1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20
“Time Is Limited”
Is there anyone here today that is finding it is hard getting older? It’s something we don’t really give a lot of thought to when we’re younger, do we? Older was something my great grandmother was, perhaps my grandparents – remember those days? When you are young you don’t really think about being old, anyway that old. Maybe like 18 or 21 old, but not really “old, old.” But it doesn’t take long before discovering your getting older begins much sooner than you would have thought. You know you’re getting older when…
• You feel like the morning after, and you haven't been anywhere.
• It takes longer to rest than it did to get tired.
• You know all the answers, but nobody asks the questions.
A friend said her daughter once told her, "You're married and have kids...your life is over." Now in the spirit of the church season we are in, that can be an epiphany of sorts. The thought of one’s life being over, of time running out, of there only being a short time left, is not a comforting thought, no matter how old you are.
On Wednesday, Althea and I will observe the anniversary of an important day – a day beginning forty-two years of our life being over, at least in the mind of one young girl – and, perhaps, in Paul’s mind as well. Now Paul says a lot about marriage in these verses and elsewhere in his letters, but that is not the main point of today’s lesson.
In our reading today from 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Paul says, “the appointed time has grown short,” which literally means our time is limited. Whether we are married or not, our time is limited. In other words, there is really not all that much time! Paul’s lesson for us today, is about the time we have left.
You come on a Sunday morning to encounter God revealed in the word, to catch a glimpse of Jesus, to hear his proclamation of the kingdom and his call. At least that is what author Cynthia Anderson writes in her Reflections on the Lectionary for this week. I would like to think she is right. And I think many of us also want an idea of how it all applies to our lives. We want to know what the apostle Paul and the author of Mark have in mind and just how we fit in – or at least how it fits in with our life, right?
Well Paul says, what you think is yours - whether it is time or something else - it’s really not. He says, “We ought to regard nothing as our own…” and that we “would be ready to sacrifice all for Christ's sake.” Whether single or married, sorrowful or rejoicing, owners or renters, we are to be devoted, committed, faithful – all of us - to God.
However, Paul says we can be distracted in our faith, by our commitment to people and things – imagine that! He goes on to say: so, reduce the distractions to better cope with the challenges you face as people living in the end time. People who are distracted by a lot of things can lose track of what really matters. They may have difficulty functioning as they should or have trouble handling things. The pressures and distractions can even run their life and become like 'other gods' that they serve. So, it is very important to stay centered and connected with God, to keep things in proper perspective.
ALL considered ours IS Gods – including our sorrow, joy, possessions, etc.
Paul's challenge today deals with a way of living that loses touch with the center and is subject to pressures from many sources. It’s how many people live today. It’s even how we may find ourselves living. God is just one of the pressures we must give in to beside all the others which bombard us through what’s expected of us and slick advertising. Paul's word may jolt us into asking whether we have in “living our lives” lost God and, at the same time, lost ourselves.
So, what might our living look like, if not the life we live? If Mark is a clue, it means reaching out and touching people, bringing healing, liberation, renewal. It means joining Jesus’ ‘act’ – now, not later. It means becoming involved, becoming a disciple of Jesus. It means loving and caring for people. This is what is to be the center of life. The time is short. The time is now!
The calling of James and John and Simon and Andrew “to leave all and follow” function as a protest not against life at home, but more generally against life itself and the structures of society which serve to perpetuate the past and trap people into the service of the status quo and its gods. It called for a new way of looking at life, with a new set of priorities and different values. It meant returning to the God of compassion and justice. That was not James and John and Simon and Andrew’s life before they were called, and neither is it ours.
Ours is a life in which our mortality is often hidden in the complexity of our life-style. Being a Christian or “a believer” doesn’t exempt us from “masking” our mortality or denying our “days are short,” like the rest of humanity, by our preoccupation with "the things of this world." Paul’s advice to us is this:
1) First, "this is a critical time," before the end of the age. It is a time to begin knowing the living God, Jesus Christ – to know him and live with him for eternity. It is not a time to be sidetracked by the momentary distractions of life.
