Meditation for Christmas Eve: Matthew 1:18-25

SERMON    “Remembering Joseph”            Pastor Karen

      Those of you who have ever stopped in at the manse have met our 2 dogs, Molly and Mabel.  Molly is 9 and a half and the bigger one – a sheltie with a bright white mane.  Mabel is 4 and a half and about one third her size. She is strawberry blonde, and has a frizzy tail that flops over her back. And she is a Pomeranian. 

     Now most people who like dogs like Molly.  She’ll bark a little when she first meets you, especially if you are carrying a box or wearing a dark hood. But then, if you hold out your hand and speak softly, she will lick your fingers and let you pet her. She is sweet and companionable, sitting at my feet when I am working on the computer or lying beside my bed when I sleep.  She likes to play with a rubber cupcake squeak toy and go on long walks, no matter what the weather.   

    People sometimes have a different reaction to Mabel. They can’t wait to get away from her. Especially if they are the UPS or Fed Ex man and they have to put up with her deafening, high-pitched barking when they knock or ring the bell and try to deliver a package. She doesn’t stop making noise until she is sure the intruder is gone for good.

    But Mabel loves my husband, Jim. She follows him around the house, up the stairs to his office and down again to sit nearby when he plays guitar. If he goes outside, she stares at the door until he returns.  She sleeps under the bed on his side and greets him every morning by scratching at the bed and yapping.  She plays tug of war with his sweatpants when he tries to get dressed to take her outside.

      Mabel has no fear and doesn’t seem to know how small she is.  She has jumped, bitten, and chased off much larger dogs that venture too close to her home and family.

     Mabel, though she is just a dog and not a human being called by God, seems to have a calling in life, nevertheless—to care for Jim and, most of all, to protect him from harm. 

     ***

    Today we read of Joseph, a “just man,” a “son” or ancestor of David, who is engaged to Mary. But Mary is found to be with child by the Holy Spirit before they are wed. Joseph is worried about what will happen when folks see she is pregnant, so he’s thinking about sending her off to have the baby in secret.  We know he is afraid to marry her because when the angel appears to him in a dream, the angel says do not be afraid to take her as your wife.

        But Matthew doesn’t tell us why Joseph is afraid. Scholars disagree about what being a “just man” means, as well.  Does that mean he is worried about his own reputation being ruined by marrying her?  Or is he just trying to spare Mary the shame and public humiliation of being found pregnant out of wedlock?

        We don’t know for sure. It is very likely, though, that Joseph, a simple carpenter, is afraid of what it might require of him to be husband to Mary and, as such, the earthly father of this baby who is the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, the one who shall be called Jesus for He will “save His people from their sins.” What a huge responsibility to be guardian and protector of the Savior for the world!

      Still, Joseph does as the angel of the Lord commands him. He finds that his true calling is to be husband and loving protector of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

     Unfortunately, we often don’t think of Joseph in light of his true calling. We picture him in his occupation as a carpenter but rarely consider him in his roles as father and husband. Here at Ebenezer, we have a beautiful stained glass window devoted to Jesus learning carpentry with Joseph. I think we feel we can connect with a man who was skilled with his hands and whose work produced objects that were encountered and needed in everyday life.  We don’t have to look beyond our sanctuary to see the beauty of a carpenter’s work and how it blesses our worship.

         And yet the writers of the gospels don’t see Joseph’s occupation as that significant to the life of Christ.  The detail about Joseph’s occupation is completely omitted from Matthew, the gospel that provides more information about Joseph than any other.  In fact, we only know what Joseph does for a living because Mark, the gospel that doesn’t even identify Joseph by name, casually mentions in the sixth chapter that Jesus was the “son of a carpenter.” 

       Friends, at Christmas, our hearts tell us what’s important – and what should be our highest priority every day—not what Joseph did for a living or our own occupational identities. What’s important is our calling to be servants of the Lord—to love, care for, and protect the people God brings into our lives, no, not like silly little Mabel the Pomeranian adores and protects Jim, but like our Heavenly Father graciously, sacrificially, and unselfishly loves, forgives, and cares for us.

      This is how the gospel writers meant for us to remember Joseph—as the man who was faithful to God’s calling on his life to love and protect Mary and the Christ child, during uncertain, and violent times, and at risk to his own life.  Joseph continues to listen to the angel of the Lord, leading him to take Mary and young Jesus and flee in the middle of the night to safety in Egypt when King Herod seeks to kill the Child whom wise men say shall be the King of the Jews.  And though Joseph quietly disappears from gospel accounts after Jesus is around 12, Joseph, the “just man,” the godly man, the husband of Mary and earthly father to Christ, plays a humble but important role in our salvation history.

        At Christmas, we put aside our daily work and chores and follow our yearnings to come home to our families, come home to Christ. It is true that some people return to church after long absences, feeling drawn to the Lord and the old, old story that never fails to inspire us and strengthen our faith. Our hearts carry us back to the miracle in Bethlehem, the Living Christ who changed the course of history… Who brought light into darkness, hope where there was despair, and life into what was perishing. 

