Lent 3--Faithful Answers to Difficult Questions
Faithful Answers: When Everything Is a Struggle—Psalm 130; John 10: 1-11
My friend told me this story of an old widow he met years ago. Now, spoiler alert, I learned later he was pulling my leg. But I was totally enraptured believing this gripping story he was telling me. He explains that in his work as a nurse, he met this very elderly widow, who was clearly very well off financially. She started talking about having been widowed four times…FOUR TIMES! She said she married at 18 to her first husband, who was an investment banker. He died in a car accident and left her very well off. Her next husband was an actor she met while trying to console herself with going to the theater. They were married only briefly before he left her for an actress he worked with.
Her third husband was the minister who had helped her through the struggles of her first husband’s death and her loneliness. He was a kind, older man who died after a few years of marriage. Her fourth and final husband was the funeral director who handled her third husband’s funeral. And they were married for many years. She had known struggle—three dead husbands and a divorce—a banker, an actor, a minister, and a funeral director. You could say she married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go. I spent 5 minutes of that story feeling so sorry for her unending struggle in life, only to find the whole thing was a joke and there was no such suffering at all.
But what do we do when we struggle in life? Because if we are honest, life here on earth can be very hard at times both physically and mentally. Everyone is affected whether globally or personally. There are three things we can learn from today’s scripture: first, we must recognize the thief’s purpose; second, we should allow ourselves the time to grieve and process; finally, we must remember to guard our hearts against being consumed by the struggles of this life.
First, the thief comes to do bad things to our peace and strength in life. Verse 10 of the Gospel says, “The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. My purpose is to give…a rich and satisfying life.” And some days, when we’ve truly had a bad day or week, I am sure we all will feel stolen, killed out, and destroyed. The illustration of Jesus as the gate or the Good Shepherd is one of the starkest descriptions of the difference between the purpose Christ gives us and the struggles on earth we must endure.
As you may have learned, sheep are not the brightest in the animal kingdom, and they really have no sense of self-protection. If one sheep runs off a cliff, they will almost all follow. It’s no surprise that sheep are the most common illustration for us in the Bible. Sheep will find danger easily, they need to be led to good pastures, and they are easily harmed by intruders. Here we are told that as sheep we need the Good Shepherd to lead and guide us so that we can find a way through the thievery on earth, if you will.
Now this doesn’t mean the Good Shepherd keeps us from all trouble and danger. I remember this little video someone sent me of a sheep in what I think is New Zealand. It has gotten itself stuck in a small water drainage area. It takes three people with a big rope to pull it out. The sheep jumps up and starts running away only to land directly in the drain again 5 feet away, and if that isn’t exactly how life is every day, then I don’t know what is. The shepherd is there to help us, to lead us, and to pull us back out of the dangers we find ourselves in…or guide us through the dangers to a place of safety.
A pastor friend once said that God’s promises do not speak of constant comfort and safety. Instead, we are given constant guidance and strength. We are left, then, with a world that needs more of God in it and a life that needs us to rely on God more. The more God in us, the more we can show the message of God’s grace to the world.
Now, here is a little comforting secret for when life is hard and feels like it has beaten you up. Psalm 30 tells us we can get a little upset, and it’s okay. This is one of those perfect Lenten psalms because it so adequately speaks to the distress we may feel in life. We read the words, “From depths of despair, O Lord, I will call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord.” I think sometimes we are either trained to think we shouldn’t feel sadness, or we lean into that belief that it shows weakness.
And yet we read that we can cry and cry out in our depths of despair, and frustration, and tiredness, and irritation, and confusion. Even in the Gospels we read that Jesus wept. One of the reasons that struggles overwhelm us is that we don’t take the time to feel, to grieve, and to address those struggles. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve sat and talked with someone—men and women—and they started crying. And almost every single time, they say, “I’m sorry I’m crying. I can’t help it,” embarrassed by the fact that their particular struggle or trauma made them cry in front of me.
But that’s normal! You can’t help it because you’ve addressed it. Society has a strong inclination to put on a smile and carry on or fake it till you make it. While that might make life a little easier for a time, it will leave you filled with unresolved pain and trauma. A friend of mine had a pretty sever accident falling from a balcony, and it left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair as just her legs were affected. I asked her about this struggle.
She said, “I grieved and suffered for a long time. It was unbearably hard for so long. But then I decided that just because I couldn’t walk doesn’t mean I can’t do a lot of useful things.” And so, she created a whole foundation to support people who had the same struggle as her. Grief is okay, but eventually we have to find ourselves back seeking a purpose. Even when all of life is a struggle, God never stops calling us, being with us, and loving us.
So, then, how do we deal with life’s overwhelming struggles? The Book of Proverbs can often be very difficult and assertive, but in this instance, it is also insightful. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” We need to switch from a mindset of stopping all the struggles of life to a mindset of guarding our hearts from the struggles of life.
We hear this same theme in the Gospel. Jesus says, “I am the gate.” But Jesus is more than just the gateway to God’s grace. Jesus is also the gatekeeper for what comes in and affects our lives. As things come my way which I cannot fix or handle, as struggles and sadness hit me, I always try to remember that even if I cannot fix the things in my life, Jesus can help fix them, or Jesus can walk with me in the trial.
A friend of mine had her marriage fall apart a few years ago. She was faithful, devoted, and had no idea there were issues. One day her husband came in and just flat said, “It’s over, and you have to move out,” as he owned the house. For a couple of years she was devastated, defensive, and broken. But after she met someone new, fell in love, got married again and started a family, she continues to work on her peace and her ability to be in a relationship. Guarding your heart doesn’t mean shutting everyone out or being so kind-hearted you get exploited. God calls us to a sense of balance.
Be broken and vulnerable to God’s wisdom, leadership, and calling. But be strong enough to withstand what may come your way in the world. Guard your heart from becoming too hardened and bitter, but also from being overwhelmed by struggles and pain. When you feel like you’re beaten down and sinking, remember that Jesus is the gate and the Good Shepherd. He will keep you safe from what comes your way, and he will lead you with peace and strength in your most difficult times of life.
Every time we sing this closing hymn, I’m reminded of the story behind it. Horatio Spafford, was a Presbyterian minister and lawyer, (just noting I’m not the only lawyer/preacher). He wrote this hymn after the ship carrying his wife and four daughters sank killing all four of his daughters. His wife was saved alone. The music to it was named Villa du Havre after the ship which carried Spafford’s wife and children across the Atlantic.
He was a man beset by suffering and struggle. The voyage came shortly after the Great Fire of Chicago destroyed all his investments in real estate. He and his wife were left with nothing in life except their faith and the hope that they could start over. I am sure they felt overwhelmed by the pain they endured. I am sure there was an untold amount of grief. But they both knew how to guard their hearts from being overwhelmed by the trauma.
