Had our best turn-out yet. For those who missed, here is the message for the week of November 28
John 3:1-6
Every year, about this time, we all hop a train headed toward Bethlehem. We begin to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Christ-child. Even in the midst of the shopping, the baking, the entertaining, we look forward to arriving in Bethlehem to catch a glimpse of the Christ child. For Christ to be born once again in our hearts. Emmanuel. God with us. The hope of the world in the form of a precious little baby.
Here in Germany, the ride comes with Christmas Markets, gluhwein, advent wreaths and trimmings worthy of any Hallmark card. We enjoy our ride. Until… BAM! The train comes to a screeching halt. Not at Bethlehem, but at the river Jordan. And instead of a precious scene of mother and child, we come face to face with the wooly-haired, wild-eyed, locust-eating, hair-shirt wearing, loud-mouthed John the Baptist. No Heavenly Hosts. No Glorias. No Alleluias. Just the grating voice of a man we wouldn’t dream of having over for dinner calling on us to Prepare the Way of the Lord. Repent! He calls. Repent!
We think, “This is a mistake. I’m pretty sure I got on the express train to Bethlehem. No stops between now and Christmas.” But John keeps going—quoting one of his predecessors, the prophet Isaiah. “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.”
The voice of John clashes with the hum of Christmas carols and interrupts the to-do list running through our heads. But, as disturbing and disruptive as John the Baptist is, we need to see him on our way to Bethlehem. On our way to come face to face with the word made flesh. On our way to the night love came down.
Because seeing John reminds us of our need to repent—a word which literally means to turn around. To turn around and head in a new direction. And the words of Isaiah thrown back at us by John give us a clue as to where to start. Perhaps there are empty spaces in our lives that need to be filled, crooked places that need to be straightened, rough spots that need to be smoothed, and prideful areas that could use some leveling out.
To prepare the way of the Lord is to acknowledge our own need for the powerful love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ. To trot out those empty spaces and puffed up places, to reveal the rough spots and the stress knots and lay them at the manger before a God who loved us enough to become one of us.
There is no express train to Bethlehem. To get there, we must stop at the river Jordan and heed the words of John the Baptist. Before we arrive at that sacred scene, we must take the time to prepare our hearts and our minds and our lives to receive this mysterious, wondrous gift of love.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Why We Gather at the Table
John 6:25-35
Andy Rooney once said that the two biggest sections in any bookstore were the cookbooks and the diet books. Food is a focal point in our lives. Whether we’re trying the latest diet or watching the Food Network, we are surrounded and somewhat obsessed by food. We even use food words everywhere. A display of too much skin is beefcake or cheesecake. We have half-baked ideas and fishy stories. We bring home the bacon, and your brain on drugs looks like a fried egg. We thirst for knowledge. We crave attention. And spiritually, we look to feed and nourish our souls.
And as much as our lives revolve around food, those of us gathered here today can’t really imagine what it is like to be without it. So, it’s hard for us to grasp the level of gratitude that was lifted up at that very first Thanksgiving meal. Although the first cold Massachusetts winter had killed off half their colony, new hope for survival grew in the summer of 1621. There was a bountiful corn harvest, and someone had come up with this new, wonderful delicacy they called cornbread. They had survived, and were just getting a taste, if you will, of what it felt like to actually thrive.
I am the bread of life. Jesus talked in terms of food, too. Bread from heaven. The folks that Jesus was talking to knew about bread from heaven. They knew the story of the Hebrew children freed from slavery in Egypt by God Almighty, led by Moses through the Red Sea, and wandering in the desert grumbling about what a big mistake it had all been. “What is it” or “manna” is what they had called that food that fell from the sky. The people of Jesus day knew the story. It was part of their history. It was part of who they were.
Faith is based on history. Whether we are Christians like Peter and James who have heard Jesus’ call to “follow me”, or Christians like Paul who came to Christ through a dramatic conversion, our faith is based on history. The history of our own experiences, the history of those who came before us.
At Thanksgiving, we gather round the table and glimpse our history. We see the friends and family who have helped to form us into who we are. Our history is found in the sweet potato casserole that Aunt Sally brings every year or the cornbread dressing recipe that your great-grandmother handed to down to your mother because everyone always said your grandmother couldn’t cook. And as we reflect on the story of the first Thanksgiving, we are reminded by our own country’s history that food doesn’t come from grocery stores. It comes from the miracle of a tiny seed planted in the ground that somehow, together with the soil and the rain and the sun, brings forth a bounty.
The people listening to Jesus in the passage today had their own history. Like their ancestors who had wandered around in the wilderness, they were probably a little grumbly, too. Under the rule of the Roman Empire, waiting for a Messiah to set them free, wondering if and when God would finally send someone. And this carpenter from Nazereth was suggesting that HE might be one they were waiting for? Who was this guy who claimed to be bread? Could they put their faith in him?
