Sermon for May 24, 2020

Sermon for May 24, 2020

Today is Ascension Sunday, that is, the end of the Easter season, and next week we will embark upon the season of Pentecost.  As we focus on the story of the Ascension this Sunday, my hope is that we come to understand more, what the Ascension of Jesus means to our faith.

Now it is interesting to note that, in Luke’s gospel which we read this morning, Jesus ascended to his Father on the same day as His resurrection, whereas in Luke’s companion volume, that is, the Book of Acts, Luke records that Jesus’ ascended to heaven 40 days after His resurrection. Certainly there is a similarity in the description of the Ascension in both books – but why does Luke record two very different timings?  It is a question, but, like faith itself, the Ascension has always been shrouded in elements of intrigue and mystery.

 But, what is more, the Ascenson has always been central Christian belief and confession.  The early church included it in all of its ancient creeds, including the one that I suspect many of us know the best, that is, the Apostles Creed, which reads:

On the third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
 and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Well, all this said, how do we make sense of this event?  How does it “plug into” our understanding of Christ and deepen our faith and trust in Him?

The Rev. Stephen Fetter a minister with UCofC  makes a interesting comment

He says: … if you trust that the Earth is spinning like a tennis ball in flight (not something Luke would ever have dreamed of!), then a person rising … could end up at a very different part of the cosmos, depending on the time of day….miss His destination.

Now, of course, I doubt that neither Luke nor the ancient creed writers were very concerned or preoccupied about aerial trajectories. But the story of the Ascension is not really about how Jesus got to heaven; what direction to fly to find the pearly gates and that sort of thing.  NO!!! The story of the Ascension is one in which the disciples and the church came to know Jesus differently.

What is really important here is that for the first time Luke says the disciples “worshipped” Jesus as Saviour and Lord.  Prior to the Ascension, Jesus was teacher, guide, and companion; but nobody in Luke’s gospel ever thought of him as an entity of worship. This story marks Jesus’ “ascension” in the minds and hearts of his disciples and followers from teacher to Lord.

“The Nurturing Place” is a day care center in Jersey City. Barbara Lundblad Professor Emeritus of Preaching Union Theological Seminary New York, writes that few people would have heard of it if Anna Quindlen had not done a feature on the place for her newspaper column. The center, run by Roman Catholic sisters, welcomes and nurtures homeless children whose natural families are broken or simply unknown.  One day the sisters took the children in their care to the Jersey shore. The 3 and 4 year olds scrambled up the sandy dunes, falling and giggling their way to the top of what must have seemed like mountains to their little legs. When they got to the top, they could hardly believe their eyes: water as far as they could see -- more water than they had ever seen. They slid down the dunes and ran to the ocean’s edge. They chased the waves that teased their toes. Then they went off for a picnic in a nearby park. After lunch they begged to go back to the dunes. One little boy named Freddie outran the rest and climbed his way to the top. He looked out, then turned to the others and shouted, “It’s still there!”¹

In Freddie’s short life, so much had disappeared -- even the ocean could disappear over lunch. We’re older and wise enough to know the ocean is there even when we’re not looking. But we’re not so sure about other things. We may feel a bit like the poet who said:  that are time in life when you discover that “ … you live in a different place though you have never moved.” We’re scrambling up the sandy dunes, trying to find a place that will hold.

Can you think of a time when you have not felt spiritually grounded, in sinking sand, without traction, feeling  spiritually homeless and hopeless. What was it like for you? What changed? What brought you home?

Some believers think of Jesus’ ascension like an excuse for Jesus’ absence: because He ascended, or left, that Jesus is gone. And although the idea applies simply to Jesus’ physical body, it tends to be associated with broader implications about the divine presence: since Jesus “ascended into heaven,” we on earth remain “left behind.” (Bummer.)

Not at all.

