The Coming Kingdom of Peace

This morning we will complete the series we began the first week in December. The series has focused on the different aspects of the coming Kingdom as they pertain to the Themes of Advent: Hope, Love, Joy, and today Peace. The lectionary text this morning focuses on a very interesting and important passage of scripture. Not only does our text bring together the strands of Advent, but it also speaks to the anticipation, expectation, participation, and longing surrounding the coming Kingdom. What we will read is a story that takes place after Mary has been visited by a messenger; a messenger explaining that she would conceive a very important and special child. But the messenger also informed Mary of her relative Elizabeth, a barren older woman, who had now conceived. Thus, in an attempt to validate the claims of the heavenly messenger, Mary traveled to her relative.

Text: Luke 1: 39-55

What Mary is described in Luke as saying is truly remarkable. Yes it is verse and not prose, and it echoes back to many Hebrew Bible passages. But it also affirms Mary's acceptance of her coming son. Mary, in haste, traveled to her relative Elizabeth to confirm if the heavenly messenger should be trusted. In seeing Elizabeth, a once barren mother, six months pregnant with her child John, Mary felt over-whelming Joy; a Joy that expressed itself through the Magnificat. The first word in the Latin Vulgate for Mary's song of praise begins “Magnificat” and in English it is translated “magnifies.” Thus, Mary, upon realizing her special privilege and the hope her son would bring, magnifies God.

The coming of Jesus created an immense Joy in Mary. Joy, however, comes from some source. And the source of Mary's Joy waits in the Grace of her God, the Mercy of Yahweh. As her song says, “And his mercy is for those who fear him...” (v.50) and “he has filled the hungry with good things...” (v.53). Mary's words reflect not only an admiration for God's Love, Grace, and Promise, but also set the precedent for Jesus' ministry to the poor, oppressed, hungry, and needy. Her song anticipates the Kingdom Jesus would begin by indicating the neediness of the world, and the Salvation God offers the humble. Here we find a woman who anticipates, expects, longs for and definitely participates in, the coming Kingdom of God. In Mary we see Hope because of God's Love. In Mary we see Joy expressed in a beautiful and revolutionary song. A song concerned for the poor, down-trodden, and rejected of the world. We can speculate about the Peace Mary may have encountered or experienced, but it isn't until the birth of Jesus that we begin to see the coming Kingdom of Peace made apparent.

So I believe it is very appropriate to read the “Christmas story” at this juncture. We have seen the presence of Hope, Love, and Joy, but let us focus here on Peace.

So turn in your bible with me to Luke chapter 2. Now you may have heard these verses many times over the years, but today read them through the lens of the Kingdom, through the eyes of someone expecting and anticipating the completion of the Kingdom that Jesus established in his birth, death, and resurrection. This is the birth of that man, who manifested God's Divine Grace, Mercy, and Redemption so that we might participate in God's Kingdom as the Children of God. This is a beautiful and important story. So, listen.

The “Christmas Story”
Text: Luke 2: 1-20

What a beautiful story. A story that has been told countless times, spanning history and the globe. A story which can bring us into the life of Christ. I mean, after reading it so many times I feel as though I could be in those words that Luke writes. I could be right there in that story watching the events of the narrative unfold. I feel as though I am watching with knowing eyes the birth of a Messiah who would bring the world endless Hope and eternal Joy. Can you see the child this morning? Can you see Mary tenderly wrap the babe in rags? Can you see this gentle mother, filled with Hope, Love, and Joy, carefully place Jesus in the manger? And all the while Joseph watches eagerly over her shoulder. Can you picture it?

Now imagine we travel a little ways. We come upon some lowly shepherds watching over their flocks. They patiently perform their duties unaware of the strange events about to transpire. And you can almost see this dirty but dedicated group of people burdened with their uncleanliness. These shepherds could not keep ritually clean in their profession, yet the very sheep they watched over would become the sacrificial lambs used in the temple. And it is the shepherds, the lowly animal care-takers who were shown a splendid site. A messenger from God comes before them to proclaim the birth of their savior, the one who would ultimately cleanse their ritual impurity. Hear the words of the heavenly host that joined with the messenger saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

And then we travel with those shepherds back to find Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. There in that lowly stable, in the dirt and hay, layed the Messiah. Surrounded by the lowly shepherds, a carpenter, and a weary mother sleeps the Anointed One, The Christ. This is the Arrival of Hope, Love, Joy, and as we shall begin to see today: Peace.

But what is this Peace that we talk so fondly of? What is this Peace that the heavenly host proclaimed to the shepherds? What is this Peace that Mary might have felt with the her son, the coming Redeemer, as she endured her pregnancy? Well to begin, let's explore what it is we mean when we use the word “peace”. As you might find in many dictionaries, the word peace is often used to indicate quiet, silence, or some form of rest. This is expressed in the phrase “needing some peace and quiet.” And couldn't you go for some “peace and quiet” during the holiday season? A little break from the hustle, bustle, and endless holiday jingles would be nice.
But what else do we mean when we talk about Peace? Another dictionary definition might reveal that “peace” refers to harmony in personal relations. Such harmony is being understood when people use the phrase “at peace with herself.” To be at one with yourself, or to be “together” psychologically seems to offer us peace. But what else offers Peace?

Further dictionary examination might reveal that Peace indicates an end of hostility between those at war, or in opposition. This is the Peace that is sought when governments battle, countries fight, and people feud. But what is it that unites all these notions of Peace? And how does that connect to and inform us of spiritual Peace?

I submit to you this morning that all these notions of Peace carry with them the idea of Freedom. To be at peace with yourself, to be in a state of quietude, or to end enmity with another is to be released. So in the first sense of Peace, “peace and quiet,” we are released from the noise and exhaustion of the world. We are freed from the constraints of schedule and task, from the demands of those around us. We are free to rest and be alone. And in the second case, “peace with oneself,” we find that we are free from inner dispute and torment. We have a unified personality, a psychological wholeness. The third case, “peace not war,” we find that we are freed from the confines of hate and death. We are liberated from opposition to embrace Love. Ultimately, Peace brings freedom.

But I also submit to you this morning that all these notion of Peace also carry with them the idea of unity, or togetherness. Whether this is internal togetherness or external togetherness, Peace implies harmony or accord. To be individually at Peace is to have internal, psychological unity or wholeness. To be collectively at Peace is to have external unity with the rest of those in your world. And we see this in Jesus. In fact, we see this in the meaning and power of Christ .
Jesus' arrival as a baby and Christ's life, death, and resurrection have two effects which promote Peace. First, Christ, as our Redeemer, restores Peace between God and humanity. This is the individual element of Peace. Correspondingly, this is also the internal spiritual Peace. Each one of you has access to the Peace that comes from God's Grace and Mercy. This is the Peace of Reconciliation, the Peace of Redemption, or the Peace of Salvation. But this is not all the Peace that is produced by the Christ-event. There is a corollary Peace, a Peace that is derived from Reconciliation and Redemption; and which transcends the individual. This is the collective Peace of God's Children. This is the Peace between human and human. It parallels external peace because it involves our interaction in the world around us. A Peace that flows directly from the Reconciliation between God and human produces a Peace that unifies and unites human and human.

Thus the coming Kingdom of Peace is one which embraces both aspects of Peace. Its source is Hope which emanates from Love. But Peace is not purely private. We are missing the larger image of the Kingdom when we focus solely on the private aspect of Peace. Peace is also collective. It has collective meaning, and more importantly, collective power. Peace can transform. It can not only transform an individual who has been affected by Hope and Love, but it can affect a world desperately needing Hope and Love. What's more, the heavenly host and messenger from God make an interesting and important connection between Peace and God's pleasure. They come on the scene to proclaim God's Glory, but also to proclaim that God is glorified and pleased with those to whom there is Peace. Having Hope in God's promise of Love yields a Peace which pleases God.

So this morning, as we close, we have to ask ourselves a few important questions. In this time of Peace, Joy, Love, and Hope, is God pleased with me? Is God pleased with me? Do I have Peace? Do I have the internal Peace of Christ's redemption? Have I stopped there? Have I forgotten the external Peace of Christ? Is God not only pleased with me, but with us, collectively, as a community? Do we have peace in Perryville? Is God pleased with us as a collective state? Do we have, practice, or strive after Peace in Kentucky? And now the tough question. Is God pleased with us as a collective nation? Does America long for Peace, pursuing it with all its resources and capabilities? Are we a nation of peace? I ask you this morning to reflect on the condition of your Peace, and of our Peace. Do not simply focus on your internal Peace, Hope, Love, and Joy. This is corrupt and perverted if we think that these issues are only a personal matter. For the Kingdom calls us into a collective whole. The Kingdom which Advent draws our attention toward is filled with people, lots of people, living in the Hope of a Promised Love that produces Joy and Peace. A Joy and Peace we share with those around us, not just in our own hearts and thoughts. Have you been sharing your Joy and Peace? Have you been making Peace on earth, and are you filled with good will toward all humanity?

I invite you this morning, as the Christmas Holiday reaches the threshold, to find Peace. If this means finding personal Peace for the first time, then come, kneel before the God who can bring you personal Peace in the redemption of your sin and the evil that has befallen you. If instead, you have found internal peace, but struggle with external opposition, come and pray with me. I invite you as well to the alter of humility where you can find that Peace which extends into all the world. There is a need in each of our lives to admit our short-comings, both with our own personal selves and with the world. The house of God is a haven of Love which offers the cleansing of such burdens. Come, I invite you to pray as we sing our closing Hymn.

