Reflections on “Advent Journeys: Cows, Pigs, Donkeys, Oh My!” Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Luke 21: 25-36

This sermon was the first in our Advent series on journey.  As I mention in the sermon, it is being done in conjunction with daily Advent items the young disciples will receive and the three/week emails people will receive with special Advent music and a written reflection from members about insights they have had in their faith journeys.  The sermons are particularly tied to the items the young disciples will receive each week.

The sermon went ok.  I'm not sure I used the Luke passage appropriately - I might have made it fit my point, instead of having a point grow out of the text.  Might have done the same thing with the Jeremiah text.  one of the challenges (I have mentioned this before) of preaching sermon series is how to avoid using texts as a support to the theme, instead of having the theme grow out of the text.  

My conclusion was different than what is written below, although I can't remember what I said!

 “Advent Journeys: Cows, Pigs, Donkeys, Oh My!”  SAPC, Denton; November 28, 2021; Advent, 2021 series; Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Luke 21: 25-36

Jeremiah 33: 14-16

14 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.

Introduction:   Michael Lindvall, our Fall Festival of Faith speaker, reminded us about the novelist John Gardner’s comment that there are only two plots to all the stories ever told:  a stranger came to town and someone went on a journey.

The Bible, of course, is full of both.

Our lives are full of both.

this Advent, we invite you to take a journey to meet the stranger who comes to town as a babe born in Bethlehem.  

As you imagine journey, think not just in terms of a physical journey where you travel from one geographic spot to another, but also your own spiritual journey.

An Advent journey in which you will have an opportunity to explore your own life look around the world to discover signs of the arrival and presence of the baby born in Bethlehem. 

To assist you on the journey, each week the sermon will reflect on things we might discover along the way.

you will also receive via email three times a week an Advent musical offering and the written reflections of people in this faith community who will share insights they have discovered along their journeys (if you do not already receive this emails and would like to, please call the church office or email to let us know)

Our children have received their aDvent bags with items to open each week of things they discover on their journey to Bethlehem.

We begin this week by reflecting on what we might see along our journey.

Move 1: Looking for signs

a.  the journey is Advent and the destination is Bethlehem, the birth of the Christ-child.

1. But, do not be so preoccupied with the destination that you miss what you can discover along the journey.

2.  we will arrive in Bethlehem soon enough.  But pay attention to signs along the way.

b. When my kids were younger, most years we would drive through the night on Christmas Eve from first KY than OH to be in TX with grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and cousins on Christmas Day.

Through the years, congregation members would send us on our travels with 

one grandmotherly type woman each year would give my girls travel kits for the trip.  My kids, like her grandchildren, called her “Dodo,” and they greatly appreciated “Dodo’s” travel kits, primarily because they typically involved games and goodies. 

one year, she had multiple bags labels like:

 sign for Cincinnati

Or, a horse.

Or, an 18 wheeler

when the girls found the item labeled on the bag, they could open the bag and eat the treats enclosed.  

My girls became experts at spotting the signs along the journey that led them to the treats in the bags. 

Who knew you could see a spotted cow on the side of the road from the car seat of a van going 75 mph?  

c. Advent is more than a four-week trip to Bethlehem.

1. It is about discovering the God who is already at work in the world as we move to meet the Christ-child.

2.   Elizabeth Achtemeier, who was a Presbyterian minister and an Old Testament scholar, writes:  “If Advent is only expectation of the Christ-child, it is meaningless; what Israel desired was not Christ’s birth, but the consequences of his coming and sovereignty.” 

3.  Do not look ahead focused on the baby in the manger.

4.  Look around to see how the God who comes in Christ has already at work in the world.

2.  Open your eyes to see new insights; open your ears to hear good news;  open your hearts to be changed.

3.  Look out for signs of God’s presence and God’s guidance for you.

4.  Look inward for God’s calling for you now.

Move 2:  Imagine the possibilities those signs bring to  us.

a.  One of the Advent themes we encounter in the lectionary texts is staying alert as we wait for Christ to come again.

