Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - First Sunday after Christmas - 12/27/15 Sermon - “Left behind!"

Sunday 12/27/15 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Left Behind!”

                            

Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 148

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17

Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:41-52

          Friends, brothers and sisters, welcome again on this the First Sunday after Christmas. On this day, we are still in this season of joy, love, peace, and hope. We will remain in this Season of Christmas or “Christmastide” through next Tuesday, January 5^th. This season is twelve days long, or as we often call it the “Twelve Days of Christmas”. In fact in some Christian traditions the night of January 5^th, which will be next Tuesday, is called the “Twelfth Night”. It is called the “Twelfth Night,” because it is the last and final night of the Christmas Season.

          This Christmas Season, or “Christmastide,” or “Christmas Time”, or “Twelvetide,” is a fast season. It is less than two weeks! Yet it is a season that many find so much love, joy, peace, and hope. For many of us we gain so much in this season. Unfortunately for many of us though, some of what we gain is in places like our waste lines, and credit card debt. New Year’s Eve is this Thursday night, so we have four more days of naughty eating, before we make a New Year’s Resolution to join the gym, and lose weight. Don’t worry though, it is likely that our New Year’s Resolutions will last just about as long as the days of the Christmas Season.

          Many of us gain so much in this Christmas Season. We may receive gifts, and hopefully some loving time with family and friends. Yet, what do we lose during this season?

          For some of us we lose sleep in the busyness of it all. For some of us we lose the excitement that led up to Christmas. What was a few days ago wrapped presents under the Christmas tree, became what looked like shrapnel from a wrapping paper bomb. That neat pile of gifts, all nicely sealed with bows, might now look like that wilds animal tore the wrapping paper off. Bows are hear, paper is there, and many of us have that famous trash bag full of paper, card board, and etc. 

          What else have we lost in this Christmas Season though? I know that for some people, they mourn the loss of loved ones even more during this time of the year. I also know that some people are saddened when the full house becomes an empty house. So many people were excited to have their kids, grand kids, and even great grandkids visit. It was flurry of activity, laughter, food, and fellowship. So many were so happy to see people that they might not get to see that often. Then after all that planning, all that wrapping, we are right back to where we were before Christmas began. It is hard to have actually lost or to feel like that you have lost your family after Christmas.

          Imagine if you lost a child? Whether this is a child who died, or a child who had gotten lost. A couple of months ago I was in Wal-Mart in Cortland, and I needed to use the restroom. When I came out, I noticed a bulletin board that was on the wall with missing children. I then thought of those poor worried families, and the sense of loss that they must have over there lost child.

          In this same way, this morning we have the story of a young twelve year old Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus’s family and many others from Nazareth in the north of Israel came for the annual holiday of the Passover. From Nazareth, it is about 60-miles to Jerusalem, depending on the path you take. Bethlehem is about 65-miles from Nazareth. So Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, is about 5-miles from Jerusalem, where King Herod lived.

          So about 60-miles or so from Nazareth to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover. This Jewish holiday, where the Jewish people in Egypt took the blood of a pure and spotless lamb, and smeared it on their door posts. In doing so, the Jewish people were spared the death of their firstborn child. This was the “tenth plague” that Moses told Pharaoh would befall his people, if Pharaoh did not let the Jewish people go. After this “tenth plague,” Pharaoh let the Jewish people go, Moses led the Jews through the divided Red Sea. This very significant set of miracles and events in Jewish history is what the holiday of Passover is all about.

          Like any good Jewish holiday it involves a ton of food, wine, and laughter. This holiday drew in Jews from all over the Roman Empire. People from Africa, people from all through the Middle East, and etc. On the Christian holiday of Pentecost, which was during the Passover, the reason that many people understood all the different languages that the Holy Spirit gave to the disciples to shout out in the upper room, was because Jews from all different countries came to the Passover holiday. As result, they spoke all different languages.

          This Passover holiday was generally a seven-day celebration, similar to the Wedding at Cana, when Jesus turned water to wine. So a week long party and celebration. Since Nazareth, where Jesus and his parents lived, was a Jewish town, probably a great number of people came from Nazareth every year for the Passover. Since Jerusalem is about 60-miles from Nazareth though, it is about a 5-day walk from Nazareth to Jerusalem. When I say a 5-day walk, I mean getting up very early, and walking all day.

          Similar to the Christmas Season then, all of these people are coming to Jerusalem, for just a week, the way we might have visitors this time of the year. Passover was quite the holiday, and I would imagine that Mary, Joseph, and 12-year old Jesus were quite excited about going to Jerusalem. Further, of all four of the gospels, this story is only recorded in the gospel of Luke.

          In looking at this reading, we notice pretty quickly that we are not told anything about the week long Passover festival. What the gospel does say, speaking of Mary and Joseph is, “Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to their custom” (Lk. 2:41-42, CEB). In the next verse it then begins by saying, “After the festival was over,” so we don’t know what the festival was like for Mary, Joseph, or Jesus (Lk. 2:43a, CEB). I mean, did they all have a good time? What was it like?

          Another interesting thing in verse 42, is it says, “When he was 12 years old” (Lk. 2:42a, CEB). This is interesting, because some Biblical scholars have interpreted this to mean that Jesus’s parents left him in Nazareth with family each year during the Passover, until he was twelve. The thought here, is that some Biblical scholars think that maybe Mary and Joseph didn’t take Jesus to his first Passover festival until he was twelve, because he was too young before this time. We don’t know this for sure though.

          Much like our Christmas celebrations though, the Passover ended. Now if we had family over from Christmas, through New Year’s, then that would be close to the length of the Passover holiday.

          At this point in the gospel reading, the weeklong Passover holiday is now over. Luke 2:43 then says, “After the festival was over, they were returning home, but the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t know it” (Lk. 2:43, CEB).

