Thursday, December 28, 2017
Sermon: Each Light A Prayer
Isaiah 9:2-7
I was reading a sermon by Timothy Cargal, (yes, pastors listen to and read
other pastor’s sermons, how else would we be spiritually fed?) and in it he
talks rather humorously about how, “One of the great cultural traditions of
modern American Christmas observances is the use of lights. Everything that
doesn’t move is decorated with lights. Christmas trees are recognizable by
their lights, and indeed as more and more types of trees are used as Christmas
trees, the more it is the presence of the lights that identifies them as such.
Lights are put around lampposts. We hang lights from the eaves and awnings of
our homes, and around windows and doorframes. Lighted fixtures and images are
arrayed in front yards, and those that are not self-lighted are bathed in
spotlights. Without a moment’s embarrassment at the brazen self-interest,
electrical power companies promote contests for the best and most elaborate
seasonal displays.” He then goes on to talk about the psychological reasons
that we do this during the darkest time of year, when the days are short and
the nights are long.
During the gloom of December, as long as the kerosene lamps were ablaze he
could endure the long nights. But if there was no kerosene his father would become
violent and angry from his fear. The year when Roger was nine particularly
stands out in his memory. 37 inches of snow had fallen in three weeks, and more
was coming. They hadn’t been able to get into town to buy oil or candles and on
Christmas Eve – both ran out. Roger’s mother called a mile distant neighbor on
the phone, pleading for any extra kerosene they might have.
On those blizzard shrouded days there was little to do. One pastime was
rubbernecking (some of you will know what that is, it is when there are 18
families on a party telephone line, each with its own distinguishable ring.
Well, even if the call wasn’t for you, you could very carefully lift the phone,
cover the mouthpiece and listen in on your neighbor’s conversation.) The
neighbor said she didn’t have any extra oil, and the phone call ended.
What happened a while later was a miracle due to people being nosy. As
Roger stood by the window, he saw lights like fireflies in the distance,
lanterns, seventeen lanterns growing larger as the bearers came nearer. Roger’s
father saw the light and cried out, “The lights – look at the lights.”
Roger says, “They came on that Christmas Eve, the light bearers. But they
bore more than light. Though jobs were scarce and gardens had dried up and the
snow was too deep to care for trap lines, everybody brought something to share.
Tilllie Mauldin had come up with the makings of mincemeat pie. Bill Cooley had
some ground venison. Gyp Matthews brought corn to pop. Thirty people or more
crowded into the tiny living room and kitchen . . . ”
“We sang and laughed and shared far into the night. Ted rolled in our
kerosene barrel, and everyone poured half a lantern-full into it. We would not
be without light.”[1]
The people walking in darkness have
seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned.
It isn’t until after he has told us about light that he says:
A child is born to us, a son is given
to us.
He will be named Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
In the darkest night, Isaiah says, there will be light, spiritual hope, and
that hope comes in the form of a child, the Christ.
Hark the Herald Angels Sing says, “Hail! the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail! the Son of Righteousness! Light and life to all He brings, risen with
healing in His wings.”
Do you hear what I hear says, “Pray for peace, people everywhere! listen to
what I say The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night: He will bring us
goodness and light, He will bring us goodness and light.”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and
dreamless sleep The silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark streets shineth The
everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee
tonight.”
As humans, we crave hope. We want to see dark times vanish, we want the
shadows of evil lifted, we want the lonely midnight hours of the soul to be
lightened by the company of angels. We
want to be standing out in the fields by night and see the glory of the Lord
shining upon us. We crave hope. And the lights that cover our houses, the lights
that cover our trees, the lights that drape our sanctuary represent prayers
from the depths of our spirit, prayers to God to bring light, hope-filled
light, into our world.
Imagine as you drive home that each light on the houses and trees you pass is
a prayer, and some of us really like to pray. But still it is a voice crying
out. The owners of the homes, the people putting out the lights may not realize
it, they may not be aware that they are praying. But deep in their spirits it
is there. The desire for the light to overcome the darkness.
We are aware of the spiritual quest of humanity. We speak quite openly
about our hope that comes from this child of God born many years ago. We
believe that what the angels sang is possible, that there can be peace on
earth, and goodwill among all people, and that this child is part of making
that happen. And we lift our lights to heaven praying that it would be so.
Each candle is a prayer. We are bearers of the lanterns of hope, messengers
of the everlasting light, who come to bear homage to the child in the manger,
who is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father and Prince of Peace.
Sermon: 12 Hour Pregnancy
Luke 1:26-38
I remember my seminary professor of worship commenting that one of the
strangest things about Christmas, is that we don’t read the scripture about the
angel appearing to Mary until the last Sunday before Christmas. This year, that
timing is particularly strange because -- with today being Christmas Eve, this
morning we read about Mary being told by an angel that she is pregnant, and
then tonight we will read about her giving birth to Jesus. So in less than 12
hours we will go from Mary hearing about God’s plan, to her being in the very
fulfilment of it.
So the timing of the scriptures this year is relatively entertaining. She
barely has time to buy maternity clothes before giving birth! Amazingly it is
estimated that 1 in 2500 women doesn’t know she’s pregnant until she goes into
labor! There are some wild stories out there. So much so that TLC has a
television show called I didn’t know I was pregnant.
Of course, we know Mary’s pregnancy didn’t really happen like that. And that is what my seminary professor was trying to remind us.
We really ought to read the passage of the angelic visit 9 months before
Christmas – so that we can be part of the slow build up to the birth. Then we
can experience the agonizing decision of Joseph as he planned to disband his
engagement to Mary, and then changed his mind with the help of a dream. We can
enjoy the days, perhaps weeks and months that Mary spent living with her aunt
Elizabeth who was also pregnant. We can wonder with all of them, and ponder
with them what God’s intentions are for this child who is developing and
growing in Mary.
Then as the day nears, and we are in the last month, we can experience the
frustration they must have felt in knowing that they would have to travel for a
census. Yes, it would take longer than our time between services for Mary and Joseph to travel by foot or by slow
footed donkey (if you believe tradition) from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It’s a
trip that takes 2 hours and 10 minutes by car according to Google maps, but for
a pregnant woman walking or riding would take 4 to 7 days. And all of that not
knowing if the baby would be born along the way, or wait until they had reached
Bethlehem.