       We remember how God emptied himself of His divinity and became one of us. We remember how a virgin, with the help of a humble man named Joseph, brought forth her firstborn Son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.

      And called His name Jesus.

      For He will save His people from their sins. 

Let us pray.  Lord, thank you for bringing us back to Bethlehem, reminding us of our hope in the Living Christ, in your blessings of peaceful, abundant life.  Thank you that through your grace and faith in Him we have eternal life. Thank you for loving us enough to send your Son to suffer and die for us. Thank you for how you use our families and friends to show your tender care for us. Thank you for using humble, ordinary people to accomplish your plan for the salvation of the world and for coming to us when we could not make our way back to you on our own. Help us to be your voice, calling out the Good News of Jesus Christ to family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors who do not yet know you as their Redeemer and Lord. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Meditation on Luke 1: 26-38; 46-55

          “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Faith”          

Message for Fourth Sunday in Advent

Christ's Birth Announced and The Song of Mary 

     It all started with one empty banana box. John set it out in the lobby of his small church near the small town of Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania.  Oh, and he put up a sign requesting donations of clothing.

     You know the boxes I mean. The ones with holes that are used to ship bananas to grocery stores and Super Walmarts.  John noticed that banana boxes are relatively clean and strong enough for shipping clothing. He asked his local grocer what he was going to do with the banana boxes after the bananas were placed on display.

     Nothing, the grocer said.  So John got as many as he wanted for free.

     That was the easy part—finding the boxes to ship the donations of clothing, shoes, school supplies and personal care items. They would be shipped overseas to missionaries who distributed them to needy people, many of them refugees.

     The hard part was starting over—seeking his ministry and God’s Will for his life after he had already been the pastor of the church and principal of its Christian school.  Politics split the school and led to its closure. Afterward, John found himself in a mental crisis.  He sought help, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and began taking medications.  Slowly, with the support of God, his wife and his congregation, he began to crawl out of the deep well of depression he fell into when the situation at the school turned ugly.

     John couldn’t imagine life if he were not a pastor.  But he stepped away from his pulpit when anxiety wouldn’t allow him to speak publicly, let alone lead worship, preach, and do pastoral care.

     He wondered sadly if God would ever use him again.  If God could use him again, despite his struggle with mental illness. 

     He still had a heart for mission and the gift of compassion. And he was willing to serve however God led him to serve. He had lived in poverty and conflict as a child. He had experienced foster care, being moved from place to place.  He knew what it felt like to be hungry, needy, and the lonely outsider.

     Then, in 1991, his denomination’s district missions council asked him if he would be willing to serve as the compassionate ministries coordinator for the Washington District of the Church of the Nazarene, an area that covered 90 churches.   It didn’t matter to John that the position was new, not yet fully developed and completely volunteer.  He said yes.

    John read about a small African country called Mozambique that had undergone 15 years of civil war that left a million Mozambicans dead and 3 million refugees.  Half the country was unemployed. Drought had devastated the crops.  The people were in desperate need of food and clothing. 

    So John put out the banana box.  And he wrote about Mozambique in a newsletter that he sent to the 90 churches in his district.  He paid for the postage himself.

    The donations of clothing and shoes began pouring in.  They filled up the box in the lobby, then the entire lobby, the hallways, church basement, and garage. More clothes began to arrive, so John rented a trailer to store them in, again paying for it himself.  More than 1,200 boxes arrived.  And some church members helped John sort and repack the boxes, but he labeled and taped all 1,200 boxes himself.  Then he learned that he needed $8,000 to ship them to Mozambique. He felt faint. 

     He didn’t have $8,000.

     He sent a letter to churches that had donated clothing asking that they send money for shipping. They did.    

     On November 20, 1992, 15 volunteers from his church helped John load a container that was sent to Mozambique.  It was the first of many shipments of clothing and later school and medical supplies that originated from the tiny country church near the small town of Fawn Grove.

    God, who in His Word promises to mold and use us for good works He has already planned, blessed thousands of needy people around the globe through the ideas and efforts of one humble man and some gracious volunteers.

    Ordinary people.  Extraordinary faith.

***

   Why Mary is chosen for such a task—to be the one to bear the Savior of the World—only God knows. Luke does not explain why the Lord favors this young virgin, practically a child herself by our standards.  The bloodline is important, of course.  She is one of the children of Israel. And she is engaged to Joseph, who is a descendant of David.

     But we do not know what makes Mary so special that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ. 

     This puzzled me until I realized again this week that this is how God operates.  He doesn’t choose extraordinary people to do amazing things for Him; he chooses ordinary people who believe in Him and allow Him to do amazing things through them.

      Before the angel appears to Mary, she is just an ordinary Jewish girl living in Galilee. She says it herself—“My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior for He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me.”