Who do we put our faith in at Thanksgiving? Someone who is not from the states was asking me about the holiday and remarked that it’s nice that everyone can participate in this holiday because it’s not religious. I was a little taken aback, but managed to say, “Actually, it’s about the most religious holiday we have. There is no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny to cloud the meaning. It’s about thanking God.” And then, to be completely honest, I had to add—“and of course, food and football.”
When we gather at the table, let us be reminded of who we are and of whose we are. We acknowledge the blessing of a bountiful table, but know that food alone does not make for a bountiful life.
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” And we are invited to his table every day of the year so that not just our tummies, but our very lives will be full.
Andy Rooney once said that the two biggest sections in any bookstore were the cookbooks and the diet books. Food is a focal point in our lives. Whether we’re trying the latest diet or watching the Food Network, we are surrounded and somewhat obsessed by food. We even use food words everywhere. A display of too much skin is beefcake or cheesecake. We have half-baked ideas and fishy stories. We bring home the bacon, and your brain on drugs looks like a fried egg. We thirst for knowledge. We crave attention. And spiritually, we look to feed and nourish our souls.
And as much as our lives revolve around food, those of us gathered here today can’t really imagine what it is like to be without it. So, it’s hard for us to grasp the level of gratitude that was lifted up at that very first Thanksgiving meal. Although the first cold Massachusetts winter had killed off half their colony, new hope for survival grew in the summer of 1621. There was a bountiful corn harvest, and someone had come up with this new, wonderful delicacy they called cornbread. They had survived, and were just getting a taste, if you will, of what it felt like to actually thrive.
I am the bread of life. Jesus talked in terms of food, too. Bread from heaven. The folks that Jesus was talking to knew about bread from heaven. They knew the story of the Hebrew children freed from slavery in Egypt by God Almighty, led by Moses through the Red Sea, and wandering in the desert grumbling about what a big mistake it had all been. “What is it” or “manna” is what they had called that food that fell from the sky. The people of Jesus day knew the story. It was part of their history. It was part of who they were.
Faith is based on history. Whether we are Christians like Peter and James who have heard Jesus’ call to “follow me”, or Christians like Paul who came to Christ through a dramatic conversion, our faith is based on history. The history of our own experiences, the history of those who came before us.
At Thanksgiving, we gather round the table and glimpse our history. We see the friends and family who have helped to form us into who we are. Our history is found in the sweet potato casserole that Aunt Sally brings every year or the cornbread dressing recipe that your great-grandmother handed to down to your mother because everyone always said your grandmother couldn’t cook. And as we reflect on the story of the first Thanksgiving, we are reminded by our own country’s history that food doesn’t come from grocery stores. It comes from the miracle of a tiny seed planted in the ground that somehow, together with the soil and the rain and the sun, brings forth a bounty.
The people listening to Jesus in the passage today had their own history. Like their ancestors who had wandered around in the wilderness, they were probably a little grumbly, too. Under the rule of the Roman Empire, waiting for a Messiah to set them free, wondering if and when God would finally send someone. And this carpenter from Nazereth was suggesting that HE might be one they were waiting for? Who was this guy who claimed to be bread? Could they put their faith in him?
Who do we put our faith in at Thanksgiving? Someone who is not from the states was asking me about the holiday and remarked that it’s nice that everyone can participate in this holiday because it’s not religious. I was a little taken aback, but managed to say, “Actually, it’s about the most religious holiday we have. There is no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny to cloud the meaning. It’s about thanking God.” And then, to be completely honest, I had to add—“and of course, food and football.”
When we gather at the table, let us be reminded of who we are and of whose we are. We acknowledge the blessing of a bountiful table, but know that food alone does not make for a bountiful life.
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” And we are invited to his table every day of the year so that not just our tummies, but our very lives will be full.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Coming Up
Join us over the next five weeks as we move through the holidays on Wednesdays at 1:30. Am Oberen Werth 25 in Kaiserswerth.
Messages upcoming:
November 21 Why We Gather 'Round the Table
November 28 John the Baptist--No Express Train to Bethlehem
December 5 Joseph--The Oft Forgotten Faithful
December 12 The Laughing Mary
December 18 The Wise Men--Home By Another Way
Messages upcoming:
November 21 Why We Gather 'Round the Table
November 28 John the Baptist--No Express Train to Bethlehem
December 5 Joseph--The Oft Forgotten Faithful
December 12 The Laughing Mary
December 18 The Wise Men--Home By Another Way
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Last Wednesday's Message (November 14)
Genesis 12:1-4
Blessed to Be a Blessing
There are certain things that you have to see through to the end to get the full experience. My husband once left a professional football game early because one team had clearly run away with it. He awoke the next morning to learn that he had missed what was being called the biggest comeback in NFL history. I remember one time remarking to an aunt of mine how much I like the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” She said, “What a terrible movie! I can’t believe you enjoyed it.” I said, “Didn’t you just love the end?” To which she admitted, “I never got to the end. After two hours, I was so depressed, I just turned it off!” Imagine if what your experience of Germany would have been like had you left after only a month here?
