Notes for Epiphany 6
Mood:  happy
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
MOTIF
> The Sneetches: We're all caught up in same dilemma.
--> We know things aren't quite right, we see brokenness in our world, in ourselves.
--> We know we need change---but the CHANGES that the world around us offers ... don't satisfy our deepest needs, cannot heal our deepest hurts.
--> Yet the awareness remains: There are things in my life that need to change---the question is WHAT and HOW.
[[[VIDEO ON CHANGES]]]
> Sale rack: "AS IS," "SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR." [pocket won't hold, zipper won't zip, button won't butt]
--> We're all slightly irregular---none of us is normal, NORMAL is a setting on your dryer. We all have things that need to change.
--> "Totally normal women who stalk their ex-boyfriends."
--> AS IS tags: Fear, pain, temper, lust, illness, haunting memory, regret
> One thing I love about the Bible is God doesn't try to hide fact that God's people need to be changed: Adam blames Eve, Cain murders Abel, Abraham plays favorites with sons---still enemies to this day, Isaac does the same, so does Jacob whose sons throw Joseph in well ... and these are the heroes!
--> These people are not the Waltons or Cleavers---need a therapist, Dr. Phil/Laura/Ruth/Spock/Seuss!
--> What do we learn from this?
--> The babies in the nursery aren't the only ones that need to be changed: Isa. 53:6.
DILEMMA
> What do I need to change? What am I supposed to change into? God's goal for you: PEACE. ALL OF OUR CHANGES ARE ATTEMPTS TO FIND THE PEACE FOR WHICH GOD CREATED US. [SHALOM: Harmony with God and with others] [[[SHALOM]]]
> What takes away my peace? Your AS IS tag ... pain from past/Frustration with present/Fear for future
> Col. 1:19-22; John 14:27: How do I live in the peace that's already mine in Jesus Christ?
TEXT: 2 Kings 5:1-19 and pray
5:1: NAAMAN: Name means "pleasant one"---but his life wasn't. "Great man," "valiant soldier" ... BUT something in his life that needed to change, something that's struck every semblance of peace from his life: "He had leprosy"---this was his AS IS tag.
> Small spot at this point [5:11], but ...
> "Leprosy" included not only "Hansen's Disease" [from listening to Hanson] but also other skin diseases: If this was Hansen's Disease ...
> Soon, leprosy spread until ... repulsive, he couldn't lead battles, reduced to rotting remnant of man, separated from all he's ever achieved or loved. As he looks at his life, huge AS IS tag---no peace, needs change.
5:2-3: [Show Aram on map] Arameans were Israel's enemies; in fact, Arameans had just defeated Israel at Ramoth-Gilead.
> Not only that, thieves and kidnappers ...
> Little girl, unnamed, as his wife watches her husband wither away day by day: "If only my master ..."
5:4-6: Believes only way he can find peace is through what he can do ... he may not have health but has money ... 10 talents [750 pounds], 6,000 shekels [150 pounds].
5:7-10: Goes to king's court > "Am I God? King is trying to pick a fight with me!"
> Elisha: "Send him to me, he will see, there is a prophet in Israel"---hope!
> Elisha sends secretary/"Seven times ... Jordan"/When it's calm enough to dip in, the Jordan is a nasty, muddy river.
> Change you need isn't something you can achieve; it's something you simply receive---but the path to receiving it isn't always the pathway you expected.
> Naaman can't see past his "AS IS" tag---he sees his leprosy, his power, his way, and nothing more.
5:11-14: "If it had been something you had to achieve---win battle, give money---you would have done it. Why not try this way?"
> Each time, looks at skin ... finally.
5:15-19: Rushes to Elisha's, "No God except in Israel!"
> "Can I give you ... ?" No! "Can I have ... ?": Irony, dirt of Israel had been precisely what he didn't want just a few moments earlier! Now, he wants two truckloads!
--> Why? He believes God of Israel can only be worshiped on Israelite soil ... Elisha smiles and says, "Okay, take dirt"---Elisha knows what Naaman doesn't, God who reigns in Israel also reigns in Aram.
--> "What about when I go into temple?" [Thunder, high god of Aram]---recognizes, if Israel's God is supreme, Rimmon is false.
--> Elisha sees that it isn't only Naaman's body that's been changed; it's his soul: "Go in peace."
RESOLUTION
> How do I change so that I can experience peace? Stop living AS IS and start living AS IF.
> Naaman: "AS IS": Leprosy ... money and power can change/"AS IF": However absurd it may seem, I will step into this water as if this God can change me.
APPLICATION
> How does this work, practically?
--> AS IS: Anger ... root: "My agenda is most important" ... AS IF: "God is in control, greater agenda than my own, I will live as if he knows what he's doing."
--> AS IS: Lust ... root: "I want more/different than what God has provided." AS IF: "I will live as if God provides me what I need."
--> AS IS: Struggles with money ... "I just need to make more" ... AS IF: "I will live as if God will provide what I need/change my habits/give God what belongs to him."
--> AS IS: Relationships that stand in way of God ... "God doesn't provide all I need" ... AS IF: Every need I have, Jesus can fulfill.
--> AS IS: Bitterness ... "What that person did wasn't covered at the cross" ... AS IF: "I will live as if that wrong was nailed to the cross with Jesus, Jesus suffered punishment for it, God can take care of it."
> "I can't!": Naaman, standing before muddy water ... it's in risk of radical obedience that we learn to live AS IF.
> Each AS IS is something that blocks our peace.

