Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
There's an old story about a couple that was walking out of church one Sunday. The wife asked the husband,
"Did you see the strange hat Mrs. O'Brien was wearing?"
"No, I didn't," replied the husband.
"Bill Smith badly needs a hair cut, doesn't he?" commented the wife.
"Sorry, but I didn't notice," her husband said.
"You know, John," said the wife impatiently," sometimes I wonder if you get anything at all out of going to church."
People get different things out of going to church, depending, it would seem, on what they expect to get when they go there.
Today's Gospel reading begins by telling us that when Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, that he went up to Nazareth - his home town - and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.
What an interesting statement. He went into the synagogue, on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.
Jesus grew up attended the synagogue in his home town - it was his habit, his practice, his custom, to worship there on the Sabbath day, and here he is, after his baptism and anointing with the Holy Spirit, here he is, after already having demonstrated his power and his righteousness, here he is, after showing through healings and teachings his connectedness to God attending weekly worship in the synagogue in his home town.
Why?
I ask this question because there are many people who claim to be connected to God, many people who say they are aware of the movement of the Spirit of God in their lives and in the world around them who do not attend public worship on a regular basis.
I ask why because there are many who claim that they can be Christians without attending Christ's church; and yet here we see that the most holy person this world has ever seen - the person who men and women of many different faiths recognize as being one of the most righteous and beautiful that history has produced - a person who had the deepest kind of prayer life and a profound intimacy with the creation - so much so that he could command storms to cease, here we see that he attended public worship that he entered the synagogue, on a regular basis.
What did he expect to find there in that experience? Surely he knew it all already?
Surely the prayers of the cantor, the psalms that were sung, the scriptures that were read, and the message of the teacher for that day were old hat to him.
Surely he could have spent the time better on the mountainsides walking and praying, surely he could have done better simply resting his tired body after a hard week of being about his Father's business...And yet he attended - he attended worship services very much like this one, week in and week out, year in and year out.
What did he get out of it?
Why did he go?
I think that there are several reasons.
The first and most basic of these is that Jesus attended the worship held each Sabbath day because it is part of what it means to keep the Sabbath Day - because it is part of what God commands us to do in the ten commandments
Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work - you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
To consecrate something is to set it apart, to set it apart and to dedicate it to God.
Now we know Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man - and not man for the Sabbath, but remember in this profound reminder how Jesus did not neglect the purpose of the Sabbath Day, how he did not neglect worship and prayer and hearing the Word, how it was his custom to assemble with the faithful in the synagogue and to do there with them very much what you are doing here today with me.
Jesus most surely attended the Synagogue each week because God commands that of us all, when God commands us to keep the Sabbath holy.
But there is something more profound than even holy obedience in what I think are Jesus' reasons for attending the synagogue on the Sabbath.
His obedience to God, like ours, helps to establish a foundation upon which God can build and then inhabit the temple that is our heart and the temple that is our community of faith.
I believe that Jesus went to the synagogue to hear the Word of God, to be reminded of the Word of God, and to be recreated by the Word of God, this even though he was the Word of God made flesh!
Do you remember how Jesus tells us that we should listen to the teachings of the scribes and pharisees, even when their personal lives, their holiness, their way of doing things, are less than perfect.
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
Jesus was and is the Word made flesh - but as flesh Jesus needed, as much as you and I need, the systematic and regular reminder of what the Word tells us.
He did not allow the imperfections of those who proclaimed the word to detract him from listening to the word from their lips, nor did he allow the hypocrisy of those who taught the word detract him from telling his disciples and all who would hear him to listen to the word from their mouths.
What is the one of the big excuses that so many people who claim to be followers of Christ use when they tell us they don't need to go to church - or don't want to go to Church?
Isn't it that the church is full of hypocrites?
That one doesn't wash with Jesus.
He himself listened to the words of the Law and the Prophets from lips far inferior to his own and he urged his brothers and sisters - his followers and his disciples to do the same.
I believe that is because Jesus knew that the Word gives life no matter what container pours it out - just as water from a chipped and dented mug is as good as water from the finest crystal.
Which brings me to another reason for regularly hearing the Word of God in the company of believers - in our churches - each day.
It feeds us.
I heard a story the other day about a man who was telling a friend that he no longer saw any point in going to church - that he had heard over a 1000 sermons over the previous years and couldn't remember what any of them said.
His friend replied that over the same period he had eaten thousands of meals that had been prepared by his wife - and that he would be hard pressed to remember a single one of them - but that wasn't about to stop him from going home for supper.
God has prepared a meal for us within the bosom of the family he has given to us.
Jesus reminded the devil when he was being tempted in the wilderness that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Those words are read each week in our assemblies.
Our old testament reading this morning describes one such occasion. Actually it was a special occasion - An occasion when the Word as we now have it recorded in the scriptures was, for the first time after many years - years of exile - years of deprivation - read aloud to the people and explained as it was read.
We hear that the children of Israel mourned and wept aloud when they heard it. They mourned and wept because that Word showed them how they had departed from God's way and because it spoke to them of what they had lost or never had - and of what could be and should be.
The word convicted them - as I know it has convicted many of you at different times in your lives, causing you to weep for yourselves - and for those whom you love.
And that is good. We all need to be reminded and we all need to be convicted from time to time. We need to recall what is right and true - what leads to life - and what leads to death.
But that is not the end of the story of how the word was read to the people of Israel that day.
Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them:
"This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.",
and then Nehemiah told them
"Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
The sharing of the Word of God in that sacred assembly may have convicted the people as they heard it but it issued then in a blessing - as does the Word today as it is read in our midst.
The word "repent" is always accompanied by the words "the kingdom of God is at hand".
The very Word that convicts us - also gives us the promise of God, the promise of God to be with those who listen to him, to forgive those who call upon him, to grant life, abundantly, joyfully, to those who take his word into them.
The word feeds us - it feeds us with that which need to live. Even when it doesn't always seem so to us.
I heard of a business man who flies every week and his frequent flyer miles are now in the millions. How often has he and his fellow passengers heard the emergency instructions by the cabin attendants just prior to takeoff? How much attention do any of us who have flown more than once, pay to the instructions?
