Scripture: John 1:1-14
“The Light has come into the darkness; and the darkness cannot put it out.”
We are once again, looking down, in awe at someone else’s baby. What do we see when we gaze at this child? To some, Jesus is about the past: A great historical figure whose life revolutionized religion, art, government, and social life… even commerce. For some he was an advocate of a humanistic philosophy, for others, an apocalyptic prophet, or a healer of body, mind, and spirit.
He and his legacy have been surrounded by harsh old saints, pious peasants, religious academics, zealous monks, in ascetic caves and in magnificent cathedrals. To some, Jesus is about the future: He is the Prince of Peace, that will come between Arabs & Israelis, Serbs and Croats, the privileged and the outcast. He is a changer of political systems and the bringer of a just economic world. To some, Jesus is nostalgia: recollections of a childhood Christmas, or belonging to the world of grandparents and great-grandparents. To many of his own time, both Jews and Gentiles – and to many today – Jesus was just another baby, nothing special at all, a poor child, born to a poor family, in a poor, occupied nation under the heel of a brutal dictatorship.
Those who lingered at the manger in Bethlehem saw something very different. In the mystery of the Incarnation, they saw hope and possibility, promise and fulfillment, light in the midst of the shadow of oppression, a light in the midst of what was, showing what can be. Come to the manger today. Hold the baby in heart and mind. Realize the light of God is with us, and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
O God, who makes us glad at the yearly festival of the birth of Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence hold strong the faith that God is with us, the Word made flesh, Emmanuel; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Rev. Kevin Higgs
Friday, December 22, 2006
Silent Night Holy Night
Silent Night Holy Night
The soft gentle words of Silent Night, Holy Night were written by Joseph Mohr in 1818. He wrote the words to this famous Christmas poem and had a close friend, Franz Gruber, set them to music. It has often been called the most popular Christmas carol ever written and has been translated into hundreds of languages to be sung around the world. It was first sung and played to the guitar accompaniment.
“Silent Night, Holy night, all is calm, all is bright,
“Round young virgin, mother and child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.”
As you listen to those words written in the 1800’s let us remember the Christmas story. Luke 2 in the Bible will give all the details of the story, from start to finish. Read the story with imagination, going with Mary and Joseph as they travel to Bethlehem. Be with Mary as she gives birth to Jesus. Be with the shepherds and wise men as they travel to honor the new born king. In your imagination, let the Christmas story become a new story for you this Advent.
Prayer: Loving God, God of the whole world, help us to seek heavenly peace this Advent and pursue it the entire year so that your kingdom my come on earth as it is in heaven.
Prayer Focus: Everyone who is seeking peace in their lives.
The soft gentle words of Silent Night, Holy Night were written by Joseph Mohr in 1818. He wrote the words to this famous Christmas poem and had a close friend, Franz Gruber, set them to music. It has often been called the most popular Christmas carol ever written and has been translated into hundreds of languages to be sung around the world. It was first sung and played to the guitar accompaniment.
“Silent Night, Holy night, all is calm, all is bright,
“Round young virgin, mother and child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.”
As you listen to those words written in the 1800’s let us remember the Christmas story. Luke 2 in the Bible will give all the details of the story, from start to finish. Read the story with imagination, going with Mary and Joseph as they travel to Bethlehem. Be with Mary as she gives birth to Jesus. Be with the shepherds and wise men as they travel to honor the new born king. In your imagination, let the Christmas story become a new story for you this Advent.
Prayer: Loving God, God of the whole world, help us to seek heavenly peace this Advent and pursue it the entire year so that your kingdom my come on earth as it is in heaven.
Prayer Focus: Everyone who is seeking peace in their lives.
Joy to the World
Joy to the World
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
Let earth receive her King,
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove,
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love,
And wonders of his love,
And wonders, and wonders of his love.”
Joy to the world! This beautiful Christmas song written by Isaac Watts in the 1800’s, rings out with happiness and excitement! Instead of being a slow carol, this song is written to be song with true joy at our Savior Jesus Christ’s birth.
Do you know the tune? Why don’t you sing it with me right now!
Wow! That was fun! Did you sing it from your very being? What a good thing it is to sing God’s praises!
Prayer: Loving God, Creator of the universe and creator of Jesus Christ our Savior, we worship you and pray for your truth and grace for all. Help us to sing, all of heaven and earth to sing your praises.
Though for the Day: Help the nations to prove the glories of your righteousness.
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
Let earth receive her King,
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove,
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love,
And wonders of his love,
And wonders, and wonders of his love.”
Joy to the world! This beautiful Christmas song written by Isaac Watts in the 1800’s, rings out with happiness and excitement! Instead of being a slow carol, this song is written to be song with true joy at our Savior Jesus Christ’s birth.
Do you know the tune? Why don’t you sing it with me right now!
Wow! That was fun! Did you sing it from your very being? What a good thing it is to sing God’s praises!
Prayer: Loving God, Creator of the universe and creator of Jesus Christ our Savior, we worship you and pray for your truth and grace for all. Help us to sing, all of heaven and earth to sing your praises.
Though for the Day: Help the nations to prove the glories of your righteousness.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
God Calls to each of Us
Read Luke 3:1-6
“The word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;”
-Luke 3:2a-3 (KJV)
I can imagine John with his wilderness clothes and hair walking up and down both sides of the Jordan River calling everyone to repentance. It reminds me of the strange men I used to see standing on street corners, holding signs that said “REPENT”. I would avoid them. That word “repent” made me feel guilty, sinful, and condemned.
I began to read, study, and meditate on The Word of God. Through The Word God calls us to Himself. I wanted to come to Him but I was not clean enough, holy enough. Sick of sin, guilt, trying and failing to be good, I called out to God to “Show me how to come to you through Jesus. I don’t know how.” I didn’t know I was “repenting” (turning towards God and away from sin).
Jesus came to me. He had been waiting for me. He welcomed me with open arms, full of grace and love. I touched His wounds and knew He had died even for me. I asked Him to forgive me. My tears and sobbing would not stop, but holy tears are a balm from God that heals, cleanses, and changes.
Sharon Parsons
PRAYER: O God, help us find a way out of the wilderness by turning to You and following Jesus. Thank You for never giving up on us. Amen
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: When we turn to God, He will not leave us as we were. But we will never want to be the same again.
PRAYER FOCUS: Each of my brothers and sisters at Reconciler
“The word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;”
-Luke 3:2a-3 (KJV)
I can imagine John with his wilderness clothes and hair walking up and down both sides of the Jordan River calling everyone to repentance. It reminds me of the strange men I used to see standing on street corners, holding signs that said “REPENT”. I would avoid them. That word “repent” made me feel guilty, sinful, and condemned.
I began to read, study, and meditate on The Word of God. Through The Word God calls us to Himself. I wanted to come to Him but I was not clean enough, holy enough. Sick of sin, guilt, trying and failing to be good, I called out to God to “Show me how to come to you through Jesus. I don’t know how.” I didn’t know I was “repenting” (turning towards God and away from sin).
Jesus came to me. He had been waiting for me. He welcomed me with open arms, full of grace and love. I touched His wounds and knew He had died even for me. I asked Him to forgive me. My tears and sobbing would not stop, but holy tears are a balm from God that heals, cleanses, and changes.
Sharon Parsons
PRAYER: O God, help us find a way out of the wilderness by turning to You and following Jesus. Thank You for never giving up on us. Amen
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: When we turn to God, He will not leave us as we were. But we will never want to be the same again.
PRAYER FOCUS: Each of my brothers and sisters at Reconciler
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Rejoice
Philippians 4: 4-7
Philippians 4: 4 “Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice!”(The Living Bible)
A smile is contagious! Try it and you will see for yourself. Walk down a street or through a mall and smile at others and you will usually receive a smile in return. Smile at a child, and the child will return that smile.
When I was teaching school, the students would ask me why I was always smiling. My reply to them was simple. 1. It takes less muscles and effort to smile than to frown, and 2. People like to be smiled at! They don’t like to be around people who are frowning and seem unhappy!
As a Christian, we have a lot to smile about, a lot to rejoice about. Think of what all God has done for you! John 3:16 says it this way, “For God loved the world so much that he sent his only son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Living Bible) God raised Jesus from the grave for us to have eternal life. God cares!
Rejoice this day in all that you can do for others. Smile; share the good news of Jesus with your neighbors and friends! Rejoice and be happy! Be full of joy in the Lord.
Prayer: Loving God, thank you for giving me joy that I can rejoice and praise your name.
Thought for the Day: Rejoice and be glad in all that you do.
Philippians 4: 4 “Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice!”(The Living Bible)
A smile is contagious! Try it and you will see for yourself. Walk down a street or through a mall and smile at others and you will usually receive a smile in return. Smile at a child, and the child will return that smile.
When I was teaching school, the students would ask me why I was always smiling. My reply to them was simple. 1. It takes less muscles and effort to smile than to frown, and 2. People like to be smiled at! They don’t like to be around people who are frowning and seem unhappy!
As a Christian, we have a lot to smile about, a lot to rejoice about. Think of what all God has done for you! John 3:16 says it this way, “For God loved the world so much that he sent his only son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Living Bible) God raised Jesus from the grave for us to have eternal life. God cares!
Rejoice this day in all that you can do for others. Smile; share the good news of Jesus with your neighbors and friends! Rejoice and be happy! Be full of joy in the Lord.
Prayer: Loving God, thank you for giving me joy that I can rejoice and praise your name.
Thought for the Day: Rejoice and be glad in all that you do.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Singing God’s Wonders
Isaiah 12: 2-6
Isaiah 5: “Sing to the Lord for he has done wonderful things…” (The Living Bible)
Have you ever been to an “all day singing?” When Lawton and I and the children were living in North Georgia when Lawton was attending seminary at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, we had the privilege of being the pastor and family of a small mill village town called Shannon. There was a Burlington Mill factory there and everyone in the town worked at the mill. At 12:00 noon each day the whistle would blow, and everyone in the town would walk home to eat lunch, and then walk back to the mill for the afternoon shift.
Life was simple in this small town and one of the great joys of the people was singing the old gospel songs. On Sunday nights and on Wednesday nights we would call out the numbers we wanted to sing and Paula would play the piano and her dad, Ken, would lead the singing.
We would have all day singings at the church where different quartets would come and sing for the church and the community. Everyone would come to the church and enjoy the foot stomping, hand clapping music of these quartets.
The Shannon United Methodist Church had two quartets in it. One was called the Adorations and the other was called The Lamplighters Quartet. They made records and tapes (This was before CDs.) We still have some of those old 78 records and tapes of their songs.
As our scripture in Isaiah says, “Sing to the Lord for he has done wonderful things.” The fun we had at all day singings, the joy of listening to the music and being part of a community of believers was an exciting time. It is fun to sing of the wondrous things that God has done.
Prayer: God of wonder, God of might, let us rejoice in the wonderful things you have done for us. Show us how to love each other in the way you loved the whole world by sending your son to be our Savior. Amen
Thought for the Day: Help us to sing the wondrous songs of your love daily!
Isaiah 5: “Sing to the Lord for he has done wonderful things…” (The Living Bible)
Have you ever been to an “all day singing?” When Lawton and I and the children were living in North Georgia when Lawton was attending seminary at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, we had the privilege of being the pastor and family of a small mill village town called Shannon. There was a Burlington Mill factory there and everyone in the town worked at the mill. At 12:00 noon each day the whistle would blow, and everyone in the town would walk home to eat lunch, and then walk back to the mill for the afternoon shift.
Life was simple in this small town and one of the great joys of the people was singing the old gospel songs. On Sunday nights and on Wednesday nights we would call out the numbers we wanted to sing and Paula would play the piano and her dad, Ken, would lead the singing.
We would have all day singings at the church where different quartets would come and sing for the church and the community. Everyone would come to the church and enjoy the foot stomping, hand clapping music of these quartets.
The Shannon United Methodist Church had two quartets in it. One was called the Adorations and the other was called The Lamplighters Quartet. They made records and tapes (This was before CDs.) We still have some of those old 78 records and tapes of their songs.
As our scripture in Isaiah says, “Sing to the Lord for he has done wonderful things.” The fun we had at all day singings, the joy of listening to the music and being part of a community of believers was an exciting time. It is fun to sing of the wondrous things that God has done.
Prayer: God of wonder, God of might, let us rejoice in the wonderful things you have done for us. Show us how to love each other in the way you loved the whole world by sending your son to be our Savior. Amen
Thought for the Day: Help us to sing the wondrous songs of your love daily!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Fear, Guilt, and Healing
Read Zeph. 3:14-20
Verse 17 b: “He will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love…”
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I immediately wondered if the cause of the cancer was something I had done. Did I neglect my health? Did I abuse my body? Was it caused by some stress that I lived under? Was I being punished for some sin I had committed?
Treatment was radiation, chemotherapy, surgery and prayer. Friends and relatives submitted my name to prayer groups. I was amazed to receive cards and letters from various prayer groups around the country in the mail with signatures of people I had never known and people I would not know. These people requested of God that I be healed.
Amazingly, surgery determined that the tumor had totally disappeared. Had it been shrunk to nothingness by radiation or totally dissolved by chemotherapy? Had it disappeared through the miracle of prayer? I do not know. Perhaps all of these are the avenues through which God heals us. The surgeon did say to me that it is a rare phenomena for the tumor to disappear before surgery. Isn’t that what a miracle is: phenomena?
Prayer: Lord, Quiet our minds when we are fearful. Forgive our sins when we are guilty and hear our words of rejoicing and gratitude when we are healed. Amen
Thought for the Day: The Lord your God will…delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Everything will be OK.
Prayer Focus: Encouragement to those who are fearful, who are guilty and who need to be healed.
Kay Phillips
Verse 17 b: “He will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love…”
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I immediately wondered if the cause of the cancer was something I had done. Did I neglect my health? Did I abuse my body? Was it caused by some stress that I lived under? Was I being punished for some sin I had committed?
Treatment was radiation, chemotherapy, surgery and prayer. Friends and relatives submitted my name to prayer groups. I was amazed to receive cards and letters from various prayer groups around the country in the mail with signatures of people I had never known and people I would not know. These people requested of God that I be healed.
