Looking for Christ? Preach in the Dark!

• 1^st Sunday of Advent (year B)

on Mark 13:24-37 and Isaiah 64:1-9

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• Think of a child. Does it bring a smile?
Think of the same child in distress. What now?

In Isaiah 64 prophet asks God as Father to look on his children, who are in distress.
Also in Psalm 80, look upon the people you've planted, for glory. Now in distress.

• Ferguson. Death of Michael Brown. Life of Darren Wilson. Violence and protests and cries of racism. Property destroyed. Pain, oppression, voicelessness. Country deeply divided, and little hope. Dark and hurting, and that's not even mentioning personal griefs. (deaths and addictions, joblessness, depression)

World is desperate for God.
If only you would tear open the heavens and come down.

We are hoping for Christ.
Waiting for his arrival (his birth) as well as his return.

• Jesus seems to be concerned about something else. He told the disciples the Temple was going to fall... don't put your faith in it. And really, don't worry about details of the end of times. God has not revealed that, and if you're spending your efforts trying to figure it out, you're squandering efforts that I'd rather you be using elsewhere. The best thing for you to do in all circumstances is the task I have set for you: preach the good news. Are you looking for Christ? Preach in the dark.

Remember your calling, your mission. Repent and believe the good news. Be agents of healing and reconciliation. Teach people about Christ, teach people about forgiveness. Listen to the brokenhearted the angry the grieved the frightened, give them bread give them hope, tell them though there be darkness there is a light that the darkness cannot overcome.

• Remember your calling, your mission – to share the love of God with people in a hurting world. Know that love and carry it with you so that when your life interesects with another's you give them love. When you hear or see (or make!) the cry of woe, when the hurting world is looking for Christ, come alive! Remind them that God chose to make the world and then enter into it out of love and to offer light and salvation not because things were going so well but because of love and because the world was and is desperate for love.

Share the love of God with people in a hurting world. Be love... be patient and kind and hoping and persevering and believing, keeping no record of wrongs and delighting in the truth.

• So that when God looks upon his children he will smile for their love and light.

• Hymn 206 I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light

Mark 13:24-37 Nov. 30 / 1^st Sunday of Advent

24 “In those days, after the suffering of that time, the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. 25 The stars will fall from the sky, and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Human One, the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and splendor. 27 Then he will send the angels and gather together his chosen people from the four corners of the earth, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.

28 “Learn this parable from the fig tree. After its branch becomes tender and it sprouts new leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that he’s near, at the door. 30 I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until all these things happen. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.

32 “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. 33  Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know when the time is coming. 34  It is as if someone took a trip, left the household behind, and put the servants in charge, giving each one a job to do, and told the doorkeeper to stay alert. 35 Therefore, stay alert! You don’t know when the head of the household will come, whether in the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows in the early morning or at daybreak. 36  Don’t let him show up when you weren’t expecting and find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to all: Stay alert!”

A Few of My Favorite Wings

• 33^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

on Matthew 13:10-12, 34-35, 53-58

in which Jesus speaks about parables, and is rejected in his hometown.

This will mark the end of the year's study of Matthew. Next week we'll celebrate Christ the King Sunday, and then Advent begins. We'll resume with Matthew 14 in Lent.

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"These are a few of my favorite wings..." yes wings, not things.

• I once had some hotwings that were called “Creeping Dog” hot.
The name caught my interest, drew me in with its imagery.
The experience was intense and memorable... not forgotten but legendary.
(if only you could engage people with such intrigue and power when speaking)

• My favorite hotwings are from Columbo's in Lancaster PA, but they are no-name.
Perfectly delicious. Nice little burn, maybe cumin aftertaste. To-die-for with celery and chunky blue cheese dressing.
And an hour or two later you still taste it... (I know, pastors aren't supposed to talk about burping, but you'll not soon forget it, will you?)
(if only you could engage people with a tantalizing story
they'd still be ruminating on a few hours later!)

• A few of my favorite THINGS... (yes, now I'm talking about the Sound of Music.)
In the movie the children are frightened by a thunderstorm and Fraulein Maria seeks to calm them down by guiding their thinking, redirecting them away from their fears.

