Advent 3: Joy

Joy in the Darkest Night: Luke 2: 8-14

            This week, I spent some time re-watching A Christmas Carol to get into the Christmas spirit. If you think back to the book or movie, it tells of Ebeneezer Scrooge, who lives in a life of darkness. He refuses to light extra coal for heat or light. His house is dark and cold. His office was dark and cold, and you could say that he personally was dark and very, very cold. Through a series of spectral visits, he transforms his sense of “Bah-humbug” at Christmas to a warm, generous, and joyous spirit.

            But think of that hateful response—bah-humbug. He said it about any notion of joy and hope. He said it about being charitable and caring about the poor. He said it about family, kindness, all things good, all things Christ-like. Bah-humbug. We live in a similar society, a bah-humbug society. We live in a time where people care more about politics than people, care more about being theologically right than working for Christ’s mission, and care more about the diet of 24-hour news than any Biblical story of hope. Don’t believe it? You need only look at how many churches are fighting over property, polity, and being a part of a denomination instead of caring about the suffering of people and state of the souls in the pews.

            But Jesus was born into a time not so different. It was a dark and cold, miserable society in first century Judea. We learn in school about the greatness of Rome—the Pax Romana or Roman peace that lasted for some 200 years. But the people did not truly live in this glorious peace as Dorothee Soelle pointed out. It was a time of great suffering and of the vicious and severe rule of the Roman Empire. Peace was achieved through war, oppression, and fear. Rome kept a census to know who to tax, and who might be a threat. Rome ruled the people with tyranny.

            Into this world of darkness and sin, Christ, the Savior, was born in Bethlehem…the one who would not only be our saving grace, but whose life set the pattern for how to live in such a world. But Luke tells us that Jesus was not born in royalty. It was practically scandalous that the Messiah was born to a poor carpenter in a low and humble way. It would be even more unbelievable that the first people to hear of the good news and travel to Bethlehem were Shepherds. In those days, shepherds were despised as lowlife drifters who often exploited the land and resources of others. The whole story was shocking and unbelievable to those looking for Messiah.

            We, too, look in all the wrong places for a Messiah. You cannot vote your way out of sin and darkness because the politicians cannot deliver us like that. You cannot study your way out of sin and darkness because Jesus’s life was lived bringing grace in the world. You cannot buy your way out. You cannot guide yourself out because the sinful systems of this world are all around us and hold us hostage. Think of it this way: the person who gives up alcohol will drive by 5 liquor stores in his town. The person who gives up sugar will find 100 ads for dessert on her computer. The person who resolves never to support corporate exploitation will go to buy a shirt and find clothing racks filled with items made by children in foreign countries. You cannot escape a world where sin lives, and it can be a dark and joyless place.

            The only way out is by finding the light that leads us to Bethlehem where God meets us in the form of Jesus, the Son and Savior. Luke, as a Gospel, reminds us that Jesus lived and worked predominantly among the poor, the marginalized, the suffering, and the poor in spirit. When you journey to Bethlehem you will find Christ waiting for you there. Joy in a world sin and darkness is found in the face of a mother who gets food at Christmas instead of facing another hungry night or a child getting toys at Christmas. Joy in a world of sin is found in a frail or elderly person who smiles with recognition and love for the first time in months. Joy is found when someone who felt like the church and society hated them finds a place of God’s welcome and holiness. Joy is found when we lift up our heads and remember who our Savior is and whose life and light we represent here. 

            Every year, in Advent, we are invited to journey to Bethlehem. There we find a baby whose message in life would be that what is important for us is that we are children of God. Just as Jesus worked to heal, help, and save, so too must we have the faith that encourages us to heal and help our community. I think back to the narrative of A Christmas Carol. When Scrooge is asked about giving to the poor by two colleagues at the exchange, he demands that the poor be sent to prisons and workhouses as his taxes go to pay those. It’s an unbelievably cruel response to those who are desperately in need.

            But in the end Scrooge is shown his own grave. He finds out that his own life brought no joy, and his death lacked any hope at all. In the end, that knowledge softens his cold heart. As we journey to Bethlehem, we find a Savior who did not come to overpower Rome, to take back King David’s throne from Herod, or to be the ruling emperor. We find, instead, a Savior who came for the redemption of hearts and souls in a people wandering in the darkness of the world.

            Each year we journey to Bethlehem again. We travel through the holy announcements to Mary and Elizabeth, the proclamation of John the Baptist, the shepherds, the wisemen, and the angels—all who tell us the way to this light of Christ who came to bring hope to a people acquainted with death and joy to a people living under political and sinful oppression. We too are reminded of the words of Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”

            Whatever place of darkness we find ourselves in, we can follow that light of Christ to Bethlehem. If we have a personal darkness we struggle with, if we are suffering because of the ba-humbug of the world we live in, or if we feel like we just can’t escape the evil around us, remember that the light of Christ leads us into a joyful redemption and a new hope for how we live here in the world. And so we come to Bethlehem where Christ will meet us and we pray, “Jesus, our Lord, Emmanuel, come, Savior, quickly come.”

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/2110140759196183

Advent 2: Peace

The Peace of Discomfort: Luke 1: 39-56

            I remember growing up we used to vacation at Dollywood every year. Don’t judge now—I love Dolly! One of my favorite things to do as a kid was ride the rides. And so, the kids and a couple adults in the family would run from ride to ride and gather up at the back of the line. Then…we’d wait. Slowly, inch by inch, the line would move until you reached this point of overexcitement from anticipation and unending irritation at having to wait. Waiting is no fun. Waiting challenges our peace in life.

            Watch hungry people wait for the food while the kitchen at the restaurant is backed up. It takes no time at all for the hangry to change their whole personality. And if someone who ordered after you gets their food first? Time to pray up a hedge of protection for somebody. Watch people stuck in traffic in Henry County driving forward on the interstate at 5 miles per hour. Twenty minutes in you find out just how many swear words and lane-weaving skills your driver knows. Waiting does not come easy to us. It challenges our peace and leaves us with this overwhelming sense of discomfort and displeasure.

