Lent 3, 2021

The Third Sunday in Lent

Exodus 20:1-17 Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 John 2:13-22

“Then God spoke these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery...” In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen

I remember that very first day in junior high school like it was yesterday. There we were, some 200 kids all gathered in the gymnasium looking either like deer in the headlights or some mafia-type bigshot already staking out his territory in this new environment. Trust me, I was one of the deer. We were all seated in the bleachers and weren’t sure what was going to happen next. Then the bell rang and in came teachers, coaches, administrators, and maintenance folks who took their seats in very organized rows opposite the bleachers. Mr. Pacheco, the principal, was the last to arrive and headed straight to the microphone. All of us sat in complete silence as he welcomed us to our new school, introduced our teachers, and reminded us that we were no longer in elementary school. Being in junior high with many new classmates from differing elementary schools was going to require us to follow some new rules if we were going to learn and play well together, the first being NEVER BE LATE TO CLASS!!!!

I’m guessing that most of us here this morning think that having rules as a way of governing our communal life as a church or citizens of this country is important. I’m also guessing that you agree with me that, generally speaking, rules offer safeguards and stability to our society. Rules help us keep our behaviors within generally agreed-upon boundaries. Once again, I’m guessing that rules help us make decisions that have both civic and moral implications.

In today’s Hebrew Scripture reading from Exodus, we hear once again the giving of the “ten words” or what we call the Ten Commandments, which is also known as the Decalogue. These commandments, or rules, were given by God as a means to orient the Hebrews on how they were to live their lives ​IN COMMUNITY​ as God’s chosen people in preparation for them to enter the land of Canaan that God has promised from long ago.

As a way of providing some brief context, remember that the Hebrews had been enslaved in Egypt for some 400+ years. What started as a way to survive the famine in their own land, Jacob led his family and extended family to Egypt for food and to be under the protection of his son Joseph. Over the next 400+ years, the Hebrews grew in great numbers, numbers so vast that Pharaoh began to fear that they might join Egypt’s army in the event of war, thus his decision to enslave them. We’re familiar with the subsequent events of Moses demanding that Pharaoh release the Hebrews, the various plagues depicting God’s power, the departure from Egypt during which God delivered them from the pursuing Egyptian army by the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea, God providing them food and drink during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness of Sin in places like Shur and Elim and culminating in their arrival at Mount Sinai in the chapter that precedes today’s reading. These have been a people that have lived under the yoke of slavery in Egypt, that by God’s provision survived the crossing of the Red Sea, all the while living the lives of nomads in the vast wilderness of Sin. As God prepared them for the next stage of their journey, the journey that would take them into Canaan, they needed to be grounded in the ways of a common law that supported them as a common people in a common land. Sinai has been the place that God has been leading the Hebrews since their redemption from Egypt. Sinai is where God teaches his people to live as his beloved and sacred community. It is here where God, through the offering of the Ten Commandments, reveals to them a way to live harmoniously with their God and each other.

As I reflected on this familiar text this week, I was struck by three truths that kept gnawing at me:

(1) God makes it abundantly clear that his people are to worship him and him alone. God states this from the very beginning by telling the Hebrews that he is their God and reminding them of what he had already done for them, that they are to enjoy this new freedom and covenant relationship. The Hebrews had long been exposed to other people who worshipped many “gods” or “idols.” As the true creator of heaven and earth, God cannot and will not tolerate any worship of other gods and the worship of the one true God was the only acceptable belief and practice for them. Like our ancestral Jewish brothers and sisters, we only function properly when we give God the honor and worship he deserves. I wondered how often you and I think about and offer our heartfelt thanks for all that God has already done for us. I also wondered what we might still hold onto as our personal little idols, those things that keep us from fully enjoying the relationship that God wants so much for us. I lamented how easily I take God’s grace and provision for granted and how too often I claim it only for myself as if I earned it.