In the end, Spafford transformed his suffering into a masterpiece of music which tells the story of guarding your heart and overcoming: “When peace, like a river, attends my way, or when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.” Friends, you may not be able to control the insanity that life throws at you, but you can control who walks with you through it. And God will be there each and every step. When life becomes overwhelming, guard your hearts, and reach deep into your soul. God is with you, and you will find that, with any trial, it is well with your soul. Amen.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/805697644792884
Lent 2: Faithful Answers for Difficult Questions
Faithful Answers—No Labels, No Accusations: Daniel 9: 4-9; John 8: 1-11
A few years ago, my good friend decided to give up caffeine for Lent. Given the tremendous amount she drank, I was nervous how this would go. Day one, she was all smiles and said she felt better than ever. Day two, she said there was some anxiety and jitters, but it was probably normal. Day three I went to check on her. She was sitting in a dark office. I cautiously asked if she was alright. She was sitting there with a tremendous headache, hands jittering, a clear lack of sleep. She said, “I love Jesus with all my heart, but if I don’t get a cup of coffee immediately, I’m going to need more help than the Holy Spirit to hold me back!”
For some, the discipline of fasting in Lent is a bit more complicated by years of coffee addiction. She began to cry saying that she had failed, this meant she was a sinner, that she couldn’t do anything right faith-wise. I’m pretty sure it was the un-caffeinated insanity talking, so I told her that living with struggles and shortcomings does not indicate failure. The whole ordeal is a reminder—we are a society that likes to accuse and label both others and ourselves.
If you live with Alzheimer’s or dementia, society acts as if you are helpless. If you have a disability, society tends to infantilize you or treat you like a child. If you have mental health struggles, there’s a sense of repulsion in society. We have labels and associations for everything: race, age, ability, gender, sexuality, employment, social status. One could say that our society is very judgy. It makes things easy to label, compartmentalize, and follow whatever associations we may have with those labels and accusations.
The problem is that all of them tend to operate in a place of condemnation or they summon up the idea of something bad. And we all know this. If you say someone is an older adult, there are associations of slow driving, being fussy, going to S&S Cafeteria. If you say someone is really young, we think inexperience, emotional immaturity, and so on. Think how many of our labels carry a weight of negativity with them. When we label someone based on what we see, it almost always carries some measure of condemnation for that person.
We see that in the Gospel. A woman is brought to Jesus with a label, an accusation—adulterer, caught in the act, a sinner. And I’m sure that for someone caught in adultery there were much worse words that could be said. The crowd has two devious plans going at the same time: to get this woman punished by death and to trap Jesus into saying something they could turn around and label or accuse him of in return. It was a double whammy both to bring condemnation to the woman and a plot to entrap Jesus.
But I’ll give you a more recent example of such negative language. My good friend is working on a new business venture. He and a buddy are doing a mobile pet grooming business. We were talking about getting the corporation set up, advertising, and such like that. He said to me, “Don’t get me wrong…I’m scared of failing.” As I was writing this sermon, I decided to go full on pastor mode. I responded, “It’s never failing It’s finding new ways to do something, and I’ve got your back in this.” To those who gleefully wanted to have this woman stoned to death for her sin, Jesus said that the one without any sin can cast the first stone. Society’s problem is there’s a lot of stones being cast, but not a lot of self-examination to see if the caster of stones is blameless enough to pick up that stone in the first place.
There are ample places where Jesus does not condemn folks. Romans 8 says there is no condemnation in Christ. Romans 3 reiterates the same. And here, Jesus asks the woman where her accusers are, and did not one of them condemn her. Jesus then says, “Neither do I.” But it’s not so simple as just that. There is still one issue remaining here.
This woman was caught in the act of adultery. And adultery is still wrong, no matter how you much love and forgiveness is found in the story. It still breaks the sacred promise of the covenant between two who are married. There’s no way around the fact that she did, in fact, do something wrong. Jesus’s words of forgiveness and restoration for this woman are still followed by, “Go and sin no more.” We also read the power of a humble repentance in Daniel.
Daniel confesses, on behalf of the people, their rebelliousness, their selfish ways, their bad behavior before God. But just as badly as the people had behaved, God’s forgiveness and grace is equally as expansive. Daniel says, “But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against [God].” I believe it’s implied in the Gospel that Jesus knew the woman was sorry and repentant. And the whole purpose of Jesus’s ministry was not to stone people to death when they were truly sorry, but to offer forgiveness.
The faithful answer to any shortcoming, sin, or perceived failure is repentance and restoration. The words “I’m sorry” may not fix every bad thing we have ever done, but they get us on the road to realigning ourselves with faith and love in this world. But for those who seem unable to see the harm they’ve caused or don’t ever care to apologize or repent, remember to move on. They will never find a place of repentance and apology until God has dealt with them. The people Daniel prayed for were in slavery and conquered because of their bad behavior. The woman in the Gospel was brought literally to the brink before Jesus intervened. God will deal with hearts and minds. Just let it go and let God work.
Lastly, many folks struggle with this idea of no condemnation. Surely, we have to call out what is wrong, right? Surely, we must stand against people’s wrongdoing, sin, the things we collectively know as evil, right? Consider the perspective The problem is not that we are letting people go free in their wrongdoing, nor is it an issue with holding others accountable. The question is this…are we the ones without sin who can cast the first stone? If we are guilty, then we cannot condemn. We must work out our own repentance and restoration. It’s Jesus’s polite way of saying, “Mind your own business.”
Lent is the season of fasting. We tend to give up something as a spiritual discipline to remove that particular distraction and focus on our relationship with God more. My friend tried this. She was bound and determined to give up coffee. I think where she lost her way was only going half the distance. Lent is not just about giving something up. It’s purposeful. It’s about giving something up to work on our relationship with God. Now, if she had given up coffee to focus more on health or to add in more communion, or to use the coffee-making/drinking time for prayer, it would have been more purposeful.
Pope Francis said a few years ago that there is a better way to fast for Lent. Fast from hurting words and say kind words. Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude. Fast from anger and be filled with patience. Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope. Fast from worries and trust in God. Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity. Fast from pressures and be prayerful. Fast from bitterness and focus on life’s joy. Fast from selfishness and be compassionate towards others. Fast from grudges and find healing. Fast from words and be silent enough to listen.
Let me add to that for you. Fast from condemning, labelling, stereotyping, and seek to make disciples for God’s kingdom. Fast from self-harm, self-hate, and personal negativity, and seek gentleness. The entire work of Jesus’s ministry was to take a world of suffering and condemnation and offer a way to forgiveness and love. I pray we find ourselves doing this same work as we seek to follow Jesus.
Worship video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/368707449383634
Lent: Faithful Answers for Difficult Questions
I Just Want to Be Ok—Job 2:1-10; Mark 5: 1-20
Many of us have grown up in families that have a particular way of dealing with struggles and the tough times of life. There are in fact a number of lyrical phrases in life that describe this particular therapeutic method. They sound something like this: suck it up, buttercup, just put up or shut up, deal with it, man up, get over it already, bite the bullet and go on, and the award winning one that work every time when someone is upset—“just calm down.” I have never, ever in my life found one person for whom being told to just calm down ever works.