            And yet, sometimes, waiting is the most powerful thing we can do. I believe we get bothered by waiting because we believe it’s useless, wasting time, and a completely pointless task. We are trained to be people who are doing something. We glance at phones, watch the tv, listen to music, listen to audio books, anything we can do to distract us from those times and places where we have to sit in the stillness and wait. It eases the discomfort…filling in that silence with something even if it’s just a mindless distraction.

            Yet God often makes us wait. The people in ancient times waited for a Messiah. For many years, God was silent There is almost 400 years of prophetic silence between Malachi and Matthew. And in that time, the people had no choice but to wait for God to speak. They performed the rituals, did their best to keep the faith, and waited for a Messiah.

            In fact, sometimes, our best lessons are learned during the long and difficult waiting periods. Mary and Elizabeth understood waiting. An angel appeared and made this sweeping prophecy about the birth of a herald and the birth of a Savior. It was a moment of awe, amazement, and holiness in both their lives. But what happened next? They waited. It takes close to three-quarters of a year for a baby to be born. They waited. But in their waiting, something miraculous and holy was about to happen.

            Waiting should never be filled with a sense of nothingness. Waiting, as Fr. Henri Nouwen says, should be filled with promise and action. This is not idle action of doodling on your phone or watching 30 hours of television. Waiting becomes powerful and peaceful to us when there is a sense of promise and purpose. Elizabeth and Mary could endure the long months of pregnancy because there was the promise of a Savior to be born. They believed and trusted in the words God has spoken through the angel. Mary says in her song of praise, “For [the Lord] made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”

            When we wait for the Lord, we always wait with a promise. If we are sick, we wait with the promise of healing or resurrection. If we are hurting, we wait with the promise of a God who loves us. If we are wandering in a life of sin and rebellion, we wait with the promise that God’s love can change the hardest heart right down to the most minor of affronts. If we are waiting for love, we have the promise of Immanuel, God with us. With God in our lives, our waiting is never in vain, for God waits with us full of promise and steadfast with a holy presence.

            But we also wait with purpose. Mary foreshadows in her heart and mind the purpose of her child: mercy from generation to generation, bringing down the proud, greedy, and exploitive ones, honoring the humble, meek, and lowly. She sings this song of a coming work and purpose. She is waiting to raise this child who would one day be the lasting example of God’s love and the deliverer of humankind.

            We read near the end of the Luke 2 scripture on Jesus’s birth that Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. I believe she pondered and knew—the holiness, the miraculous, the teaching, the example, the suffering, the agony, the death, and the everlasting hope. I believe from what she sings here that all of this holy and miraculous plan was on her mind and in her heart. She was waiting with purpose—to deliver a child who would deliver us and her in turn. She understood that her obedience and willingness to follow God would bring us the miraculous.

            Too often, we see waiting as wasted time. And I believe that sometimes we talk ourselves out of a good and fruitful waiting period. We say there’s nothing happening, that we’re too old, too helpless, too busy, too inexperienced, too set in our ways for something this new and different.  Sometimes we talk ourselves right into the very discomfort we believe waiting brings. But Mary and Elizabeth waited with the promise of a Savior and deliverance. They waited with purpose that they would birth both the preparation and the redemption of the world. They waited, knowing that God would take these children and, in their adulthood, work the miraculous, the redemptive, and the holy. For them, all of that promise and purpose was most definitely worth waiting for.

            Waiting does not come easily to us. The other day I got to wait in line to vote with Kathy for close to an hour. I didn’t have my phone, didn’t bring a book, and had about a teaspoon full of patience left. But instead of focusing solely on the fact that I had to wait. I began to ask why I was waiting as I shuffled through the line. It was like milling through those old theme park lines as a child, only instead of a fun ride you get to vote again for one of the two people you probably voted for about six weeks ago. Adulthood tends to sap the fun out of things like that, doesn’t it?

            But when we find ourselves waiting, focus in on the why—the purpose and the promise that is coming. Waiting will never become easy. It will always bring some level of physical discomfort or the increasing noise of impatience. But as we turn our hearts to the promise and the purpose, the why, of waiting, we will find that even in the midst of our discomfort, God will give us peace.

            Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/888852195614372

Advent 1: Hope

A Light Which Brings Hope: John 1: 1-18

            In the beginning was the Word, a King, a Conqueror, a Lord and Savior, a Divine and Majestic Leader. All of these things rested on the minds of those looking for a Savior and Messiah. They expected a mighty and powerful force; someone with the very thunder and chariots of Heaven at his beck and call ready to come and end the oppression of God’s people at the hands of Rome and Herod. And yet they got a baby, born in poverty, and living in a lower class, working home in the hinterlands of first century Judea.

            Society has worshipped power and might throughout all of history. We learn in our history classes of the massive empires in history. We rank leaders of nations based on the political skill and power they are able to wield. We insist that everything and everyone should be strong and perfect, able to command the world around them, in charge, and in perfect control at all times and in all situations. Might and power truly are idolized in our world. But that picture is not what Advent and the birth of Jesus give us. John 1:14 says, “So the Word became human and made his home among us.” From divine to human Jesus came to us. John also tells us that the world did not recognize Jesus. It rejected him. And eventually the world killed him even as he begged for the world to follow him.

            Power is not found in might and strength. Humanity may worship the ones who are the strongest, buffest, and most mighty. But Christ came to us as a humble child, meek and vulnerable, not born in a palace or temple, but in a borrowed stable and a manger. Instead of calling down the power of heaven, he walked quietly and humbly to a cross. Make no mistake, when we feel most vulnerable and powerless, our God is the strongest. It was when Christ was at his own most weak and vulnerable state, praying in the garden and upon the cross, that the light of hope was able to work in the most miraculous way.

            John 1 tells us, “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”  Jesus didn’t necessarily come to lead a political revolution, to conquer Rome, or to become the new Herod. Jesus came to save people from a dead faith which was powerless to help them find a relationship with God and believe in the light of hope. Too often I think we, like first century Judea, want Jesus to be the social and political power coming to fix society and elections and politics. But Jesus doesn’t live in the halls of power. Jesus lives in the soup kitchens, the rehabs, the nursing home, and the hearts of those who cry out in their weakness and struggle for the Word.

