Mark 5:9-17

Mark 5:9-17 

The Message 

  Change can be terrifying.  The Pharisees faced this -- they saw Jesus' ministry as a threat to their power, and so they opposed Jesus out of fear of change.  In this story, the villagers came to see Jesus and saw a madman who was calm and a herd of pigs that was drowned in the sea.  Everything they knew was turned upside-down, and out of fear, they urged Jesus away from them.  

  Jesus demands that we, too, change.  He demands that we turn from our selfish ways and learn to think of God first, and others second.  It's a hard change, and it can be inherently scary for us.  If we think of ourselves last, who will look out for us?  What might happen to us?  Will we have enough?  

  It's a tremendous act of trust, to believe that God holds us so tightly in the palm of his hand that we need not look out for ourselves.  We are safe in God's hands, and this frees us from worrying about ourselves, frees us to look towards others first.

  It requires us to change, but in changing, we discover there is abundant grace.

Sermon for November 29, 2020

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 

English Standard Version 

  Have a safe, happy, blessed, and healthy Thanksgiving!  May the power and grace of God fill your hearts with the love of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit reminds you that nothing in this world can separate you from God!

Mark 5:1-8

Mark 5:1-8 

The Message 

  This passage has always intrigued me by the way it starts.  The madman comes up to Jesus.  The madman has been rejected by every community, and yet he finds hope in Jesus.  All other hope has fled, some of it restraining him in chains, but he's not afraid of Jesus.  There is something about Jesus.  And when he approaches Jesus, he isn't disappointed -- his hope is well-placed.

  Friends, if everything else in the world has rejected you, know there is still hope in Jesus.  If all else has fallen apart, don't be afraid to run to Jesus.  He won't reject you.  Your hope is not misplaced in him.  He will not turn from you in your moment of need.  Trust in Him, and you will find open arms.

Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41 

The Message 

  I have shouted into the wind many times.  I have done so out of frustration with the weather, out of frustration with my own choices.  I have done so out of grief at the loss of a loved one.  I have done so out of anger at the way society has trampled upon individuals and groups.  I have shouted in the wind, and the wind has drowned out my voice.  To quote great philosophy from James Bond movies, I have felt like a kite dancing in a hurricane.

  When we turn to Jesus, however, we turn to one whose voice has power over the wind, over the waves.  Nowhere in Scripture does it promise us that we'll never be in a boat that feels like it's sinking in the midst of a storm.  The disciples, who have the physical manifestation of God in the boat with them, are still terrified that they're going to drown in the middle of the lake.  So yes, it's ok to be scared and yes, it's ok to be afraid and yes, it's ok to ask God to intervene in your life.

  Jesus answers.  

  Jesus answers on God's timetable, not ours.  Jesus doesn't always answer when the winds pick up before the waves start to bash us.  Jesus sometimes waits until the waves are pouring into the boat, and then he speaks to the wind and the waves, and they obey.  When Jesus speaks to the storm, the storm listens, and the storm hears, and the storm obeys, and the disciples are saved.  

  You will be saved.  No matter how threatening the storm.  No matter how high the waves.  No matter how many times you wonder if Jesus is asleep and all is lost.   

  You will be saved.  The boat will not sink.  2020 will not claim us all.  

  Even in the storm, there is hope.

Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-34 

The Message 

  Who gets the credit for the growth of a seed?  Is it the farmer?  The farmer does some work, but once the seed is in the ground, germination is beyond the farmer's control.  The farmer can water the seed, but ultimately control rests in God's hands.

  Notice how Jesus starts where people are -- they are a people used to a farmer's life, so they understand how Jesus speaks to them.  If Jesus were to arrive in Columbus today, he likely wouldn't talk about seeds and planting, but I'm guessing he'd talk about GPS and internet connectivity.  He'd help us see how working from home and ordering everything online is a sign of God's work in the world.  God's Kingdom would be compared to our modern world.  

  Truth is timeless.  The Word is timeless.  Much has changed, but God's Word remains as applicable today as it was then.  

Mark 4:21-25

Mark 4:21-25 

The Message 

  Playing Go Fish with a three year old is a lot of fun.  Most people are trying to win, hopeful that the other person doesn't ask for a card they have.  Charlotte, however, is thrilled beyond compare when you ask her for a card that she has.  She declares "Yes, I do" when you ask if she has a card, then hands it over with a gleeful smile.  I almost feel like I'm disappointing her when she doesn't have what I ask for.  Her fundamental orientation is to give.

