Heritage Presbyterian Church

Love Grows Here

Sunday’s Sermon – Tempted – Matthew 4:1-11, Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

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I’m a big fan of game shows, especially ones where you can play along. Lately I’ve been enjoying reruns on the Game Show Network of Family Feud and a new show, What America Says. Both are survey-based, where contestants guess what a sample of people have answered to a given question. On this first Sunday of Lent, I want to invite you to play a round with me. The question, given to over 1,000 people, is “What is your greatest temptation?”

[allow time for guesses from congregation]

On Scout Sunday, this might be unfairly biased. How many of you thought about Girl Scout cookies? Six year ago, the Barna group actually did conduct such a survey, with results that I think still hold up today[i].

60% of Americans said they were tempted to worry or be anxious and the same number said procrastination or putting things off was a serious temptation for them. Nearly 55% were tempted to overeat. 44% say they were tempted to spend too much time with media, including the Internet, television, and video games. Relating to the media use, 1 out of 9 Americans said they often or sometimes feel tempted to express anger and “go off” on someone by text or e-mail. These top three temptations, worrying or procrastination, overeating, and overuse of media, in and of themselves are a commentary about our everyday struggles in the 21st century. Next on the list was laziness, followed by more “traditional” temptations of spending too much money (35%), gossiping or saying mean things about others (26%), jealousy (24%). And finally, perhaps underreported, lying, cheating, alcohol, and drugs, all come in at around the same percentage. The study also noted that the more serious a temptation or sin was, the less likely people were to admit to struggling with it. Surprisingly, there was parity between men and women’s answers, although women seemed more likely to admit they were tempted.

Generationally, there were not many differences, either. Older adults were more likely to admit to eating too much, with younger millennials being slightly higher on digital addictions, but on the whole the replies held true across the generations.

By this survey, one could conclude that we are surrounded by temptation; those dangling carrots that easily lead us astray. Pastor and Author Tom Hunter wrote a book in conjunction with this survey titled Our Favorite Sins: The Sins We Commit and How You Can Quit. In it he argues that “all temptations start with a desire for something good: tasty food, rest, intimacy. They become ‘disordered’ when they enslave people and spread pain throughout their lives, [and] disordered desires imprison us. . . in the end, they give us nothing – not one lasting shred of goodness, freedom, joy, or love[ii].”  As Christians, we easily make the connection with temptation and sin.

However, David Kinnaman, president of the Barna group, noted that “only 1% of Americans of any age are able to articulate that giving into temptation might be caused by sin. Most Americans think of temptation more as a steady stream of highs and lows that must be navigated[iii].”

Temptations remind us of the very real choices that we have in life. They are a part of our everyday existence, from the big to the small. From a theological perspective, they might reflect the choice between God and God’s way and something else.  Theologian D.T. Niles reminds us of the challenge of our predicament, saying:

Both make promises, both demand loyalty. . . If there were no real alternative to God, all [humanity] would choose [God]. Indeed, God is the more difficult choice to justify in terms of provable results[iv].

We would all be good at resisting temptation if it were easy. The trouble is, temptation is enticing. Sin can even be . . . fun.  The odds seem stacked against us. We are human beings, prone to sin. Reformer John Calvin even went so far as to call us worms, totally depraved, incapable of not sinning. This cynical approach is both appealing and discouraging, and can let us wonder if we are simply being set up to fail?

The answer, of course, is no. I don’t believe that God sets us up to fail. But I do believe that because God has given us the gift of free will, we, perhaps more often than not, are going to make mistakes and end up in hot water. That’s why stories like Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness are so important. They help give us a sense of what it means to have faith in the midst of the very real, troublesome, surrounded-by-temptation-and-sin lives that we know to be true.

This is how we begin the season of Lent, 40 days of our own wandering in the wilderness, just as the Israelites did for 40 years when they departed from Egypt, and as Jesus did for 40 days immediately following his baptism. As Evelyn Underhill states, “No Christian escapes a taste of the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land[v].” We begin with the reminder of how we are a people in need of forgiveness, with ashes on our foreheads. “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return[vi].” It is a season of preparation. While stores are busy preparing the aisles with wicker baskets and plastic eggs, we pause to take time to focus on whatever it is that we need to do to cleanse ourselves and reconcile ourselves to God.

This introspection and examination is a struggle, and more often than not leads us to confront that which tempts us. Hunter speaks frankly about the challenge of beating temptation, and also the reason it’s worth it, saying:

Beating temptation requires a struggle because it always involves sorting out rightly ordered desires for good and godly things from our disordered desires for wrong things. We often experience these disordered desires as our most powerful and deeply rooted desires. Uprooting disordered desires involves personal, psychological, and spiritual suffering. But this death produces life, life, and more life – life more abundant. However, a journey of focused, grace-enabled struggle is required to get there[vii].

Lent is our focused, grace-enabled struggle. Traditionally there are three spiritual disciplines of Lent: prayer, fasting, and the giving of alms. In these, we focus our attentions on developing our relationship with God. Through prayer, we increase our communication, both our talking and our listening, and increase our sense of God’s presence in our lives. Prayer works at any time in any place, even when you aren’t tempted. It perhaps is the single most impactful thing we can do to strengthen our relationship with God. Fasting can mean a number of things, whether it is “giving up” something for the season, or refraining from a certain behavior that leads you into temptation or separates you from God and others. Third, the giving of alms, which can also be seen in service and mission, reminds us of the many others in need around us. It draws us into relationship with others, and gives us a positive way to respond to the world.

In all of these things, though, we must be careful not to get too caught up in the “us” part of the Lenten disciplines. It’s not about how many things we can give up, how many things we can add to our spiritual practices, how many times we showed up for the Mobile Food Pantry and how good that made us feel. If we make our Lenten practices about ourselves, we’ve missed the point, and succumbed to the great temptation of egocentrism. Lent is not about us. Lent is about drawing closer to God. And we can do this even when we are tempted.

We worship a God who has gone into temptation before us, who has himself been exhausted, famished, and caught in vulnerable and weak moments. Some of you may remember the scene from the film The Last Temptation of Christ. It is dry, disorienting, and a little scary. The time in the wilderness is fraught with danger of every kind: physical, emotional, and spiritual. The devil appears, bent on coercing Jesus into activity that surely would be a departure from the path of God. And his offers are pretty good, attempting to at once force Jesus to prove his divinity, while appealing to his humanity, driven by the base desires we all have in life. And each time, Jesus demonstrates a resistance to choosing the easy path, often relying on Scripture and his understanding of God to do so.

In this, he gives us a model of what it means to have faith in the midst of temptation. Jesus chooses to turn to God and trust that God would get him through it. Defeating temptation, then:

is not a struggle against God,” wrestling with ideals we can’t possibly achieve, “but a struggle with God against [our] disordered desires, [our] default position of radical selfishness. God is with [us] in this struggle because [God] wants my transformation more than [we] want it. [We] simply cooperate with him. Together, we reorder [our] desires[viii].

Having faith doesn’t guarantee that we will never be tempted, and it certainly doesn’t guarantee that we will never sin. Faith does, however, assure us that God is always by our side, longing to be in relationship with us, loving us in spite of ourselves, and is ever ready to share with us a grace beyond compare. When we are tempted, it is that grace that pulls us through. And if we give into temptation, it is that grace that will be there for us to get us back on track. May we, in this Lenten season, have faith in that promise, even when we are tempted. Amen.

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, March 10, 2019

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[i] The Barna Group, “New Research Explores the Changing Shape of Temptation.”

http://www.barna.org/culture-articles/597-new-years-resolutions-temptations-and-americas-favorite-sins, published January 4, 2013. Accessed 3/5/2019.

[ii] John Blake, “Americans Reveal their 3 Favorite Sins,” CNN Belief blog, http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/08/americans-reveal-their-3-favorite-sins/, published 2/8/13, accessed 3/5/2019.

[iii] Blake.

[iv] D.T. Niles in The Bible Through Asian Eyes, in Imaging the Word: An Arts and Lectionary Resource, Volume 1, Kenneth T. Lawrence, Editor. (Cleveland, Ohio: United Church Press, 1994), 150.

[v] Evelyn Underhill, The Fruits of the Spirit, in Imaging the Word: An Arts and Lectionary Resource, Volume 1, Kenneth T. Lawrence, Editor. (Cleveland, Ohio: United Church Press, 1994), 151.

[vi] Genesis 3:19

[vii] Tom Hunter, Our Favorite Sins: The Sins We Commit and How You Can Quit. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012), 3-4.

[viii] Hunter, 5.

Ash Wednesday Sermon – Selfies – Psalm 51:1-17

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Selfies. If you are on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you have no doubt seen thousands of these images. And they aren’t just from teenagers. From celebrities to your neighbors down the street, selfies are everywhere. It has become an art form unto itself, transitioning from photos made in a bathroom mirror to those taken at creative angles in perfect lighting. There is a certain vanity associated with selfies, and naturally we want to look our best. What used to require time with Photoshop or other software can now be done in your smartphone.  After the photo is taken, we can tinker with it, applying filters and special effects, text and other features to catch the eye. All of these possibilities are tempting, of course, because we want selfies to be impressive and garner comments and “likes” from our friends and fans. In fact, our obsession with this has gone so far that some people have two accounts on social media platforms like Instagram: their public Instagram, with those carefully crafted lifestyle images, and a private, “finsta” account, which stands for “fake Instagram,” and is a place you can just be unfiltered and silly for your friends, without pressure for likes or followers. Now, before you write this off as only being a trend with the younger generation, think about your own “outtakes.” Not every photo you take becomes one to go on the literal walls of your living room or on a Christmas card. The reality is our selfies and pictures, or whatever else we share with the world, are usually carefully curated to put our literal best face forward, in hopes that others will be impressed.

