Transfiguration Sunday: Getting Ready for the Journey

Scripture readings for Sunday:  2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9

So, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John on a little mountaintop retreat – time for a little prayer and reflection.  Jesus often retreated into a quiet place to pray.  Perhaps it was not uncommon for him to take his inner circle with him from time to time. 

I don’t know what Peter, James, and John expected, but I am pretty sure it was not what happened. 

They get to the top of the mountain, and admire the view while they catch their breath.  Suddenly Jesus changes right before their eyes.  His clothes are dazzling white and he seems to glow!  Not only that, but there are two men with Jesus – Moses and Elijah!

The disciples don’t know what to think, or what to do.  They are terrified.  Peter, always impulsive, blurts out, “It’s good to be here!  Let us build you guys some shelter.” 

What a strange thing to say!

Peter is clearly not ready to go back down the mountain anytime soon.  Perhaps he thought God’s kingdom was coming right now and he and James and John were privileged officials in that kingdom.  Perhaps he thought they should build a shrine at this holy place so others could come and worship there.  Perhaps he just wanted to make Jesus, Moses, and Elijah comfortable for their conference.  Perhaps he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

Whatever Peter’s motives, the response was clear.  A voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly beloved Son.  LISTEN…TO…HIM!!!”

And just like that the experience was over.  Jesus stood there alone, looking very much like he always did.

Pretty exciting stuff!  Imagine being able to see Jesus revealed in all his glory.  It was just the kind of image the disciples thought about when they imagined Jesus as Messiah!

Now remember, these disciples already had many revelations of who Jesus was.  They’ve seen him heal and cast out demons.  They’ve heard him teach with authority, besting the Pharisees.  They’ve been sent out themselves on a little missionary journey, teaching about the reign of God and healing in Jesus’ name.  They’ve participated in two miraculous feedings of large numbers of people with very little food.  They’ve seen Jesus walk on water and calm the sea.  And only six days before, Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah!

And now this – to hear God’s voice telling them that they were in the presence of God’s son!  Wow!

They start back down the mountain.  What an experience – it was breath-taking, life-changing! 

But you know what happens when you come back from retreat – it’s hard to hold on to all that stuff you learned, all those good feelings.  The world presses in.  That’s exactly what happens here: Jesus starts to talk to them about his coming suffering, death and resurrection - surely that can’t be right.  There is a crowd at the bottom of the mountain wanting healing – so much work to do.  And confusing teachings from Jesus on greatness – who ever heard of one being great by being a servant? 

They don’t know it, but they are on the road to Jerusalem, and a meal, and a cross, and an empty tomb.   The glory they saw on the mountain top quickly becomes overshadowed by life, and for awhile, they totally miss that God’s greatest glory is shown, not on that mountaintop, but on a dark afternoon on a cross, where a hated Roman, echoing God’s words from the mountaintop, proclaims, “Truly, this man was God’s Son.”   

So what was the point of the Transfiguration?  We often focus on what it says about Jesus – here, once again, Jesus is revealed as God’s Son.  But…what if that’s not really the point? Or at least not the whole point? After all, the disciples have had lots of proof so far of who Jesus is, not that they really understand it. 

What if this event was just what these three leaders among the disciples needed to strengthen them for those dark three days ahead?  Sure, James and John go on to argue about who is the greatest, and want to sit at Jesus’ hand in the coming kingdom.  And Peter, ever led by his impulses, sits frightened in the courtyard of the house where Jesus stands trial, and denies him.   But what if something changed in those three on the mountaintop, something that gave them inner strength among the fear and confusion to gather everyone together, to try and figure out just what was happening to the Messiah of their dreams, to question again what all this talk about rising from the dead meant? 

What if the Transfiguration became a point of reference for them?  That night after a stone shut the tomb, and they huddled together in the upper room, listening for the tromp of soldiers feet coming for them too, did they remember seeing Moses and Elijah, and shielding their eyes against the brightness of Jesus’ clothes, and that thundering voice from heaven?   In their fear and confusion, maybe they took heart remembering:  “But God said this was his son!  We heard it there on the mountaintop.  There must be something more happening!  God, show us what is going on here!” 

We understand their fear – both the awe-filled terror Peter and James and John felt that morning on the mountaintop when Jesus was revealed in all his glory and the dread and shock of those dark days between Good Friday and Easter.  We know fear in all its manifestation – we live in a terrifying world.

