Christmas Massacres: A New Holiday Tradition?

A friend shared on his Facebook page yesterday the news that dozens of Christian worshipers were murdered in Nigeria yesterday.  CBS News writes:

“Terror attacks across Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect killed at least 39 people Sunday, with the majority dying on the steps of a Catholic church after celebrating Christmas Mass as blood pooled in dust from a massive explosion.”

This is the second year in a row that innocent people have been slaughtered at Christmas in Nigeria.  Radical Muslim group Boko Haram is claiming responsibility.  CBS news reports the group, whose name means “Western education is sacrilege,” aims “to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.” 

This year’s attacks happened in the cities of Lagos, Jos, and Damaturu.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague was quoted as saying,

“These are cowardly attacks on families gathered in peace and prayer to celebrate a day which symbolises harmony and goodwill towards others.”

If there is any good news in this story at all it is that after years, sometimes decades, of similar atrocities against Christian worshipers in African nations the events are finally being picked up by a global news source.  As groups such as Amnesty International and the US Holocaust Museum teach us, silence is the greatest killer.  These events must be made known and the dead must not be forgotten.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims and to colleagues who are pastoring churches in Nigeria.  Pray for peace in Nigeria, Egypt, and all nations where people are paying the ultimate price for their faith.

Christmas: The Light Shines in the Darkness

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  ² He was in the beginning with God;  ³ all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  ⁶ ¶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  ⁷ He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him.  ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.  ⁹ ¶ The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.  ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.  ¹¹ He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.  ¹² But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God;  ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  ¹⁴ ¶ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. - John 1:1-14

Well, here we are – Christmas Day.  We made it.  What a beautiful night last night was – the candlelight, the carols, family and friends close by – a mirror image of the peacefulness of the scene in Bethlehem all those years ago.  We remember Mary and Joseph and the joyful visit of the shepherds and in our imaginations we can see all the animals nearby and the stars shining in the night sky, and we remember how all the things foretold by the Old Testament prophets were fulfilled in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And now a new day dawns.  It’s morning, and the angels have all gone back to heaven, the shepherds have returned to their sheep, and Joseph is tending to the needs of his new family while all around them in the city of Bethlehem people are heading off to work.  (They didn’t have Christmas Day off in those days!)  The previous night the shepherds had told everyone they ran into about the angels’ message and the birth of this baby, and in the light of day the whole town is buzzing with the news as shopkeepers open their shops and the day begins.

And then what?  For the most part nobody heard anything about Jesus again for another 30 years.  It seems like life just sort of goes on like it always had.

And isn’t that sort of how it is for us?  The buildup is over, and the carols have been sung, and Christmas is here, and tomorrow the world will keep on going about its business the way it always has.  Story-time is over, it’s time to start shopping for Valentines Day.

But the words of the apostle John stop us in our tracks.  In the Gospel reading for today John presents the Christmas story in a totally different way… a way that makes us stop and think.  He begins by saying: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. 

It’s interesting that John starts out talking about light.  Scripture tells us that Jesus’ earthly mission was salvation, the saving of humankind.  But John starts out talking about light because the world of Jesus’ day, like the world in our day, was a world in which there were many competing religions and belief systems, all of them offering different paths to enlightenment.  In Jesus’ day, like in our day,  people were teaching that you have to find enlightenment, either through education or lifestyle or giving or diet or spiritual practices like meditation or fasting.

What John says here is stunningly different.  John says that in Jesus the Light carme to us.  We don’t have to find the light.  The Light found us.  God himself entered our world bringing light into darkness and freedom for captives and life in a place where death always seems to have the last word.  People don’t have to try to work their way to enlightenment – He’s here!

And then John continues the story: The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.  He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.  I don’t think sadder words have ever been spoken.  If anyone here has ever experienced being turned away by one’s own… know that Jesus has been there too and He knows what it’s like.  In the depths of the darkness of our world, it is so dark that people didn’t even recognize their own creator when he came to earth.  The God who gave each of us life arrived on the planet, and his own people turned him away.  And today those words are still true.  We still live in a world where people don’t acknowledge their own creator.  We still live in a world that actively turns away from and despises Jesus.  And the irony is, Jesus came to earth so that we would never have to suffer the same fate… so that we would never be turned away by God.

What then do we need to do?  John tells us:  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

When the light shines in the darkness, the truth comes to light.  To those who see and accept that Jesus really is ‘the Word made flesh dwelling among us’, to those who make him welcome, he gives the power to become children of God.  Human beings don’t have the power to become children of God on our own… we could never be good enough or holy enough.  We could never find our own way out of the darkness.  But when we welcome Jesus into our lives we welcome the Father who sent Him… when we open our hearts to him and receive him, by the power of God we become children of God.

And that is the good news of Christmas.  Today we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, the birthday of the one who brings light into this dark world and sets us free to become children of the light, to become children of God.  So in a sense this is our rebirth-day too, because by making Jesus welcome we become, as John says, born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  The promise is fulfilled, and the words are true.  Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those who welcome the light of the world.  AMEN.