Then later on it's not a thunderstorm but the loneliness and grief of life that compels them to sing again of their favorite things, to redirect their thoughts.
(if only you could engage people in how they think,
to shape and direct them, and equip them for kingdom living...)

• This is of course exactly what Jesus did, using parables as one of his tools. He drew people in, caught their interest, KEPT their interest with staying power, led them in ways that changed their lives, and that they'd talk about for generations.

• But some will reject. Because it's not what they expect.
And people don't want unexpected. They want control.
And when the people of Jesus' hometown heard him, they were not willing or able to reconcile the amazing Godly wisdom with the boy they once knew,
...Jesus was too unexpected, uncontainable for them.
They could not receive the good news
because they stumbled over its presentation.

• God wants to do great things among people... in our lives... and some of that requires our participation, positioning ourselves to let God work in us.

• (District Superintendent Greg told story of arrogant preacher Augustus Toplady, a contemporary of Wesley... Legend has it that one time while traveling in the country there was a terrible storm, the kind of storm that makes a nonbeliever pray, and this preacher cried out to God and found refuge in a nearby rock wall that had space enough to shelter him and his horse's head... Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee...)

Jesus is our supremely worthy refuge,
and we do well to take his hand and rely fully on him.

• Hymn 361 Rock of Ages

Matthew 13:10-12, 34-35, 53-58 CEB Nov. 16 / 33^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

10 Jesus’ disciples came and said to him,
“Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowds?”

11 Jesus replied, “Because they haven’t received the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but you have. 12 For those who have will receive more and they will have more than enough. But as for those who don’t have, even the little they have will be taken away from them.

34 Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables,
and he spoke to them only in parables.
35 This was to fulfill what the prophet spoke:

I’ll speak in parables;
        I’ll declare what has been hidden
since the beginning of the world. [Psalm 78:2]

53 When Jesus finished these parables, he departed.
54 When he came to his hometown, he taught the people in their synagogue.
They were surprised and said, “Where did he get this wisdom? Where did he get the power to work miracles? 55 Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? Aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 And his sisters, aren’t they here with us? Where did this man get all this?” 57 They were repulsed by him and fell into sin.

But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are honored everywhere except in their own hometowns and in their own households.”
58 He was unable to do many miracles there because of their disbelief.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like...

• 32^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

on Matthew 13:31-33, 44-53

in which Jesus speaks six short parables 

about the Kingdom of Heaven

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• How would YOU describe the Kingdom of Heaven? (KOH)
“The kingdom of heaven is like...”

(by the way, in Matthew, KOH and Kingdom of God are the same.
Matthew uses the word “heaven” out of respect for the name of God)

• My wife bought a new car 5 years ago.

Some time in the first week... I scratched it.

KOH is like a new car with a scratch.

Not about the package but utility. Relationship.

• KOH is like a teen driving the car Mom & Dad bought for him,

and getting into a fenderbender on the first day.

When he reached for the insurance information in the glovebox,

he found a note from his parents saying We love you.

This is KOH. Recognizing relative value.

• KOH statements seek to describe something about God,
something about shalom.

God is not neat. God is messy.

When we try to neatly define God, we fail. Because God is alive.

• Yeast. Small contaminant (no yeast for passover!)

Mustard. Small contaminant. A weed, plus a little goes a long way.

Yet Jesus offers these as parallels to KOH.

God has a kind of preference for underdog.
Hates arrogance. Loves lifting up.
These parables lift up the low.

• Hidden treasure.
God's people ordering their lives after God. God = #1.

Precious pearl.
God's people ordering their lives after God. God = #1.

• KOH is what it looks like when God's people take action.
When disciples are being disciples, living Christ-like
generously, selflessly, with genuine concern for others,
especially the least of these.

The catch of fish, separation of good and bad:

There is good and bad in the world,

and God desires followers who take action.

• KOH is Operation Christmas Child gift that inspires a world leader.

It is the fruit of Thy kingdom come, 

thy will be done on earth as in heaven...

• KOH is son of God living a humble life of lifting others up while bringing arrogance down and getting killed for it. 

KOH is people patterning life after him.

• Hymn 163 Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-53 CEB Nov. 9 / 32^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

31 He told another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field. 32  It’s the smallest of all seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through all the dough.”

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it.

