February 3, 2008 Readings

1 Corinthians 1: 18-31

18-21 The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It's written,

I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head,
I'll expose so-called experts as crackpots.
So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.

22-25 While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God's ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can't begin to compete with God's "weakness."

26-31 Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."

Matthew 5: 1-12

You're Blessed

1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

3 "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4 "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5 "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

6 "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

7 "You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.

8 "You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

9 "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

10 "You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.

11-12 "Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

January 27, 2008 Message

“Something Different”
Matthew 4:12-23

The focus of our gospel lessons the last couple weeks and today is who is called, who we are called to, and what we are called for.

A couple weeks ago, the gospel lesson was about God’s voice being heard at Jesus’ baptism claiming him as God’s own, telling him God was pleased with him, and saying God had great plans for him. That same voice is heard at our baptism as well. God claims us. God commends us. God welcome us. And in so doing, God makes us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to the whole world. Last week the gospel lesson was how best to discover what Jesus is all about… to come and see, to be like Christ. This week the gospel lesson is about…
"Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you.”

We hear that scripture read and we know what’s coming, right. How many times have you heard a message based on that reading? Quite a few, I imagine, for some of you. Jesus calling the disciples from their work as fishermen is one of those well-worn passages of the Bible. Then add to that the singing of the song “Are You Able?” or “Take Up Thy Cross” and you pretty much know what’s coming next. Everyone’s ready for a nap now. We’ve heard that sermon before. However at times such as these, it’s good to think outside the box.

An older couple goes to breakfast at a restaurant where the "seniors' special" was two eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast for $1.99.
"Sounds good," the wife said. "But I don't want the eggs."
"Then I'll have to charge you two dollars and forty-nine cents because you're ordering a la carte," the waitress warned her.
"You mean I'd have to pay for not taking the eggs?" my wife asked in amazement.
"YES!!" stated the waitress.
"I'll take the special then" the wife said.
"How do you want your eggs?" the waitress asked.
"Raw and in the shell," the wife replied.
She took the two eggs home.

Bill Cotton, former Superintendent of the old Creston and Muscatine Districts of the Iowa Conference, gives the calling of disciples a new twist though. Listen to this. He says, “I think he is calling people out of hell.” Yes, he did say hell, which he defines as something other than “red hot pokers.” He goes on to say, “I think hell is isolated humans who have chosen to go it alone. So Jesus will call this strange bunch together, fisher folks, tax collectors, zealots, timid souls and blustering loud mouths. He calls them out of their hellish condition into a new community. Jesus is all about relationships. No Lone Rangers in the new kingdom. He knows that alone is very bad company.”

Now we’ve always heard this passage preached as a call to discipleship, a call to action - to “get up off our boats” and follow Christ… that has often been translated, as “do more for the church.” But that isn’t the message I want you to hear this morning – that you need to do more for the church. I want you to hear something else - something you may not have ever heard before when this passage is preached – an invitation to do something for yourself. It’s an invitation to relationship, an invitation to be part of the group, an invitation to end your isolation from others: "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you.”

I can remember growing up one of the shows we watched on WHO-TV was “Let’s Go Bowling” hosted by Jim Zabel, a popular sports broadcaster who also did all the Iowa games on radio. Bowling was a very popular sport and pastime back then. The bowling alley was generally one of the stops for those of us cruising the loop on Saturday night. Then there was only a opportunities for open bowling; most nights were league nights. Robert Putman, in a book entitled Bowling Along, the Collapse and Revival of American Community (Simon and Schuster, New York, 2000), used bowling as the metaphor to examine the absence of group life in American culture. Putman discovered that more people bowl than voted in the Presidential election. Yet, bowling alleys were going broke. The social aspect of bowling - hanging around afterward to eat and drink and socialize - had all but disappeared. There was no longer any time for that. It was easier for people just to bowl alone and get on to the next thing in their busy lives. In the eight years since, we have not seen any indication of a reversal to that trend in our society, have we? If anything, our need to “get on to the next thing” has only multiplied.

