Wilbur Community Presbyterian Church

Fighting Amensia

2012-02-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

February 5th, 2012 “Fighting Amnesia” Rev. Heather Jepsen
Isaiah 40:21-31 with Mark 1:29-39

We will begin today with our reading from Isaiah. This morning’s text is from a part of Isaiah that was written during the time of the Babylonian exile. The nation of Israel has been defeated and the people have been carted off to the land of Babylon. It is a time of great sadness and mourning for the faithful; a time when they wonder if perhaps God has forgotten about them all together.

In this section of Isaiah, the prophet is giving the people a wake up slap. “Hey,” he seems to yell, “Have you all forgotten who God is?!?” He goes on with a list of rhetorical questions that quickly grab our attention. “Have you not known, have you not heard, don’t you understand who God is? God is the one who sits on a throne above the earth. He’s so high up that we look like ants from where he sits. And not only that, he is the ultimate one in charge. He is the one who stretches out the heavens and he is the one who makes princes into paupers.”

Isaiah is calling to the people to remember just who the Lord is. Though their world may seem harsh and out of control, God is still the utmost power in creation. God is still the one who has power over the nation of Israel and over their oppressors, the nation of Babylon.

Again the prophet assails the people with questions, “Why do you say God has forgotten you? Don’t you know, haven’t you heard? He is the everlasting God whose power stretches from the ends of the earth to the end of all time. He doesn’t get tried; in fact he is the one who lifts up all who are tired.” And here the prophet writes of those who put their trust in the Lord. It is those who wait in the Lord, those who are grounded in their faith, who “shall mount up with wings like eagles, who shall run and not be weary, who shall walk and not faint.”

Of course like the people of Israel, we’ve heard these words before. We know all about being “raised up on eagle’s wings” and yet that doesn’t stop us from wondering about the care and presence of God. In the commentary “Feasting on the Word” William Carl, a seminary president and a teacher of preaching, calls this “theological amnesia”. He writes,

“First of all, we are amnesiacs. Notice how selective our memory is. We remember what we want to. If we are constantly self-critical, we remember only the awful things we have done in our lives. If we think we are perfect, we remember only the good things.”

Theological amnesia, or forgetting about God can strike in good times and bad.

“Theological amnesia is especially troubling when life goes well. How easily we forget God when everything is on track in our lives! We forget that God loves us and wants the best for us. We forget to praise God and thank God for the blessings we receive every day.”

“Theological amnesia is also the kind of problem that causes us to fall apart every time a crisis comes. It is what happens when you hear the dreaded “cancer” word or the doctor tells you they found a spot on your lung. Some of us whine. Others of us worry in desperate silence. Like the returning exiles, we wonder whether God hasn’t gone off and left us all together.”

I think all of us can easily fall prey to this idea of theological amnesia. We forget who we are; the church, believers, the chosen people redeemed by the love and grace of our Lord. And we forget who God is; our savior and protector, the one who has always been with us and always will be.

As the pastor of this church, I can see this theological amnesia at work in our life right now. As we face an unknown and uncertain future people get scared. “How are we going to be the church?” people ask. Sometimes it feels like everyone has forgotten that we already are the church. We have forgotten that we have been the church here in Wilbur since 1895. That’s over 100 years of faithful ministry. Why would anything change now? It is like we have developed amnesia and forgotten that by God’s grace we have been the church for years and that by God’s grace we will continue to be the church for years to come.

So, what’s the solution to theological amnesia, what is the solution to our all too easy habit of simply forgetting about God? Why, it’s to remember God of course! We worry that God has forgotten us, because we don’t really trust God. We have forgotten who God is and the cure for theological amnesia is to remember who God is by placing our trust in the Lord. As Isaiah puts it, “those who wait for the Lord, those who trust in the Lord, shall renew their strength.”

The way to fight amnesia is to remember, and the way that we remember is to get centered in the Lord, and of course, the way we do that is through prayer. In our gospel reading Jesus gives us a great example of this. Picking right up on the heels of where we left off last week, Jesus has been busy beginning his ministry as told in Mark’s gospel. He has called the disciples, he has taught in the synagogue, and he has healed a man of an unclean spirit. His whirlwind tour of action continues in our reading for today.

He leaves the synagogue and heads straight to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law is ill, and taking her by the hand Jesus heals her. By that evening, the crowds are banging on the door for his attention. Many of the sick and demon possessed have come to beg for a simple touch from Jesus. As Mark tells us, the “whole city was gathered around the door.” Jesus goes to work, late into the night, curing many of the sick and casting out many of the demons.

In the early morning hours, when the hubbub has finally died down, Jesus goes off by himself. Escaping the disciples and the crowd, Jesus takes a moment alone, to plug in. I love Mark’s gospel because I think he gives us the most human portrayal of Jesus and I see that here. Unlike the Jesus of John, who is so fully divine that he is God in and of himself, in Mark’s gospel, Jesus needs to check in with God. And we find him doing that here. In the pre dawn morning, Jesus sneaks off to a deserted place for some time alone with God, and he prays.

Now remember, sometimes theological amnesia strikes when things are going good. I like to think that in this story from Mark, Jesus is trying to avoid that. The crowds have been after him and already he has become a famous healer. I imagine that at this point, he is taking a time out to try to remember who he is and what his mission is here on earth. Why did he come? What is he supposed to do? What is God’s purpose for his life? With all the fame and power that folks wanted to give him, it would have been tempting to abandon his God given mission for an easier assignment.

In fact, even as he sits and prays the disciples are hunting him down to do just that. They come and find him saying “everyone is searching for you”. It’s like they are handing him the temptation. You are famous; the people want you, come and give in to their grip. Come and give in to a desire for power. Come and be loved by the people. You are a healer, come and heal them.

But by this point Jesus has taken the time to check in with God. As Isaiah puts it, he has waited for the Lord. And so he will not fall prey to theological amnesia, he will not forget who God is and what God wants of him. “No” he tells the disciples, “we are moving on from this place. My primary mission is not as a healer, it’s as a preacher, one who proclaims the good news.”

If we are going to be those that follow Christ, then we too must set aside the moments of prayer. If we are going to fight amnesia, we need to stop the busyness and rest in the Lord.

I thought of a great analogy of this which is the iPod. Many of you here have iPods or your kids have iPods. An iPod will run just fine on its own, but eventually it will get slow. The basic iPod doesn’t connect to the internet and you can’t add any new music to it on its own. To make it run its best you have to plug it into the computer. Then it “syncs” which is a time when it downloads updates and new music. You have to plug your iPod into the computer to keep it working its best.

I think that we are the same way with God. Like plugging an iPod into a computer, we need to plug in and sync with God. We need to check in, we need to pause, we need take a moment for God. We need to pray. We need to listen. We need to wait for the Lord to lift us up on the wings of the eagle.

I want to close this week with a great poem I found by a fellow named Carlo Carretto. This is called “Look beyond” and I think it really captures our need to fight amnesia by pausing for a moment to check in with God. The imagery of this poem is powerful and I want to encourage you now to close your eyes in meditation and really listen to this.

But through the grace of God, contemplation – true contemplation – does not depend on you. You are not the dawn, you are the land that awaits the dawn.

Your God is the dawn, and later he is full daylight, and later still high noon.

You are the land that waits for the light, the blackboard that waits for the white chalk of the draughtsman who walks towards you with that chalk in his hand. Sit down and try to be still; sit still and try to hope. Leave behind you time, space, number, thought, reason, culture, and look ahead.

Look beyond yourself, beyond your helplessness and your limitations, and wait.

Your heart has been tried by suffering and darkness; now allow it to stop relying on the earth it is leaving.

Let your tears flow, to water the arid land of your faith.

Persevere.

Do not think of anything else. God is before you.

God is coming to you.

Contemplation is not a matter of watching, but of being watched, and he is there watching you.

And if he is watching you, he loves you, and in loving you, he gives what you are looking for: himself.

What other gift could there be for one who had searched so hard.

Our heart is so hard to satisfy.

God alone can fill it.

Things never can.

The Healing Touch of Jesus

2012-01-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

January 29th, 2012 “The Healing Touch of Jesus” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Mark 1:21-28

This morning’s gospel story is a dramatic one but sometimes that sense of drama gets lost in the familiarity of the text. To bring back that drama and energy I want to read a retelling of this story by another preacher, Scott Hoezee. He tells it like this . . .

“It was the Sabbath and so, naturally, the Jews of Capernaum went to the synagogue.

Some of them went sleepily; others went with a great weariness following a busy week of work. Still others trekked over in a rather irritable mood for who knows why--maybe it had been no more than that they were out of cream cheese back at the house and the bagel at breakfast that morning just wasn't as good without it. In any event, something set them off and so they weren't in the best of moods as they approached synagogue. Still others arrived having bickered with their kids on the way over. "We're going to God's house, for pity sake! Shape up, you kids!"
It was the Sabbath and so, naturally, they went to synagogue.

From various paths, emerging from a variety of experiences in the week gone by, awash in a welter of differing emotions and mental states, they came. They came because, among other things, it was frankly their pious habit to do so. For as long as many of them could remember they had gone to synagogue on Sabbath morning. It was the thing to do. It was what was expected of you. You went to the synagogue, moved your way through the fairly staid and predictable liturgy, listened as the scribes read a portion of the Torah, sang a hallel doxology, and then you went home for the feast day meal at noon.

It was the Sabbath and so, naturally, they went to synagogue.

But on that particular morning, Jesus of Nazareth was there, and his presence would create a worship service no one would ever forget. This Jesus stood up as some kind of guest pastor that day. Few, if any, had ever heard of him before and once they looked into the bulletin and saw he was from Nazareth originally, not a few perhaps groaned inwardly.

But then he started to teach and although he was no John the Baptist full of theatrics and arm-waving fire-and-brimstone rhetoric, there was something striking in the very way this Jesus spoke. It wasn't just that his ideas and vocabulary were fresh and innovative and it wasn't simply that he was a better orator than they at first guessed. Rather, there was something in the very presence of the man that made you want to sit up straighter. Even the teenagers, who had worked so hard at perfecting a bored-stiff look on their faces, couldn't help perking up, slouching a bit less and listening more closely than they'd care to admit.

This man had authority. He had a moral gravity, a weightiness and substance to him that people found difficult to explain. Somehow they sensed that this man and the message about God's kingdom he was talking about were one and the same thing. This man's impact had nothing to do with any seminary diplomas he had hanging on his wall. It did not stem from his once having been ordained and it wasn't just because he had clearly done his homework, had practiced his sermon, and so was able to preach without distracting stutters. No, this man was the very message he was proclaiming. They couldn't quite put their finger on it, but this man packed a wallop just by virtue of being there at all.

A few folks were starting to whisper their amazement even as others scrawled a furtive "Wow!" on the bulletin and then showed it to the person next to them. They were just starting to realize that something extraordinary was happening when suddenly and from the back pew a shriek went up. "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?! Have you come to wipe us out already!? I know who you are; you are the Holy One of God!"

Well, this didn't happen every week in worship, either! "Be quiet!" Jesus commanded. And everyone there was glad he said it because it was on the tip of their tongues, too. You can't tolerate that kind of thing in church. The only thing for such an interruption is to tell the person to hush and then hope the ushers get over there fast to bring this sadly crazed person to the narthex. Everyone in the synagogue was thinking "Be quiet!" and so they were glad Jesus said it out loud on their mutual behalf.

But then Jesus said something that no one else had had in mind: "Come out of him!" And no sooner were those words out of Jesus' mouth and the man convulsed! He shook like a leaf in a violent wind before shrieking one last time and then collapsing into a heap. But then the hapless fellow was better. The fire had gone out of his eyes and a look of calm came over him.

At that precise moment, however, he was the only calm-looking one in the whole place! Everyone else was scraping their jaws off the floor! This just didn't happen every week at church! By that late in the service on a typical Sabbath people's thoughts usually began to drift to other vital things, like will they get home on-time enough to keep the pot roast from drying out and is little Martin is behaving himself in worship center. But not today! No one's mind wandered, no one turned his thoughts to the mundane or the typical. They had encountered Jesus, and he was all they could talk about for a long time to come.”

I love the way preacher Hoezee retells this story, it brings it back to life for us. So many of our encounters with the gospel are dulled by our familiarity with the text. We’ve seen and heard it all before so we aren’t surprised to know that Jesus was able to cast out demons or that Jesus was able to heal; for those things are part of the very nature of who he is. In fact, as regular attendees and believers sometimes we struggle to be surprised by Jesus at all.

It seems to me that if any narratives seem distant or far removed from our own experience it is those of Jesus performing exorcisms. While the belief in exorcism is still alive and well in some Christian circles, in our modern time few of us have any experience of such a thing. Now relegated to the realm of scary stories and horror movies; demon possession is something that many modern people don’t really believe in. And if we take that view, it is hard to see the power in the act that Mark is describing. Was Jesus really casting out a demon we wonder, or was he simply healing a man of epilepsy?

As modern believers, it can be hard to see and understand the power that Mark is trying to convey in this gospel story. Mark wants his readers to know that Jesus has power over chaos. Jesus has power over things that can’t be seen and over things that can’t be controlled. Jesus has power over the things that scare us. Jesus has authority in his teaching, and his teaching has the power to heal.

In my readings this week I came across an interesting idea from author Gretchen Ziegenhals. She invites us to consider that though we may not encounter demons, we all need plenty of healing in our lives. She writes . . .

“If we are honest, we recognize that we are all possessed – by jealousies, addictions, pride, unhealthy life styles, excessive worries or unforgiving spirits – issues that need to be exorcised in order for us to live the lives that God intended for us. Mark shows us that when an unclean spirit animates or possesses us, it is in opposition or contrary to the spirit of Christ, the spirit of a healthy and whole life.”

Doesn’t that just turn the whole story on its head? I don’t have any experience with demons, but I can certainly see where I might be possessed by unhealthy energies. My need to always plan and be in control, my fearful worrying about my children, and my underlying desire to win approval from others; all have the potential to grow into a negative force in my life. If I don’t keep those things in check through the regular disciplines of study and prayer, than I can fall victim to those powers. This scripture reading helps me see clearly the power of Christ’s authority in my life. If I am able to recognize those evils for what they are, then I can hand them over to God, the only one who will be able to help me keep them under control or clear them out of my system.

Which begs the question, what about you? What are the issues in your life that have the power to possess you? Greed, envy, lust, pride, worry, fear; they all have the power to take over our lives in a negative way, and they all have the power to possess us. And we clearly need the touch of Jesus to bring healing. We need to turn over the fullness of our lives, even the most secret places, to Jesus Christ for he alone has the authority and power to lead us in new paths.

Through pastor Hoezee’s retelling of the story, Mark’s narrative of Jesus comes to life and through author Ziegenhals’ interpretation we can see how it applies to us. All of us run the risk of being possessed by unhealthy forces in our lives. Jesus has the power to change all that. Jesus has the power to transform and heal us. Jesus has the power to change the world. Jesus alone has the power and the authority to free us and change our lives. All we need to do is hand them over to him. Amen.

Trust Issues

2012-01-23T11:20:00.001-08:00

January 22nd, 2012 “Trust Issues” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Psalm 62 and Mark 1:14-20

Here at church we spend a lot of time talking about faith and when we talk about faith, we often talk about what we believe. We talk about what the right answers are in our worldview; I believe in the triune God, I believe in the lordship of Jesus Christ, I believe in the forgiveness of sins, etc etc. These are all ideas and concepts, they are what I believe. But a real conversation about faith might better begin not with the question of “what do you believe?” but rather “who do you trust?” When the rubber meets the road and we are in those testing moments, we find out what we really believe when we find out who we really trust.

This morning’s reading from the book of Psalms is all about trust. It opens with a personal declaration of faith. “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.” It can be easy to say we have that trust or faith if we haven’t had to use it, if we haven’t really needed to rely on God. But that’s not the case for the psalmist, his trust of God didn’t just appear of its own, rather it came from a painful experience of the world.

In verses three and four we read about the sufferings of the psalmist. It appears that someone who once was a friend, now has been spreading lies about the psalmist. Someone who at one time “blessed with their mouth” now is “inwardly cursing” the psalmist and “taking pleasure in falsehood.” Someone has been attacking the psalmist by deliberately battering their reputation the way one might try to push down a leaning fence.

Here in the small town of Wilbur, we know the power of words to ruin a reputation. Nothing flies through this community like bad gossip. And once word spreads about you in town, even if it’s not true, you often don’t stand a chance against it. It is this pain, that of having one who was a trusted friend deliberately trying to hurt them, that has taught the psalmist to trust in God alone.

After sharing his personal experience the psalmist then calls on the congregation to also place their trust in God. The original statement of faith is repeated, that the soul waits for God alone, who is the only refuge and strength. In verse eight the psalmist encourages the people of the congregation to come to a similar faith. “Trust in God at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”

The psalmist then goes on to say that the things people frequently put their trust in aren’t trustworthy at all. Those who are rich and powerful are nothing. Equally, those who are low are nothing. In fact, all people are nothing, they are lighter then breath, when compared with the steadfastness of the Lord. Money and wealth also amount to nothing. Whether stolen or earned, riches will not give the heart peace, riches can not be trusted. For God alone our soul should wait.

In the final verses, the psalmist speaks directly to God. Why should God be trusted? Because power and love belong to the Lord. God is the only one with complete power, the only one who will lift us up. And God is the only one with complete love, the only one who will love and give to us without counting the cost or expecting a return. God alone is our refuge and strength because God alone has the power and love to lift us up and protect us.

The message of the psalm is as powerful to us in our modern day and age as it was to the congregation it was first sung to. In our modern time, we are tempted to place our trust in a lot of things. We all want more money; because somehow we can trust money and money will make all our problems go away. We all want more friends, more power, because somehow they will protect and save us. We have a feeling that it is those outside of us who will make our life OK. In America, we have a real temptation to trust ourselves over and above everything else. I don’t need anyone, I can do it myself, I will lift myself up by my bootstraps and make myself OK. We might not say it but we often act like we don’t need God to be our rock and salvation, we can do that for ourselves.

To think of our faith not as simply a set of right answers, but rather as a way of life trusting in God alone is a real challenge. We can be really good at giving the right answers, and lot less good at really giving ourselves and our lives to God. “For God alone my soul waits in silence” is a challenging faith statement. To really rest in God, to give up our need to control and be in charge, is work in and of itself. We have to wrestle with the fear of giving up control, of truly trusting God with everything. To step out in trust of God is to make a genuine leap of faith.

As difficult as that path is, our scriptures are full of people who have placed their trust in God, even perhaps over and above their own better judgment. The Bible is chock full of characters who have made this leap of faith. Think of Noah, building a boat for a giant flood that those around him didn’t believe was coming. Think of Abraham, leaving behind his home to travel to some storied promised land for his ancestors when he didn’t even have a son. Think of David, being anointed the king of Israel when there already was a king on Israel’s throne. Throughout the scriptures we find stories of those who refused to place their trust in money, people, or even their own judgment, and instead trusted in God alone. This is the story of our faith.

Our reading from the gospel of Mark this morning is a great example of this trust in the Lord. The news has spread that John has been arrested and now Jesus is in Galilee preaching the gospel, “The kingdom of God has come, its time to repent and believe the good news.” Jesus passes the Sea of Galilee and sees Simon and Andrew fishing. He calls to them to follow him and Mark tells us that they immediately drop their nets and come. Similarly Jesus passes James and John fishing with their father. He calls to them as well, and they too leave behind their work to follow him.

Can you imagine that kind of trust in the Lord? These people were fisherman. Their whole life was about catching fish. Their boats and nets were their resources and tools, they were all that they had. And yet on one word from Jesus they leave it all to follow him. Can you imagine James and John, leaving their father alone with the family business as they turn to follow a stranger?

The story that Mark tells of the early followers is a great example of trusting in the Lord alone. Like the psalmist tells us, these guys didn’t trust money to save them; their most valuable possessions were probably the boats they walked away from. And they didn’t trust people to save them, as they turned and left behind family, friends, and coworkers. And they probably didn’t even trust their own judgment, as I am sure there was no small part of them wondering if this was really a good idea or not. It was clear after the arrest of John that following Jesus was a risky move.

No, these guys trusted in the Lord alone. They heard the word from Jesus Christ, and they stepped out in faith in a powerful way. Their actions are a vision of the words of the psalmist, “For God alone my soul waits in silence. He alone is my rock and salvation.”

As we leave the sanctuary this morning and head out into the world there will be a lot of voices vying for our attention. They will be calling to us like a siren song, asking us to trust in any number of things. From money and possessions, to the power of good looks and personality, from political ideologies, to support for our nation’s military might the world around us calls us to trust it. As the psalmist writes, all of these things, even those which seem most secure, are but a breath before the Lord. God alone is worthy of our trust, for God alone has the power and love that will save us.

Those that are called to be people of faith are those that are called to put their trust in the Lord, above all else. It’s easy to say what you believe. It is a lot harder to actually live it. “For God alone my soul waits in silence. He alone is my rock and salvation, my fortress, I shall never be shaken.” Amen.

New Beginnings

2012-01-02T10:01:00.001-08:00

January 1st, 2012 “New Beginnings” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Luke 2:22-40 with Galatians 4:4-7

What a blessing it is this year to have such wonderful opportunities for worship. Last Sunday those who gathered had the special chance to enjoy worship on Christmas Day. While this is common for our Catholic sisters and brothers, we Protestants often spend Christmas day at home. I know I truly enjoyed the chance to really celebrate the “reason for the season” in worship this year. And now, here we are on another wonderful holiday. I can’t think of any better way to start the New Year than by gathering together in worship.

Our gospel reading for today continues the birth narrative in Luke. The angels have flown away and the shepherds are back in their fields. Life is returning back to normal for the Holy Family. While in Bethlehem the family decides to visit the temple to finish the proper Jewish rites for the child, from there they will return home to Nazareth in Galilee.

As they arrive at the temple Luke makes it clear that they have come prepared. It is the custom to offer a gift to God, a sacrifice to the Lord, upon the birth of a child. The required offering is a small lamb, but highlighting the economic circumstances of the young family, Luke tells us that they bring the alternate offering, two doves. Provisions had been made in the law for those who were of little means and it is clear that though they are rich in spirit, the holy family is poor in funds.

We find two characters waiting at the temple. Both Simeon and Anna have been faithfully attending the temple each day with the hopes of glimpsing the Messiah who was said to come. Before the family even has a chance to bring Jesus forward, Simeon swoops down and takes the baby in his arms. It wouldn’t be Luke’s birth narrative without spontaneous singing, so it is no surprise that Simeon breaks out into phrase. He sings praises to God for letting him see this holy one, this Messiah, who will change the world for Israel and all people.

Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph where amazed by these things. It is interesting to note that the Greek term for amazed that is used here can also be translated as astonished or even confused. What parent wouldn’t be a bit surprised to enter the church and have a stranger immediately grab their child and start singing a song at the top of his lungs? Of course there is more than astonishment in the mix, for Simeon warns that this child will lead to the rising and falling of many in Israel. Here we find the first whiff of anything negative associated with the life of Jesus. Simeon also warns Mary that a sword will pierce her soul or heart, and as those who know how this story ends we feel sympathy for the holy mother.

Anna the prophet then comes into play. Her name is a reference to Hannah, the mother of Samuel, who offered her son to the temple for a lifetime of service to God. She too comes to the holy family and begins to praise the Lord and speak about the child. It was certainly a big day of blessing at the Bethlehem temple for the baby Jesus and his parents.

I have to admit that I really enjoy this part of Luke’s birth narrative. Angels and shepherds are something we read about every year but not something most of us have any experience of. But this story, of bringing the child to the church, is something we can relate to. Mary and Joseph are faithful Jews and so they follow the religious custom of making an offering at the temple for their child. Most of us here have done this very thing in our own faith tradition. When our children are young we follow the custom and bring them to church to present before God and the community.

Today of course, I am bringing my own child in this tradition. Lars and I will bring Henry forward, and offer him to the Lord according to the custom of our faith. He will be baptized and adopted into the family of God today, a blessing for our family and for our community.

The wonderful thing about celebrating a baptism is that it gives each of us an opportunity to remember our own baptisms. Most of us here were brought before the church at one time by our parents, or by our own decision. If we were baptized as babies our parents made promises on our behalf. If we were baptized as youth or adults we remember making those promises for ourselves.

Some traditions only practice adult baptism but in the Presbyterian Church we encourage infant baptism. The reason we baptize babies is that it is a powerful sign of God’s ability to reach out to us before we are even able to respond. Though Henry is too young to accept the faith into which he is baptized, we baptize him in the confidence that God has already accepted him and reached out to him in love.

We see this language in Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia. Paul writes that in the fullness of time, God sent the Son into the world. Through this son, all people, Jews and Gentiles, receive adoption into the holy family. Before we even existed, before we were ever able to respond to God, God sent Jesus Christ to us in the spirit of his love. Through Christ, all of us are adopted into the family of faith. And as Paul says like little babes, we now call our God, “Abba, Daddy”.

Baptism is about this adoption into the family of faith. When we are baptized we are washed clean of sin. We join ourselves with Christ, dying to our old ways of living and rising to new ones. We are united with Christ and made into new and free people. Basically, we get to start over again.

This is such a wonderful day to celebrate a baptism because as American people we are already in the mind set of new beginnings. The first day of the New Year is always seen as a time for starting over. We make our resolutions to loose weight, exercise more, save money, and come to church more often. This is the time of year when we are already thinking about what we want to change in our lives and what we want to do better in 2012. As part of the baptism ceremony later in this service we will each have an opportunity to renew our faith. I can’t think of a better New Year’s resolution than to remember your own baptism and to make a commitment to strengthening your life of faith in this coming year.

When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple they brought together the family of faith. We see it in the beautiful image of the elderly figures of Simeon and Anna holding and responding to the precious baby Jesus. That is what the church looks like and we see it here each week as generations come together in worship. It is here in this family of faith that we share our lives with each other. It is a privilege to welcome each child as a child of God just as it is a joy to watch children grow into adults and embrace the faith for their own.

Through this Christmas season we are constantly reminded that when God came to us most clearly, in a way we could see and know, God came to us as a child. There is something special about a baby that draws us out of ourselves. I’ve seen men with the toughest hands gently cradle a newborn. I’ve seen some of the gruffest people, coo to the smallest child. And I’ve seen some of the grouchiest people, open up and smile at a baby. There is something about a baby that touches and opens our hearts. Is it any wonder that God comes to us in this way?

Today in scripture, we remember the time when Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus to the temple for the first time. We celebrate his life cycle each year so in the life of the church Jesus grows up fast. In fact next Sunday he will already be an adult, baptized in the river Jordan and ready to return to the temple to minister and preach.

Today as a church family, we bring Henry forward for baptism and celebrate the love of God for him and all of us. Unlike the story of Christ, Henry’s future remains unknown to us. We can be confident though that he has been adopted into the family of God. And we look forward to the day when he grows up and returns to the church to embrace this faith for himself. Amen

Ordinary Holiness

2012-01-02T10:00:00.001-08:00

December 25th, 2011 “Ordinary Holiness” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Luke 2:1-20

It is Christmas Day, and we have come to this place together to celebrate our Lord on the day of his birth. This is a special, holy day; a day set aside for tradition, celebration, and remembrance. Today is all about the holy breaking into the ordinary.

The setting of the Christmas story in Luke is very ordinary. You have a young couple traveling. Certainly Mary and Joseph weren’t the only folks headed out of Nazareth into the city of Bethlehem for the census. While she is full term in her pregnancy that too is nothing strange. Children are born every day and Jesus certainly wasn’t the only soul born that night in Bethlehem. The fact that he was born into poverty was nothing new either. There wasn’t room in the inn, for Mary and Joseph or any other travelers. Many folks would have been spending the night in whatever warm place they could find.

The time comes for the child to be born, a natural act in those days. It wasn’t like people went to the hospital at that time. A birth outside in the stable really wasn’t as odd as it seems to us today. Luke seems to imply that the birth happened smoothly for suddenly the child was born and wrapped in bands of cloth. The family laid him in a manger, which is the feeding trough for the animals. That seems a bit strange but it was probably a fabulous make shift crib. The family could have lined it with straw and maybe an extra blanket and it would have held the baby and kept him warm really well.

Shepherds out in the fields, watching their flocks by night, is nothing if not ordinary. The shepherds were a lowly sort, dressed in their grubby clothes, smelling a bit ripe, and outside all the time. Like any other night they are not quite sleeping as they keep on eye on their flocks. Everything about that night was simple, ordinary, regular, and every day.

Until something big intrudes, until the holy breaks in to the ordinary. Luke tells us that suddenly an angel of the Lord appears to the shepherds and the glory of the Lord shines around them. Needless to say they wake up and they are scared. The angel says that contrary to appearances this is not an ordinary night, that something extra-ordinary has happened. A child has been born in the city of David, and this is no ordinary child. This boy is the Messiah, the Lord. And suddenly the sky is full of the Lord’s angel army praising God and singing “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

It is no wonder that the shepherds immediately take off and head for the city of Bethlehem. Who wouldn’t want to see this child, this miracle that has taken place, this holy thing that has suddenly entered the world? They run into the city and find the family and immediately tell them all that they have heard. What seemed like an ordinary birth in an ordinary place was really a holy event, a miracle, Emmanuel, the Messiah come among us. Mary takes all these words and ponders them in her heart as the shepherds head out into the world to spread the good news of great joy.

It is a wonderful thing that we pause each year to remember the Christmas story. The story of Christmas reminds us that God is not found in wealth and happiness, in gold and silver, in power and prestige, or in the special things of the world. Rather, God is found in the ordinary things of the world; in the young couple spending a night outside, in the poor shepherds asleep in the field, in the babe lying in a feeding trough. God is found in the family gathering and the traditions of Christmas, the ornaments on the tree, the sharing of gifts, the Christmas dinner that features grandma’s special recipe. The story of Emmanuel is the story of God in the ordinary places of our lives.

The Christmas story is all about the gathering of people; friends and strangers. As the shepherds intrude on the peaceful night, we find a new definition of family. Here is the immediate family and the strangers together, centered around the person of Jesus Christ. So too in the church, we find friends, family, and strangers gathered together in worship of our Lord.

As we celebrate the sacrament of Communion this morning, we remember that Jesus was born into the feeding trough. It is no mistake that this is where we would find the bread of life. Jesus has come into the world to feed us all with his wisdom, his person, his death, and resurrection. As we take the simple bread and juice we celebrate the holy in the ordinary of our lives. These every day items become symbols and reminders of the God who came to live among us, the God who entered the ordinary to save us. As we gather at this table, we gather as a family; strangers and friends centered around Christ.

Every year we celebrate and remember Jesus our Lord, born in the manger, come to be God-with-us, come to feed us the bread of life. The story of Christmas reminds us that if we are looking for God, we will find him here as we gather in his name; and we will find him at home, as we celebrate his coming. Thanks be to God for this wonderful day, this wonderful message. Christ has come, the holy in the ordinary, praise be to God! Amen.

Clergy Corner

2011-12-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

Since there is no sermon for this week I thought I would share an article for our local newspaper.

Wilbur Register Clergy Corner

December 19th, 2011

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” After much waiting and prep work the Christmas season is finally here. This is my favorite time of the year and I just love all the festivities. From cookies to gift giving to special music I can’t get enough. Add to that the absolutely wonderful worship services and the beauty of the Christmas message. The truth is I look forward to this season all year and relish it when it arrives. This is a time when I like to just sit back and really enjoy the gifts that God has blessed me with.

Unfortunately I often find myself in the minority. When I look around at family and friends this year, sitting back and enjoying the gifts of the season seems far from everyone’s mind. In fact, most people are ramping up and preparing to get really stressed out. There is something about this season that makes us feel like we have to perform, we have to get it right, and everything must be perfect. This time of year we are tempted to place a lot of pressure on ourselves to have the perfect holiday, and that chance to sit back and reflect on the true joy this time brings gets lost.