2) Second, "this world, as we know it, will one day be gone." All the things that are important, the things that define us – our family, our work, everything we have learned over the years, everything we have created, the little truths we have discovered – and all the stuff we have accumulated over the years, will soon disappear. One day, sooner than we might think, they are not going to be around any more. In the end, for us, they will be gone! We are but "a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes", James 4:14. And the same is true for all our stuff.
So, what are we to do – about all the things of this world, things that are only temporary, that have become consuming distractions from what is really important? How do we apply what Paul and the author of Mark say to our lives? What do they have in mind for us? How does it all fit in with our life?
They are saying: "Use the things of this world, but don’t become engrossed in them." We should enjoy, appreciate and participate in all of God's creation without being absorbed by it. C.K. Barrett translates Paul like this, he says, “We should use the world as if we "had no full use of it."
Life is on loan to us. We cannot possess it and it can never become substantial or eternal for us.
The time we have is for our knowing the living God and beginning our eternal existence in his presence. We do this by trusting God for our salvation and seeking to grow in Christ-likeness through his Word, Jesus Christ. This is to be the central purpose of our life – nothing else.
Let us follow Christ, with God at the center, for our time is limited, and we cannot afford to be distracted by all the stuff that demands our time.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
January 18, 2009 Message
1 Corinthians 6:11-20; John 1:43-51 “Under the Fig Tree”
In our gospel lesson today, Jesus greets Nathanael when they first meet and says, "There's a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body." That is a real compliment, because Jesus knows Nathanael, even though they have never met before.
But, who is this man Jesus speaks so highly of? Some think he is the disciple referred to in other parts of the Bible as Bartholomew. In his Sermon #90, John Wesley offers this insight about Nathanael. Wesley says, “He is a man of excellent spirit, not quick to believe, and yet open to conviction and willing to accept the truth wherever he finds it.
First, there is no cunning or sneakiness about him.
• He is authentic and genuine.
• He speaks the truth from the heart.
• He cannot tell a lie.
• He tells nothing but the truth.
The second thing about Nathanael is his sincerity, which leads to wisdom or discretion.
• Nathanael always appears exactly what he is.
• He is not a phony.
• He speaks what is on his mind (or heart). He doesn’t hide anything.
• He speaks like a child with simplicity.
Not only was Nathanael not a hypocrite, evidently Jesus saw in him qualities not found in God's own people. He was open to the truth. He was ready to follow wherever truth might lead him. And most importantly, he was ready to listen, especially when he asks Jesus, “Where did you get to know me?” His question confirmed Jesus’ assessment of him was right, but how did this Nazarene know? Somehow Jesus had read his heart, but where could it have been? Nathanael had a feeling that this was going to be an important moment in his life.
Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
“Under the fig tree?” Nathanael thought to himself.
Perhaps the kind of person Nathanael was had something to do with his time under a fig tree. Micah 4:3-4 and Zechariah 3:10 suggests that "under a fig tree" may be a place of contemplation. Maybe Nathanael was a "thinker," who would question and contemplate everything until he was sure of its truthfulness.
Traditionally, rabbis studied the Law under a fig tree. It was a place a person searching for the truth would go. Someone might also go there for prayer and meditation, for guidance or to be given a sign. Perhaps that is why Nathanael was under the fig tree. And now he has the sign he had asked for in Jesus’ answer, “I saw it all,” Jesus said, your anxieties, your pleadings and your hopes – under the fig tree."
Jesus’ had gotten his attention with the remark about his character, but his answer to Nathanael’s question – that’s what ‘sealed the deal.’ Nathanael had been ‘seen’ by this man he had never met – under a fig tree. And having been seen, he believed.
Maybe we all need more fig trees – at least in a figurative sense – quiet places where we can think. We all need places we can go to be alone, to get away, and just slow down; even places and times away from work and our daily routine, where we can sit and reflect or pray about our hopes and longings. At any rate Nathanael must have had such a place “under the fig tree” which no one could know about but himself and...
That is when Nathanael realized who Jesus was – the One other than himself who was there; the One who knows everything, even the personal details of a person’s life. It was at that moment Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Nathanael came face to face with the truth and he spoke what was on his heart.
