A Sermon for the 4th Sunda in Advent

4 Sunday Advent

Matthew 1:18-25

"A Blender for Christmas"


18* Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit;
19* and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
20* But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit;
21* she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
22* All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23* "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife,
25* but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

A many of years ago for Christmas we received a blender from my brother and his wife as a Christmas present. A blender is a very useful item in the kitchen, as it can make bread crumbs for that great Italian disk eggplant or it can make some great drinks by mixing various juices together, or it can make sauces for meats and vegetables. Blenders are very useful for mixing things together, or they can be used to make food that is difficult to swallow easier say for babies or older people who have a . difficult time eating. A blender mixes items so much that the various items cannot be distinguished one from another after they have.been blended.

God sent the world a blender--.Jesus. In him God and man, divinity and humanity, were so perfectly blended that no one can separate the human and divine natures in him. Jesus is all human and all God, perfectly blended into one integrated personality, a God-man.

Our gospel lesson this morning ,deals with this fact as it tells the story of Joseph and his struggle with his brothed being with child. We need to understand the Jewish courtship to understand what was happening. A Jewish couple is engaged as very young children by their parents. As they grow up they get to know one another, and if they like each other, then the engagement is still on. After some time, the betrothed period takes place, the man takes the woman to his house to live together under one roof, but without all the benefits of marriage for about one year to see if they can get along, then after this period the marriage ceremony is conducted and the
couple become truly husband and wife.

So you can see Joseph knew this child was not his, he was upset, but being a kind and gentle man he wasn't going to publicly hurt Mary by divorcing her publicly, but
would hand1e it very quietly since that was also a right of a Jewish man As Joseph was weighing all of this he has a vision an angel explains that Mary's child was from God and would be given the name of Jesus will save the people from their sins. After this vision, Joseph did as the angel commanded because he was a religious man, kept Mary as his betrothed, and eventually married her and named the child she was carrying Jesus.

Of all the characters in the Christmas Story, I can relate to Joseph the best. Who ever gives him any credit? From the biblical record he is the most nondescript person you will ever find. Why, even his identity with his son is lost. Most Jewish boys were called son of Joseph, as in Matthew's gospel when Jesus was referring to Peter at the time of Peter's great confession of faith, he said, "Peter bar Jonah," Or Peter son of Jonah, but what about Jesus himself, in our hymn of the day; the last line of the 1st verse says "Haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the Son of Mary." Son of Mary, not son of Joseph. He might not of bore him, but he helped raise him, he was a son in the sense that Joseph trained him in the skills of a carpenter.

Besides having a problem with the marriage and not having the right to name the child, you can see why Joseph is a very upset about all that has happened. But as a religious man, you need to give him credit for going along with the wishes of the angel. He followed through.

As Jesus grew we know from scripture that Joseph trained him in the trade that he knew as a carpenter. Joseph passed on to Jesus all of his learning. To this blended person, God and man, Joseph passed on his trade.

This story of Joseph illustrates the blender effect of Jesus He was true God and true man. He was true - man because he was born of a woman. God came into our world like we do, through the birth process. God didn't use any super means, nothing spectacular, nothing out of this world to enter this world. He came into this world like the rest of us, God truly wanted to be like us, he wanted to take on all the form of a human being so became into the world- as humans do. God, because he came into the world as humans do, became truly human. God had skin on. He wasn't any different than any:of us. As a baby he cried, he laughed, he ate, he crawled, he walked he talked. He learned how to get around in the environment he was in. God grew up in Jesus as a human being grows up. The God who made all of life, the God who created everything out of nothing, the God who loved what made gave it all up so that in Jesus he wanted to know, to understand, to be like the creatures he created in his own image, human beings. God became man, God put skin on, the same kind of skin we wear.

In the following story we see how God put skin on in a different kind of way.

"A old cobbler named Conrad had a dream that the Lord was coming to visit him. So he washed the walls of his small shop and his shelves until they shined. He decorated his shop with holly and fir. He put milk and honey on his table to offer to his special guest. He sat down and waited.

As he was waiting, he saw a poor barefoot beggar walking in the rain outside his door. He felt sorry for the man and invited him and gave him a pair of shoes. His clean floor was now dirty from the rain and mud.

As he was about to clean it up, he noticed an old lady who was bent over carrying a heavy load of firewood. He invited her in to sit and rest, shared some of his food with her and walked with her, helping carry some of the wood.

When he returned to his shop, he thought of all that needed to be done. He began to clean again and hoped he had tome to find more food. Just then a knock at the door. He answered hurriedly and it was a small child crying lost and cold. He picked up the child, dried the tears, gave her something to drink, the cup of milk and walked her to her home down the street and around the corner.

He hurried back to the shop. He was too tired now to clean or find more food but he still waited. Evening came and he began to wonder if the Lord had forgot.
Then he heard a soft voice break the silence in that shop, 'Lift up your heart, for I kept my word. Three times I came to your friendly door, Three times my shadow was on your floor. I was the beggar with bruised feet; I was the woman you gave to eat, I was the lost child on that homeless street."

Conrad smiled to himself, put his feet up on the table and settled back in his chair to pray and talk with the Saviour so fair. "(1)

But the other side of this story shows the divine nature of this babe. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and then given a heavenly name. I imagine like all parents, Mary and Joseph probably had some names picked out for this child, but through the vision Joseph was given the name by God to name this child, he was to be called Jesus which means one who brings the new covenant. Or as the early church understood Jesus to be also the Emmanuel which means God with us. Never the less, the name of this child was important, He was given a God given name, a name which no other human being has had.

These two nature of Jesus his human nature and his divine nature were blended together so as one studied his life, you not decide at what moment Jesus
was human and at what moment he was divine. His natures were blended together so that he was God-man all wrapped up together.

Now that we understand the two natures of Jesus, the question needs to be asked so what? Why is it important to know that Jesus has two natures, one divine and one
human.? It is important because as we live now, we know we believe, we trust that Jesus understands all the struggles, all the heartaches, all the tension, all the frustrations, all the joys, all the events that make up our lives. Jesus understands sorrow because he lost a friend in Lazarus. He understands human suffering because as a man he suffered on the cross. As a man he was loyal to his mother, he knew what family ties were all about. Jesus lived a human life so he can understand our human life. He understands our joys, our happiness, our heartaches, our sorrow, our pain, our suffering. Because Jesus was human, he doesn't just imagine what we bear as his children, he has gone through it himself.

"God hears our cries. He hears our cry no matter the time of the day or night He hears our cry no matter where we are. He hears the cry of every creature on the face of the earth.

He hears the cry of a child who cries as her daddy drives away on yet another business trip. She will see him again on Saturday morning. Make that Saturday afternoon. He has a golf game on Saturday morning. God hears her cry.

He hears the cry of the teenage boy who cries himself to sleep in the security of his bedroom after spending his weekend with his step-dad and his mother. The rest of the week he will be with his Dad and his step-mother. He will repeat this same scenario next weekend, and the weekend after that, and the weekend after that. God hears his cry.

