Sermons: 2021

Sunday, December 26, 2021

The Waiting is Over

December 26, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 2:41-52 [1]

Whew! Finally! The waiting is over. The big day has come and gone and we can all let out a big sigh of relief. Hopefully your festival went as usual, all the houseguests have left, no one was left behind, and it’s time to relax, recover, and rest up for the New Year. Unless, that is, you have children to take care of. The angels left, the shepherds went back to work, and Mary and Joseph are faced with the challenges that come with raising a teenager. No, I don’t think they did much relaxing.

I imagine they were scared, hoping they’ll do a good job as parents. If what we have heard is to be believed, God has big plans for this kid. We haven’t heard much about the childhood of Jesus. Luke has this one brief tale of the twelve-year-old Jesus ditching his parents and visiting the temple in Jerusalem to ask questions of the teachers. And then we jump ahead to adulthood. Jesus has increased in wisdom and in years and is ready now to begin the work, to answer the call.

When we see this adolescent Jesus, he is quite precocious. Sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, he demonstrates amazing understanding and wisdom. When his parents finally find him, to take him home, he’s a little snarky when he says “Why were you searching for me?” Gosh, mom, didn’t you KNOW where I was? OF COURSE I would be in God’s house. But then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. What a nice boy, so well behaved. At least for this quite short segment about Jesus as a child.

My children are not quite so well behaved. I would not describe them as disobedient, though probably snarky would fit. They don’t show a lot of understanding when we tell them it’s time to get of their phones, or how silly behavior might not be appropriate for a given situation. And so, it helps me to think that a more authentic description of Jesus as a child would be a little less perfect. Did Jesus talk back to his mother? Did he ruin his nice clothes by playing in the mud? Did he have a party in the house when his parents were gone, spill the wine on the carpet, then try to clean it up with dish soap?

We only get this one glimpse at the young Jesus. And perhaps that’s all we need. After all, Jesus was a real person just like us, and so probably had an upbringing that was fairly typical, though maybe just a little exceptional. And his parents did their best with what they had.

Fortunately, Mary and Joseph raised Jesus as a member of a community. When they travelled to Jerusalem for the festival, they went with a caravan, and assumed Jesus would be safe with the group. It was a community committed to the covenants, the promises between God and Israel through Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets.

We also raise our children as members of a covenant community, this church community, committed to the new covenant in Jesus Christ. And as our children increase in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor, we will set them free to face their destiny. We hope and pray that that destiny will be filled with light and peace. They are not outsiders, but members of the community committed to Christ. As Jesus was welcomed into the group listening to the teachers in the temple, we welcome our younger members to ask questions and seek answers in the safety of this group of travelers. And if we have prepared them well, our young folk will continue the work and the calling of this congregation seeking to fulfill God’s Word.

It is a lot of responsibility. None of our children will grow up to be Jesus Christ. And yet, each of them, and each of us, contains the Spirit of God in our hearts. We are all children of God. We are all capable of bringing some measure of redemption, some of the light of God’s glory to the world around us.

Sometimes we don’t. When the waiting is over, the Christ has come, we are supposed to be changed – and change is scary. The moment comes and we let it pass us by. The big day arrives and we’re afraid to move, to act, to change, to stop waiting.

Waiting is comfortable. We know what to expect. But when what we’ve been waiting for happens, everything gets upended and we have to get moving.

When Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to be blessed at the Temple in Jerusalem, they met some people who had been waiting, unchanging, for a long time. The prophet Anna had been waiting there in the temple for eighty-four years. She probably had a routine of fasting and prayers, the same each day and night, a comfortable rhythm. She never left the temple and perhaps feared the dangerous and troubled world outside its walls. But Jesus came to the temple. The waiting was over. “At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Anna got moving.

Simeon had been waiting, we don’t know how long, to see the Messiah, knowing that he would not die until he did. The end of waiting means a very big change for him. But the Messiah came. The waiting was over. “Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus… Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace.’” Simeon moved on.

After college I took a job at a bank. Just something to pay the bills while I waited to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life. It was nine years before my waiting was over, and by then I had grown pretty comfortable with my routine. But I got moving. I applied to seminary and accepted the call to serve God in ministry. Change for me meant leaving my hometown, moving to a tiny apartment in Chicago, and starting school again. It was very hard to leave that old life behind. I left my family, my friends, and many things I loved. I fell to a low point of loneliness and sadness in that time. But with the help of my new community, the strength and wisdom I had gained as I waited, and with some faith in the calling I had received, I began to rise from that low point and in my new life I began to shine.

The change that comes at the end of the waiting is usually hard. There is loss. Moving in a new direction takes a lot of energy. There are those who will oppose the change, and will reveal their inner thoughts. You may feel as though a sword has pierced your soul. It did mine. I remember thinking, “What have I done?” and I cried out to God. But with the help of those around you, with faith in the strength of God to see you through, and with the knowledge that the light of the world has come into your heart, you can face the end of waiting and the beginning of something new.

When the waiting is over, a decision must be made. Which way shall I go, which choice shall I choose? Maybe it is facing a decision, choosing one thing and losing another, that causes us to keep waiting. We fear making the wrong choice, or losing out on one thing because we have chosen something else. My favorite songwriter, David Wilcox, puts it succinctly:[2]

I was dead with deciding - afraid to choose,
I was mourning the loss of the choices I'd lose,
But there's no choice at all if I don't make my move,
And trust that the timing is right,
Yes, and hold it up to the light.

