Blinded by the Light

This sermon was heard at John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Shreveport, Louisiana on Sunday February 7, 2016, the Last Sunday in Epiphany, Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday. Sorry, no audio.

Exodus 34:29-35
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Luke 9:28-36

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

Twenty years ago next month, while I was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Lamar, Colorado, I was helping host a Presbyterian Revival called “Spirit Alive.” Yes, yes, a Presbyterian revival, sounds kind of funny. I joked that “Presbyterian revival” meant that nobody drank decaf all weekend. I was the Hospitality Chair which meant I put together the drinks and snacks for the visiting team that was doing the presentations.

The visiting pastor who led the revival was the Reverend Scott Luckey. On Saturday night, he preached a sermon on forgiveness. To make a long story short, at that moment in time I was handling the breakup with a girlfriend poorly. Even though the breakup had happened eight years earlier, I was still handling it poorly. I was so scarred that I couldn’t forgive. Not because I was unable to forgive, but because I couldn’t think of what I needed to forgive her for. Again, long story. But see, I had met someone; and those thoughts and feelings were beginning to reawaken. I knew if I couldn’t get beyond those old feelings I would mess up the best thing to happen to me in a long time.

In the Saturday night sermon, Pastor Luckey said only when you are able to forgive will you know what it is to be forgiven. Now, I don’t know about you. I don’t know where you were twenty years ago at about 8:30 PM Mountain Time, but a shaft of light entered that sanctuary and shined down on me. I don’t see how anybody within 750 miles could have missed it! It was glorious.

When he said that, things began to change. I say began because things weren’t always perfect. They never are. There was still healing to be done, but after eight long years I was finally off square one.

One of the most common images used in scripture is light. One of the first images in scripture is light, Genesis 1:3, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good.” Don’t forget, light is always good in scripture. As for me, sitting in that sanctuary on that dark Saturday night, the light of Christ’s forgiveness was good.

Light is often associated with the presence of God. John’s and Luke’s gospels call Jesus the Light of the World. In 2Corinthians Paul writes, “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Jesus is the light. Knowledge of Christ is the light shining out of the darkness.

There are many more examples, if you have a concordance or the internet you can find more, but I think biblically we can say “Light—Good.”

Earlier this week I saw an article from Forbes about dumb things bosses say. One of the important things it says is every boss, unless you are very, very lucky, will say something dumb from time to time. That’s just being human. It is when saying dumb things becomes a pattern that employees should worry. Enter Peter, stage right…

Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him up on the mountain to pray. While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw Moses and Elijah talking to him. Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were swallowed by the brightness, the light shined such that Jesus’ robes became as white as white can be. The three apostles are blinded by the light.

They are overwhelmed by who and what they see! They see Moses who was last seen going into the mountains alone to watch the people enter the Promised Land. They see Elijah who was last seen by Elisha being swept away by the whirlwind into the heavens. These heroes of the faith are chatting with Jesus, apparently speaking of his departure.

So what does Peter do with this overload, he erupts! “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Dang. Peter takes a perfect moment, not a perfectly good moment but a perfect moment, and goes off the farm hoping to build “Mountainside Holy Land Village and Retreat Center,” three prophets, no waiting.

Our translation says, “not knowing what he said.” Another way to say that could be “he had no idea what he just said.”

We’ve all got that friend, don’t we? Open mouth, insert foot? That fine ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. It generally comes with a moderate amount of embarrassment. Scripture doesn’t record the look James and John gave him. Then again, maybe all Peter did was save James and John the indignity of being the first to say something dumb.

Before their critique could come, they were all covered in a cloud and heard a voice saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen (or ‘my beloved’ depending on the translation); listen to him!” Then, suddenly, it was a day like it was before the face of Jesus changed (and that’s all the word “transfiguration” means, change face).

Friends, we’ve all been blinded by something or other. Peter was blinded by the light. He was so flummoxed by what he had seen that he had no idea what to say. Peter’s problem was that he thought something needed to be said and then he said something. When we live our lives like an action movie, we tend to say all the wrong things at all the right times. This hardly makes Peter special, it only immortalizes him in scripture. Among my friends, I was the one who said the dumb things. I’m better now, but it made the ‘70’s and ‘80’s memorable.

So how do we avoid this? Here are some starters. The first is to pray. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where God is working in our lives. I’m not saying we will be able to discern the invisible hand of God at work. I believe when we “see” that, we put God’s name on what we want to call God’s work, what we hope is God’s work. So if we don’t look at the work where do we look? We need to look at the faces of those around us. As we become more aware of others we will begin to see the face of Christ around us.

When we see the face of Christ in those around us, we will treat each other differently. When we look for light instead of darkness we behave differently. When people do the same toward us we’ll notice that too. All too often, even in a city this size, people treat one another like obstacles or like nothing at all. If we seek the face of Christ in one another it is impossible to behave that way.

When the voice in the cloud said “listen to him,” this is what it meant. In the ancient languages, “listen” meant more than “hear,” it also meant “respond.” Pray and listen. See where God is working and go work with God and God’s people.

Then we need to stop and smell the roses. We need to spend time with God and with one another. In the church we call this koinonia, we call this fellowship. We act as a community. We come together and share a meal. We spend time with people for no other reason than it is good.

Look at it this way, God exists as distinct three persons; Father, Son, and Spirit. If community is good for God’s very existence, it must be absolutely necessary for us. Without a community, we are nothing. Only through others can we see the face of God in Christ.

And vice-versa, only through the face of God in Christ can we really see others.

Only when we are quiet, only when we pray, only when we become aware, only when we come together and only we respond to one another can we see the light, be in the light. Is this scary? Peter, James, and John were scared in the presence of the Lord so it would be foolish if we weren’t. We might be blinded by the light like Peter, we may even say something dumb. But as we pray, come together, and respond with and to one another; that will happen less and less. And the rewards of life abiding in Christ are glorious.

Oh, that woman I met twenty years ago, this July she and I will be married for nineteen years. Friends, let’s hear it for my wonderful, wonderful wife, my partner, my bringer of perspective, (in Hebrew) my ezer, my love and my heart, Marie. I thank God for her every day. I can see the light of Christ reflected through her like a prism shining many glorious colors. She helps me see the light of Christ. And I say fewer dumb things because of her. Praise God.

Halleluiah, Amen.

