“Fourth Sunday of Advent” Matthew 1:18-25

December 23, 2007

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

Matthew 1:18-25

“A Son”

 

Matthew 1:18-25 ¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, {21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.} because he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” {23 Isaiah 7:14} –which means, “God with us.” ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

 

This is s a text that you have heard on numerous occasions, it may be that a few of you were actually reciting this in your head as I was reading. So, what is there that I can tell you about this passage that you have not heard a few dozen times before? Probably little! But, then this is not about giving you information, this is not primarily an educational endeavor.

Then what is it that we are doing here this morning? We are here to draw closer to the living God, to drink deeply from the spring of Living Water, we are here to listen to the Spirit speaking to us. It may not be as dramatic as what Mary or Joseph had with their angelic visitors in their dreams, but the goal is the same. We are hear to listen for what God has to say to us today. We are here to listen to what God wants to communicate to the world through you and me. The question is not, will God speak to us today, the question is are we willing to hear what God has to say to us today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer:

 

 

I. Mathew begins his story of Jesus rather plainly, in a straightforward and upfront fashion. There is little need to read between the lines.

a. He states, ¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:

i. Here is the point, he wants to make Jesus known to his readers, to the world. He is not about concealing Jesus, he does not encode secrets only for the initiate to receive, rather he puts the information there where anyone can understand what he is saying.

1. In Jesus’ day Mystery religions were very popular, you got the secret once you were in, had been initiated. And as you progressed more secrets were reveled to you.

2. There are no secrets here, the point is to make the story of Jesus known, to make it public.

ii. Again there is no secret here, Mary is pregnant before she and Joseph are married, a scandal, not a badge of honor. This was a stoneable offence. But, Matthew tells us, : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

1. Mary is pregnant, with child, before they were married or intimate with each other.

2. Now we are told this came about through the Holy Spirit.

b. Now as the story progresses we age given a window into Joseph’s mind. Matthew writes, . ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

i. Joseph was not a vengeful sort, though by rights he could demand that Mary be stoned, he wants to divorce her quietly, not to shame her and her family. He is exercising mercy, forgiveness and being very generous.

ii. Additionally, he is giving the man, he still does not know that is happening is done by the Holy Spirit, who is the father the right to claim the child and Mary. He is not going to steal another man’s child. He is righteous.

c. Now, he was a man who was serious about his faith, he intended to do not what he was entitled to but what was right. He wanted to do what God wanted in such a situation. Matthew continues to tell us about Joseph, . ²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, {21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.} because he will save his people from their sins.”

i. Joseph made up his mind, he knew what he wanted to do and what he felt was righteous.

ii. Then an angle to tell him what is going on.

1. To be honest, if Mary told him, do you think that he would have believed her?

2. Put yourself in his place, would you believe her?

iii. Joseph son of David, is the title that the angle uses to greet Joseph.

1. Remember David is known as a man after God’s own heart.

2. We have already seen that Joseph is a righteous man, not a legalist, but righteous.

iv. Then the angle paints for him the big picture:

1. Don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, she has not been unfaithful, there is nothing sinful about what has taken place here.

2. The child she carries is from the Holy Spirit

a. This child is a boy

b. He is to be named Jesus or Joshua, because he will save his people from their sins.

i. Notice it is not to save his people from the Romans, from the Greeks, Egyptians or any others

ii. It is to save them from their sins

iii. If you want to understand the problem that Jesus comes to solve it is our sin, our fractured relationship with the Father

1. The truth is that it touches every part of our lives, our world and our universe

2. This is how the problem is stated, it is dealing with this brokenness in us, sin, separation, alienation and all its consequences.

3. To save his people from their sins is what this story is all about.

a. This is where we often miss the beauty of this, we push it into moralistic legalism

i. We become the Pharisees

ii. We become about behavior monitoring

b. But this is about restoring relationship, this is about saving us from that which separates us from God and from each other, this is about sin.

II. Now Matthew gives us another piece of essential information for understanding the Gospel of Matthew, for understanding Jesus and knowing what it means to follow him. He tells us, that Jesus is God.

a. Matthew tells us in this fashion. He states, .” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” {23 Isaiah 7:14} –which means, “God with us.”

i. All of this, Mary being pregnant, Jesus being born to save his people from their sins, so that the what the Lord said, will be fulfilled.

ii. Now what did the Lord say?