 

 

The Angel Visits Mary

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,  ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.  ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.  ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,  ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  ³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?”  ³⁵ And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.  ³⁶ ¶ And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  ³⁷ For with God nothing will be impossible.”  ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
- Luke 1:26-38 

The setting is Nazareth, a small town in the north of Israel, not too far from the Sea of Galilee, but far removed from the centers of power in Jerusalem.  Nazareth was then, as it is today, a tough town whose claim to fame is that it’s a stop on a major highway.  It’s not a big town, but it’s a place with a reputation for sin and violence.  Back in Jesus’ day people used say, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

In the sixth month of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy the angel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth with a message for Mary.  Gabriel is not just any angel, he is one of only three archangels mentioned in Scripture: an angel in charge of other angels.   Mary was a poor peasant girl, probably around fourteen years old.  She was betrothed to Joseph, which back then was less than a marriage but more than an engagement.  Joseph was a distant yet direct descendant of King David… but he lived far from a royal life.

So in this converation between Gabriel and Mary we see the greatest of the great in conversation with the least of the least.  What really jumps out at me is the fact that Gabriel approached Mary directly… because in those days it was unheard of for a man (or anyone who looked like a man) to speak to a woman alone, especially an unmarried woman.  It was simply not done.  Gabriel should have spoken to Mary’s father, or perhaps her older brothers, or at the very least an older woman in the family.

God is very much aware of human cultural taboos, but in this case He decided to set them aside and sent Gabriel to Mary directly.  And neither Gabriel nor Mary seems uncomfortable with this, although Mary is a bit stunned at first.  (Who wouldn’t be?)

Gabriel opens the conversation by saying, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” A more modern translation might read “Greetings, you are blessed! The Lord is with you!” – which is a very unusual way to begin a conversation!

Mary’s initial reaction is fear, which is how humans generally react to angels in scripture.  Real angels don’t have wings or feathers and while they are often bearers of good news they are far from cute.  So Mary is frightened but she is not so scared that she’s unable to puzzle over what the angel is saying.  Her mind and heart are fully engaged.  And she shows her quality in standing quietly on her feet in a situation where many prophets of the Old Testament were face-down on the floor.

Gabriel says to her:

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Imagine hearing those words for the first time.

Mary, like all Jewish girls, had been raised to believe that someday a woman of Israel would give birth to a Messiah who would save his people, and who would sit on David’s throne forever.  She knew the prophecies.  And now here was an angel from God telling her that SHE was that girl – that God loved her very much and had chosen her out of all the women in the nation to be the mother of His Son.

What a woman Mary must have been!  She didn’t reach for the nearest chair to sit down or steady herself… she receives this stunning news with an attitude that’s almost like, “OK, no problem”.  She was, as an online friend pointed out recently, a woman of incredible chutzpah.  And this kind of total chutzpah in the face of eternal reality is the kind of character God seeks… and blesses.

Mary has just one question, and it is a very practical one: “how will this happen, since I don’t have a husband?”  Mary wasn’t afraid to talk about the facts of life with a messenger from God!  This is an example all of us, myself included, can learn from: God is not at all embarrassed by our bodies, our physicality, or the way our bodies work.  It is not a Christian thing to think that spiritual things are higher than physical things – that idea comes from ancient Greek philosophy, not from the God of Israel.  Our God sees us holistically and is unashamed to take on human form and do all the things that we do in our bodies.

Gabriel is equally direct in his answer:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.  And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For with God nothing will be impossible.”

With God nothing is impossible.  Have you ever stopped to consider how many people turn to God for healing, or protection, or things like that and yet have problems with believing in the Virgin Birth?  The greatest miracle God performs is our salvation, setting the captives free and bringing the dead to life.  That’s what’s happening here.  For God nothing is impossible.

And Mary, this young teenage girl, having taken it all in, replies with calm humility, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”  She knows this isn’t going to be easy.  She knows she is going to have to explain this unexpected pregnancy to Joseph, and he isn’t going to like it.  She knows what she’s doing is risky.  But she says “yes” to God, and in doing so gives us a role model for living. Each one of us can follow her lead in saying to God: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me according to His Word.”

“O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.”  AMEN.

Advent 4 – Turning the World Upside Down

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets, since the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.  ¹⁰ For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in; for I set every man against his fellow.  ¹¹ But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the LORD of hosts.  ¹² For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, and the ground shall give its increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.  ¹³ And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”  ¹⁴ ¶ For thus says the LORD of hosts: “As I purposed to do evil to you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts,  ¹⁵ so again have I purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not.  ¹⁶ These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace,  ¹⁷ do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, says the LORD.”” – Zechariah 8:9-17

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  ¹⁷ For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.  ¹⁸ He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  ²⁰ For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  ²¹ But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.”
- John 3:16-21

It doesn’t make sense.  Sending a little baby to conquer the darkness of our world.  It doesn’t make sense.

Everything about Jesus flies in the face of conventional wisdom.  You want to change the world?  You’ll need lots of money. Political clout.  A press agent.  Buzz.  Big big big.  A spot on David Letterman. A reality show on TLC.  That’s what you need if you want to change the world.

But a baby? Born to an unwed teenager in a stable hundreds of miles from home?  The idea was as crazy in ancient Israel as it is today.

One of my favorite pieces of Christmas music is A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten.  The words to one of the carols called This Little Babe illustrates the point so well.  The words to the song picture the battle between good and evil with the newborn baby Jesus as captain of the forces of good.

This little babe so few days old
is come to rifle Satan’s fold
All hell doth at his presence quake
though he himself for cold do shake
For in this weak unarmed wise
the gates of hell he will surprise

With tears he fights and wins the field
his naked breast stands for a shield
His battering shot are babish cries
his arrows looks of weeping eyes
His martial ensigns Cold and Need
and feeble Flesh his warrior’s steed.

