"A Christmas Frame of Mind"
Christmas 2B
Sermon from 1/4/2009
John 1:1-18; Ephesians 1:3-14
Christmas Day has come and gone again this year. The candy, cards, and gifts are 50 or 75% off. The 24-7 Christmas Music on the radio is over--the Christmas CD's and movies are packed away until next year. The returns have been returned, the decorations are likely down or will be coming down this afternoon. We're already though New Years Day as well, and Valentine's candy is already on the shelves in the local grocery store. The shepherds have visited the stable and returned home. The Magi arrive this Tuesday for Epiphany, and they will then return home as well. Christmas has come and gone for another year. Or has it?
As I opened my stocking on Christmas Day with my in-laws and family in Pennsylvania, I took out a magnet that said, "Christmas isn't just a day, it's a frame of mind." A frame of mind... I like that. It's a great phrase. A Christmas frame of mind. Christmas in the church is a season in fact--12 days long that begins on Christmas Day and carries us through to Epiphany on January 6th. These are the true 12 Days of Christmas, but somehow it seems we have forgotten to tell the rest of the world about them. Christmas is over according to our culture. Is it over this year for us too? Christmas as a frame of mind--what if it was actually true? What would it look like in our daily lives?
As I have spent the past week or so preparing for today's message, I must confess I have been confronted with more questions than answers. As a pastor knowing I get to stand up and dialog with you on Sunday morning, more questions than answers has led to little comfort and much frustration in my preparation process. I have thought back often to what my college thesis adviser told me when I got to the end of my paper and had multiple pages of questions for further study--I was frustrated that it wasn't going to end with neatly answered questions, but in fact my topic of research led to more questions. She said that more questions were a good thing because it meant I was thinking and engaging the topic.
I also have had to wrestle with the fact that as a trained pastor, I feel like I should somehow KNOW the answers... but I confess that just as I think I have an answer, more wrestling with the questions and answers is required. These questions are not easily or neatly wrapped up in a box and placed under our Christmas trees. So I would like to invite you all to journey with me through some of the big questions of Christmas that I have found myself mulling over this week. Maybe some of these are also your questions? Maybe some of my questions raise new questions within you? I am excited about the possibility of wrestling with these together, because I believe these are questions that can likely best be answered in community.
For starters, what does Christmas mean? There is the easy answer--the word is from "Christ's Mass" celebrating the birth of the Christ child, the promised savior or Messiah--Jesus of Nazareth. The story is told in Luke 2 and Matthew 2, which many of us can quote at least in part. It's a cozy story that takes place in a stable in Bethlehem with shepherds, angels, magi, and a young couple who have an unexpected baby. But is it also so much more than this?
As I have wrestled, I have keep thinking about how we are often so busy and hurried in December and everything is focused on Christmas' arrival and being ready for the BIG DAY. In fact, shoppers take note--there are only 355 shopping days till next year's Big Day! Our preparation time is a blur of shopping, activities, parties, food, and craziness. Then it's here and over in a flash. Lovefeast buns have been consumed, our coffee's cold, and the smell of smoke fills this room as the candles are all blown out. It's all over and yet, how is life different? Yes, there is the stack of new DVDs to watch and clothes to wear, but how is life truly different? Or is it different at all? Why is Christmas even important to begin with? I kept coming back to the question of "So what does Christmas mean?" How does Christmas really affect our lives the other 364 days of the year? And if it doesn't, how might it be different this year to extend Christmas to make it a frame of mind or a way we view our world?
When we hear the story of Christmas, it is often from Luke or Matthew's story about the baby Jesus. But today, we are looking at John's telling of the Christmas Story. There are no shepherds; no angels; no Mary and Joseph; no overcrowded inn; no magi mentioned anywhere. Jesus isn't even named until 17 verses into the story. The writer in John takes us back to the beginning--literally-- by opening the Gospel's Prologue with the phrase "In the beginning." This phrase likely took your mind back to the beginning. We heard these passages paralleled in the reflective reading that opened worship this morning.