Benediction:

Holy God, the psalmist wrote that where “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other” (85:10). May we find that to be true today. May we find your steadfast Love which gives us Hope. May we be faithful with that Love, striving for Peace in a fallen and broken world. Let us realize that Peace is not only for our own pockets, to give us a false sense of security and momentary happiness. May our Peace be both internal and external. May we work toward the Kingdom of Peace, building up all of humanity in Love, Compassion, and Mercy. May we extend the Grace of God toward the needy, hungry, impoverished, and down-trodden. Give us the hands to serve those that Christ served, the hearts to love those that Christ loved, and the desire to spread your Peace to all the world. May this Christmas be one which beckons us toward the Kingdom, the unfinished Kingdom. Let us await its completion in anticipation and expectation, ever-fueled to participation, and never forgetting our longing. For You have given us all we could ever need by sending that babe to our world so many years ago. A babe that would transform our lives and give us the drive to transform our world. May that be our image of Christmas, a changing world moved toward Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. Amen.

The Coming Kingdom of Joy

Christmas is drawing close. In fact, we are only 8 days away from the much anticipated day. Children are anxious, filled with the excitement and mystery of the gift-giving season. Parents are squeezing their budgets, and preparing for family and friends. In fact it seems the jolly atmosphere of the holidays is forever balanced with the stress and nervousness that accompanies our busy, sometimes frantic, preparations. We can't manage to escape the anxiety which accompanies our joy in this time of celebration. In fact, the holidays manage to remind us that there are always two perspectives to every situation. With great Joy comes great trouble and the potential for disappointment. In order to achieve a joy-filled holiday, there is always the potential, the risk, that all might come tumbling down on us. It appears that joy is generated from the very risk and difficulty that we somehow overcome.

This notion of joy accompanied by difficulty and potential sorrow is at the heart of our scripture passage this morning. As we have discussed the different aspects of the coming Kingdom, we have seen anticipation, expectation, preparation, and longing expressed in different ways. Today, we will look at a scripture which points us to the joy we have in actively awaiting the coming Kingdom of God. But this scripture, like our own experience with the holidays, demonstrates that there is a subtle paradox alongside our joy; the presence of sorrow.

Turn with me in your bibles to John, chapter 16. As you flip through your bibles, let me give you some context to our passage. Jesus, in chapters 13-16 of the gospel of John, has been providing his disciples with a reassurance that concludes with abounding Joy. Jesus, in preparing for his passion, is offering the disciples a hope. This hope produces a joy that will overcome any conflict. You see, in all of Jesus' reassurance, he never promises that the disciples will be without troubles. . Rather, we get this image of “sorrowful joy.”

Text: John 16: 19-22

In reflecting this week about “Joy” my mind was mysteriously drawn to the joystick of all things. For some reason, I kept thinking about all the different ways that the word “joy” was used in our lives, and I couldn't help but think about the term “joystick.” What is a joystick? Well, it it the mechanism that young children use to control animated people, air-crafts, and futuristic vehicles. But the joystick did not originate as a tool for playing video and computer games. Actually the joystick got its name in the first two decades of the 20th century when fighter planes were developed and used. Pilots found that their air-craft brought them great joy in flying, offering incredible rushes of adreniline and excitement. The danger of battle and the thrill of victory complimented the freedom of flying over the earth. In that, pilots were brought great joy. But ultimately the source of that joy could be identified in their control mechanism: the “joy-stick”. This “stick” gave the pilot control of the plane. And once in control of the plane, then the “joy” could happen.

Imagine swooping and diving, twisting and turning, feeling the wind in your hair and the freedom in each motion. Such joy was captured in the very instrument that controlled the plane: the “joystick.” But mind you this joy did not come without a cost. For in every flight was conflict. In every flight was an ensuing battle, waiting to be fought. Not only did the fighter pilots of WWI and beyond experience the freedom of flying, but also the danger of immanent death. Yet in each flight, there was great joy... joy despite danger, joy in light of trouble. This is sorrowful joy in that each flight signaled possible demise, yet guaranteed excitement and thrill.

In a sense, this captures what Jesus is trying to explain to his disciples in our passage from John. Jesus begins by explaining to his disciples that they will not see him in a little while, and then they will see him again. This puzzles the disciples who ask him what he means, and Jesus responds by describing the coming sorrow of the disciples. They will weep and lament. This moment for John signals the death of Jesus. This moment signals the sorrow of the disciples, for their savior will be taken from them. Yet, this necessary sorrow will result in great joy. The saddened hearts of the disciples will become joy-filled.

To make this all the more clear, Jesus gives us the example of a mother in labor. Faced with the physical pain of birth, the mother experiences initial sorrow. The birth of her child is not easy, it is not happy or joyous in the physical sense. Rather, there is quite a sacrifice that is involved. Yet, when the new-born babe arrives, the mother's joy overcomes her sorrow. In fact, she “forgets” her sorrow; it's as if the sorrow were never there. This is the beauty of joy, for it overcomes the greatest sorrows.

Much like the laboring mother, the disciples would be faced with trouble and difficulty, sorrow and pain. Yet this would subside once they discovered their joy, a joy so wonderful and infinite that it would erase every memory of sorrow. But what is this Joy? What is this moment when the disciples' will “see me again”?

There are a range of interpretations which offer us an explanation of Jesus' intentions toward his disciples. Was Jesus simply predicting his death and resurrection, or was Jesus offering the disciples a hope in the second coming of Christ? Regardless, the words captured here seem to point us to a Joy that transcends sorrow, a Joy that is rooted in the Grace of Christ. Whether that is the fulfillment of the Kingdom, or the enjoyment of personal Redemption, Jesus offers us an ever-lasting hope which produces great Joy.

However, the important element in this message is the presence of sorrow. Joy is not promised by itself. Jesus' words in our passage point toward the presence of sorrow, the reality of pain. There is no escaping the danger of difficulty. Trouble and toil will always be before us, yet there is a Joy that exists which overcomes such conflict. This Joy is so wonderful, so amazing, so infinite, that it causes every sorrow to subside, and every tear to be dried. There is a Hope which produces Joy, a Redeemer who conquers our insufficiency.

I read an interesting quote from George Bernard Shaw: “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one: the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap, and being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” I think Shaw highlights the message of Jesus this morning by drawing our attention to the true joy in life. We can participate in a purpose mightier than ourselves. We can be thoroughly worn out and thrown on the scrap heap with exhaustion, yet find hope and comfort in the up-building of God's Kingdom, in the hope of Christ's redemption. We can find Joy in the allegiance to Christ's Righteous cause, instead of becoming selfish clods of grievance which complain about our own happiness.

Paul himself comments on the nature of God's Kingdom in Romans 14. In verse 17 of that chapter Paul explains: “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The trivial happiness of food and drink, frivolous passing pleasures, do not capture the message or essence of God's Kingdom. This is the Kingdom of Joy and Righteousness where God's children take pleasure in the beauty of God's Grace and the abundance of God's Redeeming power. Conflict, which did and still does exist, dissolves in the cleansing flood of God's Love. And what more could we rejoice in? What mightier cause is there? Where could you find greater Love than this?

I love Mother Teresa quotes. She says that “Joy is a net for catching souls.” In our world of suffering and sorrow, of hatred and anger, what more could our world need than the infinite Love of God? Our world cries out for a joy that will cause every sorrow to evaporate and every conflict to be resolved. In this world of desperation and need are God's children, abounding in Joy and Hope, offering their service and humble hearts. Are you one of these? Are you a member of that fighter squadron which soars through the dim and dangerous skies toward the bright horizon of Hope? Are you navigating your way through this world with the purpose of up-building God's Kingdom, embracing the Joy and Happiness that accompanies such action?

May we cast our nets of Joy this morning. May we step onto into our planes and grab hold of that which steers our course. May we grasp firmly the source of joy in our endeavors: the Gracious Love of God through Christ our Redeemer. May we walk boldly into a world where suffering and torment not only exist, but often prevail. May we be courageous in facing potential disappointment in order that we might bring the light and reality of God's Love to all the world, for all to enjoy. May we help erase the sorrow of our world by devoting ourselves to the greater and mightier cause of God's Kingdom. A Kingdom of Joy which does not turn from sorrow, but which overcomes it.

Benediction:

May You, our Gracious God, be with us this morning. May your Love fall around us, on us, in us, and may it flow abundantly through us. May our veins pulse with your love to the beat of Joy. Let us rejoice in our Redeemer, who in this moment we celebrate and remember, treasure and hold dear. Keep our eyes fixed on your Grace, our hands attached to the needs of this world, and our hearts glad with a Hope that comes from our Redemption. May we usher in the Kingdom of Joy with all the Mercy we have been afforded and all the Compassion we have been given. For it is in Christ that we are transformed, and in Christ that we transform our world. Let us rejoice, O God, fill our mouths with praise! In You our Spirits are lifted this morning. Amen.

The Coming Kingdom of Love

Over the last several Sundays we have explored the idea of a coming Kingdom, a Hope in the completion of God's work here on earth. We are drawn to this subject by the forward-looking spirit of Advent anchored in the event of Christ. The idea of Advent seems to offer us renewal, a refreshing taste of the anticipated Kingdom we labor to build. In the toil of our labor, in the difficulties of our service, we often find ourselves distracted from our Hope, our Expectation. Advent refocuses our desire, re-centers our actions. It is in Advent that we come back to that first Arrival, the arrival of Christ, so that we might continue to usher in the second Arrival; the arrival of the completed Kingdom.

