritan sees the man, but instead of distancing himself,
he comes closer.
As the text has it, "when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine [oil to keep them soft, wine to sterilize].
Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
The next day he took out two silver coins [two days wages] and gave them to the innkeeper.
'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"
Not an insignificant amount, not lavish either, but enough to do the job.
So, the story is over.
Jesus has responded to the lawyer's question about the limits of neighborliness with his story and now turns the question back to the lawyer: "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
And the answer, "The one who had mercy on him."
It’s pretty amazing, when you think about it.
The concept of a GOOD Samaritan is so distasteful that the lawyer cannot bring himself to even speak the name.
Jesus concludes, "Go and do likewise."
What?
Be the guy in the ditch?
Perhaps that is not so far-fetched as we might think.
We never hear if this poor victim recovers, but my assumption is that he does.
That being the case, what would the effect have been on him that he had been rescued by a Samaritan?
One would presume that it would forever color his view of Samaritans.
For that matter, one would presume that it would forever color his view of the world's victims.
There would be less callousness, less inclination to lay blame for getting into such a fix in the first place, less temptation to "pass by on the other side."
If Jesus' story had gone on any longer, I would bet that this poor fellow, from that day forward, became a better neighbor to the rest of his world than he would have ever dreamed possible.
Friends, there is much to the stories of Jesus.
This is just one of them.
One that is found only here in this Gospel of Luke.
I only hope and pray that we may never take these stories of Jesus for granted.
Let’s continue to tell them –
in as many ways as we can think of.
Let all who will, listen.
And, may all who listen, understand.
Next week, when we come together we will join Christians at the Lord’s table in all corners of the world –
gathering around the longest table imaginable to join in a World Wide Communion.
More Christians that day will celebrate the Lord’s Supper than any other day of the year.
Don’t miss it.
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service September 30, 2012.
The Stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 10:25-37
Tell me the story of Jesus, of unseen things above.
Tell me the old, old story – of Jesus and his love.
This is the fourth week I am talking about the stories of Jesus.
We have lots of stories of Jesus,
– some good stories –
and we should be telling some of them.
We should be telling them, because it is up to us.
We don’t hear these stories anywhere else these days.
They aren’t being told in schools,
they are not on television very often,
and, most families today don’t know the stories in order to tell them to their children.
So, we have an obligation, really, to tell the old, old stories . . . of Jesus and his love.
Three weeks ago we looked at the very oldest stories I could find about Jesus.
The very first stories of Jesus that we know of – the stories that the Apostle Paul would have heard.
Two weeks ago I talked about the stories of Jesus we find in the Gospel of Mark – the earliest Gospel to be published.
And, last week we looked at the stories of Jesus that Matthew heard of and used in that Gospel.
(Just to remind us again, the obvious needs to be stated: no one was following Jesus around with a tape recorder loading sound bytes for future generations.
No one was following him around with a pencil and papyrus.
And, again, as a reminder, none of the documents in our New Testament were written when Jesus was alive –
all of the stories of Jesus we have in our Bible,
the stories we have heard all our lives,
were written long after Jesus lived.)
We know that almost all of our stories of Jesus come from the four Gospels in our Holy Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And, Biblical scholars from all persuasions agree on general dates each of the Gospels were written.
And, it has become clear from studies in last 80 years, or so, studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the Nag Hammadi library,
and other “recent’ discoveries of ancient documents,
each of the Gospels in our Bible comes out of a different community reflecting different traditions, (different denominations, if you will) –
communities of “Christians” that differed in some ways from other communities of Christians –
differed in their practices,
differed in their racial/ethnic make up,
differed in their emphases,
differed in their theology behind their understanding of Jesus.
As we heard a couple of weeks ago: all Biblical scholars seem to agree that the very first Gospel (the earliest one that was written) is the one attributed to Mark.
And the second Gospel to be published is the one we call Matthew.
And, Luke is not published until some 100 years after the execution of Jesus.
It seems that the Gospel of Luke came out of a community of Christian believers in and around Philippi – a Roman colony in Macedonia.
