Active Waiting

We are in advent. We are preparing for the coming of Christ. Not so much a preparation of the celebration of a birthday but the promised coming of our Lord. The radical indwelling of Jesus into our world to transform it into the kingdom of God.

I have been thinking about the Spirit of the Age, the Spirit of this age.  

The Spirit of the age flows like history. The spirit of the age is influenced by people and events. Strong personalities probably have more influence than others but ultimately the spirit of the age is an amalgamation of the contribution of every single person on the planet.

So I have been thinking about the zeitgeist, the Spirit of the age, and the spirit of this age, and things are pretty messed up! In this age, in this time it seems as it always has that the failings of some, has consequences for the many. Do you know there is no such thing as private sin? When you fail to live as you should many more than you are affected.

Jesus was once summoned by a blind man who wanted to see. Jesus was questioned about who sinned him or his parents. Jesus said it wasn’t that.

But the idea that this man was being punished by God was founded in Hebrew scripture, both in the book of Deuteronomy and Exodus where Moses receives the Ten Commandments.

⁴ Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. ⁵ Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents’ sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. ⁶ But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

  It’s my understanding that God gave the law for the benefit of humanity. And when we transgress the law the consequences are the natural ones that come from bad decisions.

It seems to me that we live in a time where bad decisions abound!

Even when the system works according to the set rules past sins still have their effects.  August 9 Michael Brown was shot dead by Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department. Michael Brown was unarmed.

On Monday the grand jury met and found no grounds to bring charges against Officer Wilson. I trust the decision of the Grand Jury. They had the pertinent information. I trust that they made the right decision. But when they made that decision Ferguson blew up. Massive riots broke out and many businesses were burned to the ground by protestors. There is a protest march underway right now.  120 miles from Ferguson to Jefferson City the capitol of Missouri.

White people are shaking their heads. “He was a thug.” “He just robed a convenience store.”

The retort to that is always: “that doesn’t deserve a death penalty.”

White people generally see the situation as a bad guy who was being bad had a confrontation with a cop and got shot. A tragic situation but one that was definitely avoidable.

Now think about it from the perspective of a people who come from a background of slavery. They come from a perspective of entrenched institutional racism. They come from the perspective that jails are filled with people that look like them and not so much like Darren Wilson.

They see members of their own community dying from gun violence at a much higher rate than the white community.

Then they see one of their young men gunned down by a white police officer who doesn’t get into any legal trouble over it. Those who swore an oath to protect and serve are also pulling the trigger.  From that perspective it seems that the world is a very unsafe place to live.

The facts are the facts. The grand jury determined that Officer Wilson was justified. But the sins of our society have led to the spirit of this age where the Black community cannot trust the system of their own government and that has led to this violence.

Currently, the Spirit of the age is a bad one.

The current spirit of our age seems to me to be bad.

This reminds me of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians:

¹⁰ Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. ¹¹ Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. ¹² We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. ¹³ Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand.

What is happening is evil. But our enemy is not flesh and blood. When store get looted and burned. That is bad. When people get shot, that is bad. When one group of people speaks evil against another people, that is bad.

People are saying that race relations are the worst they have been for a long time. But our task is not to add to the failings and the sin of the past but to stand firm and work toward the kingdom of God that Jesus initiated when he was born in a stable 2000 and some years ago.

The promise (that which is to come but is not yet here)

The lesson (look around you. Incarnational faith. In the body.)

Holy Spirit working through us should be the prevailing spirit of the age. But we have to put feet to our prayers. We have to put sweat into our prayers

Army Song, Marine Song.

Are God’s people getting shouted down? By the humanists, the atheists, and those who are against God?

The thing is, many of the protesters in Ferguson are also Christians. We just say “to heck with them”?  

The point: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. We can have complete confidence in God.

The word of God is the only lasting thing. Our divisions will not last. If we persist in our divisions we are further from God rather than closer. Paul says in Colossians

¹⁰ and put on the new nature, which is renewed in knowledge by conforming to the image of the one who created it. ¹¹ In this image there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people.

¹² Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

This is what heaven looks like. And Jesus is bringing it with him.

So stay ready ‘cause God wins!

The Holy Spirit, the active, empowering nature of our God lives and moves in you. When we have confidence in God’s word and live it out. The spirit of the age increasingly becomes the very Spirit of God.