Notes for Epiphany 5
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Motif
> "How the Grinch Stole Christmas": Will they still celebrate Christmas when all the gifts are gone?
Dilemma
> You've struggled with this question too. No, the Grinch has never slipped into your house, but ...
> ... Will I still trust in God when I'm not getting anything good out of it?
---> There will come a time in every person's life when, as far as you can tell, you're not getting anything good out of your faith in God.
---> PROBLEM: Often, when we advertise Christian faith to the world, we tell about all the wonderful things you'll get out of it.
-----> The world is smart enough to see that not everything is positive and perfect---not even for Christians.
-----> Christians experience tragedy, pain, and sickness in the same amounts as the rest of the world. And the death rate of Christians? So far, every person who has become a Christian has eventually died!
> Recently, asked some people on the street about this: "Why do even people who believe in God experience tragedy?" [[[VIDEO]]]
---> Caused by karma/caused by sin/caused by chance [[[KARMA: Doesn't see that there is more good than evil/CHOICES: {Job} Partly true; none is sinless---but why isn't it proportionate? Assumes God directly causes/CHANCE: Partly true; but, if chance is the final word, life is a series of random events, with no guaranteed outcome]]]
---> God has set up the world so sin and stupid choices have consequences: SO, sometimes, it's sin/God has created a world in which nature operates freely: SO, sometimes, things happen and God doesn't intervene./In such a world, you'll eventually face the question: "Will I still trust God even when I get nothing good out of it?"
> That's how Israelites felt in Isaiah 40.
TEXT
> Read Isaiah 40:12-31 and pray.
> Israel: Nation that God chose so that he could show his power to the world ... turned them from slaves to a mighty nation ... called him, "Yahweh"/"I AM."
> This passage is written from the perspective of the exile---the time when the country of Babylon removed the Israelites from their land.
---> Some scholars believe that Isaiah wrote it, looking FORWARD to the exile (around 700 BC); others believe that one of Isaiah's followers wrote it DURING the exile (550 BC).
---> Ultimately, doesn't matter: It is part of the record of God's dealings with humanity, and it is true.
> [Israelites in Babylon/assumed it was because of sin/Many of them admitted, turned/"Now what?"]
> "If God doesn't come through for us, why trust him? If we don't get anything good out of following God, why follow?" Like what Grinch envisioned in Whoville: If we don't receive the gifts we expected, why celebrate?
> The prophet says the same sort of things that God said to Job: [Verses 12-13]
---> These people are homesick in Babylon, considering turning again to idols---and God wants to talk about the size of the oceans, the width of the sky, and the weight of the earth!
---> Why, when people are wondering ... , does God consistently direct their attention to nature? YOUR STRUGGLES ARE NOT THE FINAL WORD. [[[The earth was here long before you ever set foot on it, and it will most likely continue long after its dust and your body have mingled together in the sleep of death. The universe is vast and ancient, and we are ever so small. READ VV. 12-13.]]]
---> One of the great losses of spending so much time in cars, homes, buildings, enfolded in TVs and headphones is that we lost sight of how small we are.
---> Plus, if you look at universe honestly, you cannot deny that there is, here, imprint of power greater than eyes can see. [PSALM 19:1-2]
[[[THE LORD OF THE RINGS: "There are greater powers at work."]]]
> When we wonder, "Why serve God when I'm getting nothing good out of it?" ... we are assuming that the powers we see working are the only ones/when we look honestly at creation, we see that there are powers at work far greater than anything we can imagine. [[[Vv. 14-17]]]
> V. 18: "To whom can we compare?" Dangerous! For these people, there is another option besides Yahweh---Marduk, god of Babylon.
---> So ... Vv. 21-22, 25-26: "I'm the one beyond it all!"
> Vv. 27-29: "How can you say that I'm not seeing your struggles? ... you're following me for nothing? I'm offering you power and strength!" >> "Yes! This is what we've been waiting for! Defeat our enemies!"
> V. 31: "I will give you power and strength to keep going."
---> Begins with "soaring," then running, then walking, then waiting: If God only gives us strength for the times that we're soaring and running, he wouldn't be giving us much---what he offers is the strength when all that we can do is to plod and to wait.
---> Maybe your entire Christian life is all soaring and running---if so, good for you ... go home. [You don't need what we have to offer here; this church is a place for people who struggle.]
---> If your life is anything like mine, your spirit spends far more time plodding and waiting than soaring and running.
---> This God gives us strength for the waiting, power for the plodding, and grace for those few moments when we find the wings to fly.
RESOLUTION
> So, what do you do when you're following God and you're getting nothing good out of it? CHECK YOUR DEFINITION OF "GOOD."
---> Our definition of "good": "What works according to my standards---what makes my life easier"---the soaring and the running.
---> That's not necessarily God's definition of "good" ... God offers a greater goodness ... in every circumstance, at the very least, he gives the capacity to keep walking and waiting ... any run-of-the-mill God can be there for you when you're soaring---it takes a truly great God to be there when all you can do is plod.
> Will you still trust God when you're getting nothing good out of it? That time will never come---because he always, at least, gives what you need to wait on his power.
> Why can God always give the ability to keep going? Because there was a time that God himself could do nothing more than just keep going. [["If there is any other way..."/Up Calvary, he wasn't soaring or skipping---it was all that he could do simply to keep going/There was a time when, from human perspective, God in human flesh was getting nothing good from his own plan/But he kept going.]]
APPLICATION
> Why are you serving God?
---> If it's only to get more things in this present life, you probably won't.
---> If it's just to skip Hell in the next life, you probably won't either.
---> God longs for you to serve him not for what you may get out of it but because you truly trust that---whatever you get, good or bad, in this life or the next---his way is best ... because you love his way.
> What will you do when it feels like you're getting nothing good out of God's plan?
---> He will always give you the strength to wait ... so don't give up, keep trusting that your wings are on their way.
> [[[BOWLERS OR TRAPEZE ARTISTS]]]
> Prayer of Merton

Fifth Sunday of the Epiphany
Mood:  rushed
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Okay, after one week of emphasizing the church's future and one week in which the associate pastor preached, it's back to series again ...