He hears the cry of the wife who cries as she wonders if the man she married so many years ago will come home today. They had a big fight and he left angry. Words were spoken that neither one meant to speak. She wants to call him, but she is afraid he will not answer his phone. God hears her cry. God hears his cry... wherever he may be.

He hears the cry of the executive who closes the door to his office and turns his chair away from the window so no one will see his tears. He has just gotten a notice that his position is being phased out. His wife moved out last week. He has no place to go. He has no one to tell. So he sits alone in his office and he cries. God hears his cry.
He hears the cry of the husband who walks down the hall toward the exit of the nursing home where he left his wife. She has not recognized him for quite sometime. He puts the key in the ignition and cries for his wife. God hears his cry.

He hears the cry of a lady who walks into a church and finds a seat. She sits alone. No one speaks to her. No one notices she is there. No one notices when she leaves. As she walks through the parking lot to her car she cries. She cries for the love of someone... anyone. God hears her cry."(2)

The human God hears our cries so that the other side of God, the divine can reach a hand into our live with his saving grace and peace. So through the spirit, Jesus as God can walk with us, can be with with us, can give us the assurance, if we trust in Him, we will not walk alone in this world. God will walk with us. God through the Spirit will walk with us. God will be with us through the divine side of Jesus.

The gift of Christmas is that we have a God that is both human and divine. We have a God that understand the human condition so as God he can walk with us and give us a measure of his peace.

We have a blended God.

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale December 17, 2006
You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.

(1) A poem by Edwin Markham , "How the Great Guest Came."
(2) He Hears Our Cry by Tom Norvell from firstIMPRESSIONS

3rd Sunday in Advent Sermon

3rd Sunday in Advent

Matthew 11:2-11
"What child is this?"

"Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me." As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings' houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.' Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Matthew 11:2-11, RSV.

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savoiur, Jesus who is the Christ child. Amen

Our gospel lesson this morning sees John the Baptist in prison and he was wondering if Jesus was indeed the Messiah. So he sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the one.

Jesus does not say yes or no, to that question but tells the disciples of John to tell John what you have seen and heard. And what did they see and hear. The lame can walk the blind had received their sight,. Leper had been healed and the dead have been raised up.

Jesus told John's disciples to go back and tell John what has been happening and then John could figure out for himself that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

John was probably having a difficult time understanding who Jesus was.

He might be thinking, "Lord, where did I go wrong? I did what I thought you wanted. I said what I thought you wanted me to say. You told me that Messiah was coming. But where is he? Where's the fire, the ax, the judgment he's supposed to bring? And why, if he's here, would he let me stay in this place? I've heard rumors about this one called Jesus. I thought I knew my cousin pretty well. I remember that day in the Jordan when I baptized him. What a glorious day. I knew it was all beginning then. God's whole plan was being put into play. But, where is he now? Why isn't he doing what I said he would do? Is he really the one or should I look for another?

John waned to know why Jesus did not come with a fire instead of love. He wanted Jesus to bring judgment upon the people, but instead he brought love and forgiveness. This was not what John thought the one would do. He thought the one would come with fire and brimstone. but Jesus came with love and understanding. Jesus came with forgiveness.

Jesus then pays his respects to John by saying : Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

He tells the crowd that John indeed someone who should be respected for the message that he brought. John's message was right for that time, but Jesus' message of love and forgiveness is the main message that God wanted to come to this earth.

And today, which message do we listen to when we see the child come at Christmas? Do we see judgment or do we see love?

What child do we see on Mary's lap sleeping as that song says. What child, the child of judgment or the child of love. The child who can answer all our questions of faith, or the child that leaves some of those questions unanswered.

Wondering, having doubts, is that okay? Do we shy away from these questions of doubts ? As Christians do we say doubts, questions of faith are wrong?

Paul Tillich points out that God does not stand aloof, apart from our questioning; rather God is in the struggle of doubt, making himself known through it. Doubt therefore is a vital part and element of the faith which justifies.

In the book, "A sign in the straw" Pastor Richard Hoefler asks, "Who of us have not cried out with John, 'Are you the Christ, or shall we look for another'? When life gets tough and we see innocent people suffer. The bad so often succeed while the good fail. When we face a world locked in the death grip of one meaningless war after another; when we witness the destruction of nature as greed and desire for comforts drain the earth of her natural resources; when we choke on pollution and stumble over wrecked lives of people struck down by drugs and alcoholism; who can help but cry out, 'If you are the Messiah, why this? Must we, shall we, look for another?'

He asks again,"When will we learn that faith does not have all the answers? Faith is a risk. Faith is a life of trust, not of certainty and security God never promised answers to all our questions. God never promised life without stress. He promises and gives only himself, with all the dangers and risks of personal encounters.".

He states further,"Our hope? Not faith without doubt, but faith within doubts. Not the answers we possess but who possesses us. We may doubt God, but God never doubts us. We may not know God but He with absolute certainty knows us. This is the gospel. This is our life. This is the love that will never let us go."

We need to have faith with all our doubts and questions. The child comes with love and allows us to face our doubts and questions about life and faith.
The child comes and changes everything about life for us. He makes the weak strong, the strong weak, the dirty clean, the sinful, sinless, and the unforgiven, forgiven. In a word he changes everything.

He is like the baby in the following:

The story goes that Roaring Camp was supposed to be the meanest, toughest mining town in all of the West. It was reported that there were more murders and thefts than any other place around. It was a terrible place inhabited entirely by men, except for one woman who made her living in the only way she knew how. Her name was Cherokee Sal.

She became pregnant by who knows whom and died while giving birth to a baby. The men took the baby and put her in a box with some old rags under her. Somehow that just didn’t seem right, so one of the men rode eighty miles to buy a rosewood cradle. He brought it back, and they put the rags and the baby in the beautiful new rosewood cradle. But the rags didn’t look very nice in the beautiful new cradle, so they had another man ride to Sacramento where he bought some beautiful silk and lace blankets. Now they put the baby in the cradle lined with silk and put the new blanket over her. It looked fine until someone happened to notice that the floor was so filthy.

So these hardened, tough men got down on their hands and knees, and with their calloused hands scrubbed the floor until it was spotless. Of course, now the walls and the ceiling and the dirty windows without curtains looked absolutely terrible. So they washed down the walls and the ceiling, and they put curtains at the windows. Things were beginning to look a lot better. But of course, they had to give up a lot of their fighting, because the baby slept a lot, and babies can’t sleep during a brawl. So the whole temperature of Roaring Camp seemed to go down.

They would take the baby out and set her by the entrance to the mine in her rosewood cradle, with one of the men staying next to her, so the others could see her when they came out of the mine. Then somebody noticed what a dirty place the mine entrance was, so they planted flowers, and they made a garden there. It really looked quite beautiful. The men would bring her shiny little stones that they would find in the mine. But when they would put their hands down next to hers, their hands looked so dirty. Pretty soon the general store was all sold out of soap and shaving gear. The baby was changing everything.

That’s also the way it is for those who have placed their faith in the babe of Bethlehem. The baby enters into their lives, and he slips into every crevice of their experience. (1)

The one who John was wondering about, Jesus the Christ child born in a manger came and changed everything about life. He came into every part of life and changed it.

