November 25 Sermon 2012       

What is Truth?  Jesus said I am the Way, The Truth, and the Life.

We are told that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth in Revelation, an enthroned descendant of King David in the Psalm reading, the anointed  of God in 2 Samuel.  But in John’s passion story, he is far from lifted up and glorified.

A prisoner, he nonetheless goes toe-to-toe with Pilate, a colonial bureaucrat of the Roman Empire, and refuses to be trapped into calling himself king:

“You say that I am a king….I came into the world, to testify to the truth”; John 18:37.  May Truth Reign.                                                               

Old Testament  2 Samuel 23:1-72

First Samuel begins with Hannah’s prayer and Second Samuel come toward its close with David’s prayerful reflection on his reign.  Moses gave some important last words along with Elijah, Jesus, Stephen, Peter, Andrew and others.  People attend to last words.

In this book the Lord makes a covenant with David, promising him an everlasting throne (V.7).  Yet, though a strong ideal of kingship persists throughout the history of monarchy, the majority of the rulers from Israel and Judah fail to live up to this model.

This Sunday marks the occasion of the last words we speak before the new Church Year is upon us.

John’s gospel speaks much in the last quarter of the book of Jesus’ parting words to his disciples. They were anxious and did not want him to leave.  They did not want to hear all that he and to say about his parting, but Jesus explained,

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (John 14:25-).

At funerals we hear these words: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid”

Jesus was giving to them the assurance of God’s continued presence and the promise that even in parting we are gathered up together in to the peace of God.

The wisdom of David in the twilight of his rule is that he knows the source of his power and he knows the character of God’s justice.

In a world where abuses of power, violence and war so often go to the drumbeat of religious overtones and undertones, David’s song invites us to find our way out of violence and injustice with a song we should know by heart.

Psalm 132

David uplifts the covenant he had with God.  In the North American church, this expression of covenant, of mutual commitment between God and God’s people, could be difficult for churchgoers to relate to.  Young people in America have witnessed broken promise after broken promise, They have seen the covenant of marriage dissolve as their parents or friends divorce.  They have seen the pledge of elected leaders to serve the common good dissolve as political leaders make promises and then get caught lying.  Civic engagement is waning, marriage rates are declining, and people change jobs or are transferred every few years.

In this psalm, the writer demonstrates beautifully the inseparability of God’s covenant and our relationship with God.  For those wary of commitment, the psalmist’s attention to such interdependence could provide an important word about the deepening of relationship with God that can happen within mutual commitment.

Commitment required within covenant is important. Psalm 132 reminds us that covenant is essential for faith to grow and be sustained.  We expect God to listen, remember, and respond to God’s people.  God expects us to be obedient, and therefore faithful to the God of Israel.

Epistle- Revelation 1:4b-8

In this reading of Revelation- the Christian community is reminded both of the origin of its identity and its ultimate hope for the future.

“The empire that threatens the heart of Christianity today with commercialism, self-indulgence, and increasing isolation is as deadly as the Roman Empire was when John was writing. Many are dying for thirst for words of “grace and peace” from the eternal one.

The good news we hear are that Christ is “the firstborn of the dead”, and the sovereignty of Christ – that he is the ruler of the kings of the earth. We hear the good news of Salvation – Christ “loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom” (v5-6)

John paints a picture of a victorious, cloud-riding Messiah. The return of Christ will be one of judgment and power. Christ will be revealed to everyone:  “Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him.”

Today’s passage from Revelation invites us to reflect more deeply on just what we expect of Christ’s return.

Echoing God’s first appearance to Moses, John uses  “I Am” language to conclude this passage.  “ I am the Alpha and the Omega.  Indeed, God is our beginning and our ending.  “In life and in death we belong to God.

Gospel  Reading ( Please Stand if Able) John 18:33-37

Let us reflect a little about why Jesus is standing in front of Pilate. This was the last week of Jesus life. It began with the triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday when the masses would have crowned him king. But their concept of kingship was quite different from the kind of king Jesus came to be.

Their history permeated with hopes and dreams of a messiah who would bring them political salvation.  They wanted a king who would deliver them from the political tyranny of Rome and restore the nation to the splendor and glory their forebears had known in the days of King David.