During the month of February, the messages will be outward-focused, asking the question, "What will it take for the world around us to believe?" The visual-cultural motifs will be drawn from Dr. Seuss.

On this, the first Sunday of the series, the answer will be, "When they see that, for the people of God, every moment matters." The primary text will be Isaiah 40:21-31.

Whether this chapter was written by Isaiah or by one of his immediate disciples during the exile, I am not concerned. Chapters 40-66 do not directly claim Isaianic authorship, so---even as a staunch inerrantist---I have no problem with the hypothesized authorship of Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah. At the same time, the style and content of chapters 40-66 are clearly drawn from the same well as chapters 1-39, whether or not they were penned by the same individual. And, in any case, the perspective of this chapter is exilic, whether it was written prophetically before the exile or existentially in the exile.

I'll probably use Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?

Thoughts on the text ...

From Fred Gaiser: “Who is my equal?” asks God, in our text. It’s kind of a macho question. Picture Clint Eastwood challenging any and all comers to “make my day.” “Who is my equal?” A big God on his high horse staking his claim, drawing the line in the sand, daring any to cross over it. “To whom will you compare me?” Well, nobody, I suppose, now that you put it that way. But is that the right tone of voice to put in the mouth of the God of this text, the God of the Bible? One of the most surprising things in this part of the book of Isaiah is that God invites the comparison at all, lets himself be put on trial, in fact. Who is God? Have at the question. God not only allows it, God invites it. It’s a surprising and dangerous move, because then and now there are real and obvious alternative answers. Safely seated in Sunday school, we may have no trouble naming God as God, but outside in the real world, the answers are not so clear. Then or now. When our text was written over 2500 years ago, Israel sat in captivity in Babylon, having been sorely defeated by that superpower of its day, and every observer would have said not only that Nebuchadnezzar had won, but also that Marduk had won. Who is my equal? Well, Marduk! No question. Who won? Not only your equal, but your better. Jerusalem is a burning ruin, and your people are confined to the Babylonian ghetto. “Who is my equal?” Think twice before you ask, God, there is another possibility.

Verses 27-28: "My way is hidden": There are areas of my life that I can hide from God, there are moments in my life that don't ultimately matter to God---moments when I can do what I want, times that belong to me. There are none. Every moment matters to God. There is no time when God becomes too tired or too distracted to look at your life. God does not tire, and those that wait expectantly for him to look into their lives---for the time when he will examine their lives, believing that one day he will---will find themselves sharing in this unending strength.

Initial thoughts and exegesis of Jonah 3
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: P.O.D. "Boom" Satellite
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Initial Thoughts
> We will pay the fare to take us so many places---but we won't pay the fare to take us into the heart of God's will. We'll pay our cable bill, our Internet bill, our bills for our boat, our bills for eating out---and still claim that we don't make enough to tithe. We miss the same thing that Jonah missed ... the blessing that comes from recognizing that nothing belongs to us. Jonah thought that God's plan for Jonah's life was Jonah's property and Jonah's business.
> Jonah---probably still a bit henotheistic in his theology---thought he could escape his God's power by escaping his God's territory.
> Jonah's central problem was that his vision wasn't as large as God's vision. Jonah's vision was limited to the past---of a God who cared for Israel. God was leading him into a future that was larger, more glorious---and a bit frightening ... a future in which God's love would reach beyond the borders of Israel to embrace not only Jews but also Gentiles.
> God doesn't change his plan or his message; he simply changes the route that his messenger takes.
> You can't truly desire God without also desiring what God desires.
> "Keep your fork": Believe that the future God has planned for this church is even greater than the past.

Exegesis
3:1-2: An exact repetition of the book's opening words ... God is offering a second chance to Jonah, the same opportunity that Jonah rejected before. God hasn't changed his desire.
3:3: The city is literally "great to God" (l'elohim gadolah), because this is the place where God longs for his presence to be proclaimed. "A three-day-trip city" seems to be a term from commerce, indicating a city that would take one day to do business in the outer suburbs, a day to do business, and a day to leave the city (see Wiseman, "Nineveh," IBD). The emphasis here is not on size but on significance.
3:4: Another translation might be, "three days and Nineveh will be turned up side down"---in other words, one way or the other, Nineveh will be changed, either by repentance or destruction.
3:8: Who got the job of dressing the animals in sack-cloth? "Cry mightily to God" ... "insistently ask for God's mercy."
3:10: They "turned" (shuv) from their evil ways.