But Rev. Barbara J. Essex reminds us that “Although we can make ourselves look flawless in a selfie, we can’t fool ourselves into thinking that it’s an accurate depiction of real life[i].” Behind each well-composed selfie, there are the outtakes, sometimes a bit more true to who we really are. These are often rejected or deleted images, concealing the flaws we try to hide. But even our best filtered tricks won’t make them disappear from reality. Essex reminds us that while we live in a world of selfies now, the appeal to vanity is timeless. She suggests that, given the opportunity in biblical times, David would have been the king of selfies[ii]. As he rose into power, so did his ego. The story of David goes well beyond the shy boy with the sling who took out Goliath. As an adult, we see David making bold decisions, most of which raise a few eyebrows. Psalm 51, which we read just a few moments ago, is often considered his confession, with a preceding note in many Bibles that reads something to the effect of “a Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.”

Barbara Essex offers that Psalm 51 reminds us that “we are never as perfect as we think2.” In the psalm, David prays for a pure heart with urgency. All the filters and edits are removed, and his own humanity is laid bare before God. Of course, God already knows what his true selfie looks like, for God has created us and knows us intimately. But in this prayer of confession, David is able to humble himself and put everything on the line, in the hopes that there will be grace and mercy, all while knowing what he actually deserves is judgment and punishment. In these verses, David asks for a re-set from the inside out, captured in the well-known verse 10, “create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” David isn’t just concerned here with his reputation or external appearance. He is concerned with making what is inside of him right with God. He knows he can’t do it on his own. He needs help from the creator to restore him to this previous state and cleanse him from his sins. He’s asking God for a re-boot, a system restore, longing to return to those factory settings that bring him into close relationship with the one who called him from the fields as a shepherd. Suddenly, his selfie looks a bit more like a Lenten one – one that is more real and authentic, and opens him to the possibility of change for the better.

As we begin the season of Lent tonight, we are called into a 40 day journey of self-reflection and repentance. It is tempting to make our self-reflections more like selfies; to shine them up, and make them more presentable to others. After all, we’re not that sinful, are we? It becomes easy to justify or gloss over our missteps, particularly when we are surrounded with problems and sins in our world that are much greater. But Lent isn’t about comparing our selfies to others. It’s about comparing our selfies to the one God gave us in the very beginning when we were created in God’s image, and realizing how far we are from the people God calls us to be. Our Lenten selfies feature ashes on our foreheads. “Remember, you are dust, and to dust you shall return[iii].” The journey to restoration and forgiveness lies in our ability to acknowledge who we are, and asking God to help us change. Our worship tonight reminds us of the first step – confession. Confession allows us to clean up our profiles and edit ourselves in real and lasting ways so that our inner lives align with our outer presentations.

This is the call of the prophet Isaiah, who urges the people of God to engage in real, authentic, true worship, rather than mere idolatry. Isaiah reminds us that our quest for holy living is not about putting on a show for others and serving our own interests. Rather, it is about a humility that comes from stripping away our pretenses and being more authentic in our relationship with God, and with each other. The images on Isaiah’s feed are those that speak to justice: sharing bread, welcoming into your home, clothing the naked, and meeting the needs of the afflicted. That’s where the best pictures are made.

One of the biggest difference-makers, I’ve learned, between an ok photo and an amazing one is lighting. My friend Jackie, whose selfies are always gorgeous, repeats a very practical tip to do this: get in front of a window! The natural light coming in will often dramatically improve your appearance and make for the best shot. Isaiah gives much the same advice; by engaging in sincere discipleship, we find ourselves in God’s light, that light that breaks into our world like the dawn, that comes even in the darkness[iv]. In the selfies of our lives, God’s light is perhaps the best filter we could find ourselves in. With God’s grace and mercy, our sins are forgiven, and those imperfections and transgressions are wiped clean. The one who created us down to the very last detail, and who sees all that we are, and in spite of our imperfections and shortcomings, calls us good and loved. God’s filter is one of resurrection, that good news and promise for new life in the dawn of Easter morning and the empty tomb. And that is where we’re headed.

But first, before we see those glossed up images, we must face the reality of our current selfies, raw and imperfect, in desperate need of revision and editing. And so tonight, I invite you to sketch out some of what that looks like. Inside your bulletin you will find an insert with a silhouette outline, ready for your “Lenten Selfie.” As we enter into a time of silent reflection, write or draw the truest selfie you can make of yourself. Later, you will have the opportunity to bring these forward, placing them into the fire pit as a symbol of the ashes they will become, before receiving the symbol of ashes on your forehead. For now, spend time in reflection and personal prayer. Focus less on the physical attributes, and more on words or phrases you need to lift to God in confession. Search in the darkened, cobwebbed corners of your persona and bring them into God’s light, dirty as they are. Don’t worry about what others around you might say or think. In this time of prayer, there will be no re-tweets, no likes, no comments from peers, only the conversation you have with God in the silence of these moments. Be honest, be free, be open to receiving God’s mercy. That is what confession is all about.

 ~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, March 6, 2019 (Ash Wednesday)

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[i] http://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/1/31/honest-selfie/

[ii] Personal Notes from sermon on Psalm 51 by Rev. Barbara J. Essex, given at the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) Annual Event, January 30, 2014, San Jose, California.

[iii] Genesis 3:19

[iv] See Isaiah 58:8, 10

Sunday’s Sermon – Dazzled – Luke 9:28-36 (37-42); Exodus 34:29-35

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For that one moment, ‘in and out of time’,

On that one mountain where all moments meet,

The daily veil that covers the sublime

 In darkling glass fell dazzled at his feet.

 There were no angels full of eyes and wings

Just living glory full of truth and grace.

The Love that dances at the heart of things

Shone out upon us from a human face

And to that light the light in us leaped up,

We felt it quicken somewhere deep within,

A sudden blaze of long-extinguished hope

Trembled and tingled through the tender skin.

Nor can this this blackened sky, this darkened scar

Eclipse that glimpse of how things really are[i]. 

This is how British poet and Anglican priest Malcom Guite describes our gospel text this morning. Today is Transfiguration Sunday, a week in the church year where we are wrapped in the glory of God in a cloud of shimmering mystery and overwhelming spectacle. The word “transfiguration” actually comes from the Greek metemorphothe, used in Matthew and Mark’s accounts of this mountaintop experience, conveying a powerful sense of change and transformation from the ordinary to a higher spiritual state[ii].  Luke’s gospel provides most of the same key elements, but focuses on the change of appearance to Jesus’ face and the “dazzling white” of his clothes, echoing the story of Moses meeting God on the mountain in Exodus 34, when he returned with a face that literally was shining.

Luke’s gospel prompts us, then, to pay attention to the appearances in this text. From a dramatic perspective, this truly is an extraordinary tale. Everything is described in epic proportions, from the costuming to the characters, and we imagine breathtaking scenery and cinematography that captivates our wildest imaginations with booming voices and sweeping clouds. The story of the transfiguration is larger than life, a scene made for poetic interpretation and dramatic performance.

Have you ever been a part of a theatrical production? There’s quite a lot that goes into it. So many things are carefully orchestrated and crafted to tell a story in a powerful and moving way. It truly is an art form. In the famous musical Chicago, the attorney Billy Flynn capitalizes on this concept in the courtroom. With singing and dancing, he lays out for Roxie Hart that the key to winning is to, quite simply, put on a great show, full of mystery and slights of hand. The goal is to:

 Give ‘em the old razzle, dazzle, razzle dazzle ‘em

Give ‘em an act with lots of flash in it

and the reaction will be passionate.[iii]

Some may offer that this passage is meant to do just that – to spur in us a sense of wonder and amazement. It is a moment that follows a disturbing prediction of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We might imagine that the disciples were caught in a tension of confusion and anxiety about what this might mean. Eight days later, Jesus takes them up the mountain to pray, and lo and behold Moses and Elijah show up for a chat. The disciples, barely awake, are appropriately starstruck, evidenced by Peter’s feeble attempts to normalize it by offering to make dwellings. More drama ensues as they are overtaken by a cloud. Here, Jesus’ identity is revealed and exalted in as much or more of a dramatic fashion as it was in his baptism when the Holy Spirit ripped open the heavens. The disciples are called again to pay attention and listen to him. Now, the disciples are left speechless.

Theologically we have a word to express the idea of God’s goodness overwhelming us in a way that makes it indescribable: glory. Theologian Rolf Jacobson says:

Glory is just one of those things that can be hard to wrap your brain around, maybe because it’s a two-bit . . . word trying to say something about God. Little words have a hard time doing that; words like . . . grace . . . love . . . mercy . . . cross . . . righteous . . . forgiveness . . . friend . . . Oh, that is glory – all of it together[iv].

It can be easy to get caught up in the “razzle dazzle” of the mountaintop experience and simply experience it as a larger-than-life performance of a larger-than-life God. And while such a reading does inspire us to worshipful wonder, it limits in us the ability for this to be a story that leads us into the future. Remember what happened to Roxie Hart at the end of the musical? While the flash and glitter of the story exonerated her in her trail, her fame was short-lived as another spectacle came along moments later. Our text today, though, is not just a con-man’s slight of hand, or even impressively choreographed pageantry and show; there is real meaning behind it that continues to present to us an understanding of what it means to live in the reign of God, if we are willing to unpack the mystery of it.

In college, I took an elective honors seminary taught by one of my favorite Spanish professors titled the “literature of the fantastic.” We read short-stories by a variety of Latinx authors, including Gabriel Garcia Marques and Isabel Allende, in a genre known as magic realism. This style paints a realistic view of the modern world while also adding in magical and surreal elements. The results are jarring exercises for the imagination, and provocative commentary on the world. Professor Cláudio Carvalhaes offers that the transfiguration story is a lot like this form of literature, in that it is:

a real-magical story that has tremendous theological realities and social consequences[v].