1.  The Luke text we read this morning is one of those texts.

2. “Be on guard,” we are told.

3. The uncertainty of when Christ will return demands vigilance in the moment as we look for signs of his return.

b.  the uncertainty is not to make us unsure; 

the uncertainty is not to make us wonder if the God who comes in christ will come again;  

rather, the uncertainty spurs us on the act in the moment, 

1.  To bring out our creative spirit.

2. to Imagine the possibilities.

3.  The children will open their Advent bags this week a  donkey, which makes sense since tradition has it that Mary rode a donkey.

5.  later in Advent they will open a bag that will have a cow in it.  A cow maybe makes sense for a manger scene.  I’ve seen those before.

6.  Then, one day their bag will contain a pig.

A pig?  I don’t remember hearing anything about squealing pigs at the manger with Jesus.  

7.  Reminds me of a story Rev. Ken Bailey tells (”A Role for Everyone:  Casting the Christmas Pageant”  Christian Century, Nov 30, 2012, Rev. Kenneth F. Bailey)

Rev. Ken Bailey tells the story playing one of the characters in a Christmas pageant at the church he served.  

Because he grew up in the Quaker church, he never had a chance to be in a Christmas pageant growing up.  

When he was in his forties, serving as a minister, the kid playing Joseph got sick a few days before the children's pageant.  As the minister who could not say “No,” he was asked at the last minute to fill-in as Joseph.

He was given a costume, a place to stand and curt instructions from the director to “Be quiet. Stay still. Act adoring.” he wondered why they had not just asked another young man in the church to play Joseph.

Then he arrived for the first rehearsal and discovered that the director might have had an ulterior motive for casting him as well

It seems that year a beloved kindergartner had been chosen to be one of the animals around the manger, and she had taken it upon herself to wear a feathery pink swan costume, which stood out in sharp contrast to the traditional gray/brown manger scene. The director expected him to encourage the young pink swan to become one of the accepted animals - a sheep, perhaps.

At a break in the rehearsal, he kneeled down before this fabulous five-year-old and asked if she wouldn’t consider being a donkey or a sheep or a goat. “I’m a swan,” she said. 

He explained that there were no swans at Jesus’ cradle. She furrowed her brows and looked him directly in the eye and with calm conviction said, “Don’t you think pink swans could have been there if Jesus wanted them to be there?”He immediately went and told the director that the swan was in.  

3.  If God can arrive in Bethlehem born as a baby to a virgin Mary, imagine the possibilities for what God can do in our world and is doing.

4.  As you take your Advent journey, open yourselves up to the creative possibilities for how God is at work in the world, for how God might be at choosing to be at work through you. 

move 3:  We also stop along to they to point out to others signs of God’s presence in the world

a.  Jeremiah

1. Jeremiah did not tell the Israelites that today everything will be perfect.

2.  instead, Jeremiah prophesied about Israel's future hope.

3. Jeremiah told them about the God who will rescue them; the who will save them them; about the God who will one day come in the Christ-child; about the God who will one day come again

3. He told them to look for the brach of righteousness.

b. We join in that search. 

1. Look for signs of God’s justice and righteousness in the world. When we find them, we are pointing them out to the world.

2.  We proclaim this truth to “an oblivious world.”  We announce that “we detect God's presence in our midst” (Journal of Preaching,"Preaching Advent Hope," Joseph Phelps, p. 8).

3.  During the pandemic, we have become pretty good at looking around us and saying things like, “in the middle of this dark moment, we see signs of God at work through the health care workers,”  or “through the technology that allows us to connect when we are separated physically.”

4. Look for signs of God’s justice and God’s righteousness being played out in our world and point to them for everyone to see. 

Conclusion: We travel our Advent journey and look for cows, pigs, donkeys, pink swans, and numerous other sights that who show forth the baby born in Bethlehem.

Look.  Notice.  Show others.

