Wonderful, Surprising Aroma

Text and antitext: Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."

Take a minute to ask yourself, "What do I expect from God?"

 

We may have a variety of expectations: that we or those we love will be spared from tragedy, loss or even the experience of horrific evil because of God and our trust in God. I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say as we were together in a hospital emergency room or their own living rooms, "Why is this happening to me, to us, to my daughter, son, mother or father?" I also have to confess, that sometimes I have asked these same questions of God, "Why me? Why them? Why now?"

 

At other times our expectations of God may be less intense, less immediate but still self centered. "O God, I hope my team can win." "God, it sure would be nice to get that promotion, or that job." Maybe asking God in such ways, isn't specifically for ourselves but for others: our children, our grandchildren, our friends. Whatever the case, such expectations of God border on the magical.  Say a prayer, "rub the genie in the bottle" for the advantage of ourselves or someone close to us. Might any of this be part and parcel of our expectations of God?

 

I remember family friends. They were exceedingly generous. While we were in our early 20's they would give me $100 at Christmas to help with my own seminary costs. These days that would translate into at least $1000.00. Shortly after that particular Christmas their dad, John, then in his late 40's, was diagnosed with bone cancer. As time passed all the signs pointed to the reality that John was quickly nearing the end of his life. John and his family were people of deep Christian faith. Over the months of his illness he had come to accept his death. But his wife and three sons were not near such acceptance. They were convinced that God would somehow deliver their dear husband and father. One night filled with hope and taking a biblical promise literally they had invited the elders of their church to come and pray over their beloved husband and father. They were convinced that God would heal him. The elders did come. They did earnestly pray. They lovingly anointed John's head with oil. It was powerfully moving. Then the elders left. Only a few hours later John died. He was just 49. He left a wife, three sons under the age of 22 and 2 businesses that none of them were equipped to run.

 

So, what do we expect from God?

 

Jesus had arrived for an intimate dinner with his close friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha. It was extra special because not that long ago Lazarus had died. Any of you who have been with a sibling, a parent, or a close friend as they journey towards and through death realize what a profound experience that is. Your lives and the lives of those there with you can never be the same. But this was particularly unique. You see, Jesus hadn't arrived to be with Mary and Martha until after Lazarus had died. Upon his arrival Jesus too had been caught up in his own grief. He had wept. But in the midst of his grief Jesus also acted. He walked to where Lazarus' dead body was. Then Jesus called Lazarus to come out! From the depths and stench of death Lazarus is brought out. He is still wrapped in his grave clothes but Lazarus is alive! Jesus has given him new life.

 

Now, not too long after that amazing, mind blowing experience Jesus has come to share a meal with Lazarus and his sisters. But we need to know, it's far from safe for him to do so.   After Jesus had raised Lazarus, the religious establishment was up in arms. Too many people were beginning to trust and follow Jesus. From their perspective that will never do. So, the powers of the religious establishment have decided to seek Jesus' death and even the death of Lazarus. When power feels threatened there is no limit to what it will attempt to do. Bethany, the location of Lazarus' home is only 2 miles from Jerusalem, the home of the religious powers that be. Nevertheless, Jesus comes anyway to eat with his close friends!

 

Now, the meal has begun. Mary does an amazing thing. She takes an entire pound of perfume that would take a full year's wages to purchase. Then, she lovingly pours all of it on Jesus' feet. Yes, his feet! Then Mary lets down her hair – something that Jewish women were not to do in public, bends over and then with her hair she begins to wipe the perfume from Jesus' feet. Can you imagine such intimacy? The fragrance of the perfume fills the house. Some are moved to silence. Others are moved to question.

 

Judas, one of Jesus' disciples voices his question. It borders upon the accusatory. "Why was this perfume not sold and the money given to the poor?" Now the author offers an insight. He tells us that Judas was a thief. In all likelihood Judas would have stolen some of the money if it had been placed in the common purse. 

 

Jesus is not deterred by Judas question. Instead Jesus argues with Judas. Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy chapter 15, "You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

 

This passage may be among the most misinterpreted of any Scripture passages. Some have attempted to "use" this passage to justify their own lack of concern or action on behalf of the poor and vulnerable. This is not Jesus' intent. His quotation comes from a passage where God is exhorting the people of Israel to open their hands generously to the poor, because the poor are ever present and always in need. That need is to be honored. 

 

But now, only a few days before Lazarus' death, Jesus is saying that Mary's act of extravagantly anointing his feet is amazingly wonderful. Somehow she has come to trust that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Her anointing his feet is preparing him for burial.  If a living person is to be anointed, it is upon their head over that oil is poured, a crown or hands placed. In anointing his feet, Mary is most assuredly preparing Jesus for burial.

 

Interestingly, only a short time later, on the night before his death, Jesus undertakes a similarly surprising action. Also at a meal with his disciples he serves them, including Judas, by washing their dirty stinky feet. Immediately following, he calls upon them do the same saying that as their Lord he has come not to be served but to serve. They should go and do likewise. 

 

Yet like Judas and the religious authorities of the day, like the early disciples we often resist Jesus' overtures and commands. We are sorely tempted to buy into our society's mantra that attempts to cajole us into believing that our overarching goal should be to be served not to serve. We are also instructed not to trust others, instead to be ever fearful. Finally we are part of a culture that demands proof.  Remember: THERE ARE ONLY 2 SURE THINGS – DEATH AND TAXES.

 

But such so-called certainties do not even begin to take God into account. God is full of surprises which often includes extravagant gifts towards God's people and the rest of creation.  God, the ongoing Creator of the universe, the One who dares to become human in Jesus of Nazareth (of all places), miraculously, surprising also comes to us, to all people, including Judas, with incomprehensible love, through jaw dropping service and expectation shattering vulnerability. Jesus comes to live with loving service and so to die. None of this occurs in ways that we could ever expect, nor in locales that we would predict. So it is that Jesus allows his feet to be anointed by Mary – who has begun to see that he will die, but somehow seems to have a sense that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

 

In and through his death and resurrection Jesus serves God by calling us to come out from all that binds us. His Spirit is sent to enable us to do that! He is not deterred by our resistance, by our doubt, hatred or fear. Even now he is calling to us by name, "COME OUT!" Jesus' sacrificial love is priceless, beyond any "worth" we could ever imagine or generate personally or internationally.

