Saturday, December 27, 2014

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - First Sunday after Christmas - 12/28/14 Sermon - “Jesus was a Jew”

Sunday 12/28/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Jesus was a Jew”           

Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 61:10-62:3
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Galatians 4:4-7

Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:22-40                   


          Welcome again my brothers and sisters, friends, on this First Sunday after Christmas. In this First Sunday of Christmas we find ourselves in this Christmas Season of “Twelve-Days,” or as it sometimes called, the “Twelve-Days of Christmas.” This Christmas Season ends Monday January 5th, 2015. On Tuesday January 6th, 2015 is the holiday of the Epiphany of the Lord.
          In most churches in Western World, the Epiphany of the Lord, is a holiday to celebrate the visitation of the three wise-men or magi to see the Christ-Child. Since we generally don’t have a church service on a Tuesday though, we will, like many churches, celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord Holiday next Sunday, January 4th.
          This Sunday however, we now have the born baby Jesus, alive and well. Mary and Joseph are taking good care of their new son, the Messiah, in all of the traditional Jewish ways. In Luke 2:21 for example, Mary and Joseph get Jesus circumcised, as this was and still is the Jewish tradition. In fact, this is what Luke 2:21 says, “After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Now we are not told where this circumcision occurred. Some might say, does this even matter? Well, in the Gospel of Matthew 2:13-15 it says that Joseph was visited by an angel of the Lord shortly after Jesus’ birth, telling him take Mary and Jesus and flee to safety in Egypt. Specifically, this scripture says, first speaking of the departure of the Three Wise Men or Magi:
“Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

Now after me reading that, you might be thinking, well what does Joseph taking Mary and Jesus to safety in Egypt have to do with Jesus being a Jew, as the sermon title says for this morning? Well the prophet that the gospel of Mathew cites in the statement “Out of Egypt I have called my son,” is the prophet Hosea. In fact, in the Book of Hosea 11:1 it says these word, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
So what I am doing first this morning then, is first taking a little detour, to attempt to piece together the story of the first month to month and a half of life of Jesus Christ, who was very much a Jew. The only gospel accounts of his birth are once again found only in the gospel of Matthew and Luke, so these are the sources we generally have to work with.
Well beyond Joseph taking Mary and Jesus and fleeing to Egypt then, the gospel according to Luke reading from this morning, says that Joseph and Mary, with Jesus, came to the temple, which was in Jerusalem, for the Jewish religious laws and rites required of them.
Yet how could they do this, if according to the gospel of Matthew they had fled to Egypt? Well there a couple of historical facts that we need to face up to as a church here today. The first fact is this that King Herod the great, the father of King Herod Antipas, who was the one who would question Jesus before his crucifixion, died in 4 B.C. So, if you remember when I said on Christmas Eve, that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th, but we don’t really know his real birthday, the reality is, that Jesus was likely born four-years earlier than our calendar reflects.
You see the traditional Christian calendar has a line of demarcation in it when Christ is born. These years in the Christian calendar then become known as A.D., which is abbreviated for the Latin term “Amino Domini.” “Amino Domini,” translates roughly to “In the year of the Lord.” Have you ever looked at old wills, or deeds, or official papers, and the document says something like “In the year of our Lord 1875?” Well this is why.
So this detour then, is to set up first this historical facts and assertions. These assertions are that Mary gave birth to Jesus, and then shortly after, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled to Egypt, so that Christ wouldn’t be killed by King Herod the Great. They also fled to Egypt to fulfill the prophecy of Hosea, that “Out of Egypt I have called my son,” speaking of Jesus. By the way, historically then, this would have to mean as I said then, that Jesus was born in 4 B.C., or 4 B.C.E. if you use the more modern term. This also means that King Herod the Great must have died while Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled to Egypt.
I make this assertion because this Jewish family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, then enters Jerusalem 40-50-days after Christ is born. Now this is indeed certainly a tight time frame, and I will leave to you try to poke the holes in this, but this is the assertion. The assertion that Christ was born in 4 B.C., the family fled to Egypt shortly after his birth, and then they came back into Jerusalem 40-50 days later. Now here is the other real kicker, most scholars believe that Herod the Great died not only in 4 B.C., but in late March or Early April of 4 B.C. Due to this, this is why some scholars think that Jesus might have been born in March, or around then. Lastly, I’m not even going to get into the visit of the three-wise men or magi yet either, as that’s next week.
So, I will leave you to figure all that theology out, I just thought it good to flesh all of that out, to better make sense of it all first.
With all of this said though, Jesus was a Jew. Jesus’ parents were Jews. Accordingly they lived there lives according to the Law of Moses, or what it says in the Old Testament.
In fact circumcising a baby boy on his eighth day of life, is something that must happen to all Jewish boys, in accordance with the Law of Moses in the Old Testament.
Further, after the circumcision of the boy, Jewish law then says that the mother, in this case Mary, had to then remain home for a further 33-days after the first seven and circumcision, and then on the fourteenth day after the 33-days, a purification sacrifice had to be made, as it is stated in Leviticus 12:1-8. We would then have to assume then that Jesus’ circumcision occurred in Egypt or near Egypt, as they were fleeing to Egypt.
In the gospel of Luke reading from this morning, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus then entered Jerusalem for ritual cleansing. In Jewish law, this cleansing involves the sacrifice of animals. In this specific case, two turtle doves or maybe two pigeons are sacrificed, to ritually cleanse Mary from being seen as unclean, as a result of the birth of Jesus. Part of this uncleanliness has to do with touching blood and other things in the birth process.
So in reality, Mary and Joseph did not need to bring baby Jesus in Jerusalem, but they did, so that according to Luke 2:23, (It’s written on the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord.”
Once again Jewish families had to have an animal sacrifice after a child birth, and this had to happen, and had to happen in the temple in the Jerusalem, or as scripture often calls it, Zion. You might be asking then, well why don’t we have animal sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem anymore today? The answer to this is simple, the temple was destroyed by the Romans in and around 70 AD, and since that time, all that remains is the Western Wall, or the Wailing Wall. Should that temple ever be rebuilt though, animal sacrifices would likely commence once again.
So everything that is happening just before and in our gospel reading for this morning, are all Jewish religious laws and rituals. Except going to Egypt, that was all God.
In constantly referencing Old Testament prophecies and scripture then, to connect them with Christ, we have this morning a reading from the prophet Isaiah 61:10-6:23. In looking at 63:2-3 it says, “Nations will see your righteousness, all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name, which the LORD’s own mouth will determine.” This is correlated and connected then with Jesus being the light and righteousness of all of the nation, and in the angel of the Lord telling Mary and Joseph to name this child Jesus.
When we look at the Epistle or letter that the former Jewish Pharisee or priest named Paul of Tarsus or the Apostle Paul writes to the Galatians for this morning, he says, in 4:4:
 “But when the fulfillment of the time came, God sent his Son, born through a woman, and born under the Law. This was so he could redeem those under the Law so that we could be adopted.”