One phrase truly sums up the story of Christmas, I believe, but might need some unpacking to make more sense is in John 1:14. "And the Word became flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father's only son, full of grace and truth." The WORD, from the phrase “And the Word became flesh,” is a translation of logos in Greek, and is a term the Greek Philosophers used for logic or wisdom, and is even where our word logic comes from. The ideas of logos along with light and life were common terms used at that time by philosophers. But here the writer of John is taking these words and using them to show the world is forever changed. For the writer of John and for us, these words are not just philosophical ideas anymore; they live and breathe in the person of Jesus Christ. The God of the universe has become flesh and blood in human form--both fully God and fully human. Not only did this God-person exist, but lived in and among them. Because of Christmas, God now lives or tents or tabernacles or dwells among us. The tent and tabernacle images in John recall the Israelite image of the mobile tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant from the time of the desert wanderings in Exodus. As the Message translation explains, "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood." This is the point... this is what Christmas is all about--the Incarnation where God becomes human and moves into our neighborhood.
So why did God become human (incarnate) and move into our neighborhood? John writes that it is to show us God's glory in grace and truth. The ideas of grace and truth also hearken back to the Exodus and Moses when God created a covenant with the Israelites. This phrase “grace and truth” can also be translated as mercy and truth, or love. Jesus came to earth, moved into our neighborhood and showed us what LOVE looked like, smelled like, tasted like, felt like, and acted like. Jesus modeled love with his every breath so we could do the same--maybe that is a Christmas frame of mind? As one of my favorite authors, Shane Claiborne, puts it, "In the baby refugee Jesus, God becomes Emmanuel ("God with us"), crashing in the manger. And it is in the life of Jesus that God puts skin on to show us what love looks like." [Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006) 324]
This understanding of Christmas leads me to reflect on the other magnet I found in my stocking on Christmas Day--"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." A conspiracy of love--maybe that is what Christmas is all about. Christmas is God's cosmic conspiracy of love, and we've been invited to join in on the love-fest. Poet Ann Weems wrote a very short poem that I think brings these two magnet's saying together. She writes:
"When the Holy Child is born into our hearts
there is a rain of stars
a rush of angels
a blaze of candles
this God burst into our lives.
Love is running through the streets."
[Ann Weems, "Godburst" from Kneeling in Bethlehem (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987) 27]
God has moved into the neighborhood, and, now, Love is running through the streets. Have you seen God's RV or Motor home parked in your front yard or at the next desk over from your cubicle? Was God standing next to you in the check-out lane at REI or Target as you made returns? Has God served you coffee and bagels or wine and bread recently? One writer I encountered this week asks, "Where then do we confront the divine, where do we touch the eternal living God, where do we experience the inner light?" Ahh--More great questions with no easy answers.
The Prologue tells us that John the Baptizer came to testify that Emmanuel, "God with us," was coming into the world, giving power to people to become children of God. So then, how do we TESTIFY to the presence of love running through the streets of our neighborhoods? Mother Teresa was quoted as saying, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love. It's not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it." Maybe that is a Christmas frame of mind. What small things can we do this year that will show God's great love to those around us--our families, our friends, our co-workers, and schoolmates? How can we love the stranger on the street corner or beside us in the check out line? Maybe its spending time with an elderly neighbor who needs to be reassured that someone really does care about them or holding a patient's hand as he or she awaits test results or treatment. Maybe we can demonstrate God's love running down the soccer field in Costa Rica as we help build a youth center and school. Maybe we participate in the conspiracy of love as we volunteer or take more time to show love to our family members who might be difficult at times to love. Hopefully we keep wrestling together with how we can see God's moving van in our neighborhood and join in with the conspiracy of love that Jesus modeled. Hopefully we can share the love of God with one another--those we love and those we have trouble loving.
I invite you to spend a few moments now quietly thinking about how you might enact a Christmas frame of mind throughout this year. Jot down ideas you have or questions that have been raised--maybe on the back of your watchword card or bulletin, and let's keep wrestling with our questions together. Email me, join me for coffee, pull aside a friend to chat as we all keep looking for God in our neighborhood and testify to the conspiracy of love... after all, Jesus came into the community to show us how to love, and here is probably the best place to practice our questioning, wrestling, and loving one another, so we can live the Christmas frame of mind in our world throughout 2009. Take a few moments now to reflect, and I will close us in prayer at the end.
God who's bigger than our questions,
thank you for moving into our neighborhood to give us Jesus as the model example of how to love and live. Give us the strength and insight needed as we wrestle with tough questions of faith and understand what it means that you took on flesh and blood. Empower us to testify to where we see you in our daily lives and show us where we can participate in your conspiracy of love. In Jesus' holy name, we pray. Amen.