When that happens, I like to take a moment and remember the true Christmas story. When we read the birth narrative in Luke we find that that first Christmas was far from perfect. The story features a young, unwed, poor couple who suddenly find themselves pregnant under mysterious circumstances; definitely a far cry from perfection. They are forced to travel for a government census, and of course there is no room to stay anywhere in the town of Bethlehem. At this most inconvenient time, the baby comes. I can just imagine Joseph kicking aside the cow dung to make a straw pile for Mary to labor upon as the cows stare with their glassy eyes. Not the ideal “birth plan”. No sooner does the young family settle in when suddenly strangers are at the door. There’s not a moments peace for Mary and Joseph as the shepherds enter, bringing their little lambs and smelling a bit ripe. Not the ideal family moment.

I am sure that to Mary and Joseph it didn’t feel like that first Christmas was going according to plan. And yet you and I both know, that it was planned to happen just the way it did. That that young couple in a smelly stable with a baby in a feeding trough was just perfect, and beautiful, and the way things were meant to be.

I hope that as you celebrate this weekend with your family and friends, you won’t worry so much about it being perfect. Know that no matter what happens, from unplanned events to messy situations to surprise guests, you can trust that the holiday is going according to plan. It just might not be your plan. May God bless your Christmas this year!

With Love – Pastor Heather

Fourth Sunday of Advent

2011-12-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

Once again there was no written sermon this week. In the sermon slot we enjoyed a wonderful Children's Christmas program featuring children from both our church and the Lutheran church. It was a wonderful morning of songs, skits, and special instrumental offerings. A real blessing for our church family and the community!

Voices of Advent

2011-12-12T09:36:00.001-08:00

December 11th, 2011 “Voices of Advent” Rev. Heather Jepsen

John 1:6-8, 19-28 with Luke 1:46-55

Many of us are now in the midst of what is one of the most hectic times of the year. There are only 13 shopping days left until Christmas and the rush is on to get everything ready. We have to get the gifts and wrap them, we have to get the house all decorated and ready for company, and we have to get busy baking all those special holiday goodies. All the while the Christmas music is blaring in our heads, as if we were being chased by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. Out in the world there are many voices competing for our attention; from the Salvation Army bell ringers, to the wishes of happy holidays, to the constant drumming of spend, spend, spend; it is Christmas out there and it is a loud place.

But inside this sanctuary, it is a different time. Inside this place, a place set aside for worship, you are called to rest. We won’t be celebrating Christmas until the 24th, in here it is Advent. A special season of quiet reflection and preparation. In here, you should not be sitting worrying about your to-do list, because here your to-do list is simple; sit still and rest, be quiet and think. This time and place is much more important than what is going on outside the doors. While the loud voice of consumerist Christmas blares outside, in here we find something else entirely. In here we find the quiet voices of Advent.

Though the passage of years has diminished his volume, John the Baptist was anything but quiet in his own time and place. All the gospels are clear that he was the predecessor of Jesus, the one sent to prepare the way, the voice crying in the wilderness. In the gospel of John, John is not referred to as the Baptist; rather he is called the witness. He was the man sent from God to testify to the light.

Baptizing out in the wilderness of the Jordan, John has attracted a following and so eventually he attracts the attention of the religious establishment. There is only one religious game in town and John is not playing by the rules. “Who are you?” they want to know, but John won’t make things that easy. “I am not the Messiah” is his reply, as if they had asked him that anyway. So they continue to seek answers and John continues to offer them nothing, “Elijah?” “Nope.” “Prophet?” “Nope.” “Then who the heck are you?”

Finally John relents, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness; make straight the way of the Lord.” “That’s great,” they seem to say, “but then why are you baptizing if you are not one with authority?” “You know nothing about authority,” John seems to reply, “just wait until the next one comes, he will teach you a thing or two about authority. I’m not even worthy to touch his shoes!”

John is a voice of Advent, a witness, he has seen and knows something that he feels compelled to tell us about it. There is a great one coming, a light, a Lamb of God, one who existed before any of us were even born. This one is among us now, and we don’t even know it. God is coming, but not in the way you expect. God is coming, and it won’t be in the church or in the realms of political power. God is coming and we will be more likely to find him in the waters of the Jordan or in the wilderness, than in any tame and respectable venue.

Another voice of Advent that tells us surprising things about God is Mary. You know the story; Mary has been visited by the angel, she has been told that she is with child, and she has gone to visit her relative Elizabeth, who is also experiencing a miracle pregnancy. When Mary arrives and calls out a greeting, Elizabeth’s child, an in-utero John the Baptist, leaps for joy. Already he is a witness to the one who is to come. Elizabeth proclaims blessings on her young relative and suddenly as if we were on Broadway, Mary breaks out into song.

She sings about all sorts of things, some we might expect and some we probably don’t. She sings about herself; her spirit is rejoicing, she will be called blessed for generations to come, and her soul magnifies God who has looked with favor upon her. She sings about God; who shows great mercy and strength, who helps the nation of Israel, and who keeps his promises. She also sings about other things; about the powerful being knocked off their thrones, about the lowly being lifted up, about the hungry being fed, and about the rich being sent home with nothing.

Like John, Mary is a voice of Advent, and a witness for God. She too has come to testify to the light. She too is reminding us that God is coming, and not in a way that we might expect. God is coming, and with him a revolution. Those who are in power are about to be pulled down, and those who are trampled upon are about to take over the world. It is time to evolve, its time to revolve. Like John, Mary is telling us that God is coming and he will challenge the religious and social authorities of the day.

As followers of the light, we too are called to be voices of Advent, in here and out in the world. We too are called to be witnesses to God and his work. We are called to preach a counter Christmas, one that is about the birth of a Savior. And we are called to preach a narrative of the future, one that is about a Savior who will return to overthrow the established order of our day. Like Mary and John, we are called to preach a revolution.

The interesting thing about John and Mary is that they speak a message they have been given, but at the same time they don’t know the details. Each of them will be surprised by the way things turn out in their lives. Mary preaches a word of God’s power, but she will not live to witness such change. John preaches of one who is to come, and yet he doesn’t even know who he is looking for until he baptizes Jesus in the Jordan. Both of them witness to the power of God before they even know how God really will appear.

So too, in this season of Advent, while we preach a Christmas revolution, we are also called to watch for the work of God in new and surprising ways. If we have learned anything from the Scripture’s testimony of Christ it is that he doesn’t follow directions, at least not ours. Jesus refuses to tow the party line and fall into step with the religious authorities. Jesus refuses to accept the prescribed roll of Messiah, one who sits on the throne of David and restores Jerusalem to its glory. Like John, Jesus refuses to be pinned down and labeled, and come to think of it, who can really pin down and label light anyway.

So to, God moves in our world in ways we do not expect. Sure we might find him here in the church but we are just as likely to find him out on the street in Wilbur, Spokane, or the world. God will not come to us in decency and good order, following all the rules of man and playing all our power games. Rather, God will come to us sideways and backwards, surprising us when we are not looking and not paying attention. God will do things we don’t expect. If we know anything at all about God, it is that God is not who we think he is.

Outside these doors, the world is telling us a story about Santa and gifts and happy families and eating until we pass out. In here, we are listening to a different story. In here we are hearing the voices of Advent. They tell us to keep awake and watch out, a revolution is coming. They tell us that Christ is coming in a way that we won’t expect and might not even recognize. And they tell us to witness to this vision, this God, out in the world.

As you leave this worship space and head back out into the land of Rudolph, Frosty, and Santa; I want to encourage you to be a voice for Advent out in the world. You don’t have to yell, there’s power in just a quiet voice in your own head. Remember what this time is about, it is about watching and waiting for God to come to us in a form we don’t expect. And remember what this God is bringing; a revolution where the powerful will fall and the poor will rise. Like John and Mary, you are a voice crying out in the wilderness of consumerist Christmas. Jesus is coming, let us prepare the way! Amen.

Advent Reflections

2011-12-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

There was no written sermon this week. Instead we had a worship service centered around music that was intended to prepare us for Christmas. There were several special music offerings from the choir. In the sermon slot, I read Isaiah 40:1-11, spoke briefly about the Israelite's experience of waiting for a Messiah versus our modern experience of waiting for Christmas, and then played several songs on my harp to create a special time of quiet reflection.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-29T09:32:00.001-08:00

November 27th, 2011 “Giving Thanks” Rev. Heather Jepsen

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

The mad dash to Christmas has begun. From the flashing lights to the constant drumming of spend, spend, spend, the “holiday” season is upon us. Outside these doors we have entered the rapid tail spin to the New Year. But inside this place, this sanctuary, it is Advent; a time for reflection, watchfulness, preparation, and even thanksgiving.

Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church begins with a word of thanksgiving.

When we study the letters of Paul, we must remember that at the time people did not read the letters to themselves. It wasn’t like today where you can sit silently alone and ponder Paul’s words to the church in Corinth. Instead these words would have been read aloud to those gathered as the church. Paul opens with a traditional greeting and then follows with this blessing which would have been the first thing people heard.

Listen to it again, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind – just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you – so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Isn’t that nice? They sound like the greatest church ever don’t they? You might hear that and think that Paul will go on for pages, praising the virtues of the Corinthian church. Students of the Bible know though, that Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is anything but nice and the Corinthians are far from the picture of perfection.

The church is divided and in turmoil. There are fights among them as to who is the greatest. There are arguments about celebrating the Lord’s Supper, and issues of personal wealth getting in the way. There are fights about eating idol meat, and the strong in faith are lording it over the weak. The people of the church have been blessed with an abundance of charismatic gifts, which has led directly to worship chaos. Paul laments that the people are puffed up, arrogant, and do not have that which is most important, the greatest spiritual gift, love. Basically, the church in Corinth is a mess.

But in the midst of that mess, Paul gives thanks to God for the church and he asks them to give thanks as well. Of course, many of us paused this week to do just that. We gathered together with our family and friends to offer a word of thanks to the God of blessings. Today, before we plunge head on into the Christmas season, I think it would be proper for our church to also pause in thankfulness.

And just what are we thankful for? The very things that Paul lifts up in his letter. Paul offers thanksgiving that through Christ, the church has been enriched in speech and knowledge. As modern believers, we too have been given the gift of discerning minds, the gift of knowledge. We are a thinking people, called to discern and study the scriptures, called to learn about the world around us, and called to look for the hand of God in our midst. Like the Corinthians, we have been given the gift of speech. We have been given the ability to tell the world about our faith and we are called to preach the gospel in our environment. Especially at this time of year, to speak of our faith is to present a counter narrative to the materialism our culture presents. And so, like Paul we give thanks for the gifts of speech and knowledge.

We also give thanks for the spiritual gifts we have been given. Like the Corinthian church, we have been blessed with gifts to share in our midst. Some have the gift for teaching and we gather here to teach our faith to each other. Some of us have the gift of generosity, and so we give of ourselves to this church community on Sundays and during the week. Some of us have the gift of mediation, and we can work with others to find a solution to conflict. Some of us have the gift of faith; we are pillars of strength in rocky times. Together we make up a richly blessed community where we share these gifts with each other and for these gifts we give thanks.

Like Paul encourages the Corinthians to do, we give thanks for the strength that we find in Christ. Our experience of Jesus is what calls us into the church. It is what makes us strong when the going gets tough. It is what lifts us up in good times and bad. It is this strength that helps us to wait for the movement of God in our lives and in our world. As Paul says in his letter to the Philippians, “I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength.” Today we give thanks for our strength in Christ.

We also give thanks for the faithfulness of God. God has called to us and promised to be with us. Advent is an in-between time. A time when we celebrate that Christ has come to earth in the form of the babe in a manger and Christ is still coming in his promised return in glory. Our lives are full of in-between times, times of waiting for God to move. In these in-between times we can be confident that God is faithful. Our church is in an in-between time of its own and I think many of us are really sensing the faithfulness of God in this moment. Sure, we don’t know what our future looks like, but many of us know now more than ever that God’s presence is with us. And so, we give thanks for the faithfulness of God in these moments of waiting. Waiting for Christmas, waiting for the return of Christ, and waiting for our future to be revealed.

Just like us, the Corinthians have a lot to be thankful for. In the midst of their messiness they have been blessed with speech and knowledge, with spiritual gifts, with the strength of Christ, and with the faithfulness of God. To study this letter is to be reminded that God comes to us in the messy places in our lives. It is when things are at their messiest that we turn to God for help in. Family strife, joblessness, illness, and death frequently prompt us to turn to God for a word of reassurance. It is often when we are in our messes that we are most aware of the presence of God.

As we gather around the communion table we are reminded that life was messy for Jesus as well. Like the season of Advent, this feast is about the in-between times. We gather to celebrate the one who lived and died for us, just as we gather to look forward to a day when Christ returns and all will join together at his table in glory. We celebrate what has happened and look forward to God’s promises for the future. Through this meal we are nourished and strengthened and we give thanks to God for this spiritual sustenance.

In the coming Sundays we will be reminded of the Christmas story, one of the messiest stories ever told. From John the Baptist in the muddy Jordan to the child born among cow dung this story is not one for the faint of heart. And yet this is the story of Emmanuel, God with us. The people of God have always been a messy business, and in this season we pause to remember the God who chose to get down and dirty and live life in our mess.

The church in Corinth was in all sorts of trouble, and in the midst of that they were blessed by God. So too we, in the midst of the messy life that swirls around us, have received the blessings of our Lord. Today we pause, to remember and give thanks for these gifts. And as we continue to move through the whirlwind of the holiday season, we are called to give thanks for God’s blessings. Amen.

The Shepherd King

2011-11-21T09:29:00.001-08:00

November 20th, 2011 “The Shepherd King” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 25:31-46 with Ezekiel 34:1-24

We have come to the last Sunday of the church calendar year, next Sunday Advent begins and a whole new season of readings will commence. This last Sunday of the year is always Christ the King Sunday, which serves to remind us that after a year of studying the Lord’s word in gospel and text we can come to only one conclusion, “Christ is the King!”

Earlier in this calendar year we had a bit of royal fever here in the states and over in London. I am sure you all remember the wedding of the year as Prince William married his bride, Kate Middleton this past summer. There is not a lot of talk about royalty in our world anymore but this event served to remind us just what royalty looks like. It was all about the guest list, the decorations, the hats, and of course Kate’s dress. There were fancy cars and horse drawn carriages and even trees inside the church. We got a glimpse of royal life as we watched the news discussions of extravagant flower arrangements and fancy decadent menus. I even saw footage of people using rulers to make sure wine glasses were the perfect distance from the edge of a table for one of the couple’s many receptions! It was quite the show, and of course all of it was such a big deal because this was the royal family, and dear William, now the Duke of Cambridge, will surely someday be king.

In the days of Ezekiel, kings also celebrated with extravagant weddings and parties, but in contrast to that they were also known for extreme shows of force and violence. Ezekiel is writing to the Israelites in their time of exile. The nation has been destroyed and the people are being held captive in the foreign lands of Babylon. Sure, God had raised up rulers to the lead the people in the past, but these folks were no good and led directly to Israel’s downfall.

The word of the Lord comes to the prophet speaking judgment against those who have led Israel. Like bad shepherds, they have fattened themselves on the spoils of the herd and have not cared for the flock. They have not taken care of the sick or injured and they have let those that stray wander to their doom. The shepherds of the nation have scattered the sheep, hence the exile in Babylon.

But a word of comfort comes the Lord as well. God says that he is a different kind of shepherd, a different kind of king. He will seek out his sheep, he will rescue those that have wandered, he will feed them, give them safe haven, and bind up their injuries. And as for those who have fattened themselves on the weakness of others, those who have used their horns to butt aside everyone else, for those ones he will provide a bitter meal of justice.

Through the voice of the prophet Ezekiel we learn that God is a shepherd who ministers to the weak of the flock. Unlike humanity’s vision of royalty, this shepherd king has special concern for the poor and needy, for those whom society has pushed aside and ignored. The weak and injured don’t exactly make the guest list for a royal wedding. God cares for those who are the least among us, and if we are to follow God, so should we. This leads us of course to our gospel reading.

Once again we are picking up right where we left off last week. Jesus is with the disciples on the Mount of Olives and he is teaching them about the end times. He has been talking parables but now heads straight into metaphor. “When it does all end, for you or for the world,” he seems to say, “there will be a sorting. And by the way, it doesn’t look at all like what you imagine.”

Even though it appears only in Matthew I have no doubt that you all know the story. Like a shepherd separates the sheep and the goats, one of these days there will be a separation of all the people of the nations. Those on the Lord’s guest list so to speak find themselves there because they have waited on Jesus himself as he was in need. Those not on the guest list, have neglected to serve the Lord.

This is one of those wonderfully rich portions of the gospel. Despite all our arguing about the church, from the big questions of doctrine to the little questions of where we put the flowers up front, when it comes down to it, in the end, what really matters is how we have treated those in need, the least of these. And the marvel is that we will never know that we are doing it.

Neither those in God’s good graces, nor those outside of them, know what they have done to earn the Lord’s favor or incur his wrath. Those who have served Jesus did not do so because they knew it was Jesus. And those who missed opportunities for service certainly would have dropped everything if they realized who it was that was crying out to them for help. While some might read this as works righteousness, I see instead a lot of room for grace. We won’t know what we have done until it’s over, and I am confident that all of us will have missed opportunities to serve our Lord.

We could hardly be closer to our preparations for the Christmas season, and we are about to hear and tell the stories once again of Emmanuel – God with us. I see this profoundly in this scripture passage. Jesus is telling his disciples in plain language that he is with us, out in the world. And frequently, not only is God with us, God is with them, those that are outside our circles of comfort. If we are looking for Jesus we will find him spending time with the hungry, the naked, the sick, those in prison, and the stranger. Jesus is with the least of these, and urges us to go and find him there.

There is a movement in our culture today that is beginning to voice the concerns of the least of these. We may not have official royalty like our cousins across the sea but our nation has plenty of its own kings and queens. Since 1982, the share of America’s income held by the top 1 percent has more than doubled. The split between the haves and have-nots is growing wider by the day and as you know the Occupy Wall Street movement seeks to draw attention to this difference. The top 10 percent of the population hold more than 70 percent of the wealth, the bottom 50 percent hold 2 percent of the nation’s wealth.

Where is Jesus in this economy? Let’s look again at Matthew. If we are looking for Jesus we will find him with the hungry, the naked, the sick, and imprisoned. Where is Jesus? Probably with the unemployed, those who fear losing their jobs, those without health insurance, those who visited the Food Pantry this week. Where is Jesus? With those that the kings of our nation choose to ignore.

Today we gather to remember that Jesus is a different kind of king. Sadly the kings of our age are not that different from the ones of ancient Israel. They have been feeding themselves when they should have been feeding the sheep. God promises that he is a different kind of king, a different kind of shepherd. One who will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because some have pushed with flank and shoulder and butted out the weak, God will scatter the strong and feed them with a last meal of justice.

Jesus is a shepherd king, one who can be found not on the mountains of money but in the slums of poverty. Jesus teaches that if we are to be his followers, then that is where we should be found as well. If we are those who long to serve our Lord, than we are called to be a shepherd like him, serving those who are in need in our community and in the world.

Today is Christ the King Sunday, and after spending a year reading the Bible together we find that Christ is unlike any king the world has ever known. His reign is not about fancy weddings, silly hats, and exclusive guest lists. His reign is not about tax evasion and the amassing of even greater wealth at the cost of those in need. No, the reign of Christ the King is about standing with the poor and the oppressed, those who are ill and in need, those that the world has ignored. And if we are to be followers of this great shepherd king, than that is where we are called to stand as well. Amen.

A Risky Faith

2011-11-14T09:27:00.001-08:00

November 13th, 2011 “A Risky Faith” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 25:14-30

Our gospel reading for this morning continues right where we left off last week. Jesus is with the disciples on the Mount of Olives and he has been teaching them about the end times. Last week we studied the parable of the 10 bridesmaids, which reminded us that we have to keep busy living lives of faith while we wait for the Lord. This Sunday’s parable is also concerned with what we do while we wait.

The kingdom of heaven is like a generous land owner who was headed out on a journey. Before he left he gave extravagant gifts to his slaves, to each according to his ability. To one slave he gave five talents, to another two and to another one. A talent was more than 15 years worth of wages. In today’s terms, if you made about $10 an hour, then a talent would be over $300,000 dollars. That means the slave with five talents received over 1.5 million dollars. That’s quite the gift!

The first two slaves invest their money, doubling their return. The last slave is afraid of the wrath of the master and so he does the only safe thing he can think of . . . he buries the money in the ground.

The master comes home and is pleased with the work of the first two slaves. Both enter into the joy of their master, which seems to be some reference to heaven. The master is upset with the last slave, who didn’t even invest the money and this slave is thrown into the outer darkness . . . not good.

There are lots of ways to preach this parable. The most common one of course is to take a literal reading of the word talent. It is from the Greek word, talanta that we get our modern word, talent, which has come to mean any natural gift we possess. I have a talent for playing the harp, maybe you can sing or sew, maybe you are good with woodworking or good at fishing, maybe you can really throw a football, maybe you are great at baking cheesecakes. All of us possess some talent, some gift, given to us by God.

The traditional sermon move here is to ask you to go out and use your talent for the good of the kingdom. Don’t hide your light under a bushel basket but put it on the lamp stand for all to see. Find some way to harness the power of your gifts for ministry in God’s name. That’s a great sermon, but you’ve heard it before.

Of course, its pledge time and this would be a great chance to talk to you about money. This parable is about money after all. This would be a great time to ask how you are investing your finances for the kingdom of God. We all know this church is in a time of financial hardship. Now is not the time to bury your money, and your head, in the sand. Now is the time to give extravagantly for God’s mission here at Wilbur Community Presbyterian Church. That’s also a great sermon, but I don’t think you really need it today.

No, I think we need to go a whole other way with this. I think we need to talk about risk, faith, and the person and image of God. When we read this parable, it seems to us that the master going on the journey is God, or perhaps Jesus Christ. What doesn’t fit that is the part where the slave says the master is a harsh man who reaps where he does not sow. That doesn’t sound like God. Well I got to thinking this week, what if that isn’t the master but simply the way the slave sees the master.

Follow me here. First of all, the master is one who understands the servants on a deep level. He specifically gives gifts that match each servant’s ability. That doesn’t sound like something just any master in Jesus’ time would do. In fact I wonder how many masters even knew their slaves’ names, let alone their abilities at various tasks. This master sounds a lot like God, who knows each one of us intimately and personally.

Second, the master gives generous and abundant gifts. That doesn’t sound like any earthly master I know. We’ve already talked about the sums; this was more than a lifetime’s worth of money for any slave. This master gives super generously and he does not say that he expects anything in return. That sounds like God to me.

Third, when he returns the master welcomes the slaves into his presence, putting them on a level playing field with himself. That also doesn’t sound like an earthly master. When he welcomes the first two slaves into his joy he is making them equal to him. What master wants to welcome his slaves into his household like an equal? That sure sounds like the welcoming nature of God to me.

So, when we finally get to the third slave, his claim that the master is a harsh man who reaps where he does not sow just doesn’t ring true. That just isn’t the way the master has acted in the parable so far. But it seems, if that’s the master he wants, than that is the master he gets. And the last slave is treated harshly as he is thrown into the outer darkness.

This got me thinking, just how do we imagine God? I personally imagine a loving and generous God, full of grace and mercy. I imagine a God who will forgive the mistakes I have made in the pastorate, which is more than maybe I can say for myself. I imagine a God who wants to entrust me with great gifts and to go out and risk with them. I imagine a God who longs to welcome me and everyone else into the joy of his company.

But this is not the God everyone imagines. I know quite a few people who imagine a harsh God, a judgmental God, a God who is more concerned that we get it right rather than we just get it. I hear about this God all the time on TV and on the radio and here in conversation in Wilbur. This is the God of judgment and wrath, the God of hell fire, the God who is going to throw us into the outer darkness if we don’t measure up.

I have noticed that when I talk to people who worship this God, they often live and worship in fear. Like the third slave, these people take their gifts from God and bury them because they are afraid of doing the wrong thing. They are afraid of God’s wrath and so they tow the party line, even if they don’t really believe it, just so they won’t find themselves on the wrong side of this God. This experience of faith driven by fear and guilt is a common one.

While we can read this parable as a lesson about using our gifts or about giving our money, I think we can also read it as a lesson about how we view God. The first two slaves thought of the master as a kind and generous master, and that is the master they experienced. The last slave saw a harsh judge, and that is the master he experienced. Perhaps the God we face is the one we imagine.

If we go with that thought, then I think this parable is asking us not be afraid of God, but rather to respond to God with trust and risk. What if the master was pleased not so much that the slaves doubled his money, but that they went out into the world and used the gifts he gave them? I think the master was pleased that the slaves weren’t afraid of his anger but rather were willing to take risks with his gifts. In fact, I imagine that even if they had lost the money, the master would have been pleased with their endeavors.

I think this parable challenges us to take more risks in our faith. We have made church and faith a pretty boring thing. It’s all about coming here on Sunday, spacing out for an hour, eating a cookie, and then going home. Where’s the fun in that? We have forgotten that for Jesus and the early church, faith was anything but boring.

Jesus risked all to teach us about a generous and loving master. We remember that as we gather around this table. Jesus didn’t play it safe in the temple preaching about towing the party line. He put himself in risky situations, got out there with the people, and paid the ultimate price. A God who dies on the cross is not a God who avoids risks. Likewise the early church risked life and limb to gather in worship.

Today our faith is all about being comfortable and that’s not right. Your faith should challenge you to take risks, to say what you believe and to preach the gospel in our world. This parable teaches us that God has been and will be generous with us, but he calls us to spread that generosity around in the world. As a church, we took a risk in starting the food pantry this year. Has God not doubled our efforts? What is the next faith risk on the horizon for our church? And what is the next faith risk on the horizon for your life?

Like the parable of the 10 bridesmaids, Jesus is telling us what to do while we wait for his return. It seems to me today that this parable urges us to get out into the world and take risks with our faith. If you believe that God is a generous and loving master who wants to welcome you into his presence, than you can take that confidence, rather than fear, out into the world in ministry. Let us get out there and take risks for the gospel. Amen.

Waiting

2011-11-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

November 6th, 2011 “Waiting” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 25:1-13

This week we are jumping ahead in our reading of Matthew. We are leaving Jesus’ discourses in the temple with the Pharisees far behind and now find ourselves alone with Jesus and the disciples on the Mount of Olives. Jesus has been teaching them about the end times. He has been warning them to watch out for false Messiahs, he has been teaching them that no one can name the day or hour of his return, and he has been urging them to keep awake. In the midst of this discourse, Jesus tells several parables which allude to the nature of the end of things, and one of these is the parable of the 10 bridesmaids.

This is an interesting parable and one of the few sayings that is found only in Matthew’s gospel. It is a simple story that appears to clearly lend itself to an allegorical understanding. The kingdom of heaven is like 10 bridesmaids who go out to meet the bridegroom. It seems clear that the bridesmaids represent the church, and this is not the first time we have heard of Jesus referred to as the bridegroom. The maids have brought lamps which they will light for the ceremony. The tradition at the time was for the wedding party to gather at the home of the bride. Here they would be entertained by her parents until the arrival of the bridegroom. At that point, he and the bridesmaids would lead a processional to the home of his parents where the wedding ceremony would take place as well as a party which could last for several days.

In our story, the groom is delayed, and all the wedding party falls asleep as they wait. When the groom arrives, the wise bridesmaids that came prepared to wait with extra lamp oil, light their lamps and are off to the party. The foolish bridesmaids who were ill prepared have no oil left. They ask the wise ones to share but they refuse. And so, off they rush to find a place to buy oil in the middle of the night. This is no more a possibility in ancient Jerusalem then it would be in Wilbur today. No one is open at midnight. Unfortunately when the foolish bridesmaids finally arrive to the party, the great feast of heaven, the doors are shut and they are shut out. Judgment has been cast and they must now pay for their foolishness. Jesus then warns his listeners to keep awake for they do not know when he may return.

In the earliest days of the church it was believed that after Jesus died on the cross, he would return immediately. That’s why we read all that stuff about believers not falling asleep or dieing before he comes again. Of course, as the years passed his time of delay grew and grew which began to make some people anxious. The gospel of Matthew was written about 50 years after Jesus died and already people were beginning to wonder if he really was coming back at all. That is why we find all these discourses telling us to keep watch, and stay awake. Jesus is coming, it just might be awhile.

Of course some 2,000 years later we have gotten pretty good at waiting. While some Christians are convinced we are living in the end times, I think that in their hearts, most Christians probably don’t think it will happen in their lifetime. Sure we keep a small flame of faith lit regarding the promised return of our Lord, but in general it doesn’t consume much of our attention. Like the bridesmaids, we have our lamps ready but we have fallen asleep and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, this parable seems to encourage a certain comfort in waiting. The groom is coming but we don’t need to be anxious about it, we just need to be prepared to wait for him.

I think that in our modern Christian experience, we often have a much more direct experience of waiting for God in the little things in our lives. While we are waiting for the final glorious day of Christ’s return, we have a more pressing sense of waiting for God to act in other spaces in our world and our personal lives. On the big scale we are waiting for God to intervene and heal the conflicts of our world. We are waiting for the end of war and violence, for the just distribution of the earth’s resources, and for a sense of peace and brotherhood for all humanity. We are waiting for the kingdom to come on earth, even bit by bit.

In our personal lives the wait can be much more trying. We are waiting for healing from cancer for ourselves or someone we love. We are waiting for someone we love to finally be touched by the Holy Spirit and to turn their life to Christ. We are waiting for the Spirit to move between us and a family member to help heal a riff that threatens generations to come. We are waiting for a word of direction regarding our future. We are waiting for God to finally call us home. We are waiting, waiting, waiting, for God to move in our world and in our lives.

This is where that extra oil comes in. If the bridesmaids represent the church than some of us have the oil we need to wait for God, and some of us don’t. The oil is good works, faith, prayer, patience, love. The oil is the stuff that keeps us running while we wait. It’s your own faith practice, which is why the wise maids couldn’t share their oil with the foolish ones anymore than I can give you some of my faith. The oil is all about going through the motions even though you don’t know the direction you are heading. You are waiting for healing, so you keep praying for healing until it happens, that’s the oil. You are waiting for someone to know Christ, so you keep modeling Christ like behavior daily, that’s the oil. You are waiting for direction, and so you keep studying the word of God searching for guidance, that’s the oil. It’s all about keeping on as you wait, instead of sitting on your haunches. The foolish maidens thought God would show up on their terms, the wise ones knew that God arrives on his terms alone.

I can’t read this parable and not think about our situation as a church. How much we are longing for direction. How much we wish that God would make the shape of our future clear. Will I be the pastor here next year? Don’t know. Will we join with the Lutherans? Don’t know. Will we have some other arrangement we haven’t even thought of yet? Don’t know. The one thing that we can be sure of is that God is in our future. God is here now and God is coming and God will lead us forward. In the meantime we need keep on keeping on. We need to keep going through the motions of the church. We need to keep praying and keep worshipping and keep singing and keep putting our money in the plate. We need to keep being the church, that’s the oil that is going to sustain us until God arrives in our midst.

Now it’s not easy, but it is the reality of our faith life. Sometimes we really feel God’s presence in our lives and sometimes we feel like we are simply waiting and searching for God. What keeps us going through that broken relationship, that cancer diagnosis, and that uncertain future are the motions of our faith. Even when we don’t feel like praying, we pray. Even when the Bible seems boring and irrelevant, we read it. Even when our good works seem in vain, we do them. That is the oil. It’s about keeping that lamp lit, keeping up the faith walk whether we feel like it or not. What makes a wise bridesmaid is patience, diligence, and being prepared to wait. That is the life of the Christian. God will come, in God’s time and as believers we are called to keep watch. You can’t watch without waiting.

This week I found this great little blurb from one of my favorite Christian writers, Thomas Merton which I think really speaks into this situation. He writes,

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

I love how he writes about not knowing where he is going and not even being certain that he is following God’s path, for how can we ever really be certain of that. And yet he knows that his desire to please God is enough. That God will take that one little seed of faith and use it to lead him by the right road. Even though Merton doesn’t know where he’s going, he knows that God goes with him there.