Cynthia Anderson, associate pastor of Barrington UMC, Barrington, Illinois, in her reflection of today’s text, writes, “We see because we have been seen, and love because we have been loved.” I like that. Because, isn’t this really how it happens - our epiphany? It isn’t anything Phillip has said that convinces Nathanael. And it isn’t anything anyone has told us about Christ that convinces us. Only after Nathanael comes into Jesus’ presence does he recognize who Jesus is. And that is how it is with us as well. When the light penetrates the darkness, he understands. It is when he realizes he has been seen and is known by this man, that Nathanael ‘gets it’ and his life is forever changed.
Rev Anderson goes on to say, “The story shifts our focus away from our efforts to get others to see Jesus and reminds us that we are able to see only because God has first revealed God’s self to us.” In Jesus we can trust God sees us.
The apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are not what we used to be.” He points out to his readers, “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” This is something God does. Paul says, “you were bought with a price,” and I might add, by a God who has seen you, and knows all about you.
Like Phillip, we can invite others to come and see, and walk with them to Jesus – and trust the light to penetrate the darkness. Our calling is to bear witness with grace and obedience to the light that shines in our lives through the Son of God. The ability of others to see the light does not rest solely on our powers of persuasion or our ability to tell others who Jesus is. The ability to see Jesus comes as a gift from God through the graceful and mysterious movements of the Holy Spirit. We can take others by the hand, share our excitement with them and invite them by the faithful living of our lives to come and glimpse what we have seen – but we cannot make them see.
We can point to the light and then trust that the light shines and the darkness will not overcome it.
Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
“Sermon 90” (John Wesley).
Cynthia Anderson, Living by the Word, Christian Century, Jan 11, 2009.
In our gospel lesson today, Jesus greets Nathanael when they first meet and says, "There's a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body." That is a real compliment, because Jesus knows Nathanael, even though they have never met before.
But, who is this man Jesus speaks so highly of? Some think he is the disciple referred to in other parts of the Bible as Bartholomew. In his Sermon #90, John Wesley offers this insight about Nathanael. Wesley says, “He is a man of excellent spirit, not quick to believe, and yet open to conviction and willing to accept the truth wherever he finds it.
First, there is no cunning or sneakiness about him.
• He is authentic and genuine.
• He speaks the truth from the heart.
• He cannot tell a lie.
• He tells nothing but the truth.
The second thing about Nathanael is his sincerity, which leads to wisdom or discretion.
• Nathanael always appears exactly what he is.
• He is not a phony.
• He speaks what is on his mind (or heart). He doesn’t hide anything.
• He speaks like a child with simplicity.
Not only was Nathanael not a hypocrite, evidently Jesus saw in him qualities not found in God's own people. He was open to the truth. He was ready to follow wherever truth might lead him. And most importantly, he was ready to listen, especially when he asks Jesus, “Where did you get to know me?” His question confirmed Jesus’ assessment of him was right, but how did this Nazarene know? Somehow Jesus had read his heart, but where could it have been? Nathanael had a feeling that this was going to be an important moment in his life.
Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
“Under the fig tree?” Nathanael thought to himself.
Perhaps the kind of person Nathanael was had something to do with his time under a fig tree. Micah 4:3-4 and Zechariah 3:10 suggests that "under a fig tree" may be a place of contemplation. Maybe Nathanael was a "thinker," who would question and contemplate everything until he was sure of its truthfulness.
Traditionally, rabbis studied the Law under a fig tree. It was a place a person searching for the truth would go. Someone might also go there for prayer and meditation, for guidance or to be given a sign. Perhaps that is why Nathanael was under the fig tree. And now he has the sign he had asked for in Jesus’ answer, “I saw it all,” Jesus said, your anxieties, your pleadings and your hopes – under the fig tree."
Jesus’ had gotten his attention with the remark about his character, but his answer to Nathanael’s question – that’s what ‘sealed the deal.’ Nathanael had been ‘seen’ by this man he had never met – under a fig tree. And having been seen, he believed.