It is this child of change that we await for during this advent season. The child in the manger, the child on Mary's lap sleeping that comes now in our lives and changes us from the inside out. He comes with love to forgive, to love, to change us.

Will you let that child of change enter your life this Advent and Christmas season? Will you be changed from the inside out?

"A pastor writes:

One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick.

Suddenly, my daughter, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. "Dad, I'm thinking of something."

This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had
discovered. I was eager to hear.

"What are you thinking?" I asked. "The rain," she began, "is like sin, and the windshield wipers are like God wiping our sins away."

After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. "That's really good, Aspen."

Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked.. "Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What
does that tell you?"

Aspen didn't hesitate one moment with her answer: "We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us." (2)

We keep on sinning and God just keeps on forgiving us is the way for us to see this child born in a manger.

What child is this, the child who comes into every aspect of our lives and changes us, forgives us and cleanses us from our sins. Will you allow that child into your live this Advent and Christmas season? Will you allow him to change you from the inside out? Will you allow him to clean up every aspect of your life?

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale December 10, 2007

You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.

(1) Contributed by: Rodney Buchanan at SermonCentral

(2) from inspirational-stories@yahoogroups.com

Sermon for the 2nd Sunday in Advent

2nd Sunday Advent

Matthew 3:1-12

"Look, Jesus is Coming"


"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Now John wore a garment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that befits repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Matthew 3:1-12, RSV.

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

There is a purely American art form that has been lost to the American scene over the last 20 to 15 years. It is the Circus Poster. Some of you can remember those colorful posters that were hung about a month before the circus would come to your area announcing the greatest show on earth. These posters would announce the glory, the "thrills, the glamor and the excitement of the most magical of worlds SOON to arrive for one day and one day only.

The life of the bill poster was tedious and hard work, never accompanied by applause or any sign of appreciation. Few people even noticed him at work, but when he was done, the results of his hard work were seen on barn sides, wooden fences and store windows. It was not at all his job to call attention to himself; his job was to leave a visible sign, a visible proclamation of the greater than himself that was yet to come.

The Circus was coming to town!!

So, our text for this morning from Matthew's gospel, tells of another whose job was not to point attention to himself, but to one who was coming who was greater than I." John was not the big show, but he came to proclaim that the big show was coming. Jesus was coming.

Yes, this is the season to get ready, to prepare for one who is coming. We light the Advent candles on the wreath this morning as a signal that someone.is coming and we have the next 3 weeks to get ready. But ready for who?? Who is coming? Beginning today and continuing the next weeks of Advent, we will answer that question, who is coming. We will answer the question posed.by our .hymn of the day,"What child is this, who laid to rest, on Mary's lap is sleeping?"

What child is this? Who is coming? Does he get confused with another who is coming this season? I would imagine if we asked our children who is coming they might answer with another song that is sung during this season: "You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town! He knows when you've been sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows when you've been bad or good. So be good for goodness sake!

Yes, this is the season to get ready. Ready for the Christ child in our, lives. 4John the Baptist gives us a hint this morning about how we are to get ready for the Christ
child in our lives. .John brought and still brings into our lives a message for personal repentance. This message that told and tells people they need get out of the ruts, the grooves they are in, to change, to turn around from the kind of lives they are living to repent to .change to make 180 degree, turn. Advent is the time for us to look at; our: lives to note the changes that need to be made then to make them.

This term repentance can be defined. as a- change of"soul as found in Matt. 27: 3 &.. IICor. 7.: 9,10. Repentance means turning one soul, one's life around, changing direction. Repentance is a human possibility, because it is the result of divine redemption in: our lives. Repentance is at once man's. responsibility and the gift of God through the Spirit.

Repentance is not done in fear but in love. It is done because one is motivated:by, the grace of God. John"s message was one .of escape to repent' because one would escape the terrible consequences of hell.

Jesus came with another kind of message of repentance a positive message. Jesus says, take those steps of, repentance that will allow you to seize the opportunity to claim .your status as a son or daughter of God. Jesus .message was and still is life affirming. We repent, we change because we want a better quality of life.

Repentance is a returning to God which is now no longer a response to law, but a response to a person to Jesus Christ it is discipleship; There can be no genuine repentance which is not also the acceptance of the divine promises spoken in .Jesus of Nazareth: Repentance is linked with faith in that once a per:son accepts the promises of God in Jesus, one is then led to see 'ones life illuminated by grace as a sinner in rebellion against God. It is in this illumination that one then comes to the acceptance that life would be a better quality in and through the life or" Jesus 'who helps us turn away from self and sin and live in and through 'him.

A wife.tells about her Friday afternoon when she starts preparing 'for her husband's return after a week of traveling. "When I start shopping and cleaning and arranging flowers, it is,like having him already here. There is some thing special in the cooking on Friday because I know we will share it. It is as if he were already with me."

That is the way we find ourselves in our journey in Christ. We await for his coming again. We prepare in repentance,we sense the nearness of the kingdom and yet we wait for its consummation. When we wait for something, we, in a sense already possess it.

Now I would suppose that many of you; are wondering why we would need to talk about repentance letting Jesus change our lives giving us his grace to accept our short comings so that we deal with them, change and then life a better quality of life in our rural middle class church, when we don't really think of ourselves as doing things that are so awful/ Surely pastor, you might think, you are talking to someone else, not me. Maybe the person next to me in the pew, or maybe those who are here they really need to hear a message of repentance, but not me.

A poem says:

Preach about the other man Preacher
the man we all can see

The man of oaths, the man of strife, the man who drinks and beast his wife, but helps his mates to fret and shirk when all they need is to keep at work --

Preach about the other man, Preacher! Not about me!

But it is when we, you and I realize that the message of repentance is directed at us. When we realize that before God we are indeed sinners, it is only then that the message, the miracle, the greatness and glory of this Christmas season will come alive in our hearts. When we see that we truly need Jesus, that we are totally dependent on him for our salvation, will the impact of the incarnation be that spacial even in our hearts.

A man was watching a marble cutter with chisel and hammer clanging a stone into a beautiful status. He said o the cutter, "I wish I could change my life like that. I wish I could deal such clanging blows on my story heart".

Maybe you could if you worked like me, upon your knees."

Repentance means you are truly sorry and seek the forgiveness of Christ. But do we take this forgiveness and this repentance not very seriously. Do we tell God we want tot repent but then do that act again and again. How seriously do we take repentance and the forgiveness that it brings. How sorry are we?

Christopher D. Green writes:

"You could say that it was part of the environment surrounding our house. It was an unwritten code held sacred to all in the family. From the time I can remember being able to remember things, I grew up understanding what it meant to say, 'I'm sorry. From childhood, I recall my parents instilling in me and my sister that if we were truly
sorry for something we had done, we could always ask for forgiveness and we would be forgiven. It was a mutual obligation both parties (the inflicter and the inflicted) had to accept. Through the realization we had wronged another member of the family, unity could be restored with those simple words, 'I'm sorry.'