Today as any day, we are waiting for God to move in our lives. And as we wait, we don’t just sit watching; rather we keep busy with the oil of faith. We keep praying and keep singing and keep studying and keep giving of our lives to our Lord and each other. That is how we keep awake and keep watch for the coming of God in our world. My prayer today is that God would continue to sustain our efforts, now and always, as we continue to wait for Him. Amen.

Woe to You Hypocrites!

2011-10-31T11:43:00.001-07:00

October 30th, 2011 “Woe to You Hypocrites!” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 23:1-12

Our gospel reading this morning continues where we have been studying about Jesus’ conflict in the temple with the religious authorities. Those who have been coming to worship regularly will remember that we are in the last week of Jesus’ life. He and the temple authorities have been in conflict regarding his teaching and ministry. There have been arguments on authority and parables about the kingdom of heaven, there have been trick questions about taxes and the interpretation of the law, and in this morning’s reading we find that Jesus has finally had enough.

Jesus gathers the crowds and disciples and lets loose a tirade on the scribes and Pharisees. “Listen to what they say,” he tells those gathered, “Because the scribes and Pharisees teach from the holy law. But don’t follow the example of their lives because those guys don’t practice what they preach.” Jesus warns that the religious leaders love to be seen as “holy” people but they don’t act like holy people should.

Though our lectionary reading cuts off in verse 12, this section of outrage at the religious establishment continues for the rest of the chapter. Repeatedly yelling “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Jesus goes on to call them blind fools, to accuse them of being full of greed and self-indulgence and he even compares them to snakes and to tombs full of rotten bodies. Jesus has had enough of the Pharisees and he makes it clear that as far as he is concerned, they are the greatest hypocrites of all time. Jesus challenges that far from being God’s favorite people, the Pharisees and scribes practically have one foot in hell. It’s quite the scathing review.

I think that when we read this most of us have the same reaction. It’s really easy to think of all the modern instances of this scripture come to life. I don’t know about you but when I read this I want to jump up on my soap box with my own string of woes. “Woe to you Wall Street fat cats, hypocrites your greed has led to the downfall of our economy! Woe to you Republicans, hypocrites, you cut the programs for the needy and give tax breaks to your friends! Woe to you Democrats, hypocrites, you claim to support social systems but in reality cave to the highest bidder! Woe to you, hypocrites!” Isn’t that easy and doesn’t it make you feel good.

But that’s the problem you see. It makes me feel good to decry the sins of others. It doesn’t take a genius to see that I might need to turn it around a bit. Jesus himself warns against the one who would remove the speck from a neighbor’s eye while they have a log in their own. Though it might make me feel good, it’s not my place to judge. Rather it is my place to look at my own life.

When we read this passage it is easy for us to say yeah, that’s about the Pharisees and I’m not one of them. But we miss a subtle turn of phrase. Jesus is talking about the Pharisees and he says they do this and they do that and then suddenly in verse 8 we read, “You are not to be called rabbi for you are all students.” Suddenly Jesus is talking to “you” and not to the Pharisees. “The greatest among you will be the servant and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” Suddenly this isn’t about the Pharisees any more, it’s about us.

The reality is that all of us are vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy. It is so easy to pay lip service to the faith but it is so hard to actually live it. Teachers of the faith aren’t the only ones at risk; any of us could easily be caught saying one thing in here on Sunday and doing something else the rest of the week. Jesus challenges us to consider how we practice what we preach and to take the claims we make in here about God and our lives out into the world. Your faith is not about what you believe or say, your faith is about how you actually live your life. It is what is in our hearts that truly matters and the way we live our lives shows that to the world.

Hand in hand with this, Jesus warns that while we should live as good examples of our faith, we shouldn’t expect any reward from that. Jesus says that the Pharisees have come to enjoy the honor of their positions a little too much. They love to have people pay attention to them and give them the best places at banquets and the best discounts in the market. They always dress the part so others will know just how important they are.

As I religious leader, I find this desire in my own heart. I have often wished I had some sort of quick clerical collar I could add to my outfit at any moment. How I wish I could whip it out when someone cuts in front of me in line or treats me rudely in a restaurant. I can’t tell you how many times I have thought, oh, if they knew I was a pastor they wouldn’t do that. If they knew who I was they wouldn’t treat me that way!

I’m sure you find this in your own life at times as well. We all want to be important and we all want to be liked. We want to be known as a nice person and a good Christian whether that’s what we really are or not. And we often end up like the Pharisees, spending time and energy glorifying ourselves rather than God.

While it might be easy and sometimes even fun to judge others, the truth is that the more fruitful path is found in an examination of our own hypocrisy. Only you know where this lesson touches your life. We can’t simply say we are Christians; we have to live it as well. And we can’t simply live it for the praises of others; we have to live it for the glory of God alone. When Jesus preaches “Woe to you Hypocrites!” we all stand condemned.

In his commentary on this passage minister Allen Hilton reminds us that “The antidote for hypocrisy is grace.” None of us can earn the favor of our Lord through any acts in our life; instead all of us stand equally before the Lord. None of us can live a perfect Christian life. All of us need the grace of God. Rather than standing on tiers as one Christian better than others, we stand equally as brothers and sisters in the family of faith. That is why Jesus reminds us that none should be called father, for all are equal before our one true Father in heaven.

And so today we are called to consider our own lives. How are we bringing what we say about our faith in here to bear in the world the rest of the week? Are we wearing that cross around our necks to show others that we are a Christian or to remind ourselves of how we should live? Do we want others to love us or do we want others to love the God whom we serve? The challenge for us this morning is to remember that we have but one teacher, Jesus the Christ, who came not to be served but to serve. It is the one who was not lifted up to a place of honor but lifted up on a cross that sets the example for us. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled and all who humble themselves will be exalted. Amen.

The Greatest Commandment

2011-10-24T09:29:00.001-07:00

October 23rd, 2011 “The Greatest Commandment” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 22:34-46

A common misconception among readers of the Scriptures is to treat the whole of the Bible as if all of it has the same level of importance, a notion of a “flat Bible” if you will. In the history of Biblical interpretation in the Reformed tradition, it has become clear that some parts of the Bible are simply of greater importance that others. For example, in the Old Testament or more properly the Hebrew Bible, the account of the Hebrew people’s exodus out of Egyptian bondage was the pinnacle of their scriptures. By the same measure, in the Christian scriptures, Jesus’ resurrection stories tower over all other portions. Indeed, isn’t the powerful story of God’s deliverance of God’s people, the liberation of God’s people, out of the hands of their oppressors of greater significance ultimately than dietary laws? And isn’t the life-changing, history-changing affirmation of God’s raising Jesus from the dead the central Christian teaching and affirmation next to which all others, regardless of importance, pale?

Our Gospel reading this morning continues where we have been reading about Jesus’ encounters in the temple with the religious authorities of his day. Now the Pharisee’s are back in the discussion and a lawyer appears from their ranks to ask Jesus a question. Of course the question appears proper and appropriate on the surface, yet we know from experience that the Pharisees don’t generally ask Jesus questions to seek his honest opinion; rather they are looking for a chance to trip him up.

In this situation, the presiding assumption (like that of many modern readers in regards to the Bible) was that all the laws were of equal importance and to maintain good standing in the eyes of God, all laws had to be followed to a tee. The number of laws that had evolved over time was believed to be just as many as were needed to demonstrate proper obedience to God. In Jesus’ day it would be scandalous to suggest that one law was more important than others or that some laws were less important than others. For some today it may seem just as scandalous to declare that some parts of the Bible are more important that others. This is the trap that is set when asking Jesus, “which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

As usual, Jesus is up for the challenge. Jesus teaches that in fact, the multiplicity of laws can be summarized, and the summary may be of greater significance than the broad cumbersome and clumsy collection. Jesus distills the entire load of ancient laws into a simple response. He says, in essence, “If you want to live out the totality of what the law ultimately demands of us, love God with your whole self, and love your neighbor in the same way that you love yourself.”

The shock for the lawyer is that Jesus says nothing about duty and responsibility, and he neglects to point out any threats of punishment for those who chose not to keep the law the way he proposed. Keeping the law properly, in Jesus’ eyes, was rooted solely in love. One may keep all the rules and regulations of the ancient law code and still miss the boat in terms of honoring and serving God. Similarly, one may know all the stories of the Bible in detail, and still miss the greater message held therein.

It is good for us to remember that the love that Jesus speaks of is not the love of emotions; the butterflies in the stomach, swooning kind of love. That kind of love can not be commanded. Instead the love that Jesus speaks of is action based love, the commitment to do right by the other person and to offer care for them. That kind of love can be commanded. That is the love that is made known to us as God’s nature through the actions of Jesus Christ. That is the kind of love we discover when we read the Scriptures and learn about Jesus as a teacher and a healer, as well as a friend of sinners and outcasts. The love that Jesus is talking about is the love of the kingdom of God.

Jesus teaches that we are to practice this love in three ways; love of God, love of neighbor, and love of ourselves. I find it helpful to think of these as a triangle. At the base of the triangle is love of God. God remains the ultimate reference point for human life, and love of God needs to be at the heart of all that we do. But this triangle is an equilateral triangle, and the two opposing sides are equal to the base. We need to love God, love neighbor, and love self equally.

Oftentimes our triangle gets out of balance. We spend all of our energy on loving God, the next biggest portion on caring for our neighbors, and what is left over we use for ourselves. Friends, that is not the lesson that Jesus teaches here. If do not love ourselves by taking care of our own needs, than we are not able to properly love others or God. Loving ourselves involves taking care of our bodies through proper eating, exercise, and sleep. My friends, Jesus is telling you to go and take a nap! Loving ourselves also involves setting aside time for our own relationship with God. As we struggle to meet the demands of others, we often fail to give ourselves the alone time with God that we need and deserve. I certainly can see where I am sometimes guilty of this, how about you?

Of course, there are some of us who are pretty good at the self love thing and need to work more on loving our neighbors. This can be more difficult then it looks. In 1st John we read that we can not love God unless we love our neighbor. “Those who say “I love God” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” And earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches that loving our neighbors also involves loving our enemies. “You have heard it said that you should love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.” We have to ask ourselves what things we do that show the love that is modeled for us in Jesus Christ to all of those around us. And how hard is it to show the love of God to those we dislike?

Jesus’ teaching in this passage is a direct challenge to the Pharisees. They have kept the laws to a tee, every single day of their lives – whether they liked it or not. And Jesus is saying that if one is keeping the law out of fear of an angry God or if one is keeping the law to earn appeasement points with God, than one isn’t keeping the spirit of the law at all. In the end, it’s the spirit of the law that counts. Much like reading the Bible, in the laws there is a greatest commandment on which all others hang, and in the Bible there is a greatest story by which all other stories are interpreted. Jesus points out over and over that to miss the spirit of the law is to miss the whole thing entirely. I would argue the same is true of the Scriptures.

In fact, that is what the second part of our Gospel reading this morning is about. Jesus turns and asks the Pharisees a question back, “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” The Pharisees reply out of a narrow understanding, “The son of David.” They are correct of course, that the Messiah will be a son of David, but they miss the greater point of who Jesus is and what he has come to do. Though in the line of David, Christ will not rule like David. The Pharisees, like many at the time, assumed that the Messiah would have an earthly kingship. The Messiah was expected to act like an earthly king, overthrowing the Roman occupation, and ruling as a human authority. We see this mistake a lot among the followers of Jesus. Instead, Jesus shows the Pharisees, that while being the son of David, the Messiah is David’s Lord. In essence, Jesus takes a narrow view that is derived from the Scriptures, and opens it up to the greater message held therein; the Messiah has a role as the son of David but also has a more important role for the salvation of mankind.

As followers of the law, the Pharisees are told that there is a commandment that is greater than the rest, a commandment that interprets all others. This is a lesson for us as modern believers as well. As we live lives in service to God, we need to balance a love of God, love of neighbor, and love of ourselves. And as readers of the Scriptures, it is important for us to interpret all that we read, in light of the greater story, the person and work of Jesus Christ. For it is upon these lessons that hang all of the law and the prophets. Amen.

Taxes

2011-10-17T09:25:00.001-07:00

October 16th, 2011 “Taxes” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 22:15-22

You want to talk about taxes? “Thems fightin’ words!” If you follow the news at all in our country today you can see what a big deal paying taxes is right now. Our leaders in DC are constantly at a standstill over this one issue, who should pay taxes and how much should they pay? What is fair when it comes to taxes? Should the rich pay more or should everybody pay the same percentage? As Christians we have to ask how our faith informs the use of our money.

The truth is to bring up the subject of taxes was “fightin’ words” in Jesus’ day as well. This morning we are continuing on where we left off last Sunday. Jesus has been arguing with the temple authorities and has used parables to say over and over again that they have gone astray. In this morning’s reading, the Pharisees have finally wandered off to some dark corner to hatch a plot to stop Jesus. In the meantime they send the Herodians, another religious sect, to keep the questions coming.

The Herodians have a plan of their own to disgrace Jesus and they attempt to trap him with a trick question. First they butter him up with a little flattery, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.” Then they hit him with the question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”

A word about taxes in the Roman Empire is in order here. While some tax money might be used for infrastructure, Roman taxes weren’t used as handouts for the poor or to pay for schools or police. Roman taxes were used to support the Roman Empire and to pay for the Roman army that was occupying the land of Palestine. It would be like if Canada decided to occupy Washington State by force and then we were made to pay taxes to support the very army that kept us down. Needless to say, it’s a pretty bad deal for the Jews.

No matter how Jesus answers the question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes?” he can’t win. If he says “Yes” then he risks angering his supporters who surely don’t like to pay the salaries of those who oppress them. But if he says “No” then the Herodians can simply report him to the authorities and he will be arrested for sedition, or leading a revolt against the Roman Empire.

Jesus solves this problem by refusing to answer the question. Instead he asks to see a Roman coin. The Herodians produce one and Jesus asks them what appears on the coin. The face of Caesar of course, but do you know what else is on the coin? Caesar’s title, as divine son. How offensive would this be to the Jewish people? “Caesar, Son of God” is basically what the coin says.

Jesus’ final reply is a cryptic one, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and give to God the things that are God’s.” While this seems to make sense, it really leaves a lot unsaid. So what is the emperor’s? And what is God’s? Do I pay the tax because the money belongs to the emperor? Or do I not pay the tax because the emperor has no real claim on my life which belongs to God alone? Jesus seems to leave it up to his listeners to decide. Even the Herodians have no reply and they simply walk away.

It seems like at this moment in time in our nation no one can read this passage and not wonder about our own situation with taxes. This text just begs the question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the American empire or not?” As people of faith, what should our response be to the current arguments about taxes? Where does our loyalty lie, to our nation, to our faith, or simply to our wallets? As Christians, how do we respond when God and government pull us in two different directions?

Of course, unless you’re an extremist I think that we can all agree that our tax money doesn’t go to fund a foreign government that is occupying our soil. Our tax money goes to support our own government system. And unlike the Roman Empire, in the American empire you can actually find out where your money goes. The government has a web page that tells you just how much money went where in 2010. Personally, I paid about $3,000 into Social security (which if we’re honest I probably won’t see when it comes time for me to retire), about $725 to Medicare, about $69 to the US Military complex, about $63 to the healthcare system, about $57 to food and housing assistance, about $12 for education, about $10 for veterans benefits, about $15 to land management science and international aid, about another $15 to things like agricultural support and disaster aid, and a whopping $20 to pay interest on the national debt. I have to admit, when I look at the numbers that seems OK to me. I know some of my money was probably wasted but in general I don’t mind paying taxes, and I feel like I paid my fair share. As a Christian I like to think that my money is going to those who actually need help.

Of course, there are many many people who disagree with me. There are many many people who don’t think they should have to pay any taxes at all. Hence all our arguing these days. It seems like the loudest message I hear is that people want the services that taxes provide, in fact they feel they have the right to things like good roads, schools, and a police force. But people don’t want to pay for those things. And they certainly don’t want to pay for other people who they feel aren’t doing their fair share of the work.

So, is it lawful to pay taxes to the American empire or not? I would say they same thing Jesus does, “Show me the money!” What does it say on our money? . . . “In God we trust!”

There is a quote from Comedian Stephen Colbert floating around Facebook these days which says, “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.” Although this may seem harsh, he has a point. When the rich young ruler approached Jesus, he wasn’t told to simply give 10% to the church, he was told to give all of his money, all of his money, away to the poor. Is it any wonder that he went away sad?

As people of faith we are called to care for the least of these, and one way we do that is by paying our taxes. As a Christian religious leader I personally align with other pastors who were arrested for protesting at the capital in the last budget discussion - I have to say that it’s not right to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. When we read the scriptures we have to admit that God is always on the side of the poor and oppressed not the wealthy and elite. Plus I believe it is right to pay taxes that work to provide support for those who need it and I agree with Warren Buffet, those who have more should pay more. As Jesus says, “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.”

Of course, feel free to disagree with me. In fact if you do disagree with me I want you to tell me about it, I really want to know how your faith informs your opinions! As I said, when we’re talking taxes “Thems fightin’ words!” Jesus himself deliberately leaves the question open. It is up to you to decide what demands the nation can make on your money and what demands God can. It’s up to you to decide what belongs to the American empire and what belongs to God. For me, it all belongs to God. I give some of it to the empire without regret. I also give some of it to the church. And I spend most of it on myself and my family. I would guess you are probably the same.

But, no matter where you come down on the issue, Jesus challenges us to consider how much in our lives belongs to God. I think that it is how we answer that question that will frame how we feel about the American empire, taxes, tithes, or anything else. As the King James says it, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” I think today you’re gonna have to decide for yourself what that means. Amen.

The Wedding Banquet

2011-10-10T09:29:00.001-07:00

October 9th, 2011 “The Wedding Banquet” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 22:1-14

Our parable this morning is a tough one steeped in violence, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. There are spurned invitations and strange wedding garments, odd turns of phrase and a general sense of dis-ease. This one’s a doozey to say the least.

Contextually, we are back in the temple. Those who have been attending worship regularly will remember that Jesus has been busy talking with the religious authorities. This is near the end of his life and is one of his final discourses with the temple elite before his arrest. The religious rulers asked Jesus about his authority to cause trouble and since then he has been pounding them with one painful parable after another. Last week he accused them of being wicked tenants in the Lord’s vineyard. This week it’s a wedding banquet and they are the unruly guests.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who threw a wedding party for his son,” Jesus says. It appears that “save the date” invitations had already been sent out and now was the time for the festivities. The king sends his slaves into the land to call all those invited to the party. Off they head to gather up the rich and elite, the holy and the special, essentially the ruling class of the day. But those invited won’t come.

So the king sends another message, “Look, its going to be a great party. The meat is cooked, the wine is poured, please come and celebrate with me.” But those invited make light of the situation. “I’m too busy right now,” they say “I’ve got work to do and I can’t be bothered to take a break and celebrate with you.” Some are even so tired of the invitations that they kill the messengers. That seems a bit harsh doesn’t it?

Well, the king certainly thinks it’s harsh and responds in kind by sending not his slaves but his army to destroy those whom he had invited to the party. He responds to their rejection of him by burning down their city. Makes you wonder where Jesus is going with this parable doesn’t it?!?

The king now has his tables set for a party but no guests, so he sends his slaves back out, this time to invite everyone they meet. So, the slaves head out and every person they see is invited to the banquet. Rich and poor, weak and strong, beautiful and ugly, good and evil; everyone is invited to the party and everyone shows up. The wedding hall is filled with guests.

Now, this would be a lovely place to stop the story but when does Jesus ever stop a parable at a nice place? The king comes into the party to find a man there not wearing a wedding robe. He asks, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” The guest is speechless; he just stands there and stares at the king. The king’s reply is to “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” That’s not good. And here Jesus adds his own two cents to the story “For many are called, but few are chosen.” That doesn’t sound good either.

I told you this was a tough one! Let’s dig deeper. If we connect this parable to the last one Jesus told about the landowner and the wicked tenants, we can guess that the king who throws the party is probably God and the king’s son is probably Jesus. That is a pretty easy connection to make. It is not uncommon to refer to Jesus as the bridegroom and the church as the bride and heaven as a great wedding feast. We can find that theme in the scriptures as well as in the theology of the early church.

So God is throwing a wedding party for his son Jesus and there is a list of invited guests. People have received invitations; they have been chosen and invited by God to join in the party. They have had prior warning about this event and have had a chance to mark their calendars. The strange thing happens when those invited to the party say they can’t come at the last minute. How many of us, if invited to a wedding change our mind at the very last minute because we are busy with work? That doesn’t seem to be very common does it?

But, let’s ask it another way. How many of us want a relationship with God but then when it comes down to it we make excuses in the end? Oh yeah, I’m a Christian, until someone asks me to tithe, or asks to me to share my faith with others, or asks me to stand up for the little guy, or asks me to make a real change in my lifestyle for the sake of the gospel. We want to be invited to God’s party, but when the invitation comes we find we are a lot like those in this parable. When it comes down to it we are suddenly busy with work and family and other commitments.

Now we are starting to look like those non-attending guests. And when someone calls us on it, when someone points out that we are not doing what we said, that we are not the Christians we claim to be; how do we respond? With violence. Oh we might not seize and kill the messenger but we certainly know how to start a rumor and kill their reputation in town. It’s a tough message but there we are – do you see it? Invited to come but not willing to change our lives when the actual time comes. And not willing to hear anyone who is going to point out that we might be rejecting the invitation. We’re looking a lot more like those first guests and Jesus says their behavior enrages the king, such that he destroys them and their belongings. As I said, it’s a tough parable.

Let’s move into the happy middle. The king has his tables laden with bounty and he needs guests so he sends the slaves to gather everyone they find. This is a wonderful story now. Everyone on the street and in the alley is invited to this wonderful party and they all come. The wedding hall is filled with guests both good and bad. This image of gathering in all people brings to mind other parables Jesus tells like the wheat and the weeds or the net that caught all kinds of fish. The good and bad are present at the wedding banquet just as the good and bad are held together in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven will be full not of the people we expect, but of the people least likely to be there. Frankly, this is where I wish the parable ended. This is where I find abundant grace. But Jesus continues on.

The king comes into the banquet and finds a fellow without the proper wedding attire and then throws him out into the outer darkness. What is that about, and what is the wedding attire? I’ve got to tell you that I found a lot of different answers to that question but none of them were really satisfying. Some say the wedding attire is the baptism of Christ, or the righteousness of the saints, or the resurrected body, or a transformed life in Christ. Could be anything! And some say that the problem was not the fellow’s clothes but that he had no answer for the king and therefore he was not fruitful, drawing on our parable from last week.

What I think we can gather from this part of the story is that not all who believe themselves to be guests actually belong at the wedding banquet. Some who think they are invited to the wedding, might have really been invited, but might show up in a state that nullifies their invitation. Yes, you are invited to the banquet, but unless you respond properly to that invitation say with a heart clothed in Christ, then you are not really welcome to the party. How many people do you know who think they have earned a trip to heaven for this or that reason but their lives don’t really show the fruits of their faith? Maybe this is about them.

To take it further, maybe this is about us. What makes us think we have what it takes to come to the party? Sure we’ve been invited, but how have we really responded to that invitation? Maybe this guy had responded to the invitation by coming to the party but not really in the proper spirit and that is what this wedding garment thing is all about. Yes, we respond to the invitation of discipleship, but often not with the whole of who we are. How does what happens here on Sunday play out in the rest of your week?

And so we end up with that last line from Jesus, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Many are called to the party, many are invited to the wedding banquet but few are chosen to actually be there. This is one of those parables where grace rubs up against judgment. We all love grace and it is wonderful to think that everyone, good and bad, is invited to the wedding party. But there can be no grace without judgment. And all of those parables about the good and bad together, from the wheat and the weeds to the fish in the net, end with a sorting out of who is good and who is bad. So, it should be no surprise to us that eventually the king comes to the party and begins to throw out those who are not really worthy of being there.

Now, I don’t know about you but this parable makes me uncomfortable. And I think that is probably a good thing. Every now and then we need to be reminded that yes, we all have been invited to the wedding banquet of our Lord. But things don’t simply end at the invitation. We are invited into discipleship but when the rubber meets the road we often make excuses about why we aren’t living the fullest Christian life possible. When it comes down to it, we will be judged by how we respond to God’s invitation. And if that makes you uncomfortable, that’s probably a good thing. While you might come to church every Sunday wanting a pat on the back, maybe what you really need sometimes is a kick in the rear. This parable does that. “Here you are, you have been invited to the Lord’s party, now what are you going to do about it?” Jesus asks. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” By the grace of God, let us respond accordingly. Amen.

A Harvest of Peace

2011-10-03T09:55:00.001-07:00

October 2nd, 2011 “A Harvest of Peace” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 21:33-46 and James 3:13-18

World Communion Sunday is one of my favorite in the church year. When we are honest with ourselves we have to admit that the life of the church can sometimes be depressing. We spend our days preaching and teaching the gospel and at times it feels like we have little to show for it. This special Sunday serves to remind us that we are not in this alone. Rather, we are joined with Christians all over the world, who are working to share the good news of God’s justice and peace. It is through that lens that we will look at our texts today.

Our lectionary gospel reading this morning continues where we left off in Matthew. As we discussed last week, this reading takes place toward the end of Jesus’ life. He has already entered Jerusalem ala Palm Sunday and is now teaching in the temple. He has been causing quite a stir and the religious authorities have asked him about where he gets the authority to do such things. In last week’s reading Jesus turned the tables on them through a bit of rabbinical word play. This week continues in the same vein.

Jesus tells yet another parable about a vineyard. This time the problem is wicked tenants. The owner has left for another land and has been sending messengers to gather the harvest from the tenants he left in charge. But these guys see nothing but an opportunity for greed and violence. They seize the messengers; beating, stoning, and killing them. Eventually the landowner sends his son and the wicked tenants treat him in the same violent fashion, eventually killing him. Jesus asks the temple authorities what should happen next and they respond with violence of their own. They say the landowner should take the tenants and kill them, giving the vineyard to those who will produce a good harvest.

Of course now they have convicted themselves. It is clear in the telling of this parable, that Jesus is proclaiming them to be the wicked tenants. God gave them the people of Israel to watch over as a vineyard. God expects a good harvest and has sent messengers saying so, but the people have done violence to the first and second messengers. In our tradition those two sets of messengers are commonly thought to be the first and second generation Old Testament prophets. And I am sure I don’t need to spell out for you how things will work out with the Son that the landowner sends.

After telling the parable, Jesus proclaims that he himself is the cornerstone of the faith and that since the authorities have rejected him, the vineyard will be taken from them and given to those who produce fruit at harvest. The religious leaders are no fools and they clearly know the gravity of what Jesus has proclaimed against them. It is no coincidence that it is from this point on that they begin scheming for a way to arrest him.

So, where are we in the story? The way I read it, we are now those tending the vineyard of the Lord. We spoke a few weeks ago about the privilege that it is to labor in the Lord’s vineyard. And last week we talked about God’s call to us to go and labor in the field. And so today, we are talking about the fruit of our labor. As those who tend the vineyard we are called to bring a good harvest to the Lord. And on this World Communion Sunday we are reminded that the vineyard of the Lord is no longer just the people of Israel, rather it is the whole earth. If we are those called to labor in the vineyard, then we are also those called to produce the Lord’s harvest in our world.

Jesus proclaims that the vineyard will be given to those who produce the fruit of the kingdom and that fruit is justice and peace. It is fitting that World Communion Sunday is also Peacemaking Sunday. When we are called to remember that we come to the table with the whole earth, than we are also called to remember that we to come to the table in peace. Today is a day when we focus on the task of preaching and working for peace in our church, in our community, and in our world. The harvest of peace is the work of Christians all over the world.

The scripture reading for this year’s Peacemaking offering comes from James and so we will turn there now. Continuing in this idea of producing good fruits, James says that those who are wise and have understanding will show that through a life of good works. By contrast, those who are bitter and selfish will show that by disorder and wickedness. That brings us full circle back to the temple authorities. It is clear that their distrust of Jesus comes from their own bitter selfish ambition. Jesus is challenging the cushy way of life they have built for themselves under the cloak of the church. Their response to his challenge will be one of violence as they seek to kill him.

James teaches that rather than a life of selfish ambition, the one who has wisdom from above is peaceable and gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. That is a tough order isn’t it, we are challenged to take a look at our own lives and the fruits we produce. James calls us to ask if our lives full of disorder and violence or full of gentleness and mercy? James reminds us that our actions will always show us where our heart truly is.

This week I was really struck by this line about being willing to yield. The one who has wisdom from above is willing to yield. I don’t know about you but that is a lesson I need to hear. How hard it is for us to yield when we feel we have righteousness on our side. And yet this is what our faith demands of us. It reminds me of our letter from Paul last week, encouraging us to be willing to yield in our opinions so we can be of one mind in Christ Jesus. It is only when we are willing to yield that we will be the peacemakers.

James tells us that the harvest of righteousness or harvest of justice is sown in peace. And to be peacemakers we have to be willing to yield. I can think of numerous opportunities to practice this in my own life. How many times have I not been willing to yield when I was sure I was right about something? How many times have I pushed through what I wanted to do or say at the cost of peace in my community? Don’t get me wrong, there are times to stand up and be a voice for the gospel, you know I love to do that! But there are also times when we must be willing to yield for the gospel of peace, and in that I am challenged. Sometimes the harvest of fruit isn’t about an outward action or saying the right thing, sometimes good fruit is harvested by inaction, as we are willing to yield for the sake of peace.

If we circle back to our reading from Matthew we are reminded that our encounters with the gospel are always personal encounters. The wicked tenants seized and killed the landowner’s son. They didn’t simply seize and kill an idea or doctrine. Our encounters with the gospel are always encounters with people, not ideas. So often I find that I am not willing to yield when I am talking about biblical ideas or doctrines, but that doesn’t translate well into an actual encounter with a person. When God comes to us looking for a harvest of justice and peace he always comes to us as a person, not an abstract doctrine or thought. Gospel opportunities always come in the form of people, and it is how we treat all those personal encounters that add up to a harvest of good fruit. And so we are back to peacemaking, we are back to being willing to yield in the name of peace. Our everyday interactions with everyone we meet are opportunities to encounter the gospel and harvest the fruits of the kingdom, justice and peace.

As we gather at the Communion table this morning we are reminded that we gather with the whole world. People will come from north and south, from east and west, and sit together at table in the kingdom of our Lord. We come here to celebrate the harvest of justice and peace. We come here to remember the one who was willing to yield on our behalf. The one who was poured out and lifted up for not only our sake but for the sake of the world. We come here to remember Jesus, the ultimate peacemaker.

Today as we celebrate around the table we are reminded that we celebrate in spirit with all those believers who are also gathered at the table today. There are fellow believers enjoying this feast at churches all over the country and all over the world. We are united together in worship of Jesus Christ and we are challenged in that unity to work toward peace in our world. That peace starts at home as we are willing to yield for the sake of the gospel. Jesus tells us that the vineyard will be given to a people that produce the fruits of the kingdom, and James reminds us that the fruits of the kingdom are justice and peace. My prayer for us this morning is that we would be good tenants of the field the Lord has given us; and that as we encounter people we would reap a good harvest of peace. Amen.

Just do it!

2011-09-26T09:54:00.001-07:00

September 25th, 2011 “Just do it!” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 21:23-32 and Philippians 2:1-13

We will begin with our gospel reading and we can’t really jump into it this morning without going back a bit. At this point in Matthew’s narrative Jesus is preparing for his death. He has ridden into Jerusalem on a donkey and has been busy in the temple square. He has overturned the tables of the money changers and has preached against the temple system. He has been healing folks inside the grounds of the temple and has aroused cries of “Hosanna!” from among the people. Basically, in the eyes of the temple authorities Jesus is causing some real trouble so as he enters the grounds for yet another day of holy mayhem they try to stop him with a question.