What then, does that Kingdom look like? If we toil with such difficulty, if we are hard-pressed in service and sacrifice, where do we look to find encouragement and motivation? Last week, on the first Sunday of Advent, we exposed our Hope. The first Sunday of Advent had us light the first candle in our wreathe: the Hope Candle. The coming Kingdom is one of great Hope, a Hope centered in Redemption. This is something we have found to be anticipated, expected, participated in, and longed for. But how is such Redemption made real in our world? What is the medium of Redemption? What is the color of Redemption? Redemption is colored with Love. Redemption is made real in Love. It is in Love that the Kingdom of Hope is built. It is in Love that the Kingdom of Redemption stands tall, welcoming all those who are weary and weak. Now today, on the second Sunday of Advent, we light the candle of Love.

So this week, in our exploration of the Coming Kingdom, we turn to Love. And Love is a peculiar thing, in fact it is a topic I have addressed twice before. In two sermons last month I brought before you all two important ways of understanding Love. First, to Love is to have self-sacrificial action. This notion of intimate self-sacrifice is at the heart of the word agape. As a result, when we love one another and God, we must love with an attitude of service and sacrifice that seeks goals beyond our meager gain. Second, to Love is to be of God. This idea stems from the notion that God is in nature Love, and thus is embodied in our actions of Love. Both understandings of Love are crucial in getting at the concept of a Kingdom of Love.

In a Kingdom of Love we must have self-sacrificial action in order to dwell in the Spirit of God. But what's more, this self-sacrificial action, embodied in Christ, is not passive. Obviously action is not passive. It is quite clear that “action” is an active concept. But, if this is the case, why is our love so passive? Why do we wait to Love? Why do we passively expect Loving opportunities to find us? It seems this idea has infiltrated our minds and even poisoned our notions of romance and marriage.

Newspaper columnist and minister George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. “I do not only want to get rid of him, I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me."

Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan "Go home and act as if you really love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you've convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you're getting a divorce. That will really hurt him." With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, "Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!" And she did it with enthusiasm. Acting "as if." For two months she showed love, kindness, listening, giving, reinforcing, sharing. When she didn't return, Crane called. "Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?"

"Divorce?" she exclaimed. "Never! I discovered I really do love him." Her actions had changed her feelings. Motion resulted in emotion. The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as often repeated deeds.” (www.sermonillustrations.org)

Amazingly, this woman found a “change of heart” through the active nature of Love. The Love which she so angrily missed, had in all reality disappeared when she ceased to be an active agent of Love. It re-emerged when she embraced the expressions of Love. What she found was that the very expressions she offered her husband actually created and developed Love. Love is not so much a noun as it is a verb. When we think of Love as a noun, as something we have and not something we do, then Love loses action and ceases to be Love. Love is active, it is action.

Happiness is often associated with Love. It is understood that Love brings with it great happiness. Many years ago, much before the time of Jesus, Aristotle took up the notion of Happiness. In an effort to clarify what it is that constitutes happiness, Aristotle explained that a happy life is a well-lived life. For Aristotle, to be happy was not to be in a state of bliss or enjoyment. Happiness was not an emotion as much as a motion. Aristotle taught that to live with a habit of doing happy things created “happiness.” Ultimately, you can't be happy unless you “do happy.”So to connect Love with Happiness we are forced to return to the active nature of things.

To Love and be Happy is to be an active agent of Happiness and Love. And we see this in the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. In fact we are brought back to this reality in the telling of Christ's Arrival. God was active in Loving the world. God DID Love for us by sending our Redeemer to dwell among us. God still Loves us by offering us that same Redeemer. These actions, these activities of Love, are what drive us to send forth that same Love. We cannot sit by and passively wait our turn to Love. We cannot hide our hearts with trivial pleasures and earthly concerns. This is ignoring Love. We cannot “have Love” and yet not “do Love.”

With this in mind, turn with me in your bibles to Matthew 24. Once again we are going to return to the “Kingdom Talk” of Jesus as he converses with his disciples. We are going to look at what Jesus says about the Kingdom so that we might be better instructed in our own attitude and actions toward the Kingdom we anticipate, expect, participate in, and long for. In our passage this morning, Jesus is discussing the coming Son of Man. Last week we noted that the coming Son of Man is intricately related to the coming Kingdom. The coming Son of Man is the climax of the completed Kingdom, the final stroke of the Kingdom-building.

Matthew 24: 42-51

Did you hear those first few words, that command from Christ: “Stay awake” (v. 42). To remain awake is to not fall asleep. To remain awake is an active state. To fall asleep is to fall into passivity. Christ instructs his disciples to remain active. To illustrate this meaning of “awake,” Jesus describes the wise and faithful servant as being responsible with appointed tasks, offering food at the proper time (v. 45). The unfaithful, unwise servant is the one who forgets the coming Son of Man, or the return of the master, and eats and drinks for personal pleasure. The servant who falls asleep with the drunkenness of earthly pleasures and concerns will be placed with the hypocrites where there is much “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The Kingdom that is illustrated is one of activity, of responsibility, of appropriate action. Jesus specifically reveals the model of faithful waiting: active anticipation. To be faithful in expecting the Kingdom is to be actively anticipating, actively participating. We cannot separate our longing and our anticipation from our actions and labor. There is not one moment that passes by which does not call for our hands and feet, for our thoughts and prayers. We are not a people of passivity, sleeping away the days until the Kingdom is at hand. No, such a Kingdom will never arrive. The Kingdom can only be ushered in by those who remain faithful in a waking, active service. This is the waking, active nature of Love. It is here that we find God's Kingdom coming to fruition; it is here that we realize God dwelling among us.

So often we have wanted to focus our attention on the Love that God gives us, and forget the important Love that we must be responsible for. In fact, C.S. Lewis once wrote: “On the whole, God's Love for us is much safer to think about than our Love for Him.” But why? Dr. Lewis also wrote, “To love at all is to be venerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin or your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable...The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers...of love is Hell. (C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves, 169).

A motionless, dark, airless Love is no Love at all. Refusing to “do Love” is refusing Love itself. When we make life about our “hobbies and little luxuries,” we forsake Love and embrace ourselves. No Kingdom of God could ever by completed by people who dare not Love. And like Dr. Lewis wrote, Love is dangerous. There is toil and difficulty in our actions of Love. We suffer when we Love the suffering. We identify with those whom we Love.. when we Love. For in Love, there is no “them.” There is only “us.” And this is the Kingdom of Love which we anticipate, expect, participate in, and long for. A Kingdom where there is only Us, united in a Love originating from the Most High God. Such a Kingdom of self-sacrifice fits the model that Christ demonstrated on the cross, and of which we are reminded in His birth. A Kingdom where Love is ever-present, is a Kingdom where God resides, where Christ is glorified. This is the Kingdom we long to see. This is the Kingdom we await. But our anticipation and expectation is not passive. It is not without action. Our anticipation and expectation come with participation... for this is the heart of Love.

Benediction:

Glorious God, Almighty Redeemer, may we leave this place of worship with humble hearts and pensive minds. May we be renewed by Your Gracious Love, renewed in the spirit of service and sacrifice which anticipates your Kingdom. Lord God, may our hands not be clean on that day when we see You face to face. May we have the hands of working people, soiled with the labor of our Love. A Love that originates with You. For your Love was demonstrated through the gift of Christ, born so many years ago. May we be ever-hopeful in that most Merciful Gift, mindful of the persistent need we have for such a Love; mindful of the persistent need the world has for such a Love. Let us be instruments of Love, agents of Love, givers of Love. Remind us that Love is not a possession, it is an action. Give us the strength, courage, and desire to Love, so that one day we might witness the Glorious coming of the Kingdom of Love. For we are Yours, and we Love You. Amen.

The Coming Kingdom of Hope

Luke 21: 25-36

Well December sure hit with a gust of cold air. It seems as if the heavens were letting forth the pent up November weather, sending it our way in one tumultuous blast. I have been known to sleep through most things, including earthquakes. That’s right, as an elementary school child in Oregon I once slept soundly and undisturbed in a shaking bed that rattled away from the wall. My mom had steadied herself in the door-frame of my room and later recounted her amazement at the depth of my sleep. Yet, despite this miraculous ability to sleep through the most grievous conditions, I awoke at 5:00am on Friday morning to the bitter howling of the wind and the intense onslaught of the rain. This gusty display of nature’s might brought with it the bitter cold we haven’t experienced for some time. December 1st truly felt like a new month; a colder, harsher month than pleasant November.

The furious display of nature reminded me quite vividly of our scripture passage this morning. The power of the heavens shaking was transparently real to me as I tried to sleep. And although the storm brought me out of my deep slumber, it did not prevent me from finally falling back to sleep. I had seen the weather predictions before I went to bed the previous evening. I had been warned that the coming cold front would bring strong winds and wintry temperatures. Thus, though the storm was intense, it did not worry me. Although the winds blew with great force, I was not alarmed. And though the rains came forcefully, I did not lie awake. My eyes eventually rested, comforted by the hope that the storm was but momentary. The storm would soon come to an end, and all would be calm.

