Jesus, Shine in Us

Sermon Matthew 17:1-9 February 26, 2017 Transfiguration

Jesus, Shine in Us

Some of you may have heard me say this week say that I really don’t like preaching about Jesus’ transfiguration. And you may have wondered, “What’s got in to her?”

It’s not that I don’t appreciate the story of Jesus on the mountain with Moses and Elijah. Nor do I refute the story of Peter’s desire to build tents for the three and stay awhile. I do not have a problem with shimmering glory or dazzling whites either. But, I want to think and preach differently today. Listen to this sentence-I’ll read it twice.

The power of the divine mystery in which our faith seems to totter with the practical and pragmatic action of faith keeps us at odds with what we can let go and to what we can hold on.

You see this is a Sunday that we sing the contemporary song (if we think songs from the 80’s is contemporary) Shine Jesus Shine.

We get all caught up in the mountain top experience.

We learn about how we cannot stay on the mountain.

We hear that life is lived in the valley and on the plains.

It’s almost as if we hear this incredible powerful story of God’s ability to transform and we miss the whole point.

We take a story of mystery and power and reduce into a moral lesson.

We chastise Peter once again for ‘not getting it’.

We pride ourselves in being able to understand the story.

We praise God for all our own moments of being on that mountain where we had our all time ‘mountain top’ experience and we ‘got it’.

We preachers preach about how those moments nourish us to get us down the mountain to be able to do the work of God in the world.

It all sounds so wonderful and uplifting.

But, I struggle with all those ways in which we tell this story

because there’s a part of me that doesn’t believe that.

I don’t think we can reduce God to a moral lesson.

I think as preachers we do that because We DON’T understand the mystery.

I’d rather discover the power of God to transform.

God was there on the mountain with six figures-Peter, James, John, Jesus, Elijah and Moses. We discover the miracle of the story is that: God spoke. Jesus reached out and touched. The disciples changed.

We are moving into the season of Lent.

It makes sense that we have this story of Jesus the Sunday before we open our hearts to God for examination.

We move into Lent every year with a bit of trepidation.

We wonder how much navel gazing God will demand of us as we learn about ourselves. We are a bit afraid of what we might discover.

We don’t necessarily like this season.

We’d prefer to be in Advent in that hopeful waiting for the baby to appear.

Yet, in Lent we are in a hopeful waiting to witness God’s power at work to bring life to death and death to life.

In this season, God is at work within us.

God is in the transformation business.

God is in the change business.

God will not let us stay the way we are.

God is forever at work drawing us near and shining within us.

Karoline Lewis says, “The transfiguration is the threshold moment between what was and what is to come. You get a glimpse of what could be, when actually it was there all along.” This transfiguration story is an ongoing story of God’s power to change us and move us.

It is not a morality story but a miracle story.

One way God’s power changes us is into salvation. God speaks. Our salvation story is the mystery of God incarnate present with us to engage us into a life lived through mercy, justice and humbly walking with God.

Salvation is God’s grabbing us and not letting go. It’s the part of our life where we turn in every which way to wonder who God is and why God is. And then in a moment in which we cannot explain God becomes fully present shining in us.

Like Peter, we are full of questions and full of a need for explanation and reason.

Like Peter, we need to hold on to what we know and we are afraid to let go of what we do not know.

We need God to show us and have it make sense. Part of confirmation that matters to me most is the freedom to ask questions. For we find our faith is not about answers but is all in our questions. In the truth of seeking God, we God is revealed in us.

The glory of God’s incarnation, God’s transformation of our relationship with God is one we cannot fully explain. We are continuously drawn to God in our desire for God.

We are on a path of being awakened to the joy of salvation as we enter and engage in those moments where we catch a glimpse of the Divine.

The mountain figuratively is where we catch that glimpse and it changes us forever.

Another way God changes us is through God’s presence. Christmas is the celebration of our faith that God came to live among us in Jesus the Christ. Jesus reaches out and touches. Lent is the time we move to allow the work of Christ to be fully present in us.

