Sermon; Epiphany 1C; Baptism of Our Lord

I have redeemed you.  I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. – Is. 43:1-2

On the First Sunday after the Epiphany, we commemorate the baptism of Jesus.  This is also one of the days “especially appropriate for baptisms,” and is one of the days we renew our own baptismal vows.  We renew our vows because it is too easy for us to get caught up in life.  It is too easy for us to forget the promises and vows we have made.

Even though we do this four times a year, we may still ask ourselves, “What is the point of baptism?”

At our baptism we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own for ever.  But don’t we, by our very nature of being created in God’s image, already belong to Christ for ever?  So if we already belong to God, why the need for baptism?

First off, we need to understand that baptism does not generate more godly love.  There is nothing we can do to earn more of God’s love.  As we love our children unconditionally, so, too, does God love us unconditionally.  Our baptism does not cause God to love us more.  An unbaptized child is loved just as much as a baptized child.

What baptism does do, though, is that it grafts a person into the Body of Christ.  Baptism is the adoption process by which a person becomes part of the household of God.  This is the point of baptism – to fully include a person in this household we call the Church.

As a biological or adopted family in the best of circumstances loves, teaches, raises, disciplines, supports, and shapes children to become capable adults, the Church does the same thing.  The Church, in its best form, loves, teaches, raises, disciplines, supports, and shapes us to be faithful followers of Christ.  Baptism places us in a new relationship and we learn to see things as Christ saw them.  At our baptism we make specific vows which we promise to uphold to the best of our ability – to be faithful in worship, to resist evil, to proclaim the good news, to love our neighbors, and to work for justice and respect.

I was in a bar last week having a small conversation about God and church with another patron.  This person basically said, “No offense, but I don’t think I need to sit in church to be with God.  I can be with God when I'm up in the mountains.”  I didn’t disagree.  You can find God in any number of non-church settings.

But what the Church gives you that your solitary mountain experience doesn’t is a community.  Being part of a church community, in the best circumstances, is being in a place of love and support.  It’s a place to learn and grow.  It’s a place to be challenged and comforted.  Jesus didn’t do his ministry alone, and he didn’t send out the apostles alone. 

Community is an important aspect of our faith, and baptism brings us into that community.

Here’s something else about that community:  this community of believers isn’t limited to the here and now.  When we are baptized into the household of God, we are joined with believers through all time and space – those who came before and those who are yet to come.  Through our baptism we are joined with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven.

Ultimately our baptism joins us to God with God’s reconciling mission.  Rather than being simple believers who know God as a loving creator, our baptism charges us with being active partners with God in the faith.  We should be faithful in worship.  We should work for the spread of the good news through our time, talent, and treasure.  We should work for justice, speaking for the voiceless and caring for those in need.

Can a person do all this without being baptized?  Of course.  But baptism makes, or should make, this a priority in our lives.

Baptism is not an end goal or a transaction whereby we pay a fee (baptism) to get to heaven.  Baptism is only the first step of our faith.  It is the foundation on which all we do as disciples rest.  And every so often we need to be reminded of what we are called to do and who we are called to be.

Through Christ, we have been redeemed.  God has called us by name.  When we pass through the waters of baptism, we are assured and sealed that God will be with us always.  So with that knowledge, let us renew our own baptismal vows.

Amen.

Sermon; Christmas II; Matt. 2:1-12

Merry Christmas!  And welcome to the 12^th Day of Christmas.  Today is the day of 12 drummers drumming and 12^th Night Parties – which, by the way, is tonight at 5:00 with a potluck dinner followed by a gift exchange/thievery event.  Tomorrow is the Feast of the Epiphany.

On Christmas we commemorate the birth of Jesus to Mary, a Jewish mother, and Joseph his Jewish guardian, in the Jewish town of Bethlehem.  His birth was announced to a group of Jewish shepherds by angels.

On Epiphany we commemorate the arrival of the wise men.  Scripture tells us that these people were from outside the Jewish community and territory – “from the East.”  We have extrapolated that it took up to two years for them to arrive in Bethlehem based on Herod’s order to kill all male children two-years old and under.  Tradition tells us that they were astrologers (early astronomers) who studied the night sky.  Later they were called kings and given names:  Melchior, king of Persia; Gaspar, king of India; and Balthazar, king of Arabia. 