The Scandal of the Gospel

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday January 20, 2013, the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Isaiah 62:1-5

Psalm 36:5-10

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

John 2:1-11

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

Beginning on Christmas Eve we celebrated the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. As I said that evening, Christmas just isn’t Christmas unless somebody reads Luke’s Christmas Story. It’s just not Christmas without the annunciation of the angelic host to the shepherd boys singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

The Epiphany story of the Magi coming from Mark’s gospel is also one of the great narratives of scripture. The Wise Men came guided by the star in the east. They came to worship the Lord. They didn’t quite know where they were going so they violated “guy code” and stopped to ask for directions. Then again King Herod didn’t know either, so he consulted his people and got them the directions.

There is something startling about these stories. I mentioned this about the shepherds, but I missed this point about the Magi—neither of these parties was particularly welcome in the world of the babe who is Jesus of Nazareth.

The shepherd boys were all but expendable. They were supposed to stand in the gateway of the sheep pens to fend off predators. If the wolf or the lion got to the boy it was a shame, it they got to the sheep it was worse. They were dirty little boys. They were the bottom of the society’s structure. They were the least in the community.

At least the shepherd boys were a part of the community, the Magi didn’t have that. They were gentiles. You know, the folks Paul called “the pagans who were led astray to mute idols.” This sentence, this fact, this truth didn’t even cross my mind until a pastor friend from St. Mark’s United Methodist here in Marshall shared those very words with me. The Magi were gentiles. So as far as social standing goes, as low as the boys were in the social structure, at least they were in the social structure. These Magi, these wise men, these unclean foreigners who came to worship the King of the Jews were not just outsiders; they were the representatives of the ultimate outsiders.

Whether by the angelic host or the star in the skies, it is the outsiders who receive the revelation that God is doing something new. It is the least amongst the people of the world, the children and the gentiles, who respond when the call is made. It is the outsiders who come to worship Jesus. It is those who receive the call, respond to the call and worship him that Jesus welcomes.

The events of our gospel reading happen on the third day, or as we would call it, about thirty years after Epiphany. Everybody is heading to a wedding in Cana. Jesus was invited and so were his disciples. Jesus’ mother was there too.

Weddings, the industry behind weddings is huge. I don’t know about you, but my in my family we planned our own weddings, all eleven of them. Marie did most (alright, all) of the planning for our wedding. There hasn’t been a wedding here in the past two years that has used a wedding planner either. They have all been wonderful and glorious too. They’ve been about God and the couple and the covenant of marriage, not the spectacle of the wedding.

Then we end up seeing the festivals and fiascoes of weddings on television. I like to watch those shows from time to time just to say “there but for the grace of God…” They focus on the circus that is the event, not on the true focus of the marriage celebration. Then again, there are real crime shows for some of these marriages. The sixty-five year marriage is only celebrated on TV by Willard Scott and Smucker’s Jams on The Today Show.

Weddings in these ancient of days were spectacular events! They were glorious celebrations with a holy ceremony as the focus. And as with many weddings in our time, the party that followed was generally more memorable than the ceremony itself. In that way, they aren’t so different from our weddings. There was one thing that was different, in Jesus’ day; if you ran out of food and wine at your wedding is was a sign that you did not know how to take care of your family, your friends, and your community.

In our time, it would be like getting drunk at the company picnic and making a pass at the boss’ wife, daughter, son or worse-a combination. It’s a sign that you don’t know how to take care of your business. You wouldn’t be able to be trusted at work anymore. Any hope of promotion is completely out the window. You’re the shame of the company and a laughingstock in the community.

The only real difference is back in the day you didn’t have enough where today it’s about having too much. The effects are the same though, you’re shunned by the people you need and care about the most.

Everybody knew this back in the day, so when Jesus’ mother discovered the wedding party was out of wine she knew there was trouble in River City. She called her son and told him what was happening and Jesus didn’t need etiquette classes to know what this meant. Still, it wasn’t his moment to shine and with all due respect told her so. Yet Mary was confident Jesus would do something so she told the servants to follow his lead.

This is when the miracle story springs to life. Jesus has the servants bring the jugs used to hold water for the family’s ritual cleansing. He told them to fill them with water so they filled them to the brim. He told them to take some to the banquet master and again they did as they were told. And when the banquet master tasted the wine, his reaction was a rave. Wine Spectator magazine would have given it a 101. It was so good the banquet master either complemented or complained that the host held out on the good wine serving it when nobody could appreciate it.

Now let’s look at the facts. The banquet master didn’t know where the wine came from. Scripture tells us that. If the banquet master didn’t know the groom sure didn’t know, he hired the banquet master to take care of that. The guests sure didn’t know; they were just glad to sample the best, the finest wine. So who knew? The house slaves knew.

It was the house slaves who drew water. It was the house slaves who drew wine. It was the house slaves who knew that everything that happened in between had nothing to do with them. They were the only ones who knew the source of the miracle. The fullest revelation of the miracle was made not to the groom, not to the banquet master, not even to Mary. The fullest revelation of the miracle of changing water to wine was made to the weak and powerless house servants.

On Christmas Eve during the children’s time I said,

Another sign that he loves children is that as soon as he was born, the angels went and told the shepherd boys. The angel didn’t tell the President, or Caesar the Ruler of Rome. The angel didn’t tell the leaders of the temple or the Session of the church. The angel didn’t go to anyone who most people would think is important, he went to the children.

On Epiphany I could have said something similar. Instead of saying “the angels went and told the shepherd boys” I would have said, “only the Wise Men responded to the sign in the skies.” Other than that it’s the same point. Today I make that point again.

During the wedding in Cana Jesus himself made it clear to the servants that he was doing something new in the world. He didn’t tell the President, or Caesar. He didn’t tell the leaders of the temple or the Session of the church. He didn’t tell the groom or the banquet master or even his mother. He didn’t go to anyone who most people would think is important.

With what is tantamount to a wink and a nod he tells the slaves, the lowest, that something new is happening. It’s the lowest of the household who know God is doing something new.

There’s one more thing that’s important about these three bible stories; there is in each of these stories someone with greater church status in the neighborhood when these events happen. The people who were supposed to be getting the message either didn’t get the message or the message they got was lost in the mail.

We don’t know if the angels made their call to others before the shepherd boys answered. Scripture doesn’t say who didn’t answer the call, it only says who did. As for Epiphany and the Wise Men, guided by the most unusual star in the heavens, only these magi decided to follow. Thousands of thousands of other folks would have seen it and said, “Golly, that’s different” but only one group of folks decided to see what it was all about.

