Theovolution

Sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, January 25, 2009,

Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B,

(word count: 1157)

Theovolution

Our second reading, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, is weird. In those verses, Paul writes, “Let those who have wives be as though they had none. [A] nd those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.”

“What? Paul, are you saying that, if I am married, I should act like I'm not? I don't think Kim would take kindly to that. And if I am grieving, am I supposed to put on a phony smile and pretend that I am fine? That's dishonest. Aren't we Christians supposed to be honest, genuine, not phony? Paul, why do you urge us in this passage from 1 Corinthians to act the opposite of the way we are?”

Paul replies, “Dave, you're misunderstanding my poetry. Of course I want you to be faithful to Kim. After all, I write elsewhere in 1 Corinthians that a married person should care for her or his spouse. Likewise, if you are grieving or rejoicing, of course you are not be phony. Christians are to be genuine, truthful.”

“Okay, Paul, so what do you mean when you tell us to act the opposite of the way we are?”

Paul puts his large, rough hand on my shoulder. He holds up an index finger and says, “What I mean, David, is that you and I, the baptized, need to focus on God. Don't let marriage, grief, joy, possessions, or worldly dealings get in the way of concentrating on God.” He nods. I nod. We both nod. Then he adds, “And one crucial reason for focusing on God is that the end is near. The end is near.”

When I hear Paul say that, I remember him writing in 1 Corinthians 7, “The appointed time has grown short [ . . . ] the present form of this world is passing away.” The time is fulfilled, so focus on God first. Get ready. Repent and believe. Drop everything. Put Christ first. Don't procrastinate. Don't put Christ off to tomorrow. The time is now. The end is near.

I say to Paul, “Sir, no offense, but the Church has been announcing for two-thousand years that the end is near. You wrote 1 Corinthians two millennia ago, but the end has not come. Why should I continue to believe that the end is coming, that the present form of this world is passing away?”

Paul clears his throat. He says, “We simply must have faith that the end will arrive. In the meantime, the present form of this world is passing away. It may be passing away slowly, but it is still passing away. God is today working on making all things new. The new creation is a work in progress.”

I recall Revelation 21:5, in which, indeed, God declares, “I am making all things new.” We don't know when the end will come, but we do know that God is working in the present to erase the old world, to make all things new. The deletion of this world and the final renewal will not happen in a blink at the end. The renewing process goes on yesterday, tomorrow, and today, right now.

God is causing creation to evolve into a new world in which sin and death will be extinct and new life will stand upright. God is making all things new. God is causing the world to evolve.

By using the term “evolve,” I don't mean evolution in the sense of Darwin, although Darwin's theory is sound. Darwin was a genius who gave us an understanding of nature that scientists have verified over and over. Further, a Christian can believe in Darwin's theory and be a Christian. In fact, Darwin himself writes in The Origin of Species, “I see no good reason why the views given in this volume should shock the religious feelings of any one.” Moreover, in 2005, 10,000 clergy signed an e-letter that states, “[ . . . ] the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist” (in Peters, Martinez, Can You Believe in God and Evolution, p.88). I agree.

I agree with much of Darwin's theory, too, but I am not talking about Darwin here. Here, when I use the word “evolution,” I mean simply that God is working right now, today and every day, to make the old world pass away and to make all things new (Peters, Martinez, p.130-1).

Many of us Christians talk as if the opposite were the case. We speak as if the world is getting worse, not better. It is indeed tempting for us to believe that good is losing to evil.

However, the Bible declares otherwise. Granted, Scripture, such as in Revelation, warns us of terrifying disasters and unprecedented evil. At the same time, the Bible holds before us fragrant, blooming hope. In essence, Revelation and other passages announce, “Yes, there will be horrors, but do not give up hope. Even when Satan spits in your face with his claws around your throat, do not give up hope.” God assures us, saying, “I am making all things new. Trust me. I really am. You'll see.”

Hm. Technology and medical science have never been better. Maybe those improvements are part of God making all things new. What other improvements are there? Could it be that we can see, hear and feel evidence of God making all things new, of God making the world better? I wonder.

In any case, whether we can see evidence or not, we have the promise that sin will not win; Satan will not survive; death will die; wickedness will wither. Christ will return to end evil. We have the scrumptious promise that today, right now, God is working, sleeves rolled up, making all things new. By God's power, the world is evolving away from evil and toward love eternal. In fact, maybe this week, God will use you, one of the baptized, to help make the world new.

