"Life In His Name" Sermon for Easter 2C 4/11/2010

"Life In His Name"

Sermon for 4/11/2010
Easter 2C

John 20:19-31; Psalm 150

Doubting Thomas.... Poor Thomas gets such a bad rap. We read this Gospel story each year on the Second Sunday of the Easter season.  Whenever I hear this story, the moniker "Doubting Thomas" comes to mind.  Poor, Poor Thomas.  One question, one request, and he is forever labeled a doubter.   

This passage begins on the evening of the Resurrection, and then finishes up a week later.  It provides two accounts of the disciples encountering the resurrected Jesus.  It's an important passage within the Gospel of John, and Thomas' doubt tends to be the focus.  I prefer to see Thomas as an Inquirer.  He asks a question that is important.  He wants evidence of Jesus' resurrection.  He's a good scientist, and wants data before he proves the theory correct.[1]   

Do you like to ask questions?  Craig in his children's sermon last week invited the children to ask tough questions, and boy did they ever!  Questions are a good thing.  Questions help us to understand what is going on and make good decisions based on what we learn.  Questions help us receive answers, or at least help us to ask further questions.   

In today's text, Thomas is stating his question in a request to see the wounds of Jesus in order to help him believe in the Resurrection.  For whatever reason he was absent from the rest of the community when Jesus appeared the night of the Resurrection.  A week goes by, and Jesus appears to the community of disciples again, and this time Thomas is present.  Jesus sought him out to help him believe. [2]  Jesus pursued him to provide the answers to the questions he had.  When Jesus shows up, Thomas changes from one with questions to one with answers.  Through Jesus' providing Thomas with evidence and answers to his question, he is able to believe.  That was Jesus' purpose.  He showed up that night to help Thomas believe.  Jesus invites him, "Do not doubt, but believe." (John 20:27)

Thomas does believe.  One of the most important parts of this whole passage comes next.  Thomas provides a confession of believe in the Risen Christ.  Thomas proclaims, "My Lord and My God."  This is HUGE.  Thomas gets it.  He understands.  His questions have been answered, and it has changed his life.  "MY Lord and MY God!"  Thomas has new life through his confession of Christ Jesus as Lord and God.  Thomas is no longer a doubter, but the first person to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and God in John's Gospel.[3]  What a significant thing to be remembered for.   

When Thomas proclaims Jesus as Lord and God, he is hearkening back to the beginning of John.  Remember the prologue to John that we heard at Christmas.  John 1 says, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." (Jn 1:1)  "The word became flesh and lived among us." (Jn. 1:14)  Now we hear the connection between Jesus as the Word of God proclaimed for the whole community to hear.[4]  Not only is Jesus the Word that became flesh and lived among us, but as John 20 tells us, "Through believing, you may have life in his name."  The Gospel has come full circle, and the circle of life now extends to us as well.  We can have life in Christ's name, when he is our Lord and God.   

The Gospel writer tells us that the signs done in the presence of the disciples are written so we may come to believe in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God (vs. 31).  Not just Thomas, but all of us.  The community of disciples were present those days when Jesus appeared, and this passage is clear that the witness and proclamation extends to the whole community.  Belief isn't end of the journey here, either.  Belief leads to life--Life in Christ's name.   

Life in Christ's name.  What does that look like?  What does life mean after the resurrection? We receive one clue to what life means in Jesus' blessing in this passage.  "Peace be with you." (Vs. 21) Shalom: Peace, wholeness, completeness, health.  The peace that Jesus bestows on the gathered community in this passage is complete, whole peace.  Peace that only Jesus fully gives.  Peace gives life, but just not any life.  Resurrected life.  Life anew.  Life in Christ's name. 