“By what authority are you doing these things?” they ask. How come you are making such a ruckus and who are you to be attracting so much attention? Well, one should know better than to try to question Jesus. There is no one more skilled at controlling a conversation and turning the tables of questioning than him. Jesus refuses to answer their question, and in true rabbinical fashion he asks a question of his own. “Did the baptism of John come from heaven or of human origin?”

Ah, the trap is sprung and there is no escape now. If the chief priests say John’s baptism was from heaven then they say John is legitimate and by proxy so is Jesus. If they say it was from man they will surely lose the respect of the crowds who have grown quite fond of both the ministry of Jesus and John. There is no winning, there is no way out, they are done for. “We don’t know” they mumble under their breath.

Now that he has secured the upper hand, Jesus uses this opportunity to needle them a bit further by telling a parable. He takes us back to the metaphor of working in the vineyard by telling a story of a man with two sons. He asks both to work in the vineyard for the day. One says he will work but doesn’t go work, and one says he won’t work but then in the end he does go and work. It reminds me of Richard Scarry’s “Pig will and Pig won’t” which just goes to show what kind of literature I am reading these days!

Anyway, Jesus asks which one does the will of the Father and of course it was the one who went to work, rather than the one who simply said he would go. Jesus teaches that when it comes to serving our Lord, what matters is not what you say but what you do. Jesus then says that the tax collectors and prostitutes are headed into heaven before the religious leaders because they are the ones who believed the preaching of John and who also then believe in Jesus as the Messiah. The temple authorities are stunned. Prostitutes in heaven before them, oh snap! That hurts.

Jesus’ encounter with these guys reminds us that our faith is not about what we say; it is about what we do. Our faith is not about reciting the proper creeds or having the proper belief system about the Bible, gay ordination, how the church works, or anything like that. Our faith is about how we live our lives. If we are followers of Christ, it will be shown by our actions, not by our professions of faith. The temple authorities spent days on end professing the correct faith, but their actions showed that they didn’t really believe in what they were saying. In the end, it is not what we say that matters, it is what we do. Which makes me think of that old Nike slogan: when it comes to our faith don’t just say it, “Just do it!”

So what should we do, what does Christian living look like? Let’s turn to Paul. Here we are jumping into Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. This is widely considered to be Paul’s most affectionate letter. He is writing it as an expression of friendship to a church he truly loves. And yet, like any church then or now, there is a bit of conflict in the ranks and it is this that Paul seeks to address.

The “if” in verse one can also be translated as “since” which might make this a better reading. “Since there is encouragement in Christ, consolation from love, sharing in the Spirit, compassion and sympathy” since there are all these forms of love and unity “then make my joy complete by being of one mind in Christ.”

Paul encourages the Philippians to be of one mind as a church. Coming to a common mind is about letting go of the importance of our own opinions as an act of selflessness for the sake of unity in Christ. They should let go of selfish ambition and conceit, and instead regard others as better than themselves. He asks them to look not to their own individual interests, but to look to the interests of others. Don’t do what’s best for you or what you think is right, he says, instead do what is best for the group. It’s not what you say that matters, it’s what you do, and what you should do is work toward the up building of others.

Where did Paul get such a kooky idea? From Christ of course! “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,” he tells them. He then launches into what appears to be a long poem but which scholars actually think was a hymn. In fact, it is commonly thought that Paul is quoting one of the favorite hymns of the Philippian church. This is a great tool to get the Philippians’ attention and make his point. It would be as if I started quoted the words from “I’ll Fly Away” in a sermon of mine. That would certainly stir the song in your heart and wake you up to my message. Paul wants to wake the people of Philippi up to the message that they should be imitators of Christ, who though he was in the form of God, emptied himself and became a slave.

As believers, we understand who God is from God’s self-revelation to us. Throughout the scritpures we read of God’s acts on behalf of others. From the days of creation to bringing the exiles out of Egypt, from sending the prophets to sending John to baptize in the Jordan, from Christ’s work of healing to his death on a cross, all of God’s acts are done on behalf of others. If the same mind is to be in us that was in Christ Jesus, than that should be a mind of servitude, a mind of self sacrifice, a mind that is focused on the good of the other rather than the self.

This morning we are celebrating communion and it is at this feast that we remember and honor just the things that Paul is talking about. That Christ, though in the form of God, emptied himself and was born into human likeness. That Christ humbled himself to the point of death on a cross. That God lifted Christ high in exaltation through the resurrection. And that one day all will confess that this one, this suffering servant, this Jesus Christ, is Lord. The hymn that Paul reminds the Phillipians of, could easily be sung at our communion table today.

So Jesus tells us that what matters most is what we do, not what we say. And Paul tells us that what we should do is have minds like Christ, and live with an attitude that puts the needs of others before our own. I can hardly think of two things that are needed more now in our culture. How many times do we complain about politicians doing one thing and saying another? And how many people do we hear on the TV talking about what they need and what they want? Our culture is full of selfish desire and ambition. I don’t think I ever hear someone telling us that we should think of the needs of others first. This is just one more place where the teachings of the church fly in the face of our culture.

As you move out from this worship service today and into the world around you I want to encourage you to think about Paul’s message. How can you reflect or imitate the mind of Christ in the world around you this week? Where can you lift up the needs of others above your own? It is one thing to say you are going to come to church on Sunday but it is a whole other thing to be here. It is one thing to say that you are going to live out the gospel this week but it is a whole other thing to do it. Jesus tells us that it in the end it is not what we say that matters, it is what we do. My prayer for us this week is that we would live lives worthy of his name. So folks, head out there and “Just do it!” Amen.

Laborers in the Vineyard

2011-09-19T09:56:00.001-07:00

September 18th, 2011 “Laborers in the Vineyard” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 20:1-16

I have to admit that today’s parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard is my favorite parable. I love this parable so much because it is so hard. No matter where you stand or how you spin it, this parable rubs you the wrong way. And in that I always find space to learn and grow. In fact, this parable is central to my faith in many ways.

Jesus’ story is simple. The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who goes out early in the day to hire workers for his field. The sun is just rising and now is the time to start a full day of work harvesting grapes. The landowner hires his workers and agrees to pay them the normal daily wage of a denarius. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

At about 9 o’clock the landowner goes out again and finds more men waiting to be hired. He sends them also into the field saying he will pay them whatever is right. The story gets strange as at noon and 3pm he goes out again and continues to hire the laborers he finds waiting for work.

Finally, at 5pm he goes out one last time to find men still waiting to be hired. Even though there is only an hour left in the working day, he sends these men into his fields to pick grapes. He doesn’t agree on a wage or even say he’ll pay them, he simply tells them to go into the field and work.

The rub comes when the landowner gathers the workers to pay them. He begins with those hired last and generously pays them a full denarius, the amount for one day’s work. These guys only worked an hour and are getting paid for a whole day and they are rejoicing. Now those hired first begin to be excited. Hey, they say among themselves, if those who worked only an hour get 1 denarius, we who have worked all day should get at least 10. These workers are eager to reap their just reward for a hard day’s work. But things begin to go south when they notice that the landowner seems to be giving one denarius to all the laborers. By the time the landowner hands them their denarius they are fuming. “That’s not fair!” they cry. “Oh but it is,” the landowner responds, “Did I not agree to pay you one denarius for a day’s work? I can do what I want with what is mine. Or are you jealous because I am generous?”

What do you think, is it fair? Of course not! It’s not fair at all! If you work more, you should be paid more. We all agree on that. This parable pits justice against grace. And it violates our sense of right and wrong. If God is the landowner, what does this mean? That God isn’t fair? Perhaps. That God’s sense of justice is different than ours? Possibly. That God’s grace is beyond anything we can imagine? For sure!

Now there are a lot of directions one can take with a sermon on this parable, which is probably another reason why I love it so much. One way to spin it is to ask what is the reward, the work or the denarius. Maybe the reward is simply the privilege of working in the vineyard and the denarius doesn’t matter.

Have you ever seen men waiting around to be hired for a day’s labor? I don’t think I have ever seen it around here, but when I lived in California I saw it a lot. There was a place you could go in town where you would find men standing by the side of the road, waiting to be hired for a day’s labor. These men were probably illegal immigrants, and they looking for a way to support their families by working for just a day. Sometimes they would be hired by contractors to work on long term projects. Sometimes they would be hired by homeowners to paint a room, or help cut down a tree, or some other day project. In fact, when we moved we even saw men standing around the U-Haul place, waiting to be hired to help people move. I would imagine that these guys would agree to do just about anything for a day’s wage.

These guys were everywhere in this one part of town and it always made me uncomfortable to see them. Though they were clearly strong men, they seemed so vulnerable to me. If you hired them and promised to pay but then reneged in the end, who would know? If you hired them and they got hurt doing the work, then what? If you hired them and drove them out to the boonies, how would they get back home? Despite the risks involved they were always out there. In the summer you would see them sitting in some meager bit of shade as they waited for the opportunity to work. In the rainy season there they would be, standing out in the rain, hoping for a chance to work. And as the day grew long, you knew that their chance of getting hired for work was slipping away. There simply wasn’t enough to support all of them and you knew that even though they were willing to work, every day some would go home without anything.

I imagine this scene all over the country these days. For several years now the unemployment rate has been high in our nation. There are laborers out there who wish to work, who are looking for jobs, but there are not enough jobs for everyone. To have a job in today’s economy is a privilege and a blessing. To have been hired to work in the vineyard is a gift itself.

Perhaps this parable is about how God wants everybody to come and work in the vineyard. There is plenty of work to be done in God’s harvest. You can come early or you can come late, God will offer you a place to work. God does not want us to sit idle through life, wasting our time watching TV and drinking beers. God wants us to be laborers in his vineyard; spending our days working on his harvest by coming to church, reading our Bibles, and sharing the gospel through our lives. God doesn’t want us sitting on the couch; God wants us working to bring about his kingdom of justice and peace. And so, no matter how late we come to get hired, God always offers us work.

That’s great and all, you are saying but the rub is still there. What about the pay? Is it true that I can work my whole life for the Lord and receive the same reward as some bumpus who comes in at the last second? That’s not fair! Nope, its not. But God’s not fair, God is generous.

In her wonderful sermon on this parable, Barbara Brown Taylor gives it another great spin by asking us a powerful question. What makes us think we have labored all day anyway? How come when we read this, most of us assume that we are among those who have born the brunt of the work and now are grumbling at receiving so little? Perhaps, she muses, we are the ones at the back of the line.

Maybe we are the ones who meant to get there and work but something came up and we were late. Today was an off day for us and we didn’t get out to the square to be hired because our kid has a cold and didn’t sleep last night, or because we were stuck at home in a fight with our spouse over money, or because we missed the bus that morning. Maybe we are the ones at the back of the line, who were happy to come and work for an hour and who are overjoyed at the generosity of the Lord.

Barbara points out that we are the ones who have set up rules for who deserves more and who deserves less. We are the ones who think that there should be a ranking where the first are first and the last are last. And frankly, we think we should be the ones to put people in what we believe is the correct order. This parable challenges all of that, as God turns our ideas of good order and what is right, onto their heads. “The last will be first” Jesus says “and the first will be last.”

Barbara writes “God is not fair, but depending on where you are in line that can sound like powerful good news, because if God is not fair, then there is chance that we will get more than we deserve – not because of who we are, but because of who God is. God is not fair, God is generous, and when we begrudge that generosity it is only because we have forgotten where we stand.”

My hope this morning is not that you have answers about this parable. My hope is that this parable has made you uncomfortable. I hope that like me you are sitting there squirming a bit still. I hope that you recognize the privilege that it is to be invited to work in the vineyard, while I also hope that you hear the word that God’s radical generosity isn’t fair. The fact is, no matter how we spin it, this parable feels wrong, and if you’re not uncomfortable then you are not listening.

What is the kingdom of heaven like? It is like a landowner who hires people throughout the day and then pays them all the same in the end, no matter how long they worked. That’s not fair! That’s God. May we continue to wrestle with what this might mean in our own lives this day. Amen.

September 11th

2011-09-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

I didn't have a written sermon for September 11th. Instead I began with a time of discussion in the congregation and then preached off a short outline while I walked among the pews. You can find my notes below.

- Introduce sermon style

- Begin with neighbor sharing “What do you remember about 9/11?”

- More neighbor sharing “How do you feel now on the 10th anniversary?”

- Read the gospel (Matt 18:21-35) and comment as passage is read

- Discuss forgiveness as a commandment and the power of forgiveness. Who do we hold by the neck and therefore still allow to cause pain in our lives? Justice vs. vengeance. Only when we acknowledge our debt and ask for mercy do we receive forgiveness.

- Read the epistle (Romans 14:1-12)

- Discuss strong must welcome weak and weak strong for all are welcomed by the Lord. If we live or die we belong to the Lord. We are not to judge others for all will stand before the Lord and be judged. Our world has changed in 10 years but God has remained constant. God alone knows the depth of our suffering that day and the suffering that continues in our world. All of us are equal in sin before the Lord and need to ask for forgiveness and healing.

The Family of Faith

2011-09-05T09:53:00.001-07:00

September 4th, 2011 “The Family of Faith” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 18:15-20

This morning’s gospel reading is one that is often saved for when there is conflict in the church. I don’t think we are in conflict right now but this reading came up naturally in the lectionary this morning and I thought it would make a good lesson. Sometimes it is nice to consider these lessons about church conflict outside the actual situation. Sometimes we are better learners from the outside then from within an active argument. So let’s sit together with Matthew and Jesus and learn about how to be the church.

Right away we have lost something in translation. The NRSV, which is generally my preferred translation, has translated the word “brother” in verse 15 as “member”. Now it is clear that their motive here is inclusion. As one who can not really be considered a brother, I appreciate their efforts. Yet, I think that changing the wording to “brother or sister” might have been better. I don’t think the family language in verse 15 is any coincidence. I think Jesus means to name us in the terms of family. We are not members of the church; we are brothers and sisters in Christ. What follows then, is how we should respond when a brother or sister sins against us.

Now, we are all part of a family and we know how families work. Sometimes families are great, they are units of love that work to lift each other up. And sometimes families are not so great; they are places where all we do is fight. Regardless, it is within the family that you learn how to be a person. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, all are our primary teachers as we grow.

No matter what, every family has conflict; when people are bumping up against each other in life that is just bound to happen. As brothers and sisters learn to play and share there is conflict, as teens begin to establish their own identities there is conflict, and as parents adjust to the continual change of the family dynamic there is conflict. All families have conflict. But each family deals with conflict a little differently.

Some families talk it out. They take the time to sit down and ask each other what is wrong, what happened, and how they can go forward. Some families ignore conflict. They just pretend that nothing is going on; for them it is more important to appear healthy then it is to be healthy. Some families thrive on conflict, it defines them, and so if there is a rare moment of peace they don’t know what to do with themselves.

You and I both now that churches are like families, and there are churches that follow each of these models. Churches that talk things out, churches that ignore conflict, and churches that thrive on conflict. They are all out there in the family of faith.

Jesus calls the church a family for good reason. As with the families we are born into, the church is the place where we are formed. It is the people at church that teach us and show us the way and it is the people at church that inspire us to be better Christians. It is also the people at church who drive us completely crazy. Like a real family, the people at church really know how to push our buttons.

I think the natural human response to conflict is to avoid it. When people at church are bothering, bugging, and hurting us, our natural instinct is to just leave. I could be a better Christian if I just stayed home on Sunday we think to ourselves. I could read the Bible myself, and hum a hymn, and say a prayer and I wouldn’t have to get angry at people on Sundays. But Jesus makes it clear that we can’t be the church on our own. Jesus says, where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there. He doesn’t say where one pious person is sitting in prayer, I am there. No, we can’t be the church on our own, we can’t be with Jesus on our own, we can only do it together.

So, Jesus aims to teach us how to be together, even when we are in conflict. In this teaching that Matthew presents, Jesus lays out a plan to deal with conflict. First, he says, go by yourself and talk to the one who sinned against you alone. Gosh, that’s hard. Jesus puts the pressure on the person sinned against, on the victim, to make things right. That totally goes against our human nature. When someone hurts us, we want them to come to us and apologize. We don’t want to approach them ourselves. They hurt us, they owe us, it’s not up to the victim to make things right. And yet, that is what Jesus calls us to.

Jesus says that if that doesn’t work, then we should approach the person who wronged us with two or three friends from the church. Maybe with witnesses the matter can be resolved. But if that doesn’t work, Jesus tells us we should then bring the matter to the whole church community. As with any family, conflicts effect everybody, not just one or two people. Then Jesus says if that doesn’t work, we should treat them as a Gentile or a tax collector.

Now, it’s hard to imagine Jesus saying that, that we should treat someone like a Gentile or a tax collector. What could it mean? There are two compelling arguments out there which I will present and you can decide for yourself what that means. One school of thought is that Matthew probably wrote this, and perhaps it isn’t the true words of Jesus but written in the spirit of Jesus. Matthew’s community was in deep conflict with the Jewish church and maybe they really did need to cut some people off from the community. So, if you approach someone alone, with friends, and then with the whole church and they still don’t come around then cut them off, let them go, they are no longer part of the church family.

The other school of thought is that Jesus really did say this. And we are called to consider how Jesus treated the Gentiles and tax collectors. Those are the people that Jesus reached out to, those are the people that Jesus got in trouble for hanging out with, those were the people that Jesus preached the gospel to and welcomed into the kingdom of God. So if someone sins against, and we follow this pattern for reconciliation, and they still don’t come around that doesn’t mean we should just cut them off. Rather to treat them like a Gentile or tax collector means that we should still reach out to them with the message of the gospel and try to welcome them into the community.

So, two schools of thought on that. I will leave it to you to decide which one you think is right. Personally, I am challenged by this. To shut people out of the community doesn’t seem like something Jesus would say. But what if someone is actively harming the body of faith and refuses to repent. Maybe they shouldn’t be part of the church anymore. I can imagine scenarios where either one of these options might work better. As far as what Jesus really said, I’ll leave it to you to figure out for yourself.

No matter how you understand that last bit, the point Jesus seems to be making is that it is only together that we can be the church. When we hurt each other, we should do everything in our power to stay together and work things out. We should try, try again to reach out to one another in love and forgiveness as the goal is redemption for the sinner rather than punishment.

Jesus teaches us that the church is like a family. It is not about a bunch of individuals who have banded together because they share the same ideas; rather it is about a fellowship of people who have been brought together in the name of Jesus Christ. The goal is not for us to be the same or even conflict free; rather the goal is for us to be the body of Christ. And as Paul teaches us, we can’t all be hands or feet or ears in the body of Christ. To be the body of Christ we need to have one of each part, we need to be different from each other. In a culture that is increasingly driven by the desire for sameness, the church is about us being together in our differences and in that we stand apart from the world.

So, we might not be in outright conflict right now, but perhaps there are smaller conflicts festering here this morning. I think that as parishioners, you all sometimes have a better read on what is happening in our church than I do. You have been in this family longer and you know more about it than me. Perhaps you know of a situation where this lesson from Jesus applies this morning. Perhaps there is someone here who has sinned against you that you need to approach today in the spirit of reconciliation. Perhaps the spirit is working in you today, compelling you to work toward healing in this body of Christ, this family of faith.

After last Sunday’s sermon, someone asked me what love love love looks like. I think it looks like this lesson from Jesus. It looks like reaching out to others even when we are hurt. It looks like being honest with each other. And it looks like doing everything in our power to be the body of faith, the church family together. Jesus tells us that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is among them. That means he is among us here this morning. Let us honor his presence by working toward reconciliation wherever it may be needed. Amen.

All You Need is Love

2011-08-29T09:26:00.001-07:00

August 28th, 2011 “All You Need is Love” Rev. Heather Jepsen

John 13:1-17, 31-35

With The Beatles – All You Need is Love

“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Christ came into the world to show us the love of God. He did it in such a way that even his closest followers were at times confused. At the Last Supper Jesus showed the disciples what the love of God is like by washing their feet like a common servant. Peter, wanting Jesus to remain above him as a leader, protested this act. But Jesus’ message is that there are no leaders and followers, no greater or less than, only a community of love in God. Jesus wants the disciples’ relationship with him to be defined by the love of God and nothing else.

That fateful night, very near to the time of his betrayal and arrest, Jesus gave his followers a new commandment. Jesus tells his disciples to love one another, as he has loved them. The love that Jesus Christ demonstrates is a radical love, a love that knows no limits or boundaries. Jesus shows that love to all his disciples, though he knows Peter will deny him and Judas will betray him. Imagine Jesus washing the feet of the one who has betrayed him to his death. Imagine Jesus washing your feet. In Jesus’ community there are no outsiders or insiders. Jesus shows love equally to all he meets.

Jesus tells his disciples to follow his example. He commands them to love within and among the members of the community. Jesus tells us that we are to share this love, his love, the love of God, with one another. This is the one true mark of the Christian community. And this morning as we gather in worship we model that love. Here in our church we strive to love one another as God has loved us. The love of God is more than a feeling, a liking, or compassion from a distance; the love of God is people in genuine relationship.

So, I brought in one of my favorite songs about love this morning, “All You Need is Love” by The Beatles. The Beatles first performed this song in 1967 for an event called “Our World” which was the first live global television link which featured artists from 19 different countries around the world. We might not think anything of it now, but at this time this was a big deal and it netted the largest TV audience ever up to that point with over 400 million people around the globe watching the broadcast. The Beatles aimed to present a song with a simple message that could be understood by all nationalities. Let’s listen to what they came up with . . .

Now while this is clearly a secular song, I think it contains a great message for the church. Jesus himself tells us that the church should be all about love, in fact, perhaps it should be only about love. This week, while I was listening to this song, I was considering all the “you”s as if they were directed to “you” the church body rather than “you” the individual. I invite you to explore the lyrics with me that way.

The Beatles write that there is nothing “you” or the church can sing that can’t be sung, nothing we can make that can’t be made, and no one we can save that can’t be saved. Aren’t those interesting thoughts? Go with me here. As a church there is no one that we can’t save, everyone is someone we can connect to with the saving message of Christ’s love. The Beatles say there is nothing you can do but learn how to be you in time. This is such a freeing thought for our church community. All we can do is love, and learn how to be ourselves, how to be our own church community, through the progress of time. All we need is love, it’s easy.

Follow this train of thought to the second verse and things get even better. There is nothing the church can know that isn’t known. Perhaps there is nothing we can know about God that isn’t already known. And there is nothing you can see that isn’t shown. There is nothing we can see about the world or about God or about each other that God hasn’t first shown to us. And there is nowhere we can be that isn’t where we are meant to be. We can’t go in the wrong direction or be in the wrong place, the church can only go where God guides it. The church can only be where God means it to be in the world. All we need is love, it’s easy.

I think this message of love has profound implications for the church both locally and nationally. As you may know, our national church body, the PC(USA) is in a state of upheaval and turmoil. With the passage of amendment 10-A this spring the doors were finally opened for the ordination of gays and lesbians. Consequently many people are upset and considering leaving the denomination. It pains me that people who for years have said that they trust the working of the Holy Spirit in our midst, now simply want to leave when things finally don’t go their way.

This morning I am wishing that instead of banding together in our own separate groups, everyone would just get together and sing this song. We need to be reminded that the church isn’t about rules and who is in and who is out, instead all the church needs is love. Before his death Jesus gave a new commandment to the Christian community: that as he has loved us, so should we also love one another. Jesus loved without boundaries and limitations. Jesus loved outsiders and outcasts. If we are to be a community modeled on the love of Jesus, which is who we are commanded to be, then we should show this love to the world. All we need is love, it’s easy.

I see a profound message for our own little church community in this song today as well. It could be so freeing for us to realize that all we need is love. Like many institutions in this town, we are struggling with dwindling numbers and dwindling funds. From the department store to the drug store institutions in Wilbur are being hit hard and we are no exception. How freeing might it be for us to realize that all we need is love?

If we adopt this message from The Beatles we can find comfort. There is nothing we can do as a church that is outside of God’s will for us. It’s all about God’s sovereignty. God will do what God will do, God is in control. As a church there is nothing we can know apart from what God has taught us, nothing we can see apart from what God has shown us, no one we can save apart from the saving grace of God, and perhaps most importantly for us today, nowhere we can be that isn’t where we are meant to be by the will of God.

As a church, we need to remember Jesus’ commandment – the mark of the true church is love and all we need to be the church is love. We don’t need money or a pastor or a building to be the church. None of those things are the church. The one and only true mark of the church is love, and love is all we need.

This morning we are gathering around the Communion table. This meal of celebration is modeled after Jesus’ last supper with the disciples and it is a living event of love. In it we unite ourselves with the love of Christ shown in his life, death, and resurrection. Christ showed us what true love was when he died upon the cross. As we celebrate this meal in worship we declare that this model of self giving love is the model we uphold, the model we seek to follow.

This morning, I want us to remember that no matter what happens, when it comes down to it, all we need is love. Jesus wants our love to be as full, radical, and complete as his own was. We are to reflect that love in community through mutual nurturing. We are one body, one spirit, united by the love of God. Remember Jesus said “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another” and The Beatles second it with “All you need is love.” My friends, love is all we need. Amen.

Jesus Gonna Be Here

2011-08-22T09:25:00.001-07:00

August 21st, 2011 “Jesus Gonna’ Be Here” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 24:36-44

with Tom Waits – Jesus Gonna Be Here

Our Scripture reading this morning is one we usually save for the season of Advent. The first Sunday of Advent always features an apocalyptic text as we consider the second coming of Jesus in our preparation to celebrate the first coming of the Christ child. These type of readings, about the second coming of Christ, make both pastors and parishioners nervous. So while we preach on this once a year, the truth is we all prefer to ignore it the rest of the time. Of course, we ignore this message from Christ at our own peril. It is good for us to revisit this text here this morning, and consider just how prepared we are for Christ’s return.

If you were watching the news in the past few months you probably heard about Pastor Harold Camping’s prediction that the world would end on May 21st, 2011. From where we stand today it is clear that he was wrong, but before the 21st, it wasn’t so easy to make that judgment. Camping put forth a huge campaign to get the word out about his end of the world prediction. He spent money on billboards, campers, and busses all advertising the coming end of the world. Hundreds of people believed his word and quit their jobs and sold everything they had to prepare for the end times. Now Pastor Camping says the end of the world will be this October, but I imagine people will be a little more jaded this time around.

We all wish we knew when the end of the world would be. If we knew when Jesus was coming, then we could be prepared. But Christ himself says that neither the angels nor the Son know when this will happen. Only our Father in heaven knows. People don’t like uncertainty or the unknown. If the world is going to end we don’t want to get caught off guard. Rather we want to prepare for it.

I think the same is true when we consider the end of our own lives. Many of us wish we knew just how long we had left on earth. A few years ago the movie “The Bucket List” came out. As you may remember this movie was about two terminally ill men who escape from a cancer ward and go on a road trip with a wish list of things to do before they die or “kick the bucket.” Since then the term “bucket list” has become part of our language as we share ideas about things we each hope to do before we die. I imagine that if any of us found out we only had weeks left to live we might change our lives dramatically, quitting our jobs and spending our last few days doing things we always wished we would.

To consider our own death or the second coming of Christ is to consider the end of the world as we know it. It is a scary thought and yet one that each of us considers at some point in out lives. As far as the second coming, in our scripture reading Jesus tells us that we should follow this train of thought and go ahead and prepare ourselves for his return as if it could be tomorrow. Jesus encourages all believers to prepare for the end of things and to keep awake and keep watch for his coming.

Jesus warns that whenever things end, we will most likely be caught doing the same things we have always done. The danger is that our daily routines, in the church and in our lives tend to lull us to sleep. Every day we get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, much the same. And every Sunday we come to church, sing a song, confess our sins, read the scripture, hear a sermon, sing another song, put money in a plate, eat some cookies and go home. It’s the same every time. And before long we start to fall asleep. Whether we literally fall asleep during the sermon, or simply mentally fall asleep, at some point in the year we stop listening. We stop hearing the gospel. We stop being surprised and challenged by God’s message, because we have heard it all before.

Jesus is calling us to wake up and pay attention; he is calling us to live like this was our last day on earth. The summer is a time when we are all especially vulnerable to forgetting to be prepared for Christ. It is so easy to skip church in the summer. Wouldn’t you feel awful if Jesus came on a Sunday morning and you were down at the lake! I know I would.

If you are coming every week, it can be all too easy as well to stop hearing the gospel message and start falling asleep during worship. That’s one reason I like these music sermons – they get you to pay attention. Now, you might be sitting there complaining about my song choice for the day but at least you are here and interacting with the sermon. I think that nine times out of ten times the gospel is supposed to make you uncomfortable. If my sermons don’t upset you at least some of the time then either you’re asleep or I’m not doing it right. As Christians, we don’t come to church to get a pat on the back; we come to church to be reminded to “keep awake!”

So, I brought in a song this week to wake you up and I am guessing you have never heard it before. Today’s artist is Tom Waits, an American singer songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, that a critic once described sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car." This song, “Jesus Gonna Be Here” comes from the 1992 album “Bone Machine” which won a Grammy. I gotta tell you, I love Tom Waits and I love this song. Let’s listen to it together, and I want you to think blues . . .

Many of Tom Waits’ songs are about characters and the way I see it, this song is about an old man. This guy is ready to meet Jesus, either via the second coming or perhaps his own death. If he were to die tomorrow this guy would be OK as he is simply waiting for the Lord to come and take him. Unlike Harold Camping, this guy doesn’t have to shout about the coming Christ. He is simply going to wait, prepared to meet his Lord. This guy has no doubt that Jesus is coming.

He says he is going to keep his eyes open, keeping awake as Jesus calls us to do. In a stroke of great poetry Waits’ character is watching the horizon for a brand new Ford. I imagine either it’s the second coming and Jesus is in a car rather than on a cloud, or this fellow is prepared to die and he and Jesus are going to roll off into the great sunset. Either way, it’s a great poetic image and when I think of it I imagine Jesus riding in a car and waving like in a parade. Wouldn’t that be a sight, wouldn’t that be a way to go?

In the last verse Waits’ character says he has kept himself faithful. Waits’ character says he has been so good except for drinking. Now I am not going to get into a discussion about whether or not drinking is OK for a Christian. What I do want to say though, is that Waits’ implies that there will be grace for this character. That the character knows his sin and that God will forgive him for this one fault. Always, when we consider the end of things, we must remind ourselves that God’s judgment never overrides God’s grace.

This character also says that he intends to leave this place better than the way he found it. I think that is something we should all aim for when it comes to the end of all things. We should all strive to make a difference in our world and to leave things in better shape then when we started. If you were to meet Jesus tomorrow, either at the end of all things or simply the end of your own life, could you say you left this place in better shape than you found it? It’s an interesting question and maybe something to add to our “bucket lists.”

Both this scripture and this song compel us to prepare ourselves to meet our Lord. Jesus could be coming on the clouds tomorrow and we should be ready to greet him. Or Jesus could be rolling down the lane in a new Ford and we should be prepared to go. As believers we are called to live with a sense of anticipation of the coming of Christ. We are called to live as if we are prepared to die. Though it is a subject we might prefer to avoid, the fact is that Jesus is coming for us and we should be ready to meet him. Both Matthew and Tom Waits’ remind us that Jesus is gonna’ be here soon. Let’s do our best not to get caught off guard. Amen.

Imagine

2011-08-15T09:39:00.001-07:00

August 14th, 2011 “Imagine” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Isaiah 2:1-5 with

John Lennon – Imagine

A lot of you here this morning know this song better than I do. You remember the early 1970s; perhaps as if they were just a few years ago. You could tell me about how you felt during those years. You could tell me about the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Movement, and the Vietnam War. You could tell me about the unrest and turmoil in the United States of America. You could tell me about what you thought about John Lennon, and the first time you heard this song on the radio. In fact, I wish you would tell me those stories, about how you felt then and how you feel now. I really want to know.

For me, this song has always been a part of history. It was a peace anthem during the time of the Vietnam War. It was the song of my parent’s generation, and not the song of my own. And yet here I am, now a parent myself, and the things in the world aren’t so different. Once again our nation is at war, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe Pakistan and Libya too, depends on your definition of war. Sure there’s no draft, today’s wars are simply fought by the poor instead of all of us. Consequently they have a tendency to remain hidden from our everyday experience and are easier for politicians to simply fund and ignore. The monetary cost is a given, the human toll is something we turn a blind eye to.

