Author: admin

People do change

Text: Job 3a,4-5
Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh and proclaimed, “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!”  The people of Nineveh believed God’s message. So they decided that everyone should fast, and all the people, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth to show that they had repented.

A  young girl was reading her Bible on a bus.  A grumpy looking, overweight man sat down next to her and noticed what she was reading.  After some muttering and mumbling that she didn’t really understand he asked, “Do you believe everything in the Bible?”  And she said, “Yes, I do.”
He kept on, “You mean to tell me you believe that Jonah lived for three days in the belly of a whale?”
The girl answered, “Yes.”  The man persisted, “Well then how do you explain that?”
The girl answered, “I can’t, but I believe it.”
The man became more agitated and said.  “Young lady, you should be able to explain what you believe!”
The girl then said, “I don’t know exactly how Jonah survived but I’ll ask him when I get to heaven.”
Then sarcastically, the man asked, “And what if Jonah didn’t make it to heaven?”  And she replied, “Then you can ask him.”

The story about Jonah and the big fish has always been a favourite with children.  It has something of a fairy tale quality about it.  It’s a story that appeals to the imagination.  This is a story about one of God’s most reluctant prophets who is told to go to Nineveh – that hated, despised, despotic Near Eastern power that had caused so much suffering in Israel.  Jonah is to preach against their wicked ways but he doesn’t want to do it.

The Ninevites had caused so much grief and pain to the people in the surrounding countries so why should he go there as God’s messenger and call them to change their ways?  They won’t change and Jonah didn’t want them to change. They only deserved God’s condemnation and punishment.  Jonah knew that God was loving and merciful and that he was great on giving second chances (see 4:2) but as far as the Ninevites are concerned they don’t deserve a second chance?  Why should such a horrible, cruel and merciless people be given the opportunity to repent and change their ways?  Besides, people like that don’t change.

Even though Jonah tries to ignore God’s call and boards a ship for a place on the edge of the world, God persists and sends a storm and a big fish which swallows Jonah and rescues him from a briny death.  In the belly of this fish Jonah relents and after three days Jonah is coughed up on the beach.

Jonah walks through this enormous city calling out a simple message – not a call to repentance, not a message of God’s love, only a threat, “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!”  It seems as if Jonah is making his message as offensive and as blunt as he possibly can.  Was he trying to prove a point to God, “See, people like this don’t change”?

Jonah wasn’t rejected as a crackpot.  A miracle happens.  The entire city from the king down to the poorest peasant believed God’s message.  Even the sheep and cattle are involved.  Everyone wears sackcloth and ashes and prays that God will not destroy them.

This is a preacher’s dream. A whole city of people turning to God.
In spite of his reluctance,
regardless of his lousy attitude that the people of Nineveh weren’t worth it,
and apart from his very blunt message,
the whole city fell on its knees in repentance and prayer.  Jonah had only just begun walking through this huge city; with such little effort on his part the response was overwhelming.

Jonah’s half-hearted efforts resulted in Nineveh’s wholehearted response.  Jonah was wrong.  People like that do change.  The one person in the whole story who found it difficult to change was Jonah himself.  Reading on further in the book of Jonah we find that he becomes angry and disgusted with God’s whole attitude in this affair.  Jonah becomes angry because God is not.  Jonah wanted justice not grace, punishment not forgiveness.  In fact, by the end of the story we aren’t even too sure if Jonah himself changed.

What are we to make of this whole story about Jonah?  As I said at the beginning this Old Testament story makes a great story for children but what message does God want to convey to us today?

Well, most importantly this is a story of God’s love and mercy.  Look how often God was patient with the hard-headed and ignorant Jonah.  If it was up to us we would have given up on this idiot long ago.  We would have come to the conclusion that he will never change, he is too wrapped up in his own ideas and his own world that he will never change.  He is too set in his attitude about the Ninevites about the judgement he thinks they deserve, it might be better to choose someone else.

But notice how God comes back to Jonah again and again.  He doesn’t give up.  He rescues him from a watery grave and orders a big fish to swallow Jonah.  He is patient with Jonah’s half-hearted effort in delivering his message, and to top it all off he hangs in there when Jonah becomes angry with God saying, “I knew it!  I knew you would be loving and merciful.  I knew that you would go back on what you said and save the people of Nineveh!”  God was trying to convince Jonah that he loved the people of Nineveh as much as anyone else.

God hasn’t changed one bit from the days of Jonah.  We know how frustrated and impatient we can get with other people and so you can imagine how frustrated and impatient God must get with us. The way we hurt the people around us through our selfishness and lack of consideration and the way we hurt God with our sin must leave him upset and offended.  And yet he doesn’t let this get in the way of his love and mercy and, like he did for Jonah, he comes back to us again and again wanting us to love him, trust him and turn our lives around from self-centredness and sin to lives of love, and patience and understanding.

Just as God spoke his word through Jonah, as poor and inadequate as Jonah’s effort was, he speaks to us through the Bible, through other people, through parents, neighbours and friends, calling us to trust him and believe in him as the God who loved us so dearly that he sent his Son, Jesus into this world to be our Saviour.

The Son of God came to earth and from his earliest days on this earth, he was hated and hunted down by kings and rulers and religious leaders.  He did this because of his love for us.
He lived in this world and endured hunger, pain, thirst, sadness and death that he would not have endured had he stayed in heaven.  He did it for us.
He died, not a peaceful and quiet death, but with nails in his hands and feet, a crown of thorns pressing on his head, because of his love for you and me.
Jesus came to this earth to tell us that believing and trusting in him is the only way to eternal life.  He said it clearly and plainly, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one goes to the Father except by me.”

He loves us, loves us, and loves us more and will do anything to ensure that we will live forever in heaven.  Jesus has promised to walk with us all the days of our lives through the ups and downs.  He has assured us that he will always be there for us to call on in times of sickness, sadness, trouble, even death.  The love that God has for us is stated over and over again in the Bible.

That’s how God felt about the people of Nineveh and grumpy Jonah.  That’s the way God feels about you!  But I don’t want to give you the impression that God is an old softie and that he will never condemn anyone.  He does!  Those who insist that believing and trusting in God is nonsense will one day face God’s disappointment and anger.  And who can blame him.  He has given us every opportunity to trust in his love for us and still people turn their backs on him.

The other point that I wish to bring out is that people can change.  There are those who say, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.  I’ve lived without God, Jesus and the church for all these years, I can’t change now”.
Others say, “I’ve lived with this hatred for so long I can’t stop,”
or “My sexual sins, my compulsive gambling, my alcoholism (or whatever) are so much a part of my life I can’t stop,”
or “I can’t help being rude and unkind to that person.”

A counsellor of many years once said that the one thing he had learned in counselling people with problems is that “people almost never change.  Change, real change, is rare.”  Perhaps that counsellor was having a bad day when he said that.  Perhaps he was like Jonah – not believing that God has the power to bring about change in the lives and hearts on the people of Nineveh.

This is where faith comes in.
Faith is the willingness to be amazed, shocked by the surprising changes that God can bring about in our lives.
Faith is the willingness to be surprised at the depth and power of God’s love for us and his constant willingness never to give up on us.
Faith is the willingness to believe the power that the Gospel can have in changing the direction of our lives.
Faith is the willingness to believe that with God’s power in our lives we can change.

The first words Jesus preached after his baptism were “turn away from your sin and believe.”  They are as relevant to us today as they were when they were first spoken.  When we take God seriously, don’t be surprised when he challenges us to make some radical and risky changes in our lives.  In fact, just when we have our world settled, fixed, finished, God comes along with his amazing grace and turns our whole life around.  That’s what happened at Nineveh when Jonah preached.  And that’s what happens when God and his never-ending love touches our lives.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

Strongholds

Mark 1:21-28

There is little doubt after reading today’s gospel reading that evil exists.  But if you take notice of what happens when Jesus speaks with authority, it also exits.  When Jesus tells the evil spirit to be quiet and come out of the man in the synagogue, it obeys him, it comes out, although with a shriek and not quietly.  But does evil still exist?  If we look around us in the world we can say honestly, categorically and perhaps even with authority that yes evil does still exist.

Now we may not see people like the man in the synagogue that Jesus encountered, but I’m sure you’ve all heard stories about people who have been possessed by evil spirits or demons.  There are accounts of things going wrong when exorcisms have been performed without proper authority and there’s an article on the Lutheran Church of Australia website that gives an account of an ‘unlikely Lutheran’ who has in his past experienced the presence of evil spirits.  So that kind of evil is still around today.  But on the whole we avoid talking about such things, they are perhaps taboo.  Even to the point that I’ve avoided a children’s address today because the subject matter isn’t necessarily ‘G” rated.