This week, we begin our book study on fear, acknowledging that we do live in a world where fear reigns. During our time together we will name our fears and look for those moments of Epiphany – where God is revealed to us – and for Transfiguration – how those revelations of God changed and strengthen us.           

What are those places of Epiphany and Transfiguration where God is encountered?  What is your mountaintop, where Jesus is revealed as Son of God and God speaks to your heart, reminding you to listen to what Jesus says and does?

Today is the last Sunday in Epiphany. Today, we stand on the mountaintop, in the presence of God.  Coming down from the mountain top, Jesus led his disciples on the road to Jerusalem and to the cross. Wednesday, we will put ashes on our brows as we begin a 40 day journey that leads us also to the cross.  We begin again to look at our own path as disciples.  How has the revelation of God in our lives changed us and prepared us for the journey?

Right here, right now, we stand on the mountain top and hear God say, “This is my beloved son.  Listen to him.”  Jesus is revealed and the reign of God is lived out in this place.  But in a little while, we descend with Jesus into the valley.  How will you listen to him this week?

Sixth Sunday in Epiphany: Four Words

Readings for this Sunday:  2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Mark 1:40-45

If you had to describe Jesus or God in four words, what would those 4 words be?  Just 4 word, nouns and adjectives, not a sentence.  Take a minute and think.  If you’ve got a pen, write them on your bulletin.

How do you describe God?  That’s not a rhetorical question – this morning I want to do something that might be a little frightening for you.  I want to ask a question and give you all a chance to answer. 

Remember – this is not a test.  There is no right or wrong answers.  Nobody really has the definitive answer on who God is, and it would certainly take more than 4 words even if they did.

So, anyone, what words do you use to describe God?

I’ll share mine.  Of course, I did this little exercise on my own before I presented it to you.  I came up with the first couple of words pretty easy:  love, forgiving.  The third word came harder:  holy.  And I really had to think for the last word – I wanted to capture as much of who I believed Jesus was in only four words.  And I cheated a bit.  I wanted to say ‘God as one of us’ so I picked “Emmanuel” as my last word, which of course means “God with us” and reminds me of the incarnation – that God is one of us.

There are lots of ways of describing God.  And those words you came up with, especially the first one or two that came to mind, say a lot about what God means to you – how God speaks to your soul.  And it says a lot about your experiences with God.

Now, I’m going to read today’s gospel again, slowly.

And I want you to think about what it tells you about who Jesus is: 

A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. "If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean," he said.  Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," he said. "Be healed!"  Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.  Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning:   "Don't tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the Law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed."  But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn't publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.[i]

 If you had to describe who Jesus is, using only four words, based on this story, what would those words be?  If we asked Mark, what do you think his four words would be?  Or perhaps the leper’s four words?

I found this little exercise on one of the websites I study when I’m preparing sermons.[ii]  The author suggested these words: touch, compassion, willing, lonely. 

Touch.  I remember hearing a story once a long time ago.  A young boy went to church with his grandmother.  When it came time to share the peace, he enthusiastically went around shaking hands and saying, “Peace of God with you.”  As the activity wore down and people began sitting down, the boy continued shaking as many hands as he could.  His grandmother had to go get him and return him to his seat.

The next time he visited his grandmother, he asked her, “I want to go to that place we went last time? Can we? Please?”  She thought back to his last visit, and couldn’t imagine what they did that was so special he’d be so excited about going again.  The boy told her, “Remember, that place where God shook my hand!”[iii]

God shakes our hand.  God touches us.  God took on our flesh, became one of us (my favorite images!).  Jesus walked this earth, touching blind eyes, putting fingers in deaf ears, a healing touch to the sick, a blessing touch to the children, even a ‘put your fingers in my wounds touch’ to a disciple who needed to physically feel Jesus’ resurrected body.  God still touches us.  The ELCA mission statement is “God’s work.  Our hands.”  God touches us through the hands and hearts of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  And God uses us to be Jesus’ hands and feet and heart to touch others.

Compassion – love.  Jesus had compassion on the leper.  He reached out and touched the untouchable because of his love.  We will discover through Mark’s gospel just how far Jesus will go to show God’s love.  In fact, we discover that it is only through the cross that we begin to know just who Jesus is and what it means for God to love us.

Willing.  I had to look – the NRSV, which we read before this sermon started, translates the Greek word use here as “choose.”  “If you choose, you can make me clean.”  If Jesus chooses?   So l looked at the Greek and the word is “thelo” or “will, want, desire.”   “Jesus, if you desire…if you want…if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  And, of course, Jesus is willing.  It is the desire of God’s very heart that we are made whole, restored to relationship.  That’s why Jesus came.