Amazingly, surgery determined that the tumor had totally disappeared. Had it been shrunk to nothingness by radiation or totally dissolved by chemotherapy? Had it disappeared through the miracle of prayer? I do not know. Perhaps all of these are the avenues through which God heals us. The surgeon did say to me that it is a rare phenomena for the tumor to disappear before surgery. Isn’t that what a miracle is: phenomena?
Prayer: Lord, Quiet our minds when we are fearful. Forgive our sins when we are guilty and hear our words of rejoicing and gratitude when we are healed. Amen
Thought for the Day: The Lord your God will…delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Everything will be OK.
Prayer Focus: Encouragement to those who are fearful, who are guilty and who need to be healed.
Kay Phillips
Friday, December 15, 2006
Away in a Manger
“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus, lay down his sweet head,
The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes,
The little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes,
I love the Lord Jesus look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is neigh.
Be near me Lord Jesus I ask thee to stay
Close by me for ever and love me I pray
Bless all all the dear children in they tender care,
And take us to heaven to live with you there.”
The song Away in a Manger, written anonymously in the 1800, is a song that brings back sweet memories of being in Sunday School and church as a child. This was a favorite song for children to be taught and to sing in the “White Christmas Pageant “ the Sunday night before Christmas at the Church. All the children were given a coin holder and asked to fill it up with dimes for the Methodist Children’s Home in Selma, Alabama. This was the home for children who were orphaned or who did not have a relative to take care of them. It was always an exciting time to get to bring your offering card full of dimes down to the front of the church.
Today, we often take up an offering for the Children’s Home, but more than likely the money is just sent in as a contribution from the Church. There are new ways of doing things, but sometimes the old ways are still good too!
At Advent time this year, let us remember the children that Jesus has in his care, the children of the whole world! Let us remember to share our dimes and dollars to help the poor.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep us in your tender care. Keep us close to you this Advent season.
Thought for the Day: Bless the poor children of this world and the poor children right in our own congregation.
The little Lord Jesus, lay down his sweet head,
The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes,
The little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes,
I love the Lord Jesus look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is neigh.
Be near me Lord Jesus I ask thee to stay
Close by me for ever and love me I pray
Bless all all the dear children in they tender care,
And take us to heaven to live with you there.”
The song Away in a Manger, written anonymously in the 1800, is a song that brings back sweet memories of being in Sunday School and church as a child. This was a favorite song for children to be taught and to sing in the “White Christmas Pageant “ the Sunday night before Christmas at the Church. All the children were given a coin holder and asked to fill it up with dimes for the Methodist Children’s Home in Selma, Alabama. This was the home for children who were orphaned or who did not have a relative to take care of them. It was always an exciting time to get to bring your offering card full of dimes down to the front of the church.
Today, we often take up an offering for the Children’s Home, but more than likely the money is just sent in as a contribution from the Church. There are new ways of doing things, but sometimes the old ways are still good too!
At Advent time this year, let us remember the children that Jesus has in his care, the children of the whole world! Let us remember to share our dimes and dollars to help the poor.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep us in your tender care. Keep us close to you this Advent season.
Thought for the Day: Bless the poor children of this world and the poor children right in our own congregation.
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
“Come, thou long expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in thee;
Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.”
“Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever, Now thy gracious Kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to thy glorious throne.”
This Advent hymn was written by Charles Wesley, brother of the founder of the United Methodist tradition of the Christian faith, in the 1760’s. Charles wrote hundreds of hymns for our church. Many are song in our church services each Sunday.
As we think about the words of this hymn, let us think with Charles Wesley about the expectation of the Christ Child. Waiting with great urgency, the people of Israel wanted a king to set them free. They had no idea that it would be a different kind of king. They wanted a military ruler, for that is all they had known, but God had another idea. God had the idea of a king that would bring peace and love to the earth.
As we prepare for the coming of Christmas, let us find hope that God would rule in our hearts alone and that no other voices would keep us from loving each other and living in peace. Truly raise us to the glorious throne of Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Thank you God, You are the joy of our longing heart! Be with us as we prepare for your coming into our lives this Advent.
Thought for the Day: Pray for those looking for rest in Jesus.
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in thee;
Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.”
“Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever, Now thy gracious Kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to thy glorious throne.”
This Advent hymn was written by Charles Wesley, brother of the founder of the United Methodist tradition of the Christian faith, in the 1760’s. Charles wrote hundreds of hymns for our church. Many are song in our church services each Sunday.
As we think about the words of this hymn, let us think with Charles Wesley about the expectation of the Christ Child. Waiting with great urgency, the people of Israel wanted a king to set them free. They had no idea that it would be a different kind of king. They wanted a military ruler, for that is all they had known, but God had another idea. God had the idea of a king that would bring peace and love to the earth.
As we prepare for the coming of Christmas, let us find hope that God would rule in our hearts alone and that no other voices would keep us from loving each other and living in peace. Truly raise us to the glorious throne of Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Thank you God, You are the joy of our longing heart! Be with us as we prepare for your coming into our lives this Advent.
Thought for the Day: Pray for those looking for rest in Jesus.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The Rock of My Salvation
Luke 3: 1-6
John is preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin. He is telling us to make a straight path for the Lord, for all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
After reading Luke, I remember going through some bad times. Sometime I would wonder why I’m going through all these ups and downs. At that time I really didn’t understand why and I didn’t know what to do. But one day I had a Dr.’s appointment and received some bad news. That day I cried because I still couldn’t understand why I was going through this. I honestly felt that my life was not worth any thing. I had no one to talk to or ask for advice. I felt lost, really lost.
Then I remembered something that has kept me going all these years. That was JESUS! I remembered praying Psalm 121. I remembered verses 5-8 and once again I started to cry, not because I was hurting, but because I was happy! I was happy knowing that I did have someone to talk to; someone who knew what I was going through. All I had to do was give it to him and let him take over. At that time, I saw the salvation of God. Like Luke said, “All flesh will see God’s salvation.” Every day I thank Jesus, thanking him for being the rock of my salvation.
Prayer: Lord God, you are so wonderful! You come when we need you the most. You show us love and understand our trouble. God, I just want to say thank you, thank you for being my rock and my guide. Amen.
Thought for the day: Jesus is our rock and our salvation. Thanks be to God.
Leewood Morgan
John is preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin. He is telling us to make a straight path for the Lord, for all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
After reading Luke, I remember going through some bad times. Sometime I would wonder why I’m going through all these ups and downs. At that time I really didn’t understand why and I didn’t know what to do. But one day I had a Dr.’s appointment and received some bad news. That day I cried because I still couldn’t understand why I was going through this. I honestly felt that my life was not worth any thing. I had no one to talk to or ask for advice. I felt lost, really lost.
Then I remembered something that has kept me going all these years. That was JESUS! I remembered praying Psalm 121. I remembered verses 5-8 and once again I started to cry, not because I was hurting, but because I was happy! I was happy knowing that I did have someone to talk to; someone who knew what I was going through. All I had to do was give it to him and let him take over. At that time, I saw the salvation of God. Like Luke said, “All flesh will see God’s salvation.” Every day I thank Jesus, thanking him for being the rock of my salvation.
Prayer: Lord God, you are so wonderful! You come when we need you the most. You show us love and understand our trouble. God, I just want to say thank you, thank you for being my rock and my guide. Amen.
Thought for the day: Jesus is our rock and our salvation. Thanks be to God.
Leewood Morgan
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Love & Faith in Jesus Christ
Read Philemon 1: 3-11
"As you share your faith with others, I pray that they may come to know all the blessings of Jesus Christ has given to us."
Sitting in a jail cell in August 2004 because of drug and alcohol addictions, I called on God for help. I cried out to God in despair and told him this is not the way I want to live my life and that I was doing things I really did not want to be doing. I had a year of clean time and threw it all away to get high again and to go to jail again. This binge lasted six months until this arrest stopped me. I sat in jail many days and my hope began to sparkle as I began to read a Bible sent into the jail by a stranger. I simply believed God's word and believed deliverance from drugs and alcohol is God's will for me. I repented for all my sins and God changed me. I told God I would take Bible's back into jails upon my release. I simply believed God would make a way, and He has provided hundreds of Bibles to inmates. I am now a stranger who takes Bibles into jails.
How Great is Our God!
Prayer: My heart's desire and prayer to God for all is that they will be saved!
Thought for the Day: Once like Onesumes , I was useless as a servant, but now I rejoice in being a servant of Our Great God!
Jill Varney
Prayer Focus: Salvation For All
"As you share your faith with others, I pray that they may come to know all the blessings of Jesus Christ has given to us."
Sitting in a jail cell in August 2004 because of drug and alcohol addictions, I called on God for help. I cried out to God in despair and told him this is not the way I want to live my life and that I was doing things I really did not want to be doing. I had a year of clean time and threw it all away to get high again and to go to jail again. This binge lasted six months until this arrest stopped me. I sat in jail many days and my hope began to sparkle as I began to read a Bible sent into the jail by a stranger. I simply believed God's word and believed deliverance from drugs and alcohol is God's will for me. I repented for all my sins and God changed me. I told God I would take Bible's back into jails upon my release. I simply believed God would make a way, and He has provided hundreds of Bibles to inmates. I am now a stranger who takes Bibles into jails.
How Great is Our God!
Prayer: My heart's desire and prayer to God for all is that they will be saved!
Thought for the Day: Once like Onesumes , I was useless as a servant, but now I rejoice in being a servant of Our Great God!
Jill Varney
Prayer Focus: Salvation For All
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
God Has Raised Up a Mighty Savior for Us
God is able to transform and recreate our boring, broken and hopeless lives. This is not speculation, but the stuff of history.
Zachariah would not believe that God could work in his and Elizabeth’s lives to give birth to a son that would be a great prophet to prepare the way for the Messiah. He was left speechless. How strange this is for a priest, a religious professional in the Hebrew community. Surely Zach had taught and preached how Abraham and Sarah had given birth in their old age to Isaac. And how Elkanah and Hannah had given birth to Samuel by the operation of God in their lives. Zach’s hopeless response to Gabriel, “Do you expect me to believe this?” did not stop God, it just stopped Zach’s joy and his talk.Now Gabriel’s message had unfolded in Zach’s and Elizabeth’s lives. They had joined the unfolding experience of God in human life. John was born! Zach could speak and rejoice again. Please hear this radical message spoken by Zach with his restored joyful voice. Trust it unconditionally. This message will transform and recreate our life this Advent. It is not speculation, it is the stuff of history renewed. It is God’s unfolding story in our very human lives.
God “set the power of salvation in the center of our lives, …So we can worship God without a care in the world, …The offer of salvation to God’s people, the forgiveness of sins,Through the heartfelt mercies of our God. …Showing us the way, one step at a time, down the path of peace.
Luke 1: 68-79 (The Message)
R. Lawton Higgs, Sr.
Zachariah would not believe that God could work in his and Elizabeth’s lives to give birth to a son that would be a great prophet to prepare the way for the Messiah. He was left speechless. How strange this is for a priest, a religious professional in the Hebrew community. Surely Zach had taught and preached how Abraham and Sarah had given birth in their old age to Isaac. And how Elkanah and Hannah had given birth to Samuel by the operation of God in their lives. Zach’s hopeless response to Gabriel, “Do you expect me to believe this?” did not stop God, it just stopped Zach’s joy and his talk.Now Gabriel’s message had unfolded in Zach’s and Elizabeth’s lives. They had joined the unfolding experience of God in human life. John was born! Zach could speak and rejoice again. Please hear this radical message spoken by Zach with his restored joyful voice. Trust it unconditionally. This message will transform and recreate our life this Advent. It is not speculation, it is the stuff of history renewed. It is God’s unfolding story in our very human lives.
God “set the power of salvation in the center of our lives, …So we can worship God without a care in the world, …The offer of salvation to God’s people, the forgiveness of sins,Through the heartfelt mercies of our God. …Showing us the way, one step at a time, down the path of peace.
Luke 1: 68-79 (The Message)
R. Lawton Higgs, Sr.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Preparing the Way
Read Malachi 3: 1-4
"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. --Malachi 3:1 (NIV)
Recently, my family and I moved into our first home. Not long after, a friend and coworker visited from Ohio and, of course, wanted to see our new place. I was very excited, but I got a bit obsessive about the house being perfect when she showed. I cleaned for days. I repaired imperfections in the paint; I scrubbed and swept and mopped and washed the windows.
When my friend arrived, she “oohed and ahhed” over the house and settled in for a visit. I looked up, and just over her head hung a long cobweb! How could I have missed it! All my preparations, and all I could see was the imperfection of my home I should have been so proud of. I let my obsession over things that don’t really matter mar what should have been a joyful time with my friend.
Old Testament scripture tells of messengers sent to prepare the way of the Lord. Malachi speaks of someone who will come as a “refiner,” making us pure and clean. The focus is on preparing the people; there is no mention of preparing our homes or our clothes or any of the things we so often place as important.
God does not care if we have fine possessions. So how to we prepare the way for Christ to become a bigger part our lives? We must concentrate on the things Christ says are important: a clean heart, a kind spirit, a sense of righteousness and justice.
Prayer: O God, help us prepare the way for Christ to be effective in our lives. Amen
Thought for the Day
How can I prepare myself to become a better person?
Karla Higgs
"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. --Malachi 3:1 (NIV)
Recently, my family and I moved into our first home. Not long after, a friend and coworker visited from Ohio and, of course, wanted to see our new place. I was very excited, but I got a bit obsessive about the house being perfect when she showed. I cleaned for days. I repaired imperfections in the paint; I scrubbed and swept and mopped and washed the windows.
When my friend arrived, she “oohed and ahhed” over the house and settled in for a visit. I looked up, and just over her head hung a long cobweb! How could I have missed it! All my preparations, and all I could see was the imperfection of my home I should have been so proud of. I let my obsession over things that don’t really matter mar what should have been a joyful time with my friend.
Old Testament scripture tells of messengers sent to prepare the way of the Lord. Malachi speaks of someone who will come as a “refiner,” making us pure and clean. The focus is on preparing the people; there is no mention of preparing our homes or our clothes or any of the things we so often place as important.
