"God is Love," 11.11.12

1 John 4:7-21

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. ¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. ¹⁵God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

Colossians 3:1-17

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, ³for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). ⁶On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. ⁷These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.

⁸But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. ⁹Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices ¹⁰and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. ¹¹In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

¹²As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

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In the beginning, before the big bang, before sun and moon and earth, before anything existed anywhere, there was love. God is love. The Bible doesn’t just teach that God is kind and merciful and just. It doesn’t just tell us that God is loving; it tells us that God is love.

            There’s nothing stronger than love, nothing bigger than love, nothing better than love, nothing more important than love. God is love.

            Love created the world. Love created human beings too. Not only were we created in and for love, God called our ancestors into a special relationship. God called Abraham and Sarah to leave their home and seek their fortune following God. Through wandering, slavery, more wandering and settlement, God led the people of Israel and taught them laws that would help them put love into action. Love surrounded and shaped them throughout their journey as a nation.

            That’s the beginning of the story, but of course, the story isn’t quite that simple. Even though love is at the center of creation, and even though love shapes the core of who we are, there are other powerful forces pushing against us too. We’re shaped by hunger for power and money and status. We’re shaped by a desire to control other people. We long to have our way and we fear things like death and shame and poverty.

            All those things mess up our relationships. Imagine: you meet someone. You have interests in common so you start spending time together. There’s an immediate connection as you talk about your hopes and plans for the future. Then worry starts to creep in. Do they care about me as much as I care about them? Will I be hurt? Can I be sure about the future?

            We start building walls to protect ourselves. Sometimes we wall ourselves in with our partner or family; other times we wall ourselves off from them too. We pile up things to protect ourselves from the uncertainty of the future. We try to insulate ourselves from danger and hardship; we look at people outside our walls as a threat.

            All that protection makes our relationships hard and brittle. Our connections with others become weaker, and our interactions grow colder. We keep more to ourselves and share less with others.

            That happens in our relationships with other people and in our relationship with God. With God is can be even harder because we’ve never seen God. Many of us come to church because we grew up coming to church. Our parents brought us to church, and something about the community and the music and the story keeps us coming back. Many of us are deeply committed to the church and feel strongly about its mission to help others, but there’s a connection missing between us and God.

            That’s not something new in our time; people have always struggled with maintaining a vibrant relationship with God. When the first fire of love in humanity got cool and the fear, greed and anger separating us from God and from each other got too tall to see over, God sent Jesus Christ into the world. In Jesus’ life we see what a life built on love looks like. We see him reaching out to everyone, unafraid of rejection or misunderstanding. We see him go head to head with the religious leaders, not hateful or defensive, but also not afraid of their power. In Jesus we see what we were meant to be.

            Even more than that, we see how much God loves us because God sent his dearly beloved son Jesus into the world knowing our fear and drive for power would kill him. This moment, the moment when God sent Jesus into the world, knowing he would connect with people in a new way but also knowing that he would be brutally murdered shatters the trajectory of human history and gives us a chance to start over.

"Community: Growing together in faith," 11.18.12

Ephesians 4:17-32

¹⁷Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. ¹⁹They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰That is not the way you learned Christ!

²¹For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. ²²You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. ²⁵So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.

²⁶Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷and do not make room for the devil. ²⁸Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. ²⁹Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. ³¹Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, ³²and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

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            When you think about Jesus, what are some characteristics that come to mind?

            Do you have a favorite story about Jesus that shows some of those traits?

            The church is the body of Christ in the world. In this passage Paul talks about how God gives gifts to the church to help the saints, that means all of us, grow into maturity. When Paul talks about saints he’s not talking about Christian superstars, special Christians who reach a different level of faith than the rest of us. He’s talking about all Christians, all people who follow Jesus. He’s talking about all of us becoming more mature in our faith. He goes a step further too. Paul says that maturity means “the measure of the full stature of Christ.”

            If you’re scratching your head about that phrase, you’re not alone. What Paul means is that as we grow in faith our goal is to be more and more like Jesus. We just talked about some of the most important things about Jesus, so our goal is show more of those traits as we become more mature. Growing in our faith doesn’t just mean learning the Bible better or praying more. It mostly means getting stronger in our trust in God, being more loving, more forgiving, more compassionate, and learning to be a healing presence in the world.

            That sounds challenging, but it also makes sense. I want to be more compassionate. I want to be more forgiving; I want to be more loving; I want to get better at putting other people first, and I bet you do too.

            So while it can be challenging to mature in those ways, we want to do it. We also have the church to help us grow. In fact, a big part of the church’s purpose is to help us grow, to help us be more like Jesus.

So how can the church help us be more compassionate?

