The Return Home

 

Sermon Luke 2:36-39 December 27, 2020 Christmas 1

The Return Home

It’s hard to imagine a life as a widow for more of your life than the years being married. But, it happens. It happens more than we realize. Anna is a blessing story for us. Her short entrance into the story at the birth of Jesus causes us to pay attention.

A woman whose life did not go as she planned ends up living her life at the Temple serving God day and night. I’m assuming that the Temple offered her a home. The requirement under the Law is that all widows and orphans are to be taken care of as part of the ministry and commitment to God. Usually it is the family responsible and then if there is no family to speak of it becomes the responsibility of the faith community. This is why we can assume that Anna had no family. We can also assume that she was respected and well liked because she was known in the Temple. The words spoken about her are quite positive.  

Just like Simeon she had been praying in the Temple waiting for the coming of the Messiah. And just like Simeon the Spirit of God revealed to her that Jesus, the baby, was the Savior of the nations. It’s also interesting to note that her lineage is important enough to Luke for him to mark it down for the readers. She was the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. Asher means happy. Asher is the eighth son of Jacob and therefore the eighth tribe of Israel. This tribe ended up with the land North and west along the sea between Sidon and Helkath. Tyre was also located within the land of the tribe of Asher. I’m sure the name of her father and the name of her tribe was important to the readers for the credibility of the testimony of Anna to the world.

Luke pays attention to the details  that matter for the telling of the story of Jesus. He wants to make sure he has documented everything that will make folks tune their ears and their hearts to the saving story of Jesus.

What details of your story around this Christmas with Jesus are important for you to document for future readers to understand how this Christmas was different? How has this year with Jesus at the manger made an impact on you and your family? It is often in the tiny details that the Spirit makes us aware of what we need in our life to change our life and be on the road of continued growth in Christ our Lord.

In this last verse of chapter two (39) we learn that Mary, Joseph and Jesus headed home to Galilee where he would grow up from a baby into a young boy and into a man.

Everyone headed home.

The shepherds, the wisemen, all those who had gone to the different cities for the census, they all returned to their homes. They returned to the ordinary of their lives.

Perhaps, we need that reminder. Return home. You see we have a need for stability. We have a need for normalcy. We have a need to know that everything will turn out right. While the fanfare of the celebrations are great. And this year even that has been challenging. We still did our best to make a big deal about Christmas. I’m not sure if you have already put away all of your decorations, gifts, put the trash out on the road, or if your still gazing in wonder at your beautiful tree and the glowing fireplace, and the adorable Santas and nativities? Either way, the question is, what next?

Simeon in his, what next plans, let us know his plans. He could now go and rest his weary body and transition from this life to the next. He could do this in peace because his dreams and promises had been fulfilled. Anna, in her what next plans, could transition from preaching about the Savior who was to come, she could praise the Savior who has come.

Christmas and Easter are life altering moments for people of faith.

We approach these church events every year already knowing what to expect.

Yet, every year we also anticipate the surprise of the experience of Christmas and Easter as if for the first time.

We reach into the recesses of our memories and

search for that moment in our life when

the love of Christ appeared to us and made sense.

We reach back and we try to remember

our first church experiences

when we paid attention.

When we listened to the readings and

we remembered them so well we could recite them with the reader.

Treasured moments.

We are moved emotionally, spiritually, in a way forward in our faith and in our growth of love. And each year we move in the direction that draws us closer to God and family. And when the moment is over, we return home.

Returning home is where the new experiences occur.

By returning home we

allow the sacred moments to

enter into the ordinary of our life.

As we all return home at the end of this season we have the opportunity to document the things that mattered.

We document them for how we responded to an important event in the time of our cycle of life.

I think its pretty amazing how we celebrate the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus.

Each year we are a year older, yet the story itself is 2000 years old.

The story doesn’t change but we change and grow with it.

 

So, today, before the flashes of those special moments of this year are gone, write them down.

Write down the words that were exchanged.

Write down how you communicated through the computer.

Write down how you sat around a firepit to sing of the Savior instead of in a heated sanctuary.

These little memories may serve well in the future in ways we least expect.