God does not care if we have fine possessions. So how to we prepare the way for Christ to become a bigger part our lives? We must concentrate on the things Christ says are important: a clean heart, a kind spirit, a sense of righteousness and justice.
Prayer: O God, help us prepare the way for Christ to be effective in our lives. Amen
Thought for the Day
How can I prepare myself to become a better person?
Karla Higgs
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Sermon: December 10, 2006
Luke 3:1-16
I. JOHN:
John is the most unlikely Christmas character of all. We travel thirty years ahead, into the future of this story, to hear John’s message. And we find him out in the wilderness. Just look at him standing there with his messed up hair; a scraggly beard; dressed in his camel's hair coat. Mind you he’s not wearing Eddie Bauer or Tommy Hilfiger camel's hair. It's more like home made “whatever he could find” camel’s hair.
And look at his diet. It's not something you'd get at the local McDonald's. Locusts and wild honey? What kind of a McNugget meal would that make?
John just doesn't seem to fit into the general mold of Christmas, yet every year he shows up.
John the Baptist shows up to remind us that even though God speaks to us in the silence; sometimes God speaks to us in the thunder. Through John the Baptist, God uses thunder to get our attention.
John stands at the outskirts of Christmas, in the wilderness of our faith and thunders out his message of repentance to remind us of the true purpose and nature of Christmas.
II. HIS MESSAGE:
A. John intrudes to remind us that Christmas has little to do with all the materialism and commercialism that has taken it over.
B. John the Baptist Challenges us: All that we think religion is about is turned upside down.
C. Christmas Challenges us. That challenge is to totally shake up our world view. Most everything the world defines as important is pushed aside by this homeless, helpless child in a manger. Emmanuel, come to bring us closer to God, and in being close to God in Jesus Christ, to find new life and salvation.
John reminds us that there can be no salvation without judgment; There can be no salvation without judgment. Judgment is being honest before God.
It is very important that we are honest about what is wrong in our life. We must be honest in every area of our life: The personal, in our family, in our social relationships, on the street, in business, in government… in all parts of life… we must be honest about what is going wrong.
Because if we are not honest about it, we will never change. If we are not honest with God, we will never prepare ourselves to receive the wisdom and truth of God.
The ministry of John the Baptist was the task of getting people honest with themselves, and honest before God. John the Baptist ferociously attacked the religious leaders of his day. He called them self-righteous and foolish. He laughed and made fun of them because they were so cut off from the reality of their own arrogance.
“You think because you are the Children of Abraham that you are saved? God could make these stones children of Abraham!” These leaders pretended to be better than the Gentiles, better than the Samaritans, better than the so-called “sinners.” John laughed at them. John knew that Everyone: no matter who, no matter what, stands before God.
None of us can measure up. All of us must humble ourselves in honest reflection of the truth of who we are: sinners in need of redemption. There can be no salvation without judgment.
If you want to get closer to God, you need to get honest.
But, Thanks be to God that judgment is not the last word. John the Baptist was not just about judgment. John the Baptist was also about repentance and the forgiveness of sins.
With repentance comes forgiveness. With repentance and forgiveness comes New Life, reconciliation, and hope. When we get honest before God, we build a highway, made straight by the Spirit, for God to come into our life in a new way.
Are you preparing yourself for the coming of the Lord into your life?
Just as John the Baptist prepared the people for the Messiah with his DEMAND to get honest; the Holy Spirit is pulling at you, urging you to prepare yourself for the coming of Christ into your life. Get honest; get forgiveness; get new life in Jesus Christ.
What does John’s message of honesty and judgment mean for us today?
Our Government needs to hear the judgment, confess, and get honest before God about what’s really going on in Iraq. Corporate Empire. The immoral, unlawful war that has led to the deaths of a hundred thousand people. If we get honest, and change, then there will be new life and reconciliation.
Our State needs to hear the judgment, confess, and get honest before God about the tax system in Alabama: The most regressive tax system in America. Our City needs to hear the judgment, confess, and get honest before God about chronic homelessness in Birmingham. We need a Living wage; affordable housing; effective transportation.
--But it’s not just about that: We’ve got to deal with our own, personal issues as well.
We’ve got to get honest before God about our addictions: Crack Cocaine, Alcohol, Methamphetamines, whatever it may be…
The judgment is that these things will destroy us. The hope is that if you get honest before God, you can find redemption and salvation.
Prepare yourself for what God can do in your life. Prepare yourself. Open the door. Christ will come into your life, just as Jesus came to Mary, born in Bethlehem. Get Honest; Get forgiveness; Prepare the way IN YOUR LIFE for the coming of Christ, Emmanuel.
Kevin Higgs
I. JOHN:
John is the most unlikely Christmas character of all. We travel thirty years ahead, into the future of this story, to hear John’s message. And we find him out in the wilderness. Just look at him standing there with his messed up hair; a scraggly beard; dressed in his camel's hair coat. Mind you he’s not wearing Eddie Bauer or Tommy Hilfiger camel's hair. It's more like home made “whatever he could find” camel’s hair.
And look at his diet. It's not something you'd get at the local McDonald's. Locusts and wild honey? What kind of a McNugget meal would that make?
John just doesn't seem to fit into the general mold of Christmas, yet every year he shows up.
John the Baptist shows up to remind us that even though God speaks to us in the silence; sometimes God speaks to us in the thunder. Through John the Baptist, God uses thunder to get our attention.
John stands at the outskirts of Christmas, in the wilderness of our faith and thunders out his message of repentance to remind us of the true purpose and nature of Christmas.
II. HIS MESSAGE:
A. John intrudes to remind us that Christmas has little to do with all the materialism and commercialism that has taken it over.
B. John the Baptist Challenges us: All that we think religion is about is turned upside down.
C. Christmas Challenges us. That challenge is to totally shake up our world view. Most everything the world defines as important is pushed aside by this homeless, helpless child in a manger. Emmanuel, come to bring us closer to God, and in being close to God in Jesus Christ, to find new life and salvation.
John reminds us that there can be no salvation without judgment; There can be no salvation without judgment. Judgment is being honest before God.
It is very important that we are honest about what is wrong in our life. We must be honest in every area of our life: The personal, in our family, in our social relationships, on the street, in business, in government… in all parts of life… we must be honest about what is going wrong.
Because if we are not honest about it, we will never change. If we are not honest with God, we will never prepare ourselves to receive the wisdom and truth of God.
The ministry of John the Baptist was the task of getting people honest with themselves, and honest before God. John the Baptist ferociously attacked the religious leaders of his day. He called them self-righteous and foolish. He laughed and made fun of them because they were so cut off from the reality of their own arrogance.
“You think because you are the Children of Abraham that you are saved? God could make these stones children of Abraham!” These leaders pretended to be better than the Gentiles, better than the Samaritans, better than the so-called “sinners.” John laughed at them. John knew that Everyone: no matter who, no matter what, stands before God.
None of us can measure up. All of us must humble ourselves in honest reflection of the truth of who we are: sinners in need of redemption. There can be no salvation without judgment.
If you want to get closer to God, you need to get honest.
But, Thanks be to God that judgment is not the last word. John the Baptist was not just about judgment. John the Baptist was also about repentance and the forgiveness of sins.
With repentance comes forgiveness. With repentance and forgiveness comes New Life, reconciliation, and hope. When we get honest before God, we build a highway, made straight by the Spirit, for God to come into our life in a new way.
Are you preparing yourself for the coming of the Lord into your life?
Just as John the Baptist prepared the people for the Messiah with his DEMAND to get honest; the Holy Spirit is pulling at you, urging you to prepare yourself for the coming of Christ into your life. Get honest; get forgiveness; get new life in Jesus Christ.
What does John’s message of honesty and judgment mean for us today?
Our Government needs to hear the judgment, confess, and get honest before God about what’s really going on in Iraq. Corporate Empire. The immoral, unlawful war that has led to the deaths of a hundred thousand people. If we get honest, and change, then there will be new life and reconciliation.
Our State needs to hear the judgment, confess, and get honest before God about the tax system in Alabama: The most regressive tax system in America. Our City needs to hear the judgment, confess, and get honest before God about chronic homelessness in Birmingham. We need a Living wage; affordable housing; effective transportation.
--But it’s not just about that: We’ve got to deal with our own, personal issues as well.
We’ve got to get honest before God about our addictions: Crack Cocaine, Alcohol, Methamphetamines, whatever it may be…
The judgment is that these things will destroy us. The hope is that if you get honest before God, you can find redemption and salvation.
Prepare yourself for what God can do in your life. Prepare yourself. Open the door. Christ will come into your life, just as Jesus came to Mary, born in Bethlehem. Get Honest; Get forgiveness; Prepare the way IN YOUR LIFE for the coming of Christ, Emmanuel.
Kevin Higgs
Friday, December 08, 2006
Lo, How a Rose E‘er Blooming
I love winter. The air is cold and refreshing-not heavy and hot.
The landscape is stark and simple. I love to look out the frosty window and see the contrast of the dark, wet bark of the naked trees against the cold, blue sky. I also enjoy the rare discovery of a camellia bloom next to frosty leaves. This bloom is a small sign of hope of the spring to come. Winter is a time for nature to regenerate and rest. Not everyone shares my enjoyment of the season. Actually, many people laugh when I say that winter is my favorite time of the year. They say that winter is dark and can be gloomy. The days are short and the nights are cold and long. For many people, winter can be a depressing time when we feel cold and alone in the harshness of the world.
Advent is a time of reflection and waiting. It is the winter of the church year. We are waiting for and pondering the meaning of the birth of the Messiah. One of the hymns that we sing during Advent highlights this reflective mood-“Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming.” The words to this song were written in the 15th century in Germany. It has been sung for centuries in a hushed tone-whispering a message of hope from a dark and cold winter.
“Lo how a rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as those of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night!.”
Prayer: O Lord, Thank you for the stark beauty of winter and for the flower that blooms in the frost. Help us to find the beauty of Christmas in the harshness of winter and our lives.
Thought for the Day: “This flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air, dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere. True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us, and lightens every load.”
Beth Ann Higgs
The landscape is stark and simple. I love to look out the frosty window and see the contrast of the dark, wet bark of the naked trees against the cold, blue sky. I also enjoy the rare discovery of a camellia bloom next to frosty leaves. This bloom is a small sign of hope of the spring to come. Winter is a time for nature to regenerate and rest. Not everyone shares my enjoyment of the season. Actually, many people laugh when I say that winter is my favorite time of the year. They say that winter is dark and can be gloomy. The days are short and the nights are cold and long. For many people, winter can be a depressing time when we feel cold and alone in the harshness of the world.
Advent is a time of reflection and waiting. It is the winter of the church year. We are waiting for and pondering the meaning of the birth of the Messiah. One of the hymns that we sing during Advent highlights this reflective mood-“Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming.” The words to this song were written in the 15th century in Germany. It has been sung for centuries in a hushed tone-whispering a message of hope from a dark and cold winter.
“Lo how a rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as those of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night!.”
Prayer: O Lord, Thank you for the stark beauty of winter and for the flower that blooms in the frost. Help us to find the beauty of Christmas in the harshness of winter and our lives.
Thought for the Day: “This flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air, dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere. True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us, and lightens every load.”
Beth Ann Higgs
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Luke 21:25-36
"The sky and the earth won't last forever, but my words will. Don't spend time worrying about your life. Instead, be prepared for the final day."(Selected verses from Luke 21:25-36)
In the midst of joyful preparation for celebrating our Savior's birth, we have these cautious words from St. Luke. The passage is talking about the end times when we should prepare for Jesus' final coming. Varied interpretations and much speculation about these times can confuse us, so let's focus on the present and what we can learn about Jesus' first coming! We should not spend time worrying about earthly things but center our thoughts on how to appreciate and accept this beautiful gift and then to live our lives in gratitude.
The message for us in the Advent season is one of watchful waiting. How long the Jews awaited a Savior! What joy that now we know Him! History and our lives are not meaningless. The Christian concept is that Jesus Christ is, and eternally will be, Lord of all. As the magi watched the heavens and the shepherds heard the angels sing, let us watch and prepare to seek the Child and live in the shadow of eternity which begins when this amazing Son of God is born in our hearts.
Prayer: Precious Lord, as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, help us to use this time of waiting to more fully appreciate the gift of Jesus and to live our everyday lives in the light of eternity. Amen.
Thought for the day: Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
Margaret Sherrill
In the midst of joyful preparation for celebrating our Savior's birth, we have these cautious words from St. Luke. The passage is talking about the end times when we should prepare for Jesus' final coming. Varied interpretations and much speculation about these times can confuse us, so let's focus on the present and what we can learn about Jesus' first coming! We should not spend time worrying about earthly things but center our thoughts on how to appreciate and accept this beautiful gift and then to live our lives in gratitude.
The message for us in the Advent season is one of watchful waiting. How long the Jews awaited a Savior! What joy that now we know Him! History and our lives are not meaningless. The Christian concept is that Jesus Christ is, and eternally will be, Lord of all. As the magi watched the heavens and the shepherds heard the angels sing, let us watch and prepare to seek the Child and live in the shadow of eternity which begins when this amazing Son of God is born in our hearts.
Prayer: Precious Lord, as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, help us to use this time of waiting to more fully appreciate the gift of Jesus and to live our everyday lives in the light of eternity. Amen.
Thought for the day: Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
Margaret Sherrill
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Authentic Hopefulness
1 Thess. 3: 9-13
Authentic hopefulness is important to being fully alive. Authentic hopefulness is rooted deeply in the waters of the Great Underground River that no one can dam up and no man can stop. It flows through all that is and includes our lives. There are times when glimpsing authentic faith, hope and love in others is renewing to our own. In The Message, a paraphrase of the above scripture by Eugene L. Peterson, Paul says to fellow followers of the Way in Thessalonica, Knowing that your faith is alive keeps us alive. Paul was in the middle of trouble and hard times when he wrote this.