Putnam also reminds us that once there were dozens of informal groups in every community where people came together and created a social resource or investment of sorts. That mostly ended in the 1970s and we became a community of strangers. Perhaps you have seen the same thing in the organizations you belong to. Does it seem today like there are fewer people who belong and less commitment of those who do? People have become more into themselves and in doing so, have become more isolated, even though there seems to be more things going on in their lives. Jesus calls us from our isolation: “Come with me…”

More and more, society has become divided. I think most of us would agree that the red/blue division of American society is not a good thing; in fact, it is a hellish thing? And that division promises to become even more noticeable in a month or so when the party caucuses and primaries are over with and the presidential election begins. And it’s not just in our politics. Everywhere you turn, there seems to be more distinctions made between one group or another; and with it the development of an ‘us’ verses ‘them’ mentality.

And yet God is a God of us all, right. God isn’t a ‘red” or a ‘blue’ God. God has no color. God doesn’t speak this language and not that language. God makes no distinction between rich or poor. God isn’t about fences but about bridges. So, when we set ourselves apart from one another what do we do? We set ourselves apart from God; and that is a hellish place to be. That’s not good at all! Jesus calls us from our hellish places: “Come with me…”

Jesus calls us to relationship. Putnam notes that when people first came together in various groups they might not have become close friends at first, but over time, relationships formed and when the community needed to work together groups formed, unions were made and bridges were built between diverse people. That is what Jesus is doing in today’s lesson – calling a motley crew to relationship, bringing them together not only so they might get to know him, but also so they might get to know one another. And in getting to know one another they might know God - in relationship and in love.

Somehow, the Church needs to take the lead in restoring this kind of community. Jesus didn’t call Andrew and Peter, James and John, and the others to do all those things we find ourselves doing in the church; he called them to be in relationship with him and one another. Isn’t that what we should be doing first and foremost, as well? Or are we too busy for informal relationships, too busy with our own lives, too busy with what the church has become that we don’t have time for one another? Jesus calls us from our busy-ness: “Come with me…”

T.S. Eliot - poet, dramatist, literary critic, and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 - once asked the question of the Church, “What life have we, if we have not life together?” Pardon the pun but Eliot knew how to raise hell!

Jesus calls us from our hellish places: “Come with me…”

January 27, 2008 Readings

1 Corinthians 1:10-18 (The Message)

The Cross: The Irony of God's Wisdom
10 I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I'll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common.
11-12 I bring this up because some from Chloe's family brought a most disturbing report to my attention—that you're fighting among yourselves! I'll tell you exactly what I was told: You're all picking sides, going around saying, "I'm on Paul's side," or "I'm for Apollos," or "Peter is my man," or "I'm in the Messiah group."
13-16 I ask you, "Has the Messiah been chopped up in little pieces so we can each have a relic all our own? Was Paul crucified for you? Was a single one of you baptized in Paul's name?" I was not involved with any of your baptisms—except for Crispus and Gaius—and on getting this report, I'm sure glad I wasn't. At least no one can go around saying he was baptized in my name. (Come to think of it, I also baptized Stephanas's family, but as far as I can recall, that's it.)
17 God didn't send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him. And he didn't send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words.
18 The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense.

Matthew 4:12-23 (The Message)

Teaching and Healing
12-17 When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills. This move completed Isaiah's sermon:

Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
road to the sea, over Jordan,
Galilee, crossroads for the nations.
People sitting out their lives in the dark
saw a huge light;
Sitting in that dark, dark country of death,
they watched the sun come up.

This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: "Change your life. God's kingdom is here."
18-20 Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.
21-22 A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee's sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them, and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father.
23 From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God's kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God's government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives.

January 20, 2008 Message

Come and See!
John 1:29-42

Last week we concluded God’s voice could be heard. It was God’s voice, wasn’t it, Jesus heard at his baptism? It was God’s voice claiming him as God’s own; God’s voice telling him God was pleased with him; and God’s voice saying God had great plans for him. God’s voice is heard at our baptism as well if we are listening carefully enough. God claims us. God commends us. God welcome us. And in so doing, God makes us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to the whole world. Some of us may have even heard God’s voice last week as we reaffirmed our baptism and imagined what might lie ahead on our journey of faith.

In today’s reading from the gospel of John, Jesus turns to two men who are thinking of following him, and says, “What are you looking for?” Jesus doesn’t just receive them. He actively confronts them and initiates them into discipleship by asking a question, a question all followers of Christ find they must, sooner or later, deal with – what are you looking for?

