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Sermon on Luke 1:26-38 for December 15, 2013

Luke 1:26-38

  26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

  30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

  35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

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How many of you have ever watched someone try and do something that you were certain they were unqualified for? Have you ever sat back and known how it was all going to end, because you just knew they couldn't cut it? (How many of you are thinking that right now?) I grew up as a Cincinnati Bengals fan, and if you know anything about professional football, you know that the Cincinnati Bengals are in the middle of a 20 year rough patch. No franchise in football has gone longer without winning a playoff game. It's not been their millennium so far, but things are looking up, in their defense.

Well, growing up as a Bengals fan, they always got very good draft picks, because of how bad they were. And they would draft players that you could tell, from the very start, were simply over their head. They never had a chance. I felt sorry for a few of them—they just got swallowed up by the enormity of the task before them. This happened to coaches, too. The franchise just tended to chew up people and spit them out. Even from afar, you could tell they were in over their head.

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt like you were in over your head? Have you ever signed up for something, or perhaps had someone else sign you up for something, and you immediately felt like you were way, way out of your league?

When I played soccer as a kid, one year our coach decided it would be great to challenge us, so he signed us up to play a year over our current age bracket. He apparently felt we needed a challenge. Well, somewhere around the first game, in which we were losing by double digits, we realized that it was going to be a long season. We were in way over our heads.

Well, what if I told you that you had an integral part to play in the restoration and redemption of the entire universe? What if I told you that you were called to be a part of God's ongoing project of renewing the whole world? How would you feel? A bit under-qualified, perhaps?

If you answered yes, you're not alone. Throughout the Bible, we have instances where individuals chosen by God feel vastly inadequate to perform the tasks to which they are called. Moses argued with God when God revealed that he had chosen Moses to lead God's people out of slavery. Several people basically laughed at God when they found out they were going to have children at advanced ages. When God revealed himself to Isaiah, Isaiah assumed that he would die because of his unworthiness. Peter told Jesus to get away from him, because Peter felt unworthy to even be near Jesus. Paul considered himself the chief of all sinners and the least of the apostles. It's a long list of Biblical characters who considered themselves unworthy. They felt inadequate for the calling.

So it's somewhat surprising when Mary, a 13 year old girl, a virgin engaged to Joseph, reacts with simple trust when she is given the news that she will carry, within her womb, the son of the living God. She simply trusts God, and she accepts the role that she was given to play. She does her part within the plan of God's salvation.

Now, Mary had every possible reason to say no. Here she was, a young girl with her life in front of her, engaged to Joseph, and suddenly she is asked to put everything on the line. A young, single girl getting pregnant in these days is not a good thing. Back in Mary's day, it was a matter of life and death. Back in Mary's day, this could have cost her everything. She could have been stoned to death for this. At the very least, Joseph would have cut off the engagement, which he was prepared to do had God not intervened with an angelic visit. Mary would have been disgraced, cut off and alone, and that was in the best of circumstances.

And yet, she had such trust in God that she said yes. She accepted God's call upon her life, and the world, the entire history of the world, is better because of it.

Now, I believe that if Mary had said No, God wouldn't have just given up. God would have found another way to bring salvation into the world. It all didn't depend on Mary. But, because of her willingness to serve God in the manner in which she was invited, human history is different.

Now, we all would like to serve as faithfully as Mary, right? We'd all like to be able to completely trust God with our hearts and lives. We'd all love to be able to turn to God and follow his call into whatever he has in store for us.

The first thing I want to say is this: We all don't have to serve exactly like Mary did. We get the idea into our heads that each and every one of our walks of discipleship should look the same. We watch how one person serves the Lord and we convince ourselves that we need to do the same thing. We feel like we don't measure up because our life looks different than someone else's. Let me be very clear: we are all called in different ways to serve with different gifts. It's all for the same purpose, but we don't have to compare our lives. We can compare our attitudes or our willingness to serve, but our tasks are different.

I, for example, am not called to give birth to the Savior of the world. Mary was, and she did it very, very well. I'm not even called to give birth to anything. Rachel has done that twice, and she's done it much, much better than I could have. She's told me that since she has carried the first two babies, I am supposed to carry the next two, but we all can admit that I'm way, way too much of a wimp for that.

So since I can't give birth, am I less of a disciple than Mary? No. I have my own gifts and callings. But the pattern of discipleship is the same, and often, so is our response. I want to wander through this passage and talk about the rhythm and pattern of call and resistance.