Individually, all of us experience trouble and hard times. Collectively as humans in the cosmic drama of our evolvement, we also experience trouble and hard times. There are times when our individual trouble and hard times are a result of our immature attitudes and/or actions or inactions. But trouble and hard times do not necessarily mean we are always the direct cause of our distress. We have to honestly assess this. Trouble and hard times may also be a threshold for growth and development, both individually and collectively. During any time of difficulty and distress, authentic hopefulness helps us to survive and to keep us genuinely alive.
The Winter Solstice is a specific time as well as a metaphorical time when hopefulness is essential to keeping us alive when in the midst ofseemingly unrelenting hardship and darkness beyond our control. During December we will experience the Winter Solstice, a cosmic event beyond our control. Our part is how we respond to what we cannot control. Our response effects whether we emerge with hopefulness or depression and despair. We always have influence even when we do not have control. There is challenge for me here and I often need renewal of authentic hopefulness.
There is a song "I Am the Solstice" which says things I tend to forget. The following are portions of that song.
"I watch with loving eyes, it is my season. I release all fear and nourish the Truth. I bring peace and the stillness which comes from deep within. I bring rest and the gentle white snow that heals. I am forgiveness and through me you will forgive the past. Believe in me, the peace you seek is here...Come dance in the light of your spirit Be grateful that you and I are one. Accept yourself in Love and Truth with Me. We'll transform all things. In our embrace comes spring, new birth and life again."
It is my conclusion that much of the trouble and hard times we experience have to do with our individual and collective immaturity and that we are in a time of unfolding need for collective change, change which may be difficult for us individually and collectively but finally easier thanthe way of our current paradigm (model of how to live).
Teilhard de Chardin, the outstanding French 20th century scientist, priest and mystic came to believe through his studies, prayers and meditations that the cosmos in which we live has a repetitive pattern of expanding diversity, consolidating synthesis, a build up of pressure and then a leap across a frontier in which something new, good and exciting emerges which was always present but unimaginable until it visibly emerged. And he concluded that up till now the creative energy of the universe (The Cosmic Christ) has brought this about without human involvement (we were not present when much of this was happening). But now, as the youngest member of the cosmic family, we humans must dare to learn how to cooperate with the Divine intention in order for the process to continue forward. A part of this means we must authentically learn to cooperate with, value, and trust one another and all other aspects of the cosmic family. This is our metaphorical Winter Solstice and we are in it now.
To me authentic faith has always been about authentic hopefulness in the face of both the individual and the collective challenges we face. May we embrace the Winter Solstice individually, collectively, and metaphorically in ways that are supportive of the emergence of the good that as yet we do not see or imagine but is poised to emerge, that we may be alive.
Prayer: May the Spirit of Christ so fill us with authentic hope that new hope may be born in this century through us as it was born 2000 years ago through our elder brother, Jesus of Nazareth. AMEN
Thought for Today: There are new attitudes, understandings and actions that can nurture authentic hopefulness for me and for those I live among. I will look for them.
Glenn Hand-Truitt
Authentic hopefulness is important to being fully alive. Authentic hopefulness is rooted deeply in the waters of the Great Underground River that no one can dam up and no man can stop. It flows through all that is and includes our lives. There are times when glimpsing authentic faith, hope and love in others is renewing to our own. In The Message, a paraphrase of the above scripture by Eugene L. Peterson, Paul says to fellow followers of the Way in Thessalonica, Knowing that your faith is alive keeps us alive. Paul was in the middle of trouble and hard times when he wrote this.
Individually, all of us experience trouble and hard times. Collectively as humans in the cosmic drama of our evolvement, we also experience trouble and hard times. There are times when our individual trouble and hard times are a result of our immature attitudes and/or actions or inactions. But trouble and hard times do not necessarily mean we are always the direct cause of our distress. We have to honestly assess this. Trouble and hard times may also be a threshold for growth and development, both individually and collectively. During any time of difficulty and distress, authentic hopefulness helps us to survive and to keep us genuinely alive.
The Winter Solstice is a specific time as well as a metaphorical time when hopefulness is essential to keeping us alive when in the midst ofseemingly unrelenting hardship and darkness beyond our control. During December we will experience the Winter Solstice, a cosmic event beyond our control. Our part is how we respond to what we cannot control. Our response effects whether we emerge with hopefulness or depression and despair. We always have influence even when we do not have control. There is challenge for me here and I often need renewal of authentic hopefulness.
There is a song "I Am the Solstice" which says things I tend to forget. The following are portions of that song.
"I watch with loving eyes, it is my season. I release all fear and nourish the Truth. I bring peace and the stillness which comes from deep within. I bring rest and the gentle white snow that heals. I am forgiveness and through me you will forgive the past. Believe in me, the peace you seek is here...Come dance in the light of your spirit Be grateful that you and I are one. Accept yourself in Love and Truth with Me. We'll transform all things. In our embrace comes spring, new birth and life again."
It is my conclusion that much of the trouble and hard times we experience have to do with our individual and collective immaturity and that we are in a time of unfolding need for collective change, change which may be difficult for us individually and collectively but finally easier thanthe way of our current paradigm (model of how to live).
Teilhard de Chardin, the outstanding French 20th century scientist, priest and mystic came to believe through his studies, prayers and meditations that the cosmos in which we live has a repetitive pattern of expanding diversity, consolidating synthesis, a build up of pressure and then a leap across a frontier in which something new, good and exciting emerges which was always present but unimaginable until it visibly emerged. And he concluded that up till now the creative energy of the universe (The Cosmic Christ) has brought this about without human involvement (we were not present when much of this was happening). But now, as the youngest member of the cosmic family, we humans must dare to learn how to cooperate with the Divine intention in order for the process to continue forward. A part of this means we must authentically learn to cooperate with, value, and trust one another and all other aspects of the cosmic family. This is our metaphorical Winter Solstice and we are in it now.
To me authentic faith has always been about authentic hopefulness in the face of both the individual and the collective challenges we face. May we embrace the Winter Solstice individually, collectively, and metaphorically in ways that are supportive of the emergence of the good that as yet we do not see or imagine but is poised to emerge, that we may be alive.
Prayer: May the Spirit of Christ so fill us with authentic hope that new hope may be born in this century through us as it was born 2000 years ago through our elder brother, Jesus of Nazareth. AMEN
Thought for Today: There are new attitudes, understandings and actions that can nurture authentic hopefulness for me and for those I live among. I will look for them.
Glenn Hand-Truitt
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
What is your Motto?
Jeremiah 33: 14-16
n that day the people of Judah and Jerusalem shall live in safety and their motto will be, “The Lord is our righteousness!” (The Living Bible)
What is your Motto ?
The Lord is our Righteousness will be the motto of the people of Judah and Jerusalem in the days of the Lord’s coming. That is a good motto to have! It means being right with the Lord, doing the things that are pleasing to God.
What might that be? You could start by loving your neighbor! You could treat others as you would like to be treated! You could become a servant to your fellow (man or woman) rather than trying to one-up them in every situation! Your priority in life would be to follow Jesus and do as he would have you to do. It would be to work for peace in your life and peace in the world!
In our commercial life of the 21st century we hear a lot of mottos tossed around. Coke is the “real thing.” “Things go better with Coke.” Every business has a motto that is catchy and one that hopefully you will remember Sometimes there is even a song that goes along with the words to refresh your memory.
In this Advent season we are praying for a renewal of our lives as we remember Jesus’ birth. What kind of motto will you remember during this holy time. One that I would recommend is, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” It has been around a long time, but it is still relevant today. Sometimes we forget that the whole season of Advent and Christmas centers around one little baby, born to a poor, homeless couple who is the Savior of the world.
So, this Advent, let “Jesus is the reason for the season “ be your motto!
Prayer: Loving God, open up our minds to the motto of “Jesus is the reason for the season “ this year during Advent. Help us to live our motto in all that we say and do. Amen
Thought for the Day: Let our motto be “Jesus is the reason for the season.”
Nancy DeVore Higgs
n that day the people of Judah and Jerusalem shall live in safety and their motto will be, “The Lord is our righteousness!” (The Living Bible)
What is your Motto ?
The Lord is our Righteousness will be the motto of the people of Judah and Jerusalem in the days of the Lord’s coming. That is a good motto to have! It means being right with the Lord, doing the things that are pleasing to God.
What might that be? You could start by loving your neighbor! You could treat others as you would like to be treated! You could become a servant to your fellow (man or woman) rather than trying to one-up them in every situation! Your priority in life would be to follow Jesus and do as he would have you to do. It would be to work for peace in your life and peace in the world!
In our commercial life of the 21st century we hear a lot of mottos tossed around. Coke is the “real thing.” “Things go better with Coke.” Every business has a motto that is catchy and one that hopefully you will remember Sometimes there is even a song that goes along with the words to refresh your memory.
In this Advent season we are praying for a renewal of our lives as we remember Jesus’ birth. What kind of motto will you remember during this holy time. One that I would recommend is, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” It has been around a long time, but it is still relevant today. Sometimes we forget that the whole season of Advent and Christmas centers around one little baby, born to a poor, homeless couple who is the Savior of the world.
So, this Advent, let “Jesus is the reason for the season “ be your motto!
Prayer: Loving God, open up our minds to the motto of “Jesus is the reason for the season “ this year during Advent. Help us to live our motto in all that we say and do. Amen
Thought for the Day: Let our motto be “Jesus is the reason for the season.”
Nancy DeVore Higgs
Monday, December 04, 2006
Advent, a Time of Hope
Psalm 25: 1-7 I offer you my heart, Lord God, and I trust you. Don’t make me ashamed or let enemies defeat me. Don’t disappoint any of your worshipers, but disappoint all deceitful liars. Show me your paths and teach me to follow; guide me by your truth and instruct me. You keep me safe, and I always trust you. Please, Lord, remember, you have always been patient and kind. Forget each wrong I did when I was young. Show how truly kind you are and remember me.
It is easy to open one’s heart to God when times are good. It is not hard to trust in God when all is well. But unfortunately, we all face difficult times. And whether our difficulties involve the enemy of addiction, a difficult neighbor or coworker, or a warring nation, it seems to be human nature to pray to God, as David did, that our enemies not defeat us.
What are we asking when we ask that our enemies not defeat us? What was David asking? The simplest answer is that, of course, we hope our enemies will fail and be defeated themselves. But perhaps David was asking instead for strength to prevail against his enemies, whatever may happen to them. Addiction can never truly be defeated, but many have, with God’s help, prevailed against it. Difficulties with neighbors or coworkers can be resolved. And even the longest war eventually ends, although it can be impossible to say who is the winner after years of death and destruction.
And once we have prevailed, our hearts are open. We trust in the goodness of God. But during the journey, how many of us can truly say we struggle through without doubt? When it seems that no one is on our side, when circumstances are at their most difficult, that is when it is most important to have hope, to trust in God that we will prevail. To believe that God will see us through.
When we have hope, we will not be disappointed. When we believe, we will see God’s paths and be guided by truth.
As we enter the season of Advent, it is appropriate to remember that it is the season of hope. Hope in a little child. Hope that a new life, which humbly begins in manger, will change the world.
Open your heart. Trust in God. Hang on to hope. Hope in recovery. Hope in others. Hope in peace.
Thought for the Day: What is your hope for your life in the coming year?
Prayer Focus: Those who feel they are alone and without hope.
Marti Slay
It is easy to open one’s heart to God when times are good. It is not hard to trust in God when all is well. But unfortunately, we all face difficult times. And whether our difficulties involve the enemy of addiction, a difficult neighbor or coworker, or a warring nation, it seems to be human nature to pray to God, as David did, that our enemies not defeat us.
What are we asking when we ask that our enemies not defeat us? What was David asking? The simplest answer is that, of course, we hope our enemies will fail and be defeated themselves. But perhaps David was asking instead for strength to prevail against his enemies, whatever may happen to them. Addiction can never truly be defeated, but many have, with God’s help, prevailed against it. Difficulties with neighbors or coworkers can be resolved. And even the longest war eventually ends, although it can be impossible to say who is the winner after years of death and destruction.
And once we have prevailed, our hearts are open. We trust in the goodness of God. But during the journey, how many of us can truly say we struggle through without doubt? When it seems that no one is on our side, when circumstances are at their most difficult, that is when it is most important to have hope, to trust in God that we will prevail. To believe that God will see us through.
When we have hope, we will not be disappointed. When we believe, we will see God’s paths and be guided by truth.
As we enter the season of Advent, it is appropriate to remember that it is the season of hope. Hope in a little child. Hope that a new life, which humbly begins in manger, will change the world.
Open your heart. Trust in God. Hang on to hope. Hope in recovery. Hope in others. Hope in peace.
Thought for the Day: What is your hope for your life in the coming year?
Prayer Focus: Those who feel they are alone and without hope.
Marti Slay
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Sermon: Christ the King Sunday
John 18:33-37
INTRODUCTION:
Does anybody else remember the phrase "out of this world"? We used to use it to describe the indescribable. Whether it was a hot fudge sundae, a musical group or some very attractive person that took our breathe away. They all could be described as being "out of this world."
That's the way I would describe the cooking at our church Common Meal. It's so good it will make your tongue slap your eye clear out of your head. It's "out of this world."
Someone once described Christianity this way: "Things aren’t always perfect, but the benefits are out of this world."
And that's how Jesus described His Kingdom when questioned by Pilate. Well, actually Jesus said, "NOT of this world." But you get the idea. Jesus was making a distinction between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. Pilate understood what Kingdom meant: The Kingdom of Rome RULED the world with brutality. Obviously, that was the only “Kingdom” he knew.
But what is this Kingdom Jesus talked so much about? How are we supposed to understand it?
Whatever this kingdom is, we want it to be simple, easy to understand. How sweet is the sound of anything untainted by complexity, anything uncluttered or un-muddled by controversy. We long for the straightforward yes or no.
But we have to be careful: As playwright Oscar Wilde once noted, “The truth is seldom plain and never simple.” Sometimes its necessary to walk through the mess of our flawed assumptions before we find our way to the truth. Maybe that’s what Jesus was trying to get Pilate to see.
Pontius Pilate wanted a simple answer from Jesus. “Are you the King of the Jews?” Spit it out, Yes or No. Answer plainly. Above all, answer briefly. “Are you the king of the Jews?” The question is clear enough, isn’t it? Lets hear it, Jesus. “Are you the King of the Jews?”