But there are some important things to notice about this account that Mark recorded for us as Jesus first act in his ministry that we need to hear about and understand.  This man while being possessed by an evil spirit was in the synagogue, not waiting outside, but inside, a part of the group.  Then when Jesus walked up the man called out to Jesus and said, “What do you want with us Jesus of Nazareth, have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are – the Holy One of God.”  This evil spirit knew exactly who Jesus was, who he represented and what he was capable of, and it feared him and what he was about to do.

It’s important to note that Jesus had the power and authority over the evil spirit.  You may have also noticed that at the beginning of the reading the people of Capernaum were amazed at Jesus teaching in the synagogue because he spoke with such authority.  Jesus has authority over the word and over evil spirits and over us too.  He is after all the Holy One of God.

So what does this mean for us?  As I look around the congregation I see no-one who appears to be possessed by an evil spirit like the one in our gospel.  I can’t know for sure, but I’m fairly certain.  What if we think of the evil things in our lives that are more insidious and hidden, that we might not even see as evil?

What about things in our lives that become strongholds for us, things that demand our attention night and day, things that we hide from our friends, family, workmates etc.  Are there things in your life that have become stumbling blocks to you and maybe even those around you?

For the Corinthians it was an issue of eating food that had been offered to idols.  If it led to confusion and caused others to sin, then Paul said to do away with it, stop, cease!

You could say that any addiction is a stronghold or a stumbling block to you and potentially those around you.  Let’s think about a few of those things.  Mobile phones have become a bit of an addiction haven’t they?  I challenge you to walk into any restaurant, fast food or otherwise and not see people sitting across a table from one another staring at the screen of their mobile phone.  This damages natural relationships, rather than interacting with those who are sitting right there with us we are distracted by the people within the screen or the games that exist on them.  And I’m not saying I’m exempt from this either, I’m as guilty as the next person!

This helpful and seemingly harmless piece of technology now rules our lives.  We feel naked if we leave home without them, we grab for ours when someone else gets a call and even if we know it’s not our ringtone we still take the opportunity to check ours anyway.  (I even found myself stopping as I was writing this because I ‘needed’ to check my emails and others messaging systems).

Then of course there are the more obvious things like drugs, alcohol, gambling, smoking, or even pornography those things that are addictions in the traditional sense of the word.  These too have an impact on our own lives and our relationships with others.  Some of them bring about deceit and lying, covering up the habit or addiction if someone else has a low opinion of it or might find out.  Maybe it’s because if others find out it could be a stumbling block and cause them to do it as well, but more than likely it is through a sense of guilt or shame.  We generally have a bit of an idea that something we are doing is either wrong or not good for us.

There are a few way of going about dealing with this.  Jesus said to the evil spirit “Be quiet” and “Come out of him.”  With God’s help we can do that too.  Some things like alcohol and drugs require professional assistance and a time of detox and rehabilitation to be free from them, others require admitting that they are a problem and then making a decision to say enough is enough.  It may surprise you but confession and absolution can have an amazing effect on the person who feels guilty for the things they have been up to.  Speaking the truth to someone in confidence and knowing that it is never going to be spoken about outside of that discussion has an amazing sense of a weight being lifted.  A problem shared is a problem halved is quite true.  Then to add to that the hearing of God’s forgiveness for you through his Son Jesus has the most power and authority of all, the result is as if a demon has been cast out of us.

It’s funny how little coincidences occur, but as I was writing this on Wednesday out there in the kitchen I was on shuffle on iTunes and the Tim McGraw song Angel Boy came on.  It goes something like this:

My mother said there’s only one way
Sweet angel boy, narrow and straight
Time it has passed, teachings they fade
Now her angel boy has gone astray

I’ve held the hand of the devil, felt his breath on my skin
Dip me into the water, wash me again
Can I still be forgiven for all of these things?
Or have I gone too far now
Have I lost my wings?

I found me a priest, I spoke my mind
Asked if I’d sinned one too many times
He said, “My Son, you’re only a man”
Then I said, “Sir, you don’t understand”

I’ve held the hand of the devil, felt his breath on my skin
Dip me into the water, wash me again
Can I still be forgiven for all of these things?
Or have I gone too far now
Have I lost my wings?

Here’s the good news, no matter what we’ve done, we don’t need to be rebaptised, once is enough for all time.  Jesus has all authority and he has passed it on to us.  Whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  There is nothing we can do to cause God to love us any less.  He wants to save us and forgive us.  He went to extraordinary lengths to achieve it.

He is the only true stronghold in our lives, cling to him, live in his love and claim that love and forgiveness for yourself.

Amen.

The heavens opened

Text: Mark 1:9b-10
Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, he saw heaven opening and the Spirit coming down on him like a dove.

There is a word picture that I want to focus on today. It appears in the account of Jesus’ baptism in Mark’s Gospel when we are told that heaven opened up. This picture is used on numerous occasions in the Old Testament. Ezekiel begins his book saying, “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” (Ezekiel 1:1). The prophet Malachi records God’s words, “I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing” (3:10). Perhaps one of the most well known references to the ‘windows of heaven’ is in the early chapters of Genesis (7:11) at the time of the Flood when we are told that “the windows of heaven were thrown open” (though some translators prefer “floodgates” instead of windows).

It seems that every time ‘the windows of heaven’ are mentioned we get a glimpse of God and see something of who he is – one who blesses and gives generously or one who takes sin seriously. Even when people like Isaiah or Daniel or John in the Book of Revelation receive a vision of God and heaven, it is as if they are looking through a window into heaven and seeing what no one else has seen before.

When the windows of heaven open there are no barriers between earth and heaven. Human prayers freely ascend and divine blessings descend without hindrance. There is a connection between the divine and the human.

However, at the time of Jesus people believed the windows of heaven had been closed. Longingly they looked back to the stories of Abraham, Moses, Elijah, King David, Amos, Isaiah and Ezekiel when there was a good deal of communication between heaven and earth. God would come down and talk to people like Abraham and Moses, or he would rain down manna from the heavens, or open the windows of heaven during a time of drought, or give his messengers visions that would reveal to them the glory and majesty of their God. It seemed that the windows of heaven were always open in those blessed days.

But now it seemed that the heavens were closed. There were now no famous prophets, no new law givers, no singers of new psalms. No outpouring of the Spirit, no new word from God. There was nothing new coming from God and they deeply mourned the continued silence. This made the promise of the messiah even more important because surely then the windows of heaven would be open again and God would pour down new blessings on his people.

People gathered at the Jordan River wondering if John was the one who would once again open the windows of heaven for his people. Jesus was baptised by John. The gospel writer, Mark, states that immediately the heavens were opened and the Spirit came down like a dove on Jesus of Nazareth. Then a voice spoke from the heavens. It was the voice of God saying, “You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you” (Mark 1:11)

For the early Christians who read the accounts of Jesus baptism recorded by the gospel writers this opening of the window of heaven, the dove and the voice of God were so exciting. The waiting, the longing and the grieving were over. The gates of heaven were now wide open; the Word was speaking, the Holy Spirit was active. It was now a time for celebration.

John records the testimony of John the Baptist about what happened that day. We read, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and stay on him. … I tell you that he is the Son of God” (John 1:32-34).

Let’s step from that situation by the Jordan River to today.  Every so often in a casual conversation a comment like this is made when the topic of God comes up.
“Maybe there is some kind of a God. I believe there is some kind of a power that keeps the world going and maybe that’s God. But if that is the case, God must be so far away that the affairs of this world are of little importance to him. When I hear of children being blown to bits in a senseless bombing attack, or people dying of starvation or innocent people being murdered on the streets of our own cities, I see no sign of God’s presence; I hear no word from God. It is as if he doesn’t exist. If he does surely he would do something about the mess our world is in.”

I wonder if the people of Jesus’ time felt something similar. They had been subjected to Roman rule which at times was quite harsh. Babies were massacred in Bethlehem by their own king. The temple had been corrupted as a place of worship – a place where you could find God if he was to be found anywhere – and yet God did nothing about it. It was as if the windows of heaven were closed and God couldn’t even see what was going on.

I wonder if the disciples felt this when they saw Jesus nailed to a cross. They saw his agony, they heard his cries, they saw him give his last breath but the heavens were silent. Not a word from God. It was as if God had closed the window and let Jesus die at the hands of evil people.

Is it that many people don’t believe in God because they don’t see any evidence that God has anything to do with our world or is it because they don’t recognise God’s voice and what he does for them? Remember that John the Baptist saw the heavens open and believed but many to whom he told this didn’t believe and he lost his head over it.