Showing posts with label Irresistible Revolution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irresistible Revolution. Show all posts
Sunday, January 4, 2009
"Risky Business" (11/16/08, Proper 28A/Pentecost +27)
"Risky Business"
Proper 28A (Pentecost +27A)
Sermon from 11-16-08
Matthew 25:14-30; Psalm 90:1-8, 12
Please join me in praying the prayer Jesus taught us to pray: The Lord's Prayer (found on page 4 in the Blue Book of Worship if you need to read along).
"Our Father, who art in heaven, hollowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, power and glory forever and ever. Amen."
This week sitting in my office was risky as I was tempted, oh SO tempted by the smells wafting through the hallway-it was RISKY being in the building with hundreds of pans of fresh-baked sugar cake. It was sugar-cake-baking-week here and BOY DID IT SMELL GOOD. All those ooey, gooey pans of dough, cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter--what's not to LOVE! I walked through the fellowship hall once or twice and it was all I could do to resist snatching a fresh baked, still-hot-from-the-oven sugar cake square.
Our scripture passage this morning from Matthew's Gospel is often referred to as the Parable of the Talents. I would guess it is difficult passage to understand for most of us, and there are so many different parts to examine and look at to try to interpret what Jesus is saying here. I often find it helpful to look at other translations to gain insight and would like to share another version of this story with you from The Message. Eugene Peterson, the translator, entitles it "A Story about Investment". We pick up the story when the master meets back with the third servant in verse 24.
24-25"The servant given one said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'
26-27"The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
28-30"'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.'
Strong words for sure--Living safe, cautious lives is a "terrible way to live." There are so many different angles we can take with this story--this parable--this fable to teach us a lesson that is important for us to learn. These statements about not living cautiously are what really jumped out at me this week. To follow Jesus means not living cautiously--Christianity is risky business.
The three servants were given talents from the master. Then the master left. A talent in those days was an amount of money. One talent was equal to the money a day laborer would earn after working 15-20 years. ONE TALENT took 15-20 years to earn--that's a huge amount of money--about a half million dollars or more in today's terms. And it's interesting that our contemporary word talent as a gift or ability comes from this parable. As I looked at this story over, I kept wondering what was the difference in the master's reaction to the first two servants and the third servant. In order for the two servants to double their money, they must have done something where that money was used and thus its value doubled. This gain could not have come without risk. The servants likely doubled their money with wise investments, not foolish wagering.
Steve and I were watching TV the other evening when the silly game show "Cash Cab" came on the Discovery Channel. The contestants answered trivia questions while riding in a cab through New York City, and at the end of their trip they had a video bonus question where they risked their whole winnings in order to have a chance to answer the final question. IF they got it right, their money doubled. If they got it wrong, they lost everything. I'm not sure how Jesus would feel about comparing the parable to a TV game show, but the contestants did remind me of the servants. Two of the groups risked everything and ended up doubling their money. One group decided that what they had won was enough and did not risk what they had been given. Double or nothing is high stakes, but the winners felt that risky business was worth it. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether you think game show investing is really a good risk or not.
This Parable of the Talents is sometimes referred to as a "kingdom parable" because it is dealing with the way we are to live in this world in order to help bring about God's kingdom here on earth. Christians, I believe, are called to be kingdom-workers in our world. We are to be agents of change to make our world a better place for everyone--"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done." Jesus empowers his disciples in the church to do his work here, and His work often involves risk. I might even venture to say it always involves risk. How many of you thought it was risky to show up here this morning? Who thinks it is risky to be a Christian or walk through the doors of the church? In some parts of the world, showing up for church and being Christian is more risky, literally, than it is here today because of persecutions of Christians, burning of church buildings, or having to worship underground to survive.
But there is risk here too. We are called to be in relationship with one another. Relationships are tough sometimes--friendships are tough sometimes--families sometimes DO NOT make life easier. When we open ourselves up to be vulnerable with one another in community, there is always the risk of being hurt or rejected. We are called to care, share, and love... befriend the friend-less, lift-up the hope-less, and love the unlovable. None of these activities is easy, and none comes without risk: risking ourselves, our talents, our gifts, and our money to make the world more like a little piece of heaven here on earth.
Even from our earliest days, we must risk to survive. We watch children striving to walk, knowing that they will learn some day, and watch them risk one step then the next, finally letting go of our hands and seeing their risk pay off. Risks are part of life, and are certainly part of life in the church. Ralph Winter, a researcher, said, "Risks are not to be evaluated by the probability of success, but by the value of the goal." ["Risk" in McHenry's Quips, Quotes, & Other Notes, compiled by Raymond McHenry (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishing, 1998) 215.] Our goal, as I see it, is to create a culture of stewardship where everyone is willing to risk whatever it takes to accomplish the mission and ministry that God has called Raleigh Moravian to do.