            John 1 tells us, that in faith, we become children of God, followers of Christ, and receive a Spirit which brings light, holiness, and hope in our lives. Advent is meant to be a meditative time, where we prepare our hearts and minds for the meaning of a Savior born to us. Whereas Lent teaches us to repent, Advent teaches us to think and reflect. What does it mean to follow both the human example of Jesus here on earth, and the holy example of the Risen Christ who lives and reigns with God now and forever?

            John’s introduction here wraps up with two more thoughts, simply stated, but profoundly thoughtful: God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came to us through Jesus Christ, and Jesus has revealed God to us. What does that mean to us? First is the more miraculous explanation. In some way, our faith in Christ binds us to God and we form this powerful relationship in a way none of our pre-Christ ancestors could. And this relationship brings us hope now and forever.

            But there’s a second part. We are called to more than just waiting for a heavenly hope. Jesus said, “Follow me.” I think the best example is John the Baptist. Now don’t worry. I’m not about to tell you to live in the desert eating wild honey and locusts while shouting at Pharisees. But John took it seriously both to tell of the good news that God’s love is real and powerful, and John spoke accountability to the religious leaders of that day. He was vulnerable, poor, and in many ways weak as well. He was not the palace herald the folks would have expected to see.

            We follow Christ the divine and Jesus the human when we are willing to be vulnerable, powerless, and softened to God’s word and the world around us. Remember in the story of Moses how the Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and his hard heart left him unable to hear God, unable to care about the people’s suffering, and unwilling to do what was wright. Contrast that with the story of hymn writer Charlotte Elliot. She was sick all of her life. She was vulnerable and needed help, could never live on her own, and was beholden to the kindness of her family. Yet in her weakness, her faith became strong. She wrote the hymn, “Just As I Am.” It’s a poignant reminder that God doesn’t call us for what society thinks we should be. God calls us just as we are, for God created us and loves us.

            I have to admit I struggled with the ending of our modern lesson. I’ve always somewhat believed that our destiny is based on what we can do—work, mission, community service. But Evelyn Underhill gives us a different notion. God’s creation achieves its greatest destiny when each and every one of us find ourselves caught up into God’s redeeming purpose and living with the God who loves us.

            The hope of the world is not found in our ability to fight our way to the top, to overpower, overcome, and find the strength to defeat everything. Our hope is not in our own strength. Hope comes when we lean into those places where we are weak and vulnerable and ask God to be present there with us, for God’s strength works best in our weakness to help us, lead us, and encourage us along the way.

            So today, remember that in the beginning was the Word (or Christ), that Word was with God, and that Word was God. But that Word lives with us too each day in our weaknesses and our rough places. And in that Word of hope, that light of the world, we find our greatest strength as a people of God.

Worship Service: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/889446152421700

Thanksgiving Service 2022

Thankful, Grateful, Joyful, Amen! Psalm 100; Phil. 4: 4-9

            A good friend and I were talking about Thanksgiving traditions. His family had a rather heartwarming yearly get together every Thanksgiving. They would gather together around the table…the whole family…altogether in one big sitting and enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving meal together…of Red Lobster. To say I was puzzled by this choice is a mild understatement. I guess our coastal ancestors could have had some seafood in addition to the traditional fare I think of, and I’ve heard of oyster dressing. But when it comes to traditional Thanksgiving meal, cheddar biscuits and the Admiral’s Special Feast with a two for one on shrimp scampi is not what I imagine. Though don’t get me wrong, but for the grace of God there go I for a cheddar biscuit or 50.

            But there was a particular part of their tradition that really caught my attention, yes, more so than the creative restaurant choice. The head of the table says, “Thankful!” and they all repeat, “Thankful!” Then they talk about why they are thankful this past year. Then the word “Grateful!” is repeated in this call and response with discussion about why all assembled are grateful. Then finally, after the meal is done, they finish with the word “Joyful” all spoken together. They share dessert and talk about what is joyful in their lives. The dinner is concluded with the old, familiar, “Amen.” Thankful, grateful, joyful, amen. So, let’s try repeating each one in the same way together…thankful//grateful//joyful.

            What are we thankful for? Now thankful and grateful are a bit interchangeable, but let’s go with the definition of thankful which says it’s a hopeful relief. Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.” The result is God’s peace. I think we can be thankful this season for a God that lets us cast our cares and concerns on the mighty strength and wisdom that God provides. We can be thankful for, or find this sense of relief, in the knowledge that when we go to God, we go to the Prince of Peace.

            In a troubled and difficult world, that has to be important to us. We live in a time of high costs, an undercurrent of worry, and an ever-changing landscape of life. Nations rattle the sabers of war, and life sometimes seems to move faster than we can keep up with. As the hymn says, “Hold to God’s unchanging hand.” We need the surety of a God whose promises and hope dos not change or abandon us in this life. Life changes, but God’s power to guide us through does not, and for that, we can give thanks to God.

            What are we grateful for? To contrast with thankful, let’s define grateful as showing appreciating for something. Philippians 4:9 says, “Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” When we are grateful, it should spur us to act. If someone is grateful for the blessings of life, that gratefulness should encourage them to share the blessings and bring hope to others. Paul was grateful for all that Christ had done, and so he dedicated every gift and skill to the glory of Christ. He encourages others to do the same. Follow my lead, he tells them. Put your faith and your gratefulness into practice.

            Being thankful should encourage us to give glory to God. Being grateful should encourage us to share the glory of God with those around us. Together these two things make a powerful testimony of our faith and hope in the God who loves and redeems us, and who gives us all the grace we need to face the ever-changing life and world around us. Thanksgiving, though, should give us all three that my friend’s family celebrated: thankful, grateful, and joyful.

            What joyful things do we celebrate in life? The Psalm tells us to “shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!” Then we are told that “the Lord is good, [and God’s] unfailing love continues forever.” Joy can be hard to find especially in the colder, darker months of the year. I think of the joke I saw where, after the time change, the woman is running around yelling that it’s so dark, could it be midnight? The guy says, “Nope, it’s 5:00 PM.”

