Christmas at Luke's

Christmas at Luke’s

December 15, 2024
Luke 2:1-14

Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

 Luke 2:8-14

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Let’s just be honest.  When it comes to Christmas, Luke’s house is messy.  Mark didn’t even decorate and Matthew stuck to a deeply traditional family gathering with guests worthy of the royal occasion.  Luke, on the other hand, will invite anybody to the party, even filthy shepherds on night watch. 

One can imagine Luke at the grocery store that morning handing out invitations to every cashier and bagger, and then there’s one for the lady at the drive thru window and one for the mail carrier and the garbage collector.  Oh, and don’t forget the homeless guy under the bridge and the drunken crowd with no place to go after last call at the bar.  Any chance we can get a special day pass for the local convicts while we’re at it?

“Hey, there’s a new baby at the little run down shack at the end of the dirt road!  Actually he’s in the shed in the back yard in an old cattle trough, but never mind that.   Everybody come see!” 

Matthew needs to make sure his Jewish audience recognizes God’s faithfulness to them and their ancestors, but Luke has no such concern.  His primary audience already stands outside the religious “members only” club.  Of course there are Gentiles in Matthew like the magi, and there are Jews in Luke, like Simeon and Ana, and possibly even the shepherds (we don’t know).  It’s not that Matthew is excluding outsiders or that Luke is being dismissive of the insiders.  It’s the same message, the same invitation, just for a different audience.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city.”  This is exactly what Luke wants to make clear.  Jesus has come for ALL people.  He’s not just a “Christian” Savior or a “Jewish” Savior.  He’s not just the Savior for people of a particular nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, or political affiliation.  He’s not just the Savior for the wealthy or powerful.  He’s not just the Savior for those who are clean and have their lives all put together.  He’s not just the Savior for those who are considered “respectable” in society.  He is YOUR Savior too!

We love to sing “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine and “Jesus loves me, this I know,” but are we as willing to look in the face of the one we don’t want around and say “Jesus is yours too… Jesus loves you too”?

As we move from one gospel account to the next, the scope of the incarnation just keeps expanding.  Christ comes to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.  This Kingdom comes through the Jews and the son of David AND this Kingdom is wonderful, joyous news for ALL people.  I wonder, who else might Luke be telling you to invite for Christmas this year?

 Listen to full sermon here

It's Not Politics, It's Personal

It’s Not Politics, It’s Personal

October 27, 2024
1 Samuel 18:1-15 , 19:1-10, 20:32-33, 24:1-22, 26:1-25 (esp 19), Psalm 57

Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David, but Jonathan, Saul’s son, liked David very much.  So Jonathan warned David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. Be on guard tomorrow morning. Stay somewhere safe and hide.  I’ll go out and stand by my father in the field where you’ll be. I’ll talk to my father about you, and I’ll tell you whatever I find out.”

1 Samuel 19:1-3

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 “Don’t get political.”

This may be one of the most commonly heard statements by preachers from their congregations these days, and the truth is, it’s a much tougher order than one might think. 

First, the gospel is inherently political.  The first creed of the church, “Jesus is Lord,” is a statement of treason that declares “Caesar is not.”  This is the kind of thing that literally gets people killed as political opponents of the empire, and yet as Christians we are called to pledge our soul allegiance to Christ, not to our flag or nation, no matter how Godly we may think it is.

Second, most of the times I’ve heard this statement came in response to the scripture itself, not to any political statement I may or may not have made.  The Sermon on the Mount alone is filled with teachings that go against the grain of our individualistic and capitalistic culture.  All I have to do is read the verses and someone will say, “What radical Marxist or Socialist said that?”  The objector is usually not happy when I respond with “Jesus… see, it’s right here in the Red Letters.”

Third, and perhaps most importantly in our current political climate, is the truth that much of what we call political should not be political at all.  In fact, much of it is simply about how we treat one another as descent human beings, how we show respect and love for all people, neighbor and enemy alike.  These are fundamental truths of our faith and necessary for a healthy society, and yet to call out a candidate for dehumanizing a person or group of people is viewed as a partisan agenda.  When people make broad brush statements that paint those who vote differently as an enemy of the state, or even an enemy of the faith, as I have been called many times, they often don’t even realize that there are members of their own family who are afraid to speak to them because of their inflammatory, derogatory and violent rhetoric.  The truth is, it’s not political, it’s personal. 