Maybe we all need more fig trees – at least in a figurative sense – quiet places where we can think. We all need places we can go to be alone, to get away, and just slow down; even places and times away from work and our daily routine, where we can sit and reflect or pray about our hopes and longings. At any rate Nathanael must have had such a place “under the fig tree” which no one could know about but himself and...
That is when Nathanael realized who Jesus was – the One other than himself who was there; the One who knows everything, even the personal details of a person’s life. It was at that moment Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Nathanael came face to face with the truth and he spoke what was on his heart.
Cynthia Anderson, associate pastor of Barrington UMC, Barrington, Illinois, in her reflection of today’s text, writes, “We see because we have been seen, and love because we have been loved.” I like that. Because, isn’t this really how it happens - our epiphany? It isn’t anything Phillip has said that convinces Nathanael. And it isn’t anything anyone has told us about Christ that convinces us. Only after Nathanael comes into Jesus’ presence does he recognize who Jesus is. And that is how it is with us as well. When the light penetrates the darkness, he understands. It is when he realizes he has been seen and is known by this man, that Nathanael ‘gets it’ and his life is forever changed.
Rev Anderson goes on to say, “The story shifts our focus away from our efforts to get others to see Jesus and reminds us that we are able to see only because God has first revealed God’s self to us.” In Jesus we can trust God sees us.
The apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are not what we used to be.” He points out to his readers, “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” This is something God does. Paul says, “you were bought with a price,” and I might add, by a God who has seen you, and knows all about you.
Like Phillip, we can invite others to come and see, and walk with them to Jesus – and trust the light to penetrate the darkness. Our calling is to bear witness with grace and obedience to the light that shines in our lives through the Son of God. The ability of others to see the light does not rest solely on our powers of persuasion or our ability to tell others who Jesus is. The ability to see Jesus comes as a gift from God through the graceful and mysterious movements of the Holy Spirit. We can take others by the hand, share our excitement with them and invite them by the faithful living of our lives to come and glimpse what we have seen – but we cannot make them see.
We can point to the light and then trust that the light shines and the darkness will not overcome it.
Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
“Sermon 90” (John Wesley).
Cynthia Anderson, Living by the Word, Christian Century, Jan 11, 2009.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
January 11, 2009 Message
Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11
“A Memory of Baptism”
The Epiphany Season begins with the baptism of Jesus and ends with his Transfiguration. In both, there is the voice from heaven, which "shines upon" (the literal meaning of the Greek word from where we get "epiphany") Jesus, making him more clearly known to the world.
There is power in the words of scripture – words that reveal the nature God.
Genesis 1:1-2 says that in the beginning, a creating “wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” In the NIV, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” And in the Message, “God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.” Psalm 29:3 speaks of a “thundering voice… over mighty waters.” And Mark 1:10-11 speaks of, “the Spirit descending like a dove on him” as Jesus “comes up from the waters.” And in the “voice from heaven” saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” It is these kinds of words that create an images for the mind and a memory for the soul.
William Paul Young, uses such words in his book The Shack, when he describes the Holy Spirit as wafting “about like an eddying wind,” or “never quite knowing which way she was blowing” or the Spirit’s moving “in tandem with the breezes.” Words impact us.
After reading the gospel lesson today, there is no doubt about Jesus’ identity. He is the beloved Son of God. God says so – in all four gospels. And in parallel accounts found in the other three gospels, Jesus’ baptism “fulfills all righteousness” (Matthew); the Spirit remains with Jesus (John); and prayer becomes an important part of the story (Luke).
This identity is reinforced by similar declarations at the Transfiguration, at his birth and at his resurrection. It is at his baptism that God claims Jesus as his own. Grinning from ear to ear, God says, “He is mine!” Jesus’ baptism creates for us that same memory of baptism in which we are claimed also as God’s own – maybe not in the same sense, but claimed nevertheless.
God is well pleased with Jesus. One of the most important realities of life is to know that God is well pleased not only with Jesus, but with us as well. God delights in Jesus and also delights in us. God delights in our uniqueness, even though we are sinners. To know that God is pleased with us transforms our lives.