First of all, God loves you. God believes that you are special. He has affection in his eyes for you. This is so, so important for us all to hear, but we struggle against this. When the angel shows up and tells Mary that God has found favor with her, she is troubled by this and tries to figure it out. She gets wrapped up trying to hear what it means rather than just accepting it.

We tend to do this, too. God loves you. God died on the cross for you, and if you had been the only person in the entire world, God still would have done so. God didn't die for someone really special and get you thrown into the mix, like a player-to-be-named later in a trade. No—you are special and treasured by God.

Often, we think of all the reasons God shouldn't love us. We think of how unworthy we are. We wonder why God loves us.

Stop. Stop with all the obstacles, with all the excuses, with all the hesitations. God loves you. If we can learn to accept that for what it is, it will radically change our hearts. I promise you that.

Next, the angel moves on to the details. God is calling Mary to a very special role—she is going to give birth to a Savior.

Mary's first question is to ask how this can be, since she is still a virgin.

It's a fair question. In her heart, she knows how the world works. She doesn't see how God will overcome such an obstacle. She forgets all the amazing things God has done in the past.

Often, when we're called into a certain mode of discipleship, we spend time figuring out all the reasons why we can't do it. We wonder how God will use us, and if we're really prepared for the job. We start to believe that we are not good enough, not equipped, and generally unworthy for the task. We wonder why God doesn't send someone else. We question our self-worth.

Friends, throughout human history, God has been using unworthy people to do amazing things. God chose Moses to free his people, God chose David to be king, God chose Peter to lead the church. None of them were qualified. None of them were ready. All of them were used for amazing things. God wants to use you, too, but if you're too busy looking at yourself and not busy enough looking at God, all you'll come up with are reasons why God's plan will never work. God exists outside of time and space, and God created time and space, so when God calls you into something, trust in him to be able to bring it to completion. God didn't call you into a life of discipleship to see you get overwhelmed and killed because you don't have the gifts—God will give you what you need, often miraculously. Stop worrying about yourself and focus on God.

Finally, when God assures Mary that things will be handled supernaturally, Mary assents. She tells God that she is a servant and will submit to his will. It's the same prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden, and it's the same prayer we each need to pray today. To trust fully in God's will, to let our own questions and hesitations get lost in the background noise so that our hearts will worship and our lives will submit to Christ, no matter what Christ wants us to do. Friends, believe the Good News—Christ wants to use you to change the world, and while you may not feel worthy of that, you don't have to worry about yourself—you have been called by name, bought with a price, redeemed by the blood of Christ and prepared for eternal life. God can and will use you for miraculous purposes if you trust him enough to submit to his Lordship in all of life.

Let us pray

Dec 1 Sermon for the first week of Advent

Luke 1:1-25

 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

  5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

  8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

  18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

  24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

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Now that we’re in the thick of winter, it seems like a good time to think about summer, right?  When it’s freezing cold and we’re contemplating how many layers of fleece to put on, it’s a good thing to focus on the coming warmth, despite the fact that it’s another 3 weeks until winter even truly begins.  As of this moment, we have five different space heaters in our house.  The fifth one is a new addition—4 just weren’t enough.  Hard to believe we were both raised hundreds of miles north from here.  We don’t fare well in the cold. 

We know what the depths of winter feel like.  It’s achingly cold, and the car cannot warm up quickly enough.  We find every warm piece of clothing we have, and yet the wind somehow sneaks through anyway.  We try and seal the house against the elements, but a draft gets in and reminds us of the winter cold.  Snow flurries drift down and torment us.  Sometime around the beginning of February, it feels like winter will never end.

And yet, just as surely as the sun rises in the morning, each and every year the cold of winter turns to summer heat.  The question for you is this:  when does winter end and summer begin?

Now, each and every one of us may answer this question differently.  For you, it may be when the first flower blooms in early spring, when the crocus appear and give us green in the midst of brown.  Perhaps it is Easter Sunday, when the church is in bloom.  Maybe it’s March 21, the first day of spring.  For me, winter ends every year on February 15, when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.  Each and every one of us may latch on to a different sign, but the point is that there are all sorts of different reminders for us—each one points to the reality of the coming spring, to the return of warmth, and the end of the winter cold.  They are all signs that point to the coming future.

At one point, we’ll be standing outside in mid-July when it’s 115 degrees outside and we’ll be unable to contemplate the fact that it was once 25 degrees outside.  We’ll have forgotten what it feels like to be cold, because we’ll be too busy melting into the parking lot.  All we’ll know is heat.  The cold will have been lost to the past.