These Christians were primarily Gentile – with very few, if any, Jewish adherents.
This group published the Gospel of Luke – and used it as a resource for their faith.
These believers living in the Roman empire at the beginning of the second century AD, were gentiles – and they were Roman citizens.
And, they were careful not to include any inflammatory words or insinuations against the Roman government.
There are no stories here of Roman soldiers flogging, or mocking, or beating up Jesus – in fact it includes a statement from the Roman governor that there is no basis in Roman law for a charge against this man Jesus.
By this time, the Gospel of Mark was well known – and a good part of the life of Jesus as described there is included in Luke.
As a side note, in the Gospel of Luke as we have it today, a significant part of Mark’s outline appears to be missing.
Several consecutive lines are simply not there – scholars estimate enough to fill about four pages front and back with the typical writing of the day.
This omission leads to the speculation that early on, someone simply lost four pages of the document (maybe the camel ate it).
At any rate, the earliest copy of the Gospel of Luke we have today comes from a time several hundred years after it was published – of course something could have happened to part of it along the way.
So, Luke knew about Mark’s outline of the live of Jesus – what he did.
Luke also shows that the community knew about stories attributed to Jesus.
Many of the stories in Matthew are included in Luke – and some are not.
But, Luke also has many other stories and sayings that are attributed to Jesus that Matthew did not have.
Now, we know even more about these believers that produced the Gospel of Luke.
We know that the Apostle Paul visited Macedonia and Philippi, in particular, and started the church there.
One of his first converts was a Roman Centurion.
He speaks of several women, by name, that he baptized and taught.
So, today we see a document that is put together in such a way as to not aggravate the powers that be, and that is profoundly pro-women.
In this Gospel of Luke, many many stories are about encounters with women.
Women are given respect and equal status as believers within the community of faith.
Only in the Gospel of Luke do we here the stories of Elizabeth and Mary,
the story about Mary and Martha,
the story about the women who came in and doused Jesus with expensive perfume,
the stories of Jesus casting out demons from women,
the story of raising a widow’s dead son out of his coffin,
and the women who went to the tomb . . .
Of particular interest to me is what we read a while ago.
The story of this teacher of the law coming up to Jesus with intent to trap him into saying something particularly incriminating is in both Matthew and Luke – this indicates that it one of the stories that was being circulated after Mark was published.
But, Luke is the only gospel that tells us the story of the Good Samaritan.
This story of the Good Samaritan is probably the most well-known stories we have in our Bible – certainly one of the most well-known stories of Jesus.
A recent survey that 49% of Americans said they would be able to tell the story of the Good Samaritan if asked to do so,
45% said they would not be able to,
and 6% were unsure whether they could tell it or not.
Among those who attended religious services every week, the proportion who thought they could tell the story rose to 69% percent.
It is a most familiar story, right?
We name hospitals, churches, institutions of mercy, even legislation in honor of the good Samaritan – here in this story.
Here, in Luke, we have this lawyer coming up to Jesus (as in Matthew) and asks the question he hopes will entrap Jesus into saying something incriminating.
But, instead of answering, Jesus turns it around and asks of lawyer, “Well, what does it say in the sacred writing?”
Well, for sure, the lawyer wasn’t about to be tripped up, he knew what the scriptures said,
he knew what had been taught to him and to those who had gone before him,
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind';
and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
“Good answer,” Jesus said.
Then the lawyer continues, “So, I understand the first commandment – I repeat the shema five times a day.
But, just who am I supposed to love?
Who is my neighbor?”
And, that famous question, leads into to the famous story Jesus tells about the Good Samaritan.
You remember:
The first person to whom we are introduced is the poor traveler.
He is one of us.
And, he had taken the road from Jerusalem to Jericho which was notoriously dangerous.
It descended nearly 3,300 feet in 17 miles, running through narrow passes at points.
The terrain offered easy hiding for the bandits who terrorized travelers.
And sure enough, just like was feared, this unfortunate fellow had been stripped, beaten, and left for dead.
A first century mugging.
One more random victim in a randomly violent world.
Jesus' audience that day knew how easily it could happen.