          If anyone has ever seen one the “Home Alone” Christmas movies with Macaulay Culkin, we probably remember that famous scene of little Macaulay screaming in the mirror, after slapping on some his father’s aftershave.

          In this movie, Macaulay Culkin’s family, including his parents, sisters and brothers, and many others, are about to leave on a long trip. Well “Kevin,” the character that Macaulay Culkin plays oversleeps going to the airport, and no one wakes him up. There are so many people in the group, as was likely with Joseph and Mary’s group from Nazareth that “Kevin” in this case, like Jesus, was “left behind!”

          In the movie “Home Alone,” the character of “Kevin’s Mother” is sitting on an air plane after Kevin has been “left behind”! As she sits there, she was thinking, was it the coffee maker that I left on? Did I leave house lights on? Did I leave the doors unlocked? Then suddenly in the movie it hits her, and she shouts out “Kevin,” as she realizes that “Kevin” was “left behind!”

          I wonder what Joseph and Mary’s reaction was when they were a full day’s walk back to Nazareth, about 10-12 miles by the way, when they realized Jesus wasn’t with them?

          Now in the movie “Home Alone,” at first “Kevin” is thrilled that his parental overseers have left. He runs around the house, he jumps on his parent’s bed, and then eats a bowl of ice cream the size of Texas, while watching an R-rated movie. During this time “Kevin’s” mother is in complete hysterics, as he is having a grand old time.

          Well what the gospel of Luke goes on to say of Mary and Joseph is, “Supposing that he was among their band of travelers, they journeyed on for a full day while looking for him among their family and friends” (Lk. 2:44, CEB). Like the movie “Home Alone,” Jesus got “left behind!”

          As the gospel of Luke then says, “When they didn’t find Jesus. They returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple” (Lk. 2:45-46, CEB). Now Mary and Joseph had to walk 10-12-miles back to Jerusalem, and then they looked for Jesus for three whole days. I think of the movie “Home Alone” as little “Kevin” is sitting in his father recliner, eating ice cream, and watching an R-rated movie, while his parents are panicking.

          As I said, after a full day’s walk and three days of searching, they did then find Jesus at the temple. Here is what happened when they did, “He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and putting questions to them. Everyone who heard him was amazed by his understanding and his answers” (Lk. 2:46b-47, CEB).

          The gospel of Like then says, “When his parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother said, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Listen! Your father and I have been worried. We’ve been looking for you!” (Lk. 2:48, CEB). I wonder if Joseph and Mary were angry? May be they were scared? Maybe they were fearful? Christmas comes to end, people leave, and this case someone got “left behind!”

          So how does Jesus reply to Mary, “Jesus replied, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” (Lk. 2:49, CEB). Some experts have said that only Mary came into the temple to get Jesus, as she was the one who spoke to Jesus in the gospel. Maybe as one of my seminary professors told me once, “Joseph was waiting in the car outside the temple.”

          Now the next verse of the gospel of Luke is great to me. It says after Jesus responds, “they didn’t understand what he said to them” (Lk. 2:50, CEB). What I love here, is the combination of emotions that are going here, and we aren’t given them all in the scripture. In this way, we sort of have to fill in the gaps in our minds of how Joseph and Mary felt.

          Yet the next two versus to me are very telling, as it says, “Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. His mother cherished every word in her heart” (Lk. 2:51, CEB). I like how is says that Jesus was “obedient to them,” as if Joseph and Mary told Jesus, “This is the last time that we are taking you to the Passover!” (Lk. 2:51a, CEB).

The gospel reading then ends by saying, “Jesus matured in wisdom and years, and in favor with God and with people” (Lk. 2:52, CEB). This story then goes to two week from now, when we have the Baptism of the Lord Sunday. After Jesus’s birth story, and after this story about Jesus being twelve at the temple, the next story we have is Jesus is thirty and is being baptized by his cousin John the Baptist in the Jordan River. This will be on Sunday January, 10^th.

Sisters and brothers, the Christmas Season, just like the Passover festival can be a time of gaining and losing. It can be time where we miss people. Hopefully though, we don’t leave anyone behind!

To bring this sermon to a close this morning I want to offer you a quote from St. Teresa of Avila. This is what the quote says, “Let nothing worry you; nothing dismay you; everything passes; God does not change. If you have patience you can do anything. Those who have God want for nothing; God alone is enough”. While this is so true, I wonder what would have happened if someone read this quote to Joseph and Mary, as they were feverishly looking for Jesus. Would they thank them, or do the opposite. For on this day, Jesus was “left behind!” Grace and peace to you in this season of Christmas. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.

           

          

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Christmas Eve Service - 12/24/15 Sermon - “The hope of the world has come" ("Hope is coming" series: Part 5 of 5)

Thursday 12/24/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s Christmas Eve Service

Sermon Title: “The hope of the world has come”

(“Hope is coming” series: Part 5 of 5)         

                              

Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 9:2-7

                                                    

New Testament Scripture: Titus 2:11-14

Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:1-20

            Welcome once again my friends, my brothers and sisters, to this our Christmas Eve Service. This is the night that we celebrate and are soon to receive the birth of a child named Jesus Christ. A child, a baby, not yet grown into a man, and not yet the one who would call the twelve apostles. At this point then, we just await a baby. Admittedly, when the shepherds, when Joseph and Mary, when the Wise Men or Magi and many others were awaiting the birth of the Messiah, they only knew that he would be the Messiah. They didn’t necessarily know how all of the details of his life, his death, and his resurrection would play out. All they knew was that a child was coming, and that he would be called “Emmanuel,” or “God with us.”