As we begin our Lenten journey of faithful answers in tough times, we look at the idea of suffering today, wondering aloud, “I just want to be okay.” Today’s scriptures tell two stories of people who endured suffering in life but found the way through, and make no mistake, it’s almost always a way through and not a way around. Here are the lessons we can take away: we never know the depths of another’s suffering and struggle, some folks don’t want to do better so you need boundaries, healing can be fast or long timeline, so build a good circle cause not everyone is going to support you.
The truth is that we never know the depth of another person’s struggle. Both of scriptures for today tell of a very deep level of suffering. Job, in the span of a day, lost all his family, his livestock and farming, his servants, and on day two his health. The only thing he didn’t lose was his wife, and frankly, she probably should have been the first thing to go. Likewise, the Gerasene man was hounded and tortured by his demons, abused by the locals who tried to control him with violent and exploitive means, and living in abject suffering. Job sat in quiet sadness. The Gerasene man howled loudly. And here is proof that there is no right way to go through a period of suffering.
There are times in life you have to go through a bad period, a low point, a set time where you will wonder, “Why can’t I just suck it up and be okay?” But though we may all suffer, there is no right or wrong way to do so. It’s not our role to judge and evaluate another’s suffering. We are to simply be with them. Job held it together through untold physical suffering. I can come unglued from a papercut. We are all going to have struggles in life, so let’s make it a point to be a present, loving care to someone instead of trying to evaluate their state.
The one time where you do have to be careful is people who don’t want to do better. This is an area I fundamentally don’t understand. The Gerasenes saw the power of Jesus to heal, to help, to save this man from the worst of suffering and demon possession. One would think they’d flock to Jesus asking how can this holy man help us!? But instead, they run away and beg Jesus to leave. They reject every aspect of what has been done. Now, there are political, social, and economic reasons for this. But how do you reject this man who offers such hope and power?
There are people like this. They say they want help, but in reality, they seek attention. And if you are in the place of trying to be okay in your own life, you cannot fix them. Jesus can help them, but you are not the great fixer or a savior. God alone does that. I’ll give you an example. I remember a pastor friend of mine had a church visitor who they prayed over and “delivered” again and again for the same thing over and over. He was confused why this kept happening. Finally, I said to him, “You cannot be delivered from the demons you’re in love with.” In the end, the Gerasene man wanted healing. The Gerasene people wanted rid of the healer because they were the ones in love with their own figurative demons.
So, let’s talk about what it looks like to come to a path of healing. For some it is pretty fast, for others it’s a long-term journey. When Jesus encounters the Gerasene man, the evil inside of him recognized Jesus and his holy presence almost immediately. That evil being held inside of him shrieked and begged Jesus to leave him alone. Here’s the depth of Jesus’s compassion. He didn’t destroy that spirit…he sent it to pigs at that spirit’s own request. Jesus wasn’t the cause of the pigs’ demise, he only granted what the bad spirit asked for.
There are some bad habits, bad people, and bad trauma which can be addressed almost immediately when the light of healing is shined on it. A friend of mine had a lot of trouble with a co-worker who was constantly tearing her down, badmouthing her, and trying to start trouble. Upon finding out, she went to that person and demanded they stop. Shortly thereafter the offensive coworker was fired. There are bad people, bad habits, bad situations where we can say, “Stop,” and set a boundary, and end the problem…or send it off to live with the pigs. That takes some faith and a lot of courage.
But sometimes we need a large amount of faith and a good circle of friends. Job was in a much different place. He had no idea why his suffering was happening. He had no power over the situation to say, “Stop!” He did not have a Jesus in his life to support him. Sometimes healing in life is a long and slow process. The Book of Job begins in chapters one and two with Job’s tremendous suffering. His restoration comes in the middle of chapter 42. That’s a lot time to wait for God’s response. Sometimes the answer to our prayers is not immediate. Sometimes we’re left with the best we can do, just suck it up, or keep praying. Job may have waited a long time, but God was still faithful.
Job turned to friends who blamed him, offered no help, and caused more suffering. Job’s wife told him to simply curse God and die. But in the end, Job could still count on God even though he had a long time to wait. But God never left him. God was with Job all the time, and despite the misery in Job’s life, God was still in control of the situation and didn’t leave Job without hope at some point. And Job gives us that great lesson—whether it is a time of great blessing or a time of loss and trouble, blessed be the name of the Lord.
The common threads in these two stories are first that both Job and the Gerasene man sought God in their time of need, and two God healed and restored both when the time was right. None of that promises an easy journey. In my time as an attorney, I’ve dealt with numerous types of mental health conditions, physical disabilities, life trauma, addiction, and so on. Finding healing is an incredibly difficult journey, no matter what the struggle is. But also, there is nothing that is beyond God’s strength.
One of the most common questions in the Book of Job is how long did his suffering last? We really don’t know. Most scholars agree it was more than two months. Some speculate 42 months, one for each chapter. But there are many scholars who believe it was years, and some even say decades. The question we’re left with, unfortunately, is not a question of length but of faith. Even when God makes us wait, will we still hold the faith that God is with us. Both of these scriptures and examples show us that God will never leave, but we must continue on in our faith until the end.
In the end we never know how much a person suffers. There’s a saying in life that you never know what a person is going through until you walk a mile in their shoes. And that is very true. Each person has some struggle in life, and we must remember that and be a supportive part of that journey. But we must also set boundaries and protect our own peace from people who are in love with their own demons and refuse to be a part of the healing journey God offers.
Healing and help may be fast, or we may have to settle in and wait like Job did. But even though people, family, sanity, and everything else left Job and the Gerasene man behind, God was still there with strength for that day and bright hope for tomorrow. I hear a lot of rough sayings—suck it up, buttercup; get over it and move on; and the grand prize winner…just calm down. I think, perhaps, a much better saying is, “Precious Lord, take my hand.” When we have our faith in Jesus to help us and heal us, we have a hope we can count on every time.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/403209789053514
Transfiguration Sunday
Directions: How to Make Change—II Kings 2: 1-12; Mark 9: 2-9
When I started as the organist and choir director at Our Savior Lutheran Church in 2005, which feels like yesterday but is 19 years ago, the pastor told me a little joke on my first Sunday getting ready to play the Divine Service. It’s an old joke. He asked me how many Christians does it take to change a lightbulb: Pentecostal—just one as hands are already raised, Presbyterian—none because lights will go on and off at predestined times, Disciples of Christ—one to change the lightbulb and three committees to approve and change it multiple times, Baptist—one to change the lightbulb and 30 to cover the potluck, Lutherans—none, they don’t believe in change.
We’ve been talking about changing directions all through Epiphany, and I’ve saved probably the simplest and hardest issue for last when it comes to change: we just don’t like it. My friend used to have a pair of jeans that were old, dirty, worn out, and had more holes in them than a colander. But he kept wearing them to the point of nearing a dangerous exposure. Why? Because it was familiar and comfortable. Friends, I share your struggle, but the truth is, we don’t get much choice. It’s like those death and taxes things—change is assured. So here are three ways of coping: first change is hard, so embrace the difficulty; second change is inevitable, so be ready to roll with it; last change is necessary, so make the most of it when it happens.