Sometime ago he was on a flight. Just prior to landing the pilot interrupted the routine to tell the passengers that they possibly had landing gear trouble. He looked out at the approaching airport to see the fire engines assembled alongside the runway. They had to circle, dump fuel and listen to emergency procedures again but this time even the most seasoned flyers paid intense attention. As the man said, "As if our lives depended on our getting them right - because they did!"
There's a parallel to our gathering in the midst of whatever journey we may be on each week.
We pause to hear God's Word and hope to hear "landing instructions". The people of Israel in our first reading, and Jesus by his example today in the Gospel reading, call us today to pay attention to the God who addresses us - it really means the difference between a life of exile or a life of meaning and community - it means the difference between being fed and not being fed.
(By the way, the plane arrived safely.)
Jesus went up to Nazareth - and on the Sabbath day, he entered the synagogue - as was his custom.
I think he did this for many reasons - he did it so he might have fellowship with God, he did it to keep the commandments of God, he did it so he might be fed - so that he might be instructed and counselled.
He did it too because it made him a part of God's people, a people who were not only defined by the name they took and the law they obeyed, but by the fact that they gathered together to hear and to pray to the one who named them - the one who said that they would be his people and that he would be their God, a God who would save them from their enemies and make them a light to the nations.
On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Today the scripture is fulfilled in our hearing as well.
Christ is here, here in our church on this our Sabbath Day to bring to our poor good news, to proclaim freedom to those of us who are enslaved, to bring sight to those of us who are blind, and to release those of us who are oppressed - those of us - and those in the world around us.
You came today - as is the custom of many - if not all - of you. Glory be to God for that.
Listen now in your hearts to what God wants to say to you....
Listen now for what God want to tell us all...
Praise God for giving us this day... This time... this gathering of his people...
Hear what God is saying....
And make your prayer to God.... even as I pray now - and we all pray in the moments to come.
May His name be praised day by day. Amen!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Exodus 35:20-29; Psalm 36; I Corinthians 12:1-11
Lord, speak in this time and place - in the calming of our minds and the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
I would like to conduct a little poll here today consisting of two questions. You have to wave your hands in the air to vote. You can wave one hand, or both, to indicate your favour. Let's practice. Question one - Who would like to hear me really sing out today - to really let go and put all of myself into a hymn, or better yet, into a solo.... Come on - put up your hands if you would like that....
Now - put up your hands if you would rather - Frank or Kenneth - Sandy or Roger - or just about anyone else sing.
The reason I conducted this straw poll is to make a point. A point about gifts and about how we regard them and how we regard ourselves.
That point is this - some gifts we have - and some we don't. Wisdom consists of knowing what gifts we have - and exercising them, and equally wisdom consists of knowing what gifts we don't have - and encouraging others who do have them to use them.
I sometimes wish - as I am sure some of you wish - that I had the gift of music - that I could sing and play and lift up the hearts of all those around me with song - but I do not. I also wish I had the gift of a photographic memory and gift of being handy with machines and wood and tools - but I do not.
By times these wishes have caused me problems. They have focussed my mind and my heart on what and what I do not have. They have led me to feel inferior - incapacitated - unable...
But at other times these wishes have led me in the opposite direction, they have led me to wonder what gifts I do have, they have led me to wonder how God has gifted me and what it is that God has prepared for me to do.
In the twelfth chapter of the First Letter to The Corinthians, the Apostle Paul speaks at length about gifts and about how we should regard them. He also discusses how we should regard our own giftedness and the giftedness of others.
It is an important chapter - and I want to deal with the first part of it this morning - the part that asserts that there are a variety of gifts and of services and of activities - and that each person is gifted with some assortment of these gifts - and that these gifts are a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that is in us - a manifestation that is given for one purpose - and that is for the common good.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uniformed.... To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utter of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The spirit allots to each one individually, just as the Spirit chooses.
What gifts do you have?
What gifts do you rejoice in - in yourself - and in others?
Is it the gift of praying for others?
The gift are caring?
The gift of service?
The gift of praise?
Some gifts, my friends, are glorious in appearance and dramatic in their effect. They are easy to identify and easy to praise.
Other gifts are more subtle, more ordinary in appearance, and have their impact over the long term rather than in the instant and often they fail to receive the recognition they deserve.
My home church in Wanchai - was a bit like the church in Corinth that Paul wrote to in Corinth.
In it we had people with the highly visible gifts of prayer and prophecy, and others had the gifts of tongues and still others the gift of proclamation and of wisdom, while still others had the gift of inspired music and of singing, and they could set a meeting room on fire fairly quickly and inspire those around them to new heights of commitment to God and make them feel new levels of enthusiasm for doing the mission of Christ in the world.
And in that church too we had many quieter people, less visible people, who had different gifts.
Some wrote cards to those who were having birthdays, others made visits to the elderly and to those who were shut-in. Some turned on the lights and welcomed those entered the church, others fixed the copy machine. Some touched the hands of the feeble and helped them to go up the stairs, others baked and cooked during Alpha Courses and church functions, and others prayed quietly every day for the minister and the elders and all the people of the church.
As I think about it all, I know which gifts seemed more glorious to me at the time I was there, when I was slightly younger and more foolish than I am hope I am now.
But I also know that without all the gifts that were offered our church would never have grown and that the ministry of Christ in our community would never have touched as many lives as it did.
The tabernacle of God today, as in the days of Moses, requires both fine linen, and leather, gold - and bronze gemstones - and goat's hair. Each has it's place. Each is needed for the worship of God - and for serving God.
Over the Christmas holidays a friend of mine got himself and his family a dog. The dog is 7 months old - she is a puppy actually, but being a Great Pyranese, she is a good size - she is already 22 kilograms, and will end up being about 50 kilograms when she is full grown.
Anyhow, this rather large pup was walking along one day recently and decided that she had an itch that needed scratching, and that itch was only accessible to her back leg. So, while walking, she picked up her leg to scratch. And fell over.
So, what has that got to do with the gifts that we have, the gifts that God has given us?
A great deal actually.