Even Herod’s advisors who knew the scripture thought nothing of it. They knew what it was all about, they even told Herod, but they didn’t respond to the Word of the prophets they had just read.

Today, Jesus isn’t volunteering any information, but nobody asks either. The groom doesn’t ask the banquet master where he got the wine and he doesn’t ask the slaves. Did Jesus have to close their inquisitive minds miraculously or did he just figure their minds would close on their own? Who ever looks a gift horse in the mouth? Well, if these guys had then they would have seen something new and different and the one who makes it new and different. Then again, it wasn’t his time yet, so for Jesus this was just as well.

I titled this gospel interpretation “The Scandal of the Gospel.” There are several scandals happening that we need to be aware. The first is that Jesus makes his appearances to the poor and oppressed. We have three examples of this truth in scripture since Christmas Eve. Jesus appeared to the weak and poor and the humiliated. Slaves and boys and gentiles meet the Lord. Jesus shows himself to the people who need the Lord the most.

This first truth lines us up for the second even harder truth, often people who are supposed to see Jesus first don’t. It may be for any number of a million reasons, but here is the best: The people who are doing just fine have often quit looking for Jesus. It’s human nature that when things are going good we quit looking. People begin to think they can do it on their own.

Some people quit looking for God because they’re doing fine on their own. Isaiah knows and understands this. He also warns us in 30:1,

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,

who rely on horses,

who trust in the multitude of their chariots

and in the great strength of their horsemen,

but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,

or seek help from the Lord.

Woe to those who rely on themselves and their stuff. Instead we are called to respond to the Lord our God, and when we do we will see the first verse from our Old Testament reading:

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,

for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,

till her vindication shines out like the dawn,

her salvation like a blazing torch.

Only when we rely on God for our vindication, only when for the world’s sake we cry out to the Lord, only when we do these things will our salvation burn like the dawn, like a blazing torch.

Still, there is one more scandal we need to remember; a scandal so ripe that it was the greatest controversy of the ancient church. Jesus came, fully human and fully divine-these qualities distinct yet inseparable from one another-he came to show us the way. It is up to us to know just how poor we are. Only then might we stop relying on ourselves and rely on the Lord our God. It’s not our boot straps; it’s the thong of the sandal we are not worthy to untie. Now that’s a scandal.

No Pussy-Footing Around

This sermon was preached at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday December 16, 2012, the 3rd Sunday of Advent.

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Isaiah 12:2-6

Philippians 4:4-7

Luke 3:7-18

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

Something happened to the sermon. The sermon this was turning into on Thursday took a radical turn on Friday. On Friday everything changed. Well, everything didn’t change, but tragedy crossed the national conscience. I’m not going to expand on the events. The last thing anyone should do is ever mention the name of the shooter ever again. I’m not saying ignore the issue, I’m saying let’s stop cloaking mass-murders in notoriety and infamy. I am not saying to ignore the victims either; I’m saying that easy platitudes aren’t enough for what happened.

On Friday a friend of mine wrote “today I saw the devil at work… what kind of person could walk into a school and take 20 5+ year olds life [sic]… words cant [sic] describe my thoughts right now.” He wasn’t pussy-footing around, was he? The problem with what he said is it shows a short memory.

The massacre at Columbine High School happened on April 20, 1999 in Jefferson County, Colorado, outside of Denver. That shooting ended the lives of fifteen innocent victims along with the gunmen.

On October 2, 2006, a shooting occurred at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Old Order community of Nickel Mines, a village in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The gunman shot ten girls, killing five, before committing suicide in the schoolhouse. What made this school shooting different was the Amish community’s response of forgiveness and reconciliation toward the widow of the shooter.

These shootings pale beside the Bath School Massacre. Since Bath was a bombing and not a shooting and took place in 1927 it doesn’t get the press. At Bath Consolidated Schools, a man who lost his farm to school taxes took it out on the school. He killed 38 children ages 7-11, two teachers, four other adults and himself. At least 58 others were injured.

The Bath School massacre is the deadliest mass murder in a school in U.S. history and the third-deadliest non-military massacre in U.S. history, behind 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing.

To complete our walk down memory lane I give you the Pontiac’s Rebellion school massacre, where four shooters entered the schoolhouse near Greencastle, Pennsylvania, shooting and killing the schoolmaster and nine or ten children. While reports of the number killed vary, it is known that only three children survived. This one doesn’t get any press despite or because it was the first American school shooting. It happened on July 26, 1764.

That’s what I mean saying everything didn’t change. There have been school shootings in America longer than there has been an America. Some folks talk about this as a second amendment issue when the first shooting predated the second amendment. It’s a matter of sin which predates the second amendment too. As for my friend who “saw the devil at work” on Friday, has he missed other atrocities people have inflicted upon one another? Is it that he hasn’t been paying attention? I’m willing to go with hyperbole, exaggeration to make a point. Then again, I just made an error I warned us about last week.

Last week I said that I can only confess my sins. Well, I just confessed my friend’s sins instead of my own. Let’s be honest, that’s not a good thing.

Last week’s gospel reading was John the Baptist’s ministerial introduction where “He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” We meet him again today in the last part of this introduction where Luke tells us of John meeting the crowds.[1]

Then John unloads on them! “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” There’s no pussy-footing around with John, is there? People love pastors who share a message and do it with aplomb, a certain composure, style, and tact that puts people at ease and ready to listen. Well, John the Baptist was never known for tact that puts people at ease. Starting a conversation by yelling, “You brood of vipers!” puts a bow on that.

John’s tells the crowd they have sinned and it is up to them to repent because only in repentance is there forgiveness. There’s a lot of baggage on that word repentance but there’s an easy way to look at it, the Hebrew and Greek words for “repentance” can be translated “turn around.” John is telling us we must all turn our lives around to produce the fruit of repentance. Period. End of sentence. No pussy-footing around.

Friends, it is time I share with you that I have sinned. My sin has touched all of you. I have been pussy-footing around. When we came to Marshall I knew that we would need to do work in stewardship and evangelism. The path I take to begin this work is by teaching.

You have heard me say we have to know our stories. This is right out of ancient Celtic evangelism. St. Patrick was successful in Ireland because he knew his own story as a slave on the Emerald Isle and the history of the people. When he returned as a priest, knowing the gospel, the people, and the place, he was able to share the Good News in the land where he was once a prisoner and slave. I told that story once, once.