First, let’s all just collectively acknowledge that change is hard. But like the old jazzercise or aerobics videos in the 80s said, “Feel the burn.” Change is hard, but we can embrace the difficulty. In II Kings, we read of a difficult coming change in the lives of the Israelites. Elijah had been the prophet for 24 years, and he had accomplished some amazing things, but it was time for a change.
The people say to his servant, Elisha, “Did you know the Lord is going to take away your master today?” Elisha’s response is, “Of course I know…but be quiet about it.” Many have speculated if Elisha’s response was somehow integral to this change of authority in the community, but usually the simplest answer is correct. He’s sad. His mentor of two plus decades, whom he’s been like father and son with, is going to be taken from him today. He doesn’t want to talk about it. Change is hard. And when the time comes, the chariots of fire appear, swoop right between them, and whisk Elijah away in a whirlwind in a matter of seconds. Ejlisha rips his clothes in distress and likely terror. Change is hard and painful.
But what is his request? He asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit and to become his successor. Elisha knew what he was facing was going to be incredibly difficult, painful, and likely very lonely. Prophets aren’t popular. But he embraced the coming change and asked God for what he needed to make him successful in this change of life. Change is hard, but we can make the difficult work.
Change is also inevitable, so we need to be ready to roll with what comes our way. My friend’s toddler was a picky eater. She absolutely loved a “grilled cheese” in a tortilla. But if you called it a quesadilla, she threw a fit and said it was nasty. Sometimes that spirit doesn’t leave us and we want to refuse all change. But change is inevitable. The transfiguration shows the disciples’ struggle to understand that change that was happening. Was Jesus a prophet, rabbi, new person on the block in the Jewish faith?
It had to be difficult to hear the words from heaven proclaiming Jesus as the “dearly loved son.” They weren’t following a familiar teacher, they were following someone and something wholly and completely different. Churches are plagued with this issue. We hear jokes of the “First Church of No Change” and “sitting on the pew of do nothing, go nowhere singing ‘I shall not be moved.’” Faith was never meant to be comfortable. It was meant to challenge us daily how to follow Jesus and for us to challenge the world how to draw closer to the Kingdom of God.
If we’re not challenging, if we’re not growing, if we’re not pushing others toward the love of Christ, then we have to admit we’re only coming to church in the hopes of getting to heaven and nothing more. That’s not good enough. Even the demons believed in and recognized Jesus. We have to roll with the changes and challenges and follow Jesus whom we love and believe in. Change is not a horrible attack on us, it’s an opportunity for us to find new ways of sharing the unconditional and overwhelming love of God with the world. Change is inevitable in life, so let’s see it as an opportunity and be ready to roll with what comes our way.
Lastly, change is necessary, so we have to make the most of it. We’ve alluded to this idea all along the way in this sermon. The light bulb has to be changed at some point, or we will be sitting in the dark. Change may be hard and inevitable, but it also presents an opportunity to make the most of it. Look back again at Elisha’s words, “When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.’ And Elisha replied, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.’ ‘You have asked a difficult thing,’ Elijah replied. ‘If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.’”
Elisha knew that his closest mentor and friend was about to be gone, and that likely he would now bear the burden of what Elijah had worked on so long. Elisha knew that all of his life was about to change when the chariots took Elijah up into Heaven. And instead of shutting down, he prayed and asked for the strength to excel and carry on in the work he was called to do. Likewise, the disciples’ lives changed dramatically when they followed Jesus. They went from simple fishermen to being the leaders of this movement started by Jesus. It was a radical change in their lives, but they committed themselves to the work of faith and to following Christ to the very end.
My friends, today is called Transfiguration Sunday in the church calendar because the Gospel lesson tells of this scene of “The Transfiguration.” Now, that word, Transfiguration means “a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state.” (Oxford Dictionary). This is why we must make the most of life’s changes—because they’re necessary. In every change and new place we find ourselves, God is leading us into a closer walk or a more “beautiful and spiritual state.” The more we are adaptive and leadable, the more God can draw us closer and equip us for our work in this world. Change is necessary, so let us take every advantage of the opportunity change presents us.
When the pastor at Our Savior Lutheran told me the joke about changing a lightbulb, he laughed a little bit after the punchline of Lutherans not believing in change. Then he added, “But maybe we should a bit more.” Throughout Epiphany we’ve looked at the places in life that we need new direction or new ways of living as God’s faithful people in this world. Change is hard, change is inevitable, and change is necessary. But in all of that we can embrace the struggle and learn to grow. We can be ready to roll with the punches and push forward, and we can take advantage of the opportunities change and grown can bring us.
My friends, as we draw this series to a close and prepare for the season of Lent, I ask you this: where is God calling you to change directions and grow in faith in your life? In all of life’s journey, we have the opportunity to grow in ourselves and in our walk with God, but it requires us to be adaptable and ready to follow. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary. So, the question remains, will you be ready to follow where God is calling you today, tomorrow, and forever?
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1776880822786077
Fifth Sunday in Epiphany
Directions: Your Story—I Corinthians 9: 16-23; Mark 1: 29-39
Years ago, a friend’s dad was trying to tell me a funny joke he had heard. Knowing his dad, I anticipated it would be off color. It’s been awhile, so I don’t remember exactly how it goes. I do remember that there was a priest, a bandit, and a politician walking into a bar, then at some point they go out. But what I do remember is that after two of three movements of the group, my friend’s dad stopped for a second and said…”Anyway…” and changed the topic. I asked why he did that, and the reply was, “I’m old. I forgot the punchline. I’ll remember it in a minute.” It’s been 23 years, and I’m still waiting for that punchline. Truth be told he was never much of a story teller
In many societies, storytelling is a common practice for sharing entertainment, sharing family history, finding a common bond, and learning something new. It’s storytelling that kept the faith alive for the Hebrew people as they shared the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses down over the years so that each new generation knew of the great leaders of the people and the faith. We hear this idea of storytelling and faith woven together in hymns like, “Tell Me the Story of Jesus,” and “We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations,” as well as “I Love to Tell the Story.”
At the table each Sunday we tell the story again of how Jesus sacrificed himself to give us life and hope. It’s a story with power and holiness attached to it. But there’s something tangible as well. As the hymn says, “Taste and see that God is good.” We don’t just hear the story of God’s love, we take physical, touchable reminders of that love and sacrifice as well.
Much of this faith we live is bound up in stories. We, too, hear the stories of Joseph’s overcoming, David’s strength, Jonah’s disobedience, and Jesus’s miracles, love, and teaching. We hear these stories with a purpose, and that purpose is to affect and change our lives and behavior. Gospel stories and Biblical narratives are an opportunity to hear of God’s goodness and be changed by it in some way. We must never squander that opportunity.
But each one of us has a story as well. And there is a collective wisdom, history, and knowledge in this church that can tell powerful stories of faith and overcoming, of how God and the Good Word helped and led in times of trouble or suffering in life. Your story is important too because it tells of how we live in relationship to God’s love and a very confusing modern society here and now.
