The Seattle Times reports that members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation have put up a sign at the state capitol building in Olympia that reads, in part, "There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
(http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008470773_webatheist05m.html)
Just imagine if another group were to put up a sign with this message:
Put no trust in rulers, or in any mortal, for they have no power to save. When they breathe their last breath, they return to the dust, and on that day their plans come to nothing.
Would the state police launch an investigation?
What radical group would dare say such a thing?
It’s from Psalm 146: vv. 2-3 (Please turn, in your prayer book, to page 803.)
It goes on...
Happy are those who have the God of Jacob for their help, •
whose hope is in the Lord their God;
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them; •
who keeps his promise for ever;
Who gives justice to those that suffer wrong •
and bread to those who hunger.
The Lord looses those that are bound; •
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; •
the Lord loves the righteous;
The Lord watches over the stranger in the land;
he upholds the orphan and widow; •
but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.
The Lord shall reign for ever, •
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Alleluia.
+
What wondrous love is this? The love that led Israel through the wilderness, that fed manna in the desert, that made straight the highway of our God, that led them home.
The foundation of our hope, that the day will come when steadfastness and faithfulness, righteousness and justice and peace will come together, is Jesus – in whom indeed God’s steadfast love and faithfulness are manifest, in whom righteousness and peace have already met. Good news: God is here among us; welcome the coming of his presence.
“Good news” before Mark got ahold of the term meant the tidings of victory and triumph; the birth of an emperor, a famous victory; it meant Caesar’s peace, the peace of Rome; the peace of empire, of rulers; of the kings of mortal men.
Mark turned it around, and gave the words a new breath of life: “good news” became the glad tidings of the coming of the Savior, of Christ the Lord. It is the good news of God’s power, mercy, and grace; of the peace of Jesus Christ.
John came calling, calling the people into the wilderness, the place where God is close, the place where Israel had always been called, from Exodus to Exile, to be drawn away from its familiar haunts and day-to-day rituals into the desert, the place of intimacy with God.
Just so the Word of God draws us out of familiar paths and ways of living to places where we may encounter strange adventures and find our way home to a place of new beginnings. Through Christ God comes into our lives, making the world new.
This is good news, a voice of comfort, tender hearted in the best of ways: He feeds his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms; he gently leads the mother sheep.
In the times of John, as in the times of old, so it is now. Much has been lost; there is much to build. Rest assured: God is with us wherever we are.
We have his Word, the sacrament of the food and drink of God, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the presence of the risen Christ: we have the same gifts that all the people of God have had for ages and ages.
Even when it seemed impossible to go on, God has been with us, like the pillar of cloud in the desert sky, like a quiet voice in the wind, encouraging us, and giving us the bread we need and the grace that fills our hearts.
Deep is the hunger, in each of us, for a life worthy of its maker; deep is the hunger that calls us into the wilderness, to be baptized and prepared for the coming of the kingdom; to hear the Word of God, to take in Jesus and make him the centre of our lives.
Wake up! John cries: Jesus is coming. Rouse yourself from your pastoral torpor.
‘What time would you like your wake-up call?’ the hotel clerk asks. John is not so nice! Nobody asks you—it just comes!
…like grits…
ANTICIPATION & PREPARATION – the themes of Advent
Advent, once thought of as a time of penitence, has become for us a time of watchful waiting.
What of our friend? For him, our old friend Ebenezer Scrooge, in the story so far as we have read it, it is easily both….
(Stave 2: the Ghost of Christmas Past)
A looking back that is not nostalgic, far from it, but a baptism of fire, a burning away of impurities, looking back to Moses and Elijah and the great ones of the past; looking back on our own prides and follies, and on the good times we’ve had in the blessing of God: yearning now for God’s presence; yearning for fulfillment of our lives in God’s promise.
The cry in the wilderness is a cry to the people of God to come out of their houses, out of their common places, to be renewed and refreshed and reborn in the river of Jordan, to enter again into the mystery of the story of the love God has for God’s people:
they are called to take their place alongside Moses and Aaron and Miriam, Joshua and Rachel, and alongside Isaiah and the people as they return from exile in Babylon,
to pass again through the waters of the river where Abraham led his flocks and Jacob wrestled all night,
the mysterious boundary that will lead them, once they turn around, back into the Promised Land;
For their every day common places turn out to be the kingdom of God.