It may be very hard to hear about risks right now for most of us. Having just come through a fierce election season with much fear-based advertising, many of us are probably still weary. Turning on the news is almost sure to cause some anxiety. With the state of the economy where it is right now and knowing that so many have lost so much in the stock market, or wherever else, risk might be the farthest thing on your mind. You would rather play it safe, because risk seems too risky. We know from the parable that the fear of failure or loss was the thing that caused the third servant to bury his money in the ground. He was paralyzed with fear. The risk was too great, he thought, and wasn't worth it. Sometimes the risk isn't worth it. I believe many of us would agree that there are good risks and not-so-good risks and our lists might differ. It is important in any situation like we are in today to evaluate what is worth the risk while looking at the greater picture of God's kingdom.
What is worth taking a risk? What is the goal? Why do we put ourselves out on a limb? Is it because Jesus promises that the reward is great--to hear "Well done, Good and trustworthy servant." To know that there will be reward thought we might not see it in this life--to risk is tough, but it is the only thing we can do. The call of Jesus to risk it all was followed by his example of his own life. He suffered death on the cross for the risks he took, and he knew that going in. His reward was eternal, and our reward is the same.
As a child on Thursday evenings I was allowed to watch The Cosby Show. Cliff Huxtable, aka Bill Cosby, was notorious for sneaking frosting, slices of cake, potato chips, or whatever he could while the family wasn't watching. I almost felt like Cliff this past week with all the sugar cakes sitting on the counters. In a very small way, Cliff Huxtable risked when he took a piece of cake from whatever goodie was on the counter. The Cosby show was good and won numerous awards over the 8 seasons it ran from 1984-1992. Looking back on the successful show today, I doubt any of us would understand the risk that was involved in NBC deciding to air the show back in 1984. The network ABC rejected The Cosby Show before NBC finally decided to air it. In a bigger way, NBC took a risk and reaped much benefit from airing the show that had been previously rejected. They went out on a limb, so to speak, and were glad they did. How can we go out on a limb for God?
It is my hope that we can all support one another to be risk-takers. It is not always the easy road. There can be difficulties along the way. But I believe we can start small and take the baby steps together to learn to walk without holding on to the furniture.
So what are you willing to do?
Which type of servant are you?
Are we willing to be risk-takers together?
What might that look like here at Raleigh Moravian?
The risks differ for everyone, just as our comfort zones differ. They can involve our time, talents, and treasures.
For some people, risk might mean joining the band or choir or singing a solo of Morning Star for Christmas Eve lovefeast.
Risk might be joining the youth at the homeless shelter one Sunday morning to hand out clothing and sing with them.
Or risk might mean going on a mission trip for the first time this spring or summer. For those who have gone to Mississippi or Laurel Ridge, risk might mean taking another trip this year to serve in a different capacity.
For others risk might mean inviting a visitor to lunch after church or a church member you barely know over to dinner one evening.
Risk might include inviting a friend from school to come to MYF one week or asking that neighbor you see across the fence to the Candle Tea on December 6th or congregational lovefeast on December 21st as an introduction to Raleigh Moravian.
Still others might see a risk as increasing their pledge to the church this year despite the looming economy, or pledging for the first time to help out the ministry and mission of the church in the world.
And still others might think about risk in terms of participating in a small bible study or prayer group as we look to forming those in the near future.
As one of my favorite authors, Shane Claiborne, writes in The Irresistible Revolution, quoting his college professor, "'Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life.' [Shane says,] I decided to take him up on that challenge." (The Irresistible Revolution, page 18) Are you up to the challenge? After all, it's Risky Business. Let's go do something daring together! Amen.
Please pray with me:
Lord, help us to daily choose You and risk wisely to help bring about your kingdom here on earth. Amen. So be it.
Proper 28A (Pentecost +27A)
Sermon from 11-16-08
Matthew 25:14-30; Psalm 90:1-8, 12
Please join me in praying the prayer Jesus taught us to pray: The Lord's Prayer (found on page 4 in the Blue Book of Worship if you need to read along).
"Our Father, who art in heaven, hollowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, power and glory forever and ever. Amen."