Now please don’t shriek in horror and dread of what I just said. The Bible is still the authoritative book on God, faith, and Christ’s love, but it’s your stories of life which teach the practical application to others. This is exactly what Paul did—he made the story of Christ adaptable. He writes in I Corinthians:
When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. I Cor. 9: 20-23.
To those of us who grew up hearing that the truth of God’s word never changes, these words by Paul might seem somewhat scandalous at first glance. He said what?? But if you read closely, it is not the truth of Paul’s message which changes, it’s the context and application. Paul writes that he tries to find some common ground with every group he meets, first to be a decent person and second to make sure the story of faith he shares is relevant, appropriate, and finding a context which resonates with the hearer.
I remember a youth pastor who came to speak to my high school youth group’s camp. He had finished up a few years of youth ministry in the inner city in Camden, New Jersey. He had learned how to adapt and work with the tough local youth. One young man wanted to pray for the first time. He was a gang-banger with a tough reputation who was struggling with life and faith. The pastor told him just to pray to God as if God is his friend. The young man started, “Sup bruh…” which was followed by a string of cusswords, so the pastor had to interrupt and reorient the young man to pray as if it were his grandmother. Sometimes context is very important to understanding.
Understanding the context of your calling, your sharing, your stories of faith is important. Even in a small church like this, there are stories of faith and experience that can help folks so much, especially those who are trying to change direction and find their way in life. Here we have people who can tell of living with a loved one who is in decline or has an impairment. We have people who can tell of coping with and finding faith in the midst of a struggle with mental illness. We have people who can tell of overcoming tough physical medical issues. We have stories of navigating toxic people in life and families; stories of starting over alone either by choice or because you just have to keep on, and stories of living in America when you look differently, speak differently, or remember a time of segregation that few in the younger generation would understand or appreciate.
All of these stories are important to share because they teach us, especially our youth, how to live a faithful life in hard times. If you don’t believe me, just look at the Golden Girls. Forty years later, if you mention a St. Olaf story or you say, “Picture it—Sicily—1916,” everyone knows what you’re talking about. So, the question for us, as God’s people, is this: who are we telling our stories to? Sometimes we’re a bit quick to give tough advice and often times give it unsolicited. But we don’t tell the stories that will inspire, encourage, and uplift. My mom could have told me 1,000 times that I needed to go get a good education and make something of myself, but no teenager was going to listen. What I did listen to, however, was the story of how Nana set sail for America at 18 by herself because she loved a soldier boy and thought she could do a bit better for herself here.
Even Jesus tells the importance of sharing our stories in his own example. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus says, ““We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.” Jesus often offered words of wisdom, but when the people really needed help, Jesus told a story. He told of a Good Samaritan, a prodigal son, wheat and chaff, fruit bearing trees, mustard seeds, and so much more.
How often do you tell your stories to others, and especially the harder stories of your life? We have a bit of a “we don’t talk about such things” attitude in society, but what if we did share? Imagine if we sat down with the teenager or young adult in our lives and, instead of saying to them how bad their decisions are, we said, “When I was 17, I made a bad decision, here’s the story and how it affected me.” What if we were honest, vulnerable, and invited conversation, just like Jesus did, when people needed to find a new direction, needed healing and help, or needed to go and sin no more. Perhaps an even tougher question is when was the last time we shared stories of a church that welcomes and loves, heals and helps, and has a pretty fantastic congregation of folks?
You might be a bit of messy storyteller and joke deliverer like my friend’s father. But when it comes to stories of faith, that’s okay. You don’t have to be Mark Twain or Agatha Christie to tell a powerful story. You simply need the heart, the love, and the faith. The question is not how great of a story can you tell to help those in need, but instead, the question is found in the last verse of our last hymn: “’Are ye able?’ still the Master whispers down eternity, and heroic spirits answer now, as then, in Galilee.” Amen.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/405487718805961
Fourth Sunday in Epiphany
Directions: What If I Have a Problem? Deut. 18: 15-20; Mark 1: 21-28
A friend of mine posted (what I hope is a joke) on Facebook the other day. His post says, “I meet a woman outside the mall crying. She had lost $200, so I gave her $40 from the $200 I had found a few minutes ago. When God blesses you, you must bless others too!” And all I could think was, “NO! That’s not how this works!” The same day another friend shared on Instagram a video of a little girl of about 4 or so with her mother. Her mom told her that she could be part of the problem, or she could be part of the solution. The little girl replied, “Mmm, I think I’m gonna be the WHOLE problem.” And sometimes life is just like that little child, no offense to her.
When we gather ourselves up, find a new direction, follow God’s signs, we still, sometimes, encounter problems on the journey. Today Deuteronomy and Mark give us three problems and one solution. The three problems are not listening, bad voices or bad advice, and self-doubt. The solution to all three is God’s strength in some form or another.
The first problem when we try to set a new course is not listening when we need to. In Deuteronomy, the people complain to God that hearing the voice of God was too much for them. So, God offers that there will be a prophet who speaks on God’s behalf. The people are to listen to this prophet. Then God says, “I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet claims on my behalf.” And from there, Israel sets a course of listening to God’s prophet about half of the time…maybe less. At one point, it gets so bad that God says to Ezekiel that the people are so hard hearted they will not listen to any message, but Ezekiel must speak anyway.
We are often a people who like to speak, but don’t always like to listen especially if the message is hard for us to hear. This often goes in tandem with the second problem—bad advice. God goes on to say that “any prophet who falsely claims to speak in [God’s] name or who speaks the name of another god must die.” Two of the greatest human failures are not listening and listening to the wrong people speaking. Both listening and following advice should come down to one simple thing—the truth. If we are unwilling to hear the truth or are not told the truth, then we will find problems.
Our struggle comes from the fact that we are often challenged when we really listen to truth, and we don’t like to be challenged. If a preacher stands in the pulpit and says something like: Jesus healed the sick without charging payment, challenged religious authority over the politics, loved the marginalized, and was likely not patriotic, because who could imagine Jesus giving a pro-Rome message, that preacher might meet some resistance and some angry parishioners.
Likewise, a preacher who says that Jesus gives limitations on doing whatever we want in life, tells us we can be a bit selfish at times, and then calls us to be mission and evangelical-minded instead of “sitting there like a pudding” as one pastor friend said, then that preacher may also find a hostile congregation depending on who makes up the persons in the pews.
Listening and advice are a struggle for us because we often just don’t like the message, and it’s hard to accept. A prophet is sent to give boundaries, not a message of comfort or gentle platitudes. And truthfully humanity doesn’t like that and has never liked that. The Israelites often strayed from listening and heeding advice and turned to bad advice because they didn’t like the boundaries God gave them. And, as if our struggle to listen and the penchant for bad advice aren’t enough, we often wrestle with self-doubt in the same mix.