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that people threw into the lake and gathered all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they pulled it to the shore, where they sat down and put the good fish together into containers. But the bad fish they threw away.49 That’s the way it will be at the end of the present age. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from the righteous people, 50 and will throw the evil ones into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

They said to him, “Yes.”

52 Then he said to them, “Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest.”

53 When Jesus finished these parables, he departed.

Seeds of Righteousness

• All Saints' Sunday

on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

in which Jesus speaks a parable about Weeds in the Wheat.

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• There was an artist sketching a transient on the street. 

The transient was dressed in rags, unshaven and unkempt, 

but the artist drew the man clean and shaven and well dressed. 

The artist beckoned the transient over to see her handiwork. 

The transient began to think, “If SHE can see me that way, 

by golly I can see me that way.”

She planted a seed of hope and renewal, and it blossomed in him.

One time I planted birdseed, and it grew into a bird. 

I didn't know what to feed it.

• I did a wedding last weekend. In my wedding message 

I imagined the couple in ten years and in forty years, 

with careers and family and each other. 

I planted the seed for celebrating their 40^th anniversary. 

And I hope it grows.

• Weekend before that I did a funeral. 

As in every funeral, I “celebrate [the deceased's] righteous acts” 

and I plant seeds among the hearers for them to live well.

• Jesus explains this parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, 

and these are some gleanings:

- There is evil in the world.

- God desires a harvest of righteousness. And God will triumph.

- God is growing righteousness in your life,
     and in the lives of people around you
     and MAY USE YOU to plant and nurture in the lives of others.

- Therefore do what you can to produce harvest of righteousness

- God HAS USED others for generations to produce righteousness 

in you, to grow you.

• Today is All Saints' Sunday. Let us remember those who have gone before us...

For those / who walked with us / this is a prayer.

For those / who have gone ahead, / this is a blessing.

For those / who touched and tended us, / who lingered with us 

/ while they lived, / this is a thanksgiving.

For those / who journey still with us / in the shadows of awareness,
in the crevices of memory, / in the landscape of our dreams,
this is a benediction. - by Jan Richardson

We remember, and we look forward to seeing again in the kingdom:
Pete P.        Melba M.    Dolly L.    June M.
Johnnie C.  Jenny S.     Mike W.

• And thank God that Jesus was planted among humanity
to sow righteousness and to grow us... 

(into Communion liturgy, p. 13)

Matthew 13:24-30 CEB

24 Jesus told them another parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like someone who planted good seed in his field. 25 While people were sleeping, an enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and went away.
26 When the stalks sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn’t you plant good seed in your field?
Then how is it that it has weeds?’

28 “‘An enemy has done this,’ he answered.

“The servants said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’

29 “But the landowner said, ‘No, because if you gather the weeds, you’ll pull up the wheat along with them. 30  Let both grow side by side until the harvest. And at harvesttime I’ll say to the harvesters, “First gather the weeds and tie them together in bundles to be burned. But bring the wheat into my barn.” ’”

Matthew 13:36-43 CEB

36 Jesus left the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples came to him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37 Jesus replied, “The one who plants the good seed is the Human One, the Son of Man. 38  The field is the world. And the good seeds are the followers of the kingdom. But the weeds are the followers of the evil one. 39  The enemy who planted them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the present age. The harvesters are the angels. 40  Just as people gather weeds and burn them in the fire, so it will be at the end of the present age. 41  The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause people to fall away and all people who sin. 42  He will throw them into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth. 43  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Those who have ears should hear.”

What is THIS parable about?

• Twentyninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, 

the parable of the Sower, and its interpretation.

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• Last week I played from “Moonlight Sonata,” asking “what's it mean?” and I shared that you might call a parable a poem that human language does not know how to qualify.

Understanding a parable requires three things: gift, effort, humility...

And the result of wrestling with Jesus' parables:
 you're drawn into relationship with God.

• Nevertheless, What's This One About?
What's the parable of the Sower about?

• This is a parable about God. God who wants a harvest and who goes about it the old-fashioned way: scattering seeds. (familiar) (today might be planting a garden or growing a lawn) (not the kind of effort as in Creation when God spoke and it happened)

By the way, in scattering seeds, God is taking risks. God does not carefully choose where to plant... and remembering that the seed is the word, this word is going OUT... on the path, among the rocks, among the weeds, in the good soil... and God anticipates a variable harvest.