When the waiting is over, start moving. If you hold your choice up to the light, you’ll be moving in the direction that leads toward God. The change may mean that you fall, but don’t despair, for after the fall comes a rising. Jesus was destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel. We are a resurrection people, and though we fall, we rise again to new life, and to the fulfillment of our calling to seek the realm of God.

Jesus, the child of Mary, has come to us. Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel. God is with us, residing in our hearts. He died, but see: He has risen! Alleluia! The waiting is over. The light has come. Our eyes have seen the salvation of God, prepared in the presence of all peoples. We are ready, as children of God, to face the changes that are before us. We are ready, as people of God, to answer the challenges of our time. We are ready, as beloved of God, to arise and seek the redemption of our community and our world. Amen.

[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sunday, December 19, 2021

The Song Goes On

December 19, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Luke 1:39-55 [1]

It’s the reason for the season: the Christmas story, the shepherds, the angels, the baby lying in the manger. We gather to sing the old carols, to hear the story read again. It is a wonderful time of gathering with family and friends, at least before COVID, of gift giving, ice skating, and warm cocoa by the fire. For most of us, Christmas is warm feelings of safety, happiness, and love.

As one writer puts it, however, “Christmas is not safe. The reason it is not safe has nothing to do with the traffic hazards around the malls, harmful toys for children, or the possibility of Christmas tree fires. Christmas is not safe because the Christ Child is not safe.”[2] God with us in the world is dangerous to the powerful, to the cruel, to the rich, and to the indifferent. Mary knew this; it was her song.

The mother of Jesus is most often portrayed as meek and mild, gentle and timid. We don’t think of her as shaking the foundations of Empire, of defying the ways of the world that put people in their place, keep them down, render them powerless. Sweet, innocent Mary has a revolutionary spirit, a vision of the world where justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.[3] This is the woman God chose to bear Jesus into the world, to raise a child who would become the Savior. Mary “recognized the ugliness of inequality. She was incensed by the brutality of oppression. Mary longed for a better world.”[4]

Mary pondered the greeting of the angel, Gabriel, wondering who this child she carried would become. The Son of the Most High, who would rule over the house of Jacob, how would he change the world? Her cousin, Elizabeth, who was thought to be barren, had conceived a son in her old age. With God nothing is impossible. With a cry, Elizabeth greeted her, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”[5] With hope burning in her heart, Mary responds with the song we know as the Magnificat.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…

the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.

The Lord God is coming to fulfill the promises made through the prophets, and her words speak of danger to those who oppress the people.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;

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

This is good news for the poor, the lowly, the hungry; this is bad news for the rich and powerful. We love to sing the songs of angels, of shepherds staring in wonder, of kings from afar bringing gifts fit for a king. We don’t count this song as one of our Christmas carols, yet this is the song that gave strength and courage to centuries of downtrodden folk. Like the slaves of the old South sung of glory on the other side, that we shall overcome, those who live in an unjust, inhumane world envision a world of justice, righteousness, hope, and joy as they sing the song of God’s power to change the world. This song of Mary is the subversive protest song of the lowly, sung in defiance of the proud. Music is powerful.

As I studied for this sermon, I read the story of Víctor Jara, a folk singer in Chile at the time of the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. It struck a chord for me because my in-laws were living in Chile then. “Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez didn’t sing in English, nor did his songs substantially influence Western music, but the manner of his death, the symbolic silencing of his music, made him an international symbol of resistance.”[6]

In 1973, the democratically elected government of Chile was toppled by the forces of Pinochet. The rule of Pinochet was known for its horrors and oppression. Jara was a famous musician and prominent supporter of Chile’s president Salvador Allende. He was arrested the day after the coup and held in an indoor sports complex in Santiago along with some 5,000 others. Periodically, people were taken out to be tortured.

There are various stories of his last days, but it is clear that his music kept its power. Craig Watts writes, “In the midst of the brutality and abuse, he began to play and sing. He lifted his voice against the violence and destruction that was being imposed upon his people. The crowd hushed in order to listen to his songs, songs of courage and hope. His songs helped them to see beyond the pain and defeat of the moment to possibilities yet unrealized.”[7]

Jara was recognized, and an army officer stamped on his wrists. He was beaten and tortured. At one point, through split lips, he defiantly sang Venceremos (We Will Win), Allende’s 1970 election anthem. On the morning he was killed, Jara scribbled the lyrics to a final song, “Estadio Chile,” which were later smuggled out of the stadium: “How hard it is to sing when I must sing of horror/ Horror which I am living, horror which I am dying.”

Even his death did not stop the song. “The people who heard it remembered. Throughout the time Pinochet and his forces ruled Chile, the oppressed people sang the song of Victor Jara.”[8] The song goes on, and Jara’s defiance and hope in the face of fear continues to inspire. Jara has been commemorated in dozens of songs in several languages, including “Washington Bullets” by The Clash, and “One Tree Hill” by U2. James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers has recorded an album about Jara’s life and death.

In a world of oppression, fear, and brutality, Mary sang. Mary sang, because she knew that the child she was to bear would save the world. Her song is remembered, as is her defiant courage and strength. Her son had his own music, music that would shake the world. And even though the powerful tried to stop him with violence and death, the song goes on. It is sung in the hearts of all who believe that a better world is possible, that love will win, that justice will come, and that God’s promises to our ancestors will be fulfilled.

[God’s] mercy is for those who fear him,
from generation to generation.

God’s power is in the song that goes on. Amen.

