(My replacement recorder arrived! Alas, I am still working on some technical difficulties, and I hope to have the scratchiness fixed for the following week’s sermon)

We remember the 47th anniversary of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. If you have not heard it in it’s entirety, I commend it to you.

Notes:

Opening: Joke about Philadelphia

Hebrews 13:1-3 (read again for recall).

Philadelphia – family-like love. “Brotherly love” – do any of you have brothers? Growing up can be less than loving.

Lot – entertaining angels

Verse 2, KJV “Some have entertained angels unawares.” of our Hebrews text most likely refers to Lot in Gen19. After Lot separated from Abraham, he lived in Sodom. Lot was the only righteous man living there and he showed hospitality to the two angels which God sent to examine the town. The two angels stayed with Lot after he persisted, and he made dinner for them. Just before they went to sleep, the men of the town surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that the guests come out so that the towns people could rape Lot’s guests! Lot wouldn’t allow it, instead offering his own daughters to the town instead of dishonoring his commitment to show hospitality to his guests. The towns people nearly broke the door down. The towns people pressed in on Lot and started to fight and then the angels grabbed lot and pulled him back into the house. The angels struck the towns people with blindness and helped Lot escape with his family. Lot and his two daughters were spared.

To be Bound with

To be tortured as you are of the same body.

MLK 47^th anniversary of “I have a dream speech” this weekend.- first started as the Montgomery bus boycott. This is an example of people suffering for one another, bound as others are bound, in family love.

Closing: Therefore, given that we have our hope by our faith in Jesus Christ; let family love continue among. When one is bound we are all bound, when one suffers we as a whole body suffers. In faith and love we are bound.

Sunrise on Mount Sinai

Aug 22, 2010
21th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 12:18-29

Audio is unavailable because I lost my voice recorder.

Notes:

Opening – Hurricane Ivan

In September 2004. I was a student at Bethany College in the northern panhandle of WV. The first time I had ever seen a flood. The mountains literally trembled and fell all around us. I saw homes which were swept away on the Buffalo Creek, which was now a raging river. Homes drifted along the river like a log and exploded into bits as they crashed into bridges and overpasses. It was terrifying.

The writer of Hebrews recalls for us Israel’s encounter on Mount Sinai, that blazing fire of darkness and gloom, the tempest which could not be touched. When they were so afraid to hear the voice of God.

Sinai Exodus 19:1-20:21

Transition: Verse 18 – You have not come to this! We have come to Zion.

Zion (verse 22ff)

A glimpse at heavenly worship with the Angels and saints. It speaks of presence, intimacy, closeness which was not experienced at Sinai.

Contradiction(?) – God is this, God is this. God’s voice still shakes the earth (verse 26).

We hold on to these two images of God: One distant and one near.

God is the powerful, fear-invoking, terrifying presence; but also the close, living one worshiped by the saints and angels. God remains the powerful untouchable God of heaven, yet now we are called into his presence – unlike mount Sinai where hearing his voice caused the people to fear and tremble, that approaching him would mean immediate death; Now because Christ leads us to the summit encounter with God is still as awe-inspiring as it ever was but now we are called into the heavenly courts to conduct our worship. We are no longer distant observers but intimate worshippers along with the saints and angels and in the company of Christ.

Consuming fire

All will pass away except the spiritual. This gives us hope that we can already encounter Mount Zion in our worship here on earth. We are called to a worship that cannot be shaken because it is grounded in our awesome God.

Aug 15, 2010
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Audio is unavailable because I lost my voice recorder.

Notes:

In brief: This sermon is a re-telling of the Old Testament stories of Enoch (who walked with God), Rahab the prostitute (a faithful enemy!), Gideon (though he tested God), and Jephthah (though he made an idiotic, uncalled for oath).

Enoch (11:5)

Found in Ecclesiasticus, 1 Enoch, Genesis Apocryphon, Jubilees. Also (briefly) found in Genesis 5:18-24 In the genealogy following Adam. The genealogy states a patriarch, the age at which a son was born and the number of years he lived following this son. The genealogy is not explicit if these are first sons, and it is clear that there are other sons and daughters. Enoch is the great, great, great, great (x4) grandson of Adam. And the great grandfather of Noah. For Adam the years are recorded by the phrase “The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were…” (NRSV). For all the others it is “______ lived after the birth of _______ x years.” EXCEPT for Enoch. Here, and only here, the phrase changes to “Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years.” There is also a unique additional statement about Enoch “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.” The only other extra info or description given for one of the people in this genealogy is for Noah; and this may serve to introduce him as the subject of the next few chapters.