I cannot help but think that Pilate asked the question with some sense of amusement.
There stood Jesus, battered by a night of brutal interrogation and abuse. He had been ushered before Pilate with insults.
He was unaccompanied by an entourage, in fact all of his disciples had fled. He was unsupported by an army. His position was certainly not fit for a king, not by Pilate’s standards.
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
The very idea that the bruised and battered man that stood before him could be taken for a king must have seemed funny to Pilate. He allowed his soldiers to humiliate Jesus. They mocked him, shoving a crown of thorns on his head, and bowed before him in jest. King Jesus, indeed. There was nothing royal in this appearance. At least nothing that could be seen by Pilate’s eye.
You see, Pilate’s eye had been trained by what he had previously seen of kings. He knew only of kings whose reign was sustained by violence and oppression. A king who was not a power-broker was without meaning to Pilate. You see, Pilate was impressed with the murder and treachery of Herod the Great, or the domination and oppression of Tiberius Caesar. These men did not hesitate to put to death their rivals on trumped-up charges. The earthly glory of Rome filled the mind of anyone who thought of Kingly power. With all of this as a backdrop, Pilate asked Jesus if he were King as if it were some kind of a joke.
However, in the face of all this, Jesus told Pilate the truth. The truth was to difficult for him to understand. The truth was not as obvious to the eye as Pilate had thought. The truth is not always what you think you see.
Jesus cut to the heart of the matter. Jesus told Pilate what his kingdom is about, and where his authority is from. “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to you. My kingdom is not from here.”
Not of this world. No turf to protect. No borders to defend. No soldiers to train and arm. No enforced subjugation of the people. A kingdom without coercion. A kingdom made up of people who say no to violence. That is Jesus’ kingdom. A kingdom of justice, and peace, and love.
There have always been those who believed that power comes out of the end of a gun, or by the edge of the sword.
But Jesus knew that the only power that matters is the power that comes by following the will of God in peace. Jesus shows us the truth that domination and manipulation of people are not the true signs of power. Certainly not the sign of God. The grasp of control and the capacity to coerce are not nothing but human folly… that leads to destruction.
True power is seen in the love that does not lash out in fear and violence. True power hangs from a cross in self-giving love. True power in our lives is in picking up that same cross and following Jesus.
From first to last, the royal power of Jesus was seen in his sacrificial life of self-giving love. It was seen his powerful ministry of healing and hope he gave this world; it was seen in the sacrifice he made on the cross, but most of all, it was seen in the empty tomb that declared his kingdom to be without end. All of these things made the eternal and lasting statement about the quality of his kingship.
Brothers and sisters, when we allow the loving quality of Jesus’ kingdom to capture our imagination, to rule our lives, then we will we discover what the self-giving grace of God really means for our lives.
In Michael Tournier’s novel The Four Wise Men, a young prince named Taor is deposed of all his worldly authority by a violent revolution. Prince Taor’s royalty had been reduced to rags.
He resented the poverty into which he had fallen. Daily he dreamed of retaking the throne that was rightfully his and exercising the power that was his birthright. But, in this story, as a refugee, he encounters the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. After seeing the Christ child, his perspective was forever changed.
Someone asked Prince Taor, “What did Bethlehem teach you about power?” The prince answered, “The example of the crib... taught me the strength of humility, the irresistible truth of being non-violent, the law of forgiveness... In view of all this, my past is obsolete. All of my future at the feet of this child.”
This is the lesson that all of us need to re-learn today: If Jesus is our King, our lives should be about seeking God’s kingdom. All other kingdoms are obsolete.
Let us follow King Jesus who calls us to love mercy, seek justice, and walk humbly with God.
To be people of this odd King Jesus, I believe we need to be different from the status quo. Nothing else will satisfy us if we are seeking the truth of God found in the kingdom of God.
Of course, being different is not always easy. And I realize that there is no virtue in being different just for different’s sake. Rather, we are called to be different for Christ’s sake. We are called to be different for the sake of the Kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven.
If Jesus is our King, if we are loyal to his reign, then our response to the world will be different. If we are in step with the God revealed in Jesus Christ, then we are bound to be out of step with those who follow a worldly kingdom, who live only for love of self, love of money, love of only their nation, or their race, or their position in life. We are called to be different in showing the love of Jesus to others.
We are to have the values of Jesus: justice, peace, forgiveness, redemption.
Perhaps the majority who live their own way will scoff at us and consider us to be “cranks.” But if so, then I’ll say what the writer E.F. Schumacher once said: “I would rather be known as a crank, because a crank is a part of a small personally-operated machine which gets something done.” If we are faithful to Christ the King, our lives will show a faithfulness that will cause something being done for God’s kingdom.
Pilot asked Jesus “What is truth?” Here is the answer: The truth, God’s truth, is the Kingdom of God. A kingdom that is known in the self-giving love of Jesus, a kingdom that is known in the self-giving love of you and me.
Is Jesus your king? Are you living a NEW LIFE following the commandments of God? Are you living in Jesus’ Kingdom… Remember: All other kingdoms are obsolete.
Kevin Higgs
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Sermon: Mark 10
Mark 10:35-45
James & John just did not understand. They just didn’t get it. One can just imagine the expression on Jesus’ face when James & John came up to him and asked him if they could have these seats of glory. Had they not listened? Did they not yet know? Over and again, Jesus had taught them. Time after time, Jesus had demonstrated by action and by word what true greatness, what true glory was about, but James and John did not understand.
They had just seen the rich young man come up to Jesus, trying to prove his greatness to the Lord, only to have been redirected to the true spiritual journey of humility. Only days before, Jesus had interrupted an argument among the disciples about who was the greatest. The greatest among you is the one who puts others first, and themselves last.
How clear could you get? Has not Jesus’ teachings been crystal clear. Yet, hear we are again. James and John just did not understand.
This time, the argument was about personal glory and positions of power. Whatever happened, James and John wanted to be in charge. James & John begin to see visions of their own glory, expectations of how good it will be for them, forgetting their life of discipleship, forgetting the spiritual journey to which they have been called. James and John forgot Jesus’ teachings.
It is easy for us to forget. It is easy for us to think about our own glory, our own interests, our own desires, and to forget about the needs of others, forget about the true meaning of being a disciple of Christ.
To have any glory in our own life, we must set aside the tempting vision of finding Personal Privilege, but by the grace of God, put on the likeness of Christ, who chose not to be served, but to find glory in serving others.
St. Francis of Assisi is a figure familiar to us all. He was the man who began the Franciscan order, a revival monastic movement in the early 13th century that has continued into our own time. St. Francis is a well known figure in the life of the church.
The simplicity and poverty, the humility and life of service that characterize him and those who have joined his movement, is known all over the world. Yet, there was a time in Francis’ life, when he did not understand. There was a time when he saw only his own glory, and did not know the way of Jesus.
Francis was born to a wealthy family in the city of Assisi. His father was a merchant who was always away on business. Francis was brought up to take his father’s place, to run the business. He was well educated, and lived the fashionable life of a young aristocrat among the wealthy Italian elite.
Francis was a warrior, he fought in the major battles of that day, leading men waging war, seeking their glory in battle. Yet he felt the emptiness of this type of so called glory. Francis had a deeper yearning in his heart. There was in his soul a calling to a life more fulfilling. There was a calling to the richness found in a life following the glory of God, not in seeking glory for oneself.
Francis went on a pilgrimage to Rome, which was common in that day. He went more out of sense of duty than out of desire; but something happened while he was on that journey.
Francis saw beggars sitting outside the great church in Rome. In the midst of all of the grandeur of the church, its wealth and it so-called earthly glory, here were beggars. The poor and the destitute filled the streets of Rome, the richest city in the world.
The contradiction deeply disturbed him. How could the church of Christ, surrounded by all this wealth, reconcile having beggars sit outside its doors? Francis saw how people treated them. With disregard and abuse, the beggars suffered to make it through the day.
In response to a deep yearning in his soul, Francis was touched by the grace of God. Francis decided that he would sit with the beggars. He decided that, instead of judging the beggars, he would sit with them, get to know them, and come to understand who they were.
Why would such a wealthy man, with such a bright future risk it all and do such a thing? Deep in his soul, Francis was touched by the Grace of God. He began to understand that it is not in judging others that we are made right with God and our neighbor; It is not is glorifying ourselves that we are made right with God and our neighbor; Rather, it is in serving God by serving our neighbor that do the will of God.
This experience led Francis to take other risks of service. He began caring for the lepers in his community. He began praying, fasting, and reading scripture. One day, in the ruins of an old church on the outskirts of his town, Francis felt he hear the voice of Christ, tell him to rebuild this church and make it a house that cared for the poor.
Francis took his money and, to the dismay of his father, gave to the priest. In the next few years, Francis rebuilt four old churches in his city, by tirelessly seeking money and support from everyone he encountered.
In the year 1209 while assisting at Holy Communion in a church near Assisi, Francis came to understand the words of Christ as a personal admonition to a life of peace, simplicity and poverty, and thereafter resolved to live a life preaching repentance, brotherly love and a life of peace with all of God’s creatures.
Instead of searching for glory for oneself, Francis chose to live a life of humility. When he was a young man, Francis did not understand. He thought that life as about finding glory for himself.
But God stirred up a deep yearning in his soul, that was brought to the surface when he encountered brothers and sisters in need. Francis looked upon those people in need with the eyes of Christ, given by the grace of God, and Francis could never again turn away.
When we open our eyes to the need around us, when we stop just looking our for our own glory, then the eyes of Christ can be seen in us.
Author Schiendler was a business man. He was a business man in Poland in the late 1930’s. Mr. Schiendler knew how to make a fast buck. The Nazi’s had come rolling in with little opposition, and Mr. Schiendler began thinking how he might profit from the political and social changes that were underway.
It soon became obvious what the Germans were going to do with the Jewish community.
Seizing their property and forcing over a million people into only 16 square blocks, the Germans created the Krakow Ghetto, and required all Jews to live their under guard.
Mr. Schiendler saw this as an opportunity to make alot of money. First, Mr. Schiendler took the money of the Jewish people and invested it in his own name in a business venture that would profit from the war. Then, by bribing Nazi officials, Mr. Schiendler gained permission to allow hundreds of Jews to work as slave labor.
Mr. Schiendler was a despicable man. He compromised what few honorable qualities he had by joining in with the evil of the Nazi movement for his own profit. Some might call this Worldly Glory, worldly wealth, made at the expense of other people… That’s a very popular thing ya know…
But something changed Mr. Scheindler. It didn’t happen quickly, there was no immediate conversion. But over the months that he working along side these Jewish people, he started to became friends with them. He began to respect some of them, not as just objects that he could exploit for money, but began to know them as people. In particular was an accountant that he allowed to keep his books. Mr. Schienddler came to know this man as a valuable friend.
As the years pasted, the war began to turn. The Nazis, feeling the pressure of the war on their resources, began what was known as the Final Solution: The final solution to their hatred of the Jews. They took the Jews out of the Ghetto into concentration camps, and began to exterminate them.
It was here that Mr. Schiendler’s transformation became complete. The more he saw the brutality and horror of what was done, the more he began to see who he really was, the more he became ashamed of what he had done. He had become a millionaire off the abuse of other people. Mr. Schiendler began to help the Jewish people. He could only do so much in the midst of the horror of the Holocaust, but he did what he could. He began to defend those who had been working for him. He hid his concerns behind a veil of claiming to need trained workers. He made lists of his workers, trying to keep them out of the concentration camps, trying to keep them alive.
Finally, near the end in 1945, the order came to kill them all, even those who Mr. Schiendler had defended as necessary for production. At great risk to himself, Mr. Schiendler made his final bribe.
He paid the millions of dollars he had made during the war to the Commandant of the Concentration camp for the lives of these Jewish workers. He was able to board them on a train and send them to Chekosylvakia, where he hid them until the end of the war.
Mr. Schiendler was able to save hundreds of people from the gas chamber because he finally stopped just thinking about himself and his own glory, and began thinking about the lives of others. Mr. Schiendler was a despicable man, until he overcame his prejudice, until he overcame his greed, overcame his callous disregard for humanity. And this happened because he looked into the eyes of another human being and saw them as he brother and sister. He looked into the eyes of someone and saw the image of God. He finally understood that all of us are created in the image of God, all of us are valuable in the eyes of God, and all of us should be valuable to one another.
This is the message of Christ. This is the very foundation of the Kingdom of God, that we love God with our whole heart, and love our neighbor as ourself. To love God means that we will love one another. The Kingdom of God, on earth, as it is in heaven.
This kingdom, this glory is found in self-sacrifice and self-giving love. Not in personal Glory. This is the meaning of this table.
Kevin Higgs
James & John just did not understand. They just didn’t get it. One can just imagine the expression on Jesus’ face when James & John came up to him and asked him if they could have these seats of glory. Had they not listened? Did they not yet know? Over and again, Jesus had taught them. Time after time, Jesus had demonstrated by action and by word what true greatness, what true glory was about, but James and John did not understand.
They had just seen the rich young man come up to Jesus, trying to prove his greatness to the Lord, only to have been redirected to the true spiritual journey of humility. Only days before, Jesus had interrupted an argument among the disciples about who was the greatest. The greatest among you is the one who puts others first, and themselves last.
How clear could you get? Has not Jesus’ teachings been crystal clear. Yet, hear we are again. James and John just did not understand.
This time, the argument was about personal glory and positions of power. Whatever happened, James and John wanted to be in charge. James & John begin to see visions of their own glory, expectations of how good it will be for them, forgetting their life of discipleship, forgetting the spiritual journey to which they have been called. James and John forgot Jesus’ teachings.
It is easy for us to forget. It is easy for us to think about our own glory, our own interests, our own desires, and to forget about the needs of others, forget about the true meaning of being a disciple of Christ.
To have any glory in our own life, we must set aside the tempting vision of finding Personal Privilege, but by the grace of God, put on the likeness of Christ, who chose not to be served, but to find glory in serving others.
St. Francis of Assisi is a figure familiar to us all. He was the man who began the Franciscan order, a revival monastic movement in the early 13th century that has continued into our own time. St. Francis is a well known figure in the life of the church.