(2) Christian faith is communal in nature. We are called to live as a community of faith, inspired and led by the Holy Spirit. The Ten Commandments were not directed at individuals, they were designed for the community. When we gather together each week to remember again God’s saving deeds in history, to offer our praise and thanksgiving as we worship in spirit and in truth, and sent out to the wider community as God’s ambassadors, we reflect the reality of our common life in Christ. The Ten Commandments give us the model for how we are to live and work together both in and outside the church. When lived out, they engender trust and mutual respect for all. It is in our common commitment to these principles, to each other, and to our love of God and neighbor that God is made known to this hurting world. Our working together empowers us to do and be what we can’t do by ourselves.

(3) The Ten Commandments provide ample evidence of our own sinful nature and need for forgiveness. None of us can keep these commandments all the time because we’re sinners living in a broken world.

When we take them seriously they show us our areas of weakness and the state of our heart. They remind us that we are in need of a Savior and that God’s gift of unmerited grace is the basis of our salvation. The Ten Commandments are not onerous rules designed to meet our punishment, rather they are signposts for us to live lives that reflect God’s mercy and grace knowing full well that we cannot save ourselves. They allow us to focus our eyes on the Lord.

Friends, the good news is that despite our continually falling short, God loves us and has already redeemed us through our Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. These rules of living as the Christian community are for our benefit, not for us to beat ourselves up. All of these commandments are summarized in those familiar words from Scripture: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. It’s both as simple and as hard as that. Let us press on together, dear friends because this community needs us and the rules of living as God’s people demand it.

Lent 2, 2021

2nd Sunday of Lent

Genesis 17:1-7,15-16 Psalm 22:22-30 Romans 4:13-25 Mark 8:31-38

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

I suspect we’ve all had one of those moments when we’ve been on an emotional or spiritual “high” and within moments we’re picking up our ego from the floor after experiencing a moment of sheer embarrassment or humiliation. The verses just prior to today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel has Jesus asking the disciples “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets. And he asked them “But who do you say that I am?” Peter boldly answered him, “You are the Christ.” I can hear the disciples murmuring to themselves something like “well done, Peter, well done.”

The tables turn quickly, though, for in the following verses Jesus began to teach them that he, the one just identified by Peter as the Messiah, the Christ, must “suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed....” Neither Peter nor his fellow disciples were expecting this and Peter, scripture tells us, pulls Jesus aside to rebuke him. Peter is expecting Jesus to be the mighty warrior, powerful and charismatic leader who is going to take military action to rescue the Jewish people from the brutal treatment of the Romans, not some “king” who is to suffer and die at the hands of scared and intimidated religious leaders and thugs of the Roman establishment. Jesus rebukes Peter in front of the rest of the disciples with these gut-wrenching words, “Get behind me Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man.” Ouch!

I feel for Peter. I think his expectation along with the disciples and anyone else who was following Jesus all through the towns, villages, and countryside, that Jesus was the long-awaited messiah that was going to overthrow the Roman authorities, was reasonable. How else could Jesus’ arrival be understood? Why else would Peter and the disciples uproot their lives to follow him?

Like Peter, I’m guessing we all would have had the same hopes and expectations of Jesus had we been there. I think we’d all want God to be a strong and victorious God. In our divided and ailing world, I think it’s safe to say that many seek a God who breaks the teeth of the enemy, who destroys the wicked, and who pours out punishment against those who oppress and subjugate the vulnerable. I think many of us equate strength with victory. The problem is, this is what strength looks like from our human perspective, not from God’s. Like Peter, Jesus calls us to see and experience the world around us with divine senses, not human ones; to measure strength in terms of sacrifice and vulnerability, not through the lens of power and revenge.

I have often used the term “bizarro world” when what I would think to be “normal” or “reasonable” is completely thrown upside down. I had no idea that there is a fictional planet that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics where this upside-down reality is at the core of the comic. According to the Urban Dictionary (another source I have never previously used), this Bizarro World comic portrays a world where everything is the exact opposite: up is down, first is last, good is bad, wrong is right, giving is taking, and vice versa. Peter must have thought that he was entering this fictional world as his mighty warrior speaks of being tortured and killed. Making matters even more confusing, maybe even maddening, Jesus tells his disciples and any who choose to follow him that they should expect the same fate. Jesus tells any who will follow him that they need to deny themselves and take up their cross as a way of life that demands and operates with a different set of values, expectations, and ultimate rewards. Jesus then follows his comments regarding the cross and its implications for discipleship with a most confusing paradox:

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Bizzaro world, indeed.