That is to say, that the larger-than-life elements of the story help us think about it from a place where anything is possible, which allows us to re-order our own understandings of our actual realities, both the world as it is, and how we hope it could be.

On the mountaintop, Jesus, Moses and Elijah are:

wrapped up in glory! A glory that is shared, that illuminates each other, that strengthens each other’s lives, and gives meaning to the past and future events[vi].

This story helps us to re-order ourselves and our lives in light of God’s glory. Immediately after this text, the lectionary includes some optional verses, 37-42. At first glance they might seem disconnected, introducing a separate story. But with closer reading, they seem to point us to the importance of what work awaits Jesus, and us, after the mountaintop. The story continues like this:

37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.[vii]

As much as the glory of God was revealed on the mountaintop, it is also revealed here in Luke’s story, too, in the valley where real people are struggling. Carvalhaes even argues:

One of the lessons of this text is that the glory of God is only possible if lived together, in community . . .  Glory is only possible if shared and that means that we are to share the light of Christ to the world, especially those placed in the shadows of our society.

These closing verses might be optional in the lectionary, but they are not optional for us if we are to understand this story as disciples. To be dazzled, then, is less about just being amazed and overwhelmed, and more about being inspired by our face-to-face experiences of God so that we might be more faithful followers of Jesus Christ. That we might listen to him, and follow his commands. In the story of Exodus, is it from this shining place that Moses shares the Ten Commandments, or as one children’s worship curriculum describes it, “The Ten Best Ways to Live.” God’s shining presence is not meant to be an amazing finale, but a stirring opening number. The transfiguration invites us to join God on the mountaintop, yes, but also in the valley afterwards, reflecting the hope and promise of the reign of God to all.

One of the best to understand this, I think, was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. On April 3, 1968, he delivered a stirring speech to city sanitation workers on strike in Memphis, Tennessee, titled “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” In it, he described the opportunity to view the world from the mountaintop with God, surveying different moments in history. And despite the many moments there might be to take in, he insisted that he was glad to be living in the one he was in. He said:

The nation is sick, trouble is in the land, confusion all around. That’s a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. . . . And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men in some strange way are responding. Something is happening in our world[viii].

In the midst of struggle, King saw hope, and he shared that vision, face shining, with the world in a way that was inspiring. He continued:

Now what does all this mean in this great period of history? It means that we’ve got to stay together . . . We’ve got to stay together and maintain unity[ix].

He laid out for those gathered a way to be together in the valley, united in peaceful, non-violent protest that would bring about change. His speech, given less than 24 hours before his assassination, ended like this:

Well, I don’t know what will happen now; we’ve got some difficult days ahead. . . .  But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. . . .

I just want to do God’s will. . . . And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain.  . . . I want you to know tonight  . . . that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.  . . . And so I’m happy tonight; I’m not worried about anything; I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord[x].

A few years ago, musical artists Common and John Legend wrote a song titled “Glory” for the movie Selma, connecting modern-day struggles with the events of Selma and King’s life and legacy. In it, they echo some of this speech and sing:

King pointed to the mountaintop and we ran up.

And, following a moment similar to being transfigured, they return inspired, saying:

they marched with the torch we gon’ run with it now.

From generation to generation, Moses to the Israelites, Jesus to the disciples, God’s glory continues to shine and inspire us to new ways of living. It comes to us in ways that might be overwhelming, larger than life, seemingly impossible to live up to, but nevertheless it comes. May we be so dazzled, that we cannot leave it behind, but instead take it with us into the valleys, with our faces shining because we have experienced the presence of God, and we can do nothing else but be a part of what God is doing in this world. Then, we will be living as those transfigured ourselves. Amen.

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, March 3, 2019

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[i] Ayodeji Malcom Guite, “Transfiguration,” Words That Listen: A Literary Companion to the Lectionary, J. Barney Hawkins IV and Ian S. Markham, editors, (New York: Church Publishing, 2018)

[ii] See Matt. 17:2, Mark 9:2]

[iii] “Razzle Dazzle” from Chicago, Songwriters: Fred Ebb and John Kander, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

[iv] Rolf A. Jacobson, Editor, Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms, (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Books, 2008).

[v] Cláudio Carvalhaes, “Commentary on Luke 9:28-36, (37-43),” Working Preacher,  https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2756, accessed 2/28/2019.

[vi] Cláudio Carvalhaes.

[vii] Luke 9:37-42, New Revised Standard Version.

[viii] Martin Luther King, Jr., “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” Address, delivered at Bishop Charles Mason Temple, April 3, 1968. Speech text: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/ive-been-mountaintop-address-delivered-bishop-charles-mason-temple, backstory available at https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/ive-been-mountaintop, accessed 2/28/2019.

[ix] Ibid.

[x] Ibid.

Sunday’s Sermon – Relational Living – Luke 6:27-38, Genesis 45:3-11, 15

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From family and friends to coworkers and classmates, from long-term commitments and contracts to momentary exchanges, relationships are the building blocks of our lives. They are some of the first things that we learn, and are something we spend a lifetime trying to figure out. How well or not we navigate them can impact everything from our psychological well-being and happiness to our success in both social and business worlds.

For many of us, the core of these relationships is marked by the “Golden Rule,” which as we heard a few moments ago, is nestled in the gospel itself: “do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). It’s a reasonable mantra to assume of course, calling us to respect and care for each other. We nod along with these phrases because they appeal to our most basic desire to have things go well for us so that we ourselves might prosper, and fall into our understanding of living in a quid pro quo world. When we invest and give, whether physically or emotionally, we expect something in return. It’s tremendously awkward, isn’t it, when someone brings you a gift say for Christmas or Valentine’s Day and you have nothing for them. Favors are even expected to be returned. This also applies to the negative. When bad things happen, retribution is the expectation. We want to seek revenger or at least “get even.” Much of our living is transactional, even in our relationships.

Jesus takes a look at the ways we relate to each other in his “Sermon on the Plain,” which we continued reading this morning. In it, he presents a vision for what it looks like to live in the kingdom of God. And, as we learned last week, life in God’s reign turns things upside down with radical reversals to our expected norms. Instead of repaying evil with evil, Jesus calls us to choose another path that is diametrically opposed to some of our instincts.Commentator Charles Bugg notes that:

The admonition of Luke to love even our enemies is not just a good idea where we try our best to make it happen. It is not a call to grit our teeth and make a resolution to be nicer even to those who are not nice to us. Rather, the call of Luke is to live in a way contrary to our human nature, a way that is possible only as we “live out” of a new power born from above[i].

What does this look like? Consider the image on the cover of our bulletin, created by Ukrainian sculptor Alexandr Milov for the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert in 2015. The sculpture reflects the realities that life often puts us in conflict with each other, perhaps even back-to-back, facing in opposite directions. And yet, we each seem to have something inside of us that longs to be connected to each other, which the artist equated to an inner child or innocence. As darkness falls, the sculpture shifted slightly, and the smaller figures began to shine and glow. The artist noted that:

this shining is a symbol of purity and sincerity that brings people together and gives a chance of making up when the dark time arrives[ii].

Put alongside our text from Luke, I wonder if this sculpture, appropriately titled “love” might also be a reflection of the kind of life Jesus was calling his disciples, and us, to live. Perhaps that something inside of us is the Holy Spirit, God’s nudging us into the kind of relationships that Jesus described.

To live in this way is to proclaim that the inbreaking of God into human history through Jesus Christ makes a difference. It proclaims that the reign of God, the coming of God’s kingdom as described by Jesus, is not just a promise for the future, but is something that can be realized, at least in part, even now in our own reality. And this new reality makes all the difference in the way we respond to other people. Loving and praying for our enemies, and going the extra mile even in the face of adversity, means living in hope – and acting toward the possibility – that even the hardest parts of our lives can be transformed by the goodness of God’s grace in this world. Jesus’ sermon invites us into a life where we let go of the things that trap us: judgment and condemnation, and instead embrace forgiveness and generosity as the markers of our relationships.

To see what this looks like, we might turn to the story of Joseph. Joseph, perhaps more than almost anyone else, has clear reasons to seek retribution and revenge against his brothers. Do you remember the beginning of the story? He is a son of Jesse, who has interpreted dreams and shared these visions with his father and brothers. He is the favored son, given a beautiful coat of many colors. And understandably so, his brothers are jealous. It’s also worth pointing out that Joseph is probably a bit bratty and self-absorbed. He might have even lorded that special coat and “favorite child” status over his siblings, as siblings tend to do. In response, his brothers taken him to the outskirts of town to do him harm, then in an act of “mercy,” leave him in a dried up well for dead. As they wait, a caravan comes along and they decide to make a profit and sell him into slavery in Egypt. His story spans more than a dozen chapters in Genesis, a mixture of winning favor with the king and poor decisions that land him in jail, but wind up with him in the royal court in a position instrumental for the very survival of the people in the midst of famine. It is here where his brothers return, pleading for their very right to existence. Oh how the tables have turned.

It would make sense if Joseph treated his brothers the way that he had been treated. Surely he had not forgotten. We would have understood if he had looked at them and said “I am Joseph, your brother. Remember me? Now you’re going to get what is coming to you.” But instead, we get a radical reversal. Joseph’s confrontational moment reveals his true identity but then, rather than focus on revenge, he offers forgiveness, grounded in an understanding of God’s grace and presence in his own life. He seeks reconciliation in this moment, which will lead to the sharing of a feast of peace with his family. It is a radical act made possible by the overwhelming grace of God.

This morning, we will celebrate another radical act marked by God’s grace as we celebrate the sacrament of baptism. Baptism reminds us that the love and mercy that comes from God, the promise of covenant and forgiveness and relationship, comes not because of anything we have done, can do, or will do, but because of the grace of God through Jesus Christ. This is why we can be so bold as to make the claim of it for infants, because God’s grace comes to us even before we can possibly do anything to deserve it. Baptism reminds us that the work of reconciliation has already been done through Christ, who welcomes us into a new way of living, marked not by transactions, but by grace.

