Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Mission Statements


January 24th, 2016  “Mission Statements”    Rev. Heather Jepsen
Luke 4:14-21
          In the circles I travel in, we spend a lot of time wondering about the question “Who is Jesus?”  Brown Bag has been deep in discussion on this matter.  It doesn’t take much digging around to find ourselves on shifting sands in the historical Jesus debate.  Today’s reading though may offer us some insight on the person and nature of Jesus Christ . . . at least so far as the writer of the gospel of Luke envisions him.
          This morning’s reading takes place early on in Jesus’ ministry.  Following our reading from two Sundays ago, Jesus had come to the river Jordan to be baptized with the crowds.  In that moment the Spirit descend upon him, anointing him to begin his ministry.  Following his baptism, the Spirit immediately sends Jesus out into the wilderness for a period of trial and temptation.  We will look more closely at that text during the season of Lent.  It is immediately after the devil leaves Jesus that our reading for today begins.
          Once again, the first thing we notice is the role of the Spirit.  Jesus is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and he begins his ministry.  It is interesting to note that it is a ministry not of healing or prophecy, but rather a ministry of teaching.  Remember last Sunday when John envisioned Jesus’ first acts of ministry as that of a miracle worker.  Luke takes a different approach.  He describes Jesus as a teacher, regularly teaching in the synagogues.  His fame spreads throughout the region, not due to any miracles he has performed, but due to his skills as a teacher in Sabbath worship.
          Our reading takes place in Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown.  He has stopped in there on his travels through the countryside.  On the Sabbath he heads to the synagogue, as was his custom, and waits to be asked to teach.  When he is called forward, he requests the scroll of Isaiah and reads from what we have come to know as Isaiah 61.  You can turn to the passage in your pew Bibles if you are curious, it is on page 603. 
          Jesus reads from the scroll, and then he just goes and sits back down among the people without any comment.  It is no wonder that the people are staring at him as he does so.  Now was the time for the teacher to expound on the lesson, much like I do every Sunday, but Jesus simply reads the passage and sits down.  Even you would stare at me if I dared to do such a thing on Sunday morning.  After some time he speaks again, one sentence, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  It is a totally loaded sentence and as we will find out next week, very problematic.
          The reading that Jesus presents is interesting both for the verses he reads from the scroll, and those he leaves out.  Jesus seems to be reading from verse 1.  You will notice from the pew Bible that his words are a bit different, which makes sense since we have a much later translation.  The idea is basically the same though; Jesus has come to take on these tasks: bring good news to the poor, proclaim the release of captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and let the oppressed go free.
          It is not odd to have read this text in worship since it was a very popular reading.  What is odd is the commentary that Jesus offers.  This text was commonly thought to be about the Messiah that was to come and save Israel.  The Messiah is the one who was anointed by God to go and do these things.  When Jesus states that the reading is fulfilled, he is calling himself the Messiah.  He is saying that he is the one who has been anointed by God to do these things.  Generally, that’s not a claim that people are going to readily accept, and we will see next week how this leads to great trouble for Jesus.
          I mentioned also that Jesus’ reading is interesting for what he leaves out.  We can find that in verse two.  Jesus reads the first part of the verse, “To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” and leaves out the second half, “and the day of vengeance of our God.”  On the surface it doesn’t appear to be much.  Jesus is simply leaving out a phrase.  But I think there may be more going on behind the scenes here.
          You see, Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah, and so folks are looking for him to do the things that the Messiah would do.  That is all good stuff about releasing captives, healing blindness, and caring for the poor.  No one has a problem with that.  Even the year of Jubilee is good news, the time when debts are forgiven and slaves are freed.  But the Messiah was also supposed to usher in the reign of the nation of Israel.  The Messiah was supposed to take over in a political way, using the vengeance of the Lord, the wrath of God, as a weapon for that takeover. 