King Saul viewed David as a political enemy and a threat to his power.  He wanted David’s head on the end of his spear.  In America, we may not typically shed the blood of our political opponents, but it has happened and could easily happen again if cooler heads cannot find a way to prevail in the public discourse.  One might say that as a King in his day, Saul had every right to kill any threat to his throne, and technically, that would be true.

For Saul’s son Jonathan, however, this wasn’t about politics at all.  David was his best friend.  His father’s rage was deeply personal and he risked everything to protect his friend from his own father.  How many families, friendships, communities, even churches, are torn apart by political divides.  Do we promote candidates that threaten harm to those we love? 

Politics is always personal.  Love must have the final say.

Good News!

Good News!

Good News - Part 1

Sunday, January 7, 2024
Mark 1:1, 14-15

The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son…

… After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee announcing God’s good news, saying, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!”

Mark 1:1, 14-15 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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When I was a teenager, I received a small pamphlet called a “gospel track” that laid out what was called “The Gospel.”  In summary, it went something like this:

1.  You are a sinner and separated from God.

2.  If you believe Jesus died for your sins, you can be covered by his blood and forgiven.

3.  Only if you pray this prayer of salvation can you be in heaven with God when you die.

I was told this was the “Gospel” or “Good News”.  Over the years I struggled more and more with how this was “good news” for people born in a context where they had never heard of Jesus, or worse yet, who grew up in settings where Jesus was presented in such horrible and unloving ways that no one would want to “accept him as their Lord and Savior.” 

I also struggled with the fact that the default position is that we are sinners bound for the eternal fires of hell unless we just happen to be fortunate enough for some well meaning evangelical Christian to come along our path and lead us in the seemingly magical words of the “sinners prayer”, which I have found nowhere in Scripture.

What happened to Genesis 1 and 2.  What happened to “And God created humankind in his own image… and it was very good (Genesis 1:27, 31)?

If so few people in the history of creation would actually even hear the words that would supposedly get them into heaven, how was this, as the angels said, “Good news of great joy for all people” (Luke 2:10)?

Mark begins his account of the “Good News” by saying this is the beginning of the good news about Jesus.  Jesus’ first recorded words in this gospel do invite us to repent of our sin and prepare our hearts and lives, but they do not say anything about our eternal destination or offer us a simple prayer to “get saved.” 

One would think if the prayer in those gospel tracks is the only way to avoid eternal damnation, perhaps Jesus might have started with that.  But no, Jesus begins by declaring that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand… It has come near.  The kingdom of God is right here, right now… and later he will teach us to pray for the Kingdom to fully come on earth as it is in heaven.” 

In other words, the Good News isn’t an inheritance check we pick up at the pearly gates after we die.  The Good News, the Gospel, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Reign of  God… is a present reality.  It is here and now!

What does the Good News of Jesus mean for you today, in this moment, here and now?

God's Host

I arise today...
Through God’s host to save me...

The Lorica of Saint Patrick (St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer)

Over the next few weeks we will explore what exactly God’s host saves us from, but for now, let’s take a few moments to ask, what exactly is “God’s host?”

This is not a term we hear very often but it has a rich tradition throughout church history and in Scripture.

Most often this term refers to the angels or “angel armies” as the “Heavenly Hosts.” (Psalm 148:2, 1 Kings 22:19, Luke 2:13-14). The problem with angels is that we don’t always recognize them when we see them. The writer of Hebrews says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). When the three visitors came to announce the birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah, Abraham welcomed them and showed them hospitality as strangers in his midst (Genesis 18:1-22). They appeared as ordinary men and had Abraham not shown hospitality, we do not know if they would have stuck around to deliver the message.

Similarly, Jesus himself walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus but they did not recognize him (Luke 24:13-35). He was going to continue on his way until they showed hospitality by inviting him to stay for dinner, and there around the table, their eyes were opened to the presence of God in their midst. Consistently throughout scripture we find that recognizing the presence of God’s host, or even of God’s personal and immediate presence, begins with an act of hospitality toward a stranger. How often have we missed the presence of God’s host among us because we ignored the stranger in our midst?