The other evening, Steve and I watched a movie that documents an important story of new life in our world's history in the last 100 years. [See blog post for 4/9/10]. We saw "Schindler's List."  For those who might not be familiar with this 1993 Oscar award-winner, it's based on the life of Oskar Schindler.  He was raised as a German catholic who moved from Czechoslovakia to Poland to run a factory during World War 2.  In Krakow, he employed Jews in his factory.  Though he was technically a Nazi, he befriended the Jews and worked keep them in his factory in order to save them from death.  Schindler's List documented the names of 1200 Jews that he saved during the war from the Shoah, the Holocaust.  He resurrected them, if you will, by placing their names on the list of workers and giving them a chance at a new life after the war.  Schindler bribed, blackmailed, persuaded, and paid off Nazi officials to keep his workers in his factory, and at the end of the war, he sent them off as Free Jews with 3 yards of fabric and vodka to sell for money to start their new lives.  He amassed a fortune and spent every last Reichmark saving their lives.  He fled to Argentina completely broke at the end of the war.  The Schindler Jews, as they are know, were so appreciative of him saving their lives, that they supported him financially. 

Itzhak Stern, Schindler's Jewish Accountant, assisted with the business and typed the List of names of the Jews.  Once he realizes what Schindler was doing, he exclaimed, "The List is an absolute good.  The List is life."  Numerous survivors have recounted via video and written documents about the good that Oskar Schindler did through his list.  He was not perfect, but he risked his life for the sake of others.  He provided peace for these Jews--peace from the war--food and health care for their sick bodies----shelter from the storm raging around them--peace and wholeness for them during the worst of times.  The List was Life--New life.  Today decedents from the list number 7000. (http://www.auschwitz.dk/Schindlerslist.htm) 

Today, April 11^th, is Yom HaShoah--the International Day of Remembrance for the Holocaust.  A day we pause and remember all those lost around our world because of genocide.  And a day we pause and give thanks for those, like Oskar Schindler, who did what they could to provide life and peace from the death around them.   

One of my favorite scenes from the movie was when Schindler, near the very end of the war, reminds the Rabbi that it is almost sundown on Friday and it is time for him to begin preparing for the Sabbath.  The Rabbi gathers the wine and leads the community in the prayers of their faith, giving thanks and remembering all God had done and was doing in their midst.  The voices of the community in prayer are heard as candles are lit.  The sign of God's presence is revealed through the light, and they proclaim what they believe. 

Doesn't Thomas do the same for us today?  Thomas, no longer the doubter, is now the proclaimer.  "My Lord and My God."  He names the sign of God's presence in our midst.  Just as Jesus gave peace, shalom, to the gathered community and gave new life through his resurrection, Schindler gave peace to his Jews through their jobs in his factory, and gave them a new chance at life through the list.   

In the Gospel passage, Jesus is there with the community.  We get so focused on Thomas that we easily loose sight of the community around him.  The disciples are gathered.  Nowhere does it indicate it was only the 11--I believe it was a much larger group. [5]  The peace and life that Christ breathed into the disciples extends to us through the gathered community.  Christ gives us peace and sends us out to share the good news of God living with us.  New life comes from death.  The Word has become flesh and indeed, STILL lives among us.   

We practice this faith as a community and live into it together.  We live out life in Christ's name each time we celebrate and worship as a community.  We live out life in Christ's name each time we speak peace to one another.  We live out life in Christ's name every time we bring a child forward for Baptism.  This morning we proclaimed our belief in God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together and shared together as a community in Winston's Baptism.  We mark this step in his faith journey and live out life in Christ's name together.   

[Photo by David Cherveny of RMC's Easter Sunrise Service at Oakwood Cemetary, Raleigh NC, 4/4/10]
Last Sunday we celebrated life in Christ's name.  We proclaimed, "The Lord is risen" while the birds chirped and the sun rose.  Next Sunday we will celebrate life in Christ's name.  We will celebrate another baptism, and share together in the Lord's Supper.  We will gather as a community to eat and drink and remember Christ, and live out life together in Christ's name through the Sacraments.  Two Sundays from now, on April 25th we will gather to celebrate the Confirmation of our youth as they proclaim their own faith and mark the next step in their faith journey.  We will be here celebrating with them and living together into life in Christ's name.   

Each time we gather as a faith community to worship, pray, study, learn, make music, eat, or spend time together, we are living life in Christ's name.  We are practicing shalom, God's peace, and enacting it in our world.  The more we practice living life in Christ's name with His peace and the Spirit in us, the more we can share it.  We are taking it with us from this place to wherever we go from here--work, school, home.  We are sharing Christ's life and peace with everyone we meet.  Christ gave the gathered community His peace and then sent them out with the Spirit to a world longing to hear and see and know Christ's peace.  Christ gives US peace and sends US out with the Spirit to a world longing to hear and see and know his peace.   We live life together in his name and we must share it with those around us.   May we share Christ's peace and live life in his name today and always.  Amen.