[2] Craig M. Watts, “Singing Mary’s Song” posted on https://www.ministrymatters.com/.

[3] Amos 5:24.

[4] Watts.

[5] Luke 1:42.

[6] Dorian Lynskey, “Víctor Jara: The folk singer murdered for his music,” August 12, 2020 on https://www.bbc.com/culture/.

[7] Watts.

[8] Watts.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

What Then Should We Do?

December 12, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Isaiah 12:2-6; Luke 3:7-18 [1]

John was not known for being soft. He lived in the wilderness, not the city. He was a prophet, not a priest. He came to shake things up, to preach a baptism of repentance, and prepare the way for Jesus. For us, it is worth considering how we prepare for Christmas, the arrival of the son of the Most High God. We tune our radios to the Christmas songs, decorate and bake and wrap. It is often a joyous time, though somewhat stressful as well, but we rarely think about repentance.

The thing is, we can’t get to Bethlehem and the baby in the manger without first encountering the prophet in the wilderness calling us to repentance. We can’t enjoy the fruit of the harvest if we don’t first determine if it is good to eat. For us, the year is coming to a close, and we might do well to examine the fruit that we have produced. Have we done good this year? Have we done right by the others we have encountered in our lives? How might we do better in the year to come?

John storms into our comfortable, familiar pre-Christmas planning and preparations to remind us that this should be a really big deal. “One who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals” (Luke 3:16). Santa Claus may be coming to town, but Jesus the son of God is being born, and we should take that seriously. John calls on us to reprioritize our lists and focus on the love of God and the love and care of our neighbor.

What, then, should we do? Fortunately, John offers us some practical advice. Engage in acts of mercy and justice. Share with those in need. Feed the hungry. Be fair; don’t try to get all you can get, but only what you need, and leave enough for others. Treat others with kindness, care, and respect. Be humble rather than greedy.

This is the time of year when we are most generous and outwardly focused. Churches and charities receive more donations in December than any other month of the year. Perhaps we’re grateful for making it through another year, especially one as hard as this one. Maybe as we reflect on years past we remember the good feeling that comes from giving. Whatever drives us to be generous, maybe we’re already responding to John’s call to be merciful knowing already the gift of God in Christ that we will celebrate again this year.

As we are filled with expectation, with memories of happy Christmases we’ve known, and hope for a better future, this is a good time to consider how we live out our faith. How should we act toward others in ways which reflect the faith we have in God? Let’s make unselfish choices, considering the impact we have on others. Let’s live within our means, accepting that we have what we need, and enough to share. Let’s do what is just, as John called on the tax-collectors and soldiers to do, being sure to not exploit our positions of power and privilege.

The people who gathered around John to be baptized sought to renew their commitment to God. In John’s call to baptism, to repent and commit their lives to God, John wanted to ensure that those who had followed him into the wilderness were aware of the serious, life-altering consequences of being baptized. What grows withing us that does not bear good fruit will be cut down like trees. The wheat within our hearts will be threshed, and the chaff will be burned away. Repentance means changing, ending the behaviors and thoughts that cause harm to others and to our relationship with God. It is not easy, nor painless.

Jesus, the Messiah, is coming to save us. The baptism of Christ is more than a washing clean. The fire of this baptism changes us from the inside out. This is what the church of Jesus Christ believes about baptism today. We are cleansed, renewed, and changed forever. The sins of our past are burned away and we face the new day with hearts cleaned and souls refreshed, ready to serve God and follow in the ways of our Savior.

The good news that John prepares us for, that Advents leads us to, is the new life, the changed life in Christ. With God’s Holy Spirit burning within us, we will no longer feel the pull of sin and death, but the drive to love and life. Mercy and justice become the way in which we walk through the world. Hope and peace, joy and love become part of who we are. The coming of God to live with us is what we anticipate. The gift of life in the realm of love is being born in our hearts and our spirits once again. Let us take joy in the presence of the Holy One, and rejoice in what is to come. Amen.

Sunday, December 5, 2021

The Miracle of Peace

December 5, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6 [1]

In the story of Jonathan Toomey,[2] he needed peace. He needed to make peace with his past, the loss of his wife and child. He needed to let go of his anger, accept that they were gone, and allow himself to say goodbye and move on. He found peace within himself with the help of others who were able to give him love, patience, and purpose.

Let peace begin with me. That’s how the song goes. That is where peace must begin. It must begin with you and me. Peace is more than the absence of war, the absence of conflict and violence. Peace is a presence, the presence of connection.

Inner peace begins with a connection to our true and natural selves, that part of our being that is most in tune with God’s will for us. So, in a sense, inner peace is connection with the Spirit of God who dwells within each of us. It can be difficult to recognize that there is some part of God that lives and breathes within us, especially when we are not feeling all that great about ourselves and the world around us; but I assure you, it is there. And making or restoring that connection gives rise to serenity, the feeling of balance, and a sense of well-being.

Peace with others begins with recognizing the connection between two human beings. When we are open to seeing the shared humanity in another, when we open our hearts to feel the joy and suffering of another, it is then, and only then, that we are able to resolve our conflicts, to forgive one another, and to make peace in our relationships.

Peace in our world, and even peace in our community, requires us to connect across our many differences and learn respect and appreciation for those differences. It requires an understanding that all people have the right to justice, freedom, and dignity. And, I dare to say, peace in our world requires changing much of what we take for granted.