          Think about it a bit; try to put yourself in the shoes of the people of Nazareth that day.  You have been living under the Roman occupation, suffering oppression through both extreme taxation and violence.  You do not dare to rise up against the Romans for you have seen others try and be killed in the process.  Your only hope is in the Messiah, the one who is bringing the vengeance of God, the one who is bringing the promise to make things right.  It is only through that power of God that the people can be saved.  That is the whole point of the Messiah; that is the whole point of your hope.  Good news for the poor is OK, but you want to be freed from the oppression of the Roman government.  You want the Messiah that was promised by the prophet Isaiah.
          Jesus reads a bit of the scroll and sits down, and the people just stare at him wondering what he is getting at.  He says that the text has been fulfilled today, declaring himself to be the Messiah, but not the Messiah the people have been waiting for.  The listeners are torn between joy that the Messiah has come, and he is a home town boy; and frustration that Jesus claims to be the Messiah, but not the Messiah people want him to be.  It’s complicated, and as we will find out next week, the people’s reaction to Jesus’ teaching is complicated as well.
          So, what does this reading hold for us this morning?  Well, to answer the question that we have been rolling around on Tuesdays, it’s clear to the author of Luke that Jesus thought he was the Messiah.  In fact, he thought it very early on in his ministry.  It is also clear from Luke that Jesus had a clear idea of who the Messiah was and what his job would be. 
          Jesus’ is on a mission to the poor and outcast of the world.  His focus will be on good news to the poor, release of those held captive, freedom from debt and oppression, and new vision for all people.  It will not be a ministry of violence or vengeance.  It will be a ministry of healing.  This focus on the poor is a prominent theme for the author of Luke and we will find as we read from this book throughout the year that Luke focuses a lot on the rich and the poor.  In fact, many scholars have come to the conclusion that Luke believes God gives preferential treatment to the poor.  We will explore that theme later this year.
          As I was studying the text this week I was thinking that what we have here is Jesus’ mission statement.  Jesus is clearly stating who he is and what his mission is.  If we are reading Luke, and we want to find answers about Jesus, we need to go no further than this text.  This is Jesus in a nutshell. 
          If we are to be followers of Jesus, if we are to mold our lives and ministry after him, then this should be our mission statement as well.  This should be the ministry that we aspire to; forgiveness of debts, good news to the poor, release of those held captive, and new vision for everyone.
          Today we are having our annual meeting which is one of the times we consider our ministry as a congregation.  This is a great opportunity to ask ourselves if our church’s mission and ministry are modeled after Jesus Christ or not.  We have our own mission statement, printed in the bulletin, that clearly states who we are and who we are striving to be.  Are we currently doing a good job of “sharing the love of God through Christ by the exploration of our faith, through Christian education, worship, and fellowship, by community service, and in local leadership in social justice issues”?  Is our ministry modeled after that of Jesus Christ?  Are there areas where we could be improving as a congregation?  These are great questions to ask ourselves today as we celebrate our achievements from last year and look forward to the year ahead.
          Here in the gospel of Luke, Jesus begins his ministry by laying out his mission statement.  He is the Messiah, come to bring good news.  But he is not necessarily the Messiah the people are waiting for.  He makes bold statements in the hometown synagogue and everyone just stares.  We don’t often have cliff hangers in worship but this Sunday we certainly do, come back next week to find out what happens to Jesus in Nazareth.  And stay after worship today, to celebrate the ministry of our church and to consider what might be on the horizon for us.  Amen.     

           

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Sharing the Abundance


January 17th, 2016        “Sharing the Abundance”       Rev. Heather Jepsen
John 2:1-11
          The story of the wedding at Cana is one of the most wonderful and perplexing stories we have about Jesus’ ministry.  The story only takes place in the gospel of John and so it is unique to that tradition and that community.  While what happens at the wedding is clear, Jesus changes water into wine, what exactly the miracle means is less easy to decipher.