[1] Martin E. Marty, "Theological Perspective on John 20:19-31" in Feasting on The Word (Year C,Vol. 2) eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 396.
[2] Gail O'Day, "John" in New Interpreter's Bible, Vol IX (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 849-850.
[3] Gregory A. Robbins, "Exegitical Perspective on John 20:19-31" in Feasting on The Word (Year C,Vol. 2) eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 401. Gerald Sloyan, John. Interpretation Series (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1998) 226.
[4] Gail O'Day, "John" in New Interpreter's Bible, Vol IX (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 850.
[5] Gail O'Day, "John" in New Interpreter's Bible, Vol IX (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 846.

"New Things" Sermon for Lent 5C: 3/22/2010

"New Things"

Sermon For Lent 5, Year C 

3/22/2010

Isaiah 43:16-21; John 12:1-11

All of us experience water on a regular basis.  Though Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill are not bisected by any major rivers or sit on a port, we have visited or lived in places where this is true.  Many of us have traveled across long bridges providing connection between far points of land.  Many have us have traveled on water in boats or ferries, sailing across with the open waves.  Many of us have traveled above water in planes, looking down on the open expanses of blue.  Water for us still provides barriers for transportation, but technology thankfully has created ways around, over, under, or through these problematic barriers.

Because of our technology, we loose much of our understanding and appreciation of how water played a role in earlier times.  I believe it's something we recognize when we think about it, but it's easy to overlook.  Water determined where towns and ports grew.  Water determined where languages and dialects spread and stopped.  Water determined where farms, mills, and industry could be located.  Water also determined where we could cross and where we must only stand on the shore and look, longing to reach the other side.   

The prophet we heard this morning in the words from Isaiah is naming these meanings of water in the passage from Chapter 43.  The book of Isaiah is divided into different sections based on the time in which scholars believe it was written.  Named 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Isaiah, this passage comes from 2nd Isaiah, which begins in Chapter 40.  It addresses the people of Israel during a dark time in their history.  2nd Isaiah was recorded during the exile period.  They are in exile in Babylon, having been conquered by the Babylonians.    This was a very dark time when all hope had been lost because they had lost their land, their homes, their possessions, and many wondered, even their God.  Had God abandoned them in this foreign land?   

2nd Isaiah begins in chapter 40 with, "Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God." (Isaiah 40:1, NRSV) 1st Isaiah was written as a warning to the people of Israel for their forgetfulness about who God is and what God had done in their midst.  We see that the tone has shifted to offer words not of judgment and warning, but words of comfort; words of hope; words of encouragement. They are in a dark, lonely, desolate place and their memory is failing them.  They need to hear these words of comfort, and Isaiah's words are just what they needed. 

In today's section in particular we see water as a sign of hope and encouragement to the people of Israel in exile.  Water is referenced at least 8 times in these 6 verses: water, sea, rivers, quenched, springs, drink... types of water, actions associated with water... they are both here.  Water serves as a reminder of Israel's past.  Remembering water helps them remember who they are as a people of God.  Images of water abound in Scripture, and here the prophet in Isaiah is using this image to help the Israelites' memory.  You who live in exile in Babylon, don't you remember God who formed the waters of creation?  Don't you remember when your ancestors lived in exile in Egypt, held as slaves for the Pharaoh.  Don't you remember how I made a way in the sea for you to escape slavery?  Don't you remember walking on the dry ground bridge across the water?  Don't you remember how I saved you from desperate times?   

But then the tone of the passage shifts.  The prophet says for them to not remember the former things or consider the things of old (Isaiah 43:18).  It's not the exodus from Egypt that they are to forget, but are instead to forget about the hopelessness they currently feel.  Don't remember the hopelessness. Don't remember the complancency and feelings of giving in to Babylon. Don't remember the traditions Babylon taught, and instead, remember me.  Remember that I am going to do something new, just as I did something new in Egypt.  Parting the sea to walk on the dry ground bridge was new, and maybe, just maybe now I will again do something new, something unexpected, to bring you through the dark place of exile.   