“Walked with God.” Noah walked with God (Gen 6:9). In conjunction with that phrase it says he was a righteous man, and blameless in his generation (NRSV). LXX translate it as εὐαρεστέω – to do something or act in a manner that is pleasing This word is only used in the NT in Hebrews (quoting LXX) and later in chapter 13. What beautiful language. It was not remembered that he did some great feat, but walked with God for 300 years. He didn’t waste time he steadily walked with God throughout that (relatively short) life of his. And I think that walking implies some intimacy with God – walking talking, spending time. As opposed to the others in this list who only “lived” Enoch walked with God – a hero of the faith. From The Anchor Bible Dictionary vol. 2 page 508: “As the seventh in the line from Adam (Sasson 1978), Enoch’s life of piety is a contrast with the seventh in the line of Cain, whose life is one of bloodshed (Gen 4:23–24).”

Rahab the prostitute (11:31)

Found in Joshua chapters 2 & 6. Recognize God in the enemy, the other (though a sinner). Jericho – just on the other side of the Jordan river, the promised land. The Israelites were preparing to invade so they sent spies to see Jericho. “The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below.” (Josh 2:11) Certainly not a Jew, much less a believer or worshipper of God – and yet she is a hero of the faith! She then became part of the community. “Her family has lived in Israel ever since” (josh 6:25). She is also found the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:5)

Gideon (11:32)

Found in Judges 6-8. Israelites did evil before God and were placed under the oppression of the Midianites. God commissioned him to bring the Israelites out of the Midianite oppression, first by tearing down the altars to Baal. He was so afraid to do this that he did so under the cover of darkness. But he also puts God to the test, thrice. With the sacrificial meal which is burned up. And the double fleece test. And he was afraid too. To calm his fear God led him down to the Midianite camp to over hear the dreams that they had which showed they were already afraid. He selects the army to defeat the Midianties – actually by making it smaller. God did not want Israel to take credit for the victory. Beginning with 32,000 troops. Those who are afraid go home; 10,000 remain. Those who lapped water like a dog; 300 remain. The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east lay along the valley as thick as locusts; and their camels were without number, countless as the sand on the seashore. (judges 7:12) And with 300 Gideon defeated the Midianites.

Barak (11:32) – omitted from the sermon because it was similar to Gideon, and for time consideration.

Found in Judges 4. While Israel was under oppression by the Canaanites. A warrior, military commander. Name means “lightning.” Fought against the Sisera, conquered kingdoms.

Jephthah (11:32)

Found in Judges 10:6-12:7. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. The “legitimate” sons of his father drove him out of the family, because they didn’t want Jephthah to have the inheritance. But later, when Israel was being attacked by the Ammonites they ran out to Jephthah and asked for his help.

Foolish vow. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, ³¹ whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” He fought and won. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. Quote from Judges 11:35ff (NIV)

³⁵ When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.” ³⁶ “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. ³⁷ But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.” ³⁸ “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. ³⁹ After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite custom ⁴⁰ that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Did I just inadvertently condone human sacrifice by preaching Jephthah as a hero of the faith? Uh oh. Jephthah was a man of great faith but of poor theology.

Not the sermon I preached, but I sure would love to hear that message.

Aug 8, 2010
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Audio is unavailable because I lost my voice recorder.

Notes:

One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, “Jump! I’ll catch you.” He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: “Jump! I will catch you.” But the boy protested, “Daddy, I can’t see you.” The father replied, “But I can see you and that’s all that matters.”

How most people interpret this passage: “Faith means hoping in things and believing in what cannot be seen.”

Abraham’s faith.

Promise. Initial promise 12:5 “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” And so he went…he was 75 years old.

Fulfillment. Then, when he was 99 years old. God told Abraham that he would have a son. Not only that he and his wife would be parents at the age of 100; but that Abraham and Sarah had to wait 24 years for the promise to be fulfilled.

Rudy wasn’t a great football player because of any gifts and skills he was born with, he wasn’t even all that good. And then he only played one play in one game. But he was a great football player, simply because he had faith in himself.

Verse 13 – they died in faith without receiving the promise

The people receiving this letter were facing a time of Christian persecution; when people were killed for bearing the name “Christian.” In fact many of the heros of the faith died before seeing the promise delivered. Because the value of our faith is not in what we receive; it is not about us. Our faith is a living relationship with a living God.