 

And so it is that on an early morning nearly forty years ago, the morning that my friend's dad died, we were gathered around his bed. His oldest son, deep in grief gave voice to his pain. "I thought God was going to heal Dad."  The long silence that followed marked only by sobs was eventually interrupted by his middle brother who in placing his arm around his brother gently but clearly said, " I think God did heal Dad. Just not in the way we expected."

 

Surprise, surprise! God in Jesus Christ can and does move beyond our expectations with grace and truth such that far more than just a room, indeed so that the entire universe can be filled with the sweetest aroma.  

 

Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief. Amen. 

 

Crazy Love

Luke 15:1-3, 11b- 32 (Lent 4c, 16) (March 6, 2016)

 

I want to tell you about a 'crazy' family. Do you know any crazy families? Might we, ourselves, be part of a 'crazy' family?

 

This family is composed of a mother, and 2 daughters. As you know each and every child in a family is unique making them different from each other.  That's particularly true in this family. The younger daughter is a tad bit, 'wild'. She's head strong. She knows what she wants and she wants it NOW!

 

One night, this younger daughter, barely 21, approaches her mom. She makes a demand. "Mom, I want my inheritance. I want it now!"

 

Usually people don't or can't receive their inheritance until their parent or parents have died. There are some instances where one or both of the parents are extremely generous deciding of their own volition to give one or all of their children a portion of the inheritance well prior to their own death (s).

 

But this younger daughter demands that she receive her inheritance now. It's as if she's saying to her mom, "I can't wait for you to die. Your stuff is more important to me than you. I want what's 'mine', now!"

 

Surprisingly the mother meets this demand. To do so, the mother needs to sell some of her own stuff including her car. I'm not sure but the mother may have also had to remortgage her house. I'm not sure why the mother does this. It certainly could have been out of love. It may also have been the result of profound insight. It may have even been decided as the result of resignation, "My daughter's going to do what she's going to do – with or without these resources".

 

What do you think will happen to this younger daughter once she has received 'her' inheritance?

 

As you may have guessed, things don't go well for her. Immediately upon receiving 'her' inheritance the younger daughter leaves home.  In a short period of time she blows all of her money. Initially she had thought that things were great. How she loved her freedom: partying, drinking, drugging . You may be able to piece the rest of the picture together. In those days and nights she feels that she has a ton of friends. But once her money runs out, she finds herself often alone. Towards the end of her money she is trying to survive in cheap apartments, more accurately rooms without a toilet. But now she is unable to make rent so she is couch surfing.

 

Somehow, she manages to exist like this for awhile. But eventually, she "comes to herself". She thinks, "If I could go back to my mother and tell her how sorry I am, how terribly I have treated her, who knows, maybe she'll ask one of her friends for a favor, which would give me the opportunity for a decent job? Then I could have a roof over my head, my own bathroom again. Then I wouldn't be hungry. "

 

With this in mind, the younger daughter heads home planning a full blown apology to her mother. She reasons, "What do I have to lose?"

 

But now things become even crazier. When the younger daughter arrives fresh off the bus outside of her mother's home, her mother spots her.  It's still early in the morning. The younger daughter had no place to sleep. Upon spotting her daughter the mother races outside in her bathrobe.  The mother almost falls as her bath robe is flapping in the breeze.  Almost before the younger daughter can get out her well rehearsed speech, her mother embraces her, almost dragging her inside the house. The mother announces that they are going out shopping for new clothes. The younger daughter's old room is ready. But the mother makes another announcement. "We will renovate it." Inside of ten minutes the mother is on the phone inviting her friends to attend a grand party for her returned daughter THAT NIGHT.

 

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? Has that mother lost her mind? There isn't any guarantee that the younger daughter has learned anything or is even remotely sorry for the pain she has caused both her mother and her older sister. There isn't any guarantee that within a week or two she won't repeat her same or similar mistakes. 

 

The older daughter wasn't around home that morning. The older daughter is very responsible. Her job is demanding. Yet the older daughter has remained nearby her mother's home because her mother's health has been declining. Part of that could be attributed  to the younger daughter's delinquent behavior. The older daughter feels compelled to check up on her mom, especially since her younger irresponsible, deadbeat sister abandoned both of them.

 

Over the last weeks and months the older daughter has been on the road for her job. Each day she checks in with her mom. Lord knows, there isn't anyone else to do that. Tonight she is finally coming home. She pulls up in front of her mom's house. Opening her car door she hears loud music. There's a band in the back yard by the pool. She asks the neighbors who are about to go into her mom's house, "Hey, what's going on?" They reply, "Your sister's home. Your mom is throwing a party for your sister, sparing no expense. Everyone on the block is invited. We know, it's crazy but it's also fun. Aren't you coming in?"

 

Now, the older sister is flabbergasted! How could mom do this? How could her irresponsible, wasteful, selfish sister even show her face? Suddenly the older sister is tired. She leans up against her car, with paralyzing anger. Her self-righteousness is welling up within her, threatening to explode.

 

Then the house door opens. Her mother  is running up to her. Her mother pleads with her, "My daughter! Please come inside. Join our party.  Your sister's home. She was lost but now she's found. She was nearly dead, but now she's alive!"

 

The older sister can no longer contain herself. "That daughter of yours has cost us, so much! She takes advantage of you. She lies. She's so selfish. You can't depend on her.  And now you are spending some of our hard earned money, some of my inheritance in welcoming her back here?"

 

Tears cascade down the mother's face. With quite urgency she begs her older daughter, "Please, come in. We can celebrate."

 

There they are.  One 'crazy' family composed of a loving, forgiving, some would venture foolish, mother and two of her daughters, neither of whom has any real understanding of what it means to be their mother's daughter.

 

I wonder, do you know any 'crazy' families like that? Do you know any crazy families like that?

 

And where is God in the midst of that, of our, 'crazy' families? Might God race in a bathrobe, to embrace even us – or beg us to come inside, to join the party? I wonder. Amen

Blame or mercy - to which are we clinging?

Lent 3c 16, February 28, 2016 – Luke 13:1-9 with Isaiah 55:1-9 in the b.g.

 

Sometimes, (often?) horrific things happen. Children are shot and killed in elementary and high schools. It's so tempting to cast all blame upon the shooter or shooters, or their parents, or a system like too many guns or not enough guns. or a liberal education, or absentee parents, or poverty.