Once they have gone into the wilderness to see— whom? Not a prince in his palace, surely? But a prophet as of old, dressed like Elijah or Moses or a wayfaring stranger.
John has called them and they answer. They come in crowds, one by one, many at a time, to take, each of them upon their own heads – and all of them together as God’s people, the sign of baptism, of repentance: they are turning away from their own sins and folly, they are taking on again the kingdom seal, and they ask him: what’s next?
He tells them: turn around! Repent! Turn around! And see: the Promised Land is stretched before you.
Go forward – not into reverse, not into nostalgia for a lost cause, but into the future of God’s covenant, that he will not abandon you, he will put faith into you, and he will be there with you, present with you, to guide you as you live into your vocation.
You are called to be the salt of the earth, the leaven in the loaf, the light that shines in the dark. You are called—take God’s promise and make it your own.
That should be interesting, when Pharaoh hears about it. That should be interesting, when Pilate hears about it. That should be interesting, when they hear about it in the Capitol.
In the dark of night when the days grow short and cold, there is yet something growing, something stirring, something moving forward: it is the coming of the kingdom of God.
The people of God are making their way, once again, into the story of the love of God, into the redemption song. And what’s next?
What is the crying at Jordan?
Who hears, O God, the prophecy?
Dark is the season, dark our hearts
and shut to mystery.
Who then shall stir in this darkness,
prepare for joy in the winter night?
Mortal in darkness we lie down,
blind-hearted seeing no light.
Lord, give us grace to awake us,
to see the branch that begins to bloom;
in great humility
is hid all heaven in a little room.
Now comes the day of salvation,
in joy and terror the Word is born!
God gives himself into our lives;
O let salvation dawn!
--Carol Christopher Drake (St. Mark’s, Berkeley) #69 in The Hymnal 1982.
Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, O my soul:
while I live will I praise the Lord; •
as long as I have any being,
I will sing praises to my God.
Alleluia.
+
Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Mark 1:1-8
+
Showing posts with label Psalm 85 or 85:7-13. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 85 or 85:7-13. Show all posts
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Sunday, February 4, 2007
guystuff
guystuff - notes for a sermon
Judges 6:11-24a
The angel greets Gideon, "The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior!"
He replies, "WHO, ME?"
"Go in this might of yours," the angel says, "I hereby commission you!"
Gideon protests: "But I am the last and least of my little people."
"But I will be with you," says the Lord.
"SHOW ME A SIGN!" Gideon pleads. And boy does he get one.
"Help me, Lord!" he cries. "For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face."
And the Lord says, "Peace. Do not fear." The Lord is peace.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he tells of the tradition he has passed
down to them - and thence to us, the good news that, in accordance with the
Scriptures, Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he was raised on the
third day. Now Paul puts himself into the story - as the last of those who saw
the resurrected Jesus, and the least of his messengers. Yet God used him, by the
grace of God, to bring the message, the good news. God's grace we proclaim; you
have come to believe in God's grace, and to put your faith in the Messiah.
Luke 5:1-11
Peter shows us an early example of that faith at work, as he goes ahead, taking
Jesus at his word, into his boat, out a little ways, then farther into deep
water. And then, on land, he embarks on a riskier journey yet - taking on a new
way of living, of being. No longer is he the captain of his fate, the pilot of
his own boat: he has turned the helm over to Jesus.
And now - he will follow him; From now on - he will be catching people:
And the nets he will haul in - or others for him - will be full of joy.
What we experience when we take on the new way of being, the new life in Christ,
is no less radical. It may come to us in familiar, gentle, ways, in the course
of our daily livelihood - and we pass it on others there as well - but it takes
us on a new adventure, like fishermen out of water.
At the office where I worked, one Friday I asked a co-worker,
--Hey Walter, what are you going to do this weekend?
--Oh, you know, go to a bar, have a few brews, watch the game. You know,
guystuff.
A couple of weeks later, I asked again,
--Walter, what are you going to do this weekend?