Sermon notes for Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
SUPERHERO 6 of 6
REVIEW [superhero/morph/encounter/every power/takes time/gift that makes a difference]
MOTIF
> Difference between superheroes and us: Your secret identity cannot be kept secret. [Kent/Parker/Wayne]
—> ... can’t live with two identities. [MARK 8:38]
> First act of obedience: MAKE IT PUBLIC—not only in what you say but in how you live: Baptism, immersed in water, in front of other people.
> Baptism is done publicly—in front of others. Baptism is a sign that says, “I cannot keep the power that is in me a secret.” [[Baptists ... deficient theology of baptism ... Roman Catholic: Sacrament ... overreacted ... lost sight of fact that it is uniquely holy.]]
DILEMMA
> Why can’t I keep it a secret? Why can’t I have two identities?
TEXT: Mark 1:4-11
> Following Jesus is weird.
—> When you join a human organization, you pay your dues, get your membership card, go on with life.
—> When you join with the followers of Jesus—with this trail of humanity that stretches all the way back to the cross ... with all these men and women who have been crazy enough to join their lives with the life of Jesus—we half-drown you with water, give you a towel, and let you know that God wants your whole life nothing less ... and, in fact, God’s pretty stubborn about this and refuses to accept anything less.
> Following Jesus is weird. What’s more, the God who’s revealed himself in Jesus Christ refuses to embrace the notion that there might be other gods, “I, I alone am God.” This God is so not with the times.
—> You’d think that, if you’re part of an organization this weird, you’d keep it a secret, like other movements in the ancient world ...
——> ... among the Jews, there were “Essenes.” They baptized, obedience, ate locusts [in Damascus Rule, recommendations ... cooked alive in fire or water]—but they had the sense to go out in the desert, north edge of Dead Sea so they didn’t annoy the rest of the world.
——> ... among the Gentiles, there were “mystery cults,” worshiped one god and practiced strange rituals—but they had the sense to do it all secretly and not open their membership to just anyone.
—> But God—this crazy, unpredictable God who spins a world out of his very words, who shows up in burning shrubberies, and plants his feet on this planet in the flesh of a peasant’s baby—doesn’t have the common sense to keep his craziness a secret. It’s as if God wants everyone to know!
> John the Baptist tried—he started in desert at southern end of Jordan, but word spread and soon everyone (1:5) was headed into desert. He just couldn’t keep it a secret.
—> Granted, John may not have been completely sane, what with his camel’s hair and leather [reminded people of Elijah, 2Kgs1:8/Mal4:5-6] and eating locusts [IMAGINE JtheB OPENING RESTAURANT/HIS HOUSE] [FDA regulations for food contamination].
FDA Standards: Apple Butter: Less than four rodent hairs per 100 grams, fewer than five whole insects per 100 grams./Coffee beans: No more than one live insect in two immediate containers/Mushrooms: Fewer than 20 maggots per 15 grams/Fig preserve: 12 or fewer insect heads per 100 grams in two consecutive batches/Hot dogs: You don’t really want to know.
> But his baptism? This was far crazier to people then than to us.
—> Baptism wasn’t a new idea. TWO HEBREW WORDS: [In Jewish tradition ... mikveh, immersion in water [immersion following confession] ... practiced among the Essenes along edge of Dead Sea]
—> Here’s what was weird: Among Jews, only two types of people went through mikveh—Jews who were defiled and, especially, Gentiles that wanted to become Jews.
—> To experience mikveh was to turn away from one way of life to another, to go a new direction.
—> There’s a Hebrew word ... [shuv] meant “to turn around.”
—> John is implying that all of humanity needs to turn around—many leaders didn’t think they needed to.
—> “Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”: repentance is for forgiveness.
> What John was saying: “The kingdom of God is here—but you can’t see it, none of you, because you’re all defiled! You’re looking the wrong way! Shuv! Turn around!”
—> [[[1]]] Baptism is a vow—a solemn covenant-promise before God—to live a life of shuv. [Saying to God: “Take my life and shuv it.”]
> If you have been baptized, your life becomes a life of shuv—that’s the essence of the Christian life: I have turned my life away from myself, away from the world, toward God. [Partly ... when I see something that can cause me to sin, turn away. Also, whenever I see something that’s a reminder of the goodness and beauty of God ... sunset, someone in church serving, pure laughter of a child, wife, daughter.]
—> Keillor: “God speaks in ordinary things like cooking and small talk, through storytelling, fishing, and caring gently for animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music, books, raising kids—all the places where the gravy soaks in and the grace shines though.”
—> Most of all, I turn my life toward the cross, utmost love and sacrifice.]
> For Jesus, he was turning from the life of a carpenter to the road that will lead to the cross.
—> This sort of life is not easy: [Calvin and Hobbes ... “I keep hoping there’s a less obvious solution” ... so do we.]
—> We think it’s disgusting to fill our bodies with a few bugs—which, as John demonstrated, really won’t hurt you—and yet we will fill our minds and bodies with things far more corrupting than a few locusts ... things that tear at our souls ... rather than simply turning away.
—> Whenever I do not turn, I am breaking a vow that I made at my baptism.
> But baptism implies something more than a life of shuv.
> [[[2]]] When you are baptized, you confess that you believe something greater is coming.
—> 1:7: “After me ... someone greater ... not even worthy to untie sandals” [Rabbis could require follower to do anything but deal with his sandals—only slaves.].
—> Throughout Scripture, whenever God’s people pass through the water, it’s because they believe something greater is coming. [RED SEA/JORDAN RIVER/HERE, JOHN/THEN, GREATEST PERSON OF ALL SHOWS UP.]
—> Something greater is coming—not greater than Jesus but greater because of what we learn about Jesus. [Heaven ripped! Schizo—something that’s opened can be closed, something that’s ripped can't be easily put back together.]
——> The point? At the baptism of Jesus, the kingdom of God—the revealed presence and power of God on the earth—has tumbled through the sky and is falling upon the earth and nothing can hold it back!
——> Jewish peoples expected that, when this happened, God would come through that gaping gash in the eastern sky, sword drawn. The release of God’s Spirit would be like a burning fire, erupting from the sky.
——> But imagine their surprise when what falls from the sky is not the blinding glory of God’s presence, but a gentle shimmering that flutters to the earth like a dove, gently falls upon shoulders of this carpenter from Galilee. Here, in human flesh dripping with the water of Jordan, is the kingdom of God.
> Why a dove? Gentleness, peace ... A pigeon, a trash bird best known for dropping its goods on statues. It was used as an offering by people who couldn’t afford a lamb—people that the world viewed as “trash.” It is a sign that God’s deepest desire is to take our trash and turn it into his treasure—a sign that, regardless of circumstances, something better is coming.
[[[3]]] Baptism shows that God can turn ordinary in extraordinary, trash cans into treasure chests.
—> Baptism: Jordan, dirty river ... yet it becomes the place where God reveals his presence. Here: Same water goes in toilets.
—> At Jordan, to a carpenter—someone the rest of world might have viewed as trash: “You are my beloved Son. I delight in you.”
—> YOU: When you receive Jesus, baptized in Holy Spirit [1Cor12:13] ... saturated with God, because you are his child and he delights in you. [NOUWEN QUOTE]
—> In this sense, baptism is like a security blanket [reminds child of mother’s warmth, closeness, presence until mother returns/blanket is not mother] ... [reminds us of this: “Even if I cannot feel it, Holy Spirit surrounds me and saturates me. Despite times I feel like trash, I am God’s beloved child. He delights in me”--until Jesus returns].
—> God longs to take the trash that’s in your life and turn it into treasure. [Sins: In turning away, you allow God to meet needs/Pain: Tool to love others/Disappointment: Trust] ... Baptism is a reminder of God’s longing.
> At every crucial point in history of God’s people—before he takes them to a better place, the place of his treasure—he takes them through water: Before placing Adam and Eve in Eden {Gn1:1-2} ... / Red Sea / Jordan into Promised Land / Jesus, Jordan / Before throne of God, river {Rv22:1}]. In baptism, we say, “Though my eyes cannot see it, I live already in the Land of God’s Promise.” [ISA 43:2]
RESOLUTION
> Why can’t I keep it a secret?
> (1) Your superpower isn’t one that you can hold in—it consumes your whole life ... shuv [if it isn’t transforming your whole life, it isn’t real/”superhero life” versus the real person.] Some of you have “secret identity”--one way at church, another at school or work/perhaps simply silent/worst of all: They know you’ve claimed to follow, see you living no different. God is jealous.
> (2) All of this is too good to be kept a secret. You will want to share it.
> Personally witness to one person [dry mouth/sweaty palms] [simply share what God has done for you] ... “I don’t know how!”
APPLICATION
> Baptism isn’t a ritual you do; it is a life that you live.
> Each time someone is baptized, they join with [Red Sea/Jordan/Jesus/millions of saints], believing that one day they will cross the final river, the one that flows before the throne of God.
> Martin Luther: “I have been baptized”—he knew God had entered into a covenant with him, God would hunt him down, kept him coming back to God.