Jesus had many characteristics that led them to believe he was the long – awaited savior.  But he was  a king of a different domain, and they could never quite grasp why he could not be who they wanted him to be.

The power and influence of Jesus had become a serious threat to the religious leaders because they feared that he would upset the delicate balance of power that existed between the Jews and the Romans who occupied their country.  This fear led to the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus.         Thus the trial of Jesus before Pilate.

The Jewish Leaders take Jesus  to Pilate, but they will not enter lest they defile themselves and be unable to eat the Passover.  Pilate wants nothing to do with what he considers a religious matter, but the religious establishment maneuvers Pilate into taking jurisdiction.  The religious leaders  shift from the accusation of blasphemy to a charge of treason. Pilate summons Jesus to his quarters to question him.

The church proclaims that Jesus is king and his kingdom is coming.  But many still ask, “Who is Jesus” and “Where is his kingdom.

The text is called “the trial before Pilate.” It might better be called “Pilate on trial” for Pilate knows that Jesus sholud not be on trial.   He asked the Jews: What accusation do you bring against this man?

Pilate does not consider Jesus a threat to his rule.  Pilate considers himself the most powerful, most in control person in Jerusalem.  He is the local representative of the greatest world power of that time.”

He brags about the position and the power he possesses, saying “ do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?”

It is interesting to see that one of the most powerful men backed by Rome in this situation  was standing face to face with God. IT reminds me of Satan standing face to face with God declaring his own pride at wanting to overthrow Gods throne.

Jesus Kingdom is not earthly bound. Jesus and his followers belong to the Truth.  Pilate understands earthly kingship and kings.  Jesus redefines king and kingship.  It hinges around the belief in him who came in to the world to testify to the truth.:  Proclaiming the truth, being the truth, and even belonging to the truth are what make Jesus a King.  His kingdom – his nation- is not defined by earthly terms. 

Pilate finds nothing wrong with Jesus. He tries to turn him back over to the religious leaders. Pilate delights in presenting Jesus to the Jews as “your King”. The Jews cry out We have no king but the emperor.

Pilate tried to offer Barrabas to them but they cried louder: Crucify Him!  Crucify Him.!   

Perhaps Pilate thought he was putting a pitiful , radical Jew out of his misery, but instead he turned history upside down and crowned a new kind of king, who is King of kings forever and ever, world without end.      

Prayer: Lord your prophecies say you are coming in the clouds for every eye to see. Help us to focus on that reality and hope. Keep our hearts true. Remind us of your love and your truth. Help us to remember the price that you paid for our salvation. Forgive us for our elevated pride in thinking that we can do it our way. Remind us that we can repent and turn from our wicked ways and when we repent you are faithful and just to forgive us and accept us back into your kingdom for ever more.  Amen.

Not Simply a Destination

	"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am."

—John 14:1–3

Warren Wiersbe said, "For the Christian, heaven isn't simply a destination; it's a motivation."

We need to stop thinking of heaven in a mystical way, in sort of the cartoon version that has been handed down to us through numerous movies, books, and commercials, where people are lying around on clouds, strumming on harps.

The Bible does speak of music and worship in heaven, but heaven is an actual place; it is not a mere state of mind. Jesus said, "I am going to prepare a place for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am" (John 14:2–3).

In fact, the Bible describes heaven as "a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God" (Hebrews 11:10). Cities are places. Cities have buildings. They have culture. They have art. They have music. They have goods. They have services. I am not going to be sitting around on a cloud in heaven; I am going to be in heaven in a city. That is what the Bible promises.

Heaven is also described in the Bible as a country: "But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them" (Hebrews 11:16).

Paul used the word "paradise" to describe heaven (see 2 Corinthians 12:2–4). So heaven is a paradise. It is a city. It is a country. It is a place. And when we get to heaven, we are going to receive new bodies. The blueprints of our glorified body are in the bodies we now possess.

So what is heaven? Heaven is a place. And heaven is the earthly life of the believer, glorified and perfected.
(Shared from Greg Laurie's Devotionals)

November 18 Sermon  Beginning of Birth Pangs

Old Testament  Ruth 1 Samuel 1:4-20

There is a tangle of relationships in this story.  Elkanah has two wives. Peninnah, who has borne numerous children, and Hannah, who has been unable to conceive because “the Lord had closed the womb”v6.  In this culture, childbearing was a woman’s only unique ability. To be unable to conceive was cause for great shame. To make matters worse, Peninnah uses Hannah’s unfortunate circumstance as occasion to taunt her rival, increasing her distress.