War is certainly present today, as is unrest and turmoil. We have the movement for Civil Rights for gays and lesbians as those communities now struggle for things like the right to secure a job or a house without discrimination, the right to adopt children, the right to get married by the state, or the right to see their significant other in the hospital during a time of tragedy. On the other end of the spectrum is the Tea Party movement, asking for the right to pay fewer taxes and to be free from government intervention. As far as race relations we might have our first black president but that in and of itself has led to a new surge of racism in our country, sometimes veiled in politics, and sometimes blatant in its hatred. Sure, this isn’t 1971, but this is no utopian time either.

Enter into this conversation an old anthem of peace by an activist and musician who was assassinated over 30 years ago. The first line of this song may be enough to get people so upset they stop listening, which just might be its point. Lennon urges us to imagine that there is no heaven or hell, and to simply live for today. This doesn’t offend me in the least. As Christians, I think he is calling us to stop living our lives as if we were securing a reward in the future or avoiding a future punishment. Instead, we should be living lives that work to bring about the kingdom of heaven here today, on earth. This is congruent with the teachings of Jesus Christ. As we discussed a few weeks ago, we cannot love God without loving each other, and we need to show that by living lives that work to bring heaven here on earth. Rather than looking forward to peace in heaven, we need to be living toward peace in our own lives right now.

In his second verse, Lennon challenges us to imagine that there are no countries, and no religion. Nothing to kill or die for as he says. Again, as a person who has devoted their own life to religion, I am not offended by these words. One only has to look through the pages of history to find all the atrocities committed in the name of religion. From the Spanish Inquisition to the attempted extermination of the Jews, nearly every major act of violence has been supported by some sort of religious rhetoric. In our modern times we have seen Muslims crash planes into buildings in the name of God, just as we have seen Christians blow up buildings and shoot unarmed kids in the name of God. Though every faith contains peace at the heart of its message, it is all too easy for someone to take the words of a faith and use them as justification for violence. Lennon implores us to imagine a different way, free from religious rhetoric which often divides. He calls us to imagine all the people living life in peace.

In the last verse Lennon asks if we are even able to imagine something like no possessions. I’m not sure we can. So much of the modern American identity is wrapped up in what we can buy. Just look at the fallout as our leaders argue about money and the stock market does the whatoosey with your retirement. Its all about money, who’s got it and who hasn’t, and money is all about possessions. Lennon urges us to imagine no hunger or greed. Right now there is a massive famine in Africa. To put things in perspective, children are dying as I speak because they have nothing to eat, and we are sitting here worrying that we won’t have enough money to play with when we retire. Imagine all the people sharing all the world, it’s quite a vision.

You might say John Lennon is a dreamer but the truth is he’s not the only one. He is joined this morning by the prophet Isaiah. Imagine a day to come, Isaiah says, when all the people of all the nations will stream to the mountain of the Lord. Imagine, the word of God, coming down from Jerusalem, a word of judgment and rebuke. Finally the nations will be judged for their warring madness. Imagine, Isaiah says, when they beat their swords into plowshares their spears into pruning hooks. Imagine the weapons of war being repurposed for the ways of peace. Imagine a time when nations no longer lift sword and bomb and gun against each other, but instead lift bags of rice and beans and jugs of clean water. Imagine a time when we no longer spend money on war but spend it on life instead.

Isaiah the prophet gives us a vision of the future. A time when people are no longer worried about heaven or hell because they all hear the voice of the Lord and God is among us here on earth. A future where Jews and Gentiles all stream to the mount of the Lord. There is no need for the rules and divisions of religion for all can clearly hear the one true voice of God. There is no need for countries as all gather at the foot of God’s mountain in a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural stew pot of human peace.

Isaiah calls us to imagine disarmament. To imagine a time when the 22,000+ nuclear weapons in the world no longer exist. Isaiah calls us to imagine a repurposing of the resources that have been used for violence. Items that have been used for war are refashioned for the benefit of the community. Imagine beating our swords into plowshare by funneling the $700billion US military budget into aid for those who are jobless and homeless and hungry, into infrastructure for our nation, and into education for our kids. You might say Isaiah is a dreamer, but he’s not the only one. In fact, he calls all of us to join him, and to walk in the light of the Lord.

Today we are gathering around the communion table. It is here that we imagine a time when people will come from all places. From North and South, from East and West, from Iraq and Russia and North Korea and Cuba and Mexico and Somalia and England and Pakistan to sit at table in the kingdom of our Lord. They will all come, Jews and Gentiles, and they will gather together at the feast which is for all time, a place where no one is ever hungry again. As a community this morning we enact this feast of peace as we all come to the table; women and men, young and old, rich and poor, sinners and saints, we all come and are welcomed at this table in peace. We gather to remember that Christ died to bring us together as one people, not to separate us into our little groups.

This morning I have come here today to imagine. I am imagining the kingdom of God. A place where people are no longer divided by religion, where nations no longer learn war, and where hunger is eradicated because we all share everything we have. You might say I am a dreamer, but I am in good company with prophets throughout the ages. I hope today that you will join us. Because this change, this vision of the future, can happen today in each of our lives. It is up to us the make the small changes that will add up to the big changes we want to see in the world. May we gather together to work toward this future in the name of Jesus Christ, the prince of peace. Amen.

Hallelujah

2011-08-08T09:29:00.001-07:00

August 7th, 2011 “Hallelujah” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Psalm 150 with

Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah

You have probably heard today’s song before though you may not have heard this version. Leonard Cohen who we heard today originally wrote and released this song in 1984. Since then it has been used in many TV shows and movies, you can hear it everywhere from Shrek to American Idol. K.D. Lang who we will listen to at the close of this sermon even sang this song during the opening ceremony of the Olympics last year in Vancouver. It is clear why this song is used so much, the chorus is one of the most beautiful ever written. But I think its message, of praising God in the midst of our brokenness is equally noteworthy.

Leonard Cohen is a master poet and songwriter, and in this song he weaves together a story about David and the human condition. We all are familiar with David as a Biblical character. Cohen begins by drawing on David’s fame as the writer of many of our psalms, “the baffled king composing Hallelujah”. It is as if David does not even know what he is doing as he composes songs of praise that are pleasing to God.

Cohen then describes the downfall of David in his encounter with the woman bathing on the roof, Bathsheba. Of all David’s questionable actions in his reign as king, it is this sin alone that will “break his throne” as Cohen puts it. David has a strong faith but is overcome by his temptation. Those who have read the story know that David tries to avoid his guilt, but in the end realizes the extent of his sin. But, as Cohen tells the story even in his state of brokenness and sin, David’s words are those of praise, “Hallelujah.”

What I love about this song and about the character of David is the simultaneous states of beauty and ugliness, saint and sinner. King David was a wonderful servant of the Lord and his legacy was a lasting one. And yet, he was truly a broken man. Succumbing to temptation in his sin with Bathsheba was only one of his numerous questionable actions. But it is for his sin with Bathsheba that David is famous and he will always carry the mark of this sin. While his name will forever be on the throne, David himself looses the favor of God and the empire as punishment for his indiscretion. And yet in both of these states, from great king to humble sinner David’s words are Hallelujah.

The final verse in the version we heard could be understood in two ways. Perhaps it is the voice of David standing before the throne of God, or perhaps it is the voice of Cohen himself. Once again we see these two states of beauty and ugliness, sinner and saint. Cohen writes “I did my best, but it wasn’t much” which I think sums up how many of us might feel as we stand before the judgment throne. We try hard but the sum of our lives often feels like it doesn’t amount to much in the greater picture. Surprisingly that doesn’t seem to matter to Cohen. What it all comes down to in the end, according to Cohen in this song, is the praise of the Lord. “And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand before the Lord of Song, With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.” I love this last line; even though we may stand at the end of things feeling like everything went wrong, we will still stand and sing our praises to God.

I love this song so much because I think it really touches on the truth of the human condition. In our heart of hearts we can all find ourselves in the story of David and in this song by Leonard Cohen. All of us are a combination of sinner and saint; all of us are capable of great beauty and great ugliness, and in the end all of us stand before God as broken people. We have tried hard, we have wanted to be good people, but often when it comes down to it we feel that we have made a mess of our lives. Cohen really touches on this theme of our brokenness, but he also gives us a word of hope that in the end the only word we have to say is “Hallelujah”.

Today I could have matched this song with some scripture about David and his sin with Bathsheba but I think we all have read enough of that for a while. I also considered pairing it with some of the Apostle Paul’s teaching about our sinful condition. But in the end I thought it would be better to pair this song with the Bible’s own Hallelujah. Though not known as a psalm of David’s I chose Psalm 150 for our reading.

Looking at the Psalm in your pew Bible you might wonder just where the Hallelujah is. Well, unless you’re reading Hebrew you won’t find any Hallelujahs in your Bible. Hallelujah is a Hebrew phrase and in your English Bible they have all been translated for you, “Hallelu” a plural imperative of the verb “halal” for praise and “yah” which is short for Yahweh. So where we read “Praise the Lord!” in Psalm 150 we are really reading “Hallelujah!”

Psalm 150, is a command, for all the people to praise God. Praise God for the wonders he has done and praise God will all the instruments including the human voice. The Psalmist calls for all of creation, in fact everything that breathes to praise the Lord. From our greatest moments to our moments of greatest sin we are all called to sing praises to God, “Hallelujah”, “Praise the Lord!”

If we go back to Cohen’s song, we see that we are called alongside David to sing God’s praises in our moments of greatest achievement and in our moments of sin. God loves the whole of who we are sinner and saint, beauty and ugliness. All of us, like David, are broken people who have sinned before the Lord. We might not be as famous for our sin as he was with Bathsheba but we all know deep in our heart the parts of us that aren’t right, the areas in our lives where we have made mistakes that are big. We know our ugly parts and we would be fools to try to hide them from our Lord.

Like David and Cohen, even in our brokenness we are called with all the creatures that have breath to praise the Lord. It might be a holy Hallelujah or it might be a broken one but it is a Hallelujah none the less. And as we stand before the judgment throne, we will probably find ourselves feeling a lot like Cohen describes. Knowing it all went wrong and yet praising God anyway, such is the nature of the human condition.

This week I even saw this theme of ugliness and beauty in the song itself. Though you have probably heard this song before you might not have heard Leonard Cohen sing it. As we heard at the start of the sermon, his voice is unique and his singing style is all his own. Though he wrote the beautiful chorus of this song, his use of the choir in his recording really doesn’t do his own work justice. In fact, I think his version of his own song is a bit ugly. But, the song has its own beauty and other artists have tapped into that, namely K.D. Lang. And so, to close this sermon we will listen to her version of the song.

Now there are many verses to this song and K.D. Lang sings some different ones than Cohen did so you won’t find them on your lyric sheet. Instead I want to encourage you to close your eyes and just listen to this song. And while you listen, think about the human condition and our call to stand before the Lord singing “Hallelujah” even in our moments of brokenness.

A Simple Faith

2011-08-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

July 31st, 2011 “A Simple Faith” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 22:34-40 with

Raffi – The More We Get Together, The Sharing Song, Thanks A Lot

Some days it seems like our faith life is really complicated. There are a lot of ideas swirling in our heads as we wonder about who God has called us to be. We often wonder about how God is working in our lives and in the life of our church. We have big questions like what happens at communion, what is the Trinity, where is God when we suffer, and just what is the difference between a Lutheran and a Presbyterian. Sometimes we need to remember that at its core, our faith really isn’t that complicated.

In Jesus’ time, just like ours, there were a lot of questions about religion. The Jewish community was broken into several different sects, all of which claimed to have the one right way to follow God. Jesus was just another Jewish teacher, with his own ideas and own following. We like to think that he was starting a new religion, namely Christianity, but when we study him we find that that was never his goal. Instead, he seemed to want to clarify the teachings of the Jewish faith.

In today’s reading, Jesus is once again having a teaching session with the religious leaders. He is asked which commandment is the greatest. It is a complicated question that any teacher would struggle to answer, as the law and commandments were vast. Everything from how to worship, to how to dress were included in the rules for proper Jewish living. Jesus though, gives a simple answer.

First he quotes the great Jewish prayer often called the Shema, “You shall love the Lord your God with all our heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” He then embellishes, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s it, he says in essence, everything else, all the laws and all the tomes written about them, come down to this simple teaching. Love God, love your neighbor.

All of our faith hangs on these teachings. If we love God with our heart and soul and mind it will be reflected throughout our lives. It will be seen everywhere from our moments of private prayer to our countenance when we walk down the street. If we love God, then we love those that God loves, namely our neighbors. This means that our love for God should be visible in how we treat those around us, near and far. From the friend to the stranger, everyone is our neighbor.

On its surface, this is the simplest of teachings, and yet we still manage to muck it up with our complicated lives. That’s why today I thought we should take it down a level, down to the level of kids. That is why I brought these children’s songs as our music for today. As parents we have no trouble teaching this basic lesson to our children. Love God and treat others as you want to be treated. When we grow into adults we somehow think these rules don’t apply to us. Jesus reminds us that they do.

Our first song, “The More We Get Together” is all about loving your neighbor as yourself. The more we gather together, the more we get together in our thoughts and deeds, than the happier we will be. In Jesus’ teaching from last week, we learned that we most clearly represent the kingdom of heaven when we are like fish gathered into one big net. In our adult lives we like to separate ourselves from those who are different from us. We need to be taught the simple lessons that we teach our children: you should play with everyone on the playground, you should welcome everyone into your game, and you should include everyone in your circle. There’s Tootsie and Mary and Jim and Helen, “the more we get together the happier we’ll be.”

Our second song, “The Sharing Song” is also about loving your neighbor as yourself. We do a wonderful job of teaching our kids to share, and yet we are such horrible sharers ourselves. What if we walked around thinking, “It’s mine but you can have some” instead of simply thinking, “Its mine”? Loving our neighbor is all about social justice. If we love as God loves than we will want to share what we have with those who have none. To follow this simple rule is not only to share your peanut butter sandwich but to share your money and your possessions. We teach our kids this but we need a reminder ourselves; “If I have a cake to eat or if I have tasty treat, if you come to me and ask, I’ll give some to you.”

Our third song, “Thanks A Lot” is all about the first and greatest commandment, to love God with the whole of who we are: our soul, our mind, and our heart. If we love God than we will give thanks to God for all the blessings that surround us. We have all seen the way a child looks at the world. It is so wonderful and exciting to them everyday. In my own life I get to experience the wonders of the world anew through Olivia’s eyes. She always cries out with joy whenever she sees the moon in the sky, she never gets tired of shouting, “The Moon!” Sometimes I think she is just seeing a wisp of cloud but always when I look around I find she is right, she has spotted the moon high in the sky on a sunny day. How many times, I wonder, have I missed this miraculous sight? We teach our children to have this wonder in nature and then as we get older we take it all for granted. We forget to rejoice in the simple world around us. That’s why I love this song that reminds me to give “thanks for the animals, thanks for the land, thanks for the people everywhere.”

In our adult lives we make things complicated, it is good for us sometimes to be reminded of the things we were taught as children. Perhaps our faith shouldn’t be so complicated, perhaps it could be as simple as the lessons we teach our children, as simple as two commandments, loving God and loving each other.

A few years ago Robert Fulghum wrote a poem about the simple things, entitled “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” I am sure you have all read this poem but it is one of those that is good to read over and over, so we can remind ourselves that life isn’t as complicated as we sometimes make it out to be. So, in the spirit of this sermon I want to close with his poem today and then we will sing our songs together. Because “the more we get together the happier we’ll be!”

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

By Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need

To know about how to live

And what to do and how to be

I learned in kindergarten.

Wisdom was not at the top

Of the graduate school mountain,

But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.

Play fair.

Don't hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don't take things that aren't yours.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life -

Learn some and think some

And draw and paint and sing and dance

And play and work everyday some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world,

Watch out for traffic,

Hold hands and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.

And I would add, love God, love your neighbor. Amen.

The Kingdom of Heaven

2011-07-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

July 24th, 2011 “The Kingdom of Heaven” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew13:31-33, 44-52

“Jesus, what is the kingdom of heaven like?” “My children, the kingdom of heaven is like a weed.”

Modern Christians love the story of the mustard seed, but first century Christians would not have. The mustard seed is a weed. It doesn’t grow into a large beautiful tree that you would love to have in your yard, instead it grows into an ugly little bush that messes up your field. As you know, the mustard seed is very tiny. If you were sowing a field of wheat by hand, dropping seeds into the ground, the mustard seed could easily be hiding in your hand and drop down into your field. You would sow weeds without even knowing it. The mustard seed remains hidden, until it grows large enough to be recognized, and by then it is too late, you have weeds in your field.

We imagine that the kingdom of heaven is like a wheat field, with long beautiful rows of golden abundance; Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven is the weed that sneaks in and ruins our wheat crop.

“Jesus, what is the kingdom of heaven like?” “My children, the kingdom of heaven is like enough yeast to make 100 loaves of bread.”

In Jesus’ time, leaven was commonly thought to be evil and unclean. Of course, Jesus’ friends didn’t buy yeast packets at the grocery store like you or I. Rather, they would leave their old bread out to spoil. This then would be used as the leaven for the next loaf. If you didn’t leave it out long enough your leaven wouldn’t work, if you left it out too long everyone would get sick from your bread. Leaven can’t be controlled and it can’t be trusted so therefore it is unclean. Every good Jewish woman would remove all the leaven from her house before the Passover celebration.

We imagine that the kingdom of heaven comes decently and in good order; Jesus teaches that it is something hidden and hard to control.

“Jesus, what is the kingdom of heaven like?” “My children, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that will cost you everything.”

All of the gospel writers describe Jesus and his teachings in the way that will speak the most to their community. Jesus’ teaching here speaks volumes. The believers in Matthew’s community have given up everything to follow the gospel. They have lost their families and their homes, they have lost the church that they once knew, and yet they rejoice in the gift that they have found.

Jesus teaches that the kingdom is like a man who sells everything to buy a field with buried treasure, or to buy a pearl hidden in a market. Like the mustard seed and the yeast, the kingdom is somehow hidden from our sight. It is buried in the field, or covered by junk in the market stall. Even when we can’t see it, Jesus teaches us that we should be willing to give everything for it.

We imagine that the kingdom of heaven will be like us having everything we ever wanted; Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven is like giving up everything we ever wanted for something we didn’t even know we wanted in the first place.

“Jesus, what is the kingdom of heaven like?” “My children, the kingdom of heaven is like a giant net that gathers you all up together.”

Jesus teaches that the kingdom is like a net thrown into the sea that catches fish of every kind, every kind. That’s a big net! All the fish are held together, the good hidden in with the bad, until the time of separation comes. And of course, the fish do not separate themselves; it is the angels who will decide what happens to each one.

We imagine that the kingdom of heaven has only people like us in it; Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven has all of the people in it.

“Jesus, what is the kingdom of heaven like?” “My children, the one who knows about the kingdom of heaven values what is new and what is old.”

In Matthew’s community everything was changing. Folks wondered what they needed to hold on to and what they could let go of. How would they come to understand their old Jewish identity in the midst of their new lives as followers of Christ? I am sure that some wanted to hold tight to all of the old traditions, while others only found value in the new ways of the community.

We imagine that the kingdom of heaven is like the way things have always been; Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven is like the old and new together.

My friends, our church is in a time of transition and flux. Change is in the wind, we can sense it. And yet, we aren’t clear just what that change is. What will happen to this church, to our legacy, to our food pantry, to our worship, to our community, to our relationships together? I wish I knew. For me personally, not knowing what will happen is the scariest part. Thankfully tomorrow will come, and the day after that, and before we know it we will begin to see. Something is happening here, and I argue that it is part of the kingdom of heaven.

In the preaching magazine Awaken Paul Turley and Jana Norman write that “The kingdom, as these parables would have it, is anywhere and everywhere hidden. The mustard seed and the yeast do their work in secret. They transform their environment because it is their nature to do so. The kingdom does not need our assent or understanding to do the transforming work it does by its very nature.”

My friends, I believe that the transforming nature of the kingdom is among us here today. Like the mustard seed and the yeast, we can hardly see it and yet it is there, calling us to grow and ferment into the people God has called us to be. Like the treasure and the pearl were hidden, the kingdom of heaven is hidden now among us. We can not see it yet, but we are being asked to give up everything for that which is of the utmost value. Like the net which is hidden in the waters, we are being gathered together like fish. We resemble the kingdom of heaven the most when we are all nestled together, only God knows how we will separate in the end. Finally my friends, the kingdom of heaven is hidden here in both the old and the new. We know what the old has been; now we are being called to boldly discover the new together.

Hidden somewhere deep, in the midst of our ordinary lives, the kingdom of heaven is brewing right now. The transforming work of God is about to be made known among us. Our job today is to listen to the teachings of Christ. We are called to look for the weeds and the yeast and to allow their transforming presence among us. We are called to look for the pearl and the treasure and to give up everything we have ever known in order to secure them for ourselves. We are called to gather together in the net with fish of every kind, even the ones we don’t like. We are called to bring out the old and the new at the same time, for it is from the past and the future that the kingdom will be crafted.

This is an exciting and scary time in the life of our church and I personally give thanks to God for it.

“Jesus, what is the kingdom of heaven like?” “Oh my children, it is like the unrest you are experiencing today.”

God

2011-07-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

July 17th, 2011 “God” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Psalm 13 with
Tori Amos – God

The life of the Christian is not an easy one. You know as well as I that just because we are believers in Christ, we are not guaranteed a life free of trouble and hardship. In fact, for many of us, our sorrows and our blessings are intertwined. This has always been the case for people in their relationship with the divine. Often, our hardships can lead us to question the purpose or even simple presence of God. It can be a comfort for us to know that we are not alone in our experience.

Evidence of personal struggle with faith can be found throughout the Psalms. In the 10th Psalm, the writer asks “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” In Psalm 74 we read “O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?” And Jesus famously quoted Psalm 22 from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but find no rest.”

Like these readings, I like to think of our song this morning as a Psalm of complaint. Tori Amos is a pastor’s kid; she grew up in the church and would have been familiar with the comings and goings of God in her life. Like the Psalmist that came before her, her song is rooted in complaint directed to God. “God, sometimes you just don’t come through” she says. Though we may be reluctant to admit it, I think that many of us feel this way about God at some time in our lives.

The scripture I’ve paired our song with this morning is the shortest and most conscience of the complaint Psalms, Psalm 13. “How long, O Lord?” the Psalmist begins. “Will you forget me forever?” At first the Psalmist suggests that God has simply forgotten about him; no ill will intended, God is just busy. Along this theme, in her song Tori wonders if perhaps God is distracted. With humor she muses that like an old man, maybe God needs a woman to look after him, perhaps then he wouldn’t forget us so often.

The Psalmist takes it to the next level though – maybe God has forgotten him on purpose. “How long will you hide your face from me?” He wonders. This has a sense of deliberateness; God has intentionally turned away from the Psalmist. Again using humor in her song, Tori wonders if perhaps God is out doing other things. Like a newly retired man, maybe he has his 9 iron in the back seat just in case he gets a hankering for some golf. Or perhaps he has a new 4-wheel that he just can’t wait to get out and drive. Both Tori and the Psalmist wonder if God is busy doing other things and simply doesn’t have time for them right now.

The Psalmist continues, “How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” When we read the Psalms we discover that there are three main characters; the Psalmist, God, and the enemy. All of these characters have their place in the right order of things. The place of the exalted one is the rightful place of God. So, when the Psalmist complains that his enemy is exalted over him, he is actually complaining that his enemy is in the place of God. The effect is that God has been so absent that he has been displaced in the Psalmist’s view.

“Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!” the Psalmist continues. “Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”; my foes rejoice because I am shaken.” The Psalmist demands an answer from the divine. Similarly, Tori Amos says to God, “I gotta find (out) what you’re doing about things” and “why you always go when the wind blows.”

In verse 5 our Psalm takes a dramatic turn. “But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” Commentators have often wondered if perhaps the Psalmists prayers were answered or he simply has hope that they will be in the future. Either way, though God seems absent to him at the time, the Psalmist remains trusting in God.

In the New Interpreters Bible, Clinton McCann notes that “For the Psalmist, every experience of the self or the other is also an experience of God.” This is an amazing thought. At the time the Psalmist wrote, everything he encountered in life; from his own feelings to his relationship with other people, from the thoughts in his head, to the weather outside, absolutely everything was thought of as an experience of God.

Regretfully, this type of thinking is often lost in our modern world. We like to compartmentalize things. We thank God for the sunshine, but don’t really associate our everyday weather with God. We might thank God for our friendships, but we don’t really think about God in our encounters with people on the street. We might think of God as a part of our spiritual life, but we try to separate God from our emotions surrounding other things. But, the fact is, that God is a part of every encounter we have every day. When we allow God more fully into our lives, from shopping at Sandy’s to listening to music we cultivate a deeper relationship with the divine.

And of course, with a deeper relationship comes the complexity that the Psalmist address; the simultaneous sense of God’s presence and God’s absence. When we are being honest with God and ourselves, we often find that complaint and praise are the strange bedfellows of our faith. While we praise God for the blessings we have received, we complain about the places in our lives that are missing God’s touch. We thank God for where he has worked, say in the healing of broken relationships, but we complain to God for where he hasn’t worked, say in the healing of a physical condition or illness. We thank God for our personal calls to ministry, and we complain that we haven’t been given a clear enough message regarding just what God wants us to do with our lives. We see blessings in our own lives and we also see where God’s work is lacking among the poor and oppressed in our world.

The life of faith is complex and ambiguous. Like the kingdom of God that Jesus brought to earth and the kingdom that is yet to come, we live in a time of blessing and want, thanksgiving and complaint. God has done work among us, and yet there is still work to be done and places where we sense God’s absence. As believers in Christ we should not be surprised that the pleasure and pain go hand in hand. As followers of Jesus we know we will receive the Lord’s blessing, but we also know that we will be expected to carry our cross in the process.

And so today, I want to encourage you to have a deeper relationship with God by being more honest with him. It’s OK to be mad at God, it’s OK to be disappointed, and it’s OK to wonder if perhaps God has forgotten you. There is a biblical precedence for complaining about God’s missing presence in our lives. To complain about God is to be in relationship with God and that is the priority. Just like in a marriage, one of the worst things you can do is to give someone the silent treatment, than you effectively aren’t in relationship with them anymore. To withhold our anger from God is to give God the silent treatment. To be in full relationship with God we should feel free to lift our fist to the sky and give him all our complaints. It is more important for us to have an honest relationship with God, than to have no relationship with him at all.

If we are honest with ourselves, we might have the same complaint as Tori Amos; sometimes, on some things, God just doesn’t come through. And like the Psalmist in the same breath we may offer praises for the places where God has come though and delivered as he promised. If we have an honest relationship with God, we will bring to him both the good and the bad, both the hurts and the blessings. Bringing the fullness of ourselves before the Lord is how we deepen our lives of faith. So, when you come to your prayer time today, feel free to tell God how it really is, blessings and complaints. Trust me. . . he can take it. Amen.

Magnificent

2011-07-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

July 10th, 2011 “Magnificent” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Jeremiah 1:4-5 with
U2 – Magnificent

As theologian and teacher Daniel Migliore writes, “The Christian life is a movement toward a goal.” Many of us today recognize that to have a deep life of faith; we must always strive to be growing in our walk with the Lord. God is constantly challenging us to be better people. One of the ways we understand this journey in the Reformed tradition is through the language of vocation.

Vocation is often tied with the term election in our understanding. This is all about the idea that God chooses you for some task. Just as God speaks to the prophet Jeremiah about marking him as a prophet before he was born, throughout history God has chosen, or elected his people to certain tasks.

Migliore writes that “the themes of election and vocation are deeply embedded in the biblical witness. God calls Abraham, chooses the people of Israel, summons the prophets, sends Jesus of Nazareth, and commissions the followers of Jesus for service in the world.” Clearly the scriptures tell us that God has marked or chosen certain people to fulfill his mission on earth.

In the Reformed tradition, we believe that we have all received such a mark. God has chosen each of us, before we were born, to fulfill a certain roll in his work in our world. Again, Migliore writes that “God freely elects creatures to be partners in the mending of creation. Election is a call not to privilege but to service. Israel is chosen to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth. Jesus Christ is the chosen Son of God who obediently does the work of God and calls others to take part in this work. Human beings are called to be co-workers with God in the mission of liberation and reconciliation.”

So, each of us, as members of the body of faith, have been specifically chosen by God to work on his behalf in the world. Isn’t that a powerful idea? Think about it – you were chosen by God to be here this morning, working for him today at church. You were chosen to help spread the gospel message of reconciliation by forming relationships with the people sitting next to you in the pews. Perhaps even more powerfully, this call from God, challenges us to continued growth as Christians. To think like this helps us keep our faith alive and vital – we are on a mission every day to work for God in our world. You can’t sleep through that!

Now some might think that this election or calling only applies to those who are pastors or missionaries. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. This is where the idea of vocation comes in. Migliore writes that “The vocation of a Christian is not to be confused with having a job by which one earns one’s livelihood. Whatever one’s job or profession, as a Christian one is called to be a partner in God’s mission in the world.”

So, though many of us must have a job at some point to make money, that is not necessarily our vocation. Our vocation, or the work God has marked us for, is to serve him in whatever job we find ourselves. My vocation and my job are closely connected, but you may be living the life of faith in the midst of the business place or retail market. Your work, of bringing the mission of God to the world, is no less important than mine. I wear a clerical collar and you wear a business suit and together we have been elected to the vocation of serving the Lord.

This is where today’s song comes in. As you know, U2 is my favorite secret Christian band. They don’t claim a Christian following and yet as we discovered last year many of their songs contain a clearly Christian message. When I first heard Magnificent I was struck by what a praise song it was. In fact, this is perhaps my favorite praise song and you will often find me driving around town blasting it in my car and singing along. I found it last summer and have eagerly waited a whole year to share it with you.

As I see it, this song is all about election and vocation. Bono writes that like Jeremiah was born to be a prophet, he was born to sing for God. Even from the womb, he was marked as one who would sing. He says that he will sing whatever song God wants him to, that he will give God back the gift of his voice. It is the love of God that has marked him with this gift, and the love of God that he now shares with others. And so, he praises God for his election or vocation. He has been chosen to magnify in song who he terms “The Magnificent”.

Bono has been called to share his vocation with the world. Again, Migliore writes that “the Christian life involves inward growth and renewal, but it does not turn in on itself. It participates in movement outward to others and forward to the future of the completion of God’s redemptive activity. There is work to be done, a message to be proclaimed, service to be rendered, hostility to be overcome, and injustice to be rectified.”

Now, this might seem like a tall order. I can imagine that you are sitting in the pews thinking, I am not a pastor, and I am certainly not Bono. And yet, I am telling you that you are each equally called to this mission and ministry. As believers we share our faith and fulfill the work of God in our world by doing not only big things for God but little things as well. All of the small things we do, from saying hello to a stranger to helping out around the church, from bringing a can of food for the food pantry to picking up trash on the sidewalk, are part of the greater work of bringing the kingdom of God to bear in our world.

Many in this community were involved in the funeral services for our friend Don Sorensen this week. Don was a great example of this idea of vocation. Here was a guy doing nothing special and yet doing a hundred special things all at the same time. As he simply went about his daily life, he lived into his election and vocation from God. The sheer size of mourners at his service was evidence of how many lives he touched. Plus, working to make his celebration happen was an opportunity for all of us to serve others and serve our Lord thereby living out our call in the world. The whole event just proves that you don’t need to be doing big things to make a difference in our world. Rather, all the little things can add up to one big difference.

So today I challenge you to consider how you are living out your vocation. When you were in the womb, what work did God mark you for? What are you going to do today that furthers God’s mission in the world? How are you going to help me and other believers work toward God’s healing ministry in our community and beyond, this day and into this week? Everyday is an opportunity to grow in our lives of faith by working for God in our world. From the small things to the big ones, we are called to make a difference. I know I am challenged by such thinking and I hope you are too. Let us praise the Magnificent God who calls us as individuals and as a community to mission and ministry. Amen.