--Oh, you know, pick up my kid, take him to the park, play with him. You know,
guystuff.
Walter taught me a new word - guystuff - and he taught me what it meant: stuff
guys like to do... and he taught me what that really means: not just stuff guys
like to do like watch the Super Bowl, hang out with their buddies, swap lies,
drink beer, smoke cigars... but other stuff guys like to do too, like be a
father, be a responsible, caring parent, spend time with their children, show
them some love, enjoy them. Guystuff - the stuff guys like to do - is a human
thing: like fishing all night with your friends, and turning up empty in the
morning, pulling in your nets. It's also taking a preacher out in your boat, a
little way from shore, so the people on the banks of the inlet can hear him
clearly. And, it turns out, it can also mean a bit more. It's a human thing,
guystuff - and it can be a God thing. What Jesus had in mind, to proclaim the
word of God, to let the crowd hear the good news, and let some of the good news
be caught by those on the boat as well, then to put out into the deep waters, --
requires a real act of courage, trust, faith on Peter's part - and put down the
nets once again. Something quite ordinary is no longer so ordinary after all.
God fills the boat - our lives - to over-abundance, the measure of devotion like
an ephod of grain shaken down and spilling over. God's grace comes aboard.
What will we do with it? Will we, like Peter, respond with joy, with awe, with
acceptance, dedication, a new purpose in life? Will we know when it is time to
pull the boat up onto the beach, to leave what we were doing and come follow
him? What would this look like - for you today?
If you are going to do guystuff this afternoon - drink a few brews, watch the
game, play with your kid, catch a few fish - [or] will you be ready, when the
call comes, to drop everything, become fishers catching people from now on? In
abundance, beyond promise, without measure? Are you perhaps already doing it?
Maybe unconsciously, you have begun to venture out a little farther, into the
deeper water, using the tools you have been given, the ordinary tools of your
life, to begin something extraordinary. God took the ordinary stuff of regular
guys - a bunch of guys who had been out fishing together, no less - and
transformed the ordinary stuff of their lives, showing them what was behind it -
God's hand at work - revealing to them the Messiah, present, right there, on the
lakeshore with them.
Gideon, the last and least of his people, God greets as a mighty warrior.
Knowing him better than he knew himself, God told him, "Don't be afraid."
Paul passes on the good news, that Christ died for our sins, he was buried and
he was raised on the third day. He protests that "I AM THE LEAST and last of the
Apostles," but by the grace of God, he says, "I AM WHAT I AM." It is by God's
grace that he serves, and his grace is not in vain. "Grace we proclaim; Grace
you have come to believe."
The people come to hear the WORD of GOD. Jesus coaxes Peter, "Put out a little
way...Put out into the deep..." When he sees what is going on, Peter pleads, "Go
away! I AM A SINFUL MAN." But the Lord says, again, "Do not be afraid. From now
on you will be catching people."
Right here with us, on an ordinary day, God is taking what we bring, bread and
wine and water and oil -- and ourselves, as God made us - and turning them
somehow into extraordinary stuff: the food and drink of everlasting life, the
present reality of God with us.
St. John's, Chico, California
February 4, 2007.
CEpiphany5 BCP
Judges 6:11-24a, Psalm 85 or 85:7-13, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11
Judges 6:11-24a
The angel greets Gideon, "The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior!"
He replies, "WHO, ME?"
"Go in this might of yours," the angel says, "I hereby commission you!"
Gideon protests: "But I am the last and least of my little people."
"But I will be with you," says the Lord.
"SHOW ME A SIGN!" Gideon pleads. And boy does he get one.
"Help me, Lord!" he cries. "For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face."
And the Lord says, "Peace. Do not fear." The Lord is peace.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he tells of the tradition he has passed
down to them - and thence to us, the good news that, in accordance with the
Scriptures, Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he was raised on the
third day. Now Paul puts himself into the story - as the last of those who saw
the resurrected Jesus, and the least of his messengers. Yet God used him, by the
grace of God, to bring the message, the good news. God's grace we proclaim; you
have come to believe in God's grace, and to put your faith in the Messiah.