Luke 21:  25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Exhortation to Watch

34 “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Prophet Jeremiah

  Nouwen also notes that "waiting is an awful desert between where we are and where we want to be." (John Buchanan, "Awaiting God's Reign” Christian Century,11/28/12).

Reflections on "What I Need from My Church: Christ" John 12:20-26; John 18: 33-38

This was the last sermon in the sermon series, "What I Need from My Church."  It was also Christ the King Sunday, which made it appropriate to have the sermon focus on Christ.  I love the power of Jesus' statement to Pilate: "For this I was born..."  I also love the story of the Greeks seeking Jesus.  If I preached it again, I would make more of the Greeks seeking, instead of just focusing on Philip and Andrew giving them Jesus.  It would have fit with the idea that the world is seeking and the church is there to provide Christ, even if they do not know that is whom they are seeking.

The sermon finished with the choir singing, "Give Me Jesus."  They were terrific, although I never found a great transition to them.  Consequently, it felt like the anthem was more of an add-on than something to which the sermon naturally flowed. As the choir was singing, I thought about a sentence or to I could say to conclude the sermon, but chose (rightly, I think) to add no words from me and instead let the sung words stand as the final word.  

 “What I Need from My church:  Jesus Christ”  SAPC, Denton; November 14, 2021; Fall, 2021 series; John 12: 20-26; John 18:33-38

John 12 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up[g] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

Introduction:  Last sermon of our preaching series, “What I need from my church.   As appropriate for Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday in the liturgical calendar, we reflect on our need for Jesus.

Our need for the church to tell us, to show us, Jesus.

Move 1: “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world,”

a.  Sounds like the words someone who just won an Academy Award might say in their acceptance speech.

1.  Or words a Super Bowl MVP might say before heading off to Disney World.

2.  Instead, these are the words Christ utters as he stands before Pilate being questioned.

3.  “So you are the king of the Jews?” Pilate wants to know (ironically, Pilate seems to be affirming who Christ is with his question).

b.  to which Jesus answers, “For this I was born…”

1. Born to live among us.

2.  Born to live a sinless life.

3.  Born to heal others.

4.  Born to teach the crowds about God’s love and grace.

5. Born to perform miracles.

6.  Born to be betrayed.

7. Born to die on the cross.

8.  Born to be raised from the dead.

9. Born to save the world.

10.  For this Christ was born - an intentional act of God for us.

Someone must tell the world.

Move 2:  Andrew is at it again.

a. Greeks approach Phillip

1.  “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Older translations read, “Sir, we would see Jesus.”

2.  Philip does not know what to do.  Exciting time.  Jesus has just ridden in Jerusalem.  

Heady time.  the crowds have announced to the world that Jesus is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

3. What do you do with some Greeks, some outsiders, who are looking for Jesus.

b.  Philip takes them to Andrew.  

1.  Andrew, the disciple after whom this church is named is a fascinating guy.

1.  He does not have to be the lead dog like his brother Peter.

2.  he does not make bold statements about Jesus.

3.  he does not deliver theological treatises like the apostle Paul will.

4. he hangs out in the background, probably mostly known as the brother of Peter.

b.  But, he brings people to Jesus.

1.  remember how his brother Peter finds Jesus?

2.  Andrew is one of two who meet Jesus.  He immediately goes to find his brother Peter and announces, “We have found the Messiah.”  

3. When Philip arrives with the Greeks, Andrew again does nothing heroic.

he does not make a big scene.

No big speech.

he just introduces them to Jesus.

c.   Behind the pulpit in the chapel at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA, there is a small sign. It is a brass plate with an inscription, quoting the New Testament lesson for today.

“Sir, we would see Jesus.”

