Christ, the light of justice, 12.8.13

Isaiah 5:1-10

Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 3And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?


5And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!


8Ah, you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is room for no one but you, and you are left to live alone in the midst of the land! 9The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing: Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.10For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah.




Isaiah 10:20-23

20On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on the one who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22For though your people Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in all the earth.



Luke 1:39-56

39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”


46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” 56And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

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            We spent the six weeks before Advent talking about suffering and how our faith fits into that. Suffering is part of the human condition. It’s part of the darkness that hangs over our lives and makes it harder to see each other and to see God. Related to suffering, there are other forces that make our lives darker than they should be: injustice, oppression, lies, despair, and doubt, to name a few.

            The incarnation, the conviction that in Jesus, God became human and lived with us, is all about God stepping into our dark world as a light of hope, love, joy, peace, comfort, and truth. During Advent we wait and prepare for Christ’s light to come. Carl started us on our Advent journey last week by introducing how Christ comes as light in the darkness. In the three weeks to come we’ll look at some of the specific areas of darkness we face, and how Christ brings light to those places. As usual, the areas we’ll cover are not the whole story; there are more dark places in our lives than the three we’ll talk about, but by digging deeply into these, we should gain the insight we need to imagine how Christ can lighten other areas of darkness too.

            First: a word on Advent. Advent is a season of preparation. The mystery of the incarnation, the mystery of God becoming flesh is too amazing to take in just at Christmas. The reality of God’s kingdom, which we see in Christ and trust will totally transform the world one day, demands preparation. We have to get ready to embrace the Christ child. We have to get ready to embrace God’s loving kingdom by giving our hearts and lives space to be transformed by grace.

            A big part of that is repentance. The forces of darkness are so strong that they have warped all of us. Even though as people of faith we know better, we are still part of the darkness that fills our world. We need to change, we need to repent and let go of that darkness so we can be ready to welcome God’s kingdom in Christ.

            This week we’re focusing on preparing for Jesus as the light of justice in a world darkened by injustice and oppression. Justice is one of the most important themes in the whole Bible. It’s closely related to the idea of judgment, and also, maybe surprisingly, related to God’s love. The prophets of the Old Testament were tireless voices for God’s justice in their society, and they often suffered for it.

When we set up communities, whether that community is a church, a city or a nation, there will be people with more power than others. That’s not a problem if the people in power are committed to making sure that everyone is treated fairly, has a voice and has what they need. The trouble comes when the people in power look out for themselves at the expense of others. As a community becomes more unjust, the people in power not only neglect the needs of others as they pursue their own interests, they also take advantage of weaker members of the community to get further and further ahead.

That process means the darkness of injustice is closely tied to the power structure in a system, so it quickly gets imbedded in the status quo. When prophets criticize, the powerful people who benefit from that injustice counter by accusing the prophets of attacking the community’s values and being a threat to society. The prophet Jeremiah was locked up and almost killed for criticizing the leadership in Jerusalem. Amos was told to leave the holy city of Bethel because he spoke against the King of Israel. Protest against injustice is often seen by people in power and by others as unpatriotic.

No matter what the response, true love is honest. Prophets see what a community could and should be and use that vision to challenge where the community falls short so it can become better. Nelson Mandela is a great example of that kind of prophetic love. He imagined a South Africa for all its citizens, where everyone would have the right to vote and the chance to succeed. With that vision he criticized the apartheid state that deprived the black majority of their rights and their voice. For that, he was condemned as a traitor to his nation and jailed for 27 years.

As the world and nation came more in line with Mandela’s vision, he and other political prisoners were released. Not long afterwards, democracy came to South Africa and the “traitor” was elected president, because his criticism was about building a better nation, not tearing the nation down.

Israel and Judah were special nations because they were formed by God’s calling, not just by human political processes. Their constitution was God’s law, which meant that a deep concern for the wellbeing of all, especially the poor and vulnerable, was right at their heart from the beginning. The light of God’s justice was a key part of their guidance system. At the same time, Israel and Judah were like every other nation because the powerful used their power to make life better for them, often at the expense of the poor. The darkness of human selfishness started to spread over the chosen people of God.