According to history, James Whittaker saw the heavens open and believed. Who was James Whittaker? He was a member of the hand-picked crew that flew a Liberator bomber to where the war was being fought in the Pacific. On board was Eddie Rickenbacker who had been sent to meet with General MacArthur and see first hand what was happening. In October of 1942, Rickenbacker and the crew were reported lost at sea. Somewhere over the Pacific, the navigation equipment failed, the plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean dangerously close to the enemy. The nine men, some injured during the crash, floated in 3 rafts. They battled the heat, the storms, and the water. Sharks – some 10 feet long – would ram their 9 foot rafts. After only 3 days their rations ran out. It would take a miracle to survive.

On the morning of the 8th day Rickenbacker leaned his head back against the raft and pulled his hat over his eyes. A seagull landed on his head. He peered out from under his hat. Every eye was on him. Rickenbacker caught it, and the crew ate it. The bird’s intestines were used for bait to catch fish . . . and the crew survived 24 days at sea to tell the story. What a miracle!!

In 1985 at a reunion of the crew and their families, Mrs Whittaker spoke about another miracle. “The real miracle”, she said, “was not a bird on the head of Eddie Rickenbacker – but a change in the heart of my husband. The greatest event of that day was not the rescue of a crew, but the rescue of a soul. You see, my husband was an unbeliever. The plane crash didn’t change his unbelief. The days facing death in the life raft didn’t cause him to reconsider his destiny. In fact, my husband grew irritated when one of the crew continually read his Bible privately and aloud. … It was right after one of those morning Bible readings that the seagull landed on Rickenbacker’s hat. And at that moment, my husband became a believer.” James Whittaker wrote a book about all this and concludes with these words, “During those blazing days out there I found my God”. (You can read this book online http://www.ccel.us/angelssing.toc.html).

Perhaps it might have been better to say that during those blazing days out there on the sea in a raft, the heavens opened, God came down in the form of a seagull, and Whittaker saw God’s hand in his rescue and believed. Some would say that the appearance of the seagull was fate or a coincidence.
Would God really go to so much effort to save 8 men while the rest of the world was locked in a deadly battle for freedom and thousands of people were dying in Europe and the Pacific?
Would the Maker of the universe really go to such lengths as to send a missionary seagull to give its life to save not only the lives of those men but also to reveal to them that God really does care? Would God really do this?

John the Baptist and James Whittaker would say, “Too right. Of course, he does!” The heavens opened and there was a connection between the divine and the human. They experienced God reaching down to them and showing them his love and grace as they realised that God had come down for them. Jesus is real. His love is real. He wants all people to know that their sins have been dealt with and that he has made it possible for God and humans to be connected. He came so that we can enjoy the presence of God in our lives as we battle the storms and dangers that come our way in the same way that Whittaker came to see that God had everything to do with the incredible rescue of those in the rafts.

Isn’t that how it still is for us? The windows of heaven are opened. Jesus’ life and death embody the opening of the heavens. Open! Absolutely open!  God with us! The heavens open and we get a glimpse of God through
Jesus’ love for people, his teaching through the parables;
his healing of the sick, his touching of lepers, his table fellowship with sinners;
his embrace of those who were socially unacceptable;
his last supper with his friends, his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane;
his betrayal, arrest, abuse, torture, and his staggering to Golgotha;
his crucifixion and concern for a thief at his side,
his death and burial, and then the wonder of Easter Day and his living presence among his disciples.
Jesus opened the heavens and showed us the heart of God the Father while he was here on earth.  He still does this for us today.

No matter what our feelings are telling us at any particular moment, the heavens are definitely open, declares the Gospel. No matter what our mood, the heavens are open.

There may be times when we feel that the windows of heaven are shut. We may have grey times, when the feeling of God’s absence blots out any warmth that we might get from sun (son). We may feel that way but in truth the heavens are never closed. Never! In Christ and through Christ they are open! The negative feelings and moods that we may sometimes have don’t determine the status of the windows of heaven or God’s relationship with us. That has been determined by Christ Jesus. God’s promises, the grace of Jesus Christ, the Spirit, our adoption by God as his children in baptism and every day, and the gift of Jesus’ body and blood in the sacrament assure us that heaven’s windows are never shut. God’s loving heart is always available.

When Jesus was baptised the heavens opened and a dove came down on Jesus. Ever since, the heavens have been open and God’s Spirit comes down on us to challenge us to deal with some aspect of our lives, to offer us support in our struggles, to give us comfort in our grief, to assure us of his grace and mercy, to challenge us to respond with faith and obedience.

In Jesus, the words of the prophet come true, “I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing”.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

Depart in Peace

Luke 2:22-40

Let’s take a few moments to look at a picture of Simeon taking the baby Jesus into his arms in the temple.

This must have been an amazing event in Simeon’s life, and for Mary and Joseph, who were amazed themselves at what Simeon was saying about their baby.  Such a small child and yet with so much before him.

When we hold a baby in our arms the future is completely unknown, this child could be a future Prime Minister, mother, father, research scientist?  Who would know?  Even when I look at my own children the future is still completely unknown, but Simeon knew the future of the child he held in his arms.

He had seen with his own eyes the salvation that God had sent into the world for all peoples, not just for the children of Israel, but for the Gentiles as well.  He was asking God if it was now time for him to be dismissed, to go, in peace.

Yet there were also words of warning for Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your soul too.”  The life of this baby would not be without its challenges.  Simeon was prophesying a difficult time for both Jesus and Mary, for Jesus it would be his suffering and death at the hands of those people he had been sent to save.  For Mary it would be watching the incredible suffering of her son as he gave his life for you and me.

Perhaps only a parent who has lost a child can even begin to comprehend the feeling that Simeon described, a sword piercing your soul.  No parent ever wants to go through the pain of losing a child; it’s something we all fear I think, from the time of conception.  Not one of us wants to experience that shock, horror, dismay, the sheer emptiness of the death of a loved one, especially one who is our own flesh and blood, given to us by God.

Whether that death is in the first few weeks after conception, at birth, as a child, or in the teenage years or much later, the pain of their loss is earth shattering.  Mary knew that pain, Jesus knows that pain and they share it with you.  They went through it for an important reason that we still find difficult to comprehend.  Because of the suffering and death of Jesus we have hope.

No longer do we need to fear death, because it is in death that we pass to something better.  Simeon was now prepared to depart in peace, according to the Word of God.  He knew that his salvation had come and the salvation of all people with it.  He didn’t fear death, he was now prepared for it.

Early this year I was at the bedside of a dying man, I saw a peace in this man’s eyes that I had never seen before.  As he lay there knowing that his time was very near, he looked me in the eyes and said quite simply and quite calmly, “I’m with Jesus.”  The image I have in my mind is a reversal of the image of Simeon and Jesus, I see that man in Jesus’ arms, being held closely at a difficult time in his life.  That moment for me was peace personified and I think it was for him too. Jesus was there with us, I have no doubt.

Our theme throughout Advent has been “Here with us”.  Christ came to be with us, so that we might be saved.  Today the sub-theme is, “Here with us, to bring us contentment.”  Perhaps it should be “here with us to bring us peace.”  I’m not sure we can ever be content to experience death, we will always mourn, we will always go through the various stages of grief and we will all do it in our own way, but we can experience peace.  Peace in the knowledge and hope of the resurrection.  In knowing that our loved ones are now at peace themselves, in the arms of Jesus, in that place that he went to prepare for them, and knowing that he is still here with us.

He is here with us, present in his sacrament, given to us on the night when he was betrayed, before the sword pierced the soul of his mother, given to us for the forgiveness of sins.  When we come and receive his body and blood in the bread and the wine, we hold him in our hands and in a tangible way receive him bodily for the forgiveness of our sins.

Having done so, we regularly sing the words of Simeon as we are dismissed from the Communion table, “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, in the presence of all people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.”

He is not just some intangible God off there in Heaven he is here with us, Immanuel.  We hold him bodily just as Simeon did.  He came as a humble child, born in a stable, lived a humble and obedient life before being sacrificed for your sake.

He gave his life so that you could live in the peace and knowledge of your salvation.

As we prepare to begin a New Year, I pray that you too can experience the peace that Simeon so clearly proclaimed as he held the baby Jesus in his arms all those years ago.

As you continue to mourn the death of loved ones, as you care for those who are still alive, as you contemplate your own mortality, do so with rejoicing, because Jesus came to prepare the way for you and provided his sacraments so that he could still be here with us, even after his death and resurrection, so that we might live in peace and hope and love and share his message of salvation with everyone.