This week sitting in my office was risky as I was tempted, oh SO tempted by the smells wafting through the hallway-it was RISKY being in the building with hundreds of pans of fresh-baked sugar cake. It was sugar-cake-baking-week here and BOY DID IT SMELL GOOD. All those ooey, gooey pans of dough, cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter--what's not to LOVE! I walked through the fellowship hall once or twice and it was all I could do to resist snatching a fresh baked, still-hot-from-the-oven sugar cake square.
Our scripture passage this morning from Matthew's Gospel is often referred to as the Parable of the Talents. I would guess it is difficult passage to understand for most of us, and there are so many different parts to examine and look at to try to interpret what Jesus is saying here. I often find it helpful to look at other translations to gain insight and would like to share another version of this story with you from The Message. Eugene Peterson, the translator, entitles it "A Story about Investment". We pick up the story when the master meets back with the third servant in verse 24.
24-25"The servant given one said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'
26-27"The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
28-30"'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.'
Strong words for sure--Living safe, cautious lives is a "terrible way to live." There are so many different angles we can take with this story--this parable--this fable to teach us a lesson that is important for us to learn. These statements about not living cautiously are what really jumped out at me this week. To follow Jesus means not living cautiously--Christianity is risky business.
The three servants were given talents from the master. Then the master left. A talent in those days was an amount of money. One talent was equal to the money a day laborer would earn after working 15-20 years. ONE TALENT took 15-20 years to earn--that's a huge amount of money--about a half million dollars or more in today's terms. And it's interesting that our contemporary word talent as a gift or ability comes from this parable. As I looked at this story over, I kept wondering what was the difference in the master's reaction to the first two servants and the third servant. In order for the two servants to double their money, they must have done something where that money was used and thus its value doubled. This gain could not have come without risk. The servants likely doubled their money with wise investments, not foolish wagering.
Steve and I were watching TV the other evening when the silly game show "Cash Cab" came on the Discovery Channel. The contestants answered trivia questions while riding in a cab through New York City, and at the end of their trip they had a video bonus question where they risked their whole winnings in order to have a chance to answer the final question. IF they got it right, their money doubled. If they got it wrong, they lost everything. I'm not sure how Jesus would feel about comparing the parable to a TV game show, but the contestants did remind me of the servants. Two of the groups risked everything and ended up doubling their money. One group decided that what they had won was enough and did not risk what they had been given. Double or nothing is high stakes, but the winners felt that risky business was worth it. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether you think game show investing is really a good risk or not.
This Parable of the Talents is sometimes referred to as a "kingdom parable" because it is dealing with the way we are to live in this world in order to help bring about God's kingdom here on earth. Christians, I believe, are called to be kingdom-workers in our world. We are to be agents of change to make our world a better place for everyone--"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done." Jesus empowers his disciples in the church to do his work here, and His work often involves risk. I might even venture to say it always involves risk. How many of you thought it was risky to show up here this morning? Who thinks it is risky to be a Christian or walk through the doors of the church? In some parts of the world, showing up for church and being Christian is more risky, literally, than it is here today because of persecutions of Christians, burning of church buildings, or having to worship underground to survive.
But there is risk here too. We are called to be in relationship with one another. Relationships are tough sometimes--friendships are tough sometimes--families sometimes DO NOT make life easier. When we open ourselves up to be vulnerable with one another in community, there is always the risk of being hurt or rejected. We are called to care, share, and love... befriend the friend-less, lift-up the hope-less, and love the unlovable. None of these activities is easy, and none comes without risk: risking ourselves, our talents, our gifts, and our money to make the world more like a little piece of heaven here on earth.
Even from our earliest days, we must risk to survive. We watch children striving to walk, knowing that they will learn some day, and watch them risk one step then the next, finally letting go of our hands and seeing their risk pay off. Risks are part of life, and are certainly part of life in the church. Ralph Winter, a researcher, said, "Risks are not to be evaluated by the probability of success, but by the value of the goal." ["Risk" in McHenry's Quips, Quotes, & Other Notes, compiled by Raymond McHenry (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishing, 1998) 215.] Our goal, as I see it, is to create a culture of stewardship where everyone is willing to risk whatever it takes to accomplish the mission and ministry that God has called Raleigh Moravian to do.