Christ, the Jew, comes not just for the Jews then, not just for Israel then, but for all people.
When we read the Apostle Paul’s Epistles or letters in general, we find often that he cites Old Testament scriptures to links them to Jesus in the New Testament. Paul could do this so easily, because he was a former Jewish priest or Rabbi and scholar. He knew the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible inside and out.
In looking again at the gospel of Luke reading for this morning, we have Mary, Joseph, and Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem to offer an animal sacrifice of two-turtledoves or pigeons to perform the cleansing ritual found in the Book of Leviticus. While Mary and Joseph didn’t have to bring Jesus to perform this cleansing ritual, they brought him to present him to the priests and God in the temple.
When they were there a “righteous and devout” man named Simeon, who was awaiting Israel’s deliverance, took Jesus in his arms and sang Luke 2:29-32 to the baby Jesus. Mary and Joseph were amazed at Simeon, and then Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph and said to them in Luke 2:34-35:
“This boy is assigned to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that generates opposition so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your innermost being too.”

Then after this, an eighty-four year old widow woman named Anna, came and praised God for Jesus. Anna spoke about the coming redemption of Israel.
Lastly, the gospel of Luke reading for this morning says that when Mary and Joseph finished completing all of the religious law and rites required of them, “they returned to their hometown, Nazareth in Galilee.” We are then left with Luke 2:40 speaking of Christ that says, “The child grew up and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’ favor was on him.” Since Jesus grew up in Nazareth then, we sometimes call him Jesus of Nazareth, or a Nazarene. We also have college in Rochester called Nazareth College.
As we wrestle with a lot of scripture and ideas today, I want to tell you this story called “The Journey to Eternal life,” with the archeological information taken from the Discovering Archaeology website. Here is what the story says: “The pyramids of Egypt are some of the most famous structures in the world. Most of us probably know that they served as burial chambers for the Pharaohs. But archaeologists report that preparation for death was important right across Egyptian society, not just for Pharaohs.”
For the Egyptians the path to eternal life was fraught with dangers, demons, and false trails. One must be well prepared. The Book of the Dead provided instructions, tips, and incantations for the soul on their journey to the underworld. The book was often excerpted on coffins and tombs, or the complete scrolls might be placed in the tomb.”
“The last ordeal on the path to eternity was the weighing of the deceased’s heart. This would determine their fitness for joining the land of the gods. Applicants who passed were welcomed by Osiris; a too-heavy heart laden with evil was devoured by a monster and the spirit banished into darkness.”
Christian faith of course sees death very differently. The path to eternal life is not fraught with danger, but has been made simple and open by Christ. And while our hearts may be weighed, it is not the degree of evil found within them that will matter but the presence of faith in Christ, who forgives all our sin and welcomes us into his presence.
Source.”
So as we continue to wrestle with knowing Jesus more, understanding him on earth as a Jew more, and wrestling with the gospels more, at the end of the day, Christ is the Messiah. He is the one who saves us from our sins. While we likely will debate the details of scripture until Christ returns, his empty tomb is what means we are redeemed and saved. For our risen savior was a Jew. Amen. 




Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Christmas Eve - 12/24/14 Sermon - “They will come and adore him” (“Signs He is coming” series: Part 5 of 5)

Wednesday 12/24/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “They will come and adore him”
(“Signs He is coming” series: Part 5 of 5)          

New Testament/Gospel Lesson: Psalm 96
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Titus 2:11-14

Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:1-20

          Brothers and sisters, friends, I want to welcome you again to this our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. We come together tonight, to worship, to pray, to anticipate, and to hope. We gather together to hope and pray for a better world. A world filled with love, joy, peace, mercy, and justice. We gather to celebrate the birth of a baby. Yet how can a mere baby be the source of such hope, anticipation, joy, and praise? After all, what different can one mere baby make?
          I think that for many of us the first time that we held our own children, or any baby for the first time, we looked at that child with awe and wonder. We looked upon that child, and we were amazed at the power of God to make such a beautiful and heavenly creation. Then the baby cried, and we then handed it back to its mother.
           When we gaze on a new born baby though, don’t many of us have hope? Don’t we look at that child and think about or talk about what that child could become one day? Could that child become a great scientist? Could that child find cures for cancer? Could that child win the Nobel Peace Prize one day? Could that child become the President of the United States one day? Perhaps that child will be delivered by his mother Mary soon, and perhaps that same child will one day not only deliver his mother Mary, but perhaps one day, he will also deliver the while world. Perhaps that child that will be delivered by Mary soon, will be called the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, God in the flesh, Emmanuel, Mighty Counselor, Teacher, the Holy One, Healer, and the Prince of Peace.
          You see a baby is coming to us soon. Like every baby, people will come and adore this baby. Yet this baby, has a special mission, has a special calling, and is in fact, the living God in the flesh. This baby is Jesus the Christ. The one whom many would come and adore, like we would come and adore any new baby. Yet we look on the Christ Child specifically, as we then see the brokenness and the pain in our own lives, and as we have hope in what this child will do, and what he will become. We then should look at the Christ Child with hope for the future, and hope for a better tomorrow.
          Well for the last four weeks I have been doing a sermon series called “He is coming.” For Jesus Christ is coming as a baby, and he is also coming to enter into his earthly ministry, after being baptized by his relative John the Baptist. Lastly, Christ also tells us that He is coming back one day, to usher in an era of peace, justice, and mercy. In this season of Christmas then, “He is coming,” coming to be amongst us, coming to set the captives free, coming to offer us a full heart, for our broken heart, coming to offer us love, coming to remove our despair, and coming to offer us eternal life.
          In doing this sermon series on Christ coming, I have talked about various signs, indicators, and clues that He is coming to be amongst us soon. I talked about how Christ encouraged us to “Watch out!” “Stay alert!” As he is coming back to earth one day. I talked about how a messenger, John the Baptist would prepare the way for Him. I talked about how all of these events would cause faith to grow in some, but not others. This past Sunday, I talked about the idea of the birth of Christ being ushered in by various miracles, such as Mary conceiving Christ as a virgin, angel visits to shepherds, Joseph, and etc. I talked about how these stories of these miracles inspire us even today, at the power and the majesty of God.
          Tonight though, I conclude this “Signs He is coming series,” with the grand finale as it where. This grand finale is the birth of Christ, is the baby himself being born. Now many Christian Churches celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25th, while other Christian Churches celebrate his birth at different times in January. Whenever we celebrate Christ’s birth though, as we are not completely certain the actual day of his birth, we are celebrating the birth of the savior. This celebration, is what really matters.
          Our reading from Psalm 96 for tonight really shows this reality, as it declares, “Sing to the Lord a new song!” It also says, “Bow down to the Lord in his holy splendor!”
          You see, this night that we prepare for our celebration of the birth of Christ, are we not all eclipsed by the majesty of it? No matter who we are, or what we are, He, Jesus Christ, is coming for us. For even the poorest of the poor came and adored him. He was not born in an exquisite palace, whereby only the rich and royalty could come and adore him. Rather he was born in a humble stable or more likely a cave like structure. His manger historically speaking, we think was a stone trough used for feeding goats and sheep.
          Not such an eloquent birth place for the savior of the world. Yet as the Christ Child is adorned in rags when he is born, and as he lays likely in animal trough, born to two most likely young poor teenage parents, many still flock to see this child.
          For life in Judea at this time was a hard life, as people were living under the harsh rule of the Roman Caesar. They had to pay outrageous taxes, and deal with constant abuses and oppression. Yet this poor, young, and probably teenaged couple had this baby in what was probably a stone structure, and put that baby named Jesus in a stone manger, an animal trough.
          In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to his friend and brother in Christ Titus from tonight, Paul says, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.” Then Paul says, “It educates us so that we can live sensible, ethical, and godly lives right now by rejecting ungodly lives and the desires of this world.”
          The Apostle Paul then goes on to tell his friend Titus, “At the same time we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.”
          You see, Jesus doesn’t just come to us at Christmas so that he will one day save us from ourselves, to save us from our sin. Christ comes to teach us, the world, an entire new way of being, a new way of loving, of living, of caring, and a new way of existing. While Joseph and Mary on this night had to go to what was probably a cave, so that Jesus could be born, and while they were turned away, because “there was no place for them in the guestroom,” Christ tells us all that He goes and prepares a place, a room, for us. For he turns no one of us away, he always has a guestroom for us.
          In the gospel reading tonight, shepherds flock to the Christ Child, as well as many others. They come to adore a poor child, wrapped in rags, born of a poor teenage couple, and born in the humblest of ways. Yet this child will one day stand against corruption, love all people, heal the sick, and teach us to love like never before. This is the Christ Child.
I would like to close this message this Christmas Eve, by telling you a story called, “The Gift of Us,” taken from Illustrations Unlimited, and the author is unknown. Here is how it goes:
“Marjorie Tallcott was married and had one child during the Great Depression. The family managed to scrape their way through, but as Christmas approached one year Marjorie and her husband were disappointed that they would not be able to buy any presents. A week before Christmas they explained to their six year old son, Pete, that there would be no store-bought presents this Christmas. “But I’ll tell you what we can do” said Pete’s father, “we can make pictures of the presents we’d like to give to each other.”
“That was a busy week. Marjorie and her husband set to work. Christmas Day arrived and the family rose to find their skimpy little tree made magnificent by the picture presents they had adorned it with. There was luxury beyond imagination in those pictures- a black limousine and red speedboat for Dad, a diamond bracelet and fur coat for mom, a camping tent and a swimming pool for Pete.”
“Then Pete pulled out his present, a crayon drawing of a man, a woman and a child with their arms around each other laughing. Under the picture was just one word: “US”.
“Years later Marjorie writes that it was the richest, most satisfying Christmas they ever had.”
“It took a present-less Christmas to remind Marjorie and her family that the greatest gift we can ever offer is ourselves, our presence. This too is the great gift that Christ offers us, not only at Christmas but throughout the year – himself. If he was to draw a gift perhaps it would be just like Pete’s: three people with their arms around each other laughing – human community with Christ at the center.”
          My brothers and sisters, friends, this is what the birth of Christ is, and this is how it changes us, and how it changes the world. So tomorrow, on this Christmas, love each other, love your neighbor, and care for those who suffer. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the widow, and care for the hopeless. For this is why he came, and this is why on this night so many “will come and adore Him.” Christ the Lord. Merry Christmas to you all, and Amen.
         