Lonely.  I had to think about this one for awhile.  It comes from the reversal of circumstances between the leper and Jesus.  At the beginning of the story, the leper is banished to the lonely places, the country, away from anyone whom he might infect with his disease.  Jesus is travelling from town to town proclaiming the kingdom of God.  At the end of his encounter with Jesus, the leper is restored to community, and goes back to his village, and tells everyone what Jesus did for him.  As a result, the crowds begin to mob Jesus, and he remains in the lonely places, where the crowds still seek him out. 

There was a cost to Jesus’ compassionate touch.  It changed his plans for his ministry.  Last week our reading ended with Jesus telling the disciples that they were going to proclaim the message in neighboring towns, but now he can’t go into the towns.  Still, Jesus was willing to heal regardless of the potential for altering his plans.  Throughout his ministry, Jesus makes choices that cost – forgiving sins which enrages the Pharisees, hanging out with sinners and tax collectors and prostitutes, challenging the scribes and Pharisees when their interpretation of God’s will for the people binds the people in needless rules, turning over the money tables in the temple, going to the cross.  There is risk to loving someone, and Jesus was willing to take that risk even if it meant those agonizing hours on the cross, cut off from God and everyone.

And that’s really what the gospel – the good news is all about.  Mark begins his gospel with “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God. By the end of what we call the first chapter we are presented with “the image of a God who is compassionate; reaches out to touch us in love; is so willing and eager to embrace us in healing, forgiveness, and grace; and eagerly embraces the pain and sin of the world out of love for us, for us and the whole wide world we live in.”[iv]

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[i] Mark 1:40-45, New Living Translation

[ii] Dear Working Preacher, David Lose, http://www.workingpreacher.org/dear_wp.aspx?article_id=554

[iii] I cannot remember where I heard the story and it’s been so long that I’m not sure I have all the details right.  My apologies to the original teller if I’ve altered the story.  The point of the story remains the same; the boy experienced the church as the place where God shook his hand.

[iv] I couldn’t put it better than David Lose did (see above citation).  Thank you David!

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany: There are Two Kinds of People....

Readings for this Sunday:  Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, Mark 1:29-39

There are two types of people in the world:

Those who need to be cared for.

And those who are called to care for others.[i]

Take Simon Peter’s mother in law.  She definitely needed to be cared for.

It’s the Sabbath – her day to shine.  Worship on the Sabbath is rooted in the home.  Sure, you may go to synagogue on the Sabbath, but the crux of the worship is the Sabbath meal in the home.

And that is where a woman could really shine.  It was the mother, the eldest woman in the household, who was responsible for the spiritual life in the home.  She lit the Sabbath candles and said the Sabbath prayer.  She would spend the day before preparing delicious foods for the Sabbath meals.  It was festive, special, holy –an honor no Jewish woman would want to miss it.

But this Sabbath, Peter’s mother in law – we’ll call her Ruth – was not at her usual place.  Ruth did not oversee every detail of preparation for the Sabbath.  At sundown, Ruth did not light the Sabbath candles and say the Sabbath prayer, as was her right as eldest woman in the household.  Ruth was not even able to welcome her son-in-law’s guests properly as they returned from the synagogue the morning of the Sabbath.

Ruth was in bed with a fever.

It may not sound like much to us in this day of Tylenol and Advil and our knowledge of germs and advanced medicine.  A fever – that’s nothing to us.  But to Ruth, a fever was mysterious, dangerous.  It could very well be the onset of a deadly illness. 

Even more than the threat to her body, this fever threatened her place in society.  It isolated her from her community, removed her responsibilities, denied her privileges.

From care-giver to care-receiver in a matter of a few hours.  How helpless she must have felt when the others in the household not only took over HER duties, but also took care of her!

She was cut-off from the daily routine of the household – even worse, the need to care for her disrupted that routine.  Can’t you just hear her saying, “Now, don’t worry about me.  I don’t want to be a bother.”

How horrified she must have been that Peter brought guests into the house when she couldn’t make sure they were properly taken care of!

Was she mortified that Peter even ushered the most honored guest – Jesus - into her sickroom? 

Did she apologize for being sick in bed instead of greeting them at the door, even as Jesus took her hand and raised her from the bed? 

At Jesus’ touch, the fever was gone.  She was healed!