  I have a much harder time giving.  Whenever I am approached to give, there's a small voice inside me that worries that if I give something up, there might not be enough left over for me.  Or even if I think there is now, what happens if the situation changes and then suddenly I need what I freely gave not too long ago.  My hands clutch tightly around what I have, afraid of the unknown, afraid of not having enough.

  The Gospel path to contentment is trying to fundamentally alter our fear of scarcity.  Jesus is demonstrating that with God, there is more than we can ever ask for or imagine, and so we don't have to fear running out.  In the miraculous feedings in the Gospels, there are baskets of leftovers as demonstrations of God's position on abundance.  There is enough.  There is more than enough.  There are riches and wealth in God that exceed our need, and so we can let go of the fear that we might run out, because the resources we cling to aren't always the resources we truly need -- the grace and love of God that ultimately define us will not be extinguished or exhausted, and in giving we understand what it is like to live dependent on God.  When asked, we can give thanks that we have anything to give, knowing that we have it only because God has given resources to us. 

Mark 4:13-20

Mark 4:13-20 

The Message 

  Jesus used a lot of agrarian parables.  He talked about sowing and harvesting.  It fits because of the world he was in, but there's another reason as well.

  Farming can't be rushed.  When you plant a seed, you can't work harder and make the corn appear in June.  You can't rush the growth of a pumpkin.  Wheat won't sprout faster because you spend all night staring at it.  To farm is to be radically dependent on many elements outside of your control.  It takes a tremendous amount of trust to put a seed in a hole in the ground, cover it with dirt, and trust your economic future to something happening in the ground that you cannot control.

  To farm is to place trust in the weather and the seed, and to patiently and faithfully work while the natural world works on its own schedule.

  In the same way, to be a Christian is to faithfully commit yourself to a lifetime of following Christ.  Much of the toil of being a Christian isn't headline grabbing news -- it's the slow and steady growth that isn't measured in days or weeks but in years and decades.  It's trusting Christ day in and day out,  even though much of life may feel beyond our control.  Following Christ is an act of trusting God and doing our small part.

  The farmer went out to seed, and we receive with grateful heart what God offers.  Each of us has a different lot in life.  Each of us has different joys, different hardships.  You and I could compare notes, and we have heartbreaks and sorrows, as well as moments of abundant joy.  We see Christ at work in different ways, in different places, and thanks be to God for the diversity in the world.

  May we trust in Christ, in the slow work of discipleship, and gather around the table and talk about how God is at work from our place in the soil.

Mark 4:10-12

Mark 4:10-20 

The Message 

  We understand the world through stories -- the stories we read every day, the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world, the stories we tell our children to help them learn how to be in the world.  Stories guide us, they teach us, they shape us.  

  So it makes sense that Jesus would come and tell stories, teaching people about God.  Jesus was trying to teach them, is trying to teach us, about a God that exists outside of time and space.  God doesn't experience reality the same way that we do.  So God entered into our story so that we could learn about the author of our story.  Jesus used stories to point to God, to highlight certain characteristics of God -- none of the stories capture perfectly every aspect of God.  Such a feat would be impossible.  

  But Jesus was a storyteller, telling us about the author of every story, living in the midst of the greatest story ever told.  We are leaning into that, trying to find our place in it, desperate to understand what the next chapter is, listening for the storyteller to whisper the words into our hearts so that we might know what is on the other side of this page.

Mark 4:1-9

Mark 4:1-9 

The Message 

  When you see someone talking with food stuck in their teeth, what's the first thing you do?  

  When you notice someone with a zipper down, what do you instinctually do?

  We naturally worry about ourselves first.  When I'm driving on the freeway and see a police car with blue lights flashing behind me, I tense up, even when I'm driving the speed limit (Life really changes when your kids can read the speedometer from the backseat and start asking why you're driving faster than the speed limit).  Why?  Because I'm worried about myself.  I exhale when the car races past, suddenly completely unconcerned about wherever they are going, as long as it doesn't involve me.  

  Every single time I read this story, I get caught up thinking about how I'm the seed that is getting strangled by the weeds.  Every single time, I worry that I'm not growing like I'm supposed to, that I've got my eyes fixed on the wrong things and my roots in the wrong place.  Every time, I experience this anxiety.  

  While it's a good thing for me to think about my roots and my growth, it's far more important to marvel at the grace of the sower, who is extravagantly generous with the seed.  I often am so concerned with myself that I take my eyes off God.  I am not caught up in awe and wonder because I'm thinking about myself.

