It's better to receive

Sermon given at Grace UMC 12/27/15

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Scripture Reading:

^NRS  John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. ⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. ¹² But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

A young man growing up in the wrong part of Houston became a bully. He would get in fights in school, in the neighborhood, and began mugging people to get spending money. He even beat up people just for the sake of doing it. He learned to box, and became pretty good at it. He began to make a lot of money and could have almost anything he wanted. One day, during his training session for an upcoming bout, he heard his mom talking to his sister on the telephone about his favorite nephew. The young boy had had a seizure and now lay in a coma in the hospital. Doctors said he would probably die, but that if he came out of the coma he wouldn’t be able to move his limbs, or speak, or do any of the human functions we consider part of living. He ran into the room where his mom was on the phone and shouted, “Momma, call the hospital and tell those doctors to give him the best of everything. Tell them I’ll take care of all the bills, to fly in the best doctors from wherever they have to. Tell them who I am, and that I’ll take care of everything — whatever it costs.”

His mom spoke to the doctors, and then told him, “Son, you’re just going to have to pray.” He realized then how grave the situation was. When someone tells you the only thing you can do is pray, things are looking pretty bad. Then it hit him. All of his money, his fame, his influence, his friends — none of that could solve this problem. It was out of his hands, out of the doctor’s hands, out of everyone’s hands. For the first time, he was totally powerless.  And for the first time, George Foreman dropped to his knees and prayed.

He wasn’t sure God existed, but he knew that when all else failed, people prayed. He asked God, if he really existed, to help his nephew. Then he got back in bed. A few seconds later, he got back on his knees and offered to give up all his wealth if God would heal his nephew. Then he got back in bed again. A few seconds later he got back on his knees a third time and got angry at God for letting this happen to his nephew, a child who hadn’t experienced life yet. George told God to take his life instead. Let the boy live and take George’s life instead.

The next morning George’s sister called from the hospital. His nephew had woken up and could move his eyes, but the doctors said he wouldn’t ever walk again. She called later that day, and the boy had begun moving his toes. The next day the boy was talking, and a week later he was on his way home, “walking, talking, and back to normal.” The doctors had no logical explanation. But George Foreman knew God had just given him a miracle.

Three months later in March 1977, George Foreman died in his locker room after fighting Jimmy Young. He collapsed in a heap, and entered what he describes as “a deep, dark void, like a bottomless pit.” In his book, God in My Corner — A Spiritual Memoir, George wrote “I knew I was dead, and that this wasn’t heaven. I was terrified, knowing I had no way out. Sorrow beyond description engulfed my soul, more than anyone could ever imagine. If you multiplied every disturbing and frightening thought that you’ve ever had during your entire life, that wouldn’t come close to the panic I felt. …“ I screamed with every ounce of strength in me, ‘I don’t care if this is death. I still believe in God.’ “Instantly, what seemed to be like a giant hand reached down and snatched me out of the terrifying place. Immediately, I was back inside my body in the dressing room.”

George accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and devoted himself to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He realized his human power, his money, and his prestige, were worthless in the next life, and meant to be used as tools to lead others to Jesus during this one. 

Today is the first Sunday of Christmas; a unique Sunday that does always stands between Christmas Day and Epiphany, the day when the Magi arrived to share gifts with Jesus. In the Orthodox world of Eastern Europe and Germany, many still give their gifts to one another on the 6^th of January, the day of Epiphany. Normally I preach an Epiphany message on the Sunday that falls closest to the 6^th and next week we will share a message of the Magi. But this week I wanted to talk with you about receiving. We spend most of the year focused on giving so I thought it fair to focus on the receiving end of Christmas for a Sunday. What does it mean to receive those gifts we were given. Some of them were thoughtful gifts given with love and care. Some of them were even homemade and the person who made them spent time preparing the gift so that we would enjoy it. The gifts that the Magi bring to Jesus are Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Gold is always welcome, worldwide. Frankincense and Myrrh are healing balms that people still use in many parts of the world to heal. We use here as an anointing oil from time to time.

Have you ever given thought to how you feel when you receive a gift? So much of the world has become expectant or even feels entitled that they are owed those things that they receive as gifts. When I was younger life was very different. Christmas meant usually one or two things of value, a stocking full of candy and apples and oranges. We were probably considered middle class in those days and felt pretty lucky to get what we did, when many of our classmates received much less. It made Christmas special in a way that cannot be explained to those who feel this sense of entitlement to receiving gifts at Christmas, whatever they ask for they expect to receive. But my story today reminds us that no matter where you fall on the spectrum of wealth, illness and even death care very little for that status. And so the young man who happens to be George Foreman, Heavy-weight champion of the world of his day, found out that even wealth could not buy what only God can give. Only prayer and belief can do that. So he did what needed to be done, not with any of his money because at those two moments in the story, the money was no good to anyone. He prayed and asked God into his heart.