Traditionally the heavenly host has also expanded beyond angelic beings to include all of God’s creation, for God is enthroned in the heavens and “the earth is his footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). The point here is not that God treats us as lowly beings to be walked over, but rather that all of the created order is just that, something created or made by God. When the Psalmist declares, “Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light!”, it is a reminder that even the sun and moon and stars bow before God (Psalm 148:3). In Jeremiah 31:35 the prophet reminds us of this truth and explicitly refers to the God who created these celestial bodies as the Lord of Hosts, implying in part that the sun, moon and stars may be among God’s host. Zephaniah 1:5 refers to these as the “starry host.” Rather than being gods themselves, as so many ancient people believed, they serve the purposes of the God who made them (Deuteronomy 4:19).

In some cases, even human beings can serve as God’s host. Consider 1 Samuel 7:45 where the “Lord of Hosts” commands Israel’s armies in battle. This is not to say that any human army is the Lord’s host, but those who surrender complete authority to God as their commander may indeed serve in such a role as they carry out God’s saving work in the world.

No matter how broadly or narrowly we define the Heavenly Host, we can say two things for certain. First, the host of God is many… myriad upon myriad. The word host literally means multitude and was often used in the ancient world to refer to massive and intimidating armies. Whether in the form of angels, celestial bodies, or even human beings called for a particular purpose, the host of God is many.

Host also hearkens us back to the image of hospitality. To be a good host is to show hospitality to others. The second thing we can know for certain about the Heavenly host then, is that they are servants of the Most High God, extending hospitality so that God’s presence may be welcome in their midst. Perhaps this is why some parts of the church refer to the bread in the Eucharist as the “Host”, for in this ordinary bread, the holy mystery of God’s presence his “hosted” or made welcome, so that God may enter into our bodies and make us His body for the sake of the world.

May we also serve as hosts of the Lord, always extending hospitality both to the Holy Spirit and to the strangers among us, so that God’s presence may always be welcome in our midst.

Reflections:

1. How do you understand the idea of God’s host?

2. What new insights is the Spirit speaking to you about the role of God’s host in your life?

3. Reflect on a time when God clearly showed up in an act of genuine hospitality toward a stranger.

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Our journey through St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer continues next week:

... I arise today, through God’s host to save me
from snares of devils…

Pray along with the full text of St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer

Humble Thyself

THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE - PART 5

Forgive
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Luke 9:35, 18:18-30

Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.”

Luke 18:26-27

We can read this challenging parable about the rich man forward or backward, but no matter where we start, we come to the same question and the same answer.

Question: “Who can be saved?”

Answer: “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.”

If only we could just leave it there.

Reading the passage forward we begin with a rich man essentially asking this question, “Who can be saved?” or more specifically, “What must I do to be saved, or to obtain eternal life?”

He walks away disappointed when he learns that he must give up all of his worldly possessions. When given a choice between the Kingdom of Heaven or “the treasure buried in the field” (Matthew 13:44) or the treasure he had already obtained, he chose the one he had already earned for himself.

The first point to notice is that Jesus doesn’t soften the deal. He doesn’t try to bargain for less just to get the man to show up for church on Sunday. He doesn’t sugar-coat the cost of discipleship. Instead, Jesus sadly lets the man walk way.

The people of Jesus’ day assumed that wealth was a sign of God’s blessing and to learn that such wealth and blessing did not guarantee this man a first class ticket to eternity came as a great shock. “Who then can be saved” if not someone who has been so richly blessed?

As much as we want to question Jesus for demanding too much or perhaps to judge the rich man for making such a horrible choice, notice we are not told about this man’s eternal destiny. Jesus still gives us hope. “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.”

We don’t know the rest of this man’s story. Jesus may have only planted a seed that came to bear fruit much later in his life, or perhaps death did come like a thief in the night and take every last penny. The truth is we just don’t know.

What we do know is that no matter how wealthy or blessed this man may have been, it was not possible for him to earn his way to heaven.

But now let’s read the story backwards. The disciples are a bit worried about their own reward. “Look Jesus, we left everything to follow you”, they cried. “What about us?”

Jesus assures them that their sacrifice will be rewarded in eternity, but their eternal life does not come because of their sacrifice anymore than the rich man could earn eternal life through his wealth. It’s still impossible for humans… all humans… rich or poor… selfish or sacrificial… sinner or saint…. It’s still impossible…

Only what is impossible for humans is possible for God.

This is our hope. This is the hope of the rich man. This is the hope of the world.

So perhaps before we presume upon someone’s eternal destiny, including our own, we would be wise to remember… anything is possible with God. There is always hope for salvation, even for those who seem to have no hope. Thanks be to God!

Click here to listen to entire sermon series - “THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE”