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.

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[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.

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.

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[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.  Edited for inclusive language.

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.

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[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.

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

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.

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[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.

[2] John 3:16.