          As I mentioned, this story is unique to the gospel of John, and like other stories in the gospel it is heavy laden with metaphor and reference.  The story begins with the phrase, “On the third day” which is interesting in and of itself.  It is actually the fourth day so far in the narrative that John is writing so what could this mean?  Perhaps it is in reference to some third day of activity.  Or perhaps, it is a veiled reference to the resurrection.  Personally I think it is the later, as the gospel of John was written nearly sixty years after the death of Jesus and was written with the end of the story in mind throughout the whole of the text.
          The symbology is heavy throughout the text.  The wedding itself can be seen as the great feast in the kingdom of God, the heavenly banquet.  The six jars for ritual washing can symbolize the old religion that Jesus comes to challenge and change.  Jesus fills the empty jars, used for ritual religious purification, with wine for drinking at the party.  Not only does it symbolize the new path of religion that Jesus offers, it will be awfully difficult to wash now that the jars are filled with wine instead of water.  Jesus seems to be casting the old ways of religion aside.  This is seen as well in the comment of the steward.  There is a way things are generally done, good wine before bad, but Jesus is turning the whole system upside down by saving the best for last.
          The writer of the gospel of John calls this the first of Jesus’ signs.  Its purpose is to show the glory of Jesus and to demonstrate who he is and who he will be in the world.  The sign is pointing to something outside of itself, something other than itself.  In this story, the sign is pointing to the person and power of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the one who has come into the world to shake things up, to make things new, and to turn the ways of the religious order onto their heads.  It is a sign that demands belief, and it is from this that the writer of John tells us, the disciples of Jesus begin to believe in him.
          Despite the wonders of this story and its clear message of the person and nature of Jesus Christ, it is still full of problems.  For one, it certainly seems like a magic trick.  Turning water into wine is something that any street charlatan could do.  Not a righteous or dignified miracle for the Son of God, and certainly a questionable first sign.  Also a problem is our Savior’s apparent support of drunken revelry.  The steward himself suggests that the guests are already drunk and won’t even be able to tell how good this miracle wine is.  Shouldn’t Jesus have just let the party end, rather than producing a whopping 150 gallons of fine wine to keep things rocking into the night?
          The biggest and most blatant problem with this text though, has nothing to do with the miracle, and everything to do with Jesus’ attitude.  Everyone is at the party and it is Jesus’ mother who points out the need for more wine.  Wedding celebrations could last as long as a week, and to run out of wine in the middle of the celebration would be a disgracing embarrassment for the host.  Mary points the situation out to Jesus and Jesus’ response is to cast the thought aside.  Not my problem he seems to say; let them deal with it themselves.  It’s not time yet to reveal the divine glory, and so the Lord is reluctant to perform. 
          It’s this divine reluctance that is really the problem in the text.  A need is present, however minor, and a miracle is needed.  Not only does Jesus not seem to notice the problem, he doesn’t even seem to care.  Jesus needs his mommy to point the situation out to him and to tell him what to do.  Jesus needs someone else to prod him into action.  What does this say about the nature of God?
          It’s easy to look around at the world we live in and wonder just where the divine extravagance is in our own day and age.  At the wedding in Cana, Jesus produced a huge amount of delicious wine.  It was a miracle of abundant quantity and quality.  It was a foretaste of the kingdom of heaven.  And it was for nothing more than the sake of a party.
          Where is the abundance now, we ask.  In the face of poverty, where is the abundance?  In the face of violence, where is the quality of life?  As the gap between rich and the poor continues to widen, where is the level playing field promised in the kingdom of heaven, where is the glass of wine for everyone at the party? 
          I think we often place ourselves in the role of Mary in this story.  We see the injustice in our world, we see the suffering and the embarrassment, and we tug on the sleeve of Jesus’ robe.  “Hey, they are out of wine,” we point out.  We attempt to prod God into action once more, we ask again for another miracle.  Fix it God, is what we say . . . fix it.
          I’ve preached sermons on this before, and I always stop there.  I always ask folks to keep praying, to keep asking, and to keep attempting to prod God into miracles.  It is a solid reading of the text for sure, and a wonderful sermon on the abundant power of prayer, but this week I was not content to stop there.  This week I was not content to simply put us in Mary’s shoes.