How can the church help us be more loving?

            How can the church guide us to be more forgiving?

The things we’ve just identified are for all of us to do as a church. As a church, as the body of Christ, we help each other to grow in faith and maturity. As brothers and sisters we help each other become more like Christ.

"Preparing for change," 12.2.12

Isaiah 42:5-12

⁵Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: ⁶I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, ⁷to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

⁸I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. ⁹See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. ¹⁰Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. ¹¹Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the tops of the mountains. ¹²Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands.

Luke 21:5-36

⁵When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ⁶“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” ⁷They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” ⁸And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. ⁹“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

¹⁰Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. ¹²“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³This will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; ¹⁵for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. ¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name. ¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹By your endurance you will gain your souls.

²⁰“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. ²¹Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it; ²²for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written. ²³Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; ²⁴they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ²⁵“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. ²⁶People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ³⁴“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

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            It’s hard for me to put together scene Jesus describes to his audience, but the overall picture is dramatic and destructive change. Jesus is talking about the end of the world as we know it. There are images of natural disasters and human conflict. There are also images of God’s judgment.

This year we hear a lot more about “end times” than usual. One long cycle of the Mayan calendar comes to an end on December 21^st of this year, which has led to speculation about the end of the world. I’m not an expert, but from the little bit I’ve read about this theory it seems pretty far off. The two references in Mayan texts to the date don’t say anything about the world ending. Also, while the Mayans were an advanced civilization, that doesn’t mean they could predict events 1400 years later.

Many people have tried to predict the end of the world, but so far no one has succeeded. Jesus tells his disciples that even he doesn’t know when the world would end, and it’s not for them to know, so it’s not surprising that we can’t figure it out. I’m not anxious about the world ending in three weeks, but all the talk about the end is a good reminder that nothing lasts forever except God.

            Jesus didn’t know when exactly the end was coming, but he thought it was coming soon. He tells the disciples that the current generation won’t pass away before all the things he’s talking about come true. The early church believed the same thing; they lived in eager expectation that Christ would return and God’s judgment would come very soon.

            Obviously, they weren’t exactly right about the timing. Nearly two thousand years have come and gone and we’re still here. So what are we supposed to do with an image like this? And why am I talking about it this week anyway?

            Thinking about the end of the world puts our life in a wider context that helps us remember what’s really important. Even if the world doesn’t end anytime soon, you and I will die some day, maybe tomorrow, maybe 40 years from now. When the world ends or you take your last breath it is not going to matter what you gave or got for Christmas and it’s not going to matter who was right in the latest argument. If we never think about death and we never think about the end of the world, it’s easy for our days and weeks to disappear under piles of things that ultimately have no meaning. Of course, we can also think too much about death and destruction and forget about God’s calling here and now.

"Wait for the Lord," 12.9.12

Psalm 46:1-11

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; ³though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. ⁵God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.

⁶The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

⁷The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. ⁸Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. ⁹He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

¹⁰“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” ¹¹The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

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            Last week we talked about how Advent looks in two different directions. We look back to Jesus’ birth in the manger and we look forward to the end of history when Christ will come again and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our. In some ways, that is setting the cosmic scene for our Advent experience. Today I want to look at Advent more personally and practically.

            Waiting is a key idea of Advent. During Advent we prepare ourselves for Christmas, but we’re not preparing for something we have any control over. We’re waiting for Jesus kind of like we wait for a train or a bus. Nothing we can do can make Christmas come any faster (not that we’d want it to), and nothing we do can make God’s kingdom come any faster. We have to wait.

            We usually think of waiting as passive, as passing time until whatever we are waiting for arrives. There’s a lot more to it than that, though. For one thing, if we’re waiting for something we trust that it’s going to happen. We wouldn’t wait for a bus unless we were pretty sure it was going to arrive. Not only do we trust that the thing we’re waiting for is real, the thing we’re waiting for is also our main focus. We can do other things, but whatever we’re waiting for takes priority when it arrives. It’s helpful to think about waiting for God in the same way. We can trust that God is real and worth waiting for. We can also remember that God is the point of this season and of our life. All the other things in the season are important, but God is the purpose for our waiting, the reason for our hope and our existence.

Our readings for today shed some biblical light on waiting, in this case, waiting for the Lord. Psalm 46, which John just read, is a meditation on trusting God. It begins and ends with the affirmation that God is our refuge, our safe haven. It expands on that by reminding us that we can trust God to take care of us even when life is chaotic. Even if the world were to melt away, God would still be with us, leading us through.

Both the images of chaos and the picture of a river running through the City of Jerusalem suggest God’s judgment at the end of history. When the Prophet Ezekiel sees a vision for the restoration of Jerusalem there is a river of life flowing from the temple. The river in this Psalm takes me there, to a peaceful stream and God’s restoration in the future.

The chaotic images of mountains shaking and the earth changing remind me of Jesus’ words about the judgment last week. Even when everything falls apart God is there. Thinking about God’s judgment like we did last week can be unsettling. This passage reassures me that even then, God will take care of us. If God can hold us together when the mountains shake and judgment comes, it’s safe to say we can trust him to get us through Christmas shopping and baking too.

"living boldly in faith," 9.30.12

Intro to Acts and review of this section (healing a man born lame)

Acts 4:1-33

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, ²much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. ³So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand.

⁵The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, ⁶with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. ⁷When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, ⁹if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ ¹²There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. ¹⁴When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. ¹⁵So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another.

¹⁶They said, “What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” ¹⁸So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; ²⁰for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” ²¹After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. ²²For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

²³After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, ²⁵it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant: ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? ^{… 29}And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

³²Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. ³³With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

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            This story is a great example of why the early church was so successful: they knew that the story wasn’t about them; it was about what God had done and was doing through Jesus. It’s a story about being open to uncertainty, open to possibility and paying attention to what God is doing, even when it’s not obvious. Peter and John show a remarkable combination of flexibility and consistency. At every turn in the story the apostles turn attention away from themselves and towards Jesus. They keep their focus stubbornly on their mission, which is to bear witness to God’s love in Christ. At the same time, they look clearly and respond nimbly to what is going on around them.

This story is a good story in its own right and also a good example of the bigger story of Acts, which is why I chose it for our one week on the early church in this series. It’s also a great guide for the church today because our situation, like the situation of the first Christians calls for the same clear focus on mission paired with a nimble attention and response to the world around us.

When they first encounter the man who can’t walk Peter and John say straight out that they are healing him in the name of Jesus. Immediately, the man gets up and goes with them to worship God, staying close to Peter and John so he can learn more about this Jesus. A crowd quickly gathers, and just as quickly Peter gives the credit to God. He specifically tells the crowd that the healing didn’t happen because of their power or even their holiness; it happened by the power of God working through Jesus. Then they take the opportunity to tell the story of Jesus, inviting the crowd to repent and believe.

When the religious leaders react to this commotion with fear, Peter and John take that as another opportunity to give credit to God and to tell the story of Jesus again. When the leaders are getting ready to release them with a warning to quit preaching, Peter and John refuse to take the easy way of going along with their captors. Instead, without anger or disrespect they explain that God’s command to testify takes precedence over the leader’s order to keep silent.

After their release, they gather with their friends and pray for the strength, the boldness to keep telling people about Jesus. Then they get on with the big picture of faith: living their faith in everything they do with commitment. Like their testimony to the religious leaders, the lifestyle of the early church is both attention grabbing and attention deflecting. They share everything in common and proclaim God’s word with power and grace. The way they live will necessarily attract attention because it is so different from the way others live. The disciples will point to God rather than to themselves.

This story from Acts shows us what John is talking about in his letter. He tells the church that the way they should measure their faith isn’t numbers of people who come to Christ or healing power. Instead, they know they are on the right path if they “walk as Jesus walked.” Like Jesus, their lives should be defined and shaped by love. If they love others in action as well as in words, they are following Jesus; if their lives are shaped by hatred, they are not.

John focuses on love as the marker, but bold and courageous faith, even in the face of opposition is also a good example of walking like Jesus. These three guideposts: focus on God, boldly with love served the early church well, and they will serve us well today as we seek to redefine our mission in a new world.

"Following Jesus," 9.23.12

Mark 1:14-20

¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” ¹⁶As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. ¹⁷And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” ¹⁸And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Matthew 7:12-29

¹²“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. ¹³“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

¹⁵“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus you will know them by their fruits.

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ ²³Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’

²⁴“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. ²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!” ²⁸Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, ²⁹for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Luke 9:18-27

¹⁸Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” ²⁰He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.”

²¹He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, ²²saying, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” ²³Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.

Mark 10:35-45

³⁵James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” ³⁷And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” ³⁸But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” ³⁹They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; ⁴⁰but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. ⁴²So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ⁴³But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

We’ve been following God’s story all summer. We’ve read about creation, sin, and God’s call to Abraham. We’ve heard how God brought Israel out of slavery into the promised land and how the nation of Israel rose and fell as they followed and then turned away from God. We heard about their defeat and exile in Assyria and Babylon. Last week Sally told the story of Judah’s return from exile.

A little more than three hundred years before Christ, Alexander the Great rose to power Greece and conquered all the way to India. He tried to unite his empire by respecting the cultures he governed and allowing the people freedom while promoting Greek culture through education.

In 175 BC a new king rose to power over part of Alexander’s Empire. His name was Antiochus IV Epiphanes and he had delusions of grandeur. Instead of leaving people free to worship, he enforced worship of Zeus. He persecuted religious Jews and desecrated the temple with pagan images. A Jewish revolt succeeded in winning a period of independence, but before long factions within Judaism were fighting with each other. In 64 BC one side of the conflict invited the Romans to assist them, which led to Roman occupation of the area.

When Jesus was born Roman rule was well established, but Jews were again free to worship. Jewish political and religious leadership structures were part of how the land was governed, but those leaders served with Roman approval. So now our story turns to Jesus, who is always the heart of our story as Christians.

There’s something compelling about Jesus. Whether he’s bringing comfort or confrontation (usually some of both) his words touch us deep down and will not let us go. Jesus draws us in and shakes us up. Luke says the crowd felt the same way: they were astounded because Jesus taught as one with authority, not like their scribes.

 Jesus and his teachings have something to them, a power, a force, an authority that catches us off guard, but often the church, the scribes of today, lack that power. I bet if you ask people who don’t go to church regularly why they don’t go, many will say they think church is boring. Maybe you think that too, in your secret heart you keep hidden away.

That’s definitely not what people thought when they heard Jesus. The crowds were amazed, and the religious leaders were curious at first and then afraid and angry, but no one was bored. There was something about Jesus’ teaching, and his presence, that made him hard to ignore then and even across two thousand years keeps our attention still.

"Even in the Fire," 9/9/12

Daniel 1:1-7, 17-21

In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ²The Lord let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power, as well as some of the vessels of the house of God. These he brought to the land of Shinar, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his gods. ³Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility, ⁴young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in the king’s palace; they were to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

⁵The king assigned them a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine. They were to be educated for three years, so that at the end of that time they could be stationed in the king’s court. ⁶Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the tribe of Judah. ⁷The palace master gave them other names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

¹⁷To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom; Daniel also had insight into all visions and dreams. ¹⁸At the end of the time that the king had set for them to be brought in, the palace master brought them into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar, ¹⁹and the king spoke with them. And among them all, no one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they were stationed in the king’s court. ²⁰In every matter of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. ²¹And Daniel continued there until the first year of King Cyrus.

As we read this passage I’d like you to notice the humor. Notice also what gets repeated over and over, and what the author might be trying to tell us with that.

Daniel 3:1-28
King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue whose height was sixty cubits and whose width was six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ²Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent for the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to assemble and come to the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

³So the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. When they were standing before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, ⁴the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

⁶Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.” ⁷Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁸Accordingly, at this time certain Chaldeans came forward and denounced the Jews. ⁹They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰You, O king, have made a decree, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, shall fall down and worship the golden statue, ¹¹and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. ¹²There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These pay no heed to you, O King. They do not serve your gods and they do not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought in; so they brought those men before the king. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? ¹⁵Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?”

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. ¹⁷If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. ¹⁸But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, ²⁰and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. ²²Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.

²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.” ²⁶Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. ²⁷And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them.

²⁸Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.

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Last week we talked about God sending Israel and Judah into exile because the nation had lost its way and turned away from God. Different prophets emphasize different failings: the writer of 1 and 2 Kings emphasizes idolatry, Isaiah talks a lot about oppression of the poor. However you look at it, Israel and Judah had forgotten who they were supposed to be.

            Today’s passages remind us that even in exile, God is still with God’s people. We follow Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they find favor with the king and his officials. We also follow as those officials become jealous of these rising stars, partly because of their success and partly because they are different. That’s a story that repeats several times during the Book of Daniel and elsewhere in scripture. It’s also a story that’s familiar in our own time: difference is frightening and those who are insecure will often turn that fear into discrimination and oppression.

            In the context of Daniel and the exile, the question that the story asks is: what does it mean to be different? What does it God’s people in exile? What does it mean to be set apart by God’s calling? As God’s church, these questions are still important for us today.

            We finished the sermon last week with a letter from the Prophet Jeremiah encouraging the exiles to build full lives in Babylon, because God would be with them there. We see that attitude in action with Daniel and his friends. They took the exile and made the best of it. When they were offered the opportunity to be educated in Babylonian wisdom so they could serve in government, they took it. And they served with energy and enthusiasm, even though they were serving their captors.

           

            So the passage gives a resounding “yes” to the question of whether we can work with people who don’t share our faith.

At the same time as they served faithfully and well, they didn’t loose track of who they were; they didn’t forget God. They didn’t let success at work blind them to their first priority, which was belonging to God. So even though they knew it could cost their lives, they didn’t worship Nebuchadnezzar’s statue.