      Although Luke tells us very little about Mary in this passage, he tells us what we need to know to understand who Jesus is. 

      He’s not just the Son of God.  He is also the son of an ordinary human being.

      In Jesus Christ, God takes on the form of a man with all his frailty. Christ had to suffer and be tempted in all the ways human beings experience, yet remain blameless—without sin—to be the perfect sacrifice for sinful humanity. 

     We couldn’t remove our own guilt, so our merciful God, because He loves us, removed our guilt through His Son, Emmanuel. So that in God’s eyes, because of Christ, we may also be seen as blameless, without sin.  We look ahead to the future with the hope of what we will be when God has finished making us into new creatures, transforming us into the likeness of His Son.

     It is as the angel Gabriel proclaims in our reading today, “For with God nothing will be impossible.”

 ***

       Mary is a wonderful example of how God accomplishes His purposes through those who are willing to serve Him. As is John, the one whom people in his denomination affectionately call The Banana Box Man.

       And we have been chosen, Ebenezer, to do good works for God that He has already planned. We have been chosen not because we are so special but because God is gracious and works through ordinary people whom He blesses with extraordinary faith.

       We have that blessing, brothers and sisters.

       And God will equip us in the coming weeks, months, and years to do His good works.

       He will reveal His Will for us if we faithfully seek Him.

       If our hearts are open to serving Him however He leads us. 

       And if we sincerely believe the words of the angel Gabriel, “For with God nothing will be impossible.”

     Let us pray… Lord, we are so thankful that you sent your Son to live among us, to be one of us, to save us from our sins.  Give us more of your extraordinary faith so that we may believe in your amazing love for us and so we may allow you to use us as you desire. Show us how to bring the love and peace of Christ to all we meet during this joyful season, when we remember and celebrate how you came to us so humbly, to an ordinary young woman named Mary.  In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

Pastoral Prayer for Third Sunday in Advent

     Merciful God, it is beyond our knowledge and understanding to put into words the wonders of your coming to be among us, and all that it revealed to us and continues to reveal to us.  We praise you for the light that came into the world at the birth of your Son, a light that is still shining and showing your glory to us.  Accept our worship that comes from hearts filled with awe and wonder.

     Lord Jesus Christ, as we prepare to celebrate your birth, we confess that we are often too busy with out festivities to take the time to think about all that your coming means.  We pretend that our arrangements of statues and trees and parties are how we can acknowledge your birth; but deep in our hearts we know that it is the way we live, the way we treat one another, the way we talk and love one another that are the sacrifices and proper celebrations you desire. 

     We thank you, Lord God, for creating the world and for sending your Son to redeem it.  We thank you that for our sakes he became human, died on a cross and was raised by your power.  We thank you that he is exalted in glory yet remains always with us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

     We thank you for your messenger and witness, John the Baptist.  We thank you for all who helped to prepare the way for the birth of your Son; for all who in love, service and suffering have walked in His way ever since; and for all who helped us know for ourselves the assurance of your saving grace.  In gratefulness we dedicate ourselves to following in His way, however hard it may be.

     Lord, as John came proclaiming your message of justice, may we, your church, be your voice for our own time in this wilderness here on earth.  We ask that by our words, prayers and actions, we may be messengers and witnesses for your kingdom of love, justice and peace.  As John came to prepare the way for your coming, may we, your church, seek to prepare the way for you to come into the lives of others.  Help us to follow Christ so that in all our relationships something of His love may be seen through us, something of His nature understood.  Strengthen us especially that we become your witnesses to the children; that we may teach and lead them to the knowledge of your grace.

     Lord, John came to challenge the religious people of his day.  May we, your church, always be ready to challenge our own attitudes and traditions in the name of your love.  Help us to make this congregation a place of healing where the anxious and depressed, the sick and the bereaved, and those who don’t recognize their own worth, may find acceptance and love so that through us they will see your glory and know that they are your beloved.  May our words, prayers and actions make us the forerunners of the joy that is life in Christ.

     You are here among us, Lord.  Comfort and heal your people, O Lord, so that all may know the wholeness of spirit that you desire for us. There are those among us suffering in body or mind.  Especially we ask that you be with those whom we name to you now: *Alice Beekman (surgery) *Ken Aalderks (persistent migraines) *Ione Wordes (recovering from cancer surgery) *George Fischer (recovering from shoulder surgery) *Laura Feldman (cancer) *Henry Freiborg (cancer treatments)  *Margie Hebrink (recovering from back surgery) *Barb Habben (Alzheimers and multiple health issues)  *Karen Polfliet (cancer)  *Sawyer Amundson (recovering from cancer surgery). 

    Be with us in our celebrations, O God:  birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, baptisms, and graduations.

   Be with our college children as they finish their last days of the semester and make the journey home.  Father, keep them safe.

    Be with those serving in the military who cannot be home for Christmas.  Father, keep them safe.