The simplicity and poverty, the humility and life of service that characterize him and those who have joined his movement, is known all over the world. Yet, there was a time in Francis’ life, when he did not understand. There was a time when he saw only his own glory, and did not know the way of Jesus.
Francis was born to a wealthy family in the city of Assisi. His father was a merchant who was always away on business. Francis was brought up to take his father’s place, to run the business. He was well educated, and lived the fashionable life of a young aristocrat among the wealthy Italian elite.
Francis was a warrior, he fought in the major battles of that day, leading men waging war, seeking their glory in battle. Yet he felt the emptiness of this type of so called glory. Francis had a deeper yearning in his heart. There was in his soul a calling to a life more fulfilling. There was a calling to the richness found in a life following the glory of God, not in seeking glory for oneself.
Francis went on a pilgrimage to Rome, which was common in that day. He went more out of sense of duty than out of desire; but something happened while he was on that journey.
Francis saw beggars sitting outside the great church in Rome. In the midst of all of the grandeur of the church, its wealth and it so-called earthly glory, here were beggars. The poor and the destitute filled the streets of Rome, the richest city in the world.
The contradiction deeply disturbed him. How could the church of Christ, surrounded by all this wealth, reconcile having beggars sit outside its doors? Francis saw how people treated them. With disregard and abuse, the beggars suffered to make it through the day.
In response to a deep yearning in his soul, Francis was touched by the grace of God. Francis decided that he would sit with the beggars. He decided that, instead of judging the beggars, he would sit with them, get to know them, and come to understand who they were.
Why would such a wealthy man, with such a bright future risk it all and do such a thing? Deep in his soul, Francis was touched by the Grace of God. He began to understand that it is not in judging others that we are made right with God and our neighbor; It is not is glorifying ourselves that we are made right with God and our neighbor; Rather, it is in serving God by serving our neighbor that do the will of God.
This experience led Francis to take other risks of service. He began caring for the lepers in his community. He began praying, fasting, and reading scripture. One day, in the ruins of an old church on the outskirts of his town, Francis felt he hear the voice of Christ, tell him to rebuild this church and make it a house that cared for the poor.
Francis took his money and, to the dismay of his father, gave to the priest. In the next few years, Francis rebuilt four old churches in his city, by tirelessly seeking money and support from everyone he encountered.
In the year 1209 while assisting at Holy Communion in a church near Assisi, Francis came to understand the words of Christ as a personal admonition to a life of peace, simplicity and poverty, and thereafter resolved to live a life preaching repentance, brotherly love and a life of peace with all of God’s creatures.
Instead of searching for glory for oneself, Francis chose to live a life of humility. When he was a young man, Francis did not understand. He thought that life as about finding glory for himself.
But God stirred up a deep yearning in his soul, that was brought to the surface when he encountered brothers and sisters in need. Francis looked upon those people in need with the eyes of Christ, given by the grace of God, and Francis could never again turn away.
When we open our eyes to the need around us, when we stop just looking our for our own glory, then the eyes of Christ can be seen in us.
Author Schiendler was a business man. He was a business man in Poland in the late 1930’s. Mr. Schiendler knew how to make a fast buck. The Nazi’s had come rolling in with little opposition, and Mr. Schiendler began thinking how he might profit from the political and social changes that were underway.
It soon became obvious what the Germans were going to do with the Jewish community.
Seizing their property and forcing over a million people into only 16 square blocks, the Germans created the Krakow Ghetto, and required all Jews to live their under guard.
Mr. Schiendler saw this as an opportunity to make alot of money. First, Mr. Schiendler took the money of the Jewish people and invested it in his own name in a business venture that would profit from the war. Then, by bribing Nazi officials, Mr. Schiendler gained permission to allow hundreds of Jews to work as slave labor.
Mr. Schiendler was a despicable man. He compromised what few honorable qualities he had by joining in with the evil of the Nazi movement for his own profit. Some might call this Worldly Glory, worldly wealth, made at the expense of other people… That’s a very popular thing ya know…
But something changed Mr. Scheindler. It didn’t happen quickly, there was no immediate conversion. But over the months that he working along side these Jewish people, he started to became friends with them. He began to respect some of them, not as just objects that he could exploit for money, but began to know them as people. In particular was an accountant that he allowed to keep his books. Mr. Schienddler came to know this man as a valuable friend.
As the years pasted, the war began to turn. The Nazis, feeling the pressure of the war on their resources, began what was known as the Final Solution: The final solution to their hatred of the Jews. They took the Jews out of the Ghetto into concentration camps, and began to exterminate them.
It was here that Mr. Schiendler’s transformation became complete. The more he saw the brutality and horror of what was done, the more he began to see who he really was, the more he became ashamed of what he had done. He had become a millionaire off the abuse of other people. Mr. Schiendler began to help the Jewish people. He could only do so much in the midst of the horror of the Holocaust, but he did what he could. He began to defend those who had been working for him. He hid his concerns behind a veil of claiming to need trained workers. He made lists of his workers, trying to keep them out of the concentration camps, trying to keep them alive.
Finally, near the end in 1945, the order came to kill them all, even those who Mr. Schiendler had defended as necessary for production. At great risk to himself, Mr. Schiendler made his final bribe.
He paid the millions of dollars he had made during the war to the Commandant of the Concentration camp for the lives of these Jewish workers. He was able to board them on a train and send them to Chekosylvakia, where he hid them until the end of the war.
Mr. Schiendler was able to save hundreds of people from the gas chamber because he finally stopped just thinking about himself and his own glory, and began thinking about the lives of others. Mr. Schiendler was a despicable man, until he overcame his prejudice, until he overcame his greed, overcame his callous disregard for humanity. And this happened because he looked into the eyes of another human being and saw them as he brother and sister. He looked into the eyes of someone and saw the image of God. He finally understood that all of us are created in the image of God, all of us are valuable in the eyes of God, and all of us should be valuable to one another.
This is the message of Christ. This is the very foundation of the Kingdom of God, that we love God with our whole heart, and love our neighbor as ourself. To love God means that we will love one another. The Kingdom of God, on earth, as it is in heaven.
This kingdom, this glory is found in self-sacrifice and self-giving love. Not in personal Glory. This is the meaning of this table.
Kevin Higgs
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Sermon: Jesus Cleansing the Temple
John 2:12-25
The “Cleansing of The Temple” is one of the most significant acts in the ministry of Jesus. It is attested to by every Gospel. In the Gospel of St. Matthew and St. Luke the “Cleansing of the Temple” happens on Palm Sunday, immediately after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. In the Gospel of St. John, this event is so important and symbolic that it is portrayed as one of the first things done by Jesus in his ministry.
I believe, this conflict related to the operation of the Temple is probably the one event that sealed Jesus fate in the minds of the religious and political authorities of Jerusalem. After this, the religious and political leaders knew they must kill Jesus. He was just too dangerous.
To understand the importance and the meaning of the “Cleansing of the Temple” we must understand what the Temple meant to the Jewish people.
The Temple in Jerusalem was the most important structure in the Jewish national identity. Physically, it was the largest group of buildings in the city, dominating the skyline of ancient Jerusalem. As the sun set upon ancient Jerusalem, the last structure in the city to catch the rays of the sun was the Pinnacle of the Temple set upon the Temple Mount. There, glowing in the golden light, the polished stone and gold laid wood would stand alone has the pride of the Jewish people.
Spiritually, the Temple was the center of the Hebrew faith. The Temple was where the Priests offered sacrifices to God following the precise instructions found in the Torah. The Temple contained in it the Holy of Holies, where no one could enter, except once a year, when the High Priest went in to pray for the forgiveness of the sins of the nation.
The Holy of Holies was were many Jews believed God actually resided. Nothing was more important to the Jewish people than the Temple.
The “Cleansing of the Temple” is one of the last and most extreme of a series of conflicts between Jesus and the religious and political leaders. That fateful year, probably 30 A.D., Jesus and his disciples came up to Jerusalem for the Passover. Jesus was at the height of his popularity. He had come from Galilee preaching the kingdom of God, healing, and feeding the people, with a message of God’s grace and righteousness.
Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem by his followers as the Messiah with a parade that aroused popular curiosity and support. This entrance, of course, made the Roman Government that occupied Jerusalem very suspicious, for this was an act by Jesus’ followers that challenged the Roman occupation of Palestine. To hail someone as Messiah was a direct act of sedition and treason against Rome, a crime against Caesar, punishable by death. From that day forward, Jesus was a man marked for death by Pilate.
And then, Jesus’ first act in the city of Jerusalem was to go and start trouble in the Temple.
To the shock and surprise of Jesus’ followers and the Religious Authorities, Jesus challenges the operation of the Temple. He turns over the tables of the money changers, he chases out those who are overseeing the Temple sacrifices; he accuses the High Priests and Scribes to be thieves and robbers. It is hard for us to put this radical act into a modern context. Maybe it was as radical as MLK, Jr. marching into B’ham in Holy Week in 1963?
Why in the world would Jesus do such a thing? Why create such a scene? If Jesus had a little political savvy about him, he could have rubbed noses with the Religious Elite and gained influence. Right? Maybe he could have secured a position for himself; or at least found a few supporters among those with influence. If Jesus was a politician, that’s what he would have done.
But instead, Jesus cleans house. He objects to the way everything is done at the Temple.
A number of contemporary scholars, give us insights from the history, of the 1st century, and help us understand how the Temple worked; and, help us understand why Jesus did what he did: Here is how the Temple worked.
The Jewish people would come to Jerusalem during the Passover festival as religious pilgrims. They had saved up their money during the year, which was considerably difficult for the poor people of Palestine to do, and would use this money to pay their Temple dues or tax, everyone had to pay the Temple dues…even the poor widow, dropping in her “Widow’s Mite” had to pay the high tax. And, they would also use their money to buy animals such as doves or lambs to be sacrificed at the altar.
The Temple dues and sacrifices were essential to the Jewish religious system of that day. The Jewish people were taught by their religious Elders & traditions that the way they could be in a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God, would be to pay the Temple dues, and participate in the Temple sacrifice.
To participate in this Temple sacrifice and tithing system, these pilgrims where required to go to the money changers in front of the Temple. Why the money changers? The money changers, for a large fee, changed their money from the Roman Coins. Roman Coins could not be used in the Temple, because they had the image of the Roman Emperor on them, into Temple Tokens that could be used to pay and purchase in the Temple.
This “Temple economy” of money changers, and buyers and sellers of sacrifices was central to the operation of the Temple.
However, the witness of history tells us that this “Temple economy” of the buying and selling and coin changing, was a thoroughly CORRUPT SYSTEM. The money changers and the Temple Priests, took a cut of the money. They became rich through the fees charged to the pilgrims when the pilgrims entered and participated in the Temple worship.
Scripture is a witness to this: Jesus accuses the scribes and Pharisees in Mark 12:40 of “Devouring the widow’s houses” through their practices in the Temple. And here is the central issue for Jesus: Because of the fees and high cost of the sacrifices, the REALITY became that many, IF NOT MOST people could not participate in Temple worship. Most did not have enough money. If you were poor, you could not buy the proper sacrifice or pay the temple dues.
This “Temple economy” became a barrier TO the poor to enter the Temple: Thus, the poor could not bring themselves, through worship and sacrifice, following Jewish tradition, into a right relationship with God.
COMPOUNDED upon this barrier to the poor to the Temple were the PURITY LAWS of the Torah, strictly enforced by the Temple.
Purity: If you were a Gentile, you could not participate in the Temple. If you were a leper, or had any disease or condition that made you unclean you were prohibited from entering the Temple. The poor and the unclean could not bring themselves through sacrifice into a right relationship with God.
-THE RESULT OF ALL THESE THINGS, was that the Temple became the primary enforcer of a religious hierarchy of PURITY that defined most people as not redeemed in the sight of God.
-The Temple, that mighty and beautiful structure, with its pious religious practices, became a barrier between God and the people.
-The Temple justified before God barriers of segregation between different peoples – SOME AS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD AND MOST AS NOT.
-To top it all off, the Priests and scribes, who operated this Temple, being wealthy through these practices, were living a privileged life, in a cozy relationship with the brutal Roman army of occupation, while most every other Jew in Palestine lived in poverty and oppression.
AND ALL OF THIS MADE JESUS VERY ANGRY.
Because of this corruption, because of this separation AND SEGREGATION from God endorsed by the religious authorities, Jesus attacked the practices taking place in the Temple.
In the mind and heart of Jesus, this Temple no longer did what it was supposed to do… instead of connecting the people TO God, instead of being that place where people could find God, the Temple practices had become a Barrier to a relationship with God, and Jesus would not stand for it.
He overturned the tables, he ran the scribes and the priests out and said, “This Temple is supposed to be a house of prayer for ALL NATIONS, and you have turned it into a den of thieves!”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that there will be NO BARRIERS between God and the people; there will be no barriers of segregation within the people of God. The love of Jesus demands this: NO Barriers; our love of neighbor will accept nothing less.
God’s grace is present for all people, for all nations, given freely for you; given to you as bread from heaven, to feed you, to nourish you to be faithful in all things.
This is what the Communion Table, our Eucharist, is all about…God’s grace, in flesh and blood, given for all of us, to all of us. This is what baptism is about: God’s grace given to you, without price, without cost, available to you in Jesus Christ.
This radical act of Jesus in the Temple calls forth within us today a RADICAL RE-EVALUATION of our religious practices and institutions. And a radical re-evaluation of how we think of other people.
In what way do we, in the name of God and using the power of religious tradition, set up barriers between God and the people? (purity, guilt & shame, economic barriers, class-ism, elitism, racism?)
In what way do we, in the practice of PIOUS RELIGION, separate and define as unworthy our neighbor? (because they are poor, or different, of another nationality, because of their sexual orientation?) Jesus will have none of this sort of ”religious” behavior.
Jesus Christ, by the power of the Spirit, is always at work breaking down these kinds of walls that we build. The kingdom of God is about opening the doors of the faith to all people.
Jesus smashes separations that we build; wipes out all division; God has willed this world to be One. Our God breaks down walls of separation! That’s what Jesus did in the Temple that day.