Turn with me in your bibles to the gospel of Luke, chapter 21. As you flip through your bibles this morning, let me warn you about the nature of the text we are about to read. This is by no means a simple passage to understand and interpret. The particular text we have before us is termed “apocalyptic” meaning that it is an “uncovering” or “revelation,” specifically in regards to the end of times. Apocalyptic literature is often accompanied by highly symbolic and allegorical wording and imagery, leaving the removed reader with much to investigate. We are not the specific audience that the author of Luke could have had in mind when the text was written. To think that Luke was written for us to understand in our own terminology would be awfully arrogant and simply implausible. Thus we must put ourselves in the place of the intended readers in order to get at the original meaning of the author. But let’s examine the author’s words first:

Luke 21: 25-36

To give some literary context, the passage we just read is immediately preceded by Jesus’ description of the destruction of Jerusalem. In this, Jesus foretells the downfall of Jerusalem by gentile, or pagan, forces. This is important to us and the reader, because in 70 CE Roman forces destroyed the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and occupied the city. Not only was the Sanhedrin abolished, but the cultic center of the Jewish religion was wiped out. This was considered a climax in Jewish notions of suffering and persecution, a truly historic event.

At the time that Luke was written, this event had already taken place. So for the readers of Luke, the destruction of Jerusalem is not as much foretelling as “what came to pass.” They themselves are the people who have experienced wrath and are utterly distressed. The Jewish and Gentile readers could both identify with the political and religious turmoil that existed. When we transition to this morning’s passage, we move from the already fulfilled to the “future fulfillment.” This future fulfillment is the storied coming of the Son of Man. What we must pay careful attention to is the description of fear, foreboding, perplexity and roaring. The earth is torn asunder, and it is amidst such suffering and torment that the Son of Man comes with great glory.

In the glory of the coming Son of Man, the author of Luke gives the following exhortation: “straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (v. 28). There is hope in torment. There is light at the end of the tunnel. The dark and troublesome life that plagues the oppressed and persecuted is not without a cure, a solution, a foundation of hope. There is meaning in suffering, a goal despite pain. What an encouraging word to hear for those who first read the book of Luke. What a tremendously powerful thing for us to hear as we read this morning. Fear not, for there is hope. Do not be distressed by the difficulty you face, for there is a light shining in the darkness; a redeemer who comes with power and glory.

The next section of scripture serves as a symbolic clarification of the above mentioned material. It serves several important functions. First, it uses terminology and concepts present in the Jewish scriptures (Deuteronomy, Hosea, and Micah). Often, the fig tree represents the peace and prosperity of Israel. Thus, the reference to the fig tree, along with all the trees, represents the peace and prosperity for Israel and all the earth that is close at hand in the Kingdom of God. Second, this portion of our passage makes an important connection. No longer is the coming of the Son of Man spoken of, but the Kingdom of God. This parable ultimately links the Son of Man with the Kingdom of God. We cannot separate these two for they are intimately related. The glory and power associated with the Son of Man gives us the flavor and expectation for the Kingdom of God. The Son of Man, who brings redemption near, transforms the Kingdom of God into a Kingdom of Redemption. A Kingdom of Redemption is one that offers us great Hope; something to be anticipated, expected, prepared for, and sought after.

Finally, the parable portion of our passage functions to offer us a specific Hope, that of a promise. Jesus is recorded as saying: “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” For the author of Luke, the first readers of these words would have great expectation for the immediate coming of the Son of Man. The identification of “this generation” can be interpreted many ways, but it is quite evident that “this generation” refers specifically to the people living in “that time and place.” “This generation” meant those who were reading, those who eventually did pass away. In light of this, many interpreters of this passage—in an attempt to preserve the “truth” of Jesus’ claims—argue that Jesus meant a type of people, like Jews, Christians, or sinners. Thus, “this generation” has yet to pass away and can be applied today.

No matter how you interpret such a difficult passage, the final promise is the most important, for it does not require a time or place. This is the transcendent promise of God. “My words” are the spoken promises of Christ's redemption. “Will not pass away” points to the binding, eternal nature of that promised redemption. Despite the fleeting goodness of our world, God's promised redemption is always at hand, always near.

Thus, we have a great Hope. We have the hope of an eternal promise, God's promised Redemption. God, through Christ, has promised us that our “redemption is drawing near” (v. 28), and that the Kingdom of God is at hand (v. 31). We may not know the exact date or hour, but we do know that we wait in eager anticipation, expecting the kingdom to be very close, just as the first readers did. We share their anticipation, expectation, participation, and longing. We share with those first readers of Luke the Hope that God has brought us Redemption through Christ, and that the ensuing Kingdom of Hope, the ensuing Kingdom of Hope will arrive with the Power and Glory of Christ.

Thus, the preservation of Christ's promise gives us profound Hope. We have a meaningful future to work toward, a meaningful Kingdom to eagerly wait for. But how do we look toward the future? How do we eagerly wait for the Kingdom of God? Our passage this morning continues in verses 34-36 to explain the traps that await us in our waiting. We may easily fall prey to the concerns of this world, leaving our meaningful future expectations and embracing the fleeting nature of the world. We turn our focus away from the coming Kingdom of God, the future Hope, and begin looking only inward. We begin to care only for ourselves. It is here that the author of Luke refers to drunkenness and dissipation, to carelessness and forgetfulness. We cannot debase life by becoming selfish, forgetting the ever-lasting promise of God. Instead we must rely on God for the strength and courage to persevere through our difficult times. We must pray and commune with our source of Hope and Endurance. We must fully embrace God's Promise.

We can not debase life, we must instead up-build the Kingdom of God. We must do all of this in light of the Hope we have in our life's meaning, in Christ's power. Actions must accompany our Hope, lest our Hope only be fanciful wish-making. When we forget the Promise of God, then our Hope loses its power, its force. We lose our strength, our perseverance, our courage. Let that not be the case today. Let us look upon God and not ourselves. May our Hope be in the One who Promised us Redemption. May we embrace and not debase the life we have been given, so that we may build up the Kingdom of Hope, the Kingdom of God. This first advent Sunday, truly embrace the Hope that exists in God's Kingdom. Wait in anticipation and expectation, but also participate because of your longing. We make our anticipation and expectation real in our participation. So participate in your Hope, build up God's Kingdom.

Benediction:

May the God of Hope and Love ground us in Mercy and Grace. May we find the Hope that You have Promised through the word's and deeds of the Risen Christ. May we not forget the future implications of the Christmas season, the Kingdom that Christ ushered forth. But may we also not forget that this is an incomplete Kingdom, one that needs our hands and feet, our mouths and ears, our thoughts and prayers. This is the Kingdom of Redemption, of Hope, and of God. Let us be renewed in the anticipation, expectation, participation, and longing for that Hope. For it is in the Christ that are made whole, and in Christ that we go forth in Hope. Amen.

The Coming Kingdom of Advent

As you may be well aware, next week begins Advent. As I thought about our scripture passage this morning, I felt it would be appropriate to direct our attention to the coming season of Advent so that we might be reminded of its significance. So, for those of you who do not know, the word advent means “coming” or “arrival” and the Christian calendar celebrates Advent during the four Sundays preceding Christmas. This is a time to prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of that first coming of Christ remembered in the holiday of Christmas. Advent focuses our attention on the scriptural prophecies and gospel narratives surrounding the event and meaning of the in-breaking Christ. So today, as we worship, let us begin to reflect on the significance of the Advent season by examining its meaning in the life of our church.

As you have noticed in the past, and as you will see in the coming weeks, our church will decorate with several important colors and objects. First, the color of the Advent season is purple. This is a color used to represent penitence and fasting as well as a royal color to usher in the celebration of Christ the King. But this color is not peculiar to the Advent season. Purple is also the color of suffering and sacrifice used during the Lent and Easter season. Thus, there is an important connection being made by way of the common color: the birth of Christ cannot be separated from his death. The in-breaking of God's love in the birth and life of Christ is intimately related and filled with meaning through the death and resurrection of that same Christ. Thus, the Purple of advent is completed, in a sense, by the purple of the Lent and Easter season.

Although the abundance of Red and Green seem inseparable from Christmas, they do not have meaning specific to Advent as a formal event during the church calendar. However, those colors do have meaning. There are old European practices which incorporated the notions of continuing life and hope through the ever-green and holly. Thus, Red and Green became representational colors for on-going life and ever-lasting hope. So although these colors are not formal Advent colors, they do provide additional meaning as we mindfully worship.

The decoration of the sanctuary with different greens is an important and meaningful display that pertains to the above colors. The tree, boughs, and wreathe signify the ever-lasting life found in the in-breaking Christ. A central component to Advent is the presence of the Advent wreathe. The wreathe acts as a story teller of meaning. Each part of the Advent wreathe has a unique meaning which works with every other part to tell a meaningful and powerful story. It is in the notion of a circle that we find its particular power and meaning. A circle represents the infinite or the unending. There is neither a beginning nor an end to a circle. Thus, the circle is “ever-lasting.” As a result, the circular wreathe has a two-fold eternal emphasis. The ever-green has an ever-lasting—symbolically eternal—color of life, and is shaped in the never-ending—symbolically eternal—circle. The church uses these colors and shapes to bring our attention to the eternal God who provides ever-lasting and life-giving hope through the gift of Love.

In addition, the wreathe contains candles which possess their own unique meanings that help to narrate the wreathe story. Anchored to the life-giving and eternal wreathe are candles which offer light. Here we find meaning in the Light of God offered to the world through the in-breaking Christ. Christ provides the night-dispelling light by which we are transformed from a life of bondage to a life of freedom. The middle candle is the Christ candle which represents the centrality and foundation of Christ for our lives. Its white color represents the innocence and purity of his message and ministry. The four outer candles represent the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ. As each candle is lit, a century of darkness recedes until Christ bursts into the world and fills the entirety of the world with his light. Thus, the totality of the wreathe narrates a story of God's eternal Love anticipated and then given through the Christ event.