Of course, seminaries have changed a great deal in the past few decades since that chapel was built, and the last time I was there, someone had scotched taped an appendix to that quote, so that the sign now read, “Sir, or madam, we would see Jesus.” (https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/we-would-see-jesus-w-pittendreigh-sermon-on-commitment-to-christ-48083?page=1)

1.  Every time a seminarian aspiring to be a great preacher steps into that pulpit…

2.  Every time a professor shares her wisdom in a sermon from that pulpit….

3. Every time a guest preacher, who may indeed be a great preacher….

4. Every time any of them step into the pulpit they see the words, “Sir, we would see Jesus” and they are reminded that the task of the one preaching God’s Word is help people see Jesus.

Someone must tell the world about Jesus.

 Move 3:  our task as we gather each week in worship; our tasks as we engage the world through our ministries; our task as we go into the world is to give the world Jesus.

a. “According to the early Christians, the church doesn't exist in order to provide a place where people can pursue their private spiritual agendas or develop their own spiritual potential. 

Nor does it exist in order to provide a safe haven in which people can hide from the wicked world and ensure that they themselves arrive safely at an otherworldly destination. 

Private spiritual growth and ultimate salvation come rather as the by-products of the main, central, overarching purpose for which God has called and is calling...that through the church God will announce to the wider world that God is indeed its wise, loving and just creation; that through Jesus he has defeated the powers that corrupt and enslave it; and that by God’s Spirit he is at work to heal and renew it” (203-204). N.T Wright, Simply Christian 

1.  In other words, give them Jesus.

2. Tell them, show them, invite them to know the one who saves them, who saves the world.

b.  Show them Jesus who lives among us in the real world

1.  Rev. Daniel Harrell tells the story of his childhood church going from a plastic baby Jesus to a live manger.

Having served a congregation for seventeen years that had a live nativity scene set up in the chancel each Christmas Eve with the most recently born baby in the congregation serving as baby Jesus, with mom and dad as Mary and Joseph and older siblings arranged as angels and shepherds around the baby, I  can attest to why a plastic Jesus might make sense!

in Rev. Harrell’s congregation, they had 3 month-old Trevor play the live baby Jesus. He had an older sister named Mary, who was still adjusting to having a baby invade her world.  She was angelic-looking standing there.

Then, as the choir sang, "No crying he makes," Trevor, as baby Jesus, let out a blood-curdling scream. Apparently, he didn't like the feel of the hay on him. His sister turned toward baby Jesus and shouted, "Shut up." the next year they went back to a baby doll for Jesus. Christian Century, December 11, 2013, Living the Word: Reflections on the Lectionary,." Daniel Harrell (17) 

2. But we tell the world about Jesus who comes to live among and save shouting older siblings.

the Jesus who comes to a world that knows violence and bloodshed.

the Jesus who comes to walk with us through all our fears and shortcomings.

the Jesus who comes to us, even when we do not want him.

the Jesus who chooses to show his kingship by dying on the cross for people who betray him.

the Jesus who comes to love and redeem all of us.

Conclusion:  someone needs to tell the world.

the church needs to give the world Jesus.

Choir sings “Give Me Jesus”

Reflections on "What I Need from My Church: Hope" Romans 5: 1-11; Acts 26: 1-8

As I note in the sermon text, I listened to my colleague and friend Julia Wharff's recent sermon on hope preached at Worthington Presbyterian Church.  Her context was a stewardship series, which was different than mine, but it was good to hear (and still from her) her perspective on hope. 

I had fun with the opening section on searching for hope on Amazon.  I don't think I've had something silly like that in a while in a sermon, so it was good to have a lighter moment. 

I preached a couple of years ago on the difference between hope and optimism, so I did not go there in this sermon, although the idea of hope that is grounded in reality is a similar train of thought.

I probably would not use the Acts passage if I preached this sermon again,  I would probably read the Lamentations passage.

The conclusion below was left out of the sermon.  When i got to that point in the sermon, I decided to just end the sermon.

“What I Need from My church:  Hope”  SAPC, Denton; November 14, 2021; Fall, 2021 series; Romans 5: 1-11; 

26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:

2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.