 

We do not hear about Jesus again in scripture until he is twelve years old. And then it is just a glimpse. The next time we hear about him is as he enters the ministry God has sent him for. The people who witnessed the blessing of our Savior at his birth, were able to return to their ordinary lives filled with hope.

They were renewed in faith, love, and certainty that God loved them. It’s there for us too, to carry the certainty of our faith into the days ahead. God’s love for us is from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.

 Written copyright material of Monica Gould December 27, 2020. Not to be duplicated without permission from author.

Many are Called

 

Sermon Matthew 22:1-14 October 11, 2020

Many are Called

We used to think hosting birthday parties and banquets was challenging figuring out how to invite people and where to seat them and if we invited enough or the right people. We used to fret over the feelings of everyone involved worried that someone would feel left out or we would lose funding if we didn’t seat the right people next to each other.

Parties and banquets in the days of covid have possibly been as turbulent as this allegory given to us by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew.

We have this story for us about a king and his desire to host a fabulous party. 

This is a striking story told by Jesus according to Boring’s commentary in NIB, “in which all invited guests to a dinner party refuse to come at the last minute, so the host rounds up people from the street to come who find themselves at a party they had never dreamed of coming to.”

This parable is the climax of a three parable set. First the parable of the two sons, then the tenants in the vineyard and now this king and his banquet. This is a parable of instruction in the early church.

It’s a message for those who have answered the invitation to the grace given through Jesus Christ. It’s a reminder of the cost and the hardships that those who choose Jesus will have to face.

In the early church the truth of accepting the life as a follower of Christ was to risk one’s life. There was no doubt that the life of the people post destruction of Jerusalem was turbulent, confusing, full of distrust, difficulties, an upheaval of religion, it was scary!

Remember the gospel of Matthew was written after 70 AD, after the destruction of the Temple.

The Jews had no central place for faith.

And Christians were just beginning to figure out their identity.

Life was hard.

Folks had trouble figuring out who to trust and where to go. 

Sometimes in harsh stories like this it’s troubling to find the message of the love of Jesus.

Yet, it begins with overt hospitality.

The king wants people to come to a party that celebrates his son!!

What a gift!

A wonderful opportunity is laid out for many to come and be in the presence of the Father and the Son.

And at the last minute his guests refuse.

And at the second invitation the guests treat the messengers of the invitation in the same manner the prophets of the Old Testament were treated as well as the early church missionaries,

they were killed for brining good news,

they were killed for bringing the truth.

 

This story presents a strong indictment to those of us who read it even centuries later.

Even though this was written to a specific group of people in a specific time during a specific traumatic historical period, it has perhaps, the possibility to place before us this question. “How might we come to acknowledge specific things in our lives that might indict us?” (Working Preacher)

The truth is that a king who loves his son wants to celebrate his joy with everyone.

How often have we hoped to share our joys with others only to be rejected?

Our heavenly Father not only wants to celebrate his son with everyone

but wants us to receive this gift and then go out and live it.

Notice how he sends his messengers into the streets to invite everyone to come-so similar to the Great commission we will read in Matthew 28.  

How do we receive the invitation from God to come to the banquet?

The invitation is always there and yet, it is more often rejected than it is received.

In the 10 commandments we hear in the very first commandments that describes our God “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.” It is no wonder that the Matthew allegory shows an enraged God of the OT carrying out wrath at the refusal of his people to love him in return.

It begs the question for we the people of the new covenant of God’s love in Jesus Christ, how do we embrace our accountability to the love freely given to us?

Will we disregard the invitation with arrogance?

Will we reject the hospitality of our Lord?

Will we refuse to be clothed in Christ?

Even though all sinners and saints have entered into the house of the king, there is one who still refuses to receive the gift of identity in Christ and sits there in disdain in the kings own home mocking him by not donning the robe of his child.

And so the king has no choice but to throw out the one who mocks him.

One who mocks,

one who refuses to be identified with the son

cannot serve the king

for the father and the son are one.

 

You see, friends, many are called!

From the beginning of creation God has called us.

God has never given us the choice.

God has proclaimed, “You shall be my people.”

And again, in Jesus Christ God proclaimed, “From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

 We are not our own.

God has claimed us with a life of purpose. We have a responsibility.