"I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will satisfy all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, in Jesus Christ I am your brother, through the Holy Spirit I am your friend. Wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one."

May the Spirit of Baptism give you life, may the faith of your baptism give you strength, may the community of the baptized give you support, and may Jesus Christ---the baptized one---keep you in his Father's love, now and forever, Amen.

Reflections on Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Here, heaven is "ripped"---schizo in Greek!---which differs radically from "opened." Something that's opened can be closed again; something that's ripped cannot be easily closed. Heaven has come to earth! And how? What is the sign? A carpenter's son, a passage through a muddy river, and a pigeon.

The dove ... the kingdom in which the test of citizenship is baptism is a kingdom of gentleness and peace ... what Jews expected to happen when heaven was ripped was a powerful king, riding down on a white horse slaughtering his enemies. What they got was a shimmering white bird, fluttering downward and resting upon the shoulders of the least likely of people.

The Israelites left Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea and entered the Promised Land through the waters of Jordan. Jesus enters the new Promised Land---the kingdom of heaven---through the waters of Jordan and leaves the world through the baptism of suffering. We enter this same Promised Land through the waters of baptism, believing that one day we will leave this world and cross the river that flows from the throne of God.

The Dead Sea Scrolls give recommendations on the best way to eat locusts.

John's garb evoked Elijah (1 Kings 17:4-9), who was expected to return before the kingdom arrived (Mal. 3:1; 4:5-6).

Only Gentile converts and defiled Jews went through mikveh, ritual cleansing. By calling all people to a baptism of repentance, John implied that everyone was defiled!

"My beloved son" alludes to Genesis 22:3-18 where Isaac is offered without actually being sacrificed. God will choose to do what he did not expect Abraham to do---to offer his only Son.

How is John the Baptist like Winnie the Pooh? They both have the same middle name.

May the Spirit of Baptism give you life, may the faith of your baptism give you strength, may the community of the baptized give you support, and may Jesus Christ---the baptized one---keep you in his Father's love, now and forever, Amen.

These words from Henri Nouwen describe well the meaning of baptism: "I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will satisfy all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover, your spouse. Yes, even your child. Wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one."

We bathe ourselves because we believe that something better is coming---a party, a date. A bath is way of expressing hope. Baptism is, in a sense, a way of saying, "I'm keeping my fork because the best is yet to come."

A bath is also done for the sake of community. You bathe not as much for your own sake as for the sake of others. Baptism is no different.

"We're like very young children, alone in a strange place, trying in vain to find some hint of our mother's presence. But that's why a baby creates a security blanket for herself. Child psychologists call the blanket a transitional object, something soft and warm that speaks to the child of the mother's gentleness and love. My three children each had some form of transitional object: a tattered quilt; a well-worn cloth doll; a small, sleep-stained pillow. They used these objects to bring themselves the same sense of comfort and security they drew from me; these inanimate things allowed my children to withstand being physically alone until they could internalize their own sense of safety and well-being. Of course, the quilt or doll or pillow only had meaning because my child gave it meaning; from a literal perspective, a piece of fabric isn't much like a mother. And yet a security blanket isn't a lie. The mother does exist, and she does love her child. The blanket simply allows the child to carry that love with her in a way she can touch and smell and feel. The blanket allows the baby to put skin on something that's intangible." (Ellyn Sanna, Touching God (New York: Paulist, 2002) xii-xiii) In one sense, baptism is like a security blanket; it isn't really the Spirit of God or our salvation and it means nothing apart from the Spirit. But it does serve as a reminder of the Spirit's persistent presence all around us, enfolding us in the love of God.