The way that we view the world, the assumptions that we make about “the way things are,” are often anti-peace. We think of adversarial relationships, “us” versus “them,” as normal. We view competition – I win and you lose – as a good thing. We believe in right versus wrong, good against evil, and we often enforce our views with violence.

But would it be so hard to change that way of thinking? What if we assumed that we are all in this together, that what affects you also affects me? What if we worked for win-win solutions to our problems? What if we made a commitment not to harm others, to avoid violence, force, and coercion in our relationships? What if we looked for the seeds of peace in every situation? Wouldn’t that be a miracle?

This is the time to prepare for Christmas. This is the time to prepare the way of the Lord. So when we see a path made crooked by conflict, let’s make it straight with compassion and understanding. When we see a valley dividing one person from another, let’s fill it in or build a bridge with love for one another. When we see a mountain of injustice, let’s bring it low by working for justice, freedom, and dignity for people everywhere. Let the Lord refine us, like gold and silver, until we are pleasing to the Lord.

We will not be alone as we labor for peace. The Lord God of Israel has remembered the covenant sworn to our ancestors Abraham and David. We will be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. We will serve God without fear. We have been given the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of our sins. God is with us, and will guide our feet into the way of peace. Blessed be the Lord our God. Amen.

_____

Some material adapted from Louise Diamond, The Peace Book: 108 Simple Ways to Create a More Peaceful World (Berkeley: Conari Press, 2001), Introduction.

[2] Susan Wojciechowski, The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, illustrations by P.J. Lynch (Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1995).

Sunday, November 28, 2021

The Way of Peace

November 28, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 1:57-80 [1]

The Greeks had already conquered Palestine, and now the Romans had taken over. The land of the Jews was occupied by enemies, by people who hated them and tried to turn them away from serving God. The people of God sat in darkness, in the shadow of death. Luke tells us that it was in the face of these circumstances that hope was born, a sign of salvation was given to the people. Elisabeth and Zacharias, in their old age, gave birth to John, who would be known as the Baptizer. This child would be called the prophet of the Most High and would go before the Lord to prepare his ways.

The sign of the coming of God into the world, the herald announcing the coming of the Christ was this child. The promise of God, the holy covenant, the oath sworn to our ancestor Abraham was to be fulfilled. The knowledge of salvation and the forgiveness of sin would break from on high like the dawn, and the first proclamation of the coming of God into the world was made at the ceremonial blessing of a child – the circumcision of John. This ancient sign of God’s covenant with the Jews would be transformed into a blessing of water and spirit – baptism – symbolizing the grace of God, the new life that we have in Christ.

In the ceremony of baptism, we remember the covenant of God’s grace and we promise to help our children to be faithful members of the church of Jesus Christ, by celebrating Christ’s presence and by furthering Christ’s mission in all the world. We promise on behalf of our children until they are ready, in the act of confirmation, to affirm their baptism and take on that responsibility for themselves.

In this day and age, it seems strange. We bring our infants to the church and in front of everyone we promise that they will continue Christ’s mission! Why do we do that? Could it be that we see something in them? Could it be that they symbolize something? Could it be that children are a powerful symbol of hope?

I know that I have hopes and dreams for my children. I don’t know that they will become prophets of the Most High God, but I do hope they will make the world a little better. There are already signs, like the way the both helped with the packing and moving of my in-laws this past week. “How can I help?” is more than a simple offer of labor. It is our opportunity to allow young people to participate in what we’re doing. In the church, it is our opportunity to welcome them into the mission of the church.

And what is that mission? Well, the prophecy of Zacharias said that Christ would guide our feet into the way of peace. In a troubled time, what a powerful message of hope! God has shown us mercy and will guide us to peace. We surely need peace to come in our time. Tensions between nations continue to concern us, and at home we are wrestling with one another over masks, vaccines, and anything else we can come up with. We need help finding the way of peace.

To guide us in the way of peace – you mean these children? They are supposed to lead us? Toward peace? Well, yes. And I think they might be good at it. After all, Jesus himself said that we must become like children in order to enter the realm of God. They must know something we don’t. Or maybe it’s something we’ve forgotten.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” We ask that question of all children, many times, and we laugh and we marvel at their plans and their dreams. But what is it that we are really doing? We are asking them to envision the future. Having a vision is crucial for the vitality of a church or any organization. As adults, however, we don’t ask each other about our visions for the future very often. That’s something for the planning meeting. But we ask our children about their vision all the time.

That question about growing up could also be phrased, “What is your vision for the future?” or maybe “Where will your feet take you?” If the feet of our young folk are walking in the way of peace, are we willing to follow? If we risk the unthinkable, and follow where the little child leads, we might discover a way both familiar and strange, a way of peace, hope, and love.

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Walking in Thankfulness

November 21, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Psalm 100; Matthew 6:25-34 [1]

One of the things we are really good at, especially Americans, is expressing our independence. It is, after all, the foundation of our nation, and we celebrate Independence Day every July 4^th. We celebrate when a child is potty trained, when they go off to their first day of school, their first job, and their first home. The automobile is one of the most powerful symbols of independence, giving us the feeling that we can go anywhere, do anything! We love to cheer on a record-breaking athlete. And we love stories of people who go it alone, surmount all the odds, and come out on top.

So, when we hear the words of this Psalm, as cheerful and joyous as they are, we have a hard time relating to being called sheep. “We are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.” Sheep are kind of dumb. They’d walk off the edge of a cliff if no one stopped them. They’re scared by the smallest thing, and mostly stand around making “Baa, baa” noises. Sheep are dependent, not independent. “I’m no sheep,” we tell ourselves.