That, I think, is the kind of living in God’s reign that Jesus had in mind with this sermon on the plain; a life marked by an awareness of God’s presence and God’s grace in a way that changes everything about how we view the world, especially our relationship with others. May we live together in aspiration of the way Jesus taught us, for when we do, we get a glimpse at what it looks like to be in the kingdom of God. May it be so. Amen.

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, February 24, 2019

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[i] Charles Bugg, “Pastoral Perspective: Luke 6:27-38,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[ii] https://aplus.com/a/alexandr-milov-love-burning-man-2015-sculpture?no_monetization=true

Sunday’s Sermon – Roses and Thorns – Luke 6:17-26

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Chances are, if you are a part of a mission trip or youth conference group, the end of you day brings everyone together for conversation. It is an opportunity to unwind a bit and debrief your experience as a group. Reflections are shared and the activities of the day are put into context a bit. Often this time begins with going around sharing about the day. One way to frame it is for everyone to share one positive thing and one challenging thing about the day. Sometimes it’s called highs and lows, but my favorite iteration is “roses and thorns,” which brings the reminder that even within the same flower of a day, there is beauty to behold as well as prickly things that might take you by surprise.

In today’s gospel verses, we find a short series of roses and thorns as described by Jesus to his disciples and the crowd who had gathered around. In Luke’s gospel, they are described as “blessings” and “woes.” They are a part of a lengthy sermon that is paralleled in Matthew’s gospel as well. Rather than the 107 verses we hear in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Luke’s gospel has Jesus only giving a 32-verse sermon known as the Sermon on the Plain. These verses might sound familiar as they are echoes of the well-known Beatitudes in Matthew 6, although here Luke puts a different spin on things.

First, he identifies the blessings, or the roses. He identifies the poor, the hungry, the weeping, those who are excluded and persecuted. If these examples strike you as odd, you’re not alone. They are far from a typical list of blessings. Often we associate the word “blessing” with happiness or good fortune. But in the Greek, makarios holds a bit deeper of a meaning. It is beyond the superficial or even material possessions; it is a word more closely connected to the first-century sense of unity with God in an eternal sense, relating to righteousness and being in right relationship with our creator.  Fred Craddock says that:

These statements are performative; that is to say, the words have power and perform or make true the kinds of life presented in the statements. Jesus is making the official proclamation of the way life is inside and outside the reign of God[i].

To be “blessed,” meant living in a keen awareness of the presence of God. It is not to be free from struggle, but to be oriented towards a reality where God’s realm is realized. In each of these blessings, the struggle comes with a promise of reversal: the hungry will be filled, the weeping will give way to laughter. These promises echo the song of hope Mary sang in Luke 1, with a complete reversal of fortunes for the rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless, the full and the empty.

Luke’s words are grounded in present reality, and our responses to them should be as well. Thomas Frank offers that it is notable that Luke’s location is different than Matthew’s. In Matthew, we see Jesus taking his disciples to the mountaintop, looking down on the world around them and giving them the big picture. But in Luke, Jesus is on the plain with them. His words are simple, straightforward and concrete. One translation of the location is that he is “on the level,” which hints that this conversation from Luke’s perspective is about Jesus being squarely in step with the realities of our human existence, and speaking plainly to us about it. He looks up to the disciples and the crowd with these statements:

as if to say, what are you doing right this minute? People are sick and dying right here, tormented by spirits. . . Will you get down here with me and help?[ii]

In these verses, Jesus is “on the level” with us, telling us the truth of our lives as he sees us, and confronting us with our responsibility to be a part of God’s kingdom with our response to what we see in the world.

God calls us to be a part of the kind of kingdom that Christ modeled. Immediately prior to these verses, Jesus is surrounded by crowds seeking healing, which he offers. Throughout the gospel, particularly in Luke, we find Jesus attending to the very real needs of the poor and suffering. We see Jesus acting with love and compassion in a powerful ministry of presence, and calling his disciples to do the same.  We can reach out to those who are hungry, that they might be filled, whether that is through a mobile food pantry next Saturday, or backpacks for children who might not have anything in their pantries at home. We can offer comfort to those who weep, by reaching out with phone calls, cards, or visits and offering friendship and care that gives way to laughter. These are ways we can live into the blessings that Christ teaches, plain and simple.

This would be challenge enough, but the gospel pushes us even farther, as Luke punctuates these blessings with 4 corresponding statements of “woes.” These are the thorns; examples given of things that are soon to be upended. These woes, unique to Luke, are tough ones to hear, particularly if we find that they are descriptive of us. Jesus, speaking quite freely and plainly, calls the audience and us, out of our complacency and away from the safety and security of our laurels that we rest upon, and says that the reign of God, here and now, is about something more than just our own accomplishments. In fact, these accomplishments might just be our undoing.

I think Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of these verses in The Message helps get at the meaning of these verses well. He puts verses 24 through 26 like this:

            But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
What you have is all you’ll ever get.

And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself.

Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games,

There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.

“There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular. (The Message, Luke 6:24-26)

To be the most faithful to the gospel, I’d offer, Luke calls us to step aside from our preconceived notions of being blessed, and be willing to embrace the kind of upside-down reversals that Jesus presents. Luke’s version of the Beatitudes is meant to startle us out of our complacency and inspire us to action. As David Ostendorf notes:

God does not take kindly to half-heartedness. God does not bless us as we maintain the status quo, reaping the accolades of those who hear us and follow us. God does not bless us as we bathe in respectability in the eyes of the world. God does not bless us as we quietly maintain tradition and gloss over or ignore prophetic voices calling us back to God – in the church and in the world. God does not bless us as we protect and build institutions and empires. God does not bless us, well off, full, comfortable, hearty, and well-spoken of[iii].

These four pairings, blessings and woes, roses and thorns, challenge us to look at our lives and our world with new eyes. They challenge us to clarify our values and examine what are the things in life that we will take a stand for in relation to faithful living. Packed into these verses are very real instructions for the disciples, including those of us who claim to follow Christ today, to reorient our relationships and reverse the social, economic, and political injustices that surround us so that we might live most fully into the reign of God here and now.

In the 1930s, church leaders in Germany had such an opportunity. As Adolph Hitler rose to power he capitalized on fear to abolish rights and democratic processes. Many took the union of Christianity, nationalism, and militarism for granted, and patriotic sentiments were equated with Christian truth that quickly led to calls for a racially pure nation with Hitler’s rule as God’s will for the German people. But some resisted this trend, including several pastors and theologian Karl Barth. After meeting regionally, they gathered representatives of Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches in Gemarke Church, Barmen, in the city of Wupperthal at the end of May 1934. 139 delegates, including ordained ministers, church members, and university professors, made a declaration to appeal to the Evangelical churches of Germany to reject the German Christian accommodation to National Socialism and proclaim instead the church’s freedom in Jesus Christ who is Lord of every area of life.  They made 6 assertions, all based in Scripture, to present a statement of faith that would call the church to faithfulness to the gospel once again. We will use part of it as our Affirmation of Faith later this morning. The document helped unify the church in belief and renew faithfulness against an otherwise popular message that they believed was a threat to the gospel itself. The Declaration of Barmen is almost a modern blessings and woes, proclaiming what the reign of God should be, and firmly taking a stand against that which would threaten the very gospel Jesus proclaimed. It, along with others in our Book of Confessions, particularly the Confession of 1967 and the Belhar Confession, are one way the church collectively seeks to be a prophetic voice to the world, all grounded in an understanding of the vision Christ presented on the plain for the kingdom of God to break into the world.

And, in the end, that is what the Beatitudes call us to – a better understanding of what it looks like for God to reign, a God who sees all of God’s creation as beloved and blessed and calls us to be in a community that models such a perspective. These words from Luke are not a gospel of comfort, but a gospel of challenge to embrace the world with the love and eyes of Jesus. Woe to those of us who miss the opportunity to be a part of such a world. Blessed be the ones who are able to live in the upside-down world of God, for them the kindom of God is revealed. Amen.

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, February 17, 2019

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[i] Fred B. Craddock, Interpretation: Luke, (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1990)

[ii] Thomas Edward Frank, “Pastoral Perspective: Luke 6:17-26,” Feasting on the Gospels: Luke, Volume 1, Cynthia A. Jarvis and E. Elizabeth Johnson, editors (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014).

[iii] David L. Ostendorf, “Theological Perspective: Luke 6:17-26,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

Sunday’s Sermon – Love Letters – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

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Reading this passage on the first Sunday of February kind of feels like the Revised Common Lectionary folks cut a deal with Hallmark, doesn’t it? Stores right now are covered in reminders that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. The only thing holding them back is the Super Bowl displays, which by tomorrow will give way to even more gigantic stuffed animals, heart shaped boxes of chocolate and other things coated in pinks and reds and glitter.

But you know those little conversation hearts? Like the ones on the front of our bulletin? They’ll be a bit harder to find this year. The most popular Sweethearts brand won’t be on the shelves.  Necco, the company that produced them, went out of business last year. The brand was purchased in September by the Spangler Candy Company, most known for making Dum Dum lollipops, but that didn’t give them enough time to produce them for this year[iii]. You’ll have to wait for 2020, or substitute another brand. I’ll admit those little chalky candy hearts aren’t my favorite, but it was always fun to try to make a conversation out of them, or see what conversations they might spark.

In place of the candy, perhaps we can let Paul’s words to the Corinthians spark our conversations about love this year instead. For some examples, see the front of your bulletin or the image on the screen. Paul writes these letters to this early church community in Corinth to get them thinking, and talking, about love. However:

Paul inserts this passage in his letter not to offer a pious reflection on the way things should be, but rather to call the Corinthians to account for their behavior. Everything he says love is not, they are; everything he says love is, they are not[iv].