Knowing our stories and knowing them here in this place is the most wonderful way we can share the gospel in the way people will be able to hear it and respond to it. But I pussy-footed around, hoping the pieces would fall together. I don’t blame anyone for not getting my stories, I can be obtuse. Let’s face it, I just used the word obtuse! I must confess that I didn’t make the point I intended.

During our recent “Committed to Christ” evening study, one of the nights was about sharing our faith. I tried to cajole the class into trying what the study was teaching about faith sharing. Well, my “cajoling” wasn’t effective.

Another lesson in “Committed to Christ” was about giving. It brought out that Christ expects us to give our time, talent, and treasure. I’ve mentioned this triad every October during stewardship season too. Often people think giving one or two of three is enough.

This “Committed to Christ” lesson used an example of a divorced man who is not meeting all of his commitments (admittedly a gender stereotype but that is how it was taught). It asks what’s better, a man who pays his money but never spends any time with the kids or the man who is Weekend-Super-Dad but fails to pay for basic essentials. According to the lesson the correct answer is “none of the above.”

It’s time and talent and treasure and two out of three is bad. Later in the evening, someone said, “Well, God knows I do all I can.” The lesson didn’t get across; God expects more, God expects it all. Trying to make a point in a delicate way didn’t make my point at all. Pussy-footing around again.

A couple of weeks ago I used the R.E.M. lyric “It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine” as my way of saying God is doing a new thing. God is doing something we may not even be able to see or recognize, but God is alive and God is not done with us yet. That point got lost. When I said “It’s the end of the world” that was all some folks heard. My style overwhelmed my substance. Pussy-footing again.

I have sinned against God and I have failed you. And now it is up to me to repent and seek forgiveness. Anyone who says that I have not sinned, thank you, but if I have not sinned I cannot be forgiven. For any who say “you sure have messed this up,” I ask you to remember the words of 1John, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” The words of sin, repentance, and forgiveness are good words for all of us. They are at the hub of John’s message.

By my pussy-footing, I have failed to express the depth of our financial situation. I knew something was going on. Neal shared that information during session meetings and congregational meetings too. The news was out there, but I never shared it with you in a way that caused the urgency that makes people do something.

Well thanks be to God! About ten weeks ago when the Session met, Lisa took the financial situation information home and told her family what was going on. Robbie, yes Robbie, took the time to ask people what we should do. Robbie isn’t a child of this congregation anymore, he’s a grown man, and he acted like a grown man—he saw something broken and he asked for help to get it fixed. God bless you Robbie.

Some were embarrassed that Robbie aired the dirty laundry. Robbie stood up and said “what can I do?” No pussy-footing there.

At the last stated Session meeting Lisa asked again what we can do. Neal laid out several options. (Don’t think he laid out only one, he laid out several.) Today during the congregational meeting the Session will bring one of these to you and it is up to you to decide what we will do next. Using John’s words we will be asked to decide whether the ax is lying at the root of the tree or not. During this meeting no pussy-footing will be allowed.

We won’t allow blaming either. We won’t confess anybody’s sins but our own. We won’t do those things because they won’t help.

There’s something I read on the internet Friday, and since it was on the internet it must be true right? It was attributed to a graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, a PC(USA) seminary. I don’t know if he really said this or not, but regardless these words are worth sharing:

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world.

That Presbyterian Minister was a fellow named Fred Rogers, yes, that Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers, and he’s in accord with what John told the crowd to do.

The crowd, knowing disaster was coming around the corner if they did not bear fruit in keeping with repentance, asked John what to do. Again in his very direct manner he had instructions for many different people in the crowd:

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

John was telling people to be helpers, not hindrances. He told them to bear good fruit. He told them to turn from their ways that hurt one another. He told the people to take care of each other. He told them to behave like the brave teachers at Newtown and Nickel Mines and Columbine. He told them to be useful like the first responders—the police, fire, and medical workers who took care of the scene, taking care of innocent victims.

This afternoon we need to look for helpers. We need to be the people of the Philippian church who Paul calls gentle. He tells them to “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

To this let me add while John said, “do not be anxious,” he did not say “don’t be concerned.” We need to be informed, concerned, and respond. There’s a line between “stress” and “distress” we can’t cross. Panic freezes action, the right amount of urgency can spur us onto great things. This is our call to confess and repent our sins, not anybody else’s. This is our chance to begin writing a new chapter today, a chapter baptized in the Holy Spirit with fire.

Today we light the Pink candle of joy. On a day like today, wedged horribly between a national tragedy and a local emergency, we are called to rejoice in the Lord always. Paul even repeats himself, “I will say it again: Rejoice!” But how? In the midst of horror and panic how can we rejoice? We say “Rejoice” in a world where we say Jesus is coming, and in the meantime we see evidence to the contrary. So how?

In situations like we have seen over this past week there is nothing else we can really do except listen to our Lord and Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers says find the helpers. Our Lord says I am your helper. John said this and more, exhorting the people and preaching the good news to them. Our helper is the Lord. It is up to us to seek the Lord’s help. Thanks be to God.

---

[1] This paragraph was cut from the final manuscript due to time restraints. I add it here because I love to think about the crowds of biblical times as well as our own:

I love when the crowds come out in scripture because of the wide variety of people. This crowd included at least some of John’s disciples. I’m just as sure it had some folks who were interested, but had yet to make a commitment. Judging from what John is about to say some of his opponents are among the crowd. There may even be some temple leaders, scribes, Pharisees, members of the Sanhedrin, folks who would become enemies of Jesus too. Then, there’s a category of people we often ignore—just plain folks. As sure as I am today during a demonstration, I’m just as sure that in the day there were some folks in the crowd who were there because it was a good crowd. Remember, nobody ever shows up for a bad crowd.

Picking Up, Dusting Off, Moving On

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday March 25, 2012, the 5th Sunday in Lent.

Podcast of "Picking Up, Dusting Off, Moving On" (MP3)

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Growing up, my mother was raised in the town where I was born, Mexico, Missouri. Mexico was once known as the “saddle horse capital of the world.” Simmons Stables still stands (well, sort of) on West Boulevard between Grove and Webster Streets. She was also raised in the shadow of the Mexico Military Academy, a boy’s military school with an equine program. So horses were always a part of her life. She passed that on to me with the Triple Crown.

When I was ten years old was the perfect time to introduce anyone to the Triple Crown. It was 1973 and the horse was Secretariat, still one of the most regaled horses of all time. He won the Kentucky Derby in a time that is still a race record. His win in the third race in the crown not only established a race record that still stands, but he won by 31 lengths, an absurd distance to win a race. It’s like winning the Daytona 500 by a half a lap going away.