But, some of the time, we need to be more sheep-like. We need to acknowledge our dependence. We need to recognize how we depend on our families and neighbors all the time. We need to check in with the shepherd. We need to rest in green pastures and drink from still waters. There’s a time and a place for the solo act. But there’s also a time to remember that “It is God who made us, and to God we belong; we are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.” We don’t stay in the sheep-fold forever. We’re not trapped, deprived of our freedoms. We only gather here to worship for an hour a week. But it is an hour that we need, deep within our souls.

Thanksgiving Day is coming. Our whole nation will stop, for a day, our march toward individual achievement, and acknowledge our dependence. We will remember the spirit of the Pilgrims, who set aside a day to be thankful for God’s support. Those early settlers made seven times more graves than huts. They could not account for their survival as anything other than divine grace. They were dependent—and proud of it—dependent on God, on one another, and on the kindness of their neighbors.

One of the reasons we struggle to recognize our dependence is that too often we get let down. We don’t feel like we can rely on others. People are fallible, fickle, and forgetful. We get wrapped up in our own thoughts and feelings and fail to notice what is going on with the people around us. We’re too rushed to stop and notice how we’re affecting those around us. We don’t live up to our promises. And when people fail us, fail to live up to what we expect of them, we fall back on independent thinking. You can’t trust anyone. If you want something done, better do it yourself.

I do this all the time. I’d almost rather just do the things myself than ask for help. I’d rather just get the lawn mowed now than teach my kids how to do it, and accept that it won’t get finished as quickly or as well. I’d rather drive around the block than admit I’m lost or that I missed a turn and need help getting back on track. And I get so angry with myself when I let someone else down.

I can’t do it all by myself. I need others to help me. I depend on others to help me, just as they depend on me. It helps to say to myself, I need help with this. And it helps to know that others want to help me. It feels good to help other people. Who am I do deprive someone else of the opportunity to be helpful? If I focus too much on my independence, I neglect those who depend on me. Instead, I must remember that I am dependent on others, and try to show them that I appreciate what they do for me. I could stand to be more thankful.

There are some things that are reliable, and trustworthy. I know that I can rely on God to care, to notice, and to help me when I need it. God clothes the grass of the field; how much more will God care for me? God feeds the birds of the air; am I not of more value than they? I am precious, crafted in God’s image, loved as a parent loves a child. So are you; and, if God loves you, you can depend on God.

As we gather around our tables this Thursday, I hope that we will all be able to stop for a moment and give thanks that we are dependent beings. We are dependent on our families and friends. We are dependent on our neighbors. We are dependent on our soldiers, our healthcare professionals, our police, fire-fighters, and first-responders. We are dependent on people we may never see who keep the electricity on, the water flowing, the garbage taken away, the streets paved, and the shelved stocked. We are dependent on God for life, love, hope, strength, and all that we need.

I hope that we won’t stop giving thanks simply because Thanksgiving is over and Black Friday has come. I challenge you to acknowledge more often just how dependent you are, and to give thanks for all those on whom you can depend. Walk in thankfulness. Breathe in gratitude. Bless those around you for all that they do to support you, whether you think you need it or not. Amen.

Sunday, November 14, 2021

The End or a Beginning

November 14, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Mark 13:1-8 [1]

What they once knew to be permanent, sure to stand forever, is gone. I’m talking about the Second Temple in Jerusalem, but I could just as easily be talking about the Twin Towers of New York, the Library of Alexandria, the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, or the statue of Zeus at Olympia. When I read this text, Jesus predicting that not one stone will be left of the great buildings, I am reminded of the poem, Ozymandias, by Shelly:[2]

I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert... Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

It seems that there have always been wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms. We frequently hear reports of earthquakes, and hurricanes rain down destruction along the Gulf of Mexico and the East coast each year. And, yes, there is famine, the kind which sends refugees in search of a new land, and the kind where the poorest among us are forced to choose between paying the rent and putting a meal on the table right here in our community. Yet, even with all this turmoil, the end has not come.

By the time Mark wrote this Gospel, the destruction of the Temple may already have happened. It was destroyed during the Jewish-Roman war of 66-70 CE. There were resistance fighters calling on all the Jews to join in a final battle that would bring about the end of the age. Mark’s community of Christians would have felt drawn to join the cause. The triumphal restoration of the Davidic kingdom beckoned to them, and not joining in the war may have branded them traitors. Yet, this was not their true cause.

These verses, a warning to the disciples not to be taken in by those who would lead them astray, gave the early Christians hope during their own time of persecution and tribulation. This is not the end of the world, Jesus tells them. It is the rejection of it. It is the birth pangs of something new, the Kingdom of God, which knows no end.

Now, we see cosmic struggles all around us. There are some who say the end is near, pointing to texts like this one, or Revelation, saying that the wars and earthquakes and natural disasters are signs of the end. There are numerous publications and websites which interpret every tragedy, every natural disaster, every famine as a sign of the second coming of Christ. Some claim to have secret knowledge of the coming rapture. It is attractive, and treacherous.

At the same time, we may feel like there are wars and earthquakes erupting in our own hearts, our families, our communities. And yes, for some the world has ended, as their lives have come to an end. Yet life persists, the world lives on. A new day dawned today.