In this text, Paul gives them a mirror to examine themselves. He even uses it as an illustration, a way to call them to attention to the fact that their understanding is no clearer than that reflection in what was likely a polished bronze mirror of the day. Even looking into a modern mirror, we only see ourselves in reverse, never quiet the same as the perception of others[v]. The people in Corinth had not only a love problem, but a perception of love problem. They were unable to see themselves or each other with the same love that they should have as children of God, brought together into divine community united by Christ.

“They just need to know that you love them.” This was the advice a colleague once gave me years ago in the beginning of my time in ministry when I was struggling to see eye to eye with some other leaders I was working with. The advice cut me and I remember reeling. I cared about these people, and valued their contributions to our community. In fact, it was because I cared about them that I was struggling so much. We didn’t agree on some pretty major things, and I was desperately trying to understand their point of view. So I asked a lot of questions, and pressed their answers to get more clarity. I tried to lay out my perspective the best way I knew how: by talking about it. In retrospect, I realize that what was really happening was that my ways of showing that I cared were not being understood as caring at all. In fact, quite the opposite. And my colleague, while well-intentioned, had a very different view of what love looked like in this setting because of their own preferred forms of expressing it. We drove each other a little nuts sometimes because of this.

Have you heard about this theory before? In the 1990s, Baptist Pastor Gary Chapman wrote a book outlining Five Love Languages that has been on the best-seller list ever since. His premise is that there are five ways we express love, and that while each is enjoyed to some degree by all people, each of us has a primary and then secondary way of expressing love, as well as a primary and secondary way we would like to receive expressions of love (and he notes that our styles of giving and receiving may not be the same).  I’m going to give you a quick summary of each of them, and invite you to consider which might be your preferred ways of giving, and then receiving, love.

First, quality time. This is giving someone your undivided attention and enjoying shared experiences. It doesn’t matter what activity you are doing, but that the two of you have time together. It means you put down your phones and silence other distractions to allow yourselves to be fully present in the moment.

Second, words of affirmation. Compliments can make someone’s day, whether they are about what someone is doing, how someone looks, or who that person is. Words can come in so many forms, too: conversations, text messages and e-mails, cards, even song.

Third, physical touch. This refers to any kind of physical expression of affection, from handshakes to passionate embrace. You know how some people are “huggers?” Or others naturally reach out to offer a hand on the shoulder when you’re going through a tough time, or who can give your hand an extra squeeze? That may be their expression of love.

Fourth, gifts. Perhaps the most universally understood expression of love, because it’s something we can touch and hold. We literally unwrap these. The price point isn’t what’s important; it truly is the thought that counts, as an item is carefully selected with the recipient in mind.

Fifth, acts of service. For some, actions speak louder than words. Love is shown by doing something, specifically something that brings others happiness. From holding open a door to doing the laundry each week, love in this language is hands-on and actively demonstrated.

It makes sense, I think. Chapman’s original book focused on marriage relationships, encouraging couples to better understand each other by paying attention to these love languages, which in turn could strengthen their unions. With an understanding of love languages, one might learn that his partner really values a carefully selected card for major holidays with words of affirmation for her to receive, for example. But since the original book, other spin-offs have spoken to relationships between parents and children or teens, peer relationships at school, and even interactions with coworkers. Because love languages, much like the passage from 1 Corinthians, aren’t really relegated to just a romantic relationship. They really can be applied to virtually every kind of relationship we find ourselves in.

Even in the church. I wonder if Paul’s letter to the Corinthians in some ways was his attempts to give them “love languages” to use with each other. What if this passage prompted us, as the church of Jesus Christ in 2019, to consider how we might be giving and receiving love not just in our relationships with significant others, or even in our families and friends and workplaces, but also in our own church community? As those who worship in a church with “love grows here” on the side of one of our buildings, it might be worth a few thoughts. And perhaps those activities that we engage in most excitedly are actually reflections of the ways in which we speak love to each other, and to God, as we live out our faith together. Let’s see.

Quality time. There are a lot of things you could be doing right now instead of being here. A lot. You probably just thought of at least 3. And this is true virtually any time we gather as a church. Our lives are busy, and demands on our time are high. And yet, you chose to be here. We choose to spend time in community. Fellowship Events – there is lunch next Sunday after worship, the Hebrews Coffee area, our lovely lunch groups – ROMEOs and JULIETs who are each meeting for lunch THIS WEEK, and other opportunities show this kind of love. It is about the times we are together not because of a committee agenda or programmed experience of faith, but just to gather in God’s name. Informally this happens when we linger a few moments after worship, or find a time to invite someone to lunch. Our youth will do it today after worship as they do the first Sunday of every month.

Words of affirmation. Have you paid someone a compliment today? Said “Thank You”? Our caring connections team works to send cards and affirmations out year-round. Our prayer chain reminds us to lift each other’s lives to God. We do this in worship through prayers as well, along with songs of praise, and our affirmation of faith.  In a few weeks we will present the Watwood Window of Service Award, a way we affirm with words and honors those who have given so much to our community. This love is shown every time we celebrate with each other or encourage each other, speaking love and life to build each other up.

Gifts. In worship this one is obvious, as we pass the plates to collect the offering. But there are other tangible gifts in our midst as well. Our liturgist holds a basket of lollipops for young and young at heart after worship. We give visitors loaves of homemade bread as a welcome. This past week Nathan has joyfully assembled and painted a wooden truck that he was given as an attendance reward from Praise Kids. Baskets collect donations for the clothing closet and food pantry, an entire gym fills with Christmas presents for children, and sometimes we even get surprise gifts of supplies in the office, like reams of paper that show up just when we were starting to run low and needed to order more.

Physical Touch. Think about the ways we greet each other during the passing of the peace, or holding hands in prayer. Last week one of our elementary children reached out for the hand of a little one to guide him to where he needed to go. Our sacraments are physical reminders of God’s grace. We touch the waters of baptism and today will eat and drink the bread and cup in communion with Christ. When we ordain officers or pastors, we practice the laying on of hands, and physical touch becomes a reminder of love as well as the power of the Holy Spirit.

Last but not least, Acts of Service. In fact, this one could probably be a sermon in and of itself. Our congregational life is marked by volunteerism. Any attempt to list them all would fall short. And, mindful of the verses before ours today about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, and Pauls’ repeated reminders that all spiritual gifts are important, I’m going to leave this one to you, and suffice to say that the work that is done here and in Christ’s name in the community by this congregation is remarkable, and that without you – each of you – giving of your time and talents we would not be the church that we are.

Friends, that is a lot of love. It is the bedrock of what it means to be the church. That’s why Paul was so passionate about it, and spent these verses reminding the Corinthians about what love was meant to be.

The love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is a love we experience as God’s unshakable grasp upon our lives. It is the source of our greatest security and, thus, our freedom to actually be patient and kind, to bear all things and not insist on our own way

. . .

For Paul, our capacity to flourish as human beings is realized to the extent that we can live in the love of God revealed in the cross of Jesus Christ[vi].

At our best, our church communities can help us do just that. With faith as our foundation, and Christ as the head, we can dare to live into a glimpse of the love that God has given us. Paul gives the church the framework of what this love looks like, and then asks if we have the courage to live into it. That, indeed, is worth conversation. Amen.

 

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, February 3, 2019

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[i] Lewis F. Galloway, “Pastoral Perspective: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[ii] Jeffrey D. Jones, “Homiletical Perspective: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[iii] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/americas-favorite-valentines-day-candy-is-unavailable-this-year.html

[iv] Jeffrey D. Jones, “Homiletical Perspective: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[v] Christopher R. Hutson, “Exegetical Perspective: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[vi] Jerry Irish, “Theological Perspective: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

Sunday’s Sermon – The Work of Worship – Nehemiah 8:1-12; Luke 4:14-21

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Intro to Scripture reading

This morning our second Scripture reading comes from the book of Nehemiah. As we prepare to listen, I wanted to take a few moments to put this lesser-known book from the Hebrew Scriptures into context. The book of Nehemiah reflects personal memoirs of a great leader in the Persian empire whose heart remained in Jerusalem. The king took note of Nehemiah’s care, and gave him permission to travel to Judah in order to rebuild it. Alongside the book of Ezra, Nehemiah presides over a community in severe conflict, dispute, and fragmentation.

The future of the people is in serious doubt. Enemies attach from outside, but even more disruptively internal disagreement threaten to undermine the community’s future. The people form factions arguing about who is in and who is out, who should govern, how the temple can be rebuilt, how Jerusalem can be reestablished in safety and peace[i].

The majority of the book describes the literal rebuilding of Jerusalem, including its boundaries and gates and lengthy lists of those who had returned from exile. But our text today is about a different kind of building plan and list as the people gather together, one that may just speak to our understanding of what it means to be God’s people today. So together, let us listen for what the Spirit is saying to the church:

Nehemiah 8:1-12

All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. 2 Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. 4 The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose; and beside him stood Matt-eh-thy-a, shee-mah,, An-eye-ah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and May-as-iah on his right hand; and Ped-eye-ah, Mish-el, Mal-ki-jah, Hah-shum, Hash-bad-day-nah, Zechariah, and Meh-shoo-lum on his left hand. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Ban-eye, share-ah-bye-ah, Jay-men, Aack-kub, Shab-beth-a-eye, Hodiah, May-as-iah, Ke-lie-ta, Azariah, Joe-zah-bad, Hanan, Pel-iah, the Levites,[a] helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. 8 So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

 After the construction is complete, the real work begins. This passage from Nehemiah transitions readers from literal nuts and bolts to the components of another framework for living – worship. In these verses, we observe the people of God gathering just as we do week after week, eager for a fresh reading of holy Scripture, and finding strength and joy in the Word of the Lord. This, of course, was a time without paper pages and Bible apps on their phones; the people relied on scribes like Ezra to read the sacred texts, and reader and hearers alike relied on the movement of the Holy Spirit to bring about understanding. In these verses, we get both, a beautiful time capsule image of the people of God in worship. The greater context of Nehemiah and post-exilic Israel remind us that this is more than just a report of worship; it is a highly symbolic moment for God’s people starting anew. They gather at the gates of the city, a location in the ancient world meant for deliberation and judgment.  In worship, the people affirm what kind of a community they will be: one that again looks to God’s law for wisdom and understanding. This is where they will find their unity and purpose once again.