The tabernacle of God's presence - the church - you and I together needs all it's legs - and more - we need those legs to be coordinated, to be in agreement, to work together freely - gladly - and without argument about which is more important or which is less important.
We need the leg of prophetic utterance and the leg of biblical teaching and the leg of inspired prayer and the leg of administration.
We need the leg of letter writing and the leg of mechanical ability and the leg of visitation and the leg of "eat, its good for you" and the leg of quiet companionship.
We need all the legs
- all the parts that God has made,
- all the gifts that God has distributed among his people.
We need the contribution that each person has been gifted with by God - and we need that contribution to be offered willingly - and we need those charged with receiving that contribution in God's name, and that's you and I again, to receive it without questioning it's worthiness - without questioning the giver - without questioning the motives.....
Each gift is important - and we want our brothers and sisters to give willingly - we need our brothers and sisters to give willingly - for without them - we will fall down!
My friends - when each one of us knows what gift God has granted to us and uses that gift as God wants us to use it - in the task of walking together - of working together - to do the ministry Christ has called us to - we will be healthy and whole as both a community and as individuals, and this church will shine with the joy of God's presence, you will shine with the joy of God's presence.
But if we allow ourselves to become distracted - if we stop doing what we are supposed to being and begin to scratch the itches that crop up here and there in our life together - if we forget what we are about and whose we are in the first place we will all suffer - as a community - and as individuals - and it will be dark and cold in this place.
We need to claim and celebrate what God has given to us individually, and exercise that manifestation of God's Spirit within us for the good of all, without worrying or fretting about what others are or are not doing, and about what others may or may not think about our relative importance.
I know that each one of you today has something very special in your hearts - something that has been placed there by God, something that is beautiful and good and precious in his eyes, something that is of vital importance to our church, our community, and our world.
You all have gifts. Claim the gifts - open them up - celebrate them. And then use them - offer them freely - without worrying whether or not your gift is greater than or less than someone else's.
You are worthy - and your gift is worthy - for God has made, and God is the one who gave you, the very thing you have to offer to his praise and his service in this, his tabernacle - in this, his world.
Blessed be his name, now and always. Amen
I would like to conduct a little poll here today consisting of two questions. You have to wave your hands in the air to vote. You can wave one hand, or both, to indicate your favour. Let's practice. Question one - Who would like to hear me really sing out today - to really let go and put all of myself into a hymn, or better yet, into a solo.... Come on - put up your hands if you would like that....
Now - put up your hands if you would rather - Frank or Kenneth - Sandy or Roger - or just about anyone else sing.
The reason I conducted this straw poll is to make a point. A point about gifts and about how we regard them and how we regard ourselves.
That point is this - some gifts we have - and some we don't. Wisdom consists of knowing what gifts we have - and exercising them, and equally wisdom consists of knowing what gifts we don't have - and encouraging others who do have them to use them.
I sometimes wish - as I am sure some of you wish - that I had the gift of music - that I could sing and play and lift up the hearts of all those around me with song - but I do not. I also wish I had the gift of a photographic memory and gift of being handy with machines and wood and tools - but I do not.
By times these wishes have caused me problems. They have focussed my mind and my heart on what and what I do not have. They have led me to feel inferior - incapacitated - unable...
But at other times these wishes have led me in the opposite direction, they have led me to wonder what gifts I do have, they have led me to wonder how God has gifted me and what it is that God has prepared for me to do.
In the twelfth chapter of the First Letter to The Corinthians, the Apostle Paul speaks at length about gifts and about how we should regard them. He also discusses how we should regard our own giftedness and the giftedness of others.
It is an important chapter - and I want to deal with the first part of it this morning - the part that asserts that there are a variety of gifts and of services and of activities - and that each person is gifted with some assortment of these gifts - and that these gifts are a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that is in us - a manifestation that is given for one purpose - and that is for the common good.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uniformed.... To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utter of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The spirit allots to each one individually, just as the Spirit chooses.
What gifts do you have?
What gifts do you rejoice in - in yourself - and in others?
Is it the gift of praying for others?
The gift are caring?
The gift of service?
The gift of praise?
Some gifts, my friends, are glorious in appearance and dramatic in their effect. They are easy to identify and easy to praise.
Other gifts are more subtle, more ordinary in appearance, and have their impact over the long term rather than in the instant and often they fail to receive the recognition they deserve.
My home church in Wanchai - was a bit like the church in Corinth that Paul wrote to in Corinth.
In it we had people with the highly visible gifts of prayer and prophecy, and others had the gifts of tongues and still others the gift of proclamation and of wisdom, while still others had the gift of inspired music and of singing, and they could set a meeting room on fire fairly quickly and inspire those around them to new heights of commitment to God and make them feel new levels of enthusiasm for doing the mission of Christ in the world.
And in that church too we had many quieter people, less visible people, who had different gifts.
Some wrote cards to those who were having birthdays, others made visits to the elderly and to those who were shut-in. Some turned on the lights and welcomed those entered the church, others fixed the copy machine. Some touched the hands of the feeble and helped them to go up the stairs, others baked and cooked during Alpha Courses and church functions, and others prayed quietly every day for the minister and the elders and all the people of the church.
As I think about it all, I know which gifts seemed more glorious to me at the time I was there, when I was slightly younger and more foolish than I am hope I am now.
But I also know that without all the gifts that were offered our church would never have grown and that the ministry of Christ in our community would never have touched as many lives as it did.
The tabernacle of God today, as in the days of Moses, requires both fine linen, and leather, gold - and bronze gemstones - and goat's hair. Each has it's place. Each is needed for the worship of God - and for serving God.
Over the Christmas holidays a friend of mine got himself and his family a dog. The dog is 7 months old - she is a puppy actually, but being a Great Pyranese, she is a good size - she is already 22 kilograms, and will end up being about 50 kilograms when she is full grown.
Anyhow, this rather large pup was walking along one day recently and decided that she had an itch that needed scratching, and that itch was only accessible to her back leg. So, while walking, she picked up her leg to scratch. And fell over.
So, what has that got to do with the gifts that we have, the gifts that God has given us?
A great deal actually.