I want to share with you a statistic that many would prefer not to hear. Since I arrived in June of 2011, I have officiated at 39 funerals, 30 of them members of this church. Now many of you will see that statistic as mournful and sad, some of you may even know many of the names in that number. I on the other hand see that as a gift that has been received by each and every one of them. The gift that George faced the night he was knocked into a different realm and discovered what eternity without God looked and felt like. That gift was given to us by the birth of the child whose birthday we celebrated on Christmas Day. God so loved the world that God gave us God, in the form of Jesus, that whosever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. I have the pleasure of officiating at 25 professions of faith where people have publicly proclaimed their love of God, 25 persons whose future is a future of promise, joy and celebration. When we reflect on this season of Christmas and hear the story once again of the Magi visit next week, let us also reflect on the promise of eternal life given to us by this child, who grew into a man and gave His life on the cross for you and me. That is what this season is really all about you know. I love the song, Mary did you know, which shares the story of birth and gift. “Did you know, That your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you've delivered, Will soon deliver you.”

I have often been told and also have experienced it myself, that when we do something for someone else it makes us feel good. We receive when we give. But let us also appreciate what we receive when we receive it. God has given us a great gift. Let us rejoice in it.

Love Came Down at Christmas

Sermon given at Grace UMC 12/20/15

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Scripture Reading:

^KJV  Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. ² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³ And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  ⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶ And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the scripture tells us that suddenly there was a host of angels praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among the people of the earth. And the shepherds having heard this glorious proclamation said let us go down into the place below and see this thing for ourselves. This is the story of that wonderful birth like none other in the history of the world. Rulers and leaders, important and famous people have come and gone and as the generations that remember them perish, so too often are their memories erased from the collective memory of history. But Jesus legacy continues. Let us say that here we are two thousand plus years later and his followers are still many and vibrant. In him we have the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, not just a single prophecy but upwards to 100. The mathematical possibility of one man fulfilling this many prophecies are astronomically impossible and yet he did.

Some years ago I watched one of the dozens of Christmas movies that fill our television sets this time of year. But this one was just a little different. In it, the main character if you will is named, Jess, the son of a wood-worker. We can probably see where this is going already for those who recognize Jess. We hear the story of Christmas several times through the movie. It is a story familiar and yet different. A story we need to hear and to tell.

The story is a familiar one in that we have hear it and read it this time of year in churches and homes all across the world. But tonight I want you to listen as you hear the story for the first time. God the creator, all powerful and mighty, looked down upon the creation of the world and noticed that the three most important things he had taught it in the beginning were missing. First of all there was a deep loss of hope in the world. As God looked down upon the people of the earth, he noticed that people were growing more distant from one another. God noticed that they seemed to share less and less of their time and the gifts that they had been given with each other. There seemed to be in the world more heartbreak, more illness and more people struggling with every day things. And they weren’t smiling anymore. And more importantly, they weren’t helping each other nor were they lifting their voices up to God. And so God determined that something needed to be done, something only God could do. That is, to bring hope back into the world.

And as he looked down upon his creation he noticed also that there wasn’t faith in the world like it used to be. Oh, he knew that faith had risen and fallen in the history of the world as the people were obedient and then disobedient. But now it seemed somehow different. It was becoming more distant. Every day less and less prayers were being lifted up to him and every day behaviors became more erratic and dysfunctional. It would seem that the meaning of creation was becoming lost on the people on the earth. And it was that meaning that allowed each and every person to appreciate and acknowledge why they were in the world in the first place. If something soon was not done to prevent this flow away from faith, the world might truly be lost and then what. He had promised Noah that he would not ever again wash away the peoples of the earth in a flood. But as a parent he could not sit idly by and do nothing. And so he began to fulfill the plan that he had put in place since the beginning of the world. A plan he had shared with the prophets of old. A plan that just might be the thing to bring faith back into the world!