Over the next five years, the Triple Crown would be won in 1977 by Seattle Slew and the next year by Affirmed. Before Secretariat won the crown, no horse had completed the feat since Citation in 1948. No horse has won the crown since Affirmed either. It was a great time to learn about horse racing.

Because of this upbringing, I was unknowingly in a great position to meet Marie. As you know, she is horse crazy. I may like to watch a race, but she can tell you things about the horses and the “Sport of Kings” that I would never guess. Among the things she taught me about was race preparation.

We can begin with pedigree. The sires and dams of great horses can be traced back so many generations that Luke’s genealogy of Jesus almost looks quaint by comparison. Preparing a horse for the Triple Crown begins long before the horse turns three, it takes generations and generations.

Training begins on these horses almost after they take their first steps. There is much for a farm, trainer, and horse to do even before setting foot on a track. Just preparing a horse to run takes work, and instilling and nurturing that love to run takes the right amount of work and play.

On the day of the race there are the stable hands and horsemen that work the horse to prepare for the big day. There is feeding and grooming. There is walking and putting on tack. There is a ton of preparation before the horse goes out before tens of thousands of people, probably the biggest noise they have ever heard. This all before the jockey dresses and weighs in before the race. Then comes the post parade and the wait for the gate. That’s when the hard work begins.

While I was contemplating this scripture, this is the image I could not get out of my head.

Our Gospel reading begins not long after Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the events we will celebrate next weekend on Palm Sunday. Jesus was a threat to the establishment. He was drawing crowds that made the temple leadership uncomfortable. They were uncomfortable because any large crowd around a charismatic Rabbi would make the Roman overlords uncomfortable. Momma Rome wasn’t happy; and when Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

So our reading begins with the Greeks looking for Jesus. These Greeks were pagan Greeks; the Book of Acts uses a different word for Greeks who were Jews and believers in Christ. While Rome was the political and economic capital of the Empire, Athens was the cultural center of the Empire. The Greeks were travelers. They brought art and stories and mythology and religion home with them from their journeys. Also to say “the Greeks” wanted to “see Jesus” is to say that they wanted a meeting. They wanted a sit-down.

They wanted to hear his story. They wanted to learn about him and they wanted to take the word of God and Jesus home with them to share with others. These Greeks would be among the first evangelists. I suspect they stayed in town long enough for the crucifixion and resurrection. Scripture doesn’t say whether or not they did. It doesn’t even say whether or not they ever met with Jesus at all.

With the arrival of the Greeks Jesus saw the final domino fall into place. It was at this moment that Jesus knew his message would go beyond the bounds of Palestine. Jesus knew his words and his deeds would be known throughout the world. He knew that what was coming would be told. He knew his hour had come, and after it came word of it would go through the whole wide world.

Jesus and Philip and Andrew; we first heard these names after the baptism of the Lord as Jesus calls his first disciples. In a wonderful way, the news of the Greeks comes in the reverse order of their call to discipleship. What once went from Jesus to Andrew to Philip now goes from Philip to Andrew to Jesus. The Lord saw this circle close. So with this news, with these signs, and with his knowledge; he picks himself up, dusts himself off, and moves on. This as he moves the whole world one step closer to eternity.

This is probably not how it happened, there’s very little chance it did. But I imagine when Jesus gets the news of the Greeks seeking a meeting he literally picks himself up, dusts himself off, and moves on.

As he begins to move on, he begins with a quick agricultural parable. Usually, the agricultural parables were used to describe the Kingdom of God. This is one of the purposes for this parable. He tells his disciples that unless a seed dies, it remains a single seed. But when it dies and takes root it produces many seeds. Jesus tells them that only by the death of a seed will other seeds be produced. This is the Good News of the Kingdom of God, more seeds will be produced, but Jesus shares the price of the bounty. It will cost the life of the first seed to produce all of the rest. The second purpose of this parable is to show that the fully-human fully-divine Jesus must die.

This takes us to something important to remember about Jesus. Our Lord did not have a death wish. Jesus did not approach the hour singing “Get Me to the Cross on Time.” We hear this speech in the Garden of Gethsemane, and we hear it here too.

His heart is troubled. Jesus knows what’s going to happen, and now happen soon. But he’s not in a hurry to meet his fate. I guess he has always known his time with his apostles would be short, but he has just gone from an indefinite “one day” to a very finite “the hour.” He has gone from “some day” to “not long from now.”

What troubles him? Perhaps it is the coming crucifixion. Surely the humiliation, indignity, and pain would be troubling. He knew he would soon be paraded like someone worse than a common criminal. Rome saved crucifixion for special cases. Rome saved crucifixion for people who were to be made examples for all to see. He knew he would be writhing. He knew the pain would be unbearable. He knew the thirst of the day’s sun would scorch his body inside and out. He knew the flogging and mocking would come.

Yet, Jesus knew that it was for this very reason that he came to this hour. In all of the horror, terror, and glory; Jesus both dreaded and embraced the hour and his destiny.

In this knowledge, in this hour Jesus cried out “Father, glorify your name.” And the reply came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” While the crowd didn’t hear the thunder of God at the baptism of the Lord, they heard this. They heard the voice from Heaven in all its glory. Jesus declares this word is not for him. After all, Jesus is confident with his relationship with his Heavenly Father. This voice is for the disciples. This word is for us so that we may be confident. Confident in the Heavenly Father and confident in the one he sent to us, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the Lord Incarnate, Emmanuel—God with us.

Friends, I have never heard this thunder so clearly in all my life. I feel like we, this part of the Body of Christ, is that race horse being led to the gate. We have been made ready to run the race of our lives. Unfortunately, we don’t have the benefit of knowing the track is a dirt oval and the race is going to end after ten furlongs. Horses and NASCAR drivers have the benefit of knowing it’s nothing but left turns for the whole distance. We don’t.

So what do we need to know to run the race? What do we need to know about this hour for this congregation? The first thing we need to remember is that if we try to hold onto our life, surely we will lose it. Jesus warns his disciples and I can’t imagine this warning doesn’t pertain to the Body of Christ as well.

Jesus says the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. This English translation isn’t quite what Jesus means. This is an expression, like “month o’ Sundays” meaning “a long time” and not “thirty weeks.” What Jesus means is that those who love their life more than Him will lose what they hold onto so dearly. It is when we hold the Lord and the love of God above everything else that we will keep our lives for eternal life.