 

Sometimes, there are horrific accidents that may not be any one person's fault. Boulders roll down the side of a mountain. People are struck and injured, even killed. Young children contract cancer. A plane struck by lightning crashes. Everyone on board dies.  It's beyond our comprehension. Are any or all of these people worse sinners than everyone else flying that day? Of course not! A rational person can't directly link such tragedy as punishment by God for some great sin of one or more of the people who have been injured or died.

 

Yet at the same time, we need to be careful not to completely disconnect our sin from tragedy. People are killed or injured by drunk drivers. There are fraudulent builders who try to skimp on using proper materials or disregard safe guards. Such a list could go on and on. Nor can such sin be restricted to individuals, to small or large companies or corporations. We are only beginning to deal with or see the effects of our corporate greed upon the developed world. We are just beginning to glimpse the long term effects of demanding our lifestyle from the earth upon others, especially those who come after us. There are consequences for our sin.  The lines aren't always straight forward – but at times we can see links.

 

Jesus demands that those who blame others for any "wrong" in a particular situation, to take a long hard look at themselves, to own up to their own responsibility for what is harmful or damaging in life.

 

He's very blunt with his audience in both verses 3 and 5 – "No I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all perish like they did".

 

What does he mean? Can there be good news here for anyone, including us?

 

WE must think about what he means by using the word perish. I am not convinced that he means that anyone who doesn't repent will sooner or later meet some kind of tragic end like the people in his illustrations – murdered by a tyrant even as they were in a holy place; or have a tower or sky scraper fall upon them. If God were like this, keeping track of each and every person who screwed up and meting out horrific punishments, would such a God remotely resemble the One who takes on our flesh, suffers and dies in Jesus of Nazareth? 

 

But at the same time, there is a profound truth, a warning here, issued not once but twice by Jesus. The word perish here means, "lost" – lost to relationship firstly with God but also with others. This is a serious event. And so the warning is serious. Losing our relationships, especially with those we cherish including God is serious. We need to heed the warning.

 

Jesus calls his audience that day and every day to repent. Repent means to turn around, to change one's mind, to have one's mind changed. Ultimately repent means to be opened to one's need for and dependence upon God.

 

Ours is a time where such repentance is almost unheard of – often even within the Church. In observing politicians, I rarely if ever see them admitting that they are or were wrong, that they are sorry for what they have or haven't done. Rarely do I ever hear or see them admitting that they need help from others or from God to change.

 

But let's be honest with ourselves. It's easy for us to blame politicians. We have no knowledge of their job. Isn't our blaming them and their blaming others a reflection of the overarching mentality in our society? "None of what is happening is my or our fault. None of that harms or damages others is my or our responsibility!"

 

Such thinking and acting is a denial of our own brokenness. Not only do we make "mistakes" but often, we deceive ourselves into thinking or acting as if we are God. Sometimes we think that we know best, that our actions won't impact others in ways that are harmful or destructive. At others times we may think or act as if there is no God.

 

But such thinking, such acting is sorely mistaken. There is a God. God loves us and this world. So, God gives us commands. They are for our own good, for the well being of others and creation.

 

Firstly and most importantly, we are to love God with everything we are and have. Then, flowing out of that love, we are to love our neighbors even as we love ourselves.

 

This is not easy. As Jesus tells us our neighbors are all people including Muslims, Jews, and people who deny that there is a God.  Our neighbors are people of varying skin colors and cultures, different sexual preferences. Our neighbors also include other creatures and plants. We are all interdependent. We are to love all of these, including, according to Jesus, our enemies. Not agree with them. Not allow them to walk on you, abuse or destroy you. Rather, we are to love them, to actively care about and for their well being. This is God's intention.

 

Do we miss that mark? Absolutely and often. The Scriptures tell us that regarding God's holy intent as revealed in the two great commandments, we are all profoundly guilty.

 

This too is part of our human fabric, part of our gene pool. We cannot consistently love in the way that God intends. We are called to try. But we fail – again and again and again. 

 

This is Jesus' point in his stories today.

 

Is anyone less sinful - even those who have been unjustly and horrifically murdered, or those who have died as the result of an accident?  Jesus isn't saying that the murderer is innocent or that what he or she did is good, of God. Not at all. That is also sin! That is missing the mark of God's good and gracious intent with immense consequences for many.

 

But then after Jesus uncovers some of the truth about us he also tells this amazing parable.

There is a fig tree in a vineyard. Fig trees were often used for trellising in vineyards. But this particular fig tree is not bearing any fruit, even after 6 years.  The land owner comes to gather the figs off the tree. But there aren't any. So, the landowner instructs the gardener to cut the tree down. It's the logical thing to do. But the gardener proposes a different plan. Allow me to aerate the root, to spread manure around the tree. His is a plan of mercy, of grace. It's also fascinating because this is the only place in New Testament where aerating roots and spreading manure is mentioned. The gardener then says, if after this additional year there is still no fruit, well the owner can come and cut the tree down.

 

What are Jesus' words telling us? What do they do with us and to us?

 

May they point us to the truth. We need God! We need to consistently be repositioned towards God. Often we are caught, trapped in so many different thing: fear, greed, addiction, bigotry, hopelessness, drive for success, lack of trust, self righteousness. We need to be freed, to have eyes that can see, hearts that are being warmed, minds that are opened to God and others. This is an urgent need. Seeing the truth of ourselves, of others and of God is not easy, nor painless. But this truth of ourselves and of God will set us free.

 

We can cling to the truth of God's mercy.  God sends different gardeners to aerate  the roots of our lives, spreading stuff that may not always feel good or even smell good, but which leads us from taking up space, beyond simply trying to exist,  to living, loving and forgiving.

 

We must not be complacent. Such grace- filled wonderful opportunities don't last forever. Now is the time. God help us! Amen. 

           

 

Stargazing Trust.

Lent 2c 16, February 21, 2016 (Genesis 15:1-18 with Luke 13:31-35 in the b.g.)

 

TRUST. TRUST is essential to any intimate human relationship. But TRUST isn't easy. It doesn't come without risk even with someone we know, someone we love, someone we can see, feel and touch. TRUST can cost us dearly especially when trust is violated.

 

How difficult then is it to trust God?

To trust God, the One whom we cannot see, but whom we do sometimes "hear", sense, requires at least one leap of faith or more likely a number of leaps of faith.  How then can we trust God in the living of our lives?  

 

As we live we experience many disappointments. Others upon whom we have depended disappoint us – partners, friends, spouses, employers, pastors. Sometimes the Church disappoints us. Fewer and fewer people attend worship. At times the church has been caught up in scandal, in division over many things. All the while people (millions) are hungry, hurting, wondering – if these are the people of God, well where is God? They wonder, can they actually trust, lean upon, depend on God, if this is the way some people of God act? 

 

We also know the fragility of life. Diagnoses are made. Our life's foundations may be shaken. Addictions raise their ugly heads within and around: to things, to substances, to obsessing about what others think or feel. How can we trust God in and with all this?

 

How can we trust God when things we thought we needed, things we thought God maybe even willed for us, don't happen? 

 

I think of a woman who worked so hard, who tried to do what she thought was right.  She studied hard. She married a man whom she had known for a long time. He seemed trustworthy. He appeared to share so many of her values. They both wanted a nice house. They were both willing to work hard. They began to plan to grow old together.  They were married. Shortly after the birth of their first child, her husband abandoned her. Only short months later she discovered her baby had leukemia. Thus began, months and  years of treatment. Miraculously, her cherished daughter lived. But now, years later, that child struggles with learning disabilities the result of the cancer treatments she underwent as a wee child had in order to survive. Can this mother trust God? What does that mean for her?

 

These are the questions Abram is raises today. 

 

Years before Abram and Sarai his wife, had left their homeland. They didn't leave looking for adventure. They left the familiar landscape of home because they had the sense that God was calling them to leave. Even though some of it didn't make sense to them, they became convinced that God wanted them to set out on a journey with an uncertain destination. In their minds that command came with promises. As they journeyed in obedience to God they would experience the blessings of having numerous descendants, of having their own land and of somehow becoming a blessing to others. 

 

So, off they go. Years pass. Much of their journey had been amazing. They encountered many different people. They engaged in struggles experiencing some victories. Recently Abram had been able to rescue his nephew from captivity. But - the clock is ticking. Now Abram is looking back, taking inventory of his life. God's long ago promises are still in his mind. Now he hears God's voice again. God is directing Him. But now Abram is old. He can't see how at this point in his life, God's promises are going to be fulfilled for him.

 

Descendants? Abram doesn't even have one child! Land? He's always on the move. A blessing to others? In the not too distant future he and Sarai will likely die.  God reiterates these promises. But Abram just can't see it.  

 

Can we identify with him?

 

Are we invested ourselves in seeking to know and do God's will in our living? If not, why not? Do we think, are we convinced that our plans will be better for anyone?  Do our plans, as opposed to God's direction, draw us closer to others, to God, to creation?

 

 If we are attempting to trust God, to hear and live in the face of God's promises for us and others – how is that working out? In the midst of all that is happening, personally - and collectively, do we see evidence of God's promises to us and through us, coming to fruition?

 

An important reality regarding Abram and Sarai is that God doesn't back off. God welcomes the voicing of our questions and their struggles with God. In fact, God ups the ante. God tells Abram to continue on his journey. But Abram is also to continue trust God's promises. Look up in the sky. See stars. So shall your descendants be. See this land on which you stand. Someday it will be your descendants' land.

 

Might it be that God is taking us by the hand? Could it be that God is exhorting us to continue trusting the promises God has made to us and for us? We may only be able to see or sense what is immediately within us or around us. We may not be able to trust that God's good and gracious intentions will be or are being fulfilled. Often we are limited by what we can feel or comprehend. Some of this is good. We are to feel. We are to struggle to comprehend. Our minds are amazing, God given gifts.

 

But we must also know this. There is more to reality than what we can feel or comprehend. This is especially true as hopeless casts its shadows over us, as we feel that there is nothing we can do.  We must remember. We must know. God is God. God's promises can and do transcend our limited feelings and comprehension, our human capacity. God does deliver more than we cna imagine.

 

So, God points Abram to this amazing reality in the covenant ceremony. Abram is to bring a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtledove and a pigeon. There God makes a solemn promise, an oath a vow, of saying that, I will be cursed if I do not keep my promise to you.

 

Hundreds of years later, God's promise takes on flesh, filling out the third promise to Abram.  God becomes a human being. This Jesus gives his life in the most vulnerable way to embody God's love, to enable us to live from that love, to become blessings to others. God keeps God's promises. God is trustworthy! 

 

Nevertheless, trusting God is never for us a straight or easy path. There is always resistance to such trust from within and without. Such trust can never only be a head thing. Such trust leads to actions, to discipline, to seeking to listen to and obey God individually and together, despite the cost. Often there is cost to such trust because the resistance to the love of God for all is significant.

 

You see, we are not so far removed from Abram and Sarai. We too can hear God's promise. But like Abram we just can't see how and when this might all be for us or through us. We too are often blessed. At times we too have been less than faithful, just like Abram was.  

 

But in those moments, God can take us by our hands, even by our minds and lead us beyond ourselves, outside, to behold the stars or to bend over and touch the earth. Curing Lent God leads us to a cross, perhaps a number of crosses, and says SEE, YOU CAN TRUST ME.

 

By a miracle beyond any and all human understanding God's own Spirit enables us to trust and obey God. May it be so even now!

 

 Lord we believe, help our unbelief. Amen.  

 

Beyond Tempting

Lent 1c, February 14, 2016 (Luke 4:1-13)

Sometimes (often?) there are unspoken assumptions about what we should or shouldn't talk about, particularly in church. When I was a child those topics were sex, religion and politics.

 

Over the years some of this has changed, perhaps even for the better.  We haven't always been comfortable, nor particularly sensitive in speaking about sex or even other faiths in church. We have occasionally attempted to wrestle with what God is calling us to as followers of Jesus to do in terms of political action. In some ways we have begun to make attempts to talk about things that we feel are uncomfortable realities in church. Such conversations are necessary.

 

In wrestling with the Gospel text for this week I began to ask myself – what are we now uncomfortable talking about in church?

 

Two realities sprang to mind. Firstly there is money!  Occasionally we will broach that subject but only when absolutely necessary:  at council meetings, later today at the Annual General Meeting. As I scanned our list of nominees for the committees I couldn't help but notice that not one person allowed their name to stand for the stewardship committee. To be sure Christian stewardship isn't only about money. Yet at the same time it most certainly includes money.