My professor was trying to remind us, that this was no easy one day
pregnancy. It was an emotional roller coaster, with ups and downs, struggles
and difficulties. And we don’t take enough time to consider all that went into the
preparations for the birth of Christ. We make it sudden, as if it only took a
few days. Imagine if we started reading the angel’s announcement in March, if we
agonized with Joseph in April and May, if we visited with Elizabeth and read
about the joy of their meeting in June. If we heard about the upcoming census
in August, and made travel plans in September and October. And then last week,
we had left with them by foot. For some of us, this would be too much
Christmas! But the power of it would be a reminder that God’s ways are often
slow and deliberate. And that what we read in a few sentences in the bible is
God’s work over months, and sometimes years.
Reading this passage so close to Christmas can give us the illusion that
God’s answers to the world’s problems are quick, like an order on Amazon.com
with delivery by Fed-Ex, absolutely guaranteed to be there the overnight. But
God often takes the slow, grow a messiah in a mother’s womb, let him be a
helpless babe, grow into a child, mature through being a teenager, wait until
he is 30 years old before he goes public, path to salvation.
But, as I was preparing for today, and knowing that we would go from the announcement to the birth in the space of 8 hours, I thought, perhaps there is something for us to learn from hearing the two stories in such a short time, also.
Perhaps there is power in thinking of the birth of Jesus into our world as
a sudden and surprising event that we didn’t really have time to prepare for.
Because honestly, that is how it was for most of the world. Mary had time
to prepare, but the shepherds in the fields didn’t. Suddenly there were angels
singing in a heavenly host around them. And they had to decide right then and
there if they were going to go to Bethlehem and see this child who had been
born.
Joseph had time to change his mind, but the innkeeper didn’t. He had to
decide when the couple came to his door, right then and there if he had space
for them.
And sometimes the same thing is very true for each of us. Although we have
time to get our decorations out and ready for Christmas, and although we have
time to consider and reconsider what gifts we are going to give each of our
family members, when it comes to God erupting into our lives it is often a
sudden and unexpected thing that we are not ready for.
For example, this has literally happened to me. I have been driving past
someone’s house, and I have been nagged by God to stop and go in and see them.
As though God is shouting at me, “Now, right now.” Twice I have had that happen
and the person has been on their death-bed with family around. They hadn’t
called me to tell me. But God had.
Or an accident occurs and you are the car right behind it. So you are the
witness, and the first on the scene to try to provide help. You don’t have time
to prepare for that. And yet God is calling you to serve in that moment and to
use your gifts and talents at that moment to help in any way you can. To be an
agent of calm, to summon help, to pray for those involved, to give first aid.
Whatever it is, God is calling you to be present.
Or perhaps you are in prayer, and suddenly God is saying to you, “Hey I
have a job for you to do. A project for you to give birth to that will bless
the word.” God has never put that idea into your mind before, you had never
considered it. A change of profession, a move to a new area, starting of an
outreach to homeless, or opening a pre-school in the church. But there it is –
a calling from God. Suddenly later that day a door opens in your life and the
very opportunity that God shared with you in prayer is available, and you
simply are not ready. It is too sudden! But you know that you have to decide
now, whether you are ready or not.
That’s where Mary becomes a role model for us. She stands there in shock and surprise with an angel standing before her and she says, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.”
She is a role model of listening to God’s surprising news, listening to
God’s sudden and unexpected announcement and saying, “Yes.” So for all those
moments when God throws us into ministry, into service, when God calls us
without warning – she reminds us as unready as we are, we can enter into the
whirlwind of God’s call upon our lives. Oh, yes we will wonder what is going to
happen next. But before we know it, time whirls by and the next thing we know
God’s promises are coming true for us. It is the sudden and surprising that
leads to the long range and the life changing.
Yes, there is something for us to learn from this amazing 12 hour
pregnancy, it is that when God bursts into your world, say, “Yes” and be
prepared for the blessings that follow. What unfolds may take weeks, months or
years to come to fruition, but it is the suddenness of God’s call that begins
the process. So this morning we celebrate the surprising nature of God’s call –
which can come out of nowhere like an angel appearing to us – and we
contemplate what it means for us to say, “Yes.”
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Another Year Is Dawning
Frances Ridley Havergal was an English poet and hymn writer
– her best known hymns from our hymn book are Take My Life and Let It Be and Lord,
Speak to Me That I May Speak. She showed signs of being very intelligent
very young, began writing verse at age seven, but was discouraged from rigorous
study by delicate health. Yet she still took a year to study music in Germany,
was able to speak several modern languages along with biblical Greek and
Hebrew, and published many books of hymns. She died too young at 42. (Thanks to
the wholesomewords.org for links to a number of biographies on her!)
In one of her letters to a friend she said this about
writing hymns: 'Writing is praying with me, for I never seem to write even a
verse by myself, and I feel like a little child writing. You know, a child
would look up after every sentence and say, "What am I to say next?"
That is just what I do. I ask that at every line He would give me not merely
thought and power, but also every word even the very rhyme. Very often I have a
most distinct and happy consciousness of direct answers.' (Popular Hymns and Their Writers by Normal Mable, 1951).
All of that is background for what follows – one of her
verses written specifically for New Year’s.
ANOTHER YEAR IS DAWNING
Another year is dawning,
Dear Master, let it be,
In working, or in waiting,
Another year with Thee.
Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace;
Another year of gladness
In the shining of Thy face.
Another year of progress,
Another year of praise,
Another year of proving
Thy presence all the days.
Another year of service,
Of witness of Thy love,
Another year of training
For holier work above.
Another year is dawning,
Dear Master, let it be
On earth, or else in heaven
Another year for Thee.
--Frances Ridley Havergal (1874)
There is much that I like about that hymn, and I pray that
you will reflect upon it, and use it in prayer and preparation at the beginning
of this new year! By the way she also has a wonderful reflection called “Twelve
reasons for attending church on a wet Sunday”, which is worth looking into and
reading, but I will save that for next month!
Sermon: Sowing Tears
Psalm 126
I have been listening to Christmas Carols on the radio while driving. I
joked with Kristi that every time I get in the car I hear at least one of these
three songs: White Christmas, Silver Bells, and Blue Christmas they are so overplayed.
So then we took a 10 minute drive to Arby’s for lunch together and what
happened – they played White Christmas, and Blue Christmas – but no Silver
Bells.