So what do the cross and a life of discipleship have in common? What does it mean to “deny oneself and take up one’s cross” in following Jesus?

As I mentioned earlier, it seems very clear to me that we live in a world that has two sets of values: God’s values and ours. From the perspective of the human value system, we come first, and our dear friends the disciples exemplify this thinking. Remember James and John asking if they could sit at the right and left-hand side of Christ and share in Jesus’ glory? We also get a glimpse of this human understanding of power and importance when on their way to Capernaum several of the disciples had been arguing amongst themselves as to who was the greatest. Their seeking, our seeking, for power, position, prestige, comfort, and self-preservation all represent the thinking of human values, values the disciples had mistakenly hoped that Jesus also desired.

God’s values speak of putting others first. This reorientation towards others replaces our desire for self-determination with obedience and dependence on Jesus. This reorientation from self-centered living focused on the present world and our rebellion against God, offers freedom. We’re free from using our energies and resources for our own use, which so often drains us of joy and peace, with the renewing of our energy and joy in the service of others. This is why we receive such a sense of purpose and uplifted spirits as we offer ourselves in service to the good folks at BHT. My sense is that we’d do anything for Joanne and her team and the families they serve because it exemplifies in tangible ways God’s values of living.

This season of Lent gives us a specific time in which we can reflect on what it means to take up one’s cross in following Jesus. We’re called to lay down our crosses of self-serving priorities with the cross of Jesus and his ways of self-sacrificial service. We have the opportunity each day to consider how we will define power and strength, success or failure and to choose between self-preservation or offering ourselves in service to others.

Each day we can choose our heavy cross of a life lived for ourselves or lay it down for the challenging and often heavy cross of lives lived in service to our Lord and Savior. The choices we consider won’t always be easy nor will the choice to serve Jesus. But serving Jesus and living the values of God brings lives filled with joy and peace, attributes we can not sustain with priorities that are of this world.

My friends, come to think of it, I’d say that we are called to live in a Bizarro World. Scripture tells us that the “first shall be last”, “the lowly are lifted up”, “the hungry are filled with good things”, “the rich are sent away empty”, “the wise are made to be foolish”, that we are to “serve and not to be served”, the “dead shall live again”, and “the wolf and the lamb shall graze together.” Our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry wrote a book titled Crazy Christians in which he reflects on a vision of discipleship that, as Bishop Andrew Doyle of Texas writes, “embraces the prophetic dream of God, and to go out into a world desperately in need of the sweet, sweet sound of love in order to turn that world upside down.” Crazy Christians turning the world upside down....I think Peter would approve. Amen

Lent 1, 2021

Genesis 9:8-17 Psalm 25:109 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:9-15

“I have set a bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

At the end of the creation story in chapter 1 of Genesis, we read that “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good.” By the time we get to the 4th chapter, Cain has murdered Able, the reality of evil and wickedness was growing along with the population, and as we get to chapter 6, God determines he needs to start over, that the level of depravity and violence among humans and animals had reached a point that the only option was to purify his created order via the famous story of the flood which spreads out over the next three chapters culminating in God’s covenant with Noah we hear in today’s reading from Genesis. The Genesis story tells us that “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” How could things go from ’and all that he had made was very good’ to this same creation ‘grieving his heart?’

The author of Genesis tells us that ‘the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.’ However, the author also declares that God found favor with Noah, for he was a man “blameless” in his generation who “walked with God.” The original plan of God was to have humankind oversee God’s “good creation” but with violence continually active in their hearts, this governance turns into violent and evil oppression against both humans and animals. This story emphasizes that God destroys the people he has created because of their immoral behavior.