Sometimes you have to struggle through a rough beginning to get to the good stuff. So it is with The Bible. If you ever happen to have a friend who is about to embark on a study of the Bible and is seeking your advice on where to start, don’t go for the easy answer and tell them to start at the beginning. They’ll be lucky to make it out of Genesis before they toss it aside thinking that any book that begins this badly can’t have a very good outcome.
Let’s look take a quick glance at the first 11 chapters in the first book of the Bible. Adam and Eve blow it in the Garden of Eden and Paradise is Lost. The humans God has created are so toxic that God has to flood almost all of them out and start over. THEN, the people get the crazy notion to build a tower so that they can be as great as God. We end up with God’s people scattered and confused by the end of the 11th chapter, and while we’re introduced to Abraham, we learn that he is old and that his wife is barren—so we’re not pinning any great hope on them either.
But then in Chapter 12, it all begins to turn around with God’s promise to Abraham. At the center of this promise is the use of the word “bless”. It’s important that we understand just how powerful a blessing was in the world of Ancient Israel. In that world there was no concept of what we would call luck, nor was there any idea in a set of natural law operating on its own. In that context, a “blessing” was a way to describe all human well-being in relation to God as creator. There is the call of Abraham to leave what he knows and to venture out into the unknown. It is a call that is followed by a blessing. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you. I will make you great. And here’s the kicker—so that YOU WILL BE A BLESSING.
Not I will make you great so that you might eat, drink and be merry. Not I will make you great so that the world can see what I the great and powerful Yahweh can do. But I will bless you so that you will be a blessing.
This is one of the most profound theological concepts in scripture. Here is the revelation from God that God has chosen to work in the world through human agents—through a chosen people. Not that God is helpless without humanity or that humans are given some sort of divine status. But that God has chosen to give humans the responsibility of mediating the blessing of God to the world. Whoa.
Blessed so that we will be a blessing.
How does that play into how we think about blessing or how we pray and worship?
What if our children learned this idea early on—blessed so that we might be a blessing. Can you imagine how prayers might change? Instead of a nightly prayer of God bless me and mommy and daddy and grandma and grandpa, the prayer might become God bless me so that I will bless my friends. God bless mommy and daddy so that they will bless each other. God bless grandma and grandpa so that they will bless their children and grandchildren. Not only is that a different kind of prayer, it’s a different kind of relationship with God.
What if—as a nation—we sang “God bless America so that America will bless the world?” It would be a very different kind of song indeed, wouldn’t it? Instead of being a super power, we would have to become a serving power. Can you imagine a world in which Americans saw our prosperity, our technology and our standard of living as a mandate to serve the world at large? Such a world might come the closest we humans could get to creating the Kingdom here on earth.
Blessed so that we will be a blessing.
What about us as individuals? I hesitate to tell wives and mom to pray to be blessed so that you will be a blessing. So often, this particular population translates "being a blessing" into making sure everyone but YOU is taken care of. But wanting to be a blessing doesn't mean being a better cook, maid, bellhop and chauffer. It means living into all that God has called you to be. It means you desire to be fully you.
Blessed so that we will be a blessing.
Many centuries ago, an old man received a call. In a bold move, he left what was familiar and what was comfortable and ventured out into a new frontier with only a promise. He set out with weary legs, a barren wife and only a few possessions.
But this man, who was faithful enough to venture into uncharted territory, gave birth to a nation, and from that nation came a savior, and from that savior came a church and from that church come people who are committed to following Christ and answering Abraham’s call.
One man who knew that he was blessed and was willing to venture into the unknown in order to also be a blessing.
We gather here today a blessed people. We are also a bold people, having already left our home for a foreign land. Where are we willing to go? What are we willing to risk? How will we be a blessing to the world?
Prayer:
Close your eyes and think of someone who has been a blessing to you. It can be someone who blessed you long ago or someone who blessed you just yesterday.
Offer thanks for that person.
Now think of a person for whom you have been a blessing. Offer thanks for that person and for the opportunity to make a difference in his or her life.
Now imagine a door before you. Imagine that behind that door is the path through which you will encounter your next blessing. Ask God to open that door for you and help you to be open to all the possibilities that lie ahead.