    We lift up to you individuals and families here among us.  Especially we pray this week for *Janice Geske and Brandon  *Barb Habben  *Anita Hagen  *Shawn & Sabrina Hagen and Aerial and Zandra.    

     Lord, hear our prayers and empower us to carry out your will on earth as we continue our prayer with the words our Lord left for us:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

forever. Amen.

Meditation for the Second Sunday in Advent

Wilderness Gospel

Isaiah 40: 1-11; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8

     The first time I heard the expression, “You’re going through a wilderness,” a friend was explaining what she thought I was feeling as a young mother years ago. I remember reaching out to God in prayer, reading my Bible, and staying active with my church, and yet the situation I was struggling with wasn’t getting any better. I felt very little joy.  It was a kind of spiritual desert. A time when I felt separated from God, even though I knew, in reality, that it wasn’t true.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

      My friend Krissy compared my spiritual struggle to the journey of the Israelites.  They had escaped captivity in Egypt, only to find themselves wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. They were lost.  Tired. Afraid. Some wondered if Moses had led them into the desert to die.

***

     On this Second Sunday in Advent, a season when we both hope for the coming of Christ and celebrate God with us, we read about John the Baptizer. He is the voice crying out from the wilderness, calling us to repent.  All 4 gospels tell us that John’s wilderness ministry fulfills Old Testament prophecy about the messenger preparing the way for the Lord.

     John had shunned the comforts of the urban middle class and the distraction of things to live a life solely for God in the desert. He wore camel’s hair—a rough, harsh garment—as a sign of his penitence.  His food was locusts and honey—nourishment that the wilderness provided. 

     Here is a man whose life is intimately connected with Jesus, right from the start. Luke tells us that John leaped for joy when he was in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth, when Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, came to visit the older woman. Elizabeth, a relative of Mary’s, lived in the city of Judah in the hill country with her husband Zacharias, a priest. At Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  She called Mary “the mother of my Lord.”

      Elizabeth had been childless until an angel visited Zacharias to announce his wife would bear a son. The angel said this baby, John, would grow to be “great in the sight of the Lord.”  He would not consume any wine or strong drink, and he would be filled with the Holy Spirit.  The angel said John “would turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.  He would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

       John boldly spoke the truth, though it meant risking his life. He proclaimed a message of social justice during a time of corruption and greed in the ruling classes and great unrest amongst the masses. He called religious leaders “hypocrites” and “vipers.”  He blasted materialism and selfishness. He challenged those who pretended to be pious, but whose lifestyles did not demonstrate love of God and neighbor.

     His message sounds a lot like Christ’s, doesn’t it?  But Christ had not yet begun his public ministry.  And He would not until He heard that King Herod had John arrested and shut up in prison. John had rebuked Herod for all the evils he had done, including unlawfully marrying his brother Phillip’s wife.

     People listened to John. The Spirit moved the multitudes to come and be baptized by him. In our Mark reading, all the land of Judea, and all who lived in the city of Jerusalem, went out to the wilderness to confess their sins and be baptized in the Jordan River.  

     And Jerusalem was a city of about 50,000 people at that time. 

     Even Jesus came out to the wilderness to be baptized by John.    Jesus would later say in Luke, “This is he of whom it is written: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You…    

     “There is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist…”

***

       I never thought of a wilderness as anything but a bad place before our reading this week.  I remembered what Krissy told me years ago when I was struggling.  About the Israelites wandering around, feeling miserable and abandoned. 

       But I am sure now that I got it wrong. The miracle of the wilderness is that God is there with us. We aren’t abandoned, though we may feel that way. It is a place where we cannot take care of ourselves, but we can rely on God to supply all our needs. The wilderness is here, where we dwell at this moment as Christians, living in the time in between the Resurrection and the Second Coming. The wilderness is a place where we work hard in faith daily—where we worship, pray, and confess our sins—so that Christ can cleanse our hearts, over and over again.

      The wilderness is a place of both joy and suffering. Like we talked about last week with the story of the rat, we are surrounded by evil and temptation in this world. There is sickness. Sadness.  Loss. But this is where God wants us right now.  This is where He is using us for His loving work.

       Second Peter chapter 3 verses 8 and 9 remind us that God is not like us. He sees all eternity at once. He is patient and merciful. “Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise…. But is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

       For those of you who may be struggling to keep hope, are grieving a loved one or battling a serious illness, remember that our Lord is always our Good Shepherd, and we are His sheep, forever secure in His care.

     My fellow lambs, hear Isaiah’s words of comfort, “The Lord will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm.  And carry them in His bosom. And gently lead those who are with young.”

      On this Second Sunday in Advent, John the Baptist cries out from the wilderness.   

      Repent and confess your sins.     

      Be made whole. Be filled with joy. 

      Remember, there is no place, no wilderness, real or imagined, where Christ will not already be…..  waiting for you. 

Let us pray.