In looking at the situation Hannah is grieving because she cannot have a child. In grief there is acute pain, anger and even bargaining which is reflected in this story. “Hannah made this vow---O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death.  He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head” .

Hannah wanted Eli to bless her. He did --but it is a perfunctory one: Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him. In v. 19 we see “the Lord remembered her.”

Both Hannah and Mary (mother of Jesus) are unlikely mothers to give birth to great men. One will anoint kings and one who will be the King of Kings. And yet both births are made possible only through the extraordinary faith of the mothers.

How many times have we bargained with God.  Oh God if you will…..I will……

How many times in your life time have you heard that the World is about to end? Repent and be saved is the cry. Many have said the earth is in travail even now as we await the Lord’s return.  The Mideast is a hot spot right now.  Many governments are on the verge of crumbling.  Things in general just seem to be out of sink with the way things should be. Change is in the air. We can sense it. We are aware of it. Many have said what is going to happen next.  The end of the world is not something new. They discussed this in Jesus day. The disciples wanted to know When will these things come to pass.

Psalm 113

When we read a Psalm such as the one today we are encouraged to know that  the Lord has all things in control. He is high and above all nations. There is none like our God that raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with the princes of God’s people.

God gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of Children.

Maybe the world is about to end.  Maybe Planet X is going to topple our world as many proclaim. But in all instances and chances to worry God says to look up for your redemption draweth nigh. God created this world and he proclaimed that Jesus would come and rescue us at some point.

 Even though the world is in the middle of birth pangs of something new on the horizon we can be assure that God will save His people as he proclaimed. There is hope in God. When we begin to praise Him our problems seem to just go away because He gives us the peace that passes all understanding. Regardless of the trials and tribulations that you may be facing.

 

Epistle- Hebrews 10:11-25

The book of Hebrews is a reminder of hope.  We are to approach God with confidence and “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful” v23.  The early Christian community faced struggles that we can only faintly comprehend.

Few of us face persecution or martyrdom for being Christian.  Yet we often find it difficult to live out our faith to our full potential.  As we read Heberews 10, we should be encouraged to approach God in faith and worship, hold fast to our public confession of hope, and consider how we can help others in love.

This is a threefold reminder of what it means to be Christian. We would do well to remember these on a daily basis.

Gospel  Mark 13:1-8

Towering buildings are not supposed to crumble to the ground. Oceans are not supposed to leap out of their seabeds and flood miles inland.  The ground is not supposed to shake and tremble.  The sky is not supposed to form a funnel cloud and destroy a town.

Yet all who watched the World Trade Towers collapse, seen a tsunami flood a nation, experienced an earthquake, or suffered through the power of a tornado know that such events happen.

The disciples remark about the large stones and the buildings that appear immovable.  Jesus startles them about his prediction that even the great stones that form the temple will one day be thrown down. Some of these stones were a large as a Semi-Truck.

As they sit together admiring the view of these buildings from the Mount of Olives the disciples were disturbed. Just as any of us would be startled we would want to know When such an even might occur.

Jesus said for them not to be worried by wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, or famine as these are just signs of the beginning of the end. Just as a mother knows that a birth is close by early labor pains Jesus has told them that these signs are for a warning.

Today the internet is loaded with End Times Messages.  After all this is the year 2012. On December 21, 2012 it has been prophesied by the Mayans and thousands of others that the world will end. WE can become so focused on the end that we neglect the important mission that we have to witness to the gospel of today.

So how does one survive any events that happen that are tragic as those mentioned? How does one survive the devastation of an aggressive cancer diagnosis or other life/death diagnosis.

Our focus must not be on the signs themselves, but rather on the one who is to come – the one who enables us to look up after such devastation and claim the certainty of blessing. Things may seem to have fallen apart. I have faced death many times over in my own family. 13 uncles and aunts on my fathers side and 8 uncles and aunts on my mothers side. My own father and mothers death. Yet, everytime God’s Grace was what surrounded me.