Yes, I say again, eternal life is available to us on this side of the grave. It is not something we wait for while on this earth. It is available to us now when we love God more than anything else. Because of this, because of this gift, because of God’s good grace, we are called to respond faithfully. This is how we live eternal life, not just have it. To live life, we must share. We are called to take what God has given us and share it with the world.

So if we love the building and the programs and the denomination and all other manner of things more than we love the Lord our God we have surely missed the point. If we love our history more than we love the Lord we have missed the point. If we love our polity and Confessions more than we love the Lord we have missed the point.

We are called to love the Lord who loved us first more than everything else. Jesus leads us to places we would have never considered going without him. In its way, this should be troubling to us. It was troubling to Jesus so it would be awfully conceited of us to not be troubled too. But like Jesus we are called to embrace this hour. In Christ, we are called to approach the hour with confidence in our relationship with the Almighty, not in the trappings we put around Him.

We are called to love God and one another, not history, buildings, and paperwork. I found a way to describe a healthy relationship with the church a couple of weeks ago on the wall of a fellowship hall in Dallas—“Cherish our past—Support the present—Embrace our future.” This is a good plan for any congregation.

So, am I about to share my five point plan with you? Am I about to tell you it’s going to be in the newsletter so stay tuned? Oh how I wish it were so. If there is one thing that has been revealed to me recently it’s that thinking has put the church in the place it is now, and it’s not more fancy thinking that’s going to get us out of it.

I’m a smart man, I’m a learned man, I have great knowledge and training, and right now it’s not changing the world. If all it took was good thinking, a smooth voice, and an internet presence; I’d have this thing licked. But that’s not what it takes, not at all.

We have to begin again with the basics. We have to begin with establishing Godly priorities. Our first priority is this, establishing a relationship with the Lord. That’s where it has to begin. It begins with walking the word. It begins with prayer. It begins by keeping company with those who walk in the word and live life bathed in prayer. It begins by realigning our priorities.

We need to hear that voice again, the voice that came from heaven saying “I have glorified my name and I will glorify it again.” Only by listening and responding to the voice and its glory will we ever, ever make it out of the starting gate.

Green Light--Go!

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday December 4, 2011, the 2nd Sunday in Advent.

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Isaiah 40:1-11

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

2Peter 3:8-15a

Mark 1:1-8

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

All of the gospels begin with a certain majesty. Matthew’s gospel begins, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham” followed by forty generations of ancestors from Abraham to Jesus. This list includes the Father of the faith and the patriarchs. It includes judges and kings. It takes us into the exile and returns us to the Holy Land. There is a sweep and a majesty that takes us across the ages and history of the people of Israel and Judah.

Luke’s gospel begins with what could be considered not just an introduction but a mission statement. “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

Luke reminds Theophilus then and us today he has heard plenty of stories. Theophilus has possibly heard the gospels of Mark and Matthew along with at least some other collected writings. But Luke, the good physician, collects the writings he knows and the stories he has heard and collects them for Theophilus to hear.

But in this very reading from Luke’s gospel there is something hidden from a modern reader. Since not many of us speak Koine Greek, most of us probably don’t know “theophilus” means “God lover.” So Theophilus may not be the proper name of a person. Instead Luke may have intended this gospel for all God lovers everywhere. Now that’s majestic.

John’s gospel doesn’t begin with a genealogy or a mission statement, it begins at the very beginning, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” So let’s give it up for John, it doesn’t get any more majestic than the very beginning.

Mark’s gospel, as majestic as it is, is comparatively Spartan, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” That’s it. Mark’s gospel doesn’t begin with history or fanfare. There is no glorious genealogy of the people of God. There’s no holy mission statement. There’s certainly no cosmic verity being cast into holy writ like stars into the skies. There’s not even a “this is.” Mark’s gospel simply starts “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” That’s it.

As far as introductions go, my second grade teacher Miss Bedene would have expected more, but what’s there is packed with glory and splendor. With this simple introduction, Mark follows with the words of the prophet Isaiah not to introduce the Lord, but the man who will introduce the Lord, John the Baptist.

One of the joys of reading scripture, becoming immersed in scripture, is that when the language of the Word opens it opens like a rosebud. The word that is once tightly packed and protected opens to reveal such great beauty. The splendor of the rose opens beyond the beauty of its features and expands into its scent and even the feel of the silky petals. So too the splendor of the Word begins with the most common of words in scripture and opens far beyond the simple sum of its parts.

You know that I love the original texts, and I pray I don’t beat you over the head with them. I don’t use them to show off, I use them to try to open the scripture and open us to new and glorious interpretations of the Word of God. This comes into play when we talk about the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Many other translations of this verse don’t use the word “gospel,” rather they use the phrase “good news.”

As far as the Greek translation goes, it’s six of one, a half dozen of the other, both are suitable translations. The Greek word when taken apart literally means “good message.” In the history of interpretation the word is translated as both “good news” and “gospel,” so that’s no problem. But in our dialect of the English language, when we talk about “the gospel truth” it means truth beyond question, truth beyond the shadow of a doubt. Using the words “good news” instead just doesn’t pack the same punch for our ears. Let me agree, the gospel is the truth, and when we speak the full truth, there is more than simple words of truth.

The gospel, the good news is more than a collection of words bound and placed in our pew racks. Beyond a collection of good words, the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the living breathing gospel. The good news is a proclamation. The good news is the declaration of the life of Jesus. The good news is the declaration of our lives.

Last week I mentioned a scholar who believes the gospel of Mark is well served to be read in reverse. Under this instruction, we are reading the last three or four snippets of Mark’s gospel today. We read John prophesying the coming of the Lord, the one who he is not worthy to stoop down to serve, the one who will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. We meet John not only coming as in the prophecy of Isaiah, but coming in the clothes and fashion of Elijah. Then just as soon as we are introduced to the fulfillment of the prophecy, we hear the words of the prophet Isaiah himself declaring the messenger who comes to make straight the path of the Lord.

By this reading of the gospel, we are left with what we call the beginning of our reading, but this scholar calls the grand conclusion of Mark’s gospel, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ the Son of God.” If we decide to read it this way, our reading means something different. It’s certainly different from how we normally read this passage. It certainly is unsettling to read the gospel ending with the phrase “the beginning.”

Read this way, we prepare for the coming of the Lord in a brand new way. Advent means coming, but this coming is different. This coming is more like the one we heard about last week when we heard that this Advent, this Parousia; this coming is not just the coming of the baby on Christmas, but the final coming of the Christ in victory. The coming of this Advent is more than the coming of history; it is the coming of the future.