For that matter, with a quick glance at the newspaper or TV, his audience TODAY knows just as well.
While hearers then and now would sympathize with the poor fellow, we are not forced to identify with him because in a story that begins with a tragedy, helpers are sure to arrive, right?
If we will identify with anyone, we will wait for our helper/hero.
Hallelujah! Here comes a priest.
If anyone could be expected to stop and help it would be a priest.
But wait.
The priest is not only not coming over to help;
he is passing by on the other side.
No reason is given.
Some have suggested that, as a priest, he could fear ritual defilement with a corpse,
but truth is if a priest on a journey found a corpse, he had a duty to bury it.
Perhaps it was fear.
Those who beat the man in the ditch might be lying in wait to beat him as well.
Perhaps it was simple revulsion.
Have you ever come upon someone after a bloody accident?
Ugly.
Whatever.
"He passed by on the other side." Some hero!
No matter. Here comes a Levite...an "assistant" priest.
The first one was an aberration.
THIS one will come through.
Right.
As the text has it, "he came to the place and saw him, [and] passed by on the other side."
Another hero!
Now what?
By normal storytelling conventions, we can expect we are about to meet a third character who will break the pattern created by the first two.
In the context of our current parable, the expected sequence would be a priest, a Levite, and then...
TA DAH!...our hero will be an ordinary Israelite who will come to the rescue even when the high muckety-mucks of the Temple fail to do so.
The story would have an anti-clerical edge to it along with the reminder that love of God AND NEIGHBOR are commanded,
but a shot at the Holy Joe's would not be any big shock considering the difficulty Jesus regularly has with the religious establishment.
So, enter character number three – a Samaritan. The GOOD Samaritan!
HA! You know those words are not actually uses together.
Nowhere in the Bible will we find the words "Good" and "Samaritan" next to each other.
For those folks who first heard this story, the phrase "Good Samaritan" would have been an oxymoron anyway -
the only GOOD Samaritan would have been a DEAD Samaritan.
No hero here.
The hatred between Jew and Samaritan in Jesus' day was at least as deep as the feeling Jews and Arabs have toward each other today.
The story goes on.
Just as the priest and the Levite, the Samaritan sees the man, but instead of distancing himself,
he comes closer.
As the text has it, "when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine [oil to keep them soft, wine to sterilize].
Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
The next day he took out two silver coins [two days wages] and gave them to the innkeeper.
'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"
Not an insignificant amount, not lavish either, but enough to do the job.
So, the story is over.
Jesus has responded to the lawyer's question about the limits of neighborliness with his story and now turns the question back to the lawyer: "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
And the answer, "The one who had mercy on him."
It’s pretty amazing, when you think about it.
The concept of a GOOD Samaritan is so distasteful that the lawyer cannot bring himself to even speak the name.
Jesus concludes, "Go and do likewise."
What?
Be the guy in the ditch?
Perhaps that is not so far-fetched as we might think.
We never hear if this poor victim recovers, but my assumption is that he does.
That being the case, what would the effect have been on him that he had been rescued by a Samaritan?
One would presume that it would forever color his view of Samaritans.
For that matter, one would presume that it would forever color his view of the world's victims.
There would be less callousness, less inclination to lay blame for getting into such a fix in the first place, less temptation to "pass by on the other side."
If Jesus' story had gone on any longer, I would bet that this poor fellow, from that day forward, became a better neighbor to the rest of his world than he would have ever dreamed possible.
Friends, there is much to the stories of Jesus.
This is just one of them.
One that is found only here in this Gospel of Luke.
I only hope and pray that we may never take these stories of Jesus for granted.
Let’s continue to tell them –
in as many ways as we can think of.
Let all who will, listen.
And, may all who listen, understand.
Next week, when we come together we will join Christians at the Lord’s table in all corners of the world –
gathering around the longest table imaginable to join in a World Wide Communion.
More Christians that day will celebrate the Lord’s Supper than any other day of the year.
Don’t miss it.
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service September 30, 2012.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
The Stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus
The Stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 5:1-12
Tell me the story of Jesus, of unseen things above.