Death is not the end. I call it graduation from this life to the next. It is part of life. Just as birth is part of life. It may appear that anarchy has been loosed on the world. But I think of that song we sang as children:  He’s got the Whole world in His hands…..Birth is painful. Life if painful. Death is painful. But God has us in the palms of his hands.

Prayer:

All knowing God, we live in a world  uncertain of what the day may bring.  We fear the things we can’t plan and try to protect ourselves from things too massive to stop. Give us faith to combat our fears and guidance to direct our paths. Amen.

Sermon November 11, 2012

 

Sermon November 11, 2012   Giving All to God

Old Testament  Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

The first theme is hospitality.  The fate of the main characters in this story, from first to last is dependent on the kind ness of strangers.

When all three men in the family die, Naomi heads back to Judah and her two daughters-in-law begin to accompany her. She encourages them to seek shelter among their own kin in Moab. One returns (Orpah) and Ruth remains: She is insistent: “Do not press me to leave you or turn back from following you!

“Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die –there will I be buried.”

Normally we associate hospitality with being able to offer something tangible, like food or shelter.  But Ruth is destitute. She has no food or shelter to offer. So she offers the only thing she has left – her own presence.

We may not have anything to offer God but our Presence. But to God we have given it all. The widow had only two little pennies to offer but it was all she had.

The family and the church are both places we have opportunity to learn to live with people we did not choose.

Even though Ruth is Gentile, her story reminded Jews of something important about their God.  God does not abandon God’s people when the going gets tough, even when they are destitute as ancient  Near Eastern  widow. God’s fidelity is beyond choice.

The themes of hospitality and fidelity can be traced through the book of Ruth. We learn that the child born to Ruth and Boaz is none other than Obed, the grandfather of the great King David.  Through Ruth, a poor childless foreigner, God is at work in surprising and unexpected ways.

God often works through the most unlikely people – outsiders, strangers, and the outcast. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained the angels unawares.

Psalm 42 

A beautiful Psalm set to music in the song : As a Deer…..as the deer desires water our soul desires God. God is our desire. WE long to worship Him. He is our strength and shield. When we feel cast down if we only think of God we are lifted up.  Encouraged with the strength to go on.

We may have feelings of being cast down. We may feel empty at times. But if we hope in God we know and realize that He is our help and our God.

Epistle- Hebrews 9:24-28

The doors to heaven and earth get flung open in this passage.  Repeated emphasis is placed on both the permanence and authenticity of Christ’s living sacrifice.  It is as though the author wants to shout, “Everything that we knew before was only a template, a mock-up of the new reality made possible in Christ.”

The Writer of Hebrews is explaining how Jesus as high priest surpasses the tradition of high priest making sacrifices for the sins of the people. We do not need to wait for the High Priest to make sacrifices on our behalf day after day and year after year.  Jesus act of sacrificial love covers all, once and for all.

We can live a life of peace and assurance knowing that Jesus’ sacrifice covers all our sins. And we are forgiven which is another difference.  We can live a peace-filled life knowing that Jesus, the Son of God who walked on this earth in perfection, has already appealed to God on our behalf.

Gospel  Reading  Mark 12: 38-44

Who are we in this familiar story, usually called the parable of the “widow’s mite”?  Are we the scribes (the rich people) or the widow?  As human beings, it seems so natural for us to want positions of influence and prestige.  Many of us want to be like the scribes, who walk around in their long robes and enjoy the prominence in society.  We want the best seat.  We crave attention.

But Jesus says “BEWARE!:  Jesus warns that those who are motivated by selfish desires and social position will receive the greater condemnation.  Why?  Their motives are not pure, and they have taken advantage of the weak to get to their places of honor.  What are our motives?

Jesus continues his teaching as he observes the crowd depositing their money into the treasury.  The rich people give large sums, but Jesus commends the widow who gives nothing but two coins.  She has given all that she has, not just her extra.  What are we giving to Jesus, our leftovers, or our all?

It is sad to say that “the church” has all too often participated in systems of oppression and violence –psychological, spiritual, economic, and even physical – all in the name of Jesus Christ.

Ouch!!! That hurts! But looking down the tunnel through the ages of the church truth is the truth.

Many of the scribes whom Jesus condemned also thought they were doing what was honorable, right and good.