1. The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.

2. But, the son was to be named Jesus, but they will say of him, God is with us.

3. How can Jesus be Immanuel, how can having Jesus present be a way of saying, “God with us.”

a. Because, Matthew is reading this passage from Isaiah 7:14 literally.

b. Jesus, literally is God with us.

c. In other words, Jesus is God, the Son of God, but at the same time he is also human, Mary’s son. From this rises the classic Christian understanding of Jesus, he is fully human, fully divine.

i. He is not a divine-human hybrid

ii. He retains full humanity and full divinity, how, I cannot begin to explain, it remains a mystery.

III. The first step we take in maturing in our faith is to learn to listen to God, to discern his voice calling to us, instructing us, leading us, guiding us and urging us to come closer to himself.

a. The second step is rather apparent, but not necessarily easy it is doing what we are instructed to do.

b. Joseph becomes one of our examples, ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

i. Joseph did what the Lord had commanded him to do, he took Mary home as his wife.

1. Now what’s the big deal about that

2. For him it caused public disgrace, he was unable to control himself with Mary and he defiled her before they were married.

a. By taking her home as his wife, he claimed the child was his

b. For a man who was worked to be righteous, he is now a man who is looked down upon.

ii. In today’s culture being people of faith is not popular, in fact it may well make life more difficult for you in several ways, especially the younger that you are.

1. doing what is right is not always popular or easy, but it is what is right

2. I suppose Joseph could have told his neighbors about the angelic visitor, but how many do you think would have listened?

c. Now, we are drawing closer to Christmas, but are we drawing closer to Christ Jesus?

IV. The outcome of the advent season should be just that, that we are now in a deeper more meaningful relationship with Christ Jesus and his people. We have the example of Joseph, and of Mary, though we did not speak of her today.

a. Our goals need to be structured around these two elements

i. Listening to God, like Joseph and like Mary

ii. We need to do what we hear from the Lord

b. This is ultimately about living out of a restored relationship with the Lord, and by doing so drawing others to enter into a renewed relationship with the Father.

The Epic Journey

I’ve been thinking about this for a while. But, I’m still not sure how I want to say what I need to say. I realize, painfully, the reality that most Christians in North America are still rather immature. Not that they are not adults, but rather that their faith is not matured to the point where they have gotten much past the point of conversion. I know the church culture is still so focused on the point of conversion, the decision for Christ, that we often forget that this is not the end of the process but only the beginning step. In other words the Church’s job is not finished once people decide to follow Jesus, but it is really only beginning.

So, what I’d like to do is to begin a process of maturing in Christ with about 10 other men. I’d like to gather about ten of us to make a journey toward being more fully mature followers of Christ. I don’t know if there is anyone else who would like to make this journey with me, but what I know is that it cannot be done alone. It needs to be done in community, Where we can talk, yell, argue and workout our faith, coming to terms with our faults, our failures, our leaps of faith and whatever else comes along.

I see this primarily as a process, not a one time decision. I see this as a opportunity to study scripture and to read Christian authors. I see this as a chance to worship, to work and to build a deeper life in Christ. I would be glad to welcome into this fellowship anyone interested in the journey, be they a Christ follower or not. I would ask, that they only be open to the idea of following Jesus.

I don’t think that this will be an easy journey, but I am convinced it will be an adventure of epic proportions. I expect that there will be many lessons learned on this journey, some will be intensely personal while others or expressly public. I expect to learn about myself, about Christ Jesus, about those who form this fellowship. I anticipate learning what it means to follow Christ more fully, I anticipate learning what it means to be a man in the context of following Christ Jesus and living in North America in the Twenty-first century. I anticipate dealing with old wounds and with new ones as well. I anticipate struggling with others in the fellowship on issues and ideas.

I don’t know when this journey will start, but like Lewis and Clark, I am looking for those who would make the journey with me. A journey into the known and unknown of life in Christ Jesus.