Do Not Be Afraid

2011-05-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

April 24th, 2011 “Do Not Be Afraid” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 28:1-10

We come once again to the highest most holy day of our church year, Easter morning. Today we gather to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, the promise of new life, and the hope that springs eternal. Today we come full of joy and thanksgiving to worship the one who beat death, Jesus Christ our Lord. All of the gospels tell a slightly different version of the Easter story and this morning we are hearing the story from Matthew’s point of view. It is a story of drama, excitement, and fear.

Early in the morning, as the sun is just rising, Mary Magdalene and another Mary head out to see the tomb. Unlike some of the other gospel writers, Matthew doesn’t tell us that they bring spices to anoint the body. Rather, in his version, they are just coming to see the tomb, much as we might visit the grave of a loved one.

Upon arriving at the tomb the women experience a great earthquake as an angel comes down from heaven. The angel rolls back the stone and sits upon it. Guards are present in Matthew’s story and at this amazing sight and experience they shake with fear and enter a catatonic state, becoming like dead men.

The angel says to the women, “Do not be afraid” and then tells them that Jesus has been raised. The women are invited to look into the tomb and see the place where he lay. The women are then sent on a mission, to go and tell the disciples that Jesus is headed to Galilee.

And so the women take off, in fear and great joy, running to Galilee to share the news with the rest of Jesus’ followers. Only, they are stopped on the road by the man himself. Jesus greets them and they immediately worship him there. Once again they are told “Do not be afraid” and off they are sent to tell the others in Galilee the good news.

Most of us here today are not surprised by this story. You came to worship this morning expecting to hear some version of this familiar tale. The women come in the morning, the tomb is empty, and they run to tell the others. We have heard this story so much, and accepted it as the natural way of things, that we loose some of the drama that this story is meant to evoke. We forget just how exciting and frightening that first Easter morning really was.

This story, of the women and the empty tomb, is both scary and wonderful. I love that Matthew has the women experience an earthquake and witness the stone being rolled away. It surely would have been a terrifying event. Just recently we all watched footage of that big earthquake in Japan. I am guessing that most of us saw the same things on TV. Images of skyscrapers swaying like trees in the wind, images of office workers hiding under desks as everything around them crashes down, and the one I saw the most, that image of the business men running out of a building as pieces of the building drop from the sky and come crashing down around them. Imagine going to visit the grave of a loved one, only to experience something as scary and surprising as that! The guards standing watch were so scared that they passed out! Any one of us might have done the same thing.

The women are shocked with this earthquake and the presence of the angel. It is no wonder the first thing the angel says is “Do not be afraid.” I would have been shaking with fear. And then they receive the news, Jesus is not there, he has been raised from the dead. Now you and I are expecting to hear this, because we know this story. But we have to remember that the women didn’t know the story. They know that Jesus talked about being raised, but they could not have known what that meant. Just like the disciples, they probably assumed he was talking about something at a later date, a time when all the righteous would be raised. I imagine they were just as surprised and scared as you would be if you went to the grave of a loved one and found it suddenly empty.

It’s no wonder then that the women run off in fear and great joy. Joy is there, yes, but fear is there also. This has been a frightening morning. The earth has quaked, they have seen an angel, and the dead are missing. It’s scary. And then they see Jesus on the road, the very one they saw crucified suddenly alive again. Jesus says to them, “Greetings” and “Rejoice” but he also says “Do not be afraid.” Clearly the women are still shaken and shocked. They grab hold of Jesus and worship him there, with their hearts pounding, for this has been one of the scariest days of their lives.

I know you didn’t come here this morning to hear a scary story, but when we reexamine things, that is what we find on Easter Sunday. Of course the truth is that there are a lot of scary stories in our lives. Our lives are full of things that we cannot control and things that we do not understand. Things that shake us to our bones and things that make us quake with fear. There are times in our lives when we don’t want to hear the word “Rejoice”; we simply need to hear the words “Do not be afraid.”

In the commentary Feasting on the Word Pastor Martin Copenhaver asks us to consider, when was the last time that someone with authority told us “do not be afraid.”? For many of us this hasn’t happened since we were children. I remember that the house I grew up in had a long hallway and my bedroom was at the very end of it. When I had trouble sleeping and was afraid, I would have to run the length of the house to get to my mother. That was a long terrifying run. But always my mother would gather me up, tell me to not be afraid, and put me back to bed. I believed my mother, and I knew everything was alright, and eventually went back to sleep. I don’t about you, but it in my life as an adult it has been a long time since someone made me feel like that, that everything really was alright and that I didn’t have to be afraid.

Martin Copenhaver points out that the only people in the scriptures who say “do not be afraid” are the angels and Jesus. In our adult lives of worry and fear, it is only God’s representatives, who can make such a promise to us. He writes, “When the angel says, “Do not be afraid,” or when Jesus says, “Fear not,” it is not assurance that nothing can go wrong, because often things do go wrong. It is not assurance that everything turns out for the best, because, if we are honest about it, it seldom does. Rather, it is assurance that, whatever may happen to us, whatever a day may hold, God has the power to strengthen and uphold us; that whatever we must face, we do not face it alone; that nothing we encounter is stronger that God’s love; and that ultimately God gets the last word; that in the end – and sometimes even before the end – God’s love is triumphant. Only God can offer such assurance, and that is why, in the end, only God, or one of God’s messengers, can say, “Do not be afraid,” and say it with authority.”

This morning we are going to gather together at the communion table. Whenever we partake of this sacrament we remember that Jesus too, was one who suffered. This meal reminds us of the one who gave of his body and blood that we might have life. He too had his moments of suffering; his torment and sadness in the garden, his physical pain on the cross, his emotional pain of feeling abandoned and forsaken. Just like us, Jesus was a person of faith and yet he still experienced suffering. Today we remember and rejoice that suffering was not the final word for him, nor will it be for us. Our God lives on and our God promises us new life. When we are at our lowest, when we are most afraid, God is with us because God has been there himself.

That Easter morning was a scary morning for the two Mary’s. It was a morning when their lives were turned upside down. It was a morning when they received the ultimate words of comfort “Do not be afraid.” But of course, fear was not the only emotion that day, for the women were also filled with great joy. When they heard the good news of the resurrection they ran from the tomb as fast as they could. Imagine the way you would run as a child, having no care if you might trip or fall down. They were full of fear and joy together like the way you felt when you first fell in love, or first held your child. It is a heady feeling, fear and joy together. It is a fullness of emotion that threatens to overwhelm us.

I love the part of the story where Matthew says that when the women met Jesus on the road they grabbed a hold of his feet. I imagine they simply needed something to hold on to. They were reeling with the events of the morning. I am certain that they were physically in shock having witnessed the earthquake, the angel, and the empty tomb. Their hearts were pounding, their hands were sweating; they were full of fear and excitement and probably wondered if this wasn’t all just a dream. And so, when they see Jesus, they grab a hold of him. What better way to ground themselves than grabbing on to Jesus’ feet.

We too can grab a hold of Jesus in those moments when we need to be grounded. When we are reeling with fear, he is there to comfort us. When we are shocked with joy, he is there to celebrate with us. When we are simply not sure where our life is going, he can give us guidance. Just like the women, when we are running through life and need to slow down, we can grab a hold of Jesus and get some perspective.

This morning we have come together once again to hear the story of Easter. You know in your heart how this story is speaking to you today. Maybe you are full of fear and simply need to hear the divine voice cry out, “Do not be afraid.” Maybe you are full of joy, and simply need to slow down and be thankful. Maybe you are here simply looking for something to hold on to. But deep in our souls, we are all here to hear the good news. Jesus has risen, death is over, and life has won! Thanks be to God for the miracle of Easter which is for today and every day. Amen.

Baby Time

2011-04-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

To my readers - I will very soon be having my second baby and so the website will be down until I return to work in July. I hope to keep leading worship and posting sermons through Easter but that might not happen. So - if I don't post again . . . Blessings to you all!

Palm and Passion Sunday

2011-04-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

Once again, there was no written sermon this week. Instead, I led a special worship service where we read through Matthew's account of Palm Sunday (Matt. 21:1-11) and then his Passion narrative (Matt. 26:14-27:54). Readings were spread out throughout the worship service along with song and prayer.

Life in the Face of Death

2011-04-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

April 10th, 2011 “Life in the Face of Death” Rev. Heather Jepsen John 11:1-45 “I don’t care if you’re dead! Jesus is here, and he wants to resurrect somebody.” I came across this quote from the 13th century Persian poet Rumi this week and it really spoke to me regarding this story in John’s gospel. “I don’t care if you’re dead! Jesus is here, and he wants to resurrect somebody.” We are a people of resurrection and yet so many times in our lives when we are faced with the one who claims to be the resurrection and the life we respond like Mary and Martha. “I know that resurrection is a promise for later, but not a promise for me right now” we say. Death is everywhere in our scripture reading this morning. John opens the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead with a mention of the future where Mary will anoint Jesus for his own burial. Death hangs over the passage, as the disciples question whether Jesus should return to Bethany where they have already tried to kill him once; as Jesus declares that yes, Lazarus is dead and not simply ill; and as Thomas encourages the disciples to go and die with Lazarus. Death clouds the passage much as the odor of death surely clouded the area around Lazarus’ tomb. It is a scene full of mourners and those lost in grief, as tears flow from Mary, Martha, and even Jesus himself. And though the scene concludes with Lazarus emerging from the tomb, wrapped in the linens of burial, everyone knows that it is this singular act, the raising of Lazarus that will lead directly to Jesus’ own death in the coming days. There is no doubt that in this, the eleventh chapter of John, death is everywhere. The fact is, death is everywhere in our own lives as well. Our world news is so full of death that we have become nearly numb to the suffering of others. Death marches on in Iraq and Afghanistan, death continues to reign in Israel and Palestine, slaughter and famine in Africa are never a new story. Nationally death also has a strong hold. It seems that every week there is a new act of random shooting violence; one more person with one more gun takes aim at the innocent of America. And of course, death is always here among us in the community of Wilbur, every week there is at least one obituary in our small newspaper. Death is our lot in life, for as soon as we are born into this world, we all know that eventually we will share the same end, death. But of course death is not the only word or perhaps the most important word in our gospel this morning. This morning’s gospel is all about resurrection. Martha testifies to the truth of a final resurrection saying, “I know that Lazarus will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Martha makes a claim that many of us here would make as well, that death is not the final word, and that we will be given new life in heaven after we die here on earth. Jesus’ response serves to remind us that there is more to his promise of resurrection than just life after death. “I am the resurrection and the life,” he says. “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” I think that the promise Jesus makes here serves to push us beyond our complacent understanding about resurrection. I think Jesus wants to move Martha and us out of the box that says new life is only available after physical death. Jesus is saying that he is new life right now in this life. Resurrection thinking is for you now as you live, not simply for you after you die. There are many events in our lives that serve to put us into tombs. Pastor Andrea Anastos writes that this passage “is not merely about the threshold of physical death, but about every event that puts us in a tomb where we die to an old identity: widow- or widower hood; the loss of a child; the loss of a home or job; bankruptcy; terminal illness or diagnosis of a chronic condition; scandal; divorce; the loss of independence.” As Christians we believe in the power of resurrection, but at the same time when we examine the dead spots in our lives, we wonder what the promise really holds for us. Again, I would take us back to Rumi. “I don’t care if you’re dead! Jesus is here, and he wants to resurrect somebody.” When we hear this story I think we often say to ourselves “That promise is not for me. I am too far gone.” We are like Martha standing outside the tomb saying “go away Jesus, its too late, Lazarus has been dead for four days and the body has already begun to stink.” We have places in our lives that have been dead for too long, they have already begun to fester, and when Jesus comes to us talking of new life we turn him away from those dead places. “It’s too late for me” we tell him. But I say to that, “I don’t care if you’re dead! Jesus is here, and he wants to resurrect somebody.” The promise of resurrection is not simply the promise of life after death, it is the promise to touch and change the dead parts of our lives right now. It is the promise and power to change who we are today, while we are alive and living on earth. It is the promise to open the tombs where we have sealed hurts away to die, and to touch those places with the power of grace and life. No one expects that life can come from death, and yet that is the primary promise of the gospel. In the gospel of John this story has a greater purpose. It is not simply about the raising of Lazarus, it is about the death and resurrection of Christ which lingers on the horizon. In John’s telling of the story it is for this act alone that Jesus will be killed. As Lazarus leaves the tomb, Jesus prepares to enter it. Lazarus comes out with the burial cloths wrapped around him, the power of death still clinging to him. But on Easter morning, the burial cloths will be left folded in the tomb, for Jesus will beat death forever. There is no dead part of our lives that he can not touch or that he can not heal. He is the resurrection and the life, for us right now today. As much as he could return life to the dead body of Lazarus, he can return life to the places that we have long ago considered dead. Today we gather once again around the communion table. In Communion we physically share in the promise of resurrection life, in the future and in the here and now. As we celebrate this meal that Jesus celebrated before his own death, we unite ourselves with Jesus’ death and resurrection. We claim the promise for ourselves, that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. We declare that through him all things are made new, even the things we have long ago given up on. Through Jesus we are given new life over and over, and like a butterfly leaving its cocoon we emerge from the tombs of our suffering into a new life in Christ. Christ came into this world not simply to die, but to be raised again. And so today I challenge you to roll away the stone that blocks all those old festering tombs in your heart. I don’t care if it’s smelly. I don’t care if it’s been dead for years. You know the places that you have given up on. Those are exactly the places where Christ longs to come and be the resurrection and the life for you. “I don’t care if you’re dead! Jesus is here, and he wants to resurrect somebody.” Amen.

Seeing our Blindness

2011-04-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

April 3rd, 2011 “Seeing our Blindness” Rev. Heather Jepsen John 9:1-41 Our texts for this Lenten season are rich with story. We began with the temptation of Christ in the wilderness and then we encountered Nicodemus the wonderer who came to Jesus at night. Last week we thought together about the woman at the well and her experience of Jesus and his love. And this week we have another powerful story; the healing of a man born blind. Our story begins simply enough, Jesus is walking along the road with his disciples when they spy a blind man. The disciples are not interested in helping or healing the man, they simply want to ask a theological question. “Who sinned?” they wonder. Is it this man’s fault he was born blind or does the blame belong with his parents? Jesus shoves that question aside, saying instead that this is an opportunity to show the glory of God. The man has not asked to be healed and yet, much in the manner of other healers in his day, Jesus spits on the ground to make a concoction of mud which he spreads upon the poor man’s face. Jesus then sends the man to wash off the mud and gain his sight. The man follows Jesus’ instruction and miraculously he is now able to see. This should be an occasion for joy and celebration, but that couldn’t be farther from what happens. The man returns to his community and the people are dumbfounded. Surely this cannot be the same man they say. Some even argue that he is literally someone else. It as if throughout his life they only saw his blindness and never really saw him. Now that he is no longer blind they don’t recognize him anymore. Finally the townspeople ask him how it is that he can see and he tells them what Jesus has done for him. Unable to locate Jesus to confirm the miracle, the townsfolk bring the man to the Pharisees. The man is hauled out before the council of Pharisees and now we find out that this healing has occurred on the Sabbath. The Pharisees ask how the blind man was healed and he again testifies to his encounter with Jesus. The Pharisees are trapped in a bind. According to the belief system they follow, one mustn’t do any work on the Sabbath. Even to heal someone on the day of rest is prohibited by the laws of God and is an act of sin. And yet, clearly this man’s sight has been restored and only someone who is from God could perform such an act. As a ruling community they are divided. Is this an act of God or the trick of a sinner? Again they question the once blind man who now says that Jesus must be a prophet. The Pharisees feel like they don’t have enough information to make a decision so now they call in the blind man’s parents. “Is this your son,” they ask “how is that he can see now?” The parents of the blind man are savvy, and they know that to proclaim faith in Jesus means they will be kicked out of the church community. “He’s an adult, ask him yourself” they say. So the Pharisees again call the blind man before them demanding that he admit that Jesus is a sinner for healing on the Sabbath. Understandably the blind man is now annoyed. He responds to their requests with questions and jibes, “perhaps the Pharisees want to know so much so they can be disciples of this man Jesus as well” he wonders aloud. Finally he resorts to logic, “No one can open the eyes of the blind except one from God, so clearly this man was from God.” Frustrated the Pharisees reply, “You were born in sin blind man and now you are trying to teach us?” and they kick him out of the worshipping community. Alone and rejected on what should have been the happiest day of his life, the blind man once again encounters Jesus. Jesus asks him if he knows the Son of Man and eager for truth the blind man urges him to show him such a person. Jesus declares that he is the one and the blind man immediately falls down to worship. Jesus then gives the punch line to the story, for while the man can now see, his healing has highlighted the blindness of others. Pharisees standing nearby ask Jesus about this and he makes it clear that they in their treatment of the blind man are the ones who remain blind and trapped in sin. This is a rich story and there are countless themes I could speak on this morning but today I simply want to point out a few things. First of all, don’t you think it’s strange that when the people talk about why the man is blind they are eager to find the work of God as punishment of sin and yet no one wants to believe that his healing was from God? The early theme that the disciples bring up runs throughout the story, “who sinned that this man was born blind.” Everyone wants to find someone to blame. There has to be someone who is a sinner here and that is why God has made this bad thing happen. Is the man a sinner, or were his parents? Is Jesus a sinner or are the Pharisees? So often in our lives when bad things happen we immediately ask why. “Why God, is this happening to me? What did I do wrong?” We look at other people suffer and we find reasons in our minds for why they suffer. “He eats too much, she drinks too much, she parties too hard, he sleeps around, if only they were a better Christian and went to church then God wouldn’t punish them like this.” Just like the disciples, when we see calamity strike we often wonder, “Who sinned?” And yet, when blessings occur in people’s lives, we often say it was simply fate rather than attributing the act to God. Especially when good things happen to people we feel are undeserving. In Jesus’ day, a man born blind was assumed to be cursed by God; he was an outcast and a sinner. For a blessing to have happened to such a one, without his even asking or showing faith, was a shock. Its no wonder people were upset and confused. In our own lives, we all know people who seem to receive blessings even though they are not good church goers. How do we respond to this? Often just like everyone in this story. “That blessing can’t be from God, it must be something else” we say to ourselves. And yet, who are we to judge who God will bless and who he won’t? Another interesting thing about this story is that Jesus is largely absent. He appears at the beginning of the story to heal the blind man, but once he sends him off to wash Jesus disappears. It is not until the very end of the story, when the blind man has been rejected by his community, his family, and his church that Jesus finally reappears. This whole story is centered on an argument about who Jesus is, and while people argue Jesus is nowhere to be found. Studying this story this week I just couldn’t get over this. While everyone is busy arguing about who Jesus is, he is absent from their midst. And yet, when people stop arguing, and are willing to let Jesus show them who he is, suddenly he is on the scene again. In heated conversations within and between churches, how often do we argue about the person of Christ or what his will might be? People come to the table with their minds already made up about who Jesus is, and from that position they argue only their point of view. In this story, the writer of the gospel of John seems to be telling us that when we do this, when we argue about Jesus, then Jesus is not among us. But when we are ready to listen, when we open ourselves up to the possibility of new thinking and new understanding, then Jesus is there. When the blind man is willing to listen and learn about the Son of Man, then Jesus appears to teach him. The final theme I want to pluck out from this rich text is the counter play between blindness and sight. The story of course, is about physical blindness, but the writer of the gospel makes it clear that this story is about spiritual blindness as well. At the beginning of the story, the blind man is healed, not because of faith but simply as a work of God. Upon his healing, the man has no sudden faith response; he simply states that the man called Jesus is the one who healed him. But as he tells his story, the blind man begins to see more and more just who Jesus is. In his encounter with the Pharisees the man then claims that Jesus is a prophet and finally that Jesus is clearly a man of God. It is through sharing his story with others, testifying to his experience with Christ, that the blind man’s eyes are opened spiritually. His faith has grown so much that in his final encounter, when he finds Jesus to be the Son of Man, he falls to the ground to worship him. By contrast, the other characters in the story, though they can physically see, remain in a state of spiritual blindness. The townspeople can’t believe that such a man was healed and so they refuse to seek out the Christ. The blind man’s parents are so afraid of being cast out of their church community that they too refuse to seek out the one who has healed their son. And the Pharisees, so convinced of their righteousness in the law, cannot see that one from God might heal on the Sabbath. As they continue to argue with the blind man they continue to delve deeper into a spiritual blindness, such that they finally drive him out of their own church community. At the end of the narrative, Jesus says that he “came into this world so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” This is a great example of the often cryptic sayings of Jesus that appear in the gospel of John. And yet, as we examine the story, we can get a sense of what Jesus is talking about. He has come into the world to open our eyes about who God is. If we are not willing to open our eyes, then Jesus has come to show us just how blind we are. Every time we feel we have the single right understanding of who Jesus is, we would be wise to remember this story. As a worshipping community we are now halfway through our journey of Lent. This has been a time for us to wonder together about who God is and who we are in relationship to God. This morning’s lesson calls us to once again examine ourselves. Are we too quick to judge who around us is worthy of God’s blessing and who is not? Are we so busy arguing about who Jesus is that we have driven him from our midst? Are we so sure that we have a handle on what Christ came to do, that we are blinded to the real Christ standing before us? Our story this morning reminds us that Christ can be found only among those who are willing to open their eyes to his presence. As we continue our journey to the cross, may we be willing to see the person of Christ in a new light each and every day. Amen.

The Woman at the Well

2011-03-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

John 4:5-42 There was no written sermon this week. Instead, I performed a dramatic monologue in the role of the woman at the well. The idea was that I had come back to the townspeople (the congregation) to tell them about my encounter with Jesus at the well. I relayed the woman's conversation with Jesus and then went into detail as to why I thought he might be the Christ. I focused on what living water could mean, how Jesus discusses new ways of worship, and then I talked about how the woman felt when Jesus told her about her life. My focus was that Jesus knew everything she had ever done, but loved her anyway, unlike the townspeople.

To Be Born Again

2011-03-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

March 20th, 2011 “To Be Born Again” Rev. Heather Jepsen

John 3:1-17

Our Scripture reading this morning finds Jesus being visited under the cover of night. Nicodemus, a Pharisee and leader of the Jews, approaches Jesus in a genuine mode of searching. He has seen the earthly miracles that Jesus has performed and he knows that no one can do these signs apart from the presence of God. Nicodemus has a sense that Jesus is more than just a teacher who has come from God, but he struggles to understand Jesus’ teaching itself.

Jesus tells Nicodemus that “no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above”, at least that’s what the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, which I read from says. Your pew Bible which is the New International Version quotes Jesus as saying “unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Why the discrepancy? Well, this is one of those passages that works one way in Greek but doesn’t translate into English. The word that Jesus uses is anōthen which carries a dual meaning in Greek, from above and anew. So Jesus is saying you must be born again and you must be born from above at the same time.

Well, needless to say, Nicodemus is confused by Jesus’ word use and only latches on to one meaning, that of being born again. Nicodemus asks, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Nicodemus is confused about Jesus’ lesson on new birth from above. He is only able to imagine the birth of an infant, a fleshly birth, rather than the birth from above that occurs through the Spirit.

As I was studying this text this week I couldn’t help but latch on to this idea of being born again from above. As you can probably guess, birth is something that has been on my mind a lot lately. So often people ask us if we have been “born again” as if this was something on a list of tasks for every person’s life. But this week as I was thinking I realized that you can’t make yourself be born.

The baby inside my body can not give birth to itself. I am the one who holds the baby, my body provides the safe environment for it to gestate and grow, and my body will decide when it is time for the baby to be born. I am the one who will give birth to this baby; it will be born when my body says it will be born.

Similarly, we cannot give spiritual birth to ourselves. It is God who holds us and provides a safe environment in which we can gestate and grow. It is God who will decide when the time is right for us to experience this rebirth. And it is God who will do the labor of giving us this new life. We cannot make ourselves be born again, only God can give us this gift and only God knows when we are ready to receive it.

Jesus tells Nicodemus, “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Jesus then begins a discussion of the wind as it compares to the Spirit. Again here, Jesus uses a Greek word with two meanings. The word pneuma means both wind and Spirit. So, his discussion of wind and spirit may also be a bit confusing for Nicodemus.

Jesus’ discussion of the wind aims to help us to understand and get in touch with things that we cannot see but that we know to be true, like the idea of being born again. We can not see the wind, but we can feel it upon our skin and blowing our hair. In addition, we can see the work of the wind as it blows the leaves on the trees or the snow across the highway. There are other examples of earthly truths that we cannot see, such as the beating of our own hearts, the air we breathe as it fills our lungs, and the gravity that keeps our feet firmly planted on the earth.

The Spirit of God is a bit like the wind, but it is not an earthly thing, for it is from heaven. The Spirit of God is a spiritual reality; we can feel it moving inside the walls of this church and inside the walls of our own hearts. Just like we cannot control when and if we are born again, we cannot control the movement of the Spirit. It blows where it will, when it will, and we cannot bring it into this church by our own power. Only God can decide where the Spirit will be found and how the Spirit will move among his people. Just like being born again, it is God who makes the decision and does the work to make the presence of the Spirit known in our lives.

Of course we can’t discuss this passage without taking the time to note that it contains one of God’s greatest promises to us, which is found in John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him, will not perish but have eternal life.” This is the promise of God to all who believe in him, the gift of life. And not just eternal life after we die, but also new life here on earth, this is what being born again is all about. Through the work of Christ, we are each given a fresh start to our lives. But again, though we may choose to accept Christ, it is God alone who gives the gift of new birth and new life to each of us.

Our final line from Nicodemus in our text this morning is “How can these things be?” Nicodemus does not seem able to fully understand the lesson that Jesus is giving, and some have argued he is not fully able to become a follower of Christ. We will meet him two more times in John’s gospel. He will intercede for Jesus during an argument he is having with the Pharisees, and later he will bring spices to help with Jesus’ burial. Scholars have long argued about whether Nicodemus was actually a follower of Christ or not. Did he keep his faith secret or did he remain a Pharisee with questions in his heart? The gospel of John is not clear.

I think the character of Nicodemus can serve to remind us to have more empathy for those around us who might struggle in their faith. To have an honest wonder about Christ, or questions about faith, puts one into the path of conversion, but that does not guarantee that conversion will happen. As I said, it is God alone who determines when and if we will be born again, just as it is God alone who decides when and where the Spirit will blow.

I find hope for those who still seek, and for those who struggle to share their faith, in the final verse of our reading. “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” It is through Christ that all of us are given this opportunity to be born again, if it is God’s will. It is through Christ that we are given this chance for new life. God did not send Christ to condemn us, but to save us. Such is the will of our life-giving God.

As we continue our journey through Lent, it is each of our individual responsibilities to do some self assessment. This is the time to look into your heart, and to ask yourself whether or not you have been seeking knowledge of Christ. Do you want to experience this spiritual new birth; do you want to feel the movement of the Spirit wind in your life? You can not make these things happen by your own power, but you can certainly pray to God and ask him to make these things realities for you.

It is God alone who gives us the gift of new birth, and it is God alone who gives the gift of the Spirit, just as it is God alone who gives us the gift of his Son. What is up to us to decide is what we are going to do with these things once we receive them. As we continue our journey to the cross, may we each be reminded of the great works that God has done in our lives. And may we respond to these works with thanksgiving and humble hearts. Amen.

Facing Temptation

2011-03-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

March 13th, 2011 “Facing Temptation” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 4:1-11

Today we begin our journey through Lent; a journey which will eventually lead us to Easter, but not until we go to the cross. Lent is a time of self-reflection. It is a time to face who we really are, deep in our hearts. And so it is fitting to begin this first Sunday with a discussion of temptation.

Our gospel reading is Matthew’s version of Jesus’ temptation. Right after his baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit out into the wilderness. You or I might think of a time out in the wilderness as a time of rest and recreation, but in the scriptures, the wilderness is synonymous with suffering. The wilderness is a place of wandering and loneliness; it is a place of struggle.

After fasting for forty days and nights, much like Moses atop Mount Sinai, Jesus is visited by the devil who tests him with three temptations. The first temptation is simple. Jesus is hungry, famished as the text says, and the devil tempts him to change stones into bread. The root of this temptation is the human desire for materialism. Jesus is tempted to use his power for himself, rather than trusting in God to fulfill his needs. But Jesus refuses to do so, pointing out that one lives not only by bread but by the word of God. Jesus will trust in God to provide for him, rather than his own powers and abilities.

The devil then takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and tells him to throw himself down. The devil quotes scripture to make his point; surely God will not let his son perish. The temptation here is for security. Jesus is tempted to use his power to make himself secure, rather than trust in God to keep him safe. Jesus replies to the devil that one mustn’t put God to the test.

For the third temptation, the devil shows Jesus the kingdoms of the world, offering them to Jesus if he will but bow his knee. The temptation here is for prestige and power. But once again Jesus will not use his own powers to make himself powerful in humanities eyes, or to earn himself esteem. Instead he sends the devil away declaring that one should worship God alone.

At first glance the temptations of Christ seem very foreign to our experience. But when we examine them closely we find that they actually hit pretty close to home. Who among us is not tempted by materialism, security, and prestige at some time in our lives? These concerns surround us everyday.

I need hardly tell you about our culture’s drive toward materialism. The answer to every problem in our society is to just buy something. Feeling bad about yourself? Buy some new clothes. Hungry for more than just food? Spend your money on toys. Life got you down? Time for a tropical vacation. There is no problem in our world that can’t be solved somehow by spending money. We spend tons of money trying to make ourselves feel good. And we end up amassing giant piles of stuff, from our big kid toys, to more food than we can eat; we surround ourselves with more than we need. This little temptation, to spend our money, seems innocent on the surface. But deep at its core, we find that this materialism is about a lack of trust. We don’t really trust in God to provide for us, and so we use our own power and money to provide for ourselves the things we think we need.

The second temptation, for security, is at play in all of our lives as well. Humans are vulnerable creatures. In our hearts we all want to feel safe and secure, be it in our physical state or in our emotional state. And so we build bigger houses because they make us feel good and safe. We long to have our own space, where we control everything. In our homes we are gods of our own little worlds. This is my kingdom and I am king we think. Emotionally, we hide ourselves from each other. We don’t like to reveal our true feelings about things because we don’t want to get hurt. And so we shy away from direct conversations and deep relationships. Its too much trouble to talk to the person I’m really mad at, so I’ll complain to someone else instead. Throughout the day we are tempted by little things that turn our focus onto ourselves instead of God. We want to secure things by our own power, rather than trusting in God to keep us secure.

The third temptation, for power and prestige, is everywhere. Our whole society feeds on who is in the spotlight for the moment. All we talk about is Lindsey Lohan or Charlie Sheen. All it takes to be esteemed in our culture is to be famous. And so we strive after this goal. From “American Idol” to “Survivor” people from all walks of life are trying to get into the spotlight. Even in Wilbur we know what the big news and gossip is. We have our own little circles and we know who is in and who is out. And deep in our hearts, don’t we all want to be popular? We are tempted everyday to use our own power to push ourselves into circles of prestige, rather than relying on God to place us there, if it be his will.

The reason that Matthew tells us this story of the temptation of Christ is to show us what kind of person Jesus is. It is through his experience of temptation that we learn more about the Son of God. Jesus is not going to take things into his own hands and use his power for himself. Rather, he is going to trust in God to guide him through life. When the temptations are over, Jesus is still hungry, still vulnerable, and still without recognition, but what he does have is a certainty about his ability to trust in God alone.

When we face temptation in our own lives, is when we too find out about who we are. It is how we recognize and respond to temptation that will define us. The moment of temptation is our opportunity to define ourselves. Are we the type of person who will use whatever means available to get what we want, or will we trust in God to provide for us.

Teacher and writer Maryetta Anschutz reminds us of how prevalent temptation is when she writes, “Temptation comes to us in moments when we look at others and feel insecure about not having enough. Temptation comes in judgments we make about strangers or friends who make choices we do not understand. Temptation rules us, making us able to turn away from those in need and to live our lives unaffected by poverty, hunger, and disease. Temptation rages in moments when we allow our temper to define our lives or when addiction to wealth, power, influence over others, vanity, or an inordinate need to control defines who we are. Temptation wins when we engage in the justification of little lies, small sins: a racist joke, a questionable business practice for the greater good, a criticism of spouse or partner when he or she is not around. Temptation wins when we get so caught up in the trappings of life that we lose sight of life itself. These are the faceless moments of evil that, while mundane, lurk in the recesses of our lives and souls.” Now I don’t know about you, but I see myself in more than one place on that list!

As I said earlier, Lent is a time to examine ourselves. As we prepare to journey with Christ to the cross, we need to be honest with ourselves about the temptations we face in our life. We need to look into our hearts, to be honest about what we find there, and to ask God for forgiveness. That is what coming to this table is all about. It is at the table that we are reminded of the price that Christ paid for our sins, just as it is at the table that we are reminded of the grace of God. Of course, we must do the hard work of admitting our failures, before we can receive the forgiveness that God offers.

This morning, as we examine the temptation of Christ, we are reminded that he really was fully human, just as we are. The temptations the devil placed before him were very real, and very tempting, just as the temptations that we face each day are. Matthew tells us this story, so that we will know who our Savior is. One who faced temptation, and did not give in. This will give us strength, as we face temptations of our own. As people of faith, we are called to put our trust in God and Christ. My prayer for us this day is that we will be honest about the temptations we face, and willing to ask for forgiveness, for only then can we move through this season of Lent, and join our resurrected Lord on Easter morning. Amen.

Mountains and Valleys

2011-03-07T09:54:00.001-08:00

Exodus 24:12-18 and Matthew 17:1-9

There was no written sermon this Sunday. To helps folks understand the significance of mountain top moments, I shared my own personal experience of encountering God in a mountain top way. I shared about how this informed not only the person I am but my sense of call to ministry. Then I discussed how this moment has spoken into all the other valley moments of my life.

I shared about how in the gospel of Matthew, we see a parallel to our individual lives. Jesus takes the disciples up the mountain and he is transfigured before them. They want to stay in that moment but instead Jesus leads them down into the valley.

We see our community life reflected in Exodus. Moses waits on the mountain for God and the people wait below for 40 days. The people soon forget the miraculous wonders of God and get bored, and so they make the golden calf. I spoke about how our life as a church also includes mountains and valleys. Sometimes we really are excited and feel God's presence working among us, and sometimes we are simply waiting for the next thing to happen. Sometimes just waiting in the valley is how we show our faith.

Double Vision

2011-02-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

February 27th, 2011 “Double Vision” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 6:24-34

As we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells the disciples “Do not worry about tomorrow”. Do not worry about tomorrow and the busy schedule that you have. Do not worry about that giant to-do list. Do not worry about how fast this year is going by. Do not worry about whether or not you can find a job. Do not worry about trying to make ends meet at the end of the month. Do not worry about wars and rumors of wars. Do not worry about threats of violence. And by all means do not worry about this church needing a new heating system. Jesus says, “Do not worry about tomorrow.” Yeah right!

Our scripture passage from Matthew is one that we hear quite a lot. “You cannot serve God and wealth. . . Do not worry about your life . . . Can you by worrying add a single hour to your life? . . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need these things . . . Tomorrow will bring worries of its own.” At this time Jesus is speaking to the disciples during the Sermon on the Mount and we need to remind ourselves that this message was not given to the crowds as we might imagine. Matthew tells us that when he begins the Sermon Jesus goes up on the mountain alone with the disciples, away from the crowds. So this message, “do not worry” is not given to newcomers to the faith. This message is given just to the disciples, to those who have already made a commitment to follow Jesus. This message about worrying is given just to those who have already sacrificed many things in service to God.

Jesus tells them that they cannot serve God and be anxious about money and all the things that it secures. You simply can not do both. The Greek word used for anxiety in the passage comes from a root word meaning split attention or divided concern. Jesus is talking about double vision. You can not have one eye on God and one eye on money, he says. You cannot live with double vision.

As scholar Douglas Hare points out, “Our materialistic civilization ought to be well aware of the bewitching power of money and possessions, but acquisitiveness has become such a part of the air we breathe that we lack the distance necessary for a proper critique. We piously affirm that we have chosen to serve God, not money, but in our daily life it is money that sets our priorities and determines our choices. We would like to show a more bountiful eye toward the poor, but we cannot, because we need so much for ourselves. We plan to be more charitable in the future, but at the moment there are too many things we have to buy. We work overtime or at a second job rather than spend time with our children, because there is so much that we want to get for them. Not with our minds but with our lives we have treated Matthew 6:24 as if it were a parallel to 22:21 “Render to money the things that are money’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” To God belongs one hour on Sunday, Money gets the rest!”

The truth is that we all worry. I say, let he who is without worry cast the first stone. We all worry about our lives, and foundationally many of our worries really are about money. First of all we have our immediate concerns. In my household the looming cost of hospital bills to have this baby are on my mind, and I am one of the lucky ones with health insurance. And our monetary concerns stretch beyond our immediate needs. We also want to be sure that we are financially secure, just in case the unexpected occurs. We want to be sure that we have saved enough to buy our children a good education. We want to be sure that we have saved enough to live comfortably after we retire. We want to be sure we have health insurance and car insurance, because you never know what can happen. We try to be responsible people.

We worry about money and we worry about our lives. What will I eat or wear, how will I live if something bad happens? We all are walking around with double vision, trying to be faithful to God, yet unable to truly rely on him to meet our needs. Jesus reminds us that God is like a Father, as much as he feeds and clothes the birds and flowers, he will provide clothing and food for us. And in Isaiah, God reminds us that like a mother who cannot forget her nursing child, he will not be able to forget us. We can rest assured that God will provide for us. We don’t need to live with one eye on money and one eye on God; we don’t need to live with double vision.

Now I imagine that some of you are saying, “But Pastor, I really do have things to worry about. Who will pay for college if not me? Who will fund retirement if not me? What will I do if I can’t find a job? I don’t have health insurance and my wife is sick, who will pay for this?” The truth is that our lives do have real concerns, and Jesus doesn’t really tell us there is no place to honor the concerns of our lives. Look at verse 34. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Did you catch that last part? “Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Jesus knows that try as we might, we are still going to live lives of anxiety and worry, because the truth is that the world is still a worrisome place. God cares for the birds, but sometimes there isn’t enough food or winter comes too early or they simply get sick, and the birds die. God does clothe the lilies, but sometimes there is a late frost or a season of drought and those beautiful petals wilt and fall to the ground. God does provide for humanity, but we have all seen the face of poverty in our world. Don’t worry about tomorrow because today is bad enough.

Thomas Merton wrote about dealing with anxiety in our lives. He says, “In our age everything has to be a “problem”. Ours is a time of anxiety because we have willed it to be so. Our anxiety is not imposed on us by force from outside. We impose it on our world and upon one another from within ourselves. Sanctity in our age means, no doubt, traveling from the area of anxiety to the area in which there is no anxiety or perhaps it may mean learning, from God, to be without anxiety in the midst of anxiety.”

He points out that there is a contradiction in our being, we are told not be anxious, and yet the world we have created demands anxiety and we can not live outside our world. I would also say that there is a contradiction in our experience of God. We know that God promises to provide, but we have all had experiences that make us wonder just where God’s providence is. Merton says, “We are not meant to resolve all contradictions but to live with them and rise above them and see them in the light of exterior and objective values which make them trivial by comparison.”

So yes, the truth is that today does have enough worries of its own. But the greater truth is that God promises to provide for us. And one thing that God has provided for us is today. Our double vision causes us to be preoccupied by worries about tomorrow. Concern about what sickness, tragedy, pain, and loss tomorrow may bring can be totally debilitating. And as a result, the gift of today is lost, and so will the gift of tomorrow be when it becomes today.

One way that we can center ourselves in the moments of today is through the practice of spiritual disciplines. Taking time daily for Bible reading and prayer can help us to remain focused on God’s providence of today. Engaging in forms of centering prayer can help us clear our minds of concern and worry as we truly live into each moment we have been given. Celebrating the sacraments is also a way we can gain a centered focus. As you come forward for communion this morning, I encourage you to let the bread and cup be your only focus. As you rise from your pew and come forward, leave your worries for tomorrow in your seat. Come forward with a clear mind and heart, focused solely on the love of Christ and his sacrifice for you. As you take the bread and dip it in the cup meditate on the body and blood of Christ. And as you put the sacrament in your mouth, focus on that particular moment. Think about how it tastes and how the bread feels in your mouth; notice how the juice awakens both the sweet and tart sensors in your tongue. This morning’s ritual is a great opportunity to practice centering on God alone.

As a modern people, we need to let go of this double vision. We need to reign in our wandering eyes from their views of money and concern for tomorrow and instead we need to find a single vision, a single focus. Two eyes locked on God, confident in His promises of providence. Two eyes locked on today, letting tomorrow worry about itself. We need to be one person learning from God to be without anxiety while in the midst of anxiety; to be a calm focused center in an anxious world. One person letting today be the gift from God that it is. May we all strive for single vision. Amen.

Love Your Enemies

2011-02-22T10:29:00.000-08:00

February 20th, 2011 “Love Your Enemies” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 5:38-48

We are continuing our study of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount this morning. Today Jesus will once again lead us into sticky and uncomfortable territory by encouraging us to respond in ways of non-violence and to love not only our neighbors but our enemies as well. It is through this love of enemies that we will grow to become the children of God, striving for God’s perfection.

Let’s begin with Jesus’ first statement, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer.” I think we are all familiar with the old saying, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Not only does it have a place in the Old Testament Levitical code, we can also find it throughout the culture at the time. While it may seem violent to us, this law was actually meant to limit revenge. If someone were to hurt you or your family, you were not at liberty to do whatever you wanted; rather you were limited to meting out an equal punishment. In Jesus’ day this was no longer practiced in the literal sense of an eye for an eye. Rather, it was replaced by a system of monetary compensation for wrongs. Much like our modern practice of suing those who harm us, in Jesus’ time if you were harmed it was your right to take the accuser to court to exact from them a payment for their wrongs.

Jesus goes on to give three examples of something someone might do to harm you; to slap you, to sue you, and to force you to carry a burden. All of these could use a little unpacking. First of all, Jesus speaks about someone striking your right cheek. Rather than an act of violence, the striking of the right cheek is an act of insult or humiliation, for this would be a backhanded slap. Imagine if I were to strike you. I am right handed. A punch would land on left cheek, or on your nose. A backhanded slap would land square on your right cheek. So, this is about insult rather than violence. Jesus argues that the disciple should turn the other cheek as well, as a sign that the insult will not be received, you refuse to be humiliated.

The second lesson Jesus teaches is that if anyone sues you to take your coat, give him your cloak as well. Someone would sue you in such a way as to exact a payment for a debt you owed. At this time, people had limited clothing, and Jesus was speaking to the poor, those who would likely only own one garment. If someone sues you for your coat, or outer garment, then Jesus says, give them your undergarment as well. This was a time before underwear, and so once your undergarment or cloak is gone, you would have been standing in the buff in court. This would have been a shaming act for all involved as it was not proper to be seen naked anywhere, let alone in court. To do such a thing, is to call attention to the one who has sued you, as people would wonder why you were naked and who would do such a thing, to sue someone who obviously had so little.

The third lesson Jesus gives is that if anyone forces you to go one mile, you should go also the second mile. We have to remind ourselves at this point that Jesus is living in Roman occupied territory. The Roman army was constantly moving throughout the territory to reach areas of unrest. According to Roman law, a soldier could compel any citizen to carry their 70 pound backpack for the distance of a mile. That was the limit though. If a soldier forced someone to go farther than a mile then that soldier was breaking the military code and could be disciplined. Jesus teaches the disciples to keep going after the mile was up, shaming the soldier into asking for his bag back and showing the soldier that you will not be controlled.

So when we examine these three examples together, we see that rather than asking Christians to simply lie down and be trampled upon, Jesus is teaching the foundations of non-violence. When you are in an argument with someone, things have a tendency to escalate. Jesus is preaching an end to this response to our enemies. We are called by him to use the power that we do have to end the argument all together. The true reversal of opposition is not more opposition, rather it is non-opposition. Jesus teaches a moral jujitsu of sorts; when someone seeks to harm you, use non-violence as your response to turn their negative energy back unto them. From Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr., some of our greatest leaders have used this passage of scripture for inspiration. And as we have recently seen in Egypt, nonviolence does have the power to change the world.

Jesus goes on to teach his disciples to love not only their neighbors but their enemies as well. This is a challenging lesson, for what does it mean to love our enemies. Jesus tells us that anyone can love their neighbors, but to be truly children of God, we must love all people. Jesus tells us that God sends the blessings of rain and sunshine on both the righteous and the wicked. We have all seen this in our lives as the good people as well as the bad seem to have times where they receive God’s blessing. Just as God loves all people the same, Jesus tells us that we are to love all people the same.

We need to remind ourselves here that love is an action and not an emotion. This is not about having warm, fuzzy feelings for all the people who ever hurt you. Rather, this is about showing God’s love to all people, including those who have hurt you. Love of enemies is hard and you all can probably think of examples in your own life of who your enemies might be. The thing that often comes to mind in churches is to think of those who have actively hurt this church, or left to join other churches.

For example as your pastor, I sometimes find myself in a mother-bear role, willing to fight on your behalf. When I read this scripture, I am challenged to consider how I show the love of Christ to those who have hurt this church body. To take it a step further, I am forced to ask how I might continue to act as a pastor to those people who have rejected me in that role. How do I show Christ’s love to those who have left this church in the same way that I show it to our most faithful church members? This is my growing edge in this lesson, and I encourage you to think of where your growing edge on this issue might be.

Throughout the centuries, interpreters have struggled with this passage. They have argued that Jesus simply wasn’t serious, that he only asked this of us to show us how much we need to rely on God’s grace. I disagree. Since when was Jesus not serious in his teachings? What Jesus asks of us is beyond difficult, but the lesson remains. If we are to be called the children of God, then we should be peacemakers, showing God’s love to all of those around us.

The last line of our reading this morning is a stickler, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is a great example of one of those lines people pluck out of the Bible and take out of context. Just as the scriptures call us to holiness, they also warn us that only God is holy. We need to look at the context of this passage to understand the perfection that Jesus is asking of us. This request of Jesus’ is directly tied to his earlier statement, to show perfection is to love our enemies. This is how we become children of God.

A better way to think about this might be in terms of wholeness. We can think of God as wholeness, as perfect relationship. Last week we talked about broken relationships that lead to sin. This lesson is calling us to whole, healed relationships with each other. Not just those we love and call neighbor, but those we hate and are called to love. Our God loves all people. If we are to model our behavior on that of God, we are called to love all people as well. This is the perfection or wholeness that Jesus encourages us to strive after. Just as we are taught to love our neighbor as ourselves, we are reminded that all people, even those who have caused us pain, are our neighbors.

Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has called us to new behaviors. He tells us that we should be peacemakers, showing mercy to the world around us, and working for God’s justice. He tells us that we should be salt, or spice, simply flavoring the world with our presence. He challenges us to consider the roots of our sin, and to face the indiscretions of our hearts and not just our outward actions. And today, he encourages us not to respond to violence with violence, but to find a non-violent, third path instead. Through all these actions we grow to love not only our neighbors but those who hurt us as well. It is through these behaviors combined that we become children of God, reflecting his wholeness and holiness to the world around us. My prayer for us this morning is that we would continue to strive for this wholeness and perfection throughout our lives. Amen.

The Sins of our Hearts

2011-02-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

February 13th, 2011 “The Sins of our Hearts” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 5:21-37

Our gospel reading this morning continues in the Sermon on the Mount. This morning’s reading is a section of teaching where Jesus deepens the understanding of God’s will for humanity. In this series of lessons, Jesus gives an example of the traditional Jewish law regarding sin, and then takes it deeper, exposing the root of that sin in our lives. What ties all these sins together is the theme of broken relationships.

The first issue that Jesus discusses is anger. He says to his followers, “You have heard that you shall not murder, but I tell you that you should not even let anger fester in your heart.” Jesus’ lesson is less about having anger, than about what one does with the anger that they have. Anger is a natural human response to things in the world that threaten or upset us. And in the scriptures we read about both God and Jesus being angry at times. Rather than a flash in the pan moment of justified anger, Jesus is warning against the holding of anger in our hearts.

We all know those people who are good at holding a grudge. Perhaps we hold a few of our own. I can certainly name some people that I am angry with, even though they hurt me several years ago. This is just the type of anger Jesus is warning us against, that anger that simmers in our hearts continually. It is this anger that leads us to hurt the other person in more subtle ways. We begin to look down on the person, to call them names, and in essence, to not see their humanity anymore. It is this anger that leads to resentment, and before we know it there is nothing we can do to return to a civil relationship with this person.

Jesus is warning us that this type of anger destroys a relationship as much as murder does. Here we come to that theme of broken relationships. Humans were created to be in perfect relationship with God and with each other. All sin can be boiled down to a break in these relationships. Here, the festering power of anger, leads us to treat our neighbors sinfully and the relationship is broken. Jesus councils the disciples that they cannot have a proper relationship with God, unless they have a proper relationship with each other. They should leave their offering at the altar, go and heal the relationship with the other person, and then they are able to properly worship God. Jesus teaches us that even though we don’t murder, we still need to be on guard for hurting someone with the anger we hold in our hearts.

Jesus’ second lesson is about lust. He says, “You have heard it taught that you shouldn’t commit adultery, but I teach you that you shouldn’t even lust after someone in your heart.” Now we all know that we are biological creatures, and it is impossible to control what pops into our heads at certain moments. Sometimes our bodies think things we don’t want to think. Just like with anger, what Jesus is talking about here is what we do with these thoughts. Jesus doesn’t warn against natural biological reactions, he warns against deliberate lusting after another person. The Greek phrase translated “to look at” here can also be translated “to stare at” or “to leer.” This is not simply glancing at a beautiful woman or man; this is about staring at people with the express purpose of fostering lustful thoughts in our hearts and minds. This is about objectifying people.

When Jesus speaks, he sets it only in the male gender and this is significant. “Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” At the time, when someone did commit acts of adultery, it was often the woman who was blamed, no matter what she did. What Jesus teaches is radical, women were no longer held solely responsible for enticing men; rather, men are asked to control their thoughts and urges. In a strictly patriarchal society this would have been a radical teaching.

Of course in our own time and place, there is no end to lustful imagery presented to both men and women. Jesus’ eyes would have been boggled by the images that we are bombarded with on a daily basis. Sex sells everything and we see it on TV, in magazines, newspapers, everywhere. And you and both know what the most popular sites on the internet are. The sin of lust is again about broken relationships. We refuse to see our neighbor as a whole person, and instead focus on specific body parts that arouse our own desire. This behavior is dehumanizing and wrong. Such that, Jesus warns a proper punishment would be to be separated from our own body parts, just as we separate people from their’s when we lust after them. Jesus teaches us that it is not enough to simply not sleep around, rather we will be held accountable for the sleeping around we do in our minds as well.

Jesus’ third lesson in our reading is about divorce. Now this is a sticky one in our modern world, where half the people in any given congregation are divorced. So let’s begin with a bit of background on divorce in Jesus’ time. The rules of divorce were pretty lax in Jesus’ day; any man could get a divorce at any time for any reason. If he didn’t like his wife anymore, he basically just signed a piece of paper and she was gone. The problem was that the wife didn’t have any say in the matter. Plus, in a society where only men could hold land or work, without a husband a woman is unable to provide for herself. If she were to marry again to find support, she and the new man could be charged with adultery. What Jesus is teaching is a limit on this divorce practice. Only in the case of unchastity is divorce permissible, he says.

The theme of Jesus’ teaching is again broken relationships. When God created humanity, he created us in a pair. We were meant to be paired or married together as a binding agreement or covenant. This theme of marriage is used to describe God’s relationship with Israel and Jesus’ relationship with the church. This is God’s ordered plan for creation. But, humans live in broken relationship. And so we hurt each other and break these covenants. Jesus warns against the casual breaking of these vows. These are not simply covenants to be thrown away at our whimsy he says; rather they are to be taken seriously before God.

Now as your Pastor, I must tell you that I believe that there are times to take this covenant seriously and to work through our martial problems. That is always the first and best choice. But, at the same time, there are unhealthy unions that foster more broken relationships than healed ones. There are marriages where people are repeatedly hurt and abused and I do not believe that it is God’s will that these covenants be maintained. Sometimes, healing in relationships necessitates the breaking of the marriage bond. But, just as Jesus warns, marriages are not to be thrown away willy-nilly; they are a binding contract before God that should be honored as much as possible for the health of both individuals.

Jesus’ last lesson in this morning’s reading is about taking oaths. Again, we need a little background. In Jesus’ time, if you wanted your word to be taken as truth you would swear by something that would stand by your word. It’s like when we were kids and you would use the language of “swear to God”. Or like when people are on the witness stand and they take an oath over the Bible. Lying in general is bad; lying under the oath is a punishable crime. You get the idea.

Jesus is teaching that all our words should be true. We shouldn’t have to swear by anything, because everything we say should be truthful and reliable. Our speech should be simple, our yes is yes and our no is no. Again, we return to that theme of broken relationships. If we are in healthy relationships with each other, we wouldn’t feel the need to lie or stretch the truth. But, because we live in broken relationships, we see the need to trick one another or deceive one another with our speech. And so sometimes we tell the truth, “I swear” and sometimes we only tell a bit of the truth. Jesus is teaching us again, that this is wrong.

Throughout this reading, we find that Jesus is going to the root of our sins. Where at one time the outward actions of our lives were liable to judgment, Jesus warns that we will be held accountable for even the secret thoughts of our hearts. We need to discipline our intentions as well as our acts because not only our behaviors but our attitudes and emotions also fall under the scope of the law. One realizes through Jesus’ teaching that there is no way our inner life doesn’t affect our outer life as well, and so we will be called to account for the whole of who we are and who we have been.

Today we are gathering around the communion table, and this act is all about healing those broken relationships. It is here at the table where our relationships with each other are healed. This table is the ultimate leveler. It doesn’t matter if you are beautiful or ugly, rich or poor, proud or humble, powerful or weak; at this table we are all the same. We all come to this table bearing our outward sins as well as the sins of our hearts. We all come to this table for forgiveness. We are made one, as a community in worship of our God, and our relationships are healed. Similarly, our broken relationship with God is healed as well. For it is at this table that we remember the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ who died for the sins of our hearts as well as the sins of our hands. As we gather together at the table this morning let us receive God’s gifts of healing and forgiveness that we all need. Amen.

Spice of Life

2011-02-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

We didn't have a written sermon on Sunday. The Scripture was Matthew 5:13-20 and I chose to focus only on the first part, where Jesus tells the disciples that they are the salt of the earth. I thought this Scripture was heard so often it might have lost its punch so I wanted to mix things up a bit.

I began the sermon by passing out a large collection of spices from my own pantry. People were encouraged to reach into a bag and draw out a spice. Then I asked them to consider how they might represent that spice in the world as a disciple of Jesus.

I spent some time discussing my use of salt as a cook. I use salt to intensify the flavors of the other items in my food. An item should never taste salty, but salt brings out the natural flavors of the dish. I then said that as the Pastor, the church should never bear my mark or taste, but that I strive to bring out the flavors of the church community itself.

Then I took the microphone around and for about 15 minutes people shared about the spices they got out of the bag. There was a lot of good discussion about spices that warm the heart, implying care for each other, as well as how various spices blend together like various folks blend together in the church.

In the end we all felt blessed at the variety represented in our midst, from Wasabi to Nutmeg, as well as the way we all seemed to fit together, a Bouquet Garni of God's talents and blessings.

Living the Beatitudes

2011-01-31T09:22:00.000-08:00

January 30th, 2011 “Living the Beatitudes” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 5:1-12

The Beatitudes or blessings are one of those biblical texts that we are very familiar with. If we are going to use religious sayings to decorate our homes than chances are we are going to have some part of the beatitudes on our walls. Be it in calligraphy or in cross stitch, these words of blessing can be found in many a dwelling.

Unlike our other favorite passages of scripture, such as the Lord’s Prayer or the 23rd Psalm, the Beatitudes are something that we read a lot but don’t really take to heart. Part of the reason for this is because the Beatitudes take everything about the way the world works and turn it upside down. You and I both know that the world has no blessing for those who are poor or meek. Rather the world blesses those who are rich and powerful. The culture in which we have been raised and in which we live is one where blessings are given to those who succeed, often at the expense of others. The Beatitudes could hardly be more foreign to our lives.

And so, though we love to read them and often know them by heart, we make little progress in making the Beatitudes our own. Who here feels that they can heed the call to be poor in spirit, or to be in mourning? Who here strives to be numbered among the meek and persecuted? Who here honestly thinks of themselves as pure in heart, or among the peacemakers? The Beatitudes are difficult, they are challenging, and they don’t really fit in in our world.

And yet, through this lesson, Jesus is showing us who is blessed in the eyes of God. What are we to make of it, how can we understand the Beatitudes in our modern world? In my studies this week I came across a commentary written by Charles Cook who is a theology professor. He writes that perhaps, rather than try to follow each individual Beatitude; we should try to live them as a group. And I have to tell you that this is something I had not thought about before.

What if instead of trying to be each one of these things individually, we try to be the whole of what they are together. Just like each of us models certain aspects of the Christian life better than others and yet on the whole we are Christian, perhaps we could model certain aspects of the Beatitudes better than others and yet on the whole capture the spirit they represent. Cook suggests that living daily into the spirit of the Beatitudes is about looking at them as a collection rather than individual tenants. He sees them as related, each building off of the next. Cook then breaks a life modeled after the Beatitudes down into three main principles; simplicity, hopefulness, and compassion.

When Cook writes about simplicity, he is encouraging us to see the Beatitudes for what they really are. We should strip away all the complicated conversation that surrounds this text and try to live into the words that Christ is really saying. Imagine yourself numbered among the disciples on the mountain that morning. Jesus is speaking these words directly to you, “You are blessed in life when you are humble before the Lord, when you mourn over the heartbreak around you, when you thirst for the kingdom of God, and when you work for peace.” Taken as a whole, the Beatitudes offer a simple sketch of what the Christian life should be like.

Cook’s second principle is hopefulness. When we look at the world around us it can be very easy for us to loose hope. Our world is a dark unforgiving place, full of violence and hatred. All around us the theme is one of hopelessness and cynicism. The voice of cynicism is one which teaches us to just accept things the way that they are and get over it. A cynic sees the widening gap between the rich and poor, more and more people without adequate health care, never ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a constant barrage of angry rhetoric in the media and knows that this is all there is and all there ever will be.

By contrast, the Beatitudes call us to have hope that change is possible. The Beatitudes urge us to place our hope in Christ and to speak out for the kingdom of God in our world. Rather than just quietly accepting things the way they are, the Beatitudes encourage us to cry out on behalf of the poor, to call for adequate health care for all, to preach against war in the name of God’s peace, and to not be swayed by the angry voices of our time. The Beatitudes call us to hunger for God’s ways in our world and to work as peacemakers to bring God’s justice about. In a world of cynicism the Beatitudes call us to hopefulness.

Cook’s final Beatitude principle is compassion. Compassion is more than pity or sympathy, compassion is about recognizing each other’s humanity. In his book, With Open Hands, Henri Nouwen writes that compassion “grows with the inner recognition that your neighbor shares your humanity with you. This partnership cuts through all walls which might have kept you separate. Across all barriers of land and language, wealth and poverty, knowledge and ignorance, we are one, created from the same dust, subject to the same laws, destined for the same end.”

The Beatitudes call us to live lives of compassion because we recognize that we are all one in the Lord. It is from this root that we feel the need to work to better the lives of our brothers and sisters. This motivates us to seek God’s righteousness in our world, and to act as peacemakers. It is compassion that helps us to show mercy to those who are around us. And it is compassion that helps us to be humble, when we recognize that we are no different from our neighbors.

In our study of the Beatitudes, it might be helpful to take a step back and note that the Beatitudes weren’t written as a set of requirements for the kingdom of heaven, but are simply statements of blessing. Unlike the Ten Commandments, they are not imperatives or commands telling us how to act. Instead, they are descriptions of those who are blessed. Through the Beatitudes, Jesus is teaching the disciples about those whom God chooses to bless; the humble, the meek, the peacemakers.

As you may know, the Beatitudes are the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. Frequently when we imagine this scene, we think of Jesus preaching to a large crowd. But when we look closer at the text that is not what we see. Matthew writes that Jesus saw the crowds, but then left, going up onto the mountain and sitting down with his disciples. The Beatitudes aren’t a lesson given to those who are interested in how to become a Christian; rather they are a lesson given to those who are already part of the fold. The Beatitudes are for those who already know Christ.

This makes sense, because the Beatitudes reflect the lives of those who already have a love for Jesus. It is those who love Jesus who are truly humble, for they know that the salvation Christ has worked on their behalf is not something that they could ever do on their own. It is those who love Jesus who mourn over the state of our world, because they see destruction around every corner as we hurt not only each other but the creation for which we were meant to care. It is those who love Jesus who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they are eager to see the day when God’s kingdom will fully reign here on earth. It is those who love Jesus who show mercy, for it is they who know what great mercy has been shown to them through the love of Christ. It is those who love Jesus who are peacemakers, for they have witnessed the unjust death of their Lord at the hands of the violent. And it is those who love Jesus who will be persecuted, because they will dare to speak this message of hope and compassion in a world that longs to shout them down.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to take the Beatitudes seriously. Not just as beautiful language to decorate our homes with, but as a sign post, showing us who God’s blessings are upon in this world. As we follow Christ daily, our lives will begin to show the Beatitude principals of simplicity, hopefulness, and compassion. As we follow Christ, we will grow further apart from the ways of our world and grow closer to numbering ourselves among the blessed. The ideals of the meek, the peacemaker, and the pure of heart perhaps aren’t so foreign to us after all. Rather, we could look to the Beatitudes to teach us what a life of blessing really looks like. May God help us to live these lessons out in our personal lives and in our church family. Amen.

Trust the Lord

2011-01-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

January 23rd, 2011 “Trust the Lord” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Psalm 27

In our Sunday morning worship we often spend our time focusing on the gospels. This makes sense because frequently it is Jesus that we are talking about each day. But this morning I thought we would spend our time in the Psalms instead. The story of Jesus calling his disciples is certainly compelling, but most of us have heard that before and Psalm 27 might offer a new word to us today.

The book of Psalms is a collection of ancient songs that were sung during Hebrew worship services. While I think the Psalms have many good things to say to us, we often overlook them. They can be repetitive or challenging and it is not a book of the Bible that you are likely to simply sit down and read straight through. Rather, the Psalms do better singled out one at a time, instead of in a large group. Most of us are very familiar with the 23rd Psalm but other than that we spend little time in the book. Not surprisingly there are many other wonderful Psalms in our Bible and today we are going to talk about Psalm 27.

Psalm 27 begins with a declaration, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” The Psalmist is declaring that he trusts in God to protect him so there is nothing to be afraid of. But then, he goes right on to say that there is something to be afraid of. Evildoers surround him, adversaries and foes. An army is encamped against him and war is rising up. Sure sounds like something that I would be afraid of! And yet, the writer declares that he will not fear, he will have a confident heart.

Why? Because he seeks God as his shelter. The writer is confident that even though he is in danger, God will protect him. He writes that God will hide him in shelter and concealment, or place him high on a rock, out of the reach of his enemies. So, he declares he will praise God.

In verse 8 the Psalmist writes, “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Isn’t that a beautiful image, that our hearts would call us to seek the face of the Lord? The writer declares that even if his mother and father abandon him, he knows that God will be true and he asks God to teach him the way of the Lord.