 In a similar train of thought, Scripture is moving.  God is moving creation from one place to another.  The world is changing around us.  Creation is being transformed.  And there are signs along the way.

Take a moment to look at Genesis 1, the beginning.  Verse 2 says that the earth was a formless void, and darkness covered the face of the deep.  In the beginning, there is nothing but darkness.  God’s first creation is light.

Now, flip to the other end of Scripture, from the beginning to the end of the story.  There, in Revelation 22, its says in verse 5 that there will be no more night, for the Lord God will be the light forever.  In the end, there is nothing but light.

So we move from darkness to light.  From one end of the spectrum to the other.  At one point there was no light, and in the end the darkness will have been vanquished and there will be nothing but light.  It is as drastic a change as you can imagine.  Similar to the transition from freezing cold to searing heat—in the midst of the light, we will scarcely be able to remember what the darkness was like.

And along the way, there are signs.  God has given us reminders that the light is coming.  God has sent prophets and apostles and angels and miracles to assure us that the light is indeed coming, because the darkness is still here.  We are in a transition period, a time when the world is being shifted from darkness into light, and the darkness is not yet gone.  We do not have the ability to forget what darkness is like, because it is all around us.

And yet, there is also light.  There are signs of God’s presence and God’s work in our midst.  We are constantly being reminded that God is coming, that darkness will vanish.  We are being reminded that God wins.  We just need to remember to pay attention to the signs, and to let them encourage us in our common walk with Christ.

So we come to Advent, here in the middle of winter, a time when the leaves have fallen off the trees and the weather outside is pointing to the dead of winter, and we spend these 4 weeks being reminded that Christ not only has come but also is coming.  We look forward to celebrating the birth of the Christ child, that pivotal moment in history when the light himself entered into the darkness and shone among us, even though the darkness did not understand it.  We also look forward to Christ’s return, when the light shall conquer the darkness and destroy it, catching us up in the light forever, banishing the darkness to the pages of history.  Advent is a time to be reminded of the light.

The story today, the story of the announcing of John the Baptist, is another one of those moments.  John the Baptist’s parents were too old to have children, and yet God brings life to Elizabeth’s womb.  It had been barren and hopeless, and yet it was there that God brought life.  When Zecheriah dared not to believe the angel Gabriel, he was struck mute until the time that the baby was born.  God gave the people a sign, life in the midst of death, a reminder that the darkness would not win, and signpost pointing to his final victory over sin and death. 

The Bible is littered with signposts that God sent to remind us that the light wins in the end.  God was constantly reminding us that the darkness would not prevail.  When Abraham and Sarah were too old to have children and God promise to make a nation out of them, Sarah laughed at the promises of God, and yet she gave birth to a child.  When the children of Israel were stuck between the watery sea and the Egyptian army, God made a way through the water, bringing them to safety and life when threatened with death.  Throughout history, God has a habit of reminding us that life conquers over death.  When the Roman army had invaded Jerusalem and there seemed to be no champion for the Jews, God brought life into the womb of a virgin and Jesus Christ was born.  When Jesus was dead and in the tomb, a place of darkness and death, God brought forth resurrection to demonstrate that life would win over death.

Friends, God has not ceased sending these signposts into the world.  God has not stopped reminding us that life is bigger than death, that darkness will be forgotten and light will prevail.  The question for us is whether we are willing to pay attention to what God is doing.  There is resurrection in our midst.

So, this Advent season, I invite you into the discipline of waiting and watching.  Will you watch for signs of life that are all around you?  Will you wait patiently as God reveals himself to the world around us?  Will you stop trying to make everything happen on your own and trust in the God who promises to make light prevail over darkness?  When the walls are closing in and frustration and despair are all around, will you look to the hills, from whence your help comes?

I know that there are plenty of reasons for despair.  As a congregation, there is pain and suffering in our midst.  We mourn.  We pray for miraculous healings.  We struggle to look for hope.

Advent is a season of hope.  It is a time that we are reminded that it is not by our own strength that we conquer, but by the strength of our Savior that we will prevail.  God’s light will win, and in Christ we, too, will win.  All we have to do is trust in him, and as we do so may we have the wisdom to look for the signs of life that are all around us, to look for light in the midst of the darkness, and hold onto hope that spring is coming.