  This is why it's so important to learn to pray the Psalms -- they teach us to spend time marveling at God and God's majesty.  God is the sower who throws love and mercy with reckless abandon, even to people who steadfastly reject God.  This is God who paints beauty in every nook of the world, even those bent on destroying beauty.  This is God who puts life at the bottom of the ocean near vents where people didn't see it for millions of years.  This is God who casts stars across the sky because God is abundance.

  Fix your eyes on God, and when we realize that it is God, and God alone, who can calm our anxious and restless hearts, the troubles of the world fade somewhat into the background as we see how the strength of God picks us up when we are weak, offers us healing when we are broken, forgives us in our sin, and carries us into eternity by the light of love.

Mark 3:28-35

Mark 3:28-35 

The Message 

  What's your definition of family?  

  Family is on all of our minds this holiday season.  We're all trying to figure out how to safely spend time with family, if that's possible this year.  Do you quarantine beforehand?  What if you have to travel?  How can we be sure that we're safe?  How can we be sure we're keeping one another safe?  Is it even possible to know what's truly safe this year?  Some will make the hard choice not to see family this year.  

  Jesus was radically inclusive when it came to family.  He indicates that there's nothing that's done or said that can't be forgiven -- he's willing to include all, even offering forgiveness to the ones who were crucifying him.  All of those who showed up to hear him teach -- they were included in his definition of family.  Jesus welcomed all, inviting them into a family that was defined by God's grace and mercy, nothing else.

  May we give thanks to God for the way God welcomes us into God's family, and may we extend that same grace to others -- to welcome them into our family, to extend hospitality and love to those in our lives that may not be related to us but are still invited to gather with us as family to celebrate the joys in life and to strengthen one another when we encounter challenges and low spots in life.

Sermon for November 1, 2020 from Acts 2

Mark 3:20-27

Mark 3:20-27 

The Message 

  This election has been very interesting to watch.  I was 19 in 2000 and perhaps the electoral college wasn't the first thing on my mind, but I seem to recall the issues around that election were specific as to what votes were counted in Florida and which were not.  This year, the air is filled with suspicions and accusations of dark machinations, of plots behind the curtain to steal an election, of bad actors frauduantly pushing one candidate ahead through various means.  I've heard and seen these ideas from both sides -- there's a deep lack of trust and confusion as to where the truth lies.  

  The older I get, the more intrigued I am by Pilate's question to Jesus:  What is truth?  When I was younger I don't think I paid much attention to it, but as I grow and become more aware of the competing narratives and the ways our hearts are pushed and pulled in various directions and the struggles to stay focused on what matters, I think about that question more and more.  What is truth?  How do I pursue what is true when I am so pressed down by what is urgent?  How do I find truth when it can seem so challenging, and some days the last thing I am looking for is another challenge?

  My thoughts drift to Revelation, where in chapter 19 Jesus comes riding in a white horse, and he is faithful and true.  My hope, our hope, is that Christ will come and fully defeat Satan.  The lies will be swallowed up, destroyed, and all that is left will be Truth.  The house  of Satan, which has raged against humanity since Adam and Eve attempted to claim a seat of authority that wasn't theirs to take, will be vanquished by Truth.  Our eyes will see only Truth, and our hearts will be deceived no more.

  The Pharisees were so enmeshed in a tangled web of deceit and power that they couldn't perceive what was true.  Many others who had become aware of sin's empty promises were able to recognize Truth, shining brilliantly against the darkness around them, pursued him, seeing Truth.  

  It's my prayer that we, too, recognize the Truth, cling to the Truth, pursue the Truth.  And our great hope, Jesus Christ, will one day destroy everything that isn't true.  Only love will remain.

Mark 3:13-19

Mark 3:13-19 

The Message 

  I've been thinking a lot about Sabbath this morning.  We all need Sabbath rest, and it's different than zoning out on the couch to Netflix, although I'm a big proponent of that as well.  Here in Mark 3 the disciples climbed a mountain with Jesus and were intentionally alone with him, setting aside time to let the teaching and presence of Jesus fill them, surround them, and encourage them for the work they were about to do.  

  We're often exhausted.  There's much to do, and being idle can sometimes feel like a guilty pleasure.  But idleness is important if we're to continue working, because resting with purpose can allow ourselves to be rejuvenated and refreshed by the presence of God, and the time we set aside to catch a vision of God's grace and beauty renews our enthusiasm to love and serve the world around us.

  

Mark 3:7-12

Mark 3:7-12

The Message 

  I wonder what it was like to be alive back then.  