Well, if I were going to play one of those three songs today as part of my
sermon, it would be Blue Christmas. You see, one of the realities of Christmas
is that it comes with tears. Every Christmas as we gather in the church for
Christmas Eve it is a different gathering. There are those who are no longer
part of our lives, those that we are separated from by changes in relationship,
by moves, or by death – and we deeply miss them. But there are also those that
are new in our midst that remind us that there are new joys, new lives, and new
relationships and these bring hope and gifts for tomorrow.
This interplay of joy and sorrow is captured well by Psalm 126.
Psalm
126
When
the Lord changed Zion’s circumstances for the better,
it was like we had been dreaming.
Our
mouths were suddenly filled with laughter;
our tongues were filled with joyful shouts.
It
was even said, at that time, among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them!”
Yes,
the Lord has done great things for us,
and we are overjoyed.
Lord,
change our circumstances for the better,
like dry streams in the desert waste!
Let
those who plant with tears
reap the harvest with joyful shouts.
Let
those who go out,
crying and carrying their seed,
come home with joyful shouts,
carrying bales of grain!
As I read the psalm I was captured by one of its lines. “Lord, let those
who plant with tears, reap the harvest of joyful shouts.” And I began to
reflect on the image that that created in my mind.
I imagined a person going out to their garden and weeping, with the tears
running down their cheeks. And then that person takes those tears and carefully
plants them in the ground. Over time the tears sprout into plants and they
grow. What they grow into, I am not sure. I guess it is just a time of growing
and waiting for the expected vegetables to grow. The plants flower, they are
pollenated, and then begins to grow what the gardener wanted. Weeks or perhaps
months later the vegetable is ready to pick. In this case, the vegetable is
joy. Such joy that you want to shout.
As I reflected on that image I began to wonder how our sadness and tears
can grow into joy. How are the two emotions related to one another? When have
you seen one transform into the other?
Now I know that the writer of the Psalm may not have meant it to be a
picture like the one I created in my mind. I realize that they simply may have
watched people planting with tears in their eyes because the times were tough –
they were being oppressed and under the power of others. And then later when
the harvest was happening the situation was changed and the threat to their
lifestyles was gone.
But even when you see the image that way, the emotions are connected.
People rejoice because what once was heavy upon them is gone. The sorrow and
the joy are still bound together, they are related, and one transforms into the
other. And so I decided to ask you – for your wisdom as a group. Because you
have been through tough times, I know you have shed tears, and I also know that
God has sometimes turned those tears to joy.
The sermon today is not just me sharing my words. You see, I knew that you
have sat here and listened to the kids, and heard the Christmas story from them
with its message of hope and peace, and you might be ready to do something more
interactive. So I am changing my approach today, and asking all of us to contribute
our life experience as we talk about three questions. Just three, so don’t be
afraid to speak up! I won’t keep us going forever with a thousand questions. We
can take our time and answer a little more deeply and get several viewpoints in
answer to each. Ready?
Question 1. How are sorrow and joy related?Question 2. How do you see God involved in transforming one into the other?Question 3. What advice do you give to someone who is right now planting tearful seeds?
Thank you all for sharing your wisdom. For those of us who are feeling blue
this Christmas, there was some great insight and advice there.
I think the greatest joy of this passage is the promise that our tears can
be turned into joyful shouts. It can happen. As Isaiah 61:11 says, “As the
earth puts out its growth, and as a garden grows its seeds, so the Lord God
will grow righteousness and praise before all the nations.” There is water for
the desert, and life in Christ. Thanks be to God.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Sermon: Comfort
Isaiah 40:1-11
When I was looking over the scriptures for today, I said to myself, You
know what, I love this passage from Isaiah. I used to preach on it frequently
at funerals, but I haven’t in a while. I don’t know why that is, but I haven’t
used it in a while. And it is both somber and hopeful. The opening words shout,
comfort! Here is comfort! And I thought to myself, after a year like this, that
is what we need. We need comfort after a year of hurricanes, we need comfort
after a year of mass shootings, we need comfort after a year where our personal
lives have been thrown into a tailspin by health problems, or marital troubles,
or stresses from work, or unexpected turns of event that we did not want. We
need comfort.
“In one of his books writer and philosopher Loren Eiseley tells about the
time when he was only a young lad and his father died. His father died a slow
death in great bodily torture. Eiseley's mother was deaf. Young Loren alone
heard the sounds of his father's agony. This was before the wide application of
painkilling drugs. Eiseley said a curious thing happened to him during that
very stress filled time. He became so tense that he could no longer bear the
ticking of the alarm clock in his own bedroom. He smothered it with a blanket
but still he heard it as if it were ticking in his own head. He tried to sleep,
but he could not. His distress and loneliness were too great. It was then that
help came.’
“His grandmother saw the light burning in his room in the wee hours and
came to sit with him. Later when it came time for her to begin her own long
journey from which there is no return he touched her hair and knew in those
moments that she had saved his sanity. Into that lonely room at midnight she
had come, abandoning her own sleep, in order to sit with troubled young Loren.
Eiseley never forgot what that meant to him. To know that someone sees and
understands. sometimes that is all we need to know in order to make it through
a time of crisis.”[1]
Well, today’s passage shows that God, like the grandmother sees us in our times
of crisis, when the distress of the situation is too great, and God pulls us
onto God’s lap and holds us.
I’m not making that up, listen to Isaiah 40, some selected verses.
Comfort,
comfort my people! says your God.
Speak
compassionately to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her that her compulsory
service has ended,
that her penalty has been paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins!
A
voice was saying: “Call out!”
And
another said, “What should I call out?”
All
flesh is grass; all its loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
The
grass dries up and the flower withers
when the Lord’s breath blows on it.
Surely the people are grass.
The
grass dries up; the flower withers,
but our God’s word will exist forever.
Go
up on a high mountain, messenger Zion!
Raise
your voice and shout, messenger Jerusalem!
Raise
it; don’t be afraid; say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
Here
is the Lord God, coming with strength,
with a triumphant arm, bringing his reward
with him
and his payment before him.
Like
a shepherd, God will tend the flock;
he will gather lambs in his arms and lift
them onto his lap.
He will gently guide the nursing ewes.
Yes, we need what God is offering in this passage. We need to see God
opening up God’s arms wide and saying, “Take comfort my people, I love you.