In this chapter from Isaiah, the prophet uses the images of the sea and river as contrasting one another.  Yes, they are both water, but they carry different meanings.  Seas were often seen as barriers, partially for their literal size.[1]  The image of water or seas indicates judgment for different people groups, and can be seen in earlier places in Scripture.  We see that image here referencing the Egyptians in the exodus, in verse 17: "Who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they are extinguished, quenched like a wick."[2]  The parted sea was a barrier for the Egyptians for their very lives.   Contrasting the sea is the image of a river.  Rivers provide life along its banks for crops and people.  They convey life, which we see in the Garden of Eden with the four rivers it contained or the Jordan River in the Promised Land.  The prophet in Isaiah announces God's promise, "I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" in verse 19. God also declares, "For I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert" in verse 20.  Water and life will teem where it hasn't been possible before.  Water in a desert creates an oasis of life.  Rivers flow with living water, nourishing the roots and encouraging growth.  God provides a way; provides life; provides new things for the people of Israel.   They will have a new life beyond the exile because God is doing a new thing in the life of the community. 

The prophet in Isaiah is confident that some day, the people will praise God for the new things that have been happening in their lives.  God's promises will come true.  Not too long after the prophet wrote these words, the Israelites found themselves able to return home because the exile was over.  Cyrus of Persia defeated the Babylonians in 539BC (or BCE--Before the Common Era) and then allowed the people to return to their homes.[3]  God was doing a new thing in their midst, and they were able to declare their praise to God.  

But God didn't stop there. Did you notice the verbs in these passages.  Makes... Brings... here is where translation becomes tricky business.  These verbs don't show their full meaning in English.  In the Hebrew they show the action began in the past and continues into the future.[4]  God is making... God is bringing.  These are new things that God continues to do in our midst as well.  "Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" 

I recently ran across an article about Ken Frantz that, for me, is a tangible example of God's work in our world to do a new thing and bring about new hope and rejoicing.[5]  A photo in National Geographic magazine from a remote village in Africa moved Ken to action.  The photo showed villagers trying to cross a severed stone bridge to navigate the deep gorge over the river.  The village of Sebara Dildiy, Ethiopia, was cut off from surrounding areas and hundreds of thousands of people because of the lack of a passable bridge.  The gorge was deep, and the next closest bridge was a week's walk away.  Ken, a builder by trade, was so moved that he began an organization called Bridges to Prosperity USA to teach villagers to build basic footbridges to help this village and others like it around the world. There are 500,000 places they have found that could use an equally life-saving bridge, so the need is there.    What began in 2001 as a single bridge project has grown to build 40 bridges in 7 countries and is expanding rapidly. Ken and his crew are creating new, sustainable ways to train villagers to help themselves and build better lives. 

Like I mentioned earlier, it might be hard for us to imagine what this bridge means for the people in Sebara Dildiy.  As a video on their website articulated, it literally means life... new life for the villagers.  This new bridge is a new thing that allows for their lives to be remarkably better.  Now, the crops they grow can be sold at bigger, better markets on the other side of the bridge.  The extra money they make is helping them to repair homes.  Now they are able to cross the bridge for school, so education is now possible for those who would have gone without.  Now they are able to cross the bridge for medical care, their health and well being is only going to get better. The villagers were so excited in the video dancing and singing.  They had the priest offer blessings to the bridge, and the joy was evident in their singing and praising God for this new thing.   

God declares, "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"  During Lent we are drawn to notice the new things around us.  Can we not help but perceive where God is at work making new things?  The trees are new again.  The bulbs are flowering again.  Do you not perceive it?  Just as the exodus in Egypt was a new thing that God did, and freedom from the Babylonian exile was a new thing that God did, so was the resurrection.  The story doesn't follow the same patterns as before.  God brings new life from death.  Jesus will have new life once again on Easter, and we will stand and proclaim "The LORD is Risen.  The LORD is Risen, Indeed!"[6]   

God is at work around us in other ways too, can you perceive it?  We hear it in the theme of Synod for September, "Behold I am making all things new."  We are becoming a renewed province, and I watch with great anticipation to see how God is going to re-form us to better serve our world in God's name.  God is doing new things and we’re a part of it! 