The tabernacle of God's presence - the church - you and I together needs all it's legs - and more - we need those legs to be coordinated, to be in agreement, to work together freely - gladly - and without argument about which is more important or which is less important.
We need the leg of prophetic utterance and the leg of biblical teaching and the leg of inspired prayer and the leg of administration.
We need the leg of letter writing and the leg of mechanical ability and the leg of visitation and the leg of "eat, its good for you" and the leg of quiet companionship.
We need all the legs
- all the parts that God has made,
- all the gifts that God has distributed among his people.
We need the contribution that each person has been gifted with by God - and we need that contribution to be offered willingly - and we need those charged with receiving that contribution in God's name, and that's you and I again, to receive it without questioning it's worthiness - without questioning the giver - without questioning the motives.....
Each gift is important - and we want our brothers and sisters to give willingly - we need our brothers and sisters to give willingly - for without them - we will fall down!
My friends - when each one of us knows what gift God has granted to us and uses that gift as God wants us to use it - in the task of walking together - of working together - to do the ministry Christ has called us to - we will be healthy and whole as both a community and as individuals, and this church will shine with the joy of God's presence, you will shine with the joy of God's presence.
But if we allow ourselves to become distracted - if we stop doing what we are supposed to being and begin to scratch the itches that crop up here and there in our life together - if we forget what we are about and whose we are in the first place we will all suffer - as a community - and as individuals - and it will be dark and cold in this place.
We need to claim and celebrate what God has given to us individually, and exercise that manifestation of God's Spirit within us for the good of all, without worrying or fretting about what others are or are not doing, and about what others may or may not think about our relative importance.
I know that each one of you today has something very special in your hearts - something that has been placed there by God, something that is beautiful and good and precious in his eyes, something that is of vital importance to our church, our community, and our world.
You all have gifts. Claim the gifts - open them up - celebrate them. And then use them - offer them freely - without worrying whether or not your gift is greater than or less than someone else's.
You are worthy - and your gift is worthy - for God has made, and God is the one who gave you, the very thing you have to offer to his praise and his service in this, his tabernacle - in this, his world.
Blessed be his name, now and always. Amen
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Luke 3:15-17,21-22
O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
I would like to repeat two phrases from the reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah this morning. Listen to them. Listen to what God says to the people of Israel while they are in exile in Babylon. Listen to what God says to his servant Jacob.
Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
And a couple of verses later
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
Fear Not.
Do not be Afraid, these are some of the most common words in scripture, found over 70 times in the bible.
They are words spoken by Angels and by prophets at the command of God to his people, to his servants.
And they are words spoken by Jesus - over and over again - words spoken more often by him than by anyone else - to his disciples and followers - to us.
Why should we not be afraid?
Especially when you consider the charges that can be brought against us? The charges that John the Baptist alludes to when he calls the people to repent of their sins? The charges that the prophets made when they accuse the kings and the common people of Israel of idolatry? The charges that Jesus himself makes when he speaks of how we should not only not sin with our bodies, but how we should also keep the law within our hearts and our minds - the law concerning adultery, the law concerning murder - the law concerning calling other people fools, the law concerning loving God with all of our mind, heart, soul, and strength and our neighbours as ourselves..
We are a sorry lot. Not only are our hands dirty and need cleaning, but so are our hearts and minds.
What an unpleasant truth this is. A truth that no amount of wishful thinking can erase. A truth that no self-improvement program or new age optimism can eradicate.
We are flawed. Each one of us. Not one of us is without sin.
So why should we not be afraid when God speaks to us?
- The Holy to the unholy?
- The giver of the law to the breakers of the law?
Why should we not be afraid - not only because of those things within us, those things that lead us to do ill instead of good - but because of those things that others would do to us - things threaten our very existence? Things that threaten to destroy our families, our community, our nation, much as the Babylonian captivity threatened to bring to an end the people of Israel at the time of Isaiah?
Why should we not be afraid?
The answer my broters and sisters-in-Christ is found in today's reading from the prophet Isaiah, and demonstrated to us in the baptism that Jesus received at the hands of John, that baptism which ends with the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in bodily form like a dove and a voice from heaven saying to him: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Look back with me to the words God gave to Isaiah to say, the words that follow the statement:
"When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."
The text goes on to say:
For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
I am the Lord your God, your Saviour. You are precious and honoured in my sight. And because I love you....
"Because I love you" -- that's the key to it all.
Because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, people in exchange for your life.
Because God loves us - we need not fear.
Because God loves us - he has redeemed us
Because God loves us - he has bought us back from our slavery to sin,
Because God loves us - he has given himself - he has given Jesus - in exchange for us.
One hand washes the other.
In this case a holy hand, a holy hand from heaven, enters into the dust and ashes of our mortal frames, and washes us and proclaims us to be clean and that God is pleased by it.
God is pleased with his Son whom he loves as he begins the ministry that will cause him to pass the waters of death and to enter into the fires of hell. God is pleased because God loves us and knows that if we are to be washed clean that he must come to us and wash us.
I really like this image of one hand washing the other - and I really want to commend it to you this day. It says so much about what the gospel proclaims - concerning Jesus and what he has done, and is doing, and will yet do, so much about what the church proclaims- concerning how God is with us and for us.
We need not fear the waters for God is with us - the rivers will not sweep over us. We need not fear the fire for God is with us - we will not be burned, the flames will not set us ablaze.
Because he loves us, because we are precious and honoured in God's sight, he will gather us, as he gathered Israel, from those places where judgement and where evil have scattered us to - those places of the heart and soul in which we hide or to which others have consigned us.
He is our Redeemer, our Saviour. We need not be afraid - for he is with us.
How does the Christmas Story begin?
Be not afraid Mary - God has favoured you. You will conceive and bear a son and you will call him Jesus - for he will save his people, Emmanuel, for God is with us.
That story is meant to be heard by all of us because God is with us.
Be not afraid Hockman,
be not afraid Andrew,
be not afraid Carmen,
be not afraid Sam,
I have called you by name, you are mine.
You will not perish in the waters or in the fire.