What are the things we are looking for? Is it a place to belong, to feel successful, and to be loved? Or are we searching for answers, to know more than we do now, or for meaning to our lives? What is it we want - to be freed from whatever binds us, to rid ourselves of our aches and pains, our anxiety, and lift us from the depths of hopelessness? What is we hope to find - a code of behavior, a better way to live, or a longer life? What is it we’re looking for?

Andrew and the other disciple were probably looking for something as well. They were on a journey, a quest - a mission to expand and to grow their soul. Why is it we are here today following along behind Jesus? What are we looking for?

At first the two men’s response, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” seems strange and somehow lacking – even simple-minded. Yet maybe it is a good answer - especially if they were just looking for a “rabbi” or teacher - and not the Messiah. Maybe all they wanted was to “transfer” their discipleship from John the Baptist to Jesus the Lamb of God. I doubt they had any idea of the portent of what they were saying. They surely weren’t ready to go where Jesus was at, or would be going, and if they had any idea, they probably wouldn’t have asked. They wouldn’t have had a clue then. Only after their time with him would they truly understand.

So Jesus says, “Come and See.” Last week I shared with you something that bears repeating again today. It is what Kathleen Norris says about Jesus’ response, which is perhaps key to understanding what faith really requires of us. “Faith,” she says, “is not so much a certain way of thinking as doing – and not doing so much as being.” That’s huge, really! It will be in our following him – in our living with him, up close and personal – in our being, that we are able to understand “where Jesus comes from.” Only by coming into his presence and ‘seeing for ourselves’ can we truly understand, can we really know what he is all about.

Just come and see! You’ve heard those words somewhere before, right? Grandpa, just come and see! Grandchildren are so excited to show you something they have done – just like their Moms and Dads were before them. Whether it’s a drawing a Christmas tree and its colored ornaments or a new dance with body twirling and arms uplifted or reading a new book big, words and all, or giving a tour of a newly created Sim town, introducing of course all the people who live there or playing old Rock classics on Guitar Hero, they jump at the chance to show those who will ‘come and see.’ And they want you come right now. There is immediacy to their request that is sometimes hard to deal with. The invitation to see Jesus has the same urgency about it.

Come and see is an invitation to observe Jesus from up close and personal – and to do it right away, not after a while. It’s buying in today, not tomorrow. It’s connecting now, not later.

The Reverend Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America also suggests that this invitation is “a call to share in his sufferings, to entrust one’s whole life to the promise that this one is the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Come and see Jesus is the invitation to live by faith and to be (transformed). It’s the invitation to come and die, to lay down one’s life for the sake of the gospel...” (Mark S. Hanson, “Come and See Jesus.” January 2003 issue, copyright 2003, Augsburg Fortress)

By coming and seeing, the life and ministry of Jesus then becomes the center of our own faith. Of course, this puts pressure on us as Christians to live a life worthy of the name. We are called to follow Jesus as a student follows a master; to become like Christ by imitating him. That’s what a good teacher does. He teaches by example, by explanation, and by passing on the skills and knowledge needed. A good student then listens, watches, and imitates. Even the apostle Paul considered himself a student as he taught others: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1) and “be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1).

Living a Christian life involves imitating Christ, placing God at its center as Jesus did. Paul says, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). To get the mind of Christ, imitate Christ; learn to think like Christ, learn to act with love and compassion like Christ, learn to do what he did, live the life he did, and trust God like he did. That’s what it means if we accept the invitation of Jesus to come to the place where he is staying. And then others can come to Christ through us, as we share with them, “Come and see!”.

I am here because God has called me here - to come and see - to listen, to watch, and to be like Christ. God also invites you. So, imitate Christ; think like him, act like him, and live the life he did. But most importantly, trust God like he did.

We are after all a people of new beginnings, a people of new songs, a people of new life. God’s grace makes it all possible for me, for you, and for all who sit in darkness and yearn for the Light. Jesus has told us to take the gospel into the world, to turn the night into day, to make it possible for others to hear the voice of God speaking to them: “You are my son, my daughter.”

It’s important for us to envision God’s kingdom, ever expanding, ever growing because our imagining it happening is a small but necessary step to making it real. It’s been said, “What cannot be imagined will surely not come to pass.” This is why it is so important to keep telling the story of how the light did come to those who where in the darkness. If it happened once, it can happen again and again and again – as often as we need it to happen - because God’s love for God’s creation is that great.