 

Secondly, we don't often converse about the reality of temptation in our lives. I'm not so much speaking about lesser forms of temptation  – such as whether or not the Pastor has been indulging in the goodies left over in the church kitchen's freezer. Instead,  I am speaking about temptation that goes to the core of who we are, temptation that when yielded to has the power to destroy, to overshadow the very image of God in us.

 

Such temptation when yielded to, has the power to rip us like small vessels from our moorings, to propel us into rough waters where panic can easily set in, as we are terrified of being swamped, not realizing that we are not to be the captains of our small but significant vessels, nor are we ever to be solely under our "own" "power". 

 

It's strange that we are hesitant to speak about the power of different forms of temptation in our lives because temptation is such a dynamic and ever present power, so much a part of our human fabric.  After all, we are descendants of Adam – creatures of the earth.

Jesus, being fully human, is no stranger to this deepest kind of temptation which does its devilish best to steal our identity from us. Upon losing our identities, who can tell what we might do?

 

Notice the temptations that Jesus faces in the Gospel text. Are you hungry? Well, feed yourself! What could be wrong with that?  Certainly, we are familiar with such temptations. They show up offering us convenient rationalizations. Just take care of yourself – if you are hungry, eat; if you are lonely, love the one you are with; whatever is itchy, scratch it. Take what you need, better yet, whatever you want. Who will ever know?

 

Secondly Jesus was tempted regarding power. We are familiar with this temptation. At times we are tempted to think that If we just had more: more money, more influence, more stuff, more time – life would be so much better. But to get that money, that influence, that stuff, even that time,  so often we have to compromise who we are and what we believe .

 

We are God's children. As such we live in relationship with God, with others and with creation. By violating trust and or promises we hurt ourselves and others. Even if we do get more - more money, more influence, more stuff, it is incapable of holding the lasting reward that it had so slyly  but falsely promised us.

 

Thirdly, Jesus was tempted to avoid sacrifice, pain and suffering. Sometimes as his followers  we also experience this temptation. Occasionally we may feel that we should be exempt from the difficult trials and vicissitudes of life: from debilitating chronic pain; from illnesses that rise up and sap our strength, our joy, the length of our lives or the lives of those we cherish; from injustice, from tragedy.  Some might tempt us into believing that following Jesus only has to do with certain "spiritual realities". Yet as we attempt to live our lives we begin to see that following this crucified One doesn't exempt us from pain or suffering, from sacrifice or conflict. Sometimes following him throws us ever more deeply into all of those realities.

 

Occasionally we see temptation coming. At other times we don't.  Sometimes the tempter simply leaves us until a more opportune time.

 

The first Adam gave in to temptation. But Jesus, this One who according to Luke, is descended from Adam, does not give in to temptation.

 

Jesus resists those temptations. Somehow He continually knows who He is. He is God's own Son. To be sure he needs bread and all that we need to live. But he also realizes that those things are not the sum total of his identity. Like Jesus we too need "daily bread" but we also need more. We need communion with God and with each other.

 

Jesus resists the temptations of denying who He is and who He is called to be as God's Son.  Thank God that He was able to do so.

 

But what about us?

 

Sometimes we fail to resist temptations. We harm ourselves and others. As we do so we disobey God, even attempt to push God away. In those moments the powers of evil and death rejoice. It may even appear that they are "winning". In those moments life can be awful!

 

But even as we face temptation and see our failures let us also know this. As powerful as evil is, as cunning and sly as temptations can be, nothing can finally usurp the power of God in Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus comes: to live, to love, to suffer, to be crucified. In doing so He takes on evil in all its forms. Jesus also comes to live, to love, to suffer, to be crucified in order to reach out to us and to all others. It is through these acts of his that we can be freed from being enslaved to those powers.  

 

Lent is intended to be a time when we are enabled to look at ourselves honestly. As we are enabled to do so, we will also be moved to turn to God for forgiveness, strength, courage and hope to try again, to live out our identities by God's grace as God's sons and daughters.

 

Remember. Know. We do not live by bread alone. Human power and influence is not that which frees us. Pain and suffering will surely come. But we are never alone. Jesus Christ our Lord is with us and for us. We are God's children. God can and will help us. Something not just to talk about – but to rely upon, whatever the temptation. Amen.

 

 

Holy, holy, holy? You bet!

Transfiguration 16c, Luke 9:28-43a, February 7, 2016

When I was a child the church that I was part of would begin worship each Sunday by singing the same hymn. Yes, I said THE SAME HYMN. It went like this, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty. Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed trinity."

 

Can you imagine? The same opening hymn every Sunday! As a child this familiarity brought me comfort.  As I have grown older, I have come to appreciate variety. There is a beauty and special meaning to different opening hymns for on different days in different seasons. 

 

But these days I am convinced that the old entrance hymn that dominated by early years points to an important reality that is being lost sight of, at least in North America.

 

Where is our deep sense of the mystery, the holiness, the otherness of God? Dear people, we need to have a sense of the holiness, of the otherness of God – from us.

 

These days I am very much confronted by our mortality. These last 2 months we have been slapped upside the side of our heads, individually and collectively,  as Brenda and Joan  have died. I have been beside my own mother as she has been dying and now has died.

 

Don't get me wrong. In many ways our humanity which necessarily includes our mortality is wonderful. Each person is blessed with a unique personality. Some of us are blessed to grow old together. This often includes a growing awareness that nothing lasts forever. 

 

But there are also limits that come with being human. If we are deluded into thinking or feeling that everything depends upon us, sooner or later we will be forced into despair and/or apathy. How can we live with awareness and sensitivity when there is so much death, so much suffering, so much hatred and violence? How can we live with genuine joy and hope: even as infants are being born with deformities and disabilities due to the Zika virus, which their parents up until now knew nothing or little about? How can we live our own systems contribute to such great financial and legal injustice for so many others? How can we live with love and hope when in an instant those we deeply cherish could die or be afflicted with any kind of terminal illness? (Pause)

 

Jesus, Peter, John and James go up the mountain to pray. While they are there, Jesus' face and clothes begin to glow. I have seen people's faces glow: pregnant mothers; people making promises to love and cherish each other on their wedding day; people being ordained, even different members of their family. It happens. It's wonderful.

 

But I have never seen any of those people's clothes suddenly become dazzling white. Jesus is one of a kind! The voice from the cloud overhead specifies Jesus' uniqueness, "This is my Son, my chosen". God tells us that we are to listen to Jesus.