It is time to accept the truth that many are called.

It is time to accept the truth that being called is to be loved.

It is time to accept the truth that you are one of the many that have been called.

Put on the clothes of Christ.

Accept him and celebrate him at the banquet with the Father.

In these days of covid we’ve found some fabulous ways to celebrate our Lord with-drive by birthdays, outdoor worship, virtual communion, painting work days, video Sunday school.

God has not stopped calling many, let us accept his invitation with our whole lives.

Let us sing the new song of joy and let us serve with love. Amen.

Rev. Monica Gould 

Resources: NIB Eugene Boring; Working Preacher Matthew Skinner; Feasting on the Word Year A

Let Love be Genuine

 Sermon Romans 12:9-21 August 30, 2020 Ordinary Time

Let Love be Genuine

The words of our opening hymn this morning; “Though I may speak with bravest fire, and have the gift to all inspire, and have not love, my words are vain; as sounding brass, and hopeless gain”, are taken from the love chapter written by Paul to the Corinthian church. It is found again in this chapter to the Roman church as we just heard it.

What’s the big deal about love? 

It’s mushy, 

it’s emotional, 

it’s embarrassing, 

it’s scary, 

it’s elusive, 

it’s too hard, 

it has no place in real life.  or does it? 

Yet, in our Bible from Genesis to Revelation the Judeo Christian premise for life is love. It shows up in our creation the, ten commandments, the shema Deuteronomy 6:5 , in Micah 6:8, in the words of the prophets, and in the incarnation of the greatest love of all in Jesus Christ.

So what’s the big deal about humans not being able to really live a life of love for one another? 

It seems as long as God has been calling us to love one another, we have been at war with one another. 

You know the drill, parents are constantly trying to teach the kids to be kind:

‘please don’t beat up your brother, 

he’s got to have a clean face for school pictures.’ 

‘please stop taking the heads of your sister’s Barbie dolls, 

she really likes to have them in one piece.’ 

Teaching love, living love, and being an example of love is one of our greatest challenges. Trying to be loving to the person who just took your parking space in the rush to get toilet paper these past few months has been an impossible task.

But, Paul isn’t joking here. 

He is trying to build up the congregation with hope and wonder and sheer courage. 

Because it’s in the most difficult times when genuine love is put to the test. 

I’m not talking about our personal battles and hardships. 

I’m talking about our collective challenges as a church 

to work together in love and together demonstrate love 

to those beyond the circle of the church.

 

Because how we live our lives individually 

is how we are looked upon collectively.

We all have meltdowns and anger outbursts, but those are the exceptions. Our calling according to Paul is our overall example of faith.

    The letter to the Roman church was written around 54 to 58 AD. It was written twenty years     before the fall of Jerusalem. It was written after Claudius had expelled the Jews from Rome     and Nero had allowed them to return. Paul is working to have the diversity of the church work together in a manner that they are able to set the example what living out the love of Christ looks like. They were a foreign lot these new Christians throughout the world, Jews, Greeks, white skin, brown, and black skin, rich, poor, and in between, all finding their place in the love of Jesus now becoming the church.

So, now Paul is not only telling them they need to get along, 

but they also need to have regard for their enemy! 

Showing love to them means bringing drink to them and learning how to talk to them. 

It means taking a sandwich to the one you really can’t stand because they support political and social ideals you don’t. 

Paul tells the church to get brave and head straight into trouble by offering a blessing to the people who have tried to hurt them. 

He says go and bless those who persecute you and mock you and take away the ones you love. The most incomprehensible act we’ve witnessed in recent years are the ones of two churches. In 2006 11 children were shot and five died at an Amish school in Lancaster PA. In hours from this tragedy the families of the children and the whole Amish community gathered to forgive the shooter-what unfolded was the amazing story of Amish grace and forgiveness.

Then in Charleston in 2015 a gunman walked into a church attended Bible study leaned the names of the people there and then stood up and shot them dead. Nine people died at the hands of a ruthless, horrible human who had no respect for the life of others. And yet, the people of the church chose to live according to the words of Paul. They met their persecutor and forgave the one who murdered their children, their family members. 

This is probably the hardest kind of love living that Christians are called to live.