         


Saturday, December 20, 2014

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Blue Christmas/Longest Night Service - 12/21/14 Sermon - “Do we feel alone this Christmas Season?"

Sunday 12/21/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s
Blue Christmas Service Sermon

Sermon Title: “Do we feel alone this Christmas Season?”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 80:1-7
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Hebrews 10:32-39            

Gospel Lesson: John 16:31-33  

          Brothers and sisters, welcome once again to this Blue Christmas or Longest Night Service. Since the Winter Solstice falls on or near December 21st every year, we have this worship service. Specifically, we have this worship service every year on the Winter Solstice, because the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, and therefore, it also the longest night of the year. Since the Winter Solstice every year is shortest day and the longest night, it is also the day every year with the most amount of darkness.
          Since Christ is the light the world, we gather on this night with the most darkness, to seek and to be filled with the light of Jesus Christ. We gather tonight in all different places in our lives. Some of us come here this evening not liking the winter months. For perhaps we don’t like the cold, the darkness, or the snow and ice. Perhaps we gather this night due to physical pains, or do to a personal loss, or an emotional hurt. Perhaps we feel like that we are at the end of our rope, or spiritually empty. Maybe we are doing well, and are just here to worship and to pray. Wherever we find ourselves this evening, we come before the living God to ask Him to fill us. We come together to pray, to extend love to another, so that we are not alone on this, the longest night of the year.
          Tonight then, like every time we come together to worship, we come before God, and we come before each other, so that God may fill us. So that God may use each of us to fill one another.
For I find that so often that in this time of the year, many feel alone. In a season of so many events, and so much activity, how could anyone really feel alone though? Perhaps our schedules are very busy, and maybe we are doing countless things, yet maybe we still feel empty. When we fall into bed at the day’s end, maybe we still feel hollow and drained. Perhaps our schedule is not busy, and we are quite lonely. Do we realize though, that we are never really alone? Maybe we are doing pretty well this time of the year, and we are here just to worship, to pray for others, and to be filled by the living God. For whatever reason we find ourselves here tonight, God meets us wherever we are.
          In this season then, for some of us our faith is tested. Yet for some of us our faith is stronger than ever. On this day of the year that has the least amount of light though, do we still see God’s presence in our lives? Or are we so disconnected, that we feel as if God has utterly forsaken us?
           The God we worship, the Most High God is with us, when we suffer. The Most High God has promised to never leave us, and never to forsake us. For He is always with us, through the good and though the bad. In fact, the Apostle Paul said in his Epistle or Letter to the Romans in 8:38-39:
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