All of the Advent objects and colors help us to focus on the spirit of Advent. This is truly a time of expectation, anticipation, preparation, and yearning or longing. We are the children of God who expect the fulfillment of God's promises in the completion of God's Kingdom. We anticipate its establishment and completion by preparing for it. We prepare through active participation in the up-building of God's Kingdom, following the direction and guidance of Christ. We long and yearn for that time to be now, faithfully persevering the difficulties that accompany an incomplete Kingdom. Thus, Advent directs our attention to the sustaining force of our longing to see the Kingdom made complete: Christ. The hope we have in Christ as God's in-breaking Love produces the desire to see the Kingdom made complete.

So what about this Kingdom? What about this incomplete Kingdom that asks for us to contribute to its establishment? Turn with me to our text this morning; turn to John 18. As you do, please be reminded of the spirit of Advent. Keep in mind that we are readying ourselves to be in a spirit of expectation, anticipation, preparation and longing. To be in this spirit we must understand the nature of that Kingdom toward which we move in expectation, anticipation, preparation, and longing.

John 18: 33-37

In our scripture passage this morning, the author of John's Gospel leads us to the issue of Kingdom in this exchange between Pilate and Jesus. In every situation where we find Jesus, we must ask ourselves what reason the author has in recording this event. It is clear here that this event is important in understanding the nature of the Kingdom. In Greek, the word for “kingdom” is basileia, but it is not used in the same sense by Jesus and Pilate. Pilate, a Roman governor, recognized Herod as one of the two “kings” to the Jews. Although the position of king, or tetrarch, was actually a puppet institution for the Roman government at this time, Pilate is using the word “kingdom” to refer to this particular political and measurable space within the Palestinian world. Thus, Pilate inquires about what it is that Jesus has done. Has he claimed kingship? If so, then that would be a seditious claim against Rome deserving death. But Jesus immediately clarifies Pilate's clouded terminology.

In using the political sense of the term Kingdom, Pilate is placing Jesus into a specific time and place that does not adequately reflect the reality of the divine Christ. The divine aspect of Christ prevents the Kingdom from being merely a political, geographic space within this world. Thus, the messianic Kingdom talk transforms the this-worldly “term” into a transcendent other-worldly idea with no location in time and space. Jesus tries to explain this idea a little more succinctly when he says that “My Kingdom is not from this world” (v. 36). Jesus could not have claimed to be the King of the Jews if this meant sedition against Rome. Rather, Jesus meant that to be King of the Jews was to usher in the Kingdom of God in which there were no physical boundaries. In fact, Paul carries out this notion when he talks about the physical distinction of circumcision. In creating a transcendent kingdom, Christ has transcended the very physical distinctions that were typical in Jewish faith.

These are the famous words of Paul in Galatians: “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (3:28).

So what is this Kingdom that causes us to stand in expectation, anticipation, preparation, and longing? It is a Kingdom that is not of this world. It is a Kingdom marked by no physical boundaries because it transcends those distinctions. This is a Kingdom in which we are all one in Christ Jesus, liberated from a life of bondage by the ever-lasting gift of God's Love. This is the Kingdom of Light, ushered in by Christ, for all who would accept the Gracious Kindness of God's Mercy. It knows no time. It knows no place. It is in this world, but not of this world. It is expected, anticipated, prepared, and longed for by the people in this world. But it is not for people of this world. It is for God's children. The people of God.

So this morning, as we reflect on the beautiful meaning and power of advent, in its story-telling wreathe and significant colors, remember the spirit of Advent which draws our attention toward the up-building and establishment of God's Kingdom. May our lives reflect the expectation, anticipation, preparation, and longing that is necessary for the completion of the Kingdom of God. May we be ever mindful of the glorious story that we take part in, a story that is told in the wreathe of advent as well as in the heart of each Christian here this morning. May we not forget the power and meaning of the Advent season as we worship and exalt the Most Glorious, Most High, Almighty God. For this is a God that is eternal in being and in love, offering us life-giving Grace in Jesus the Christ.

Benediction:

May the God of Love and Kindness fill us with the courage and strength to build up the Kingdom of God. May we exalt the God who ushered in the Kingdom through Christ by devoting our words, thoughts, and actions to the purpose of completing that Kingdom. Let us not be bound by fear, selfishness, or weakness, but willingly strive to see the work of the Most High God done on this earth. For we live and love in this world, but not of this world. We live and love those in this world, recognizing they have worth and value beyond this world. Let us not forget these things in our busy lives of work, learning, and leisure. May our spirits embrace the Advent season, and may our lives bring Glory to God. Amen.

Remembering Thanks

What a wonderful time of year this is. We are at the threshold of a beautiful season, beginning with our thanks and transitioning into a time of gift-giving, all wrapped up in the celebration and warmth of friends and family. This is truly a blessed time. As we gather together to worship as a community of faith, I hope that we can take this opportunity to recognize that we have much to be thankful for. We have much to rejoice about, much that we can offer up to the Glory of God. But I must confess that although this season is new for 2006, it is also cyclical and repetitious in our lives, happening again and again and again with each new year. And that very cycle and repetition concerns me. It concerns me because like anything we do over and over again, it is easy to fall prey to that cliché phrase: “Going through the motions.” It is so easy to forget the profound meaning of Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas, that we often do not realize we have forgotten it. We simply do those things we have always done. So this evening I hope we can reflect upon the meaning of giving thanks, what it means for us as Christians who enter into this most glorious Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanksgiving does not mean football, although that particular religion does have a significant role in the holiday festivities for many families. Yes, I did say the religion of football, because it does have elements of religious worship and ritual which have become an influential part of our current society and culture. But as we, in our Christian tradition, interpret Thanksgiving, let us not think that the Bears, the Cowboys, or the Lions occupy the central meaning. Your Thanksgivings might easily be soured if your whole understanding is centered on football, because your team might easily lose. Thanksgiving is built upon the notion of Thanks, of offering up our Thanks, of celebrating in Thanks. So what is this thing we call thanks?

The definition of Thanks you might find in your dictionary--had you brought it tonight--would read something like this: Thanks: gratitude, recognition of responsibility. If we trace back the meaning of the word thanks in its history of use we will discover that “think” and “thank” share the same origin in Latin, stemming from the verb “to know.” As a result, “thank” gets developed throughout the history of Germanic and English language as a certain type of knowledge. In Old English, “thanc” is related to thought. Thus, the meaning of thanks, as we use it now, becomes clearer when we notice that the term is a type of thought, particularly a grateful one. Our definition mentioned gratitude, but it also mentioned recognition of responsibility; the deliberate thinking about who or what brought about our gratitude.

And gratitude needs to be further understood as well. Gratitude is a positive emotion of indebtedness. Often this emotion seeks to be satisfied with a return favor because it is so overwhelming. So when we put it all together, when we understand Thanks in light of gratitude and knowledge, we see that Thanks is a thought demonstrating indebtedness.

If you would turn in your bibles to Psalms 100: 4-5, I believe we will see a very famous example of how the Psalmist understood giving thanks.

Our Psalmist specifically recognized God as Good, Loving and Faithful. In using the term thanksgiving, the psalmist directs us toward an indebtedness that we should have to God's Goodness, Faithfulness, and Love. Why is God Good, Faithful, and Loving? The entirety of Psalm 100 praises God for being the source of life and for taking care of God's people. God has taken care of God's people through the redemption of our transgressions. In this, God has brought us hope. But what's more, God has provided us with the beauty of being in fellowship with the Almighty One.

So here we come to understand the way we use the term Thanks, what it means for us to give God thanks. But there is more to this holiday, for it has a historical origin. Every year in
November school children are taught about the first Thanksgiving. In this event the children of our nation are given the beautiful story of a peaceful feast between the newly arrived Pilgrims and the local native population of Wampanoag “Indians.” The Thanksgiving feast celebrated the gratitude of the Pilgrims toward their friendly Wampanoag neighbors. These Native Americans had not only been kind, but generously aided the Pilgrims by teaching productive farming techniques to the European new-comers. The welcoming relationship that was fostered and the food-stocks that were harvested were worth celebrating and feasting. Thanksgiving became an event to remember and enjoy the bounty of life's blessings by partaking in the blessing of sustenance in company and fellowship. The thanks that were offered positively “remembered” and rejoiced over the gift of friendship and survival. Now, many years removed from this historical event, we continue to offer our thanks, our remembrance, our joy. This is a day of feasting and celebration, often in new and unique ways which bring to the fore of our mind the provisions we have richly received. We give God thanks for being Good, Faithful, and Loving to us, God's indebted people.

There is a final aspect to thanks that is intimately related to the word's origin and use in terms of thought. In a sense, to give thanks is to remember. If there is an absence of thought, then there cannot be thanks. We cannot forget when we give thanks, for thanks requires the thoughtful confession of past fortune to appreciate present circumstances.