Even if it feels like you are being punished, I love you. I love you like a
shepherd cares for the lambs and lifts them onto his lap, the care of one who
is powerful and protective over one who is so fragile. Like a grandmother who
takes an anxious boy onto her arms and sits with him. I love you.”
The beauty of that word, love, is that it isn’t the kind of love that we think of normally. This word in Hebrew is hesed and it is often translated as loving-kindness.
It is a kind of love that is promised to another, it is a love formed in
the bonds of a covenant. It is love that extends to all generations. (Agape
Bible Study).
A similar word from the New Testament Greek is agape which might be described as the highest form of love,
sometimes translated as unconditional love. It is love which is there for us no
matter the time, the place, the situation. Even when times are tough, even when
we have wandered away, the love remains. CS Lewis describes it like this:
“There are two kinds of love: we love wise and kind and beautiful people
because we need them, but we love (or try to love) stupid and disagreeable
people because they need us. This second kind is the more divine because that
is how God loves us: not because we are lovable but because He is love, not
because He needs to receive but He delights to give.” The fact is, not many of
us are good at agape. Most of you
when you encounter a stupid or disagreeable person don’t want to love the
person. But try to love me anyway!
I admit it is hard to love unlovable people. We want to be Krampus to them. Krampus, you say? Krampus is a tradition in Austria and other parts of Europe on December 5th. Krampus is the evil half-goat, half-demon anti-Santa.
Think Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before
Christmas only weirder. Santa
rewards good kids. Krampus gives them coal.[2].
On Krampus night people dress up as this horned, goat man and roam the streets
looking for someone to beat with a stick. Oh, and alcohol is involved – no real
surprise there.[3]
The beatings are generally not harmful and more playful than violent, but hey,
who of us doesn’t have someone we want to beat with a stick, right? I made sure
that I didn’t share this story until after Krampus Night, which was December 5th
had passed, because I didn’t want you all showing up at my doorstep dressed
like demons waving sticks at me! I’d have a heart-attack! People even send
Krampus cards to each other, with pictures of this demon. This tradition says a
lot about us as human beings. Most of us have a hard time loving others
unconditionally – we believe that some people don’t deserve love. They deserve
being beaten with sticks or given coal. We even have a hard time believing that
God could offer them unconditional love.
But Isaiah says, God’s love is the love of a shepherd for a newborn lamb. The shepherd cares not because the lamb is needed, but because that is the nature and role of the shepherd.
God cares for us like that. Or perhaps we might say God’s love is the love
of a grandmother for a grandchild. She loves the grandchild simply because the grandchild
is hers. It is the love of a saint who loves even the stupid and disagreeable
people, because that is what saints do!
This is the God that says, “Comfort, comfort my people!” to us, the God of hesed and the God of agape. God does not want us to weep, to
feel like we are grass that has been dried up in the drought of life, flowers
that have withered in the heat of troubles. God does not want to send Krampus
after us to beat us with sticks. No, God says, your penalty is paid. God wants
us to know that God will gather us up into God’s arms and lift us onto God’s
lap. To help us silent the ticking of the alarm clocks, and to settle our
souls. To wipe the tears from our eyes, as we weep for the hurts of our lives
and our world. To tell us that the sorrows of this life: the hurricanes and the
shootings, and our personal trials and tribulations are like grass and will
wither and fade away, while God, God is eternal. God’s words last forever.
God’s strength does not fade, and with a triumphant arm God brings the reward
for God’s lambs.
God does all this even though we are temporary in comparison with God’s
eternity, even though we are weak in comparison with God’s strength. God’s love
is very real. That love is eternal and strong, and will always comfort us. Ah!
Thank you, Lord! For we need this so much!
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Sermon: Embrace
Isaiah 64:1-9
Every year when December comes, the focus of our church services changes.
For much of the year we focus on what it means to lives as followers of Jesus.
We focus on the things we do, our roles and our tasks. We look at the foibles
of humanity and watch how God works to help us on our way.
But in December we concentrate not on what humanity is doing, nor even how
God is striving to shape humanity; instead, we focus on God breaking through,
tearing open the heavens and coming into our world. We celebrate that God from
time to time is a little less patient with us, and simply bursts into the world
to do new things. I like what one commentator said, “God refuses to be held at
arm’s length from us.”[1]
It makes me think of a few of you when I greet you – if I try to shake your
hand you look at me funny and brush it away and give me a hug. God refuses to
keep shaking the world’s hand -- God rushes in and gives the world an embrace.
“Allan Nelson is a consultant to business operations throughout the world. Allan Nelson is also a deeply committed Christian.’
“He ofttimes walks a fine line through life as he seeks to live out his
Christian faith in the midst of a variety of culture clashes. One such clash
for Mr. Nelson took place in 1978 in a visit to Soweto in South Africa. In a
profound and exciting way he experienced in this land afar off the collapsing
of a circle of innate suspicion and hostility.”
“Mr. Nelson was in South Africa on a business trip to advise American
companies as to how they might best respond to pressures to do something
positive in this world of apartheid. As a church-going man he determined to go
to church somewhere in the city on Sunday morning. Quite intentionally he
sought a place to worship in a black South African congregation. He wasn't at all
sure he would be welcome in such a congregation. But he knew his scriptures. He
knew that in Jesus Christ the barriers that separated people should be broken
down. He hoped he would be accepted.”
“Allan was told that there was such a congregation just five blocks from
his hotel. As he and a friend whom he invited to go with him walked those five
blocks to church he was reminded at each step of the racial barriers that
separated the races in South Africa in those days. "Whites Only" and "Blacks
Only" signs were everywhere. There was no mingling of the races anywhere.
It became more clear to him than ever that white and black in South Africa were
divided by huge walls of practiced hatred. Maybe he shouldn't go to a black
church after all. Allan began to second guess his decision.”
“But then the church loomed just ahead. He consciously submerged his fears
of apartheid and nourished his hopes for a new kind of world where all the
baptized are one in Christ Jesus. Allan and his friend arrived early. They
simply entered the empty church, found a seat, and waited. Slowly the members
of the all black congregation began to file in. No one sat very close to them.
Not close at all! In fact when the sanctuary was filled there was a large
circle of empty seats that surrounded the two white Americans. Here they were.
Two white faces surrounded by a sea of black faces as isolated as an island in
the ocean.”
“A lump came to Allan's throat. His fears now drowned out his hopes.
Perhaps it was too much to expect that the circle of hatred could collapse even
in a Christian church.”