Repentance (metanoia): The point of this term for turning around was this: "The Kingdom of God is here---but you can't see it because you're looking the wrong direction. Turn around!" (Leslie Newbingen, Mission in Christ's Way).

Repentance: The Calvin and Hobbes strip in which Calvin says to Hobbes, "I really hurt Susie's feelings, and I'm sorry I did it. Now, what do I do?" Hobbes replies, "You could try apologizing to her," to which Calvin says, "I keep hoping there's a less obvious solution." So do we.

JANUARY 8 Celebration of the Epiphany
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
SUPERHEROES 5 (1/8/05)
REVIEW [superhero/morph/encounter/every gift/wait/gift that reveals greater power (MAKES A DIFFERENCE)]
MOTIF
> It's time to figure out your superpower—spiritual gifts/SHAPE. [1 Cor. 12:4–7]
> DIFFERENCE: Some gifts aren’t very impressive and they aren’t very useful.
> Some gifts and powers are pointless. [DAVE BARRY'S GIFT LIST].
OTHER GIFTS ARE IMPRESSIVE BUT STILL NOT USEFUL. --> [PIANO-PLAYING MAN]
--> The gifts that God gives aren’t always impressive—but they are useful and what he wants them used for is to build up his people.
DILEMMA
> How do I find my superpower? ... spiritual gift? How do I use them?
> Find out by looking at some gifts that Jesus received.
TEXT
> Read Matthew 2:1–12 and pray.
> “Magi”: Probably describes Persian astrologer-priests who followed “Zoroastrianism.” ZORRO! [Zarathustra preached in modern Iran 588 B.C./God named “[Ahura] Mazda”/Coming of Sahoshyant [Savior], born of a virgin].
--> Magi [Don't know if there were three or 300/traditional, three races]: Saw something in sky that convinced them SAHOSHYANT had been revealed among Jews. [Miraculous, perhaps “at its rising” instead of “in the east.”]
--> Magi were outsiders by race (Gentiles), religion (Zoroastrian), profession (astrologers).
--> Yet God uses their culture—even with its false beliefs—to lead them to his Messiah. [This is how God works/unlike how Native Americans ... /Among every people, there are parts of their culture that point to Jesus Christ/Paul: Areopagus/Not trying to say that the truth is found in the stars; God is showing that he could use even the stars to lead people to his truth—this baby was and is the truth.]
--> ... they went to the most natural place to find king of Jews, capital Jews.
--> “... to worship.”
> HEROD: 2:3: “Disturbed”: Appointed by Romans, had ruled 40 years..
--> Brutal, murdering three of his sons because he was afraid they were plotting.
--> Caesar Augustus once joked, "It's safer to be Herod's pig (hys) than his son (huios)."
Wrote in his will that—when he died—his soldiers would murder Jews because, otherwise, they would rejoice when he died: When I die, someone will weep
> 2:5: Through Scripture [MICAH 5:2], Herod is invited to worship. Yet Herod won't even make the three-hour trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to see [2:7].
> Herod didn't want to admit that he was not in control, he wanted to be God.
--> Book titled The Three Christs of Ypsilanti calls this MESSIAH COMPLEX: [Three patients/psychiatric hospital/Ypsilanti, MI/Leon, Joseph, and Clyde/All three believed they were God [one also believed he was married to Virgin Mary]/Milton Rokeach put them together/called this group the same thing that we always call a group of crazy people: First Baptist Church/Ortberg 108].
--> Laugh at them, but in truth everyone of us has Messiah Complex: All of us would like to be our own God. [whenever I flirt with fringes sin, worry, hate] Deep inside, I am Herod, and—left to myself—I would rather die than to give all I am to this upstart king who shows up in a manger.
--> Every human being who has ever lived has had Messiah Complex, refusing to give up the rights that come with being God—except one, and he was the Messiah.
> “So that I can worship him” (2:8): Herod thought he was lying—but one day even he will bow down before Jesus (Phil. 2:10–11).
> MAGI: When the magi reach Bethlehem, the miraculous sign stops moving; God leads them to a house where they glimpse a tiny child, not wrapped in velvet or silk of royal offspring but in homespun swaddling of a peasant's child [we don't know how old Jesus was/“two years” since magi saw star/front of houses served as stable/may have just been born or this may be another house]
> What matters isn't age: --> FOUR GIFTS: (1) Worship [proskuneo: In Matthew, only describes worship of God ... bowing down says, “You're stronger than me.”]: Amazing! They have come expecting a royal king, they find child, but they still believe not only Sahoshyant but also Ahura Mazda—not only their Savior but also their God. (2) Gold [king]. (3) Frankincense [priest—represents humanity before God]. (4) Myrrh [Mark 15:23; John 19:39/Without knowing it, they recognize him as sacrifice].
--> Beside nursery door, list ... : No rattles, no diapers, no warmer for the wet-wipes ... Embalming fluid.
> 2:12: “Another way home”: hodos, “narrow is the way”: Once you have knelt before Jesus, offered your gifts to him, you cannot walk the same paths that you walked before.
RESOLUTION
> What does this have to do with the gifts that God has placed in your life?
(1) What matters most is giving yourself. [They gave themselves first.] You are the gift that God most wants. You are what God wants for Christmas—and not only Christmas Day but every day: “I AM THE GIFT THAT GOD WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS.”
(2) Give what you have been given, even if it doesn't make sense to you. Worship and myrrh made no sense to offer to a peasant's baby in Bethlehem. “What God has equipped me to do ... well, I just can't do that ... too costly, too risky, or it just doesn't make sense. [If you're looking for a religion that “makes sense,” Christianity is not the one you're looking for.]
(3) It is in giving what you have that you find your place in God's plan. “I'll wait until I find that exact, perfect spot where I'm supposed to serve God, and then I'll serve him.” Every gift/talent/skill that you have was designed by God to be given back to him. As you give them to him, God shows you your place in his greater plan. [Magi: Gave what they had, dream that—from a human perspective—saved the life of the Messiah.]
>> Talents: Music, sports, working with hands, leading: When I do this, I don't want to call attention to myself, what I can do ... I want to use this to call attention to God. It's not about me; it's about Jesus. PROBLEM: When we begin to believe that our gifts are about us.
APPLICATION
> What are you holding back from God? Some place he wants you to serve/Something he wants you to let go/Something he wants you to change.
> Every gift is given by God to be given back to him. When we give it to him, he multiplies it into something greater than we could ever imagine, like a tiny stream that flows out until it becomes part of vast ocean/When we keep it, it crumbles into nothing.
> O. Henry, “Gift of the Magi”: Two treasures: Her hair, his grandfather's pocket watch/He pawns pocket watch to purchase combs; she sells hair to purchase platinum chain for pocket watch/In the end, each one gives a gift that the other can't use—but, in the process, they give the greatest gift of all ... they let go of what was most precious to them for the sake of the one they loved and, in this way, both gave part of themselves.
> Sort of like a great king ... gave his Son ...