His camp is pitched in a stall
his bulwark but a broken wall
The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes
of shepherds he his muster makes
And thus as sure his foe to wound
the angels trumps alarum sound

My soul with Christ join thou in fight
stick to the tents that he hath pight
With in his crib is surest ward
This Little Babe will be thy guard
If thou wilt foil foes with joy then
flit not from this heavenly Boy!

It doesn’t make sense to fight a war this way.  It doesn’t make sense to send a baby to take on the darkess of our world.

But somehow it does make sense to our hearts.  It makes sense in that part of us that knows truth when it hears it.  It made tremendous sense to Mary’s heart.  In the reading we read earlier Mary sings: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”  Why? Because “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.”

The reality of God, the creator of the universe, coming to earth as a baby boy – because he loves his people and wants to save them – is a reality that turns conventional wisdom on its ear and turns the world upside down… or rather, turns the world right-side up.

And that’s what the apostle John is saying in our New Testament reading tonight.  God so loved the people of this world that he gave his only son, born of Mary, so that whoever believes in him will live forever.  And the Old Testament reading tells us this eternal life will be a life of peace and prosperity.   “…there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit… And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations… so will I save you and you shall be a blessing.” – that’s the Lord of Hosts speaking.  The same Lord of hosts who tonight, a week before Christmas, is curled up in Mary’s belly waiting to be born into the world he created, to save us from the darkness.

When he arrives, will we choose to cower in the darkness or will we “be strong” as Zechariah says and come into the light of Christ?  “If thou would foil thy foes with joy, then flit not from this heavenly boy.”

Advent 3 – Hope in a Dark World

In the second year of Darius the king, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet,  ² “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say,  ³ `Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not in your sight as nothing?  ⁴ Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts,  ⁵ according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit abides among you; fear not.  ⁶ For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;  ⁷ and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts.  ⁸ The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts.  ⁹ The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.’” – Haggai 1:15-2:9 RSV

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.  ² But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.” ³ As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?”  ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “Take heed that no one leads you astray.  ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, `I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.  ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.  ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places:  ⁸ all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs. ⁹  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.  ¹⁰ And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another.  ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.  ¹² And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold.  ¹³ But he who endures to the end will be saved.  ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.
- Matthew 24:1-14 RSV

For the past couple weeks we’ve been looking at the theme of hope in the darkness.  So far we have seen how Jesus brings hope into the lives of individuals and institutions.  This week the focus broadens to take in the whole world.

Looking first at the reading from Matthew, Jesus and the disciples are sitting on the Mount of Olives looking across the Kidron Valley at Jerusalem and the temple.  The disciples have just remarked on the grandeur of the temple, and and Jesus tells them someday it will be destroyed.  (This prediction came true in 70AD.) But Jesus is talking about something more than just the razing of the temple.  He’s talking about the “close of the age,” and the disciples understand this and ask when it will happen.

Jesus doesn’t give a timetable but he gives some warning signs.  He says to watch for:

• False prophets, who lead people astray, or who claim to be the Messiah.
• Wars and rumors of wars
• Famines
• Earthquakes
• Persecution of God’s people
• People turning away from the truth, turning on each another
• An increase of hatred and wickedness, causing the love of people to grow cold.
• And finally, the preaching of the Gospel of Christ throughout the world

Sounds a lot like our world today doesn’t it?  That said, I would warn strongly against listening to any preacher who claims to know the exact date of Jesus’ return.  These things Jesus describes have been going on for a long time, and they will get worse before the end comes.

Where then can we find hope?

In the message of the prophet Haggai.  God says to his people in v 4, “Take courage. Take courage. Take courage.”  Three times God says it.  And where do we find courage?  In the promises of God.  God says:

• v. 4 – I am with you
• v. 5 – My Spirit abides among you
• v. 6 – I will shake the heavens and the earth
• v. 7 – I will fill this house with splendor
• v. 8 – The silver and the gold are mine
• v. 9 – I will give prosperity – the latter splendor will be greater than the former

How’s that for hope?

Notice that God does NOT say if we work hard enough we will build God’s kingdom. What God has in mind is far beyond anything we can do.  It’s something he will do.

Eight times in this passage we find the phrase “says the Lord”.  If God says something, it happens. Remember in Genesis, when God said “let there be light”?  The very first translation of Genesis into English read “and God said, ‘light be made’ and light was made”.  I wish I could walk into the house at the end of the day and say “dinner be made”!

God’s word is active.  If God says it, it happens.  If we don’t see it happening yet it’s only because we’re stuck in time and God isn’t.  God lives in the eternal present.  God says the time is coming – future tense for us, but present tense for God – when he is going to give this world a total overhaul. When he will claim everything that is his, including gold and silver and us.  A time when God will be with us and place his spirit in us… waitaminit.  God says, “My Spirit will abide among you” – that’s Pentecost.  And the phrase “God with us” – that’s Emmanuel, that’s Christmas.  The prophecies of Haggai have already begun to happen. And the prophecies of Jesus in Matthew have already begun to happen.

Right now, in Advent, we are in a time of waiting.  We remember how Haggai waited for the Messiah, and we also wait the final restoration of God’s creation.  From our perspective we wait.  From God’s point of view it’s already done. And that is our hope. AMEN.

