"Allegiance to the King" - John 18:33-37 (11-22-09)

Christ is at his own trial before Pilate and is about to receive the Royal Treatment! Christ stands before the throne of Pilate. Jesus is facing the greatest test and challenge in his calling by the Father to be a sacrifice for sin and an example of love to us. Pilate enters the room and Christ is summoned and questioned! Pilate, the representative of the dominant Roman Empire is concerned that the King of the Roman Empire might be threatened by someone here in this small outpost who has been causing enough trouble with the locals that they have accused him of a political crime.

Are you the King of the Jews? Pilate asked him. The life and ministry of Jesus is not in alignment with the powers of allegiance of the kingdoms of this world. Jesus said that his kingdom is not of this world. The reign of God is both hidden and revealed. Jesus was born that the reign and kingdom of God might break into our lives! When we hear this good news, God’s reign breaks in and pulls us into alignment and allegiance to a different way of doing life!

Today is Christ the King Sunday. It is the last Sunday in the Church Calendar year. We do not order our faith lives around the Roman Calendar of January-December; or around the budget year or around the school year. Our Allegiance to time and order is based upon the King of Kings. Someday, Jesus will come on the clouds the way the Revelation, chapter 1 passage says.

Christ the King Sunday is always the last Sunday of the Church Year. It is the end of the season of our spiritual journey and next week is the beginning of a new spiritual journey starting with Advent. Advent is the first Sunday of the church calendar, a season of waiting and preparation. So it is with this ending and this new beginning that we remember the promises of God that have been with us throughout our lives.

I know the announcement this week was a surprise. The resignation was something that took many by surprise. I wasn’t expecting Oprah to announce her resignation. She will be done on September 9, 2011 so that gives us over 600 days to worship her as the Queen of Day time talk shows. I’m not sure if that will give us all enough time to grieve her resigning from her role in the church that Oprah built. Perhaps she is close to royalty in our culture so it with sadness that we heard that she will be surrendering her throne.

Well it was not easy for me to resign and surrender to the king. You must be willing to surrender your will and ask God to lead and guide. When I told the council president of the upcoming call to serve Zion Lutheran Church in Rockford, IL a few weeks ago, it was not something I was looking forward to. I wasn’t looking forward to standing in front of you today and tell you about my resignation as the Pastor at Living Waters. You all have received the letter that I sent out this week announcing my resignation as the Pastor here. Today we remember the ministry we have shared together. We have seen the reign of God break in through the various joys and sorrows we have shared. We remember the trials and tribulations that have taken place in our personal lives and the body as a whole and wondered when the hiddeness of God’s kingdom will break in.

As I gathered with the Church Council on Tuesday evening to formally resign as the Pastor of Living Waters Lutheran Church, we joked about whether or not they would accept the resignation. The church council unfortunately had to accept it. Today we all need to resign. We need resign as general managers of our little world. We need to resign from trying to fix every person, problem and place in our world. We need to resign to the truth that we must lay our crowns down! Wonder of wonders, God will accept your resignation.

About seven years ago, I went to visit the Francis family in their new home to offer a prayer of blessing. As we visited, Luke showed me a label maker he was getting using. I was wearing my cleric that day and I let him put a label on my cleric that read, “Pastor Mike”. I never took that label off and actually never used it. I saw it this morning in my pile of clerics and decided to wear it. I too must pledge my allegiance to the king and lay down this role as the pastor of Living Waters.

We are being called to lay down our crowns at the foot of the cross. We are the subject of the king and we lay our crowns down again today. God is calling you and me to recommit our allegiance to Christ and to lay down our crowns. Our allegiance calls us to place all of our time, talent and treasures at the throne of the cross. God will bless them for the sake of the God’s kingdom.