In verse 12 again the Psalmist recalls the danger he is in, false witnesses have arisen against him and are breathing out violence. And again, he declares that God will bring him out of this peril and into the land of the living. The Psalmist closes with a word of encouragement to all who listen, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

I think that sometimes the writings of the Bible can feel very far from our modern experience. And yet here in this psalm, we find reflections of our own lives. This psalm is all about maintaining a faithful hope in the Lord. It is all about keeping our eyes focused on God, when the world around us is trying to drag us down. We all know good people who have experienced suffering and hardship. This is about keeping your head up in the midst of trouble, and trusting that God will see you through. Though we are people of faith, there are no guarantees that our lives will be without suffering. This Psalm is for those who suffer, and encourages them to look to the Lord for their help and salvation.

Sometimes the language of the Bible can be a barrier for us, so I want to read this Psalm again, this time from The Message. Listen again for the word of the Lord to you this day . . .

Light, space, zest— that's God
So, with him on my side I'm fearless,
afraid of no one and nothing.

2 When vandal hordes ride down
ready to eat me alive,
Those bullies and toughs
fall flat on their faces.

3 When besieged,
I'm calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose,
I'm collected and cool.

4 I'm asking God for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I'll contemplate his beauty;
I'll study at his feet.

5 That's the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway,
far from the buzz of traffic.

6 God holds me head and shoulders
above all who try to pull me down.
I'm headed for his place to offer anthems
that will raise the roof!
Already I'm singing God-songs;
I'm making music to God.

7-9 Listen, God, I'm calling at the top of my lungs:
"Be good to me! Answer me!"
When my heart whispered, "Seek God,"
my whole being replied, "I'm seeking him!"
Don't hide from me now!

9-10 You've always been right there for me;
don't turn your back on me now.
Don't throw me out, don't abandon me;
you've always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but God took me in.

11-12 Point me down your highway, God;
direct me along a well-lighted street;
show my enemies whose side you're on.
Don't throw me to the dogs,
those liars who are out to get me,
filling the air with their threats.

13-14 I'm sure now I'll see God's goodness
in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God!
Take heart. Don't quit.
I'll say it again:
Stay with God.

Eugene Peterson’s version has some interesting phrasing. How wonderful is the idea of calling to God at the top of our lungs! When we are in moments of real terror, this captures the way our hearts feel. I also love the language that says “You’ve always been there for me; don’t turn your back on me now.” I couldn’t tell you how often I have said that exact phrase.

What is so wonderful about Psalm 27 is that it really speaks to those of us who live in a culture of anxiety. All around us the world tells us to worry. We need to lock our doors at night, in case someone might break in to get us. We need to carry our purses a certain way, in case someone wants to steal them. We need to park under a light in the parking lot, so we are not vulnerable to an attacker. We need to keep our eyes open for someone with a gun, who might get angry and start shooting at a rally. We are told to watch out for someone who looks or acts funny, maybe they are a terrorist. And we take our shoes off and have our bodies scanned at the airport, because maybe someone there has a bomb. We live in a world of anxiety and fear, and it is all too easy to get wrapped up in the stress of our culture.

In this midst of this world, it is important to be reminded that the opposite of faith is not doubt, it is fear. More specifically, it is anxiety. All of us are anxious about two things, our time and our space. We are afraid that someone else is going to take up our space or take up our time. Think about how you feel when someone cuts you off on highway 2 or cuts in front of you in line. That immediate anger response is rooted in anxiety about the fact that this person did not recognize your time or space. This person did not recognize you as a person.

As people of faith, we trust that God will take care of us, and this helps control our anxiety. But, anxiety frequently leads to unfaith, and we subconsciously worry that perhaps God will not take care of us and we need to take care of ourselves. When this happens, we begin to tailgate the person who cut us off on the highway or we start an argument with the person who cut in front of us in line. When this happens, we sin, because we let our anxiety get the best of us.

Psalm 27 is all about trusting God in the midst of anxiety. It is about being aware of what threatens us, and instead of responding out of a place of fear, to respond out of a place of trust. Yes, the psalmist writes, the world is out to get me. And yet, I will trust in the Lord to take care of me. When we are in our down and out moments, and it feels as if the whole world is telling lies about us, the psalmist encourages us to trust in God; for trusting in God is the root of faith. The psalmist reminds us that the goodness of God is greater than life’s trials.

As people of faith, we are called to wait for the Lord. When the world tells us to get anxious, get worried, and to hurry up and grab what’s ours; the Psalmist tells us to be patient, to wait, for God will make sure we have what is ours. God will make sure to take care of us.

It’s good to note that waiting for God is not about being passive; rather it is about activity. We can’t wait for God by staying at home every week and doing our own thing. Instead, we wait for God by nurturing our relationship with God, and we nurture that relationship through the discipline of worship. It is by coming to church every week and singing the hymns and saying the prayers that we foster a sense of God’s presence in our lives. When we make the commitment to meet God here, than we are better able to see God in the other places of our lives as well. By gathering regularly at the communion table, we nurture our faith and strengthen our trust in God. If God provides for us through his body and blood, surely he will provide for us in other ways as well.

And so today, the Psalmist encourages us to trust the Lord in the midst of our real lives; lives that are broken and messy, lives that are full of hardship and trial. Though even our parents may abandon us, God promises to be with us. And so, in the midst of suffering, we are encouraged to wait for the Lord, for he alone will lift us up.

I want to close by reading the Psalm again, this time from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Again, listen for the word of the Lord to you this day . . .

1You, LORD, are the light
that keeps me safe.
I am not afraid of anyone.
You protect me,
and I have no fears.

2Brutal people may attack
and try to kill me,
but they will stumble.
Fierce enemies may attack,
but they will fall.

3Armies may surround me,
but I won't be afraid;
war may break out,
but I will trust you.

4I ask only one thing, LORD:
Let me live in your house
every day of my life
to see how wonderful you are
and to pray in your temple.

5In times of trouble,
you will protect me.
You will hide me in your tent
and keep me safe
on top of a mighty rock.

6You will let me defeat
all of my enemies.
Then I will celebrate,
as I enter your tent
with animal sacrifices
and songs of praise.

7Please listen when I pray!
Have pity. Answer my prayer.
8My heart tells me to pray.
I am eager to see your face,
9so don't hide from me.

I am your servant,
and you have helped me.
Don't turn from me in anger.
You alone keep me safe.
Don't reject or desert me.
10Even if my father and mother
should desert me,
you will take care of me.

11Teach me to follow, LORD,
and lead me on the right path
because of my enemies.
12Don't let them do to me
what they want.
People tell lies about me
and make terrible threats,
13but I know I will live
to see how kind you are.

14Trust the LORD!
Be brave and strong
and trust the LORD.

Sharing as Worship

2011-01-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

January 16th, 2011 “Sharing As Worship” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Deuteronomy 26:1-19 and Matthew 25:31-40

Today is a special day in the life of this church community. Today we are going to dedicate our food pantry ministry. We have talked and dreamed about this project for several years. We have seen a need in our community and wondered what we could do to help. Now, banding together as a church, we are prepared to provide something that this community has needed for some time. What is so wonderful is that this is not something any one of us could have done on our own; instead this is something that could only be accomplished by the whole church working together.

The act of sharing what you have with those who have none is part of the foundation of a Christian life. But, the texts I chose this morning show how the act of sharing what we have goes beyond simple good deeds into the realm of worship.

Our first reading is from Deuteronomy and is part of a larger section that outlines what the worship practices of the Hebrew people should be. It begins with the annual ritual of offering a tithe to the Lord. After the harvest is completed, each person was encouraged to take a portion of their harvest, the best of that year’s crop, and offer it at the temple. While this harvest was offered, the individual would say a prayer. The prayer is a recitation which recalls the acts of the Lord in the person’s life. The person remembers that it is God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt and God who has given them the land in which they live. It is God alone who has provided the bounty and so it is to God that a portion of the bounty is returned. The recitation begins with the memory of Joseph, a wandering Armenian who came into the land of Egypt. It is significant that each person is called to remember that their heritage once was as strangers in the land.

Every three years, the offering is enlarged and expanded. Not only is the best of the harvest presented at the temple, it is also shared with those in need in the city. Specifically aliens, orphans, and widows are to be the recipients of this offering. In the ancient Israelite culture, these would be the people that have no means of providing for themselves. When adult males are the only ones who can hold property, those without any connection to an adult male, namely widows and orphans are left with no means to care for themselves. And so, the community makes a special offering for these people. In addition, the community shares with those who are aliens or strangers in the land. Just as the Israelites were once foreigners in a strange land, they are called to care for the foreigners in their own territory.

There are special rules about what kind of material can be part of this offering. This can’t be food you handled while you were unclean, and it can’t be food you offered to the dead during a ceremony. In other words, this can’t be that old can of green beans at the back of your cupboard. Instead, the Hebrews were called to give the best of what they had, their choice produce. I am thinking of that jar of soup you yourself might eat, or your favorite brand of spaghetti sauce. The people were called to give only the good stuff to those who were in need.

What is so wonderful about this scripture passage is that this call to share what you have with those less fortunate is not a call for simple charity. Instead, this is an act of worship. This sharing is a mandate that believers must follow if they are going to be righteous in the sight of the Lord. To take the time to remember that all you have comes from God alone, and to share the best of what you have with those who have none, was a required act of every believer. It was a prescribed act of worship. This would help to remind the people that their relationship with the physical goods of their lives could not be separated from the spiritual aspect of their lives.

Our reading from Matthew is an even more strident call for this kind of behavior. Throughout the gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks of the importance of caring for our neighbors. In chapter seven Jesus teaches us that we should “In everything do unto others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” No one can forget in chapter twenty two where Jesus gives the greatest commandment that “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In addition, throughout the gospel of Matthew Jesus is portrayed as the suffering servant. As he says in chapter twenty “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.”

And so we find ourselves in chapter twenty five. Jesus is about to turn himself over to be crucified and this morning’s reading is from his final apocalyptic discourse. Jesus teaches that when the end of all things comes, he will sit on his throne as judge and separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be led into eternal life and the goats into eternal punishment. What is surprising about this passage is that it is not belief in Jesus Christ or forgiveness of sins that places one among the sheep. Instead, it is how one has treated their neighbors. It is those who have given food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, and visited those in prison who will be numbered among the worthy. As Jesus says it is those who have welcomed the stranger who have unknowingly welcomed him.

We see echoes of the Deuteronomy passage in this scripture. This is no simple request for acts of charity; instead it is how one treats others in need that will directly affect whether or not one gets into heaven. This is not a request; this is an act of worship that is required of any believer. In addition, these gifts are not meant to be given only to those within the community. Instead, these gifts are to be given to the stranger, the person that we do not know. Just as the Israelites were called to share what they had with the aliens in their land, so the followers of Christ are called to share what they have with those who are not part of the community.

What is so exciting this morning is that this church is finally ready to live out this call in a very real and concrete way. We are going to literally follow these commandments, by sharing the best of what we have with people that we do not know. In doing this, we are not simply committing acts of Christian charity, rather we are engaging in acts of Christian worship.

While our first day open is soon approaching, this is not the first day work will be done on this project. People have been busy making this happen throughout the year. Members of this church have cleaned out the room, they have painted and painted and painted again, they have ripped up carpet and built shelving, they have moved food in, and they have organized the shelves. Members have made plans, and made signs, and signed themselves up for a time on the volunteer rotation. Members of the Wilbur community donated to the Emergency Fund which has been the seed from which this project has grown. And members of this church have scoured their cupboards and gone shopping so that we can have welcoming full shelves this first month. This project has been in the works for ages, and everyone here today should feel a sense of pride and ownership for what we have accomplished so far, as well as the ministry that is about to begin.

And so we stand on the precipice, prepared to worship the Lord in this new and vibrant way. As a sign that this is the Lord’s work and not our own, at the end of our worship service I am going to call us all to gather in and near the food pantry and we will have a time of blessing and dedication. We will commission this space in our building for its new use, and ask God’s blessing upon this ministry. We will pray for those who will continue to donate food, those who will continue to volunteer their time, and most importantly for those whom we are sharing with.

I am proud of this church for stepping out in faith to serve this community. I am thrilled that we are going to move our worship from beyond our Sunday mornings and out into the fullness of our lives. I am personally thankful for all who have helped so far and am eager to get more people involved in this mission in a hands on way. As a community, we are fulfilling the call that Jesus gives us, to love our neighbors as ourselves and to share what we have with strangers. May God bless this church community and our future ministry together. And may God bless our food pantry. Amen.

Through the Waters of Baptism

2011-01-10T09:37:00.000-08:00

January 9th, 2011 “Through the Waters of Baptism” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 3:13-17

No sooner have we celebrated the arrival of the Christ child and the visit from the Magi then we find ourselves in the life of the adult Christ. The gospels are mostly silent about what Jesus’ early life was like. Luke tells the story of Jesus at the age of 12; lost in Jerusalem and found three days later teaching in the temple, but this is the only story about those in-between years. Scholars generally think that Jesus was baptized at about the age of 30 and ministered for three years before his death. From childhood to adulthood we have no account of his actions.

Our gospel writer for this morning is Matthew. He takes us directly from the story of Jesus’ return from Egypt as a baby to a description of John the Baptist. John is out in the wilderness, preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins and proclaiming that one is coming who will be more powerful than he, when suddenly the adult Jesus is on the scene.

Jesus enters the waters of the Jordan and asks John to baptize him. Immediately this raises some questions, for why should John baptize Jesus and why should Jesus need a baptism for the repentance of sins? All the gospel writers discuss the baptism but Matthew takes pains to point out that Jesus remains superior to John. In Matthew John asks, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” and Jesus responds that “this is proper to fulfill righteousness.” Matthew answers our basic questions in his writing, this is the way that it was planned to be, Jesus is to be baptized by John according to the will of God.

As in all of the gospels, after Jesus is baptized there is a vision from heaven. In Matthew it is Jesus himself who sees the vision. The heavens are opened up and the Spirit of God descends upon him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven speaks, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is now anointed by the Holy Spirit and ready to begin his ministry.

In many churches, the Sunday that we celebrate the baptism of Christ is a Sunday to baptize church members. In our smaller congregation, baptisms are a more rare experience. So, I thought we would use this opportunity to discuss baptism in general and to remember our own baptism.

Water has always been an important symbol in the biblical narrative. From the first days of creation to the end of all things, water has played an important role. Frequently, those who enter water are transformed. Think of the Exodus from Egypt. As Moses and the people pass through the waters of the Red Sea they are transformed from slaves to people of freedom. This is echoed when Joshua leads the Israelites into the Promised Land. As they cross the waters of the Jordan, the people are transformed from wanderers to people who have a home country. Similarly, Christians believe that when they pass through the waters of baptism, they are changed.

While sometimes used in the process of converting to Judaism, baptism was not a common practice in the Jewish faith. What was unique about John was that he was baptizing with water for repentance. People would come to him in the wilderness to repent of their sins and to receive baptism as a sign of forgiveness. At the conclusion of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives the great commission, telling his followers to go forth and to baptize in his name. Our modern church has kept much of this theology.

When we come forward to receive baptism, we believe that we are uniting ourselves with Christ. Like him, we die and then rise again. In baptism, we die to our old life of sin and rise to a new life in Christ. In baptism we are washed clean of our sins, and enter the world with a clean slate. The act of baptism regenerates us for a new life and it is from that moment that we are commissioned for our ministry in the world.

It is interesting that Jesus himself is the one who leads the way through these cleansing spiritual waters. Church tradition teaches us that Jesus was without sin, and so he surely did not need a baptism for the forgiveness of sin the way you or I might. And yet, here we find him in the middle of the Jordan getting a good dunk. Why would this be the case?

One place to look for the answer is in our reading from Isaiah. Our scripture reading from Isaiah this morning is part of what is sometimes called the servant songs of Isaiah. Written when the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, Isaiah presents an image of one who is to come as a new leader. This new leader will bring hope to the devastated people. This servant song is an example of one of those now and later promises of scripture; for Isaiah was probably talking about the ruler Cyrus who would appear in his lifetime, as well as speaking about the coming Christ.

The imagery is beautiful. This servant of the Lord will bring justice and yet he will be gentle in his care for the people. A bruised reed he will not break and a dimly burning wick he will not snuff out. This servant will not be crushed but will establish justice on the earth. It is a wonderful picture of one who rules with power and might, and yet has compassion for the weak and lowly. These servant songs in Isaiah begin to plant the seeds that will lead to Christ as the servant leader. The idea of one who leads by serving others is revolutionary.

Christ himself identifies with these servant songs, and he sees the mission declared by Isaiah; to open eyes of the blind and to release the captives, as his mission. Throughout the scriptures, Christ defines himself as the suffering servant. And so, though the heavens open and the voice of God declares his uniqueness, Christ still walks the path of the ordinary person. Christ came to show us the way, and so he humbles himself to our level. Christ humbled himself for baptism, in order to show us that that is the way to repentance. In this story, as throughout the gospels, Christ models for us who we are called to be. He leads the way for us by setting the example. He was baptized to show us that we should be baptized too.

If we are to be followers of Christ, then we are to walk in his paths. This means that we too, should not only be baptized, but must strive to model the behavior of the leader in Isaiah’s servant songs. Like Christ, we are called to bring justice as we help those who are weak. God promises to take us by the hand and we are called to be a light to the nations. We are challenged with the call to open the eyes of those who are struggling to see, and we are called to help each other out of the prisons we have created for ourselves. This is a huge challenge, to lead the world into God’s justice, and yet God promises that new things will spring forth through us. As believers baptized into the name of Christ, this is our awesome challenge and call.

Some days we feel this call to service and are invigorated. We are ready and raring to go, doing all that we can. We are finding the time to read our Bibles every day, we are inviting our friends to worship with us, and we are actively involved with church committees and activities. And yet, even though we are those who wear Christ’s name, we are also human. For some of us, this call to service can feel like a burden. We are barely getting along in our own spiritual life, let alone feeling the energy we need to bring justice to the nations. Some of us are just struggling to get up in the morning, let alone to read our Bibles at home or get ourselves to church. Thankfully, our God is a patient one. Whether we feel like the servant ourselves, or whether we feel more like a dimly lit flame, God has the time and care for each of us. God always provides the space for us to come, when we are ready, and to receive the gifts of forgiveness that God offers.

This morning we are celebrating the sacrament of communion. In this holy feast, we are nourished by our Lord. As we gather around the table, we remember that in the ultimate act of humbleness and servant hood, our Lord died on the cross for our sins. As we partake of the bread and cup, we remember his sacrifice and the forgiveness that we are offered.

This morning I thought we should take the time to remember our baptisms as well. We will celebrate communion by coming forward and as you come forward I invite you to touch the waters of baptism. I want to encourage you to remember that you have been cleansed of sin and made new in Jesus Christ. As the Israelites of old passed through the waters and were made into new people, so we too pass through the waters to claim new lives for ourselves in God. This act of touching the waters can be invigorating for those who feel the strength of their call, as well as healing for those who need a reminder of God’s love and care for each of us.

And so today, we celebrate the Christ who has gone before us. He is the one who most completely fulfills the servant imagery that Isaiah presents. He is the one who calls us to servant hood of our own. Christ is the one who leads us through the waters of baptism. And he is the one in whose name we are cleansed and made new. Come now to the table, to receive the sacrament of communion and to remember your baptism. Amen.

Follow the Light

2011-01-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

January 2nd, 2011 “Follow the Light” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Isaiah 60:1-6 and Matthew 2:1-12

So this morning we are going to start by reminding ourselves of a few things. First of all, do you remember that Christmas really does have 12 days? We all know the 12 days of Christmas song and in the past people used to give each other gifts on each of the 12 days after Christmas. Imagine having to buy 12 gifts for each person! Though you may have already taken your Christmas tree and decorations down, it is still Christmas. In fact Christmas lasts until this Thursday, which is the day we celebrate as Epiphany. This is the day we celebrate the arrival of the Magi to worship the baby Jesus and that’s what our Scripture readings for this morning are about.

Let’s take a moment and review a bit about those wise guys. There are a lot of ideas about the Magi that have been passed down in story and tradition. I know that I like to imagine the Wise Men in the nativity scene. When I set my Nativity up at home, I set out the shepherds, the wise men, and Mary and Joseph, and then have them all wait during the Advent season like me. I like to hide the baby Jesus somewhere and then put him out on Christmas Eve. Though this is the way I like to think of things in my imagination and in my heart, in my mind I know that the wise men probably weren’t present at the birth of Christ in the manger. The shepherds probably did come to the manger soon after Jesus’ birth but historically the Magi probably arrived sometime later. Perhaps even when Jesus was one or two, as the text says that the Magi found Jesus in a house which was probably the house Mary and Joseph had together.

How about some wise men facts? Our term Magi comes from the Greek word used to describe them, magoi. They were probably from a caste of Persian priests who were known to be able to read the stars and interpret dreams. So, again they were not really what we might imagine, they were probably not kings like we sing about. The Magi were more like astronomers or astrologers, who could read the signs in the heavens. We often think that there were three of them, I know there are three in my nativity set, but the truth is that we only get that idea because they bring three gifts. The Bible never says how many of them there are. There could have been two of them with three gifts or maybe 10 of them with three gifts. We really don’t know. As time has passed, people have added meaning to the gifts, especially since myrrh is used in burial and that seems to foreshadow Christ’s death, but factually it seems as if these were simply gifts that were fit for a king.

If we are talking facts here, we have to mention that scholars have also wondered for years about that star the wise men followed. Some have thought it was a rare combination of planets in the sky, some have thought it was a comet, and believe it or not some have even thought it was a UFO. The simple answer appears to be that it was none other than a unique God ordained phenomenon. No comet, planet, or star could come to rest over the place where the baby was as the text says, unless of course it was a miracle of God’s doing. The point is that God could direct the Magi directly to the right house, and that seems to be the emphasis that Matthew was looking for.

So examining the facts about the wise men versus the way they exist in our imagination can actually be pretty cool. One of the neatest things about the wise men is that they were not traditional believers in the Messiah. They were from a foreign country and they were followers of a different religion. The Magi were definitely not Jews who had been watching for signs of the Messiah as foretold in scripture. The Magi were people outside the realms of Jewish culture, and yet they came seeking the Christ. They searched for the Christ with purpose and God guided them on their path. More importantly, when these outsiders to the faith find the real King of the Jews, they worship him. That is what the gifts are about. They pay him homage with gifts, they kneel down before him, and they give him the honor due his title, King.

As I mentioned earlier, the official name for this celebration is Epiphany. Webster’s dictionary defines Epiphany as an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being. Today we celebrate the appearance of Christ to the Gentiles and to the world. Epiphany is also defined as a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something, an intuitive grasp of reality through something simple and striking, or an illuminating discovery, realization, disclosure, an “Ah Ha!” moment. So, an epiphany can be two things, the appearance of the Christ and the “ah ha” moment of discovery.

Our companion reading from Isaiah is all about this, the appearance of the Messiah and the moment of discovery. Isaiah writes one of my favorite lines in scripture, “Arise, shine; for your light has come”. He goes on to say “Nations shall come to your light.” He is writing about other nations coming to the light of Israel and here we find a real connection to the wise men who were Persians coming to see the baby Jesus. They are having an “ah ha” moment.

So today we are all about finding Jesus and “ah ha” moments. This is good news to us in what can sometimes be a let down time of the year. The season after Christmas can be one of the darkest seasons of all. Everyone has gone home, we will soon be putting our cheery decorations away, and there is nothing left for us but the long wait until spring. The days are grey and the nights are dark. The world around us is quiet. This can be a difficult time.

What better time then, for us to celebrate this story of light? This is a great time to think about the wise men following that star to see Jesus. The star is a symbol of Christ’s guiding light in our lives. It is the path we follow when we seek to grow in the Lord. To save the story of the wise men for after the New Year gives us a chance to stretch out our Christmas dreams and wonderings into this season of darkness.

Of course, this is the first Sunday of the New Year and the time when some of us are thinking about New Year’s resolutions. We might plan to quit smoking, to exercise more, or to lose weight. We look at the year ahead and imagine that anything could be possible. This is a great time for us to look to the light as well.

Why not turn from the goals of the world around us, turn from the darkness of January, and follow the light of Christ instead? Now is a great time to seek the babe in the manger, especially since the loud voice of consumer Christmas is finally silent. Now is a great time to open your hearts to an “ah ha” moment, to an epiphany. Remember, the wise men probably got to the manger two years late, so we don’t need to worry that it’s too late for us. You and I both know that the light of Christ will continue to shine until we find our way through the wilderness.

So, on this morning of Epiphany, I invite you back to the manger scene. It’s not too late to look for the Christ child. It’s not too late to have an “ah ha” about God’s love. And it’s definitely not too late to start following that star. As Isaiah tells us “Arise, shine; for your light has come!” Let us go out into the world and follow the light into our New Year. Amen.

Tis the Season . . . To Repent!

2010-12-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

December 5th, 2010 “Tis the Season … to Repent!” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 3:1-12

The church is in full Advent mode this morning. Next Sunday we will jump ahead a bit and get into the Christmas hymns, and of course the Sunday after that the kids will get their say on the matter. So, although this is only the second Sunday of Advent, this is the last chance I have to talk to you about what Advent really means. We talked last Sunday about the second coming of Christ. Advent is a dual season. We are preparing for the Christ child but also preparing for the return of Christ. We celebrate and remember the incarnation as we look ahead to the fulfillment of all things and the final return of our Lord.

In the church, Advent was originally a twin to our spring’s Lent. Like Lent, Advent was a time to study and fast. It was a time to make ourselves ready for the Christmas celebration, just like Lent is a time when we make ourselves ready for Easter. But Advent is a lot harder to treat as a holy time, because there is so much pressure to get on with Christmas. With Lent, the world around us is not nearly as focused on Easter, and we are able to really take 40 days to ponder the suffering of our Lord. But it is already Christmastime in our world. Who has time for pondering and self reflection when they are busy shopping and decorating and singing carols?

What better character to march onto the scene today than John the Baptist? Here he comes in his tattered clothing and his poor food choices; a religious ascetic, preaching against the culture and church of his day. What a strange fellow! Now our stores may be full of Santas right now, but its not that hard to find a baby Jesus or a Mama Mary somewhere in the mix. You can buy a light-up nativity for your lawn, or a Christmas card featuring the wise men, but your going to be hard pressed to find any John the Baptist products. There are not a lot of inflatable men in camel’s hair available to place in your yard this time of year! And the “Repent, the kingdom is at hand” Christmas card is never a big seller. We may have Jesus and the Wise Men but John the Baptist has no place in the cultural mash-up that is Christmas in America. And for good reason, John preaches against everything we love so much.

Not all of the gospels tell us about the birth of Christ, but all of the gospels tell us about John. He is an interesting character. He is alone, outside the city, preaching a bold message, and offering a baptism of repentance. We have become overly familiar with him and so we often miss how radical he really was. John was dressed as Elijah, evoking the prophets of old, and yet preaching a message about a new prophet who was coming. We think nothing of the fact that John was baptizing people, and yet baptism was an unknown practice at this time. The temple was the place where people went to repent of their sins and receive forgiveness, not some dirty river in the wilderness. Plus, we always miss the fact that John was not a disciple of Jesus. In fact, his was a rival church that some say Jesus’ movement grew out of.

It’s no wonder that the Pharisees and Sadducees come out into the wilderness to see John. As I said, he’s offering repentance and the forgiveness of sins outside of the temple rituals so he is a threat to their system. When John sees them, his words are cruel. Preacher Scott Hoezee says it well for our time when we writes "Sneaky snakes! Somebody set the field on fire and out slithered you all! Well, I'm here to tell you that the days of resting on your laurels are over. Don't whip out your Members Only temple gold card--your theological credentials cut no ice with me! Don't tell me about your spiritual lineage or that you are Abraham's children because if God wanted more children of Abraham, he'd turn the stones into a whole bunch of them. But that's just the problem, isn't it? Your hearts are as dead as stone already. God wants living trees producing juicy spiritual fruit. If I were you, I'd get serious about that because I'm here to lay the groundwork and clear a path for Somebody big and strong who is coming any minute now. He's coming with a very sharp axe in his hand and he will chop down and burn to ashes dead trees like you all!"

John’s words might sound cruel to us, but we easily brush them aside. We all know the Pharisees are the bad guys and so they are getting what they deserve. As we easily condemn them we imagine ourselves standing with John in the river, we are on his side after all. We forget though that John is calling us to repentance as well.

You see, we love to keep our Christmas all warm and fuzzy. We start the day after Thanksgiving and the party never stops until after the New Year. It’s all spending and treats and big dinners and an extra glass of wine, a bacchanalia that lasts at least a month. Christmas is nothing but a giant party. Advent gets swallowed in the mix. We might have an Advent calendar but that is simply a way to mark our anticipation for opening presents. No time for Lent like behavior here. Who ever heard of fasting, mindfulness, and prayer at this time of year? That’s no fun!

John calls us to repent from this behavior. He calls us to a higher standard, a truer Advent and Christmas. John calls us away from the shiny lights, and into the quiet places of our hearts. How are you prepared to meet the Lord, he asks. Have you examined your heart? Have you repented of your sins? Have you done the work necessary to have a true Christmas celebration?

Sometimes I think we are a lot more like the Pharisees than we imagine. We are Christians, we figure, so we are OK. Just like the Pharisees were tempted to rest on their lineage in Abraham, so we are tempted to rest on our lineage in Christ. We already assume that we are forgiven, and so we forget to take the time to repent of our sins. All of us know, deep down in our hearts, that even though we are followers of Christ that doesn’t mean that we are without sin.

During the season of Advent we need to keep hearing the words of Christ from last Sunday and wake up. Our culture does its best this time of year to lull us asleep with rich food, pretty lights, and lovely music. We miss just what we need, an escape from this season of gluttony to awaken to the true gift of Christ. Jesus didn’t come as a baby so that we could have a month long party; he came to offer forgiveness for our sins. And if we don’t take the time to admit our sins, then what exactly are we celebrating? Just like the Pharisees, we are tempted to rest in our lineage. But we can’t rest on our laurels anymore than they can, the kingdom is at hand and the time to be bearing good fruit is right now.

I have to tell you, that I love Christmas as much if not more than the next guy. My house is decorated, my shopping is nearly done, my menus are planned, and if I wasn’t pregnant I would be popping the champagne. I am as bad as anyone. I eat more than I need and spend more than I have and loose myself in the Christmas frenzy. I will be the first to admit that I do a lot better with Lent than I do with Advent.

Thankfully, help is on the way. Have you gotten one of these Advent devotionals yet? This is a simple way to refocus yourself each day. Read the scripture passage, read the meditation, say the prayer and add some of your own. Take five minutes out of your Christmas shopping and decorating and remember what we are really celebrating. Take the time to repent, the kingdom is at hand. Now is the time to prepare your heart.

There is more help as well, for today we gather together around the Communion table. This table is all about repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Paul teaches us that we are to confess our sins before we come to this table. Even more, he tells us that if we have a disagreement with anyone in the church, we should forgive each other before we come forward. Communion is always the time to remember why Jesus came to be among us, Emmanuel. We remember the birth as well as the death of our savior and all that he has accomplished for us. We cannot accept his gift of love and grace if we don’t take the time to admit that we need it. We will be celebrating by intinction today and as you take the time to come forward I encourage you to confess your sins in your heart. Now is the time to repent, for the kingdom is at hand.

During our next two weeks of worship we will plunge full on into Christmas. It might still be Advent but we will be singing the Christmas hymns and celebrating in style. And that’s OK, because we have a lot to celebrate. Even more importantly though, we will still be doing church. There will still be time for prayers, and that prayer of confession will still be there. There will still be time to examine your heart. There will still be time to reflect and repent, as we prepare for the kingdom with celebration and song.

As the frenzy of Christmas moves ever faster around us, I encourage you not to loose yourself. Take the time to heed the words of John the Baptist. Just because we have Christ, doesn’t mean we don’t need to repent. The time has come to bear good fruit, and we can only do that if we take the time to reflect and prepare our hearts. May God bless our efforts this season. And by the way, if you happen to see an inflatable John the Baptist and locust set when you are out shopping, let me know! - Amen