It is a time of transformation.

It is a time of change of who we are. And that friends can be exciting.

Yet, change can also bring grief.

Because as we look to life in the possibility of becoming new, we must let go of some of the ways which have become familiar to us.

Sometimes we need to be in a place we do not wish to be. In this place God is mightily at work. God’s presence in us stirs us, comforts us, and provides for us. We look to one another and realize we are the body of Christ transformed as a community built up together with the foundation of God’s love for us.

This power of the presence of Jesus begins to shine even brighter within us.

And then the thought of change is an anticipation of joy rather than sorrow.

Imagine what God can do over the next several weeks as we open our hearts in new ways!

Finally, God’s transformation moves us into action. We, the disciples are changed.

This year on Ash Wednesday when we recognize our messy lives and messy world and our mortality we will say to God we are ready.

We are ready to know we are finite. We are ready to know this life is but a moment.

We are ready to know that in God’s hands dust lives.

And in the power of God all things are possible.

We will embrace the mystery of our salvation.

We sense the presence of Jesus with us always.

We will be changed.

We can and will become the change agents God wants for this world.

We will receive courage where we were once afraid.

We will receive joy where we once had sorrow.

We will show mercy where we once had anger.

We will work for justice where we once had apathy.

Because we have seen his glory. We can say, ‘Jesus, shine us’; even sing it in that 80’s version.

In dazzling glory Jesus resides in us.

And we can and will be transformed. Always transforming and drawing nearer and nearer to God. Amen.

Resources:  Feasting on the Word; Working Preacher Karoline Lewis

God first, Us Second

Sermon 1 Corinthians 3: 1-9 February 12, 2017 Ordinary time

God first, Us Second

When we hear the words of Paul we wonder which words gets our attention? He says so much in each of his phrases.

Going back to chapter one of First Corinthians, and all the way here to chapter three, he talks about allegiance and the cross and babies and plants and buildings and servants. It can be a challenge to keep up with him.

There are a few things to keep in mind when we read this letter of Paul to the Corinthians.

One: the letter is directed to the believers in the church.

Two: the letter is in response to the reports he has received about the behavior of the believers and the way they worship.

Three: he is none too happy with how they are representing the Way of Christ.

The letter however, is more than a reprimand, it is an encouragement for the believers. Paul, shares with them the purpose of the church, the order of worship, and how to prioritize everyday living.

Perhaps the most comforting thing to notice is that the earliest churches were not perfect. All the letters in the New Testament provide a glimpse into the churches of the first centuries. They had so many concerns with how to be a church and how to manage life as faithful followers.

They didn’t start out perfect and so when we look back to what might have been in our imagination as the ‘glory days’ of the church, we can read today’s lesson and know that every age has had its issues.

Here in Corinth, the church had become divided.

People were taking sides.

They had chosen a person who they felt was the best leader and they were standing behind that person.

Worse yet, they were claiming themselves better than the others.

They began spouting off at how their way was best and their leader had more qualifications than the other.

It was getting rather ugly to the point that the people outside the church witnessed the division within it.

I think all of us have experienced a time either in the church or in the workplace or in the neighborhood, where one person began to have the idea that they were of superior wisdom about something

and a group stood behind them

and then before you can blink

everyone is divided over something rather simple

(or at least you thought it was simple).

You can think of things, such as carpet

or curtain color,

or where to put the staff water cooler,

or how many chickens can you have in the neighborhood,

or whether skateboards can be on the sidewalk.

Paul does not say that the people should not have opinions

or should not have the ability to make difficult decisions.

However, he points out their way of going about it removes God from the equation.

By lifting up someone other than to whom we belong we place ourselves in idol worship. It happens so easily.

By claiming that Apollos had superior wisdom than Paul the believers were not putting God first. They were putting themselves first.

It is the presence of the Spirit in our lives that gives way to Christ-like living.