As pious traditions evolved, the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were also given additional spiritual and theological meaning:  gold for the King of kings; frankincense for the Lord of lords; and myrrh to symbolize both Jesus’ anointing as high priest and in anticipation of his death, as when Nicodemus bought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare the body for burial.

While these traditions and spiritual/theological embellishments may enhance the story for us, they can cloud what is actually there in Scripture:  Joseph is absent; Mary is silent; Jesus does nothing extraordinary for a 2-year old (no speaking in tongues or other miraculous signs).  The star, the gentile strangers, and even Herod are the main characters in the story.

The star is a miracle drawing outsiders into the faith and the embrace of Christ.  The star has been explained as a visible comet or as the conjunction of certain planets or group of stars.  But using science to explain miracles is just as futile as using miracles to explain scientific events – such as creation.

The wise men from the East, those Gentile strangers, are those seeking something deeper and more meaningful than the life they currently know.  They are outsiders who do not know the story of the faith.  They are outsiders who won’t come to the faith by proofs or creeds.  But they are outsiders whose search allows them to reflect on miraculous happenings.

Herod is also a player in this story.  And while all kinds of things have been attributed to him – the personification of Satan the deceiver, a power-driven maniac who only uses religion as a prop to curry favor, or as the connection to the Pharaoh who ordered the deaths of newborn Hebrew boys, he also represents the status quo of the faith.  He represents those who fight change and work to keep things the same as they ever were.

All this – the star, the wise men, Herod – brings me to this question:  “Why do we study Scripture?”  Isn’t one of the reasons we study Scripture, both in various groups and as we use it in worship, to gain insights on how to live in a right relationship with God?

If that’s the case, then we must believe that the words of Scripture have the power to address our lives and our current circumstances.  And if they can do that for us, then they have that same power to address the lives of other people – past, present, and future.  So then Scripture is not simply a collection of ancient stories but the living word of God, active and sharp, judging our thoughts and intentions and instructing us throughout our lives.

So what can Matthew’s story of a star, wise men, and Herod tell us today?

First, keep your eyes open for miraculous stars.  The existence of God cannot be scientifically proven.  Science has explored the vastness of space, delved into the depths of the atom, and looked back to within about 20 minutes of the Big Bang.  Science is very good at telling us the HOW, but it is completely useless in answering WHY.  That’s where faith comes in.

Faith tells me God created.  It tells me God became man.  It speaks of angels and miracles, of love and sacrifice, of bread and wine become body and blood, and of stars that led foreigners to a house in Bethlehem.  What miracles will you see if you are willing to look for them?

Second, the wise men represent all those people not of our faith but who have felt or experienced something that caused them to search.  A vision, a miracle, a coincidence, a well-timed conversation, or whatever, may have given them the impetus to ask questions or begin their own journey of faith.  It may be that the light which shines from this place will lead them here.  It may be that their journey will lead them to bring their own valuable gifts to lay before the Lord.  It may be that you are the star leading someone on a journey of faith.

Finally there is Herod.  And while we aren’t despotic rulers who terrorize and kill anyone who gets in our way, there is something of which we need to be aware:

            After Jesus was born, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem asking,

            “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?”  When King

            Herod heard this, he was frightened . . .

As I said earlier, Herod represents the status quo of the faith.  We could easily become Herod.  When people from the outside, strangers, come into our presence telling us of their faith journey and what brought them to us, we need to work at not being frightened.  We need to work at not killing their excitement or inquisitiveness.  Instead of being frightened by their presence and that they might change the status quo, we need to work at welcoming them, including them, learning from them, and helping them grow.

As we move forward this year, keep in mind these three things:

1.      Actively look for miracles and signs from God;

2.     Be willing to shine the light of God so that it leads people here, be the star;

3.     Do not be afraid of strangers coming into our midst; do not become Herod.

Today is the 12^th Day of Christmas.  Tomorrow is the Feast of the Epiphany.  In these two events, Christmas and Epiphany, God is doing a new thing; do you not perceive it? 

Be not afraid.

Amen.

Sermon; Christmas Eve 2024

Merry Christmas to you all.

First, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that tomorrow is the First Day of Christmas, and the Twelve Days of Christmas run from then until January 5.  You are all invited to join us on January 5 for our Twelfth Night Potluck and Gift Exchange/Thievery Party.  And please, whatever you do, don’t take your Christmas decorations down on Thursday, leave them up all twelve days.  Thank you.

So again, Merry Christmas!