Our faith in itself is our evidence of things unseen.

Aug 1, 2010
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 12:13-21 (The Rich Fool)

Audio is unavailable because I lost my voice recorder.

Notes:

Are you rich? What would you do if you won the lottery?

Michael Larson on Press Your Luck. A modern day rich fool who won $100,000 on a game show only to have it stolen from his house.

Frugality – may even that miss the point (maybe to the opposite extreme). Sitting in the grocery store comparing the unit prices of all the different brands. Hmmmm, this brand is 2.3 cents cheaper per oz than the other – still represents an undue value of money.

Money isn’t money. It represents something. What does money mean to you? Power, security, freedom?

St. Francis of Assisi. A man who forsake wealth to take on the life of poverty.

What does it mean to be rich toward God?

In the mean time I have bought a microphone adapter for my ipod and will record sermons that way. And I will post at least the outlines I have for the past few weeks of sermons.

Come back digital voice recorder!

July 25, 2010
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 11:1-13 (The Lord’s Prayer)

Notes:

Opening: An example of someone shamelessly asking for something – what might that look like? (illustration?)

Introduction to our text – why study The Lord’s Prayer?

Something that we do so often might go unexamined.

There are a few dishes I can cook without looking at the recipe. However, every so often I go back and check and discover that I had been using a different quantity of some ingredient, or I find suggestions I hadn’t considered.

Context

Sermon on the mount (in Matthew); but in Luke it follows the text from last week – Martha and Mary. , especially other instructions about prayer.

Comparison to Matthean verison(?)

Luke’s is much more brief. Omits: “in heaven,” “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” and “deliver us from the evil one.”

Observations

Prayer leads to prayer.

One quite interesting difference about the Luke version is that this is not just a teaching moment, but rather the disciples see Jesus praying, and that action leads to the request “Lord, teach us to pray.” Prayer leads to prayer. Kind of like a kid brother who wants to do everything the big brother is doing…just because he is the big brother.

Pray to your Father.

The Disciples ask “Lord teach us to pray,” not “Would you pray for us.” The prayer is directed to the Father in heaven. When you pray, do so in this way: to the father.

ἀναίδεια

The shamelessness of asking. The word is translated as “boldness” in our NIV pew bibles; other translations use “persistance” But it more carries the connotation of shamelessness, ignoring what is proper, disregarding other’s opinions, unconvential. We are to pray, especially if we do not have the words, we are to pray especially if we are non-professional pray-ers (illustration?)

Challenge, with instruction.

Soon now, following this message we will enter into a time of prayer. I want to encourage you to come before the Lord our God boldly, shamelessley, honestly letting your desires and needs known. I will offer some general prayers for the needs of the church and the world and then I will invite you to pray saying “for what else shall we pray?” Here, speak out to God among us as one family and let your needs known.

Also, realizing that we are one family; that the needs of one member are the needs of another, let us affirm the prayer of our brothers and sisters when they are finished by joining them in prayer and asking “Lord, hear our prayer.”

Our prayer time on this day may go a bit longer than we are accustomed, and there may be longer bits of silence – and that is okay. Prayer can be quite an awkward, personal, scary thing – but that is why we practice. Prayer leads to Prayer. Let us prepare now to continue our paryer.

July 18, 2010
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Col 1:15-28

Notes:

Movie in 3D

I went to my first movie in 3D a few months ago. It was “How to Train Your Dragon.” Watching the movie in 3D was an interesting experience. Things did seem to come out off of the screen at me. It reminded me of a ViewMaster, those little red binoculars that you put a paper disc in and could see the pictures with some depth; it was like that except everything was moving. It is advertized as a way to make the movie-going experience “more real.” But, sometimes I found it distracting, especially for an extra $5 per ticket. When I had to remove my glasses to find some popcorn, the 3D went away – it was all just an illusion. It was really in 3D, just made up to look that way.

The Text

The Apostle Paul presents a Christological hymn for us in the beginning of his letter to the Colossians. Scholars have suggested that the first part of our reading, verses 15-20 represents an early hymn or poem about Christ. [read the 5 verses again here] It speaks primarily of Christ as first among all things, above all thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities. He is the ruler of all things, the creator of all things, and so is above all things. It declares that he has come before all things and that he leads all things.