          Instead this week, I began to think that perhaps a better role for us in the story is that of the servants.  “Do whatever he tells you,” Mary says to them, and I think perhaps to us in the process.  You see, the miracle is already done, Jesus has already acted, and the abundance is already available in our world.  In the story that John tells, Jesus doesn’t go about serving the wine to everyone.  Jesus doesn’t make sure everyone has a glass.  No, the servants go out and spread the miracle around.  The servants pour the wine, serve the guests, and make sure that the abundance is adequately distributed.  Perhaps instead of complaining about the world we live in, instead of prodding God for one more miracle, perhaps we should get busy doing something.  Perhaps we should work at sharing the abundance that we already have. 
          I can’t speak for you, but the person I imagine myself to be in this story today is the servant.  The miracle has been asked for, the people are waiting expectantly, and I am called to go and “do whatever Jesus tells me.”  If I am asking God for a miracle of healing, then I should go and visit the person in need of healing, bringing the abundance of love I have been given.  If I am asking God for a miracle of wealth distribution, then I should get busy distributing the abundance of wealth that I myself have received.  If I am asking God for a miracle of peace, then I should get busy cultivating peaceful relationships in my own life. 
          Why is it God’s responsibility to pour the wine for everyone?  Perhaps it is my role, as the servant, to help make sure that everyone has some.  Perhaps it is my role, as a servant, to ensure that what access I have to God’s abundant blessings is shared with those around me.
          Rather than looking at this text and asking where the miracle is in our own time, I think we should look at it as the sign that the writer of John may have intended it to be.  The Lord has come among us as one of us.  “What has come into being through him was life, and the life was the light of all people.”  The miracle of abundance is here in our world today, if only we will learn how to share it with each other.  This is the sign of who Jesus is and who Jesus is calling us to be.  Jesus comes into the world turning things upside down, he shakes up the religions of the day and instills them with new life centered around celebration, and he blesses us with abundance in quality and quantity.  As the servants of God, we are called to go and spread the abundance that we have received with the world around us. 
          May God help us to share the abundance that we have been given with the whole world.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Receive the Holy Spirit

January 10th, 2016     “Receive the Holy Spirit”   Rev. Heather Jepsen
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 with Acts 8:14-17
          This morning we gather together to celebrate the Baptism of Jesus.  This is always an issue surrounded with controversy and question.  Was Jesus an apostle of John the Baptist, or was it the other way around?  If Jesus was sinless, then why did he undergo baptism?  Did Jesus alone hear the voice of God and see the dove, or was it an event that included all those present?  Even the gospel writers disagree on these matters.
          There are countless topics to preach on in this text, but today I am thinking about the Holy Spirit.  Before Jesus arrives on the scene, John is busy preaching and teaching about repentance.  He is encouraging people to repent of their sins, and to come clean in life, by literally being washed in the waters of the Jordan River.  His is a baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  But he speaks of another baptism that is to come.  When he speaks of the coming Messiah he talks of one who will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit.  This baptism will refine us, much as the wind separates the wheat from the chaff.
          Jesus then comes to the water as one of the crowd.  The writer of Luke is clear that this is not a separate event, but that it occurs as a group event.  The people were baptized and Jesus was baptized with them.  This is the baptism of repentance and cleansing, but Jesus’ experience takes things a step further as the Holy Spirit makes an appearance, descending in bodily form like a dove.  A voice speaks from the heavens, assuring Jesus of who he is and of his status with the Lord.
          Our reading from Acts also raises some interesting questions about baptism.  The prophets in Jerusalem hear that the people in Samaria, outsiders to the traditional Jewish faith, have accepted the fresh word of God in Jesus Christ.  In response Peter and John are sent to bring these folks into the fold.  In an interesting turn, it is stated that even though these folks have been physically baptized with water, they have yet to receive the Holy Spirit.  The writer of Acts tells us that it is not until the disciples come and lay hands on the people that they receive the Spirit.  Our Sunday school class looked at this passage a few weeks ago, and we had plenty of questions about it!
