Luke 2:1-15 - "Angelic Message" (12-24-07)

The message was loud and clear! The shepherds were not confused about the message. “For unto you is born in the city of Bethlehem a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”. They heard the message and paid attention! They went to see the baby born in a manger!

Guess what this means (tap out this Morris Code)

*--- * *** **- ***! Answer? Jesus!

Loud and Clear!!

In 1838, Samuel Morse could send 10 words per minute on what we know as Morris Code. Reginald Fessenden was was the eldest son of an Anglican minister. One hundred and one years ago in 1906 on Christmas Eve from his workshop in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Reginald sent a Morse message, alerting all ships at sea to expect an important transmission. When the telegraphers had assembled in their shipboard radio shacks, they heard the unimaginable: The sound of the human voice! The first ever a vocal radio broadcast, "Glory to God in the highest -and on earth peace to men of good will," then he played the song O Holy Night on the violin. Those who were listening that night were no less stunned than if a tree had talked to them. Earphones that had only ever carried Morse code were communicating the full range of sound.”[1]

We have expanded our communication abilities in the last one hundred years from the telegraph to the telephone to the answering machine and email and cell phones. If anything we have more messages being sent to us and bombarding us all the time. Messages are loud and messages are many! And maybe the Christmas message has been changed and the advertising has confused us about what the meaning of Christmas is all about.

“A woman was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles looking for a gift that had sold out days before. Her arms were full of bulky packages when the elevator door opened. It was full. The occupants of the elevator grudgingly tightened ranks to allow a small space for her and her load. As the doors closed she blurted out, “Whoever is responsible for this whole Christmas thing ought to be arrested, strung up, and shot!” A few others nodded their heads or grunted in agreement. Then, from somewhere in the back of the elevator came a single voice that said, “Don’t worry. They already crucified him.”[2]

This is the Christmas message the angels the night of the birth of Jesus was loud and clear! The angel is the ANNOUNCER, saying, “Fear not, I am bringing you good news of great job for all the people… a child will be born…a savior for all people.”

The recipients of this message were the shepherds! They are the garbage men of the day! They’re just trying to earn their keep working with in the fields smelling like the stinking garbage like sheep. To YOU is born this day…”

The message is given to all of us who have the smell of the stink of life upon them. I heard the message of the angels this morning as I sat eating breakfast! The sound of a garbage truck bringing good news! I chased down the garbage truck this morning! I heard him and ran three doors down and the last house on the street toward Broadway I’m pulling my garbage can. He dumped the last of three cans and I stood there. I forgot, do you mind? Sure! His only words! Sure! Then I looked at the neighbors.

The message is sent to us this night again. We who may feel like life stinks; that life isn’t worth living; that Christmas is too hard when you miss a loved one who isn’t with us for the first time at Christmas. You feel like junk and you don’t know how you the message will touch you again.

But you hope for reclamation. I discovered this fall that 1-800-GOT-JUNK! The Crystal Lake office is at 457 Coventry Lane, Suite 129B! This was our old church office between 1997 and 2001.

That even stuff that might not be considered worth anything is valued and treasured. Even when things are hectic and crazy, these words come directly to the shepherds and to us in our fields of working. The message was not whispered to just one but to many and to us it is communicated clearly, “For unto us is born this day in the city of David the savior.”

Let us pray: Gracious God, the message is loud and clear, Jesus is born to set us free from the power of sin and receives our junk and places it on the cross. Cause us to hear the message loud and clear.

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[1] Ralph Adrus, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=86661&ContributorID=13105

[2] K. Edward Skidmore, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=86202&ContributorID=11446

Luke 1:26-38 - "Angelic Guides" (12-23-07)

The angel told Mary she was going on a journey she never asked to go on. She was being led in a way that she didn’t plan. She was going to be guided in her journey in a step family that include Joseph as a step father to this son she going to give birth to who was destined to be a great man according to the angel.

Mary pondered what these words meant; she had an internal guiding conversation with herself about how she was a “favored” one, by God; a literal “dialogizomai” with herself. She’s thinking in a frozen moment in time what does this mean: why am I favored? Why would this angel visit me?

Have you ever talked with yourself? You have an inside voice and an outside voice when you talk with yourself. Some of the early church fathers thought that the angels literally dwelt in the soul. We’ve seen this manifested in the last 40 years in media that shows and angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other shoulder. There is an inner dialogue.

has been guided by what others have said about her in the past but now she will be guided by these words, even if she doesn’t completely understand quite yet.

After the angel told her about this child that will be born to her, Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant or slave; handmaid is the word; and she said “I am willing to accept whatever God wants." She was willing to surrender to her plans and trust that God would guide her. This message would over-shadow her like a rainbow in the midst of any future clouds. “But we should bear in mind that the angel’s glad tidings, as wonderful as they are, do not spell out the whole story.”[1]

These words she would ponder in her heart as Jesus grew up, as he would go off into the desert and then work miracles in the lives of those around them, and these words would guide her to Jerusalem with the hope of him becoming a star and these words she would ponder in her heart as they guided Jesus to a cross and these words guided her to their fulfillment on that Sunday morning when he rose from the dead.