Holding our allegiance firmly in Christ we allow the Spirit to fill our lives with those special gifts of kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control.

In this manner, we are able to have a determined focus of our heart, soul and mind.

And in so doing when the desire to call someone out or to seek to divide for one’s own self-promotion-our hearts are quickly called to task.  

(I am Second videos-these videos can be found online as famous people share how they have learned to put themselves second and God first)

I watched a 60 Minutes episode about the Pope’s Choir.

It was a wonderful story describing how boys and men are selected for this choir that songs for the Vatican events and for the pope.

The choir director talked about how the choir was before he became the director. He said the choir had a poor reputation. It was considered a cacophony of sound. He remarked many of the members were present to promote their own wonderful voice. He said they sang over each other, they were loud and most of all they did not harmonize. With his determination to move the choir from self-promotion to realizing who they were truly singing for, he began to hear the difference.

The choir today is known for its beauty, its angelic sound. The members are very proud of their ability to work together to create the most magnificent sound to reach the very heights of heaven.

Putting Christ first in our everyday life does not mean we are “amening” or “praise Jesusing” at every breath.  

Putting Christ first unifies our heart, soul and mind with the will of God. And in so doing we can trust our conscience, our gut, in our decisions as we wake for the day.

What I appreciate when Paul gives us the example of planting, watering, and God giving the growth, is that hard work by individuals is still honored. Paul and Apollos and many other saints down through the ages have been hard at work planting and watering and we honor them and remember them for all they have done to bring us to where we are today. So, as we continue the legacy of planting and watering we can be assured that God is with us bringing about growth.

Part of the purpose of the church is the common purpose of planting and watering. We are in the business of sharing the love of God and allowing for opportunities to grow in faith and love.

Within these walls in worship we gather, we pray and support, we fellowship, we strengthen each other’s faith, we teach, we serve, all in the spirit of the love of Christ. Whether we are working together within this church or in the community with several churches we serve a common purpose.

Sanctuary French Reformed Church Autun, France

A few years ago, around 130-202 AD there lived a man. Ok, so it was a little more than a few years ago. Irenaeus was a Bishop in Lyon, France. It was during the time of the martyrdom taking place in the amphitheaters there. Christians in this city really did suffer persecution. Irenaeus of Lyon was a source of strength and courage for the believers. He counseled believers saying, “take refuge in the church; drink its milk, be fed by the Scriptures of the Lord.” He said, “the church has been planted in the world as a paradise.” The church was an oasis for the believers. A place where they could gather in security and sacredness from a dark and chaotic world. The church in the early century in Lyon was a haven and believers were eager to there.

May the churches in this current world be a refuge, a paradise, an oasis, a sacred safe space for all of God’s people.

May we be filled with the Spirit as God’s servants, working together as God’s field, God’s building. Amen.

Resources: Feasting on the Word. 

More Salt, Please

Sermon Matthew 5:13-20 February 5, 2017 Ordinary Time-communion at NMPC

More Salt, Please

As you heard in the children’s sermon, salt does a lot more than make our French fries taste great.

Salt makes colors pop, softens hide to make leather and is an essential ingredient in the production of plastics.

Now I’m sure when Jesus was sitting on the hillside sharing his thoughts with the crowd the idea of plastic toys and products was nowhere in his imagination.

But, truly salt is an essential component of life.

In the times before refrigeration salt preserved meats and lengthened the shelf life of many products.

Salt was so valuable that some people were even paid with it.

But, today, who cares about salt and light and the Law anyway?

Perhaps what’s most intriguing is that Jesus isn’t just having a nice conversation with the people on the hill to make them feel good.

His words are quite provocative.

His words were more than words of instruction;

                                                                they were and still are today a challenge, a call!

Dare we get up today and take God’s Law seriously enough that we will enact it in our every breath?

For Jesus says, “whoever does the Law and teaches others to do the same, they will be called great in heaven.”