What the ascension of Jesus in Luke-Acts signifies has far less to do with geography (Where Jesus is) than with his exaltation (Who Jesus is). Jesus’ ascension firmly establishes him as the Lord and Messiah, exalted at God’s right hand in ways not merely physical. Three such examples of the many in scripture include:                                                                          Acts 5:31  ³¹ God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.                   

Acts 3:26 ²⁶ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

Acts 10:40 

⁴⁰ but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.

 (Acts 2:22-36; 3:26; 5:31; 10:40; 13:31-38; cf. 3:21).

 In short, the ascension of Jesus speaks volumes about who Jesus is, without confining Him.
The ascension will always remain a mystery, for it attempts to put into words what is beyond words and to describe what is beyond description. But that something such should happen was essential. It was unthinkable that the appearances of Jesus should grow fewer and fewer until finally they petered out. That would have effectively wrecked the faith of humankind. There had to come a day of dividing when the Jesus of earth finally became the Christ of heaven. But to the disciples the ascension was clearly 3 things.
(i) It was an ending to the days when their faith was in a flesh and blood divine/human being who was with them in the flesh. Now they were linked to someone who was forever independent of space and time.
(ii) Equally it was a new beginning. The disciples did not leave the place of Jesus Ascension despairing; but with great joy, because now they knew that they had a King; a Master; a Saviour and a true Friend from whom nothing could separate them.  As the Apostle Paul puts it, "For I am sure that nothing--nothing in life or death--can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39.)
(iii) And thirdly, and perhaps the most important of all, the Ascension gave the disciples the certainty and knowledge that the person they knew and loved on earth, would also be there to greet them in heaven; in the life beyond. To die is not to be cast out into the abyss; into darkness and despair -- it is to go to be with Jesus Himself; to be found in fullest community/communion with Him.
With Jesus ascension, the focus of the disciples as students and followers ends and they assume and step out in their new role as leaders and teachers of the Word – that is, the Ascension marks a passing of the torch so-to-speak.
I am sure many of us today can identify with the position of the disciples in the gospel reading today.  Do we not face a similar situation in our own daily lives?  With students not returning this school year, has not our role as parents and caregivers also assumed more teacher/educator responsibilities?  We may indeed find this new situation challenging and we may feel ill equipped to assume it, but, of course, we know how important it is for the future of our young people.  And so it is that we do what we can to teach, encourage and foster learning.  But, in these and all changing and uncertain times, we can be reassured as the disciples are at Jesus Ascension, and so we know we are not alone. The very presence, the Spirit of God is truly with us, always and forever, a gift we will expressly celebrate next week on Pentecost. At that time, we will also partake in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.  We hope you will join us.

Sermon May 17, 2020 (Covid 19) On line Service #8

Sermon  May 17, 2020 (Covid 19) On line Service #8

In our Gospel lesson last week, that is, John 14:1-14, we heard Jesus speak to His disciples concerning His relationship with His Father.  You will recall that, in that passage, Philip asks to see the Father and Jesus replies by saying, Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father and He goes on to say that The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 

Now, although we stopped our reading last week at verse 14, the truth is, we only heard part of Jesus’ discourse on the night when he shared his last meal with his disciples and humbly washed their feet.  And, so it is that, this week we continue with the story and hear the “second half,” so-to-speak, of what Jesus said to his chosen followers on that fateful night.  Again, last week Jesus spoke of his relationship with His Father.  And now, in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus words speak directly to His relationship to His disciples.  They are words, not only of comfort and assurance but also words to prepare them in mind and spirit for his impending death; his impending departure from them.  Yes, in a little while they will see him no more but Jesus assures them that they will not be forgotten by Him; they will not orphaned and alone.

In this time of isolation during the Covid 19 crisis, are not all of us feeling somewhat orphaned and alone?  Oh, we may not be orphaned in the sense of not knowing who are parents are, but do we not feel a keen sense of absence in our lives these days? – that is, being unable to interact with those people we typically see and share our lives with; people we enjoy visiting and whose company we enjoy; people we long to be with – and cannot.