"I remember a time when this worked amazingly well, until I abused the system. I still remember breaking my sister's baton over my knee when I was about eight years old. It was then I learned about the power of repentance. As I forced the midpoint of that lightweight baton over my knee, I remember thinking, 'Saying "I'm sorry" will fix this!'

Repeated 'I'm sorry's were declared in my defense, but Mom saw through the veil of charade. I had abused the right to say 'I'm sorry'! Finally, after a long discussion, I was forgiven. Not for breaking the baton as much as I was forgiven of abusing the ability to repent and say I was sorry.

"There are times now when I think of how I have abused the repentance God has provided through Christ. Have I taken advantage of our relationship?"

Have you or I abused the repentance God has provided through Christ have we taken advantage of that relationship and come to Christ with half hearted requests for forgiveness?

A closing story about two brothers one who felt the forgiving power of repentance in his life and one who didn't.

There is a story bout two brothers who were convicted of sheep stealing. The brutal custom of their time demanded that their foreheads be branded with ST standing for Sheep Thief.

One of the brothers tried to run from his past sin, but some one would always ask that the ST stood for and the truth would come out. He fled from place to place. His life became unbearable and he died a biter and despised man.

But the other brother repented of his misdeed, lived in the power of Christ, stayed at his home, worked hard to recapture the respect of his neighbors and established a reputation for integrity and goodness. One day a stranger in town saw the old man with the ST branded on his forehead and asked a native what it meant. After thin for a long time, the man replied, " it all happened so long ago but I think the letters are a abbreviation for SAINT."

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale December 3, 2007 You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.

A srmon for All Saints Sunday

All Saints Sunday

Luke 6:20-31

"The Importance of the Nail"


20* ¶ And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21* "Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.
22* "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!
23* Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
24* "But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25* "Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. "Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26* "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
27* ¶ "But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28* bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
29* To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
30* Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again.
31* And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.
As the story goes, they built a new church building and people came from far and wide to see it. They admired its beauty! Up on the roof, a little nail heard the people praising everything about the lovely structure-except the nail! No one even knew he was there, and he became angry and jealous.

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

As the story goes, they built a new church building and people came from far and wide to see it. They admired its beauty! Up on the roof, a little nail heard the people praising everything about the lovely structure-except the nail! No one even knew he was there, and he became angry and jealous.

“If I am that insignificant, nobody will miss me if I quit!” So the nail then released its hold, slid down the roof, and fell in the mud.
That night it rained and rained. Soon, the shingle that had no nail blew away, and the roof began to leak. The water streaked the walls and the beautiful murals. The plaster began to fall, the carpet was stained, and the pulpit Bible was ruined by water. All this because a little nail decided to quit!

But what of the nail? While holding the shingle, it was obscure but it was also useful. Buried in the mud it was just as obscure, but now it was useless and would soon by eaten up by rust!

The moral of the story – every member is important to the church! You may, like the nail, feel obscure at times, but just like the nail, your absence is felt. When you are not present for worship, in some way the body of Christ hurts. We are ALL a part of the Lord’s ministry.

The importance of the nail is the idea of our sermon this Sunday. A small nail holding one shingle on the church roof has a very important part to do in the body of Christ. And if that nail has an important work to do, imagine what you and I have to do in the body of Christ.

Jesus in our gospel lesson this morning to speaking about the body of Christ. This is Luke's version of the Beatitudes speaks about those who are in the body of Christ. He says: And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21* "Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.

22* "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!

23* Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

The body of Christ, the church is made up of people who have experienced the brokenness of this world. For Jesus said that if you are poor, in sorrow, if you hare hated, then you are in the body of Christ. The body of Christ is made up of those who have experienced the brokenness of this world, sorrow, grief, hunger, poverty, all those things that remind us that we are not perfect, those are the people who are in the body of Christ.

In this picture of the saints, the body of Christ, Jesus is speaking to the human condition. He is telling us that as our lives live in the brokenness of this world, we are blessed. We don't need to be perfect or to pretend that the sinfulness of this world does not affect our lives.

We are blessed regardless of what we are experiencing.

I think that thought is important in this day and age. A saint is not a perfect person here on earth, but rather, a saint is one who knows the brokenness of this world and then turns to Christ for comfort and rest. In our world, we want the best, we want fame and fortune, and if we don't get it we think there is something wrong with us. That is the theology of prosperity. It says if you are right with God, then everything in your life should be right, too.

But Jesus is clearly saying something about the theology of the cross. Jesus knows that we are living in an in between time. We are saved, meaning we are saints, but at the same time we are sinners, who have not been fully redeemed. So he is saying that even though you are a saint, redeemed by the blood of Christ, your live might not, will not be perfect. So blessed are the poor, blessed are the hungry, blessed are the those who weep, because one day your full redemption will come.

Jesus is telling us that we are blessed now in spite of all the brokenness around us and we are to use that blessing to walk with the saints around us.

Jesus is telling us that we are like that nail, we need to hold the body of Christ together by loving each other.

Billy Graham says "Church-goers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out."

We need each other in the body of Christ. Though we might think of ourselves like that nail, we are indeed important in the body of Christ. When we cling together the body grows and the light shines.

This is demonstrated very clearly in the following:

Randy Frazee has written a book called "The Connecting Church." He has a son who was born without a left hand. One day in Sunday School the teacher was talking with the children about the church. To illustrate her point she folded her hands together and said, "Here's the church, here's the steeple; open the doors and see all the people."

She asked the class to do it along with her – obviously not thinking about his son's inability to pull this exercise off. Then it dawned on her that the boy wouldn't be able to join in.

Before she could do anything about it, the little boy next to his son, a friend of his from the time they were babies, reached out his left hand and said, "Let's do it together." The two boys proceeded to join their hands together to make the church and the steeple.

Frazee says, "This hand exercise should never be done again by an individual because the church is not a collection of individuals, but the one body of Christ."

Let's do it together is the key phrase here. As the body of Christ, we must do it together. We must help each other in our faith. We must touch each other with the Spirit of Christ. We in the body of Christ are important to each other. WE touch each other in that body of Christ. WE tough when we pass the peace each Sunday morning. We touch when we reach out of hand an say good morning. We tough we we offer a shoulder for one to lean on. We touch when we extend an hand to help another through grief.

The following story is about how indeed touching each other in the body of Christ, reaching out to each other in worship can be very Christ like.

TOUCH IN CHURCH

by Ann Weems. Reaching for Rainbows, 1980, Westminster Press

What is all this touching in church?

It used to be a person could come to church and sit in the pew and not be bothered by all this friendliness and certainly not by touching.

I used to come to church and leave untouched.

Now I have to be nervous about what's expected of me. I have to worry about responding to the person sitting next to me.

Oh, I wish it could be the way it used to be;

I could just ask the person next to me: How are you?

And the person could answer: Oh, just fine,

And we'd both go home strangers who have known each other for twenty years.

But now the minister asks us to look at each other.

I'm worried about that hurt look I saw in that woman's eyes.

Now I'm concerned, because when the minister asks us to pass the peace,

The man next to me held my hand so tightly

I wondered if he had been touched in years.

Now I'm upset because the lady next to me cried and then apologized

And said it was because I was so kind and that she needed

A friend right now.