Because I love you Tammy,
because I love you Cindy,
because I love you Aaron,
I have given Jesus for you - Jesus who descended into the waters of the river and who was drowned, Jesus who entered into the fires of hell and preached to the souls there I have given Jesus for you - and he was, in the end, not swept away by the waters of death nor set ablaze by the fires of hell.
Be not afraid because I have come to, because I have given Jesus for you, because I have lifted him up out of the grave and glorified him.
Sin and Evil do not have the last word. Be not afraid.
Powerful, wonderful stuff this. One hand washes the other - because God loves us - because we are precious in his sight.
And what does it mean for us today.
It means it is never too late.
It means that we do not have to carry our sin around with us for all of eternity.
It means that we can begin afresh - no matter what others may say about us, no matter what others might do to us, no matter what we feel about ourselves.
And it means we should approach God - that we should come to God much as the prodigal son approached his Father,with humility and with hope: the humility to know that we are not worthy - and the hope to believe that God will, at the very least, treat us as one of the least of his servants and feed us and watch over us far better than we can do on our own.
Far better, it says in the Eighty-Fourth Psalm, to be a doorkeeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. Better indeed is one day in His courts than a thousand elsewhere.
The scriptures fit together so well - the old and the new. And their message is one and the same throughout - return to God.
Repent and return to God for he loves us and does not want us to be destroyed. Join yourself to the holy one who has come to cleanse you and redeem and make you safe. Allow Christ to baptise you with water and fire and the fullness of the Spirit. Live by him and through him as a brother to him - as a sister to him - for now and for eternity.
You know that Gnosticism and the Gnostic gospels are all the rage these days and have been since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls some years ago.
Our modern day gnostics, some parading about as followers of Christ, even though the Church of Christ rejected the Gnostic Gospels during the early years of the age, tell us that we do not need the baptism of which I have been speaking today - that we do not need, and never did need, Jesus to undergo the agony of the cross and the darkness of the grave - that no one needed to be given in exchange for us - that a Saviour is not necessary for our salvation.
They tell us that all that is needed to be made whole is the proper attitude, the realization that God dwells in all of us, and the wisdom to heed the still small voice that is found in us and in nature around us.
There is truth to some of the claims of Gnosticism.
God does dwell within us, and a proper attitude is important to have, but mostly what you hear in Television shows and read in books about Gnosticism or study in seminars regarding Spiritual Fulfilment is false - or at best, terribly inadequate.
It is not knowledge or a proper attitude that makes us fit for dwelling in the presence of God forever.
It is not insight or the whispers of the Spirit that dwells within that makes us holy or pure or beautiful.
Rather it is the active and powerful love of God for each one of us that saves us.
It is God coming among us as one of us that saves us, it is the life and the actions of Christ that heals us, and the sacrifice of Jesus that delivers us from sin and death.
It is a dynamic love that redeems us, the kind of love a parent has for a child, the love that says - I will stand in front of my beloved and shield her from all harm, the love that says - I will forgive and give my son another chance the love that says - I will take my child's place - and suffer the injury meant for her, the love that says - I will defend him against all accusers - even as I chastise him myself, and I will give to her the tools she needs so that she does not offend over and over again.
New age spirituality or old age Gnosticism - it is all the same, it takes the truth and the power out of the story, the story of how Jesus was immersed in the waters that would sweep us away, and how he walked through the fire that would set us ablaze.
Because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth - everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." Amen!
I would like to repeat two phrases from the reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah this morning. Listen to them. Listen to what God says to the people of Israel while they are in exile in Babylon. Listen to what God says to his servant Jacob.
Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
And a couple of verses later
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
Fear Not.
Do not be Afraid, these are some of the most common words in scripture, found over 70 times in the bible.
They are words spoken by Angels and by prophets at the command of God to his people, to his servants.
And they are words spoken by Jesus - over and over again - words spoken more often by him than by anyone else - to his disciples and followers - to us.
Why should we not be afraid?
Especially when you consider the charges that can be brought against us? The charges that John the Baptist alludes to when he calls the people to repent of their sins? The charges that the prophets made when they accuse the kings and the common people of Israel of idolatry? The charges that Jesus himself makes when he speaks of how we should not only not sin with our bodies, but how we should also keep the law within our hearts and our minds - the law concerning adultery, the law concerning murder - the law concerning calling other people fools, the law concerning loving God with all of our mind, heart, soul, and strength and our neighbours as ourselves..
We are a sorry lot. Not only are our hands dirty and need cleaning, but so are our hearts and minds.
What an unpleasant truth this is. A truth that no amount of wishful thinking can erase. A truth that no self-improvement program or new age optimism can eradicate.
We are flawed. Each one of us. Not one of us is without sin.
So why should we not be afraid when God speaks to us?
- The Holy to the unholy?
- The giver of the law to the breakers of the law?
Why should we not be afraid - not only because of those things within us, those things that lead us to do ill instead of good - but because of those things that others would do to us - things threaten our very existence? Things that threaten to destroy our families, our community, our nation, much as the Babylonian captivity threatened to bring to an end the people of Israel at the time of Isaiah?
Why should we not be afraid?
The answer my broters and sisters-in-Christ is found in today's reading from the prophet Isaiah, and demonstrated to us in the baptism that Jesus received at the hands of John, that baptism which ends with the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in bodily form like a dove and a voice from heaven saying to him: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Look back with me to the words God gave to Isaiah to say, the words that follow the statement:
"When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."
The text goes on to say:
For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
I am the Lord your God, your Saviour. You are precious and honoured in my sight. And because I love you....
"Because I love you" -- that's the key to it all.
Because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, people in exchange for your life.
Because God loves us - we need not fear.
Because God loves us - he has redeemed us
Because God loves us - he has bought us back from our slavery to sin,
Because God loves us - he has given himself - he has given Jesus - in exchange for us.
One hand washes the other.
In this case a holy hand, a holy hand from heaven, enters into the dust and ashes of our mortal frames, and washes us and proclaims us to be clean and that God is pleased by it.
God is pleased with his Son whom he loves as he begins the ministry that will cause him to pass the waters of death and to enter into the fires of hell. God is pleased because God loves us and knows that if we are to be washed clean that he must come to us and wash us.