It started with a few, willing to come and see. There numbers grew in the next three years as more and more were invited to come and see. They learned where God could be found. They discovered a life worth living. They were transformed into the likeness of Christ and became like him, centering their whole life on God. They came to see… and they became God’s own.

Let us all now come and see!

January 20, 2008 Readings

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (The Message)

1-2 I, Paul, have been called and sent by Jesus, the Messiah, according to God's plan, along with my friend Sosthenes. I send this letter to you in God's church at Corinth, believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life. I include in my greeting all who call out to Jesus, wherever they live. He's their Master as well as ours!

3 May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours.

4-6 Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There's no end to what has happened in you—it's beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.

7-9 Just think—you don't need a thing, you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.

John 1:29-42 (The Message)

29-31 The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I've been talking about, 'the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.' I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God."

32-34 John clinched his witness with this: "I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, 'The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' That's exactly what I saw happen, and I'm telling you, there's no question about it: This is the Son of God."

Come, See for Yourself

35-36 The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb."

37-38 The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, "What are you after?"

They said, "Rabbi" (which means "Teacher"), "where are you staying?"

39 He replied, "Come along and see for yourself."

They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened.

40-42 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John's witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, "We've found the Messiah" (that is, "Christ"). He immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, "You're John's son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas" (or Peter, which means "Rock").

January 13, 2008 Message

Listening for God
Matthew 3:13-17

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

God spoke. And someone was listening – enough anyway that Matthew records it in his gospel. No doubt Jesus heard it because right away he was off to the wilderness somewhere getting ready for what was to come next. Whether someone else heard what God said is not clear but our faith leads us to believe God’s voice can be heard – if we listen.

"This morning," said the pastor, "I'm going to talk about the relationship between fact and faith. It is a fact that you are sitting here in this room. It is also a fact that I am standing here talking to you. But it is faith that makes me believe that you might be listening to what I have to say."

Today we are bombarded by a conglomerate of voices and noises all around us no matter where we are at or where we turn. And we live with all this noise without thinking twice. We hear these voices from somewhere ‘out there’ and it’s no big deal. Yet without knowing it these voices often control our lives. Ernest T. Campbell writes that these voices "from above," as he puts it, can even lock us in "rooms with open doors" or suspend us in a strange or bizarre way of living. These voices can determine what we buy, what we eat, what we expect from others, even what we think about ourselves.

Why isn't God's voice more discernible than all those other loud voices sounding in our head? Perhaps we have become so mesmerized by the sound of our own voices we listen only to voices that sound like our own. Voices that sound too different - that have a different accent, that speak a different language, that are higher or lower in tonality than our own, that use too large a vocabulary, or ignore basic rules of grammar - too often aren’t really heard at all.

Perhaps as Americans, we have enjoyed a culture of essentially ‘one voice’ for too long. We insist that everyone speak our languages - English, scientific rationalism, free-market consumerism. These are powerful, persuasive languages. But as we enter the 21st century we are being called to listen ever more attentively to multilingual voices that are carrying different messages. God sent Jesus to a multicultural, multilingual population. Jesus was raised where many different languages and voices were commonplace. He was raised to be a multilingualist. Yet he could always distinguish God's voice among all the languages he encountered throughout his ministry.

In Jesus' day, Galilee was a cultural crossroads, as different from Jerusalem and the heart of Judaism as any area could be. It was an area populated by people of many different nations and cultures, with new people coming in all the time. In its history, Galilee was at times ruled or controlled by Babylon, Persia, Egypt, Syria and Assyria. It has been suggested, "God could hardly have chosen a more multicultural context into which to send Jesus of Nazareth."

Galilee can be seen as a symbol of God firmly anchoring biblical faith in the fringes and margins of the social order rather than in the centers of power. Consider what that means for all of us. Where do we most often find ourselves, as individuals or as the church - in the fringes or margins of society, with those whose voices and lives are different than our own, or more in the center or mainstream, where we all speak the “same language”? Jesus' Galilean model suggests that the greatest need for the gospel is in fact with the “most marginalized of society,” those whose voices either are never heard or if they are, never understood because they are different from our own. God calls us to be there too!