Today I would like to focus on the first verse: Christ is the image of the invisible God. The image of God. That, in Jesus we meet God face to face. When we want to imagine what God is like we need only look to Christ.

Creation

Reference to the image of God is made elsewhere in scripture. The first that comes to mind is in the creation account in which God, when he creates humans, says “Let us make people in our image, according to our likeness…So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them.” (Gen 1:26 & 27) What does it mean that we are created in the image of God? Does it mean that God has a body? That we reflect God’s love, compassion, intelligence, free will? Something else?

Yes, in some mystical way we carry the image of God with us through the divine act of creation. But, we remember what happened in the garden and the image was tarnished in Adam’s sin.

The Second Commandment

Later in scripture, after God rescues the Israelites from slavery in Egypt he makes his covenant with them and gives the ten commandments; the second of which was “Thou shalt not make any graven images.” Again, the same word as is in our second reading today. The Israelites took this command seriously, idolatry being one of the greatest sins which could be committed. And so God remained invisible.

Remember a few weeks ago we read that story about Elijah on the mountain. God was not in the earthquake, not in the wind, or the fire, he was in the still quite. Still even when Elijah came as close as any person had ever come at that point to seeing God was confronted with a still nothingness.

Christ is the image of the invisible God.

And now we read in Paul’s letter, in the Christ-hymn in which we are reminded that Christ is the image of the invisible God. Christ makes God known in the world. Christ makes God see-able. When we want to know what God is like we have our answer in Christ. The letter tells us that God is invisible and Christ is visible. How can that be?

Maybe it is like the invisible gorilla.

Maybe it is like the invisible gorilla. It is a psychological experiment to show that people don’t always see what is right in front of their eyes. Could Christ simply be making us aware of a God how has been there all along, and we have just been blind to him?

Maybe it is like an infra-red camera.

Or maybe it is like an infra-red camera which makes the infra-red light visible. Light on the spectrum which we cannot see is translated into light which we can see on a screen. But again this is only a simulation; we never really see infra-red light, just a computer’s rendition of it. We still need a piece of equipment to help us see it.

Christ is the image of the invisible God.

It is not quite like either of these examples, because Christ actually is, in a complete and full way – God in every way. He restores the divine image in creation, he is our new Adam. God is no longer invisible to us, no longer inaccessible, no longer distant. Now, through Christ, the divine image we can see, hear and touch the one true God.

July 4, 2010
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Notes:

What’s Your Name

There is a man who takes our gospel reading today quite literally. He does not carry a bag, or a wallet. He travels all over this country and has been all over the world telling people about Jesus. He takes this text so literally, in fact, that he does not even wear shoes, not even in the winter. He depends on the hospitality of others. His hair has grown out, he has a beard, and deep blue eyes. He wears a robe, carries a bible and many call him “The Jesus Guy.” Whenever he is asked the question “What’s your name?” He will simply repeat the question back “What’s your name. I am known by the question.” He has been featured on 20/20, in Time magazine, and there is a recent documentary about him, this man who takes this Gospel call seriously. He is not an ordained minister, he holds a high school diploma, he is just a normal guy.

I have meant him once. Back in Hagerstown, about 8 years ago. I remember it being summer time and I was on my way home from a summer church camp. I was driving down Potomac Street, stopped at a traffic light and looked over to see a man in a white robe, long hair, beard and immediately my mind went to “That must be Jesus…or at least one of those street preachers you hear about in the big cities.” I drove around the block and found a place to park. I got out and greeted him. After a few moments of speaking with I realized that he depends on the goodwill of the people he encounters. I offered to take him to the nearby Denny’s for lunch. I had to lend him a pair of extra sandals because the waiter wouldn’t let him come in bare foot. We spoke over lunch about God, Jesus, the church and telling others about it. What struck me most about this man was that he was not afraid to ask spiritual questions “How is your spiritual life?” So matter-of-factly, like he was asking about the weather. When lunch was over, he continued on with the mission to declare the good news of the kingdom of God.

Our gospel reading today picks up where we left off last week – with Jesus making extreme calls on the disciples; such as “let the dead bury their own dead;” and “no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Stark reminders of the cost of discipleship. And yet, we read here about the sending of 70 disciples. Apparently this call did not deter all would-be followers of Christ.