Tell me the old, old story – of Jesus and his love.
This is the third week I am talking about the stories of Jesus.
We have lots of stories of Jesus,
– some good stories –
and we should be telling some of them.
We should be telling them, because it is up to us.
We don’t hear these stories anywhere else these days.
They aren’t being told in schools,
they are not on television very often,
and, most families today don’t know the stories in order to tell them to their children.
So, we have an obligation, really, to tell the old, old stories . . . of Jesus and his love.
A couple of weeks ago we looked at the very oldest stories I could find about Jesus.
The very first stories of Jesus that we know of – the stories that the Apostle Paul would have heard.
Last week I talked about the stories of Jesus we find in the Gospel of Mark – the earliest Gospel to be published.
(Just to remind us, the obvious needs to be stated:
no one was following Jesus around with a tape recorder loading sound bytes for future generations.
No one was following him around with a pencil and papyrus.
And, again, as a reminder, none of the documents in our New Testament were written when Jesus was alive –
all of the stories of Jesus we have in our Bible,
the stories we have heard all our lives,
were written long after Jesus lived.)
We know that almost all of our stories of Jesus come from the four Gospels in our Holy Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And, Biblical scholars from all persuasions agree on general dates each of the Gospels were written.
And, it has become clear from studies in last 80 years, or so, studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the Nag Hammadi library,
and other “recent’ discoveries of ancient documents,
each of the Gospels in our Bible comes out of a different community reflecting different traditions, (different denominations, if you will) –
communities of “Christians” that differed in some ways from other communities of Christians –
differed in their practices,
differed in their racial/ethnic make up,
differed in their emphases,
differed in their theology behind their understanding of Jesus.
As we heard last week: all Biblical scholars seem to agree that the very first Gospel (the earliest one that was written) is the one attributed to Mark.
And the second Gospel to be published is the one we call Matthew.
This document in our Bible is called Matthew – but there is nothing that ties it to particular author.
The Apostle Matthew most certainly had nothing to do with this document – because it was published some 3 or maybe 4 generations after Jesus gathered those disciples together.
(One researcher concludes that we continue to call it Matthew for convenience.)
We can date the document to around 70 years after the execution of Jesus – around the year 100 AD.
We can tell it is a compendium of stories that a particular and specific community of faith knew – providing a handbook of their faith.
This document came out of a group of believers in Syria –
still seeing themselves as Jews first –
Jews who believed that Jesus was the messiah –
the Promised One that they were expecting for so long.
By this time, Jerusalem had been overthrown, the Jewish Temple totally destroyed, the Jews exiled again.
These Jewish “believers” were living in Syria –
near and around the third largest city in the Roman Empire, Antioch.
And, they were very aware of growing numbers of gentiles organizing themselves as followers of Jesus in other parts of the Roman world.
So, we see extraordinary efforts here in Matthew to make sure the reader is aware that all the major players in this Jesus-faith were Jewish.
Lest we not forget, Jesus himself was a Jew – and here are his bone fides: his mother was from a good Jewish family, his father was a direct descendant of King David.
The twelve apostles are Jewish – even the crowds are Jewish.
They never deny their Jewish faith in the gospel.
A prime concern of the Matthew community of believers was that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church becoming more and more gentile.
Of interest to me is that as we discovered last week when we discussed the Gospel of Mark, Mark contains basically an outline of the events in the life of Jesus – there is very little embellishment of the events.
By the time Matthew came into being, there were many stories of Jesus floating around the communities of believers.
The community that produced the Gospel of Matthew had access to – and knew – the Gospel of Mark.
When you read Matthew – especially after you have read Mark – you become aware that Matthew copied the events that Mark wrote about.
Over 90% of the Gospel of Mark is included in Matthew.
All of the events are there, you can check them out.
Perhaps not that surprising when you realize that Matthew was published a generation after Mark was published.
So, followers of Jesus by 100 AD, knew of Mark’s Gospel – and accepted it as a source of information about their faith.
So, we see Mark’s outline of the life of Jesus kept in tact in Matthew.
Matthew filled in the outline of events with stories of what Jesus said.