Thrid Sunday of Advent, Matthew 11:2-11

December 16, 2007

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

Matthew 11:2-11

“Proclamations”

 

²When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent his disciples ³to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

⁴Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ⁶Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

⁷As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. ⁹Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is the one about whom it is written:
” ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

It is often easy for us to miss the importance, the power, the subtle and yet open message of Christ.  We are overwhelmed by all the activity of the Christmas season, the planning, the preparation, the shopping, the food, the services, parties, gatherings of family and friends, the calendar fills up all to quickly.  Our busy days become even more filled with appointments and responsibilities.  We have less time to do the things that we normally do, the things that include our times for devotions and mediation.  Is it possible to forget Jesus amid the tress, the stockings, the decorations, the gifts, the paper, the Christmas specials, the parties and the next item on the list of things to be done?

Of course it is possible, it in fact may be probable.  It is I suppose, not so much different than it was in Jesus day. Oh, then it was not Santa Clause and Reindeer, but it was when would the Messiah deal with the Romans, or when would the Kingdom be restored?  Missing the Messiah now is just as possible as it was then, the reasons indeed may be different, but distractions are just that distractions.  It does not matter what pulls our attention from those things that really matter, to the perceived pressing issue of the day.  The reasons may indeed be different, but in the end the result is the same, we miss the Messiah.

Prayer

 

I.                            John sends his disciples to Jesus to ask a question, one it would seem that he already knows the answer to, so why does he ask?

a.      Matthew presents the question like this, ²When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent his disciples ³to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

                                                                          i.      So, the question becomes does John ask this question for himself or for his disciples?

1.      This arises because of what Jesus has doing.

2.      He was apparently doing something that was not assumed to be the activity of the Messiah.

3.      Thus, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

                                                                        ii.      We are shaped and formed by the culture we live in, just as John’s disciples were shaped by theirs.  They were shaped to expect specific things from the Messiah.

1.      What have we been shaped to expect from Jesus?

a.       A warm and fuzzy, always yes, never a harsh thing to say?

b.      Weak, meek, passive

2.      What happens when we combine this with the traditions of Christmas in the present culture?

a.       Do we even notice Jesus?

b.      And if we don’t, the Jesus we’ve created doesn’t mind and will just be happy when we do notice him again.

c.       All of this is far from the Jesus revealed to us in Scriptures.

b.      Jesus response to this inquiry of the disciples of John the Baptist is a reference to the scriptures.  He says, ⁴Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

                                                                          i.      Jesus points to another understanding of the Messiah, one that does not start with killing the Romans.  He takes them to a passage in Isaiah 66 which reads,

1.      ¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
     and the day of vengeance of our God,
     to comfort all who mourn, . . .

2.      You see very quickly where this takes us, the day of the Lord is indeed coming, but before that day of judgment comes a time of good news, a time when the good news is proclaimed to the poor, freedom for the captives, release for the prisoner.

3.      Jesus says, I am the Messiah, but before the day of Judgment, I bring good news.

a.       See the blind see, the lame walk, those who are sick become well, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor hear good news.

b.      A day of judgment is coming, but the good news comes first, and you are hearing it.

                                                                        ii.      Then Jesus says these words, ⁶Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

1.      He is saying, “You expected someone else, or rather you expected me to do other things, don’t fall away because of that.”

2.      It has to do with what they expected.

a.       They expected the King to come and take the throne and drive the Romans and the Greeks from their hone and to restore the Kingdom of David

b.      But this is not about David, this is about the Kingdom of Heaven.

                                                                                                                                                  i.      David may have pointed toward heaven, but his kingdom was not the Kingdom of Heaven

                                                                                                                                                ii.      The Messiah is bringing something much better than Kingdom of David

                                                                                                                                              iii.      It begins with the pronouncement of Good News, with Healing by Jesus who is the Messiah.

II.                         Jesus then talks to the gathered crowd about John, he says, ⁷As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces.

a.       He asks them “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed swayed by the wind?”

                                                                          i.      You don’t go out into the wilderness to see a reed blowing in the wind, you can see that out in the wilderness, but that in and of itself is no reason to go out into the wilds.