Assurance comes from hearing. In Mark, it is Jesus who hears God’s voice; in Matthew and Luke, it is those present; and in John, it is John the Baptist. The point being, not everyone there that day saw the Spirit or heard the voice “from heaven” even though the different gospels help to create that memory for us. Through these gospel accounts, we can hear and see the events of Jesus’ baptism.
Jesus was the Son of God, but his baptism gave him the verbal assurance that he was indeed God's son. It was an assurance given before anything Jesus did. I believe God says the same thing to us in baptism -- or to paraphrase it, God the Father declares: "I like you" or as Young writes of Papa saying in The Shack, “I am very fond of you.” God's "liking us" or fondness for us, is not based on what we have or haven't done. It is "us" that God likes, not what we do.
This frames our identities as well. God's “liking” us is a first and final word about who we are and to whom we belong. This is “the truth” that should frame our life as Christians, a gift and blessing that brings freedom for growth, service and love.
Unlike us, Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit; but like us, his baptism gave him the visible assurance that the Spirit was definitely present with him. And knowing that, Jesus was able to face anything that came his way. The Holy Spirit likewise empowers us.
The gospels tell us that through his baptism, Jesus has God’s "stamp of approval." Might the same be true then of our own baptisms? Shouldn’t we see our baptisms as giving us the assurance we are children of God? And shouldn’t we see our baptisms as filling us with the Holy Spirit so we can face whatever lies ahead?
Luther said the strength of his faith was found in his baptism – when God put his claim on him. We have that same assurance through baptism of being children of God and being filled with the Holy Spirit – a baptism not of our own doing, but of God’s doing.
In our baptism, similar things happen to us as happened to Jesus when he was baptized: 1) The Spirit of God comes into us and remains in us; 2) We are declared to be a child of God; and 3) We hear that God is well pleased with us.
In the memory of our baptism, we are able to hear the voice that speaks to us over the waters – the voice that proclaims to a world of conflict that we are all “very good” and claims us all as “beloved.”
In the memory of our baptism, we are able to see the Spirit moving in and out of our busy lives. And in that memory, there are moments of ‘epiphany’ when we are able to see the Spirit’s hovering presence beckoning us toward a different way, to a new creation.
And in the memory of our baptism, of long ago or yet to be, we are able to hear a voice from above, breaking open the heavens, a voice stronger than any storm or any mountain, calling out to us, saying. "Beloved." "I am very fond of you." "I like you a lot."
That is God's word for us today as we remember the Lord’s Baptism, and ours as well.
...........................................................................
Quotes from
The Shack, Wm Paul Young, Windblown Media, 2007.
Resources
Living By the Word; Christian Century, Dec. 30, 2008; Frank M. Yamada
Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_baptism_of_jesus.htm
Crossmarks by Brian Stoffregen, Faith Lutheran Church, http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark1x4.htm
Christine D. Pohl, Asbury Theological Seminary, http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1637
“A Memory of Baptism”
The Epiphany Season begins with the baptism of Jesus and ends with his Transfiguration. In both, there is the voice from heaven, which "shines upon" (the literal meaning of the Greek word from where we get "epiphany") Jesus, making him more clearly known to the world.
There is power in the words of scripture – words that reveal the nature God.
Genesis 1:1-2 says that in the beginning, a creating “wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” In the NIV, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” And in the Message, “God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.” Psalm 29:3 speaks of a “thundering voice… over mighty waters.” And Mark 1:10-11 speaks of, “the Spirit descending like a dove on him” as Jesus “comes up from the waters.” And in the “voice from heaven” saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” It is these kinds of words that create an images for the mind and a memory for the soul.
William Paul Young, uses such words in his book The Shack, when he describes the Holy Spirit as wafting “about like an eddying wind,” or “never quite knowing which way she was blowing” or the Spirit’s moving “in tandem with the breezes.” Words impact us.
After reading the gospel lesson today, there is no doubt about Jesus’ identity. He is the beloved Son of God. God says so – in all four gospels. And in parallel accounts found in the other three gospels, Jesus’ baptism “fulfills all righteousness” (Matthew); the Spirit remains with Jesus (John); and prayer becomes an important part of the story (Luke).