The Israelites found themselves incapable of hearing God’s voice. The people in Mark’s Gospel struggle to accept and hear Jesus’s authority over teaching, healing, and matters of faith. They doubted their own eyes and ears, and truthfully many of us struggle with self-doubt tied to bad advice and not listening. How many good things have we talked ourselves out of because we doubted our abilities? How many times do we belittle ourselves and mask it as humor because we wrestle with self-doubt? How many times do we cut ourselves off at the knees because it’s easier to wallow in despair than find joy in God’s blessings, talents, and calling in our lives? How many times do we listen to voices (even in our own head) telling us we’re not good enough or something is wrong with us? Or better yet, how many bad situations do we talk ourselves into because we don’t listen, follow bad advice, and wrestle with self-doubt or let’s just call it low self-esteem? Here’s a bit of truth to listen to and good advice to remember—God created you, and God does not make mistakes in what God creates.
Too often we forget God’s strength which can lift us up and help us. A friend of mine starts every day off looking in the mirror and imagining God saying these words to her, “You are beautiful, made in God’s image. You are loved, for Christ gave his life for you. And you can make a difference because God’s strength goes with you.” God’s strength is powerful and can work the miraculous in our lives. We hear the key word in Mark over and over. The people were amazed at Jesus’s teaching, for he taught as one with real authority. The people are further amazed when Jesus casts out the demon. And they ask what kind of teaching this is because it has such authority. Even the evil spirits obeyed him.
God has that kind of authority, but it begs something from us—trust. Every problem comes down to one big question for us. Do we trust God’s authority and strength over our lives and struggles, in God’s time and in God’s way. Sometimes we have to admit that our biggest problem, which brings together not listening, bad advice, and self-doubt, is that we just don’t like how God is handling things. It hurts our ability to trust. But sometimes we also expect God to handle things the way we want, but we don’t necessarily want to do our part as well. That starts with being able to trust in God’s authority and accept the good and bad in life as part of a brilliant plan. If we believe that God intelligently designed the entire universe, then we must trust God’s authority to work through our lives as part of that universe.
I think of the scripture in Job where his wife comes to offer support. After losing everything and being stricken with illness, her best advice to Job is to curse God and just die. Problems are part and parcel of life and the human experience. They are awful, annoying, and sometimes painful. But in the end God has authority and wisdom, and we must have trust that even in struggle God has the ultimate authority both here and now and hereafter.
I want to leave you with a quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you don’t know that name, he was a German Lutheran pastor who preached and stood against Hitler during World War II. He was eventually accused of plotting to overthrow Hitler and imprisoned. He was ultimately executed by the Nazis less than one month before Germany surrendered. He had these words of encouragement: “I am sure of God’s hand and guidance…You must never doubt that I am thankful and glad to go the way which I am being led. My past life is abundantly full of God’s mercy and, above all sin, stands the forgiving love of the Crucified. Ultimately all authority on earth must serve only the authority of Jesus Christ over humankind.” At all times, may our trust in God’s strength and authority never waiver.
For us there are three big problems—we often don’t listen; when we do listen, we listen to bad advice; and on top of it all we live with struggles of self-doubt. So, what do we do when we run into problems? The words in Mark’s gospel are clear. Jesus has authority and strength, and we, ultimately, must learn to trust that authority and strength both here and now, and for the hereafter. God does not make mistakes, and that includes you and your life too.
Third Sunday in Epiphany
Directions: How to Start a New Trip—Jonah 3: 1-5, 10; Mark 1:14-20
I remember 16 years ago now, when I moved to Georgia, I had a bit of a “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto” moment. At the very onset, something about living here, 400 miles away from anyone I knew, did not feel like home to me. Thankfully, that has changed. I remember going to the Kroger on North Avenue off Gray Highway and being so confused as to how two Krogers—the one in Danville, Kentucky, and this one—could be so incredibly different. As I was checking out, the cashier asked where I was from. When I said Kentucky, she said in the thickest, Southern drawl I’d ever heard, “Kentucky! Son, you almost a foreigner down here.” And I’d never felt more out of place in my life.
Last week we looked at lessons on God giving us a sign. This week, we consider, exactly, how do we start this journey with God? A friend of mine once told me, “There’s no real mystery to following God; you just get up and go, and you don’t worry about the rest.” But the truth is that most people are homebodies and not exactly the most adventurous of souls. I get that. If given the option of a great adventure or a night at home on the couch, Indiana Jones, I am not. And in wanting to feel at home, many people look to church for that sense of feeling “at home.”
The problem is there are so many different people in the church. This is the only place where we endeavor to take people of different races, backgrounds, nationalities, worship styles, political beliefs, socio-economic status, and ages and try to BOTH give them a sense of home and a common mission to go out and do something for God’s kingdom. It’s almost, almost easier to herd cats. But that’s exactly what Jesus did. He called fishermen, tax collectors, men and women of various places in life and backgrounds and said, “Come, follow me.” The Gospel tells us that those whom Jesus called dropped everything and followed him immediately.
So, if we are to both find a home in church and a common mission, what is that mission? Well, it’s to save the world—literally, figurately, and theologically. And we do that through honesty, communication, and love. In reading our Hebrew Lesson, we see that Jonah got best two out of three on this. He excelled in honesty and was good enough communication. When he finally went to Nineveh after being sent twice by God, he walked into the city and said, “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed.” You know it’s a miracle those people repented. He didn’t mention God. He didn’t mention repentance. He didn’t give them a method to avoid destruction. He just went in and said, basically, “Y’all doomed.”
It takes all three—honesty, communication, and love—to create this sense of being at home and accomplishing God’s mission or call. Communication without honesty is pointless. Honesty without communication leads to anger, and any of them without love is just an excuse to be mean. Look to the Gospel. Jesus calls the disciples, and they follow immediately. Then they are steeped in Jesus’s wisdom, teaching, and miraculous work in saving the world. They see this done in both the theological sense of him saying, “Go and sin no more.” But they also see Jesus feed the hungry, love everyone, accept them, and heal their troubles. They see Jesus wade into the messiest parts of people’s lives and help them be made whole. And in response, they go and do the same until the end of their lives.
Think of when your family feels most like a family and home—it’s when everyone is together for a common reason, doing a common thing. For the church to be a family, our commonality is this mission for God’s kingdom—to save the world. We don’t wade enough into the messy points of life enough anymore. We’re too keen to say fix yourself, then come here. It doesn’t work that way, for we are called to do the healing, the helping, and the saving. That is our mission. Now, we also have to hold folks accountable. If people keep going back to the same mistakes, same old habits, same old sins (if we’re going to call it that) again, and again, and again, then it’s clear they don’t want help. They want enabling to wallow in their mess, and they do not want healing. And the church can’t do that.
In 2024, we need to find a change in direction for both ourselves and our churches. Let’s practice this work of honesty, communication, and love more deeply and carefully. The disciples took the lessons Jesus taught them and all the things they had seen, and they put it all to work. They went out and made a difference in the world for people who needed it. They proclaimed salvation, and created a place of healing, help, and a safeness where people could find themselves in the God who loved them. We must do the same.
But in some ways, Jonah also got it right. Though his message lacked any semblance of love or compassion, he said what Nineveh needed to hear—now is the time to be accountable or else. Thankfully, God in the New Testament is not always so severe as God in the Old Testament. But life is still very full of consequences, and as the kids are so fond of saying these days…you can still mess around and find out if you’re not careful. I edited that saying just a bit to make it church-appropriate.