Much of what people have against those who claim to be Christians is the hate they hear them spewing at others. Somehow there is an indignant righteousness that lauds superiority of belief over others. 

Jesus went to his death on the cross for us out of love. 

Can’t we show at least a little love for others? 

If we don’t even try, we are mocking our Lord who brought the love of all humanity into our world.

It is really clear that genuine love requires an enormous capacity to forgive. 

It is a powerful thing to be on the receiving end of forgiveness. 

It’s a moment when the story of Jesus is no longer a story but an all inhabiting invasion of overwhelming love, indescribable love.

We are turning a corner this month.

Our children are headed off to school.

We have been in seclusion for six months and we are slowly emerging as we find safe spaces and places to go. We are navigating the chance to be face to face with those we have missed so very much. We are trusting our schools and our leaders as they seek to reengage us in life in a manner that keeps us out of harms way. Even the families choosing 100% virtual school or homeschool are venturing out into an unknown world.

I believe Paul has a few words for us in this second half of chapter twelve to challenge us in living out our faith. 

The church is in a new way. 

The church is no longer the way it used to be and there is no going back. There is no going back because it is and has always been going forward. 

The church is always the church of Jesus Christ.

Paul was giving hope to the people of Rome. 

I honestly believe verse twelve is our go to verse for then and for now and for the future. 

Please consider memorizing it. “ Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” 

What a blessing to hear these words in times of great sadness, 

in times of great difficulty, 

in times of great frustration. 

If we are struck down with cancer, 

or a miscarriage, 

or a stroke, 

or the loss of a lifelong partner, 

or the loss of work, or the loss of friends, 

or the loss of togetherness, 

or the coronoa virus, 

or the devastation of a hurricane, 

or the loss of a daily moment of snuggles and hugs; 

this stand alone verse is there to get us through absolutely everything of this world that comes our way. It is the truth for our very being.

All these verses have hope built in for us today. So, let me run through the list of 10 for you today. Pay attention. Don’t nap there at home or here in those pews. As we adopt these hope words and ways the world won’t seem so scary. We’ve got this because God’s got us.  God grants us wisdom and courage to go forth and do the work of love. Here are our marching orders:

1. Love will always do what is good. 

2. Lead the way. Laziness is not allowed. 

3. Keep your heart light shining. 

4. Remember who you serve. 

5. Well, you know…live with hope, patience, and prayer. 

6. Risk being open to others. 

7. Superiority has no place. Be a blessing. 

8. No getting even; no matter how bad you want to. 

9. We all want justice. Do so without denigrating others. 

10. All people have value even in the face of unjust authority. Trust to continue to do the good that Jesus calls us to do.

Finally, by forcing interaction with our enemies, even those enemies in our own heart, we are offering redemption in the act, both for the enemy, and for the giver.

We can trust that God will grant us all we need as we face the next hours ahead of us. Delight in the love of the Lord. Let love be genuine. Go out in joy! Amen.

Resources: NIB Romans N.T. Wright; Working Preacher Romans 2020 Israel Kamudzandu, sermon 2017 notes Monica Gould

 

Choose Your Battles Well

 

Sermon Matthew 15:21-28 August 15, 2020 Ordinary Time

Choose Your Battles Well

Relationships require an ability to communicate.

They also require an understanding of mutuality.

And relationships require some sort of ability for forgiveness.

How do I know this?

 

Well, it’s one of the essentials of our faith.

Whether we adhere to the faith of the Old Testament through the Torah, the ten commandments, and the shema from Deuteronomy 6:8 ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might’, or from the New testament where Jesus added to Deuteronomy 6:8, ‘your neighbor as yourself’; or Paul in Corinthians that we are ‘the body of Christ’.

 

All of these words from Scripture point to the mercy and love of God.

All of these verses point to the fact that relationships require mercy.

This can be the most challenging news for how we interact with each other as a parent, a spouse, a child, a neighbor, a friend, or a stranger.