                                                                        ii.      Or you could read this, “Did you go out to see someone who could be swayed as easily as a reed in the wind?  Of course not, no one wants to hear a prophet that has no convictions, what’s the point.

b.      He then asks, Did you go out to see A man dressed in fine clothes,

                                                                          i.      You don’t go out into the wilderness to see a person dressed in the soft clothes, the clothes for an easy life in the palace of the kings and powerful.

                                                                        ii.      You don’t go into the wilderness to see a common thing, a reed being moved in the wind, and you don’t go into the wilderness to see people dressed in fine soft clothing.

                                                                      iii.      So why did they go out to the wilderness? Jesus says, ⁹Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is the one about whom it is written:
” ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’

1.      People went out to see a prophet, this the people knew and understood

2.      Then Jesus states, “Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.”

a.       How does one see more than a prophet, how do we understand that, how did they?

b.      I don’t know how they did, what they thought, but I do know how Jesus explained this role of John the Baptist

c.       He was the herald of the Kingdom of Heaven, he is the one who prepare the way for the Messiah.

d.      John came and announced the coming of the Kingdom, now Jesus is hear!  Now the good news is being preached to the poor, the blind see, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the lepers are made whole.

e.       Just because it was not what people were anticipating, does not mean that it was not worthwhile.

f.       And right now we are invited to ponder, to realize a little more the power and impact of the coming of the Messiah, and the realization that a day of Judgment is also coming

III.                      Here is the shocking revelation in this text, Jesus says of John, ¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

a.       Jesus says, of those born of women,  there is no one greater than John the Baptist.

                                                                          i.      Consider who that means, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Sampson, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha. . . John is greater than them all.

                                                                        ii.      But here is the shocker, the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John.

b.      The difference will not be realized until Easter, when Jesus is crucified and raised to life, and the kingdom established.

                                                                          i.      We enjoy the benefits of the resurrection, and admittance to the Kingdom of Heaven

                                                                        ii.      Something prophets like John longed to see, something we often forget because it ha for us become common place, comfortable, assumed

                                                                      iii.      In our comfort, let us not become complacent, perhaps this Christmas season we can pray that the comfortable will be afflicted and the afflicted will be comforted.

 

Second Sunday of Advent, Matthew 3:1-12

December 9, 2007

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

Matthew 3:1-12

“The Baptist”

 

  ¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ ”

    ⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

    ⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

    ¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

 

            Before Jesus began his preaching, teaching and healing ministry, there was one who came before him, one who prepared the people for what was to come.  He was a rough and powerful man, one who lived not in the confines of the city or village, but he lived in the wild.  He was one who would have had the right to serve in the Temple, his Father was a priest, a descendant of Aaron, this was his birth right.  Yet, we find him in the desert, preaching to whoever will come out to listen to him, he challenges the powerful, the governmental leaders, the religious leaders, and calls them to repent, to prepare, because one greater than him is coming!

 

Prayer

 

I.                   John the Baptist, is an important figure in the time of Jesus, but we have little of his preaching recorded for us.  Matthew understood John this way,

a.      ¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³

b.      Matthew tells us about John the baptizer, he of course baptized, but he also spoke a powerful message, not one of comfort and peace, but one violent change, unprecedented change, he said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.

                                                              i.      His primary message, the core of his teaching and preaching was this “Repent.”

1.      Whenever someone brings this message, it suggest that there is a need for such behavior, because we have been doing things that require repentance.

a.       This may be true of individuals, it may also be true of people groups.  It is difficult to separate out these two factors.

b.      Here is the most difficult point, is John calling the people of Judea to Repentance, as a whole, or is he calling individuals. 

                                                                                                                                      i.      We tend to think in the terms of individuals, but they thought in terms of groups.

                                                                                                                                    ii.      This is why you see families being baptized in the New Testament, because the father converted, then the family followed.

                                                                                                                                  iii.      It was the assumption.

2.      As we hear John’s call to repentance this advent season, as we prepare for the celebration of Jesus birth, and as we prepare for the eventual coming of the kingdom, we are to repent as a people, and as individuals.

                                                            ii.      John is not an aberration, but one who was expected to come and herald the coming of the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew explains it this way, This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ “

1.      John’s purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus to come, to remove the obstacles, to tear down the points where people would be hindered in coming to him.