Let us pray

Christmas Eve Meditation

John 1:1-5,14-18 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
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Let’s talk this morning about life.

When Caleb was born, there was an abundance of life.  There was screaming and twisting and crying and reaching, and it was joyous.

As he’s grown, there is more abundance—more screaming, more crying, more reaching, more twisting and running.  He’s only grown larger and louder over the past year, and there is abundant life within him—he squeals in delight, he claps his hands with exuberance; he races back and forth across our lives.  Rachel and I struggle to keep pace with such abundant life.  We sit at opposite ends of the hall and watch him work his way back and forth down the hallway, filled with laughter and delight.  I do not understand how my soul can be so happy.

It’s amazing to think of the baby Jesus in the same way.  Can you picture him as a newborn babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, wriggling in the manger?  Can you imagine him, the Savior of the world, racing unsteadily up and down little hallways and out in the dusty field?  Can you picture the King of Kings jumping in mud puddles and chasing the chickens nearby, Mary and Joseph shaking their heads as they wonder how they’ll ever keep up with such energy?

Tonight, on Christmas Eve, we celebrate the birth of our Savior, the one who took on flesh and dwelt among us, the one who came and moved into the neighborhood.  Jesus Christ lived for thirty three years on this earth, and for much of that time he lived and worked and laughed and played just as you and I do.  He came, in his own words, that we may have life and have it abundantly.  He came to redeem us, to offer us a gift of new life, of new joy and wonder at what God is doing among us.

He came to give us life.

So when we think about Christianity, let’s not forget about life.  Let’s not forget that Jesus Christ has come into this world to show us how to live.  For thirty three years he lived the perfect life, and he did so with a purpose—to teach us, every one of us, how to live our own lives.  He was a model for us, a demonstration of what the Christian life is supposed to be like.

Jesus Christ invites you to welcome him into your life, to survey the landscape of your existence, and to offer it all to him.  You work and your play, your laughter and your leisure, is all meant to be offered to him.  He wants all of it, so that he can redeem it.  We can serve God in our lives, in the living of them.  When you go to work, remember that he has redeemed your work.  When you enjoy your hobbies or sit down at a good meal, remember that he has redeemed it.  He lived among us, worked among us, ate with us and laughed with us, all of it in an effort to show us that life is good.  It is a grand gift, meant to be enjoyed!  Life isn’t just something to put up with until we get to heaven—it’s something to savor, to relish, and to offer to God.  We are most fully alive when we are living with an awareness of God’s redeeming presence among us.

Jesus Christ was born on this earth on Christmas, and for 33 years he lived among us.  He did so with purpose—to show us that life is a wonderful thing, meant to be lived to the fullest, offered to God.  When we are baptized, we read in Romans, we are joined into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You don’t have to wait for heaven for your life to begin.  Let your life be lived here and now with reckless abandon—let’s allow God to be the Lord of every part of your day.  When you work and play, when you laugh and cry, when you eat and when you sleep, do it all for the glory of God.  Seek to model Christ’s perfect life with all your heart, and you’ll see that he has redeemed life and offers you abundant life that begins here, at the manger, carries forward through the cross, and onward into eternal life with him.

Christ is born!  Christ lives forever!  Let our lives give glory to him!

Let us pray. 

Meditation for 12/23/12

Hebrews 10:19-25
  Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
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Do you remember, when you were a kid, when your parents told you that if you were bad all you'd get for Christmas is coal in your stocking? 

Most of the time, we didn't get coal.  Our gifts were not dependent on how we actually acted, unless we were very, very bad.  Even if we were only good most of the time, our parents still gave us gifts.  If we're honest, when we look back on our childhoods, we can probably say that we might have deserved more coal.  There were probably years when we deserved nothing but coal—if the outcome was based on our actions, we wouldn't have much reason for hope.

But we had hope for Christmas because we knew the love of parents, love that was willing to overlook the things we had done and give us gifts we didn't deserve.

When we talk about our spiritual hope, the concept isn't that different. 

If our spiritual hope depended on how we lived our life and the extent to which we could have hope for the future, we'd be in a lot of trouble.  We're pretty good, but pretty good isn't enough to earn the love of God.  We can't be good enough to earn the endless love of God, and if having hope for the future, both on earth and beyond death, we'd be a pretty miserable lot.

But our hope doesn't depend on us.  It depends only, as Hebrews tells us, on the blood of Jesus, blood that was freely given for you & for me.  Our hope depends on God's love, given freely, and because it's a gift, we can have hope for the future.