          So, is there one baptism or two?  Do you receive the Holy Spirit when you are baptized with water, or is it a separate event?  Well, the answer will depend very much on who you ask.  Some denominations like Pentecostals and some Baptists, believe that these are two separate baptisms and two separate events.  The Reformed tradition, of which the Presbyterian Church is a part, believes in only one baptism.  In our church tradition, it is believed that you receive the Holy Spirit when you are baptized in water.  The Biblical texts themselves do not agree on the issue, testifying to our inability to control the Holy Spirit.  As Jesus states, the wind blows where it will blow and there is very little we can do about it.
          Personally I believe that as followers of Jesus Christ, we share in the baptism that he experienced.  We enter the waters and are cleansed of sin, the Holy Spirit comes upon us and fills us up, and our status as a beloved child of God is made known to us.  Of course, like much of the life of faith, it doesn’t always work that way.  I have certainly witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit in those who have yet to be baptized.  I also have a feeling that we continue to experience the Holy Spirit breaking into our lives and changing our hearts, even after the moment of our baptism.
          The more I serve in ministry the more I have come to believe that we often receive what I like to think of as Holy Spirit booster shots.  Like infusions, or injections, there are times in our lives of faith when we are once again filled with the Holy Spirit.  Similar to the moment when the Spirit comes on us at baptism, there are other times in our lives when the Spirit comes upon us in a powerful way.  I think these moments fill us up and give us strength for the journey ahead.  While Presbyterians are traditionally only baptized one time in their lives, I believe that they can be filled with the Holy Spirit on multiple occasions.
          This morning in worship we will have several opportunities to witness the working of the Spirit.  First, is the ordination of the new class of Elders and Deacons.  Much like the days of the early church described in the book of Acts, today we will lay hands on fellow believers.  We will ask God’s special blessing on them, we will ask the Holy Spirit to come upon them, and we will pray that they will be made ready for service to the Lord through service to this particular congregation. 
          I will wager that some, if not all of these folks, during the laying on of hands and prayer, will feel some stirring of the Holy Spirit within their hearts.  They will receive an injection of the Spirit and will go out from worship this morning ready to serve, much as Jesus rose from the waters of baptism to begin his ministry.
          Another opportunity for a Holy Spirit booster shot will occur today during communion.  This is a time for all of us to come forward as a family of faith.  We will say the prayers, we will remember the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and we will thank God for the gift of life that we receive through Jesus Christ.  We will eat the bread and share the cup and in the process receive a bit of a Spirit booster shot.  God enters our body in the bread and juice, and so God enters our hearts and minds anew.  We too will leave this space today renewed, refreshed, and ready to serve the Lord in new ways.
          The questions surrounding baptism in general, and the baptism of Jesus Christ in particular, are ones that we can enjoy discussing for many days.  We can all testify to the doctrines of the church that have been handed down through the ages, just as we can testify to the truth of the Spirit that we feel in our hearts as individuals.  The “hows” and “whys” are less important than the truth of the presence of God in our lives and the way we are called to live in the world around us.  Jesus joined us in the sacrament of baptism, we have all received the Holy Spirit, and we are all called to go out into the world and to serve the Lord.
          May God bless us today as we remember and honor the baptism of Jesus Christ, as well as our own personal baptisms.  And may God continue to offer us Holy Spirit booster shots as we are called to serve the world in mission and ministry.  Amen.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Christmas Epiphanies

January 3rd, 2016        “Christmas Epiphanies”       Rev. Heather Jepsen
Matthew 2:1-12 and Luke 2:41-52
          Although the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is now over in the secular world, here in the church we continue to celebrate the birth of the Christ child.  Our readings for this Sunday center around Epiphany, which is a church holiday that occurs on January 6th.  This is the annual celebration of the arrival of the wise men to Bethlehem, bringing gifts for the new king.