Now Jesus stands face-to-face with you. He says, “I have won a place in heaven for you. You are the baptized, the saved. So then, drop everything. Follow me. Help make the world new.”

Stand Up

Sermon on Theodicy and St. James' Mission

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, January 18, 2009,

Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B,

(word count: 979)

Stand Up

The number one reason people give for rejecting God is suffering. “If God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and supremely loving, then why is there suffering?” Why? Some people say, “I can't believe in a god who allowed the Holocaust and 9-11. I can't believe in a god who allows cancer, Alzheimer's and drunk drivers to kill people I love. God, we're through. As of now, you and I are no longer on speaking terms.”

Why does God permit misery? That's a legitimate question, and it is difficult to answer. The Bible, such as in Psalm 22, gives us permission to ask why, but there is no guarantee we will receive an answer. I have yet to hear an answer to the why question that puts to rest all doubts and follow-up questions. Why does God permit misery? I don't know.

Part of the answer is free will. God does not want us to be robots. God wants us to be free. God has granted us free will, and free will means that we humans have the freedom to sin. Free will means that people have the freedom to fly planes into buildings or shoot strangers at school. Free will means that people have the freedom to lynch people because of their skin color. Why does God allow suffering? One reason is that God allows free will, and free will includes the freedom to do evil.

Further, sometimes that freedom to do evil has a far-reaching effect. Think about it. A little girl is hit by a car and killed. We are angry with God. We want to know why he let this happen. We demand answers. What we don't know is that she had raced into the road to try to catch her cat. Her cat had escaped from the house because the girl's older brother had left the screen door open. He had left the screen door open because he had been moving his stuff out of the house. He had been moving his stuff out because he had just had a fight with his parents and had decided he wouldn't live at home anymore. He had fought with parents because he had come home drunk the night before. So the girl's brother's free will resulted in the girl running into the street after her cat.

On top of all that, the driver didn't see her until the last instant because he had been driving too fast. He had been driving too fast because he was mad at his wife. He was mad at his wife because she had cheated on him. So then, the wife used her free will to cheat on her husband, and the husband used his free will to drive too fast. As a result, he did not see the girl until it was too late, and the girl was in the road chasing her cat, who had escaped from the house due to the brother leaving the door open while moving out of the house after having been yelled it for coming home drunk. Why is there suffering? Part of the answer is the web of free will in which we are entangled.

So what can we do about suffering? Get mad at God and stop talking to him? Get mad at humanity and declare the world no-good? We could, but we Christians are a people of hope. Indeed, our mission this year at St. James is to be the voice of God proclaiming hope in Christ, the Holy Light.

By the Holy Spirit's power, we at St. James can and shall use our free will to be the voice of God proclaiming hope in Christ, the Holy Light.

When a child lies dead, we may lack a good explanation why, but we can be the voice of God for the bereaved. We can visit, pray, bring food, and donate money to help the family, not just in the days after the death, but in the months and even years to come.

When a family has lost its home to a fire, by the Spirit's power we can use our free will to be the voice of God proclaiming hope. We can raise money to help that family. We can assist those people in finding housing. We can pray for them.

When we worry that our children aren't learning proper values, by the Spirit's power we can use our free will to be the voice of God proclaiming hope in Christ. We can make sure our Sunday school program teaches our kids the values we believe they need to know.

We can worry and fret, complain and grumble, full of doubt and pessimism, or we can, by the Spirit's power, use our free will to be God's voice proclaiming hope in Christ, the Holy Light.

That's what Martin Luther King, Jr. did. Racism and violence surrounded him, but he refused to give up. He refused to let doubt and darkness overpower him.

Who kept King going? God. One night, someone called King on the phone and threatened to blow his brains out and blow up his house. King hung up, sat alone in the kitchen late at night. He prayed. He then heard an inner voice say, “Martin Luther, stand up. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth, and I will be with you, even to the end of the world!” By God's power, King was a man of hope, full of the voice of God.

So also with us, the people of St. James, the baptized. Stand up for hope. Stand up for the Good News. The Spirit gives us power, so we can use our free will to be God's voice proclaiming hope in Christ, the Holy Light. Stand up. Stand up.