Now, I want to emphasize here that it's not only hope for life beyond death.  It's also hope for this life, for today, for tomorrow, for next year and the ones beyond that.  We have hope that God will continue to work in us, continue to pour his love upon us, continue to help us see his love leading us forward.  We hope for the Spirit to guide us and build us up, growing us into mature Christians who offer everything to God.  We have hope for abundant life this side of heaven, and we have hope for eternal abundant life with God on the other side of death.

All of this hope is rooted in Christ, in his life, death & resurrection.  Let us hold fast to this, and let it motivate us, driving us out, provoking one another to love and good deeds, that our lives may always point to Christ.

So let us lift up our prayer requests, trusting in God, rooted in hope, knowing that Christ, our priest, hears our prayers and ensures they are heard in the throneroom of God.

Thoughts from Sunday, 12/16/12

John 1:1-9
  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
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Friends, I just want to say a brief word at the beginning of the service about Christmas.

  We love Christmas.  Christmas is a time of joy, a time of celebration, a time of brightly colored Christmas trees and carols that bring joy to the heart.  Christmas is a time of cookies galore and children whispering about Santa.  Christmas is wonderful.

  But Christmas is so much more than just the trappings of the season.  Christmas is much more than a holiday party and a new sweater.

  We need Christmas.

  Christmas is a celebration of the light of Jesus Christ coming into the world.  Christmas is a time when we gather in church to remember the depth of God's love, a love that shines brightly even in the darkest of nights.  On that first Christmas, there was plenty of darkness in the poverty of Mary and Joseph, in the cruel governance of the Roman Empire, but into that darkness, into the sin of humanity, the light of Christ came.

  The light still shines.  The light of Christ continues to shine across generations of the world, from Bethlehem to Chattanooga to Newtown, CT.  The light still shines in the darkness.

  There is plenty of darkness in our world today.  Friday was a visceral reminder of the reality of darkness, of the presence of evil and sin and brokenness in the world.  We are all witnesses to this tragedy that shattered the quiet town where things like this weren't supposed to happen.  No place on earth should have to wander through this valley of the shadow of death, where children at school are not safe, where Christmas joy is shattered by the power of evil.  We weep and we mourn with those who suffer the brunt of this pain and loss.

  And in this darkness, the light of Christ still shines.  The darkness tries to overcome it, but it cannot.  We know how the story ends.  We know that Christ wins, that good will triumph over evil, that Christ will stand victorious at the last.  We know this to be true.

  And yet, we live in the in-between times.  In our world today, there is still darkness.  Revelation tells us that the new Jerusalem will need no sun because Christ itself will be the light--there will be no more night, no more darkness, no more sin and death and weeping and wailing.

  But until that day comes, we will still be surrounded by darkness.

  The light will still shine, in each of us and through each of us, and we will continue to hope, continue to believe, that Christ wins.

  So let us mourn the darkness, but let us not despair.  We need Christmas, because it reminds us that God wins in the end, and that Christ is at work here, now, redeeming the world.  We need Christmas because we need light for our darkness.  It is a light we cannot manufacture, but Christ gives it freely, and it still shines today, a light for our darkness, a lamp for our feet, a guide for our hearts to follow.

  Let us take some time in silent prayer together, lifting up the victims, the families, the community and all those who weep and mourn.

  Let us pray

11-27 Sermon

Luke 22:24-34

The Dispute about Greatness

 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

 ‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

 ‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!’Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.’

This morning we're going to talk about greatness.

When we begin to talk about greatness, one of the first things that comes to mind is some of the nicknames throughout the ages that allude to greatness. For starters, there is Muhammad Ali, who was simply called 'The Greatest.' There is Wayne Gretzky, who was called 'The Great One', and we have greatness rolled into a name in the case of Alexander the Great.

Each of these men had greatness in their nickname because they reached the highest pinnacle of their profession. There has been no greater boxer than Ali, and it's hard to imagine a hockey player better than Gretzky. I have never seen Alexander the Great in action, but since we're still talking about him thousands of years later, we can safely assume he was pretty good at leading an army. Greatness came naturally to them, and they worked and worked and worked to perfect it. They were great at what they did.

I'd invite you to take a second and consider what greatness looks like in your life. If I told you that in ten years you would be referred to as great, what images come to mind? What defines greatness in your life? What would it take for you, for others, to think of you as great. As a pastor, it's tempting to think that greatness would be a church where thousands gather every Sunday to hang on every word.