Here is the point of the Cleansing of the Temple: HeThe House of God shall be a house of prayer for all people, a house of equality and hospitality for every nation, every language, every person, every so-called level of status, and especially for the poor, the marginalized, and the outcast.
In the 21st century, as in the 1st century, the ministry, the passion, the cross of Jesus Christ demands nothing less.
And THIS is what the cross is about.
Brothers and sisters of Christ, the cleansing of the Temple is Jesus PICKING UP THE CROSS, and taking the truth of God’s love to the powers that be.
Regardless of the consequences, regardless of the pain of the cross, Jesus came to this earth to tell the truth, to open the doors of faith to all people, to all nations, the way of redemption and salvation.
And because Jesus did this for you and for me, the powers of this world, the religious authorities & the Roman Government put him on a cross to kill him.
And what’s happened on the cross: Golgotha had everything to do with the Temple: for when Jesus died on that cross for you and for me, the scriptures tell us that the tall curtain that hung in the Holy of Holies of that Great, beautiful, doomed Temple, that separated God from everything else, were cut in two.
By the power of the Spirit, and the cross of Jesus Christ, NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD.
CONCLUSION:
There are no more barriers between us and God… God’s gift of HOSPITALITY. Opening the doors of the kingdom of God for you and for me. And Jesus lives today by the power of the Spirit, within us. And nothing in this world can separate God from You.
That is what Jesus is about. That is what this church is about. Amen.
Kevin Higgs
The “Cleansing of The Temple” is one of the most significant acts in the ministry of Jesus. It is attested to by every Gospel. In the Gospel of St. Matthew and St. Luke the “Cleansing of the Temple” happens on Palm Sunday, immediately after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. In the Gospel of St. John, this event is so important and symbolic that it is portrayed as one of the first things done by Jesus in his ministry.
I believe, this conflict related to the operation of the Temple is probably the one event that sealed Jesus fate in the minds of the religious and political authorities of Jerusalem. After this, the religious and political leaders knew they must kill Jesus. He was just too dangerous.
To understand the importance and the meaning of the “Cleansing of the Temple” we must understand what the Temple meant to the Jewish people.
The Temple in Jerusalem was the most important structure in the Jewish national identity. Physically, it was the largest group of buildings in the city, dominating the skyline of ancient Jerusalem. As the sun set upon ancient Jerusalem, the last structure in the city to catch the rays of the sun was the Pinnacle of the Temple set upon the Temple Mount. There, glowing in the golden light, the polished stone and gold laid wood would stand alone has the pride of the Jewish people.
Spiritually, the Temple was the center of the Hebrew faith. The Temple was where the Priests offered sacrifices to God following the precise instructions found in the Torah. The Temple contained in it the Holy of Holies, where no one could enter, except once a year, when the High Priest went in to pray for the forgiveness of the sins of the nation.
The Holy of Holies was were many Jews believed God actually resided. Nothing was more important to the Jewish people than the Temple.
The “Cleansing of the Temple” is one of the last and most extreme of a series of conflicts between Jesus and the religious and political leaders. That fateful year, probably 30 A.D., Jesus and his disciples came up to Jerusalem for the Passover. Jesus was at the height of his popularity. He had come from Galilee preaching the kingdom of God, healing, and feeding the people, with a message of God’s grace and righteousness.
Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem by his followers as the Messiah with a parade that aroused popular curiosity and support. This entrance, of course, made the Roman Government that occupied Jerusalem very suspicious, for this was an act by Jesus’ followers that challenged the Roman occupation of Palestine. To hail someone as Messiah was a direct act of sedition and treason against Rome, a crime against Caesar, punishable by death. From that day forward, Jesus was a man marked for death by Pilate.
And then, Jesus’ first act in the city of Jerusalem was to go and start trouble in the Temple.
To the shock and surprise of Jesus’ followers and the Religious Authorities, Jesus challenges the operation of the Temple. He turns over the tables of the money changers, he chases out those who are overseeing the Temple sacrifices; he accuses the High Priests and Scribes to be thieves and robbers. It is hard for us to put this radical act into a modern context. Maybe it was as radical as MLK, Jr. marching into B’ham in Holy Week in 1963?
Why in the world would Jesus do such a thing? Why create such a scene? If Jesus had a little political savvy about him, he could have rubbed noses with the Religious Elite and gained influence. Right? Maybe he could have secured a position for himself; or at least found a few supporters among those with influence. If Jesus was a politician, that’s what he would have done.
But instead, Jesus cleans house. He objects to the way everything is done at the Temple.
A number of contemporary scholars, give us insights from the history, of the 1st century, and help us understand how the Temple worked; and, help us understand why Jesus did what he did: Here is how the Temple worked.
The Jewish people would come to Jerusalem during the Passover festival as religious pilgrims. They had saved up their money during the year, which was considerably difficult for the poor people of Palestine to do, and would use this money to pay their Temple dues or tax, everyone had to pay the Temple dues…even the poor widow, dropping in her “Widow’s Mite” had to pay the high tax. And, they would also use their money to buy animals such as doves or lambs to be sacrificed at the altar.
The Temple dues and sacrifices were essential to the Jewish religious system of that day. The Jewish people were taught by their religious Elders & traditions that the way they could be in a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God, would be to pay the Temple dues, and participate in the Temple sacrifice.
To participate in this Temple sacrifice and tithing system, these pilgrims where required to go to the money changers in front of the Temple. Why the money changers? The money changers, for a large fee, changed their money from the Roman Coins. Roman Coins could not be used in the Temple, because they had the image of the Roman Emperor on them, into Temple Tokens that could be used to pay and purchase in the Temple.
This “Temple economy” of money changers, and buyers and sellers of sacrifices was central to the operation of the Temple.
However, the witness of history tells us that this “Temple economy” of the buying and selling and coin changing, was a thoroughly CORRUPT SYSTEM. The money changers and the Temple Priests, took a cut of the money. They became rich through the fees charged to the pilgrims when the pilgrims entered and participated in the Temple worship.
Scripture is a witness to this: Jesus accuses the scribes and Pharisees in Mark 12:40 of “Devouring the widow’s houses” through their practices in the Temple. And here is the central issue for Jesus: Because of the fees and high cost of the sacrifices, the REALITY became that many, IF NOT MOST people could not participate in Temple worship. Most did not have enough money. If you were poor, you could not buy the proper sacrifice or pay the temple dues.
This “Temple economy” became a barrier TO the poor to enter the Temple: Thus, the poor could not bring themselves, through worship and sacrifice, following Jewish tradition, into a right relationship with God.
COMPOUNDED upon this barrier to the poor to the Temple were the PURITY LAWS of the Torah, strictly enforced by the Temple.
Purity: If you were a Gentile, you could not participate in the Temple. If you were a leper, or had any disease or condition that made you unclean you were prohibited from entering the Temple. The poor and the unclean could not bring themselves through sacrifice into a right relationship with God.
-THE RESULT OF ALL THESE THINGS, was that the Temple became the primary enforcer of a religious hierarchy of PURITY that defined most people as not redeemed in the sight of God.
-The Temple, that mighty and beautiful structure, with its pious religious practices, became a barrier between God and the people.
-The Temple justified before God barriers of segregation between different peoples – SOME AS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD AND MOST AS NOT.
-To top it all off, the Priests and scribes, who operated this Temple, being wealthy through these practices, were living a privileged life, in a cozy relationship with the brutal Roman army of occupation, while most every other Jew in Palestine lived in poverty and oppression.
AND ALL OF THIS MADE JESUS VERY ANGRY.
Because of this corruption, because of this separation AND SEGREGATION from God endorsed by the religious authorities, Jesus attacked the practices taking place in the Temple.
In the mind and heart of Jesus, this Temple no longer did what it was supposed to do… instead of connecting the people TO God, instead of being that place where people could find God, the Temple practices had become a Barrier to a relationship with God, and Jesus would not stand for it.
He overturned the tables, he ran the scribes and the priests out and said, “This Temple is supposed to be a house of prayer for ALL NATIONS, and you have turned it into a den of thieves!”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that there will be NO BARRIERS between God and the people; there will be no barriers of segregation within the people of God. The love of Jesus demands this: NO Barriers; our love of neighbor will accept nothing less.
God’s grace is present for all people, for all nations, given freely for you; given to you as bread from heaven, to feed you, to nourish you to be faithful in all things.
This is what the Communion Table, our Eucharist, is all about…God’s grace, in flesh and blood, given for all of us, to all of us. This is what baptism is about: God’s grace given to you, without price, without cost, available to you in Jesus Christ.
This radical act of Jesus in the Temple calls forth within us today a RADICAL RE-EVALUATION of our religious practices and institutions. And a radical re-evaluation of how we think of other people.
In what way do we, in the name of God and using the power of religious tradition, set up barriers between God and the people? (purity, guilt & shame, economic barriers, class-ism, elitism, racism?)
In what way do we, in the practice of PIOUS RELIGION, separate and define as unworthy our neighbor? (because they are poor, or different, of another nationality, because of their sexual orientation?) Jesus will have none of this sort of ”religious” behavior.
Jesus Christ, by the power of the Spirit, is always at work breaking down these kinds of walls that we build. The kingdom of God is about opening the doors of the faith to all people.
Jesus smashes separations that we build; wipes out all division; God has willed this world to be One. Our God breaks down walls of separation! That’s what Jesus did in the Temple that day.
Here is the point of the Cleansing of the Temple: HeThe House of God shall be a house of prayer for all people, a house of equality and hospitality for every nation, every language, every person, every so-called level of status, and especially for the poor, the marginalized, and the outcast.
In the 21st century, as in the 1st century, the ministry, the passion, the cross of Jesus Christ demands nothing less.
And THIS is what the cross is about.
Brothers and sisters of Christ, the cleansing of the Temple is Jesus PICKING UP THE CROSS, and taking the truth of God’s love to the powers that be.
Regardless of the consequences, regardless of the pain of the cross, Jesus came to this earth to tell the truth, to open the doors of faith to all people, to all nations, the way of redemption and salvation.
And because Jesus did this for you and for me, the powers of this world, the religious authorities & the Roman Government put him on a cross to kill him.
And what’s happened on the cross: Golgotha had everything to do with the Temple: for when Jesus died on that cross for you and for me, the scriptures tell us that the tall curtain that hung in the Holy of Holies of that Great, beautiful, doomed Temple, that separated God from everything else, were cut in two.
By the power of the Spirit, and the cross of Jesus Christ, NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD.
CONCLUSION:
There are no more barriers between us and God… God’s gift of HOSPITALITY. Opening the doors of the kingdom of God for you and for me. And Jesus lives today by the power of the Spirit, within us. And nothing in this world can separate God from You.
That is what Jesus is about. That is what this church is about. Amen.
Kevin Higgs
Friday, October 13, 2006
Epiphany Sermon 2006
Mark 1:40-45
They really didn’t understand it. But, of course, they really had no means to. We’re not talking about a well educated, medical science-aware culture. How could they possibly know that it was contagious only in specific circumstances and after long periods of very close contact? How could they have known that?
The only thing the people of the 1st Century Palestine knew about it was sort of what it looked like, and what it did to a person in the advanced stages. That they knew well. They understood how it maimed and disfigured. And that was enough for fear to take over.I’m talking about the disease of leprosy.
And it also should be noted that the illness of leprosy referenced in the Bible is NOT the same disease so called by science today. The leprosy WE are familiar is a different disease altogether, and is much worse. In the ancient world, a variety of skin diseases were all grouped together and called leprosy. This includes psoriasis, eczema, or any fungus infection of the skin.
Today, in a world and a time in which such diseases are all dealt with easily, or have all but been eradicated except in small pockets, we perhaps cannot appreciate the fear that accompanied this word in the ancient world of Jesus.
But leprosy was a red flag word. It brought about the same responses as theword Plague did in the 1200s, or Small Pox in the 1700s, or Aids in the1980s. It frightened whole populations. The people of the ancient world felt largely helpless against it, as indeed they were, living in a pre-medical-science time.What happens to people when fear takes over and people do not act, but they react?
Reactions to leprosy were both swift and cruel.
In times not far removed form our own people would be put to death by heir own family.
It seems incredible to us today, but on the edge of every large city in the ancient world huge pits were dug, and in those pits lived the lepers of the community.And if, by some remote possibility, they did escape this hovel and ventureout into the streets, they would be quickly greeted with shouts of “leper,”accompanied by stones to make them keep their distance.
In Jesus' day a leper by law could not get within fifty yards of a clean person. So this was the heart of the matter. These people, these lepers, were shunned and cast out. Even if their skin condition was, by our modern standards, minor, they were isolated from society and kept from the community of faith.
The fear of disease, a life lived under a stigma, a lifestyle of loneliness, isolation and hopelessness--where could they find hope?. In this life they were doomed. They were considered walking death.
But not only that; even more important than that… In the ancient culture of the 1st Century, it was the theological assumption of EVERYONE, including the lepers, that their skin disease was a curse from God; and that God was punishing them for their sin by making them a leper. This, then, is the background of the leper we meet this morning. What can we learn from this tragic story?1. Outcasts: We are trained well in how to cast people out; but we do not want to know or understand them.
In the ancient world, the people were brought up well in how to quickly cast out the leper. It was done quickly, with the full affirmation of the entire culture. It was the way things were always done. “They” were considered a threat to the society. “They” would infect and corrupt your children. “They” it was taught, must be cast out.
Who are the lepers in today’s society? Who has been designated as “unclean” by the religious leaders of the pious and upright?
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50 years ago, in this city, the African-American was the outcast. The black man or woman was treated like a leper.
They were put in a segregated neighborhood, they had their own schools, they had their own bathrooms, they had their own water fountains, they could not eat at the same table as the white man or woman, least they contaminate them with their uncleanliness.
And most White folks didn’t take the time to get to know who these black lepers were. They had been very carefully taught all those years that the people of African decent were to be seen very little, and not listened to at all. And so not much was known or encouraged to be known about their culture, let alone their experience.
And most people thought this was the way that God had ordered creation. Most people used the bible to justify this ordering of creation, sighting references in the Old and New Testaments, and spinning their theologies about slaves obeying their masters, and curse of God on Ham in the book of Genesis… using the bible to justify the uncleanliness of Black people.