4 “All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, 7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency,[a] that I am accused by Jews! 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

Introduction:  We continue our preaching series, although it’s almost over, reflecting on what we need from our church in order to grow in our discipleship.  

Someone recently suggested to me that they did not need anything from their church because they had an Amazon account.

 I think they were kidding

Made me curious about getting hope off of Amazon. so I did an Amazon search for hope.

Sure enough, you can find lots of hope-related things on Amazon.  

Here is a sample: 

Three books from 2021 - the pandemic must have inspired writers.

multiple videos, some with the same title;  you can download and play immediately if you are desperate for hope, or you can purchase and watch at your leisure.;

philosophy hope in a jar eye and lip cream, 0.5 oz

HOPE'S Premium Home Care Countertop Restoration Polish and Protector Granite, Marble, Concrete, 8 Ounce, 2 Pack, White, 16 Fl Oz

Hope & Henry Girls' Intarsia Horse Sweater

Mug Hope Ivory

REPUBLIC OF TEA Good Hope Vanilla Red Tea

jewelry at all prices; deal on 40pcs Infinity Hope Symbol Connectors Charms Pendants for DIY Necklace Bracelet Jewelry Making Accessories(Antique Silver) - $6.99.  quite the deal on hope

YOu can drink hope - Willow Tree Angel of Hope, Sculpted Hand-Painted Figure

But this morning we are reflecting on the hope that we need from our church.

Move 1:  We need hope that lifts us up.

a.  hope has movement (This point grows out of a sermon preached by my colleague and friend Julia Wharff at Worthington Presbyterian Church, 10/24/21.  Her husband Dennis suggested I listen to the sermon for her thoughts on hope.  She also tied this point to the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” which I had already chosen to include in the sermon.)

1.  Alexander pope “hope springs eternal in the human breast”  Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man 

2.  Hope is an upward movement - lifts us from where we are to a new place.

b. later in the service we will sing a wonderful hymn, Great is Thy fAithfulness

1.  Based on a couple of verses in Lamentations 3: 22-23.

But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

22 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,[b]
    his mercies never come to an end;

23 

they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

2.  But before we get to this hope, we hear the lament:

my teeth grind on gravel,

I cower in ashes;

my soul is bereft of peace;

    I have forgotten what happiness is

The thought of my affliction and my homelessness
    is wormwood and gall!

Wormwood and gall.  Sounds nasty.  nasty like pandemic, or racial injustice, or terrorism.

3.  the lamenter is in a bad spot; feeling down; the world around is crushing; 

4. But then, the lament shifts as the lamenter calls to mind God’s steadfast love which lifts up, which brings hope.

c.  Church’s role

1.  the church is not the holder of hope because our hope comes from God.

2. But the church helps us remember and claim the hope we have in God.

Move 2:  Hope is grounded in our reality

a.  hope is not some naive optimism that continually spouts everything is great. 

1.  Being people of hope means being people willing to name what oppresses or weighs us down.

2.  Paul points to hope that grows out of suffering.

3.  Paul knows we face challenges and difficulties in life.  He certainly did.

4. But when we point out the challenges, when we point to the gap between the world in which we live and the hope we have in God, we begin the movement toward that hope. 

c.  then Journal for Preachers, Lent 2015, Volume XXXIII, p. 10, “Preaching during Lent in 2015” Liz Goodman shares an image used by Charles L. Campbell and Johan H. Cilliars in their book Preaching Fools:  the Gospel as a Rhetoric of Folly):  

South Korea has the Observatory of Reunification, which sits as far north as you can be in S. Korea, looking over the river at North Korea; one can see the military presence in with training camps, uniforms, machine guns visible; S. Korea side there are also statues of Buddha with his arms open in blessing and Mary, her hands folded in prayer.  Both face north toward North Korea.  