God is also willing to get God's feet dirty. (different effort than Creation). Which leads to:

• This is a parable about Christ. Literally about the incarnation, God not only sowing the seed but BEING the seed... the seed is the word, and Jesus the Christ is the Word. Interacting with the world in its settings, again, not just the good soil, but a message IN the world to ALL the world.

• This is also a parable about the Evil One. Jesus speaks of The Evil One in the world, and this isn't the only place. We learn a few things about TEO, the one opposed to the sower and the harvest. And knowledge of TEO is vital for those who wish to stand against TEO.

1. TEO seeks to snatch the word.
He doesn't want people to receive Jesus.
(path/birds/lack of understanding)
2. TEO seeks to frighten or sap those who do receive the word.
He doesn't want people to be disciples.
(rocky soil, no roots, no strength)
3. TEO seeks to mislead those who receive the word, to distract them, to nurture a false word. (worries and false appeal of wealth)

• When we gain knowledge of TEO, we can learn about resisting and countering TEO, and
this is a parable about people.

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22)

• So the seed on the path with the birds, snatched away?
Let us accompany the hearer.

• The seed on the rocky soil, with no strength?
Let us encourage the hearer.

• The seed among the weeds, choked out by other things?
Let us teach the hearer.

• Remember it by “Let's EAT” (encourage, accompany, teach)... 

because God has a harvest

• Our mission is to share the love of God 

with people in a hurting world...

• How great is God who chooses all of this, who chooses us...

• Hymn 77 How Great Thou Art

Matthew 13:18-23 CEB

18 “Consider then the parable of the farmer. 

19  Whenever people hear the word about the kingdom and don’t understand it, 

the evil one comes and carries off what was planted in their hearts.
This is the seed that was sown on the path. 

20  As for the seed that was spread on rocky ground,
this refers to people who hear the word and immediately receive it joyfully.
21  Because they have no roots, they last for only a little while.
When they experience distress or abuse because of the word,
they immediately fall away. 

22  As for the seed that was spread among thorny plants,
this refers to those who hear the word,
but the worries of this life and the false appeal of wealth choke the word,
and it bears no fruit. 

23  As for what was planted on good soil, this refers to those who hear and understand, and bear fruit and produce—in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one.”

On the Use of Parables

• Twentyeighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

on Matthew 13:10-17, 

in which Jesus speaks about using parables.

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• [I sat down and played the first half page of] Beethoven's Piano Sonata #14 in C#minor, quasi una fantasia, Opus 27 No. 2. 

(you can listen to it by clicking --> here <--) (this is not me playing, by the way) 

(also by the way, props to Mrs. H, my piano teacher from when I was in grade school. You are one of the reasons I LOVE piano music)

What's it mean? What feelings does it evoke?

The name happened 30 years after it was written, and 5 years after Beethoven's death, when a music critic likened the effect of the first movement to that of “moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne,” 

and the name stuck. “Moonlight Sonata”

Contemporary French composer Hector Berlioz called it a “lamentation.”


“It is one of those poems 

that human language does not know how to qualify.”

• You might call a parable a poem
that human language does not know how to qualify.

• Chapter 13 begins with a parable (first use of the word parable in Matthew).
Then this question from the disciples, why parables? And Jesus' mysterious answer: “because they haven't received the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but you have. For those who HAVE, will receive more... and those who DON'T have, even the little they have will be taken away.” 

I don't know about you but that response makes me a little uncomfortable... it bugs me.

• But before that, what is a parable?

• Historically, parables were treated as allegory: 

representational stories with “secret” meanings.
However, in early 20^th century theologian Charles Dodd came up with what is now pretty much the standard definition of a parable: 

a metaphor or simile from common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.

That is,

a story using a familiar setting,

also awkward or unexpected,

and “sticky”

(recall Iyaz's song, Shawty's like a melody in my head that I can't keep out, got me singing now, 'na na na na' every day, like my iPod's stuck on REPLAY...)

A parable will make you go “Hmmm?” and ruminate on it. 

What does it mean? Do I 'get it'?

A parable is like a living thing, like music...

It is evocative, demanding interaction, 

and defying being neatly qualified and quantified.

• Back to Jesus' answer... 