This identity is reinforced by similar declarations at the Transfiguration, at his birth and at his resurrection. It is at his baptism that God claims Jesus as his own. Grinning from ear to ear, God says, “He is mine!” Jesus’ baptism creates for us that same memory of baptism in which we are claimed also as God’s own – maybe not in the same sense, but claimed nevertheless.
God is well pleased with Jesus. One of the most important realities of life is to know that God is well pleased not only with Jesus, but with us as well. God delights in Jesus and also delights in us. God delights in our uniqueness, even though we are sinners. To know that God is pleased with us transforms our lives.
Assurance comes from hearing. In Mark, it is Jesus who hears God’s voice; in Matthew and Luke, it is those present; and in John, it is John the Baptist. The point being, not everyone there that day saw the Spirit or heard the voice “from heaven” even though the different gospels help to create that memory for us. Through these gospel accounts, we can hear and see the events of Jesus’ baptism.
Jesus was the Son of God, but his baptism gave him the verbal assurance that he was indeed God's son. It was an assurance given before anything Jesus did. I believe God says the same thing to us in baptism -- or to paraphrase it, God the Father declares: "I like you" or as Young writes of Papa saying in The Shack, “I am very fond of you.” God's "liking us" or fondness for us, is not based on what we have or haven't done. It is "us" that God likes, not what we do.
This frames our identities as well. God's “liking” us is a first and final word about who we are and to whom we belong. This is “the truth” that should frame our life as Christians, a gift and blessing that brings freedom for growth, service and love.
Unlike us, Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit; but like us, his baptism gave him the visible assurance that the Spirit was definitely present with him. And knowing that, Jesus was able to face anything that came his way. The Holy Spirit likewise empowers us.
The gospels tell us that through his baptism, Jesus has God’s "stamp of approval." Might the same be true then of our own baptisms? Shouldn’t we see our baptisms as giving us the assurance we are children of God? And shouldn’t we see our baptisms as filling us with the Holy Spirit so we can face whatever lies ahead?
Luther said the strength of his faith was found in his baptism – when God put his claim on him. We have that same assurance through baptism of being children of God and being filled with the Holy Spirit – a baptism not of our own doing, but of God’s doing.
In our baptism, similar things happen to us as happened to Jesus when he was baptized: 1) The Spirit of God comes into us and remains in us; 2) We are declared to be a child of God; and 3) We hear that God is well pleased with us.
In the memory of our baptism, we are able to hear the voice that speaks to us over the waters – the voice that proclaims to a world of conflict that we are all “very good” and claims us all as “beloved.”
In the memory of our baptism, we are able to see the Spirit moving in and out of our busy lives. And in that memory, there are moments of ‘epiphany’ when we are able to see the Spirit’s hovering presence beckoning us toward a different way, to a new creation.
And in the memory of our baptism, of long ago or yet to be, we are able to hear a voice from above, breaking open the heavens, a voice stronger than any storm or any mountain, calling out to us, saying. "Beloved." "I am very fond of you." "I like you a lot."
That is God's word for us today as we remember the Lord’s Baptism, and ours as well.
...........................................................................
Quotes from
The Shack, Wm Paul Young, Windblown Media, 2007.
Resources
Living By the Word; Christian Century, Dec. 30, 2008; Frank M. Yamada
Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_baptism_of_jesus.htm
Crossmarks by Brian Stoffregen, Faith Lutheran Church, http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark1x4.htm
Christine D. Pohl, Asbury Theological Seminary, http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1637
Sunday, January 4, 2009
January 4, 2009 Message
Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
This Tuesday, the day after tomorrow, is an important day – it is Epiphany, the day when church tradition celebrates the Magi – or as the song says, kings from the orient – who followed a star to its resting place over Bethlehem to honor the new born King. In mythology a star would rise to its zenith (or highest point) to reveal the presence of a divine hero. In astrology, this particular rising star represented the rising of Capricorn, Judea’s sign in the zodiac – thus signaling the birth of that nation’s new ruler. The Magi were thought to be astrologers from the east, who under the star's zenith, honored Jesus, the Christ child, with precious gifts common to eastern cultures; gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew's Gospel, of the four, is the sole record of these “wisemen” from the east. So, why does Matthew include this story when the others don’t? One popular understanding is that Matthew was all about ‘connecting the dots,’ for the Jewish people of his day. His account of the Magi fulfilled the prophecies made in the Books of Numbers, Isaiah, and the Psalms, that the whole world would pay homage to the God of Israel. The Magi from the east represented this larger world. It is also said that Mathew’s account of the Magi symbolizes God’s inclusiveness – and God’s shinning forth or revelation of God’s human form in the person of Jesus Christ – to all people, Jews and Gentiles alike.