 

When my first child came along, I was determined to make sure everything I did as a parent would be the correct way of parenting. I was worried about what people thought of me more than how my relationship with my child unfolded. By the time my third child came along I didn’t care what people thought and cared only about how we all got along. It became necessary for me to take the attitude, ‘choose your battles well’ if I wanted to get through seeing the kids into adulthood. So, when my children played in the playroom and didn’t clean up, I decided that was less important than making sure they ate well, or took a bath, or did their homework, or came with us to church. I’ll never forget being fussed  at by parents at church when my daughter decided she was going to dye her hair every color she could imagine. I remember saying to them, ‘I choose my battles and that’s not one of them.’ They were upset with me because I allowed her to demonstrate such a visible expression of herself. Yet, she is an amazing woman. All three of my children survived my style of parenting (at least I think they did). My children chose their battles well too. When they were determined (whether the choice was a good one or not); they stood up for themselves and challenged us to live up to what we professed about our love for them and their right to make choices for themselves. It was hard to watch them when they made choices that brought them sorrow. It was hard for us when we realized we missed crucial signs of anguish. It was hard to learn through one another as we sought to follow God’s word in our lives.

This Scripture passage is an important display of humanity.

It is an important display of Jesus’ humanity.

He is downright rude and crude.

He ignores.

He belittles.

He dismisses the very person who expects the divine to work through him.

 

What kind of example is he setting for his disciples?

What kind of humanity is this divine person showing others?

What point is Matthew, the gospel writer, trying to make by including this for the readers?

It is perhaps a most important set of verses for us to take some time to wrestle with.

It is important for us to recognize how a woman in Scripture chose her battle well.

And it begs the question for us when we should or could or would do the same.

Let’s consider her for a moment.

She is a Canaanite woman. Joshua has just entered her land at the end of the Exodus and claimed it as the Promised Land from God for the children of Israel. She is considered unclean. She is considered foreign. She is considered socially outcast. She is considered outside the boundaries of a true member of God’s household. She has no place among men and especially no place among the religious authorities. The theology and doctrine of her day forbid her from having any value.

She made a conscious choice to approach the One in authority to challenge her right to receive mercy and healing as others had received.

Nothing was going to stop her from appealing to the Son of David.

Nothing was going to stop her from shouting him down and making him honor his own words. Jesus himself had quoted Hosea 6:6 “I desire mercy over sacrifices.”

She was not intimidated by his position.

She knew who he was and expected him to break through the barriers of theology and doctrine and provide for her and heal her daughter.

She turns the tide on Jesus!

 

She initiates her encounter with Jesus.

And she does not do it with finesse,

nor with delicate charm,

nor with wit or fancy,

nor with body language or a dainty wardrobe.

 

She challenges Jesus’ mission through her prophetic shouts.

Her behavior is socially unacceptable.

She violates every norm of her day: she shouts, she speaks to a man, she speaks to a Jew, she demands, she is offensive, she is rude (and so is Jesus), she is in Jesus’ face!

She will not accept that her people are dogs.

Nor will she accept that her people are not children of God eligible for mercy as those Jesus claims to have come for.

 

She makes Jesus alter his actions.

 

In this story we witness Jesus act shockingly toward another.

Mercy is the very thing that Jesus is accusing the religious authorities of lacking.

Now he comes face to face with a challenge of his own.

Can Jesus live up to his claim of mercy in the face of one who is doctrinally marginal?

This Canaanite woman, who does not receive the honor of having her name recorded in biblical history, puts Jesus’ words of mercy to the test of action.

She revealed the length she would go for the salvation of her daughter.

Jesus acted on her behalf as he witnessed her unrelenting faith. His encounter with a foreign woman broke through the barriers and boundaries of theology and doctrine to allow the mercy of God to be fulfilled.

Tuesday August 18, 2020 marks the one hundredth anniversary of the ratification of the 19^th amendment to the constitution of the United States of America allowing women the right to vote.  

                                                                                                        
I wonder if the audacity of the Canaanite woman gave the women of the suffrage movement the same courage to break through boundaries and barriers to bring about the mutuality of all people in their rights including the vote.

Friends, the people who wrote and fought for this constitution went up against an authority to declare what they believed was right. The amendments that follow the Bill of Rights were brought about in the same manner. Alongside our Bibles this should also be an annual read for us as we treasure the rights we have in this nation. Sidebar-let’s consider reading through our Bibles together this year.