Blessed to Be a Blessing
There are certain things that you have to see through to the end to get the full experience. My husband once left a professional football game early because one team had clearly run away with it. He awoke the next morning to learn that he had missed what was being called the biggest comeback in NFL history. I remember one time remarking to an aunt of mine how much I like the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” She said, “What a terrible movie! I can’t believe you enjoyed it.” I said, “Didn’t you just love the end?” To which she admitted, “I never got to the end. After two hours, I was so depressed, I just turned it off!” Imagine if what your experience of Germany would have been like had you left after only a month here?
Sometimes you have to struggle through a rough beginning to get to the good stuff. So it is with The Bible. If you ever happen to have a friend who is about to embark on a study of the Bible and is seeking your advice on where to start, don’t go for the easy answer and tell them to start at the beginning. They’ll be lucky to make it out of Genesis before they toss it aside thinking that any book that begins this badly can’t have a very good outcome.
Let’s look take a quick glance at the first 11 chapters in the first book of the Bible. Adam and Eve blow it in the Garden of Eden and Paradise is Lost. The humans God has created are so toxic that God has to flood almost all of them out and start over. THEN, the people get the crazy notion to build a tower so that they can be as great as God. We end up with God’s people scattered and confused by the end of the 11th chapter, and while we’re introduced to Abraham, we learn that he is old and that his wife is barren—so we’re not pinning any great hope on them either.
But then in Chapter 12, it all begins to turn around with God’s promise to Abraham. At the center of this promise is the use of the word “bless”. It’s important that we understand just how powerful a blessing was in the world of Ancient Israel. In that world there was no concept of what we would call luck, nor was there any idea in a set of natural law operating on its own. In that context, a “blessing” was a way to describe all human well-being in relation to God as creator. There is the call of Abraham to leave what he knows and to venture out into the unknown. It is a call that is followed by a blessing. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you. I will make you great. And here’s the kicker—so that YOU WILL BE A BLESSING.
Not I will make you great so that you might eat, drink and be merry. Not I will make you great so that the world can see what I the great and powerful Yahweh can do. But I will bless you so that you will be a blessing.
This is one of the most profound theological concepts in scripture. Here is the revelation from God that God has chosen to work in the world through human agents—through a chosen people. Not that God is helpless without humanity or that humans are given some sort of divine status. But that God has chosen to give humans the responsibility of mediating the blessing of God to the world. Whoa.
Blessed so that we will be a blessing.
How does that play into how we think about blessing or how we pray and worship?
What if our children learned this idea early on—blessed so that we might be a blessing. Can you imagine how prayers might change? Instead of a nightly prayer of God bless me and mommy and daddy and grandma and grandpa, the prayer might become God bless me so that I will bless my friends. God bless mommy and daddy so that they will bless each other. God bless grandma and grandpa so that they will bless their children and grandchildren. Not only is that a different kind of prayer, it’s a different kind of relationship with God.
What if—as a nation—we sang “God bless America so that America will bless the world?” It would be a very different kind of song indeed, wouldn’t it? Instead of being a super power, we would have to become a serving power. Can you imagine a world in which Americans saw our prosperity, our technology and our standard of living as a mandate to serve the world at large? Such a world might come the closest we humans could get to creating the Kingdom here on earth.
Blessed so that we will be a blessing.
What about us as individuals? I hesitate to tell wives and mom to pray to be blessed so that you will be a blessing. So often, this particular population translates "being a blessing" into making sure everyone but YOU is taken care of. But wanting to be a blessing doesn't mean being a better cook, maid, bellhop and chauffer. It means living into all that God has called you to be. It means you desire to be fully you.
Blessed so that we will be a blessing.
Many centuries ago, an old man received a call. In a bold move, he left what was familiar and what was comfortable and ventured out into a new frontier with only a promise. He set out with weary legs, a barren wife and only a few possessions.
But this man, who was faithful enough to venture into uncharted territory, gave birth to a nation, and from that nation came a savior, and from that savior came a church and from that church come people who are committed to following Christ and answering Abraham’s call.
One man who knew that he was blessed and was willing to venture into the unknown in order to also be a blessing.
We gather here today a blessed people. We are also a bold people, having already left our home for a foreign land. Where are we willing to go? What are we willing to risk? How will we be a blessing to the world?
Prayer:
Close your eyes and think of someone who has been a blessing to you. It can be someone who blessed you long ago or someone who blessed you just yesterday.
Offer thanks for that person.
Now think of a person for whom you have been a blessing. Offer thanks for that person and for the opportunity to make a difference in his or her life.
Now imagine a door before you. Imagine that behind that door is the path through which you will encounter your next blessing. Ask God to open that door for you and help you to be open to all the possibilities that lie ahead.
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