I have served churches that believed in hoarding money. They sit on and accumulate 10,15, 20 Thousand dollar certificates and moan and groan that they don’t have enough to fix the roof or give to the poor. They cringe when asked to participate in missions either local or global. And usually there is no peace that can be felt in these types of churches. There is a coldness and no real sense of direction.

 

 And I have seen the hand of God work in those churches that struggle to pay their bills but because they are faithful with what they do have God is faithful to them. In these type of churches you can feel the love of God, the warmth of the Spirit of God and there is a purpose in living.

Feeding the hungry and providing clothing are important spriritual practices,  BUT the church must come to view these practices as more than just programs.

The church must come to understand these practices as the very life flowing out of its worship.

The church must call all of society to care for the orphan, the widow, the resident alien, and the poor as its primary purpose….and governing and political functions as secondary.

In this way, the church not only exhibits God’s righteousness but shapes a politic that is in itself righteous.

 

Naomie was going back to Judah because there was Bread in Bethlehem (the house of bread).

Ruth committed to staying on the path with Naomi.  She married a Jew and through this marriage the blessing for Israel came through King David.

When we feel like all is naught and we are going to land on our face we only have to think about God and then we find the hope we have been searching for.

We no longer have to drag our sheep, goats, or cows to church to be sacrificed. Christ became the ultimate sacrifice for each one of us that gives us redemption from our sins.

There is a principle to be learned in the Widow’s Mite. She gave all she had. Throughout the Bible we have seen this principle taught to us in various ways. We can learn it today or we can go back around the desert one more time.

Today is the day of salvation. There is no need to keep making the same mistakes over and over.

There are only benefits to Giving All to God.

Prayer:

Lord forgive us. We allow the world around us to influence our ambitions and our motives.  Forgive us when we look to anything else but you as our God. Help us to empty ourselves, so we can be filled with our love and your presence. May we reflect you, God in all that we do. Amen.

Hymn of Decision  UMH 569 We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations

Pastoral Prayer

Oh God, our Lord and Provider, we ask you to meet us here.  WE have had a busy week, but as we pause in this moment, we remember that all of our energy comes from you.  Allow this to be a time for us to refocus our hopes and desires.   We know our hope is in you. WE know that you forgive. WE know that you fill us with new life. Let us praise you, for You are God!  In Christ name we pray..

Now hear us Father as we pray as /Christ taught by saying…Our Father who art in heaven….

November 2012 Liturgy

November 4^th -Scriptures: Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12: 28-34

All Saints Day Sunday

Love. Love God, love self, love neighbor.  The gospel in a word is love!  Jesus and the scribe agree in today’s Gospel lesson; the central tenet of faith is love.  The foreigner Ruth, recently widowed, knows this instinctively when she follows her loving heart and travels with her mother-in-law to a land she has never known.  This love connection may be taken lightly on reality television, but not so in our scriptures.  The call to love demands courage and strength, sacrifice and servanthood.  The call to love is God’s call to all who would follow Christ.

November 11^th Scriptures Ruth 3: 1-5; 4:13-17; Psalm 127 (or Psalm 42); Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44.

Stewardship Day

Psalm 127 says it all: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (v.1). Naomi thinks she is building a house for herself and for Ruth; but God is building a house for the whole people of Israel.  The psalmist reminds us that children are a heritage from God- but a heritage, as Naomi finds out, that can disappear at any moment.  Hebrews reminds us that our hopes are founded upon Christ, and not upon any sanctuary built with human hands.  Finally, while the Temple system relies upon human generosity to keep things running, God views the humble offering of a poor widow to be of infinitely greater value.  As the Pharisees show, human scheming and posturing go only so far.  If God doesn’t build the house, it is doomed to come crashing down around us.

November 18^th-Scriptures-I Samuel 1:4-20; I Samuel 2:1-10 (or Psalm 113); Hebrews 10:11—25; Mark 13:1-8.

Thanksgiving Sunday and Bible Sunday.