2.      We know that John did his work, he prepared the people, but there were many who would not receive Jesus, but many did. 

3.      What about today though, as we prepare for Christmas, what will hinder us from experience Christ this season?  What entanglements will grab hold of us and keep us from worshiping the Christ, and living out the kingdom in our daily walk?

c.       Matthew gives us a snapshot of John, a quick sketch to put some texture to his prophet.

                                                              i.      He says, ⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

1.      John did not dress and live like most of his contemporaries:

a.       Clothes of camel hair, a belt of leather, a person who is living outside of the conventional community, to make a point

b.      Prophets were often asked to live their lives as a statement, a warning, a symbol of what was going to happen.

2.      People came to hear John preach and teach, they confessed sin, they were baptized by him in the Jordan.

a.       I sometimes think of this as a ancient Billy Graham, a charismatic figure of integrity and purpose. 

b.      Someone no one disavowed, but yet not necessarily did more than listen to, even if they confessed their sins and were baptized.

c.       John clearly had an impact, but he was not the one to transform the culture, the people and bring in the kingdom, that role belonged to another.

II.                John most likely drew strongly from the poor and the disenfranchised who lived on the margins of his culture.

a.       Matthew tells us about his confrontation of the religious leaders of the day:

                                                              i.      This is what Matthew records for us:  ⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

1.      At some point John became so well know, so well respected that the religious and civic leaders of his day could no longer ignore him, so they too came out to see what he was doing.

2.      he does not give them the benefit of the doubt, he immediately calls them to account, “You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee to the coming wrath?”

a.       He does not allow for their family heritage, as part of the tribe of Levi, for the Seduces, to give them God’s favor.  Nor does he allow the learning and knowledge of the Pharisees to give them favor in the sight of God.

b.      Those points of prestige and honor in their culture, give then no standing in the sight of God.

c.       What will give them standing with God?

                                                                                                                                      i.      Producing fruit in keeping with repentance.

                                                                                                                                    ii.      It is not what you know, or who your father is that makes the difference, it is how you live out of your relationship with the father that makes the difference.

d.      John tells them very plainly, your genealogy will not save you from living apart from the father, God can raise up children for Abraham from the stones, your assumption that being descended from Abraham will not make any difference.

3.      He tells them, “The ax is already at the root of the tree, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

a.       You hear echoes here of Jesus saying,  “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and bad tree cannot bear good fruit.”

b.      We cannot assume that our parents connection or lack there of with God will determine our future.

c.       We cannot assume that as long as we do more good than bad, we will be fine.

                                                                                                                                      i.      The root, the tree, the core of who we are must be good, in order for their to be good fruit.

                                                                                                                                    ii.      We need be in right relationship with the Father, as individuals and as a people.

1.      This means that we pray and confess our own sin, but we also confess the sin of our church, be that local or denominationally, but we also confess the sin of the church universal.

2.      We should also consider the sin of our nation and the sin of humanity as a whole.

3.      We must consider the groups that we belong to that define who we are and what we are about.

III.             John spoke of a day, the Day of the Lord, a great and terrible day, a day we yet wait to see.  Matthew records it this way, ¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

a.       John baptized with water for repentance, a statement about confession of sin and forgiveness, about turning away from sin and evil.

                                                              i.      But that is only the first step, the second is much more profound.

                                                            ii.      John says another is coming

b.      The one who is coming is much more powerful, much more threatening

                                                              i.      Where John preached a warning, the one who is coming is going to separate the wheat from the chaff, the righteous from the unrighteous.

1.      He says be warned his winnowing fork is in his hand

2.      He is prepared to remove one from the other

a.       The chaff goes to unquenchable fire and is burned up

b.      The Wheat is gathered into the barn

c.       He will clear the thrashing floor, the earth

                                                            ii.      He will come and first baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, which began on Pentecost, but now we are moving toward the separation of the wheat and the chaff, toward Judgment.

1.      As we move through this Advent season, we should do some looking and see where we stand, and what we are trusting in for life and for the future.

a.       Have we placed our trust in who are parents are, in what groups we belong to, or have we placed our lives in Christ Jesus.

b.      If we have questions about this, the place we look is the fruit of our lives, is it good or bad, that will tell us about the tree that is our lives.