          The season of Epiphany is a time to celebrate new knowledge, new ideas, and fresh thinking in our lives and in our world.  Just as the wise men followed the light of a star to Bethlehem, this is a time of light bulbs going off in our own minds regarding faith and the world around us.  Similar to New Year’s resolutions, this is often a time to take stock of where we are and where we are headed in our lives.
          Of course, throughout this holy season, my head has been full of ideas surrounding the birth of our Lord.  Inspired by Abigail, the daughter of Nathan and Cynthia Epp, and a relative newcomer in our midst, I find myself suddenly reconsidering the Christ child.  I have been watching Abigail, and I have been watching you watch Abigail, and the observations I have made have been amazing to me.
          There is something about a baby in our midst that truly draws us out of ourselves.  In the large setting of worship, when Abigail cries out, we all have a wealth of patience.  Not only that, but many folks here respond in joy to the sound of a baby.  If an adult were to interrupt worship in the same manner we would not be as lenient.  But there is something about the presence of a baby, that calls us to have better manners ourselves and to be more understanding of others.
          I have also observed reactions to Abigail in smaller settings.  When dining with the folks in Brown Bag, Abigail becomes the center of attention.  Friends are able to continue their conversations, but they are inevitably drawn to interactions with the baby.  We suddenly find ourselves engaging in smiles and joy, and sharing about our own lives as children and as parents.    
          Watching all these interactions, I have come to the conclusion that there is something about babies that draws us out of ourselves.  And not only that, but it seems to draw out the best of what is within us.  Of course, it happens when we have our own children, but it seems different when we interact with a child who is not our own.  Unlike our interactions with other adults, we find ourselves suddenly full of compassion and wonder.  We long to hold the child, to touch it, as if in doing so, we could draw closer to its’ innocence.   We all long to share in the joy of the world that we find in children.  A baby draws us out of ourselves, and helps us to be new and better people.
          This season, I began wondering if perhaps that was the point of incarnation.  Perhaps that was the point of the arrival of God in our midst as a child.  In the reading from Matthew, the child Jesus draws the wise men to his home.  They follow the star and enter the home and the author tells us that they were overwhelmed with joy.  Overwhelmed with joy upon meeting the baby!  And they gave extravagantly to express that joy and affection.  The interaction with the baby drew them out of themselves.
          In our reading from Luke, Jesus is older, and yet he still is a child drawing people outside of themselves.  Jesus is twelve and wanders away from his parents to visit the temple.  The story is laden with the teenage angst that is common between parents and twelve year olds, and yet this fresh faced child is making waves in the temple.  The teachers and scholars are gathered around this child, and he is drawing them out of themselves and out of their comfort zones.  It is an epiphany of new ideas and new experiences for them, all inspired by their interaction with a child.
          Pondering all this, I began to have my own epiphany.  What if it is the incarnation that save us, and not the cross?  I have always had a hard time with the prominence of the cross in our faith.  I recognize the value of self-sacrifice, but I also recognize the glorification of violence when I see it.  Folks like to bring the cross into Christmas, and I am not sure it belongs there.  I am not sure that that was the point of the incarnation. 
          I want to turn things upside down.  I want to bring the baby into Easter.  I want to tell a story of a God who loves us so much, that God came among us to draw out of us the best of who we are.  Rather than a story where God glorifies and condones violence, this is a story where God draws us out of ourselves in true vulnerability and love. 
          I know I’m treading on rocky ground here, and “Christmas Heresies” isn’t a good sermon title, so let’s get back to epiphanies.  That is what I have been thinking about.  The power of a child to draw out the best of who we are, to call us to be our best selves, and perhaps even to save us as a people.
          So what are you thinking about?  As this New Year dawns and we continue to follow the light of the Christ, how is God speaking to you this morning?  Where is a new light shining in your world?  Where do things suddenly seem clear?  Like the wise men, what star are you following today, and where is it leading you?  May God continue to pull us out of ourselves in surprising ways.  And may we continue to have marvelous epiphanies throughout this New Year.  Amen.