          While some days seem dark to us, while this is literally the darkest day of the year, nothing can separate us from God’s love. Do we believe this? Do we believe that God is always there for us, no matter what?
In addition to this, God uses us to love one another. You see sometimes God performs miracles, but the rest of the time, he sends us. While God is always there for us, God uses us as His hands and feet to care for and to love each other. For in the church, in loving faith communities like this, we find people that care for us, and care for each other.
          If I am having a down day then, I not only can turn to God, but I can also turn to God’s people. This family, this community of caring, this manifestation of the love of Jesus Christ on earth, is what the church is. You see the church building we are in, the family that worships here, seeks to serve God every day, to become more Jesus Christ every day, seeks make the world in His image every day, and seeks to care for all those who suffer every day. In this way, the church is much more than just a physical building, it is a living and breathing community of faith that loves God, follow Jesus Christ, and loves each other.
          If we feel alone in this Advent or soon to be Christmas Season then, let us realize that God loves us, that the church is a loving family of faith, and that we are never alone. For God works in us, and through us. Let us never accept the incorrect reality then, that we are alone.
          In the gospel reading for tonight from John 16:31-33, Jesus asks his followers if they truly have faith in him. For in verse 31 it says, “Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?” Jesus then goes on say in John 16:32-33, “The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”
          On the day the Jesus was crucified, all but one of his twelve disciples, the “Beloved Disciple” abandoned him, and he was alone on the cross. His mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and probably some other women disciples and followers were there, but otherwise he was left all alone. For Christ himself, the living God on earth, knew what it felt like to feel alone, to feel abandoned, yet he was in the Father and the Father was in Him
          So, “do we feel alone this Christmas Season?” The truth is, despite was the enemy of God whispers in our ear, we are never really and truly alone, for we have God, and we have each other.
I would like to share to story about being discouraged with you called “Not Much of a Dog,” by author unknown. Here is how it goes: “There was once an optimistic farmer who couldn’t wait to greet each new day with a resounding, “Good morning, God!” He lived near a woman whose morning greeting was more like, “Good God… morning?” They were each a trial to the other. Where he saw opportunity, she saw problems. Where he was satisfied, she was discontented.”
One bright morning he exclaimed, “Look at the beautiful sky! Did you see that glorious sunrise?” “Yeah,” she countered. “It’ll probably get so hot the crops will scorch!”During an afternoon shower, he commented, “Isn’t this wonderful? Mother Nature is giving the corn a drink today!” “And if it doesn’t stop before too long,” came the sour reply, “we’ll wish we’d taken out flood insurance on the crops!”
Convinced that he could instill some awe and wonder in her hardened attitude, he bought a remarkable dog. Not just any mutt, but the most expensive, highly-trained and gifted dog he could find. The animal was exquisite! It could perform remarkable and impossible feats which, the farmer thought, would surely amaze even his neighbor. So he invited her to watch his dog perform.”
“Fetch!” he commanded, as he tossed a stick out into a lake, where it bobbed up and down in the rippling water. The dog bounded after the stick, walked on the water, and retrieved it.” “What do you think of that?” he asked, smiling. “Not much of a dog” she frowned. “Can’t even swim, can he?”
          We all suffer sometimes, we all feel alone sometimes, but let us in this Season of Advent and this soon to be Season of Christmas, put our faith and our trust in God, and let us as God’s people care for and lift up one another. For Christ gave everything up for us, his very life, and he is coming soon as an innocent and sweet baby, so that we may believe, that we may faith, and have it abundantly. So, we are never alone, as we have the living God, and we have each other. Let us trust God, and love and care for one another, not only in this season, but in all seasons, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.


Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Fourth Sunday of Advent - 12/21/14 Sermon - “A miracle will occur” (“Signs He is coming” series: Part 4 of 5)

Sunday 12/21/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “A miracle will occur”
(“Signs He is coming” series: Part 4 of 5)          

New Testament/Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:46b-55
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Romans 16:25-27

Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:26-38                   


          My brothers and sisters, friends, welcome once again on this our Fourth Sunday of this our Advent Season. This season where we wait, we anticipate, we hope, and we long for the miracle of the coming of the Messiah. This season were we wait, we anticipate, we hope, and we long for a better world. A world where peace, love, justice, and truth prevails. For in this season, we await the Christ, the living God in the flesh, who will come to us as child in a manger in Bethlehem.
          This day is also the Winter Solstice, which is the day of the year with the least amount of light. For this reason, we will have a Blue Christmas or Longest Night Service tonight, as tonight is the Longest Night of the year. While hope is coming into the world soon, this day is literally the darkest of all of the days of the year, and sometimes on a day such as this, we need to pray, to mourn, and to come together as a family just a little more. For these reasons, tonight at 6:00 pm, we will have a Blue Christmas or Longest Night Service.
          This morning though, we continue to move towards Christmas, towards the coming of Christ. For He is coming to us in the manger this Christmas. He is coming to be baptized by John the Baptist, and to begin his earthly ministry. He is also coming back to earth one day. Regardless of which perspective we look at then, He, Jesus, is coming.
          In his coming, we are given certain signs or indicators that he is in fact, coming. Of the various signs and indicators that could be picked, I chose when Jesus told us to “Watch Out!” “Stay Alert!,” for his return or second coming to earth. I talked about before He comes, that “A Messenger will prepare the way,” in John the Baptist. Last week, I talked about how the anticipation of the Messiah coming will grow faith in some, yet others will reject His coming all together.
          Well for the Messiah to come then, in the fullness of what it means to be the Messiah, the anointed one, God in the flesh, it would seem reasonable and logical that one or more miracles would need to occur for this to happen.
          In this way, in this “Signs He is coming” series, I will talk about in this fourth part, the idea that “A miracle will occur.” You see the Christmas narrative or story in Gospels includes miracles. We might be asking ourselves, well, just what is a miracle?
According the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a miracle can be defined as, “an unusual or wonderful event that is believed to be caused by the power of God, or a very amazing or unusual event, thing, or achievement.”
            In today’s gospel reading we have the miracle of the Virgin Mary conceiving a child. Meaning that Mary, who was likely a girl around thirteen or fourteen years old, became pregnant without ever being intimate with Joseph. This occurred through what is commonly called the “Annunciation,” or the announcement, or the proclamation, from the Angel Gabriel that Mary had been chosen to carry the Christ Child.
          It certainly was also a miracle the Mary’s relative Elizabeth, who was perhaps a cousin, or perhaps an aunt, became pregnant six-month prior to Mary becoming pregnant. It was a miracle because Elizabeth was no longer able to conceive a child, due to being too old to conceive. It was also miracle that the angel Gabriel came to Mary at all in the “Annunciation,” and it was a miracle when an angel of the Lord appeared to young Mary’s fiancé Joseph in a dream. You see Joseph had quietly ended the engagement, or the courtship, over the pregnancy, but then an “Angel of the Lord” told him in a dream in Matthew 1:20, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
          It was also no doubt a miracle, when the angel Gabriel told Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah that she would conceive a child, that they would name him John, and that he would be “mute” until John was born. According to the scripture, Zechariah did not speak until John, who would become known as John the Baptist, was born.
          So really and truly then, when we look at the menagerie of varied happenings and events around the birth of Jesus Christ, we have many miracles. We have the “angel of the Lord” that appeared to the shepherds, we have the Bethlehem Star that guided the way to the manger, and etc. To have the birth of the living God then, having one or more miracles would seem to be a logical occurrence to usher in such a King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
          Specifically though, I want to talk a little bit about though just the miracle of the virgin birth of Jesus’ mother Mary. To start this, the gospels of Luke and Matthew are the only two gospels that give the birth narrative or story of Jesus being born. Further, in the gospel of Luke and Matthew, we are given the story that Mary conceived a child by the Holy Spirit.
          If this is true then, it certainly is a miracle. For to be a miracle, it needs to be something that is not easy to explain, that draws us to God. For if God created the universe and everything in it, could God enable Mary to conceive the Christ Child as a virgin? Do we believe in this Advent Season in a God that is powerful, that can change us from the inside out? Do we believe in a God whom can do all things?
          Certainly for some of us, the rational parts of our human brains would say that the miracle of the virgin birth isn’t really possible.
Yet even scientific discoveries are even starting to help substantiate the idea of virgin births in some species. In an article on news.sciencemag.org, Carrie Arnold Wrote an article called “‘Tis the season for twinkling lights, wrapping paper, and virgin birth.” In the article, she wrote this, “For billions of Christians around the world, the holidays are a time to celebrate Jesus’s birth to the Virgin Mary. But for many animals, virgin birth is far from a miraculous event. Researchers have discovered a growing number of species that reproduce without assistance from the opposite sex.”
“Known formally as parthenogenesis, virgin birth occurs when an embryo develops from an unfertilized egg cell. The development of an embryo usually requires genetic material from sperm and egg, as well as a series of chemical changes sparked by fertilization. In some parthenogenetic species, egg cells don’t undergo meiosis, the typical halving of the cell’s chromosomes, before dividing into new cells. These offspring are generally all female and clones of their mother. Other forms of parthenogenesis occur when two egg cells fuse after meiosis.”
          Am I claiming that Jesus Christ was born of virgin because of Parthenogenesis? No, of course I am not, I am simply saying that with God all things are possible. That God is so powerful, that through the Holy Spirit a virgin peasant girl named Mary could possibly conceive the Christ Child, through the Holy Spirit. It might be a stretch for some, but what is impossible for God?
          While being an unwed pregnant girl in Mary’s culture could have meant a potential death sentence for her, she instead even sings a song of praise, which is what our first gospel reading from Luke 1:46b-55 is. Mary glorifies the Lord. She rejoices that God has chosen her, a common girl, to do something so big and noble. She then continues to praise and thank God for choosing to bless her with being the mother of Jesus Christ.
          In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or Letter to the church in Rome from this morning, Paul talks about how Christ, and his coming, was the fulfilment “revealed through what the prophets wrote.”
          Looking at the text from our second and main gospel of Luke 1:26-38 reading from this morning, the gospel says that “When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who engaged to man named Joseph, a descendent of David’s house.” The angel Gabriel then announced to Mary in the “Annunciation,” that she would bear the Christ Child. The angel Gabriel tell Mary that this Christ, this Jesus, will be given from the Lord God, “the throne of David his father. He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.”
          Mary was confused as to how she could conceive as a virgin, and the angel Gabriel said that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit. She was told about Jesus that, “the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son.” The angel then said, even your relative Elizabeth who “unable to conceive” is “now six month pregnant.” The angel Gabriel says, nothing is impossible for God. May then says, “I am the Lord’s servant, Let it be with me just as you have said.”
          So from this gospel reading, it sounds like a miracle, if we are taking the text literally in this sense. In this Advent Season, and this soon to be Christmas Season, maybe we all need to believe in miracles just a little more, maybe all need to trust in God just a little bit more. For the fact that God will come down to us on Christmas, in the form of Jesus Christ is the ultimate miracle. Jesus, our savior is the ultimate miracle.
          Around us every day in fact, are miracles. When a child is born, it is a miracle. When someone cures a disease, it is a miracle. When someone has terminal cancer, and is healed, it is a miracle. When we go home to be with the Lord, sometimes this is the heavenly miracle that we really needed all along.
I would like to close with a story this morning called, “When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” which was reported in Hans, God on the Witness Stand (Baker 1987). Hans sourced the sermon from Arthur Gossip, The Hero in Thy Soul (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1930). Here is how it goes, “In 1927 the wife of Scottish preacher Arthur Gossip died suddenly. When he returned to the pulpit he preached a sermon titled “When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” In that sermon Gossip compared life to watching a plane pass through the sky during wartime. There you are, lying on your back watching a plane fly gracefully across a brilliant sunlit blue sky when all of a sudden it is blown apart by gunfire and falls to earth a tumbling, tangled mess of metal. Only on this occasion the gunfire was the tragically unexpected death of his beloved wife.”
Gossip went on to explain that he didn’t understand this life, but what he did know was that during this darkest period of his life he needed his faith more than ever. “You people in the sunshine may believe the faith, but we in the shadow must believe it. We have nothing else.” Without his faith there was no hope.”
          To me then brothers and sisters, friends, we can argue over whether Mary conceived the Christ Child as virgin, we can even debate other miracles. If anything though, let these miracles give us hope, even if we struggle with them. Hope is what is coming this Thursday December, 25th. For in the Christ Child, is the hope of the nations. The one whom will set the captive free, deliver us from sin and slavery, and give us a road map called the gospel, so that we may transform the world around us. This church then is a miracle. These stained glass windows are a miracle. For God’s love and grace itself is a miracle. This love and grace is coming, for He is coming very soon. Amen.