In the middle of these dire predictions, that all will be thrown down, Jesus gives this amazing promise: these are just the beginnings of the birth pangs; this is first inkling of new life. The key is not to focus on the devastation, the ruin that might consume us. Rather, it is to focus on the signs of life that are also there to be seen. The key is to have hope in the on the one who is to come, the one who calls us to new life.

We are not to look toward the end times, hoping for the end of the world. We are to look toward the Kingdom of God, not to turmoil and destruction but to a new world, not to the punishment of our enemies but to justice and redemption. This message to the early Christians is one of hope for a better and more just world, a world that we build up rather than tear down.

Terrible things will happen, we can be sure of that. There will be wars and famine, earthquakes and storms. Yet in the midst of all of that, we have the opportunity to serve. In times of peril, people rally around one another and support each other. We put aside differences and work to alleviate the suffering of our neighbors. Coming together to help one another, to alleviate suffering, to love and care for each other is what the Kingdom of God looks like.

In 1980, Mount Saint Helens in Washington State erupted. What began with a series of small earthquakes in mid-March peaked with a cataclysmic collapse, avalanche, and explosion on May 18. The northern flank of the mountain collapsed, producing the largest landslide in recorded history. The avalanche buried 14 miles of the North Fork Toutle River with up to 600 feet of rocks, dirt, and trees. The outward blast spread volcanic debris over 230 square miles.

Countless animals and large swaths of forest were devastated, but life did not entirely end then and there. Some species managed to survive, protected by ridges and snowdrifts. Others scraped by at the edges of the devastation and literally crawled back. Plants and insects returned, providing food for small animals that, in turn, were a food source for larger animals. Together they sowed the seeds of a comeback that progressed in fits and starts and continues today. Most species that were wiped out by the eruption have returned to the Mount St. Helens area.

The time of destruction may be an ending. It can also be a beginning. We may be facing an apocalypse, through the pandemic, climate change, or political unrest. But for those who live with faith, who trust in a deep relationship with God, there is a way through devastation and suffering. God’s grace is salvation for people of deep faith. The new life is growing around us, reminding us that while all things grow and change, life continues, love is endless, and God’s relationship with us is timeless. Take heart, do not be alarmed. After the birth pangs will come a new birth. Let us give thanks for what is to come. Amen.

Rich Procida, “THE LITTLE APOCALYPSE: Hope or Tribulation?” (2012). https://modernlectionaries.blogspot.com/.

Janet H. Hunt, “The Beginning of the Birth Pangs” (2015). http://words.dancingwiththeword.com/.

Emilie M. Townes, Rodger Y. Nishioka, Robert A. Bryant, and Pete Peery, Perspectives on Mark 13:1-8 in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Vol. 4, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, General Editors (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), pp. 308-313.

[2] Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ozymandias” in Shelley’s Poetry and Prose (1977).

Sunday, November 7, 2021

A Gift

November 7, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Mark 12:41-44 [1]

This story is known as The Widow’s Mite. The poor widow has given all she had. He tells this story having just warned the disciples to not be like the scribes with long robes who like to be greeted with respect, have the best seats, and places of honor. Appearances are not what is really important.

Jesus is trying to teach about generosity. Our giving, our charity, offerings, and other donations are important, not because they give us recognition, but because we get to participate in the giving nature of God. The world in which we live often expects reciprocity, quid pro quo, this for that, I give to you expecting to receive something in return. This is not the nature of God’s giving.

God gives without any expectation; in fact, without even the possibility that we can give in return. God gives life, love, and if you think about it, everything; all we can return is thanks and praise. Many of us don’t even give back that much. God never stops giving, however. Out of love for us, God gave even the life of Jesus. From John’s gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son”[2]

We have received an incredible gift, the gift that we remember each time we come together around this table. What then shall we give in return? Is there any gift can we give to God? Certainly, we can follow the commandments. We know the Great Commandments: love God and love our neighbor. That is what is required of us. And if we do those things we do well. But if we truly want to respond to God’s gift, and give a gift of our own to God, what have we to give but our very lives?

Let us, then, live our lives as a gift to God. Turn aside, when the need arises, sacrificing our own comfort and convenience, and tend to those who need us. It may not be easy. But we are, each of us, given an opportunity to share in the giving nature of God. Amen.

[2] John 3:16.

Sunday, October 31, 2021

Halloween and the Commandment to Love

October 31, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Mark 12:28-34 [1]

This is a sermon in two parts. The first focuses on Halloween, the second on the Great Commandment.

Halloween has a bad reputation. Many Christians view Halloween as a celebration of death or evil. Some point to pagan origins for the holiday, its ties to witchcraft, or even the use of apples as a symbol of sin. I think we are fortunate to live in a community that is a bit more relaxed about what is, at least now, a playful holiday.

There is a Gaelic autumn festival called Samhain which marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The celebration begins the evening of October 31, the eve of the Christian celebration of All Saints Day, or All Halos Day. Halos Eve over time becomes the word Halloween. The date is about halfway between the autumn equinox and winter solstice. Early Irish literature says that Samhain was marked by great gatherings and feasts, when cattle were brought down from the summer pastures and livestock were slaughtered. Special bonfires were lit and sacrifices were made to pagan gods to ensure the people and their livestock survived the winter.

Samhain was a liminal or threshold festival, when the boundary between this world and the spirit world was thin, meaning spirits could more easily come into our world. The souls of dead kin were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality, and a place was set for them at the table during a Samhain meal. People went door-to-door in costume reciting verses in exchange for food. Costumes were a way of disguising oneself from the spirits.