There’s an old children’s game called “Red Light/Green Light.” It starts with a person who is “stop light” the standing about fifteen feet from the other kids. The other kids go when they hear “green light” but have to stop when they hear “red light.” If they don’t stop, and if they get caught, they’re out of the game. The winner of the game is the first person to tag the “stop light.” The winner becomes “stop light” in the next round.

Reading the gospel and hearing “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God” is Mark’s way of telling the world the Lord has cried “green light.” We are supposed to go. It becomes our call to action. No longer is this a preamble to a reading, it becomes our charge, our vocation.

When we read “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,” as the end of the gospel instead of the beginning, this passage becomes more than an introduction. It’s our summons to reach out to the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of Man. We are to reach out to the world with the love of God, the authority of the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the source of the good news, the news we are to share and the gospel we are to live.

It is our call to Christ’s new beginning, to be opened like a rosebud by the flower of the word. It is our call to not only let the world see the vivid color and beauty of the bloom. It is also our call to be a joy to our God and God’s good creation spreading the sweet smell of Christ where we live and breathe.

What comes next, what follows is the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. This is the life we are to live. Two-thousand years after the birth of our Lord and Savior we are called to continue beginning the work he started. What comes through the lives of all Christians in every time and place is the beginning of God’s good news. What follows, what comes next; the life that we live, that too is the gospel.

The way we share the good news of Jesus the Christ is with our hands, with our hearts, and with our voice. This is our charge, our call, our vocation. This is only the beginning. This is the gospel truth and this is the good news. This is what coming means for us. This is Advent. Advent means coming. Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

What's In A Name

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday December 19, 2010, the 3rd Sunday in Advent.

Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

The question and what a question it is, “What’s in a name?” This question has been asked since names have been given.

The power of naming is no better described than when God brought things into existence by naming them. Genesis 1 begins “And God said ‘Let there be light” and there was light.” How did light know to be light? As far as I’m concerned it’s like Teflon; I don’t know how it sticks to the pan, I’m just glad it does. Light knew to be light because God spoke it into being. God knew what needed creating, it was named, and it was created.

The first time proper names were given was in Genesis 2. Early in the chapter, The Lord gives these names to the four rivers flowing out of Eden: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.

The next proper name was given to the first man created, Adam. In antiquity, names often emphasized an individual’s distinguishing characteristic. Names also memorialized the parents’ attitude toward the birth of the child named or an important political event at the time of birth.[1]

God it seems didn’t devote that much imagination to the matter of naming the first man since “Adam” means “Man” in Hebrew. Kind of disappointing, isn’t it?

Later in the second chapter of Genesis, the Lord gives the responsibility for naming to Adam saying, “Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man (Adam) to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.”

William Shakespeare is deservedly considered one of the greatest writers in the English language. He is renowned for both his playwriting and for his poetry, particularly his sonnets. His view on naming can be best expressed in this monologue from the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet.

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name!
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy.
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.[2]

More recent cinematic arts offer other ideas about naming. In the movie “Road House,” nobody thought much of the character played by Patrick Swayze until he says his name, Dalton. Then there were two reactions, “I know you” and “I thought you’d be bigger.”

On a lighter note, in the movie “Hot Shots,” Charlie Sheen’s character is named Topper Harley. Then after being drummed out of naval aviation, he lives with a Plains Indian tribe who name him “Fluffy Bunny Feet” after his choice of house shoe.

Renaming is not unusual in scripture. Many have been renamed, or renamed themselves.

The first renaming in Hebrew scripture is when Adam names the woman “Hawwah” or “Mother of All.” The Greeks called her “Eva” but only after first calling her “Zoey” which simply means “life.” Personally, I like calling the “Mother of All of the Living” “Life.” There’s a simple elegance to it. In English we call her Eve.

Abram became Abraham and Sarai became Sarah when God made the covenant with Abraham to make him a great nation.

Some names made a statement concerning God.[3] After Jacob wrestles with God at Pineal, he is renamed Israel, one who strives with God. How do we know that this man Jacob wrestles with is God since the name of the other wrestler is never given? Pineal means “face of God.” El and Al as in Israel and Pineal both mean God in Hebrew.

One Hebrew tradition is that the mother names the child. Jacob’s youngest son was named Ben-Oni by his dying mother Rachel. The New Living Translation defines Ben-Oni as “Son of my Sorrow.” Jacob breaks with tradition and promptly renames him Benjamin, “Son of my Right Hand.” Rachel used the ancient naming convention that memorialized her opinion of the birth; Jacob reframed that convention with an eye to the future instead of the present.

People claim authority over others by renaming them.[4] After he interprets Pharaoh’s dreams Joseph is renamed Zaphenath-paneah which means “God speaks and lives.” Pharaoh had the authority to rename Joseph since he was a slave and a prisoner in Egypt; but renaming Joseph gives glory to God, not himself.

In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon conquered Jerusalem and told his advisors to bring him the cream of the Israelite crop, the Nobles and the Royals. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The Commander of the Babylonian officials renamed Daniel and called him Belteshazzar which means “Protect the King.”

Because of an event in the book of Daniel and the song Louis Armstrong sang about it, we have come to know Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah by their Babylonian names rather than their Hebrew names. Oh, if you aren’t old enough to remember Louis Armstrong, these three were also immortalized in song by Sly and the Family Stone and again by The Beastie Boys. Their Babylonian names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

After the death of her husband and sons in the book of Ruth, Naomi renames herself Mara. The events of her life caused her to change her name from “pleasant” to “bitter.”

If you know someone’s name, or the name of a God, then you can summon it.[5] This is one of the reasons the ancients had so many different Gods, they prayed in the name of the God who influences events, hence a Sun God, a Rain God, Harvest God, and so on. In the book of Acts, Paul mentions that the Greeks took this to the extreme. The Greeks had a special statue for the God whom they do not know. So if a strange God comes to town, “Oh, that’s you down in the southwest corner of the Parthenon.”

Again the theme of having power over someone by knowing their name is found in popular culture. Knowing the name and exercising the power is the climactic event in Rumplestiltskin.

Knowing how to pronounce a God’s name so you can have power over that God is the reason why the Hebrews intentionally lost the pronunciation of the name of the Lord. You can’t swear a false oath in the Lord’s name if you don’t know how to say it. You can’t take the Lord’s name in vain if you don’t know how to say it.