And, of course, he added the genealogy-birth-infancy stories to the beginning and the post-resurrection appearances to the end.
Matthew takes the outline from Mark and creatively interprets much of the source,
stressing Jesus’ teachings as much as his acts,
and making subtle changes in order to stress Jesus’ divine nature.
There is nothing in Mark to suggest that Jesus was divine in any way.
But, by the time Matthew came about, to people of faith, Jesus was not merely an emissary of God,
but, Jesus was Emmanuel – God with us.
By the time Matthew came into being, in addition to Mark, and letters from Paul, there was another document circulating that contained “sayings” of Jesus.
In the years between Mark and Matthew, folks began collecting sayings attributed to Jesus
that began to flesh out how believers were to act in order to keep the faith they professed.
Apparently, Mark never heard them.
Such things were not important to him.
And believers didn’t need such stories.
But, Matthew did hear the stories and sayings of Jesus, and included what he thought was important to his community – and surely important to all who called themselves believers.
Some were included verbatim.
Some were edited somewhat to shore up what was considered important to their particular community of believers.
Matthew had knowledge of specific traditions focusing on what Jesus did: his miracles, the disputes with Pharisees, his journeys, and so on.
Of particular interest to me, is that Matthew gives us a collection of sayings and stories attributed to Jesus around what we now call the Sermon on the Mount.
This is where we find the familiar Beatitudes – we just read.
This is where we find the Lord’s Prayer.
This is were we find the Golden Rule.
The believers in the Matthean communities saw this “Sermon on the Mount” as a catechism of sorts.
Here we have the earliest Christian catechism – explaining how their faith affects the way they live their lives.
All kinds of instructions are here – including instruction on how to pray (not out in public like the other Jews, but in private where only God knows and hears;
not with lots of fancy words but with simple down to earth words like this – and the Lord’s Prayer is given as an example).
Matthew was clear that to accept the faith passed on to them – now some 70 years on – they were to be living an alternative life-style.
That compared to the Roman life style – which everybody that was anybody bought in to –
the life of a Jesus-believer was to be different.
Prevailing values of the culture were stood on end in this Sermon on the Mount.
This was at once a warning and an encouragement.
Believing made a difference.
Believing makes a difference.
Believing changes your life –
it changes how you see things,
it changes how you do things,
it changes what you’ve been taught as being true,
it changes what you value,
it changes how you live.
And, the Matthean community wanted new believers to know,
this is what it means to be a believer.
Here, you will find a community that will encourage you in your endeavor to live in a new and different way – according to new rules.
And, the payoff of this alternative lifestyle is so much greater than living according to the values of the dominate culture.
We’re talking ultimate significance.
Although the empire is mighty and powerful, the values of the empire are temporal in nature –
when all is said and done,
dust is dust and ashes are ashes.
Here we have words of Jesus himself to show another way,
a way that requires allegiance to another source of power.
For, when we live this way,
when we act according to these new rules,
our lives take on ultimate significance.
And we become a part of ultimate reality.
So, this a catechism for all new believers –
especially those coming from the Jewish persuasion.
(Read the Message)
Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down
(2) and taught his climbing companions.
This is what he said:
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
(4) "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you.
Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
(5) "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are – no more, no less.
That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
(6) "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God.
He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
(7) "You're blessed when you care.
At the moment of being 'carefull,' you find yourselves cared for.
(8) "You're blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right.
Then you can see God in the outside world.
(9) "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight.
That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
(10) "You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution.
The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.
(11) "Not only that – count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me.
What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.
(12) You can be glad when that happens – give a cheer, even! – for though they don't like it, I do!
And all heaven applauds.
And know that you are in good company.
My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
Friends, there is much to the stories of Jesus.
May we never take them for granted.
Let’s continue to tell them –
in as many ways as we can think of.
Let all who will, listen.
And, may all who listen, understand.
So, next week, we’ll have another episode in The Stories of Jesus, stay tuned – same channel, same time, same place . . .
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA heard this sermon during a worship service September 23, 2012.
The Stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 5:1-12
Tell me the story of Jesus, of unseen things above.
Tell me the old, old story – of Jesus and his love.
This is the third week I am talking about the stories of Jesus.
We have lots of stories of Jesus,
– some good stories –
and we should be telling some of them.
We should be telling them, because it is up to us.
We don’t hear these stories anywhere else these days.
They aren’t being told in schools,
they are not on television very often,
and, most families today don’t know the stories in order to tell them to their children.
So, we have an obligation, really, to tell the old, old stories . . . of Jesus and his love.
A couple of weeks ago we looked at the very oldest stories I could find about Jesus.
The very first stories of Jesus that we know of – the stories that the Apostle Paul would have heard.
Last week I talked about the stories of Jesus we find in the Gospel of Mark – the earliest Gospel to be published.
(Just to remind us, the obvious needs to be stated:
no one was following Jesus around with a tape recorder loading sound bytes for future generations.
No one was following him around with a pencil and papyrus.
And, again, as a reminder, none of the documents in our New Testament were written when Jesus was alive –
all of the stories of Jesus we have in our Bible,
the stories we have heard all our lives,
were written long after Jesus lived.)
We know that almost all of our stories of Jesus come from the four Gospels in our Holy Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And, Biblical scholars from all persuasions agree on general dates each of the Gospels were written.
And, it has become clear from studies in last 80 years, or so, studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the Nag Hammadi library,
and other “recent’ discoveries of ancient documents,
each of the Gospels in our Bible comes out of a different community reflecting different traditions, (different denominations, if you will) –
communities of “Christians” that differed in some ways from other communities of Christians –
differed in their practices,
differed in their racial/ethnic make up,
differed in their emphases,
differed in their theology behind their understanding of Jesus.
As we heard last week: all Biblical scholars seem to agree that the very first Gospel (the earliest one that was written) is the one attributed to Mark.
And the second Gospel to be published is the one we call Matthew.
This document in our Bible is called Matthew – but there is nothing that ties it to particular author.
The Apostle Matthew most certainly had nothing to do with this document – because it was published some 3 or maybe 4 generations after Jesus gathered those disciples together.
(One researcher concludes that we continue to call it Matthew for convenience.)
We can date the document to around 70 years after the execution of Jesus – around the year 100 AD.
We can tell it is a compendium of stories that a particular and specific community of faith knew – providing a handbook of their faith.
This document came out of a group of believers in Syria –
still seeing themselves as Jews first –
Jews who believed that Jesus was the messiah –
the Promised One that they were expecting for so long.
By this time, Jerusalem had been overthrown, the Jewish Temple totally destroyed, the Jews exiled again.
These Jewish “believers” were living in Syria –
near and around the third largest city in the Roman Empire, Antioch.
And, they were very aware of growing numbers of gentiles organizing themselves as followers of Jesus in other parts of the Roman world.
So, we see extraordinary efforts here in Matthew to make sure the reader is aware that all the major players in this Jesus-faith were Jewish.
Lest we not forget, Jesus himself was a Jew – and here are his bone fides: his mother was from a good Jewish family, his father was a direct descendant of King David.
The twelve apostles are Jewish – even the crowds are Jewish.
They never deny their Jewish faith in the gospel.
A prime concern of the Matthew community of believers was that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church becoming more and more gentile.
Of interest to me is that as we discovered last week when we discussed the Gospel of Mark, Mark contains basically an outline of the events in the life of Jesus – there is very little embellishment of the events.
By the time Matthew came into being, there were many stories of Jesus floating around the communities of believers.
The community that produced the Gospel of Matthew had access to – and knew – the Gospel of Mark.
When you read Matthew – especially after you have read Mark – you become aware that Matthew copied the events that Mark wrote about.
Over 90% of the Gospel of Mark is included in Matthew.
All of the events are there, you can check them out.
Perhaps not that surprising when you realize that Matthew was published a generation after Mark was published.
So, followers of Jesus by 100 AD, knew of Mark’s Gospel – and accepted it as a source of information about their faith.
So, we see Mark’s outline of the life of Jesus kept in tact in Matthew.