This is what the angel meant… not a complete picture here in this moment but then they would all make sense. Oh how she would be guided in ways never imagined to that day. Oh but along the journey we may have clouds of fear hanging over our heads. We may have that internal diaolgueizomai about not feeling very favored at any given moment! Even when the guidance of loved ones is missing in our lives because of distance in geographical or emotional terms, their guidance was provided to us for a time but their words still overshadow us and guide us long after they have died and departed. The evil one in the Revelation 12:9 passage is called the “deceiver” which means this Satan or diabolic one is trying to lead astray and guide us with fear, sin, death and destruction. These clouds can often cause us to be guided into the hiding heart! But this angelic guide draws us out of the hiding heart into a journey of life; into a place of freedom that is not afraid and hiding; we are remind that we live under the “shadow of the Lord.”[2]

I was at Chili’s on Friday, went to prepare more for this angelic sermon. They were busy. I sat in a small booth for two and started to read a book for sermon preparation. Five minutes went by before I noticed and no one had come to take my drink order, I was thirst. Six minute, seven minutes, and then I began to have an internal dialogizomai; ten minutes and I would leave; eight minutes; nine minutes, ten minutes and I thought I would actually get up and leave. But she arrived and didn’t apologize and she even looked at me as if to plead for understanding. I told her I would like a soda and then said my meal preference before she could leave my table and enter into the abyss of serving others. The food arrived quicker than it took to order it but there was no fork, knife or napkin. I waited another minute and the inner dialogue was being guided to a place of frustration. I stopped her this time and asked and I was guided to the next part of the meal. Sermon preparation is so much fun I thought! Yes, I know what I’ll do, I was going to tip her less, yes 10% instead of 20%; but then I remembered that tip is often called gratuity; which comes from grace; charis in the greek; favored one; so 90% tip was left and then I realized that I needed to bring her good news in the midst of my un-favored day; so I took the bill and decided to write a note. What should I say, yes, “Glory to God in the highest…” no I can’t write that! I wrote, tip = gratuity = means grace: God’s riches At Christ’s expense! Merry Christmas!” Ten minutes of waiting verses the thirty three years of waiting for Mary until she is guided to that point in the life of this son of hers where peace to all people will be established. The angels will guide us until that day when all is clear!

Let us pray: Gracious God we ask you to guide us in this season to hear your voice calling out to us, leading us and guiding us; in Jesus name, Amen!

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[1] Watch For The Light, Johann Christoph Arnold devotion (Mary Knoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001), page 155

[2] Psalm 91:1

Matthew 11:2-11 - "Angelic Power" (12-16-07)

Elijah was visited by an angel and provided food when he was weak. He was being hunted down by Queen Jezebel and was going to kill him. He thought she was dangerous and ran. Yet the message of the angel gave him strength and power to continue his journey in his time of great weakness.

John the Baptist wasn’t afraid of King Herod and stood up against his power. John the Baptist wasn’t afraid to speak the truth to power, even if it meant getting thrown into prison. John’s faith in God was dangerous and he was thrown into prison for it. This messenger in prison perhaps became weak and afraid that the message he was preparing the way for wasn’t powerful enough to overthrow this dangerous King Herod. But now John is wondering about this Messiah named Jesus and how he would rescue the people from this dangerous and powerful oppression.

John the Baptist is tired and is looking to be saved from the imprisonment and tells his followers to go and ask if Jesus is the Messiah. They arrive and tell them about John. The cousin of Jesus is in prison and what does Jesus do and say?

Jesus responded not with theological explanation, pointing out that John is like Elijah and has a dangerous message of fulfillment! Also, Jesus didn’t tell them to be optimistic about John’s future, for John would soon be beheaded by this evil King. Jesus didn’t drop everything and go and rescue John from prison. Finally, Jesus didn’t tell them not to question in the midst of struggles.

Jesus told these messengers, “Go and tell John what they see and hear”. Here is the first angel reference of three in this passage. The Greek word for tell in the go and tell John is the word ap-angellos. What do they see? The blind see; the lame walk; the lepers healed; the deaf can hear and the dead are raised. But what do they hear? They hear that the good news is proclaimed to the poor – who are grateful for everything. The poor have the good news proclaimed to them; they are comforted with word; not that they are fed and given a home; but they receive the good news. Here is the second angel reference when it said that the good news proclaimed with the Greek word eu-aggelizoô. The poor are brought the angelic message. Only they are given words of comfort.

The only group here that has GOOD NEWS preached to them is the poor who are weak and have no power! Charles Spurgeon said, “Every impostor who has come into the world has aimed principally at the rich, and the mighty, and the respectable; very few impostors have found it to be worth their while to make it prominent in their preaching that they preach to the poor.”[1]

These disciples of John return with a message of hope to John who is in prison. They go and tell him what they see and hear! The angelic message is sent to John in prison with a poor and weak heart; in the midst of uncertainty and suffering; in the midst of struggle and fear. Jesus didn’t go and bring the message to John himself but sent these disciples to be the messengers of Good news to the cousin of Jesus while he was in prison. No guarantees the message would get through, a dangerous mission to be sent upon.

Then Jesus talked about his cousin, but he wasn’t just his cousin, nor was he just a prophet, Jesus said this about John the Baptist, ¹⁰‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you…” Here the third angel word is referenced in the word “messenger”, as the word is euangelizo is the Greek word. John was an angelic messenger sent to prepare the way, a dangerous mission that landed him in prison, for John the Baptist would soon be beheaded by this king. The messengers are sometimes not appreciated or welcomed. It’s dangerous being a messenger.

When I arrived at Lutheran General Hospital to visit Christi in the hospital, I thought I would get her something from the gift shop. I’m usually not very thoughtful but I went looking and found the Willow Tree collection of wooden figurines. I got her a little angel to remind her of God’s messengers all around her in her family, the doctors and staff of the hospital. It was actually called the “angel of hope”. Now I didn’t get it in order to harness the power of God’s angels to protect Christi. I wanted her to know that God’s angels will guard her through this healing process.