The story continues with the building of the arc, the collection of the animals, the rain that lasted 40 days and nights, God’s “remembering” of Noah, God renewing the land by the blowing of his wind over the earth, the sending of the raven and doves to see if the land could once again support life, Noah’s offering of a sacrifice in gratitude for all that God had done, God’s commitment to never again “curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth” and ends with a charge from God that man is once again to “be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.” This is the important backstory that brings us to today’s reading of God and his covenant with all of creation with the sign of the rainbow.

Violence, corruption, immoral behavior, wickedness, and treachery are still a reality of our lives and our world. I find myself occasionally enraged by what goes on around me that is blatantly oppressive, vile, vindictive, and deadly. I truly can’t get my head around how awful and depraved life must have been in the days of Noah for God to become grieved at what he had created. History gives us far more examples of human wickedness than we need to understand the point of our sinful nature: slavery in all its forms, religious persecution against a wide variety of peoples of faith, ethnic cleansings, human trafficking in the labor and sex trades, mistreatment at best and death at worst for people of the “wrong skin tone” or “political party” in countries throughout the world, including our own, and the atrocities perpetrated against the Uyghur community in China’s reeducation camps. The level of man’s inhumanity to man is more than heartbreaking, it’s a diabolical sin straight from the gates of hell against God and all of humanity. We are made in the image of God and yet how we collectively treat our fellow human beings simply defies understanding and underlies our deep-seated sinful nature. It’s as if God just concedes that humans will continue to be violent, to shed the blood of others, and do things that dehumanize each other even in this post-flood world. (adlib comments regarding the fellow who sucker-punched the Asian woman in NY....the white-supremacist, Neo-Nazi who desecrated Temple Beth Shalom in Spokane). All I could say to myself was “my God.”

Are you ready for some good news? In spite of humanity’s propensity for violence and unfathomable and horrific behavior against others, God pledges to renew the covenant first made with Noah at the beginning of the flood, that never again will God destroy his creation with a flood. Remember, earlier we heard that God would not again “curse the ground because of man.” Don’t think of this promise to never again destroy the world via a flood as some sort of loophole....rather understand it in the broadest context of God promising not to destroy his creation a second time. God made this covenant with “all living creatures” and the rainbow is the sign of this covenantal relationship between God and the whole earth. This glorious and colorful sign that hangs in the sky is for us to remember that God made this covenant, that he will keep his promise, and that we are loved, prized, and valued in his eyes, and that each of our lives have a unique purpose.

So what’s the antidote against all this wickedness? What should our response be to his everlasting covenant of love and goodwill?

In part, I think we get a rather straightforward answer in our reading from Mark’s Gospel. “Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’” Jesus calls us to repent and believe in the good news. If our behavior or words tear someone down, we’re to repent. If our attitudes are not based on love and gratitude to God, we’re to repent. If we focus so much on ourselves and not our neighbors, especially the ones most vulnerable among us, we’re to repent. If we find ourselves acting greedy and self-serving, we’re to repent. If institutions that represent us act in ways that do not support the dignity of every human being, we’re to call them to repentance. The rainbow offers us a reminder that God gave his created order a second chance to live into the kingdom that he had planned in the first place and that has now come near.

As we begin our collective and individual journeys through this season of Lent, may we experience the joy that comes from seeing God’s colorful promise of renewal, everlasting protection, and hope whether the days be

filled with rain or shine. Let us be on the lookout for opportunities to offer this same joy to others. May God’s unique love for each one of us guide our feet in the paths of righteousness and truth as we faithfully bring the light of his rainbow and promise to a world that is saturated with darkness but that God nonetheless “calls very good.”

Epiphany 6, 2021

Good Morning everyone, When I was preparing for this Sermon it was hard for me to associate myself with this scripture reading.  Also, how do I write a Sermon on something as important as the Transfiguration without getting into a lot of scripture and Bible ease as I call it? 

Soooo…...I asked myself, "What if I started by presenting this sermon in the context of a normal morning?  This morning I got up and washed my face and got dressed."  I said good morning to Bill and fed Roxie and Garfield and got ready for Church.  Jesus tells me every  Sunday its time and Bill and I head off to church.  Much like Jesus saying to Peter, James and John follow me we are going up on the mountain.