Matthew filled in the outline of events with stories of what Jesus said.
And, of course, he added the genealogy-birth-infancy stories to the beginning and the post-resurrection appearances to the end.
Matthew takes the outline from Mark and creatively interprets much of the source,
stressing Jesus’ teachings as much as his acts,
and making subtle changes in order to stress Jesus’ divine nature.
There is nothing in Mark to suggest that Jesus was divine in any way.
But, by the time Matthew came about, to people of faith, Jesus was not merely an emissary of God,
but, Jesus was Emmanuel – God with us.
By the time Matthew came into being, in addition to Mark, and letters from Paul, there was another document circulating that contained “sayings” of Jesus.
In the years between Mark and Matthew, folks began collecting sayings attributed to Jesus
that began to flesh out how believers were to act in order to keep the faith they professed.
Apparently, Mark never heard them.
Such things were not important to him.
And believers didn’t need such stories.
But, Matthew did hear the stories and sayings of Jesus, and included what he thought was important to his community – and surely important to all who called themselves believers.
Some were included verbatim.
Some were edited somewhat to shore up what was considered important to their particular community of believers.
Matthew had knowledge of specific traditions focusing on what Jesus did: his miracles, the disputes with Pharisees, his journeys, and so on.
Of particular interest to me, is that Matthew gives us a collection of sayings and stories attributed to Jesus around what we now call the Sermon on the Mount.
This is where we find the familiar Beatitudes – we just read.
This is where we find the Lord’s Prayer.
This is were we find the Golden Rule.
The believers in the Matthean communities saw this “Sermon on the Mount” as a catechism of sorts.
Here we have the earliest Christian catechism – explaining how their faith affects the way they live their lives.
All kinds of instructions are here – including instruction on how to pray (not out in public like the other Jews, but in private where only God knows and hears;
not with lots of fancy words but with simple down to earth words like this – and the Lord’s Prayer is given as an example).
Matthew was clear that to accept the faith passed on to them – now some 70 years on – they were to be living an alternative life-style.
That compared to the Roman life style – which everybody that was anybody bought in to –
the life of a Jesus-believer was to be different.
Prevailing values of the culture were stood on end in this Sermon on the Mount.
This was at once a warning and an encouragement.
Believing made a difference.
Believing makes a difference.
Believing changes your life –
it changes how you see things,
it changes how you do things,
it changes what you’ve been taught as being true,
it changes what you value,
it changes how you live.
And, the Matthean community wanted new believers to know,
this is what it means to be a believer.
Here, you will find a community that will encourage you in your endeavor to live in a new and different way – according to new rules.
And, the payoff of this alternative lifestyle is so much greater than living according to the values of the dominate culture.
We’re talking ultimate significance.
Although the empire is mighty and powerful, the values of the empire are temporal in nature –
when all is said and done,
dust is dust and ashes are ashes.
Here we have words of Jesus himself to show another way,
a way that requires allegiance to another source of power.
For, when we live this way,
when we act according to these new rules,
our lives take on ultimate significance.
And we become a part of ultimate reality.
So, this a catechism for all new believers –
especially those coming from the Jewish persuasion.
(Read the Message)
Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down
(2) and taught his climbing companions.
This is what he said:
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
(4) "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you.
Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
(5) "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are – no more, no less.
That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
(6) "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God.
He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
(7) "You're blessed when you care.
At the moment of being 'carefull,' you find yourselves cared for.
(8) "You're blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right.
Then you can see God in the outside world.
(9) "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight.
That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
(10) "You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution.
The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.
(11) "Not only that – count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me.
What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.
(12) You can be glad when that happens – give a cheer, even! – for though they don't like it, I do!
And all heaven applauds.
And know that you are in good company.
My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
Friends, there is much to the stories of Jesus.
May we never take them for granted.
Let’s continue to tell them –
in as many ways as we can think of.
Let all who will, listen.
And, may all who listen, understand.
So, next week, we’ll have another episode in The Stories of Jesus, stay tuned – same channel, same time, same place . . .
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA heard this sermon during a worship service September 23, 2012.
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