Amen

Mary did you know?

Text: Luke 1:26-27
God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary.

It was the end of the day, relaxing, letting my mind wander as I listened to some Christmas music – veg’ing out you might say. Familiar carols were playing in the background but I wasn’t paying all that much attention to them until I heard the words, “Mary did you know?”  I don’t recall ever hearing this Christmas song before and if I had I certainly hadn’t paid any attention to it.  What made it particularly meaningful was that I had been reflecting on the reading from Luke’s Gospel for today and thinking about Mary’s role in the birth of Jesus. As I listened to the song it seemed that the songwriter was talking to Mary and asking her,

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am.

For some reason after listening to this song I wanted to find out more about the writer and the story behind it.  And I found that people talked about this song as “God’s gift to the world” * that came from a most unlikely source.

The writer is Mark Lowry. He is described like this.  “Mark never stops moving. He seems to have the energy of three fifth graders and the curiosity of a dozen four-year-old-children.  Probably because the Lord knows the world couldn’t handle more than one Mark Lowry at a time, there is no one like him. … He was often a problem in the classroom and had absolutely no athletic ability.  To many adults and kids, Mark appeared to be little more than an energetic klutz – an out of control mini-tornado.”*  Lowry talks about his childhood with a good deal of humour and says this about himself, “When I was a kid, my hyperactivity was always getting me into trouble. Most people figured I would grow up to be a criminal.  A little voice inside me convinced me I was a failure, that I would never amount to anything.  I had what’s known today as A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder). Back then, they called it B.R.A.T.  And I wasn’t your normal brat. I was the type of kid that when people met me, they knew why some animals eat their young”.**

Mark’s parents must have despaired at times when their dreams for their little boy weren’t being realised but instead of focussing on the negatives they emphasized the gift that Mark had – he could sing.

In 1984 (when Mark was 26 years old) his pastor asked him to write a Christmas program for his church and so Mark wrote a series of questions that he would ask Jesus’ mother Mary.  This became the poem, Mary did you know? This poem became a song – a song that has been described as one of “God’s gifts to the world” and Mark continues to this day giving testimony to God’s love through his humour and music and has won numerous Gospel music awards.

It’s strange how God can use a young person like Mark Lowry, described by an observer of his hyperactivity as “a racoon in human form” or who others thought would end up as a criminal in jail. Mark even thought of himself as a failure and would never mount to anything and yet look how God chose the least significant and has done mighty things through him.

This reminds me so much of Mary in today’s Gospel reading.  She wasn’t a “raccoon in human form”, hyperactive, an energetic klutz, a poet or songwriter.  No I’m wrong.  In fact, I can’t say she wasn’t any of these because we don’t know very much about her.  Look at the introduction to Mary we get in Luke’s Gospel.  “God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. He had a message for a young woman … her name was Mary”. ‘Her name was Mary’ – is that all Luke can tell us about her.  Here is the woman who was about to take centre stage in the Christmas story and all we are told, “Her name is Mary”. 

Matthew introduces her saying, “His (Jesus’) mother Mary was engaged to Joseph”. We could have been given just a bit more information. What was she like?  How old was she?  Did she have brothers and sisters?  Did she have morning sickness and cravings?  And I wouldn’t mind asking questions like Mark Lowry does, “When you kissed your little baby, did you realise you were kissing the face of God”? 
Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? 
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?

But I guess that’s the point of knowing so little about Mary.  We know so little about her and even less about Joseph and yet they are given the most important job in all of history – to care and protect the Son of God when he is a vulnerable and helpless baby.  This insignificant couple who barely rate a mention outside of the Christmas story are chosen not because of their brilliance or their wealth or their importance but because God had a plan and he could see into the hearts of these two people and knew that they were the perfect people to carry out the human side of his plan – the raising and nurturing of a child from a baby to boyhood to become a man who was honourable, wise and godly.

Mary and Joseph may have been humble folk from the outer edges of Israel but they shared a secret about their son that later the whole world would know.  Mary was told at the time of his conception by the angel Gabriel, “You will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was” (Luke 1:31-32). Later in the temple Simeon told her that sorrow like a sharp sword will break her heart when she watches her son die a terrible death.

Joseph is also told that Mary’s child has come from God, conceived by the Holy Spirit.  He is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophesy about a virgin who will have a child.  His name will be ‘Immanuel’ which means, “God is with us”.  Joseph knew his Scriptures and would have linked the prophecies about the Messiah to what he had been told about the boy who was to be named ‘Jesus’.  Joseph doesn’t rate a mention in the Bible after Jesus visit to the temple when he was 12 and Mary only a few times more but let’s not underestimate the very important role they had in obediently, willingly, and faithfully doing their part to watch over and guide their first born son in those early years.  They might have been nobodies in the eyes of King Herod and his court and even the people of Nazareth but to use Mark Lowry’s words, “This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am” – Yahweh himself.

Why does God choose people like Mary and Joseph and a bloke like Mark Lowry who it seemed was destined to be a failure to do amazing things for him?  In fact, if you think about so many of the Bible characters you see that God does this again and again.  He chooses the most unlikely people to do important things for him.  A shepherd boy saves the army of Israel by slaying a giant and then becomes the most famous king Israel has even seen.

Who were the people Jesus calls to be disciples?  Fishermen, tax collectors, a zealot (today we would call him a terrorist), a thief – no one but the ordinary.

Who were the first people to hear about the good news that will bring joy to everyone – that today in David’s town your Saviour has been born, he is Christ the Lord?  They were the least important people of all – shepherds.  People at the bottom of the social ladder – nobodies – if you like.  God’s angels came to these nobodies and they were the first to kneel before God in the flesh and became the first evangelists and missionaries as they told everyone they met what they had seen and heard.

Is it possible that God would do that sort of thing today – call on an ordinary person like you or me to carry out some kind of extraordinary task or even a task that is not so extraordinary but still requires us to get out of our comfort zone and step out and do something?  The willingness and obedience of Mary and Joseph in what they were asked to do was really remarkable.  Is it possible that God could do that today and challenge us to that same kind of obedience and faithfulness?

Throughout history God hasn’t change his ways of calling people to carry out his will and given them special tasks that bring the light of God’s love into the lives of the people around us.  Be ready to be surprised just as Mary and Joseph were when God called them to step up to an important challenge.  Pray that your response might be like that of Mary’s, “I’m ready to serve God in whatever way he thinks I’m able to”.

When everyone else only saw Mark Lowry as a brat, God saw a boy and then a young man with a beautiful voice, a unique sense of humour and the gift of poetry.  Sure, he was born different but his energy and his curiosity gave him a different perspective on things and out of that God-given uniqueness came a song written about a very special mother and her son.

God has gifted us all differently.  Each person is a unique and special creation of God, loved by him and redeemed by him.  I wonder how God will surprise each of us with the challenges he will place before us.  I wonder how well we will respond to that challenge.  It will be easy to say “Why me?”  God has heard it all before.  Great men like Moses, Jonah, and Jeremiah were reluctant doers of God’s will but when they got passed their hesitancy God did great things through them.  God promised to be with them and they trusted that promise.  That’s all they needed.

We have a Saviour whose name is Immanuel, God with us.  May he be with us, in us, above us, beside us and before as we say with Mary, “Wherever you lead me, Lord, that’s what I want to do and that’s where I want to go”.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

Returning home

Text: Isaiah 61:1a,2,3
The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his Spirit. He has sent me to proclaim
That the time has come when the Lord will save his people and defeat their enemies. He has sent me to comfort all who mourn, to give to those who mourn in Zion joy and gladness instead of grief, a song of praise instead of sorrow.

A newspaper ran an article headed A Mother’s Search for Russell Love.  A mother had not seen her son, Russell Love, for four years and not heard from him in two years.  She knew that he was homeless somewhere and longed to get in touch with him.  She talked to the police but they couldn’t help.  So she decided to run an ad in the paper.  It read, RUSSELL LOVE – Anyone knowing where he lives please call his mother (and she gave the number).  Russell, your mother will never forget you.  She loves you!  Maybe someone who knows her son will see the ad and get in touch with her.  Someone did.

Ralph Campbell who had spent 25 years living on the streets had given some extra sandwiches to a friend.  The friend had turned to another friend and said, “Russ, do you want a sandwich?”  Campbell phoned the newspaper.  He led a reporter to the place where he thought Russell Love might be living.  They came across a young, blond-headed man rolled up in a bright yellow blanket.  He said he was Russell Love.