These “magi from the east,” these star gassers and fortune tellers, were looking for a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience. They hoped to discover the one talked about all these years, the one mentioned in ancient Hebrew writings. They were searching for the truth. They wanted to become wise. And yet, they shouldn’t have been there. They followed the stars, and signs in the sky - not God. They were the wrong race and the wrong religion. They shouldn’t be there, but they were. They would have been much better models of believing in the wrong things. If only they were kings.
Matthew’s message may have become distorted by our attachment to a song. Who were these travelers from the east – kings, right? Anyway that is who they are in our Christmas programs – the ones with crowns on their heads. And how many were there – three? Matthew says they were magi, not kings. And there is no mention of how many, only that the magi brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. See how mistaken our understanding can sometimes be – especially when we learn the wrong stuff?
Perhaps the greatest truth anyone can discover is how to be truthful about ourselves. In his book “Wisdom of the Heart” Alan Cohen writes, “Dear God, please help me to recognize the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful is it.”
Cohen suggests that most of what we think about ourselves, we learn from others. We adopt the oft times dark self-images projected on us by others who don’t love or know themselves. And because of what they have taught us, we begin to believe that we too are somehow deficient and unlovable. We find ways to avoid facing who we really are. We fill our lives with busyness, or other peoples’ dramas, or even with addictions to avoid facing who we really are.
We see the world not as it is, but as we are – how we perceive ourselves to be. The reality we experience is the one we carry with us in our mind. So the vision we use is crucial to our lives now and in the future. And the truth we live about ourselves, who we are, and whose we are, is critical to that vision.
But the truth is that we are children of God, made in God’s image, loveable and loving, of infinite value and worth. You are someone! You are beautiful! You are worthy! You are an amazing creation!
We discover the truth when we see ourselves through God’s eyes and not through the comments of those who taught us that we are inadequate and unlovable. It is then we become wise. It is then we have hope. It is then we are face to face with God.
Discovering that truth leads to discovering life! To discover how to be truly human, as God created us to be, is the ultimate quest for people everywhere. We are to be like those men from the east in Matthew’s story, who were drawn by Bethlehem’s star to a place where they found God before them. Haven't we all felt that same desire to find a “newborn king” in our lives? Don’t we, too, seek to be truthful, to live and love, and above all to be human? Isn't that why we continue to follow the One to whom the Bethlehem star has led?
Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians that, “through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known…” We, who are the church, have that same responsibility to share what we have found. We don’t really know if these men from the east were “wise” before they found the “new king” – this Christ child called Jesus. However, we do know they were “wise” after discovering the new king through God's revelations to them, and then… having taken a “different way” (God’s way) home.
God calls us to do what the Magi did, and that is to seek Christ. Meaning is found in a pursuit of the Messiah. Purpose is discovered in the quest for the Son of God. Seeking the One who has come looking for us is the key to finding true meaning and purpose.
As today’s Magi – or wise ones - who seek to discover how to be truthful about ourselves, how to live and love and to be truly human, may each of us hear the words of Isaiah as our call to follow Bethlehem's star and the Star Child it welcomed into the world, "Arise, shine out, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord God is rising on you, though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples.”
It’s up to us now to “make it known” to those who are yet to be wise.