When we talk about the power of angels, we are not focusing on them in order to harness their power. We are not focusing on them to do what Shirley McClain’s website said, “Anyone can access their angels”.[2] The angels do not belong to us. They were created by God for God’s purpose. They are sent by God to us as we face the jails and imprisonment of life. They are messengers from God to set us free and tell us of God’s power that is protecting us. This message saves us, heals us that we might see a new future, we might walk with confidence into a new future; that we might feel welcomed into community instead of being ostracized.

We are to proclaim the angelic message to those around us who are weak and are not strong. We are let people know that they can be set free from the jail of fear; that they can be healed and to know that great miracles are happening all around us. This message is a dangerous message of God’s powerful love that brings good news.

Pastor Erwin McManis son went to church camp when he was in second grade for a two night overnight. His dad was about to leave his room after tucking him in one night after that. Erin said, “Dad, please leave the light on.” Why, his dad said? “The camp talked about demons that tempt us and I was afraid.” Erwin McManis dad-ness kicked in and he wanted to just tell him they are just pretend. What do you want me to pray for you? “Pray that God will keep me safe.” He thought about it, “I’m not going to pray for that, God will do that! But that God will make you dangerous and have a strong faith. So he started to pray, “Lord, make Erin dangerous.” His son broke in, “No dad, Lord, make me be very, very dangerous!”[3]

Let us pray: Gracious God, give us a faith that is dangerous and unafraid to speak your messages of hope. Grant us your strength and power to share that hope with others, in Christ we pray, Amen!

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[1] http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0114.htm

[2] http://www.shirleymaclaine.com/articles/spirits/article-258

[3] Illustration from http://www.woodburylutheran.org/media/angels_demons/angels_demons_20060122_s.mp3

Luke 1: 8-20 - "Angels Are Unbelievable" (12-9-07)

Zechariah is in the Temple working his liturgical shift for this one week of the year. The temple is a cathedral like worship space surrounding him and he is engaged in the ritual role of worship leadership.

A priest would usually serve for one week at a time, two times a year. There were so many of them that they would cast the lot/role the dice and he was chosen to go in and help with the morning incense offering in the temple court. This smell of incense would burn as a pleasing scent to ascend to God before and after the morning/evening sacrifice; it was a sweet smell.

He stood there in the temple and offered prayers of intercession for the people, for himself and wife. Zechariah has no child and he knows the agony of his wife’s prayers for a child. He is standing there praying when an Angel says, “Your prayer has been heard” and tells Zechariah of the pregnancy. He shall have a great joy and this child will be the joy for all people, the birth of John the Baptist. But Zechariah wants a sign for he is an old man and his wife is up in years. He has a hard time believing this message.

Then the angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.” It’s almost as if Gabriel is a little put off that Zechariah doesn’t believe him. Giving away his name as an angel demonstrates that he is one important angel and Zechariah better listen to him. When an angel is noted by name in the Bible, it happens only about 4% of the time in scripture. Gabriel

Now, lest we think the cute Angel Gabriel is some middle ages cute cherub that flies around bringing good news in a nice sweet voice, we should recall this verse of chastisement that Zechariah receives a punishment his not believing the messenger.[1]

This past week we were going over personality inventory with the teenagers in Crossroads youth group and I did a LISTEN TO ME moment like the angel! I told the teens that everyone has personality! THIS IS THE TRUTH! Don’t let anyone say or don’t you say that there is one type of personality that is better than the other. LISTEN TO ME!

Gabriel appears in Daniel 8:16 and Daniel 9:21 as the interpreter of his visions. He is often viewed as the angel of pronouncement, explaining what God’s plans are to those he is sent to.

GABR-IEL – GABER =From H1396; properly a valiant man or warrior; generally a person simply:—every one, man; IEL – from God (Michael; Daniel; Nathaniel). Gabriel is found in Luke 1:26 with the announcement to Mary about her pregnancy.

Gabriel is also listed in the book of Enoch (chapters 9, 20, 40) as one of the four archangels of God; along with Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.[2]

But Zechariah didn’t believe the messenger. He doubts this good news. Zechariah struck mute (and perhaps deaf – see Luke 2:62) and comes out speechless from the temple and they say he’s seen something, perhaps an angel? His disbelief will be carried for nine months and eight days until the day of the circumcision and naming of his son when the name of his son “John” comes out. John the Baptist will be the messenger that prepares the way for ministry of Jesus! And no one will believe that messenger either!

Imagine a message so awesome that you can’t believe it or you can’t believe the one who is bringing the message. We say “GET OUT” nowadays to the messenger. “NO WAY”… Like the Caddyshack actor Bill Murray saying, “It’s unbelievable”.

Such a great message from a messenger is so incredibly difficult to accept sometimes because we just don’t believe that God would provide us a way through the difficult situation. We just don’t believe there will ever be any good news. We don’t believe even when something good is standing in front of us and disbelieve.

We remember the name angel is the name of their office not of their nature![3] They are ambassadors for God’s message that brings light and bears witness to God’s will for the world. During this Christmas season, we will often look at people in the eye and speak the truth to an unbelieving person! Like you and me, this message will leave us speechless. We don’t know what to say and we end up waiting during this pregnant pause until the message is born in us here and in eternity. This message is so unbelievable we don’t know what to say in response…

Let us pray: Gracious God, your grace is unbelievable and we are left speechless again and again. Send your message today that we might be believe, in Jesus name we pray, Amen!

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[1] J.C. Ryle from http://bromattsblog.wordpress.com

[2] http://www.searchgodsword.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T3615

[3] Augustine

Matthew 1:18-25 - "Angels in the Dark" (12-2-07)

What is more frightening than seeing an angel? What about a pregnant woman? Joseph wasn’t afraid of the angel that showed up, which is usually the case and the reason the angels usually say, “Do not be afraid”. The angel tells Joseph not to be afraid to marry Mary!