Saturday, December 13, 2014

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Third Sunday of Advent - 12/14/14 Sermon - “Faith will grow in some” (“Signs He is coming” series: Part 3 of 5)

Sunday 12/14/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Faith will grow in some”
(“Signs He is coming” series: Part 3 of 5)          

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 126
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Gospel Lesson: John 1:6-8, 19-28                   

          Once again brothers and sisters, friends, welcome on this Third Sunday of this Advent Season. This season where we wait, we hope, we dream, and we anticipate the coming of the Messiah, or as it is pronounced in the Hebrew the Mashiach.” Not only are we preparing for the birth of Christ the Messiah or “Mashiach,” which most Christian Churches celebrate on December 25th, but we also await his triumphant second coming to earth.
          As we walk through the gospel stories leading to Advent then, I have been giving a sermon series on certain signs or indicators that Christ or “He” is coming. Whether we are looking towards Christ’s birth, the beginning of his ministry on earth, or his second coming, we are given signs and indicators that “He” is coming.
In the first week of this series, Jesus said “Watch Out!” “Stay Alert!” regarding his return or second coming to earth. Last week, we read through the narrative from the gospel of Mark about John the Baptist, who was a “messenger” who prepared the way for the Messiah, or the “Mashiach.”
          In this third installment of this “Signs He is coming series,” I want to talk about the idea that when Christ talked about his return to earth, that when we read about the events that happened leading up to and including the birth of Christ, and or when we read about the events leading up to Jesus beginning his earthly ministry, that “faith will grow in some.” You see Jesus’s promised birth, and the events leading up to and including this promised birth did and will continue increase faith in some.
          In this way, in this Advent season of waiting, hope, dreaming, and anticipation, just like Jesus’ birth, just like his triumphant return, and just like his earthly ministry of Jesus, all of this will cause faith to “grow in some.” Yet, faith will not grow in some.
          Today we have yet another gospel narrative then of John the Baptist, in the gospel of John. It is important to realize that John the Baptist is discussed in all four of the gospel accounts that we have in the Bible. While John is a messenger that prepares the way for the Christ, as we discussed last week, John is also called to grow faith in people. While he is not the Messiah, or “Mashiach,” while salvation cannot be sought in him, he seeks to convince people that Jesus is coming. Some will believe John the Baptist then, and some will reject him and in his ministry. In this way, “faith will grow in some.” For some will reject this “messenger” who “prepares the way” of the Lord, and some will repent and be baptized.
It is interesting to note that historically speaking, baptisms generally only occurred for converts to the Jewish faith. In fact, the historical figures that were associated with baptism in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible were Elijah, prophets, and the Christ would baptize when he came. This is evidenced when the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem, which were priests and Levites, asked John the Baptist, “Who are you?”
          They then asked him are you Elijah? Are you a prophet? Are you the Christ? You see because according the Pharisees the only ones who could baptize people into the Jewish faith biblically speaking would be a prophet, Elijah, or the Christ. So John the Baptist they said, “Which one are you?”
So the notion that many were not awaiting the coming of the Messiah or “Mashiach,” is simply not true, as the priests and Levites asked John the Baptist who he was. A scripture that lead the Pharisees and Levites to make these inquires of John the Baptist was taken from the Book the Malachi 3:1-3 in the Old Testament. This scripture says:
 “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.”

Since John the Baptist claimed to be preparing the way for Jesus, and since he was baptizing many, the Pharisees and religious leaders naturally asked him then, are you Elijah? Are you a prophet? Or, are you the Christ? Why do you baptize John, the said?
When John the Baptist is pressed further about who he is by the Pharisees and Levites he then quotes the book of Isaiah 40:3, when he says, I am a voice crying out “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
So Jesus says “Watch out!” “Stay Alert!” John is a messenger who “prepares the way,” but do people believe him, or do they reject him? It would seem the answer here, as it still is today, “that faith will grow in some.” Some rejected John the Baptist though, and yet others were suspicious. For those who believe and were baptized though, they believed that the Christ would come, as he did. As John the Baptist would the baptize Christ or the “Mashiach,” himself.
John the Baptist then, came to plow the field of people’s hearts and souls, and he came plant the fields. Jesus would them come and grow the faith that John prepared. In this way when we look at the Psalm 126 reading for this morning it says in verse 1, “When the LORD changed Zion’s circumstances for the better, it was like we had been dreaming.” Then verse 2 says, “Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter; our tongues were filled with joyful shouts.” If you believed what the John the Baptist was preaching, if you got baptized by him, you might feel this joy and hope of the coming of the Messiah.
For many at this time longed for a Messiah as Psalm 126:4 says, “LORD, change our circumstances for the better, like dry streams in the desert waste.” Come Mashiach,” many said! O come, come Emmanuel, many said! John the Baptist claimed to be the one preparing the way, and as a result “Faith grew in some,” but some would reject John’s message of the coming Messiah.
John’s connection to God, his faith, and the Holy Spirit working in him, caused people to rejoice and to celebrate, for He is coming. The Apostle Paul encouraged the church in Thessalonica or the Thessalonians, in 1 Thessalonians to “Rejoice always. Pray continually.” Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to seek God’s will, to follow the Holy Spirit, and to not brush off “Spirit-inspired messages,” as John the Baptist this morning has quite a “Spirit-inspired” message.
Looking at this morning’s gospel reading from the gospel of John more closely, John was called by God to prepare the way for the Messiah. In fact in John 1:7-8 the text says concerning John the Baptist:
“He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

          As John the Baptist was calling people to repent of their sins, to be baptized, and to prepare their hearts and minds for the coming of the Messiah, he was questioned by the Pharisees and the other religious leaders. They wanted to know on whose authority he was preaching, teaching, and baptizing, and John said he was preparing the way of the Lord.
          You see at Christian Churches all across the world this Advent and soon to be Christmas Season, we preach about John the Baptist, the birth of Christ, the miracles, and etc., but does any of this grow our faith? Does any of this change us in our hearts and our minds, as hear this year after year?
          Advent and Christmas then, are seasons of spiritual renewal and rebirth. We like John the Baptist are preparing the farm fields of our hearts and our souls for the growth of the seeds of the Messiah to grow in a mighty tree of faith and love. So this Advent and soon to be Christmas season, like the hundreds that have preceded this one, like the dozens upon dozens that have occurred in this very church, “Faith will grow in some?”
          It is my hope that the power and the transformation that we can experience through Jesus Christ will change us all this Advent, this Christmas, and forever. That faith in this place will no grow in some, but instead faith in this place will grow in all. That we will trust the God of the universe with our lives, our hearts, and everything we have, as He shows us daily his power and his majesty. It is my pray in this season of Advent and soon to be Christmas, that you grow in your faith, that you grow closer to God, as we all await the one who will change the world forever, Jesus the Risen Christ. The one who taught us a new way of living, loving, and being.
I want tell you a short story about Hope, as so much of this Advent Season is about hope. This story is called, “Where’s the Pony,” by author unknown. Here is how it goes: “There were once two identical twins. They were alike in every way but one. One was a hope-filled optimist who only ever saw the bright side of life. The other was a dark pessimist, who only ever saw the down side in every situation.”
“The parents were so worried about the extremes of optimism and pessimism in their boys they took them to the Doctor. He suggested a plan. “On their next birthday give the pessimist a shiny new bike, but give the optimist only a pile of manure.”
“It seemed a fairly extreme thing to do. After all the parents had always treated heir boys equally. But in this instance they decided to try to Doctor’s advice. So when the twins birthday came round they gave the pessimist the most expensive, top of the range, racing bike a child has ever owned. When he saw the bike his first words were, “I’ll probably crash and break my leg.”
“To the optimist they gave a carefully wrapped box of manure. He opened it, looked puzzled for a moment, then he ran outside screaming, “You can’t fool me! Where there’s this much manure, there’s just gotta be a pony around here somewhere!”
          So my brothers and sisters, friends, do we head the words of John the Baptist this morning? Do we believe in what he said and did, do we have hope in the coming of the Messiah? Will our faith and hope grow, or will we reject John the Baptist’s message, and reject the Messiah or Mashiach.” As these scriptures have preached for centuries now, through hundreds upon hundreds of Advent Seasons, in churches like this one, faith grew in some, but not others. Will your faith grow in this season of Advent? Will you put your hope in the Messiah? The one who is coming to deliver us and teach us a new way of living, loving, and being Come Lord Jesus, Come! Amen.