Isaiah was one of God’s prophets sent to call Judah back to God’s path. The parable Donna read was one way Isaiah tried to help the people see where they were going wrong. The parable talks about God building up the nation, giving it everything it needed to thrive and produce a just society. Despite all God’s care, the nation produced injustice and oppression instead of righteousness and faithfulness, so God sent Judah into exile.

The good news is that exile isn’t the end. Some of the most profound insights in scripture are the fruit of exile or other times of trouble. Many of the Psalms were written in exile as were many of the most powerful passages of the book we now call Isaiah.

Like Israel and the prophets, the church is called to embody God’s justice and love, which is good news especially for the poor. Mary’s song of praise is a great example of God’s calling for the community of faith. We are called to be part of God turning the world upside down. That’s not going to be comfortable, but it is going to give us a new opportunity to fulfill our calling as God’s people. Like Israel, the church can find great power in losing the power we cling to today. At the end of exile we may be only a remnant, only a small part of what we once were in terms of size, but we will be a faithful remnant.

We can’t come into the light unless we recognize that we’re standing in the darkness. Isaiah’s words, Mary’s words and Advent itself call us to see the dark places in ourselves and our community. We are tempted by the selfishness we see around us. We’re tempted to fit in with a culture that measures people’s value by their possessions. The economic comfort we might have is connected to the injustice that poisons our community. We all need to repent, and Advent is a great opportunity for that.

Even as we repent, while we still struggle with our role in injustice, God calls us to be honest and bold in seeking justice for all. We all have different gifts, different ways to follow God’s calling today.

We saw one example in Nate VanLoon’s campaign for family court judge. Nate saw an opportunity to use his gifts to be a voice for justice for kids and families. Even though the election didn’t turn out the way he had hoped, God can still use the conversations he had to plant seeds of justice. Sally’s work for justice in New Orleans is another good example of using our gifts to bring God’s light in dark places. So is the work we do with UPT on issues of urban poverty, education and gun violence.

Ella, Karen Kingsbury, Bob Hicks, Marino and Joyce have or will have a hand in a grant we’re working on with Cameron to improve church collaboration on hunger in the city. That complements our existing service with Cameron that many of us participate in here. Our ministries in our neighborhood, especially Café and our new clothing ministry: Simple Blessings Boutique, connect us directly with people who are often left in the darkness. As we continue and strengthen those ministries we’ll learn more about how injustice works in our society and how we can follow God’s calling to be the light of justice.

Mary heard God’s call to bear a child, a savior for Israel and the world. She heard that call and knew this new life growing inside her was part of God’s plan to lift up the lowly and bring down the powerful. She saw God’s just kingdom shining like light in the darkness, and she opened herself to all the danger, joy and pain that comes from lining ourselves up with God’s calling.

With Mary, Elizabeth and Isaiah, we hear God’s call to justice. This Advent time of prayer, singing, prayer and candles gives us space to prepare our hearts for God’s kingdom. Take time this moment, this afternoon, this week to seek out the darkness of injustice in yourself. Take time to look for the ways societies warped priorities have gotten your soul out of joint. Ask God to come into your heart, to lighten your darkness and give you strength to repent. With penitent hearts and courageous faith we can be open to the light of God’s justice shining like a star over the barn in Bethlehem.

Thanks be to God.

suffering: a call to repentance and action, 11.3.13

Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. ⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

⁶Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. ⁷So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ ⁸He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. ⁹If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

John 9:1-7

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

Luke 3:1-11

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. ⁵Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; ⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” ¹⁰And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”

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            We spent the last two weeks talking about Job’s story. We talked about Job’s courage in suffering holding faith and honesty together. We also talked about being a good friend for people who are suffering. Today’s sermon builds on that as we look at suffering as a call to repentance and a call to action. Our reading from John reminds us that repentance has to lead to action, so the call to action and the call to repentance are tied together.