            Joy is not always right there. Sometimes, we have to go looking for it in the dark. But we know, in our faith, that where God is, there is joy. In those times of struggle and darkness, we can go back to those words which remind us that God is good, and that God’s love never fails, and neither does God’s faithfulness run out. Our patience fails. Our ability to handle a messy day may fail. Our kindness and gentleness may sometimes get a little sharp. But God’s love never fails, and God’s faithfulness will continue for each and every generation of life. In those reminders and promises, we can find blessings which bring us joy. We can be thankful, grateful, and even joyful for God’s blessings.

            You know, I was skeptical of my friend’s Red Lobster Thanksgiving Extravaganza. I poked a bit of fun at it. But only later did I learn that his great grandmother and family lived on the southeast coast of Georgia. They grew up with fresh seafood, rice, and other home-cooked and warmly spiced dishes made with love and care from Gullah-Geechee and Creole ancestors. His family now lives in small town Middle Tennessee, and they can no longer access fresh, coastal foods.

            But coming from a long line of family tradition they still gather together each year and honor the memories, foods, and traditions of their family and ancestors. They celebrate all that they’re thankful for, grateful for, and joyful for in life. I encourage you to take a note from their tradition. Your bulletins have a small insert with these three things: thankful, grateful, and joyful. Take a moment this Thanksgiving to write down what comes to mind and give thanks for your blessings.

            Sometimes, when dark and negative things seem to overwhelm us, we need to reorient our thoughts to God’s amazing promises and love for us. Thanksgiving is a time when we take measure and give thanks for our blessings, and when we count what makes us grateful, thankful and joyful, whether at home with the traditional fare, or whether gathered around our favorite Asian food, Mexican food, or even Thanksgiving at Red Lobster.  So, like my friend’s family, let’s join together in celebration of our blessings and say them out loud. Join with me… “Thankful!” “Grateful!” “Joyful!” … Amen.

Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1167805563822231

A Little Fire and Brimstone, If You Please

A Little Fire and Brimstone, If You Please: Malachi 4: 1-2a; Luke 21: 5-19

            Each summer, in my rural home, a few of the more charismatic (and I mean very charismatic) churches would gather in the little valley by the river and hold a tent revival. Even from a couple of miles away up on the hill where we lived, we could hear the shouting, the powerful rhythms of the music, the call and response of the sermons going on for hours into the dark of night. Now, I will admit I grew up more Hammond organ and hymns than tongues and tambourines, but there was something capturing and engaging about the passion and fervor of these services.

            They sang, they spoke, they shouted with joy, and they praised God with every fiber of their being until I’m sure they were plain exhausted. I never joined in because I was afraid of snakes, and not just cause it was near the river, if you get my drift, but I couldn’t help being in awe of how much passion they had for the worship and faith they believed. It inspired my own faith.

            In many ways I believe we have lost our passion for faith in this modern day. Much of the trouble is that we’ve let our faith drift too far out of the immediate work of proclaiming a Gospel of love and hope that takes a person trapped in what is wrong and tempting and turns that person’s heart towards the perfection of Christ. In our Gospel lesson for today, we read a rather terrifying apocalyptic account of Jesus’s teaching. The background sounds more like Mad Max or some kind of low budget, end of the world movie. Jesus predicts destruction, even as the disciples look upon the Temple, which was a truly beautiful building to see. The problem is the beauty on the outside hid the corruption on the inside.

            The religious leaders of Jesus’s day had built a system of full political and religious control over the people. They performed the rituals, followed the rules, and towed a very careful public line. But it was a passionless and faithless religion designed only to bring unjust people power. Jesus took every opportunity to preach against the religious leaders. Jesus called them hypocrites and false prophets. John the Baptist called them a brood of vipers. They thrived on power and control in all aspects of civil and social life but lacked any true passion for the real work of God. Jesus tells the disciples that this Temple would be destroyed.

            The physical building was in fact utterly and completely destroyed by Roman armies some 40 years later. But the Temple of corruption that reigned inside was destroyed by Christ who paved the way for a relationship of redemption and hope instead of a religion of control over the people. Now, there is nothing wrong with following rituals. They bring comfort, and Communion is one of our most holy rituals. But in Gospel work there is transformation: of lives, of communities, of suffering, and of all here on earth. We are meant to do God’s work with a passion and an urgency because who will stand against suffering and pain of people if not Christ’s church? Who will stand against the suffering of the soul and spirit if not Christ’s church?

            The Gospel isn’t a tool of power. The Gospel isn’t a guide to predicting end times. The Gospel we believe and live is our spiritual resource to cope with adversity and hardship here and now in the life we live. Are you anxious? So was Jesus when agonized in the garden before his crucifixion. Are you sad or hurting? Jesus endured pain and even wept in the gospels. Are you suffering from the loss of a loved one? Jesus was broken by his friend Lazarus’s death, for death stings and hurts us all. Yet Jesus’s tears came with the boldness of hope to proclaim, “I am the resurrection and the life!” Jesus isn’t some Savior far removed. He lived here. He knows what we go through and suffer with. That is why he tells us over and over the importance of having the passion to work here and now in this world.

We must live and work with passion in the present, here and now. The religious leaders of Jesus’s day were lost in the past. They were reliving rituals and rules they had no passion for nor believed in beyond the power it gave them over the people. Too many of the faithful get stuck in the past. I have to make a confession on that note. The other day in a meeting for the Region, we were debating how to move forward with something. I was the youngest one in the meeting, and as all the others were talking about change and new ways, I caught myself saying, “But this is how we’ve always done it.” I was the one prepared to hold us back, and I needed the reminder that creativity is not sinful, but losing our passion for God’s miraculous and ever-adapting grace is.

But we must also remember that getting lost in the future prevent us from living Jesus’s call to transform hearts and minds in the present. After Jesus tells of all these horrible things to come right up to the “day of judgement” as Malachi calls it, he tells them the good news—stand firm, and not a hair of your head will perish, and you will win your soul. Jesus didn’t make a very big ask—just stand firm. Live in a way now, so that you don’t get stuck in the past or stuck worrying about the future. Stand firm, and trust the God who saved and will save you.

Faith is lived by our standing firm and working with passion for Christ’s kingdom here on earth. Growing up, my grandfather would occasionally lead the singing at church if they needed a fill-in. One that he always liked to sing and would ask me to play on Sunday afternoons was an old, old hymn, “Let My Life Be a Light.” It says, “Let my life be a light shining out through the night. May I help struggling ones to the fold. Spreading cheer everywhere to the sad and the lone, let my life be a light to some soul.”