JANUARY 1 First Sunday after Christmas
Mood:  rushed
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
REVIEW [Superhero/Morph/Encounter/No hero has every power] [MickeyK: Aquaman/Wonder Twins]
SEQUENCE 1: MOTIF
> Most superheroes don't have to wait for their gifts [[[instantly, Spiderman, Fantastic Four]]]
> Becoming God's sort of superhero takes time [[[more like Batman]]] ... requires us to wait.
> Many of you just finished a season of waiting [[[Christmas gifts]]]
> Gifts that don't take time [[[Dave Barry's gift list]]]
> The best gifts always take time, waiting [like going into your wedding night being able to say to your spouse, "I saved myself, every part of me, for you"/like staying committed to a family or a church, year after year, hard times and good/most of all, like the gift of experiencing Jesus Christ].
--> Today, in Connection Groups, you learned how Scripture, Spirit, and circumstances work together to make you more like Jesus; what I want you to see is that it takes time.
> Around 80 times, "Wait on the LORD."
SEQUENCE 2: DILEMMA
> Taking time is tough.
> Do you have a problem with waiting?
[[[QUIZ from Ortberg, 174, 82-83]]]
> We have a wait problem.
> Servers have to say: "I'm sorry about your wait"/"Me too, but I'm on a diet now and I've lost a lot of it."
> Everyone of you has something, this year, that you're waiting on [[[guidance from God, change in job, change in your lifestyle---marriage, graduation]]] ... I hope you have something you're waiting on, because where there is no waiting, there is no hope.
> BUT the difficulty is learning to wait graciously.
> How do I learn to wait with grace?
> ... from a half-crazy prophetess and a priest long past his prime.
SEQUENCE 3: TEXT
> Read Luke 2:22-40 and pray.
> Two rituals, 33 days after the child was named:
--> (1) 2:23: REDEMPTION OF FIRSTBORN: First of everything belonged to God [first 10% of income, first offspring] ... they could either (a) take the child to the temple, to work alongside the priests [Samuel] or (b) pay a small amount of money and keep their child.
--> (2) 2:24: PURIFICATION OF MOTHER: Birth of a new life into the world was a holy event, beautiful and divine ... Mary, though full of grace, was not perfect ... in birth of a child, an imperfect person and something holy came together ... so, the law required the mother to make an offering.
> Poor: "Two doves, two pigeons" were allowed only if the family couldn't afford anything more.
--> Slipped into the temple courts in Jerusalem, perhaps embarrassed.
> SIMEON: 2:25: "He was waiting."
--> A priest ... pursuing the presence of God while he was waiting.
--> "As soon as I see the Messiah, I'll seek God's Spirit, go to the temple courts"? If he'd done that, he would have missed the Messiah completely.
--> Nothing that kills our peace quicker than this attitude: "As soon as ... then, I will ..." [get that job/give the way God wants ... finish this project/spend more time with kids ... kids start school/read my Bible].
----> That's not waiting; that's procrastinating, putting off doing something in the present because you're convinced that there will be a better moment in the future.
--> When you live in the land of "As soon as ... I will," you never get it done.
----> You've convinced yourself that, somewhere, there is a time that will be better than right now.
----> Same lie that Eve believed in Eden.
----> Simeon knew this: There is no moment in your life more wonderful than the moment you are living right now---because right now is the only moment you really have.
----> We miss the wonder of each present moment because we are waiting for some future moment that we think will be more wonderful.
--> Because Simeon looked for the wonder in each moment, when something wonderful showed up, he recognized it immediately: "SALVATION" and "LIGHT": Looked at this baby and saw the face of God ... saw more ("a sword will pierce your heart")---saw that this baby would become a sacrifice.
> ANNA: She too is waiting.
--> At least 84 years old ... married and enjoyed only seven years ... he died.
--> Give up on God? Or live thinking, "As soon as I find a new husband, I'll truly worship God again." At least, give up after 70 years!
--> "Fasted, prayed, worshiped night and day": She never does get a husband; she gets something better---a glimpse of the Messiah.
--> Dancing through the temple, "I have seen the redemption of Israel!"
--> The greatest gifts always take time.
> Of course, JESUS, having been recognized, suddenly bursts out of his bassinet, grabs a sword from a Roman soldier, and proceeds to claim his throne. Right?
--> 2:40: God didn't have to wait, but he chose to wait.
--> In fact, come to think of it, isn't that what he's doing right now? He's preparing a place for us, waiting for the time when he can bring us home, give the gift of eternal life.
--> If the best gifts take time and if it's taken 2,000 years of waiting, think how great that gift is going to be.
SEQUENCE FOUR: RESOLUTION
> I am most like Jesus when I learn to wait as he waits. [[[Anger, wouldn't express, if you waited ... Most sins, you wouldn't commit if you waited.]]]
> How do I learn to wait graciously?
--> (1) There is no moment in my life more wonderful than right now; I will rejoice in this moment (Ps 118:24).
--> (2) God is waiting too. The reason he waits is because of his love (Jn 14:2-3; 2 Pt 3:9).
SEQUENCE FIVE: APPLICATION
> Practice waiting: (1) Leave early and deliberately drive in the slowest lane. Pray for each driver that passes you. (2) Declare a fast from honking. (3) Chew every bite at least 15 times before you swallow. (4) Choose the longest check-out line, then let someone go in front of you. Tell that person, "Jesus cares about you."
--> "I can't!": No, but God can do it through you, if you will rest in him.
--> Tattoo the Bassett Hound: Just because Tattoo could go 20 miles per hour doesn't mean that he was meant to.
--> Neither our souls nor our bodies were created to hurry all the time; we were created to wait.
--> Though we may joke about it, our constant hurry and worry is a sin, a sin for which Jesus died ... it didn't only kill Jesus, it kills us.
----> Saps the life from us as surely as Kryptonite saps the strength of Superman.
--> Add to your resolutions this year: I will learn to wait with grace.