There are many things we can do on our own, but being a Christian isn’t one of them. We need to find community with other believers in order to make sense of our lives. Did you notice the number of times the word “all” was used in today’s text? Eleven times in just 12 verses. The writer of Nehemiah clearly wanted to convey not just a sense of unity from the people, but a broad understanding of inclusivity within the community. This hearing and understanding of God’s word wasn’t just for a few selected leaders. It was for everyone. Those lists of names? Daunting for the reader, and in fact the lectionary assignment skips over them. But I added them back in because they remind us, I think, of the great presence of community. It would be like sharing what happened in worship, and taking time to read out the names in the attendance pads you signed at the beginning of the service. Every name matters. Every person gathered in this community matters, both for the people of Israel and for us today. We need each other here, every one, to offer the best we can for worship.

The reason each person is so important? Because we each have a job to do. The theological word we use to describe the words we say in worship is “liturgy.” It comes from the Greek word leitourgia, which is composed from the words for work (ergon) and people (laos)[ii]. If you wanted to translate it the most literally, you get the idea that “liturgy” means the “work of the people.” In other words, it is something we do together. Our worship is “liturgical” because it invites everyone to take an active role in making it happen. Our worship is also work. Author Dean Chapman likens this kind of work to gardening. He writes:

I like to garden. I like to prepare the soil, arrange and plant landscapes, care for flowers and vegetables, and ultimately, enjoy the harvest. My back sometimes gets sort from all the bending, and I usually work up a good sweat, but overall, gardening is a pleasant experience for me. No matter how you look at it, though, gardening is work. There are no arcades at the mall attracting teenagers to spend their money for a chance to mix soil amendments or pull weeds. Gardening is work. It’s just that it’s worth it to me. Worship, likewise, is worthwhile work.

. . . [Later he notes]

Worship is not just any work, of course.

It is the very specific work of waiting upon God.[iii]

So what is the work we do in our worship? In some places, this is obvious. The Call to Worship and other moments have written responses for those sitting in the pews. We stand and sing together. We join in corporate prayers – sometimes the pastor even creates space for you to speak during the Prayers of the People – fair warning, that’s happening again today. We put gifts in the plates. All of this involves engagement from everyone who is here to make it the best offering we have to God. We do this because we believe that we are the priesthood of all believers. While some have specific roles to fill as leaders in the church, we all carry the great responsibility of making worship happen. In fact, worship is probably the greatest task we have as disciples.

Even in this time set apart for the pastor to ramble on for an extended period of time, there is work for you to do. Dean Chapman describes it this way:

Preaching is far more than one person’s commentary on scripture; preaching is the unfolding of scripture into our lives in the moment of hearing. . . . Preaching is the priest’s encounter with God . . . if you are listening only for a point, or an interesting idea, that’s all you will hear. You will have listened to God as you listen to a history lecture. You will have listened as an unbeliever, not as a priest. To listen as a priest is to tune your whole being to the sermon[iv].

The people gathered to listen to Ezra certainly got that this was their calling. They stood for the reading of God’s Word, and were attentive to Ezra from early morning to midday. They responded with joyful hands raised and the proclaiming “Amen, Amen!” This was no passive audience. They were engaged and energized by this experience of worship.

As Reformed Christians, our worship centers around the Word, just as the worship in our text today. You can see glimpses of it in virtually every component of our worship. Often our liturgy is taken directly from the Bible itself. The shape and substance of our worship is marked appropriately by the rich language found in the holy words of Scripture. Our worship is oriented this way because we have that same sense as the people of Nehemiah’s day that God’s law, the Torah, should be foundational to how we live our lives. And we gather week after week hoping to glean some new understanding that might inform what we do next. The Word is how we believe God is revealed to us, and through which we might be transformed to be more faithful. Carter Lester reminds us:

God’s Word can do all of that, because the Scriptures give us a lens to look at this world and our lives through God’s eyes. We are reminded of God’s presence and love when we otherwise might feel alone and abandoned; we are pierced with words of judgment when we might otherwise be puffed up with arrogance and self-satisfaction . . . When we gather together as God’s people, when we are conscious of coming into the presence of the living and holy God, when we center our worship on God’s Word, when we offer all of ourselves to God, we cannot help but be changed over time. We gather to give glory to God and to have God make a difference in us so that we can be sent to make a difference in God’s world[v].

The people who hear God’s word from the scribe Ezra are moved to the point of weeping. Their eyes are open and they reach new, perhaps profound levels of understanding. Lives are transformed; a community is shaped; all because of the power of God’s Word in worship.

The work of worship is worthwhile. Our time together, an hour or so on a Sunday morning in our case, is meant to define us – as individuals growing in faith, yes, but also as a community. Worship, then, is a risky endeavor. Novelist Annie Dillard captures this when she writes:

Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? . . . It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake some day and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return[vi].

Worship takes us places. It equips us for the work of ministry by giving us a fresh vision for where God is leading us. It gives us strength to live into God’s presence. The people who heard Ezra’s reading were encouraged to transform from weeping to merriment, and to go enjoy the best that life had to offer, being sure to extend that richness to those who had none. The fruits of the work of worship become joy, for in the Word of God we find our hope – the root of all that gives us life and life abundant. So friends, may we renew our own energies in our worship, this week and every week, so that we too may be transformed for the work God has for us to do, in this Sanctuary, and in the world.  Amen.

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, January 27, 2019

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[i] Kathleen M. O’Connor, “Exegetical Perspective: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[ii] James F. White, Introduction to Christian Worship: Third Edition, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000).

[iii] Dean W. Chapman, How to Worship as a Presbyterian, (Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2001).

[iv] Dean W. Chapman, How to Worship as a Presbyterian, (Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2001).

[v] W. Carter Lester, “Pastoral Perspective: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[vi] Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk (New York: Harper & Row, 1982), 40-41., as quoted in W. Carter Lester, “Pastoral Perspective: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

 

 

Sunday’s Sermon – Here for the Party – John 2:1-11

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“Weddings are accidents waiting to happen,” Robert M. Brearley notes. “Something almost always goes wrong at a service of holy matrimony[1].” What’s your favorite wedding mishap story? The week of my wedding started with Hurricane Sandy, complete with power outages and other delays. The flowers that we ordered had yet to arrive as of Friday night, sparking a local store scavenger hunt for replacements and family corsage and bouquet making party in the hotel after the rehearsal dinner. Oh, and our first dance? Right artist, but totally the wrong song. If you’re lucky, these incidents are momentary blips on the radar, destined to become humorous anecdotal stories as the years go by.

It’s an inevitable pattern that may even date back to the 1st century. In those days, weddings lasted a full seven days and were hosted by the groom’s family, who was responsible for all of the planning. Jesus, his mother and disciples are among the wedding guests at one celebration in Cana, a town otherwise unmentioned in the Bible, located about 9 miles north of Nazareth. As the story unfolds, the wedding experience seems to match what often happens. Something goes wrong.

Specifically, they are out of wine, on only the third day. Not even halfway through the festivities, and they are out of refreshments. Here, we read about another typical wedding fact– the incredible ability of a mother to get things done. Only here, it isn’t the mother of the bride or groom – it’s the mother of God. You can imagine it, can’t you? A light bulb going off over Mary’s head; she knows someone who can fix this. And so, as mothers do, she marches over to her son and informs him of the situation. The exchange between mother and son here is remarkable, even off-putting, and is rich with theological significance. Here, at the onset of Jesus’ ministry in John, Christ is insistent that this time has yet to come. It is no more his business than anyone else’s at the wedding. And yet, his mother’s instructions to the stewards, “do whatever he tells you,” seem to indicate a trust that something is going to happen. And indeed something does.

“The essence of any miracle is that it shatters the conventional explanations and expectations, and this miracle is no exception[2].”  6 stone jars stand empty, having been used for ritual purification. Jesus takes one look at those empty jars, and instructs the stewards to fill them with water. But what is tasted from these jars isn’t the water that was pour into them. It is fine wine, nicer than any other that has been served. Let that sink in for just a minute. What was just empty, is now 120-180 GALLONS of fine wine. Sure, it doesn’t have the urgency of some of the later miracles, with illnesses being healed and hunger being relieved, but it does speak to the transformational power and love of God through Jesus Christ.

In the great theological film, Talladega Nights, Ricky Bobby’s family and friends exchange how they imagine Jesus to be. Ricky’s friend Cal offers that he likes to think of Jesus as wearing a “tuxedo t-shirt, because it says I want to be formal, but I’m here to party.”  Perhaps we should view this miracle as God saying, “I’m here to party.” Not because of the unlimited open bar Jesus creates, but because of what it symbolizes.

In the Old Testament, an abundance of good wine is an eschatological symbol, a sign of the joyous arrival of God’s new age[3]” The superabundance of wine indicates the unlimited gifts that Jesus makes available. “The miracle of the wine shatters the boundaries of their conventional world, and the disciples are willing to entertain the possibility that this boundary breaking marks the inbreaking of God[4].

God is here to party. That’s not something we think a lot about, is it? But it’s true. “The sign at Cana tells us that Jesus served a God who puts joy into life, who thinks it is worth a miracle to keep the party going as we celebrate people[5].” This is Jesus’ debut moment in John’s gospel, the first sign of his work as the Messiah. And he begins with a rich overwhelming symbol of God’s abundant grace and overwhelming love. In this moment, with jars filled to the brim with the finest wine, Christ demonstrates how lavish our God is, and how much God longs to connect with us on every level.  Through the incarnation, God doesn’t just observe us from on high, but who lives among us, and yes, comes to our parties. This celebration, of course, climaxes with the good news of the resurrection, when God springs forth from the tomb, letting us know once and for all that the party will go on forever.