The faith we live must be a light that shines in the dark to bring cheer and hope. Jesus had a passion for those who needed him. They came to him, found grace, and were forever changed. As we continue to live in the here and now, as Christ’s representatives, we too must have a passion for saving people: from pain, from suffering, and from places of corruption and wrongdoing. Jesus’s life and death destroyed the corruption of the Temple, taught of redemption and new life, and set a people free from oppression.

That’s why we sing, and pray, and proclaim with a passion for God’s work. Just as those old tent revivals intrigued, challenged, and inspired the faith of many in that community, may we find the depth of faith and passion for God’s work that lets us rest assured that our faith says, “Let my life be a light to some soul.”

Apologies for the technical difficulties today. The service is in two parts, and it skips a little.

Part 1: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/504237495089470

Part 2: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/495329582538347

All Saints 2022

I Have Heard of Your Faith: Psalm 149: 1-5; Ephesians 1: 11-19

            Paul writes to the Ephesian church, “Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly.” Essentially Paul is telling them, “I’ve heard of your faith.” It’s a powerful testimony. It’s the equivalent of Pope Francis, Rick Warren, Joyce Meyer, David Jeremiah or some other powerhouse figure coming here and saying to our church, “I’ve heard of your faith.”

            We use that theme over and over in the church when we talk about how our lives tell the story of the redeeming love we know and believe. It is known and said when we show grace to others, live in a Christ-like way here on earth, and make a difference in someone’s life once they have met us. We also often say a version of that phrase at funerals in talking about the faith of the departed saint.

            Of the four saints we have candles for today, I know two of them personally, had met and talked several times with a third, and spent much time with the family and friends of the fourth. This was the radiating theme of each of their lives. We had all heard, knew of, and experienced the beauty of their faith.

            Bill Hammonds was a preacher. I don’t think you can get any closer to this idea of hearing about a person’s faith than them talking about in the pulpit all over the southeastern United States for decades. He was a wise and gentle man, and believe you me I needed that wisdom a lot starting out. I would routinely call or visit him for help. I’ve joked with him and Morris Wood that when it came to my faith, I said, “What would Jesus do?” When it came to pastoring, I asked, “What would Bill or Morris do?”

            Fran Miranda was a member here for many years after I became pastor. She had great big glasses and the most wonderful, warm facial expressions. She was brilliant, spiritual, and full of love to offer. She was 79 or 80 when she volunteered to do the kids program once a month. But the next week, she said it might not be a good idea cause once and 80-year-old gets down in the floor, getting up becomes a problem.

            Nancy Chapman was one of the most full of life people you could meet, and she never met a stranger. Her family talked of her love and her faith all throughout her life. Our own Regional Minister remembered her as the person at her church in Waycross who was excited with every new plan and ministry they could think of, and said, “Let’s try it!”  And there’s Doris McFarling. I need only look to my right or down in front of me to know the indelible mark of love and grace that “Doe” left on her family in her grandchildren. Her love, her kindness, and her unlimited supply of grace for others will live on in their lives for generations.

            In the saints of the church both living here and living out their reward, we see the power of this idea of someone recognizing, “I have heard of your faith.” I fear, though, these days that as churches shrink, members dwindle, and ministries close all over the country, the idea of that phrase will change. People may soon end up saying, “I have heard of your faith,” as if it is a distant memory. Keeping the flame of faith’s hope alive is a hard task. And the decline of the church into a distant memory would leave a void little else could fill.

            The life and work of faith is done by those who live it. The vastness of God’s love is lived and known from those who believe and show it daily. The same Paul who wrote here: “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him,” also wrote what that power was in one of his last works of Romans. Paul wrote, “For God so loved the world,” just very simply and plainly put We must continue to live up to that goal, so that our faith does not become a distant memory, so that others will know of this perfect love of God, and so that those who teach hateful things whether in this world or in our own churches do not win. For within us, we know the power of God’s redeeming love, and how that forgiveness and grace has changed us.

            When doubts and struggles come to us, there are four saints with candles today who gave us wonderful examples. Many of us here also have our own example of loved ones still with us or gone one: a mother who brought smiles to everyone’s faces at her get-togethers; a father whose birthday is still honored 15-20 years after his death; the desire to build on a legacy left to do good work in the world. And, there are so many more. We are guided by our faith in God, but we are shaped by those who taught us, loved us, and showed us how to practice the faith we’ve come to believe.

            At the end of the day, what matters most is that the legacy we leave with the faith we live. When people encounter us, they should feel the loving presence of Christ within us reaching out to love and encourage them along their way here. That’s the same work that these saints did for us. It’s hard when our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and all who took part in shaping and raising us are gone. It’s hard when we eventually realize that we are the adult in the room. But I pray that as people meet us, much like our beloved saints of the church, we will also hear those words, “I have heard of your faith.” And I pray that the next thought is, “I want to know more.”

            Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/485955739979405

Self Care Final Part

Have a Little Fun! Ecclesiastes 8: 15-17; John 16: 20-24

            In 2002, a movie called Signs came out and made quite an impact on viewers around the country. It tells of a family withstanding an alien invasion in their rural small town. As folks get more and more nutty about what they think is happening, wearing tin foil on their head and so forth, the title character has a very memorable line. He says, “Everybody needs to just calm down and eat some fruit or something.” I have since discovered that this phrase makes for wonderful sarcastic humor in a situation but doesn’t necessarily translate to great pastoral advice.

            As we finish up our series on self-care, we look at the idea that we need to have a little fun sometimes in life. I believe that, in this day and age of incredible angst and worry, perhaps those words from a scary movie may well hold weight, “Everybody needs to just calm down and eat some fruit or something.” And it’s very possible, that the Bible supports just that very idea.

            In Ecclesiastes 8, we hear that same idea echoed. The writer says, “So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.” Ecclesiastes is a book filled with tough references and teachings, and, at times, can lead us right up to the brink of nihilism, an old philosophy that says very simplistically that all of life is meaningless. But here, the writer claws back this idea and encourages us to do things that bring happiness.