I can’t say that the encounters with Jesus will always turn out as we expect.

I can’t say that our encounters with each other will turn out as we expect.

But, as we kneel before our Lord and cry out the ancient phrase, “Lord, in your mercy” we are crying out the words of thousands of years of challenging God to act.

We too challenge God’s divine mercy to intercede on behalf of others.

 

The great faith of others have challenged norms and barriers.

They have shouted prophetic words to challenge doctrines to bring about the ways of mercy and love professed in God’s word.

May God’s people hang on to the power of the Canaanite woman’s ability to choose her battle well. May her ability to shout for mercy when mercy was required be the impetus for us.

Relationships are worth fighting for.

Learning how to choose battles well for mercy and love for the sake of others is key to who we are as people of faith.

It is up to us to seek God’s Kingdom.

It is up to us to hear God’s voice and follow as we are summoned.

It is up to us to challenge doctrines and theology in the light of mercy and love.

It is up to us to go onward, we are not divided, all one body we, one in hope and charity-yes, mercy.

May we be challenged on our assumptions of faith. May we live with such great faith that we can take the initiative to encounter Jesus and together turn the tide for mercy and love. Amen.

 

Resources: NIB Matthew, Eugene Boring; Feasting on the Word Year A, Jae Won Lee; Feasting on the Word Year A, Iwan Russell-Jones.

Sermon belongs to Monica Gould. 

Scattering Seed

Sermon Matthew 13:1-23 (1-9&18-23) July 12, 2020 Communion

Scattering Seed

We are blessed people.

We are blessed people of God.

We are blessed people of God’s creation!

We have been given creativity as a gift in human nature. We have been given the opportunity to be curious, to discover, to learn, to find pleasure, and to flourish in our whole being.

When we learn about the sower who scatters the seed,

we can imagine how broad and how wide

the seed is thrown in the air

catching on to the breeze,

being carried far beyond the sower’s reach

and then slowly settling along

the various places as the breeze settles.

It’s a wonderful image of the power of God’s hand scattering goodness, good seeds, good news, good things across the fields of life.

We know its important that this parable is one of the many parables of Jesus that we find in more than one gospel account of his life and words. This parable is so simple to turn into children’s ministry programs, Sunday school lessons, and plays and songs. As it is read and heard it is often simplified into basic points of faith and salvation. Matthew’s gospel focus’ the parable on the fate of the seeds and in the interpretation the hearer’s understanding.

Like a painting or a poem, we come to it each time with new experiences in our lenses of life and we see and hear new things that nourish us and offer us fresh renewed joy and hope.

We need fresh joy and hope.

 The truth is we all had hoped we could be on with our lives by now. That we could come to church in a different way. We had all hoped that this way we are living could have passed us and we could be on airplanes, at beach houses, running back and forth to sporting, fishing, music and theater events. And yet, here we have arrived at July and there seems no end in sight to the struggle we are all facing. Everywhere we turn we realize the simple things are harder. The things we took for granted in our daily routine require more effort.

We are tired.

We are really tired.

We are wondering where everyone has gone.

We are alone, still living safer at home with shelter in place conditions. Our circle of contact has diminished to just a few.

We hear the words of Jesus to refresh our souls with a story about goodness thrown to the wind.

There are confetti bombs sold in the stores and I’ve watched several videos where graduation, birthdays, and other major life changing events have been celebrated. People have had such great creativity! During this pandemic when contact of hugs and being close together hasn’t been possible people have found other ways to spread goodness and good cheer. From car windows or from across the street they have taken the confetti bomb and let it blast in the air and thousands of pieces of colored paper are carried by the air to offer joy and congratulations.

When I see those things I think of the scattering of the seeds of the good news of Jesus.

It is these efforts of commitment that encourage us each day as we wake up and wonder how we will approach the newness of another day.

We do our best scattering the seeds as far as they can go to spread wonder and joy.

We realize not everyone is in the mood to hear another story about Jesus’ love.

We realize that we all get distracted by the real struggle of life and our ears are not focused on good news. They are focused on news reports and local gossip, on memes, and sarcasm.

But, we are also distracted by very important things too.