“Your mother wants you to call her,” the reporter said. He gave Russell the ad.  Russell rolled up his blanket and walked off down the street with the paper tucked under his arm.  Russell called home.  His mother told him how much she had missed him.  They talked on the phone three more times over the next five days.  She sent him a cheque to buy train tickets to get home for Christmas. Russell had to call home for some identification to cash the cheque. His mother said, “I’m going to see that he gets all the ID he needs to get home.  I’m going to try to make it possible for him to rethink his decision and come back into the world he came from and to make a better decision.”

That’s what Advent is all about, isn’t it?  It’s about being contacted from home and given a chance to make some better decisions about our lives.  God has come and reached out to us and said, “I love you, and I’m looking forward to your coming home”.

Russell Love did go home.  A follow-up article showed a picture of him and his mother together.  It told about the way they “grabbed each other and hugged and hugged and hugged” when he showed up.  “It feels great to be home”, the article quoted Russell as saying.  “It’s nice to be a family again after being on the streets.”

In Old Testament times the people of God had turned away from him and in spite of warnings from the prophets, they decided to go their own way.  They decided to leave the loving presence of God and go out in the streets and do their own thing in their own way.  And consequently their city and their temple were destroyed, and the people taken away to a foreign land.  They were really “street kids” now – nowhere to call home, at odds with their heavenly Father, feeling unloved, confused about what will be their future, feeling helpless to do anything about their situation.

Into this forlorn, sorrowful, gloom, the preacher speaks, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. . . Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord! Clear the way in the desert for our God!  Fill every valley; level every mountain. The hills will become a plain, and the rough country will be made smooth.” Isaiah 40:1,3-4). 

It’s the announcement of a divine highway construction program through the wilderness, the desert, from the Babylonian exile back home. Note that it’s a straight road. Ordinarily, the way back from Babylon to Israel followed the rivers and the fertile land around the river system where food was plentiful.  This was the long way to Israel but the safest way.  No-one in their right mind would take the short cut and go through the desert.

But the Lord is making a straight road right through the middle of the wilderness.  There is no skirting around the dangers.  The Lord will be travelling that road, leading Israel homeward through all the dangers and threats that the wilderness represents.

Remember that when the people of Israel heard the word wilderness they thought of an unfriendly place – place of hunger, thirst, wild animals, temptation, sin, being lost like their forefathers on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land.

It was in the wilderness that John the Baptist appeared, quoting Isaiah, “Get the road ready for the Lord; make a straight path for him to travel!” (Mk 1:1-3). The wilderness is not only a geographical description of very desolate countryside, but it also a description of the desolation, the lostness, the sin in people’s hearts.  John makes full use of the wilderness picture and calls people to turn away from their sin and lostness and come home.

In today’s Gospel reading we hear John telling the confused crowd that he is not the Messiah but that he has been called to give testimony to the light that God had sent into the world.  This light is proof of God’s love for his people.  This light will lead God’s people back home.

The good news that John wants everyone to grasp is that God is bringing his homeless people back home. God has not given up on his people.  His love was still as strong as ever and so John is announcing, as Isaiah did to those in exile in the Old Testament, that their time of deliverance is at hand.  God wants his people to come home.  And nothing will stand in his way.  And so John uses the imagery of earthworks on a gigantic scale that will make sure that his people arrive home safe and sound.  “Every valley must be filled up, every hill and mountain levelled off. The winding roads must be made straight, and the rough paths made smooth. The whole human race will see God’s salvation!” (Luke 3:5,6).

And so we have this message from the prophet today and it these words that Jesus preaches in the synagogue at Nazareth saying that he is the fulfilment of these words.
“The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his Spirit.
He has chosen me and sent me
to bring good news to the poor,
to heal the broken-hearted,
to announce release to captives
and freedom to those in prison.
To give to those who mourn in Zion
joy and gladness instead of grief,
a song of praise instead of sorrow” (Isaiah 60:1-3).

Traditionally this Sunday of Advent has been named ‘Joy’ and our readings today reflect that joy – the joy that comes from knowing that our God doesn’t give up on us even though we get lost in the wilderness of sin, the joy that comes from knowing that we have a God who loves, gives freedom, releases, heals, comforts, and saves to use some of the words from Isaiah 61. The prophet says,“The Sovereign Lord saves his people and all the nations will praise him” (Isaiah 61:11).

With joy John the Baptist announces that God is faithful to his Word and that the one whose sandals he is not worthy to untie will bring God’s love to those lost in the dark streets of sin.

Nothing gave Russell Love’s mother more joy than to hug her runaway son.  Likewise our heavenly Father wants to hug his runaway and sinful people and nothing brings him greater delight than to say, “Welcome home. All is forgiven!”

The love of Russell’s mother would not stop at anything.  She was determined to find and rescue her son, and no matter what condition he was in, she was determined to bring him back home. Because she loved him she was ready to forgive him, comfort him and give him a fresh start, she was bringing him back home.  That’s the kind of love that God has for each of us.

One day a teenage boy walked into a little cafe and sat down.  It was a small place with only a few stools at the counter.  The boy said, “I’m hungry, but I don’t have any money. If you would give me some food, I will be glad to wash dishes”.

While the owner was getting the meal, he asked, “Why don’t you tell me about it son?” and the boy told him that he had argued with his father and left home.

Then the owner said, “You know, your story is similar to my son’s”.  He continued, “We got mad at each other a few months ago, and I said a lot of angry things I would give anything to take back.  He left home and I have no idea where he is.  I own this cafe.  It’s not much of a place, but I would give it up in a second to have my son back home”.

Then he added, “You have a father back home, and I imagine he feels like I do. You are away, he doesn’t know where you are; he doesn’t know whether you are safe.  If he feels like me he would do anything to get a phone call from you asking him to take you back home”.

Doesn’t that sound much like our heavenly Father?  He would give anything to have us back home.  In fact, he gave up more than a cafe; he did give up his own Son to die in our place on the cross.  He sent Jesus to leads us home out of lostness, sin, temptation, and exile from the Father’s presence.  He wants us to be home, to be a close part of his family.
He doesn’t mean some kind of loose connection with home.
He doesn’t mean the kind of drop in-every-now-and-then kind of connection with home.
He doesn’t mean you can drop out any time you have a disagreement or don’t like others living at home.
He doesn’t mean ignoring everyone else in the home.
He means Home, home in the truest and best sense – a close, personal relationship with him and with others in the home.

This text and the story of Russell Love’s mother and that of the run-away remind me of the well-known story of Charlotte Elliott.  She was the grand-daughter of an outstanding preacher but in her early life took religion in a light hearted fashion and not too seriously.  After she had rudely told a visiting pastor to mind his own business, she later apologised, adding, “I should like to be a better person but I don’t know how.”

“Come just as you are”, the pastor gently advised her.  Years later, Charlotte Elliott recalled the experience by writing that “Come as you are” theme into a hymn:

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come!        

That’s right, welcomed, pardoned, cleansed, relieved.  He did all this on the cross so that we can come home and be his chosen people.  We belong to God.

There will always be times during this life when we will find ourselves in exile, run-aways from the Father’s presence.  Like the runaway in the cafe, we forget that our Father does truly love us but the invitation always stands to come home.

Advent is a time to humbly celebrate the extent God has gone to flatten any obstacles to our returning home.  He has flattened sin and death; he has raised his Son from the dead.  He offers us the warm hug of forgiveness. We are his people at home now and we wait for the time when we will arrive at our eternal home.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

When the silence begins

Isaiah 40:1-5

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah spoke to the Israelites held captive in Babylon.  The Babylonians had taunted the Israelite captives, exiles…  
     “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.  There on the
poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors
demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”  How can we sing
the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?”  (Psalm 137)
And so there was silence; seventy years of silence; a whole lifetime of silence.

Until God speaks!  “Comfort, comfort my people!”  Enough is enough!  What they had borne, what they had suffered—because, as a nation, as a people, they had been proud and stupid and hadn’t listened and hadn’t obeyed—‘actions have consequences’ and all that stuff…—enough is enough.  “Comfort, comfort my people!” says God.  And once his “comfort” has been spoken, it must happen—his Word cannot return empty—it achieves what he sends it out to do—in the beginning ‘light’ and there was light—here ‘comfort’—God’s comfort.  The Hebrew sense of the word ‘comfort’ is the ‘turning away of suffering’—it is not a “there, there”…it is an active involvement in, engaging in the process of taking away what brings suffering.  For Israel, on this occasion, it meant God’s act of deliverance; it meant forgiveness; it meant a return home; it meant restoration.
God’s action here begins with a call for preparation.  The Israelites in exile knew well the long, lavish, imposing, purposely laid-out processional highways of the Babylonian city for the ceremonial welcoming of the king or of the gods.  These highways had been symbols in Israel’s history of its defeat and humiliation, of the might and power of those who had conquered them.  But now a new highway was to be prepared—a highway which left the towering temples of Babylon behind—a highway across the emptiness of the wilderness (an emptiness that figured prominently in Israel’s history—a place of learning to wait humbly for God’s provision)—across the wilderness and into God’s promised land—a highway for “the Lord”, for our God, to reveal his glory, to demonstrate his faithfulness to his promises.  “The Sovereign Lord is coming to rule with power,” Isaiah shouts, “bringing with him the people he has rescued.”