When we get here, we great everyone and settle down for service with all of you and now David.  Suddenly, the sanctuary is full of a light that is so glorious that we can hardly see and there is Moses, Elijah, and Jesus in front of all of us having a conversation.  We don't know what they are saying, and only in Luke are we told that they are discussing,  Jesus departure from this earth. 

Then a cloud descends and a voice like we have never heard before says, "This is my son, the Beloved; listen to Him!" 

Now I don't know about all of you, but I would be under my chair.  How would you react?  Would you want to crawl under a chair too?  Would you want to get out of the church as quickly as possible?  Would you sit and listen and wait till you could say something to Jesus?  What would you do?

Then as quickly as all this is happening it all disappears, there is no bright light or cloud or anyone else and we are here with Jesus in our Sanctuary like we are right now.  I'm the first one to tell you that I want to get on my phone and tell my daughter, and my entire family and anyone who will listen,  BUT……...Jesus says to us. "I order you to tell no one about what you have seen.  You must wait until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead. 

LORD, ARE YOU KIDDING ME.  YOU KNOW ME.  I CAN'T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT OVER SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!!!!   but Peter, James, and John do just that as far as we know.  They return from the mountain and go on to do what Jesus asks them to do. What would you do?  How would you react?  Could you do what Jesus has asked you to do? 

My next question was:

Why Moses and Elijah.

What makes them so special to this passage? Moses is associated with the Law in the Old Testament.  He wrote the Pentateuch laying out the law to the Israelites and what they were to do and how to live.  Elijah is considered the greatest prophet in the Old Testament.  He is not afraid to rebuke the Israelites and their leaders on the worship of idols.  Like Jesus, Elijah performs miracles such as multiplying the oil and meal for a widow and her son when she is willing to share her portion and raising a widow's son from the dead.  Elijah promises to double Elisha's portion of Elijah's spirit if he will stay with him till, he is gone.  Elijah was the only person besides Enoch who is said not to have died but is taken to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire. 

Moses and Elijah are very important to the Transfiguration.  They represent the Old Testament and are the two prophets who make the biggest impact in the creation of law and the prophecies of the coming of Christ as the Messiah.  They are the Law and the Prophets. 

We saw this in the Old Testament reading this morning in the book of Kings.  Elijah knows he is leaving Elisha and he has told Elisha this.  He tells him three times and three times Elisha tells him he will not leave him alone.  When Elijah is taken away Elisha cries out Father, Father but after he mourns he carries on the prophecies of Elijah. 

Why Peter, James and John.

We know that Peter was known as the one who loved Jesus the most.  He is also established by Jesus to be the rock on which Jesus will build His church.  Peter is considered the first leader of the church.  The first Pope.

James the Greater as he is known is the first of the Apostles to become a martyr.  Many feel Jesus chose him for this reason.

John the Beloved is the last of the Apostles to die.  He is at the foot of the cross at Jesus Crucifixion and it is he that is put in charge of taking care of Mary for the rest of her life. 

All three were trusted apostles who are singled out by Jesus.  He considers them the most valuable of the Apostles.  They are His inner circle. 

 Matthew, Mark, and Luke all refer to the Transfiguration in their Gospels.  John's says nothing and Luke is the only apostle with a Gospel not at the Transfiguration.  Most students of John's Gospel believe that there are many references in his gospel to the Transfiguration.  They say Jesus is always transfigured in what John writes.  When we read John's Gospel, we see the common theme of Transfiguration throughout the Gospel story. For example.   

John l:14 "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father." 

John 2:11. When Jesus transforms the water into wine at the wedding feast John tells us, "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him."

John 1:14  "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

John does not narrate what he saw at the Transfiguration but refers to it throughout his Gospel.    

John goes on to tell us of the curing of the nobleman's son, the restoration of the paralytic at the pool, the miracle of the bread, the walking on the water, the healing of the man born blind, and finally the raising of Lazarus from the dead in John ll:l-44.  John records exactly seven miracles of Jesus.  Seven is the number we see over and over in the Bible symbolizing the fullness of the revelation of the divine glory of Jesus.  Who Jesus is, is revealed in what Jesus does. 