Let us pray: Gracious God, it is never easy to pray “thy kingdom come and thy will be done” but we gather today again to seek your will and to renew our allegiance to your reign and rule. Guide us as we kneel before you today. Renew us as your subjects, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

"Continuous Reforming" - John 8:31-38 (10-25-09)

Today is Reformation Sunday. We remember that on this day in 1517, change took place in the Roman Catholic Church that has left a mark on us all. Martin Luther posted on his website the 95 Thesis. On his blog he wrote the “disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” with the hope that “out of love for the truth and the desire to bring to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg… (and) he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us may do so by letter” or email.” Such change took place because of the church was focused on indulgences, having people pay to get out of hell or pay for past sins.
Luther didn’t want a denomination to be named after him. As a matter of fact, those of the Lutheran background in Germany were for a long time just called the Evangelical Church!
The leaves have changed this week so quickly and along with the rain, they have not only turned colors but have been continuously falling. Change in the season brings growth and a preparation for new life. God likes change for the purpose of renewing relationships. We all like change. Do you know how many Lutherans it takes to change a light bulb? Change, what’s wrong with the burned out one?
We are in a relationship that will continuously change and transform us throughout the seasons of our lives. We surrender’s to winter and the beautiful new life that will come in the spring.
We are Lutheran because of this history. Some are born into it and have a big “L” on their forehead from birth. Others of us are adopted into the community. We are a part of the ELCA and that is a history of reformation verse just being Protestants who protest. We claim the reforming part of the tradition because that reforming processes is the work of the Holy Spirit. One sign of this church is it is a reforming faith. The spirit continues to reform us. Reform comes from the word morph which means to change from one thing into another.
Every Reformation Sunday, we read the Romans 3: 23-24 passage where it says, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” Grace is a gift and not something to be earned. We also read John 8: 31-38 where Jesus said to those who had believed in him and were now being tested to see if they really were going to follow!
“If you continue in my word, you will be my disciples”. That if is very conditional and there is an indefiniteness and uncertainty of that if. Perhaps Jesus knows that people will not continue and that they and we may forget and follow another word.
Will they continue and remain? We know that these verbs are all future orientated in tense. There is a future focus to this message. Will they stay in a given place, state, relation or expectancy; abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry? Will they repeatedly enter into the word that is Christ? The permanency of the relationship is in question. Will they abide or dwell in a relationship with Christ who is the logos that was in the beginning and spoke life into existence. If you continue to remain in this relationship you will be my disciples. These verbs are all future verbs and not present verbs. They will continue to be renewed in this relationship over and over again. It’s just not this one time thing of obedience for them or us. We are renewed in this relationship when it gets stagnate.
Continuous Reforming Faith means that God is continuously calling us to turn around and repent and discover grace on the cross through Jesus Christ alone! That change will bring about change in your daily living.
I was once told by a pastor friend of mine that change is constant but growth is optional. Repeat that with me, change is constant but growth is optional. If you want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ will be changed. If you want to be really free, you will be called back into this relationship. Continuous reformation is the outcome of the Holy Spirit calling us back to be disciples of Jesus that you will be free again and again and again. Scripture reminds us again and again that we are not free and we are slaves to one thing or another! We are by nature enslaved to sin. But now Christ has asserted dominion in our lives. Freedom is a gift posted upon our hearts when we go astray! We are not permanently free. But we are given the chance to be disciples again today and we are called to freedom again today.
This past week was my daughter Maggie’s “gotcha” day. We watched the video of the day she came home to us from Korea. It showed Maggie and I with her Foster Mother “Mrs. Shin” who with her husband and two daughters been the foster mother of thirteen other children before Maggie. Her home those first six months may not have been permanent but for Mrs. Shin, she holds a place in her heart for Maggie forever. From being that little baby to now being five years old, she has changed. She has a place in our home and hearts for she has been welcomed into our lives and the lives of the people here at Living Waters. We have all been set free to live in this household of faith that continues to reform and renew.
Let us pray: Gracious God, you have welcomed us and adopted us into your household. We have not claim to this house except that you invite us again today to be renewed and called and sent to be your hands and feet to the world. Guide us in this new freedom, we pray in Jesus name, Amen.