Now I have to get involved.

Now I have to suffer when this community suffers.

Now I have to be more than a person coming to observe a service.

That man last week told me I'd never know how much I'd touched his life.

All I did was smile and tell him I understood what it was to be lonely.

Lord, I'm not big enough to touch and be touched!

The stretching scares me.

What if I disappoint somebody?

What if I'm too pushy?

What if I cling too much?

What if somebody ignores me?

"Pass the peace."

"The peace of God be with you." "And with you."

And mean it.

Lord, I can't resist meaning it!

I'm touched by it, I'm enveloped by it!

I find I do care about that person next to me!

I find I am involved!

And I'm scared.

O Lord, be here beside me.

You touch me, Lord, so that I can touch and be touched!

So that I can care and be cared for!

So that I can share my life with all those others that belong to you!

All this touching in church – Lord, it's changing me!

Let's do it together, let us touch one another.

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale October 29, 2007

You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.

Reformation Suday sermon

Reformation Sunday

October 28

Jeremiah 31:31-34

"Rags to Riches

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”” Jeremiah 31:31-34, RSV.

Grace and Peace to you fro our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

A beggar lived near the king's palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted outside the palace gate. The king was giving a great dinner. Anyone dressed in royal garments was invited to the party. The beggar was on his way. He looked at the rags he was wearing and sighed. Surely only kings and their families wore royal robes, he thought. Slowly an idea crept into his mind. The audacity of it made him tremble. Would he dare?

He made his way back to the palace. He approached the guard at the gate. "Please, sire, I would like to speak with the king."

"Wait here," the guard replied. In a few minutes, he was back. "His majesty will see you," he said, and led the beggar in.

"You wish to see me?" asked the king.

"Yes, your majesty. I want so much to attend the banquet, but I have no royal robes to wear. Please, sir, if I may be so bold, may I have one of your old garments so that I, too, may come to the banquet?"

The beggar shook so hard that he could not see the faint smile that was on the king's face. "You have been wise in coming to me," the king said. He called to his son, the young prince. "Take this man to your room and array him in some of your clothes."

The prince did as he was told and soon the beggar was standing before a mirror, clothed in garments that he had never dared hoped for. "You are now eligible to attend the king's banquet tomorrow night," said the prince. "But even more important, you will never need any other clothes. These garments will last forever.

"Oh, thank you," he cried.

But as he started to leave, he looked back at his pile of dirty rags on the floor. He hesitated. What if the prince was wrong? What if he would need his old clothes again... Quickly he gathered them up. The banquet was far greater than he had ever imagined, but he could not enjoy himself as he should. He had made a small bundle of his old rags and it kept falling off his lap. The food was passed quickly and the beggar missed some of the greatest delicacies.

Time proved that the prince was right. The clothes lasted forever. Still the poor beggar grew fonder and fonder of his old rags. As time passed people seemed to forget the royal robes he was wearing. They only saw the little bundle of filthy rags he clung to wherever he went. They even spoke of him as the old man with the rags.

One day as he lay dying, the king visited him. The beggar saw the sad look on the king's face when he looked at the small bundle of rags by the bed. Suddenly the beggar remembered the prince's words and he realized that his bundle of rags had cost him a lifetime of true royalty.

He wept bitterly at his folly. And the king wept with him.

The beggar kept hold of his dirty rags and would not fully embrace the righteous clothes that the king gave him.

He was given the gift of royalty but would not fully accept it.

On the Reformation Sunday, we are reminded of the grace that God through Christ has fully given us.

And like that beggar, we don't fully accept it. We want to hang on to our old ways of earning heaven for ourselves. We cannot give up our rags to fully embrace the riches that God through Christ has given us.

The beggar was given the new clothes as a gift and we are given salvation as a gift.

Salvation through Christ is a free gift from the Father to his sinful children.

As we leaned in confirmation class, Grace is God’s free, unmerited love for sinful people. It is fee and unearned, there is nothing you or I can do, say feel or think to deserve God love for sinful people. God gave freely from the cross of Christ for you and me.

This morning we are going to look at this gift of salvation and our relationship to Jesus Christ.this salvation is a gift. We can do nothing to earn it, or make it better. God decided to do this for his sinful people.

This is the gift which makes saints out of sinners. Luther liked to say that we are at the same time saint and sinner. Saint because we have the promise of salvation and sinner because that promise is not fully realized yet.

A pastor tells the following:

“A pastor friend said he was trying to get a nonmember to at least examine the claims of Jesus. But this person would bring up this argument: ‘Well pastor, I’d come to your church, but there are just too many hypocrite that go there.’

The pastor looking that man right in the eye said, ‘oh nuts don’t let that keep you from coming. One more won’t make or break us.’”

Yes, the church is made up of saints and sinners. But there is a quality about us which shows other that we are different. We know Christ.

Our sainthood is showing. As we live in this world, we bring a measure of Christ into it. Christ is there to give us the strength to live and in that living we show others who we are. We are saints and sinners at the same time.

And in that relationship with Christ, we find the power to live life among all the brokenness in which we encounter each day. It is Christ’s love for us which enables us to carry on.

It is this love which says to a brother who goes to the grave of his sister, places flower on the headstone, stand there in silent grief shedding no tears. It is this love from Christ which says it is all right to cry, to shed a tear, to feel sorrow, loneliness and the pain of death. it is this love of Christ which continues to say to that grieving brother, I will redeem those tears, I will bring victory out of the sting of death. I will bring you the assurance of the promise there is a resurrection for all who believe.

It is the love of Christ which says to a widow who sits in a chair that has finally molded itself to her say, as she watches the news, the local forecast and the the sports in which she has no interest. She rises from her chair and goes to the TV set. Time to call it a day. She pats the set twice on its top and says. ‘night night. it is the love of Christ which say to this lonely widow, I have come to free you from this loneliness. I have come to help you break the bonds of this despair. I have come to free you so that you can live life to the fullest. I have come to free you from this loneliness and allow you to become a member of the community of Christ in which you will have brothers and sisters who will keep you company.

It is the love of Christ which says to a man who has just lost his business and is wondering how he will support this family now that he has no income. it is the love of Christ which says, I am with you to give you the courage and the strength to try again. It is the love of Christ which assures him that God the father will provides as he does for the birds of the air, and the lilies of the field.

It is the love of Christ which says to a couple who are struggling with their relationship that He can come and help each one forgive the wrong, and in that forgiveness, they can continue to love each other.

It is the love of Christ which says to those who are living with chronic illness, even though you have prayed for healing, my grace is sufficient for you as I give you the courage to live.

It is the love of Christ which says to those who are burden with guilt, guilt of wrongs which have been done, guilt of feeling that somehow you are responsible for the wrongs of others as they were in your care such as parents, teachers and pastor.

It is the love of Christ which says to each person here today, I love you in spite of yourself and because of that love you can have the courage, the strength and the conviction to change, to begin again in and through my love for you.

It is the love of Christ which says to each of us here today, that you have been changed, you are saved and in that salvation you can be “little Christs” to those around you. You are indeed saint and sinner and in that paradox you can live in the love of Christ and because of that love you can reach out a hand to those around you who are encountering the brokenness of live.

It is the love of Christ which says to each of us that you have been given a gift, a gift of salvation, it is not something that you have earned, it is given freely and with that gift you are challenged to be engaged in this world as both saint and sinner.

God says in Jeremiah: and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale on October 22, 2007

You may freely use this as is or in parts. Please somehow give credit if possible, thanks! Not for commercial use.

20th Sunday after Pentecost Proper 23 Lectionary 28 October 14

20th Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 23

Lectionary 28

October 14

Luke 17:11-19

"Lord Have Mercy"


"On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."" Luke 17:11-19, RSV.

Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

Traveling one day along the border between Galilee and Samaria, on His way to Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus approached a village where ten seriously ill men came out to meet Him. Ten lepers met Jesus, ten men afflicted by the worst disease imaginable in Jesus' day. Leprosy was incurable, leprosy was disgusting, leprosy was revolting. Leprosy was considered proof that you were the vilest kind of sinner. God was really punishing you for something really bad. If you had leprosy, you actually watched your body rot away. Your fingers, your ears, your nose dropped off. You died a slow and painful death, cut off from society, cut off from family and the only friendships you had were others like you. Nine others in this case that kept reminding you as you looked at them how really bad you were. Ten lepers, ten dying, decaying, stinking wretches met Jesus and cried, "Jesus Master Have mercy on Us."

They must have known this was their only chance to escape the awful consequences of their disease. If Jesus did nothing for them, surely their lives would end in a slow painful death.

"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us " Can you imagine the air was filled with tension as the ten lepers, as ten lives hung on the words or actions of the Man of Galilee. "Jesus, Master, Have Mercy on Us".

He didn't touch them.

"Jesus Master, Have mercy on us".

He didn't wash them.

"Jesus, Master have mercy on us."

He didn't even pray for them.

Finally, finally after what seemed to be an eternity for these desperate men, Jesus spoke: "Go, show yourselves to the priests." In other words, Jesus was saying, go to the priests for certificates of cleansing. They weren't healthy--but they were to go and get a health certificate to proclaim they were healed. Jesus said, "Go get a physical examination."

Can you imagine their situation. They must have stood and looked at each other and then started to debate this command. They might have said, "But we have already been there and they couldn't do anything for us. You have got to be kidding.

Go show ourselves to the priests. They had surely expected something more, something else. Something of their desperation, and their growing, but doubting faith and confidence led these ten men to turn and start walking toward the priests. Something about this man of Galilee led them to obey, to go, to do what they had done before, but this time Jesus had told them to go.

Then it happened. At some point, some instant--quite by surprise---those ten outcast lepers were changed. Every diseased cell in their bodies were changed. Every cell suddenly sprang into full health signaled by an unseen force. A force of events which began in a twinkle of an eye, in a flash of excitement as one of the ten noticed his body becoming healthy.

Who was the first to notice? We don't know, but with tremendous swiftness the reaction must have sped through the group. In amazement, they stopped, looked at their hands, their feet, at each others ears, they were whole, they had been changed, Jesus had done it again. His reputation was true. Ten suffering human beings had been touched by the Son of God. Ten suffering men had encountered the touch of a loving God. Ten suffering men had been touched by the creating hand of God that was still very much at work in his world.

Can you picture them bounding down the road to the priest, now running, now leaping, now dancing, wondering how the priest would react... anticipating the glee, the excitement of their families as they would return home--healthy, alive, with a health certificate proclaiming to all what had happened. All ten men caught up in the joy, the excitement of the moment.

But one of them halts in his tracks. He stops, he smiles, he turns, now walking, now running...back to the Master, back to this man of Galilee, back to this one who touched him with this mysterious force. He comes back, "shouting, laughing, proclaiming glory to God with a joyful and thankful heart." He runs back to Jesus, falls at his feet and gives the Son of God thanks for the great healing that had been done.

Only one of the ten who were touched by the love of this man of Galilee had seen beyond the miracle of healing to the one who had dared to risk for him. He saw Jesus for who he was? One who cared, one who loved, one who wanted a relationship with everyone on the face of the earth. He saw the Son of God as a man of love, a builder of relationships, he saw the miracle as Jesus' way of building a bridge between the falleness of creation, the brokenness of disease and the loving hand of God who wants to reach into that brokenness with his creating and redeeming power, He saw Jesus.

Jesus saw 10 men who were suffering and he not ask them about their faith, but spoke the word and they were healed. Today it seems to me that many Christians judge others in their faith because they have not lived up to expectations.

I was asked several times why I was not healed as I struggle with polio and its late affects. Where is your faith, some said? Have you earnestly prayed? Have your cleansed your body of all sin?

I live day in and day out with knowing that my faith will carry me through this chronic illness and if one day healing comes, so be it, but if it doesn't, I know that my Lord and Saviour walks besides me as I wheel through live.

But notice Jesus does not ask any questions before He healed them only afterwards. Afterwards He asks why only one came back in gratitude.

Then notice Jesus response. "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" Only one in ten came back to give thanks. Only one in ten. Why, Jesus is asking, why only one in ten?

By dwelling on the fact that only one in ten came back, Jesus is telling us very plainly he wanted the thanks. He wanted them to see beyond the miracle to the miracle worker. He wanted them to come into a relationship with him.

What is the ratio for us today? Is it the same, one in ten. Let us try to examine in the next few moments why these nine cleansed men wandered in the valley of ingratitude when they should have been by the mountain of the one from who all blessings flow.

Perhaps one reason they walked in the valley of ingratitude was they suffered from a lack of sensitivity and imagination. They never stopped and reflected on what happened. They didn't think about who, or how this happened. They just took it for granted. They were healed. Their lives could go on, they had a lot of catching up to do, so they thought better be about it. They couldn't see beyond the gift of the miracle of healing to the one who gave it to them. They never saw the giver.

Do you remember the Aesop fable, Androcles and the lion.?? "Androcles was a young boy who wandered off into the forest one day. Suddenly he came upon a lion which was groaning in pain. Androcles turned to run away as fast as he could, and as he glanced over his shoulder to see how close that lion was, he noticed the lion had not run after him. So Androcles, sloped, turned back to the lion to see what was the matter. He saw that the lion had a huge throne in his paw. Androcles pulled it out and helped the lion to his den where the lion was healed. A few days later, Androcles and the lion were captured. Androcles because he was a Christian and the emperor wanted some fun watching Christians being eaten in the theater, and the lion, because they needed one to do this deed. Androcles was pushed out into the big arena and the lion came charging from the cage on the other side. Androcles fell to his knees waiting for the huge mouth of the lion to devour him, but to his amazement, the lion stopped dead in his tracks, laid down and crawled towards Androcles , and began to lick his face and play with him. It was the same lion who Androcles had helped, the one who had the thorn removed. The lion saw beyond the act of help to the helper, and responded in likeness when the opportunity rose.

Aesop always has a moral tacked on at the end of his fables, this one being: "Gratitude is the sign of noble souls."

Can you see the giver? Can you see beyond the gifts, the blessings, the love, the touch of grace in your life to the giver? Do you see redeemer, the Son of God as you experience his touch in your life?