The angel didn’t say; Do not Fear, in a manner that reflected Joseph’s fear of angels but fear of making this decision to marry this pregnant woman whose child she was carrying wasn’t even his. He had decided to divorce her or break off the engagement privately without bringing any charges of infidelity against her. The night before he was “resolved” to take action, the angel shows up and gives him an alternative view of the situation. This happy time of engagement had turned dark and his fears were taking over his decision making abilities.

Darkness is all around us but we should not be afraid of the dark. During this time of year when the nights get longer and people are beginning to face the Christmas season and the New Year under the shadow of fear, we need to be afraid of the darkness.

For children who are afraid of the dark at times; parents should listen to their concerns; perhaps give them a tour of the room; acknowledge the fears and realize that there is nothing to be afraid, not even the dark for God’s angels are protecting us. There is the bedtime prayer with my children that goes like this: “Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the lord my soul to keep; the angels watch me through the night until I wake with morning light.

During this season of Advent, I am going to do a sermon series on angels. When people ask me if I believe in angels, I say “no.” I can’t say I believe IN angels but I believe in the one who has sent and continues to send angels to guard and protect us! People have either become so focused on angels that they worship them or they usually dismiss them altogether in the twentieth century as just a personification of a psychological connection with spiritual realm.[1] We believe angels exist! So, when it comes to angels, we first of all want to say that we do believe that Angels exist!

Secondly, we believe from a Biblical and Christian tradition that the angels fight for the church community and demons fight against the church community. We don’t believe that SATAN and God are on the same level. Angels fight for the will of God and demons (fallen angels) fight against God’s will in the world and our lives.

Finally, we believe that angels and people are two different created beings. When people die, they don’t become angels. We don’t believe God claims people, especially children to become angels in heaven. Please don’t tell parents who lose children that God needed another angel. They were created like us to praise God and are sent as messengers.

Here is an easy way to remember some of the characteristics of angels with the use of an anachronism.

A = Ambassador; angel is the name of their office not of their nature![2] When Jacob met an angel with darkness all around and the messenger was sent to engage him in dealing with his fear of seeing his brother for the first time since deceiving Esau. Genesis 32:22-31. In the Hebrew Old Testament, the word for angel is MALAK; meaning to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically of God, that is, an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher); ambassador.

N = Nameless; What are the two named angels in the Bible? Gabriel and Michael! They are used only about 4% of the time in the Bible. In the Old Testament, the word angel is used 95 times in Old Testament and they are never named four time and they usually referred to as the angel of God. In The New Testament, the word angel is used 98 times and again only four times is a name given. Michael is used 4 times in the Bible (Daniel twice and Luke twice) and Gabriel is referred to 5 times (3 in Daniel; 1 in Jude; 1 in Revelation). I think they are nameless the way children are sometimes named. My parents had nine children. My oldest brother was named John Paul Thomas; John for my grandfather and Paul for my dad. After Gabriel and Michael, they were probably too many to name. Remember, their purpose is to focus on the one sent. Jacob wanted to know the name of the angel in Genesis passage and the angel dismissed his need to name and claim.

The G = GOOD NEWS; the angels always brought an encouraging word; they brought a message, the good news as a word of hope in the life of the person in order to set us on a new course. The Greek word for Good news is euaggelion, which means message, gospel, sent, good news or evangelical.

The E = EVANGELICAL; take your bulletin and look where it says that we are a church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Put your fingers of the EV and then over the ICAL. What do you read? ANGEL! We are a church that is evangelical, a word that means messenger or being sent with good news as an ambassador. Fifteen years ago today the ELCA sent Pastor Dennis and Beverly Heaney to bring a message of Good News to this community. We are now being sent with that same message and ambassadors or angels to others. You are a sort of like angel to others.

The L = LIFE; Only Jesus could save us from our sins, not the angels. They couldn’t defeat the evil one on their own and nor can we without the cross. The angels had to wait Good Friday and Saturday until Sunday morning and then just two of them were needed to role the stone away. Only Christ can defeat the evil forces that try to keep us in the dark. We receive this message of Christ so that we might not be afraid of the dark!

Let us pray: Gracious God, you continue to send angels to protect your church and guard us. Guide us this day as we hear the good news, the message of the angels that we need not be afraid, in Jesus name, Amen.

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[1] The Angels;

[2] Augustine

Other sources include: Angels by Douglas Connelly and In The Days of Angels by Walter Wangerin, Jr

Luke 23:42-43 "Paradise Pardon" (11-25-07)

With Thanksgiving still providing us a sense of rest and reflection, I remember that we are all a bunch of turkeys! There was a song I heard in my youth that went something like this: “If God can love TURKEYS, God can love you; you are a TURKEY, but I am one too; So if you're lonely; or if you're blue; just remember friend, if God can love TURKEYS, God can Love You!”[1]

We are all turkeys looking to Jesus to forgive and pardon us from the wages of our sins. Like any other turkey, we need to be pardoned. Her name was May, and she was pardoned on Tuesday, for the 2007 Thanksgiving Turkey Festivities in the Rose Garden by President Bush. He was then flew first class on United Airlines to Disney World in Orlando, where he was served, I mean he served as the grand marshal of “Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.” After the parade, you can visit the bird in the backyard of Mickey’s Country House in Magic Kingdom Park; joining the parks permanent animal collection or zoo. In the past two years, the turkeys have gone to Disneyland![2] For eighteen years prior to that, the pardoned turkeys went to live out the rest of their lives at Frying Pan Park in Fairfax County, Virginia since 1988 to live in a safe place never threatened with having their heads chopped off.

But I like the idea of being sent to Disney World. What a great place for a turkey to go and live in this park; this garden like kingdom for pardoned turkeys! This is definitely a paradise!