 

On that day Jesus was on the mountain top with Moses and Elijah, both of whom had lived hundreds of years before. Together they symbolize the Law and the prophets. As Jesus stands with them, He is the fulfilment of the law and the prophets. We are privy to something amazing.

 

Perhaps (like us?) Peter wants to film it, have something to bring out to show his family. Perhaps he senses that he may need to be reminded in the future that this "really happened". On the surface his intention looks great. It is an incredibly special moment. The commemoration Peter proposes is in line with the history of his ancestors and their celebration of the Festival of Booths. That celebration proclaimed God's power in freeing them from the slavery of Egypt.

 

But now Jesus points Peter and ourselves to the implications of God's glory. God's glory is caught up in mystery. This mystery includes God's coming among us in order to deliver us and all people from the power of death and evil. God's will is to work through the cross. Here God's power is first manifested first vulnerability. Jesus takes on death and all its powers through love and sacrifice. So it is that Jesus, Moses and Elijah speak of Jesus' 'departure'.

 

So it is also that Jesus leads Peter, John and James down from that mountain to another reality. There Jesus meets a crowd. From the din of that crowd one man shouts out in great pain. He calls to Jesus. This man's son, his only child, is critically ill. An alien force controls his son, throwing the boy down, mauling him. This father has begged the disciples to help him, to free his son. Alas, it has been to no avail. Now the man begs Jesus - free my son!  

 

Jesus is frustrated with his disciples; with those who have heard his words and witnessed his actions. They don't see him. They don't understand that the power to help, to heal, to withstand other powers must come from outside of us, from beyond us, from God.

 

Nevertheless, Jesus does not allow his frustration, his exasperation with others, prevent him from fulfilling his purpose to help, to deliver, to restore people to each other and to God. So, Jesus does heal the boy. He rebukes all that holds the boy down, all that is seeking to limit and destroy him. The son is restored to his father. And people are astounded at the greatness of God.

 

So, I wonder on this Super Bowl Sunday when many millions of people will be deluded into thinking that "glory" is about winning or a half time show or commercials that run at 5 million dollars a hit  even as millions of other people are starving and or homeless, even while many, many of our elder people won't have any companionship today – do we see our need for the glory of this God who in becoming One of us makes His/Her way to the cross ?

 

Holy, holy, holy – Lord God almighty. Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty. God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.

 

Do we realize that God is our creator, our sustainer, the beginning and the end of all people and creation?  We cannot even begin to comprehend God nor see all of God's glory. For just as we receive a fleeting glimpse there are clouds and blinding light. But know this – God dares to become human in Jesus. Jesus shows us the way. He leads us to pray by example and through His Spirit. He wills to give us a power which is so different from our drive for power.

 

O God, help us. O God, free us to love as you love us, to forgive as you forgive us, to be agents of healing and hope as you heal us.  O God may we glimpse your glory and in so doing be enabled to follow Jesus however falteringly.  May we like those early disciples come to know that regardless of our faithlessness and perversity through your Son, your chosen we are also your children. Help us to hear your call to bear your creative and redeeming word to the world. Holy, holy, holy. Indeed. Amen and Amen.   

 

Wowser - right now!

Epiphany 3c, Jan. 24, 2016 (Luke 4;14-21 with I Cors. 12:12-31a and Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6 and 8-10 in bg

I have been richly blessed in my 11 years of service as your Pastor in Richmond. One of those ways has been my ongoing relationship with the former Rabbi of Beth Tikvah Synagogue, Rabbi Claudio. One year as their celebration of the Festival of Booths ended, Rabbi Claudio invited me to join his congregation for the celebration of Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah  means the joy of Torah. For Jews Torah is many things. Sometimes it denotes the first five books of what Christians refer to as the first or Old Testament. On Simchat Torah Jews dance around the synagogue with their holy scrolls. These scrolls are passed from one person to another as they process around the worship space of their synagogue to music. During this procession they hold the scroll high above their heads. While this is happening there is much clapping, loud singing, dancing and genuine joy.

 

Can you imagine my surprise when on that particular Simchat Torah the people of Beth Tikvah passed me one of their holy scrolls, and invited me, a Christian, to dance with them? I was deeply honored and wildly surprised. After each person had the opportunity to hold and process with a holy scroll the people carried one of the scrolls into their nearby school gymnasium. Then all the younger children gathered in the center of the gymnasium floor being surrounded by the Torah scroll as it was unrolled, being held by the adults of the synagogue. Rabbi Claudio then joined the children inside the Torah scroll. He proceeded to ask them questions regarding the location of the various stories of God's interaction with the people of Israel. Immediately as the question was asked the children would run and point to the location of that incident. Then rabbi would toss the children chocolates. What joy! What symbolism! What power in that word of God.

 

Those people don't see the Torah as some rule book that gathers dust on their coffee table or as something that 'should be' read on particular occasions. Rather, they see the Torah as God's word for them, to direct them and help them in their daily walk of life with God and with others. Their joy and respect for the Torah is real.

 

This reality is made plain in today's lesson from Nehemiah. I have often wondered why we Christians so often have lost this sense of joy, wonder and awe for Scripture? Did you notice that there were at least 6 hours of reading Scripture in that first lesson. As the Scripture was being read the people were moved – to spontaneously life up their hands; to shout Amen! The people were lifting hands and crying out Amen.

 

They had the profound sense of God speaking to them even as the words of the Torah were read. Then they beheld the truth. They were separated from God. But God is continually reaching out to them, seeking to  bridge the gap that existed between themselves and God. 

 

Today I have heard people grumble if the sermon is 15 minutes long or if our worship of God lasts more than 75 minutes. This, despite the reality that we are so privileged  to receive Christ's own body and blood . It's as if we think we have more important things to do...

 

I confess. Sometimes I am guilty. It takes discipline for me to set aside 15 minutes a day to pray, and read Scripture– to listen and be still. Yet sometimes I will go to a movie for 2 or more hours, fly for 5 or more hours for a vacation and watch 20 minutes of commercials each hour that I am  sitting in front of my TV without so much as a second thought. Why is that? Why aren't we more willing, even longing to hear God addressing us today, each day?  

 

At times God draws very near to us. Do you notice the people in the synagogue in Nazareth? They thought that it was just another Saturday. They were coming to synagogue, yet again. Yes, one of their own, Jesus, Mary and Joseph's boy, was home. He had been doing well. They had been hearing all about him. Now he stands up to read, as at least one man would do every Sabbath.