So, Halloween does have Celtic pagan origins. But the same can be said for Christmas and Easter, which have links to former pagan holidays as well. During the early centuries, when the new Christian faith was a small and often persecuted religion, many Christian festivals were hidden by occurring at the same time as other religious feast days.

Women often had important roles in pagan religions, and the heavily male-oriented Christians often viewed them as evil. Witches were believed to have magical, supernatural powers. Sickness and mental illnesses were believed to be caused by curses or evil magic. Women with knowledge about healing herbs were sometimes seen as making magic potions. Fertility rituals and celebrations honoring the dead around the time of Halloween were viewed as communicating with evil spirits.

Many Celtic festivities involved rituals intended to divine the future, especially with regard to death and marriage. Apples were often used in these divination rituals or games. In Celtic mythology, apples were strongly associated with the Otherworld and immortality. A common game was apple bobbing. Somehow, the Genesis story got mixed in here. By eating the forbidden fruit in the garden, Adam and Eve brought sin and death into the world. For some Christians, the fruit itself, not the act of disobedience, was the source of sin and death. Even though apples are not mentioned in that story, the use of apples in pagan rituals must have indicated their evil power.

All of this illustrates a fragile Christian faith. Evil and magic are given too much power by weak theology. Rather than embracing other cultures, fear of the unknown has led some Christians to label outside influence as evil. Yet, early in the life of the Church, as new Christians were converted from Judaism, and Greek and Roman religions, Paul wrote to the church in Colossae that the bringing of festivals and incorporating them into their new faith was not to be judged. “Therefore, do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths.”[2] All things come into fullness in Christ, and God is not threatened or diminished by human ways of thinking.

If we choose to remember those who have passed on while looking forward to the excitement of the new that God is bringing, that is good. People wore costumes and masks to hide from evil spirits, now we wear them for fun. Bonfires and food shared with others don’t need to be vilified. Instead of fearing the way that others celebrate harvest and life, we can let our children celebrate a fun holiday, and maybe we can get dressed up and eat an apple or two.

Now, the scripture passage we read today speaks of loving God and neighbor. I think it ties in well with how we look at an ancient pagan festival. Does celebrating Halloween cause us to turn away from God or hate our neighbor? It certainly doesn’t have to. Pretending to face up to scary monsters helps us prepare to face the real monsters and frightening things we face in life. Going door to door to share candy can help us meet our neighbors and draws our communities closer together.

Some folk speak of the bible as a guidebook for life. If any passage were truly meant to be understood as the rule for living a good life, it is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the framework on which all theological and ethical thinking and conduct is built. Paul even wrote to the Galatians, “The whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”[3] Of all the rules and laws and religious ordinances, none is more universal than the love of God and neighbor.

When the scribe asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest, he affirms the Jewish foundation of his teaching and ministry and expands it to encompass so much more. The first commandment Jesus gives comes from Deuteronomy, a passage known in Judaism by its first word: Shema, meaning to listen or heed. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”[4] If you have ever visited the home of a practicing Jew, you may have seen a mezuza on the doorframe, a small scroll-shaped object adorned with the Hebrew letter Shin, which looks like a W. Inside the mezuza is a small piece of paper with this scripture written on it. This important passage is said as a prayer in morning and evening Jewish prayer services.

This commandment, this prayer, calls for our devotion and commitment to God. It is a foundational creed of the faith from which Jesus comes, and it remains the foundation of what will come after. As Jesus nears Jerusalem, and faces ever-more sharp critique from the religious authorities, this moment emphasizes that his authority comes from the foundations of their faith. The scribes have opposed Jesus at every step, and he has repeatedly pointed out their corrupt practices. Yet here a scribe commends Jesus for his insight, for reminding him that more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices is the love of God and neighbor.

The ethical call to do justice and care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger is distilled into the love of neighbor. Like a lens can focus light to a point, it can also spread it out to shine on much more. The lens of the gospel expands our love of neighbor into a call to love the homeless veteran, the drug addict, the transsexual, the migrant worker, and the refugee. As a moral guide, we can do no better than to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The work of living out our love of neighbor is the hard part. That’s where we’re asked to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. It is not easy to love those we’ve been taught are not worthy of our love. It is hard work to take responsibility for the well-being of others. But we can do it when we are moved by love, for when we love God with all that we are, God loves us back in all that we are and makes the work of love possible.

Shema Yisrael: Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Eḥad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”[5] Amen.

[2] Colossians 2:16.

[3] Galatians 5:14.

[4] Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

[5] Mark 12:30-31.

Sunday, October 24, 2021

A Better Tomorrow

October 24, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Mark 10:35-45 [1]

This is the 30^th year of the National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths. Across this nation, people of faith are turning their attention to the urgent problems facing children across our nation and around the world, and responding in many different ways to improve children’s lives. Official poverty data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on September 15, 2020 show nearly 10.5 million children in America lived in poverty in 2019.[2] Although 2019 data showed a decline in poverty numbers from 2018, these estimates do not reflect what has happened since the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is painful to think about children who are hungry or homeless, who have no access to health care, who are abused or neglected, who are victims of gun violence, who are left alone because of a lack of money for child care, or who are denied access to safe and affordable schools. Despite efforts to make schools safer, school shootings are still all too common. On August 13 of this year, a 13-year-old boy at Albuquerque’s Washington Middle School was taken into custody Friday afternoon after police say he shot and killed a fellow student during a lunch break on campus.[3]