            Of all of the emotions that exist around this promised one, this Messiah, this “Emmanuel,” one of the strongest emotions that many people had was the emotion of hope. For many had great joy, peace, excitement, love, and anticipation, but hope is what I decided to focus on in the season of Advent, and as of sun down today, this Christmas Season. For as of sun down today, we transition from the Season of Advent, to the Season of Christmas. The “Twelve Days of Christmas,” as we commonly call them, go from tonight through Tuesday January 5^th.

            Yet tonight, we await a child, named Jesus Christ. He is coming, hope itself is coming. Many people also realize that the Christian Church isn’t completely sure of the actual day that Jesus was born. Many people know that the church picked December 25^th for political and other reasons. Some people get very side tracked by the date that the Christian Church picked for the birth of Christ, yet on that first Christmas, many were awaiting a baby. Tonight at midnight we can say, “The hope of the world has come”.

            In this way, the date of the birth of the Christ didn’t matter, as it was the hope of what this baby was. I suppose if we were all alive back then, and if there was baby pool going on Jesus’ birth, we should have all put our chips in for December 25^th. In reality though, I don’t think that the shepherds, that Joseph and Mary, or the Wise Men and Magi were thinking of a specific day of the Messiah’s birth. Instead, I think that they were filled with hope and wonder over who this child would be. They were filled with hope and wonder over what this child represents.

            In the season of Advent, and now this Christmas Season, I have been preaching about the hope that is coming in Jesus Christ. We don’t fully understand who Messiah will be yet, we don’t know everything about him, yet he is the source of hope.

So many Christians that I have met are excited about the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, because they connect Jesus Christ’s birth, to the events of forgiveness and eternity. Specifically, many Christians believe that Jesus is coming to die on a cross for the sins of humanity, that he will be resurrected, and through our belief in him, we can have eternal life.

            The belief in forgiveness through the cross of Christ, and the belief in eternal life through Jesus Christ is very much a central part of the Christian faith. I would argue though that on this Christmas Eve, that we have more to be hopeful for than salvation through a cross, and eternity in heaven somewhere up there. We have the hope of something new, and something powerful. Our hopes shouldn’t just be invested in heaven, as we have a world in the here and the now that is suffering. Imagine if we took the hope of this coming child named Jesus, and imagine if we united around that hope. Imagine what we could come together and do for the world?

            I mean Jesus’ parents Joseph and Mary, the Shepherds, all of Jerusalem, and many, probably heard the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament about the Messiah. They probably knew that the Messiah was destined one day to die for the sins of humanity, and that new life would be offered to all through him. Yet they also heard that he would be called “the prince of peace,” and that he would create a new way of love, joy, peace, mercy, and hope.

             I think that many people on this first Christmas, saw their own life realities. The Jewish people in Judea were living under harsh and oppressive Roman rule. Many people didn’t have hope. Yet they then heard that Messiah was coming. Not only would Messiah die for them, but he would also no doubt say and do things that would be transformative.

            Today, we live in a world with fear, violence, terrorism, massive wealth inequality, and many people like the people that were alive when Jesus was alive were looking for hope. I say tonight, friends, brothers and sisters, “Hope is coming,” and his name is Jesus Christ.

            This hope that is coming is something that we have to invest in though. We have to choose hope. We have to believe in a better world. We need to come together as God’s people to claim this hope. When we do this, we can feed the poor, clothe the naked, provide clean water, end disease, and ensure that all of God’s children live with dignity and prosperity. For this is a great part of the hope of the Messiah. Not just salvation and eternal life, but in looking around us, a better life now. The Christian Church is charged with training up and raising up leaders who build God’s kingdom, as we await the coming fullness of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

            I recently put a quote on Facebook that I think captures the essence of what I am trying to communicate tonight. This quote says, "In this season of Advent and soon to be Christmas, may the birth of the Christ be something that we have great hope in. May this hope be bigger than just salvation and just eternal life. May this hope be so powerful that it changes us from the inside out, into people that actively build a world of peace, justice, prosperity, and love. For this is why Messiah came."

            I unfortunately think though that so many of us, my friends, my sisters and brothers, learned an incomplete gospel of Jesus Christ growing up. Many of us learned that God was angry, and that if we didn’t believe in Jesus Christ that we would be punished. That we had to believe in Jesus to go to heaven.

            If this is all that the gospel of Christ is though, then why do we have chapter after chapter in the gospels that talk about what Christ said and did? Sure Christ is coming to die for us, but beyond this, he came to give us life, light, and love. He came to show us how to love God and our neighbor, how to care for the poor. How to regard the elderly, and care for the widow. Jesus Christ, the hope of world, is so much more than a cross and an empty tomb. This baby that is coming, will change the world for ever. He will break social norms, he will dine with sinners, he will care for the unfortunate, and we will declare that the meek will inherit the earth. He tells us to make sure that we feed and clothe all people, and to build a world of equity, love, justice, and mercy.

            Imagine if we claimed that hope. Imagine what the world would look like if we really got as excited as Mary and Joseph did, as the shepherds did, as the Wise Men or Magi did, and as the people that were all around did? What if we really got serious about the problems plaguing this community, this country, or this world? Could the gospel of hope do more than just offer us salvation and eternal life? What if this baby named Jesus will one day grow up and give us a new way to live, to love, and to care for one another?

            To my dear friends, brothers and sisters, this is the full hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The hope of not only heaven, but the hope of a better world in the here and the now. A world of conscious, a kingdom of heaven, in the here and the now. A world where all people are loved and respected, a world where the love, the light, and the life of Jesus is lived. This is what the Christian Church was designed to be, and this is what we invite all persons to come to this church and to help us to build. To build God’s kingdom, as we await the coming kingdom. For this is our hope.

            So many of us right now, right where we are sitting, need hope, and I would assert on this night, that we can find hope in Jesus Christ. I would assert that when we come together as sisters and brothers, that we can build hope. We can stand strongly on who Jesus Christ is, as we seek to build a better world. We are stronger together, and together we can do so much.