In Matthew verse 5 the voice from the cloud says, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."  then adds, "listen to him!" Mark says, "This is my son, the Beloved; listen to Him." Luke says, "This is my son, whom I have chosen, listen to him." Three different versions, but each one intended to let us know that Jesus is not the human being we think He is, but the Son of God. 

The Transfiguration is where Jesus now becomes more than what the Apostles think he is.  The disciples have worshipped Him who walked on water,  as the Son of God, but they cannot yet imagine what it means for Jesus to claim this title.  Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the son of the living God, but he rejects Jesus announcement that he will suffer and die. 

It isn't until the Agony of Jesus, His Crucifixion and rising from the dead and finally and His Ascension into heaven that the Apostles can fully understand what Peter, James and John saw at the Transfiguration.  This is why Jesus instruction to not say anything was so important.  Jesus knew that they could not fully understand who he was and how important it was for them to know Him.  Only after His suffering and death and his resurrection and ascension could they convey to others the true nature of Jesus. 

We are given the story of the Transfiguration so we can see and be witnesses of Christ.  It helps us to understand that as we travel through our life, we can convince others  that Jesus is Lord, and we are able to convey that through our faith.  The Transfiguration is a difficult story to understand, but I have found that by going deeper into the people who were there and seeing what they said it makes it easier to understand who Jesus was and what he means to us today.  I would like to think that if the Transfiguration happened today, here in our sanctuary, I would not be hiding under my seat.  I feel that we can all leave today with a better understanding of what Jesus wants us to do by trying to understand the Transfiguration. 

Epiphany 5, 2021

The Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany February 7, 2021

Isaiah 40:21-31 Psalm 147: 1-12, 21c 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?” In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Amen

As we prepare to wrap up this season of Epiphany, the second evangelist has taken us on a whirlwind journey in just the first 39 verses of the ​first chapter!​ Everything happens quickly and the author provides us with relatively few details. Despite this sense of urgency, Mark’s primary purpose throughout the first half of his gospel is to identify who this Jesus is, the mighty Messiah and Son of God. Let’s do a quick recap:

1st Sunday of Epiphany: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased.”

2nd Sunday: “Nathanael replied ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God.’”
3rd Sunday: “Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God,

and and saying ‘the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has

come near; repent and believe in the good news.’”
4th Sunday: “and the unclean spirit cried out, ‘I know who you are, the Holy

One of God.’”
The Last Sunday (The Transfiguration): “This is my Son, the Beloved;

listen to him.”

Mark has regaled us with amazing stories of the locust and honey-eating John the Baptist, the calling of James and John, Simon and Andrew, to follow him and begin new lives of catching people for the kingdom, of casting out demons, of rebuking evil, of astounding the religious, of healing all manner of people plagued with all manner of diseases and sicknesses, of Jesus’ need to refresh and commune with his Father, and of Jesus’ understanding of his mission to widely proclaim the message of repentance and forgiveness in preparation for the coming reign of God. All of these stories help with the unveiling of who this Jesus is, which is the theme of Epiphany. All this in just 39 verses!!

In today’s gospel reading, we read four brief snippets from Jesus’ early ministry: the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law, the arrival of folks from throughout the city seeking Jesus for his healing touch and words, the importance of spending time with his Father away from the maddening crowds, and finally the realization that his mission and purpose has a far wider scope and import than receiving accolades from the locals in Capernaum. Whether confronting evil in the form of the man with the unclean spirit in the public setting of the synagogue or healing Simon’s

mother-in-law in the privacy of her home, whether dealing with the masses until well into the night or seeking retreat in a deserted place, Jesus reveals a God who is made manifest in silence, word, and deed; epiphanies indeed.

Given the focus of this season, of God’s revelation of himself, how, when, or where did you experience God’s presence in your life this week? How did God reveal himself to you? Very importantly, what was your response to this experience(s)? These are not just theoretical questions; these are the types of questions that shape our theological thinking about our relationship with God, about how we live and act in the here-and-now. These types of questions dig deep into our souls and encourage and enable us to not only know God better but set us free from the bondage of our sins while allowing us to live the abundant life God promises to those who fear him, to those in awe of him.