“And then, before the service started, a woman got up and began to sing
"Amazing Grace." Allan described her voice as one of the most
beautiful he had ever heard. Allan was moved by her singing. It was beautiful.
So beautiful, in fact, that when she started to sing verse two some great
impulse from within prompted him to join his tenor voice to her song. They were
singing. Just the two of them black and white in harmony.
An old woman from the back of the church came forward and touched him. "Jesus," she said softly. That was the one bond between them.”
“And then Mr. Nelson committed an illegal act. He embraced the woman. They
both wept. Suddenly, the circle of emptiness around them collapsed. People shoved
up against Allan from every side. His hopes had won out over his fears. There
was, indeed, one church, one baptism! Allan Nelson now says that this event
changed his life forever. "[2]
That’s December in the church. God gets tired of the separation between
heaven and earth and wanders into the midst of our world, and illegally
embraces it across the divide.
The power of this embrace is such that it changes the very way we think
about the way God works in the world. You see, we might be tempted to think
that God is hands-off, distant and seldom involved. We can look at hurricanes
and mass shootings, wars and famines, and think that God doesn’t really care.
But then along comes a child who is the very son of God, into our midst and
says, let me live this beautiful mess with you and show you a different way. “Jesus”
that one word spoken by the woman in South Africa, the one word spoken by God
that brings us together. Suddenly we start to see the work of God in every act
of compassion, in every hand reaching out to help others.
The passage from Isaiah says, “But now, Lord, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter.”
I like the potter and clay image. Imagine for a moment that God is the
potter of the world, of creation. We are clay. Can a potter shape anything by
being hands-off? If the potter refuses to touch the clay, will the clay change
shape? No, of course not, it will just remain a spinning lump. But as soon as
the hand of the potter reaches out and touches it, moving hands carefully and
constantly the piece begins to take shape. December is a reminder that God is
very hands on, helping us to see that God is like a potter with hands on the
world at every moment as it spins through the day. God is shaping, recreating,
and always in contact.
Even more, not only is God in continuous contact with us – once in a while
that isn’t enough even for God. Once in a while, God says, “I’m coming into,
stepping into the world with you. I will be clay too. I will help remove your
imperfections, I will show you what I want you to do and be, I will be clay
with you.”
So each year we remind ourselves that God refuses to be held off by a
handshake, but reaches out to embrace the world. Christ, the child, who is both
human and God, reminds us of this. And even more we remind ourselves that what
God has done in the past, God will do again. God will step into human time and
history and embrace us.
Michael A. Schmid writes the following words in a song of his called Embrace, the chorus goes like this:
“Embraced by Your mercy, Embraced by Your cross, bringing joy in our sorrow
and victory to loss; we embrace Your mission sent forth by Your grace, for it’s
Your hand we cling to and Your future we embrace.” That’s what December is
about in church, every year!
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Christmas Blessings
Beatitudes
This last month one of the scriptures for Sunday worship was
the beatitudes – those teachings from Jesus that start out, “Blessed are . . .
“ These teachings remind us that there are deeper joys and greater happiness in
life that we dare not miss.
James Garrett in God’s
Gifts shares a piece by an unknown author that does something interesting.
It creates a set of beatitudes for Christmas. In other words, he points out the
unfathomable blessings of the season that bring meaning and joy to us. Here it
is:
“Blessed are they who find Christmas in the age-old story of
a babe born in Bethlehem. To them a little child will always mean hope and
promise to a troubled world.’
“Blessed are they who find Christmas in the Christmas star.
Their lives may ever reflect its beauty and light.’
“Blessed are they who find Christmas in the joy of giving
lovingly to others. They shall share the gladness and joy of the shepherds and
wise men of old.’
“Blessed are they who find Christmas in the fragrant greens,
the cheerful holly and soft flicker of candles. To them shall come bright
memories of love and happiness.’
“Blessed are they who find Christmas in the happy music of
Christmas time. They shall have a song of joy ever singing in their hearts.’
“Blessed are they who find Christmas in the message of the
Prince of Peace. They will ever strive to help him bring peace on earth, good
will to all.’ (Author unknown)
What a beautiful and wonderful reflection! Yet, as I read
it, it lacks one of the things that Jesus’ original beatitudes convey – that
even the overwhelming difficulties we face can bring us the deepest blessings
of God. So I created a couple of seasonal beatitudes of my own for you to add
to the above:
Blessed are those who are having a Blue Christmas without
one they love, for they shall one day join them in the angel choir with songs
of greatest joy.
Blessed are those who have no presents under the tree, for
Christ himself is their gift and justice and mercy will be theirs.
Blessed are you when you are overwhelmed by the rush of the
season and all about you seems chaotic, for the hush of a Silent Night and the
light of a single candle is yours.
I humbly add those three blessings to the prior list as a
way of reminding us, that in the good and bad of the season, God is at work
bringing us deeper joys and greater happiness that we dare not miss!
Merry Christmas, my friends!
Sermon: Sheep or Goats
Matthew 25:31-46
For the past
two weeks we have looked at Jesus’ parables. We have read about young women who
had extra oil ready for when the groom was coming, and refused to share their
oil with others. We have read about a greedy master who punished one of his
servants for failing to make him more money. And this week we hear a story that
in many ways caps them off. Like the last two, this story is meant to start
discussions and debate – it is meant as an opener for teaching, where Jesus
will talk with people about what God’s kingdom is like.
It is meant to challenge us to think, to ask questions, to talk to one another! So are you ready to hear it?
“Now when the
Human One comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on
his majestic throne. All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will
separate them from each other, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats. He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on
his left.
“Then the king
will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my
Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I
was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.
I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to
wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’
“Then those
who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed
you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger and
welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? When did we see you sick or
in prison and visit you?’
“Then the king
will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the
least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’
“Then he will
say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who will receive terrible
things. Go into the unending fire that has been prepared for the devil and his
angels. I was hungry and you didn’t give me food to eat. I was thirsty and you
didn’t give me anything to drink. I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me. I
was naked and you didn’t give me clothes to wear. I was sick and in prison, and
you didn’t visit me.’
“Then they
will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked
or sick or in prison and didn’t do anything to help you?’ Then he will answer,
‘I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these, you
haven’t done it for me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the
righteous ones will go into eternal life.”