Luke 5:1-11
Peter shows us an early example of that faith at work, as he goes ahead, taking
Jesus at his word, into his boat, out a little ways, then farther into deep
water. And then, on land, he embarks on a riskier journey yet - taking on a new
way of living, of being. No longer is he the captain of his fate, the pilot of
his own boat: he has turned the helm over to Jesus.
And now - he will follow him; From now on - he will be catching people:
And the nets he will haul in - or others for him - will be full of joy.
What we experience when we take on the new way of being, the new life in Christ,
is no less radical. It may come to us in familiar, gentle, ways, in the course
of our daily livelihood - and we pass it on others there as well - but it takes
us on a new adventure, like fishermen out of water.
At the office where I worked, one Friday I asked a co-worker,
--Hey Walter, what are you going to do this weekend?
--Oh, you know, go to a bar, have a few brews, watch the game. You know,
guystuff.
A couple of weeks later, I asked again,
--Walter, what are you going to do this weekend?
--Oh, you know, pick up my kid, take him to the park, play with him. You know,
guystuff.
Walter taught me a new word - guystuff - and he taught me what it meant: stuff
guys like to do... and he taught me what that really means: not just stuff guys
like to do like watch the Super Bowl, hang out with their buddies, swap lies,
drink beer, smoke cigars... but other stuff guys like to do too, like be a
father, be a responsible, caring parent, spend time with their children, show
them some love, enjoy them. Guystuff - the stuff guys like to do - is a human
thing: like fishing all night with your friends, and turning up empty in the
morning, pulling in your nets. It's also taking a preacher out in your boat, a
little way from shore, so the people on the banks of the inlet can hear him
clearly. And, it turns out, it can also mean a bit more. It's a human thing,
guystuff - and it can be a God thing. What Jesus had in mind, to proclaim the
word of God, to let the crowd hear the good news, and let some of the good news
be caught by those on the boat as well, then to put out into the deep waters, --
requires a real act of courage, trust, faith on Peter's part - and put down the
nets once again. Something quite ordinary is no longer so ordinary after all.
God fills the boat - our lives - to over-abundance, the measure of devotion like
an ephod of grain shaken down and spilling over. God's grace comes aboard.
What will we do with it? Will we, like Peter, respond with joy, with awe, with
acceptance, dedication, a new purpose in life? Will we know when it is time to
pull the boat up onto the beach, to leave what we were doing and come follow
him? What would this look like - for you today?
If you are going to do guystuff this afternoon - drink a few brews, watch the
game, play with your kid, catch a few fish - [or] will you be ready, when the
call comes, to drop everything, become fishers catching people from now on? In
abundance, beyond promise, without measure? Are you perhaps already doing it?
Maybe unconsciously, you have begun to venture out a little farther, into the
deeper water, using the tools you have been given, the ordinary tools of your
life, to begin something extraordinary. God took the ordinary stuff of regular
guys - a bunch of guys who had been out fishing together, no less - and
transformed the ordinary stuff of their lives, showing them what was behind it -
God's hand at work - revealing to them the Messiah, present, right there, on the
lakeshore with them.
Gideon, the last and least of his people, God greets as a mighty warrior.
Knowing him better than he knew himself, God told him, "Don't be afraid."
Paul passes on the good news, that Christ died for our sins, he was buried and
he was raised on the third day. He protests that "I AM THE LEAST and last of the
Apostles," but by the grace of God, he says, "I AM WHAT I AM." It is by God's
grace that he serves, and his grace is not in vain. "Grace we proclaim; Grace
you have come to believe."
The people come to hear the WORD of GOD. Jesus coaxes Peter, "Put out a little
way...Put out into the deep..." When he sees what is going on, Peter pleads, "Go
away! I AM A SINFUL MAN." But the Lord says, again, "Do not be afraid. From now
on you will be catching people."
Right here with us, on an ordinary day, God is taking what we bring, bread and
wine and water and oil -- and ourselves, as God made us - and turning them
somehow into extraordinary stuff: the food and drink of everlasting life, the
present reality of God with us.
St. John's, Chico, California
February 4, 2007.
CEpiphany5 BCP
Judges 6:11-24a, Psalm 85 or 85:7-13, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11
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