Tonight we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Tonight we sing with choirs of angels, of silent nights, and we join our voices with heaven and nature as all creation proclaims the miracle and mystery of God made man.

A theologian, whom I cannot now remember, once said that God’s greatest miracle wasn’t the Resurrection, it was the Incarnation.  He might be right.  It’s easy for us to imagine the eternal, omnipotent God raising a dead man to life.  It’s easy for us to imagine that same God not only raising a dead man, but to do it in a manner that speaks to a completely new and changed life – not just resuscitation, but Resurrection.  It’s much harder, I think, for us to imagine the eternal, omnipotent God, creator of all that is, seen and unseen, relinquishing all that and submit to becoming a human being.  And not a human being as a fully formed man, but a human being in the form of a helpless, vulnerable, and needy infant.  And yet, God did just that.

We have gathered here to celebrate that miracle.  Because not only is it amazing that the eternal, omnipotent God chose to take the form of a newly-born baby born in less-than-ideal circumstances, but we need to recognize that without the Incarnation there would be no Resurrection.  Without Christmas, there is no Easter.  Today we gather to celebrate the miracle of all miracles – God made man in the person of Jesus.

The Incarnation and Christmas celebration remind us of two things.  The first is that God loves us.  Tonight we are reminded that the eternal, omnipotent God loved us enough to become human so we could have an example of what living in relationship with God truly looks like. 

We no longer have to rely on our imagination or on someone’s interpretation of Scripture to define this God/human relationship.  Now, in the person of Jesus, we have a real life, flesh and blood example of what it means to live in unity with God.

Second, we are also reminded of the various responsibilities with which we are now given.

One responsibility is that of care.  Mary and Joseph were given the responsibility of caring for the infant Jesus.  It was their job to feed and clothe him.  It was their job to shelter and protect him.  It was their job to ensure he was educated.  It was their job to ensure he had a good foundation from which to grow.

Likewise, we who are able have the responsibility to care for those in need.  We need to help ensure people have access to food and clothing.  We need to work to ensure people have access to shelter and healthcare.  We need to ensure all people have access to a good education.  It is our job, as Christians and as society in general, to ensure all people, but especially the vulnerable and those on the margins, have a good foundation from which to grow.

Another responsibility is that of proclamation.  In the gospel story we heard the angels announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.  After seeing the angels, the shepherds went to Bethlehem where they told Mary and Joseph what they themselves had been told.  They then returned to their fields “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.”  Luke doesn’t say this, but the shepherds became the first evangelists telling people of the message they had received.

That responsibility of proclamation now falls to us.  We now have a responsibility to tell people what we have heard and seen here tonight.  Neither the miracle of Christ’s birth nor how we are transformed in the presence of God through our participation and worship are events for which we can keep silent.  It is not only our responsibility to hear the stories, it is also our responsibility to share these stories with others as the shepherds did.

Tonight we gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  We gather to sing beloved hymns and to give thanks for God’s selfless act of becoming human.  But we are also reminded that we are not passive observers to this event.  We are key players in the story.  Like Mary and Joseph cared for the infant Jesus, it is now our responsibility to care for the vulnerable among us.  And like the shepherds who told people what they had heard and seen, it is also our responsibility to share our story of what we have heard and seen.

May these Twelve Days of Christmas fill you with peace, hope, joy, and love, such that you are compelled to follow the good example of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds.

Merry Christmas.

Sermon; Advent 3C; Luke 3:7-18

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent and, according to your bulletin cover, it is the Sunday of Joy.  It's the Sunday of Joy because we pray that God's power will be stirred up and come among us.  It's the Sunday of Joy because in Year A we hear the Magnificat and celebrate Mary and all mothers.  It's the Sunday of Joy because in Year B we hear the restoration of fortunes, that those who go out weeping will come again with joy shouldering their sheaves, and of John the Baptist making straight the way of the Lord.  It's the Sunday of Joy because in Year C, this year, we hear John call the crowd a brood of vipers.  Wait . . . what?  How is being called a brood of vipers joyful?

For that matter, where is the joy in the ax cutting down trees?  Or a winnowing fork that brings in the wheat but burns the chaff with unquenchable fire?  Where is the joy in that?  Where is the good news?  What joy is John bringing with his fire and brimstone preaching?