God is at work here in our congregation, can you perceive it?  We begin a new chapter in Raleigh Moravian's history on May 1st when Craig begins his sabbatical for renewal.  We will also spend the summer in sabbath renewal, and I am watching with great anticipation to see what God is doing in and among us during this summer of intentional time with God, and then in the fall when Craig returns.   

God is at work here in our congregation today, can you perceive it?  Tovah and Zoe Shore began their faith journey formally today.  And by all of us participating in the marking of this Sacrament, we all remember who we are as children of God.  We remember God's promise and the power of the Sacrament: "Through grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are united with Christ, are cleansed by his saving work, enter into the fellowship of the church, and are called to a life of faith and willing obedience"[7] through the waters of baptism.  In the liturgy we just prayed together, we were all invited to remember what God has done throughout history and be re-membered, re-formed by our telling again the stories of our faith.    Just as the rivers of living water provided new life for the Israelites in exile, we receive that same new life through the living water of baptism, and we claim God's promises to us.  We celebrate this Sacrament and declare praise to God for these new children of God.  God is forming Zoe and Tovah, just as we are all being formed to declare God's praise.  God is doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  May we all declare God's praise for all the new things God is doing in our midst.  Amen.

---

[1] Michael E. Williams, "Pastoral Perspective for Lent 5C, Isaiah 43:16-21" in Feasting on the Word, Year C. Volume 2, eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor  (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 122. Comparison of sea and river is drawn from his commentary.

[2] Christopher R. Seitz, "The Book of Isaiah 40-66" in New Interpreter's Bible: Volume VI (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2001) 375.

[3] Samuel L. Adams, "Exegetical Perspective for Lent 5C, Isaiah 43:16-21" in Feasting on the Word, Year C. Volume 2, eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor  (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 125.

[4] Samuel L. Adams, "Exegetical Perspective," 125.

[5] Daniel Glick, "Building Bridges of Hope" in Parade Magazine (March 10, 2010, Pg 10-12) More info is in this article or on the web at http://www.parade.com/news/2010/03/07-building-bridges-of-hope.html . The Bridges to Prosperity Website is: http://bridgestoprosperity.org/ .

[6]"Easter Morning Liturgy," Moravian Book of Worship (Bethlehem, PA: Interprovincial Board of Communication, Moravian Church in North America, 1995) 82.

[7] "Liturgy for Baptism," Moravian Book of Worship (Bethlehem, PA: Interprovincial Board of Communication, Moravian Church in North America, 1995) 165.

Lord's Prayer Series: "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread," 3/22/09

"Give Us Today Our Daily Bread"
3/22/09
Lord's Prayer Series- 4th Sunday of Lent
Exodus 16:2-4, 11-18; John 6:28-35

I invite you this morning to join me in a prayer that I read this past week and found it to be helpful in expressing my own words. Let us pray:

"Lord, we are such hungry people. Give us this day our daily bread. We hunger for food, for acceptance, for love. Give us this day our daily bread. Lord, we hunger for mercy and truth, for righteousness and simplicity of heart. Give us this day our daily bread. Lord, we hunger for forgiveness, for enlightenment, for holy vision, for peace. Give us this day our daily bread. We hunger in hope... for the needy, for the downtrodden and forgotten, for the weak, for ourselves. Lord, we are such a hungry people. Give us this day our daily bread."[1] Amen.

Needs and wants. Needs and wants. Ohhhhh how much time I've spent lately exploring the difference in my life from what I NEED and what I merely WANT. This is a tough question and I know many of us have been asking it lately. What can we absolutely live without, or live without for the moment, what do we want, and what do we NEED to live? What are the basic needs for survival? What does our culture tell us we NEED? And, where do these things that we need come from? I can also guess that for most of us, if not all of us right now, the answers to these questions today differ greatly from what they would have been 6 months or a year ago. Today's phrase from the Lord's Prayer, “Give us today our daily bread,” gets at this very basic question of what is needed for life and where it comes from.