WHAT IS PARADISE FOR YOU? What would paradise look like for you when you are pardoned? Your debts are canceled and you no longer have anything held against you. What is paradise for you in this day and age?

Paradise is a word which has a rich history in Greek and the Old Persian Empire. It was also has a Hebrew connection when they lived in Babylon in exile (modern day Iraq) when the word paradise referred to a walled garden that a king would build for rest and relaxation. The king would then take walks in it, ah paradise. If you were invited, you would go and walk in this beautiful garden, called a paradise! This was a large estate backyard garden that would be a blissful place of rest! The good life is what that sounds like! There is nothing like having a big backyard. We all are in the business of building our own little garden like paradise! If a king would build this walled paradise, like the European gardens such as Versailles in France, perhaps we too are in the paradise building. We have our own little yards with plants and we have our little fences and patios that we build or live in. We go out to the yard or garden to experience a bit of paradise in the midst of such a chaotic and hectic life. There is some paradise maintenance going on right now, mostly leaf picking up and perhaps bedding down the gardens for winter. We will wait now for spring and the flowers to bloom and the garden to come alive… out little paradise on earth.

But the end of paradise building and maintenance does come and we will return to the earth and our bodies will return to the soil of a different garden.

As the church calendar comes to an end, we hope for a new beginning and a new start. We look forward to a new year and a new season. Yet the end is here for Jesus as he is on the cross for six hours to die for the sins of the world in Luke, chapter 23. The end of his life, which was no paradise compared to the eternal paradise he left and will return to through the cross, in coming to an end!

Yet there are those who had a different understanding of how a KING would create a paradise on earth! They mock Jesus, these different groups of paradise builder, which included the leaders[3], the Roman soldiers and one of the two criminals. Each group taunted Jesus to prove he is a King! Their comments are barbs tossed at Jesus in the form of mockery (v. 36), sneers (v. 35) and insults (v. 39). The sign above his head taunted his messianic identity and the disappointing paradise that never takes place, "King of the Jews”!

“Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom”, the thief on cross asked! Jesus pardoned this little thief, this dying turkey and said to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus would remember this thief, the only one who actually sees the KING! It wasn’t the disciples; his mother; his friends or his brothers who got it! The one who sees Jesus as a real Paradise Builder on the cross is the THIEF! His request was a last minute Hail Mary that was caught by Jesus, providing this man the final peace and rest to enter into eternity, into paradise!

We remember the kind of paradise our KING wants us to see when we look into the face of the starving child; neglected elderly; overworked parents; troubled youth; workaholic co-workers; crazy commuters; or homeless people; etc.

We celebrate that on this the last Sunday of the church calendar year, we see a paradise pardon of one who was forgiven the last minute of his life and given the chance to walk in that eternal garden. We are called to remember that if this day was our last day, God gives us the chance again to ask to be forgiven, something we are called to do daily! If you have never taken the chance to ask for God’s mercy, let it be today! Let it be today that you acknowledge that you are a turkey! Jesus will remember me and you and welcome us into that final paradise where all of us turkeys will gather and worship the God of grace and mercy!

Let us pray: Gracious God, we remember our faithlessness and we remember your goodness. You re-member us so that all the parts might be brought back together into a glorious paradise. Restore our broken hearts that we may praise your name always! Amen!

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[1] Salmond & Mulder (late 70's, early 80's) popular Canadian duo sang at several youth gatherings in USA; http://www.oldlutheran.com/news/postthanks05.html

[2] http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=68084

[3]http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/commentary_display.asp?installment_id=3092&item_id=42795

John 6:2-35 - "What Are You Hungry For?" (11-21-07)

Jesus had just fed 5000 at the start of chapter six of John’s Gospel and then goes up to a mountain to get away from the people who want to crown him as the next holy Moses. Then Jesus walks on the water, like Moses who only walked through the water of the Red Sea. They find Jesus and want to eat some more of this great manna! Moses fed the people for forty years in the wilderness. These folks were literally hungry. They were set free from Egypt and started to wander in the wilderness. Then they started to grumble 45 days later to Moses that they were hungry! Yet God provided for them. Yet the people perhaps think it was Moses who is given the credit for feeding them for forty years. These folks were still hungry.

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, what is it that you are hungering to eat? Are you a dark meat or light meat kind of person? I like the dark meat. What is it you are hungry for to eat tomorrow? Football? Pie? Post meal nap? (Wait for responses). I really like sweat potatoes. During the year my wife will make Janette Keller’s sweat potato fries, delicious. The recipe is in the church’s cookbook, on sale in the lobby!

This year I’m hungry to cook stuffing the way my mom made it growing up. She gave me the recipe about seven years ago and I’ll make it and think about her as we share thanksgiving without her for the first time since she passed away this past October.

You see I am hungry to spend time with family and friends and to be grateful even in the midst of the sorrow and struggles of life.

What are we really hungry for? Perhaps we should be hungry for justice in the world. There are more and more working poor in our community, which is one of the main reasons there is an increase in participation in the local food pantries. Your support for these pantries on a monthly basis and through the ELCA Hunger appeal addresses this issue of people who would otherwise go hungry locally and globally.

More than 850 million people in the world go hungry. In developing countries nearly 11 million children die every year from preventable and treatable causes. Sixty percent of these deaths are from hunger and malnutrition. In the United States, 11.7 million children live in households where people have to skip meals or eat less to make ends meet. That means one in ten households in the U.S. are living with hunger or are at risk of hunger.[1]

There are many working poor in our community who work very hard and also have plenty of food in there homes and have plenty of resources available to buy good on an ongoing basis. There are many people in our community who have full bellies but are hungry. We gather because we need to admit we are hungry for mercy from the past, peace in our current relationships and hope for a more just world.