So, then do we even know the Law to teach it?

Perhaps some of us still remember the ten commandments which we were taught in grade school Sunday school. Hmmm…let’s see if we can recite a few?

Oh yes,

1) I am the Lord thy god, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

2) Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

4) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

5) Honor thy father and thy mother.

6) Thou shalt not murder.

7) Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8) Thou shalt not steal.

9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

10) Thou shalt not covet anything that belongs to thy neighbor.

These were the first ten of 613 laws of Judaism. But Jesus also said this about the commandments: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. — Matthew 22:35-40.

The easy way to remember this commandment from Jesus is to think of the cross. The cross has a vertical bar and a horizontal bar. The vertical bar relates to our relationship with God. It our understanding that we are to love God with our heart, soul and mind. The horizontal bar reminds us of our relationship with others and the world. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. SO, if we can’t remember the ten, we can easily remember the two.

In order to fulfill the fullness of the Law it appears, according to Jesus, that we have to begin with loving God and end with loving our neighbor.

That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?

Well, if only I knew your neighbor, you might be thinking.

Especially today being the Super Bowl you might have a split household on which team you will be rooting for-this could be a great challenge in living out the love your neighbor rule…

And isn’t it a gift to know that we can share the couch with friends of different teams and at the end of the game have our friendships intact. We can certainly be the same in our differences in many more things.

The greatest challenge I see with this call of Jesus in today’s terms,

is

how do I live a life that has the powerful, penetrating, preserving, and particular flavor of God’s kingdom’s good news?

Since salt is a penetrating, preserving, and has a particular flavor-how is God calling us to live our salty lives?

It makes me question what living like that looks like for me.

Does it mean marching in the streets,

or does it mean being at home knitting prayer shawls,

does it mean sending cards to soldiers overseas,

does it mean going to town council meetings,

does it mean volunteering in the schools?

I believe that God has a unique call on each of us.

God know who and how we are

and in that context God gives a job to do for the kingdom.

God might be asking us to just be present with someone who needs love.

And that is quite a heavenly task,

to join hands with someone and give them all your love.

Yes, God has something for each us in the midst of what we are already doing to bring a ‘pop’ of color to it and a ray of light.

Perhaps, all of these begins with a basic knowledge of what Jesus teaches us in the Bible. I would like to suggest that the good news that Jesus preaches is the news we should take some time to learn in the form of Bible study and reading of Scripture.

Old and New Testament.

In doing so we can get the flavor of God’s Word into our system and then shine forth with the light of the God we worship.

A second way that we can become the zesty salty folks (no not salty dogs-although some of you may prefer that), is to open our hearts to the practice of prayer. 

The more read and learn about Jesus,

the more we realize he was in communication with God as often as possible.

If we could begin our day and end it in prayer that would be a good start.

One of the joys of being around the elders of this church is their ability to pray without fear. They have provide an example of simple words spoken from the heart to God.

In choir we ask that someone say a prayer before we leave.

In the moment we hear such things as, “Lord thank you for getting us to hit the right notes in practice and help us do the same on Sunday.”

 Practice praying at mealtime if you don’t already do so.

Being grateful for the food before us helps us to then carry a grateful attitude toward other areas of our life.

As we pray for our meals we set an example for those who join us at the table of our home. This act is a simple way to share the good news of the kingdom.

Finally becoming salt and light and living the fullness of the Law in this day and time means answering the call of God for each of us.

The challenge is not for each us to be alike.

The challenge and the call is to be aware of God’s claim on us as God’s own and to live as God’s has uniquely called each of us.

Listen to your heart, for God is speaking to you there.

Listen to your neighbor for God is calling you to serve there.

Listen to your world for God is calling you to shine bright in it.

We are Christ’s body, his call to us is to be nourished by his Word,

to be strengthened by his love in prayer,

and to be made strong by his truth in service.

SO, in my prayer to Jesus, I’m asking him for more salt please.

Amen.