When God’s prophet John (the Baptist) arrives centuries later his voice again breaks the silence.  Another long silence.  Israel had again, as so often before, stopped listening to God’s voice and filled their heads with their own babble.  And when their proud plans and proclamations of self-importance were again tramped into the dust by the boots of an invading army (or two, or three…)…God waited…and eventually they heard and knew the silence.

You may have noticed, over the years, how hard we find it, generally, to sit and wait…and listen in silence.  Many self-nominated “good listeners” are actually people who simply have an awful lot of good advice to dispense!

A couple of weeks ago a person talked to me about a particular situation; started crying and cried the whole way through; told me of the things that were hurting; told me of a sense of loss—didn’t ask me what to do!—just told me of a deep sadness…and cried some more.  “You feel really sad,” I said eventually.  “Yes,” was the reply.  And silence.  And more crying.  And “thank you”.  [I must say, I was very impressed by the person’s own handling of the actual situation—a deep love and loyalty and commitment, an amazing spirit of sensitivity and great courage; had managed the situation beautifully!; but it was one of those situations that we all know about in this world, where hurt and pain and sadness are profoundly real.]

There were no appropriate platitudes.  No little “gems”, “pearls of wisdom”, cute clichés that would fill the silence.  Better to be silent.  And listen.  Wait…be ready to listen….

Quite a few years ago, deep in the season of Advent, I lost my voice.  It was no cough or cold, but a tumour on my thyroid gland.  I didn’t know it was there until it started bleeding internally and swelled up alarmingly.  Ten doctors in the emergency ward that night each said they wanted to check with another until finally a specialist figured out what was going on.  I lay a couple of days in hospital under observation, until they were convinced the tumour would not obstruct my breathing, and then was sent home a day or two before Christmas.  I still had to wait a couple of weeks for surgery, and the final verdict.  The tumour prevented me from speaking normally.  The surgery might possibly cause permanent damage to my vocal chords.  And the question about the—you know—‘nature’ of the tumour had to be finalized.

So I was a Christian, a pastor(!), at Christmas, with no voice.  Silent.  Couldn’t speak.  Couldn’t sing.  I spent a whole Christmas…just…listening.

Advent begins, in a sense, when the silence begins.  When you and I have nothing more to say, and so we are ready to listen.  Then, into our silence, God speaks, “Comfort, comfort! I am coming!”  Then we are able to hear one proclaiming repentance for the forgiveness of sins—clearing out the cause of our troubles and worries and making a highway for our God alone—allowing God to speak, and God to act, according to God’s plan—allowing God to be God!—“God with us”.

In a bush, in the emptiness of the wilderness, burning but somehow not destroyed, God said to Moses, “I am.”  To the prophet Elijah, wishing to die because no one would listen to him, God speaks his presence and promise not in a storm but in a whisper.  And when the “mountains fall into the heart of the sea”, the “waters roar and foam”, “the nations rage, the kingdoms totter”, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Like Lent, Advent is a season of repentance.  The purple reminds us of that.  Sometimes we think that repentance is about telling God all about our sins!  (As if he doesn’t already know!)  Maybe true repentance is best considered as a time of silence—“Enough talking about me…what do you have to say, God?”

Mark begins his Gospel rather powerfully:  “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  It’s not really about me—it’s for me!—but it’s about Jesus.  Jesus is the good news!  Be still…and know Jesus.

The evangelist John announces God’s coming into the world, the Christmas event, in this way:  “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  God speaks.  God’s Word enters our humanity, our lives, our world.  How do we prepare for the “Word”?

In silence.  Ready to listen.  A highway into our hearts and minds by silence…for listening.

Here!  Listen to this!  Don’t sing; don’t hum along; just listen:

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in.

Amen.  Come Lord Jesus.

Left in charge

Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent

Text: Mark 13:33-36
Be on watch, be alert, for you do not know when the time will come.  It will be like a man who goes away from home on a trip and leaves his servants in charge, after giving to each one his own work to do and after telling the doorkeeper to keep watch.  Watch, then, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming—it might be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or at sunrise.  If he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep.

It is some time in the future.  World War 3 had begun with a nuclear attack by Albania on Italy, and then escalated with Egypt bombing the United States and the United Kingdom.  Russia and China become involved.  The war ended with both sides being wiped out but now there was a huge nuclear cloud that was slowly moving southwards and would eventually engulf the whole world.

Nevil Shute wrote a novel called On the beach* where he describes what happened in Melbourne as people waited for the end.  They knew that everyone in the north had been wiped out by the nuclear cloud.  They knew that this radioactive cloud was slowly travelling toward them.  The end wasn’t far away and they would all perish.  There wasn’t anything they could do to stop it.  It was just a matter of time.

What would they do as the end approached?  Would they panic?  Would they greet the end with a big party?
Would they simply give up, take their own lives, because there was no future?  What is more, death by radioactive poisoning was horrible and tortuous.
What would you do in such a circumstance?

In the story, some denied there was anything wrong.
Most people carried on as if everything was normal.
Babies were conceived – some never to be born and others would not see their first birthday;
vegetable gardens were planted though they would never be harvested;
children went to school even though they would never graduate;
and a grand prix race was held even though fuel supplies were low.
But in the end there was no escaping the cloud of death.
And that’s how Nevil Shute’s novel finishes.

How shall we wait for the time when “the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses” (Mark 13:24,25)? These words describe some kind of terrible things that will happen when the world will end – but we need to read on.  These catastrophes are the beginning of something truly wonderful – Jesus will return.  We read, “Then the Son of Man will appear, coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  He will send the angels out to the four corners of the earth to gather God’s chosen people from one end of the world to the other” (Mark 13:26-27).

But until that happens and we don’t know when that will happen, we need to wait.  Like the people in Shute’s novel we are faced with the question,
‘How shall we wait?
What are we to do while we are waiting?
Do we act as if nothing is going to happen and that Jesus’ return isn’t real?
Do we ignore the idea of the end of world even though we know that everything in this world does have an end eventually and so we continue to ‘eat, drink and be merry’?
Do we give up?
Do we see any purpose in our lives?’

In today’s gospel reading Jesus tells a parable about a man who leaves his property in charge of his servants.  He gives them specific responsibilities and orders them not to go to sleep on the job because he will return and when he does, he expects them to have been faithful in their duties and everything ship shape.

What should the servants do?
Should they carry out their duties diligently as the boss had requested?
Do they believe that he will ever really check up on them?
Should they wait until the boss was about to return, slackening off while he is away and then quickly get things in order before he arrives?  Of course, there is a bit of a risk with this last idea because they could get caught out unprepared.

This parable has something to say about faithfulness and commitment to the tasks Jesus has given each of us.  This parable invites us to examine how we are using what God has given us in the time between the two Advents. Let’s look at it this way.

Can you recall one of your teachers at school ever saying something like this?  “Class, I’m going to step out of the room for a few minutes.  Now I hope that I can trust each of you to continue doing your work while I’m away.” (This scenario may not happen today but I can certainly recall it in my school days when teacher aides were unknown).

What happened on those occasions?  One or two kids would stand on watch near the door, listening for the teacher’s return.  Some kids worked diligently – or tried to – while other kids made spit-balls, paper air-planes, and other missiles; others wandered around between the desks – talking to one, poking another, having a good time.

Right now, the teacher is away – we are living between times, in the times between Christ’s first coming – as a babe in the manger and his second coming – as Lord and Judge.
Right now, our master is away but he has given us a job and he will come back.
Right now, like the people in the novel, we are waiting for the end.

When the classroom teacher returns she will be either disappointed or pleased with what the class did while she was away.
When Jesus returns he will reward those who have been faithful while he has been away and condemn those who have ignored his instructions and been unfaithful in carrying out their duties.

Will we faithfully do the work we have been left to do or will we play up hoping that we won’t get caught out if he comes back unexpectedly.