In the first passage Jesus is told about Pontius Pilate murdering worshipers at the temple in Jerusalem. It’s a shocking story and we might expect Jesus to offer some explanation, but he doesn’t. Instead, Jesus uses this event and an even more random news item: a tower collapsing and killing 18 people, as examples of how unpredictable life is. He rejects the idea that the people Pilate killed or the folks who died in the tower collapse were killed because they were particularly sinful. Jesus says that everyone is sinful, and we all need to repent. We all need to change our lives. And we need to do it now, because today could be our last.

            There are lots of times we don’t understand suffering and death. In this passage Jesus doesn’t even bother to speculate about the cause of suffering. He just reminds the crowd that life is uncertain, so we should change our lives for the better now. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, so now is the time to repent.

Any time we delay getting our life right with God we are rolling the dice. The same is true with leaving love unspoken or conflict with friends and family unresolved. If you die before the day is over, what would you truly regret? What crucial words have you not said? What is your conscience uneasy about? Do something to change that situation before the sun goes down today.

           

            Our passage from John takes things in a different direction. The disciples ask Jesus how sin is related to suffering. They assume that suffering is a result of sin, but they’re not sure if it was the man or his parents’ sin that lead to his blindness.

            Jesus says sin has nothing to do with it. The man isn’t suffering because of his sin; instead, his suffering is an opportunity to show God’s power. People don’t necessarily suffer because of sin, and it’s not really our role to try to assign blame for suffering anyway. Instead, suffering is a chance to show God’s love.

Again, Jesus mentions that the time available to us might be short; it certainly was for him. That means now is the time to do good. We often don’t know the reason for suffering, but we can figure out some ways to help. If someone is hungry, we can share a meal with them. If someone is lonely, we can spend time with them. If someone is afraid, we can show them they are not alone.

            Why did Superstorm Sandy devastate the New Jersey and New York coasts? We could say something about it from a meterological perspective: something about low pressure system hitting a high pressure region in just the right way to cause a particular storm. Some people might say something about climate change. We can talk about building codes and suburban sprawl and urban crowding.

            But more than that, more than answers or speculation, God calls us to respond to suffering by putting our love in action. Our calling isn’t to assign blame; it’s to roll up our sleeves and help. That’s what our wider church is doing through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and that’s what members of our church and our presbytery did through a recent mission trip to New Jersey.

            We’ve seen a few pictures and there will be more to come. We’ve heard some stories, and I’ll bet members of our team would love to share more at coffee hour. When people are hurting, it means the world to know that someone cares. It means so much for homeowners to see regular Christians showing up at their house to help. It reminds them that they are not alone. It reminds them that even though the world dissolved into chaos for them last year, God hasn’t forgotten them.

            We never know what God is going to do with our help. There are times we feel helpless because our efforts seem so small against the enormous suffering of the world. We can sweep debris and hang new drywall, but there are other houses still in ruins. We can tutor a child, but there are still hundreds more who are falling further behind each day.

There is always more to do, but God can do amazing things even with our smallest efforts. Maybe the neighbor of your homeowner in New Jersey had a bad experience in church that left her bitter about Christianity. Maybe now she has a new image of what Christians are like. Maybe next year she will wander into a church and hear a message that will move her to faith.

Maybe the spouse of one of the people on the mission trip felt stifled in his faith because he has never seen a connection between the Bible and his work. Maybe his wife’s story of transformation through the trip will lead him to ask deeper questions about his career. Maybe that will lead him to change his focus in a way that opens up a new world of faith and vocation.

Maybe Jesus’ death and resurrection never made sense to you before. Maybe you thought it was a bloody tragedy you wanted nothing to do with or a fairy tale ending made up by people two thousand years ago. Maybe one of the pictures of devastation and recovery catches your eye in a way that troubles your heart. Maybe you’ll be stuck with that image this afternoon in a way you can’t quite put your finger on. Maybe you’ll have your mind on something else entirely Tuesday morning when a voice inside you whispers that death has to come before resurrection and that new life can appear where you least expect it.