And, in this time of Covid 19, are we not also feeling a sense of being orphaned by the routines of our lives that have suddenly, seemingly overnight, been drastically changed or completely overturned?  And, in the midst of this turmoil and upheaval many of us may well feel a sense of alienation, and even abandonment, from our place of work, our school, friends and community.  There are just so many normal things we cannot do right now – or do in the normal way.  And, what is more, if this disruption in our everyday life was not enough, I am sure that many of us had planned events and outings that we were looking forward to, perhaps for months or even years, that are now cancelled, radically altered or  simply lost to us.

Certainly all this is true for me and my family.  Like many people, we had planned a trip to Europe this year and it was a great disappointment to us when this opportunity suddenly evaporated.  But my immediate family was not the only one to experience a recent setback.  Just this past week, the Centreville church in this charge took the sad step of officially cancelling their 175 Anniversary plans. We were just putting the details together when the crisis hit.

And so, with all of this in mind, do not the words of Jesus in our Gospel lesson today  appear particularly germane to our present time and circumstances?  What good news it is to hear that, despite all outward appearances, Jesus’ assurance that He will not leave us desolate; He will not leave us orphaned nor will He abandon us.  Instead Jesus give us words of assurance and comfort:  God in Christ will, by His Spirit, uphold, sustain and guide us; we will be held in our heavenly Parent’s gentle, secure, loving and caring embrace.  What is more, although our world may be turned upside down; our plans and expectations drastically altered, God’s agenda; His plans for us and for the redeeming of this world remain intact and will be fulfilled even in the face of death itself!  Thanks be to God!

In the meantime, God has indeed not left us desolate.  He has blessed us with His Spirit which is alive and is ever active in our world today.  Now, the Holy Spirit has been called the shy member of the Trinity. Indeed, if you think about the art in our churches or if you picture moments from Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, the Holy Spirit may simply be portrayed as a dove, whereas images of the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and teachings of Jesus present Him in concrete human form. 

The Holy Spirit may present as the least visible and most etherial member of the Trinity, but is it not also the most discernable in our daily life and experiences?    Craig Koester professor at Luther Seminary Saint Paul, Minn. Puts the matter this way.  He states:  Here is the conundrum: Why would anyone believe that authentic life comes from a Jesus who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, a Jesus whom they cannot see? The honest answer is that no one would believe it--apart from the work of the Spirit. For it is the Spirit who makes the presence of the living Jesus and his Father known.

Coming to faith is comparable (analogous) to falling in love. One cannot fall in love in the abstract. Love comes through an encounter with another person. The same is true of faith. If faith is a relationship with the living Christ and the living God who sent Him, then faith can only come through an encounter with them. And the Spirit is the one who makes this presence known.

When I was preparing this sermon, I came across a story which illustrates this point.  Hannah did not grow up hearing the Christian story. But when she became an adult, she accepted a friend’s invitation to spend time with members of her friend’s church.  She loved the people there, but Hannah found the gospel message just plain weird.  At Bible studies she was simply astonished at what she was hearing – Jesus walking on water, rising from the dead, and ascending into heaven.   “Do you really believe all this?” she would ask. Later she would tell her friend that what we believed sounded crazy. Yet she kept telling herself, “they seem like sensible people who are able to hold down jobs.

Then one day a member of our community challenged her, “don’t wait until all your questions have been answered,” she said. Just ask yourself whether you can trust Jesus. Hannah went home and she describes how she was sitting on the floor in her front room when suddenly she knew it was all true. And, in that moment she became a Christian. What happened as she sat on her living room floor? The Holy Spirit came on her and spoke to her heart. There was no shining light or audible voice but the Holy Spirit came to give her faith in Jesus.  Surely, this is what Jesus meant when in John chapter 3:3 he says ”I tell you the truth no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” & in today’s reading. You keep my commandments  17 ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 

We all know what it is like to have to say good bye to someone dear to us, someone we have loved and have depended upon.  In our gospel lesson today, Jesus is packing His suitcase, so to speak; He is preparing to leave our sight, but in no way is he abandoning us or leaving us desolate.  God sent us His Spirit that he might be ever near us, never leaving us, guiding us in His truth while advocating for us before the Father.