Advent 2 – Hope In the Darkness, Part 2: Dealing With Institutions

“Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle him in his talk.  And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men.  Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”  But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?  Show me the money for the tax.” And they brought him a coin.  And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”  They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  When they heard it, they marveled; and they left him and went away.“
- Matthew 22:15-22

The theme for our Advent series is Hope in the Darkness, and last week we looked at how Jesus brings hope into the lives of individuals… how He gave sight to the blind, and how He can bring light to the dark places in our lives.

This week we look at what happens in human institutions when leaders put their faith in things that are not worth putting faith in.  When people trust in something other than God to fix the world’s problems, the result is always oppression and injustice.  Jesus shows us how to bring hope into this particular kind of darkness.

In the Scripture reading we just heard, we see the Herodians and Pharisees teaming up against Jesus to try to discredit Him.  By way of explanation, back in Jesus’ day the Herodians were political leaders and the Pharisees were religious leaders.  Both of these groups are portrayed negatively in Scripture.  The Herodians were supporters of King Herod, who was a Jewish puppet king in league with the Romans.  In other words, Herodians were collaborators, playing along with the enemies of the Jewish people for their own personal gain.

The Pharisees – we hear a lot of bad things about them in sermons – but what is not commonly known is that they were very popular in their day.  They had broad support of the people because, out of all the religious leaders of the time, they were the ones who taught the word of God correctly and stood for purity of faith and the Jewish way of life.  In a way they were sort of like the TV preachers of our day: strongly in favor of God and country.  Jesus criticized them, not for teaching the wrong things, but for being hypocrites… because they didn’t practice what they preached.  Many times Jesus said to His followers, “do what they tell you but don’t do what they do.”

So the Herodians and the Pharisees, by nature of being who they were, usually didn’t get along with each other.  But they were united in two things: one, they thought they had all the answers.  For the Herodians the solutions to life’s problems were found in politics.  For the Pharisees the solutions to life’s problems were found in religious practice – and by that I mean not a relationship with God but rather following a set of rules.  Neither group was looking to God for answers.

And the second thing they had in common was that they hated Jesus.  They thought He was dangerous.  And they wanted to bring Him down.  When people put their faith in things other than God, the result is always oppression and injustice.

So the Pharisees hatched a plot to trap Jesus in His words.  Getting together with the Herodians they came up to Jesus while He was teaching in the temple and said: “We know you are a man of integrity and you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth…”.  (Really?  Then why weren’t they listening to Him?)

And they ask: “is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”  From their point of view there’s no good answer to this question.  If Jesus says yes, pay the tax, he will be taking the side of the Romans  against His own people… but if He says no, don’t pay the tax, they can arrest Him.

Watch now as Jesus brings hope and light into a world of darkness.  First, He calls them on their hypocrisy.  He tells it like it is: “You hypocrites!”  And then He says, “show me the coin for paying the tax.  Whose likeness is this? And whose inscription?”

They answer “Caesar’s.”

And Jesus says, “give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”

In our day we might say, “give to Washington the things that are Washington’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  The coin bears the likeness of the head of government, and therefore ultimately it belongs to the government.  But we bear the likeness of God.  In the very first chapter of Genesis, the first page of the Bible, God says, “let us make humanity in our image, after our likeness.”  We are created in His image, and His inscription is written on our hearts.  Therefore we belong to Him.  We do not belong to the powers of this world that oppress and cause injustice.  We belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

And that gives us hope in the darkness: to know that we were made for something – Someone – greater than what we see around us.  The powerful people and institutions of this life are passing away — here today, gone tomorrow.  But God is forever — and we are forever — when we put our trust in the babe in the manger, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  AMEN.

Homily for Candlelight Compline, Church of the Atonement, Carnegie PA, Saturday December 3 2011

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Advent 1 – Hope In the Darkness Part 1: Hope for Individuals

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.  Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.  “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”  Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
- Matthew 20:29-34, NIV

In tonight’s reading Matthew tells the story of two blind men Jesus met and healed.  It’s an amazing event… and a wonderful illustration of what Jesus came into our world to do.

In this story Jesus interacts with two groups of people: the blind men, and the crowd.  The blind men are trying to get Jesus’ attention.  They have heard about Jesus, and they know He is a man who can perform miracles.  And these men are desperate.  Back in Jesus’ day there wasn’t any welfare or social security, so being blind meant a lifetime of not being able to work, of poverty, and living at the mercy of others.  They needed Jesus, and they knew they needed Jesus.  They were literally in darkness and needed to see.

And there was one more thing they knew: Jesus was the Messiah.  They called Him “Son of David” and only the Messiah could claim that title.

The second group of people in the story is the crowd.  The crowd is a mixed bag.  They are following Jesus, which is a good thing… but they are trying to silence the blind men, which is not so good.  Why do they want them to be quiet? The Bible doesn’t say.  Were they embarassed?  Did they think Jesus shouldn’t be bothered?  Was this the same crowd that tried to prevent little children from coming to Jesus? We don’t know.  But it seems all through Jesus’ life the crowds that followed after him liked Him but they were always getting Him wrong.  They were blind to who Jesus really was.  You could say they were just as much in the dark as the blind men.

But Jesus cared about both these groups of people.  To the blind men, he asks, “what do you want me to do for you?”  They answer “we want to see”.

Notice they don’t beat around the bush or try to bargain with Jesus.  They don’t say, “oh thou great Messiah we beseech thee to consider our words…” They don’t say, “pssst, Jesus… if you heal us we promise to serve you for the rest of our lives and give lots of money to the local synagogue”.  They are straight with Him: “we want to see.”  This is a great example for us when we need something from God: just be straight with Him.  Let Him know what we need and then stand back and let Jesus do His thing.

Jesus had compassion on the blind men and healed them.  And when He did that, Jesus showed the crowd that He loves the blind and the poor and the hurting.  And now that Jesus’ point has been made, it’s time for all of them to give praise to God.  The passage in Matthew doesn’t say this, but the other gospel writers tell us the crowd continued down the road giving glory to God.

Notice one more thing.  These two groups of people are now one.  They no longer oppose each other.  They are all moving in the same direction, praising God together.

This is what Jesus came to earth to do: to bring light into our darkness, to bring sight to our blindness, to forgive our sins, to make it possible for us to be one, united with Him… so that together we can celebrate the goodness of God.  May this Advent season be a time of remembering all that God has done for us and celebrating His goodness.  AMEN.

Homily for Candlelight Compline, Church of the Atonement, Carnegie, Saturday November 25 2011

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BlogSurfing Find: A Fresh Take on Mary

Recommended by friend and Anglican priest Christina V, this article talks about who Mary the mother of Jesus really was and what she was really like.  Not quite the way she is portrayed in many churches… not quite the kind of role model Christian women are often told to emulate.  Rather, an amazing woman of chutzpah, courageous beyond the power of words to describe: Hail Mary, Bad-Ass Queen of Heaven.  Check it out!

“Hope in the Darkness”

Hope in the Darkness

Advent Candlelight Services

Saturdays Nov 26, Dec 3, 10, and 17
Light Supper 5:00PM / Service 6:00PM

Church of the Atonement
618 Washington Avenue, Carnegie
All are welcome

CD Surfing Find: “Not Guilty Anymore”

As a church music director I’m always listening for new (and new-to-me) music, and every now and then I’ll come across a song that hits the sweet spot: a solid Christian message and good quality songwriting.  This is my latest discovery.  Give a listen to Not Guilty Anymore by Aaron Keyes.

It doesn’t matter what You’ve done; It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from
Doesn’t matter where you’ve been, Hear me tell you I forgive

(Chorus)
You’re not guilty anymore, You’re not filthy anymore,
I love you, mercy is yours
You’re not broken anymore, You’re not captive anymore
I love you, mercy is yours

Can you believe that this is true, Grace abundant I am giving you
Cleansing deeper than you know, All was paid for long ago

There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Jesus

You are spotless; You are holy; You are faultless; You are whole
You are righteous; You are blameless; You are pardoned; You are mine

~

Blogsurfing Find: Occupy Advent

That’s what I’m talkin’ about.  Occupy Advent.

“This Advent, we invite you to join with us as we focus upon the season of preparation even as we live within the world.  In the weeks ahead, we will be talking about how we can slow down in our lives, how we can simplify our celebrations, and how we can watch and wait for the coming Lord.”

Keep watching this space for more on discovering the Christmas light through Advent.

Standing on the Doorstep of Advent

Do you want to experience a truly joyful Christmas?  Would you like this holiday season to be full of meaning and good memories?

The key to celebrating a Christmas full of wonder is refusing to celebrate Christmas before it gets here.  Celebrate today the holidays that are here today.  As George Harrison once sang, “Be Here Now”.  Ignore the commercials and the chintzy store decorations and carve out time for Thanksgiving and Advent. Because it is Advent that gives meaning to Christmas, and Thanksgiving is the way to approach it.

I will be writing more on Advent in the next few weeks, but for now, being “here now”, we are leading up to Advent — preparing for a season of preparation.

At Church of the Atonement’s Wednesday afternoon healing services we have been working our way through the Wednesday readings of the Anglican Daily Office (a schedule of scripture readings designed to enable a person to read the entire Bible every two years).  For the past few months the lessons have been reviewing the history of ancient Israel: from the glory days of Kings David and Solomon, to the perverse days of Ahaz and Jezebel, to the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, to the return of the exiles and the rebuilding of the temple under the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah.

Today’s scripture reading continues the history.  It is taken from the book of I Maccabees, from a portion of the Bible most Protestants never see: the Apocrypha.  Even if it doesn’t have the same “weight” as the Old and New Testaments (which some would dispute), the Apocrypha has some salient teaching moments, and this is one of them:

“Now Judas and his brothers saw that misfortunes had increased and that the forces were encamped in their territory. They also learned what the king had commanded to do to the people to cause their final destruction.  But they said to one another, “Let us repair the destruction of our people, and fight for our people and the sanctuary.”  And the congregation assembled to be ready for battle, and to pray and ask for mercy and compassion.  Jerusalem was uninhabited like a wilderness; not one of her children went in or out. The sanctuary was trampled down, and the sons of aliens held the citadel; it was a lodging place for the Gentiles. Joy was taken from Jacob; the flute and the harp ceased to play.  So they assembled and went to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem, because Israel formerly had a place of prayer in Mizpah.  They fasted that day, put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on their heads, and rent their clothes.  And they opened the book of the law to inquire into those matters about which the Gentiles were consulting the images of their idols.  They also brought the garments of the priesthood and the first fruits and the tithes, and they stirred up the Nazirites who had completed their days;  and they cried aloud to Heaven, saying, “What shall we do with these? Where shall we take them?  Thy sanctuary is trampled down and profaned, and thy priests mourn in humiliation.  And behold, the Gentiles are assembled against us to destroy us; thou knowest what they plot against us.  How will we be able to withstand them, if thou dost not help us?”  Then they sounded the trumpets and gave a loud shout.  After this Judas appointed leaders of the people, in charge of thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens.  And he said to those who were building houses, or were betrothed, or were planting vineyards, or were fainthearted, that each should return to his home, according to the law.  Then the army marched out and encamped to the south of Emmaus.  And Judas said, “Gird yourselves and be valiant. Be ready early in the morning to fight with these Gentiles who have assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary.  ⁵⁹ It is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary.  But as his will in heaven may be, so he will do.”"
– I Maccabees 3:42-60

The Judas being written about here is not Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, but rather Judas of the Maccabean family who led a successful revolt against the ancient Greeks. After the temple was rebuilt and the nation of Israel returned to their land, the Israelites only had peace for about another two hundred years.  Then the Persian Empire fell to Alexander the Great of Greece (332BC).  Being somewhat on the fringes of the Grecian empire, Israel was left pretty much to itself for awhile; but a few generations later Antiochian Greeks came to power in Judea and tried to wipe out the Jewish people.  This is the backdrop against which the passage above takes place.  The Maccabean rebellions were eventually successful in 167BC.  Victory was only partial though, and only lasted for another 100 years.  In 63BC Greece and everything else around the Mediterranean Sea fell to the legions of Rome.

So much for the history lesson.  Where does God come into play in all this? The passage above only speaks of God once, and then in a very fatalistic tone: “It is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary.  But as his will in heaven may be, so he will do.”

Where God can be found is in the events that happen next.  First, God gives the Maccabees victory over the invaders.  Jerusalem and its temple are secured.

And then, as history continues to unfold, God uses kings and peoples who have never heard of him to bring about his plan.  Under the influence of Alexander and his successors, Greek becomes the default international language — the language in which the New Testament will be written.  Then Rome takes over and builds the greatest infrastructure the world has seen to date.  And physically, Jerusalem finds itself at the center of the known world, with major roads leading south to Egypt, east to India, and north and west to Greece, Rome, and as far as Spain.  And it is Rome whose government policies will cause a young Mary and Joseph to make the long and difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, just a stone’s throw from Jerusalem.

The stage is set.  The way is prepared for God’s Messiah to bring salvation to all the world.  And we are standing on the doorstep of Advent.

Why Should Sunday Be Different?

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.  If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?  How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
- Matthew 12:1-14 

When I read this passage, the first question that came to mind was: “What are the Pharisees doing in the same grain field as Jesus and the disciples?”  It’s pretty obvious they are following Jesus around, watching and waiting for him to put a foot wrong.

One might ask if it’s lawful to stalk a person on the Sabbath.

The second question that came to mind was: “Who do the Pharisees think they’re talking to??”  Just in case his words and miracles aren’t enough to give away his identity, Jesus spells it out for them:

• He talks about “what David did”.  Jesus is the Son of David, and the Pharisees knew that, at least partly. They had access to the genealogies and would have known about Jesus’ royal lineage.
• He mentions “the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless” – hinting at the fact that Jesus himself is a High Priest (after the order of Melchizedek)
• And then he comes right out and says it: “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”.   The guy the Pharisees are accusing of breaking Sabbath law is the one who wrote the Sabbath law!

To interject a little context:  the text quoted above starts with the words “At that time” which begs the question, “At what time?”  It was around the time that a lot of people were asking who Jesus really was.  John the Baptist’s disciples had just been there, asking “are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”  It was around the time that Jesus had been scolding his listeners, saying that if the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had seen the miracles they were seeing they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes.  And it was immediately following the time Jesus said these words:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

How many times have I read this and focused on the words “easy” and “light”:  the way of following Jesus is a way of joy.

But I’m hearing this last passage in a new way today:  “MY yoke is easy and MY burden is light.” As opposed to the yoke and the burden imposed by the Pharisees. As opposed to living life under the control of legalists.

The question the Pharisees keep coming back to is: what is lawful on the Sabbath?  To find a solid answer, it’s a good idea to look at what the Sabbath law originally said.  “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy” is one of the Big 10: the Ten Commandments.  The law reads as follows:

“Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy… the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your manservant, or your maidservant… You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.” – Deut. 5:12-15 [emphases mine]

So keeping the Sabbath Day holy (which means “set apart”) involves resting from the money-making activities of the week and remembering that God has set us free from slavery.  It’s a day of peace, of enjoying freedom, of reflecting on the Creator’s goodness, of spending time with friends and family, of eating and relaxing.  Exercising this freedom once a week is amazingly effective at preventing workaholism and addiction to things. It is freedom from slavery to the gods of commerce and politics.  It is freedom to just be.

This is why I believe Christians should start getting counter-cultural about Sundays in a big way.  Not because God is a meddling old grouch who wants to deny us our pleasure on Sunday… but because God has given us an amazing opportunity, once a week, to tell the world where to get off.  To be free of the demands of work, school, kids’ activities, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and society in general.  To rediscover and enjoy the things that really matter, that make life worth living.  To remember that we used to be a slaves to all these things, but God has set us free.

The Sabbath is primarily about freedom.  Therefore, as Jesus says, “it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath”.  It is lawful to pull an injured animal out of a pit.  It is lawful to heal a man with a withered hand.  It is lawful to set God’s creatures free from what binds them.  That’s what the Sabbath is for.

“…but the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus…“
(is this lawful on the Sabbath?)

Serving Self and Claiming It’s God’s Work

When Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed.
Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon a man of Benjamin from Beeroth (for Beeroth also is reckoned to Benjamin; the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and have been sojourners there to this day).
Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up, and fled; and, as she fled in her haste, he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ishbosheth, as he was taking his noonday rest.  And behold, the doorkeeper of the house had been cleaning wheat, but she grew drowsy and slept; so Rechab and Baanah his brother slipped in.  When they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him. They took his head, and went by the way of the Arabah all night, and brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron.
And they said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; the LORD has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.”
But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when one told me, `Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and slew him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.  How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous man in his own house upon his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?”
And David commanded his young men, and they killed them, and cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.
- II Samuel 4:1-12

One of the things I appreciate about the Old Testament is that it doesn’t gloss over human nature.  The Old Testament “tells it like it is”.  These days a lot of people object to the Old Testament, calling it bloody and violent.  Pot, meet kettle.

In this particular scene, Saul, the first king of Israel, has died, and David has been anointed as the next king… but there are still living relatives of Saul who could try to lay claim to the throne.

There was a time when David was close to Saul’s family, eating dinner at the king’s table and comforting the king with music.  Saul’s son Jonathan had been his best friend, and David still grieved his loss.

But now Saul and Jonathan are dead, and the time has come for David to assume the throne.  It would seem only logical (by the standards of the day) for David’s forces to kill any remaining members of Saul’s family.  This was standard procedure: the incoming king must eliminate any challenging claims there might be to the throne.

But these weren’t David’s forces doing away with Saul’s son Ishbosheth. Baanah and Rechab were Saul’s own servants.  They betrayed their master to death for personal gain, trying to win favor with the up-and-coming David.

In many kingdoms their plan might have worked, and Baanah and Rechab might have been hailed as heroes.  But for a person whose heart is true, in tune with God — as David’s was — such treachery was unforgivable.  And it’s compounded by the murderers’ claim that the death of Ishbosheth was ‘the Lord’s vengeance’, the Lord’s will and work.

Human nature hasn’t changed much in 3000 years.  Today there are still people in the world who claim to be doing God’s work, who are only trying to promote themselves and curry favor with the ‘right’ people.

And as in David’s day, a person today whose heart is in tune with God won’t be fooled.  Lord, tune our hearts to you.

Psalm 23 – The Lord Is My Shepherd – A Musician’s View

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
- Psalm 23 ESV, a psalm of David

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want…”  These words – and the words that follow – have touched peoples’ hearts for over 3000 years.  Many of us learned the Shepherd’s Psalm as children and have returned to it for comfort as adults.  The words give us a feeling of being home and at rest.

As a musician I can’t hear the 23^rd Psalm without hearing melody.  It’s been set to music many times… which is appropriate because the Psalter was ancient Israel’s hymnal.  And King David was one of its greatest songwriters.

I believe there’s music to be found in the context of the psalm as well.  It’s kind of unusual to talk about context in the Psalms… in fact Biblical scholars might think “there is no context in the psalms” and in a sense they’d be right.  But even in our hymnals today songs are grouped together, with Christmas songs in one place, Easter songs in another, and so on.  I think to some extent the ancient editors of the Psalter tried to do the same thing.  So I think what we’re about to see is not so much coincidence as it is ‘God-incidence’.  If you will, grab a Bible and follow with me and see if you can see what I’m seeing and hear what I’m hearing.  Beginning with Psalm 22…

But first, a little bit of background: those of you who have ever been to the symphony might have heard a concerto while you were there.  A concerto is a large work for orchestra in three sections or movements.  And the movements are usually arranged: Fast –> Slow –> Really Fast.  The first movement is usually upbeat, drawing the listener in.  The second movement is usually quiet and introspective, and the third movement is a grand conclusion that sweeps the audience to its feet.  And I think that’s basically what we have here in Psalms 22, 23, and 24: they’re like a three-movement concerto.  Only this concerto is the greatest concerto ever written: it’s the song of our salvation.

OK so… a concerto usually opens upbeat and bright.  Usually.  But every now and then a composer will open in a minor key, brooding and dark.  And when that happens it’s signal to the audience that what you’re about to hear is meant to be taken seriously and listened to carefully.

And that’s what we have here in Psalm 22.  The psalm opens with a darkness that takes our breath away: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  These words touch the depths of human sorrow.  They describe the experience of someone who has been betrayed, put to shame, and who is in pain.  And we recognize the speaker.  Jesus quoted these words from the cross, identifying himself as the person King David was writing about.

Psalm 22 goes on to describe the scene at Calvary 1000 years before it happened.  Look at verse 8: “He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, if he delights in him.”  These exact words are found in Matthew 27:43 – it’s what the chief priests and scribes said as Jesus was hanging on the cross.  Look at verse 16: “they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones”.  This describes crucifixion… something David had never witnessed.  Look at verse 17: “they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing” – which is exactly what the Roman soldiers did in Matthew 27:35.  Our concerto of salvation begins with the death of our Lord: in darkness and pain and suffering.

Psalm 24, the third movement, ends with a rousing conclusion of victory!  Take a look at verse 7: “Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them high everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in!”  George Frederick Handel quoted these lines in his oratorio Messiah.  “Who is this King of Glory?” Who is the King of Glory?  The same suffering servant we met in Psalm 22.  God has restored his life and made him King over all creation.  And so the greatest concerto ever written ends with the greatest victory the universe has ever seen.

And in between these two movements… in between the pain and darkness and the shining victory… is a tender song, Psalm 23, the song of the shepherd.  Actually it’s a song sung by the sheep.  It is a song we sing in between the cross and the crown.  This is where we live.

Psalm 23 is a song of trust and quiet confidence. And it begins and ends with the Lord.  Verse 1, “the Lord is my shepherd” and verse 6 “the house of the Lord”.  That’s deliberate – it’s a device ancient Jewish writers used to use.  Our lives begin and end with God, and the Lord Jesus is a shepherd who knows our lives first-hand so we can trust Him to guide us through.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”.  We are confident that God will provide all we need.  This confidence is not a blind confidence: we are confident for the future because God has been faithful in the past.  King David, as he was writing this psalm, could look over the scope of Israel’s history, from the Exodus to his day, and see God’s provision in the whole thing.  And as he says in Psalm 37:25, “I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”  Isn’t that our story too?

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters.”  God’s provision is not only abundant, it’s good, and we eat and drink in safe places.  “He restores my soul” – at the end of a long week when we’ve had the mud of the world tramped through our souls we can come to the Good Shepherd and He will restore us.  Our souls are his masterpiece, the work of his hands, so he knows how to smooth the rough edges and clean off the dirt of the world and restore us (for lack of a better phrase) to factory specs.  Granted, being restored to factory specs is a process that will take a lifetime… but we see progress and we can trust God to finish what he has started.

“He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” – for his name’s sake.  Not because we’ve done anything to deserve his attention, but because God is our creator, full of sympathy and mercy.  He leads us in what’s right because doing so is a part of who he is.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”  Notice David doesn’t say “if” I walk though the valley of the shadow of death.  He says “though”.  He’s already there… and so are we.  We live in the valley of the shadow of death, because everything in this world will someday die.  People, animals, plants, trees, corporations, institutions, nations… everything will someday die, including us.  That’s the reality of living in a fallen world.  What’s worse, if you think of death in terms of separation from God, we live in a world that promotes death, that revels in it.  We live in a world that says ‘god is dead’ and ‘do whatever you feel like’ and ‘my reality isn’t your reality’ and ‘here, spend more money on stuff you don’t need’.  We live in a world where addiction and abuse and prejudice and persecution have reached epidemic proportions.  It’s as if people want to die, or at least are afraid to live.  We walk through the valley of the shadow of death every day.

BUT (David says) “…I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  The shepherd’s rod in those days was a club for fighting off wild animals and the staff was the crook used to guide the sheep.  As we pass through the darkness of this world, we have nothing to fear as long as we are with the Shepherd.  It’s the Shepherd’s job to protect the sheep, even at the risk of his own life – which Jesus has done.  Notice too that David doesn’t say he’s not afraid… he says “I will fear no evil for you are with me”.  It’s a decision on David’s part to focus his attention on God instead of on his fears.  It’s like the saying, “don’t tell God how big your troubles are, tell your troubles how big your God is!”  That’s what David is doing.  “I shall fear no evil for you are with me.”

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…”  And what a what a feast that’s going to be!  Remember our reading from Isaiah this morning: (Isaiah 25:6) “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees…”  In other words, we’ll be dining in a 5-star restaurant while the fat cats of this world are outside pressing their faces against the glass like street urchins.  (Which by the way is a really good reason to pray for our enemies.  Do we really hate anyone so much that we would want to see them excluded from God’s feast?  Our enemies may end up excluding themselves, but before the feast-day comes we can at least pray they’ll change their minds.)

“You annoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”  In ancient Israel, annointing the head of dinner guests with oil or perfume was considered proper etiquette, at least among the upper classes who could afford it.  So all these things – the protection, the green pasture, the banquet, the perfume – represent that God will provide so richly for us, the cup of our joy will run over.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  One of my heroes of the faith, the English pastor Charles Simeon (1759-1836), commented about God’s goodness and mercy. He said, “‘goodness’ to supply my wants and ‘mercy’ to cover my defects.”  I like that.  Simeon goes on to ask: “are you bold enough to carry this confidence beyond the grave?”  If so (he says) “while all the rest are following after happiness and it eludes their grasp: those who believe in Jesus have happiness following after them.” [italics in the original] That is the correct translation of this verse: the words ‘shall follow me’ actually translate more like ‘shall chase after me’.  Goodness and mercy will chase after me all the days of my life.  God’s lovingkindness runs after us like the father of the Prodigal Son ran to meet his son.  As His children we couldn’t escape his goodness and mercy if we tried (not that we would want to).  And when our time on earth is done, by his goodness and mercy we will move from Psalm 23 into Psalm 24 – ascending the hill of the Lord, celebrating his victory.

So Psalm 23 is the gentle, quiet second movement in the concerto of salvation: a song of confidence and trust.  No matter what happens, no matter what we see around us, no matter who lets us down, we can trust Jesus.  The Good Shepherd has given his life for our protection, to restore our souls, and to give us a place in his house forever.  Trust Him.  AMEN.

~ Preached at Church of the Atonement, 10/9/11, 8:00AM service ~