This story
like the prior two is a sorting story – a story where some people get rewards
and some do not. Like the last two, this one also challenges the hearers to
reconsider what God’s realm means and to contrast it with the world. So this
week Jesus says, if you do it for the least of these you do it for me. When you
fail to do it for the least of these, you have failed to do it for me.
This is a
contrast from the values of the world that say, “if you want rewards you do
things for people who can reward you. Help a rich person and you might get a
reward, but help a poor person and what good does it do you?” The little guy or
gal isn’t going to pay you back. They aren’t going to give you a big donation
for your charity or political campaign. They aren’t going to help you climb in
social status. So it is a waste of time. Help those who can help you in return.
I scratch your back, you scratch mine. You do a favor for me, I’ll do a favor for
you.
But, like the other parables, Jesus turns the norms of society on their head and says that the one who judges us and who ultimately rewards us, does so based upon what we have done for those who are most in need.
Interestingly, Jesus’ parable has had pretty far reaching effect on
people’s values. Everyone from Mother Teresa who based her whole ministry on
this passage, to Malcolm Forbes who said, “You can easily judge the character
of a [person] by how [they] treat those who can do nothing for [them].”
But before we get into the things it teaches us, let me remind you that
parables always have the potential to be misinterpreted. The biggest problem
with
this parable is that it suggests that people are judged purely on their works,
that God has no sense of grace, and it makes it sound like Jesus doesn’t even
know or pay any attention to those who haven’t done good works. But we know
that none of us live out God’s will perfectly, and we know that God has deep
forgiveness.
The
parable isn’t trying to tell us that the only thing God judges us based on is
how we treat the least of these; however it reminds us that Jesus clearly
aligns himself with those who are hungry, who are thirsty, who are strangers,
who are naked, who are sick, and who are in prison. These are Jesus’ people and
he wants us to care for them. When we don’t, it is as though we deny knowing
him – because we are standing against everything that is important to him. When
we do, we demonstrate that we have sat at his feet and listened to his will.
I read this story of Riaz as I was getting this sermon ready. “In The City lived Riaz, a high school student in his last year. “The last year of high school is critical” the guidance counsellor emphasized.
“You can’t put ‘hanging out with your
friends’ on your résumé, Riaz. You need to follow the program that we have
created.”
Riaz was not sure how to tell his guidance
counsellor why he didn’t make it to the various extra-curricular activities
they had discussed. It had been an excellent week. On Monday, he meant to go to
the yearbook meeting over lunch, but his friend (the one who never seems to
have proper food) refused to go, and he knew that if he did not share his
sandwich and juice with him, he would not eat or drink all day.
On Wednesday, he got into an argument with
some of his band mates who were making fun of the new exchange student from the
islands. He was so upset and confused by their words that he did not feel like
hanging out with them; instead he went to the mall and got the exchange student
a winter hat and gloves.
He missed student council because his sister
was sick, and opted to skip chess club on Friday to hang out with his lunchtime
friend in detention (since he never had the chance to see him on the weekends).
Riaz regretted that he did not make any of
his extra-curricular activities for the week, but he did not regret any of his
actions. He wondered what would be better, looking good on paper or doing good
by his friends and family.”[1]
Riaz may not have literally sat at the feet of Jesus, but he understood the
heart of the teaching. Each and every moment of the day is an opportunity. It
is an opportunity to serve others or to serve yourself. You can help those who
need it, or you can help yourself. But you can’t do both.
Like I said, this parable caps off the few we have read over the past three weeks. Each of them has asked, what gets us into heaven and what keeps us out?
Is it being
excited and prepared so that we are ready on a moment’s notice, even if that
means refusing to share what we have? Is it putting all of our effort into
increasing God’s kingdom, or should we instead stand up to evil and refuse to
be part of a system that is not godly? Is it giving to the poor? And the answer
is all of the above. Ultimately it is about our choices – do we choose to do
that which leads us closer to God, no matter what; or do we choose to do that
which gains us the world?
Choosing one means rejecting the other. If we want to choose God we need to
do that in every aspect of our lives – in our emotions, in our ethics and
morals, in the people we serve. So where will you serve Jesus this week? In
whose face will you see him?
A Jewish story goes: I went up to Heaven in a dream and stood at the Gates
of Paradise in order to observe the procedure of the Heavenly Tribunal. I
watched as a learned Rabbi approached and wished to enter. "Day and
night," he said, "I studied the Holy Torah."
"Wait," said the Angel. "We will investigate whether your
study was for its own sake or whether it was a matter of profession and for the
sake of honors.
A Righteous Person [a Zaddik] next approached. "I fasted much,"
he said, "I underwent many ritual cleansings; I studied the Zohar the
mystical commentary on the Torah day and night."
"Wait," said the Angel, "until we have completed our
investigation to learn whether you motives were pure."
Then a tavern-keeper drew near. "I kept an open door and fed without
charge every poor man or woman who came into my inn," he said.
The Heavenly Portals were opened to him.[2]
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Sermon: The Wrong Hero
Matthew 25:14-30
The parable of
the talents is one that on the surface seems pretty straightforward. When the
master gives you money, make more. If you do, you will be rewarded. If you
don’t, you will be punished. It is a very businesslike exchange. But what if
the story isn’t about business?
You see,
several biblical scholars say that we have for too long made the wrong people
in the story the heroes. What they point out is that in classic storytelling,
even in Jesus’ other parables (like the Good Samaritan) when there are three
people responding to a situation – the first two are almost always the bad
examples. We don’t start out with the hero and then end with a boring failure –
that just isn’t the way you tell stories to build tension. You start out with
the failures and then you hear about the hero.
I spent a
couple of months reading 25 volumes of fairy tales collected by Andrew Lang
between 1889 and 1913 from all around the world. What these bible scholars say
is true. Always there are three brothers or sisters, or three men, and the
first fails to do the task. Then the second fails in the same way. Finally the
third does what he is supposed to do and wins the day. That is how these stories
work.
But if we
apply that method to this story, the first two servants who make money are the
failures, and the lazy one who just buries it in the ground is the hero. And to
most of us today, this approach to the parable doesn’t make sense to us. We are
simply too business minded. We have bought into the idea that more is better,
no matter how it is done, no matter what the cost, no matter who gets stepped
on.
You see, there is a key phrase in the parable that tries to tell us that the last person is the hero. Near the end when the master is berating the servant, he says,
“You wicked
and lazy servant! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and
gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested by money with
the bankers and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.”