            When we feed people, when we love people, when make the world better with our words, our actions, and our deeds, we are being children of hope. Jesus Christ is coming soon, so that we have hope in a better world, a world of conscious, a kingdom of heaven.

            As the people of ancient Israel were awaiting the birth of the Messiah they looked to scriptures written by Old Testament prophets, such as Isaiah. Isaiah who said of the Messiah, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned” (Isa. 9:2, CEB). Powerful imagery here. Light and hope are coming, light and hope are here. Do we claim this light and hope?

            Isaiah says of this child, this Jesus, that he will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6b, CEB). Imagine the hope of these words, and what we can do with together with these words.

            In our New Testament reading from tonight, taken from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to his friend Titus, we have these words, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. It educates us so that we live sensible, ethical, and godly lives right now by rejecting ungodly lives and the desires of this world” (Titus 2:11-12, CEB). The Apostle Paul then says to his friend Titus, “At the same time we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and savior Jesus Savior” (Titus, 2:13, CEB). The Apostle Paul is telling Titus, we believe in Jesus, and in who he is, but we also need to live good lives now. We need to make the world better today. It is important.

            In our gospel reading for tonight, from the gospel of Luke, we have the famous story of Mary and Joseph coming to Bethlehem, as Caesar Augustus was doing a population census of the whole Roman Empire (Lk. 2:1-2, CEB). Mary then gives birth to Jesus in stable or a stone structure, and the shepherds come (Lk. 2:6-17, CEB). In the gospel of Matthew, then the Wise Men or Magi come. There is the bright star over the manger and the stable, and there is great hope. Even though everyone didn’t fully understand who this Messiah was yet, they had great hope. Imagine how that hope changed them? Imagine what we could do in the here and the now with hope like that?

            When we claim the hope of the gospel it changes us, and then God can use us to change others. For Messiah comes so that we can have life, love, light, and hope.

            I was given a nice Christmas gift this year that has a good quote on it about hope. I would like to read to you what this wall plaque has to say. It says: “If you planted hope today in any hopeless heart, If someone’s burden was lighter because you did your part, If you cause a laugh that chased a tear away, If tonight your name is mentioned when someone kneels to pray, Then your day was well spent”. Hope friends, brothers and sisters, hope in a child named Jesus Christ. Hope is here if we claim it.

I would like to share a story with you on this Christmas Eve that really encapsulates the hope of Christmas, the hope of Jesus Christ. This story is taken from Alfred Edersheim’s book “The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah”. This story is called, “A Story of Hope and Survival,” and here is how it goes: “Jesus’ society knew great pain and oppression. Rome ruled. Corrupt tax collectors burdened the people. Some religious leaders even sanctioned physical beating of Jewish citizens participating in compulsory religious duties.”

“Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary traveled a long distance to Bethlehem to register for a census but could not obtain proper lodging. Mary bore her baby and laid him in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. Eventually, King Herod sought to kill the baby. Warned of impending risk, Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt, then returned home after Herod’s death.”

“Imagine how Mary felt. Traveling while pregnant would be challenging. Fleeing to another nation lest some king slay your son would not be pleasant. Yet she, Joseph, and Jesus survived the ordeal.”

“In the midst of social and cultural challenges, the Christmas story offers hope and encouragement toward survival, hope of new life linked to something—someone—greater than oneself. One of Jesus’ followers said Jesus’ “name . . . [would] be the hope of all the world.”

“So, the Christmas story is important because it has endured and because it speaks of hope and survival.”

            My friends, my sisters and brothers, Jesus Christ is indeed the hope of the world. “The hope of the world has come”. He is in us and amongst us. Do we claim this hope in this season of Christmas? Imagine what would happen if we did”? Image how we could take the hope of Jesus Christ, and change the world with this hope. May we all have a blessed and hope filled Christmas. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.

           

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Fourth Sunday of Advent - 12/20/15 Sermon - “He will surely become great throughout the earth" ("Hope is coming" series: Part 4 of 5)

Sunday 12/20/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “He will surely become great throughout the earth”

(“Hope is coming” series: Part 4 of 5)          

                            

Old Testament Lesson: Micah 5:2-5a

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 10:5-10

Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:39-45

          Welcome again, friends, sisters and brothers, on this the Fourth Sunday of Advent. This season that we await the coming and the return of Christ. This season of love, of joy, of peace, and of hope.

          While this season of Advent is many things, I have decided to focus my sermons in Advent and on Christmas Eve, on the concept of hope. We seem to live in a world today that is plagued with so much violence, injustice, and oppression, that some have lost hope. How do we then in this season of Advent, and in general, speak hope, and claim hope, when it seems like that there is so little hope? If Jesus Christ is the hope of the world, which I believe Jesus Christ is, how do we claim that hope in this season of Advent and soon the season of Christmas?

          In doing a five part sermon series called the “Hope is Coming” series, I have been connecting with our lectionary scriptures each week, as I have been expanding upon the idea of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. In a central way, many Christians believe that Jesus Christ will come to earth, as God in the flesh, to die for the sins of humanity. For many Christians, the coming of the Messiah into this world, and his return, is very much tied to the idea of eternal life. This is the reality that since Jesus is going to be born soon, and since Jesus will then die for our sins, and will be raised from the dead, that is the core source of Christian hope.

          I would say that this is indeed the core of the gospel of hope. In this season of Advent and soon the season Christmas though, I have also been exploring what else we can do with the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. I mean, we can simply believe in who he was, and is, and what he did on a cross. We can simply believe in the empty tomb, and eternal life. Yet, at the same time, we still have a world that is suffering so much. Given this, are we to only have hope in eternal life, and not be concerned about our lives here on earth?