“Lord, speak to us that we may speak,” and God says, “I AM.”

Personalized Voice Proclaimng Hope in Christ, the Holy Light

Sermon on the Voice of God

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, January 11, 2009,

Baptism of the Lord, Year B,

(word count: 868)

Personalized Voice of God Proclaiming Hope in the Holy Light

In our readings, we hear about the voice of God. In Genesis 1, God's voice causes light to exist. In our psalm, we feel the voice of God shaking the world with power. In our gospel, Mark 1:4-11, as Jesus stands naked in the Jordan, God tears the sky in half, the Holy Spirit swoops down to penetrate Jesus, and the voice of God announces, “You are my son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

The voice of God – I have heard it. So have you.

Jesus teaches in Matthew 25, “Whenever you minister to the least of my brothers and sisters, you minister to me.” Therefore, when you visit a person in the hospital and he says through his oxygen mask, “Thank you,” you are hearing the voice of God. When you talk with a prison inmate, even if she has committed disgusting crimes, you are hearing the voice of God. An illegal alien begs for food for his starving daughter, and we hear the voice of God. Whenever we minister to a person in need, we minister to Jesus Christ, to God himself.

When else do we hear the voice of God? We hear it when we listen to someone read the Bible, for the Bible is the Word of God. Sure, humans wrote down the Bible. The book is not perfect, because there is a human influence. Even so, the Bible is still God's Word. Therefore, when we hear the readings, we are hearing from God.

We hear the voice of God in the sermon. Granted, we preachers are flawed. We are often boring, irrelevant, even heretical. Still, the sermon arises from Scripture and the Spirit. So then, despite its flaws, the sermon contains the voice of God.

We also may hear the voice of God inside our head. You've heard that voice. It's hard to know for sure the origin of the inner voice. Sometimes the inner voice is the devil, and sometimes that voice is just us. Then there are instances when that inner voice is from God. Figuring all that out, of course, is challenging. We can help each other with that discernment.

It can indeed be a struggle to hear the voice of God, not only in our selves but also in the world. Last Wednesday at Bible study, Nancy and I lamented the death of children in the Gaza strip. That carnage has slain many. All that absurd violence – where is the voice of God in that?

Then Nancy told me about a doctor over there working to save as many lives as possible. On TV he mourned the slaughter and spoke about how there were many more casualties than there were people to tend to them. Nevertheless, that doctor was doing whatever he could to help those victims, and there are others doing the same. That doctor, telling us of the horror, is the voice of God. That doctor, speaking comfort to Israeli and Palestinian children, is the voice of God for those victims.

In other words, sometimes God uses us to be his voice for the sick, the broken, the hopeless. After all, he Bible tells story after story of God using people to accomplish his work. For example, God uses King Cyrus of Persia to liberate the people of Israel. God uses us, too. We can be the voice of God.

We the baptized, God's adopted children, like Devin, have a holy calling to love God and love the neighbor. Part of loving God and neighbor is being God's voice for a world struggling to hear harmony over the cacophony of clanging, crashing sin. God says to you, the baptized, “Because of my dear son, your king, you are among my beloved. Because of my son, with you I am well pleased. So now, go. Be my voice for all the unloved, soulbroken, war-beaten.”

Last Sunday, I proposed that, in 2009, St. James focus on being a congregation of hope in Christ, the holy light. Let me add that St. James focus this year on being the voice of God. We, St. James, in personal ways, are the voice of God that proclaims hope in Christ, the holy light.

Indeed, the Spirit has blessed our congregation to excel at being God's voice. One of the beautiful features of St. James is that our moderate size makes it easy for us to get to know one another. Knowing one another well makes it that much easier to be the voice of God for and with one another. There are many benefits to a large congregation, but one of the benefits of a smaller congregation like ours is that personal touch. We can speak a personal word to each other because we have a size that enables us to get to know each other. Our size makes it easier for us to speak a personalized word as we strive to be the voice of God proclaiming hope in Christ, the holy light.

Picture it. You and I, St. James, part of the baptized, the beloved, will find new ways in 2009 to be the voice of God which proclaims hope in Christ, the holy light.

Not Black Hole, But Holy Light

Sermon on John 1:1-18

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, January 4, 2009,

2^nd Sunday Of Christmas, Year B,

(word count: 893)

Not Black Hole, But Holy Light

If someone asked, “What is St. James?” what would you say? “Well, we're a small, country church, and we're friendly.” Actually, statistically we are medium-sized, and we're located, not in the country, but in a small town near a large city. We are friendly, though. What else? What is St. James? What is our identity? We're Christian, Lutheran – ELCA, to be exact. We're largely Caucasian, blue-collar, in the shadow of Pittsburgh. What else? What is St. James?

John 1, our gospel, points us to a crucial, crucible part of the answer: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” We hear that statement in our gospel, in verse five. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” The light is Christ. Christ, the Word, born in the Bethlehem-barn, is the light who shines in the darkness.

Note that the verse does not declare that there is no darkness. We still feel the gravity of darkness: denial, betrayal, abuse, mockery, injustice, thorns, nails. The verse from John one does not claim that the coming of the light means the end of darkness, at least not yet. For now, darkness persists. The Good News is that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

The light is Christ. He shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not, cannot, and will not overcome Christ. Romans 8 tells us that nothing can separate us from love in Christ. Revelation 21 and 22 present a sparkling, flourescent portrait of Christ reigning forever. Christ, the born, crucified, risen and returning one, shines in our darkness, cuts through it, and the darkness has no chance of overcoming him, of overcoming the Light.

Because of this truth, we Christians, red and yellow, black and white, all of us, the baptized, always have hope. No matter how strong the fierce pull of Satan's black hole, the gravitational pull of the holy light is stronger always. Because of the Light, we have hope.

What is St. James? St. James is a place of hope in Christ the Light. Such is the case with all the baptized, but many of us are quick to forget. Have you noticed? Legions of us baptized mope around with our shoulders slouched as if we have no hope, as if a black hole of evil is sucking up our world. We gripe, whine, and grumble. We rant about how kids today are no good, all politicians are crooks, people are more violent than ever, and the future for our grandchildren is dismal. There is some legitimacy to our complaints, but we obsess over the gloom, ignoring the hope. We forget those fragrant phrases: “The light has shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

What if we at St. James chose to be different from the majority of others? I have a vision. I have a vision of St. James as a place of hope in Christ the Light. We acknowledge the darkness, but we know, believe, and profess that there is something stronger, something greater. Satan's black hole will collapse. The holy light of Christ is stronger. Because of Christ, we have hope. Because of Christ, we shall advance beyond complaining, whining and grumbling to hope. Because of Christ, we have the strength to resist the black hole and show with our words and actions that grow from our belief in the hope of the holy light.

So then, when people fret about violence, we can reply, “Yes, there is the darkness of violence, and there is also the light. Millions of people of all colors and religions help one another and do kind deeds every day, including you and me, and the light of Christ makes all that goodness possible. We are mightier than the black hole; we have the holy light.”

When people gripe about corrupt politicians, we can say, “You're right. There are corrupt politicians, but Christ's light is brighter than corruption. Throughout history, God has accomplished miracles, despite cruel dictators, perverse kings, and stubborn pharaohs. Herod is dead, Hitler is dead, Hussein is dead; Christ lives. We are mightier than the black hole, because we have the holy light.”

When we see our neighbors letting Satan's black hole suck them into a give-up mentality, you and I, the baptized, can recall the words of Gandhi, “You must become the change you wish for.” You and I, full of Christ's light, walking in Christ's light, shall become the change we wish for. We shall lead others, even if only a little each day, away from the black hole toward the holy light.

During this year, 2009, let's as a congregation make a resolution to be a people of hope in Christ's light. As you eat and drink the body and blood – as you eat and drink the Light of God, feel the Light of Christ fill you, warm you, heal you – as we eat and drink the Light, let us resolve to be a congregation of renewed hope in Christ. “We are a congregation of hope, moving away from the black hole toward the holy light.”

Then, when people hear of St. James, Youngstown, they will say, “Oh yes, St. James. That's the congregation full of hope in the holy light.”