 

He is reading from Isaiah. Two texts are combined. It is allowed. But then he says something very unusual, something that at first confounds them and later angers them, "Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing!" 

 

It's confounding because Jesus left part of the text out - about the day of the vengeance of the Lord. He selectively reads only part of the text where the Spirit of the Lord had anointed him to bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. It's even more confounding because he says that TODAY THIS IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING. 

 

The people gathered in the synagogue weren't born yesterday. They know life. They are inhabitants of a seemingly insignificant small country, that is forever under the control of another country. They also know this man Jesus. They knew his parents really well. Some of them have a hope that someday there will be a messiah who will lead them beyond their present state so that their enemies will be placed under their feet. Some of those people cling to that hope. Yet at the same they are absolutely certain that such a Messiah won't look anything like Jesus. They had their understanding of life, of the world, of God. Jesus doesn't fit into any of the parameters of their experience as THE COMING MESSIAH.

 

Nevertheless that Sabbath Jesus is in their midst. He speaks the truth about themselves, life and death. He lives out the truth of His life, as God's own Son, as the Messiah, regardless of what they or anyone else may think.

 

He does all of this in ways that initially don't seem to make any lasting, cosmic difference. He eats with people that others wouldn't eat with: tax collectors, women of ill repute, those who are chronically ill. He reaches out to help others regardless of the day or season. He tells powerful stories that really tick a lot of people off because the "heroes" of his story, the ones who dare to know and do God's good and gracious will, are people that religious experts then viewed as being forsaken by God.

 

Because of this Jesus is resisted, even hated by the powers that be: religious, political and military. His fleshing out of God's love, sharing the hope that comes from God's reign in our lives, calls everything and everyone into question. Such radical questioning will not be tolerated by the powers that be. 

 

So, Jesus is executed. Supposedly that's the end of him, his message.  All this "nonsense" – release of the captives, recovery of sight for the blind, freeing those who are oppressed and forgiving debts both literal and figurative, is now over.  Right? Wrong!

 

Although Jesus is executed he cannot be held nor controlled by death. Nor can his followers be controlled by the death's power or its accompanying fear.  From Peter and Paul, Mary and Lydia, to all who dare to trust and attempt to follow Jesus, their lives are marked by a power different from any other kind of power. Without a doubt, Jesus' followers  can be killed. They often have been. Romero, Martin Luther King Jr., and millions of Christians unknown to the annals of history have been martyred. But the reason for their living, the truth of their unrelenting love for others, especially the most vulnerable and oppressed, will never be silenced.  The love of God made manifest in Jesus, irrupting among his followers and sometimes also among and within us will not be silenced! Christ is risen. He lives!

 

Dear people, do we hear him speaking to us this morning?

 

Are we open to him showing us the truth of ourselves? How we need him! How we need new ways of thinking, of forgiving, and loving. Sometimes, often, we fall short.  Are we able to rejoice as he speaks to us, responding by crying out, AMEN, AMEN – knowing that his words are true? Because of Jesus today can be and is a new day. Because of Him we see that we are loved by God. We can respond by loving others. Do we hear him, now?

 

Or are we distracted: looking at our watches, trying to cling to the status quo, not realizing – that it is far from all there is, all there can be, all that is intended to be?

 

Today, expect to hear and receive God. Go from this place equipped with God's very Spirit, to live for Christ's sake and the sake of the world. Experience the breath and direction of the spirit now. See that because of Christ there is freedom for the oppressed, recovery of sight to the blind, good news for the poor. Live that and share all of this today. Amen.

Beyond Resistance to Embrace

The festival of Epiphany, (marked on January 10, 2016)

Matthew 2:1-12

How big is the embrace of God's love in Jesus Christ? Is it this big – or this big – this big (gesturing wildly) – or           ????

 

This isn't merely an intellectual question. This question goes to the heart of God and any part of human understanding of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

 

Today we celebrate the festival of the Epiphany. This festival has been understood as the celebration of a greater revelation of God's presence and love embodied in Jesus. This festival pushes beyond some of what had been previously understood by many – that God's favour lay primarily with and for the Jewish people.

 

This festival of Epiphany pushes us into wrestling with the depths of the love of God in Jesus – as well as the magnitude of the embrace of that love and its implications for our lives as followers of this Jesus . . .

 

The magi (wise men in common parlance) are interesting people. We don't actually know how many of them first came to Jerusalem and then moved on to Bethlehem looking for the child. Tradition has often assumed that their number was 3, since there are 3 gifts listed. But their exact numbers are not specified. We do know that magi were attentive to the stars. They were likely astrologers.

 

Isn't it I interesting that the first people actually searching for Jesus in Matthew's gospel, (different than Luke's gospel, where the first seekers of Jesus re shepherds) are astrologers. These magi of Luke's Gospel are not Jewish!  Unlike Jesus, Mary and Joseph and all of the first followers of the adult Jesus, these astrologers are likely Persians. Attentive to the stars they are being drawn to Jerusalem where they make further inquiries as to the child's birthplace.

 

On this journey they encounter a variety of people. One of them is King Herod. At first glance it appears that Herod is interested in their search for benevolent reasons. He even enlists people who can aid the magi's search. The chief priests and scribes know their sacred writings. They send the magi on their way to Bethlehem.

 

Once in Bethlehem the magi find the child and his mother. They are filled with joy. Upon meeting the child they kneel to worship the baby. They offer him their very best gifts.

 

Only then are they warned of King Herod's deception through of all things, a dream. How interesting – through the means of a dream and the arrangement of a star or stars, they are led to worship this wee child, the King of the Jews, the Saviour of the world. Not only that but they are also led to protect him from Herod, the powers that then were.

 

Dreams and stars aren't the usual ways that Lutherans have discerned the work of God's Spirit.  But then sometimes, perhaps even often, God's ways are not our ways. Amazingly God uses various ways and means to reach out with an embrace beyond our imagination, intended for all people!!!

 

Now one might think that such an amazing embrace, this love of God in Jesus, would be good news for everyone. Not so!

 

Not so – for Herod. Herod loved power and all of its trappings. He would, (look ahead just a few verses) DO ANYTHING to attempt TO MAINTAIN POWER. He even stooped so low to kill all the children in a particular area who were 2 years of age and younger.  But Herod's resistance is not the only resistance to the amazing embrace of God in Jesus Christ.