Friends of mine gave me a toolbox for my 21^st birthday. That toolbox is in my closet at home like it’s been in the closet of each of the eight places I’ve lived since college. When they gave me the box they put a poem in it that is still there now. It was written by R.L. Sharpe in 1890 and it’s a great fit today:

Each is given a bag of tools, A shapeless mass, A book of rules;

And each must make, Ere life is flown, A stumbling block Or a stepping stone.

Suffering can be a huge stumbling block for our faith. We wonder why such terrible things happen. We can’t figure out how a loving God allows such tragedy. That question can stall our faith. It can trip us up and keep us from reaching out to God. Or it can be an opportunity for us to reach out to our suffering neighbor with love, remembering that Jesus reached out to those who were suffering.

Suffering reminds us that life is uncertain and that the material things we collect in this world will not last. It invites us to examine our lives, and turn to God. John’s forceful preaching reminds us that repentance isn’t just a spiritual exercise; it’s got to bear fruit our lives visibly. The main way we change our lives is by reaching out to someone else to make their suffering more bearable.

We aren’t going to have all the answers we want, but we have the tools we need for our first step. So please, don’t wait. Make peace. Reach out to your neighbor. Tell your sister you love her. Feed someone who is hungry. Repent and believe the good news that God is love. Make that love your mission in the world. Now is the time.

Thanks be to God.

telling the truth, 5.12.13

Colossians 3:12-17

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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Before we dig into our second reading let’s review King David’s story. Starting from the beginning, what are some important events in King David’s life?

-Goliath

-Rise to power

-conflict with Saul

-becomes king

-Bathsheba

-Amnon and Tamar

-Absalom and Amnon

-Absalom’s exile and return

The text never tells us why, but soon after his return to Jerusalem Absalom started thinking a lot about his own power. It started small, but certainly not harmlessly. Absalom recruited an entourage to show he was important. Then he started spending time at the city gate, which is where the elders of the city and other people went to talk about important things. In many ways that was the court in those days. People went to the gate to settle contracts and to seek justice when they were having trouble.

Absalom didn’t go to the city gates to help his father or to find out how things were going. Instead, when someone came to Jerusalem with a problem Absalom would tell them that their complaint was right, but that there wasn’t anyone in David’s administration who would listen to it. Then he would go on to say how much he wanted to help people get justice. Little by little, Absalom built up a following, all the while keeping the problems from ever making their way to David’s ears.

Finally, when he felt he had enough people following him, he went to Hebron, where David had first been crowned, and had himself declared king. Surprisingly, David panicked and abandoned Jerusalem with his leaders. Many others followed him as well.

Absalom took over the city of Jerusalem and plotted his next move. Meanwhile, David and his followers mourned and worried. Then they got ready for the battle. David was not going to give up the throne, so they needed to fight. David split his forces into three groups, each led by trusted leaders. Joab, David’s chief general led one group. David’s commanders convinced David not to go into battle himself and he sent them out begging them to be kind to Absalom.

Of course, battle is a hard place to be kind. I’m not a parent, but the biggest flaw David has shown so far in his parenting is not stepping in when his kids are doing the wrong thing. He didn’t do anything when Amnon raped Tamar, so Absalom felt like he had to be the one to execute justice. Then, as Absalom was building his power base, David ignored that problem too. At this point in the story, I think it’s too late to be kind.

Joab thinks so too. Joab is a favorite character of mine in the story of King David. He is fiercely loyal to King David. He is a brilliant strategist and ruthless realist. He is also ruthless about looking after his own interests. At two other points in the story David tries to appoint another commander in chief of the army and both times Joab kills them. I’m not going to hold Joab up as a moral example in any way, but he is loyal to David.

In this case, even though he has heard the King’s command to be gentle with Absalom, Joab does what he think needs to be done. One of his men discovers Absalom hanging from a tree by his hair. Joab and his closest followers kill him and bury him in a pile of rocks. Then Joab blows the trumpet to signal that the battle is over and sends a runner to bring the good news to King David.