Understanding a parable requires three things:

One, it's a gift. Jesus says that some have received and some have not.
(gifts are not given equally... some have athletic gifts, some music, some business, etc... and gifts are given to be shared with others)

Two, understanding requires effort, pondering, attention.
Those who are not willing to wrestle for an answer won't get an answer, also those who give up. Understanding is reward.

Three, understanding requires humility, for you have to put ego aside and say maybe multiple times “I may be wrong...”

• Such are the disciples Jesus seeks: 

humble ones who will follow and persevere, and share their gifts.

• And the result of wrestling with Jesus' parables (remember they're sticky, like music that sticks in your head and invites you to remember)... the result is that you're drawn into relationship with Jesus, drawn into relationship with God.

We get the picture that those who persevere gain more understanding,
they grow and mature and draw nearer to God,

and those who do not persevere or who lack humility, 

who try to go it alone, well, they are like someone who tries to hold the wind, or cling to sand... it will escape them.

• Be in relationship with Jesus. 

Listen and wrestle and nurture and persevere.
And praise God for understanding and relationship.

• Hymn 314 In the Garden

Matthew 13:10-17 CEB Oct. 12 / 28^th Sunday of Ordinary Time

10 Jesus’ disciples came and said to him,
“Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowds?”

11 Jesus replied, “Because they haven’t received the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but you have. 12 For those who have will receive more and they will have more than enough. But as for those who don’t have, even the little they have will be taken away from them. 13 This is why I speak to the crowds in parables: although they see, they don’t really see; and although they hear, they don’t really hear or understand. 14 What Isaiah prophesied has become completely true for them:

You will hear, to be sure, but never understand;
        and you will certainly see
but never recognize what you are seeing.

15     For this people’s senses have become calloused,
        and they’ve become hard of hearing,
        and they’ve shut their eyes
            so that they won’t see with their eyes
            or hear with their ears
            or understand with their minds,
            and change their hearts and lives that I may heal them. [Isaiah 6:9-10]

16 “Happy are your eyes because they see. Happy are your ears because they hear. 17 I assure you that many prophets and righteous people wanted to see what you see and hear what you hear, but they didn’t.

Expand

World Communion Sunday
Twentyseventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

on Matthew 12:38-50, 

in which Jesus speaks of signs and family.

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• I'm a runner, many of you know. 

Because fitness, goal setting, prayertime.
99% of my running is solo, but yesterday I went to the Bville Park 

and ran a 5K (3.1 mi) for Branches Domestic Violence Shelter 

(only of its kind in 5 counties, serviced 2000 victims last year) 

(October is Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention month).

It always encourages me when I run with others
and I know that my presence also encouraging other runners.

There was a presentation by Krista Fink, runner and DV survivor (and author of “Silent No More” (you should check it out, I'm going to) ). She talked about the support and new family she had (in other survivors) as she ran away from DV.

You never know by looking at someone exactly what their life circumstances are... (victim of DV, loved one in prison or addicted, hospitalized, dead...)

• Jesus says expand. Expand your circle of family of love to more, without judgment. Include the stranger, the outcast, the different...

• The Pharisees felt threatened by Jesus' expansion.
They didn't want expanded, they wanted familiarity, comfort, control. Predictability.

• Certainly Jesus was outside their familiarity, comfort, control, predictability.

Life is messy, not necessarily predictable, 

and sometimes you gotta roll with it.

Example: Ninevites, ungodly. 

God sent Jonah to preach, and they repented.
Unexpected! We should praise! 

Guess what, though, they'll be the judges of you. And what you see right now (that is, Jesus) is greater than Jonah.

Example: “queen of the south,” decidedly an outsider, 

sought godly wisdom from Solomon. 

Unexpected! We should praise! God adopts her!
And what you see right now (that is, Jesus) is greater than Solomon.

• Discipleship is call to expand kingdom, to wade into the unexpected...
Who knows, maybe others will become part of God's family.

• After all, Jesus came not for a few family members, but for more.
And he did not let adversity, neither threats nor death, stop him.

• And so we reach out our hands to others, 

not asking if they've washed their hands properly... 

we reach out to the broken, the abused, the sick, 

the imprisoned, the foreigner, the neighbor... 

with the love of Christ, 

that the family of God may expand.

• prayer and invitation to communion