Maybe another reason that only one of ten returned to the healer, is the fact the other nine lacked humility. They saw in this act of healing something they were due. Human beings can develop such an inflated sense of their own importance that we take everything good that comes our way as if it were our due. We tend to take for granted as our due all those things that we have worked so hard for. We say we have paid our dues in life, now, now we can reap the rewards. And as we tend to take things for granted, as we tend to look only to ourselves as the foundation for living, we become more and more possessive, more and more greedy, more and more wanting only the best, the biggest.

In I Timothy 6:6 it says, "There is great gain in godliness with contentment." When a person views the world as owning him or her everything, then contentment is never achieved. In our contentment with the great gifts God has granted to us, we can see beyond the gifts to the giver. But if we always focus on the gifts, we never see the giver, if we never look beyond our selfishness for more, if we cannot see beyond the need for the best, then contentment with life will never be achieved.

In one of my church I was talking to a farmer one day during the beginning months of the summer. It had been a late spring, with more than the usual amount of rain, so there were some good wet spots in the fields. The crops were all planted and as far as my untrained eye could see, I thought they were doing well. So, I asked him how his crops were. He said," Those few wet spots I have aren't doing very well at all. "Then I said, "But those wet spots aren't your whole fields are they?' He said, "No!!" thank goodness." Then I asked, "How is the rest of your crop doing, those not in the few wet spots?" He looked at me, smiled and said, "It is the best crop I have ever seen on my land." As the harvest came, he was right. He had a record harvest and even the wet spots did better than he expected.

But, that attitude of starting with the negative, starting with the point that I have a few bad acres, when the majority of the land was doing great shows a lack of humility, shows a lack of gratitude, shows the thinking that many have, they want it all, all or nothing.

The ten lepers got it all. A new life, a clean bill of health, a return to family and friends. But only one could see the greatness, only one could see the magnitude of the gift, only one could see the blessing. We are all blessed by God in different ways, at different times with different blessings. Jesus is asking us to see beyond the gifts, beyond our own need of those things, to the giver. To be humble and accept with a grateful heart what we have. And in that attitude a peace, a contentment about living will come. We will see our blessings, our talents, our resources coming from God and then an amazing thing will happen. God will continue to bless us, usually more and more. He will lead us in ways that we would have never dared to go, ways that we can risk for our selves and others.

When God blesses us there is a double blessings. The one leper was doubly blessed. His body was made whole, but he saw beyond the healing to the healer and became for the church a symbol of the church's outreach to the whole world. The healing of the ten lepers and the thankfulness of the one showed the world what the kingdom of God would be like. God would liberate us from as Luther says, "sin, death and the power of evil," and in that liberation we have a freedom to live, a sense of joy in our relationship with a loving God, and an adventuresome attitude about life that lets us dare to risk, that dares us to reach out because we know that God and I walking through life are a majority one.

There is an old story about two grasshoppers who fell into a bowl of cream. One of them complained and groaned over his plight, and he sank to the bottom and drowned. The other kept singing and cheerfully kicked his feet until the cream turned to butter and he hopped away to freedom.

Life can be that way. A Swedish proverb says: "Those who wish to sing can always find a song."

May God and you walk through life kicking and singing.

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale

You may freely use this as is or in parts. Please somehow give credit if possible, thanks! Not for commercial use.

18th Sunday after Pentecost Proper 21 Lectinary 26 Sermon

18th Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 21

Lectionary 26

September 30th

Luke 16: 19-31

Sermon

"Eat, Drink ?"


19* “There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
20* And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores,
21* who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22* The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried;
23* and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’
25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house,
28 for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
29* But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’
30* And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31* He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.’”

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

"It's probably too late. The damage is done. Perhaps I should have handed out ear plugs earlier. The least we could and should have done is to have printed a warning in the bulletin or newsletter. Maybe I should have cautioned you ahead of time about the contents of the message today from Luke's gospel: this parable is problematic and quite possible hazardous to your peace of mind! The parable seems to gnaw and nags on people's hearts. It lingers and lasts- like those greasy foods you know that you shouldn't have eaten- but that you snuck anyway- and you know that you'll pay the price for hours and even days to come. So if you find yourself sitting in traffic this and you find yourself thinking about Lazarus, just remember that I told you so! If the parable pops up as your poking around the park, well what can I say? And as you go about your daily work, don't be surprised to find the parable working its way to the surface when you least expect it. You might even find yourself pushed or pulled you in a direction that you never dreamed of going. This parable is powerful and it has changed peoples lives in totally unexpected ways. .

And that's what happened to Albert. At the age of 29, Albert had it all- fame and fortune and a fantastic career as a concert organist and interpreter of Bach. He was well respected. He was happy- that is , until he heard this parable about Lazarus. And this parable gnawed at him and nagged at him. Albert couldn't get this story out of his heart and his mind. It wouldn't let him go until he gave in- and gave it up. And so he did. Albert gave up his brilliant musical career up to enter medical school. Now most of his friends thought he was crazy to give up his musical career. to train as a physician. But Albert knew that God was calling him and that he had to answer God's call to be a missionary doctor and to go Africa. And so Albert Schweitzer, one of the great humanitarians of our century, established a missionary hospital in Africa and ministered to the physical and spiritual needs of thousands of people. This story changed Albert's life. And who knows maybe, this parable will change your life too!" (1)

Does this parable gnaw at you? Do you feeling guilty when reading it? Should you feel guilty hearing it?

This is a most difficult parable. Does this parable condemn wealth?

What do you think about Dives? What do you think about Lazarus?

There are a lof of questions this parable asks of us. We are going to try and answer a few of them this morning.

The parable is straight forward. A rich man who lived a coomfortalbe life on this earth died. When he died he went to Hades. But the poor man who lived off the scraps of food given him by the rich man went to heaven. A simple straight forward parable, so why does it make us so uncomfortable.

But when his life on this earth ended, he was willing to give up all his riches for just one drop of cool water because in the afterlife he was living in anguish the flame of Hades. What was this man's sin? Why did he end in eternal hell, while the poor man Lazarus was in the comfortable bosom of Abraham? What was Dives sin? We can call this rich man Dives for it is the Latin word for rich.

By itself, wealth is not a sin. God's blessing often rains down in material as well as spiritual ways. You and I do not need to be embarrassed about all that we have. We do have the highest standard of living in the entire world. Instead, we ought to recognize the Giver and look for ways to express our thanks for his grace toward us by sharing a portion of it with others. The rich man's sin was not simply his great wealth. It was his belief that he had the right to do with it as he pleased. His sin lay in his choosing to ignore the poor man Lazarus who was laying right at his door.

Dives was os wrapped uo in imself that he did not see the poor man lazarus outside his door. Yes, he gave him scrapes of food, but as he did so he could handly bother to see the man himself, the man Lazarus laying there. He saw Lazarus as nothing. He was so wrapped up in himself, that he could not see beyond the end of his nose to the plight of this poor man with sores all over his body. Dives sin was not what he had done to Lazarus, his sin was what he had not done to Lazarus. Dives never saw Lazarus. He was so caught up in his own world he never took notice of the other person. Dives could not see the poor man who was outside of his door.