Our worries take over our life as our ears are focused on listening to the latest report on how to educate our children or when will our general practitioners start seeing patients again.

The ground around us is hardened and parched.

We have to dig harder than we have before and

we beg for rain to soften the soil just a bit

so the good seeds have a chance to make it.

We hope that if we are not able to be scattering the seeds of good news and kindness perhaps there is someone else who can be scattering the seeds our way.

 

Because, everyday we realize that evil continues to lurk at the door to steal away what morsel of joy descends our way. The fear of what if and what next withers away our generosity. The world of chaos seeks to squeeze our courage from us.

We learn from this story that the seed comes in contact with good soil and

with time,

with time,

it grows and grows and yields an enormous harvest of finest quality.

Perhaps today, where we can be fed and nourished by God’s word.

As we work the soils and struggle through this never-ending time, we won’t give up.

We’ll keep scattering goodness.

We’ll keep insisting on blasting out God’s love.

Because even during this time;

even when we’re so tired

even when we’re so worn out and done,

we discover the heartwarming stories;

the ones that give us courage and nourish our souls; and we can say Lord, one more day, we can do this, we will continue to spread the seeds.

It’s the simple things that we discover the goodness of God. We will continue to spread the seeds and do our part.

A grandson required to come home from college in March now sits at table with his grandfather on a Sunday and asks him if he can keep doing this.

A child who found a way to be a helper at home by just emptying the dishwasher.

Learning that in the hard times there is a harvest of good.

How we rejoice over the time we have spent with our mother and the laughter shared even though she missed being home.

Today the fruit of the harvest is the nourishment of God’s word through the sacrament of the Lord’s supper. The seeds of goodness are spread across tables everywhere as we all partake together as we reap the bountiful harvest of our unity in the body of Christ. We have the strength to continue. Living bread. Amen.

Resources: NIB Matthew, Working Preacher Matthew 2020 post; Rev. Steve Doan. 

Law of Liberty

Sermon James 1:17-25 July 5, 2020 Independence Day Celebration

Law of Liberty

Our reading today comes from the epistle James. Eusebius in the 4^th century and Martin Luther in the 16^th century wondered how this letter ever made it into the canon of the New Testament. It is here and it has some things of interest for we the people of the 21^st century.

James, you might say, is the New Testament version of wisdom literature.

It is much like Proverbs in the way that it is full of nuggets of wisdom

given to aid the way of life.

James appears to lack order or structure.

The letter rarely mentions Jesus, just twice in the whole letter.

And seems at first glance to contradict the words of grace that Paul teaches in Romans.

This first chapter sets the tone for all those dos and don’ts that follow.

It establishes the goodness of God and where all good things come from and it establishes the purpose of religion.

Every generous act of giving comes from God.

Every perfect gift comes from above.

This means ALL good acts come from God,

not just some good things

and not just Christian good things.

But all acts of kindness and love.

All acts of mercy, or advocacy, or friendship,

or support.

Acts that put the other person first.

Acts that seek to lift up another and show grace.

If this is how the light from the Father shines down from heaven then we don’t have to spin our wheels judging the worth of the one who is seeking to do good for the world.

When I think of the fathers of this nation and

their incomprehensible call for righteousness and justice,

for the rule of law and truth,

for the fairness of economy

and the truth of religious freedom,

and the desire for autonomy,

I think of the words from the epistle of James.

Their expectations were that moral justice

and faithfulness to truth would be carried out

with action that demonstrated those values.

What good is a moral truth or a code of law if it is not witnessed in the behavior of those who claim it?

Even though James speaks little of grace he exhorts disciples to the professed faith.

He recognizes that moral ethics mean nothing if one’s life doesn’t conform to it.

According to James the freedom of our faith in Christ calls us to a higher calling of life.

A person who gazes on the perfect law of liberty offered through Christ and the ancient Torah is able to turn faith into deeds.

It is these gifts from God: law, liberty in Christ, and God’s word of truth that come together in perfect harmony. It is in these things we discover freedom according to James.

Freedom is essential in our nation’s law of liberty.

But, as we witness in God’s word,

freedom comes with a higher calling,

a higher responsibility,

a reckoning of how we treat our brothers and sisters.

This story of freedom was highlighted in the church edition of Newsletter/newsletter to which we subscribe. “In 2000, Cornealious Anderson was sentenced to 13 years for robbery. The 23-year-old was released on bail and told to await orders to show up to prison. But due to a clerical error, those orders never came. Some people might have taken advantage of such freedom and committed more crimes. But Anderson started a business, coached youth football and volunteered at church, earning respect in his community.
Thirteen years later, when Missouri officials discovered the error and put Anderson behind bars, an online petition called for his release. A judge agreed that Anderson was a changed man and, again, he was freed.

What would we do with such freedom? What do we do with the freedom God grants us despite our sin, and with the freedoms we celebrate on July 4?

Perhaps, Anderson’s example helps us learn to use our freedoms — social and spiritual — to serve others.”

The wisdom literature from James is a challenge to the new disciples in the dispersion of the people of faith throughout the new regions from Judea to Rome.

The question for them and for us today is:

“Do we really think this is relevant for us in our time?”

and “Do we think we too should act and think this way?”

We have a responsibility to put our feet and our voice to our faith.

Be doers of the word  and not merely hearers, James writes.

Perhaps, this is where we as Christians suffer.

We have the freedom in our faith to follow different ideological ideas as they relate to politics and economics, health and welfare.

This of course is thanks to our nation’s forefathers who decreed the freedoms of expression and the freedoms of beliefs.

Tolerance was a huge factor of the beginnings of our nation as well.

Many colonies subjected their citizens to particular religions and punished those who did adhere to the ‘right’ religion.

But, we had people like William Penn and Francis Makemie who gave their lives to the freedoms we now take for granted.

As Christians, Paul teaches the unity of faith, the like-mindedness in Christ, not as a rule to all think the same about every issue or every detail of life.

But, to struggle and work together to understand one another.

The struggle of conversation, debate, and ‘sorting through the details’, is where the unity of Christ comes in.

We pray together for discernment.

We believe the Holy Spirit will aid our thoughts.

We trust that the wisdom of God’s truth will emerge as we wrestle together about difficult topics.

The point of faith isn’t to create puppets who follow along with the masses.

The point of faith is to be united so closely with Christ that every action, every thought is from the grace brought upon us from the lights of heaven.

James recommends we: Be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to anger.

We all hope for a friend who can hear all that we have to say and really listen.

We all have let words slip out that we really didn’t want those thoughts to leave our brain.

We have all made a thoughtless comment and then regretted later.

We are all prone to the wickedness that can come from letting the desires of our egos or the neglect of our manners get in the way.

I think that’s why the words from James’ letter strike a nerve.

It’s hard work to be good all the time and it’s really hard work to be gracious and kind in a world that is often harsh.

The word of truth, every good and perfect gift isn’t restricted to Sunday.

This new birth as God’s first fruits is to be carried out Monday through Sunday.

The most important days of the week are those where we are engaged with the grace that God has called us to live out.

As we are all in different stages of reopening, emerging, or recognizing the need to remain secluded, this is the best time to reestablish the commitment we made to Christ.

Do we really believe in Jesus as the Lord of our life? 

Can we accept his love for us. Are we willing to give grace a go in our life.

Now is the time to open our heart and just whisper to God and say yes.

We can live our faith behind our closed doors.

We can recognize the various opinions of how to live with this virus. We can accept each person’s decision.

We can love each other in our range of ideals about policy and politics.

These are serious times.

These are times where brother will be put against brother.

It’s up to us to recognize the Lord of love in their choices of each brother and sister.

It is in our acts of the truth of grace that we show honor and respect to each human being.

Let us declare our faith.

Let us claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior and live our lives to that end.

We live in nation in which we have many freedoms.

Let us declare they belong to us all and lift up the weak and helpless and love the poor and the widows.

And together sing:

This is my prayer, O God of all earth’s kingdoms. Your kingdom come; on earth your

will be done. Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him. And hearts united learn to live as one. So hear my prayer, O God of all the nations. Myself I give you; let your will be done.

Amen.

Resources: NIB James by Luke Timothy Johnson; Harper Collins Bible Commentary; Newsletter/newsletter; excerpts from sermon 2012 Monica Gould