Those lines would have made Jesus’ hearers know that the master was a bad man.
He is unfair, he is greedy, and worst of all collecting interest was against
Jewish law. Deuteronomy 23:19 says, “Don’t charge your fellow
Israelites interest—whether on money, provisions, or anything one might loan.” In fact, in the bible
there is not a single positive reference to collecting interest. None, zero,
zip. When collecting interest is mentioned it is always a bad thing. Always.
So Jesus’ disciples and the people listening to him that day would have
heard that and they would have had to consider the risks of resisting what
their masters told them to do and instead doing what God wanted.
Believe it or not the fourth century bishop Eusebius actually tells the parable that way.
The parable
goes like this: a master had three servants, one who squandered his master’s
money with the wrong crowd, one who multiplied the money and made more, and one
who hid the money. So what happens? Well, the first one gets what we expect,
the one who wasted it all is thrown in prison for misusing the Master’s money.
But here is
where things get interesting, the second one, who multiplied the money is
rebuked. It might not make sense to us, but to Jesus’ listeners it made
complete sense. We have to put aside our American ears, which have been caught
up in Wall Street for generations, and instead hear things like 4 Maccabees 2:8
that say, “As soon as one adopts a way of life in accordance with the law, even
though a lover of money, one is forced to act contrary to natural ways and to
lend without interest to the needy and to cancel the debt when the seventh year
arrives.”[1] So in that early
bishop’s retelling, the one who multiplies the money is rebuked for loving
money too much.
So what happens to the third servant, the one who hid the money? We are
told that that one is accepted with joy. Yes, you heard that right, accepted
with joy. The hider is the hero.
Why? What
might Eusibius have really been trying to say, and what does it tell us about
what Jesus was saying? It is likely that Eusibius is contrasting being a
Christian with being a Roman. You see, Romans did collect interest. This was
their normal operating procedure, like ours today. But as I have said the Jews
did not.
And it is
likely that Jesus was also challenging people to think about what practices
they were going to follow – the outsiders, the Romans,– or the ways that are
practiced in the kingdom of heaven, where there will be no collecting of
interest. He may have been asking, “Will you follow the emperor who claims to
be a god, or will you follow the God of Israel?”
Perhaps you
will remember that last week, I said that when Jesus taught parables the idea
was probably to get us started in discussion about all things Godly. If that is
the case, then he has come up with a great story with which to do it. Clearly
there will be people coming at it from all sides. Some people will be
supportive of making money and listening to one’s master, some people will know
the Jewish law, and want to emphasize that. His listeners would immediately
enter into a debate. I found this retelling of the story that uses a mother
with three daughters that could create a similar
feeling.
“In The City, there was a mother with three daughters whom she loved very much. The mother had many gifts that the city relied on, so she entrusted these gifts to her daughters while she went to another city to share her gifts there.
To the first daughter, she gave the gift of farming. She taught her about
the land and how to care for it. The daughter cherished this gift and taught
anyone who would listen how to water and care for the earth. The entire city
blossomed with the gift of farming and had a bountiful harvest of every good
fruit of the earth.
To the second daughter the mother gave the gift of reading and writing. The
daughter cherished this gift, and taught anyone who would listen, how to read,
write and create beautiful stories of the city. Soon schools were built, and
people of all ages gathered to read, learn and tell stories. The city created a
library so that everyone had access to this amazing gift of reading and
writing.
The third daughter received the gift of music. The daughter cherished this
gift. She would go high into the mountains to practice this gift of music where
she thought no one would hear her. She practiced singing and playing the harp
day and night, but never felt ready to share her gift with the city, or with
anyone but the birds.
One day, when she was up on the hill practicing, she saw her mother
returning, and she started to cry. She looked out over the city and saw the
lush and green farmlands because her sister had shared the gift of farming. She
saw the beautiful library and people reading stories to each other because her
sister had shared the gift of reading and writing. And she felt ashamed because
only the birds were singing, and no one was playing music.
When the mother returned, she celebrated and congratulated her first and
second daughter on the splendid work they had done. When evening came, she
asked her daughters, “What is that sound coming from the mountains?” We do not
know, there has been a beautiful sound coming from the mountains since you
left, we assumed that it was the birds, but today it sounds different, it
sounds like wailing.
The mother went up the mountain, and there was her third daughter crying so
violently that she was gnashing her teeth. The mother was disappointed in her
daughter, but clearly not as much as the daughter was in herself. She informed
the daughter that she will be going to a new town, and will be bringing her two
sisters. The daughter pleaded with the mother to go with them, but the mother
said no. “Everyone in The City is in love with the music of the sky; you must
remain and teach it to them.”[2]
Who is the hero of the story? Who gives the most? The two who intentionally
share? Or is it possible it is the one who gets no recognition for her work?
You could have a great lunch time discussion on this story! Which is the most
like God’s kingdom?
Parables are meant to make us think, to challenge us to find God and godly living. They are not meant to be easy. If the bible scholars are right, then in this parable God stands with the one who is given the least, and has the integrity to do what is right – even in the face of economic pressure.
God
is not the harsh master or the greedy master. God does not reap where God does
not sow. God does not reward people monetarily in heaven for what they have
done one earth. The billionaires here are not super-billionaires in heaven. God
does not cast out one who follows the Jewish law. Rather, God’s hero may be
cast aside by the world, hated by the world, despised by their masters. The
good news is that they are not slaves to money, instead they are servants of
the Most High.
It is very possible that we have read this passage with the wrong hero and
the wrong message. It is not about making more, or even about giving more to
the church, but about serving God first even at the cost of our jobs.
So what does that look like today? When you step out those doors, where
might following God put you at an economic risk? Where do Judeo-Christian
values class with those of the business world? What would you need to change to
put yourself in line with God’s ideals? Because we have a choice to follow the
god of the greenbacks or the God of Israel.
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Sermon: Not Enough Oil
Matthew 25:1-13
If you have ever read a bible passage and had as many questions after
reading as you did when you started, you aren’t alone. Today’s parable from
Jesus can leave us with lots of questions. The thing with parables is that they
are teaching tools, to start discussions – they are not meant to be exact
replicas of reality. So there are always ways that the parable is going to be
like the kingdom of God and ways that it isn’t.