Christ Makes Illegal Immigrants - and Us - Mary

Sermon on Luke 1:26-38

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, December 21, 2008,

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B

(word count: 783)

Christ Makes Illegal Immigrants - and Us - Mary

Mary was a low-income, unwed teenager from a hick-town with one traffic light. God dedicates her by making her pregnant with Jesus, the Messiah. Imagine. The angel Gabriel sings, “The Lord is with you! The power of the Most High will overshadow you. Your child will be the Son of God.” Mary responds, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.” God calls upon her to be the mother of God, and she replies, “I'm ready.”

How about you and me? “The Lord is with you!” “And also with you!” Christ was born to die and rise. Now we, the baptized, have eternal life for free. Christ has yanked us out of Satan's rotting mouth. Christ will return to finish salvation. Christ comes to us right this moment. The Church is Christ's body. Where two or three gather in his name, Christ is present. Christ comes to us through Bible and sermon. Christ feeds us his real presence, his body and blood, through holy communion. Christ declares in Matthew 28, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” “The Lord is with you!”

Do you believe that? Do you believe that the Lord is with you, closer to you than you are to yourself? When we declare, “The Lord be with you,” we are saying, “The Lord is with you, so act like you believe that.” Act like you believe that the Lord is with you. Right here. Do you live like the Lord is with you? Do I? Does St. James. Every day, we are holy, the saint-community. We are bearers of Christ, like Mary. The Lord is with us.

No matter how little money you have; no matter how sick you are; no matter how many dirty dishes you have in the sink; no matter how low your self-image is, Christ is with you.

Imagine the angel Gabriel standing before you, blazing, fierce eyes unblinking, smelling like spring air. With a voice like a trombone, he says, “The Lord is with you! Do not be afraid, for God has shown you favor through Jesus Christ.” You can feel God's love impregnating you with holy power. You are one of God's glowing, sacred children, baptized, full of Messiah-muscle. The Lord is with you.

Since the Lord has filled you, you have the faith to see that the Lord has filled others, too. Look around. Relatives, friends, acquaintances, strangers, enemies – the Lord is with all Christians. The Lord is with people you dislike – people who talk too much, brag, lie, gossip. The Lord never says, “I am with you, unless you have flaws.” Otherwise, Peter would be out. James and John would be out. Thomas, out. But thanks be to God that you do not have to be perfect for the Lord to be with you. Christ is with us because he loves us, not because we deserve his presence. So then, the Lord Christ is with all of us in the Church, even with those who annoy, upset or offend us. Jesus does not say, “I am with you always, unless you sin.” He says, “I am with you always, period.”

The Lord is also with people who are different from us. The Lord is with Pedro, who attends church every Sunday with his wife and two daughters, ages seven and five. Such cute girls. The one is shy, the other talks too loudly. Pedro thanks God for the infant Jesus, thanks God for Christ dying on the cross. Pedro is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. He is breaking the law. He is far from perfect, he is a sinner, but he is still a member of the Church. The Lord is with Pedro, and because the Lord is with you, you have the faith to see that the Lord is with Pedro, is with all in the Church.

As we ride into the twelve-day season of Christmas, let us remember that we are Mary, we are the ones God has dedicated through Christ. Even with our flaws, we are still Christ-bearers for a barren world. Remember that as the chatter and lights of Christmas swirl around you. The Lord is with you. On Christmas Day, take a moment to be still. Picture yourself. You are in the stable, beside the manger, holding the baby. Look down at the infant Christ [cradle crucifix?]. His round, dark face, his blue eyes, his black hair. He stares at you, and you say in a soft, low voice, “Here am I, Mary, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.”

Pink River of Rejoice Always

Sermon on Rejoicing,

with Isaiah 61:10, the Magnificat, and 1 Thessalonians 5:16

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, December 14, 2008,

Third Sunday of Advent, Year B

(word count: 995)

Pink River of Rejoice Always

One of the themes of Advent is rejoicing. As we said last Sunday, part of preparing for the comings of Christ is repenting. Another component of preparing for Christ is rejoicing, and certainly we rejoice once Christ arrives.

Our readings repeatedly mention rejoicing. Our first passage, which Diane just read, says in verse ten, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD.” In our psalmody, Luke 1:46-55, pregnant Mary declares, “My spirit rejoices in God my savior.” In our second reading, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, Paul even goes so far as to exhort us to “Rejoice always.”