  It's easy for us now to look back and assume that we would've been one of the faithful streaming to Jesus, leaving everything behind to listen to him teach, to watch him heal.  Even the evil spirits knew who he was.  The crowds poured to him... until they didn't.  

  At certain points, everyone turned and left him, often for challenging teachings.  The Pharisees saw the same things as everyone else and hated him.  The masses watched him perform miracles and yet shouted for his crucifixion.

  We look back and wonder how this could have happened, how this miraculous teacher who came with grace could have been opposed by so many and worshiped by so few. 

  That reality certainly does put an end to the idea that Jesus was nothing more than a nice teacher.  If that's all he was, then he surely wouldn't have roused such opposition.  

  Jesus came with Truth, and that is challenging for us all.  Martin Luther called the human heart a factory of idols, and we come up with countless things to worship other than God.  I'll confess that I worship comfort, health, and a good reputation, among other things.  If I had lived then and ran to see Jesus, how would I have reacted when he challenged me to give those false idols up?  It's hard to do that, even when the Truth, when something far greater, is being held out and offered as a free gift.  Our hands are often so full that it's hard to let go of anything to take on something new.  I wonder if this isn't why Jesus was so successful at converting tax collectors and others who were forgotten by society -- their hands weren't so full that they were prevented from grasping what Jesus offered.  

  The crowds rushed to Jesus, and we rush to him, too.  I pray that we hear his challenges, but that through it all, we hear the grace, too.  May we know that there is healing, true healing, on the other side of those challenges, and that the one who teaches wants the best for us, wants eternity for us, and will pay any price, even his own life, to be in full relationship with us.

Mark 3:1-6

Mark 3:1-6 

The Message 

  I feel sorry for the Pharisees.  They'd been reduced to watching every move of Jesus, hoping they could ensnare him in some wrong move or word, using this as a catalyst to have him thrown from the community.  It's not a great way to live -- doing nothing but watching your enemy in a chance you can catch them in the wrong and evict them from your life.

  Instead, think of how Jesus lives.  He meets freely with enemies and casual acquaintances.  He doesn't show up with an attitude to condemn, but rather is usually inviting the stranger into a new relationship, defined by grace.  The future is possibility, not eviction.  

  When you go into the world, do you do so with hope in your heart?  When you encounter others, are you looking for common ground, for a place where you might encourage one another?  Or are you watching the actions of the other, waiting to ensnare them in their words, looking for an opportunity to prove that they are wrong and you are right?  

  It's way more fun to be right than wrong.  I get that.  But to live one's life with the sole focus on finding fault in others is surely exhausting, and it tears down community.  Let us hold each other accountable, and always seek the Truth, but may we do so with grace in our words and our hearts, always looking for a way to build bridges between communities, humbly extending a hand and inviting others to the table to break bread and be transformed by what God does between us.

Mark 2:23-28

Mark 2:23-28 

The Message

  The Pharisees loved rules.  They loved having countless rules, using each one to remind people how broken they were.  They used these rules to keep themselves in power, creating separation between themselves and others. 

  Jesus comes along and reminds us what those rules are about.  The rules that exist are there to orient us towards God.  If the rules are separating us from God, then the rules aren't working properly.  If the rules aren't animating our hearts to love God, if the rules aren't helping preventing us from making mistakes that distance us from God, then we need to look at the rules.

  What we know is that Jesus fulfilled the ritual laws, but left the moral law in place.  Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to love God above all else, but leaves many of the details up to us.  I think he raises the standard rather than lowering the bar.

  So when you step back and look at your life, at the structures that are there to orient your heart and life toward God, what is helping?  What needs more work?  How can the Spirit lead you closer to God?  How is God calling you to put things in place to draw you closer to God?

Mark 2:18-22

Mark 2:18-22 

The Message

  I don't envy the Puritans, and not just because they didn't have indoor plumbing.  Certain religious orders have been so afraid of pleasure and the temptations it might bring that they shun them all.  I understand the basic idea -- when you shun all temptation, it's hard to make a certain kinds of mistakes, although I imagine the temptation to self-righteousness is on the other side of that line.  But if you shun all pleasure, there's the reality that you miss much of the richness the world has to offer -- and God designed many things to be good and to be enjoyed.  We're called to feast at times, just as we're called to fast at other times.  We're called to celebrate with laughter and joy, just as there are other times to mourn and weep.  

  So where's the line between enjoying the good things in the world and being self-indulgent?  When we stop recognizing the good things in the world as pointing to God and to God's ultimate glory, this is when we start erring.  The sweetness of an apple and the beauty of a sunset are meant to point us to God, to lead us to worship, to teach us that God is good and can be trusted and intends good things for us.  