Sundays are our resurrection days, the time we gather as a community who celebrates the empty tomb week in and week out.  “University of Chicago theologian Robert Hotchkins remarks that ‘Christians ought to be celebrating constantly. We ought to be preoccupied with parties, banquets, feasts, and merriment. We ought to give ourselves over to veritable orgies of joy because we have been liberated from the fear of life and the fear of death. We ought to attract people to the church quite literally by the fun there is in being a Christian[6].” After all, “God does not want our religions to be too holy to be happy in[7].”

What does that say about our approach to worship? Perhaps we might do well to prepare for church the way some prepare for a wedding, with time, attention, and excitement.  Consider how a checklist for getting ready for a wedding might apply:

  • Do you make the date and time a priority, as if you’ve been sent a save the date?
  • Are you quick to invite your “plus one,” a family member, significant other, or friend who you’d love to have join you in the fun?
  • Do you look at the registry and carefully consider what gift you might bring?
  • Have you read all of the information on the couple’s wedding website, brushing up on their story, or thinking about your own connections to them?
  • Do you lay out your clothes the night before, or even try out several options?
  • Will you make sure you arrive early to get a good seat?

There are, of course, MANY differences between weddings and worship, but you get the idea. Weddings, and other parties, are set apart as special occasions, ones that require thought and planning, and through those many steps and checklists heighten our anticipation of the joy that will be experienced. The same is true for worship, Sunday School, volunteering in service, and any other experiences we have that bring us closer to God. They are better when we take the time to prepare for them, when we make them a priority, and when we open ourselves to the possibility that they might be big moments in our lives, or at least little moments that shift something.

I believe God is calling us through this story, to step up in our lives of faith and RSVP to the party Christ is throwing.  It is a big thing to ask, and for some, just coming to the party is difficult. We are like the ritual purification jars. At some point we were filled, but then we seem to get used up. We “burn out” of the “church stuff.” It becomes stale and dry, and we become empty. Perhaps we haven’t always gotten along with others we know are on the invite list. Just being in the same room with them is a challenge. Other times we just aren’t in the mood for celebration; when life has given us a slew of bad news and sad moments is overwhelming. Being around a bunch of happy celebrating people can be stomach turning. Maybe you have questions, or doubts, and if this were a wedding you’d be debating whether or not to speak up with your concerns, or be relegated to “forever hold your peace.” The wine has run out of our parties, and we’re not quite sure where to go from here.

Poet Tom Lane puts it this way,

If Jesus could transform common water into wedding wine, spit and dirt into new sight, troubled sea into a pathway, well water into living water, could Christ transform the waters of my life: shallow, murky, polluted, stagnant, sour, into a shower of blessing[8]?

The promise of our text today, though, is that Jesus comes to fill us, and fill us to the brim, with living water that is transformed into the fullness of celebration and joy. With grace and love that is lavish and abundant. With the promise of new life, and hope for restoration for all people. Jesus comes into our midst and celebrates with us wherever we are, however we are, and then leads us into an even deeper understanding of joy. The wine that Jesus provided in those once empty vessels wasn’t just cheap stuff to keep people happy for a little while; it was the finest of wines, usually what is put out first so that the guests are aware of the host’s good taste and hospitality. Its appearance at the end of this miracle story reminds us that the party will go on, and more than that, it won’t just wind down as people stumble home, it will continue and flourish. It only gets better from here.

May that be like our experience of worship, where we again are filled to the brim with the very best from God. May we continue to experience God’s abundant grace and love, and be energized by Christ, who is, here for the party, today, tomorrow, and forevermore. Amen.

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, January 20, 2019

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[1] Robert M. Brearley, “John 2:1-11, Pastoral Perspective.” Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 260.

[2] Gail O’Day, “John.” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995), 539.

[3] O’Day, 538.

[4] O’Day, 539.

[5] Brearley, 263.

[6] Brearley, 262-4.

[7] Brearley, 262.

[8] Tom Lane, “If Jesus Could,” Imaging the Word, Volume 1 (Cleveland, Ohio: United Church Press, 1994), 116.

Sunday’s Sermon – Water and Fire – Luke 3:15-17, 21-22; Isaiah 43:1-7

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Today is Baptism of the Lord Sunday! Fresh from the story of Christ’s birth, we leap ahead in the timeline some thirty-something years to the beginning of his ministry in Galilee. The story of Jesus’ baptism is shared in our Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke. All three use this event to proclaim in no uncertain terms that Jesus is the Messiah, the one for whom God’s people have been waiting. The big points are the same. Each describes John the Baptist as a wild man from the wilderness who baptizes those who repent.  The authors make a point John the Baptist is not the Messiah, perhaps to quell rumors that he was. In the verses we skipped in Luke’s gospel, this is further punctuated with the note that John the Baptist was arrested by King Herod; later we will read how he is beheaded. John the Baptist steps aside, and the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, emerges from the crowd to take center stage. He has come to be baptized. His immersion is then followed by words from heaven in one form or the other. Here is where each writer also includes some unique details that give their version a slight spin, usually related to their perspective and point of emphasis for their audience.  But all are again a proclamation that he is God’s beloved child. The Baptism of the Lord is Jesus’ inaugural moment into ministry. Christ’s identity is revealed. It is from this point where it all begins.

The verses leading up to the moment in the river Jordan help us make sense of what it means. In Luke’s account, our text opens with the reminder that people are filled with expectation, longing for a Messiah. John the Baptist’s words help speak to the one who is to come. He uses the imagery of the winnowing fork to describe it. I don’t know about you, but this was not a familiar analogy or metaphor to me. It likely was for the original audience in the 1st century though. As Linda McKinnish Bridges explains:

This common agricultural illustration was frequently used in the biblical world (Ps. 1:4; Prov. 20:26, Isa. 41:15f; Jer. 15:7). The harvested grain is taken to the threshing floor and cleaned. Toss a portion of the harvested grain in the aid with a winnowing fan, a fork-like shovel, then let the wind do the work. The wind takes control of the process, separating the wheat from the chaff, a mixture of heavy husks and straw. The wheat falls away from the chaff. The chaff is collected and burned, and the wheat remains safely stored in the barn[i].

The long-awaited-for Messiah was supposed to sort things out, separate what was good from bad in the world in acts of judgment. John’s description of this cues us in to what people were looking for, and will serve as another juxtaposition as Jesus’ ministry begins and seems to be at-odds with expectations. But the illustration also points to more than just Jesus.

The illustration of wheat and chaff . . . reveals that the most active agent is the wind. The agent that does the separating of good and evil, the righteous from the unrighteous, is the Spirit. . . . [in other words], Jesus holds the shovel, and the Spirit does the work[ii].

John is clear that baptism is about more than just water; it is also about the Holy Spirit, illustrated here as wind, fire, and dove. All of these images swirl around the text like ripples on the water, calling us to look below the surface of the water, or maybe behind it.

On the outskirts of the southeast corner of Chestnut Ridge County Park in New York there is an area called Shale Creek Preserve, which features a waterfall cascading over a picturesque grotto. The rock formations are such that there are several fissures in the shale through which methane gas escapes. The gas is highly flammable, and once lit, creates a brilliant flicker known as the “eternal flame,” reaching up to 8 inches in height, visible even from a distance where it flickers for extended periods of time even as water cascades in such close proximity. It’s a curiosity for sure, and a reminder that even in nature, sometimes things that don’t seem to go together can be held in imaginative tension that leads to wonder as fire and water seem to coexist at the same time[iii].

This is similar to the images Luke gives us for baptism.  Did you catch it? John the Baptist notes that while he baptizes with water; the one who comes after him (hint: that’s the Messiah, who will enter the scene just moments later), will baptize with the Holy Spirit and, yes, FIRE.  It’s a bit curious, in a story all about water, to have this little nugget, nestled into the description of the Holy Spirit, and literally surrounded by references to being submerged in water. Have you ever tried to light a campfire after a rainstorm? While it’s not impossible, it certainly is difficult to get fire out of wet wood. And yet, here it is, like the eternal flame, burning amidst the currents, catching our eyes and causing us to wonder.

Paying attention to the Holy Spirit in the midst of the story of Jesus’ baptism reminds us that this sacrament is about more than just water on our heads. In fact, it’s even about more than being a part of God’s covenant and welcomed into Christ’s church.  Baptism is about throwing ourselves into the wind of the Holy Spirit. This even works its way into our liturgy.  After baptism, our Book of Common Worship instructs the minister to say something like this:

child of the covenant, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirt in baptism, and marked as Christ’s own forever.

As wonderful as it is to talk about the water, this morning we are reminded to not skip over the spirit, but to look for flames among the currents.

It is said that the books of Luke and Acts, both believed to be by the same author, are “books of the Holy Spirit.” They focus on the movement of this mysterious part of the Trinity in ways the other gospels don’t. In Luke’s gospel, the Spirit is already highlighted well by the time we reach this story in chapter 3. It has swept over John the Baptist’s birth, been named as the way in which Mary came to bear the Messiah in her womb, caused Elizabeth to jump for joy at Mary’s arrival, inspired Simeon in visiting the temple. As one writer notes, Luke is all about the Holy Spirit. He:

draws on language about the Holy Spirit in a variety of contexts, and he is more concerned with asserting the presence and activity of the Spirit than with charting the Spirit’s moves[iv].