It may be very hard to hear about risks right now for most of us. Having just come through a fierce election season with much fear-based advertising, many of us are probably still weary. Turning on the news is almost sure to cause some anxiety. With the state of the economy where it is right now and knowing that so many have lost so much in the stock market, or wherever else, risk might be the farthest thing on your mind. You would rather play it safe, because risk seems too risky. We know from the parable that the fear of failure or loss was the thing that caused the third servant to bury his money in the ground. He was paralyzed with fear. The risk was too great, he thought, and wasn't worth it. Sometimes the risk isn't worth it. I believe many of us would agree that there are good risks and not-so-good risks and our lists might differ. It is important in any situation like we are in today to evaluate what is worth the risk while looking at the greater picture of God's kingdom.
What is worth taking a risk? What is the goal? Why do we put ourselves out on a limb? Is it because Jesus promises that the reward is great--to hear "Well done, Good and trustworthy servant." To know that there will be reward thought we might not see it in this life--to risk is tough, but it is the only thing we can do. The call of Jesus to risk it all was followed by his example of his own life. He suffered death on the cross for the risks he took, and he knew that going in. His reward was eternal, and our reward is the same.
As a child on Thursday evenings I was allowed to watch The Cosby Show. Cliff Huxtable, aka Bill Cosby, was notorious for sneaking frosting, slices of cake, potato chips, or whatever he could while the family wasn't watching. I almost felt like Cliff this past week with all the sugar cakes sitting on the counters. In a very small way, Cliff Huxtable risked when he took a piece of cake from whatever goodie was on the counter. The Cosby show was good and won numerous awards over the 8 seasons it ran from 1984-1992. Looking back on the successful show today, I doubt any of us would understand the risk that was involved in NBC deciding to air the show back in 1984. The network ABC rejected The Cosby Show before NBC finally decided to air it. In a bigger way, NBC took a risk and reaped much benefit from airing the show that had been previously rejected. They went out on a limb, so to speak, and were glad they did. How can we go out on a limb for God?
It is my hope that we can all support one another to be risk-takers. It is not always the easy road. There can be difficulties along the way. But I believe we can start small and take the baby steps together to learn to walk without holding on to the furniture.
So what are you willing to do?
Which type of servant are you?
Are we willing to be risk-takers together?
What might that look like here at Raleigh Moravian?
The risks differ for everyone, just as our comfort zones differ. They can involve our time, talents, and treasures.
For some people, risk might mean joining the band or choir or singing a solo of Morning Star for Christmas Eve lovefeast.
Risk might be joining the youth at the homeless shelter one Sunday morning to hand out clothing and sing with them.
Or risk might mean going on a mission trip for the first time this spring or summer. For those who have gone to Mississippi or Laurel Ridge, risk might mean taking another trip this year to serve in a different capacity.
For others risk might mean inviting a visitor to lunch after church or a church member you barely know over to dinner one evening.
Risk might include inviting a friend from school to come to MYF one week or asking that neighbor you see across the fence to the Candle Tea on December 6th or congregational lovefeast on December 21st as an introduction to Raleigh Moravian.
Still others might see a risk as increasing their pledge to the church this year despite the looming economy, or pledging for the first time to help out the ministry and mission of the church in the world.
And still others might think about risk in terms of participating in a small bible study or prayer group as we look to forming those in the near future.
As one of my favorite authors, Shane Claiborne, writes in The Irresistible Revolution, quoting his college professor, "'Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life.' [Shane says,] I decided to take him up on that challenge." (The Irresistible Revolution, page 18) Are you up to the challenge? After all, it's Risky Business. Let's go do something daring together! Amen.
Please pray with me:
Lord, help us to daily choose You and risk wisely to help bring about your kingdom here on earth. Amen. So be it.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
"Whatever You Do, Don't TIPTOE!" (6/15/08, Proper 6A/Ordinary 11A/Pentecost +5)
“Whatever you do, don’t TIPTOE!”
Proper 6A/Ordinary 11A/Pentecost +5
Sermon from 6/15/08
Matthew 9:35-10:8
Holly Springs Moravian Church
I was checking out the Holly Springs website the other day, as I do periodically, to keep up with what’s going on back here, and I was taken down memory road as I looked at Eric Terry’s photos that are posted on there, especially the ones from the Easter Sunrise service this past year. I remember a few years ago driving down Holly Springs Road with NO cars in sight, at some too-early-to-be-counted hour, in complete darkness, arriving in that field ready to see the sun shine. I have great memories of standing there, with my Holly Springs family, as we waited together for the Sun to PEAK out over the horizon and celebrate Easter!