Paul says that in the end three things remain faith hope and love. And that the greatest of these is love! And we know that God so loved the world that he brought his only son into the world that we might know these three things. And so God began to the fulfillment of his plan. He chose a simple young Hebrew girl. A young girl full of faith and obedience! And he chose her to do something magnificent and yet place her very life in chaos and jeopardy. And he chose a man of incredible character. How else would you describe a man who would marry the mother of someone else’s child and bear the anger and resentment of family and friends for doing so? It’s funny if you think about it. God could have brought his son in the world in a loud and magnificent way. He could have opened the heavens and allowed Jesus to walk from them into our lives. But then, would we have found the three things he needed us to find? He chose instead to bring his son into the world in a place of animals, a manger. And those who would hear about it and see this blessed event were the lowest of those in society in that day. No God is smart. God is brilliant. God is full of wisdom. God chose to do it this way so that we would know that this son of God was for us. God chose to do it this way that we might appreciate and understand God’s love for us.

As we gather here this morning, we realize that it is not about Christmas trees, presents under the tree or even the decorations in this church and our homes. And it was never about the commercial hustle and bustle that we struggled with over the last two months. It was never about “Black Friday” or about making sure that our economy is strengthened by our spending. In a way, those who would do away with the celebration we currently call Christmas might do us a favor. It might well allow us to reclaim what the day which begins in a few short moments really means. Imagine for a moment that instead of waking up on Christmas Day and sharing time with family, opening presents and eating the Christmas meal, we walked out into the streets and hugged one another. We reached out into the streets and gave each other food and shelter and clothing. What would it be like if this Christmas morning, we baked a cake, place the one name above all names on it and as a people, black and white, Asian and European, Muslim and Jew, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus? And in doing so we found hope in the story of love that came down at Christmas from God above. And we again began to have faith in the God of creation, redemption and resurrection. Paul was right you know. In the end these are the only things that matter. And the best of these is love. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Hannukkah

Sermon given at Grace UMC 12/6/15

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Scripture Reading:

^NRS  1 Maccabees 4:52 Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred forty-eighth year, ⁵³ they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering that they had built. ⁵⁴ At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. ⁵⁵ All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them. ⁵⁶ So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and joyfully offered burnt offerings; they offered a sacrifice of well-being and a thanksgiving offering. ⁵⁷ They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields; they restored the gates and the chambers for the priests, and fitted them with doors. ⁵⁸ There was very great joy among the people, and the disgrace brought by the Gentiles was removed. ⁵⁹ Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.

Hanukkah begins today at sundown and continues until sundown on Monday December 14^th. Today we are going to explore what the celebration is about and why we too should celebrate this Jewish holiday. But first, a little Hanukkah humor:

A Tree for Christmas

Admiring the Christmas trees displayed in his neighbor’s windows, Nathan asks his father, 'Daddy, can we have a Hanukkah Tree?'

'What? No, of course not.' says his father.

'Why not?' asks Nathan again?

Bewildered, his father replies, 'Well, Nathan, because the last time we had dealings with a lighted bush we spent 40 years in the wilderness.'

Rudi, The Village Rabbi: A Short Joke to Laugh At

It was Hanukkah and the tiny village outside Budapest in Hungary was frightened that they may not have any latkes [pancakes] because they had run out of flour.

Rudi, the Rabbi, was called upon to help solve the problem. He said, 'Don't worry, you can substitute matzo meal for the flour, and the latkes will be just as delicious.'

Sarah looks to her husband and says, 'Samuel, you think it'll work?'

'Of course,' Samuel replies, 'Everybody knows Rudolph the Rab knows grain, dear.'

The Top Ten Reasons Why

Everyone Should Celebrate  Hanukkah

 10  No big, fat guy getting stuck in your chimney

 9  Cleaning wax off your menorah is slightly easier  than dismantling an 8-foot tall fir tree

 8  Compare: chocolate gelt vs. fruitcake

 7  You get to learn cool new words like "Kislev" and  "far-shtoonken-ah"

 6  No brutal let-down when you discover the truth about Santa Claus

 5  Your neighbors are unlikely to complain about how  your menorah is blinding them senseless

 4  It's like a big reunion when everyone gathers at the Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve

 3  In a holiday character face-off, Judah Macabee could  kick Frosty's butt

 2  No need to clean up big piles of reindeer poop off  your roof

 And the Number One reason why everyone should  celebrate Hanukkah is:

 None of that Naughty-Nice Stuff EVERYONE GETS LOOT!!!

First we need to explain to those who are a little confused about where this scripture comes from. It comes from the book of 1st Maccabees which is in the Apocryphal, an addition to the Bible. These books were in the original English translations and were removed during the reformation because they are not part of the Old Hebrew Bible. They were in fact books that were included in the Latin version of the Old Hebrew Bible that we done around the 1st century to make the Hebrew Bible available to the Greek and Roman folks of that day. Included are a number of works like the story of the Maccabees, the Wisdom of Solomon, another version of Daniel and Nehemiah among others. If you have never read the Books of the Apocryphal they are worth the reading and are included in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles. I have included the reading as an insert in your bulletin so you could follow along.