The runner announces to David that the battle is won, but all David wants to know is whether Absalom is safe. The messenger says, “May the Lord grant that all the enemies of my lord the king be like that young man.” David leaves the command post to go to his room weeping for the life of his son. That’s where our story for today picks up:

1 Kings 19:1-8

It was told Joab, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” ²So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the troops; for the troops heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” ³The troops stole into the city that day as soldiers steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. ⁴The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

⁵Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, “Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your officers who have saved your life today, and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and your concubines, ⁶for love of those who hate you and for hatred of those who love you. You have made it clear today that commanders and officers are nothing to you; for I perceive that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.

⁷So go out at once and speak kindly to your servants; for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night; and this will be worse for you than any disaster that has come upon you from your youth until now.” ⁸Then the king got up and took his seat in the gate. The troops were all told, “See, the king is sitting in the gate”; and all the troops came before the king. Meanwhile, all the Israelites had fled to their homes.

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            I think we can identify with David’s grief. Too many parents know the pain of a child’s death. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like if that child died in battle against the parent. David has lost his son. In the terrible tension of waiting for the battle to be over he must have thought about the possibilities. He must have tortured himself with the should haves and would haves, with reexamining his actions and imagining what he could have done differently to avoid the horrible situation he’s in now.

            David was a great battle commander himself, so the logical part of his mind knows that this can really only end two ways. His troops can lose the battle and Absalom will be king or his troops can win and Absalom will probably die. He knows that, but in his heart he still holds out hope that everything can miraculously turn out right. Maybe somehow he can win without Absalom dying. Maybe somehow he and his son can be reconciled and their mistakes won’t have to be the end of their story together.

            Kings are human, and they feel grief like anyone else. But kings and other leaders often have to put their feelings aside. One of the hardest thing about power is that when it is used right it is much more obligation than privilege. David’s first duty here is to his soldiers and followers, to those who have stayed loyal to him in the hardship of rebellion and flight. David is usually a natural leader with an instinct for doing the right thing. In this case, his grief and guilt make him forget his duty. All he can think about is his dead son.

            So now David’s soldiers who have stood by him feel abandoned. Instead of celebrating and giving thanks for a hard victory, they sneak back home ashamed. They have done everything right; they’ve stood by their king when it would have been easier to stay home, but when they see their king’s grief all they can do is feel bad about what they have done.

            There aren’t many men who would dare to approach David in his grief. It’s easier to give him the space he so obviously wants. But Joab is a loyal commander and friend. He sees the danger in David’s situation and he goes to save him. Joab knows that the rebellion, the flight and the battle have been hard for the army as well as for David. He knows that they need praise and encouragement, that the men need to be reassured that their courage and sacrifice and suffering has not been for nothing. They need their king’s gratitude and support. The king has to put the duties of command, the duties of royalty ahead of his personal grief.

            So Joab goes and he tells David the truth. He knows David doesn’t want to hear it. He knows David wants to be alone to wallow in his grief, but Joab knows what he needs to do. David needs to know the truth so he can live up to his calling even when he doesn’t want to. That’s what true friends do; they tell us the truth even when they don’t want to and even when they know we don’t want to hear it. They tell us the truth and they keep loving us.

            Deep, faithful, challenging relationships are at the heart of what it means to be a church. Faith in Christ starts with knowing that we are sinners and we need to change our lives. It starts with knowing we can’t do it on our own, that we need Jesus to save us from our selfish ways.

            Once we start the path of discipleship we still need help. We need a community to support us and build us up when we’re having a hard time. We also need the honest, loving accountability of people who care about us too much to watch us take the wrong path. To be the best disciples we can be, we need a community with the kind of hard, loving honesty that Joab gives David.

            That’s what Paul means when he writes: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish each other in all wisdom…” Admonish each other. That means tell your brother when he’s doing the wrong thing. Warn your sister when she’s heading down the wrong path. Don’t just pray for your friend from a distance, let them know that you’re worried about the choices they are making.