Truth is, we know we don’t live in the world God wants for us. The sin of broken relationships, greed, anger, loneliness, disease, mental illness, poverty, impatience, arrogance, abuse of all kinds, hypocrisy, (need I go on?) weighs us down, diminishes our joy, and quite frankly, wears us out. The world around us is filled with individuals who are not only desperate but destitute. We live in communities where too many people are just plain hopeless. Even those who at least tacitly believe in God, a god, wonder where God is? They are not alone; people from the beginning of time have asked this same question.

The Jews in exile in Babylon asked this same question and the prophet Isaiah had a response, not just for them but for us as well, one that needs repeating again, and again, and again. And who will deliver this message to this torn up, torn down world? YOU AND ME!!!

Isaiah asks these two questions twice: “Have you not known? Have you not heard?” He then goes on to remind his fellow countrymen that it is God who “sits above the circle of the earth, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, who makes the rulers of the earth as nothing...that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He reminds them that God does not faint or grow weary, that he gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless, that those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint.”

Yet even we sometimes forget Isaiah’s encouraging words, right? One of the commentators I read put it this way: “that we are ‘theological amnesiacs.” Even those of us grounded in God’s word, who receive life-giving bread and wine each week, sometimes find ourselves forgetting that God is always present, always available, always helping us, and like Simon’s mother-in-law, to rise to wholeness. The prophet tells us that even when God seems elusive, he is still ever-present. If we sometimes forget, how about those who have “never known or never heard?” Is it any wonder why so many feel lost and alone?

Simon’s mother-in-law provides an amazing life lesson by her response to her healing. She shows gratitude by getting up and serving them. Gratitude is the response to healing; gratitude is the response to God’s presence; gratitude is the response to opportunities to serve others.

By our gratitude, we express through word and deed the words of the psalmist: “Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God! How pleasant it is to honor him with praise! (The Lord) heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds, the LORD lifts up the lowly but casts the wicked to the ground. We are to “sing to the LORD with thanksgiving, to make music to our God upon the harp.” By our actions of gratitude and thanksgiving, we manifest ​our​ God of hope and healing, ​our​ God who does not grow weary, whose understanding is unsearchable.

My friends, God ministers to us so we can minister to others. God lifts us up so we can extend a helping hand to someone else. God strengthens us when we are weary and feel powerless so we can be a source of strength and comfort to those who are faint and need to lean on us. Another of the commentaries I studied this week put it perfectly: “It is in the speaking and the doing that God is revealed - not only in the heavens above but the earth below. This is our work as Christians today, speaking and living out God’s word. For some people, we are the only Jesus they will ever meet.” With God’s help, may we be ready for such an encounter!

Epiphany 2, 2021

Sermon Epiphany 2

1/17/21  Mary McPherson

I am good friends with my Zumba teacher (an exercise class) at the YMCA.  I haven’t been to the gym in a while, but before Covid I would see her several times a week.  I really like and admire this woman’s optimism and her openness to sharing her faith.  After the George Floyd protests she courageously invited us to stay after class one day and pray for our country, which I and others gratefully did. 

I was extremely disturbed last week when she posted a link on FB.   Her pastor was calling people to go to Washington, DC to make a stand against what he saw as an unfair election.  And I was even more disturbed after hearing what happened in DC. 

After 60 lawsuits claiming election fraud were rejected by the courts, I personally am convinced there was no election fraud.  I know not all of you agree with me.  (Sadly, no news is totally objective these days, I am the first to admit it, so we all hear and believe different things, which is a topic for another sermon.)  I read that members of congress knew that nothing they did on Jan 6 would or could actually change the election results.  That’s just not the way our election process works.  Yet, they said nothing to that effect to the people who were coming. They did not speak truth to their constituents, telling them that the election results would not change – regardless of what Vice President Pence did.   I believe certain members of Congress played along in the illusions the president was claiming, that they could “stop the steal” and change the outcome.  They are now being called out for it.

Whether you agree with me about this or not, is not the point.  What I was convicted of, and the point I’m making, is that things may have been different if people had spoken up. 