We have this image of John as a wild man.  We see him living in the wilderness, clothed with camels hair, a leather belt, and eating locusts and wild honey.  He is Charlton Heston screaming, “Repent!”  Or maybe he is Robin Williams in Jumanji with wild hair and long beard.  This wild-man image is reinforced today when John calls the crowd, not just the Pharisees and Sadducees but the whole crowd, a brood of vipers.

Some preachers use this Sunday to berate their congregation.  After all, if John can call people a brood of vipers, then I'm in good company.  But berating people, while occasionally needed, doesn't always proclaim the good news; and John was all about proclaiming the good news.

So how are these comments from John joyful?

Let’s start with, “You brood of vipers!”  A brood is a family of offspring.  Children in a large family are often referred to as a brood.  John wasn't calling the crowd a bunch of vipers, but the offspring of vipers.  The insinuation here is that the people were the offspring of corrupt people and systems that could and would poison those people and systems well into the future. 

John is calling the people of his day to repent of these systemic sins and return to the Lord. 

We see how Jesus deals with systemic sins when he berates the religious leaders for perpetuating systems that took advantage of widows and the poor, when he attacked the lawyers for loading people with heavy burdens to bear but for which they did not lift a finger in relief, and when he overturned the tables in the temple calling it a den of robbers. 

Without berating any of us, we can hold the mirror of John up to ourselves and see that we, too, are a brood of vipers.  We are the offspring of corrupt systems which relied on stolen land, stolen people, and stolen labor to build this country.  We see the corrupt systems of healthcare that put company profits over the well-being of people, and for which we’ve been trained to see as normal.  We see it when people are loaded with heavy burdens that nobody in positions of power are willing to lift a finger to ease, or when the justice system favors a particular race and class, or when financial systems prey upon the poor.  John is calling us today to repent of those systemic sins and to find ways to repair the damage done to others and to creation.  These are the mountains of last week that need to be leveled.

Last week I talked about raising the valleys and lowering the mountains.  This week John arrives to do just that.  He is the voice in the wilderness calling people to account by working to raise the valleys and lower the mountains – to level the playing field and proclaim the good news. 

The question the crowds ask John, and the question we are likely to ask ourselves is this:  “What then should we do?”

His answers to these questions point to the good news that gets lost with his comment about us being a brood of vipers.  “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Do not say we have Abraham as our ancestor.”

Pay attention.  Repentance isn't based on our lineage.  Repentance is based on our actions.  It's based on turning back to God with all our heart, mind, body, and soul.  Do you renounce Satan, the spiritual forces that destroy the work of God, and the evil powers of the world, turning to Jesus Christ?

What does it look like when we do this?  It looks like giving from our abundance to those in need.  Do you have two coats?  Share with those who have none.  How many coats do we really need?  Go, look in your closet and give what you don't need, or what you think you might need “someday,” to those who actually need it today.

Can you afford extra food?  Purchase some for those in need.  We have two baskets in the narthex to collect food and supplies for the Pantry.  What is to prevent us from filling them every Sunday?  Or what is to prevent us from transforming more of Jubilee Hall into a place of free children’s clothes or school supplies?

If you run a business, don't participate in wage theft.  Pay men and women at the same rate.  Don't charge exorbitant interest rates.  If you're a landlord, find ways to return security deposits rather than looking for ways to keep them.  The list of how we can treat people fairly and justly is endless.

Finally, note what John says about the coming of the Messiah:  “He will gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”  Contrary to popular opinion, and to televangelist preachers everywhere, this isn't condemning some people to the fires of hell, but is a recognition that we are all wheat which has the potential to produce good fruit for the kingdom.  It's a recognition that we all have protective layers around us, walls we put up, chaff that surrounds our seed, in an effort to protect ourselves from the harshness of the world around us.  Those walls, those layers, that chaff, will be burned away, leaving the wheat to be gathered into the kingdom.

This is all good news because it goes back to the old adage that it is better to give than to receive.  We give of our abundance so that others may have enough.  We give of ourselves so that others may receive dignity.  This is the leveling that John, Isaiah, and God himself are proclaiming.  This is the change we are called to do to help manifest God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

We may be a brood of vipers, but the good news is that we don't have to become vipers.  The good news is that those past sins do not have to dictate our future.  John is calling us to pay attention to the sins of our past, to those systems and actions which have the potential to poison systems and people well into the future, and to make changes.  He is calling us to repent of those past sins, whether committed by us or by our ancestors, and to turn and follow the Lord.  This is the good news – that there is still time to repent and change how things are done.