          To me, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of hope, is a gospel that is designed to unite faith and action. This means that we should believe in Jesus, that we should believe in what he did, and who he is. Yet, it also means, that we should explore what we can do with this hope? Building the kingdom of God here on earth means that we might have to pick up a hammer, or dig a well. Faith then should inspire us to live differently, and to live into the hope that we have been given in Jesus Christ.

          As I have discussed in the previous three sermons, most people place great hope in their children and in their grandchildren. We consider with hope what these children will become one day, and how they will make the world better. The reality is, as individuals, and as a church, we can feed the world, provide clean water, end malaria deaths, and etc. If we are so excited about eternal life, then our excitement on this earth should be a reflection of who we know Jesus Christ is, and what he has done for us. The Christian Church can then become a mission to feed, clothe, and in some cases even house the poor. We can be agents of hope now, as we will all one day see the hereafter. The gospel of hope then must be more than something we just hope for when we die on earth. It should be what we are making into a reality here on earth. If Christ truly taught us how to radically love each other and change the world, then we must live that hope. It is who we are as Christ followers.

          Part of this process of living hope, is God raising up leaders. In the process of us preaching the gospel of hope, serving others, and creating a better world, God tugs on the heart strings of some people. God, through our faith, our works, and our love, can call people forward into his service. Since we have such a great love for Jesus Christ and his gospel, this hope that we share has created dynamic leaders. This church has played a part in the calling of Rev. Wesley Sanders, Rev. Roger Smith, scores of leaders within the laity of the church, and one day Rev. Theresa Eggleston.

          Hope then isn’t just changing the world as far as feeding, clothing, building, and offering clean water. For in the process of bringing this hope my brothers and sisters, God will inevitably use us to raise up great and dynamic leaders. This church has played a part in the call story of Alan McCormick, and I am sure many others. I can image 10-20 years from now, after all the “old guard” of pastors have retired, that people like Alan and me will be ushering in a new era of hope, peace, justice, and love. Since you have claimed the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have in effect given me and many others some of that hope.

          Part of hope then, is the production of leaders, who then in turn bring forth more hope. This is a church that has inspired so many, yet so many in the world say that the church is nothing more than a business. I say if we are a business, than what we make and market is hope. In the United Methodist Church all pastors, deacons, and etc. generally have received their calling from God in a local church. When you bring forth hope, you pass the torch to me, and others. This is part of the hope of gospel of Jesus Christ.

          This morning in our lectionary scriptures, we have the story from the gospel of Luke where Jesus’ mother Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist, and Mary of course is pregnant with Jesus. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth was filled with hope and joy. The gospel says that Elizabeth said, “God has blessed you above all women, and he has blessed the child you carry” (Luke 1:42, CEB). This a place that is drawn from for the “Hail Mary” prayer, that our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters say. This prayer begins by saying “Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women,” which is similar to what Elizabeth says to Mary in this scripture. Elizabeth had great hope, and she wanted to encourage Mary and instill this hope in her. In a similar way you all have given and have shown similar hope to so many.

          The gospel reading then also says that Elizabeth said to Mary, “As soon as I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy” (Luke 1:44, CEB). Hope my brothers and sisters, the hope that we are called to bring forth in the name of Jesus Christ. The hope that changes us, and raises up leaders.

          In the reading from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Hebrews, he talks about how we can have hope in who Jesus Christ is. Paul writes, “We have been made holy by God’s will through the offering of Jesus Christ’s body once and for all” (Heb. 10:10, CEB). Paul says that Christ will die for us, so that we may be set free. So that we can be children of new hope. What do we do with this hope?

          The scripture that I extracted for my sermon title from this morning, is from the Old Testament prophet Micah. In this scripture, Micah is prophetically speaking about the coming of the Messiah. Micah begins this scripture by telling Bethlehem of Ephrathah, that the Messiah will come forth from there (Mic. 5:1, CEB). Ephrathah, by the way, is an ancient name for Bethlehem, and also the name of the district that Bethlehem was in. Micah then writes of this coming Messiah that, “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.” (Mic. 4a, CEB). Micah then concludes by saying, “They will dwell secure, because he will surely become great throughout the earth; he will become one of peace” (Mic. 5:4b-5a, CEB).

          When we bring the hope and the love of the gospel to others, God uses us to create people who become more like Jesus Christ. People that “will surely become great through the earth” (Mic. 5b, CEB).

          Part of our hope in this season of Advent and soon Christmas, is the reality of what our hope in gospel of Jesus Christ can do. How God can use us to raise up leaders? To raise up Godly men and women who “will surely become great through the earth” (Mic. 5b, CEB).

          The hope of the gospel then, is the hope of salvation, the hope of our children, the hope of the future, the hope of building a better and more just world, and the hope of God using us to raise up righteous and holy leaders that “will surely become great through the earth” (Mic. 5b, CEB).

I want to tell you a story about hope and about God using us to raise up leaders. This story is called “Why Desmond Tutu Became an Anglican Priest.” This story has been widely reported including by Tutu himself in a 2003 interview with the BBC and in Tutu’s Nobel Prize ceremony. Here is how it goes: “All of us have heard of Desmond Tutu, but few of us will know who Trevor Huddleston is. Yet without Trevor Huddleston there may have been no anti-apartheid leader named Tutu.”

“Asked by the BBC to identify the defining moment in his life Desmond Tutu spoke of the day he and his mother were walking down the street. Tutu was nine years old. A tall white man dressed in a black suit came towards them. In the days of apartheid, when a black person and a white person met while walking on a footpath, the black person was expected to step into the gutter to allow the white person to pass and nod their head as a gesture of respect. But this day, before a young Tutu and his mother could step off the sidewalk the white man stepped off the sidewalk and, as my mother and I passed, tipped his hat in a gesture of respect to her!”