If I am critical of people like Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, I have to turn the focus back to myself, and ask, am I doing all I can to disseminate truth as I know it? 

Our bishop, Gretchen this week sent out a message asking us to do 3 things.  

1 pray.  2 promote peace. 3 name the truth.

Northern Idaho has been a new experience for this California bay area girl.  I find myself in the uncomfortable position of being in a minority – blue in a red state.  I have learned the art of “tip-toeing”.  Don’t ruffle feathers by talking politics.  Keep your head down.  Keep the peace. 

If I am critical of members of congress’ silence and stay silent myself, I am a hypocrite.  

Jesus often calls out hypocrites.   The Holy Spirit is now telling me to speak out and I can’t ignore her any longer.

So, I wrote a letter to my exercise teacher.  I told her I felt the need to tell her that I do not believe the election was stolen.  I told her I still loved her with my whole heart, but that I was worried about her being shepherded by a man who encouraged people to go to DC to overturn the election and that I was praying for her not to be misled.  I told her I hoped and prayed I didn’t offend her in any way.  And asked that she, know my words were spoken in love and I prayed they would be received that way whether she agreed with me or not.

So, now you all want to know what my teacher said, right? 

(Who said sermons couldn’t be cliff hangers?)

She wrote me back, and told me she loved me, and that I am free to have my own opinions.  She said her Pastor was not encouraging violence in DC, he simply encouraged those that were called to come and STAND. 

So, what did I learn from this interchange with my gym teacher?  It just might surprise you…

In the events of Jan 6th, a small minority of people wreaked havoc on our nation’s Capital.  We must resist the temptation to demonize all of them, and make rash generalizations. 

In the George Floyd Black Lives Matter protests, a small minority of people actually did the looting.  Many people there had the intention of peacefully protesting, just as many of the people in DC had the intention of peacefully protesting.

George Floyd wasn’t a perfect person.  Ashli Babbitt wasn’t a perfect person.  As Christians, we remember that each person is someone’s child, someone’s beloved, God’s creation. When we fail to remember that, we dehumanize our brothers and sisters.

How does all this tie into the scripture readings for this week?

Nathanael, I love Nathanael.  “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  Do you think Nathanael might have been guilty of rash generalizations about those people in Nazareth, those not in his tribe of like-minded folk?  Nathanael was prejudiced.  He pre-judged Jesus before ever meeting him because of where he was from.  When he meets Jesus, he quickly realizes his mistake.  Do we ever pre-judge people when we find out they are a republican or democrat?

In Psalm 139, the psalmist talks about how God really knows us.  Ever thought about why people want to be seen and known? 

Someone can love me superficially, without knowing much about me.  But if they love me while knowing all my failings and shortcomings, that I have different political beliefs than they do, that love is the kind of love Jesus wants us to have for each other.  

I LOVE Psalm 139. The lectionary cherry-picked the verses for us this morning, but Dave gave me permission to use the entire psalm.  In particular, verses 18-21 were omitted.  It’s found in its entirety on P 794 in the Book of Common Prayer

If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!

They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.

Wow.  Those are strong words in the middle of this beautiful psalm. 

If we are honest with ourselves, I’ll bet some of us can relate to having strong feelings like the psalmist.  I confess there are times when I, too, I have felt anger towards others in this political environment.  Those verses are followed by 2 of the best verses in the whole psalm. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

What a wonderful prayer.  The psalmist seems to realize he can’t follow the way of love without God’s help.  Neither can we.

As I struggled with sleeplessness one night this week, the Spirit spoke to me, just like the spirit spoke to Samuel, and I got up out of bed to write down what she said.   She told me,

“God looks at you with eyes full of grace and compassion.  And asks you to look at others through a lens of grace and compassion as well.”

“God looks at you with eyes full of grace and compassion.  And asks you to look at others through a lens of grace and compassion as well.”

This is what I believe Bishop Curry called us to do in his message last week when he quoted Abraham Lincoln. 

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds …

Let us pray.

O God, you have bound us together in a common life.  Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (BCP, p 824.)