God’s Spirit of truth will enable us to distinguish His values of justice, mercy and peace. The Holy Spirit, unrestrained by ethnicity, gender, class and sexuality, guides us to places beyond the physical and supernatural limitations imposed by the limits of our being.

The guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, is ever present with us as we walk through this journey of life. This same spirit would not allow for the exclusion of a woman who was a Samaritan from the blessings of the Kingdom, as He would not exclude anyone right now for needed care and treatment for the virus. As the Spirit will not allow for the exclusion of any among us today.

The Easter message is that life rather than death has the final word, and this is crucial for faith. John's gospel, teaches us that faith is a relationship with a living being. For there to be authentic faith in Jesus, people must be able to relate to the living Jesus--a Jesus who is not absent but very present. The shy member of the Trinity is the presence of God that is closest to us; that is ever near to us in and through all the changes scenes of life.

Resources:

Samuel Cruz Working Preacher

Associate Professor of Church and Society
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
New York, N.Y.

Craig R. Koester – Working Preacher

Professor and Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Chair of New Testament
Luther Seminary
Saint Paul, Minn.

Sermon for Covid #7 Service May 10, 2020

Sermon for Covid #7 Service May 10, 2020

Gracious God, as we listen to the words of Scripture, open our hearts and minds with the gift of your Holy Spirit. By the Spirit’s power, move in us so that we follow your way more nearly, know your truth more fully, and share in your gift of life more abundantly, through Christ, your Living Word. Amen.

John 14:1-14

Who do you resemble more -- your father or your mother? And, with this in mind, are there not times that, without even knowing or thinking about it, we act and talk like our parents?  That is, we find ourselves saying things our parents said to us years ago, things that, at the time, we promised we would never say to our own kids. And, what is more, we may have noticed the little habits and mannerisms of our parents and said, I am not going to do that. And then, one day we catch ourselves doing exactly that!  One of the things we often do when we see a family with young kids is we look for the resemblance between them. Even in a newborn child we look to see who he or she most resembles.  When I was growing up, I was told that I resembled my grandmother Mahood and my dad. And when I was together with my sisters, what I heard most often was, “Well it isn’t hard to tell you are sisters.” 

Family resemblance is a blessing. Even if a family member doesn’t have a biological connection to the family unit, over time he or she may adopt the mannerisms, words and attitudes of the family members around him. The blessing of a family is that, within it, we have a place of deep roots and belonging.

The Gift of Honor, Gary Smalley & John Trent, Ph.D., p. 89 
Sense of Belonging

There's an old story about two young children who were standing on the corner, bragging about who had moved from province to province the most. One little boy said, "My family has moved three times in the last three years." "Hey!" said the other little boy. "That's nothing. My parents have moved five times this year & I found them every time!" It's safe to say that this second boy came from a home without a strong sense of belonging. Yet this boy longed for that place of belonging.

Our reading from John 14:1-14 records a very pivotal time in Jesus life. This is the night before Jesus died. He has had the last supper with His disciples and He has done that humble act of love and service of washing their feet.  Following the meal Jesus tells them that He is about to die. He says to the disciples “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me, Jesus went on to tell them that He was returning to His Father and when He does, He will prepare a place for us there too.

Thomas questions -- how this can be and how do we know the way?  And Jesus responds with these assuring words, “I am the way, the truth and the life. If you know me you know the Father” 

Then Philip said to Him, Lord show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.  Jesus said to Him “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in me. The words that
I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does His works” In other words, He tells me what to do & I do it.