What good, then, is it to forget? I am sure many of you are better at forgetting than others. Some of you may have even forgotten that you forget. Now regardless of age or heredity, even the those of us who remember “everything” have difficulty remembering when we don't stop to contemplate and reflect upon the past. We have difficulty giving thanks for those things we appreciate when we forget why it is that these things are so valuable. Thanksgiving Day cannot be a day in which we forget the past circumstances which have led us to our present situation. For the bountiful richness of life we now enjoy is a direct result of our past fortunes. But it is not only a result of our past fortunes, it is also a result of our past mis-fortunes. The bounty of Thanksgiving resides in the realization that we have made our past mistakes and circumstances presently, positively meaningful through a God that is Good, Faithful, and Loving.

The idea of remembrance is a profound notion within the history of our Faith. It stretches back to the Israelites many thousands of years ago. But remembrance was also embraced by another religious tradition which traces its origin back to the Israelites. Within Islamic Theology, the idea of dhikr is both central and important to Muslim Faith. Dhikr is divine remembrance. For Muslims, one of the gravest sins is to forget God, Allah. Thus, there is a special place for Remembrance within Islamic Theology which places emphasis upon not forgetting Allah and Allah's divine goodness.

This understanding and focus upon Remembrance is central to our scripture passage this morning.

Turn with me to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 4.

Deuteronomy 4: 23

In this passage we are brought back to Moses' teachings about Idolatry. As the second of the 10 commandments, Idolatry is considered a terrible, grievous sin toward Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But let's not dive into the idea of idolatry as much as recognize an important phrase used here in our text. The words, “take care, lest you forget” is a formula to designate importance. In an oral culture where words could not be recounted unless they were remembered, the memory served an important religious function. The memory provided the slate for recording the acts of God and God's commands in the life of the common Israelite. Thus, in order to keep the Law of God, one had to first remember and then do the Will of God. Simply forgetting the Law of God was a passive rejection of God with grave consequences.
Flip a page or so to Deuteronomy 6:10, reading through verse 12.

Once again we find the all-important phrase “take care, lest you forget.” But in this passage we find that Remembrance is directly linked to the blessing of the promised land. The Israelites are instructed to remember, to not forget, the God who removed them from slavery and delivered them into the bountiful riches of a promised land where they could live and worship. To uphold this remembrance, the Israelites celebrated Pesach, or Passover, to commemorate this very liberation from slavery in the land of Egypt.

This notion of remembrance should inform us in our celebration of Thanksgiving. Like the Passover, Thanksgiving should be a time of remembrance and worship. We should give God our thoughts of gratitude for being Good, Faithful, and Loving. We should recognize our indebtedness by acknowledging that it is God who alleviates our insufficiency. But notice this, if we do not remember our insufficiency, if we do not recognize that we are in debt, then we cannot be grateful, and we cannot give thanks. In our scripture passage, the Israelites were told to remember the God who delivered them from slavery, who brought them out of the evil that surrounded them. God gave their suffering new meaning by redeeming them into fellowship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in a land flowing with Milk and Honey.

We too, cannot forget our indebtedness. We cannot forget the fact that we have been plagued by sin. We also, cannot forget that we have suffered and been surrounded by evil. Each of us here has a story of sin, the evil you are responsible for, and a story of suffering, the evil you are not responsible for. God is Good, Faithful, and Loving because God has brought meaning and hope to both of those stories. God has redeemed your sin and offered you hope and meaning in your circumstances. There is not one thing that we should not give to God in thanks. Like the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Native Americans, let us offer up to God our Thanks for the abundance of God's blessing in Goodness, Faith, and Love. We can give thanks to God for our nation, which provides a national holiday where we can reflect and remember the past. But let us not forget.

Before we close, I want to leave you with the often untold story of the Wampanoag. These Native Americans occupied a place among the estimated 40 million indigenous people of America. Despite the beauty and joy of the first Thanksgiving event, over the course of the next hundred years or so, by 1650, there were less than 10 million Natives. This was the direct result of disease on the one hand, but also a systematic slaughtering on the other. The destruction of more than 30 million people resulted from a genocidal sin that saturated the origin of our nation. We tread their blood beneath our feet. This is an equally important thing to remember as we celebrate Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving marks a special day to celebrate the peculiar and uncommon friendly fellowship between Native and European. But it is not a day to overlook and forget the brutality and malice of our nation's history. We must give thanks because we have been redeemed despite our present sinfulness, and our past history of sin and evil. We are an unclean people of an unclean nation who need the cleansing forgiveness of a Good, Faithful, and Loving God. Let us not forget our past, our debts, our sin and our suffering. These things are equally important to acknowledge so that we might embrace our redemption by a loving and gracious God. A God who, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, gives us new hope and meaning.

So this Thanksgiving, as you celebrate with family and friends, “take care, lest you forget.” Take time to remember the truth of a Good, Faithful, and Loving God who is worthy of our gratitude. Give thanks to God, our Glorious redeemer.

God is Love

I struggled to come up with an appropriate sermon topic for this morning's message. Since I have the privilege of delivering the message this evening at the community Thanksgiving service, I thought it might be a little too much to focus on the issue of Thanks this morning. So instead of delivering a message about how to give thanks, or what thanks means, or our responsibility to be thankful, I thought I would touch on a scripture that provides us with something to be thankful for. And now this might seem basic, it might seem too simple, but I think the idea we will find in our passage this morning is often lost in the shuffle of Christian life and activity. Turn with me to our text.

Text 1 John 4: 7-12

There are about fifty sermon topics packed into this single passage from the author of the epistle of 1 John. But let's focus in on the heart of this message: Love. The first observation we should make is that the source of all Love is God. God produces Love. God is the spring, the generator, the creator of Love. There is not Love without God. The next observation is a little astounding: whoever loves is of God. Well, if you are like me, that seems like quite a radical jump. But I think that the connection is made quite clearly at the end of verse 8: God IS Love. Thus, if God is Love, and one possesses Love, then one possesses God. In other words, if you Love, then you are of God. God's presence saturates your being when you Love.

In a book written by Dr. Richard Selzer, there is a story that recounts an event surrounding one of his patients who underwent surgery for a facial tumor. The doctor found himself next to his patient's bed witnessing something that he attributed to the presence of God. He writes:

I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face postoperative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be thus from now on. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had to cut the little nerve. Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily?

The young woman speaks. "Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks.

"Yes," I say, "it will. It is because the nerve was cut."

She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. "I like it," he says, "It is kind of cute." All at once I know who he is. I understand and I lower my gaze. One is not bold in an encounter with a god. Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works.

The doctor, in his amazement of the young husband's love, recognizes him as a god. Why is that? Did the doctor truly think this young man was Ra, Zeus, Shiva, or Yahweh? I wouldn't venture to say that Dr. Selzer actually thought he had before him a God among Gods. What I believe this doctor recognized was that this young man possessed a God-like attribute, something peculiar that seems to point beyond self-absorbed humanity. This young man had Love. Genuine Love. Real Love. And, as our text explains this morning, since God is Love, our doctor friend immediately realized the presence of God. This young man, filled with Love, was filled with God.

Our passage this morning goes on to explain a further step in understanding the relationship between God and Love. Not only is it true that God is the very Love we see in the world, but God also Loves us from outside the world. God, the Almighty One, transcends our world. There is a song that says: “God is bigger than the air we breathe, the world we'll leave.” If this is true, then God, being in very nature Love, is not only within the world, but is transcendent and therefore outside the world. This Love from outside the world is the very idea of unconditional love. Our world is full of conditions. Our lives are full of conditions. There is always something that influences the situation, be it time, physical location, or people. These conditions of experience do not apply to the entirety of God's Love. God, being Love, Loves us inside our world and outside of it. God Loves us in our conditioned life, but with an unconditioned Love that is from Above. Time, location, and other people do not hinder God and God's Love.

Our passage of scripture points us toward God's unconditional, un-earthly Love: Christ. Jesus Christ is the un-earthly Love of God breaking into our world. The Love we find in Christ's sacrifice for the atonement of our sins not only demonstrates the supreme example of Love for our own actions, but is also the in-breaking Love of God that allows us to taste true, unconditional Love for ourselves. For God Loved us! What a thing to be thankful for. What a thing to rejoice and be glad about. God Loved us!! But what's more, God still Loves us!! Christ is not a one-time deal, but the eternal in-breaking of God's Love!! There is no condition on the Love of God as expressed through Christ. Christ is the condition-less expression of God, the transcendent nature of God's Love being shoved into a life of ministry, death, and resurrection.

So this Thursday, as you are celebrating Thanksgiving with friends, family, or anyone that might accompany you, be reminded of the Love of God; the amazing, beautiful Love of God. Be reminded that God's presence is marked by the Love that is seen in our world. As the famous hymn is entitled: “They will Know we are Christians by our Love.” Remember that this is true, for just as Christ was the eternal in-breaking of Love, we are the current expression of God's Love for those around us. Never forget that we must bring God to the world, and that the only way to make this happen is to Love; and to do it abundantly.

Let us Sing.

Hymn.

Benediction:

God of Love and Grace, may we be ever thankful for the Gift of Love that you sent into our World. Let us rejoice always in the bounty and majesty of your servant, Jesus Christ, who gave to us the truth of divine Love through the Cross. May we never forget the reality of God in Love, so that we might be inclined to be missionaries of Love in all of our thoughts, words, and actions. And Gracious God grant us the perseverance to Love with the eternal in-breaking Love of Christ despite the conditions that surround us. For in Christ we Love, and in Christ we are Loved. In all of this, we are Thankful.

Amen.