“Rejoice always”? What does it mean to rejoice always? “Rejoice always” does NOT mean that we have to act happy all the time. Jesus isn't happy all the time. He weeps, he yells. His sweat falls like great drops of blood because he is so full of anxiety. We can express other emotions besides joy.

“Rejoice always” does not mean that we cannot grieve. Have you ever been at a funeral, and a well-meaning person says, “We shouldn't be sad. We should be happy because the person is in heaven”? It is true that the person is in heaven. It is also true that we may be sad because we will miss that person. If Jesus can weep at Lazarus' funeral, then we can weep at funerals, too.

So then, what does it mean to rejoice always? I'm not sure. Perhaps it means that, even when we are angry, sad, scared, bored, or frustrated, we still have flowing through us a steady river of rejoicing. Even when we are furious with each other, Kim and I still love each other, thanks be to God. In sickness and in health we always have flowing in our relationship love for each other. Likewise, maybe “rejoice always” means we are always to have flowing through us a pink river of rejoicing, even when we are full of grief, fury, loneliness, or disease.

What keeps it going? What is the source of this pink river of rejoicing that is to flow within us?

For help with the answer, listen again to Isaiah 61:10. The prophet trumpets, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD [ . . . ] for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation [ . . . ]” Similarly, Mary makes it clear that she is rejoicing because God has blessed her by making her the mother of the one who will flip the world upsidedown with the power of salvation.

We Christians are to rejoice always because Christ has come, will come, and is here to give us salvation. God has clothed us with the garments of salvation.

Paul sings both in 1 Thessalonias 5 and Philippians 4 that we are to rejoice always. Why? Paul's letters reveal that the love God shows us through Christ's sacrifice is the source of our being and power. Remove that love and we are dried-up river beds, or, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13, we are nothing but noise. The love of God through Christ is the source of the river of Rejoice Always.

How's your river? Look inside you. Do you have flowing within you the pink river of rejoicing always in response to Christ's comings to save us? Even when sick, in pain, worried, tired, or hungry, do you still have flowing inside you the pink river of Rejoice Always? Do I? Does Saint James? Many congregations boast that they are friendly. Can we boast that we are a rejoicing congregation? Maybe.

Do you rejoice over the comings of Christ, past, future and present? Do you take the time to rejoice? We humans do a great deal of complaining and lamenting, and God is open to our complaints and laments. How much rejoicing do we declare as we anticipate and celebrate Christ's comings?

Not allowing the pink river of Rejoice Always to dry up can be difficult. When we lose our job, when we are worn-out, when we keep bouncing checks, when people we love keep hurting themselves with cigarettes, alcohol, bad relationships, or drugs, it is easy to allow the pink river of Rejoice Always to dry up. Satan builds dams in our river to stop the flow.

Part of the Good News, though, is that God remains the river's source. The Holy Spirit keeps feeding the river through Christ coming to us in Scripture and sermon. God continues to feed the river through Christ coming to us in the form of people helping us and in the form of us helping others. God keeps feeding the river through Christ healing us by answering our prayers.

Has Satan dammed your river? Let us know. Christ has sent us, your fellow Christians, to help.

Many of us have an especially difficult time preserving our river this time of year. As we hiss and scratch to get ready for Christmas, we often find ourselves not in the Christmas spirit. Do you have trouble summoning the Christmas spirit? Are you having difficulty preparing spiritually for the celebration of Christ's birth? How's your river?

Here is something to try. This can be done in as little as five minutes. Play your favorite sacred Christmas music. [“Mary, did you know?”] Light a candle [Walk to pink candle.]. Focus on the candle, listen to the music. Picture your pink river flowing out of the candle, from God and into you. See it flowing, pink, serene, the river of Rejoice Always, flowing no matter what.

Your river flows from God and into your heart. Now start rejoicing: I rejoice, Christ, for you came to die for us. I rejoice, Christ, for you will return to fix all problems. I rejoice, Christ, for you come to us now through worship, Scripture and sermon, people we help. We rejoice for you coming to baptize through us NAME. We rejoice over the ways you clothe us in the garments of salvation. Thank you. Thank you. Rejoice. Rejoice. Rejoice. [Stare at pink candle.]

Sermon on Mark 1:1-8

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, December 7, 2008,

Second Sunday of Advent, Year B

(word count: 1000)

The Word “Preach"

Much of the time, when we use the word “preach” in casual conversation, we use the word negatively. For instance, your friend lights a cigarette. You say, “Those things are going to kill you. You shouldn't smoke,” and your friend snaps, “I already know that. Quite preaching to me.” When we use the word “preach,” we often mean by it a finger-wagging talk in which one person tells another that they better shape up. In casual conversation, “to preach” usually means “to scold.”

There is some biblical basis for this meaning of the word “preach.” For example, in today's gospel, Mark 1:1-8, John the Baptist is preaching in a scolding, get-it-together kind of way. The passage tells us that John proclaims, or preaches, a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Repentance. Shape up. Confess your sins. Get it together.

However, John's message is not only – or even primarily – about repentance, about getting it together. Why does John urge people to repent? Mark tells us in verses two and three when he quotes Isaiah, saying, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord [ . . . ]” Why do the people in John's day need to repent? Because repenting is how you get ready for the coming of Jesus.

At our house, when we have guests coming, we vacuum. Kim dusts everything. She scrubs the sinks and the showers. I change the cat litter and empty the garbage. The kids clean their rooms. When we have guests coming, we get ready, we prepare, by cleaning up.

According to John the Baptist, we prepare for the coming of Jesus by cleaning our lives up. We repent, meaning that we say we are sorry for our sins and that we make changes so that we do not commit those sins again. That's what John urged the people to do a long time ago at the first coming, the first advent, of Christ; repenting is part of how we keep awake for the second coming, the second advent; and repenting is an essential part of preparing ourselves for Jesus coming to us today.

Don't you want your inner house to be clean for the arrival of Jesus? Don't you want to show him your best? This is God who is coming into your life, the one who died for our sins and loves us more than anyone. Let's clean the inner house so that everything is right for Christ's coming.

Preaching can help us to get ready by reminding us that we need to repent and by helping us to see what we do wrong. It is essential for preaching to include a call for us, the baptized, to repent.

However, if all we do with preaching is speak a word of repentance, a word of “get it together,” then we miss the most important part of the Good News, which is the joy of the coming of Jesus Christ. Do you understand? The repentance, the get-it-together message, is just part of the Good News. The main part of the Good News is that Christ has come, will come, is here. Just as John's central mission was to get people ready for Christ's coming, the central mission of our preaching is to proclaim Christ's coming. Repentance is a part of the message, but it is not the main message. For John, repentance is a means to an end. The main message, the point, is the Good News of Christ's coming, past, future, now.

So then, when we use the word “preach” to mean “scolding, urging people to shape up, get it together,” then we are misusing the word “preach.” “You should quit smoking.” “Aw, stop preaching to me.” The word “preach” means far more than scolding; it means proclaiming the Good News that God has shown us the love supreme through the triple-coming of Christ. When we in the Church fixate on scolding people, wagging our fingers, and griping about what's wrong with the world, we miss the most important part of the message: God saves us with love through Christ's coming.

When you listen to a sermon, either here, at another congregation, or while watching TV, ask yourself, “Does this sermon proclaim the Good News of Christ?” Many sermons spend a great deal of time on scolding or on self-help, which is similar to scolding, but these sermons spend relatively little time on the Good News of Christ coming into our lives to save us, heal us, transform us, today.

Given how much scolding goes on in preaching, it is not surprising that, in casual conversation, the word “preach” often means “to scold.” Scolding has its place, but what if the word “preach” had a more positive meaning in our conversations? What if the word “preach” meant, not “to scold,” but “to help people see Christ's loving presence in their lives”? In our conversations, instead of the word “preach” meaning “Tell people what they do wrong,” what if the word “preach” meant instead, “Tell people what God does right”? Think about it.

Your friend never did quit smoking. Now she's in the hospital, dying from lung cancer. Her room is full of cards, flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals. Her family has flown in to be with her. The pastor has been in to give her holy communion, the real presence of Christ.

When the two of you are alone, your friend says, “All these people have been so nice. I feel loved.”

Then, you open your mouth, and you say, “One of the ways Jesus comes to us is through other people. All these people caring for you is one of the ways God comes to you and says, 'I love you.'”

And your friend squeezes your hand and says, “That was a good sermon. Thanks for saying that to me. Thanks for preaching to me.”