I really like this image of one hand washing the other - and I really want to commend it to you this day. It says so much about what the gospel proclaims - concerning Jesus and what he has done, and is doing, and will yet do, so much about what the church proclaims- concerning how God is with us and for us.
We need not fear the waters for God is with us - the rivers will not sweep over us. We need not fear the fire for God is with us - we will not be burned, the flames will not set us ablaze.
Because he loves us, because we are precious and honoured in God's sight, he will gather us, as he gathered Israel, from those places where judgement and where evil have scattered us to - those places of the heart and soul in which we hide or to which others have consigned us.
He is our Redeemer, our Saviour. We need not be afraid - for he is with us.
How does the Christmas Story begin?
Be not afraid Mary - God has favoured you. You will conceive and bear a son and you will call him Jesus - for he will save his people, Emmanuel, for God is with us.
That story is meant to be heard by all of us because God is with us.
Be not afraid Hockman,
be not afraid Andrew,
be not afraid Carmen,
be not afraid Sam,
I have called you by name, you are mine.
You will not perish in the waters or in the fire.
Because I love you Tammy,
because I love you Cindy,
because I love you Aaron,
I have given Jesus for you - Jesus who descended into the waters of the river and who was drowned, Jesus who entered into the fires of hell and preached to the souls there I have given Jesus for you - and he was, in the end, not swept away by the waters of death nor set ablaze by the fires of hell.
Be not afraid because I have come to, because I have given Jesus for you, because I have lifted him up out of the grave and glorified him.
Sin and Evil do not have the last word. Be not afraid.
Powerful, wonderful stuff this. One hand washes the other - because God loves us - because we are precious in his sight.
And what does it mean for us today.
It means it is never too late.
It means that we do not have to carry our sin around with us for all of eternity.
It means that we can begin afresh - no matter what others may say about us, no matter what others might do to us, no matter what we feel about ourselves.
And it means we should approach God - that we should come to God much as the prodigal son approached his Father,with humility and with hope: the humility to know that we are not worthy - and the hope to believe that God will, at the very least, treat us as one of the least of his servants and feed us and watch over us far better than we can do on our own.
Far better, it says in the Eighty-Fourth Psalm, to be a doorkeeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. Better indeed is one day in His courts than a thousand elsewhere.
The scriptures fit together so well - the old and the new. And their message is one and the same throughout - return to God.
Repent and return to God for he loves us and does not want us to be destroyed. Join yourself to the holy one who has come to cleanse you and redeem and make you safe. Allow Christ to baptise you with water and fire and the fullness of the Spirit. Live by him and through him as a brother to him - as a sister to him - for now and for eternity.
You know that Gnosticism and the Gnostic gospels are all the rage these days and have been since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls some years ago.
Our modern day gnostics, some parading about as followers of Christ, even though the Church of Christ rejected the Gnostic Gospels during the early years of the age, tell us that we do not need the baptism of which I have been speaking today - that we do not need, and never did need, Jesus to undergo the agony of the cross and the darkness of the grave - that no one needed to be given in exchange for us - that a Saviour is not necessary for our salvation.
They tell us that all that is needed to be made whole is the proper attitude, the realization that God dwells in all of us, and the wisdom to heed the still small voice that is found in us and in nature around us.
There is truth to some of the claims of Gnosticism.
God does dwell within us, and a proper attitude is important to have, but mostly what you hear in Television shows and read in books about Gnosticism or study in seminars regarding Spiritual Fulfilment is false - or at best, terribly inadequate.
It is not knowledge or a proper attitude that makes us fit for dwelling in the presence of God forever.
It is not insight or the whispers of the Spirit that dwells within that makes us holy or pure or beautiful.
Rather it is the active and powerful love of God for each one of us that saves us.
It is God coming among us as one of us that saves us, it is the life and the actions of Christ that heals us, and the sacrifice of Jesus that delivers us from sin and death.
It is a dynamic love that redeems us, the kind of love a parent has for a child, the love that says - I will stand in front of my beloved and shield her from all harm, the love that says - I will forgive and give my son another chance the love that says - I will take my child's place - and suffer the injury meant for her, the love that says - I will defend him against all accusers - even as I chastise him myself, and I will give to her the tools she needs so that she does not offend over and over again.
New age spirituality or old age Gnosticism - it is all the same, it takes the truth and the power out of the story, the story of how Jesus was immersed in the waters that would sweep us away, and how he walked through the fire that would set us ablaze.
Because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth - everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." Amen!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12
O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
The journey of the magi by the light of a star to find the one born King of the Jews is a part of the Christmas Story.
In fact, the day of their arrival in Bethlehem, the 12th day of Christmas, is for almost half of the world's Christians the day that they celebrate Christmas.
I don't know about you, but for me many of my favourite Christmas Cards feature a picture of the wise men travelling by camel through a star lit night, one star dominating the sky, arriving on the crest of the hill overlooking Bethlehem.
I have always found that image very special - I can see it so well in my mind: the journey is almost done, it has been a long trip, fraught with peril and yet full of hope, and now the town of Jesus' birth, and the stable and manger, are just a few more hundred yards away, and I can imagine the cold crisp air, and the beautiful sky, and the feeling of peace and satisfaction that the magi must have had as they looked down from the star in the sky to the building lying below its light.
For most us the story of the wise men, the magi, is dominated by the part of the scene I have just described, it is dominated by the star, and by the wonder of how it pointed the way to Christ, for the three kings - the three wise men.
It is a good image to have, it helps make the whole story of Jesus' birth and his unique place in the plan of God even more special.
A preacher once pointed out that the wise men were not just led to Jesus by the star that they saw in the East.
In fact, he said, the Wise Men did not find the one they sought, they did not discover Jesus and worship him, until they had done one other very important thing - until they had consulted The holy Scriptures, until they had asked Herod, and Herod had asked the chief priests, and teachers of the law, where the Christ was to be born.
He said that he had read the story of the magi hundreds of times - but never really taken in, or thought about this part of the story for the longest time.
Then, the thought came to him that the same thing that was true for the wise men, is true for us: we may know the way to Christ, what direction to travel in, and we may have a general idea of where he lays, but until we, like the wise men, consult the Holy Scriptures, or those who know the Holy Scriptures well, we cannot find Jesus and worship him as we would like to.