Epiphany of the Lord
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Sunday, January 8

Initial Textual Notes


Call to Worship

Isaiah 60:1-6

Message Texts
Matthew 2:1-12
> Dale Bruner notes that the magi were outsiders by race (Gentiles), religion (probably a Persian mystery cult), and profession (astrologers) (Christbook, 44).
> "Star" may refer to something more akin to the fiery cloud of Exodus (13:21-22). But see also Numbers 24:17, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel."
> "in the east" (2:2): Better translation would be "at its rising." If the magi were from the Persian areas east of Palestine, how could they be led there by a star "in the east"?
> "Bethlehem" (2:5): By the words of Holy Scripture, Herod---as well as the Jewish leaders---is invited to worship Jesus. But none will believe (Herod sends the magi to check first, only a three-hour trip from Jerusalem) and none will bow (Herod would rather murder a potential king than to admit he may not be the only king).
> "That I may come and worship him" (2:8): Though Herod thought he was lying, he was speaking words that will one day be true; one day, even Herod will bow before Jesus (Phil. 2:10-11). (See comments of church father Peter Chrysologus on this text in Ancient Christian Commentary.)
> "House" (2:9-11): Given that the front part of most houses also served as stables, this may have been the place where Jesus was born. (In this case, "two years" [2:13-18] would refer to how long ago the magi had first glimpsed the star.) Or, it may have been a house into which Mary and Joseph moved later.
> "They knelt and worshiped" (2:11): Magi left a king's palace and went to an ordinary house. Their devotion was an act of supreme faith. From a human perspective, how else could they believe that this child---offspring of a peasant girl, staying in an ordinary home---was a king? Yet they did believe; nothing else can explain the fact that they gave him these valued gifts. They "adored him," some of the older translations have it. They adored this child who was nothing that they expected in a king.
> "Another way home" (2:12): Once you have knelt before Jesus, offered your gifts to him, you cannot walk the same paths that you did before.
> Herod's rage (2:13-19): Caesar Augustus once joked, "It is safer to be Herod's pig (hys) than his son (huios)." Herod had once killed three of his own sons to maintain his throne (Walter Grundmann, Matthaus, 84; Josephus, Antiquities, 14-18). Herod had been king of Judea since 47 B.C.---more than 40 years by this time. Deep inside, all of us are Herod, and none of us wants to give all that we are to this upstart king in a manger.
> Gold is a gift for a king, frankincense a gift for a priest (Exod. 30:34 and others), and myrrh a gift for a man about to die (Barclay). This is probably a bit overwrought---myrrh was also a gift for a king and did not directly imply death (cf. Song of Solomons 3:6; 4:6-14). Yet, in light of Mark 15:23 and John 19:39, it is difficult to believe that the original readers of Matthew 2 didn't see some prefiguring of the cross in this gift of myrrh.
> You too have gifts---oh, not gold or frankincense or myrrh. You have the gifts of God's Spirit. The purpose of your gifts is the same as the magis', though: To give them to Jesus, to use them to draw even the least likely people into worship of the Son of God.

New directions
Mood:  vegas lucky
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
After struggling for some time with the direction that God wants my preaching to take, I'm going backward instead of forward---intentionally. I've felt for some time that I've taken my current style---video clips, topical-exegetical blend, choosing a book at a time to survey---as far as it could go. The only way to take it farther would be more elaborate sets, more elaborate digital wizardry---all of which translates into more time in mindless preparation and less time in study and prayer.

So, I'm returning to a pathway that I left about six years ago. I'm returning to lectionary-based preaching, structured around the seasons of the church year. I've realized that I haven't been able to improve on the simple rhythms of the church year and the balanced diet of God's Word that I find in the lectionary. Oh, to be sure, I'm not going to become a slave to the lections---if I feel God's leadership to preach from a certain text, I'm not going to say, "Sorry, God, that's the reading for Year A, and we're in Year B. Bring that back up in two years, and I'll do it then."

Also, I find it patently ridiculous and unfaithful to the full witness of Holy Scripture when I look at the lectionary reading of the final chapters of Revelation, which conveniently excises references to hell, homosexual activity, and anything else that might be offensive to the well-heeled postmodern ear. And I find the paucity of readings from Daniel to be a bit troubling.

Nonetheless, with a handful of expansions, I find the lectionary to be far more valuable than any tool I've created on my own. So, backward I go ... with great joy.