And even though this was of thinking and living was the norm 50 years ago, there are still people who act like this today. Have you ever been treated like a leper?
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Who are the lepers in today’s society? Who is treated like they are diseased, and should be cast out?
Homeless men and women are treated like lepers.
Look at how people treated Joe Farmer. Joe Farmer was a homeless man living on the street in downtown Birmingham. He was mentally ill. He was physically ill. Every attempt was made by the staff of this church to find a hospital bed for Joe Farmer.
But Joe Farmer was one of the “untouchables.” He was treated like he was “unclean.” In every hospital, he was an outcast… to be literally cast back out on the street. He was to be shunned. And he died on the street.
And our society, our city has been carefully taught that this is the way that homeless people should be treated.
Yes… after people discovered that Joe Farmer was a veteran, that he had served in Vietnam, suddenly after his death, there was a well-spring of shame and guilt over how he had been treated. And after this he received a decent burial.
But I know that people like Joe Farmer die every day on the streets of cities all over this country. And they are the untouchables… the unclean… the lepers of our society.
And regular, clean people don’t want to deal with the homeless situation. It’s easy to blame in on the homeless. It’s convenient to not know them; to avoid them; to not be concerned with the how, the why, and the why not of the homeless population. It’s easy to stand by and let the authorities handle and punish the homeless for being unclean. Most politicians want to CAST Them Out of the city; and find some hole to put them in where they would not be in sight.
Have you ever been treated this way? An out cast? Unclean?
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Homosexual people are lepers in our society.
The American Medical Association, The American Pediatric Association, The American Psychiatric Association, The American Psychological Association, EVERY medical and scientific association that speaks for their profession is officially on record as stating that there is no reason scientifically, medically, or psychologically to consider homosexual persons as a group deficient or disordered or a danger any more than heterosexual persons.
Yet, homosexual persons are treated as outcasts in our society, like lepers.
They are treated as “unclean” by the religious elite of our society.
People react to homosexual persons irrationally, out of fear, because of how they have been taught.
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I know a man who was studying to become a clergy in the United Methodist Church. And at the age of 25 he could no longer keep secret that he was and had always been a homosexual. He had lived a moral, godly life, seeking to serve God in our church; but he was gay.
And so, as an honest man, he went home to tell his parents. First, he told his father. He sat his father down at the kitchen table and told him. His father began to weep. After this is father went into the bedroom, came out with a revolver, loaded the gun in front of him and said, “Do not tell your mother this horrible thing. Here is a gun. You know what you should do with it.”
His father would rather he shot himself and commit suicide than be honest with his family that he was gay.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.
The behavior of this man’s father is what happens when the church teaches people it’s OK to treat people like lepers.
This is what happens when churches and religious people use a few obscure verses in the bible to label some people as “unclean” and outcasts… it justifies a terrible way of treating our brothers and sisters.
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But hear the Good News. Hear the Good News….
This is not the way Jesus treated the unclean. That’s not the way Jesus treated the outcast.
Jesus treated the outcast, the stranger, the leper, the unclean, the gentile, the Samaritan, and all the other people that the bible said were to be avoided as BELOVED IN GOD.
Jesus loved them, just like Jesus loves you.
Jesus made certain that THEY KNEW the situation that they were in was not the curse of God… instead, Jesus was here to show them that they were fully loved by God.
How did Jesus heal them? For those who were “lepers” in the truest sense, who had a terrible, contagious skin disease, I believe Jesus healed them of their illness.
However, let your imagination run free with how Jesus did this healing.
Maybe, Jesus knew that most of the people called “leper” were not contagious, but had been wrongly labeled because of less serious skin diseases, and had been cast out by the ignorant assumptions of how everyone had been wrongly taught. Maybe Jesus knew that people were reacting irrationally, out of fear, because they had been wrongly taught.
Maybe Jesus healed them by convincing them of God’s love and grace for them; that they should not accept the shame and condemnation of others for their condition; and that they should get up, stand up, and live knowing they were loved by God.
Maybe there was also the healing that took place among the followers of Jesus: Maybe they saw how Jesus treated these “so called unclean” people, and realized what a bogus load of self-righteous religiosity they had been taught.
Maybe they began treating EVERYONE as Beloved of God, with NO PARTIALITY, welcoming the stranger, the Gentile, the Samaritan, and the unclean into their fellowship and family with the joy of the kingdom of God.
That’s the kind of healing that Jesus did: Complete healing… healing the individual of the illness of disease, healing the community of faith of the illness of bigotry, beginning a healing community that welcomed all people as Beloved in God.
That’s what I call “Full Gospel Healing.” This is to have, in our own experience, a New Heaven, and a New Earth, where greet one another as New Creatures, in the kingdom of God.
In the life of our congregation, we are talking about Stewardship. Today, I am focusing on healing… healing as the act of Jesus, healing for the individual, and healing for the community of faith. This healing is the direct result of the presence of Jesus. When Jesus is present, ALL people are treated as Beloved in God, with no partiality.
Healing is the gift of God in Jesus Christ. It is what God has done for all of us… for we are all made clean by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Now, we are to be good Stewards of this gift. We are to go forth as healers, healing as Jesus did.
Who is the outcast in society? Who is the one called “unclean?” Who is the one labeled “leper” or sick, or stranger, or not welcome?
It is our task, our Stewardship as disciples, to go forth and heal; to make welcome, to show the hospitality of Christ.
Amen.
They really didn’t understand it. But, of course, they really had no means to. We’re not talking about a well educated, medical science-aware culture. How could they possibly know that it was contagious only in specific circumstances and after long periods of very close contact? How could they have known that?
The only thing the people of the 1st Century Palestine knew about it was sort of what it looked like, and what it did to a person in the advanced stages. That they knew well. They understood how it maimed and disfigured. And that was enough for fear to take over.I’m talking about the disease of leprosy.
And it also should be noted that the illness of leprosy referenced in the Bible is NOT the same disease so called by science today. The leprosy WE are familiar is a different disease altogether, and is much worse. In the ancient world, a variety of skin diseases were all grouped together and called leprosy. This includes psoriasis, eczema, or any fungus infection of the skin.
Today, in a world and a time in which such diseases are all dealt with easily, or have all but been eradicated except in small pockets, we perhaps cannot appreciate the fear that accompanied this word in the ancient world of Jesus.
But leprosy was a red flag word. It brought about the same responses as theword Plague did in the 1200s, or Small Pox in the 1700s, or Aids in the1980s. It frightened whole populations. The people of the ancient world felt largely helpless against it, as indeed they were, living in a pre-medical-science time.What happens to people when fear takes over and people do not act, but they react?
Reactions to leprosy were both swift and cruel.
In times not far removed form our own people would be put to death by heir own family.
It seems incredible to us today, but on the edge of every large city in the ancient world huge pits were dug, and in those pits lived the lepers of the community.And if, by some remote possibility, they did escape this hovel and ventureout into the streets, they would be quickly greeted with shouts of “leper,”accompanied by stones to make them keep their distance.
In Jesus' day a leper by law could not get within fifty yards of a clean person. So this was the heart of the matter. These people, these lepers, were shunned and cast out. Even if their skin condition was, by our modern standards, minor, they were isolated from society and kept from the community of faith.
The fear of disease, a life lived under a stigma, a lifestyle of loneliness, isolation and hopelessness--where could they find hope?. In this life they were doomed. They were considered walking death.
But not only that; even more important than that… In the ancient culture of the 1st Century, it was the theological assumption of EVERYONE, including the lepers, that their skin disease was a curse from God; and that God was punishing them for their sin by making them a leper. This, then, is the background of the leper we meet this morning. What can we learn from this tragic story?1. Outcasts: We are trained well in how to cast people out; but we do not want to know or understand them.
In the ancient world, the people were brought up well in how to quickly cast out the leper. It was done quickly, with the full affirmation of the entire culture. It was the way things were always done. “They” were considered a threat to the society. “They” would infect and corrupt your children. “They” it was taught, must be cast out.
Who are the lepers in today’s society? Who has been designated as “unclean” by the religious leaders of the pious and upright?
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50 years ago, in this city, the African-American was the outcast. The black man or woman was treated like a leper.
They were put in a segregated neighborhood, they had their own schools, they had their own bathrooms, they had their own water fountains, they could not eat at the same table as the white man or woman, least they contaminate them with their uncleanliness.
And most White folks didn’t take the time to get to know who these black lepers were. They had been very carefully taught all those years that the people of African decent were to be seen very little, and not listened to at all. And so not much was known or encouraged to be known about their culture, let alone their experience.
And most people thought this was the way that God had ordered creation. Most people used the bible to justify this ordering of creation, sighting references in the Old and New Testaments, and spinning their theologies about slaves obeying their masters, and curse of God on Ham in the book of Genesis… using the bible to justify the uncleanliness of Black people.
And even though this was of thinking and living was the norm 50 years ago, there are still people who act like this today. Have you ever been treated like a leper?
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Who are the lepers in today’s society? Who is treated like they are diseased, and should be cast out?
Homeless men and women are treated like lepers.
Look at how people treated Joe Farmer. Joe Farmer was a homeless man living on the street in downtown Birmingham. He was mentally ill. He was physically ill. Every attempt was made by the staff of this church to find a hospital bed for Joe Farmer.
But Joe Farmer was one of the “untouchables.” He was treated like he was “unclean.” In every hospital, he was an outcast… to be literally cast back out on the street. He was to be shunned. And he died on the street.
And our society, our city has been carefully taught that this is the way that homeless people should be treated.
Yes… after people discovered that Joe Farmer was a veteran, that he had served in Vietnam, suddenly after his death, there was a well-spring of shame and guilt over how he had been treated. And after this he received a decent burial.
But I know that people like Joe Farmer die every day on the streets of cities all over this country. And they are the untouchables… the unclean… the lepers of our society.
And regular, clean people don’t want to deal with the homeless situation. It’s easy to blame in on the homeless. It’s convenient to not know them; to avoid them; to not be concerned with the how, the why, and the why not of the homeless population. It’s easy to stand by and let the authorities handle and punish the homeless for being unclean. Most politicians want to CAST Them Out of the city; and find some hole to put them in where they would not be in sight.
Have you ever been treated this way? An out cast? Unclean?
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Homosexual people are lepers in our society.
The American Medical Association, The American Pediatric Association, The American Psychiatric Association, The American Psychological Association, EVERY medical and scientific association that speaks for their profession is officially on record as stating that there is no reason scientifically, medically, or psychologically to consider homosexual persons as a group deficient or disordered or a danger any more than heterosexual persons.
Yet, homosexual persons are treated as outcasts in our society, like lepers.
They are treated as “unclean” by the religious elite of our society.
People react to homosexual persons irrationally, out of fear, because of how they have been taught.
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I know a man who was studying to become a clergy in the United Methodist Church. And at the age of 25 he could no longer keep secret that he was and had always been a homosexual. He had lived a moral, godly life, seeking to serve God in our church; but he was gay.
And so, as an honest man, he went home to tell his parents. First, he told his father. He sat his father down at the kitchen table and told him. His father began to weep. After this is father went into the bedroom, came out with a revolver, loaded the gun in front of him and said, “Do not tell your mother this horrible thing. Here is a gun. You know what you should do with it.”
His father would rather he shot himself and commit suicide than be honest with his family that he was gay.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.
The behavior of this man’s father is what happens when the church teaches people it’s OK to treat people like lepers.
This is what happens when churches and religious people use a few obscure verses in the bible to label some people as “unclean” and outcasts… it justifies a terrible way of treating our brothers and sisters.
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But hear the Good News. Hear the Good News….
This is not the way Jesus treated the unclean. That’s not the way Jesus treated the outcast.
Jesus treated the outcast, the stranger, the leper, the unclean, the gentile, the Samaritan, and all the other people that the bible said were to be avoided as BELOVED IN GOD.
Jesus loved them, just like Jesus loves you.
Jesus made certain that THEY KNEW the situation that they were in was not the curse of God… instead, Jesus was here to show them that they were fully loved by God.
How did Jesus heal them? For those who were “lepers” in the truest sense, who had a terrible, contagious skin disease, I believe Jesus healed them of their illness.
However, let your imagination run free with how Jesus did this healing.
Maybe, Jesus knew that most of the people called “leper” were not contagious, but had been wrongly labeled because of less serious skin diseases, and had been cast out by the ignorant assumptions of how everyone had been wrongly taught. Maybe Jesus knew that people were reacting irrationally, out of fear, because they had been wrongly taught.
Maybe Jesus healed them by convincing them of God’s love and grace for them; that they should not accept the shame and condemnation of others for their condition; and that they should get up, stand up, and live knowing they were loved by God.
Maybe there was also the healing that took place among the followers of Jesus: Maybe they saw how Jesus treated these “so called unclean” people, and realized what a bogus load of self-righteous religiosity they had been taught.
Maybe they began treating EVERYONE as Beloved of God, with NO PARTIALITY, welcoming the stranger, the Gentile, the Samaritan, and the unclean into their fellowship and family with the joy of the kingdom of God.
That’s the kind of healing that Jesus did: Complete healing… healing the individual of the illness of disease, healing the community of faith of the illness of bigotry, beginning a healing community that welcomed all people as Beloved in God.
That’s what I call “Full Gospel Healing.” This is to have, in our own experience, a New Heaven, and a New Earth, where greet one another as New Creatures, in the kingdom of God.
In the life of our congregation, we are talking about Stewardship. Today, I am focusing on healing… healing as the act of Jesus, healing for the individual, and healing for the community of faith. This healing is the direct result of the presence of Jesus. When Jesus is present, ALL people are treated as Beloved in God, with no partiality.
Healing is the gift of God in Jesus Christ. It is what God has done for all of us… for we are all made clean by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Now, we are to be good Stewards of this gift. We are to go forth as healers, healing as Jesus did.
Who is the outcast in society? Who is the one called “unclean?” Who is the one labeled “leper” or sick, or stranger, or not welcome?
It is our task, our Stewardship as disciples, to go forth and heal; to make welcome, to show the hospitality of Christ.
Amen.
Monday, May 29, 2006
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