Closer to home, in 2020, more than 183,000 pounds of food passed through the M.O.R.E. Center.[4] The M.O.R.E. Center also distributed 125 new children’s coats last year. During the 2020 fiscal year, Home of the Sparrow directly served over 500 women and children, including 216 children.[5]

Why is it important for us to give our attention to the plight of children, to focus in worship on the lives of poor children? God calls us to seek justice for children, especially the most vulnerable, the orphan. It is a law written in Deuteronomy: “You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge.”[6] It is a command from Isaiah: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”[7]

The Rev. Dr. Shannon Daley-Harris, Director of Religious Affairs for the Children’s Defense Fund explains the importance of this day. She writes:

Our children only get one shot at childhood. If we leave them mired in poverty and robbed of the enrichment for which their minds, bodies, and spirits thirst; sick or dying for lack of care we could have ensured they had; or locked up and out of sight in prison, they will never get that lost childhood back. The effects of having their childhood robbed will remain with them—and us— for a lifetime.[8]

Jesus said to the disciples, “Let the little children come to me… for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”[9] Jesus has concern for the “least of these” – people who are young, poor, and in need of healing – and those who follow him are called to share that concern. But too often we get caught up in the struggle for power, in competition to be the “biggest” or the “best.” Even the disciples miss the message of Jesus over and over, and instead focus on securing positions of power in the coming kingdom. “And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory’” (Mark 10:37).

Of course, those of us who know how the story ends find this request by James and John to be silly, or naïve at best. “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” (Mark 10:38). This is a cup of suffering; this is the way of the cross. Do they really know what they are asking? And yet, in the end, they will remain faithful disciples, true followers; they will share the cup of Christ and live the way of the cross. They might not receive the seats of Moses and Elijah, but they will have seats at the table.

The way of Jesus is the way of the cross. The professor and theologian, Walter Wink, wrote that the way of the cross is the way of resistance to the Domination System,[10] which is characterized by power exercised over others, control of others, ranking as the primary principle of social organization, hierarchies of dominant and subordinate, winners and losers, insiders and outsiders, honored and shamed.[11] It is this system of domination that keeps the weakest and most vulnerable members of society, primarily children, trapped in the web of poverty.

True discipleship is the way of service and self-sacrifice. A Biblical scholar, the Rev. Dr. Lamar Williamson, Jr. wrote, “True discipleship is characterized by a costly pouring out of one’s life for another, whether it be an aging parent, a difficult spouse, a special child, another member of the Christian fellowship who has unusual needs, or any person whose situation elicits neighborly service at personal cost.”[12] Christian discipleship calls us to a life of service to the least of these, to children in need.

The prophet Isaiah’s words give us hope that things can be different. “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.”[13] The Lord seeks justice for children, and with God all things are possible.

The service to which we are called is not only to reach out in charity, but also to change the structures and systems that are hurting and failing children. When children are the poorest group of Americans, when millions of children are poor, there is a need for change to our nation’s structures and systems. When nine million children do not have health coverage, there is a need for change on a national scale. When the odds are stacked against our nation’s Black, Latino, and poor children, sending so many of them into prison or an early grave, there is a need for change and for justice in the system that works against them.

The Zebedee brothers, James and John, perhaps think the system is good, it’s just that the wrong people are in the places of power; once they come into their own, alongside Jesus, everything will be fixed from the top down. Meanwhile, Jesus is turning over the tables and paying far more attention to serving than being served.

In our day, as it was in Jesus’ day, those who are young, poor, and without power are likely to be trampled in the stampede for the best seats, the most power, the most privilege, the most wealth, the greatest advantage. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, want to be great, and risk getting caught up in the Domination System. But Jesus calls them, and us, to servant-hood. “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:42-43).

The needs of children in poverty, without access to health care and at risk of imprisonment, call us to demonstrate true greatness through servant leadership. And we cannot afford to look the other way, hiding from our calling or feeling that we are not equal to the task. These words of Martin Luther King, Jr. are a helpful reminder:

Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant. [14]

Together, let us bring a message to all children who suffer that God knows and shares their pain; God is present with them and will not abandon them even in their most painful times. “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized’” (Mark 10:39) We can be great. We can answer the call of Jesus Christ to be disciples by serving others in the world, and we can promise to the children of the world a better tomorrow. Amen.

[2] U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey. 2020. “2019 Annual Social and Economic Supplement,” Table POV-01 (Below 100 percent and 50 percent of poverty, all races). https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/data/tables.html.

[3] https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/one-teen-killed-another-arrested-in-shooting-at-albuquerque-middle-school/article_05311a2a-fc87-11eb-95ad-23b73065d32c.html.

[4] http://marengomorecenter.org/index.shtml.

[5] https://www.hosparrow.org/about/statistics/.

[6] Deuteronomy 24:17.

[7] Isaiah 1:16-17.

[8] Shannon Daley-Harris, Create Change for Children Today: Bring Hope and a Better Tomorrow – National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths® Manual – A Multi-Faith Resource for Year-Round Child Advocacy, Volume 18 © 2009 Children’s Defense Fund, p. 12.

[9] Mark 10:14.

[10] Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 33-104.

[11] Charles L. Campbell, Homiletical Perspective on Mark 10:35-45 in David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Volume 4 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), p. 193.

[12] Lamar Williamson Jr., Mark: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Westminster John Knox Press, 1983).

[13] Isaiah 11:6.

[14] The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “The Drum Major Instinct,” Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, February4, 1968.