 

Later we see significant resistance from the religious authorities. They also liked power. They sought to maintain the status quo – their positions of privilege.

 

But before we are too quick to judge them, how about us? Do we enjoy our status quo?  Are we willing to welcome others, anyone, into 'our' church, 'our' "families", 'our' country?

 

Much of human history is marked by distinct refusals to accept, to be embraced by this love of God in Jesus Christ. Someone we just don't or won't see that this love of God in Jesus is for all – including even us.  

 

Many of the covenant people for a long time were convinced that the favour of God, was primarily, if not only, for them. Later many, many Christians felt  that the love and deliverance of God in Jesus the Christ was primarily or only for them! I know far too many Lutherans who feel that our 'understanding' of Gospel is the best or even only one.

 

But the magi show us differently. God's love in Jesus Christ is not limited by our understanding nor by our intentional or unconscious resistance and opposition to Him.

 

The suffering and risen Jesus, born in that wee town of Bethlehem approaches us even now. He lives among us, tenting in our hearts and minds to change us, to embrace us with God's love while showing the truths of ourselves, our world and of our need for God.

 

As this occurs, as this seed of God's Spirit through Jesus Christ begins to grow in our beings, nothing can stay the same. Honesty within and among ourselves and with God necessarily grows. Humility, patience, empathy and advocacy begin to indelibly mark his followers.

 

This doesn't mean that the resistance within and without ends.

 

But God's embrace in Jesus Christ is stronger, more steadfast and wiser than any and all resistance.

 

So, dear people, this day, this year, be opened to the amazing grace of God's embrace in Jesus Christ. We may never be able to understand how encompassing this is, but let me assure you that God's embrace has the capacity to direct and transform us again and again and again. May this be our reality, for Christ's sake and the sake of the world. Amen.

Fiction and Truth

Christmas 2c, John 1:1-18; January 3, 2016

            Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. Years ago, there was a magazine, "The Wittenberg Door". One of the most popular sections in the Door was titled, "Truth is Stranger Than Fiction". That section was always interesting. If the Door was still publishing here are some of the items that likely would have been highlighted this month:

PROUD GUN CARRYING CHRISTIANS POPULATE TEXAS CHURCHES. 

MANY REFUGEES TURNED AWAY BY COUNTRIES ORIGINALLY LARGELY POPULATED BY REFUGEES.

BILLIONS STARVE WHILE MILLIONS JOIN WEIGHT WATCHERS.

            Truth is often stranger than fiction.

            In any case, here we are at church. Now we are hearing words about a Word becoming flesh. This Word is proclaimed as truth.

            Ah yes, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Thanks be to God!

Although fiction often attempts to convey reality and sometimes does so successfully, fiction also experiences limitations. At its best fiction attempts to penetrate the human heart. Again, sometimes it does so successfully. But at other times people resist. In Biblical terms, we can harden our hearts, and experience in the face of fiction mere entertainment.

Don't we already have enough entertainment? From soap operas, to professional wrestling, to eating contexts – enough already!

There is the ever present reality – and the truths of our reality. This is a new year. Many of us make resolutions as the new year dawns. Whatever the year or its newness, suffering and death are part and parcel of our reality. At the same time healing, birth and new beginnings are part of our reality, part of our truth. To be sure, being human includes significant amounts of messiness, of unpredictability. But so too do wonder, awe and amazement mark our human fabric.

All of this is brought to my mind by spending time yesterday at Boundary Bap Cemetery. Walking across those beautiful grounds, reading the headstones, waiting to be with a family I deeply care about as they were readying themselves to bury their mother and grandmother – I thought again of how important it is to be honest about truth and fiction.

The author of John's Gospel faces this reality in amazing ways. At the conclusion of today's lesson he writes, "No one has seen God." Part of that seems so obvious. After all, God is Spirit. We cannot see spirit. But part of that statement is also difficult for us to comprehend in terms of faith. One of the best known proverbs to the English language is, "Seeing is believing".

In this new year, some may say, "Who cares?" Who cares if there is a God? We in North America have the good life. We have so much stuff. We experience so many opportunities. In some ways the world is our 'oyster'. From Hawaii, to Cancun, to Europe, Australia and New Zealand, we enjoy possibilities for leisure, exploration and learning, that none of our grandparents could imagine. But in order for that to happen many of us work more hours than our forefathers or foremothers and certainly experience a far greater geographical separation from even our nuclear families than most of them did. This too is part of our truth.

But limitations remain. We are mortal. We know, we experience illness, suffering, death and incredible loss. We know brokenness. Cutting words are spoken or relayed by a look.  Harmful actions are taken. Helpful actions are omitted. Promises are broken. Many people are hurt. Sometimes we are among them.

In those moments we begin to glimpse a larger truth. We do need help. We need help from beyond ourselves and even our collective gifts of expertise, technology, a myriad of abilities.

The author of John's Gospel knows this. He writes, "It is God's only Son, who is close to the Father's bosom, who has made him (God the Father) known."

It's an audacious claim. It's a claim we need to hear again and again and again. It's a claim we need to ponder in our hearts and minds.

God's only Son, close to the Father's bosom, right where he can be nurtured. It is this only Son of God who reveals God to us. Yes, I said, revealed. And I meant in ways that we can know, experience, have intimate knowledge of. God and us. Through this Son we are made children of God, drawn near to God's own bosom. Is this too good to be true? Truth sometimes is stranger than fiction.

So, I invite you – no, I exhort you this year to look and see. Listen and hear! Look and see, listen and heart, this only Son of God. In Him is life and light. From turning water into copious amounts of wine at a wedding, to walking with a Samaritan woman (one whom he was never to speak to) at a well and leading her to new life, to telling his disciples in many ways that his life, love, suffering and death are to be the way of new life for all his followers, Jesus shows us God.

Not only that. There's more! Jesus calls us to follow him. We are to serve as He has come to serve. In such following is life – both for us and for the world. Even in the midst of all our limitations, the information and human experience that might lead us to think that this can't be true – He is truthful. Indeed in Jesus we see that truth is stranger than fiction. Love is stronger than hate. As powerful as death is (and it is!) – death bends its knee t the One who himself suffers and dies, but on the third day is raise.

A blessed New Year to you and to those whom you cherish from the One who is life and light who shows us God the Father and calls us as we are, warts and all to follow Him. Here's a truth to live. Amen.