“The white man was Trevor Huddleston, an Anglican priest who was bitterly opposed to apartheid. It changed Tutu’s life. When his mother told him that Trevor Huddleston had stepped off the sidewalk because he was a man of God Tutu found his calling. “When she told me that he was an Anglican priest I decided there and then that I wanted to be an Anglican priest too. And what is more, I wanted to be a man of God” said Tutu.”

“Huddleston later became a mentor to Desmond Tutu and his commitment to the equality of all human beings due to their creation in God’s image became a key driver in Tutu’s opposition to apartheid.”

            My sisters and brothers, “Hope is Coming,” and his name is Jesus Christ. May we claim that hope in this season of Advent, and always, as God just might use you to raise up a man or a woman who “will surely become great through the earth” (Mic. 5b, CEB). May we seek to offer of the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For God might just use you to change the world. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.

Freeville UMC - Blue Christmas/Longest Night Service - 12/19/15 Sermon - “The Hope of the Gospel"

Saturday 12/19/15 Freeville UMC

“Blue Christmas” Service

Sermon Title: “The Hope of the Gospel”

                            

Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 80:1-7

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 10:32-39

Gospel Lesson: John 16:31-33

          Friends, sisters and brothers, welcome again to this “Blue Christmas” Service. This service is sometimes also called “The Longest Night Service”, as this service is often held on the Winter Solstice. This year the Winter Solstice is on Tuesday December 22^nd, which is also the first day of winter. On the Winter Solstice, which in this case is on Tuesday December 22^nd, it is the longest night of the year. This means that the Winter Solstice is the day of the year that has the most darkness. The least amount of sun light. This extra darkness might only be for a few more minutes, but nevertheless this Tuesday is going to be the longest night of this year.

          While some pastors are having their “Longest Night” or “Blue Christmas Service” next Tuesday on December 22^nd, I decided to have ours tonight. I decided to do this for two reasons. One, one of the titles of this service, “Blue Christmas,” brings us into the reality that for some people, the seasons of Advent and Christmas are ones in which we sometimes feel “blue” or sad. Perhaps we don’t mean to, but maybe we have experienced some kind of loss. This loss has made us feel “blue” or down. Maybe something else has made us feel “blue” or down, as well. This can be hard for us, because we are so often told by our culture that during the Advent and the Christmas Seasons that we are supposed to be cheery and happy. What if you are trying your best to be cheery and happy though, and you just aren’t right now? You see while the Winter Solstice or the “Longest Night” is on Tuesday, this is still a cold and a dark night. So this is one reason that I chose tonight for this service.

          We gather tonight then, to pause in this season of Advent that will soon become the season of Christmas. Some of us maybe have come here with pains and hurts, and some of us maybe have come here to pause from the busyness that is this time of the year. Whatever our reasons for coming tonight, we have all come out into the darkness to seek the light that is Jesus Christ. Whether it be tonight or on Tuesday night, we are in darkness, and we seek the light of Christ together.

          The second reason that I have decided to do this service tonight, is that some of my clergy brothers and sisters will be doing like services at their churches this Tuesday. For example, my friend and brother Rev. Harold Wheat will be having his “Longest Night” service on the Winter Solstice, at the Dryden United Methodist Church, at 7:00 pm on Tuesday. We then have the opportunity to not only gather tonight, but there will be other opportunities on Tuesday, during the Winter Solstice to gather again.

          One of the reasons that I really love the “Blue Christmas” or the “Longest Night” service, is that is speaks to our human condition. As Christians, we are taught and we read in scripture that through Jesus Christ we can have new life, peace, and abundant joy. In the season that we prepare for the birth of the savior of the world, many of us have been taught to be cheery, happy, and full of joy. We are supposed to be chipper and excited. Yet what happens when we are none of these things? Are we then doing the Christian faith wrong?

Or is there a strong precedent in scripture for sometimes experiencing suffering, even when we seek to have joy? The Apostle Paul talked about having a “thorn in his flesh” all throughout his ministry, and if you have read the Book of Job, we know that he had some sorrow and misery.

          I truly don’t think that God wants us to suffer in this season of Advent and soon Christmas, but some people just do. Some people might also come tonight, in need of a break or a “check-in” with God during this very busy time of the year. So we gather, we are who are feeling “blue,” we who need a rest, we who are burdened, we who are overwhelmed. I would encourage you all to uphold each other in prayer and in love on the actual longest night of year, this Tuesday December 22^nd, on the winter solstice. Let us also do the same tonight, and every night, for Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

          In looking at the scriptures for this evening’s “Blue Christmas” or “Longest Night” Service, we first have a reading from Psalm 80:1-7. In this reading we hear the words spoken to God, “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved” (Ps. 80:3, NRSV). Despite their best efforts, the people of Israel in this verse feel cut off from God, and are suffering. How many of us despite our best efforts tonight, feel like that God is distant from us and that we are suffering. We don’t desire to suffer, but sometimes, just like the people of Israel, we just do.

          In fact, the scripture then says, “O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure” (Ps. 80:4-5, NRSV). This is powerful scripture, as we can hear about the sorrow and the faith struggles that the people of Israel are having. How many of us have ever felt like this? Maybe we feel this way tonight?

          The scripture from Psalm 80 for tonight ends with, “You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved” (Ps. 80:6-7, NRSV). Perhaps some of us tonight are looking for the shining face of God, so that we may the joy and the peace of the Lord. Suffering, feeling blue, and struggling on our longest nights, is something that many people in the Bible experienced. Despite their best efforts and our best efforts, sometimes we are “blue,” and sometimes we suffer.

          In the New Testament reading for tonight from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Hebrews he writes, “But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings” (Heb. 10:32, NRSV). The Apostle Paul is saying, “remember when we suffered?” The Apostle Paul, the one who had the “thorn in his side”, and the one who said that he was “the chief of all sinners,” had times of suffering. How many of us have had suffering or are suffering tonight?