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent.  Today is the Sunday of Joy.  Today is joyful because John is pointing us to a new way of being.  Today is joyful because John reminds us that giving is better than receiving, that sharing is better than hoarding, that dignity is better than degradation, and that repentance brings us one step closer to the kingdom.

Let us diligently work to repair the damage done by past generations and current evils so as to bring joy to all of God's people not only in the future, but in the here and now.

Amen.

Sermon; Advent 2C; Luke 3:1-6

Advent is the season of preparing, and last Sunday I discussed that Advent begins at the end.  Today we are at the beginning.  Today we are at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry when we hear Luke refer to John as “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.”  Or, maybe, if this isn’t the actual beginning of Jesus’ ministry, it’s the prelude, because over the next two weeks we will hear stories about John the Baptist and how those stories prepare us for Jesus.

John appeared in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  For us, he is the fulfillment of the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah:  “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

These words from Isaiah and the words that John proclaimed are reflective of God’s overall reversal.

Over and over in Scripture God shows concern for those on the margins and for those whom society discards or intentionally abuses and silences.  Widows, orphans, the poor, and the outcast, God is continually working to elevate and include those whom society won’t.

Everything from Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed because they did not help the poor and needy, to Jesus touching and healing lepers and eating with sinners and tax collectors, to Paul lashing out at the Church in Corinth for ignoring the hungry, to the image of the end of days when it is those who fed, clothed, and cared for those in need who attain eternal life, all this and more shows God concerned with the less fortunate.  We heard it in the Prayer of Hannah.  We hear it in the Magnificat.  It’s in the words of Isaiah, and it’s in the words of John the Baptist.  If we truly believe and proclaim the good news of God in Scripture and in Jesus, then we should be working to follow God’s example and call in caring for those whom God cares for.

Scripture is not a static document, although some people see it that way.  Those who view Scripture as static often use it to oppress individuals and groups of people.  If Scripture were static, we would still have slavery.  If it were static, women would still be property and barred from speaking in church.  If Scripture were static . . . well, you get the idea.

Scripture, though, is the living word of God.  It is living and active.  It contains the seeds of growth.  It recounts the story of God’s relationship with his people.  And it is not something to which we passively listen and then forget.  It should touch us, shape us, and lead us both into a deeper relationship with God and into living a life that reflects the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Advent is the season of preparation.  We prepare for the already in our preparations for the birth of Christ as celebrated in Christmas.  Whether that means putting up decorations, baking Christmas cookies, helping with yesterday’s Surprise You Sale, reading daily devotions, lighting candles, or whatever, we are making preparations for the already.

We are also preparing for the not yet in the coming of Christ at the end of the age.  That, though, is a more . . . fuzzy . . . thing to prepare for.  Christmas always comes on December 25, but we don’t have a date for the not yet.  Christmas has certain things the we use to prepare, but we might not quite know how to prepare for the not yet.  How do we prepare for an event promised but undefined?

For starters, we can recognize that Scripture is not static.  Scripture is not a story with characters locked in time.  Scripture is the living word of God which speaks to us today as it did, and as God did, to the people found within its pages.

What that means, then, is that the words of Isaiah as proclaimed in Scripture and lived out by John the Baptist are not meant solely for them.  It means that those words are meant for us as well.  It means that we are called to proclaim the message that Isaiah and John proclaimed.

It also means we are not only to proclaim it, but that we are to prepare for the coming of the Lord by living into those words and working to make them a reality.

We can prepare for the coming of the Lord by working for, and living into, God’s reversal.

Every valley shall be filled.  When people find themselves at low point in their lives – physical, spiritual, and mental valleys – we can work to fill those valleys with good things.  We can work to ensure they aren’t abandoned but supported and helped up.

Every mountain shall be made low.  People face a variety of obstacles that can seem like mountains in their lives:  everything from food insecurity to unemployment to housing crises and medical expenses.  These are mountains which make the valleys seem even lower.  How can we work to lower those mountains?  How can we help reverse these issues and concerns to help manifest God’s presence?

Raising valleys and lowering mountains just aren’t metaphors for some spiritual pie-in-the-sky – these are real life concerns that God wants to eliminate.  And we are the ones who need to do that work, because the living word of God is speaking to us today.

Finally, if we are preparing for the coming of Christ for only a few, we are missing what Christ is all about.  The raising of valleys and lowering of mountains isn’t for a select few, it’s for everyone.  Another way of saying that is, “liberty and justice for all.”  Because when those valleys are raised and the mountains lowered, all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

In our preparation for the not yet, we need to remember that all means all.  That is what we are preparing for – for the coming of Christ and the salvation of all.

May God’s kingdom be manifest here on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen.

Sermon; Advent 1C 2024; Luke 21:25-36

As I said during the opening announcements, “Happy New Year!”  Today is the First Sunday of Advent, the first day of the year on the liturgical calendar, and the first day of Year C.

Being the first day of the New Year, you would think we would begin at the beginning with our gospel reading.  After all, on New Year’s Day of that other calendar we have a tradition of beginning again or of making fresh starts.  We look ahead and make a resolution or two that this year will be different.  This year we will begin exercising more, reading more, volunteering more, eating healthier, or whatever the case may be that we think will allow us to start fresh.

But on the first day of the Christian new year, we begin at the end, not at the beginning.  Why?  Why, when we think about new years and new beginnings, do we begin at the end?

Today’s gospel passage comes near the end of the Luke during Holy Week.  Once again we hear Jesus preparing his disciples for both his earthly departure and the end times.  While it may not sound like it on the surface, Jesus is giving his disciples a sense of hope in these last days.

A casual reading of this passage might cause some concern or distress.  Signs in the sun, moon, and stars, roaring of seas, and distress among nations confused by it all doesn’t sound pleasant.

But look ahead to Revelation 21:  “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.  And I saw the holy city coming down out of heaven prepared as a bride.”

And look back to Genesis 1:  “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep.  Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

In both looking forward and in looking back, what we see is a new creation.  And in both those times of creation, chaos was present.  What we are seeing and hearing is not simply a vision of chaos and destruction, but a vision of a new creation.  Anytime there is a new creation, there is chaos; the trick is to not get swept away or distressed by the chaos, but to understand that God is doing a new thing and it will be okay – eventually.  It will be messy and chaotic during that transition, but eventually God’s new creation will come and it will be okay.

“Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and know your redemption is drawing near.”  Another way of saying this is that your deliverance, or the time of your rescuing, is drawing near.  To make his point, Jesus tells the parable of the trees.  “As soon as they sprout leaves you know that the summer is near.  So also when you see these things, you know the kingdom of God is near.”

Again, a casual reading of this passage might lead some to conclude that Jesus is speaking only of the redemption of a few.  But that would negate the universality of Christ.  Like the sprouting of leaves mark the beginning of summer for all people, these times and signs mark the beginning of Gods reign for all people.

This redemption Jesus speaks of is a period of transformation, healing, and wholeness for all of creation, and not for just a select few.  We are not being given a private lifeboat that only has room for a few – we are being given a vision and a promise of new life for all.

While Jesus is telling them all this, the disciples are probably wondering, “When will this be?”  In answer to their unasked question, Jesus says, “This generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.”

The word “generation” can mean a generation like we normally think of it – grandparents to parents to children/grandchildren.  It can also mean a group of people born during a specific time period – Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials.  It could also mean the complete age of human history.  The fact of the matter is that we don’t know exactly what Luke meant when he wrote this, other than to say that at some point things will cease to exist as we know it and God’s final reign will begin. 

One quick note about this generation not passing away until all things have taken place.  This is less about a specific time period and more about knowing the “rapture” is a figment of some people’s imagination.  There is nothing in Scripture or in Jesus’ words that indicates believers will be miraculously and magically whisked away to bliss in order to avoid difficult times.  When you see these difficult times, stand up and raise your heads because we will be witnesses in the face of suffering and death.  It won’t be our disappearance in times of suffering that testifies to the presence of God, it will be our presence with others in times of suffering that will offer hope to those needing it.

On this First Sunday of Advent at the beginning of the year, we begin at the end.  Why is that?

It’s because Advent is the season of preparation.  We are preparing for the coming of Christ, in both what was and what is yet to be.  With both Christmas and Jesus’ return, we prepare ourselves.  We prepare ourselves for Christmas with decorations, plans, gifts, meals, and the like.  We prepare ourselves for God’s reign by understanding that the new creation will be preceded by a time of chaos and transition, but living as if the reign of God were already accomplished.

It's because, as with any journey, it helps to know where we’re going.  So instead of starting the New Year off with a resolution about exercise, or diet, or any other general self-improvement resolutions, maybe we should begin at the end.  I want to get to my ideal weight.  I want to reduce my cholesterol.  I want to be THERE, so I will begin preparing in THIS way.

Advent begins with the end because knowing the end result can help us weather the storms of chaos and transition.  It can help us widen our view of how we get there.  And it can help us stay focused in times of uncertainty.

Advent begins with the end because that just might be the best way to prepare.

Amen.

Sermon; Christ the King; 2024; John 18:33-37

Here we are on the Last Sunday after Pentecost, also known as Christ the King Sunday.  On the Church calendar we have come through his birth, Passion, resurrection, ascension, and life in general to end up here where we proclaim Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords.  And while it is good and proper that we acknowledge Christ as King, we have to be careful about the details.  What I mean by that is this:  we need to be careful about not worshiping an idol of Jesus that we’ve made in our image.

Our image of kings has been shaped by what we have seen and learned over time.  From the medieval kings of Europe to Pharaohs, warlords, chieftains, and, yes, even Popes, we have an image of what a king is and how he should act.  Some kings are more tyrannical than others, but ultimately a king has absolute power to rule absolutely, and always does so in his own best interest.

There are those in the world today who would use this view of a king for Jesus.  Christian nationalism and other heresies that promote a manly, muscular Christ who conquers his enemies by force, and always with our help, are on the rise.  These beliefs and movements distort and corrupt the message of Christ, twisting it to serve the sole purpose of feeding their egos and fueling their grasp for worldly power.  The kingly Jesus they want is one who operates like Caesar – crushing enemies and establishing “peace” through forcibly silencing anyone who opposes them.

But that is not the Christ of the gospels.  It is not the Christ of the New Testament.  And it should not be the Christ we proclaim.

The kingdom of Christ, and the reign of Christ the King that we proclaim and that Christ lived into, turns those dominionistic and nationalistic ideas upside down.  Proclaiming Christ as King is not an act of power and control, but a subversive act of love.  We see this not only in the New Testament, but throughout all scripture.

Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, Second Person of the Trinity and coeternal with the Father, came to earth as a helpless, powerless, and vulnerable infant.  John the Baptist refers to him twice as the Lamb of God.  Revelation uses the Lamb as an image of Christ multiple times.  Jesus says he came not to be served, but to serve.  He says he is humble and gentle in spirit.  And most tellingly, when asked directly by Pilate, Jesus says, “My kingdom is not from this world.  If it were from this world, my followers would be fighting for me.”

Christ the King presents us with a very different kind of king from what people normally desire.  He is the God and King of reversals.  We want big, he comes small.  He leads by serving.  He lives through dying.  Last week we read the Prayer of Hannah:

            The bows of the mighty are broken, the feeble gird on strength.

            Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

                        But those who were hungry are fat with spoil.

            The Lord raises up the poor and lifts the needy.

The Song of Mary is a similar prayer/prophecy:

            He has cast down the mighty and lifted up the lowly.

            He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

 The kingdom of God runs counter to the kingdoms and desires of men.

Whereas the kingdoms of men seek to build walls, the kingdom of God is always open.

Whereas the kingdoms of men seek to expel those deemed different,

the kingdom of God draws in all people.

Whereas the kingdoms of men control and limit resources,

the kingdom of God sows the seeds of reckless generosity

so that all may be fed and healed.

The kingdom of God is based on justice, mercy, and love.  The kingdom of God works to bring restoration to the outcast.  The kingdom of God works to feed, clothe, and heal the hungry, the naked, and the damaged.

If the kingdoms of earth do not work to do these things, then they are not of God.  And if the kingdoms of earth proclaim they are being led by a Jesus who does not do these things, then they are being led by an idol of Jesus made in their own image.

If we proclaim Christ as King, then we must proclaim the Christ of subversive love.  If we proclaim Christ as King, then we must proclaim the Christ of the Beloved Community.  If we proclaim Christ as King, then we must proclaim Christ as the King of peace.  If we proclaim Christ as King, then we must proclaim Christ as the One who stands against violence, degradation, separation, and hatred.

Proclaiming Christ as King is to make a bold proclamation and to take a bold stand against the corrupt, divisive, and self-serving powers of the world in favor of the Kingdom of love, justice, mercy, and healing.  It is by proclaiming Christ as King in this way that we will take back the definition of the Reign of Christ that has been corrupted and twisted by the powers of the world.

If we do that – unapologetically, boldly, and faithfully, then we just might get a glimpse of God’s kingdom here on earth . . . as it is in heaven.

Amen.