            Too often these days we suffer from a lack of joy or happiness. A friend of mine talked about a shopping trip with his grandmother where they dodged the same person all over the store for over an hour to avoid them. The reason? She would talk on and on and on how awful things were and would give infinite detail of all the many bad things going on in her life and the world. My friend’s grandmother called her a vampire that sucks the fun right out of life…a “funpire.” Ecclesiastes says that we must find fun in life, and trust that God is wise enough to handle the troubles. We are told that even the wisest in life cannot figure out all that God is doing. Where we cannot understand, faith and trust will build the bridge to joy.

            When was the last time you or I intentionally did something fun, calming, or relaxing? We get so narrowly focused on the problems of life before us, that we forget to stop occasionally and enjoy the fact that we have life in a God who brings us hope and joy. Now there are many who live with depression and other medical issues who may struggle in life. No one can simply choose not to have an illness of the mind or body. But we can choose what we feed ourselves. We do have a choice whether to focus on words and thoughts of all that is holy, hopeful, loving, and joyful in God’s embrace, or whether we embrace the suffering of darkness.

            Look at it this way, if you have a stomach virus, I doubt you will want to eat two rounds of Taco Bell and half a pizza. In the same way, we have to stay away from the negative things that affect our soul and spirit especially in a world filled with the dark sin of so many negative things. As Philippians 4:8 says, “And now, dear brothers and sisters…fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

            The Gospel also echoes this balance and choice between what is painful in this life and what is filled with joy. There is a double promise in the words from Jesus. The first promise is not good—there will be some level of pain and suffering we have to endure in this world. There is no escaping that. But there is a second promise. In Christ’s loving grace we find the hope that brings us joy. Jesus tells the disciples that in his death and resurrection, they (and we too) will find joy, and no one can rob us of that joy.

            Luther Bridgers, who was a powerful minister and musician for God, wrote our first hymn for today after losing his family in a house fire. It took so many years for him to find a place of joy and peace again through his faith in God. But eventually he wrote the words that his faith in Jesus “fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.” In the cold, dead silence of suffering, Jesus can revive the warm melodies of love and joy in our hearts to keep us singing as we go along in life as well. Jesus tells the disciples that even as they endure in this life, they will find a closeness to God, and in that relationship, they will find abundant joy.

            So today we consider, that in taking care of ourselves, we need to find a little fun in life. It may be a funny movie, a short outing, listening to our favorite music, or even a vacation. Time, money, and physical ability may all affect how much we can do; however, the words still ring clear—we must find the space for fun and create joy in our lives to sustain and help us when the struggle seems hard, and the burdens are heavy.

            Over the past few weeks, we’ve looked at how we strengthen our physical and spiritual wellbeing through selfcare in a Biblical way. We’ve learned that our souls must find rest in God when they are weary. We have learned the importance of having a community of folks to sustain us and provide a faith family. We’ve looked at how we are physically and spiritually nourished through the Christ who gives everything we need. And we have looked at gratefulness in all times and seasons of life. To be able to live for God in this world, it is vitally important that we take care of ourselves and find our hearts and minds at rest in God’s love.

            Overcoming suffering, pain, and the weariness of this life can only be done through a stronger, deeper relationship with God and a faith that overcomes. As we finish out this series, I want to leave you with the thoughts of Philippians: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” At the end of the day, we must find (and sometimes work very hard to find) the joy in life…maybe even calm down and eat some fruit or something. This joy comes from the knowledge that God loves us, has redeemed us, and will be with us all the days of our lives. I pray you find that happiness and always take care of yourselves as God’s very own beloved. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/521712299817921

Self-Care Part 4

Self-Care: Practicing Gratefulness--Gen. 35: 1-7; Luke 17: 11-19

            122 sandwiches in 27 minutes. That was the official tally from our sandwich making night at Centenary Church on Wednesday. Some of those went to a community fridge in one part of town and some went into the community fridge at the back of Centenary. For whoever may need a sandwich or two in these difficult times, I’m sure there was gratefulness for the blessing. Today, we continue our series on self-care this week by considering the importance of practicing gratefulness in our lives and sharing the blessings we are grateful for with others.

            Practicing gratefulness can be difficult in our modern world. In a time where we feel roughed up, over-politicized, over stimulated with news and information, and constantly fed a diet of bleak suffering, it is easy to be far more grouchy than grateful. But we also may be experiencing personal suffering, pain, or struggle which makes seeing the goodness in life very difficult.

            If we look to our Gospel lesson, we see the familiar story of Jesus healing the ten men with leprosy. For most of Sunday School we’ve learned in this lesson the importance of saying thank you to God. But there’s a deeper nuance to this lesson. First, many of us in a dark and angry place should be able to identify well with the men who have leprosy. In Jesus’s day, this was a horrific, painful, and grotesquely disfiguring disease. It eventually gave people a monstrous appearance before they ultimately died. But there was more than just the physical suffering.

            Because of the contagious nature of the disease, people with leprosy were cast out of society as unclean, lived in abject poverty, and were cut off from all society including family. When we jump all the way to the one who came back, we miss just how much these ten men suffered and endured: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Under such circumstances it is hard to see anything to be grateful for.

            Jesus, however, heals all ten when they cry out for mercy. Yet only one actually says, “Thank you.” There is much speculation about why this is. Some say that when they called out for mercy, they were asking for money, and were upset that Jesus sent them away without money despite healing them. It wasn’t the blessing they wanted regardless of what a great blessing it was. Some have said because of their status in Jewish society, it was their expectation to be healed. Others simply say they got so caught up in the blessing they forgot to thank the One who gave the blessing.

            Only one had the faith to come back to Jesus both to praise God and thank Jesus. He was a Samaritan. The others, we presume, were Jewish. Being healed gave them physical well-being back as well as allowing them back into good society. But this man, he would never be accepted back to society, for Samaritans were hated. The healing only gave him physical wellness back. The one who ultimately received the least, came back to give the greatest thanks. That is how we practice gratefulness in our lives.