This Tuesday, the day after tomorrow, is an important day – it is Epiphany, the day when church tradition celebrates the Magi – or as the song says, kings from the orient – who followed a star to its resting place over Bethlehem to honor the new born King. In mythology a star would rise to its zenith (or highest point) to reveal the presence of a divine hero. In astrology, this particular rising star represented the rising of Capricorn, Judea’s sign in the zodiac – thus signaling the birth of that nation’s new ruler. The Magi were thought to be astrologers from the east, who under the star's zenith, honored Jesus, the Christ child, with precious gifts common to eastern cultures; gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew's Gospel, of the four, is the sole record of these “wisemen” from the east. So, why does Matthew include this story when the others don’t? One popular understanding is that Matthew was all about ‘connecting the dots,’ for the Jewish people of his day. His account of the Magi fulfilled the prophecies made in the Books of Numbers, Isaiah, and the Psalms, that the whole world would pay homage to the God of Israel. The Magi from the east represented this larger world. It is also said that Mathew’s account of the Magi symbolizes God’s inclusiveness – and God’s shinning forth or revelation of God’s human form in the person of Jesus Christ – to all people, Jews and Gentiles alike.
These “magi from the east,” these star gassers and fortune tellers, were looking for a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience. They hoped to discover the one talked about all these years, the one mentioned in ancient Hebrew writings. They were searching for the truth. They wanted to become wise. And yet, they shouldn’t have been there. They followed the stars, and signs in the sky - not God. They were the wrong race and the wrong religion. They shouldn’t be there, but they were. They would have been much better models of believing in the wrong things. If only they were kings.
Matthew’s message may have become distorted by our attachment to a song. Who were these travelers from the east – kings, right? Anyway that is who they are in our Christmas programs – the ones with crowns on their heads. And how many were there – three? Matthew says they were magi, not kings. And there is no mention of how many, only that the magi brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. See how mistaken our understanding can sometimes be – especially when we learn the wrong stuff?
Perhaps the greatest truth anyone can discover is how to be truthful about ourselves. In his book “Wisdom of the Heart” Alan Cohen writes, “Dear God, please help me to recognize the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful is it.”
Cohen suggests that most of what we think about ourselves, we learn from others. We adopt the oft times dark self-images projected on us by others who don’t love or know themselves. And because of what they have taught us, we begin to believe that we too are somehow deficient and unlovable. We find ways to avoid facing who we really are. We fill our lives with busyness, or other peoples’ dramas, or even with addictions to avoid facing who we really are.
We see the world not as it is, but as we are – how we perceive ourselves to be. The reality we experience is the one we carry with us in our mind. So the vision we use is crucial to our lives now and in the future. And the truth we live about ourselves, who we are, and whose we are, is critical to that vision.
But the truth is that we are children of God, made in God’s image, loveable and loving, of infinite value and worth. You are someone! You are beautiful! You are worthy! You are an amazing creation!
We discover the truth when we see ourselves through God’s eyes and not through the comments of those who taught us that we are inadequate and unlovable. It is then we become wise. It is then we have hope. It is then we are face to face with God.
Discovering that truth leads to discovering life! To discover how to be truly human, as God created us to be, is the ultimate quest for people everywhere. We are to be like those men from the east in Matthew’s story, who were drawn by Bethlehem’s star to a place where they found God before them. Haven't we all felt that same desire to find a “newborn king” in our lives? Don’t we, too, seek to be truthful, to live and love, and above all to be human? Isn't that why we continue to follow the One to whom the Bethlehem star has led?
Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians that, “through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known…” We, who are the church, have that same responsibility to share what we have found. We don’t really know if these men from the east were “wise” before they found the “new king” – this Christ child called Jesus. However, we do know they were “wise” after discovering the new king through God's revelations to them, and then… having taken a “different way” (God’s way) home.
God calls us to do what the Magi did, and that is to seek Christ. Meaning is found in a pursuit of the Messiah. Purpose is discovered in the quest for the Son of God. Seeking the One who has come looking for us is the key to finding true meaning and purpose.
As today’s Magi – or wise ones - who seek to discover how to be truthful about ourselves, how to live and love and to be truly human, may each of us hear the words of Isaiah as our call to follow Bethlehem's star and the Star Child it welcomed into the world, "Arise, shine out, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord God is rising on you, though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples.”
It’s up to us now to “make it known” to those who are yet to be wise.
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