    Heavenly Father, we can’t understand your love for us and why you sent your Son to die for us.  We can’t understand what you see in us.  Why you would make such a sacrifice. We are sinful creatures, helpless sheep, unable to care for ourselves, unable to love each other like we should.  We thank you for your forgiveness and your Holy Spirit that dwells within us. We thank you for your loving plans for salvation and that you have no desire for people to perish. We ask that you would give us opportunities and the courage to share this wilderness gospel with our family, friends, and community. We pray, Lord, that you would help us see hope and light during this in-between time when we await your return and only see and understand things in part.  We look forward to when we see you face to face and understand fully.  And you will reign on your throne forever and ever. In Christ we pray.  Amen.

Meditation for the First Sunday in Advent

                                        "Deliver Us From Evil" 

                        Isaiah 64: 1-9; I Cor. 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37    

I don’t know why I hesitated.  But I was glad later that I did.

     Jim and I had just pulled up in front of the Renville Post Office.  I had letters to mail and my hand was on the inside door handle of the Mini Cooper ….

    When we both saw it…The creature.

    We watched as it made its way across Main St. to the sidewalk in front of us—the one where the blue mailbox and my destination stood.

     Jim got out the words first, “What…is…that?!” he exclaimed.

    “That is a rat,” I said, dread washing over me.

    Now since this conversation, Jim and I have talked to others about the creature.  And we have looked on the Web. We have come up with a list of what it was not:

    It was not a muskrat.  Not a possum.  Definitely not a mouse.

    It had the body shape, head, and tail of a rat, but if it was a rat, it was the biggest rat we have ever seen.

   Seriously.  

   And it was walking down the sidewalk without fear, like it owned the place. 

    A young man in front of the lounge caught sight of it and crossed the street and walked toward it, laughing and making shooing motions with his arms. 

    The creature slowly turned, and began waddling in the opposite direction of the man.  As if it had simply changed its mind. 

    Jim said, “That is the most domesticated rat I have ever seen.”

   And I, ever the silly one, said maybe it was a pet. Ralph the Rat of Renville. 

    I still waited, though, till the creature was far away from the post office before I darted out to the mailbox, then back to the car, slamming the door shut. 

     Because I knew, deep down, this ugly thing was nobody’s pet.  In fact, there was nothing good about this disease-spreading rodent strolling through our small town in the daylight, showing no fear of human beings.  

     In a word, this thing was evil waiting to happen.  Nothing good comes from a rat.  And there is never just 1 rat!

    I don’t know why Jim and I were so surprised to see a big rodent here. 

     Rodents live just about everywhere, so why not in town where there is a grain elevator and dumpsters full of tasty morsels for a rat?

     Yes, it was logical that rats would be here.  But we certainly don’t want to see them.  We don’t want to know they are here.

   Thinking about the rat, I can’t help but shudder.

   Rats where children play and elderly people walk.  Evil waiting to happen.

***

   When I first read the Mark and Isaiah scriptures for today—the first Sunday in Advent, I thought, no way do I want to use lectionary scriptures for preaching this week.

     They seemed too gloomy for this joyous season. And it would be OK if I didn’t use lectionary if I felt the Lord was leading me elsewhere.  That happens.

   But the more I read them, the more I realized that I just didn’t like them because they spoke of evil – and not just the devil kind of evil, out there somewhere. They spoke of the evil within human beings.

     And how we should be watchful and alert because the Lord is returning and the end of the world as we know it is coming. That’s pretty scary stuff.

   We don’t like to think about evil and definitely not ourselves as evil.  Our pride keeps us from wanting to admit our own weakness and sinfulness.

     We want the love and acceptance of God, without the knowledge of our own depravity and unworthiness.

    But it’s true. We only have to turn on the news to hear about murders, greed, and violence in the world to be reminded that evil is alive and well… wherever people are.  It’s not just in the big cities.

    It is here, too.

    Evil is as bold and unafraid as a huge rat strolling the streets and sidewalks of Renville.  

     So, my brothers and sisters, you might be wondering why we need to talk about evil during Advent.  Because here’s the thing.  All of us would rather skip right to Christmas and the birth of our Savior.

     We want the beauty of transformed lives, without the reminder of what we used to be, or what we would be even now, without the Spirit’s intervention.

     And if we skip right over Advent, a time of anticipating not only the celebration of our Savior’s birth, but also the hope of the Second Coming, then we skip over the part about why Christ had to come in the first place. 

     And why He had to suffer and die.

    To appreciate God’s sacrifice and what He has done for us, we have to know how bad and how helpless we are to make things right on our own.

     That’s why Jesus taught us to pray every day for our Heavenly Father to give us our daily bread, forgive us as we forgive, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

     Because evil surrounds us and tempts us every day. Even in small towns like Renville.

   But here’s the promise we can count on. Paul in First Corinthians tells us that God’s grace has been given to us in Christ Jesus.

    So we can dwell in dark places and not be overcome by the darkness.

    We are not lacking any of the spiritual gifts we need, Paul says, as we wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    So do not fear; God will strengthen us to the very end. 