Christ has set his face to Jerusalem. He is approaching the cross and our salvation, and he has commissioned these disciples to announce this mission and that the kingdom of God is near. This mission sounds very similar to the sending out of the 12 disciples in chapter 9 of Luke’s gospel. But now this time, he has chosen 72 to carry out the mission. Simple, ordinary people, tasked with the extra-ordinary mission of expanding God’s kingdom.

Jesus gives them a few rules for the road. Take nothing, no walking stick, no food, no money, don’t even pack a bag. You will be dependent on the hospitality of the people you encounter on this journey.

Road trip – intro

In response to my sense of call to the ministry, I decided to attend seminary. Through prayer, discernment, and the guidance of a college professor, I determined that I should attend Fuller Theological Seminary; nearly 3000 miles away. Just outside of Los Angeles, California. I didn’t know anyone who lived there, no family and no friends, no job. Some might say that this small town boy was heading out like a sheep among wolves. I had the call and desire, now I just had to get there. I was recently out of college and had little savings and so I had to find a way to get there on the cheap. Flying was out, so I decided to make a road trip of it. To save money I came up with the idea of calling up churches along the way and begging for a place to stay each night of my trip. In order to get to seminary, to begin my formal training for the ministry, it seemed I was would also be dependent on the hospitality of others – somewhat like the 72 we read about today. Though I did pack some bags and shoes.

Road trip – welcome/unwelcome.

I am quite the pre-planner. I picked a route, the number of days it would take and the sites I would see. I was not as ambitious as the 72 disciples who had no idea where they were staying until someone welcomed them into their homes. I called ahead. I made a ton of phone calls that summer. “Hi, my name is Joel. I am traveling to seminary this summer and I wanted to see if your church would be willing to help me with a place to stay along the way.” You might be surprised at how many churches said no. “Sorry, we don’t do that;” “We only do that for people who are ___________ denomination.” Interestingly enough the “no”s came from churches in larger cities. Undeterred, I called churches in smaller cities along my route. You know I could count on the small churches to help me out. Any pastor who said yes almost always said so immediately. I was just expecting to sleep in a church basement, but they offered to let me stay in their homes and feed me dinner. It was an unexpected measure of hospitality.

The disciples were only able to go where they were welcomed. They stayed in homes which pronounced peace and gave them a place to stay. Cities which were not welcoming did not hear the good news proclaimed by the 72. But, despite the outcome, we read the the kingdom of God had come near regardless.

Road trip – eat.

I was treated quite well. The first night at a strange pastor’s home they feed me steak, gave me a private bed room and bath room. They showed me around town and their church, gave me tips on sites to see, and even gave me lunch for the next day.

Sometimes the accommodations were not as great as that first night. The middle of my trip, Oklahoma, took me through rather economically depressed areas of the country. Buildings in dis-repair, some even caved in on themselves; dirt roads, no businesses anywhere in town. And I was welcomed here. The pastor was single, and living in a small run down house sorely in need of a paint job. Inside was not much better. The kitchen was developing an obvious sink hole. None of the furniture matched, it was old, torn up…and that couch was my bed. No steak tonight, instead we went to the local fast food joint. But, I ate what was set before me, and slept on the couch which was provided.

We chatted over dinner and he told me about some of the struggles of small town, rural ministry. How the town was struggling with, well everything. He told me about how he came to be divorced…I suspect he had not been given the opportunity to be so open about that painful story. It was in this form of hospitality, that I believe the kingdom of God came to him in some way that day.

I may have sacrificed some independence, privacy, and spontaneity during that trip. But staying with people was one of the most fulfilling aspects of this trip. It was wonderful to share stories with these fellow christians and to see the great expanse of the kingdom of God.

Receiving hospitality

Jesus gave an interesting commission to the 72. It was not like other calls from Jesus to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned. It was not a call to give hospitality. It was a call to receive hospitality. To eat with others, to live with others, to be with others. To be where others are. Christ was calling these 72 not just to go out and tell the good news. It wasn’t like going to the mall and handing out paper tracts without so much as a “how ya doing” to the person you are sharing the good news with. No, Jesus told these apostles to go deeper. It was such an important message that it had to come from someone who made a personal connection.

The Kingdom was expanded through hospitality.

When those disciples return, they are full of joy. Christ shares with them that he saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. There mission was a success. It was because they were bold enough to Go. To go where they were uncomfortable, to go where they were vulnerable, and go with the purpose of a mission. They went as Christ first came to us. To live among us, to eat with us, and to share in his hospitality.