            Our culture is weak on relationships. Most of our relationships are very surface level and we have all but lost the art of constructive criticism. We’re great at blasting people from a distance. We excel at sarcastic digs behind people’s backs. We’re skilled at saying we’re fine or telling a coworker their work is good while silently steaming because we will have to redo it.

"Repentance and forgiveness," 12.23.12

Isaiah 40:1-11

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. ²Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

³A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. ⁵Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” ⁶A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. ⁷The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. ⁸The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.

⁹Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” ¹⁰See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. ¹¹He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

Luke 3:1-18

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. ⁵Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; ⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

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            I’ve got good news for you and bad news. We’ll start with the good news: God loves you and welcomes you into his kingdom. That’s the best news. God welcomes us with open arms. The Lord is waiting to pardon our sin, to throw out all the garbage that stands between us and God. God is ready to set the past aside and welcome us into a future free from judgment and shame and guilt. God is ready to do that right now for you; for everyone. That’s a fact.

            The bad news is that you need to change. I need to change too. We need to repent, which means to turn around. We need a fundamental change in the way we approach life, the future, God and everything else. Repentance and forgiveness go together, but not always in the way we expect.

            Often we have this image of God like a strict father. He stands over us and makes us say we’re sorry with the threat of punishment in the background. A lot of people go to church because they are worried they will go to hell if they don’t. Behind door number 1 is saying we’re sorry, forgiveness, following the rules, going to church, and finally, going to heaven. Behind door number 2 is having fun, not following the rules, not going to church and finally, hell.

That’s a theology of punishments and rewards. There are some pretty huge problems with this theology. There’s some truth to it, but it’s not the freeing, joyful, transformative life God calls us to. Thinking about our relationship with God that way leads to questions like: what’s the least I can believe and still go to heaven? Can I repent at the last minute before I die? Why does God let people who repent at the last minute into heaven the same way as those of us who have been going to church for years? What do we get for following God for our whole life.

            There are definitely times the Bible talks in terms of rewards and punishments. Our passage from Luke is one of them. John paints our choices in stark terms: God comes to judge, to gather the wheat into the granary and to burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. John calls the audience to choose between blessing and curse, life or death, wheat or chaff.

            It sounds like a simple choice, and in some ways it is, but there’s more to it than that. We can only repent because God opens the door for us. God’s grace comes first: before our first confession, before our repentance, before our first breath. God’s grace, God’s amazing love for us paves the way for us to realize our mistakes and turn around.

           

Even the call to confession is grace filled; that’s part of why Luke says John is preaching good news to the people. Even in John’s challenging words and his call to repent and change their lives the people recognized something important. His message touched them, so people came from all over to be baptized. They recognized that they were not right with God, and they felt John had a way to come back home.

forgiveness (9.11.11)

Matthew 18:21-35

²¹Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” ²²Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

²³“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. ³²Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. ³⁵So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Romans 14:1-12

¹Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. ²Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. ³Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. ⁴Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. ⁶Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

⁷We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. ⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
          and every tongue shall give praise to God.”
¹²So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

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            We’re not really going to dig into this Romans passage very much because we’re pretty good about accepting differences of opinion here. But I do want to lift it up for a moment because it’s one of the most important things about faith in community. We are not all the same. We have different strengths and weaknesses; we even have different beliefs.

            Often we grow in our faith and understanding through study with other people who see things a little differently, but there is no point in getting upset about those differences.

Paul would be quick to point out that there are limits to this; there are false teachings and dangerous ideas in the church that can hurt our faith and our witness to God’s love. But most differences of opinion in the church are not worth arguing about. Instead of worrying about what someone else believes, we should focus on how we can be better, more faithful disciples of Jesus. If the Presbyterian Church could learn this lesson we would be much stronger, more joyful, and better witnesses to Christ’s redeeming love.

Jesus reminds us that the heart of community is forgiveness. Matthew is more interested in how the church functions than the other Gospels are; probably because he writes somewhat later than Mark. So here he’s talking about forgiveness within the church, but the lesson goes further than that.