    And there’s more good news. Because of the death and resurrection of His Son, God sees those who love Christ and humbly seek forgiveness in Him as blameless!

     Christ’s sacrifice took the penalty for our sins, past, present and future.

     Therefore, God doesn’t see us as the big ugly rodents we would be without Christ and the Spirit transforming us into new creatures. 

     That means we don’t have to fear the end of the world and Judgment Day because for those who believe on Him, it will be like a joyous wedding feast. 

     God is the faithful potter and we are His clay.

    We can anticipate, long for, and hope on our Lord’s return, knowing He will deliver us from evil. 

    We are the work of His hands, forever in His hands.

Let us pray.

Holy and merciful God, let us never forget what you have done for us through the sacrifice of your Son.  Give us humble hearts that seek your Will for our lives and praise you all of our days. Guide us to walk in faith as the new creatures you want us to be.  Help us trust that you are working in us and that we are merely clay in the security of our loving potter’s hands. Keep us from the temptation to skip right past Advent to Christmas, without acknowledging our sinful state and our need for a Savior. Help us to be like Jesus and be lights in the dark places of this world, without fearing the evil that surrounds us.  In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

Strangers Among Us: Meditation on Ruth 2

     My friend, Gloria, called me this past Sunday afternoon. And though she speaks only a little English and I speak only a little Spanish, I was able to learn that she was in Colombia, South America, the place of her birth. She had gone home because her adult daughter, Lorena, was recovering from surgery in Bogota.  Gloria hadn’t seen Lorena in 3 years.

      Gloria is from Medellin—a city known for drug cartels, violence, and unemployment.  Around 45% of Colombians live in poverty. Even so, Gloria recalls fondly her birth country as the land of “eternal spring”-- tropical climate, white sandy beaches, and beautiful flowers, including wild orchids.    

     Medellin isn’t anything like York, Pennsylvania, where she and I met a year ago September. No sandy beaches, wild orchids or eternal spring there. But in York, Gloria’s younger daughters Cami and Dani learned English, graduated high school and went on to college, something their mother had hoped for when she came to America 6 years ago.

       Gloria says she has much to be thankful for. Cami graduates from Penn State with her bachelor’s on December 17.  And all the family will be together at Christmas for the first time in years.

      As I spoke with Gloria, I realized, once again, how grateful I am to have her for a friend.  Friendship is truly a gift from God. But I didn’t count on friendship when I went through training to be an adult ESL tutor.  I just wanted to help someone learn English and serve God with my gifts.

       Gloria was passionate about her Catholic faith, so I bought her a Spanish/English Bible. To our mutual delight, our English lessons included Bible reading in both languages. We also had lessons about everyday things, such as clothing. I brought in half my wardrobe one day so she could learn scarf, blouse, pants, jeans, mittens, hat, coat, sweater and so on. We laughed as we read easy children’s picture books, such as “The Jacket I Wear in the Snow.”   Even the word snow was new.

       Soon she was trusting me with many details of her personal life. She called me her “grand teacher” and her pastor. During our entire time together, she was working with immigration lawyers to try and get her Green Card. She also lost her job. She found work at one factory, only to be fired on the first day because she couldn’t speak English well enough.

     I remember her anger.  Because, you see, she was very proud of how much English she had learned with me.  She felt as if it was an insult to my teaching.

     I felt as if I had let her down.

     Months passed, and we spent more time together, but not just for formal lessons.  She and her daughters came to our house for Thanksgiving. A week later, she returned to help me decorate our Christmas tree. She now knew words like “angel,” “present,” “stocking,” “tree” and “ornaments.”  We made Christmas cookies together – something she had never done before. Her English and our friendship were growing stronger. 

         Gloria and I are very different people.  She likes the city life, dancing and parties.  I like the quiet and open space of the country, intimate dinner gatherings, and walking in a garden.  But we have many things in common, including our love for our family and hope in Jesus Christ.

      When Boaz meets Ruth, he notices she is different. And this wealthy farmer, who greets his workers with a blessing, reaches out to Ruth, going way beyond what the law of Moses requires for providing for “the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.” His motives are pure.  He doesn’t ask for anything in return. When she asks him why he is kind to her—a stranger—he says it is because she has been good to her mother-in-law and because she has turned to the God of Israel for refuge. He allows himself to be an instrument of God’s peace and justice when he offers protection—telling her not to glean from any other field.  Hasn’t he told the men on his fields not to touch her? He looks after her well-being. He tells her to drink from the water jars that the paid male laborers drink from!  He invites her to eat with him, pours grain for her, and offers her oil and wine to dip it in.  What I find most touching is when Boaz tells his workmen to give her more sheaves without being obvious about it, as if they had dropped to the ground by chance.

         When I learned in July that I would be moving to Minnesota, I knew that it would be hardest to tell Gloria. I hated to see her so distressed.  She had counted on me—her teacher, her pastor, her friend.  And now I was leaving. 