But do we really listen? Have we really heard God’s voice among all the voices that clamor for our attention everyday? Can we actually pick out God's voice from all the other voices? Are we able to hear, as Jesus did, God say, “This is my son (or daughter), the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” True, God affirms Jesus’ identity in these words. And true, God also commends his obedience by what is spoken. But also, Jesus was about to embark on a journey, a ministry, and the realization of God’s purpose for his life and God’s promise to his people.

Baptism is that sort of moment. It is a life defining moment. It is a moment when God claims us, commends us and sends us off on a journey, a ministry, and the realization of what God intends us to be. The church has tried to dress it up a bit in sacramental finery, but the reality is - baptism is more radical than what happens here in the sanctuary. It is no less than our symbolic death to sin and our rebirth in Christ to righteousness and justice and peace (hence the bird). At this moment of new beginnings, Christ's voice can be heard - if we listen closely enough - introducing us personally to the Father for the first time: "This is my beloved brother;" or "This is my beloved sister .... I am well-pleased with them and am sending them out to do my work.”

Baptism bonds us together; it connects us through Christ one to another. Most importantly, baptism is based in Christ's life, death and resurrection, not some mysterious ‘sacred brotherhood or sisterhood’ centered on human friendship or warm community. It includes people rather than setting them apart. Jesus’ was a life of ministry to all. His was a death for all. And his was a resurrection including us all. Through baptism we are truly, as Paul says in Galatians 3:28, "one in Christ Jesus."

Do you believe that? Really believe? In Acts 10:34-43 Peter spells out what he believes. It’s taken him awhile to reach a mature faith and now lays it out. Reverend Bill Cotton, former Superintendent of the old Creston and Muscatine Districts of the Iowa Conference, shared in his Memo for Preachers that today, when we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, it is a good time to think about what we believe and what defines us personally as a follower of Christ. He says,
“I wrote my Credo in 1959 and can’t believe some of what I said. To see it today makes me realize that the journey of Peter offers hope to all of us who have gone through stages of faith development and are not yet finished. That is what I like most about being United Methodist. Our baptism is the beginning of a faith journey with others that is not complete...indeed will not be completed in this life.”

I imagine if I looked at what I believed twenty years ago… or ten years ago… or even a year ago, I’d find it hard to believe as well. I imagine you would too. But that’s okay, after all – isn’t that what the journey is all about? And isn’t that what baptism is all about? What comes next!

Next week we’ll hear more. We’ll discover what comes next. We’ll hear Jesus ask his new disciples from John: “What are you looking for?” And when they respond, “Teacher, where are you staying?” we’ll hear Jesus say, “Come and See.” The significance of this simple statement - “Come and See” - is huge! Our baptism calls us (using the words of Kathleen Norris) not so much to a certain way of thinking as doing – and not doing so much as being and witnessing.

God’s voice was heard. It still is… sometimes. We don’t always hear. When we do hear, we don’t always understand. The language may not be ours. But Jesus understood. He was God’s own. God was pleased. And God had great plans for him.

God has gladly claimed us as well… and made us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to the whole world. Listen carefully! Hear God’s voice. And imagine the journey ahead.

January 13, 2008 Readings

Matthew 3:13-17 (The Message)

13-14 Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. John objected, "I'm the one who needs to be baptized, not you!"

15 But Jesus insisted. "Do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism." So John did it.

16-17 The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God's Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: "This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life."


Acts 10:34-43 (The Message)

34-36 Peter fairly exploded with his good news: "It's God's own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you're from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he's doing it everywhere, among everyone.

37-38 "You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.

39-43 "And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn't put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we're not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets."

January 6, 2008 Message

Ephesians 3:1-12
“The Re-Solution”

One of the first questions asked me this new year was, “What was your New Year’s Resolution?” I’ve never been one for making New Year’s Resolutions so you can guess what my answer was. However whether we do or not, this time of year is about resolutions. It’s a time when most of us realize that the old solutions in our lives aren’t working and there is a need for self-improvement or personal transformation, or even spiritual formation. There is need for change. And some of us respond by making New Years resolutions.

For more than two thousand years people have been making resolutions on New Year’s Day when January became the first month of the Roman calendar in 153 B.C. Named for Janus - the god of doorways and gates because he could look both back on the past year’s events and forward to the future year - the first month of the year became associated with the notion of resolutions.