So how is it with you today? Are you ready to receive Jesus when he comes? Staying ready means staying in God’s will. If you don’t know what that is like try this: the next time you want to tell someone to go to hell, instead show them what Heaven is like. Then repeat the process. 

Courage!

This is the beginning of the Advent season. The season we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ. But it is more than preparing for a holiday. It’s more that preparing to be spiritual on a day that has been overly commercialized by our culture. It is about looking forward to what God has in store and preparing our lives to live into his kingdom. That may require some changes if we are honest with ourselves.

We believe that Jesus was born to save the world. We believe that Jesus came not to condemn but to save. We believe that Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. Therefore we believe that we are living between times. We live in a time where God’s kingdom has been initiated in this world but has not yet come to completion. We also believe that we are called to partner with God in the name of Jesus Christ to bring about the redemption of the world. If we are honest with ourselves, that may require us to make some changes.

My wife teases me sometimes for my lack of comfort in making changes. I tend to think that I deal with change well and my wife just shakes her head and points to the evidence to the contrary and I have to admit that I am rather uncomfortable with change. Why on earth would you want to change to position of the furniture in the living room?

The room didn’t change. We can still sit down.

Why change when you don’t have to?

But change happens. When change is necessary, it must happen. So we step out it faith trusting that God goes before us to prepare the way. God’s Kingdom is our aim. But the path to get there can seem very uncomfortable.

 The darkness that is in front of us can be terrifying.  The unknown can be too much to handle.  We fear failure; we fear losing what we have; perhaps we fear punishment; and many of us fear death.

Remember the lion from the Wizard of Oz?

“Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? Courage! What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the Sphinx the Seventh Wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage!...What puts the ape in ape-ricot? What have they got that I ain’t got? (courage) You can say that again!” –The wizard of Oz (1939) Screenwriters Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf.

The gift of courage was already in the lion it just needed to be summoned and brought to the surface.

I believe that the lack of courage is one of the greatest hindrances to realizing our own God-given potential and fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. Our own potential is rooted in the gifts and talents that God has given us.  God intends for us to grow in maturity, use what he has given us to the fullest for his glory and live into the kingdom of God.

I like to use the term “lack of courage” more than “fear.” If we fear something we have to do something we have to eliminate the source of fear or flee from it. Having courage means doing the thing that needs to be done. It’s going the extra mile. It’s putting yourself in a vulnerable position for the greater good. Courage means you can confidently serve God with your whole being for the Kingdom of God. You could be perfectly content and living without fear but that does not mean you living according to God’s purpose for you. Avoidance of discomfort is not our highest aim.

It doesn’t say this in the Bible but it can be said of Jesus that he came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. What do you think?

It seems to me that if we are comfortable and content that we have buried our talent.

This parable is another one of those that I misunderstood the first several times I read it. Last week we read about the bridesmaids who would not share their oil with those who didn’t have enough.  They were lifted up as the example.

This week we read about the landowner who takes away from those who have nothing and gives to those that already have in abundance.  This, again, seems contrary to what we believe about Jesus and his message.  But again, this is not about resources.  This parable is about being faithful with what we have.

The three servants in the story were entrusted with 1, 3, and 5 talents (measures) of money. The ones entrusted with 3 and 5 invested the money and eventually doubled their investment. The one with 1 talent feared the landowner and buried it.

The expectation of the landowner was that his servants would manage his resources in such a way that there would be growth.

When Jesus left his disciples he gave them the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…and teaching them.

The expectation of our master is that we baptize new Christians and teach them to be disciples. Our master expects growth!

The landowner in the parable came back and asked for an account of what his servants did with the resources he entrusted them with. He was pleased with the servants whom returned 3 and 5 talents. But the one who buried the 1 talent out of fear he was very displeased. He took the talent from him and cast him out.

The resources that God has given us are meant for the primary purpose of preparing the world for the kingdom of God. That means our time, our skills, our money, our attention and everything else we have is on loan from God to do his will. We will be accountable to God on how we have used what he has given us to fulfill his purpose.

Have you been blessed in this life? Know that you are not blessed without a purpose. God does not bless you to leave it with you. God expects you to bless someone else; to pass the blessing along. God does not invest in savings accounts God puts his resources into doing His work.

God is the creator God who is still creating. God calls us to get on board with him. If we choose to take what he has given us, bury it because we lack to courage to join the battle and do nothing, well then, it seems reasonable that God will but resources in the hands of another. It seems reasonable that God will equip the willing. Not that we are being punished when he takes away, it’s more to do with a refusal to act according to God’s plan.