       I tried to tell her that I would miss her. She stared at me blankly, tears streaming down.  She did not know that phrase and I couldn’t explain it better.  I said goodbye with an empty feeling inside.  Why would God call me to a ministry of kindness to a stranger, only to separate us so soon after we became good friends?  But I was sure that it was not by chance that Gloria and I met; just like Ruth did not just happen to be in Boaz’s field when Boaz showed up.  Both relationships were in God’s plan and were for God’s purposes. God had brought Gloria and I together during her time of great need and my time of formation and preparation for parish ministry. 

     Ruth and Boaz eventually marry. Ruth was David’s great grandmother and is in the family tree of Jesus Christ.

       The story of Boaz and Ruth confirms our calling as a people of faith to be kind to the strangers among us, the people God brings in and out of our lives in order to accomplish His purposes. What God desires is relationships, not just random acts of kindness.  Giving money, clothing and food to people in need is important, but God requires even more. He asks us to care for the stranger as if they were our own kin.

       In Christ, God is reconciling the world to Himself and human beings with each other. That means in Christ, loving relationships with all people are possible. In Christ, we are all known, understood, forgiven, and cherished, no matter the language we speak, the church in which we worship, and the place we call home. 

       It had been about a month since I had heard from Gloria when she called this past Sunday. We laughed together, still close despite the many miles between us. I told her we had some snow, and she joked that I needed to wear my bufanda—my scarf.

         While saying goodbye, she asked me to wait as she asked Lorena for help with her English. She said to me then, “I miss you.” 

         I was so surprised, I couldn’t respond at first.  So she said it again. Louder.

         That simple phrase brought me such joy. It was as if God was reassuring me that He was still taking care of her. She would be OK… and so would I. And our friendship would continue on.

         I answered, “I miss you too!” And added, “God be with you!”

         I knew He already was.

Let us pray.

Dearest Lord, we give thanks with a grateful heart for the many blessings we have.  Too often we ask for more; too little we give thanks for what we have.  We are so blessed for having so much, for family, for friendships, for the many worldly things that you have loaned us, and for the food before us each day.  Open our eyes to the strangers among us, Lord, the people you bring in and out of our lives to accomplish your purposes.  Open our hearts to the needs and vulnerabilities of the stranger. Show us how to give of ourselves and form relationships with people who seem different from us.  Teach us to love as you love, Lord, unconditionally, and forgive as you forgive, over and over again.  We pray with thanksgiving, in Christ, knowing that what we request according to thy Will will be done.  We pray as one people of faith.  Amen.

"The Shoebox Story”

Message on The Parable of the Talents: Matthew 25:14-29

     There once was a little church named Starview. It had never been a large church but it had been there in the rural village of Starview, Pennsylvania, for more than 100 years.  The building was well kept, but it needed some updates.  Bathrooms were located in the basement and weren't handicapped accessible.  Most people who attended lived in the village or just outside the village.

      The people who came to Starview were like a family.  They had known each other all their lives. It was a loving church. The people liked to stay a while after worship to drink coffee and swap stories. They couldn’t imagine what church would be if they didn’t have their church. With fewer than 20 people left, and all of them retired, there wasn’t much money to pay a pastor.  The church had little hope for growth because older folks were passing away and younger folks weren’t coming to fill in the gaps. Younger people who moved to the village, if they were churchgoers, were willing to drive a distance to attend a nondenominational church—one that offered programs for children, had numerous pastors on staff, a lively music ministry that sounded professional, and spacious, comfortable facilities. 

       Starview just couldn’t compete with that. 

       So one Thanksgiving, oh, about 10 years ago, they called the religion reporter at the local newspaper.  That was me. Their denomination, the United Methodist Church, had told them that they would be closing by Christmas. They were sad, but they were determined to be a church for as long as they were together.

     They were excited about their shoebox ministry. They wanted me to write a story. This was my first experience with Operation Christmas Child, a program of Franklin Graham's Samaritan’s Purse.  This is the same ministry the youth of our church and Presbyterian Women decided to get involved with this year.  Youth met Nov. 13 at First Lutheran in Renville to fill old shoeboxes with gifts of toys, mittens, school supplies and personal care items.  The shoeboxes will be shipped to children living in poverty in this country and overseas.

       Starview showed me their stack of boxes that a handful of elderly people had filled, using up all the money they had in their mission fund and adding a whole lot more of their own. The stack was more like a tower.  We are talking more than 100 boxes filled with presents!  Inside each one, they had tucked a signed Christmas card with a personal message for a child. Starview wanted to be found faithful serving the Lord right up until the end. They wanted Christ to say to them when He returns, “Well done, good and faithful servants. … Enter into the joy of your lord.”