An interesting fact about ancient Hebrew; while it was always spoken with vowels, but the vowels weren’t precisely written until after the year 500AD. Context was all important. The word with the consonants DBR is pronounced several ways. Depending on how the vowels are arranged, it can mean “He speaks,” or “Word,” or “pestilence.” Context was all important.

So since the earliest days of the Scribes, the four lettered name of the Lord was never spoken. Modern scholars have an idea, but no matter how well researched it may be; it is just that, an idea. Today, when the name of the Lord is written in Hebrew, the vowels which are written with it belong to the word Adonai, another one of the several Hebrew words for God. When the two are combined and spoken in English we get the word Jehovah. This is why today when Jews speak of the Name of the Lord they will often say “Hashem,” Hebrew for “The Name.”[6]

So what’s in a name? Oh so very much, even if the name is just “The Name” these handles represent us to the world.

In the case of Romeo and Juliet, the names are of two feuding families in Verona. But it is the hope of these two star crossed lovers that they will soon take the name of love rather than the names of their fathers.

In the case of Adam and Eve, it is who they are in the most literal sense, a man and the mother of all.

For Dalton, it wasn’t the name that meant so much; it was the man behind the name. For Fluffy Bunny Feet, the name is a sight gag

The name of the Lord is who God is, the Great I AM and the great unpronounceable, irreproachable, unimpeachable Lord of all that is, all that was, and all that ever will be. The Lord whose name will not be used to do our will but “thy will be done.”

For Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Benjamin, Daniel, and Ruth their names are about not only who they are, but who they were or will become.

Names contain power. Speaking them invokes power.[7] In our baptism, we only use our first names, not our family names. In baptism, our family name becomes “Child of God” sharing life together as the family of God, sharing the blessing of God’s power.

Isaiah 7:10-16 is in the midst of a section where the Isaiah and King Ahaz discuss proper response to a political crisis. Isaiah tells the king to ask for a sign. The prophet invites the king to test the Lord. Ahaz either doesn’t want to play Isaiah’s game or he knows better than that, even if he is invited by the prophet.

Isaiah doesn’t press the issue; instead he shows the king the sign. Isaiah says that the Lord himself will give the king a sign. He declares a young woman (per the Hebrew Scriptures) who is a virgin (per the Greek version of the Old Testament); she will give birth to a child and name him “Immanuel[8], God with us.” He declares that he will eat curd and honey.

What’s odd about this passage is that it has been translated into English in two different verb forms. In the New International Version and most other translations, the way the verb is rendered says that the woman will be with child. In the New Revised Standard Version it is rendered she is with child. One says “will be” and the other says “is.” One says this will happen in the future and the other says it is happening now.

What is at stake here is very important to King Ahaz. If the child is coming in the future, especially a distant future described in verse 16, Ahaz doesn’t have to worry about this much. If it’s in the distant future, that’s someone else’s problem.

On the other hand, if the woman is with child and if he is born in the near future and he is called Immanuel, this is his problem. The child will be one from the poorest in the society; this is reflected in his diet of curds and honey. He will be poor and without power. His mother will be young and if a virgin there will be no father in the picture so he will be condemned to a life of misery. Still, with all of these disadvantages, he will be called “Immanuel.” He will be called “God is with us.”

The New Interpreter’s Bible says that the identity of the child in Isaiah is less important than the meaning of his name.[9] The young mother has the faith to call her son Immanuel even given the crisis of living under the thumb of King Ahaz. This makes the woman courageous and defiant. She does not wait for a distant future to declare God is with us, she makes that claim during the most pitiful of days for the nation of Israel. Her courage will not make her lot better than those who also suffer in this time. She will not reap any benefits for her bravery, but the nation will know God is with us, and so does King Ahaz.

Our reading from Matthew takes this reference and turbo charges it. Joseph has just discovered that his betrothed Mary was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. (Which man here would not follow this with the words “likely story”?) But just as he is about to dismiss her from his life quietly, the angel of the Lord appeared and said, “Fear not, and take her as your wife because the word of her pending birth is true.” This unlikely story is the God’s truth.

Then they are told they will name their son Jesus. Actually, Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua[10] which means “He is salvation.” As lofty a name as this is, in our Lord’s time the name Joshua or Jesus was as common as Michael or Jacob[11] or, well, Jesus. It wasn’t such an uncommon name in its time. But then, when the son is born he will be named Jesus the people will call him “God with us.”

It is the people who will see that he is salvation. It is the people who will say that God is truly with us today. God is with us not in some transcendent new agey way. He will physically be in the muck with his people. God will be around us in a very real and very personal way. He is salvation and He is with us. God is salvation and God walks among us. He is God and he is with us.

The generalization of Isaiah is transformed into the specific presence of God at the birth of a son. He is salvation and he is with us. What’s in a name? The Lord our God, Jesus of Nazareth, he is salvation and he is with us.

The woman in Isaiah calls her son Immanuel because even in the horrors of her time, even in the conquest of the nation because God is with God’s own people. While Joseph will call the Son “Savior” we will also call him “God with us” because of his physical presence. In our time, we say that Jesus is the Emmanuel as we wait for his coming on Christmas Day and his ultimate coming in victory.

But let’s not wait; let us now be as bold as the young virgin woman of Isaiah’s time. Let us see and show God is with us. Let us find God with us and God around us. Let us be the light that God speaks and shine the light of Christ in a world that is so very dark. This way, regardless of our age we too become like the child of Isaiah’s prophecy. We can never be the Emmanuel, but knowing God is with us, we share the blessing of God’s power in the life of the world.

---

[1] Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, Volume 3, Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann Editors. Translated by Mark E. Biddle. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997, page 1350.

[2] Shakespeare, William, Romeo and Juliet, Act II Scene 2.

[3] Ibid.

[4] New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 4, page 218

[5] Theological Lexicon, Ibid. 1351

[6] New Interpreter’s Dictionary, Ibid., page 219

[7] Ibid, page 219

[8] Note on using the spelling of Immanuel or Emmanuel: When referring to the Isaiah passage I used the Old Testament spelling of “Immanuel.” When referring to Jesus or the Matthew passage, I used the New Testament spelling “Emmanuel.”

[9] New Inerpreter’s Dictionary, page 218

[10] Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon of the Old Testament, page 221. Strong’s Concordance numbers 3091 and 3442

[11] These names were taken from the list of Most Common Male Baby Names as of May 2010, http://baby-names.familyeducation.com/topnames/boys/, retrieved December 18, 2010.