So the question can be asked of us. How is your eye sight? What do you see? How is your eyesight? Do your eyes see the pain and brokenness of this world, or are they only focused upon your own navel, upon your own wants, pleasures and comfort? Can you see the brokenness of someone in sorrow, can you see the pain of someone living in a broken relationship and wanting someone to listen to share the pain? Can you see someone dependent upon the crutch of drugs or alcohol and wanting someone to assure him/her that they are worthwhile people, special people in the eyes of God. Can you see the hungry people out in the world who are crying for the means of learning how to successfully grow and harvest their own food supply? How is your eyesight?

A movie entitled, "The Pawn Broker" illustrates this point about not feeling the pain of society very well.

"The movie is about a Polish-Jew named Nazerman who runs a pawnshop in East Harlem, New York.

Nazerman survived a Nazi concentration camp where he saw the worse of humanities inhumanity. The way he survived was by promising himself that he would never feel anything else again. He had lost his best friend in that camp and he saw his wife die a slow death. He become a numb wreck of a man and does survive the horrors of the camp. Twenty-five years later, he is running a pawn shop, taking pitiful objects from these poor wretched people enmeshed in poverty, drugs, prostitution, sex and alcohol. He just takes their personal possessions without any kind of feeling. With cold detachment, never batting an eye, he plies them behind him as he sits in the shadows behind that iron fence in the pawn shop. A young Puerto Rican man named Jesus Artez, formerly a gang member who had split and changed his life, comes to work for him. The young man admires Nazerman and wants to be just like him and one day opened his own pawn shop. One day, his old gang comes to rob the pawn shop. They start to shoot Nazerman, but Jesus Artez steps right in front of him and takes the bullet in his stomach. The gang runs, leaving Jesus Artez dying in Nazerman's arms! The play ends with Nazerman holding Jesus Artez and suddenly feeling begins to come back to him, but he denies that he can feel. To prove to himself that he can no longer feel, he takes the spindle that sits on his deck and spears it through his hand. It goes all the way through his hand, and he does feel real pain. He does bleed real blood and cries real tears. He does feel. The play comes to an end as you see him locking the door of the pawn shop on that dark street and walking away. His soul is now free, his life is out of hock, because he feels for his neighbor.''

The Pawn-Broker's life became real and authentic when he let himself feel the loss of his young friend, when he let him see, feel, the gratitude for the sacrifice this young man was willing to make on his behalf. When he began to feel the brokenness, the pain, the anguish, the heartache of the life that encompassed him, then and only then did he begin to life Then and only then did he feel the real freedom of life. Dives never felt the pain of the brokenness of life, he d never felt the anguish of this poor man outside of his door. Dives prison of non-feeling is symbolized by the great chasm that separated him from Abraham Dives was locked up in his own prison of detachment, hard-hardness and coldness for eternity.

How are your feelings? Can you empathize with the plight of those who are feeling the brokenness of this world? Can you in some small way walk in the footsteps of those who are crying out for someone to care? Can you feel the pain, the sorrow the hurt, the hunger, the loneliness, the guilt, the rejection, of those who are trying out for someone to care, for someone to touch them with a hug of compassion and an embrace of love? How are your feelings?

Here is a story that Tony Campolo tells from his own experience.

I was walking down the street in Philadelphia and a bum came towards me. I mean a dirty, filthy guy. He was covered
with soot from head to toe. You couldn’t believe howmessed up he was. He had this huge beard and there was
rotted food stuck in the beard.

As he approached me, he held out a cup of McDonald’s coffee and said, "Hey mister,
want some of my coffee?"

I looked at his dirty, filthy personhood and said, "Thanks, but that’s okay," and I walked by him. The minute I passed
him, I knew I was doing the wrong thing, so I turned around and said, "Excuse me. I would like some of your
coffee."

I took some of the coffee and sipped it and gave it back to him. I said, "You’re being generous. How come
you’re being so generous today?"

And this bum looked at me and he said, "Because the coffee was especially delicious today and I think that when God givesyou something good, you ought to share it with people."

I didn’t know how to handle that, so I said, "Can I give you anything?" I thought that he would hit me for five dollars.

He said, "No." Then he said, "Yeah, yeah. I’ve changed my mind there is something you can give me. You can give me a hug"

As I looked at him, I was hoping for the five dollars! He put his arms around me and I put my arms around him.
And as I in my establishment dress and he in his filthy garb hugged each other on the street, I had the strange
awareness that I wasn’t hugging a bum, I was hugging Jesus. I found Jesus in that suffering man.

Whenever you meet a suffering person, you will find that Jesus is there waiting to be loved in that individual. ThatÂ’s why Jesus said, "In as much as ye do it unto the least of these my brothers and sisters, you do it unto me."

You cannot reach out to a person in need, you cannot embrace somebody who’s hurting, you cannot minister to somebody who is in desperate straits without having that eerie and wonderful awareness that Jesus is coming back at you right through that person. If there is anything that Mother Teresa would have taught us, thatÂ’s what she would have taught us.” So wrote Tony Campolo. (2)

When we reach out ot those around us with a compassionate feeling we are doing what Paul wrote about in Timothy.

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
-- 1 Timothy 6:17-19 NKJV

Store up a foundation in doing good is what this text is all about.

Martin Luther once observed, "Riches are the least worthy gifts which God can give a man. What are they to God's Word, to bodily gifts, such as beauty and health; or to the gifts of the mind, such as understanding, skill, and wisdom? Yet men toil for wealth day and night and take no rest. Therefore, God commonly gives riches to foolish people, to whom He gives nothing else!"

To be rich is no sin but what we do with it and our other talents is what this parable is asking us.

I would like to close with a story about a congregation who was able to see feel and hear.

A congregation in one of the many suburbs of a large city was having a special congregational meeting to approve borrowing money from the bank to buy some things for the church. The building committee recommended that a new carpet, a stained glass window, and a new kitchen be added to the church. It would cost around $10,000.000 This was explained to the members gathered and then all of a sudden, a voice from the rear of the church spoke up: "Do we really need these things to be the church?? I believe we should borrow the money to help feed the hungry of the world!!" Never before had anyone questioned the wisdom of those who were in charge. Another voice' spoke up saying:" Let's borrow the money and help purchase an electric generator which would supply power for bringing water from a well in Africa." Another voice said, "Let's borrow the money and give it to a mission school that our denomination runs on the American Indian reservation."

The vote was taken. And there was not to be new carpeting, nor a new kitchen, nor a beautiful stained glass window, but the group decided to borrow the $10,000.00 and use it for the mission projected mentioned.

Amen

(1)A Sermon Opener in What Will Convince You? by Rev. Cynthia Huling Hummel


(2)To give you a sense of how this must have felt, I would like to share a story by Tony Campolo, a Baptist Minister and
Sociologist from Philadelphia in the US.

from GOSPEL_NOTES_FOR_NEXT_SUNDAY.topic@ecunet.org

by Brian Stoffregen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale Sept 24, 2007 You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.