There are needs in our community. HELP ministries needs drivers to take folks to doctor appointments. There are people in our neighborhood who need rides to the grocery store. The homeless shelter needs us St. Paul Church to host the shelter one day a month. The food pantries in town need us to donate. How is this part of making disciples? Jesus called us to feed the hungry and to heal the sick. If our neighbors can’t clear the hurdle of day to day living then they won’t be able to hear us when we tell them the good news about Jesus Christ.

So how is it with you today? Are you willing to summon the courage that is already in you to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ? 

The Light Inside You

I have to admit that this is not one of my favorite parables of Jesus.  It always seemed a mean of the wise not to share their oil with the others. It seems contrary to the Christian message.  We should give to those who are in need.

5 of the virgins were prepared. They had enough oil.  The other five were unprepared and asked if the others would share.  They would not.

So when you need a lamp. I would say a flashlight nowadays. You should have batteries and a backup set.  If you don’t, don’t go expecting me to share mine.  Is that the message? That you should hoard batteries? That’s what it seemed like to me and so I usually read past that parable and went on to something else.

But this parable has nothing to do with sharing resources. But has everything to do with bringing honor and praise to God. It is impossible to bring honor and praise to God if you don’t even acknowledge him. It is impossible to acknowledge him if you don’t know him.

Do you know God? Do you want to know God?

The light of God’s love is shining and all you need do is to seek it and God will reveal it. When you start on that intentional path of spiritual growth you will find purpose and direction in your life. Spiritual growth happens in a lot of different ways and can mean a lot of different things but Spiritual growth has something to do with focus.  Spiritual growth is a God thing first and last. Spiritual growth is what happens when God gets ahold of you and lives in you.  Spiritual growth is not a program or a class; spiritual growth is growing up in God. Spiritual growth is stepping out of darkness and into the light.

We can learn all there is to humanly know about God and there will be no spiritual growth if we choose to stay in the dark.

We can choose to believe a narrow set of things about God, about Jesus and about church.  But God is bigger than any ideas about God.  I had very positive (although very limited) experiences with the church as a child. But for some reason as a young adult I started to have less positive feelings about it. As I look back it was probably because my life choices didn’t match up with what I perceived to be the opinion of the church. When I expected to be judged for my lifestyle choices that is what I felt. After my first son was born and Diane and I were living in the upstairs of her grandmother’s house the church was the one place we found love in a world that seemed terribly harsh and dangerous. 

When I sought love and nurturing that is what I found.

The church is the best human manifestation of the ascended Christ but it is still human. God’s light shines despite our failures. We are the walking wounded looking for healing. We are beggars looking for bread. We are the dying looking for eternal life. When we focus on what we are looking for we will find it.

The problem is that we might look for the wrong things sometimes. You ever see a wounded chicken in a chicken coup? The other chickens will peck and peck at the wound. The wound will be made worse. The wounded chicken dies apart from the flock.

When we are focused on the wrong things wounds are made worse. When we focus on the wounds, the hunger and the death that is all we will see.  When we focus on the healing, the nourishment and life we have in Jesus, God is glorified!

Our focus should always be on glorifying God not on the failure to do so.  Honoring and praising God for what God is doing in our midst is the focus of our worship and our work.  Our lives are dedicated to doing as Jesus taught and teaching others to do the same. Our lives should be the light that lights the way for his return.

In our Gospel lesson Jesus tells this parable about the 10 virgins.

The wedding Ceremony

Avoid circumstances that will diminish your ability to bring glory to God.

Your oil is your ability to do that.

How does it diminish?

1.       Not having your spiritual house in order (sin).

2.       Condemning others for sin (log in your eye).

3.       Downplaying others sin (Millstone?)

But avoiding the wrong is the point of bringing glory to God!  What will set you on the path of bringing honor and praise to God?

1.       Receive forgiveness for your own failures

2.       Let God guide you in the course you know is right

3.       Love and forgive others despite their failures.

We could focus on the 5 virgins who were unprepared to receive the bridegroom. We could use this as a cautionary tale but as we prepare for the Christmas season I suggest we focus on the 5 who were prepared and do the same.

Our lamps our full of oil. We have the ability to light the way for our returning Lord. Let’s light our lamps and look with anticipation to his coming. 