 

Amen.

 

Mitt Romney, Faith and the Office of Presiedent

Today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has an interesting article about Mitt Romney, a candidate for the Republican Nomination for the President of the United States. The article entitled “Romney says religion won’t affect decisions” where he states that his religion will not influence any policy decisions if he would become the next president of the United States. He is quoted as saying, “Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions,” and “Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.”

While it seems like a good thing to hear, especially since I am convinced that I don’t really want Mormonism defining the office of the president, it does however leave me asking the question, “How serious can this man be about his faith?” In a similar line of thinking, I would not want a Roman Catholic President to serve as a puppet of the Vatican either. However, I would hope that a Roman Catholic President would clearly reflect the values of the Roman Catholic Church. I would not want an Evangelical president to be a puppet for Billy Graham or an Anglican to be a puppet for the Arch Bishop of Canterbury. Yet, it seems to me that if the President is serious about his or her faith that there is no way that faith, their values, their world view shaped and formed by their religious tradition should not show up in the policy that they promote and develop. Otherwise, there is little reason for them to mention their faith, because if it does not shape and form their lives, it is nothing be a thinly veiled pretense that is only worn to court voters, and as such is blasphemous.

As an Anabaptist I am a fully convinced that the separation of Church and State needs to be complete. I don’t lobby for a return to prayer in school or bible reading either. In truth, I do not want public educators, who may or may not be believers instructing my child in matters of faith. This is a properly done by the family and the church.

Yet, I am convinced that if a believer, a follower of Jesus is in public office that his or her faith should be evident, it should appear in his or her speech, policy and practice. So, I find in the end, that if Mitt Romney is a believer, his faith should be influencing his policy. Let me clarify, not creating a theocracy, but clearly the core values of his faith should be reflected in his policy. If his faith places an emphesis on care for the poor, so should his policy. If there is an emphesis on integrity is should then be seen in his Administration. Faith should influence and form our action. Otherwise, it is empty, and blasphemous.

The Ancient Church and the Modern World

We are well into the first week of Advent, and for a person formed in a non-liturgical environment, I find myself drawn to a more formal expression of the season, and the beauty of following the church year.  I am especially drawn to the idea of telling the story of Jesus and the church, not only through the song, scripture and sermon, but also through the changing focus of worship throughout the year, Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension,  and Pentecost. You see in the progression, the story of Jesus, and the beginning of the church.  It is a powerful way to experience the story of Jesus and his church.  Often, those of us who live in the non-liturgical world of the church are just as bound by tradition and form as many of our high-church brothers and sisters.  It is simply a different liturgy.

The history of the worship life of the church yields a great deal of fruit and form that speaks to the story of Jesus, it can become common place, that is true, but what happens when we begin to reinvigorate the life of the church through worship?  

I am increasingly convinced that the ancient ways of the church offer, not only hope for the preset church in North America, but they may also offer a rather meaningful way to interact with the postmodern culture we find ourselves presently interacting and communicating.    I don’t suppose that it is shocking to realize one of our best attended services at First Church is a Good Friday, service based on the ancient Tenebra service. It is not a traditional protestant worship service, it does not focus on preaching or choirs, rather it is centered on hearing the word of God read, and it is also experiential, as the lights diminish and the Christ candle is extinguished, it can be a very powerful and moving experience.

Is it just because this service is different, and new that people come?  It may be.  However, it may also speaks to a deeper place in the human heart, one that is accessed by the simple realities of the Word and the lights. 

At the same time is it shocking that people are not flocking to sing hymns from  the 1800’s?   They are neither ancient, nor do they speak to the present culture.  In many ways the early churches culture has more in common with our present cultural setting than the culture of two hundred years ago.  In the ancient world, the church was a marginalized group of people.  They had little or no political or economic power.  The cultural norm was polytheistic paganism, and it does warrant a question as to where our culture is headed.  It does not seem to be Judeo-Christian, but rather some form of polytheistic paganism.  Perhaps the cultural context of the early church will speak more powerfully and profoundly to contemporary North American culture than the culture of the 19^th and 20^th centuries.