As she copes with the tragedy of childlessness, Hannah, the mother of sorrows, praises God continually.  After the birth of Samuel, Hannah, the mother of joy, still exults in her Lord.  Her faith is a source of comfort, strength, and guidance throughout her life.  The imagery of the lowly lifted up and the proud brought down by God’s knowledge and authority brings truth as well as warning.  Psalm 113 echoes Hannah’s exaltation, blessing and glorifying the Lord who is to be praised.  The New Testament readings add the dimension that Christ has shown us the “new and living way” of faith, hope, and love.  As we travel together as disciples in Christ, striving to love God and one another, we must encourage and support our individual and corporate journeys.  While there will be many challenges, both known and unknown, our strength and comfort are always in the Lord.

November 25^th Scriptures- 2 Samuel 23:1-7; Psalm 132: 1-12; Revelation 1:4-8; John 18: 33-37.

Christ the King Sunday and United Methodist Student Day

Truth is spoken to power in today’s Gospel, offering stark, this-worldly contrast to the cosmic, royal imagery of the other readings – a commentary in itself on what is valued in Christ’s reign.  We are told that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth (Revelation 1:5), an enthroned descendant of King David (Psalm 132:11-12), the anointed of God (2 Samuel 23:1).  But in John’s passion story, he is far from lifted up and glorified.  A prisoner, he nonetheless goes toe-to-toe with Pilate, a colonial bureaucrat of the Roman Empire and refuses to be trapped into calling himself king: “You say that I am a king…I came into the world to testify to the truth” (John 18:37). May truth reign.

November 4 2012 Sermon  Love God with all your Heart

Ruth 1:1-18 

Ruth is the beloved great-grandmother of King David.  But Ruth is a foreigner.  She crosses over the border from Moab to become one with the house of Boaz and Israel.  In a world suspicious of immigrants, legal or otherwise, this is a story about forced migration.

Naomi and Elimelech do not cross into Gentile country because they are religious radicals.  They head to Moab because there is no bread in the “house of Bread” – Bethlehem.  Throughout Hebrew Scripture there is a strong bias against anything good coming out of Moab.

It was a place for the people of God to avoid.  Moabites were a category of people to avoid.  And yet, chapter 1 of Ruth begins in Moab where not only has a Hebrew family found bread, but their sons have also found wives and a home.

Chapter 1 of Ruth speaks with narrative power to people often constricted by some sort of social, ethnic, racial, or religious boundary.  It begins a story of how God can work across and despite the most entrenched positions and established boundaries to bring new life and new hope.  Salvation.

- Psalm 146

The bible is full of surprises as these statements show:

Love your enemies (Matt 5:44), The last will be first (Mark 10:31). Happy are those that mourn (Matthew 5:4) Blessed are your poor (Luke 6:20)

Psalm 146 is one of the Alleluia Psalms, exhorting us to praise God – a common thread throughout the book.  But here the psalmist not only gives the imperative to the listeners, “”Praise the Lord!”  but echoes the words internally. “Praise the Lord, O my soul!”  How can we command others what we ourselves are not willing to do?

We are called to praise God through music, that sublime language of sound and texture and pitch and rhythm that can lift us boldly to the mountaintops with its majesty, hold us sympathetically in its warmth, and bring us to tears through its passions.

Hebrews 9:11-14

Some people often ask why we do so many rituals at church. However look at a ball game. We wear goofy costumes. We sing “Take me out to the ball game” . We eat hotdogs, popcorn and peanuts. We sing about buying “peanuts and crackerjacks.

Rituals  are simply what Humans do.  They make us feel close to one another and to God.  They take away our guilt. They comfort us in times of stress. They remind people of what they believe, and teach them values of itself; and “we don’t care if we ever go back..”

Today is Holy Communion. We follow a ritual every first Sunday. Sometimes we don’t think anything about it. But lets talk a little about what it symbolizes. Lets talk about the cup that represents the  Blood of Christ.

Blood has always been a symbol of life and death. The ancient Israelites believed that a creature’s life-force was in its blood, and therefore blood was holy to God. The blood of someone murdered cried out to God. It was forbidden to drink blood, instead it was offered back to God.

When we sing about the fountains filled with blood and about being washed in the blood of the Lamb, it is best not to actually try to picture such things. That would sound like a horror movie. Yet we have hymns like “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.  Seems pretty grisly, but in the ancient world, Blood was viewed as the divine source of life.