What We Shall Be

This is All Saints Sunday. What is a saint? It’s someone who has exemplified the Christian life. It is someone who has been set apart. It is someone who has become holy.  We don’t have a way of criteria where people are formally named as saints. Even in those systems, I have come to learn that saint does not equal a perfectly lived life. It ultimately means a trust in God with one’s life.  How does one become holy and set apart? By having faith in Jesus Christ.

What is All Saints day?  It is a day to celebrate the communion of saints as we remember those who have died.

I brought this picture of my grandparents. Were they perfect? Yes, as grandparents go. I couldn’t have asked for any better.  Did they have flaws? Yes but they are getting harder to remember as the years roll on. They had faith in Jesus Christ and I look forward to seeing them again in the life to come.

Some of you brought photographs this morning. How did you choose which picture to bring? Was it because of the accomplishments of the person in the picture? Was it because they lived a flawless life?  Was it something else? What do you feel when you remember the person you hold in your heart? What do you remember? What do you let go of?

The reason you brought the picture is your own definition of a saint. Many of you did not bring a picture but you hold someone in your heart this morning. Perhaps you lit a candle in their memory. You hold them in your heart this morning on All Saints Day.

We have so many memories and stories of those that we have loved and lost in this life. But if you could boil it down to one word, one reason, one idea, one feeling, what would that word be?

If you would like, please share the word that comes to mind about the person you are remembering today…

All good things.

We have a promise. We will be made new.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians “ⁱⁿ an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the final trumpet. The trumpet will blast, and the dead will be raised with bodies that won’t decay, and we will be changed. ⁵³ 

We will be changed. But what shall we be?

Paul says we will have a body that won’t decay. But that is a little less information about eternal life than is satisfying isn’t it?  What I want to know is what life is like when we cross from this life into the next. And more importantly what will it be like when Jesus returns?

Let’s look at what Jesus says.

In the beginning of Chapter 5 of the Gospel according to Matthew we have a series of statements from Jesus.  They are traditionally called the Beatitudes. Do you know what beatitude means? It means the state of great joy, or supreme blessedness.

As you heard me read earlier the passage of scripture is repetitious in the phrase blessed are the… Blessed are those who…

Poor in spirit

Mourn

Who are meek

Who hunger and thirst for righteousness

Are pure in heart

The peacemakers

The persecuted

This is not a fun list of attributes. This is a list that represents a life that from the outside seems difficult and uncomfortable at best. But Jesus says they are blessed, that they are set apart for God.

Because our God is a God of reconciliation and transformation.

Because our God can bring life out of death.

God can fix what is broken and heal what is wounded.  

God has provided a way for you to have that healing. God has provided a way to have life that never ends and it is found in Jesus Christ.

But are you willing to let God transform you?

The love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ that reconciles us to God is the only path to blessedness. And while we live this life we have been gifted with the church. The Church is intended to be the body of Christ on earth.  The problem with the church is that it is filled with people who are broken and looking forward to being made whole again.  But we are a people set apart for God. By God’s grace we have become his children. We have taken on the mission to make disciples for him. To know Christ and to make him known.

Sometimes we forget to show love. Sometimes we forget to show mercy. But then sometimes we get it right. Sometimes by God’s grace we can be used to pass on a blessing to another. When we recognize our own brokenness and our own woundedness, we begin to forgive others for theirs and carry one another’s burdens.

When we learn that we cannot stand on our own, that we need someone else to lean on that ultimately we have to admit that we are powerless in this life, then God can truly move into your spirit and teach and guide you.  

This is what it means to be poor in spirit. Blessed… are those who are poor in spirit. Why? Because theirs is the kingdom of God. This is the definition of freedom and this leads to faith in Jesus Christ it is the definition of salvation.

And that’s what we are about. The kingdom of God, where we will be comforted. We will inherit the earth. We will be satisfied when we hunger and thirst for righteousness. We will be shown mercy. We will see God. We will be called the children of God!

Rejoice and be gland because your reward is great in heaven.

So how is it with you today? We have given only a little piece of time to accomplish His work on this earth. We celebrate those who have gone before us on this All Saints Day, this is a day of remembrance with joy, a celebration that there is life beyond life, and that death is not the end of life. Something that Jesus Christ accomplished for us.

What shall we be?  What will it be like in the resurrection? I don’t know but we know it will be blessed and supremely joyous.