We are a resurrection people. We believe in life after death and Jesus being raised from the tomb. (show DARKNESS EASTER PHOTO on screen) We are the ones who pilgrimage to a graveyard (or field) on Easter morning, before dawn in the cold darkness of death that lingers from Good Friday, (EASTER PHOTO 1-People) to watch and wait for the sun to rise as we proclaim to the whole world, “The Lord is risen. The Lord is risen, INDEED!” (EASTER PHOTO 2-Cross) We believe that God has power over death and that new beginnings are possible.
And yet, we live in a world that needs to hear that hope is here and love arrived in a manger over 2000 years ago, and through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has shown that God does indeed care for us and love us.
I spent this past week at a church conference at Princeton University in New Jersey and was fortunate to hear one of my favorite authors and speakers, Shane Claiborne. In his book, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, he takes a look at Scripture and life and has managed to totally change my understanding of how I can live out God’s love in the world today. (If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it, but buckle your seatbelt, hang on, and get ready for an awesome journey!) He writes, “For even if the whole world believes in resurrection, little would change until we began to practice it. We can believe in CPR, but people will remain dead until someone breathes new life into them. And we can tell there world that there is life after death, but the world really seems to be wondering if there is life before death.” (Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution {Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006} 150).
Life before death. An interesting idea and all. But what does that look like? Shane quotes his college professor as saying, “All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don’t tiptoe.” (The Irresistible Revolution, page 225). We hear Matthew’s words today to the disciples in Jesus’ time and they remind me of this same idea. Jesus has gathered a few of his students together to teach them and then send them out to show the world there is life before death. To me this passage in Matthew’s Gospel sounds strikingly similar to the professor’s words. We hear Jesus’ command: “Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons.” (Mt. 10:7-8, the Message). Show life to those in need, share love, and whatever you do, don’t TIPTOE!
The disciples were given the power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. The power from Christ Jesus was passed to His disciples, and we are continuing that work as Christ’s hands and feet in our world today to do the same work here as His student’s today.
So what does it look like today, if we are following in Jesus’ footsteps by bringing life before death into our own neighborhoods? I believe it looks like relationships that we build with the folks around us that don’t stay on the surface but get into each other’s “stuff” and help work together to make life better.
A lady I know has been struggling to make ends meet for months, and at this point is so far in over her head that she can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. The mortgage crisis has hit hard, and for this single working mother of a 10-year-old son, homelessness is knocking on the doorstep. She has been so depressed that she often can’t get out of bed in the morning, which makes working to keep the house that much more difficult. Recently, a couple of business men from our community came over, sat down with her, and helped to create a plan of action to tackle the problems and work together to make it happen. They used their gifts for understanding finances and business to help her see light in her situation. Her son said afterwards, “Mom, I know that God really does love us.” She now knows that God’s love is real, because these disciples came into the neighborhood and raised her from the dead. There is life before death.
One translation of the Scripture we read this morning says, “cleanse the leapers,” but I haven’t seen anyone with leprosy around here, so does that lessen the tasks we are called to? Bono, one of today’s great prophets and the lead singer for the Irish band U2, asks, “Is AIDS the new leprosy?” (quoted in multiple source) I don’t know about you, but I believe so. Who are the ones in our neighborhoods that society has deemed, “Unclean” or “Untouchable” who need to know of God’s loving touch? Folks with HIV/AIDS, additions, and debt? Folks without houses, jobs, or food? By forming relationships with folks, we get to show love through hugs, handshakes, and high-fives. We also get to walk alongside each other on the journey of life, using our gifts and skills to help where we can when their lives seem diseased or dis-eased.
We might hear the Gospel text speaking to us: “As we go, today, following Jesus on our journey, openly proclaim with your actions the good news, “Christ’s kingdom is near!” Have compassion and show grace and love as you work to bring balance and wholeness. Bring hope back to life for those who are beaten down and in despair. Remove the stains and dirt from those who are dis-eased around you. Drive away the breaths of greed, superiority, and consumerism that pervade our society. You all have been given to in abundance. Share that abundance.” And whatever you do, don’t TIPTOE—but show that there really is such thing as life before death.
Proper 6A/Ordinary 11A/Pentecost +5
Sermon from 6/15/08
Matthew 9:35-10:8
Holly Springs Moravian Church
I was checking out the Holly Springs website the other day, as I do periodically, to keep up with what’s going on back here, and I was taken down memory road as I looked at Eric Terry’s photos that are posted on there, especially the ones from the Easter Sunrise service this past year. I remember a few years ago driving down Holly Springs Road with NO cars in sight, at some too-early-to-be-counted hour, in complete darkness, arriving in that field ready to see the sun shine. I have great memories of standing there, with my Holly Springs family, as we waited together for the Sun to PEAK out over the horizon and celebrate Easter!
