THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
January 27, 2008
AGENTS OF THE LIGHT
Isaiah 9:1-4
Matthew 4:12-23
One of the great themes illuminated in our First and Gospel readings is that of light. Thus Isaiah proclaim,
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.
Matthew sharpens this focus on light by placing it in the person of Jesus Christ. 13 (Jesus) left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”
Jesus brought light to people who walked in darkness. Now what has all this to do with us? Quite a bit actually because we are called to be agents of the Light. St. Paul writes, 8For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—9for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Let us examine the meaning of these divine words.
We must start our quest to be agents of the light with He who is the Light of the world. For unless we are first illumined by the light of Christ, we bring only darkness. I think we have a moving reminder of this truth each Christmas Eve. As the sanctuary is darkened, one light remains, the light of the Christ candle. But then several candles are ignited from that single light and they are spread throughout the congregation until the entire church is bathed in light. So we must start with the light of Christ, be ignited by the Spirit and spread this light through the darkness that surrounds us until all is illumined in the love of God.
We must proclaim the good news. Now there are a variety of ways to proclaim this ultimate Gospel. Obviously action is important. Pastor Stechmann did a wonderful job of showing some of the actions we have undertaken to offer this proclamation. And these are very powerful. But let me suggest for we Lutherans, it is often easier to do than to say. We frequently are willing to do things. But when it comes to explaining why we act this in this fashion, the famous Lutheran fondness for expressing our feelings openly is strangely absent. As a people, we must learn to become vocal when it comes to sharing our faith that the people we help know that we are doing this in the name of our Lord.
We must be willing to grow our ministry into areas that are not within our existing comfort levels. In a few minutes we shall hear our bulletin of reports. These will highlight the many wonderful ministries of our congregation. Each of these has been inspired and empowered by the Spirit and for this miracle we should rightfully offer our thanks. But most deal with familiar areas in which we have grown reasonably comfortable. Yet in our Gospel we are called upon to grow. This means being willing to enter into areas in which we do not have a high level of comfort. Yet there are areas and people who remain in darkness and desperately need the light of Christ we are called to offer.
Look at our Gospel for today. 23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. One of the ways in which we can be agents of the Light is to be actively involved in the ministry of healing just as Jesus was. For most Lutherans, this is a large stretch. But if we are willing to move beyond our comfort zone, this power may just surprise us. And how might this work? For most of us this will not be a dramatic immediate healing of the type often depicted in the movies although don’t rule this out. Rather we can often help people regain their wholeness by doing a few reasonably simple actions. All of us can pray for others, even if the prayer is as simple as “Dear God, let John get better.” Many of us can pray with people. And even if we are hopelessly tongue tied, we can just be with people to offer them the support of our presence. Recently one of our members was taken to the hospital after a service. Her friend went with her. When I visited 9 hours later, I was moved by the fact the friend was still at her side. I cannot tell you how important this ministry and witness this was.
The people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light
By the power of the Spirit, may we also be agents of this divine Light. Amen
Lent 1; Matthew 4:1-11; February 9-10, 2008
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit our Sustainer.
My husband, Tony, is the most even-tempered, rock-steady person I’ve ever met. We’ve been married over 20 years and I can count on one hand the number of times he’s had a fight with me. (I, on the other hand, have picked numerous fights with him—and he just waits patiently till I’m done.) It’s pretty hard to make Tony lose his cool. Yet, there are times . . . He gets uncommunicative, cranky even. I’ll ask him, “What’s wrong?” And I get a very short, “Nothing.” After several attempts to ascertain what’s going on with him, he’ll growl at me, in tones almost too low for the human ear to hear, “I’m hungry.” “So eat something!” I’ll reply in my usual pastoral care screech.
These exchanges make me wonder. If hunger makes us cranky, unable to think clearly, behave “normally,” why did Jesus go to the desert? Why did the Spirit drive him there “to be tempted”? How was this time of hunger and deprivation—a time which would, for any human, bring on crankiness rather than clarity, an inability to function well rather than the top of the game—how would this help Jesus clarify his mission and help him hone his skills for the tasks ahead?
How was no food and living in the desert—scorching hot in the sun and shivering cold in the dark—how would this experience prepare him for the years ahead? Why didn’t Jesus just go to seminary? He’d get all the Biblical and theological insight available plus a lot of good information and practical tips on preaching, teaching, and caring for the people of God. Further, as many would attest, Jesus could meet the devil—in the form of various professors and administrators—and even experience hell in midterms and finals weeks!
Seriously, what good is half starving and losing the ability to think clearly as a prologue to the toughest job on earth?
OR, if this story of Jesus in the wilderness is retold purely as an example and model for us, his followers, what are we to do about it? Doesn’t this set us up for failure? How are we possibly to meet the challenges of life with diminished capacities, when it is tough enough to face them fully nourished and rested? That’s why we who give pastoral care make a point to tell those in time of crisis to be sure to eat and get rest so they can be best prepared to deal with the situation in full battle armor.
I just don’t understand. On the one hand, the Spirit drives Jesus to the worst-possible learning environment. (Maybe that’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.”) How was that experience to help him properly learn the family business?
On the other hand, how is this story supposed to help us strengthen our resolve to follow Jesus when all the conditions and temptations are practically guaranteed to bring us failure? (Perhaps that’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Deliver us from evil.”)
What’s the point? Any of us in that same situation might easily give in—to Satan’s offer of bread, at least. Is that so terrible? So that, fed, we could think clearly enough to turn down Satan’s other offers?
What’s the point? To point out how pathetic we can be? Or how amazingly beyond us Jesus is—in both his humanity and divinity? Do we really need this story to know that?
I have a hard time believing Jesus returned from the desert all pumped up for the work ahead. It seems to me some food, a glass of wine, and a decent bed would have been uppermost in Jesus’ very human mind.
What’s the point? I guess I just don’t understand. Jesus could have been done with Satan right then and there. Either bow to him or destroy him. Jesus does neither. He faces off with Satan before Jesus’ public ministry even begins. Satan dogs his steps every inch of the way. Jesus endures.
Is this for Jesus’ spiritual growth? Or ours? Jesus’ discipline? Or ours? All? Or none?
I just don’t know. I just don’t understand. But in the midst of all this confusion, already the words of the centurion at the foot of the cross ring out, “Truly this is the Son of God.” Amen.
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT
IT DEPENDS ON FAITH
Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121
John 3:1-17
One of my favorite definitions of an expert is “one who deals with the basics.” Today we can all be experts because there is a single theme found in all four of our readings, faith. In Genesis we hear 1Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing… 4So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. The psalmist proclaims 2My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Both of these are examples of faith in action. St. Paul writes, 16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,” And finally we have the ultimate statement about faith from Christ Himself. 16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him
So let’s take a few minutes to examine the fundamentals of faith itself. What is faith in God? Look at the example of Abram, later Abraham. Faith is trust in God. Many times people confuse theological sophistication with faith. They are related but hardly identical. There are many atheists who are excellent theologians, but would correctly consider it sheer foolishness to trust in a being they do not believe exists. Conversely, there are many wonderful Christians who might easily flunk the most basic of confirmation quizzes. Perhaps it is good most of us do not have to recite Luther’s explanation of the Third Article of the Creed.
Now it is a curious thing about this faith. Invariably this faith leads us into the unknown. Abraham is the classic case in point. He was very well established in Ur, the center of civilization, the place where exciting things were happening, the New York City of its ancient day. But suddenly this Yahweh comes along and says, “guess what Abram (his name back then), I am calling you to faith. Pick yourself up and become a shepherd (hardly an upwardly mobile profession) and go out into the sticks. Oh, and by the way, I will make of you a great nation.” And this is exactly what happened. God seems to delight in sending people onto the road. Last week I came upon an article in National Geographic about Matsuo Basho, Japan’s premier haiku poet. Five hundred years ago he heard the voice of God calling him to journey across the most distant reaches of his country, even though he was in failing health. He went and the result was a series of poems that remain some of Japan’s greatest literary treasurers.
Our biggest misunderstanding is that we think we can produce faith in ourselves. As one of the characters in Alice in Wonderland proudly proclaims, “I can believe in three impossible things before breakfast.” But this is simply wrong. Only God can grant the precious gift of faith. We are simply the most unworthy of recipients. And it is precisely at this point we encounter one of the great mysteries of the faith. Why are some people granted this precious gift early in life, while others are gifted in their final days? I must confess I do not have a good answer. I suspect it has to do with God being a very patient God and knowing when we would be most open to His saving love. But my years of experience have taught me one important lesson in this regard. While God may take a long time to grant this gift as we mortals measure time, He always seems to be there eventually. One of the challenges yet privileges of parish ministry is being with people at the very end of their lives to assist them in making this ultimate transition from life to life eternal. And I have noticed that in almost every instance even the most unspiritual of people are led to this place of faith. Invariably when the final hours come, most people are able to make this transition with an air of peace and acceptance about them. I also have learned that we active Christians have the blessing of reaching this point of faith far earlier in our lives and so can enjoy its wonderful benefits through the decades.
1Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Thus we are reminded that we share this gift of faith with Abram and like him are a precious part of a great nation, Christ’s own crucified yet triumphant body, the church. Amen.