          The Apostle Paul goes on to say that the Christians of his time were “sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometime being partners with those so treated”. (Heb. 10:33, NRSV). Paul then says, “For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet “in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay; but my righteousness one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back” (Heb. 10:36-38, NRSV). The Apostle Paul then concludes this reading by say, “But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved” (Heb. 10:39, NRSV).

          When we feel broken and lost brothers and sisters, we must put our full trust in God. Not only this, we must come together, so that God may work in us all, and through us all. Jesus Christ didn’t call one apostle, but rather he called twelve apostles. Jesus created the church, so that we might be together, that we might build each other up, and that we might draw faith and strength from God and from each other.

          In the gospel reading from the gospel of John for tonight, Jesus challenges us to have faith. The gospel says, “Do you now believe? 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” (John 16:31-32, NRSV). Jesus is saying in this scripture that he is going to be crucified soon, and all but one of his disciples will flee from him. In the human sense he will feel very alone, cut off, and “blue”, but in the spiritual sense will be fulfilled. He will be fulfilled, because he has faith that God is with him. Jesus then ends this short gospel reading by saying, “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!” (John 16:33, NRSV). How do we claim this victory tonight sisters and brothers? How do we claim this faith if we are suffering? If we are feeling “blue”?

          Well brothers and sisters, we must pray hard, we must fully devote ourselves to God, to Jesus Christ, and we must also build each other up in faith and love. Jesus did not pick one apostle, in the same way the church does not have one member. Our faiths are not just built up individually but also corporately. Jesus knew that as individuals we are weak, but that together we are strong. This is one of the reasons that I believe that Jesus chose twelve apostles and not one. We are not alone, for the living is God is with us, is amongst us, and is working through us. May we claim this faith, and we share it with each other. For this is the church, all of us together seeking the face of God. Seeking the light of Jesus Christ in the darkness of this world. Brothers and sisters, friends, I pray that we deepen our faith on this night, that we deepen our love on this night, and that we deepen our joy on this night. May we through our prayers, our faith, and our love, care for each other. May we seek to conquer death, darkness, and feeling “blue” on this long cold night. For Jesus Christ is the light and the hope of the world.

I want to share a brief story of suffering and hope, called “At the End of the Rope.” This story is taken from Elie Wiesel, The Night (1969). Reported in Moltmann, The Crucified God and Stott, The Cross of Christ. Here is how this brief story goes: “Elie Wiesel was a survivor of the dreaded Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. He wrote of his experiences in the book The Night. In that book he relates the harrowing story of two Jewish men and a Jewish boy hanged alongside one another. Having mounted the stairs the two adults cried, “long live liberty”, but the boy was silent. Behind Wiesel someone desperately asked “Where is God” Where is He?” The chairs the victims were standing on were kicked out from under them and the three hung there. The adults died quickly, but the boy’s weight wasn’t great enough to snap his neck immediately. For more than half an hour he hung there, dying in slow agony before their eyes. Again Wiesel heard the question “Where is God now?” And standing there Wiesel heard a voice within himself answer: “Where is he? Here he is. He is hanging here on this gallows.”

“When Wiesel said it was God hanging on the gallows he indicated the death of his faith. Faith in God died with that hanging child. But there is another interpretation that God suffers with those who suffer, seen most visibly in the death of Christ hanging on his own gallows, the cross.”

My sisters and brothers, I truly believe that when we suffer, that God suffers with us. May we come together on this night, in faith, love, joy, and hope. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.         

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Third Sunday of Advent - 12/13/15 Sermon - “the one who is more powerful than me is coming" ("Hope is coming" series: Part 3 of 5)

Sunday 12/13/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “the one who is more powerful than me is coming”

(“Hope is coming” series: Part 3 of 5)          

                            

Old Testament Lesson: Zephaniah 3:14-20

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7

Gospel Lesson: Luke 3:7-18

          Friends, brothers and sisters, I would like to welcome you once again on this the Third Sunday of this Advent season. This season of love, of joy, of peace, and of course, hope.

          In doing a five part sermon series on hope, I have been connecting some of our weekly lectionary scripture readings to the concept of hope. To the hope of the coming of Jesus Christ. Yet what will this hope look like, and how can we connect to this hope? If hope is coming, what should we expect? What is required of us?

          You see, the mission of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ, isn’t just one of a death on a cross for our sins, it is also the mission of hope. That we believe fully and truly that there is a possibility of a better life, of eternal life. That since Jesus Christ can change us from the inside out, we can then actively go out seeking to change the world. We then put on Jesus Christ, and go forth living and loving the way he lived and loved us.

The Apostle Peter and the Apostle Andrew saw this love and hope in Jesus when he called them from there fishing boats to follow him. In fact, Jesus said to them in Matthew 4:19b, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people” (Mt. 4:19b, NRSV). Without a thought they dropped their fishing nets, and they followed him. Yet why did they do this? They did not know Jesus? When they saw him though, they had had hope. Hope is powerful. How can we claim the hope that is coming in Jesus Christ in this season of Advent? If we were to get Christmas gifts for a family that is in need for example, do we give them hope? What does that hope do for that family? What does hope look like?    

In the reading from the prophet Zephaniah from this morning, it says in 3:17 of the coming Messiah, “The LORD your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory” (Zeph. 3:17, CEB). You see many of the Jewish people in the times of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, awaited a Messiah that they thought would be a conquering warrior. A person who like the great King David would march into Jerusalem and expel the Roman army who controlled them. This Messiah, in this scriptural interpretation, would be a mighty soldier, adorned with armor, who would strongly, violently, and powerfully deliver the Jewish people to freedom.

          The actual Messiah though, Jesus Christ, was not what many people expected. Due to this, since Jesus was not a military warrior some rejected him. Some said that hope had not come. Yet hope is something that Jesus Christ tasks us with bringing into the world.

          I don’t know about you though, but I think that anyone that can take on the forces of evil and die for the sins of humanity, as the prophet Zephaniah said, is a “a warrior bringing victory” (Zeph. 3:17b, CEB). If Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to earth to die for the sins of humanity, and if he lived a life of peace, love, perfection, and hope, are we just to see Christ as just a vehicle to heaven? By this I mean, is there more to Christ, more to the gospel, then just believing in him so we go to heaven? Does Christ have expectations of us? Did he give us hope for a reason?

          The prophet Isaiah said of the coming Messiah, that “He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:4, NRSV). If Jesus is the prince of peace, as he is, he did not come to bring war, he came to bring peace and hope. When we then bring peace, love, food, and fresh water to people in Jesus’ name, we bring then hope. We bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to others with our words, deeds, and actions. The gospel brothers and sisters is much more than just salvation, it is hope itself. Hope is coming.

          I think that for so many people in our culture though, they are waiting for God to come and fix everything that is wrong in their lives, and in this world. Now God can do all things, and God can fix anything, at any time. Yet can God also call us to bring hope to the world to? I mean Jesus said in Matthew 22:39b, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:39b). When we love our neighbor then, can we bring them hope through this love? We can pray for the end of wars, but can’t we also work on it through the hope of the Gospel. We use love, joy, and hope to change this world, as God leads us.

          In this way, in this morning’s gospel of Luke lectionary reading, John the Baptist is a little angry. He is a little angry because some people don’t understand who Jesus is. They have decided that hope must be hope that of violence, warfare, and fighting. Yet this is not the message of the gospel. They are angry, and they want a Messiah that will crush and destroy the occupying Roman army. This is not what Christ called us to do though.

          The gospel of Luke reading this morning begins with this, “Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptized him, “You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgement that is coming soon” (Lk. 3:7, CEB). John the Baptist is saying, Messiah is not about conquering and killing all the Romans. Messiah is about a new way of living and being. A new way of existing. Stop looking for blood, and stop looking for revenge on the Romans John the Baptist might have said. This is not the mission and the gospel of the Messiah.

          As a result, John the Baptist says, “produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones” (Lk. 3:8, CEB). Hope then, is not the hope of violence, or revenge, or power. For as Jesus said to the Apostle Peter in Matthew 26:52, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt. 26:52, NRSV). This is one of the reasons that I get so frustrated by terrorist organizations like ISIS, and their actions are so contrary to everything that the gospel of Jesus Christ says. Us being changed then, is a massive part of the hope of Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus commands us to love each other, care for each other, and to building God’s kingdom on earth.

          John the Baptist is so emphatic about this, that he then says, “The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire” (Lk. 3:9, CEB). The mission of Jesus Christ isn’t just his death for our sins then. It is that through him, we may be changed. That we may go from anger to love, from violence to peace, and from despair to hope. Advent, the coming of Christ is about hope.

          How do we take the message of Christ’s hope into the world then? How do we, through the power of Jesus Christ bring forth hope? Well the crowds that John the Baptist were talking to this morning were confused about this. In fact, “The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” (Lk. 3:10, CEB).

          John the Baptist then responds says, “Whoever had two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same” (Lk. 3:11, CEB). Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, calls us to bring forth hope.

          The gospel reading then says, “Even tax collectors came to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” (Lk. 3:12, CEB). In reply, John the Baptist said, “Collect no more that you are authorized to collect” (Lk. 3:13, CEB). John the Baptist is telling the tax collectors to be honest and fair.

          Then the “Soldiers asked, “What about us? What should we do?” He answered, “Don’t cheat or harass anyone, and be satisfied with your pay” (Lk. 3:14, CEB). John the Baptist was saying to the soldiers, for them to do their duty well, and to be grateful for what they received in payment.

            So John the Baptist had just told various people how to live better, and how to love each other more. The gospel then says, “The people were filled with expectation, and everyone wondered whether John might be the Christ” (Lk. 3:15, CEB). You see John described the gospel of Jesus Christ, and his listeners were so filled with hope, they thought that John the Baptist was the Christ.

          John the Baptist then said, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than me is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals” (Lk. 3:16a, CEB). John then says of Jesus Christ, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands” (Lk. 3:16b-17a). Jesus wants us to change, to become holy, loving, and filled with hope. We need to pray and pray hard, but we must also act. We can pray for people to have food, but we can also have a food pantry that gives out food. God can us to bring forth hope, if we claim that hope.

          John the Baptist then says of Jesus, “He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out” (Lk. 3:17b, CEB). We are called to be changed. Jesus wants us to be like him. We must trust God, and also serve God through our words, actions, and deeds. While our acts and good deeds don’t get us to heaven, our acts and good deeds can enable us to build God’s kingdom on earth, as we await the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ.

          So here is my overarching point this morning brothers and sister, Jesus, the Messiah, the savior of the world, is coming soon. Soon he will be born, then one day he will die on a cross for the sins of humanity. That in him and through him, we can be forgiven, be reconciled to God, and have everlasting life. God can do all things. Yet while this is true, God can use us to do so much, as well. We are children of hope, children of the resurrection, and may we bring forth hope to others in this season of Advent and always. When we claim hope, we then change the world for Jesus Christ. God has given us this hope, and all we need to do is come together and claim it. This is the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

          To close this morning, I would like to share a quote with you about hope. This quote is from Saint Padre Pio. This is what the quote says, “Every Christian who is true imitator and follower of the Nazarene can and much call himself a second Christ and show forth most clearly in his life the entire image of Christ. Oh, if only all Christians were to live up to their vocation, this very land of exile would be changed into a paradise” (Quotable Wisdom: The Saints, page 21). Hope is coming, and if we claim hope in this season of Advent and always, God might just use us to change this town and change the world for Jesus Christ. Amen.