The Suffering Widow

The church and money, money and the church. It seems inevitable that the topic of church funding and believer tithing should crop up. And as I was researching for this very sermon I discovered that the Disciple's lectionary included the text regarding the offering of the poor widow. So here I was, wavering between the lectionary text and the distaste for preaching on such a “tricky” topic. I have never been one to take church offering and donation lightly. I recognize its importance in the life of any church. I also understand the importance of committing financially to this church at this particular time in its history. However, I find it very challenging to encourage other's to give, especially when it can be construed that faith, grace, or salvation is somehow intricately related to the value or sincerity of the gift. In fact, it is not only this possibility that makes me wary, but it is also the very presence of such a perspective in our culture today. There are churches all over our nation and ministries all over the world which equate financial offering and faith, wealth and blessing.

Where might you find this theological understanding? Maybe you have stumbled upon a televangelist on a sleepless night. If you have, you probably sat and listened to their captivating stories of faith, blessing, and healing. They offer their message with power and passion, confidently attempting to bring about a new faith within television viewers. I often sense their energy and listen for their solutions to life's most difficult problems. And maybe you have done the same. Many times as I skip from channel to channel looking for something worthwhile to watch, I stumble upon a zealous preacher proclaiming the transforming power of Christ and promising their viewers unfathomable riches and blessings.

I hear stories of broken—and often broke—individuals who have received blessing—often financial—from giving their lives over to God. The televangelist time and time again instructs his or her viewers to have a true faith measured by the willingness of financial donation. The televangelist confidently promises that healing, blessing, and riches are promised to those who give of themselves, specifically through monetary contributions to God's work. And what better way to give to God's work than to give heartily to the very program or network that has inspired the new-found faith? After a few stories of miraculous healings attributed to the financial gifts of disease ridden Christians, we are asked to follow the words of Old Testament prophets and give so that God might give unto us. We are left with the promises of God seeming so close. All that needs to be done is call the telephone number and pledge an amount. We are told that sowing this seed will bring us the fruit of our grandest desires. Desires that God wants to and will satisfy, provided we give enough.

If you are familiar with this process, you may understand its peculiar use and interpretation of certain biblical texts. This message, often named the “Health and Wealth Gospel,” establishes a financial relationship between God and believer. Here, the gifts of believers demonstrate the faith required to receive further blessing from God. Thus, the conclusion is that healing and wealth can only come when individuals test the limits of their financial security. This is often supported by texts from the Hebrew Bible along with scattered New Testament passages.

But I can't help but ask myself a few important questions: Is God's Blessing that of financial riches or spiritual growth? Can God bless us without giving us wealth, health, or security? Is it possible for our faith to be adequately measured by the degree of monetary investment we make within a ministry or organization? Despite the message of the televangelist, there are more ways to demonstrate our Faith than with gifts to TBN or other televised ministries. Moreover, God's blessing is not limited to financial wealth or physical healing. There is power and richness in suffering and persecution. In addition, there is an equally great need for gifts of time, participation, and effort to ministries in our local community, in our state, in our nation, and abroad. When we boil down the message of the Health and Wealth Gospel, we see a suspect relationship between God and Humanity along with a suspicious accumulation of funds by televangelists and their organizations.

This is the very shaky theology that makes me hesitant to preach a sermon on tithing and our financial responsibility to the church and its ministry. But it is also this very misconception of church finance and believer tithing that inspires me to touch on this subject. And what better way to tackle such a topic than with a text that is often misinterpreted. Our passage this morning is repeatedly used to inspire everyone, poor and rich, young and old, ignorant and wise to make enormous financial sacrifice for the church and God's ministry. What is omitted, what is left out, is the very context of this passage and the attitude of Jesus toward the religious system that is being described. Today, this morning, you have the opportunity to witness the radical nature of Jesus' ministry and his passionate displeasure with the social ills that pervaded the religious scene. We will observe a dedicated widow, but we will not overlook the corrupt system that drove widows into destitution and poverty.

Turn with me to our text this morning.

Mark 12:38-40

If you have joined us in bible study over the past few weeks, you will remember that as we studied the book of Matthew the theme of “Hypocrisy” became extremely important to Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus sought inner purity and motive, not outer demonstration for the good of personal glory. Jesus lambasted the empty actions of the religious leaders of his day, something that surely left those very leaders frustrated and angry. Here, in our passage this morning, we find Mark portraying Jesus in much the same light. Jesus, fed up with religious hypocrisy, teaches his disciples not to follow in that folly. He cautions them against the scribes who walk around in long robes and are greeted publicly in the marketplace. These robes would have been readily understood by Mark's readers as lavish dressings made for show and display. The greetings in the marketplace involved common Jewish worshipers prostrating themselves in front of the religious leaders to kiss their feet. The vanity and excess of the scribes, pharisees and religious leaders of the day appears to have driven Jesus virtually insane.

Thus, Jesus' message was not only aimed at his disciples, but it seems to be a radical call for change in the religious system of the day; a system that not only thrives on vanity and worldly glory, but also exploits the weak and vulnerable to achieve this goal. Here, in verse 40, Jesus explicitly mentions the widows' houses being devoured by the scribes. This is not to mean that the scribes ate people's homes, but rather that the estates of widows were being exploited to benefit the religious leaders of the time. Often, widows were looked after by the “scribes” and Jesus seems to understand that they were being taken advantage of; used for their possessions and monies to support a religious system that paraded in vanity and hypocrisy.
Given Jesus' displeasure for the religious leaders and their actions, we turn to a specific example of scribal exploitation. Return with me to our text. Verse 41.

Given the context of Jesus' recent teachings, it is almost as if Jesus is bringing his disciples on a field trip to witness the plight of the widow as a definitive example of poor religious leadership and an exploitive religious system. The widow, in all her poverty and need, gives to the offering offering box just as the rich give. But what is amazing here is two-fold: the first important thing to notice here is traditionally understood as the perseverance and virtue of the widow, who having nothing, still gives to God what she feels to be God's. There are no excuses for this woman who willfully sacrifices the source of her future livelihood, all that she has left. She has given out of her poverty more than any of the rich have given out of their abundance.

This first observation usually leads to the conclusion that we, in our abundance, have much that we can give and few excuses to fall back on. The church and God's ministry needs money and offerings and we should be willing to go great lengths to provide such support and funding. However, this is one interpretation I do not believe to be complete unless we fully understand the total intent of Jesus in teaching about this event. Jesus' final words are this: “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, ALL that she had to live on”... and although Jesus does not use the following expression, the context and the mood of Jesus' words seem to be adequately concluded with the phrase: “What a shame!” Jesus is not only drawing our attention to a virtuous widow, but also to the evils of a system where a widow, who should be the recipient of these offerings is actually a contributor. The widow, in all her destitution is still expected to contribute even though it will break her. And this system not only exploits such people as these, but it does so while maintaining a false disguise of piety and religiosity. Ultimately, Jesus is revealing the evils of the religious leadership by not only pointing out their personal flaws and weaknesses, their hypocrisy, but also reveals the systematic evil of a religious society which perpetuates poverty and suffering instead of alleviating it.

This radical message of Jesus may be the very source for his arrest and eventual crucifixion. What we witness in these texts is a man who passionately seeks to overturn the evil, not just personally in individual instruction, but collectively in social reform. Jesus calls for the end of social injustice and exploitation as much as he does for personal purity and repentance. Like a prophet of the Hebrew Bible Jesus makes lasting statements about the nature of society and its religious circumstances. These are not to be taken lightly or swept away to be ignored. Jesus is a radical who brings a profound message aimed at transforming not only people, but peoples. This is a message that will change both individuals and the world.

So today, as we think about our offering and tithing, let us remember the plight of the poor widow. We are not asked to sacrifice our livelihood for the good of the church. No, the church's very aim is to maintain, sustain, and even create the livelihood of its people for the Glory of God. The offering plate should not be seen as an over-whelming source of hardship and suffering. Rather the offering plate should be a beacon of Hope and Love, Grace and Mercy. We who are not in a circumstance of financial poverty should be joyfully willing to give a portion of the abundant blessing we have received already from God. Not so that we might receive more from God, even though we might, but to provide for the ministry of a church that relies on the contributions of its members.

Finally, let us not forget that the contributions we offer extend beyond tithing. God asks that we give to our religious community, and this giving can take many forms. This church desperately needs your time, effort, and energy. This church, as it moves forward with important and lasting projects, begs for your willingness and dedication in many aspects beyond money. Ministry requires people willing to minister, and as much as money can minister, money needs people or it loses its voice and character. Money does not talk, people talk. Money does not comfort, people comfort. Money does not encourage, people encourage. Money does not have a helping hand, people have hands. Money is not God's Love, people must be God's Love. Thus, do not feel as though God requires money for salvation, or that if you cannot give that you are somehow spiritually inferior. God's favor does not rest in wealth and health, but in hope and love.

However, we should also notice that because we have such abundance, we must be willing to give back to God what is truly God's. We cannot excuse ourselves from giving to the church. If we do not have money, give effort and energy. If we lack energy and effort, give time. But do not think that money is all the church needs. And for those of us who do have money, who have been blessed abundantly by the most high God, please give joyfully to the One who sustains your livelihood in generosity. We have much to offer, let us not hinder the work of God out of our selfish ambition and desire for personal gain. We gain only in the Love of God, and that Love is found not only in our personal ministry, but in the collective ministry of this Church. May that be a powerful transforming ministry for the Glory of God. Amen.

Let us Sing.