The Maccabees lived during the reign of Alexander the Great and after up until the time of Christ. There may well be descendants of the Maccabean family still in the world today. Mattathias was a priest in the time of Antiochus IV. Antiochus IV was the son of Antiochus III who was one of the generals under Alexander the Great. When Alexander the Great died, he took control of the land we now call the Middle East which included the lands of Israel. Under Antiochus IV, life for the Jews was difficult at best. He imposed laws that made being a Jew illegal. Imagine with me for a moment that all of a sudden it was illegal to be a Christian. You could no longer worship at a church, they were closed down, you could no longer carry a Bible, they were burned, and you could no longer practice the disciplines of your belief. In 168 B.C.E. the Jewish Temple was seized by Syrian-Greek soldiers and dedicated to the worship of the god Zeus. This upset the Jewish people, but many were afraid to fight back for fear of reprisals. Then in 167 B.C.E. the Syrian-Greek emperor Antiochus made the observance of Judaism an offense punishable by death. He also ordered all Jews to worship Greek gods. Jewish resistance began in the village of Modiin, near Jerusalem. Greek soldiers forcibly gathered the Jewish villages and told them to bow down to an idol, then eat the flesh of a pig – both practices that are forbidden to Jews. All of this 160 plus years before Jesus is born. Some believe that this is the desecration that John is referring to in his Revelation.

In 167 BCE, Mattathias was told to worship the Greek Gods and refused. He was told to make a sacrificial offering and when he refused another person attempted to do it for him. That action led to a revolution. Mattathias and his five sons led a revolt against the forces of Greece under Antiochus IV. Maccabee literally means hammer. Judas or Judah, one of the sons of Mattathias continued the battle after his father’s death. In 164 BCE they were victories and removed the Greek forces from all of Israel. Peace would last for them until 63 BCE when Rome would come and conquer again the nation of Israel. Just a side note, the calendar that the writer is using is the Syrian Calendar of that day. After removing the Greeks from Israel soil, the Maccabees set about returning the Temple to God. They cleansed it of all of the desecration and put back the requirements of God for the Temple in Jerusalem. Once that was done, they again dedicated the Temple and began worship there.

It is here that the story of Hanukkah, which means dedication, begins. It is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight day and nights and as I said earlier, it begins today at sundown. Once the Maccabees had regained control they returned to the Temple in Jerusalem. By this time it had been spiritually defiled by being used for the worship of foreign gods and also by practices such as sacrificing swine. Jewish troops were determined to purify the Temple by burning ritual oil in the Temple’s menorah for eight days. But to their dismay, they discovered that there was only one day's worth of oil left in the Temple. They lit the menorah anyway and to their surprise the small amount of oil lasted the full eight days. This is the miracle of the Hanukkah oil that is celebrated every year when Jews light a special menorah known as a hanukkiyah for eight days. One candle is lit on the first night of Hanukkah, two on the second, and so on, until eight candles are lit. This is the celebration of lights and is part of the annual Jewish traditions celebrated each year. God was watching what they were doing and the candles stayed lit for eight days. Eight days on one’s day supply of oil. It took eight days to get new oil and the candles in the Temple stayed lit until then. Praise be to God!

As we celebrate this Jewish tradition we need to be reminded of the miracles of God. God is constantly doing miracles in the world around us, every day. I believe we should celebrate this tradition to remind us that God loves us and to put ourselves in a place where we expect to see the miracles of God at work. Hanukkah happens in late November or early December and coincides with the celebration of Christmas for the Christian community. God is constantly working in the world around us. God is working in each of our lives. We know that Prevenient Grace, the love of God begins to work in us from the moment we are conceived and stays with us until the last breath we take. God desires us to be in relationship with God. I believe that God rewards those who share in that desire. Hanukkah is an example of God’s love and grace when the people are trying to lift up God in praise and thanksgiving.

We have so much to be thankful for as we continue this journey of Advent. We have great things to anticipate as we march down towards Christmas day when we celebrate the gift of God through Jesus. Let us lift up our hearts to the Lord during these days of Hanukkah, remembering the miracle of light from God in Israel. But let us lift up our hearts to the Lord during this season of Advent as we share in the grace and mercy of God through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.