A large portion of the New Testament is concerned about what we ought to do while Christ is absent (in a physical sense) from this world.  We heard last Sunday that in this time before Jesus comes again we are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison (Matt 25:31-46).  We are challenged to continue the ministry of Jesus among those who need help.
Jesus tells a story about bridesmaids who were ready and those who were not ready for the groom’s arrival.  He talks about signs to watch out for that will indicate that the time is near for his return.

The New Testament also tells us what kind of lives we are to live as we wait.  Peter’s second letter says, “What kind of people should you be?  Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God.  … As you wait for that Day do your best to be pure and faultless in God’s sight and to be at peace with him” (3:11,12). 

Paul goes to great lengths to remind his readers that Christ is coming soon and they are to walk as children of the light, alert, self-controlled, “wearing faith and love as a breastplate, and our hope of salvation as a helmet” (1 Thess 5:8).

You and I are living between the two advents of Jesus.  We have been put in charge “each one with his/her own work to do” to use the words of Jesus in the parable.  The work of the kingdom of God, the work of the master has been entrusted to you and me, his servants.  And he expects us to be faithful servants.

There is little point in worrying and fretting over when the master will return.  Like parents who trust their teenagers to look after the house while they are away, like the teacher who leaves the classroom giving the students plenty of work to do, Jesus trusts us to carry out his work until he returns.

There is the work of fulfilling our vocation and position in life as parent, grandparent, teacher, engineer, student, tradesmen or in whatever way God has given you abilities.
There is the work of witnessing to God in our daily lives where we work, in the neighbourhood we live.
There is work of caring, nurturing, encouraging and building up to be done in our families, or at school, in the church or in the community we live.
There is work to do supporting those who are hurting and have needs as well as those who are the helpers and carers.
There is work to do guiding and leading others, pointing people to the comforting message of the Gospel in the various circumstances of people’s lives.
There is the work of living “lives holy and dedicated to God, doing our best to be pure and faultless in God’s sight and to be at peace with him”.

Having said all this I am beginning to feel like those kids in school who have been caught out by the teacher.  I know what I should be doing but during the teacher’s absence I decided to join the rest of the class and forget about the work assigned to me, have a bludge and join the riot.  I know what Jesus has told me to do and I know all about discipleship, but I know how hard it is to stick to the job the master has given.  It’s easy to slacken off and present some very convincing reasons why it’s better to take the easier road.

This is the struggle of every Christian.  In Jesus’ absence we have been easily side-tracked, put aside the important work that the master wants us to do.
We admit this as the church and as individual members of God’s family.
We have been given the responsibility of seeing to it that the gospel reaches the ears of people everywhere, but we have to admit this has not been one of our most cherished tasks.
The master has charged us with caring for the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the poor, and yet we have seen so many other things as more important.  This is also our personal confession.  We have let the master down again and again.

Advent is a season of repentance.  It’s a time of turning away from the cosy discipleship we have created and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and re-creation and renewal as his disciples.
Jesus came at his first advent for sinners like us.  He was born, died and rose for us.  He has pardoned our unfaithfulness in this time between his two advents.  He now challenges us again to be his faithful servants.

In my opening story, I told you about people who had no hope and were waiting to be destroyed by a nuclear cloud.  Whatever happens at the end of time, we know that when the end does come it will bring with it Jesus.  Jesus is an old friend.  We became best friends at our baptism and he has rescued us from our sin and its consequences.  He has claimed us as his own and promised us his eternal love.  When Jesus comes in glory, many will shake with fear, but we will clap our hands and cheer our victorious King.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

The least important

Text: Matthew 25:35-40
(The King will say), I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ The righteous will then answer him, “When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ The King will reply, “I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’

Do you remember the scavenger hunts that were held in back in the days when you were a member of a youth group? At the beginning of the hunt you’re given a list of things you have to accumulate. All kinds of things might be on the list. Maybe an empty drink can, the name on the foundation stone of the church, the number plate of Mr Schwartz’s truck. The first group back with all the items and information wins. But before you get the prize, the leader checks off each item to make sure you have got everything you say you have.

Is that the way it’s going to be on the final Day of Judgment? The King, Jesus says, will be seated on the throne of glory and will gather all the nations before him. Then, he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.
“Let’s see… yes, you once gave food to a hungry person. Check.
There was the time you gave a drink of water to the thirsty child. Check.
Visited a jail? Check.
Called on someone who was sick? Check.”

Is Jesus suggesting that you can make it into heaven by giving food to one hungry person?
Or do someone a kind deed and say,
“There! That’s my good deed for the day; my ticket to eternity with the sheep!”

It wouldn’t take too much effort to put this kind of emphasis on Jesus’ parable about the Last Judgement and come to the conclusion that it just takes a few charitable deeds to get into heaven.

Of course it works the other way too. We read this and realise that there is no way that we have been kind enough and generous enough to with Jesus’ approval and his invitation to “come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you since the creation of the world”. The parable leaves us with this feeling of failure, guilt, and shame that we have ignored so many people who have been crying out for our help but for some reason we were too busy, too preoccupied, too prejudiced to help. What chance have we got of escaping God’s judgement? To put it bluntly, about as much chance as a snowball in hell.

Of course guilt can be a great motivator as well. We would rather be doing something else but the feeling of guilt prompts us to do more for the least important. We know that doing something out of guilt ends up a chore; we do it not because we like to but because we have to. There is no joy. There is no generous spirit. We are like the child who does a chore grudgingly because he knows that if he doesn’t he will get into trouble and he won’t get any pocket money.

So if Jesus isn’t telling us that a few good deeds will get us past the pearly gates and isn’t using guilt as a motivator to care for others, what is he getting at?

The parable is asking whether we have seen Jesus in the face of the hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and those in prison.
The message of this parable is that Christ is mysteriously present to us in those who need our help. When we see the loving face of Jesus in the faces of the needy and disadvantaged then we will want to respond with love and meet that person’s need. It follows that when we don’t see Jesus in the face of others, we will not want to reach out in love to that person, in fact, we could be quite harsh, judgemental and critical.
The parable calls us to show compassion and spring into action for the least important just as Christ has had compassion on us who can be considered the least important because of our sin and rebellion against God.

We worship a God who is entangled in the suffering of humanity, in our sufferings and in the suffering of people everywhere. In fact, we worship a God who chooses not to untangle all the knots and problems of our world from the safety of heaven, but invites us all to be partners with him, to join our love to his love, and reach out to the suffering people in our world. This means reaching out to our sick friends,
making a meal for a grieving family,
welcoming the stranger here at church,
visiting people we know who are depressed, doubting God’s love and need words of reassurance and hope,
being understanding and supportive of the members of our families,
showing genuine love for our friends.
We are to see the face of Jesus in the faces of these people and minister to them in the same way Christ has ministered to us in our times of need.

But Jesus’ parable goes even further than this. Remember he is talking about the least important.
People whom others regard as insignificant.
People who are easily forgotten.
People who are out of sight so out of mind.

This parable is about how our faith in Jesus and our worship ought to penetrate and be interwoven with the ordinary everyday things of our lives. Religion isn’t something just for certain times of the week but it infiltrates every moment of every day. The love of Christ makes us eager to do something for the least important people of this world.

Here is a story of which there are a number of versions. Conrad, the old cobbler, dreamed one night that Jesus would come to be his guest. He was up as the sun was rising and set about decorating his little shop with bright flowers and greenery. He set the table with milk and honey and bread, and waited.

While he was waiting, a beggar walked down the street came barefoot in the driving rain. Conrad called him in and gave him a pair of shoes. An old woman came bent from the weight of a heavy burden. He lifted the load off her back and shared his food with her. And finally, just before the day was about to fade away into darkness, a little child came. Her eyes were wet with tears. Conrad gave her a glass of milk, and led her back to her mother. But the divine guest never came. Conrad was disappointed. The evening as he dozed in front of the fireplace he heard a soft voice say,
“Lift up your heart, for I have kept my word.
Three times I came to your friendly door;
Three times my shadow was on your floor.
I was the beggar with the bruised feet;
I was the woman you gave to eat;
I was the child on the homeless street!”

This is what Jesus meant when he said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers (and sisters) of mine, you did for me.”

We don’t have to look too far to find the people whom Jesus called the least.
Half the world’s population, nearly three billion people, live on less than $3 a day
the over one billion people who don’t have access to affordable and safe water;
over 800 million people do not get enough food;
More than 840 million adults, of whom 538 million are women, are illiterate.
The least that Jesus is talking about are the hundred of thousands of children who die every year from preventable diseases;
the 30 million people who have lost their homes because of conflict and natural disasters.
These Jesus calls these people least important – these people are important to God but for us it is easy to see them as the least important.