Again, the disciples ask Jesus, show us the Father.  And, in essence, Jesus replies by saying, Here I am, what you see in me, you see in my Father. The way I act, the words I say the things I do, I do with my Father in me.  And so it is that, in Jesus Christ, the invisible God is made visible, that is, if you have seen the Son you have also seen the Father.

God is invisible to our physical eyes but God is a spiritual reality and a true spiritual presence. And so it is that the best way to know God and see Him and understand Him, is to set our hearts and minds on Jesus so that we too may see the resemblance of the Father in His Son.

If we, turn to the New Testament to the gospel accounts of Jesus life you will come to know who God is, what He looks like, how God sounds and what He does, because God was, and is, in His Son.

What is God like? Well God in Christ is gentle enough to embrace children, humble enough to be born in a barn and eat with the outcast of society.

God is compassionate, loving and merciful.  He understands our real needs, better than we know ourselves, and seeks to address them.

What is He Like? God is like His Son a great teacher who taught as a servant. He spoke the gospel in terms of everyday experiences, that is, he spoke of the Kingdom with illustrations that His listeners could readily identify and understand, such as, for example, the parable of the sower and the seed; the lost sheep, and many others. He taught his followers to become servants by becoming one himself. In Mark 10:45, Jesus says: “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” Jesus had the authority to have all of His needs attended to; but instead chose the position of servant to serve others. He speaks the truth and calms the storms; He is patient and kind, but he is also passionate about the attitude of the human heart.

As God did, so Jesus did, that is, God in Christ Jesus expressed and bore witness to the breadth and fullness of God’s love for humankind –  for you, me and for all creation. Jesus Himself said that there can  be no greater love than to die for your friends—and He did just that.  God gave His only Son and Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross so we could all be saved from our sins so that we might live for Him.  Even when enduring the pain and agony on the cross proclaimed  Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  

This leaves us with, who are we, and who are we called to be?

We are created in the image and likness of God. So God created humankind^] in his image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

Not only are we made in God’s image but we are called to live our family resemblance, that is as members of the household of God.

Our actions, our words and thoughts should reflect our Creators presence. At home, at work, in the long line ups, in isolation and when times are hard and when they are good.

 In this pandemic time our family resemblance to the Father is very important. As Christians may we continue to keep in touch with others making sure they are safe in their homes and residences. We worship and pr ay in safety and share from our resources to help others. All things the Father has done for us and calls us to do for others. Let us remember we are blessed to be blessing to others.

May we rejoice on this Christian Family – Mother’s Day Sunday in the Family resemblance we share and rejoice in it. Thanks be to God.

The Gift of Honor, Gary Smalley & John Trent, Ph.D., p. 89  

Sense of Belonging

 Father Michael Renninger Sermon “Family Resemblance”

Sermon for May 03, 20 Covid 19 Crisis #6 Sunday Service

Sermon for May 03, 20 Covid 19 Crisis #6 Sunday Service

God of rest and renewal, still our hearts and minds with your Spirit. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight. May we come to know you more fully, and follow you more faithfully. Amen.

As we gather for worship this morning in various places throughout our homes, perhaps sitting around the table or reclining in a comfortable chair, we are mindful, once again, that we are not gathering together for worship in our churches. As the weeks turn into months in this Covid 19 crisis, new routines may appear to ever more familiar to us.  An email I received last Sunday seemed to drive home this point and made me laugh.  It read:  “We are home safe from church. We left the living room and are now in the dining room.”  It is certainly true that we are doing so much more communicating through our electronic devices – and all from inside the walls of our homes.

But whether we come together each week in our church building or “virtually” in the comfort of our homes, we gather together  to worship as followers of the Word of God.  In worship we hear God’s Word read and interpreted in ways that illuminate and inform our day to day lives. We worship through music, through the holy sacraments and through the liturgy, that is elements that can speak to our personal sins and struggles in life as well as times of joy and thanksgiving. We gather together as the body of Christ. We give special time to our children so that they may know that God cares deeply for them and can offer encouragement, strength and a sharing of life’s burdens with them.