            Jesus hopes we will be incredibly persistent in forgiving each other. Frankly, I can’t think of anyone in any church I have forgiven seventy seven times. Long before we get to that point we’ve usually put our guard up so forcefully that the other person can’t wrong us anymore. But that’s not what Jesus has in mind. Jesus expects us to keep forgiving and forgiving; to keep opening our heart to other people whenever they ask us to forgive them.

            Reasonably enough, we worry about getting hurt or taken advantage of. We worry someone will pull something over on us. That’s not Jesus’ concern, but then look at Jesus’ example. The leaders of his faith rejected, accused and tortured him. His closest friends abandoned him; one even betrayed him. And he must have known that many of those he died to bring home to God would turn away too.

Still, instead of carrying a grudge, Jesus carried a cross. Instead of leaving us wandering on our own, Jesus keeps looking for us with a love that simply won’t give up. Jesus is our Lord and our example; while we won’t ever measure up to his forgiveness, we are called to follow in his footsteps.

barriers to repentance (7.3.11)

Matthew 11:16-30
16“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ 18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

20Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. 21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

25At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”


Romans 7:15-25
15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.
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Reflect briefly on the following words:
Sin
Repentance
Good
Evil


Repentance is a hard word to hear; often we cover our ears and head off in a different direction instead of examining our hearts honestly. John the Baptist and Jesus both found themselves in trouble for calling people to repent. We often put up the same barriers to repentance that Jesus and John’s audience did in their time.

In our passage from Matthew, Jesus takes his audience, his generation, to task for closing their ears to God’s message. He says, “John came neither eating nor drinking and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The son of man comes eating and drinking and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard; a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’”

His point is that people reject God’s message of repentance when it comes through John because they see his strange clothes and write him off as crazy. Then they reject God’s message of welcome and forgiveness when it comes through Jesus because he hangs out with questionable characters. Like petulant children, they only want things their way. They only accept a message that comes in the expected package and says what they want to hear. How often do we ignore a critique or suggestion because it comes from a person we don’t expect? How often do we put down the Bible because we don’t like what it says about us?

We also sometimes ignore the message of repentance because we forget that we need it. We say to ourselves: “I’m a pretty good person. I don’t hurt anyone or break the law.”

For many Jews of Jesus’ time, especially the religious leaders, it was simply taken for granted that they were God’s favorites and that everyone outside Israel was outside of God’s plan. Jesus shatters that illusion by talking about foreign cities like Tyre, Sidon and even Sodom. Jesus says those gentile cities would have repented if they had seen the miracles he did in Israel, but the Israelites he’s preaching to haven’t repented. The people closest to the message are least likely to listen.

We have the same problem in the church. Many of us have grown up with Jesus’ words, so they can seem like just part of the background of our lives. Familiarity dulls the impact of Christ’s calling, so we get complacent about our spiritual lives. We forget that Jesus is always calling us to repent, to follow, to grow in our faith and let the word change us.

Prepare the way of the Lord

Isaiah 11:1-10
1A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;
4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.
9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
10On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.


Matthew 3:1-12
1In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" 4Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
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Advent is about expectation. It’s about expecting God’s kingdom and preparing for that kingdom. This morning we hear the voices of two prophets to help us prepare, to focus our expectation. We hear two prophets speaking about the future, about the amazing things God is doing.

Isaiah talks about a shoot from the stump of Jesse. Jesse was King David’s father, so Isaiah is really talking about a shoot of new life from the cut down family tree of David. God promised David that his descendants would always rule Israel if they were faithful to God. Unfortunately, the history of the kings of Israel is a history of turning away from God and seeking power like other rulers. That turning away led to the division of Israel into the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah and finally led to the defeat and exile of the people as David’s line faded into obscurity.

Looking with eyes filled with God’s Spirit, Isaiah sees the day when new life will grow from that stump. He sees a day when God will call the people of Israel back to God under the rule of a faithful king. That king won’t just be a king for Israel, he won’t just lead the original people of God. Instead, as Isaiah says, “On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him...” On that day the king of Israel will lead all the people of the world.