For example, in the parable of the bridesmaids and the oil, the wise
bridesmaids refuse to share, and because of that the foolish bridesmaids are
locked out. Does that mean in the kingdom of God sharing is bad? No, of course
not, in kindergarten we are taught to share with others. It is one of the most
important things that we can do. And other places in scripture affirm that, even
the parables that Jesus tells right near this one in the bible, but in this
story something else is happening. The point isn’t about not sharing. So what
is going on here?
One thing that might help is to know that the word bridesmaid is really deceptive, the actual word means a young unmarried woman. So what we have here are 10 young unmarried women waiting for the groom.
So this could be a story about competition between the women to see who
would get to marry the groom. Which explains their unwillingness to share – The
stingy one won’t share with one who didn’t plan well, because then she might
not end up getting married. They are rivals for the affections of the groom.
But again that is not what the kingdom of God is like. We are not in a
competition with each other for God’s attention. God isn’t going to pick just
one of us, but invites a whole multitude. So why would Jesus compare people
seeking God with a group of rival women competing for a husband? It sounds like
a bad comparison.
One possible explanation is offered by the Jewish Annotated New Testament. It reminds us that in Jewish tradition, oil is often a metaphor for righteousness or good deeds.
So it may very well be that Jesus is telling us to make sure that we have
filled the lamps of our lives with the oil of good deeds, so that when the
groom comes we can show just how brightly our lives burned. But that still
makes it sound like there is a competition in life and that some of us have
done enough good deeds and others haven’t. I think it lends itself too easily
into the mistaken idea that we must do a certain amount of good deeds in order
to get into heaven. Plus, how many of Jesus listeners would have been able to
catch that symbolism?
While I was thinking about all of this I ran into that interesting retelling of the parable, that was read for you; where the planners and the last minuters are attending a protest.
This retelling reminds us that it isn’t the idea of sharing or not, and it
isn’t that there is a competition to see who can meet with the mayor – the
issue is whether or not the people were prepared for the long haul. Were they
ready for whatever the situation called for? Pure and simple. I think what
Jesus was trying to get his listeners to be ready, they don’t know the day or
hour when the bridegroom will come. That’s the point. Ignore the other stuff,
it just gets in the way.
So I think Jesus is trying to get us to think of ourselves as young women,
who very much want to impress a young man, and you don’t know when he is going to
arrive. Clearly, the bridegroom is the Christ, the messiah, and Jesus is
telling them, they never know when the Christ may come, and they should be
ready. (The irony is that he was sitting there with them at that moment as he
taught this – and some of them were clearly didn’t realize it). Consider what
he must have been thinking and feeling as he said to them, “Keep alert, because
you don’t know the day or the hour.” Perhaps he smiled, perhaps he shook his
head sadly as he thought, “Some of you don’t even realize the bridegroom is
here. You aren’t ready, and soon it may be too late.”
In the little book, Laughter in Appalachia, Fred Park of Berea, Kentucky
tells a story about a man named Quill. Quill lived way back in the woods where
he hunted and fished all the time. Quill didn't pay any attention to the
hunting seasons or laws or anything, and he knew the woods better than the game
warden.
The game warden had been trying to catch Quill for a long time. Today was
the day. He knew Quill would be up early to go fishing. So the game warden
sneaked down there in the middle of the night and hid on top of Quill's house.
This way he knew he had the jump on Quill. He'd let him head out and then he'd
follow him. His plan was to hide in the woods until Quill had caught a large,
illegal bunch of fish, and he'd catch him.
As it started to get a little bit of daylight, the game warden could hear
Quill get up, start a fire, and put the coffee on. His stomach started growling
at the smell of that coffee and those fresh smelling biscuits as they baked in
the oven. He could hardly contain himself. Suddenly out walked Quill on the
porch and hollered, "Come on down here and git some of this coffee and
biscuits while they're hot! I know you're out there!" He went back in and
shut the door.
The game warden could not believe it. He climbed down and walked up on the
porch and into the house and exclaimed, "Well, how did you know I was out
there?"
Quill said, "I didn't. I walk out there and say that ever morning,
just in case ye are!" Quill may not have been a genius, but he knew enough
to take precautions. He was ready![1]
That is what Jesus is telling the people there sitting with him. “Come on down
here. You should be looking every day for the Messiah, expecting him to be with
you. Because you never know he might be out there in the woods, and if you
aren’t ready you might be in a heap of trouble.”
But what does the story mean for us, who live in the days after Christ has
come? Many think it is referring to Christ’s second coming, and being ready for
that. But I wonder about that, because that certainly isn’t what he was
thinking of when he shared it with the people sitting around him. He was there,
then.
Rather, I think the message for us today has more to do with how we live our lives. Like young women wanting to impress the groom, our love for God should have a sense of eagerness of being in God’s presence, we should have a sense of striving our very best to please God.
After all, if you want to impress the handsomest hunk, you do everything
possible to get ready. You don’t do it half-heartedly, and you certainly don’t
wait until the last minute.
You still should be living every day with the expectation that you will
meet the messiah, you might see him in the face of a person who is suffering,
you might find yourself on your deathbed, perhaps he will come again in the
clouds tomorrow, whatever the method of meeting him, you should be living with
the expectation of it happening at any time. So you should be trying to impress
God.
Here Jesus is not telling us to compete with our neighbors and try to keep
them from getting into heaven, nor is he telling us that God is measuring the
oil of our lives and will judge us based upon our works. No, it is more likely
Jesus is telling us, be a like a young girl waiting for her boyfriend, be so in
love with God that you are doing everything you can to show it, so that when
the day comes that God calls you into heaven, your light is bright for all to see.
Of course, there is one other possibility. And I save this for last because it is so counter to our normal reading of the passage. What I am saying here will make more sense over the next couple of weeks as we look at the next two parables of Jesus.
But it is possible that Jesus is actually critiquing the women who won’t
share their oil. The bridegroom has been sighted, he is right there before
them. How much oil do their lamps need? Honestly, not much, just enough to burn
for a short time. If they had shared their oil, everyone would have gotten in. Jesus
may be critiquing those who are afraid to be generous, whose selfishness
prevents others from getting to see the Christ. This is an interesting twist
that Jesus may have hoped would come out in discussion as they talked about the
kingdom of God. So I would add it as a second thing to consider, after first
reading it as a reminder to prepare ourselves, read it also as a reminder to
help others prepare themselves for God as well. They also need oil for their
lamps, and quite honestly you have it. The message of God’s love is that oil,
give it to them, so that they can enter in as well.
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