This 4^th Sunday of Easter is called Vocations Sunday. It is a time when we think about God’s calling to us. Vocation means call or summons. When the sign of the cross was impressed on our foreheads, at our Baptism, where the union of Christ’ death and resurrection meets us. As Romans 6:4 reads: “⁴ Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life..” Baptism is the visible sign of an invisible grace, manifested as the New Covenant between God and humankind. Our vocation from God calls us to live our lives in God.  Many of us have specific jobs we fulfill in order to make a

living, our inner office jobs that could be nursing,  teaching, electrician, farming, domestic duties and so on. The outer office of our lives is our call our vocation to God.  In fulfilling our day to day obligations you may wonder well how does this have anything to do with God? They are two different worlds; 2 different spaces; no they are not.

 We have one life on earth to live and wherever & whatever that life demands of us, from the people we are responsible for, the challenges of aging, the battles we tackle, through all of life our lives are a part of the life of God our creator our redeemer.

The inner &outer offices or the text & subtext of our lives intersect. We have to go through the outer office to get to the inner office, & we take our Lord’s essence our Lord’s teachings with us, wherever we go and whatever we do. We don’t just pick God’s summons up on Sunday morning and put it down when we finish worship. We worship to be nurtured and fed and clothed again with the Spirit, & to be strengthened for the days ahead living in the fullness of life, that is in Christ our Lord.

This understanding of our calling has changed from the ancient vision of the church, which began as a priestly people – where all people through the sacraments shared in the ministry of the Church.

Then five hundred years ago Martin Luther wrestled with the problem that had by then become the norm in the church. The clergy now ruled the church, selling salvation alms and making a great profit for themselves. If you wanted to be forgiven you must pay, and pay you would according to the severity of your sins. The priests succeeded in doing this through elevating themselves to a higher plateau with God, claiming supremacy and authority leaving the laity to attend mass, in an experience similar to a theatre performance, where they would only watch and listen. The priest Himself alone would partake in Communion, the laity, only spectators to it all. Leaving their offerings on their way out.

The church has been reformed in many ways since that time, including the birth of the protestant church as one example, but the church continues to have its challenges. 

Today we have the minister who is often ordained or commissioned or other recognized ministries. I  am ordained to the Ministry of Word, Sacrament and Pastoral Care. Being ordained makes my ministry more visible in many ways but we share the same vocation to be God’s people in the world. One ministry is not more important than the other. We share the same baptism of being received into the household of God and to claim Jesus crucified and risen. Together we are charged to share Christ’s ministry and the cross from our baptism is still engraved on our foreheads rather we can see it or not. 

For Christians, vocation is a call from God. And one analogy in the Bible that illustrates the relationship of Christ to His followers is the Shepherd and his sheep. “John’s Gospel is not just about life after death. It is life that begins now; it is knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent. It is knowing the voice of the good shepherd who truly cares for us and offers the security, the nourishment and the community of believers that is so important. In Christ, life abounds in meaning and value and endures beyond death.

With so much information and regular up dates coming at us about the virus, we desire honest answers and clear speech. We long to hear definite dates and timelines, but they will come. We long to hope that the virus is under control, but know that much vulnerability still remains.  Jesus emphasizes something very important today.  Sheep know the voice of their shepherd. They recognize the voice of the one who cares for them, a voice they trust and will follow.

The more familiar we become with God’s word, the more we can recognize and know the truth of His word in our hearts and so respond ever more faithfully to the call of the shepherd.

AN ESSAY BY J. V. Fesko - The Priesthood of All Believers

Barbara Brown Taylor – The Preaching Life, 1993 Cowley  Publishing, Chapter 3  Vocation. Working Preacher John  10:1-10