We gather to give God thanks tonight especially during difficult times, for it is during those times we are most hungry for gratitude. It is easy to be grateful when things are going well but when there is grief, pain, illness, or suffering, we hunger more than ever for gratitude. That’s why Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving formally as a National Holiday in the midst not of peace but of the civil war.

Yes, Jesus fed them food in the Gospel lesson and they wanted to follow him. They thought he would end their problems just by handing them a fish instead of teaching them how to fish! Jesus would feed the world by offering his body on the cross. He stood up against the powers of evil and injustice and was killed because of it! This is the bread that would feed the world; his very life still feeds us as we remember that it is in being broken that we are filled.

We gather because we are hungry!

Let us pray: Gracious God we gather to be fed your living word; we gather to be fed by the fellowship of those next to us; and we gather to taste and see your goodness. You feed us by being broken upon the cross that we may see you in our broken pieces. Feed us again, in Jesus name, Amen.

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[1] http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-basics/

Psalm 23:6 - "Overflowing Generosity" (11-18-07)

Jesus talking about the destruction of Jerusalem and Christian persecution sounds like a good lesson to focus on generosity. Barbara Rossing[i] referred to an article by Peggy Neunan in the October 27, 2005 Wall Street Journal[ii] that discussed the fear that there is an end coming, the end of something in our lives and we want our kids to have more good memories; I got mine you get yours.

So how do we think about being generous and encouraging people to give of their financial resources? In reality, I don’t talk very much about money directly! I hardly ever have felt the need to do that as I believe with my whole heart that if the good news of Jesus Christ is preached, the spirit of generosity will grow in your lives to levels you can’t even imagine!

Most religious leaders feel awkward about preaching about Stewardship or money or Generosity! It’s like the young woman who wrote Dear Abby saying she wondered how she might approach her boyfriend and ask if he would pay for half the cost of her birth control pills, but said she didn't know him well enough to talk about money.[iii]

It’s too hard to talk about money and becoming a more generous person. It’s too awkward to stand up and ask you to pray and consider growing your generosity 1% of your income this year toward a tithe! Imagine giving 10% for ten or fifteen years, I would like to ask a question as I begin, “Whose birthday are we going to celebrate on December 25^th? And at a birthday party, “Who receives the gifts”?

The spirit of generosity has led to the installation process for lights to the outdoor road sign three years this month since we have moved into this facility for ministry. The growing spirit of generosity in this community of faith can be seen with the 15% of our fund go outside of the church; that we are helping forty-one people this year through the Gift Tree; that we are helping out for the first time with the Thanksgiving meal program to provide a turkey dinner through PADS for $12.50 each family of four. In reality, I don’t want you to tell you me your values, let me see how you spend your money and I will tell you what you value.

The Spirit of Generosity can be seen in the first lesson reading of the 23^rd Psalm. This is a lesson worth re-reading in the version that I am so accustomed to from my youth, “My Cup Runneth Over” (have congregation repeat it 2 or 3 times). In his book, The Lord Is My Shepherd, Harold Kurschner states that this part of the 23^rd Psalm challenges us to move away from the idea that there are two kinds of people in the world when it comes to a cup that is half empty or half full. (Take full glass of water and drink half of it) If you think it is half empty, you are considered a pessimist. If you think the glass is half full then we must be an optimist. When you see that the cup is running over, you cannot help but express yourself through becoming a more generous person. You know that when the cup gets empty God will fill it (pour water from pitcher into glass and hold over the font and let it run into the font and let people listen to the water running over).

You will be more generous with your patience, with your time, with your kindness, with your finances and with your lives. When the Cup IS OVERFLOWING, you are aware that everyday and everything and everyone is a gift of God and we are called to celebrate! You know that when your cup is empty because of pain, loss, hurts, frustrations or things you’ve done or others have done to you, God will fill your cup again and again.

Fred Craddock is a renowned preacher who not only is a preacher, but a teacher of preachers. His father was a non-churched man who wouldn't even let the pastor or members who knocked on the door visit with him. He would just send them away. Craddock remembers his dad saying, "All they care about is money and membership. That's it. That's the only reason why they come." Toward the end of his life Fred's father was hospitalized near death and Fred came to visit him. He saw bouquets of flowers lining the room and he started to read the cards on the flowers. One said, Women's Mission Society. Then he went to another bouquet and it said, Adult Sunday School Class, and others from groups in the church. He said his dad couldn't talk because of his infirmity and so he grabbed a box of Kleenex and on the side of that Kleenex his dad wrote a line from Shakespeare when he wrote, "Draw your breath in pain to tell my story." Fred looked at his dad and said, "What's your story Dad?" Fred's father wrote three more words on the side of that box: "I was wrong".[iv]

Let us pray: Gracious God, you fill our cups again and again; and yet we are afraid there will not be enough. Help us to trust that you will provide so that we pour ourselves out upon others, in Jesus name, Amen.

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[i] September 2007 lecture at the Northern Illinois Synod Professional Leaders Conference

[ii] http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110007460

[iii] http://www.centralpc.org/sermons/2002/s020421.htm

[iv] http://www.centralpc.org/sermons/2002/s020421.htm

Luke 19:1-10 - "Overflowing Legacy" (11-4-07)

I was taking Nathan to school on Thursday when he asked me a question as we were walking to the car, “are you going to walk me to the back of the school?” As I was deciding, he said that I could decide today and when I said I would walk him to the back, he said he wanted to decide instead. He didn’t want me to walk him back to the line of kindergarten kids. On that first day when he was shy, I hoped that he would adjust to school being a little shy. It was a legacy that came true when he told me to stay at the car when he went to go get in line. As I reflected with joy and melancholy later, it hit me that it was All Saints Day on Thursday. My own mother left a legacy with her passing four weeks ago.

All Saints Day is always November 1^st and it’s the day we remember all those who in the car as we go off to the playground of life, learning and growing with those in our class and school of life. Today is the day we commemorate it on the first Sunday after that day. We remember all the loved ones who have died and now rest from their labors. This is a legacy that has passed down to us, for we have been invited off of the branches like Zacchaeus to go and dine with Christ.

Zacchaeus knew what he was and he would learn whose he was. So I want to ask all those who know what they are and consider themselves a SINNER to please stand up at this time. That includes everyone, so don’t elbow anybody next to you. We know we are a sinner as we think about the fact that we went from spending 3 billion dollars two years ago to spending 5 billion dollars this year on Halloween, myself included. Now I want everyone who considers themselves a SAINT to please sit down and that means you too, so don’t be surprised as to who is sitting.

We know what we are, like Zacchaeus we are the chief tax collectors who know there is something missing. We are going out on the limb to find it and he has found us. Jesus stopped by that tree and told Zacchaeus he was going to eat at his house. This story is one with a Sunday School legacy, as I remember singing this song: “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the lord he wanted to see. And as the savior passed his way, he looked up in the tree, and he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down; for I’m going to your house today. Yes I’m going to your house today.

We know that we are a sinner like Zacchaeus and we are saints because Jesus has invited us down to dine. We have a legacy of daily renewal where you are bestowed sainthood because of whose you are as children of God. This legacy is overflowing, as when Psalm 23:6 states, “My cup runneth over” (have everyone say that a few times). The cup isn’t have full or half empty so we don’t have to worry about either being an optimist or pessimist. Our cups are overflowing with grace.

We have been given this legacy by Christ and it is not one of earned mercy. Zacchaeus responds to Jesus by being generous and leaving a legacy of kindness to others.

We have been given a legacy here at Living Waters fifteen years ago that is a gift today to us. The ELCA paid most everything the first three years to help this faith community get started and Pastor Heaney knocked on doors and invited people on a journey. There are people who are not here anymore because they rest eternally from their labors.

The LEGACY we have received we are passing on. Imagine what this community of faith will look like in another fifteen years, in the year 2022! What will they say bout us and the next few critical years of mission and ministry here in this place? Will they be able to say that those people stepped up and committed themselves to leaving a great legacy? Imagine the three or four year olds here at worship who will graduate from high school, like my daughter. There will be people here who will not be with us on that date. What will be our legacy?

Gracious God, you have invited us to eat with you and have left us a legacy of grace and mercy. Guide us in this journey during the next fifteen years as you call us to live into a legacy of mission and ministry, in Jesus name. Amen

Luke 20:27-38 - "Overflowing Life" (11-11-07)

Jesus was finally reaching the end of his life! He can see the end in site now that he is in Jerusalem! His three years of public ministry will soon but cut like a string as he faces the cross and an overflowing grace will pour out upon all flesh.

He is at the temple, most likely teaching for the last time! Perhaps people were asking different questions like, “Is God punishing my harvest because of something I did”? “Will the Roman Empire always rule over us?” “Will my son ever see?” “Will God ever rid us of cancer and diabetes?” “Will I ever see my mom again?”

They perhaps knew that Proverbs 2 encouraged people to seek out insight and understanding, so that they may know the fear and awesome glory of God. Questioning in life is legitimate and was encouraged in the faith journey of Israel, those who struggle with God. The questions are all strung together with our questions as a part of the faith journey.

Of all the questions he is asked about, he gets one on marriage in the resurrection. If they were asking the question, it must have been a legitimate question others were asking. The religious leaders were trying to trip Jesus up with this question. The religious leaders had a law on the books that answered the question about the creation of life after a husband died. This law was designed to provide a way back into the fabric of family structure for young women left widowed prior to having children. Rather than thrusting them back into the marriage market, through which they might never successfully remarry and thus become more likely to fall into poverty, levirate marriage sought to insure them a place in their new in-laws' family by making them secondary wives to another man in the family, usually their dead husbands' brother. It was a way of providing security for them.”[i] Children also then grew the population and the parents would live on through their kids.

Jesus answers the question, saying that it’s good that people give and take in marriage. It’s important to answer their question. You never know what kind of questions you might get in the faith journey. Like what is the shortest Bible verse? “Jesus wept” is usually the answer but Luke 20:30 actually ties that verse because the greek reads “Jesus, he weeps” and Luke 20:30 reads, “then the second”. Important questions![ii]

Jesus answered the question! But he was expressing concern not about death but about life! They are asking him to explain a heavenly marriage while God is concerned about the union of life in the midst of death. Remember, the wedding vows say unto death parts us and not for all eternity. We know that there are good reasons to ask questions about life in the midst of death!

There are some very good reasons to question in order to experience a richer life. Questioning leads people into a deeper understanding; to find out more; we should fear questioning because then; don’t be afraid of the answer. What if you don’t question? Maybe you don’t want any change in your life or you don’t want to know the answer! Learning to question is the goal of educators as we learn; point of learning in Christian faith should be a deeper obedience. Socrates stated, "The unexamined life is not worth living." (Apology 38a)

Sometimes we are told never to question authority. Sometimes questioning makes others feel uncomfortable because they don’t have the answers. What would it be like to never question? Do we have to get the answers to our questions? In life, there is no such thing as a dumb question – reveals your ignorance.

I discovered Friday at the wedding reception of a member about the “sting theory”. The atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons; in that are quarks and inside that are strings. String Theory is one that explains subatomic particles and that the strings are under the atom; under the quarks and hold life and gravitational connections with all things. The more or closer things are the more strings.[iii]

As www.superstringtheory.com states, “In string theory, as in guitar playing, the string must be stretched under tension in order to become excited. However, the strings in string theory are floating in space and time; they aren't tied down to a guitar. Nonetheless, they have tension.” In essence, the theory suggests that there is a connection between all living things.

The Good news is that Jesus demonstrated that death is not the final string. God takes all these strings of sound and creates a string of musical vibrations in the chorus of life. Even when the strings of life are cut, God will hold them together forever and ever, forever and ever…

Let us pray! Gracious God, you hold all things together. We are so marvelously made and created

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[i] http://www.homileticsonline.com/

[ii] http://www.drbilllong.com/LectionaryIII/Lk20.html

[iii] http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S17/80/32S21/index.xml?section=newsreleases

John 8:36 - We Are All Beggars (10-28-07)

“And if the son makes you free you will be free indeed.” Today is reformation day and it is the day we remember that we celebrate that we are set free from sin by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ.

Today is the day we remember that Martin Luther wrote this note and placed it on the door of the Wittenberg, Germany church: stating Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences by Dr. Martin Luther, 1517, effectively starting the Reformation!

In 1999 – a joint declaration of faith was signed by the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation. Over 30 years of dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans, we agreed that we are saved only by grace in Christ Jesus; which is what the reformation was all about! I had the chance to preach at Elizabeth Ann Seaton Roman Catholic church here in town that day and the Roman Catholic priests and Lutheran pastors present signed our own ceremonial declaration. In 2017, yes in ten years, we will remember the 500^th anniversary of that date and I wonder how things will look then!

How did this dispute start almost 500 years ago? What was an Indulgence? Indulgences were pieces of paper that had the seal of the pope that would guarantee that you are forgiven. You could even pay to ensure that your family members who have died were in heaven by purchasing one for them. This would provide relief and comfort to people who weren’t sure of the grace of Jesus Christ. They would be reassured by the letter of the law that their dead family members were forgiven. The dispute had a great impact upon us all! We just don’t want to admit we are all beggars and need God’s grace!

The reformation day gospel is always this passage from John 8:31-36 Jesus is in Jerusalem confronting the attitude that we are not beggars, we have made it in life; we are good people and will not admit we are beggars, never! Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” The word Jesus was referring to was either the words himself he spoke; or it was Jesus who was the “word” of God; or it was the “logic” of the words of Jesus (as the word in Greek for “word” is logos, where we get logic) that we are all sinners and need to be set free; we are all beggars. “We have never been beggars” they complained.

It is so freeing to admit we are beggars! There is great logic in doing so, as our bodies can take a breath from all this doing. So I want you to look at someone and say, “I’m a beggar.” (let them do this). Now say, “You are a beggar.” (let them do this). Now say, “Wouldn’t you like to be a beggar too. Be a beggar… (Dr. Pepper tune sing with these words.)

What does a beggar do? Ask for something, bread perhaps or some type of food substance. In August, I did a 24 campout @Pearl Lake. We went to the Walmart to get some dinner food to cook that night and I picked out a big bag of Doritos. We actually opened it in the truck and started eating it in the parking lot. We got out to the stop sign and there was a man with a sign for money to get a bus. I opened the side window and asked if he needed food, which he said yes. I grabbed the bag we just opened and we handed it to him. No sacrifice! Yes it’s a band aid. I didn’t teach him how to fish; but he was a beggar with a sign. There are signs all around us of people who are admitting they are beggars. We just don’t want to ask, but I see the signs on the hearts of all those I see. So many beggars…

In 2000, I remember my mother asking or begging for help to deal with her mortgage troubles. She called me a week before the house was going to be foreclosed, looking for help, as she didn’t know she qualified for the senior citizen exemption which was why she couldn’t make payments anymore on time and for the correct amount. She gave me an example in her later years of begging and after I took over her finances. In this past year and in her passing three weeks ago, I saw how she was begging for help. We are all beggars.

It’s a blessing to be a Pastor in a church where I can ask for help. I could beg for your support and encouragement during this time of loss in dealing with the death of my mother three weeks ago. I was able to ask for the Bishop to find preachers so I could just sit at worship or be with family. It’s been three weeks out of the pulpit and I am grateful that you don’t mind me begging.

WE BEG EVERYDAY FOR GRACE! We ask, we plead; we beg. We ask for mercy from family, friends, neighbors and co-workers everyday. We don’t beg for food because we have so much! IT IS EASY TO HIDE OUR BEGGING.

Two days before he died in 1546, Martin Luther wrote his last note. It was found in his pocket after he died: "We are beggars: This is true." In these words, the last which Martin Luther's tireless pen wrote for us, lays his legacy to Christianity.

Today we gather with you to beg for God’s mercy. We gather to admit we are hungry for bread; for the bread of life and Jesus comes to us and we are fed! Fed in a few ways:

1. By COMMUNITY; as we gather in relationships; like these 5 teenagers who will affirm their faith in the one we beg for strength to face the struggles of life; so when car accidents happen like the one that took place last weekend, we are surrounded by people who will sing and say the words we might not be able to.

2. By the WATER; as we gather at this font; we gather with Karli Launius who is baptized at the 8am service

3. By the WORD; as we continue to read and hear scripture that reminds us we are forgiven and are empowered to forgive those around us by God’s mercy and love

We beg for bread and we are fed by Jesus, the living bread! We are never hungry again. We have been set free; so what are you going to do with that freedom? These teenagers are set free to continue to beg God for strength and grace. We are all beggars! Let us pray:

Gracious God, we come to you as beggars with our hands and hearts open to your grace. We come to you and you set us free from the power of death, sin and the grace to live and love freely, looking for the signs of those all around us who are beggars.