A survey of 300,000 people determined the 5 Most Popular New Year Resolu-tions to be: 1) Weight loss/Get in Shape, 2) Stick to a budget, 3) Debt reduction, 4) Enjoy more quality time with family and friends, and 5) Find a spouse. Also in the top ten were: “Volunteer/Serve people” and “Get more organized.”

Research, though, found that when it comes to making and keeping these resolutions:
- 40-45% of American adults make one or more resolutions each year
- after one week, 3/4 of the resolutions have been kept, which drops to 2/3 after one month, and a little less than 1/2 after six months.
- those making a New Year’s resolution are 10 times more likely to attain their goal than someone who does not make a resolution.
- Persistence is the key. Only 40% of people succeed on the first attempt. The rest try and try again with 17% succeeding only after 6+ attempts.

There are some things we can do to improve our chances of keeping the resolutions we make. It’s better to:
- Have a strong commitment to change. Spontaneous, half-hearted resolutions tend to be broken.
- Set up coping strategies to deal with the setbacks that will challenge resolutions. Confession, repentance and accepting grace are good.
- Keep track of progress in a journal or by telling friends. The more monitoring one does, the better chance for success. Accountability and community.
- If a resolution involves stopping one behavior, couple it with a replacement behavior. Put off the old, put on the new.

Most of us want some sort of change in our life – change for the better - whether we make resolutions or not. Don’t you suppose God wants that change as well? Isn’t that what the gospel is about - changed lives? Jesus embraced changed lives and resolutions. He encouraged those wanting to improve their lives. So, New Year’s resolutions can remind us God wants to be the solution, God wants to give us new life.

What change in life are you in need of today that God can give life to in this new year? Jesus didn’t come just to save us. Jesus came to establish a kingdom on earth brought about by changed lives. Jesus came as the solution.

But what happens if we turn the concept “resolution” on its head and think of it as re-solution?
In today’s text Paul addresses an Ephesian church that had some problems in need of solutions. The church is torn apart by the question of “who-is-in.”

Paul tells them a mystery: The Gentiles have become equal co-heirs with the Jews in the family of God. The ‘re-solution’ he offers for their unity now is the same ‘solution’ he preached on his first two visits - the gospel of Jesus.

Whether then or now, Paul says, the gospel of Jesus Christ is about radical inclusion and unity in the family of God. It’s a “you are accepted here just as you are,” despite your sense of unworthiness. It’s a solution of grace.

The same gospel is also a re-solution. Grace and forgiveness go with us every time we fall short of God’s hopes for our lives. We can’t do it on our own. Our motivation to fix our lives or to win God’s approval always falls short. The gospel is to be our resolution – and our re-solution. Our motivation is to be grace and forgiveness and our response love as we resolve to live the gospel that re-solves us time and time again.

The solution becomes the re-solution. Isn’t mercy new every morning? “Morning by morning new mercies I see,” as the hymn writer puts it. Isn’t receiving grace a process and an event? Sure it is!

That’s because the gospel isn’t merely a one-time solution for our broken-ness and separation from God. It’s a re-solution. We are always in need of grace — yesterday, today, and tomorrow - and Jesus always remains God’s re-solution.

If the research shows that 25 percent of resolutions are busted by January 8, then we don’t need just a solution. We need a re-solution.

In creating a New Year’s resolution, everyone is in essence saying, “I’m going to re-solution this. The old solutions certainly haven’t worked. Time to re-solution my life.” God echoes that sentiment, and the gospel provides the means to extend it to people — through forgiveness, grace, prayer, community and the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

Despite how tragic or dark a person’s life seems, and despite how many times people have failed in an area of life and regardless of everything that needs fixing, a re-solution is always right at hand in the gospel of grace.

Part of the divine mystery of grace and forgiveness found in the gospel is that no matter how many steps we have walked, or run, away from God, we need only one step to return to him.
I don’t know where you are today. Perhaps it’s to enter a relationship with Christ for the first time. Maybe there’s a need to recommit your life and priorities to God. Or, as faithful followers, to recognize one or two areas where growth is still needed. Wherever you are… pray, today and this week, that the Holy Spirit lead you in seeking God as your re-solution. And then come back next Sunday ready to reaffirm the baptismal vows made by you or in your behalf.

Let us pray…