When we talk about Jesus as “the perfect sacrifice for our sins” it does not mean that someone had to be killed in order to appease an angry God’s thirst for vengeance.  Its something far deeper – a blood ritual that reminds us of where life comes from and where it goes.

Jesus’ action of offering his own blood – that divine, life-giving substance- somehow made possible a new relationship between human beings and God. Our faith is not just in rituals. Our faith is in a God who has acted once and for all on our behalf.

So the author invites us to imagine Jesus as the cosmic priest, performing a glorious ritual outside of time.  The Cross is an altar; Crude but beautiful.  Although we see Jesus bound, naked, and bloody; when we look through this author’s eyes, Jesus wears the robe of a priest; and he ascends the steps to the altar of his own free will.

The blood falling from his wrists, side, and torn back is no longer a reminder of pain and injustice, but the Life-giving substance that Jesus offers back to God – his own essence and life-force-and by doing so he purifies the world.

Mark 12:28-34

So often we see Jesus caught in a theological debate with questions. First, the chief priests the scribes, and the elders question Jesus authority (Mark 11:27-33). In response Jesus speaks in parables (12:1-12).  Next the Pharisees and some Herodians try to trap Jesus with a question concerning human allegiance (12:13-15). Jesus counters with a question and a command (12:15b-17). Finally some Sadducees whose hermeneutical bias is no mystery to Mark, put forth a hypothetical situation concerning the resurrection (12:18-27).  Jesus uses the flawed exegesis to expose their ignorance of the scriptures and of God’s power.

If we mean to re-present Christ in our ministry, that ministry must be one of disciplined study and learned engagement with Scripture that leads to a theologically informed wrestling with the world in which we live.

The Scribe in the text pulls Jesus into such a theological debate. “Which commandment is the first of all?”  Jesus answered, “The first is : Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.

The most important of all Jewish prayers, "Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad" (Hear, O Israel, the Eternal is our God, the Eternal is One)-are the first words of the Jewish prayer known as the Shema Israel). It is a declaration of faith and a pledge of allegiance to God. Twice daily, recitation of the Shema Israel is a mitzvah for the Jewish people -- it is said upon rising in the morning and going to sleep at night. It is said when praising God and when beseeching Him. The Shema Israel is the first prayer taught to Jewish children and it is the last words Jew says before death. It is a prayer of praise to God and it is a prayer of beseechment, as well. The Shema is recited in preparation for the reading of the Torah on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays and at the end of the holiest day, Yom Kippur. Judaism teaches that the name of God is not read aloud in the Shema; it is replaced with Adonai ("my Lord"):

 

This One that we confess to be the Son of God confesses the oneness of God must cause careful interfaith listeners to draw near and reconsider the suspect monotheism of Christianity.  That the One who has come to fulfill the law and the prophets not only voices this command but incarnates in heart and soul, in mind and strength, such undivided love must judge our every inclination to division in his name.

 

The text in Deuteronomy states  : to love God with heart and soul and might.

Jesus adds that we also are to love God with our MINDS.

 

At the conclusion of the debate: the scribe said “You are right Teacher”

Jesus said: You are not far from the kingdom of God.

IN Ruth see God reaching far across normal measures to bring about Salvation.

In Psalms we are commissioned to Praise the Lord.

In Hebrews today we see the importance of Rituals in a new light.

In Marks Gospel we come into the presence of God hearing that which is the most important command of all.  Love God with all that we have. Love God with our heart and soul and might and mind. Love our neighbor as our self. This is the essence of Gods message to us a human beings.

Prayer:

God, we get distracted so easily.  The chatter of television, the changing fashions, the bills at the end of the month, the tyranny of our calendars  and to-do lists of religious rules.  You give us only two commandments, and it seems more than we can do to live up to them. WE have not love you, and we have not loved our neighbor. Forgive us, Jesus. Amen.

Hymn of Decision UMH 378 Amazing Grace

Pastoral Prayer

Father God, we as a church gather together in the spirit of Ruth and Naomi. Where you go we will go.  Where you dwell , we will dwell. You Lord, are our God. Your people will be our people. WE are bound as one body in love of you, God. We are in love with our neighbor as our self. Let us share this message of unity with all that we  meet. Let love flow through us from this day forth we pray in Christ name.

Now hear us Father as we pray as Jesus taught by saying….Our Father who art in heaven….