But even more – she was restored to her rightful place in her household.  Invalid no longer, she immediately began making sure her guests were properly welcomed and their needs cared for.

There are two types of people in the world:

Those who are called to care for others.

And those who need to be cared for.

It was a busy, exhausting day.  Jesus spent the morning teaching in Capernaum’s synagogue.  While there, a man possessed by a demon confronted him and Jesus cast out the demon.  Then he headed to Peter’s house for the afternoon and upon getting there discovered that Ruth was ill.  He immediately healed her, and she responded to his healing her by caring for his needs in return.  How wonderful that she responded so gratefully to him – sometimes it felt like everyone demanded something from him: healing, teaching, miracles.  But Ruth got it – she understood that being one of his followers meant to serve.  And she did, making sure he had the most comfortable seat in the house, offering him a refreshing cool drink, and serving a truly delightful Shabbat lunch. 

The respite Ruth’s hospitality gave him was short-lived.  By evening, it seemed that everyone in Capernaum was on Peter’s door step, wanting to see Jesus.  He spent hours listening to their fears and dreams, touching this one that was sick, blessing that little one, casting out demons.  It was hard work, but this was why he came – to proclaim the kingdom of God was near not only by his words but also by restoring people to health and wholeness and community, so that they may, like Ruth, care for each other. 

Before dawn, he awoke and quietly left the house.  He needed time alone - to think, to pray, to listen for God’s voice.  As he walked, did the words of Isaiah echo in his mind:  “those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”[ii]

His time alone with the Father renewed him.  When his disciples finally find him, he’s ready to go on to the next town, to proclaim the kingdom of God has come near and to bring healing and restoration to even more people who longed for the touch of God’s hand.

There are two types of people in the world:

Those who need to be cared for.

And those who are called to care for others.

And the truth is sometimes each of us needs to be cared for,

And other times we are each called to care,

And yet other times we are both.

We are broken in need of repairing. 

                                           We are called to repair the brokenness. 

We are sick in need of healing. 

                                          We are called to bring healing.

We are frightened in need of comforting. 

                              We are called to bring comfort. 

We are worn and tired in need of restoration.

                                     We are called to restore others to community.

We are called to serve, yet often we need to be served.  

We find that we are reluctant to admit our need, and hesitant to accept our call.  

There are two types of people in the world:

Those who need to be cared for.

And those who are called to care for others.

Which are you today?

Do you need to be cared for? Do you need to wait upon the Lord to renew your strength?  Like the children of Israel in exile, do you need to experience once again God’s steadfast love? 

Maybe you’re on the other side – strengthened and nourished by God, are you being called to respond with grateful service to someone who needs you to be the hands of Jesus reaching out to raise them up?  

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[i] This sermon is based on David Lose’s reflection “Two Kinds of People” found at workingpreacher.com.

[ii] Isaiah 40:31

Third Sunday after Epiphany: A Fishy Tale

Scripture reading for this Sunday:  Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:5-12; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

“The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time[i],”

A second time?  What happened the first time?

Let’s go back to the beginning of Jonah’s story.

God speaks to Jonah:  “Go to Nineveh and tell the people there that I have seen just how sinful they are.  Tell them to repent.”

And Jonah gets up and goes – in the opposite direction!

Jonah has absolutely no desire to go to Nineveh.  Nineveh was notorious for its vices – a real Sin City.  Plus it was the capital of Assyria.  The Assyrians were a bad lot – they had marched through Israel and defeated the Northern Kingdom.  Ten tribes of Israel were taken into exile, never to be heard from again.  But the Assyrians were only getting started.  They conquered a good chunk of what we now call the Middle East, as well as parts of Egypt.  They were constantly warring with Judah. 

No wonder Jonah goes in the opposite direction.  He has no desire to preach repentance to Nineveh.  If he does, there’s the remote chance that Nineveh will actually repent, and God, being gracious and merciful, will forgive them. 

Forgive them?  The enemies of Israel and Judah?  Never!

So Jonah goes to Joppa, and gets on a boat heading to Tarshish – in what we now call Spain.  That’s about as far away as he can get from Nineveh (which is located near modern-day Mosul in northern Iraq).

But God isn’t done with Jonah.  He discovers the hard way that you can run from God, but you can’t hide.

Once the ship is out at sea, a huge storm blows up, a boat-tossing, ship-wrecking kind of storm.  The sailors toss over their cargo in an effort to save their lives, but it doesn’t help.  It occurs to the sailors that such a bad storm might indicate that God was displeased.  They wake up Jonah, who was sleeping through the storm, and say, ‘Hey, you better get praying to your God – we’re going to die in this storm.  Ask your God to save us!”

The situation is dire and the sailors decide that they need to figure out who made God mad.  So they cast lots to see, and the lot fell to Jonah.

They start questioning him:  "Who are you and where do you come from?  What is your business in Tarshish?"

Jonah tells them the whole story – how God wanted him to go to Nineveh but he went the opposite direction.  Now the sailors know what the problem is – it’s having Jonah on board.  Jonah tells them to toss him overboard so that they will be safe.

The sailors don’t want to just throw Jonah in the water – they don’t want his certain death on THEIR hands.  But they do want him off their boat, right now!  They try to row to the closest shore, so they can leave Jonah behind, but the waves are so big and the wind so strong they just can’t make any headway.

They have only once chance.  “Ok, Jonah’s God – you want him off our boat, then we’ll toss him off.  Just don’t be angry with us for doing this!” 

Once Jonah sinks beneath the waves, the storm stops and the sailors go on their way.

It’s not the end of Jonah however.  God sends a big fish (the Bible never says it’s a whale) to swallow Jonah. 

For three days, Jonah sits in the belly of the fish, having a gigantic pity party.  “Woe is me. I’m stuck here in this fish. Life is so unfair!”  Finally, Jonah asks God for deliverance and God tells the fish to spit Jonah up on land.

At this point, sitting on the beach, blinking in the sunlight, and grateful to be on dry land, Jonah hears God call again – Go to Nineveh and tell them to repent.

Jonah gets up and goes - grudgingly. 

He gets to Nineveh, walks a third of the way across the city and yells “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 

It’s the most effective sermon ever preached!  The entire city from the king all the way to the animals fasts and puts on sackcloth and ashes and cries out to God for forgiveness. 

And…

God forgives them.

And…

Jonah sulks.

After his brief sermon, Jonah turned around, stalked out of the city and settled down on a hilltop, ready to enjoy the coming destruction of his neighbors.  No destruction came.  Instead of cries of terror and anguish coming from the city, he hears weeping and repentance.

Jonah’s worst fears are realized:  God indeed is merciful and just, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

Jonah yells at God. “I knew it!  I knew it!  I knew if I went to Nineveh and preached to them and if they repented, you would forgive them!  Them!  Our sworn enemies, our oppressors, the very ones who destroyed our country.  That’s why I wanted to go to Tarshish in the first place – I know how you are.  You sound all ready to judge, but as soon as someone repents, you rush to forgive them!  Arrrgh!  They don’t deserve your forgiveness – they deserve for you to smite them!  Just kill me now – I don’t want to live if you’re going to forgive them.”

God doesn’t kill him.

Jonah decides to stay on that hill top awhile – just maybe the Ninevites’ repentance will be short lived and God will smite them after all.  He builds a little shelter and hunkers down.

God uses this time to teach Jonah a little lesson.  So God plants a bush by Jonah’s shelter - it grows really fast and Jonah has this wonderful bush to shade him from the sun.  The next day, God sends a worm to eat the bush and all the leaves fall off and the bush dies immediately, leaving Jonah sweltering in the sun.  To top it off, God sends a hot wind to really make Jonah bake.

Jonah sulks:  “I can’t get a break here!  First God forgives the Ninevites, then this bush dies and I’m left roasting in the sun!  All this on top of those miserable three days in that fish!  Arrrgh!  Just kill me now!”

God says, “Really?  You’re THAT angry about that bush?”

Jonah says, “Yes.  Angry enough to die!”

God says, “That bush was nothing to you.  You didn’t plant it or water it or care for it in any way. But you liked it and that’s enough for you to be mad that it’s gone?  And yet you don’t understand that I care deeply for this city full of people, whom I created and love.  I don’t want to see them destroyed – I want them to turn to me.”

And that’s where the story ends.  We aren’t told what happens next.

We’re left to ponder and think about the point of this little story.

Here's what I came up with:

Point 1:  God is a faithful God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Point 2:  God’s love is for everyone – seriously everyone, even those people we are sure as so bad that they are beyond God’s love.  Even people we hate.  Even people who have done wrong to us.  Even people we are sure don’t deserve God’s love.

Point 3: God will do whatever it takes to show God’s love to people – send a reluctant prophet to the belly of a whale for three days, send God’s own son to the cross and grave for three days.

Point 4:  God calls those who love him – that’s us - to carry the good news of Point #1 to those in Point #2, trusting God to do Point 3.

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[i] Jonah 3:1  

A Prayer for the Annual Meeting

(If you are looking for Sunday's sermon, it's in the post below this one. )

In our Old Testament reading today (1 Samuel 3:1-10), God calls the child Samuel to be a prophet.   Samuel doesn’t recognize that it’s God calling.  He needs Eli to help him understand who is calling and how to answer the call. 

Often it’s the same for us.  We don’t know that voice we hear is God’s voice.  We don’t know how to answer.  Sometimes we put limits on how we think God can call us and what parts of our lives God’s call applies to.

In our Psalm today (Psalm 139: 1-17), we learned that God knows every bit of us, has known every bit of us from the very beginning.  There is nothing about us that is hidden from God – no parts of our lives are off limits.  There is no where we can go that God won’t find us. 

We move now from worship to consider the business of our congregation.  And it’s easy to compartmentalize here as well – to forget that what we do in the next half hour or so is also part of the call God has placed on our lives.  While we may think that approving the budget and electing officers is “just business,” God sees this as part of our holy calling – efforts to order our life together and allocate our resources in a way that honors and serves God and furthers God’s kingdom on earth.

So, as we start our meeting this morning, we go to God in prayer, asking that we may hear God’s call and willing respond, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Almighty God, your Holy Spirit equips the church with a rich variety of gifts.  Grant that we may use them to bear witness to Christ in lives that are built on faith and love.  Make us ready to live the gospel and eager to do your will, so that we may share with all your church in the joys of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.  Amen. (This prayer taken from Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal)

Second Sunday after Epiphany: Come and See

Readings for this Sunday:  1 Samuel 3:1-10; Psalm 139 1-17, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:43-51

Disclaimer:  I originally wrote this sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent 2008.  It still contains references to the events of that year.  Tomorrow, I am preaching an updated, revised, extremely shortened version of this sermon

The hockey season started very soon after my husband and I were married.  He loves hockey and really, really wanted me to go to a game with him.  Since I don’t like most sports, I was sure I would hate hockey.  I thought hockey was just a bunch of guys chasing after a puck, beating each other up. 

But since I loved my husband, and wanted to make him happy, I accepted his invitation to go to a game with him.  I had no clue what was going on, but I was amazed at the athletic skill of the players.  I couldn’t believe that men in such bulky uniforms could move so gracefully on ice.  I loved the rituals – the songs, the games between periods- and the community of the fans.  Eventually I learned to follow the game.

Hockey continues to be a part of my life.  It is a joy my husband and I share with each other, with his family, with my cousins, and our children.  I have many fond memories of “the Jungle” – the home rink of the Fort Wayne Komets.  I would have missed out on something good, had I not accepted my husband’s invitation to just check it out, to come and see.

Come and see.

That’s Phillip’s invitation to Nathanael.  Phillip found the guy predicted by Moses and the other prophets and he is so excited by his discovery that he goes immediately to a friend and invites him to share in that discovery.

Phillip invites Nathanael to come and see.  Nathanael scoffs that the Messiah could come from a podunk little town like Nazareth.  (We might say here, could anything good come from New Rome or perhaps from Michigan).  Phillip wasn’t concerned with Nathanael’s skepticism.  Phillip just invites Nathanael to come and see.  And Nathanael did see – he proclaims that Jesus is the son of God, the king of Israel.

Tradition has it that Phillip goes on to invite people in Greece, Syria and Phrygia to come and see.  Tradition has it that Nathanael Bartholomew goes on to invite people in Armenia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, and maybe India, to come and see.

Come and see.

We hear those words again echoed in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well.  She is so moved by her encounter with Jesus, she runs back to her town and invites everyone, Come and see the one who told me everything I have done!”  They came and saw and believed.

Come and see.

In the 1500’s, a young monk wrestles with his fear of a judgmental god and his inability to please that god.  His spiritual father, the abbot of his monastery, invites him to come and see the grace of God revealed in Jesus, by sending him to study in Wittenberg.  And through his study of the Scripture, he did indeed see.  He saw a loving God whose grace and mercy became the guiding light of his life, his preaching and his teaching.   Martin Luther passionately began inviting others to come and see and experience the grace of God.

Martin Luther’s passionate “come and see” echoes through the centuries.  In 1934, an American family visiting Germany was so moved by Martin’s witness and work, that the father changed both his and his son’s names to Martin Luther, in honor of the great reformer.  Michael King Jr. became Martin Luther King Jr.

Come and see.

Martin Luther King Jr. did not only inherit his name from his father.  King Sr. was a pastor, and the example of his daily living and his preaching invited his son to come and see.  And Martin Luther King Jr., whose life work we remember tomorrow, experienced in the Risen Christ a vision of God’s reign where every human, regardless of the color of his or her skin, is fearfully and wonderfully made by God.  His work for civil rights flowed from his firm belief that all humans are equal in the sight of God.   

Tuesday, we will see the first African-American president take the oath of office, a historical event made possible in part by Martin Luther King Jr.’s tireless work to invite other’s to come and see his dream of God’s reign realized in the world here and now.

Come and see.

His mother was an agnostic, a seeker.  During his childhood. he was exposed to Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism.  He also became a seeker, until he started attending an Abyssinian Baptist Church.  There, the life and witness of the congregation invited Barak Obama to come and see, and he found Christ’s gift of salvation.  He learned that salvation was not just an individual experience, but a gift to the community of believers.  In response to that gift, the faith community has the responsibility to reach out to others in God’s love, to help the needy, to invite those they encounter to come and see.  We will soon see how these beliefs influence his leadership of our country in this time of uncertainty and change.

Come and see.

As a child, every Sunday, my grandmother would pick me up for church.  I didn’t understand it then, but by bringing me faithfully to worship, she was inviting me to come and see.  Later, as an adult running from a religion full of “thou shalt nots” and shame, Father Andrew Greeley invited me, through the unfailing grace God extends to the characters of his novels, to again come and see, to reconnect to a faith community.  And the support and encouragement of my home congregation encouraged me to come and see, to explore God’s call at seminary.

Come and see.

We have a visitor today.  Stella Mandago will tell us about her vision for ministry.  I don’t know who invited Stella to come and see.  I do know that a missionary to her small town in Tanzania encouraged her in her dreams and her pursuit of education.  As a result of her invitation to come and see, she now seeks to “pay it forward” by working to build libraries in rural communities in Africa.  It’s a mission that meets a desperate need. 

Our missions both here and overseas, meet human needs for food, shelter, clothing, education, and medical care.  Sometimes we don’t realize that the very activities of these missions invite the recipients of that care to come and see the One behind the vision.   Jesus is met through the work of people who care with his heart.

Come and see.

Who invited you to come and see?  Was it your parents, by your baptism?  Was it a grandmother who brought you faithfully to church?  Was it the warmth and welcome you found in a community of believers?  How did the Holy Spirit work to bring you to faith?  How can the Holy Spirit work through you to bring others to come and see?

Come and see. What kind of assumptions and beliefs got in your way?  What prejudices and preconceptions keep you from asking the people in your life to ‘come and see”? Can we let go of our fear and anxiety of what other people might think of us to share the good news of God’s love through Christ for each and every person?   

Come and see.  God wants a vital living relationship with us.   God is calling “come and see and taste and hear and experience my love through Jesus to you and to everyone.  Come and follow, seek my guidance, let me comfort and encourage you.”

Come and see.  See how the Holy Spirit gathers us together, reveals the light of Christ to us through the word spoken and the water sprinkled and the wine poured. 

Come and see. God speaks “Come and see” through the gathered community.  The community lives out the vision of God’s reign here and now, in worship and in work, in service and in support, in fellowship and love. 

Come and see.  Come and see this guy we found – Jesus, the son of God, the light of the world revealed.  Come and see and experience and never be the same.  Come and see, and then go and tell everyone!

Come and see!

The Baptism of the Lord: If Jesus has no sin, why was he baptized?

Readings for the day:  Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11

Why did Jesus get baptized?

Jesus,
           the Son of God,
           the Word Made Flesh,
           is baptized…………
                                    by John?

John’s baptism, you will remember, is for the forgiveness of sins.  John calls for repentance and confession of sins and then he would baptize you as a sign of God’s forgiveness and to show that you are part of the coming kingdom of God.

You see the problem here? 

Right?

Jesus, whom we say had no sin, is baptized for……
                                                                   the forgiveness of sins.

Why?

Why did Jesus need to be baptized at all?

All four gospel writers talk about Jesus’ baptism.  If it shows up in all four gospels, it must be important!  Mark, whose account we heard today, places the baptism front and center!  No angels singing, or shepherds in the fields for Mark.  No dreams or wise men or a king so fearful of a tiny child that he orders the massacre of Bethlehem infants.  No baby sleeping peacefully in a manger with his mother watching over him.

Mark starts off with “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”…and goes straight to a grown up Jesus on the shores of the Jordan river, beard dripping and clothing clinging to him. 

This is important stuff, Jesus’ baptism.  It’s where the good news starts, Mark tells us.  So we better take a closer look at what’s going on here.

So why DID Jesus get baptized?  If it wasn’t for the forgiveness of sins, then what was the point?

What’s going on here?

Jesus is in the crowd standing along the edge of the Jordan River.  John is passionately preaching, “Repent!  Turn from your sins!  Turn to God!” 

People are approaching John, confessing the sorry states of their lives, asking for baptism.

A woman approaches, “Do you think God will forgive me? 

A solider goes up to John, “With what I’ve done and all those times I haven’t honored God, God will still forgive even...me?” 

John listens to their confessions and their desire for forgiveness, and smiles.  “Surely God will forgive you. Now here we go, into the water.  Leave your sins behind and come up washed in God’s mercy.”

And John dunks them into the water – the muddy Jordan River.

Jesus is in this crowd.  Jesus is in the line of those going to John for baptism. 

It the last place we expect to see Jesus.  It’s unexpected that the one without sin would seek baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  It’s unexpected that one who is going to baptized with the Holy Spirit would stand there waiting to be baptized with water.  It's unexpected for the King would be in the midst of the peasants. 

And yet, where else would Jesus be?

These are the very people he came to love, to heal, to save. These are the people who are desperate for God’s love and mercy.  These are the sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus goes to the crowd, becomes ONE of the crowd, becomes one with these sinful humans, standing in the mud on the banks of the Jordan, waiting for John’s baptism.

Why did Jesus get baptized?  Because it was a way of showing how he identified with humanity.  This is indeed the beginning of good news for us – God is with us, willing to get down in the mud with us in order to lift us out of the pit.

Did John know that this one standing before him was the one John had predicted would come?  Did John know that he was baptizing the one whom he felt unworthy to untie his sandals?  Mark doesn’t tell us. 

All we know is that Jesus was baptized.

And then…

As Jesus comes up out of the water, the heavens are torn apart, not just opened – but ripped into a jagged-edged opening that cannot be closed back up or repaired.  The boundary that separates those of us on earth from God, and also keeps God at a distance from us – the heavens – the heavens are ruptured beyond repair and God is loose in the world.  It’s significant that the only other time we see this particular Greek verb used is at the end of Mark, when, at the moment of Jesus’ death, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God in the Temple, is shredded in two. 

The heavens are ripped open and the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus, like a dove - visible proof that the Spirit of God is in Jesus.

God the Father speaks.
“You are my Son,
                the Beloved;
                           with you I am well pleased.”[i] 

Jesus is named and claimed as the Son of God. 

This is why Jesus was baptized.  In his baptism, Jesus’ identity is proclaimed and his mission is blest.  God is with him, God is in him, God is…him.

And God in Jesus is standing in the midst of us, just like one of us.

That’s the point.

That’s the beginning of the good news!

Baptism changed that day from John’s baptism for the forgiveness of sins to Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit.  Because Jesus stood with us that day, and received the same baptism the worst sinners did, we now come to the waters of baptism to receive the baptism Jesus gives, not only finding our sins forgiven, but discovering that we are now children of God and filled with the Holy Spirit.

And with water dripping on our forheads, we hear God say those very same words to us:  Beloved Child, I am so pleased with you!

The theologian NT Wright puts it this way: 
The whole Christian gospel could be summed up in this point:  that when the living God looks at us, at every baptized and believing Christian, he says to us what he said to Jesus on that day.  He sees us, not as we are in ourselves, but as we are in Jesus Christ.”[ii] 

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ started with his baptism, and God claiming him as God’s son, and God proclaiming God’s approval, and the heavens being torn apart, and the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove, and God, in Jesus, on the loose in our world.

It’s like that for us in our baptism as well.  God names us in the waters of baptism and claims us as child of God and tells us that we are joyously and completely loved.  The Holy Spirit enters our hearts and our lives and Jesus-God-with-us, through us, is loose in the world.

The veil is torn,
The heavens are open,
God comes down.

“You are my child.
My beloved one,
In you I am well pleased.”

---

[i] Mark 1:11

[ii] Mark for Everyone; N.T. Wright, Westminister John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, pg 4.