  I don't always get this right.  Jesus feasted with his friends and with strangers, and he fasted in the wilderness.  All of this was undergirded by prayer.  His life had a constant dependence on God, and that led him into closer relationships with others and a closer relationship with God.  I pray for the wisdom to know how to balance, how to choose, how to understand my life as something to be lived for the glory of  God, to enjoy the good things in creation while avoiding those temptations that might lead me away from God.  

  The faithful life is a daily renewal of God's mercies and a daily reminder that our faith depends on God's grace, not our efforts.  

Mark 2:13-17

Mark 2:13-17 

The Message 

  In the eyes of many, the church has become very political over the past 20 years.  Many in society see the church as a political body, working to secure its power in the world.  People used to look at the Catholic church in this way in the Middle Ages, when the church owned so much land and was intertwined with emperors, kings, and queens of the day.  

  It's important for the church to remember its role.  The church is certainly called to be involved politically, but political power is never the end.  The church is, as Augustine described it, a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.  It is a collection of people who have come to realize that the ultimate solution for the sin and brokenness in the world lies not within ourselves, but in Christ, who then empowers us to go into the world carrying the Gospel, which is a light to dark times.  The church should go out in such a way as to invite others in.  The church should be interwoven into the community, often in small ways.  Supporting the sick and caring for the homeless and lifting up the broken in prayer.  It's slow work, investments that compound over time as the church supports the entire community.  

  It is my fervent hope and prayer that the church will continue to be faithful to Christ's calling to tend to the sick and the lost and the poor and the rich and the proud and the broken and everyone else -- and that the church will do so in a gracious and winsome way, clinging to the Truth of the Gospel and patiently and humbly depending on the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us forward.

Mark 2:1-12

Mark 2:1-12 

The Message 

  Jesus had three years of public ministry.  I don't think he wasted a lot of time -- when the crowds were gathered around him he taught them the Word, and it was clearly compelling, because people streamed around him to hear it -- so many that new ones had to come in through the ceiling!  

  If you knew you had three years, how would you live it?  What would you do?  Would you pursue Truth relentlessly, desperate to discover what is True and what isn't?  Would you seek pleasure, seek relationship, seek wealth?  We'd likely all make different choices.  

  I saw a notice that someone I volunteered with in Chattanooga passed away suddenly.  Life happens fast.  As we are reminded all too often, we don't always get to pursue our plans.  

  Thinking about this election, there is so much anger directed at other people.  Everything seems to be comprised of people yelling at each other anymore.  

  I don't have a problem with people being upset about situations.  I think it's good to care enough about things to get upset about them.  There are things going on that should upset you, and that should motivate you to work to change them.  That's how things are supposed to work.

  But to yell and scream at other people?  It's unlikely to change anyone's mind, and is that really the best way to build community, to build consensus?  Does it help?  I don't think so.

  I keep a sign above my desk at work that says 'Blame the Problem, not the person'.  I hope that it will remind me that when I get upset, the best thing to do is to work towards a solution, not to attack the person who seems to be responsible for the problem.  

  You have limited time on this earth.  Invest it in the things you care about.  Seek to be committed and gracious and filled with Truth.  Don't waste your time shouting at other people -- rather invest your time in acts of mercy, in the pursuit of justice, and let your life be a demonstration of how an eternal Kingdom has taken root inside your heart and will not let go for all of eternity.  

  You are living your life, here and now, on a much larger plane of existence.  Death is a defeated enemy.  But it can still be a mentor, teaching us to value our time and our relationships, and reminding us not to waste the precious gifts we have.

  

Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8 

The Message 

  I have so much admiration for John.  Here he is, preaching in the desert, and the crowds are streaming out to hear him.  Rather than get caught up in believing his own press, however, he continues to point to Christ.  It never becomes about John -- it remains about Christ.  

  It's easy to think now about what we would do with ten million dollars if we won the lottery.  It's easy to make those commitments now.  But when the check hits your hand, it's suddenly a lot harder to fulfill those promises -- it's easier to cling tightly once it's yours.

  It's so important to practices disciplines now.  When we do the small things, they become habits that are ingrained in our personalities.  They become part of who we are.  And they allow us to shape our ways of living so that as we grow in responsibility, we continue to stay true to those habits. 

  Don't wait, putting things off until later.  Practice small habits of faithfulness and discipline now, that you may continue to grow into faithfulness, growing into the life God has prepared for you.

Sermon for November 1, 2020 from Exodus 36