I confessed that this part of the story of the wise men had not really penetrated my consciousness before either - yet, now that it had been pointed out to me, it seemed very obvious and very significant.
It is the word of God that leads us to God, as much as it is the light that God gives for guidance, be it the light of a star, or, more commonly, the light that shines through another person's life - the light of peace, joy, hope, and love.
Two things, in other words, are required, if we are to make a connection with our Lord, the willingness to track down the light that God gives to see where it leads, and the willingness within that tracking down, to turn to the Word of God, and take the advice it gives about how to find and how to follow the Lord.
The hymn we sang before the sermon - Shine on Star, which is mainly concerned about the star, or the light of God's presence, alludes to the linkage between God's light, God's guidance if you will, and the scriptures when it says in the language of prayer:
LET GOD'S WORD GIVE LIFE TODAY.
It's a good prayer to pray. Let God's word: the Word made flesh - Jesus our Lord give life today, Let God's word, the word of scripture - the inspired word, give life today.
We need the word to find Jesus today, as much as we need the light that is cast by faithful disciples and witnesses to Jesus Christ, our saviour and our Lord.
My experience and that others shows something that I believe is true of us all - it shows that it is easy to miss things of importance because we are looking at other things or concentrating on other issues.
We easily overlook things of importance, things that help us become happier, more faithful, and more fulfilled - while at the same time focusing on things that make us unhappy, less faithful and less fulfilled.
It seems that we all operate a bit like Sherlock Holmes, who once, when asked why he could not remember a certain event replied: "because my dear Watson, the my brain can contain only so much information, and whenever I learn something new, something old must go.".
As you start this New Year - my prayer is that you will get rid of any old things that are holding you down and preventing you from discovering the abiding presence of God in your life.
And it is my prayer that you will replace these things by a careful examination of the word of God and a long hard look at the stars in the sky - for when you do this you will find the Christ in your midst.
This is what the magi did when the followed the star, and when they consulted the Scriptures and the wisdom about them held by the chief priests and teachers of the law.
They focused on the right things, they listened to the right voices, and they consulted the right sources and they did this while actually dealing with a man who had nothing but evil upon his heart - King Herod...and so they ended finding Christ and were able to bless him and be blessed by him.
Which just goes to show, my friends, that for the righteous, even the words of evil people can point the way to God, and to the Christ whose spirit lives in our midst.
Can you find the good in the midst of what seems to be all bad? Can you find the light of God in the world around you and the presence of Christ in the people you meet?
A while back I read an article that helps illustrate the importance of having the correct focus in how we look upon the events and the people in the world around us.
The article was on RAP MUSIC and was titled "Media and Parent Expect Worst, but Rap has Positive Message."
The point of the article was very simple.
It was that while RAP music is accused on filling the heads of young people with garbage, it also can fill the heads of young people with virtue.
The author of the article, points out that if anyone really listens to RAP, they would quickly discover that while some of it is full of violence and openly encourages racial discrimination and sexual bigotry, other RAP music, in fact a great deal of it, has exactly the opposite content.
The authhor states: "if you believe that people who listen to violent rap artists are more likely to become violent, then you shouldalso believe that people who listen to rap artists who project positive values will be less violent and show positive values in their everyday lives - sort of like monkey see, monkey do."
In other words, it is not the entire RAP musical scene that is a problem - it is what individuals chose to listen to and concentrate on within the RAP world.
In the same way it is not the world outside that depresses us and makes us feel that there is little hope for the future - nor is it the world that makes us feel that God is not present with us and that Christ's spirit is not dwelling with us, it is what we chose to look at focus on in the world that creates those problems and makes it seem to us as if the faith of others is nothing but a misguided delusion.
Everyone knows about "self fulfilling prophecies".
We know for example if a child constantly hears that he is stupid, he will most likely act stupidly and that if he hears that he is smart he will most likely act in a smart way.
In the same way, my friends, if you constantly think about negative things or believe that only negative things are going to happen, you will become a kind a emotional black hole, a person in which all good things quickly vanish without leaving a trace of joy behind, and from which nothing good can escape or be seen.
By what you choose to look at, and what you choose to listen to, you determine whether you end up being a vortex of despair, or a radiant star in the heavens of God.
Those who expect the economy to get worse, will not invest in it or spend their money, and the economy will indeed get worse.
Those who listen to the those who claim it is futile to give food to the hungry and aid to the oppressed, most likely will not provide any help themselves, and so in fact help hunger and oppression to continue.
What you expect is most likely what you will get; what you believe about yourself is mostly likely what you will become; and what you think God is doing for you and the for the world is all that you will mostly likely see him doing.
If you feel trapped, alone, and have little hope in your life, it is time for you to develop a new view, and look at new things and listen to different songs.
As you go into this new year remember this, many, many, good things are happening all around you, and that good things lie in store for all those who believe that good can and will happen, and that good is always triumphant over evil.
God is present to support and guide all those who listen to his word and who look for the light he gives in the lives of his saints and in the stars of the heavens themselves.
The wise men found Jesus, because they watched for the signs of God, and listened to God's word.
Praise be to God for his word, and for his light, and for the gift of faith which allows them to work in our lives. AMEN
The journey of the magi by the light of a star to find the one born King of the Jews is a part of the Christmas Story.
In fact, the day of their arrival in Bethlehem, the 12th day of Christmas, is for almost half of the world's Christians the day that they celebrate Christmas.
I don't know about you, but for me many of my favourite Christmas Cards feature a picture of the wise men travelling by camel through a star lit night, one star dominating the sky, arriving on the crest of the hill overlooking Bethlehem.
I have always found that image very special - I can see it so well in my mind: the journey is almost done, it has been a long trip, fraught with peril and yet full of hope, and now the town of Jesus' birth, and the stable and manger, are just a few more hundred yards away, and I can imagine the cold crisp air, and the beautiful sky, and the feeling of peace and satisfaction that the magi must have had as they looked down from the star in the sky to the building lying below its light.