            Gratefulness is not a quid pro quo game. We don’t say, “I’ll be thankful and grateful if…” We often have to be grateful in spite of the circumstances. In the Genesis scripture, Jacob is told to build an altar. Usually this is done by the person as a symbol of being grateful to God. Here, instead, God instructs it be done. But Jacob is already mindful of the reason: “We are going to Bethel where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. [God] has been there with me wherever I have gone.”

            By no means was life all that easy for Jacob. But in all of the turmoil he had this strong sense of understanding that God never left him nor abandoned him. We hear that idea echoed in the lyrics of our hymns and songs including, “I will praise you in the storm; whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well with my soul; and great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.”

            Now, my own personal belief on this Gospel lesson is that the Samaritan came back to give thanks because he sensed the presence of God before him. It wasn’t Jesus’s miracle, good works, or a whole lot of hope that made him well. Jesus said to him, “Your faith has healed you.” I submit that it was not some blind hope for a cure to leprosy, but simply his faith in God. We can be grateful because we know the God who loves us, redeemed us, and calls us God’s very own is the same God who gives hope now and hope eternal. We can be grateful because our God is the God of all time, for as the hymn says, “In life in death, O Lord, abide with me.”

            But gratefulness isn’t something we do sitting at home with a smile. It is the practice of gratefulness which fills our hearts with joy and helps or heals just like Jesus did. I’ve read recently of churches which took up special offerings for community aid. They used the thousands upon thousands of dollars they collected to pay off the medical debts of low-income people in the community. And let’s be honest, what is more Christlike than this? Imagine the hundreds of people in that community testifying how God’s church paid the sickness debt and made me free. Then the church says, there’s more good news, we can help fix your sin debt in addition to your medical debt. Come and find out this Sunday—as they practice gratefulness in a mighty way.

            Gratefulness is something we share because sharing blessings and sharing in our thankfulness brings joy. I’m grateful when someone shares a mint or caramel candy with me. I’m grateful when I can split a cookie with a certain greeter on a Sunday morning even if I’ve already eaten two and pretend like I didn’t. Even in the struggles and dark edges of life there is so much to be grateful for because God loves us so much and promises us that even if this life becomes rough, there’s hope everlasting to follow.

            122 sandwiches in 27 minutes. 122 opportunities to cultivate gratefulness in someone else who may be struggling. What are we grateful for in life? But more importantly, how do we practice our gratefulness so that we can bless others and bring joy to our souls? When the Samaritan’s faith grew in strength, Jesus healed him and shared in the joy of his gratefulness. When Jacob came to Bethel, he praised God for always being with him and providing that holy presence in the good times and in his distress. Practicing gratefulness is actually quite easy. It simply involves us believing the words, “Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me,” and letting this be known to all who meet us.

            Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/843608250162845

Self Care Pt. 3

Build a Community: Deut. 7: 6-9; Colossians 3: 12-17

            Many years ago, a friend of mine in another state called with a full crisis of conscience about church. She said that she was struggling to go, thought it wasn’t important, and felt like there was nothing to be gained from being there. She said, “I just don’t feel the faith fuzzies anymore.” After 11 years in ministry, I am still trying to decipher what “faith fuzzies” are.

            But after a bit of conversation, there were a few things we discovered together: she loved the camaraderie of the choir, had an older couple who took her as a single woman to lunch after church on Sunday, enjoyed finding a movie buddy from Bible Study. In essence, these people had become her community of friends. In many ways they were like family. She had become bonded and connected to this community of faith and in particular to the people in it. So today we consider: who makes up your community when you need such people in your life?

            A community can bring us support. Our scripture in Colossians begins with the words, “Since God chose you to be the holy people [God] loves…” Together as a group we are a holy people of God who are taught to live in ways that reflect God’s lovingkindness. Those teachings include: be tenderhearted, merciful, humble and kind, gentle and patient, and make allowance for other’s faults. Since we are God’s people this is how we live in a supportive way with one another.

            If someone is sick, we bring food and offer prayer. If someone has pain and death, we visit and shine God’s comforting presence. If there is a personal problem, we listen and care talking of hope and redemption. If someone goofs up, we find forgiveness for faults. A community is meant to build support and trust—a place where we strengthen and make better the people who come into the community.

            Jesus surrounded himself with disciples here on earth. Every bit of his ministry—healing, teaching, and going to the cross—all could have been done on his own. But Jesus intentionally called together a community to travel with him, support him, and provide that companionship not because he needed it, but as an example to us who do need a community around us.

            Living lives of faith cannot be a solitary task for us. In times of struggle we often isolate and turn inward fearing that others will judge us, fail to understand, or make the suffering we endure even worse. And that’s a risk. People don’t always have the love and patience of God. But isolation in times of trial will destroy us. One commentary on Colossians said, “The people of God need a deep and heartfelt sympathy for the situations of others and active consideration (compassion and kindness) for others’ interest and needs.”

            It requires us to see others through God’s eyes—not the immediate trouble they’re in, but how we can support them with tenderness, mercy, grace, and understanding that faults and failures happen, but always looking with an eye towards redemption and reconciliation with one another and back into God’s community of faith.

            But living in community together also brings accountability. Colossians also says, “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus.” God does not tell us to leave bad or harmful behavior and thoughts unchecked. But we are always to correct with gentleness and patience. We are told here to teach and counsel one another not throw the mother of all hissy fits.

            The text in Deuteronomy references “covenant.” I believe that’s a word we don’t focus on enough these days. Our shared life of faith isn’t intertwined and woven together because of friendship, just because, or simply through liking one another well enough. We come in faith by a covenant to be a church together. That covenant is a binding promise which brings us in community together. God made a covenant with the Israelite people to be their God and to be with them in all things including delivering them from slavery in Egypt.

            For us there is a new covenant which we talk about in terms of Christ’s work on the cross and offering of grace. That new covenant is a relationship based on redemption and forgiveness. But it’s also a covenant we share with one another—to follow Christ, to love as God loves, and to work for the goodness of God here on earth. And we must be accountable to that covenant we have made both in following Christ and with one another to share the work of faith.

            Living in community together in Christ gives us both support and accountability. In our day and time, we see far too many people deciding they don’t need church, that they can find God just fine by themselves. But the flame in a log separated from the main fire will very shortly go cold and die out. Much as we like to do things alone and our own way, living out our faith has to be done in community together. It’s important for you and your church.