Baptism reminds us of the Spirit on the move, and should “light a fire” under us in faith. It affirms that God has a purpose for us. This Baptism of the Lord Sunday challenges us to return to the waters to remember our identity as God’s own, hearing those promises from Isaiah as words for us today and celebrate that we are a part of God’s covenant, connected through Jesus Christ. We joyfully embrace this identity as God’s own, not so we can just pat ourselves on the back, but so that the Holy Spirit can descend like a dove. As Ernest Hess notes:

When heaven opens up, something real descends and enters earth. This is the inbreaking of the new age. The Spirit is loose in the world in and through Jesus, who will baptize his followers, not with water alone, but with the Holy Spirit and fire[v].

Baptism is a disrupter in our lives that sets us on a new course, with Christ and the Holy Spirit working hand in hand.

And so this morning, we return to the waters, not to be baptized again (or for the first time), but to remember this as a touchstone for our faith that launches us into the future, and to pray that the heavens will break open for us and declare the start of something new. We fling ourselves into the wind, and trust the Spirit will sort us out and set us on a path for ministry. We surround ourselves with the refreshing, rushing water, and hope to catch a glimpse of God’s fire burning in its midst. May it be so. Amen.

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, January 13, 2019

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[i] Linda McKinnish Bridges, “Exegetical Perspective: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[ii] Linda McKinnish Bridges, “Exegetical Perspective: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[iii] https://curiosity.com/topics/how-fire-burns-beneath-a-waterfall-at-eternal-flame-falls-curiosity/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=20190109waterfallfire&fbclid=IwAR36s57qx3dqyigGO_adv99ixIf6un5yW-SkdYxAGSTf0xbHCnlQHa9mc3Y and http://www.wnytrails.com/?p=243 , both accessed 1/12/19.

[iv] Texts for Preaching, Year C

[v] Ernest Hess, “Homiletical Perspective: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

Sunday’s Sermon – Rise and Shine – Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12

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Let’s take an informal poll this morning. Raise your hands: how many of you consider yourselves “morning people”? Are you up at the break of dawn (or before), bright eyed and bushy tailed, energized and ready to face the day? I have some family members like you. They say things like “once I’m up, I’m up,” and they have smiles on their faces even before a cup of coffee is in their hand.  I, on the other hand, am not a morning person. Actually, I’m just not a “waking up”’ person. I like a quieter, slower start to the day if possible. Those don’t happen very often anymore. But most of my jarring wake-ups have come in ministry, believe it or not. Especially with youth at camps and conferences. In one church, each morning at camp began with their favorite song, complete with hand motions and jumping akin to Montreat energizers. I won’t make you stand and dance (unless you want to), but I will invite you to sing the chorus with me – to that children’s song about Noah and his “Arky, Arky”:

Rise, and shine, and give God the glory, glory;

Rise, and shine, and give God the glory, glory;

Rise, and shine, and, give God the glory, glory;

Children of the Lord!

Admittedly, there is something that happens to your spirits when you get up and moving with a catchy tune.

“Arise, and shine” the prophet Isaiah calls out to the people of Israel, “for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1). This is a wake-up call with an equal amount of optimism and pep, spoken to the people of God who might have wanted to pull the covers back over their head. Here Isaiah presents a vision of hope and restoration, not just for the people of Israel, but for all of the nations. It offers timeless images of majesty and power, and God’s reign breaking into everything.

These words remind us of those we spoke on Christmas Eve from Isaiah 9:2:

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—  on them light has shined.

They follow-up on the promise of Isaiah 42:19:

            I will turn the darkness before them into light,  the rough places into level ground.

It is obvious that the author of the third part of Isaiah wanted to renew the hope of a community familiar with the imagery of light, inspiring them in ways that would make an impact. This portion of the book is believed to have been written sometime in the 6th century BCE, perhaps just after the first wave of exiles had returned from Babylon. If these earlier references are sparks, our verses from today in chapter 60 see the blaze truly come alive. The imagery is powerful and magnificent, moving from clouds and confusion to brightness with full illumination and splendor. Isaiah metaphorically pulls open those wide black-out curtains to reveal staggering morning sunlight streaming in through the window. The glory of the Lord is shining. Wake-Up!

Today is Epiphany! This morning, we gather for worship in search of our own epiphanies, big and small, in light of the greatest discovery of all as we celebrate the arrival of the Magi who followed the star to the Christ child. What a wonderful way to begin a new year together, seeking and searching for God. Both Matthew and Isaiah remind us that the start of another calendar year can be more than just about resolution – it is about revelation, specifically God’s revelation to the world.

  1. Richard Niebuhr likens revelation to a moment when we are reading a “difficult book, seeking to follow a complicated argument, [and] we come across a luminous sentence form which we can go forward and backward and so attain some understanding of the whole.[i]”

I think Isaiah 60:1’s “rise and shine” can be one of those sentences, crystallizing our experience of faith, a moment in which, as Kendra Hotz says:

an important truth suddenly becomes clear, and we can reinterpret our past and rethink our way forward in light of it. . . now the past makes sudden sense; now the future calls for a new direction.

The prophet calls our attention to the ways in which God breaks into our world and illuminates our very existence. Look around, the prophet cries, and pay attention! God is here! Yes! Here! Your Christmas decorations might be packed away (or not, no judgement here), but God-among-us, Emmanuel, is not. Jesus Christ is alive and present in our world here and now. Don’t crawl back under the covers, or hit the snooze button. Rise! This is news worth getting up for.

What gets you up in the morning? Is it the pressure of an alarm clock with the knowledge that your day is fully booked with work or school or appointments? Is it the desire to get a jump on your to-do list, or go for a morning run? Is it the opportunity to catch the sunrise on your porch with a cup of coffee? Isaiah might have us take a new direction with our days, beginning with an eagerness for what God is doing, or might do, in your life or in the world. How might our days be different if we adopted this perspective each morning – of looking for God’s glory in the world? If we saw it, we would bask in that light and be radiant ourselves, with hearts that truly were thrilled and rejoicing as verse 5 describes.

What might help us look? For the magi in Matthew’s gospel, it was a star’s light that caught their attention. Their focusing on that light is what put everything else into motion. They knew it was significant, and by following it, they were able to discover the greatest news the world has ever known. So today, in honor of their following the star, we will join other churches in a spiritual practice of receiving “star words” on this Epiphany Sunday. Each star has a word written on it that might provide you insight, direction, or inspiration in the coming year, or provoke you to look at things in a new way. You will be invited to pick one from the table, without looking at the word first, as you come forward to receive communion. There are no “star-police,” but try to be open to how the Spirit might speak to you through even an unlikely or seemingly random work in the coming year. Prayerfully reflect on it and pray for how it might guide you. You might be surprised by how it works into your life – whether that is in January, June, or even next fall.

Last year, my word was “focus,” which I initially thought would be great because I tend to get distracted easily. So I put it on my desk, and when I found myself drifting or bouncing around in the office, it was a reminder to stay focused on one thing at a time. But as the year developed it took on a new shape as I prayed it into my life. I realized the great gift of focus as a harmonizing concept, and the need in my own life to balance the many things that seem to demand my attention. In October, I got to practice it in a beautiful way, with the gift of two full months of full-time maternity leave to focus on a sweet little baby and what that meant for our lives now as a family of four. In full disclosure, while I’m planning on picking up a star this morning, I’m also going to leave my “focus” star from last year on my desk, because I still have more work to do on this in my life.

The stars are a tool that can help us bring more intention to our living. First, by helping us to “look” at things through a different lens, and second by prompting us to “live” in a different way as a result. As Isaiah says, not to just “rise,” but to “shine” also.  Karen Pidcock-Lester contends that these words from the prophet are more than just beautiful poetry of light. She writes:

This is not an invitation. It is a command. The light has not come merely to rescue a chosen few from darkness. The light has come so that others will be drawn out of the darkness into the circle of light.  . . . Those who are privileged to stand in the light have a responsibility not just to receive the light, but also to respond to it[ii].

Just as our candles on Christmas Eve made us bearers of light to each other and the world, these stars should remind us to shine brightly, in the hopes that we might be reflections of God’s glory to others. As poet Marianne Williamson writes:

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same[iii].

So friends, rise and shine! For the light of the world has come, and our work is just beginning. Amen.

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, January 6, 2019 (Epiphany)

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[i] As quoted by Kendra G. Hotz, “Theological Perspective: Isaiah 60:1-6,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[ii] Karen Pidcock-Lester, “Pastoral Perspective: Isaiah 60:1-6,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[iii] Marianne Williamson, “Our Deepest Fear”

Food Pantry

Food distribution has been changed to the 1st Saturday of the month at 10:00 am and the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 12:30 pm.

The next Drive-Up Food Pantry is scheduled for Saturday, May 3 at 10 am.  Accurate pre-registration is strongly encouraged to ensure volunteers pack accordingly.
Please sign- up here!

For other pantry locations, go here
or text “FINDFOOD” to 888-976-2232

Church News

Volunteers are needed to help pack family boxes on Monday, April 27th and Monday, May 19th at 10 am in the Fellowship Hall. We welcome all volunteers.  

Food Pantry distribution volunteer opportunity Saturday, May 3 registration here!

Worship Live Streaming and archives can be found by clicking the appropriate link under the worship tab.

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Upcoming Events

Worship

Sunday Schedule

9:00 AM
Responding in Faith Sunday School Class
     via Zoom with Barbara Jessee

9:15 AM
Bible University Sunday School Class
    with Dr. Tom Scott
Hybrid format (in-person & via Zoom)

Connections Sunday School Class
with Mark Bixler
Hybrid format (in-person & via Zoom)

Youth Bible Study (Room 8) 6- 12th grade

Kids Club – (Room 7)
Biblically-based Faith Formation Activities for Preschool – 5th Grade
Praise Kids Music on the 3rd Sunday of the month.

10:30 AM
In-Person Worship and Livestreamed via   YouTube.

Youth Group – the first and third Sunday of the month from 5-7 pm during the school year.