****

     Our gospel lesson today is known as the Parable of the Talents.  And it is one of the most confusing and misunderstood passages in Matthew.  First of all, it is a parable or allegory, meaning we interpret the story symbolically and not literally. Second, the word Talent doesn’t mean how we use it today, such as being a talented actress or musician.  A Talent was back then an extraordinary amount of money, equivalent to about 6,000 denarii, which would take 20 years for a day laborer to earn!  In today’s language, then, if a laborer makes say $25,000 a year, then giving him a Talent would be like giving him half a million dollars.

        Here’s what makes this parable even more confusing.  The message isn’t about money at all.  The message isn’t that we should work hard and "grow" our money or else what we have will be taken from us.  No—that is certainly not the message of the gospel! Later in Matthew 25, Jesus will scold his disciples, “for I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink.  I was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me….  In as much as you did not do it to the least of these people, you did not do it to me.” 

     Jesus, in the Parable of the Talents, is just using the language of commerce to reach his audience. It’s what they know. Jesus is really talking about the more precious gifts that God has given us—gifts of grace, forgiveness, and love.  These are gifts that we can’t possibly earn. They can’t be bought with any amount of money. The most precious of God’s gifts is the gift of eternal life through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

     The lazy servant who buries his one Talent has turned his precious life-giving gift into a possession. He hides it and hoards it out of fear that he might lose what he has.  He protects it out of fear of the one who has given it to him—when the one we serve is a God of lovingkindness, generosity, and mercy.  This servant doesn’t even know whom it is he serves when he says, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man…  And I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground.  Look, there you have what is yours!”

     This parable is about what it means to be Christ’s disciples.  We are bearers of the Good News. We have many spiritual gifts and material resources that God has given us. We are laborers for the harvest of souls until our Lord returns again.  And here’s the thing. We don’t know when He is coming back.  We just know that He is. And when He comes, we want Him to find us busy and faithful—like little Starview. They had every reason to whine, complain and hoard what little money they had.

     But they didn’t.  And know what?

     Christmas came and went, and they kept on meeting in the church every Sunday.  They kept on putting money in the offering basket and enjoying one another’s fellowship. The denomination never shut them down. They just kept right on going. And I have a feeling they are still filling shoeboxes to give to needy children.

      Brothers and sisters-- let us join together in compassionate ministry.  I urge you today—if you are just thinking about it—now is the time to share your gifts and creativity. May the Lord find us busy serving Him, using the gifts and resources He has given us.  Let us be ready to hear Christ say those words we long to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servants…Enter into the joy of your lord.”  Amen. 

What is her name?

I don't know why this is frustrating to me, since the Bible is full of stories about women with scant details provided, but it bothers me that we do not know the name of the "Samaritan woman at the well."  We know her "sins" -- that she was married 5 times and that the man she is currently "with" is not her husband-- but we do not know her name. 

One commentary I read calls the Samaritan woman a "model Christian."  I have to agree with this opinion. After all, she listens to Jesus, trusts Him enough to ask questions, and then understands who Jesus is -- the Christ, the long awaited for Messiah.  Next she goes and enthusiastically tells others about Him.  Finally, she brings others to sit at His feet and learn from Him.  So even though she is a "sinner" -- she is a model of a true believer. 

This same commentary compares the Samaritan woman to Paul, who was a killer and persecutor of Christians before having an encounter with Christ that changed his life.  He became a great evangelist and leader in the Church.

But what about the "Samaritan woman?"  How do we know the story of "Paul/Saul" but not even the Samaritan woman's given name?  Is it because she is a woman?  Is it because her "sins" were particularly heinous?  What exactly were her sins, anyway? What happened with her first 5 husbands?  Was she a prostitute?  We'll never know for sure....

The Samaritan Woman at the well

Today on my faith journey--for my first ever blog entry--I am thinking about the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-54.  My initial question is that I am wondering why the lectionaries leave out important sections of this chapter, which is really one complex unit and a story within a story.  I don't think I have ever heard this entire chapter preached on as a unit, and that is what I plan to do this Sunday at our little country church, Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, just a few miles north of Renville, Minnesota, on County Road 6.  I am just beginning to think about what this chapter means to me and what it might mean to the people of faith in my flock.  I want to meet them right where they are and this is a farming community, busy but nearly finished with the sugar beet and corn harvest.

If you get a chance to read this chapter today, tell me what stands out to you.  So far I have noticed that Jesus seems to be deliberately going off on his own, after sending the disciples off to buy food.  He goes to a place where good Jewish people do not go--to Samaria.  And he goes to the well, a place where women of all sorts were likely to be found.  Was Jesus really alone with the Samaritan woman--or were there witnesses to what must have seemed a scandalous interaction between a woman with "five husbands" who is living with a man who is not her husband?  Did anyone overhear his conversation about "living water?"  Why did He take so much time with this one person-- a woman of such low status, too?  Did He know before He went there that she would be there and that she, a sinner, would be the one to listen to His message and believe that He was the Christ, the Messiah?

More on this later....  May God bless you through His Word, my dear companions, on this journey of faith. 

Pastor Karen