"Give us today our daily bread" can be translated different ways, but the one I find most helpful in exploring the meaning of the phrase prays, "Give us today the bread that doesn't run out."[2] As we explore what we need and where it comes from, the image of bread is front and center in this request. The image of bread appears throughout the Old and New Testaments. Bread that Abraham fed the angels in Genesis, Manna that God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, Bread that Jesus fed to 5000 and broke on his trip to Emmaus--Bread is symbolic of basic food. Basic food is a basic need. Bread--not cake or Filet Minion--Bread is a very basic item. No, we aren't praying for the finest ingredients and highest quality. We instead are communally praying for Bread--for our basic needs. It's literally and symbolically at the core for those needing basic sustenance. This very basic food was part of Jesus' Jewish culture, and it remains a core in our culture today. I still laugh every time there is a hurricane or snowstorm predicted as I watch the news stations report on bread and bottled water flying off the shelves at the grocery store. Why these two items? They are core to our psyche to represent sustenance and security--basic NEEDS.

As needs, we must ask for them from the only true and reliable giver of all good things--God. The security that we will have enough comes only from God. Give us today the bread that doesn't run out. This phrase in the Lord's Prayer is a request made to God to provide our most basic NEEDS; it opens with a plea or command--"Give us." It is in the mundane things like food, water, shelter, clothing--the ordinary things of life--if we stop and notice and give thanks--that we can see signs of the divine gift and divine presence.[3] It's as if we're praying, "Give us the tools for basic survival, and in receiving them, help us to recognize that Your hand, God, is involved in all we receive, whether it is bread or water or our other NEEDS."

Speaking of seeing signs of the divine in the ordinary things of life, it is no coincidence that Jesus used bread in the Last Supper--a meal where the ordinary food became an extraordinary sign of the divine presence. It was during this meal that Jesus took bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. We do the same thing here whenever we partake of Communion. The Sacrament of Communion takes ordinary bread and grape juice or wine and transforms it into something holy. Communion is sometimes called the Eucharist--which literally means "Give Thanks"--it is in giving thanks for the gift from God that we are drawn closer to God and see signs of the divine in the ordinary.

I heard a story about how someone came to church one Sunday after having bread for breakfast. She then partook of bread and wine during Communion in Worship. The bread of Communion looked much like the bread from breakfast. But she said, "At breakfast, I did not think of that bread as holy." The church responded, "That's the point. Now, after praying this prayer of the bread at church on Sunday, perhaps you will eat your bread differently on Monday."[4] Bread as a gift from God--Give us today our bread that won't run out. Bread--A simple symbol of divine presence in our needs and also a reminder of the gifts we receive from God. When the crowd asked Jesus for a sign to believe he was The Divine in their presence, Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life." He offered himself up as bread and gave of himself as a sign for the people to believe. Their needs were fulfilled in Jesus and our needs today are fulfilled in the Bread of Life--Jesus Christ.

Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon, professor and former professor at Duke's Divinity School, remind us that, "The act of asking for bread is for us a daily reminder that our lives, like our bread, are gifts from God. Daily we are dependent on God. Just like the Hebrews in the wilderness who would have starved had not God sent the gift of manna (Exodus 16:1-36), so we would perish were it not for the daily, mundane, essential gift of God."[5] Give us today the bread that doesn't run out.

Just as Bread is a literal and figurative reminder of God's provision and care in our daily lives, water also serves as a tangible symbol of God's care. Besides bread, water ranks right up at the top of the list for items we are most likely to grab at the store when a storm is approaching. Water is a necessary component of life. Without water, life ends quickly! Water is a symbol we see throughout Scripture, just like bread.

Today we celebrate Jillian entering into the covenant of grace and the community of the church through the waters of baptism. We proclaimed and thanked God for the gift of water, and we also professed our own faith as part of receiving Jillian into our community. Each time we celebrate a baptism, ordinary and mundane water is transformed into a sign of God's care and provision. Each time we celebrate a baptism, we are invited to remember our own baptism. Each time we touch water, we are invited to see it as a sign of God's care and give thanks. Perhaps we will think of water differently on Monday because we have seen it today as an extraordinary sign of God's care. Jesus has given us living water (John 4), and Jesus is the Bread of life. Give us today the bread that doesn't run out.

Bread and Water--this morning and anytime we celebrate one of the Sacraments, Bread and Water remind us of God's daily provision and care. God provides. God provided manna in the wilderness for the Israelites. God provided the Bread of Life and Living Water--God provides for our basic needs today and God will provide for our basic needs always. Give us today the bread that doesn't run out. Amen.

1. Gregory V. Palmer, Cindy M. McCalmont, & Brian K. Milford, Becoming Jesus' Prayer: Transforming Your Life Through The Lord's Prayer (Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press, 2005) 83-84.
2. Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008) 121.
3. William H. Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer & Christian Life (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1996) 72.
4. Willimon and Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us, 72.
5. Willimon and Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us, 70.

'What's On Your Doorpost?" (9/14/08, [Proper 14A/Ordinary 24] Christian Education Sunday)

"What's on your doorpost?"
Christian Education Sunday
(Proper 14A/Ordinary +24)
Sermon from 9-14-08
Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (main text), Psalm 103:15-18, Matthew 2:34-40


"Shema yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai echad." "Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone." This opening phrase of Deuteronomy 6:4 is one of the most sacred prayers in all of Judaism. It's called the "Shema" after the opening word of the phrase and means, "Hear" or "Listen" or "Act on" or "Obey". This passage from Deuteronomy that we read this morning is spoken each morning and evening as part of Jewish prayers and is at the center of their remembering who they are as people of God-the one God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--the God who led these slaves from Egypt and has brought them to just outside the Promised Land. The beginning of Deuteronomy finds Moses, on the cusp of entering the Promised Land. They've finally found their way out of the desert where they wandered for 40 years.

Speaking of wandering, I saw a comic a few years ago that asked, "Why did Moses wander in the desert for 40 years?" You probably guessed it… "Because he refused to stop and ask for directions." I wasn't there so I can't commit on the validity of that statement, but I would suggest he check the batteries on his Garmin GPS next time he heads out on another trip across the desert or across the street for that matter.

All joking aside, these Israelites are ready to enter the land of their ancestors. Moses sets out here in Deuteronomy to recount their history and help the younger generation remember WHO they are and WHOSE (W-H-O-S-E) they are. Knowing WHO and WHOSE they are will help them to re-member—re-orient—themselves in the Promised Land. Moses recounts the 10 Commandments again for them in Chapter 5 and then reminds them about God--their one God. As the Message translation recounts Moses' words, it reads: "Attention, Israel! God, our God! God the one and only! Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got! Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates."

When we hear this passage, I hope that we hear the actions associated with the command from Moses. This is not a passive faith where reciting these verses is all that is required. Instead, Moses is calling the Israelites to an active faith of re-membering their lives—re-orienting their lifestyle—claiming WHO and WHOSE they are—being marked as followers of God Almighty. And it was not just for those listening. It was for the generations to come. The adults are to get these commands inside of them first and then to pass them along to their children as they grow. They are to teach the children to remember WHO God is and re-member their lives to know WHOSE they are. This teaching and re-membering is to go on forever..."to infinity and beyond."

Speaking of "To Infinity and beyond", we were watching the movie Toy Story the other night. For many of you, it's probably a familiar story, but in case you've not seen it, it was Pixar Studio's 1995 first full-length animated movie about the toys that live in Andy's playroom. Andy, the boy in the story, has no idea what happens inside his room when the door closes and he leaves the room. That is when the toys come alive. Woody, the cowboy doll is the leader of the pack, which includes Mr. Potato Head, Bo Peep the shepardess, Rex the dinosaur, Hamm the piggy bank, and of course, Buzz Lightyear, the space ranger who is the newest addition to the pack. Woody is Andy's favorite toy until Buzz arrives, and this creates lots of problems in the story. When Woody and Buzz get separated from the rest of the toys and it seems like everything is lost, Buzz looks down at his shoe and sees "Andy" written on the bottom. It is at that moment that he suddenly remembers WHOSE he is, and this brings a turning point in the story. Woody and Buzz work to try and find their way back to Andy because Andy needs them--they are his favorites and they belong to him--they are marked—Andy’s name is on each one’s shoe. I won't spoil the movie in case you haven't seen it, but I do recommend watching it.