These are the people we can easily ignore because of their religion or race or life styles.
They are people we can easily forget because they are far from our own shores and we can’t begin to imagine their suffering because we have nothing like it here in Australia.
These are the people that cause us to look the other way.
But at the same time, these are the people whom Jesus claims to be among. Or better, it is in the face of these people that we see Jesus. “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers (and sisters) of mine, you did for me.”

This brings me to the point of Jesus’ parable. He knows as well as we do that our sinfulness, selfishness, and lack of concern for others get in the way of caring for the least important. He told this story to focus not on what we should be doing but on something far more profound and basic. He wants us to ask ourselves, “What is my real heart relationship to this Lord who has redeemed and loved me from before the foundation of the world?”

He wants us to realise and appreciate the impact that Jesus has on us and the way we live our lives. Through confessing our guilt and receiving that rich, free and almost overpowering forgiveness our lives and hearts and our priorities are turned upside down.

When we are naked he clothes us in his own righteousness.
When we are in prison, condemned, shamed and guilty, he visits us and releases us.
When we are hungry and starving, God feeds us with the body and blood of his Son.

And what he does for us is what we then begin to do for others, our hands become his hands, our feet his feet, our hearts his heart, our love his love, and the least important become the most important in our eyes.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

Why are you here?

Text: Matthew 25:14-15

Jesus said, “Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip”.

Today I would like to start with a deep philosophical and theological question that has been pondered over through the centuries by learned and simple people alike.  It’s a question that has caused a lot of head scratching, deep thinking, and answers like “I dunno” as well as complicated answers that fill books.  The question goes like this, “Why were you put on this planet at this particular time and in this particular place?”  Or to put it simply, “Why are you here?”  “What is the purpose of your life?”

Viktor Frankl, a survivor of Nazi Concentration Camps observed how some people were able to survive the terrible conditions and concluded that there was one factor that enabled those people to endure the impossible – it was the driving conviction that there was still some purpose in their lives, that they still had something to live for, some important work yet to do.

“What is the purpose of my life here and now on this planet?”  Let’s go to the Book of Genesis – the book of beginnings – and see what it tells us about why we are here?  In the beginning humans are put here to care for the earth and the living things on this earth and to live in relationships – with the rest of creation, with each other and with God.

We also note that when God created the world there was evening and morning, sunrise and sunset.  That means God gives us our days.  God gives us our time and we are told that he was very pleased with what he had given us. Note also that he gives us days to work and days to rest.  So while we carry time around with us, we wear time on our wrists and live as though we own time, time is actually God’s, not ours.  He made it.  He owns it.  He gives it to us as a gift!

When we look at the opening chapters of the Bible and then follow the message through its pages it’s clear that God puts us on this earth to look after the gifts he has given us.  This is not just about looking after the world and not abusing it, exploiting it, destroying it, but also looking after everything and everyone that God has given to us.
That includes our bodies and our abilities,
the people he has given us in our families, our friends and our brothers and sisters in the church.
God entrusts to us and wants us to look after his world and that includes the physical world and its environment, the people he has placed in our lives – those we know well and those we don’t know personally.

In all of this there is something worth noting.  The Bible never talks about us being here to get as much as we can out of the world for ourselves.  The Bible is always pointing us away from ourselves to God, to others, to relationships, to the earth itself.  
Why am I here on this planet?  
If we answer, “I’m here to work” (and we all spend a fair bit of time doing that), it’s worth thinking about why we work.  How is the energy we use at work related to this earth, to relationships, to God, to serving others?  If we are retired, how does the way we spend our days related to our purpose for being here: related to serving others, to the earth, to God, to the relationships God has given us?

We all know Jesus’ story about the rich farmer who had such fantastic crops that he decided to pull down his barns and build bigger ones.  “Lucky man!” he said. “You have all you need for many years.  Take life easy, eat, drink and enjoy yourself”. (Luke 12:16-20).  This man’s purpose in life was get from the earth all he could get and keep it all for himself – there is no connection here with God; no thought of relationships and the people around him; no inkling that he has been given so much to serve others.  He died a rich man but in God’s eyes he was poorer than the poorest.

In Jesus’ parable in today’s Gospel reading a man is about to go away on a journey and so he entrusts his servants with his property “I am going away. I want you to look after what is mine!” Then he gives to each of his servants various amounts of his assets for them to manage and we note that he doesn’t give them all the same amount – he gives to each one according to his ability.  He is not asking the impossible; he knows his workers and simply wants them to manage well what he knows they are quite capable of taking care of.  There is no favouritism. All he asks is that each one is faithful in their task.  He says, “In time, I will return, and then I want to know how well you have managed what I have given to you!”

The question that you and I are left to consider is this, “How well am I using what God has given to me?  When I am called to give an account of what I have done, what will I have to report?”

First of all, how much do I do for myself and how much is for others?
As I have already said, when I look in my Bible I can’t find anything which says that I am to use my time, my talents, my wealth, the resources available to me through work to advance my own cause, to make myself more comfortable, to get myself respect and become the envy of everyone else – the emphasis being on the ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘myself’. I don’t see any of that in the Bible but I do see a lot about others.  I am here for the other person – to build the other person up, to make them look good and feel good, to ensure that they are well off.

The Bible even suggests that the reason I work is so that I am able to be more generous – the more I earn, the more I can give away (2 Cor 9:11).  Here’s a challenge.

If I work so long and so hard that I don’t have time for my family, don’t have time for my church, don’t have time for God – how well am I using what God has entrusted to me?  The ironic thing is that we work hard and long hours to provide for others, for those who depend on us to earn an income, but if all they get from us is our income and never actually see us, or we are too tired to be of any use to anyone, how wisely are we really using our time?  If that’s how I have been managing what God has given me, then how will I answer my Master when he comes back and asks me to give an account of what I have done?

On the other hand, if I waste my time, and I am lazy, unproductive and do nothing to benefit someone else, then how do I answer the Master who asks me to give an account of how well I have managed the gifts he has entrusted to me?

When we answer the question, “what is the purpose of my life” the answer God is looking for is how our work, our money, our time, our abilities, our leisure time have actually benefitted the world and the people around us in some way.
God is looking to see
what legacy we have left behind,
what people we have touched,
in what way is our world a better place because we have lived here for however many years we have in this life.
Some are gifted in such a way that they can be an Albert Schweitzer or a Mother Theresa and leave a legacy that is famous because they touched so many lives and books have been written about them.  That’s like the servant who was given 5,000 silver coins and faithfully did great things with that money.

But there was also the servant who was given just a small amount and with that small amount he was faithful and able to do great things.  Using what we have been given to serve others and honour God, no matter how humble that might be, we will receive the commendation, “Well done, you good and faithful servant. … Come in and share my happiness” (Matthew 25:23).

When we answer the question, “what is the purpose of my life” will we be able to say that we have used the time God has given us to get to know him more, love him more, serve him more, share him more with others?

When the time comes to give account, I suspect the Master will want to know: in all the things you did in your life, where did God figure?  What priority did he have in the things you devoted your time to?  What difference did he make in the way you spoke, in how you talked about other people, in whether you criticised and gossiped, or built up and encouraged?  Did you commit an hour or so a week to God and things to do with God, or was he quite clearly your constant companion in every moment of your life?  What time did you have for God?

As a preacher of the Christian Church every sermon must have some good news in it. The truth is that there is a lot in this parable that leaves us feeling guilty which really isn’t good news.  The last words of the parable echo in our ears, “As for this useless servant – throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry and gnash his teeth” (Matt 25:30).  Sometimes we need a challenge, we need to re-think, to re-evaluate. Jesus forces us to do that, as we listen to this story.  The parable forces us to ask ourselves,
What is the purpose of my life?
Why have I been put here on this earth?
Why has Jesus called me to be his disciple and made me part of the people of God in his church?
How am I using the time, abilities and resources that God has given me to be a blessing to others?

And as we prayerfully think through these things we will fall on our knees and acknowledge how often we have failed and how often we have believed that life’s purpose has been all about us to the exclusion of everyone else.

Jesus came to take on the heavy load of guilt that we bear.  He came to take on himself our failures, our self-centredness, our selfishness, our inability to use what God has given to benefit the people around us.  He died for those moments when we let our sinful nature overwhelm the new life that we have in Christ.  He forgives us when we think that our purpose in life is to accumulate as much as we can for ourselves and forget that we have been blessed to be a blessing to others. He gives us the Holy Spirit to renew us and fill our hearts with new desires and new plans and new ways of service to God and the people in our lives.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy