Epiphany 3 C - Luke 4:14-21

Luke 4:14-21

Jesus ends his preaching tour of Galilee in the synagogue of his bar mitzvah. The standing room only crowd has gathered in eager expectation of seeing the hometown boy made good and Jesus does not disappoint. He unrolls the scroll of Isaiah and finds the words of promise that were the hope of those who sat by the waters of Babylon and wept. The same words that had become the longing of the oppressed under the new management of Rome. For a moment between the reading and the sermon there was silence, every eye fixed, every breath held, every ear attentive. As soon as he spoke, “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” the spell was lifted and in the verses that follow the SRO crowd rejects the promise fulfilled and things turn ugly. But in the pregnant pause before he spoke, where anything and everything is possible, the scripture was fulfilled. Maybe that is where freedom and recovery and restoration are real for us as well. When in silent expectation hope is not diminished by attempts to rationalize or explain. Such waiting faith believes God is intimately aware of our deepest need. Waiting faith believes the good news of grace for those impoverished, held captive by circumstance beyond their control, blinded by sin and oppressed by fear. We hold onto such hope with radical trust that the proof is not in the pudding but in the hope that the promise is as good as it sounds. 

Epiphany 3 C - 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Maybe Paul never looked into a mirror that wasn't dim (1 Corinthians 13:12) because although the nose might be necessary more often than not the eyes think it’s too big. Truth is most people can find fault with one body part or another and wish the weaker parts could be dispensed of more easily. And on the flip side - thinking of oneself as Adonis means Narcissus is not far behind. It may be that judging oneself either too harshly or inaccurately is where mistreatment of the body begins and why these words of Paul have too often fallen on deaf ears. When we cannot recognize our own worth we are blind to the worth of others. But if I see myself through the eyes of Christ as worthy of God’s affection and choose to live into that identity then I believe it becomes more difficult to deny others the same honor. And so each member values the other because each member is valued by Christ. To dishonor the other, to think or speak ill of them, to plot and plan and even pray for their downfall is to scorn Christ himself. In the end it is God who is grieved and injured when the body behaves badly towards itself. But it was the grief of God over a creation gone horribly wrong that led Christ to the cross. In love that is the still more excellent way his body was broken to make ours whole and his death is our life. So treat yourself well today for your body belongs to Christ. And remember that the body part that had the nerve to sit in your pew last Sunday is dear to the heart of Christ as well.  

Epiphany 3 C - Psalm 19

Psalm 19

I've been attending yoga classes for a few years and if it weren't for the mirrors around the room I’d think I was quite good at it. That’s because the pose often feels more right than it looks. So while I am pretty good at breathing and can nail the Shavasana (the corpse pose) I need to see myself in the mirror to straighten my back on a deep forward bend or really sit into my chair or sink my head below my shoulders to get my doggie facing down. Of course the mirror can’t do it all and I don’t need to look at my reflection to know my crow pose is never going to get off the ground. The perfect law of the Lord is more than a list of do’s and don’ts. If it were then we could detect our hidden faults and check them off one by one. But as it is we are guilty not only of the hidden but the obvious or as another version states, “presumptuous” sins. And so the law of the Lord is like a mirror revealing our spiritual posture. There are corrections we can make once warned but that only gets us so far, which is why we need a Rock and Redeemer to revive the heart of our Shavasana.

Epiphany 3 C - Nehemiah 8:1-10

Nehemiah 8:1-10
The exiles, including the lay reader's nightmare list of names in the omitted verses, have returned from captivity to begin the slow process of rebuilding Jerusalem which includes reestablishing the rituals of the faith community. Outside the gate the preachers preach and the people respond with liturgy, Amen, Amen, lifting hands and bowing down. But when the ritual reading is explained and the people understand they begin to weep and wail and mourn. They weep because they know who they are in the light of the law and how they have grieved the One who brought them out of exile. They weep because they are afraid that God knows what they know. But there is another lesson to learn and if they had seen it coming they would have laughed out loud and shouted alleluia. God is not grieved. God is not angry. God is not weeping. This is God’s day of rejoicing and it is because of them. Surprise! So dry your eyes and wash your face. Break out the bubbly and forget your diet for you are the joy of the Lord and that is your strength. That is a good lesson for us as well. As long as we think of the joy of the Lord as an emotion we have or can get we will inevitably end up weakened and weeping. But since the joy of the Lord is the Lord's joy over us it is constant and can never be diminished or depleted and therein lies our strength. In God’s joy we endure. In God’s joy we persevere. In God’s joy we hope. And yes, in God’s joy we rejoice. The only thing to do with that kind of strength is to share with those who have nothing prepared because, of course, that is what God has done for us.  

Epiphany 2 C - John 2:1-11

John 2:1-11

The wine has run out and with one more “l’chaim” the guest’s goblets will go dry and the party will be over ahead of schedule. Mary is determined to do something about it and counting on those things she has treasured in her heart she gets Jesus to serve the good wine before his time. John records this as the first sign of many and even though the other Gospels remember more pressing first signs, like healing diseases and casting out demons, turning water into wine is the sign for the time to come. It might not seem so in a world where more important things than wine run out, where a surplus of sorrow and suffering beg God to heal and exercise evil before filling the carafe with Cabernet  But the miracle of water into wine is more than a story of good timing for a worried wine steward and it is Mary who gives it to us. Like Jesus in the garden she asks for what she wants and accepts his rebuff. In the same way Jesus will ask for what he wants, “Take this cup from me” but accept “Thy will be done.” And so Jesus in faith will leave the garden for the cross and Mary, with every reason to believe the answer is no, tells the servant, “Do whatever he tells you.” She has no idea what he will do but believes he will do something. Faith in the face of jugs gone dry is what is called for in the face of circumstances that drain reserves, sorrow that consumes joy, questions empty of answers, which is why water into wine is a sign of the time to come. Without knowing how or when we believe God will do something like Isaiah imagined; a feast of rich food and fine wine for all people where God will dine on death for when Jesus' time finally came the One who asked for the cup to be taken from him is the One who filled it. 

Epiphany 2 B - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Corinth was the “sin city” of the 1^st century and the Christians living there struggled to be “in the world but not of the world.” Judging by the contents of the correspondence they didn’t do very well and some, like the man sleeping with his father’s wife, even made the pagans blush.(1 Corinthians 5:1) So Paul’s caveat “not everything is beneficial” might have been lost on those who said “I have the right to do anything.” The trouble was a misapplication of the Gospel that had rightly repealed the requirements of the law, namely food restrictions, sacrifices and circumcision. A good number of the Corinthians thought that meant they were free to do as they pleased; after all they were saved by grace. We can fall into the same trap thinking that as long as we feel badly about whatever we’ve done we are good to go and do whatever again. Unfortunately Lutherans tend to be the most susceptible to what Dietrich Bonhoeffer labeled “cheap grace”. The cost of sin was born by Christ but we continue to run a tab whenever we are mastered by the very things from which Christ has set us free. But the Lutheran two step of Law/Gospel was always meant to lead to an amendment of sinful ways albeit without dancing into the sin of being sanctimonious, not an easy step to master. The good news is that those united with Christ are one with His spirit which means help is always just a prayer away.

Epiphany 2 C - Isaiah 62:1-5

Isaiah 62:1-5

The people to whom these words are addressed have grown weary of hope. They were promised a return to Zion with singing but when they got home the only song they could sing was a lament and Lord knows they knew that song by heart. The burning sand has dried up the promised pool, the haunt of jackals is still just as dangerous and the ruins they will have to rebuild are inhabited by hostile residents. It will take more than hope to make Jerusalem hospitable to the prophet’s vision. And maybe that is how hope works. We might prefer the fairy tale close your eyes, click your heels three times and you're home, but truth is hope just gets us to believe again that not all the songs we will sing will be in a minor key. And so the forsaken who have returned to a desolate land change their tune and start singing as those who are the delight of the Lord in a land that is married. But what if the prophet’s vision is beyond our ability to hope? Truth is all the visions of the future are beyond our ability to hope which is why God sings lead. For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent. 

The Baptism of Our Lord Year C - Luke 3:15-22

Luke 3:15-22
It was a time of expectation, like when the planets line up in a way they haven’t for a long time and won’t ever again in one’s lifetime, which of course must mean something. In that kind of time a voice crying in the wilderness attracts attention and even casual conversations end up speculating about cosmic events. Most of the time “the time” does not live up to the expectation but this time the expectation couldn't live up to the time. They expected a Messiah like John even though he told them he wasn't him. But with speeches full of fire, crazy clothes, strange diet and personal hygiene like the prophets of the past he was a figure to behold. And so the people heard his hell fire brimstone exhortation as good news and in the verses that precede these change their ways to escape the wrath that is to come. No wonder Jesus gets lost in the crowd. He can’t follow that sort of act and unless you were close enough to hear the voice or happened to be looking when the dove landed he would have looked like one of the crowd dipping in the Jordan hoping to come up clean. But if you were listening and looking your expectation would have been met by something you could never have expected. Though the voice declared him the beloved Son he was baptized like one of the crowd. That’s why expectation can never live up to Incarnation which in the end burns our chaff and saves our wheat.

The Baptism of Our Lord Year C - Acts 8:14-17

Acts 8:14-17

The Word of God spent some time in Samaria and promised a thirsty woman that there would be a day when Samaritans and Jews and all true worshipers would worship God in spirit and in truth. And when He spoke the truth about her she came to believe he was the Truth and the whole village followed suit. As Jesus ascended he told the disciples they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. It took things turning ugly in Jerusalem to get the believers to hit the road which is how Philip came to spend some time in a Samaritan city. Through signs and wonders and proclamation the Truth came again to Samaria and the whole city rejoiced and was baptized and the church sent Peter and John to seal the deal. It took truth telling in the first instance and persecution in the second to bring the Word to the Samaritans in a way that led to the gift of the Spirit and maybe that is true for us as well. First the truth about ourselves; we are thirsty for something more but satisfy ourselves with something less until we are truly parched. And like the persecution that scattered the believers we are driven by the knowledge of our need to renounce all that draws us away from God and so be refreshed by the Water of Life, the Spirit of Truth.

The Baptism of Our Lord Year C - Psalm 29

Psalm 29
The voice of the Lord is LOUD. Glory! Many people experience God in the beauty of nature; sunsets, mountain tops, misty lakes at dawn and the like. Such things are generally experienced in solitude and bring a sense of peace and contentment. I’m not sure I would equate the blessing of peace with a voice that strips a forest bare. But the psalmist imagines the glory and splendor of God in the terrible and terrifying. Making Lebanon skip like a young bull is just a poetic way of saying earthquake and flashing fire doesn't need to strike twice to get you diving for cover. This image of a terrible and terrifying God evokes praise not only from nature but from the heavenly beings who know a thing or two about terrifying and maybe that is the point. This voice cannot be ignored or denied and all the forces of the universe are obliged to respond. But for those who belong to the Voice hearing God in the terrible and terrifying means the terrible is less terrifying for the God present in the whirlwind and the earthquake is our strength and peace. And when from the cross God cried out with a loud voice even death had to sit up and take notice and admit it was finished. And that is a blessing of peace indeed. Glory!

The Baptism of Our Lord Year C - Isaiah 43:1-7

Marie Talbot 1953-2012

Isaiah 43:1-7

This promise of God was penned by the prophet Isaiah to the captives who sat by the waters of Babylon and wept while their tormentors called for them to sing glad songs of Zion. And so these promises of security are spoken to those who know the threat of waters that rise and flames that burn bright. They have lost hope of going home and their only comfort is in the thought of revenge upon the children born to the Babylonians. (Psalm 137) But the promise of the One who formed them is that they will not be abandoned to captivity for the God who heard their cries in the past has heard them in the present. They will not be overwhelmed or consumed by the things that threaten them because they are precious, honored, loved, desirable objects of the Holy One’s affection. The truth is what we experience in this life is often beyond our ability to tread water or shield ourselves from searing heat but then the word of God for us is to not be afraid despite all that threatens. I think that means we do not believe the water of difficulty will have the last word for us even if we drown or that the fire of suffering will consume us. We are already eternal creatures known by name and treasured possessions of the God who exists in the past-present-future. So we endure in the midst of captivity and overcome all that would cause us to doubt our treasured status.

Epiphany Year C - Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

The men from the east may have been wise in the way of stars but they were not so smart when dealing with kings. You don’t ask a king where his replacement has been born, especially if the boy wasn't born to the queen in the palace. By all accounts Herod had a paranoid personality and the question puts him in self preservation mode (something he has done very well in the past) and all of Jerusalem is scared of a frightened Herod. The babes in Bethlehem have more to fear. They just don’t know it yet. But Rachael's wailing won't happen until the wise men give their gifts to the baby who escapes and the wise men being warned in a dream depart by the back door. In many ways it is a very human story, not like the angels we have heard on high that the shepherds see. Astrologers seeing planets line up in a new way are driven to investigate and naively ask people in power questions that should not be asked which almost always leads to bloodshed for the little and the lowly. It’s not a very merry Christmas story when you think of it that way but then God chose to enter the life of the world as a baby with no home and a king with no throne. That the wise men would worship a poor child in a no account town means they trusted the signs in the heavens and believed someone or something wanted them to follow. Either way the sign in heaven led them to a place on earth where God could be found. We are signs on earth that point to a place in heaven that is at its best a vision for all people of perfect peace and irresistible love that makes angels sing and wise folk rejoice. 

Epiphany Year C - Ephesians 3:1-12

Ephesians 3:1-12
Paul calls himself the “very least of all the saints” even though he will tell the Corinthians he worked harder than any of the apostles and in his letter to the Galatians he even questions the authority of the big three, Peter, James and John, those “reputed to be pillars”.  But then one can hardly imagine the church surviving let alone expanding without a person like Paul. The same traits that made him a formidable foe to the fledgling faith made him the fanatical convert to the mystery of Christ made known through revelations. His love for the Lord he formerly persecuted was expressed through an unmatched intellect, a stoic personality and an obstinate nature. And maybe it takes a “chief of sinners though I be” to really appreciate with boldness and confidence the access to God carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. So God uses Paul’s weakness to make the Gentile church strong and his foolishness to make the Gentiles wise to the eternal purpose of God.  While we can’t claim to be on par with Paul it might be a good thing for us to accept that God finds our whole being (the good, the bad, and the in-between) useful for making known the mystery of God to the present day gentiles to whom we have been sent.  

Epiphany Year C - Psalm 72

Psalm 72

The righteous flourish and peace is found in abundance when people in power care for the poor and the oppressed and those who have no helper. It is a clear indication of how differently God views the hierarchy of the human community. The king is given God’s justice and righteousness to provide for those who cannot repay by showing compassion to the lowly poor and preserving the life of the needy. Those who claim the name of the King of Kings would do well to note the nature of Jesus’ reign. The song that announces his conception sings of the mighty brought down and the lowly lifted up; the hungry filled with good things and the rich sent empty. It is more than pretty poetry penned by the prophet Isaiah. The blood of those subjected to oppression and violence is precious in God’s sight and their cries ascend to the heavens and do not fall on deaf ears. In the epiphany story the kings of Tarshish and Sheba and Seba (or their emissaries) came to Bethlehem expecting to find the King of the Jews. That they recognized him in such humble surroundings must mean they looked at the world a little differently on their way home. So it is for us who have encountered the Christ and seek to honor him on our journey home. Or as Matthew will say in his Gospel, “When I was hungry you gave me food….”  

Epiphany 1 C - Isaiah 60:1-6

Isaiah 60:1-6The recently released captives who returned to Judah did not find “the ransomed of the Lord shall return unto Zion with singing” (Isaiah 35:10) song upon their return. No doubt it was still a good thing to be free from Babylon’s grasp but “everlasting joy” was in short supply within the ruined walls of Jerusalem. Which meant the promise of God was experienced as both “now” and “not yet”. They were free from captivity but hardly "covered in camels" or well supplied with gold and frankincense. Turns out the light that will rise on Israel will be a long time coming and no one could have fully foreseen that the hopes and fears of all the years would be met in the babe of Bethlehem. Of course the shepherds knew that night but only because the angels told them. And some time later the astrologers from the East will know but only because the star they were following stopped. It is the same for us who live in the now and not yet for we have heard the story and seen the signs that call forth praise for the One who breaks through the thick darkness of our lives. That the dawn of the promise in this life is a guarantee of the glory of the light to come is the hope that sustains us through all our days until the “not yet” is finished and the forever and only “now” begins. 

Christmas 1 C - Luke 2:41-52

Luke 2:41-52
Last Sunday night Kyrie Fort Worth decked the halls on the patio our new location, Shaw's Bar and Grill, with Christmas carols as our largest gathering to date met for sacred song, living word and holy meal. We lit candles while singing Silent Night and Happy Xmas (War is Over) and celebrated the birth of the Christ child who grown to preadolescence in this text will cause his parents no small amount of consternation by slipping away unseen to his “Father’s” house. Some might say that a church meeting in plain sight in a bar and grill dishonors the One in whose name we gather and I can understand why that might be said even if I happen to disagree. Granted the house that Jesus identified with his Father was set apart in the same way our houses of worship are easily identified as such and maybe a bar doesn't qualify but then what makes a house a home for the “Father” has little to do with architecture and everything to do with the human heart that meets in the house. So Jesus will return to the same “my Father’s” house twenty years later and over turn tables in the house of prayer that had been turned into a den of thieves. Tables are turned on a Sunday night at Shaw's to remember the God who is present throughout the week in that place because through the Son the Father’s house can be found wherever people of faith gather.   

Christmas 1 C - Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:12-17

Paul’s fashion advice to the Colossians begins with the remembrance of who they are in Christ. Remember you are chosen by God. Remember you are holy and beloved or in other words remember you are a desirable object of God’s affection. So what to wear? Paul’s list should simplify our selection and would if not for closets filled with thoughts and ways of being that don’t fit or have worn out or were never very attractive in the first place. And cleaning out the closet is painful even when helped by loving admonishment. But in the end cleaning our closets and improving our fashion sense is only possible if we are helped by those who bear with us and forgive us and encourage and compliment us. You look good in kindness.That compassion really sets off the color of your eyes. You make that patience work, girl. So what to wear? Remember to put on Christ and everything else will fit perfectly. 

Christmas 1 C - Psalm 148

Psalm 148
I once heard a Psalty Kids Praise CD that said when a cow goes moo it’s praising God. I don’t mean to be a naysayer when it comes to animal praise but I think moo means feed me or milk me or maybe both. Granted the animal praise list of Psalm 148 includes cattle and that might support the moo theory of praise but then it also has sea monsters and fruit trees and all the weather conditions a Texan can experience in the same day. So this is not the sort of scripture that one takes literally or over thinks. This is a noisy over the top psalm because the very existence of all that is was commanded and established and fixed in place by God, which is how you make it on the praise the Lord list. So praise is not about the sound you make but about you being made. Which means praising the Lord does not require one’s circumstances to be praiseworthy. So I guess I stand corrected.  Praise can sound like you are hungry or just need to be milked. 

Christmas 1 C - 1 Samuel 2:18-26

1 Samuel 2:18-26
This is just the beginning of Samuel’s story but the beginning of the end for Eli. It is a tragic tale of a father who cannot bring himself to do what must be done. His sons have desecrated the sanctuary and have turned the people’s sacrifice into profit for themselves. Eli hears the reports and confronts his sons with their sin but cannot bring himself to condemn them to death which is what the law demands. And so in the end it will be Eli and all of Israel that will have to pay for the sins of the sons. The good news in the story is that God’s gift to the barren Hannah is Samuel who is and will be everything Eli’s sons were not and through his intercession Israel will be saved. It is a story that repeats itself throughout the scriptures and all of human history. The practice of faith meant for blessing becomes instead a source of priestly power or superficial ritualized religion or worse the justification for hatred and violence. But God is always working to turn the curse back into a blessing which is why Hannah is gifted with Samuel who in turn is a gift to Israel. And of course that is the story of Christmas. We, like Eli’s sons have sinned against the Lord in thought, word and deed and cannot intercede for ourselves. But Jesus is and will be everything we are not. And so the gift to Mary becomes a gift for our world as God works to turn the curse into a blessing. But good news for us will be bad news for Jesus who is born to die for us, instead of us, ahead of us so we do not suffer the consequence our sins deserve. I know it might not be such a pleasant way to begin the week of after Christmas but then our sin is the real reason for the season. And in a strange sort of way that really does make for a Merry Christmas.

Advent 4 C - Luke 1:39-56

Luke 1:39-56

Mary went with haste to the hill country for good reason. To be unwed and pregnant was not a condition a woman wanted to be found in, especially in a small town where gossip once whispered would grow louder as Mary grew larger. She goes to see Elizabeth, who has had a remarkable conception herself, which may have made her more open to the extraordinary mother and unborn child who greeted her that day. John leaping in her womb prompted an exclamation, which seems to be the proper response to someone leaping in your womb, but this is more than an “Oh my!”  Elizabeth knows that this is one of those moments when heaven and earth meet and all of history pauses to hold its breath as the Holy and Invisible and Immortal is revealed to flesh and blood. And while she proclaims “Blessed are you…” Elizabeth knows that Mary’s blessing is hers as well and one thing leads to another and before you know it there is singing. It is a magnificent song that remembers the promise that God has remembered, to show mercy and strength, to embrace the humble and let the proud be lost in their futile thoughts which is a lonely place to be. Mary sings the powerful brought down and the lowly exalted, the hungry fed and the well fed hungry and in the singing I imagine the two unborn may have done a little leaping. It is lovely thing to imagine, two pregnant women embracing, dancing, singing because while the whole world just kept spinning as if nothing had happened they know the secret about to be revealed in the birth of the child, God with us. But of course as lovely and magnificent as that moment was the song will not be complete until punctuated by a cry of anguish “it is finished.” It is in the finishing that our song begins and the only way to sing it is to enter it, to allow our proud thoughts to be scattered and see that the hungry are well fed and whenever that happens the song goes back to the beginning, My soul magnifies the Lord.

Advent 4 C - Hebrews 5:5-10

Hebrews 5:5-10“You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings.” Really? Did anyone tell the lambs, doves and cattle? It seems like the covenant set in motion from Sinai was based solely on sacrificing something living so God wouldn't strike the children of Israel dead. There were a few prophets who speaking for God imagined that the sacrifice God really desired was for God’s people to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8) but that didn't stop or even slow down the system of sacrifice that, dare I say, the Levites (who have no land) depended on for their sustenance. Jesus came to do God’s will by putting an end to such sacrifice even though it meant the end of him. We don’t kill our pets to appease God but we have own religious systems that like the system of sacrifice allow us to keep God at a safe distance just in case, heaven forbid, we would become more like Jesus because we all know what doing God’s will did to him.

Advent 4 C - Psalm 80:1-7

Psalm 80:1-7
The lectionary offers the option of using Mary’s song, “My soul magnifies the Lord..” in place of the psalm, but I think the lament of Psalm 80 helps put both the prophetic word of Micah and its fulfillment in Luke into the proper context; namely God’s response to all that leads one to lament. Lament is the question of the scriptures; “How long, O Lord, will the wicked prosper?” and the cry of the abandoned, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” And so it is for us when in days and nights of questioning, with tears for our bread, when scorned and derided by life’s circumstances, we cry out, how long, O Lord? But there is within lament’s question the anticipation of Mary’s song for “How long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?” believes there will be a day of restoration. That is what makes Mary’s song magnificent. She and all of Israel have waited for this day not in silence but in complaint and when the silent God who is always present finally speaks through the offspring of Mary’s womb the centuries of lamenting are forgotten in the infant’s cry. For the cry of Mary’s offspring on the cross will be God’s lament whereby we are saved.

Advent 4 C - Micah 5:2-5a

Micah 5:2-5a
The lectionary for Advent 4C begins with verse 2 of Micah chapter 5 and ends before the fifth verse is finished. Maybe because the rest of Micah predicts the “one of peace” who comes from the little clan of Judah will do some damage to the Assyrians “and in anger and wrath execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.” (5:15) It’s not quite the stuff of Christmas carols but then Micah was written to people who had suffered the kind of carnage that calls for revenge or at the very least the reversal of fortunes. The Christ that was born in “O little town of Bethlehem” is nothing like the Messiah Micah imagined God would send. It will take a prophet like Paul to realize that God chooses what is foolish to shame the wise, what is weak to shame the strong and that the reversal of fortune that saves the world happens when the “one of peace” dies a violent death.

Advent 3 C - Luke 3:7-18

Luke 3:7-18

We don’t hear many “Brood of Vipers” sermons in the Lutheran church. It’s not that we don’t all need and even welcome a stern word now and then it’s just that Lutherans draw the line at being called poisonous reptiles. We’re happy to sing “Chief of Sinners Though I Be” and confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean but call us snakes and we might hiss at you. But with or without the snake reference this may be more of a true word for us than we’d care to admit. While we don’t presume to be children of Abraham we bet on being children of grace and bearing fruits worthy of repentance is more often a postscript than a priority. Like those who came out to be chastised and challenged by John the end of our confession must be “What then should we do?” Of course the question, as important and as necessary as it is, follows God’s answer for Christians of the Lutheran flavor. God’s forgiveness does not depend on our doing; our doing depends on God’s forgiving. True repentance anticipates absolution and in the freedom of forgiveness one cleans out the closet and gives away the extra coat. The good news of John’s exhortation is the end of our comfortable relationship with dishonest ways and vain striving after wealth and power. All of this is made possible by the powerful One who follows, the only anti-venom for a brood of vipers.  

Advent 3 C - Philippians 4:4-7

Philippians 4:4-7

 “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice” is a four part round I sang for years at church camp. It's one of those rounds you just keep singing because it has no obvious ending  and though not nearly as obnoxious as “It’s a Small World After All” it can get stuck in your head. Maybe that’s the point of these four verses – not the obnoxious part – but a way of living that gets stuck in your head and has no ending unless you choose to stop. Of course sometimes stopping is a choice made for us as anxiety mounts and prayers spoken into the silence of God defy our ability to understand. But then that is why we have to sing “Rejoice in the Lord always” as a round. Four parts compelling each other to keep singing and you cannot tell who is leading or who is following and every measure has a Rejoice. It is through the prayer of our life together that the peace of God transcends anxious times to guard hearts and minds and keep the song from stopping. So rejoice in the Lord always and again I say Rejoice!  

Advent 3 C - Isaiah 12:1-6

Isaiah 12:1-6
Isaiah 12:2-6 is the text for The First Song of Isaiah by Jack Noble White. The first time I heard it was some eighteen years ago at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church when I presided over a funeral for one of their members. The funeral was for a woman who had courageously battled cancer for more years than her original prognosis predicted possible and while we felt a deep sadness at the loss of one so faithful and beautiful and loved, we had a confident hope because of the truth of this scripture set to song. “Surely it is God who saves me. I will trust in Him and not be afraid. For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense and He will be my Savior.” In this scripture set to song the physical and spiritual weakness of human flesh, the fear, the doubt, the overwhelming sorrow is lifted with the melody as our singing is joined and supported and sustained by an invisible cloud of witnesses for whom the song is more true than we can at present imagine. Surely it is God who saves me… It is a song of defiant faith against all that would wither the soul with doubt and fear.  Surely it is God who saves me… It is a song of courage for times of trial and a song of comfort for times of sorrow. Surely it is God who saves me… a song for all our days until at last we reach the endless tomorrow. Surely it is God who saves me.

Advent 3 C - Zephaniah 3:14-20

Zephaniah 3:14-20

These are the last verses of the short book of Zephaniah. The rest of the book reads more like the first verse of the prophecy. "I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. Zephaniah predicts “a day of distress and anguish, of trouble and ruin, of darkness and gloom,” because Jerusalem has become complacent thinking God will do neither good nor evil. In the same way Assyria, that carefree city, “I am and there is none like me” is full of pride. But those who seek humility and righteousness, who accept the Lord’s correction, will sing for joy for they will be renewed in God’s love. The truth of this short book is that both spiritual complacency and spiritual pride are deadly in the life of the believer. We think that nothing we do really matters because God is like the kindly grandparent who might get a little upset but still has milk and cookies for us at bedtime. Or we are full of our own spiritual prowess and piety thinking that we can overcome sin itself and so judge all others accordingly. The woe that complacency and pride visit upon us is the same as the dreadful judgments of Zephaniah. We forget how to sing the song of the heart’s rejoicing and cannot hear the God who longs to exult over us with loud singing. So accept the Lord’s correction this day. Seek after humility and righteousness and sing out loud the song of rejoicing that is in harmony with the Lord.

Advent 2 C - Luke 1:68-79

Luke 1:68-79

The lesson that occupies the place of the psalm this Sunday is Zechariah’s Song and expresses the hopes and dreams of a people who have been waiting forever for their fortunes to change and their ship to come in. Zechariah sings it because he is a new father and his voice which had been taken from him earlier in the chapter has returned and that is reason enough to sing. But it is more than the song of a voice returned or a proud father who has high hopes for his son; no less than a prophet of the Most High! No, it is more than that for in a moment of Holy Spirit joy Zechariah sings the longing of every people oppressed by enemies or hands that hate, the longing of all people who yearn for light to shine in the darkness and the shadow cast by death itself. In that sense it is a song for all of us who are often our own worse enemies. Oppressed by thoughts and deeds that lead us far from God we hear a word of promise that in the mighty Savior floating in Mary’s womb tender mercy will rescue us and guide our hearts and minds in the ways of peace. And that calls for a song.    

Advent 2 C - Malachi 3:1-4

“Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple” by New Zealand artist Michael Smither, 1972 (Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, New Zealand)

Malachi 3:1-4
The offerings of Judah and Jerusalem have been less than pleasing and have wearied the Lord. Blind, lame and sick animals are substituted for lambs without blemish and the Lord would rather the temple doors be closed and locked than endure the stench of such dishonest offerings. The priests participate and profit from the scheme while the workers are oppressed, widows and orphans are not cared for and the alien is thrust aside. Perhaps it was because God seemed distant and the rules and regulations of the covenant relationship appeared arbitrary and economically oppressive. What’s a blind ram to an invisible God? And so corners are cut and liberties are taken and before you know it the relationship that enriched the people and God has impoverished both. Therefore God will pay a visit to the temple and do some housecleaning. With overturned tables and coins of money changers scattered the refining fire speaks the word of judgment, “It is written, my house will be a house of prayer but you have made it a den of robbers!” Not a week later the fullers’ soap speaks the cleansing word from a hill above the temple, “It is finished.” We who are more like Judah and Jerusalem than we care to admit need to hear the word of the refiner when our offerings are less than the best and corners that count are cut. And like Judah and Jerusalem in days of old our cleansing word will make our offering pleasing to the Lord.