            The truth is we all need each other to live the best and most Christ-like life we can with love and care, but also holding one another accountable for wrongs. It’s also necessary that we, like the Hebrew people and Paul’s churches, accept that support over rugged individualism and receive accountability instead of being constantly offended when others offer help. I need you, and we need one another. I will confess that being a single pastor in this town is a lonely endeavor. I need community from you just as much as you need one another, and just as much as you need wisdom and leadership from me. We truly are bound together as the song says.

            Paul wraps up this portion of his letter with the words, “Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus.” Both in life and in church we must learn how to live with one another in gentleness and love which works throughout our support of one another and holding one another accountable to God and to the assembled body of Christ. Everything we do, as a people of faith, we do as a representative of the God we follow. May that reminder guard our words and actions each and every moment of life.

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/498849038772905  

Self Care Pt. 2

2. Physically & Spiritually Nourished: II Kings 4: 38-44; Matt 15: 32-39

            To help finance my retirement, I have decided that one day, many years down the road, I will write a book about my time in Macon. One entire chapter is going to be devoted to food. I can tell of some of the best barbecue, fried chicken, and pimento cheese I’ve ever had, excluding my mother’s. But there will also be a few things that stretched the imagination and my food palate. For instance, there was no way I was eating the vegetables in tomato aspic at S & S. And I was absolutely dumbfounded when I saw pear salad. I could not believe the existence of this concoction of a half a canned pear with blob of Miracle Whip, cheddar cheese, and a cherry on top for good measure. I know the Hebrew people complained about so much manna in the wilderness, but I see their manna and raise them a cheesy, miracle whip splattered half-pear.

            The Bible talks a lot about food and being fed and nourished. Famines and feasts are used literally in the historical aspects as well as figuratively to make a point about God’s nourishing abilities to our soul and spirit. We often hear Jesus described as the Bread of Life. Communion, a simple meal, is at the heart of faith. And both of the scriptures for today talk about hunger and food.

            There’s a very literal description of how Elisha finds a famine in Gilgal. He sends the people out to gather food for a large stew, but it’s poisoned by the wild gourds. Miraculously a little flour cures the poison. Then Elisha miraculously takes a sack of grain and some fresh bread and feeds a multitude to the astonishment of his servant and everyone else.

            Jesus likewise performs a similar miracle. The feeding of the multitude is in every single Gospel in the Bible in some form or another. Here Jesus had been teaching in the wilderness for 3 days, and the people had run out of food. I am sure they were irritable. I would be irritable if I was hungry and sitting through a sermon going on three days. There’s only a smattering of food left, but miraculously Jesus takes only a tiny amount and feeds thousands upon thousands of people.

            Some say the miracle was truly supernatural, and Jesus produced more food over and over. Others say the miracle was Jesus’s inspiration to take very little and encourage the people to share. I fear the point is lost in this theological battle. It’s both. There was literal sharing by the gathering of the food, the sharing of grain and bread, and sharing of the small number of fish and loaves. But there’s something magical and unexplainable about the way God takes so very little and provides and overwhelming abundance.

            The biggest provision was faith. Not only was food scarce, but there was a faith famine as well. The same is often true for us. Just as our souls are tired, they are also malnourished. When was the last time you fed your soul and spirit with things that are holy. How many of you have no idea how to feed your soul at all? I’ll give you an example. About a year ago, I started going to spiritual direction. It’s like therapy, but it helps you discipline yourself to find God and center God’s presence in life’s struggles. Sam, my director, and I meet every 4-6 weeks, and I’m grateful for these sessions which nourish my spiritual and mental wellbeing.

            The people with Elisha and Jesus, even their closest followers, lacked the faith to believe that God would provide in a miraculous way. A lack of faith will starve us of all hope in God. Neither Jesus nor Elisha accepted an answer of too little faith or too few resources. There was more than enough to feed and inspire each person and more than enough to go around for entire cities and thousands of people. “There’s not enough,” is not an acceptable answer to God, whether it’s faith or resources. God always provides.

            To truly hit the point home, both Elisha and Jesus invited the people to participate in the miracle that was about to happen. Elisha sent the people out to forage up enough food for a stew. That’s not the miracle. Elisha simply encouraged enough faith for the people to find nourishment for themselves and the whole community. The miracle was making sure that when everybody came to the table to eat it wasn’t a toxic mix that was served.

            Certainly, God can simply make the miraculous happen, but God is not a genie or fairy god mother. We are expected to have the faith to take part in the miracles which are happening. As Jesus makes food appear out of nowhere, or maybe some hidden away last bits, he makes sure everyone passes it around until all are fed. Everyone had a hand in nourishing one another physically and spiritually.

            That is what the work faith is about—finding ways to feed the hungry and nourish the spiritually starving. We say to folks, and to one another, here’s a meal, go and eat tonight. But we also hear the words, “Take and eat, this is my body broken for you. Take and drink, this is the cup of salvation poured out for you.” If you feel this overwhelming sense of spiritual and physical fatigue, perhaps you’re tiredness comes from being spiritually hungry and in need of the Bread of Life. What is your best spiritual nourishment—conversation, prayer, music, reading, being active in doing God’s work? When was the last time you did such things to nourish yourself?

            Christ invites us to have the faith to believe that even in saving us from the sinfulness of the world, we are also saved from spiritual starvation as the trials and troubles of this world attack us. Christ also invites us to be a part of the miraculous. Whether it’s communion, service, love and care for others, or changing hearts and minds to find love in a broken world, if we take the first step of faith, God can work the miraculous through us.

We come each week to Christ’s table where we remember over and over the saving grace which Christ gives us when we have the faith to believe. But faith is active and calls us to be nourished in our own souls as well as to help feed others the bread of life. I’m grateful that we have this simple meal. It would be a struggle to come to a Communion table with vegetables frozen midair in gelatinous goo or pears topped with Miracle Whip. Instead, at this table, we find the call to be physically and spiritually nourished by God’s own grace, and to share that nourishing hope with the world. It’s a reminder of the words of our hymn, “God is so good to me.” And so God is. And so God will be. 

 Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/530228255607776