Benediction:

May the God of Grace and Peace give us strength and courage to pursue God's everlasting Cause of Righteousness and Justice. May the Most High God provide us the means to make such glorious Kingdom a reality. Let us not squander such means, but may we recognize that all we have is truly God's so that we may further God's Will and Way. There are many gifts we have to offer, may we not hoard them up to maintain our own glory, but may we offer them to God's work, to toil in sacrifice and hardship for the Glory of God. For it is in God that all things are given, and in God all things are one day returned. May we wholly step into the offering plate this morning. Amen.

Loving with Agape

Text: Mark 12: 28-34

Have you ever been asked to define love? It's a tough proposition. So many different aspects seem to accompany that concept. There is physical attraction, emotional connection, intellectual stimulation and even elements of the “unknown” or “inexpressible.” I am told that many pages of many books, many stanzas of many poems, and many thoughts of wise women and men have been devoted to investigating the idea and expression of “love.” But what is love anyway? Why is it so difficult to understand, yet so easy to “feel.” Why does it appear that there are never the “right words” to adequately capture and communicate the emotion we possess inside? With all these questions about love, how can we possibly be expected to love God when we can't even grasp that notion between two humans? So today, with the help of Mark's passage, we might try to construct an idea of love that will not only properly describe our relationship to God, but that might inform our understanding of how to interact with those around us.

I once heard an interesting story about two people who seemed to be in love. A young man, still in school was dating a young woman who, after finishing her studies, had began a nursing career. Because she considered their relationship to be quite serious and because she loved the young man so, she offered to help pay for his collegiate expenses. Thus, her income was used to repay the college loans that the young man had taken out to pay for school. As their relationship developed, discussions of engagement and marriage prodded the young man to consider asking his lovely girlfriend to marry him. Unfortunately, this young man did not have the funds to purchase an engagement ring despite his grandest desires to give his loving girlfriend something special. However, there did seem to be one solution.

The young man had been managing his school loans and each additional loan he had needed to take out his girlfriend willingly payed. Thus, the young man thought it quite brilliant to take out an additional “school” loan to acquire the needed cash to pay for an engagement ring. He simply put that additional loan on the list of school loans his girlfriend payed for and “voila”... he now had an expense free gift for his girlfriend to bind them in commitment to one another.
Unfortunately, this “brilliant plan” was concocted without the knowledge or approval of the girlfriend. Needless to say, she was quite impressed with the expensive engagement ring that her boyfriend gave her, never realizing she paid for it herself.

As funny as this circumstance is, it does lead us to a few important questions. Is this a demonstration of love? Would you, in the girlfriend's position, consider this to be an expression of love or a deceitfully sly maneuver to remain financially afloat? Is there something missing from this gift? I hope that despite your chuckles you see through this young man's error to realize that true Love requires sacrifice. There is something about “doing it the easy way” that detracts from the young man's gift. The uneasiness we have in accepting this method of acquiring such a gift is rooted not solely in the lack of honesty, but in the mirage of this ring as a “gift.” The engagement ring was not a gift because it was not the young man's to give. The dishonesty surrounding the ring stems from the very fact that the young man used someone else's money to provide the ring, and thus did not sacrifice himself for it.

The love that the young man signaled to the young woman through the ring does not seem complete. Yet, we cannot deny that the young man probably possessed an attraction and friendship with her. I think this story begins to hint at the downfall of the English word for Love. You see, in Greek there existed several distinct and different words for love: eros, philia, and agape. Eros, the root of our English 'erotic', means passionate attachment. It was narrowly understood to be a recognition of beauty. However, the connotation surrounding eros was physical. Usually it was employed to describe physical, romantic love.

Philia, found in words like Philadelphia (“city of brotherly love”), meant the love between friends. This bond of “friendship” was often considered to culminate in the mutual recognition of compassion and loyalty between two people. This kind of love might be understood as the bedrock of all other notions of love, for it provides the foundation by which any relationship can be cultivated. Yet, in itself, philia is not the totality of love. For there is yet another form: agape. This third way of expressing love is considered self-giving, for it is a sacrificial compassion. Although Philia culminates in compassion agape requires compassion to be more than a feeling, but an action. The self-giving nature of this compassion is almost entirely idealistic; meaning that it is difficult if not impossible for us to attain. Yet I believe this is the distinction we make when we say: “Do you love her, or do you love her?” I think that agape was left out of the equation in our story of the young man, thus making his love seem incomplete.

Now, let us return to our text this morning and investigate how God asks us to love by understanding the type of love to which God calls us. To give us some context, we need to remember that Jesus had been approached by the Sadducees on the issue of the Resurrection. Now what is important to understand here is that the Pharisees and the Sadducees are not exactly two loving arms of the same religion. The Jewish religious landscape at the time of Jesus was splattered with divisions much like Protestant Christianity is today with denominational divide. The Sadduccees were the protectors of the temple cult, meaning they administered sacrifices at the temple. The Pharisees were more concerned with the strict obedience of the more rigorous “oral law”. This was an additional system of laws outside the Torah. The Pharisees believed that if a Jewish person were to follow the oral law, they would naturally obey the written law. The Sadducees rejected this notion of the oral law as well as other teachings of the Pharisees. One of their biggest disagreements was about the nature of the Resurrection.

The Pharisees adamantly maintained that there would be resurrection of the dead, but the Sadducees vehemently denied this. Thus, when the Sadducees approached Jesus on the issue of the Resurrection, they were more or less testing out his theological beliefs to discover if he aligned with their understandings. In Jesus' response to them he supports the idea that God is the God of Resurrection. Naturally, the Pharisees would be very happy with this response. And it is described just that way. Look at verse 28.

A scribe, one of the Pharisees, found that Jesus answered well. He agreed whole-heartedly with Jesus' rejection of the Sadducees theological beliefs. Thus, this scribe genuinely asks Jesus a question, not out of contempt or trial, but out of interest. And Jesus answers him very succinctly. First Jesus offers to the scribe what was known as the shema. This is found in Deuteronomy Chapter 6, verse 4 and can be what we might call a Jewish “statement of faith”: “Hear , O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One” (v. 29). Jesus then continues to quote the fifth verse of Deuteronomy 6 by saying how it is that we are to love God. Finally, Jesus quotes Leviticus 19:34 when he offers the “second” commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 31).

The very concise view of the entire Law that Jesus provides is not necessarily original to Jesus. Rabbi Hillel, a contemporary of Jesus, offered similar understandings when he was quoted as saying: That which is hateful to thy self, do not do to thy neighbor; this is the whole law and the rest but commentary. Go and learn.” But what Jesus does uniquely here is not simply sum up the law into basic propositions, but he provides insight into how we go about those basic propositions.

The key passage is in the idea of loving God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Jesus tells the scribe that the most important things is to love, but not with any kind of love, with a specific type of love. This is a love of the entire personality. It covers the mind, the emotions, and the will. The “heart” in Hebrew understanding was the seat of man's thinking. The “soul” was considered to be the spring of man's will and feelings. The “mind” was the source of intelligence and thought, and was often interchangeable with the Hebrew conception of “heart.” The Hebrew perspective on “strength” was that it represented the physical power and being of man. Thus, this collection of words points toward the entire personality, the whole “being.” There is nothing with which we can hold back in our love of God. It is a complete and total orientation of the self.

Given the different Greek words for love, it is entirely obvious and sensible that the word Mark uses in our passage this morning is agape. We are called to give our entire selves to God and this giving is sacrificial. It is what it means to Love God as God. And thus, when we can devote ourselves entirely to God in self-giving Love, we can then properly Love those around us. This understanding of Love was made complete in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus is both a model for us, and an expression for God. Jesus models a complete devotion to God in Love and Obedience, and then models ultimate sacrifice for others in his death for all humanity. But Here we also see the supreme demonstration of God's agape for humanity through Jesus. God loved us all supremely, in that we are offered Grace through Jesus' death.

The scribal Pharisee affirms Jesus' words saying “You are right, Teacher” (v. 32). He too believes that these commandments are more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices of the temple cult, which is why he became a Pharisee and not a Sadducee. But it is more than affirming his political name within Judaism, it is an admission that Jesus is correct in his understanding of Love. Thus, Jesus responds “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” This is not the future Kingdom, but the Kingdom that would begin upon the death and resurrection of Christ. The Kingdom of forgiveness and Grace, of Righteousness and Good Work. This is the Kingdom of Love and Sacrifice. The scribe has thus made his place in this Kingdom through his recognition of true Love.

This morning, as you reflect on the words of Jesus written in Mark, ask yourself if you have completely committed yourself to God. Have you made God the object of a self-sacrificing Love? Or have you fallen short and not truly given of yourself? Are you holding to a friendship and passionate attachment like the young man who bought the engagement ring with his girlfriend's money? Or are you truly in Love with God?

No matter how you answer that this morning, the Good News is that God is truly in Love with you. He has supreme agape for you and longs for you to seek after that same love for God and God's people. Will you do that this morning? Will you commit yourself to God and God's people this morning? I pray that you will.

Come. Let us sing.

Hymn.

Benediction: May the God of Grace and Love shower his blessings upon you as you toil and work for the furthering of God's Kingdom. May you fully realize the depth and beauty of God's Love so that you can return it to God and to God's people. There is nothing more Glorious than to feel the presence of the Almighty God wrapping God's arms around you in protection, mercy, and compassion. May that be the reality of our embrace as well, that we would wrap our arms around those who need our protection, mercy and compassion. Let us Love the Lord our God with all our Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength, and Love our Neighbor as ourself. There is nothing greater than this for the rest is just commentary. May we go, Love, and learn. Amen.