We are a resurrection people. We believe in life after death and Jesus being raised from the tomb. (show DARKNESS EASTER PHOTO on screen) We are the ones who pilgrimage to a graveyard (or field) on Easter morning, before dawn in the cold darkness of death that lingers from Good Friday, (EASTER PHOTO 1-People) to watch and wait for the sun to rise as we proclaim to the whole world, “The Lord is risen. The Lord is risen, INDEED!” (EASTER PHOTO 2-Cross) We believe that God has power over death and that new beginnings are possible.
And yet, we live in a world that needs to hear that hope is here and love arrived in a manger over 2000 years ago, and through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has shown that God does indeed care for us and love us.
I spent this past week at a church conference at Princeton University in New Jersey and was fortunate to hear one of my favorite authors and speakers, Shane Claiborne. In his book, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, he takes a look at Scripture and life and has managed to totally change my understanding of how I can live out God’s love in the world today. (If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it, but buckle your seatbelt, hang on, and get ready for an awesome journey!) He writes, “For even if the whole world believes in resurrection, little would change until we began to practice it. We can believe in CPR, but people will remain dead until someone breathes new life into them. And we can tell there world that there is life after death, but the world really seems to be wondering if there is life before death.” (Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution {Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006} 150).
Life before death. An interesting idea and all. But what does that look like? Shane quotes his college professor as saying, “All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don’t tiptoe.” (The Irresistible Revolution, page 225). We hear Matthew’s words today to the disciples in Jesus’ time and they remind me of this same idea. Jesus has gathered a few of his students together to teach them and then send them out to show the world there is life before death. To me this passage in Matthew’s Gospel sounds strikingly similar to the professor’s words. We hear Jesus’ command: “Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons.” (Mt. 10:7-8, the Message). Show life to those in need, share love, and whatever you do, don’t TIPTOE!
The disciples were given the power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. The power from Christ Jesus was passed to His disciples, and we are continuing that work as Christ’s hands and feet in our world today to do the same work here as His student’s today.
So what does it look like today, if we are following in Jesus’ footsteps by bringing life before death into our own neighborhoods? I believe it looks like relationships that we build with the folks around us that don’t stay on the surface but get into each other’s “stuff” and help work together to make life better.
A lady I know has been struggling to make ends meet for months, and at this point is so far in over her head that she can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. The mortgage crisis has hit hard, and for this single working mother of a 10-year-old son, homelessness is knocking on the doorstep. She has been so depressed that she often can’t get out of bed in the morning, which makes working to keep the house that much more difficult. Recently, a couple of business men from our community came over, sat down with her, and helped to create a plan of action to tackle the problems and work together to make it happen. They used their gifts for understanding finances and business to help her see light in her situation. Her son said afterwards, “Mom, I know that God really does love us.” She now knows that God’s love is real, because these disciples came into the neighborhood and raised her from the dead. There is life before death.
One translation of the Scripture we read this morning says, “cleanse the leapers,” but I haven’t seen anyone with leprosy around here, so does that lessen the tasks we are called to? Bono, one of today’s great prophets and the lead singer for the Irish band U2, asks, “Is AIDS the new leprosy?” (quoted in multiple source) I don’t know about you, but I believe so. Who are the ones in our neighborhoods that society has deemed, “Unclean” or “Untouchable” who need to know of God’s loving touch? Folks with HIV/AIDS, additions, and debt? Folks without houses, jobs, or food? By forming relationships with folks, we get to show love through hugs, handshakes, and high-fives. We also get to walk alongside each other on the journey of life, using our gifts and skills to help where we can when their lives seem diseased or dis-eased.
We might hear the Gospel text speaking to us: “As we go, today, following Jesus on our journey, openly proclaim with your actions the good news, “Christ’s kingdom is near!” Have compassion and show grace and love as you work to bring balance and wholeness. Bring hope back to life for those who are beaten down and in despair. Remove the stains and dirt from those who are dis-eased around you. Drive away the breaths of greed, superiority, and consumerism that pervade our society. You all have been given to in abundance. Share that abundance.” And whatever you do, don’t TIPTOE—but show that there really is such thing as life before death.
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