But that's the world's idea of greatness, and if we're not careful, we buy in to what the world defines as great. We think that if we achieve fame and fortune we will be great. As a pastor, it's so tempting to believe that I am great if people come to hear me—but the reality is that image is an idol, because it's not about me, and greatness in my profession, just like greatness in your life, isn't defined by the things this world defines as great. This is the distinction Jesus is making in the text today, and it's a distinction he wants us to make in our lives, too. Jesus is redefining greatness.

Let's look at the situation out of which this discussion arises—the disciples are arguing about which one is to be regarded as the greatest. Why is this important? Let's not forget that Jesus is leaving the disciples soon, and he's been pretty open and adamant about that fact. The disciples are assuming that whichever of them is the greatest will assume Jesus' role of leadership within the group, and to the world at large. They believe that the ministry will continue exactly as it has, and the leader will gain notoriety and fame across the region. They believe that being the greatest will enhance their status and reputation within the group. They want to be great so that others will see them as great.

Notice how Jesus responds to this argument. He doesn't dispute with them that the natural inclination is to assume that the one who is served, the one with the higher worldly status, is often seen as great. He doesn't dispute that those with wealth, fame and power are seen as great.

What he does is redefine greatness in the eyes of God. What Jesus does is demand that those who wish to follow him must follow a different route and be willing to set aside the world's idea of greatness if they want to achieve greatness in the eyes of God. God isn't going to love you any more than He already does if you have wealth and fame. You are going to achieve greatness the way that God defines it by doing one, and only one, thing: serving others.

Now, it's our natural inclination to want to complicate this. We're going to want to add all sorts of complications and intricacies to it—but Jesus says it so straightforwardly. Serve others. Jesus, the greatest person that has ever and will ever live, serves others. Jesus spent his time in the gutter, serving beggars. He spent his time reaching out to lepers and others that most people wouldn't even talk to—he served them with a heart willing to love. He did this as a way to show others what true greatness is—it's service. It's love in action.

Now, you may be wondering how much service it takes to be great. You may be worried that you're not serving enough to meet Jesus' high threshold. This is where I have some really good news for you:

Jesus calls broken people.

It would have been easy for Jesus to call the best of the best, the ones with the least sin in their lives. It might be easy for God to look out across the population today and choose to save only those with the least amount of sin in their lives.

But God loves broken people. Always has. Has promised to always do so.

Look at the disciples. Jesus has been talking for days, for weeks, for years, about how he is going to be killed. All of the action is coming to a head, and Jesus is busy discussing which one of the disciples is going to betray him. How do the disciples respond? With hearts full of concern for Christ? Desperate to hang on his every word, to catch everything possible before he is crucified?

No, they get caught up in worrying about who is going to be in charge when he's gone.

Then we turn to Peter, who promises to follow Jesus wherever he will lead, even if that ends in prison or death. No, Jesus says—you'll deny even knowing me three times before the sun rises. Peter, the rock upon whom Jesus will build his church, will deny even knowing Jesus Christ. These are the disciples, the ones whom Jesus handpicked to follow Him.

God loves broken people. He's been using them to build his kingdom for thousands of years. Now, he's going to use you.

You may want to object because you believe your sins are so great, because you think you're unworthy. You may not believe that you can ever lead a life of service like the one that Jesus led.

I have news for you—you'll never live up to his standard. You'll never achieve a life like the one Christ led. But the great news is that you don't have to—you're worthy of Christ's love because of what he did, not because of what you have—or haven't—done.

Which means that we can set aside all of our fears about being good enough, about being worthy. We can set those aside and focus our eyes on one thing: being great in God's kingdom. And that doesn't necessarily mean preaching to a church of 10,000 people or giving more money than anyone else. What it means is that you are called to serve.

You're called to serve your family and your friends, your neighbors and your church, strangers and loved ones, homeless and wealthy, republican and democrat—you are called to serve. You're called to serve with your life, with your time, with your money and your energy. You're called to serve others, to constantly put others first and determine how you find new ways to serve. You're called to serve through prayer and action, through your words and your listening. You're called to serve in ways you can't even imagine right now. You are called to serve, and in so doing, you are great in God's eyes.

Because whenever we serve someone else, we serve God. So strive to be great, not in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of God, and live a life that serves others, that chooses not to sit at the table and be served, but rather to serve. In so doing, may we do our part to join in God's building of a kingdom.

Let us pray.