Up the hill is a chapel, with the whole front of the chapel is glass, looking out over into North Korea, the beauty of the land, but also the barbed wire and fences of the DMZ; the pulpit is right in front of the window.  When the sermon is preached, the one preaching the congregation sees the one preaching God's word standing in S. Korea, but the rest of their view is North Korea – the enemy, but also the brothers and sisters of those in South Korea; 

the church - standing in the gap between how the world is and the hope we have in God. 

 all that stands between the two is God's Word; which points to the division and offers hope. HTTP://kidsfuninseoul.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/odusan-unification-observatory/  FPC, Troy, 2/22/15

Move 3:  Hope grows out of resurrection.

a.  We read this morning about Paul standing before King Agrippa on trial.

1.  paul references the hope that he has - this hope in the God who raised jesus from the dead.

2. This hope that is worth being on trial; the hope worth speaking out when told to be quiet; the hope worth changing his entire life.

3. Paul connects this hope with the hope the Israelites had in God.

4.  The hope that Paul now sees most fully in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

5. the hope that Paul has to share, even if it gets him in trouble because the world needs hope that is only found in the power of God to resurrect.

b.  NT Wright:  The deepest meanings of the resurrection have to do with new creation. …it was, therefore, the sign of hope for the future, not only for individuals but for the whole world.” (The Meaning few Jesus:  Two Visions, Marcus J. Borg and N. T. Wright, 125-126)

1.  hope tied to new creation.

2. Creative spirit tied to hope.

3.  Hope grounded in resurrection opens the imagination to see new possibilities.

4. When we claim the hope that God is at work doing a new thing, it invites us to imagine a world beyond whatever it is that brings us down in the present:

imagine a world without a pandemic;

imagine a world without racial injustice

imagine a world without violence and hatred.

then look at how God is working through us to make things new.

c.  Church’s role

1. Proclaim resurrection.

2. Stand in the muck and point to the God who is still at work.

‘

3. Point to where God’s power to resurrect is at work.

.

4.  Several years ago around Easter time, the movie Risen was released.

as you may remember the movie follows a Roman centurion, Pontius Pilate's right-hand man, as he sees the crucifixion and then leads the investigation into what happened to the body of Christ after the tomb is discovered to be empty.

Late in the movie the Roman centurion who is tracking down the disciples has joined them on the beach at the Sea of Galilee where the resurrected Christ finds them (the movie seems to be following the Gospel of John at this point).

The camera moves away from the disciples and reveals a man with leprosy being discarded on the ground, banished from being around anyone.

As this is happening, the centurion has a has a conversation with one of the disciples.

“Did you know Jesus was going to be raised from the dead?.”

“he had told us, but we doubted.”

“Why then do you believe?”

“Watch this,” the disciple responds, and they watch as Jesus heals a man who had been isolated and ostracized for his leprosy.

The miraculous sign was more than the healing in the moment – it was the reason for disciples to have hope - the God of resurrection is still at work. t

conclusion:  Frederick Buechner, A Room Called Remember (San Franciso: Harper and Row, 1984), 32-33. as referenced by Ted Wardlaw in Journal of Preachers, “Preaching Hope in a Time of Discouragement,” Volume XXXVII, Number 4, Pentecost (10):  Buechner imagines a church where he preached as people who were not changed much at all, but:  yet they keep on coming anyway, and beneath all the lesser reasons they had for doing so, so far beneath that they themselves were only half aware of it., I think there was a deep reason, and if I could give on one word to characterize that reason, the world I would give is hope.

They came here...to get married and stood here with their hearts in their mouths and their knees knocking to mumble their wild and improbable vows in these very shadows.  

They came to christen their babies here – carried them in their long white dresses hoping they wouldn't scream bloody murder when the minister took them in his arms and signed their foreheads with a watery cross.  

They came here to bury their dead, and brought in, along with the still finished bodies, all the most un-still, unfinished  love, guilt, sadness, relief, that are part of what death always is for the living,  

In other words, what they were doing essentially beneath this roof was offering up the most precious moments of their lives in the hope that there was a God with them.  

That God would take them and do a  new thing.

the hope that God who raised the dead will lift them up.

Will lift us up. Amen.