Marked with the name of the one WHOSE you are. Moses reminded the Israelites of WHOSE they were--they were God Almighty’s. They were marked by the covenant with God and where to show this by living their faith in their daily lives. The Israelites were being taught to pass along their faith in the mundane activities of daily life--not just remember God on the special days only.

Even today in orthodox Jewish communities, you will often see men marked with their faith by wearing small boxes on their foreheads--called phylacteries--which hold scrolls with the Shema verse from Deuteronomy 6 inside. Also many Jews today often have a small box called a Mezuzah attached to their front door, which also contains this same verse from Deuteronomy. When the Mezuzah is attached in a house blessing ceremony, they pray a prayer, “We affix the Mezuzah to the doorposts of this house with the hope that it will always remind us of our duties to God and to one another. May the divine spirit fill this house – the spirit of love and kindness and consideration for all people…Fortify our resolve to make it now and always, a Temple dedicated to You. Let it be filled with the beauty of holiness and the warmth of love. May the guest and the stranger find within it welcome and friendship….” This mark cannot be missed as one walks through the door of the house--whether bringing in the groceries or taking out the trash.

What is on our doorpost? How do we remember WHO we belong to--WHOSE we are? Do we have a cross on the door? Do we have Andy's name written on our foot? One of my friends in seminary grew up thinking that Andy was God's name. She learned it through a song they often sang in church... "Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me. Andy tells me I am his own." Maybe Andy really is God's name?! Buzz and Woody certainly were marked with Andy's name because they belonged to him.

So I ask again, literally and figuratively, what's on your doorpost? What is around your forehead or neck or wrist? What is displayed on the back of your car or on your office door? How are you marked to remind yourself, and those who see it, that you are God's? What has set us apart as Christians to know WHOSE we are as God's beloved children.

Today as we look at Christian Education, welcome our 2nd graders into "Big Church," and kick off another Sunday school year, it is good for us to look at WHOSE we are and how we know this in our daily lives? Deuteronomy tells the parents and adults to get these words inside of them first and then inside their children. We echo this in our Moravian beliefs that parents and the congregation are to raise up our children in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as well. If we have been baptized, we are marked by God as part of God’s covenant promise.

Take out the hymnals and turn with me to page 165 in the Book of Worship. This liturgy for Baptism should be familiar to you. As Moravians, we call upon the parents to profess their own faith during our baptisms to be sure they have this belief inside them first, which follows Moses’ instructions in Deuteronomy 6. Many of you probably remember the baptisms of the 2nd graders sitting up here right now, and I'm sure their families remember them. At the bottom of page 165 we read, "As you present yourselves before God and this congregation, we call upon you to profess your faith. Do you believe in God as your Creator and loving heavenly father, in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and in the Holy Spirit as your Comforter and Sustainer, according to the Holy Scriptures?”

Then turn to the next page, page 166. In the middle of page 166, we ask parents: "Do you intend to participate actively in Christ's church, serving God all the days of your life?" At the bottom of the page, the questions turn to the congregation, "Do you receive and affirm these children of God as members of this congregation and accept your obligation to love and nurture them in Christ?" We, the parents and congregation of Raleigh Moravian Church, have made these promises to raise these children and get this faith inside their hearts. Baptism marks US as God's--it is through Baptism that we know WHO we are and WHOSE we are. It's like taking a sharpie marker and putting "God" on our shoe to always remind us though every step we take along our life's journey, we belong to God.

As we see though both Deuteronomy and our Baptism liturgy, we are called to "Hear", "Listen," "Obey" and "Act"--SHEMA, O Congregation: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. As the adults, parents, grandparents, friends, leaders and role models, get them inside of you and then get them inside your children, for all the children here are your children to love and teach. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home in Sunday School or walking in the street, driving in a car or sitting in a coffee shop; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night, as you buy groceries and take out the recycling. Every moment is sacred and holy, and presents a teaching opportunity. God is present with you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. If you wear a cross, bracelet, or ring to show your faith, let it also remind you WHOSE you are; inscribe them on your shoes, the doorposts of your homes, and on your city gate. The way you live shows WHO you are. People should know WHOSE you are.

So I ask each of us this day, what’s on your doorpost? What is written on your shoe? What are you writing inside your heart and the hearts of those around you? Let us help one another to “Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!" To infinity and beyond, let us live it together. Amen, let it be so.