For most us the story of the wise men, the magi, is dominated by the part of the scene I have just described, it is dominated by the star, and by the wonder of how it pointed the way to Christ, for the three kings - the three wise men.
It is a good image to have, it helps make the whole story of Jesus' birth and his unique place in the plan of God even more special.
A preacher once pointed out that the wise men were not just led to Jesus by the star that they saw in the East.
In fact, he said, the Wise Men did not find the one they sought, they did not discover Jesus and worship him, until they had done one other very important thing - until they had consulted The holy Scriptures, until they had asked Herod, and Herod had asked the chief priests, and teachers of the law, where the Christ was to be born.
He said that he had read the story of the magi hundreds of times - but never really taken in, or thought about this part of the story for the longest time.
Then, the thought came to him that the same thing that was true for the wise men, is true for us: we may know the way to Christ, what direction to travel in, and we may have a general idea of where he lays, but until we, like the wise men, consult the Holy Scriptures, or those who know the Holy Scriptures well, we cannot find Jesus and worship him as we would like to.
I confessed that this part of the story of the wise men had not really penetrated my consciousness before either - yet, now that it had been pointed out to me, it seemed very obvious and very significant.
It is the word of God that leads us to God, as much as it is the light that God gives for guidance, be it the light of a star, or, more commonly, the light that shines through another person's life - the light of peace, joy, hope, and love.
Two things, in other words, are required, if we are to make a connection with our Lord, the willingness to track down the light that God gives to see where it leads, and the willingness within that tracking down, to turn to the Word of God, and take the advice it gives about how to find and how to follow the Lord.
The hymn we sang before the sermon - Shine on Star, which is mainly concerned about the star, or the light of God's presence, alludes to the linkage between God's light, God's guidance if you will, and the scriptures when it says in the language of prayer:
LET GOD'S WORD GIVE LIFE TODAY.
It's a good prayer to pray. Let God's word: the Word made flesh - Jesus our Lord give life today, Let God's word, the word of scripture - the inspired word, give life today.
We need the word to find Jesus today, as much as we need the light that is cast by faithful disciples and witnesses to Jesus Christ, our saviour and our Lord.
My experience and that others shows something that I believe is true of us all - it shows that it is easy to miss things of importance because we are looking at other things or concentrating on other issues.
We easily overlook things of importance, things that help us become happier, more faithful, and more fulfilled - while at the same time focusing on things that make us unhappy, less faithful and less fulfilled.
It seems that we all operate a bit like Sherlock Holmes, who once, when asked why he could not remember a certain event replied: "because my dear Watson, the my brain can contain only so much information, and whenever I learn something new, something old must go.".
As you start this New Year - my prayer is that you will get rid of any old things that are holding you down and preventing you from discovering the abiding presence of God in your life.
And it is my prayer that you will replace these things by a careful examination of the word of God and a long hard look at the stars in the sky - for when you do this you will find the Christ in your midst.
This is what the magi did when the followed the star, and when they consulted the Scriptures and the wisdom about them held by the chief priests and teachers of the law.
They focused on the right things, they listened to the right voices, and they consulted the right sources and they did this while actually dealing with a man who had nothing but evil upon his heart - King Herod...and so they ended finding Christ and were able to bless him and be blessed by him.
Which just goes to show, my friends, that for the righteous, even the words of evil people can point the way to God, and to the Christ whose spirit lives in our midst.
Can you find the good in the midst of what seems to be all bad? Can you find the light of God in the world around you and the presence of Christ in the people you meet?
A while back I read an article that helps illustrate the importance of having the correct focus in how we look upon the events and the people in the world around us.
The article was on RAP MUSIC and was titled "Media and Parent Expect Worst, but Rap has Positive Message."
The point of the article was very simple.
It was that while RAP music is accused on filling the heads of young people with garbage, it also can fill the heads of young people with virtue.
The author of the article, points out that if anyone really listens to RAP, they would quickly discover that while some of it is full of violence and openly encourages racial discrimination and sexual bigotry, other RAP music, in fact a great deal of it, has exactly the opposite content.
The authhor states: "if you believe that people who listen to violent rap artists are more likely to become violent, then you shouldalso believe that people who listen to rap artists who project positive values will be less violent and show positive values in their everyday lives - sort of like monkey see, monkey do."
In other words, it is not the entire RAP musical scene that is a problem - it is what individuals chose to listen to and concentrate on within the RAP world.
In the same way it is not the world outside that depresses us and makes us feel that there is little hope for the future - nor is it the world that makes us feel that God is not present with us and that Christ's spirit is not dwelling with us, it is what we chose to look at focus on in the world that creates those problems and makes it seem to us as if the faith of others is nothing but a misguided delusion.
Everyone knows about "self fulfilling prophecies".
We know for example if a child constantly hears that he is stupid, he will most likely act stupidly and that if he hears that he is smart he will most likely act in a smart way.
In the same way, my friends, if you constantly think about negative things or believe that only negative things are going to happen, you will become a kind a emotional black hole, a person in which all good things quickly vanish without leaving a trace of joy behind, and from which nothing good can escape or be seen.
By what you choose to look at, and what you choose to listen to, you determine whether you end up being a vortex of despair, or a radiant star in the heavens of God.
Those who expect the economy to get worse, will not invest in it or spend their money, and the economy will indeed get worse.
Those who listen to the those who claim it is futile to give food to the hungry and aid to the oppressed, most likely will not provide any help themselves, and so in fact help hunger and oppression to continue.
What you expect is most likely what you will get; what you believe about yourself is mostly likely what you will become; and what you think God is doing for you and the for the world is all that you will mostly likely see him doing.
If you feel trapped, alone, and have little hope in your life, it is time for you to develop a new view, and look at new things and listen to different songs.
As you go into this new year remember this, many, many, good things are happening all around you, and that good things lie in store for all those who believe that good can and will happen, and that good is always triumphant over evil.
God is present to support and guide all those who listen to his word and who look for the light he gives in the lives of his saints and in the stars of the heavens themselves.
The wise men found Jesus, because they watched for the signs of God, and listened to God's word.
Praise be to God for his word, and for his light, and for the gift of faith which allows them to work in our lives. AMEN
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