So, if we take all these sometimes messy, different people and put them together, how do we give them a sense of being home and a common mission? We practice together and with the world love, communication, and honesty. Think of going on a long family road trip. For some that is an adventure. For others, it might be a nightmare. But either way, none of it works without those three things. If you don’t love the kids, you will kill them the thousandth time they ask if you’re there yet. If you don’t practice communication, someone is going to miss the bathroom in a bad way. And if you’re not honest, you’ll miss the opportunities of being together.
As a family of faith, we are on a journey together. Sometimes it is easy, and sometimes, we need to let God give us a bit more direction or even change direction for us. Jonah ran as far away from God’s calling to go to Nineveh as he could. And as the story goes, God called him back in a very big and miraculous way. Many of the disciples had their own lives, jobs, and families. Jesus gave them a call that changed their direction completely. They were changed from a daily routine of life to living a powerful mission for God’s kingdom. Jonah’s (final) obedience to God saved an entire gigantic city and kingdom from destruction. The disciples started a movement that truly changed the world. When God gives the directions, great things can happen in our lives and churches.
Where are the places in our lives that we need to change direction and start a new journey? Faith is meant to be both a place which feels like home and which gives us a common mission rooted in love. We create a home here and join together in God’s mission to save the world—literally, figuratively, and theologically—when we practice following God’s call through honesty, communication, and love. Which of those three do we struggle with the most and need God to give us a new direction? Where do we need to find more accountability like Nineveh, or more compassion like Jesus? Or better yet, where do we need to find more zeal and excitement for God’s call like the disciples did? It’s a lot to process.
A friend of mine once told me the secret to changing directions and starting a new journey with God’s calling. It’s so simple to say, but so hard to really do. “There’s no real mystery to following God; you just get up and go, and you don’t worry about the rest.” May we always be willing. Amen.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/3776474615962486
Second Sunday in Epiphany
Changing Direction: Looking for Sign-- I Sam. 3: 1-20; John 1: 43-51
Back in my college days, I almost got arrested. True story! I came up to a traffic stop on the road. I was tired, but I had not had a drop to drink. As I approached, the officer closest to me signaled me to come through, and the officer a few feet down from him signaled me to stop. I stopped, went a little bit, stopped, and rolled my window down to ask for clarity, and I was promptly pulled out the car and given field sobriety tests. It probably didn’t help that I told them both (with no attitude whatsoever), that when you give two different signals at the same time, no one can follow the signs!
So, let’s talk a bit about signs to follow in the coming year. Many of us can agree that 2023 was a fairly tough year with personal and global challenges. And the other day I heard someone say that 2024 doesn’t seem so promising either, so maybe 2025 will be my year. We need a bit of a change of direction. So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to look at examples and ways of changing directions. The first is recognizing the sign and following life’s directional signs. Two of the hardest signs to follow are accepting the sign given and actually following through with the calling when you see a sign.
What does a sign look like? We read in the Gospel that Philip encounters Jesus and immediately follows him. Nathanael, however, is still a bit unsure. When hears Jesus hails from Nazareth, he says, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?” There is some evidence that Nazareth could have been considered a bit of a Podunk town in that time, and it was never expected that great things would come from there. But Jesus gives a sign. He speaks of Nathanael as if he knows him personally. Then he tells Nathanael that he saw him under the fig tree—a very prophetic vision. Nathanael accepted the sign. He calls Jesus, the “Rabbi…the Son of God—the King of Israel.”
All it took was a sign, and Nathanael accepted it. In the I Samuel scripture there’s a different kind of sign. God again is speaking to humanity, but for Eli, the signs are not good. Eli has been the anointed prophet for some time. He was a good man, a man of God who recognized God’s voice speaking to Samuel. But the words received spell suffering and destruction for Eli and his entire household. Eli loved God, but he lacked discipline and integrity when it came to his prophetic work and even managing his own family. Though he personally was a good man, he had failed miserably in his calling. To his credit, however, he accepted this difficult sign. He was resigned to the fact that he no longer had God’s favor because of his failures.
Accepting and resigning ourselves to a sign in life is hard. Sometimes it’s good news and other times not. I remember years ago when I decided to hike the steps to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, there was a sign that said, “Only 230 more steps to go from here.” I’m still not sure if that was a good sign or not, but it was a sign. When you get to a point in life that you feel something isn’t working, you’re miserable, or everything seems to be going wrong, it’s time for a change. The question is—do you have the courage to walk with God to make the change.
I’m not sure Nathanael had that courage. When we read a list of the twelve disciples, there’s no Nathanael listed. He recognized the sign. He believed and had faith and said confidently that this man, Jesus, was the Rabbi and the Son of God. But he didn’t follow. This is the only time Nathanael is mentioned. Jesus comments on his very new and small faith saying that they would all see much greater things than just a vision of Nathanael under the fig tree. Nathanael’s faith may soon grow. But he didn’t follow even with the sign he was given.
Eli, however, has a much more mature faith. When Samuel finally listens to God’s vision, God basically says that Eli is about to be severely punished and Samuel would be the prophet. When morning comes, Samuel is CLEARLY avoiding Eli, but old Eli wants to know what God said to Samuel. Upon hearing Samuel’s vision, Eli says, “It is the Lord’s will. Let [God] do what [God] thinks is best.” Sometimes the signs are hard. I remember growing up I had a Magic 8 Ball. It was a little toy that you shook up and it gave you little answers to questions. Sometimes it would generate an answer which said, “Signs point to no,” and all the kids hoping for a positive sign would be disappointed.
Sometimes we get signs that it’s time to start something new, do something different, learn a new way. Sometimes, we get disappointing signs: the cancer has returned, it’s a progressive disorder, you need more help, your relationship is broken, you simply can’t do this. Faith is when we accept and move forward regardless of what the sign is. I cannot imagine Eli’s pain and disappointment. God provides one of first visions in a long time, and it’s an indictment and judgement of Eli’s behavior. And Eli’s answer is, “Let God do what God thinks is best.”
But there is a bit of hope and good news in all the worries over bad signs and bad directions. If we go back to the encounter with Nathanael, we see a man who may not have become one of the twelve disciples, but he was still changed from his encounter with Jesus. In fact, of all the encounters with calling disciples and followers, Jesus spends the most time with Nathanael, the one who had doubts and questions. My friends, when the signs in life are unclear, when you feel like you’ve lost direction, when you see stop, go, and yield all at the same time, and you have no idea which way to go at all, that is the time Jesus is most ready to come and talk with you. There’s an old hymn that says you’ll “Find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.” And so it does.
The Clergy Coaching Network, which I follow on Facebook, posted this quote by Madeleine L’Engle, “I do not think that I will ever reach a stage when I will say, ‘This is what I believe. Finished.’ What I believe is alive, and open to growth.” Do we find ourselves at times on a pathway that doesn’t work? Where do we need a sign and a signal to make some change in life? When you get to a point that where you say, “I can’t keep doing this,” when we as a church look around and say, “We can’t keep going on like this, won’t be able to pay the electricity bill in 5 years,” we have to pray and say, “Lord, I need a sign.”
For Nathanael, Jesus told him of a vision where he saw Nathanael then predicted how his faith would grow and the miracles he might get to see if he stayed faithful. For Eli, it was a bad omen. It was time for him to pay the price for letting Israel fall away from God and letting his own sons commit blasphemy and curse God without any correction.
But for Nathanael, who needed a sign to understand, Jesus came and sat with him and spent more time talking to him than any other disciple in their calling story. For Israel, God made a change and called a prophet with integrity and strength to hold the people accountable and shepherd them back to God.
Jesus is calling you today, come and make a change. If we’re sitting tired, miserable, sad, lonely, hurting, and angry, let us ask for a sign and prepare to make a change. Jesus will walk with you that whole way. In our world, we need a sign and a change. We live with war, poverty, oppression, exploitation, and far too much hatred and bitterness. We need a sign as well to find a new way that follows God’s call to love, grace, and peace.
When I approached the traffic stop years ago, one officer said keep going the other said stop. To a 20-year-old, driver already nervous, that’s some bad signs. But thank God that in faith we get a bit clearer direction. What sign is God giving you today? And more importantly are you ready to make the change and follow where God is leading? I hope you’ll take some pen and paper this and answer those two questions sometime this week—what is God’s sign, and how can I follow? Don’t stay stuck. Don’t live in confusion. God always calls us forward in hope and faith.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/751285886448312
Baptism of Christ
Traditions With More—Genesis 1: 1-5; Mark 1: 4-11
In the musical Fiddler on the Roof, one of the early songs sung in part by Tevye tells how the people have kept their balance for many, many years…”Traditions!” Then they repeat “traditions” over and over in chorus. Tevye goes on to explain, “Here…we have traditions for everything…how to eat, how to sleep, even, how to wear our clothes.” Traditions! Perhaps sometimes we feel the same way about church. We ask, “Well…why do we…” And we hear the chorus shouting, “Traditions! Traditions! Traditions!” just like in Fiddler on the Roof.
If you ask someone from the Baby Boomer generation about traditions, they will take you to the China cabinet and show you every important heirloom and how it fits in with every holiday and memory going back over many years. If you ask a millennial or Gen Z person about traditions, they shriek and hiss like a vampire exposed to sunlight. And this is one area where those groups shall never find an understanding unless they meet at the corner of an “they’re an old soul” and “still pretty hip for my age.”
This leaves the church in a rather precarious position. This is a place filled with traditions, rituals, and elements unique only to church and worship. There’s often a tension between a history of worship and faith going back thousands of years in communion, prayer, baptism, and so on versus the relevance of a modern-day society. Too often when we begin to ask questions in our faith and worship, we hear the frightening and often hated phrase, “But we’ve always done it that way.”
Yet maybe that’s not quite the evil it is made out to be. Today we read the work of John the Baptist in the Gospel of Mark. John is described as a pretty strange sight. He preached in the wilderness. He dressed roughly in camel hair and leather belts. He ate bugs and wild honey. Were you to encounter John the Baptist on the street, I daresay you might cross over to the other sidewalk. He preached this strange thing that people should repent of their sins and be baptized. Baptism was not exactly practiced in those days. There were some purification rituals that included immersion in water, but it wasn’t exactly a thing widely done. And truthfully repentance wasn’t all that common anymore either.
And yet, we see in this Gospel lesson that John baptizes Jesus. In some gospels, it is said that John recognized Jesus. In this one it seems there was no forewarning to the dove descending and the heavenly voice proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God and the dearly beloved who brings great joy. Ever since this encounter we have practiced this tradition of baptism in the Christian faith.
It is one of the most sacred traditions or sacraments of the church, right next to Communion. And I’m sure that if we were to ask, “Why?” we would hear the wise answer, “Because we’ve always done it that way.” Or we might hear the voice of Tevye and the chorus proclaiming, “Traditions!”
But there’s something more to the practice of baptism than just that. When we accept the faith and become baptized, we walk a similar path to Jesus. We proclaim this faith publicly. We celebrate a Savior who gave of himself, suffered, and has risen from the dead to give us hope and life. Baptism is not the dusty crystal that hides in the back of a cabinet. It’s the precious heirloom that a family cherishes generation after generation because of the importance it holds.
Church traditions and rituals are nothing to scoff at. If you are in a place of stained-glass windows, organ, hymns, and robed choir and preacher, you still do the same things as if you are in a dark-lit stage with untucked shirts and a fog machine. We sing, we pray, we proclaim, and we go forth to serve. Regardless of how it all gets dressed up, that is what the church has done for centuries.
What matters is that, regardless of whether there’s a pipe organ or electric guitar, we sing of our faith in Christ, we pray to God to stay close to our creator and redeemer, and we proclaim the love of Christ that transforms the struggles of society into a place of hope and grace.
Often we spend too much time debating our ritual and traditions to find something fruitful and inspiring in them. Part of that problem is we have a consumer-based society. Church and worship are not a consumer product. It is a practice, a discipline, and a place to find hope and renewal with God by our side. Faith is a participatory event where we come to live out, share, and participate in the traditions and rituals. Even Jesus came to the River Jordan to be baptized. Now, I highly doubt the Son of God needed to repent and be baptized all that much, but he participated and became a part of the work of faith.
It’s easy after the 4,500th time of taking Communion or joining with the congregation in the 1,500th baptism to find a staleness and boredom in the traditions we practice. But let’s take a step back. With every baptism we have someone proclaiming that they are covenanting to join our faith. They covenant that they will live, preach, encourage, and teach the unconditional love of Christ for all of us, everyone. Every time we take communion, we meditate on the fact that real love is sacrificing and giving to help and uplift another. It’s not just words that we remember Christ’s sacrifice. We live into that promise of hope and life and the call to give of ourselves in love for others.
So maybe it’s time to rehabilitate this idea of “traditions!” from boredom and sameness to finding comfort and hope. A friend and I were talking the other day while at the funeral of a mutual friend. She said to me about our deceased friend: he couldn’t stand the rituals the traditions, the same things over and over in church every week. It’s what he struggled with the most. I, on the other hand, love them, and that’s what draws me in the most. I can go anywhere in the world, walk into a church, and find a place that feels like home because we live, practice, and share the same faith and the same practice of faith.
Instead of being dulled to the power and holiness of our practice of faith, let Christ do a little work. Let him break and bend you just a bit so that the real power of these traditions of faith make a mark on you. In baptism you have given up following the selfishness of life, and you have committed and promised in a covenant to follow Christ in showing love, grace, and peace to the world. It is your testimony and promise now and forevermore.
The final line in “Traditions” from Fiddler on the Roof says, “Tradition. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as…as a fiddler on the roof!” We come each week not to do the same thing over and over again, but to live out these practices that bring us closer to God. In this place, it is the hope that you will find something holy, something moving, and a place where you feel loved and welcomed even in the midst of the messiness of humanity. So, as we continue to live out our practice of faith, our “Traditions!” may they blend into the hopeful words of “Blessed Assurance,” which say, “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.” Amen.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/3539344896380349