"when God Comes Down" Isaiah 54: 1-9; Mark 13: 24-37

The First Sunday of Advent brings with it texts that speak to the apocalypse, when God will come again.  Mark's passage focuses on being vigilant as we wait, never knowing when God will come.  Isaiah calls for God to come down in powerful, dramatic ways.   


Some years I struggle with Advent -- should we focus on waiting and preparing, or just move on to themes surrounding Christmas.  This year as we hear from the prophet Isaiah, I am reflecting more on the prophetic, apocalyptic aspects of the Advent texts.  part of the challenge will be to make that theme meaningful to those who gather with expectations of hearing about Christmas all Advent.

As I have done some work on this sermon, I have found the following:


The pondering moves to praising God for being the only God in all the ages "who works for those who wait for him" (verse 4). Divine attention to and involvement in human well being -- individually and collectively -- varied across the ancient Near Eastern religious traditions. This comparative statement is, of course, is a confessional claim not a scholarly one. Their praise honors a God turned toward humans, in relationship with them and working on their behalf. The persons who receive divine attention are described, not surprisingly, as those working righteousness (verse 5a NRSV: "who gladly do right"). 

Elna K. Solvang, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=11/27/2011&tab=1

Isaiah 64:1-9 begins and ends with a request. The first request is that God would "tear open the heavens and come down...to make [God's] name known to [God's] adversaries" (64:1a, 2b). The offenders would experience the terror of God's mountain-quaking, fiery presence (verses 1b, 2a). 

Elna K. Solvang, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=11/27/2011&tab=1

The other day someone told me about a friend who had been asked to preach in the church of one of the famous television preachers whom millions watch every Sunday. On the way from the airport, the guest received these instructions: “People worship with us in order to feel good about themselves. Therefore, don’t mention the cross in your sermon. And don’t dwell too much on sin. And don’t mention the John Birch Society.” William Willimon, sermon "going against the Stream," as found on http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1445

Advent looks to the second coming of Christ, which means we encounter apocalyptic texts that prophesy about the end times.  sometimes the Advent image of waiting seems very distant from the secular approach to Christmas, which generally suggests getting to Christmas as quickly as possible.  but, as I read stories about Black Friday -- robbers shooting people in parking lots to steal the deals that had just purchased;  a woman pepper spraying people to ensure they did not get the item she wanted; people pushing and shoving down store aisles -- it sounded a bit to me like the apocalypse!  

When the Israelites heard Isaiah calling for God to come down, they could have connected that with the story told through the generations about God coming down and meeting Moses on Mt. Sinai.  In that instance, God brought the Ten Commandments for the people to follow.  how differently God came down in Christ.  

The Lectionarieers assign this reading because of Mark’s midrash on the first verse of chapter 64. The heavens being torn open is the image used at Jesus’ baptism and at his death when the curtain of the temple is torn open. Mark uses this image from Isaiah to say that God indeed has come down out of the Heavens and out of the Holy of Holies to be with God’s people. Mark narrates the coming of the Spirit and the death (and by implication the resurrection) of Jesus as the answer to this prayer put down long ago.  Russell Rathbun, http://thehardestquestion.org/yearb/advent1ot-2/

Reflections on "The Power of Love" I John 4: 7-13; I Samuel 18: 1-5

Okay, I really enjoyed the opening illustration.  It was fun to tell the story in the sermon, and it was fun to be reminded of the great time I had in SLC during the Clergy Renewal time (thanks again to Karl and his family for hosting me).  It was also very powerful to feel the mood in the sanctuary when the switch went from laughing at the story to "God loves you."  That silence suggested that it is probably something we need to hear more frequently.

The sermon would have been stronger, I think, if I had skipped the last point and instead spent more time preaching and giving examples about how to live our lives in the confidence of God's love.  It might also have been helpful to note that humility needs to be a part of that as well given that some in our world claim God's love in a proprietary sense that leads to exclusion of others or worse.

“the Power of Love” November 20, 2011; Christ the King; I John  4: 7-13; I Samuel 18: 1-5

Introduction: One of the really fun and interesting conversations I had while on clergy renewal took place with my friend Karl late one night at his home in Salt Lake City.

He and I not only have a shared history of playing soccer and living together in college, but we share several things in common in our own lives now: he has served as a Presbyterian elder; I am a Presbyterian minister. He coaches soccer; I referee soccer. He has two daughters in high school; I have two daughters in high school (plus and extra one in Jr. High). His oldest daughter has a boyfriend (at least in June); my daughters have boyfriends (at least some days!). He is in great shape and runs triathlons; I...well, we do not share everything in common. My point is that we can talk about stuff in the past or present and have a common worldview.

Long after his wife and kids had gone to bed, we were having one of those conversations where you can solve the problems of the world.

At some point, we began talking about what it was like raising daughters. We talked about the importance of figuring out how to make your daughter feel loved so that she does not seek love from the wrong types of guys (two fathers talking late, mind you). Karl begins to make the point quite forcefully that a father must not only love his daughter, but actually show it in front of the boyfriend. He tells me, “you have to hug your daughter in front of the boyfriend.” At this point, I'm thinking who I do in that regard. When's the last time I hugged my daughter in front of a boyfriend? I see the wisdom of his comment and begin to nod my head. As I begin to file the comment away under the category of modeling your love for your daughter so that she can gain confidence, Karl asks, "You know why it is so important for the boyfriend to see that you love your daughter?" Before I can respond with a comment about building confidence, he goes on, "Because the boyfriend has to know you love her so much that you'll come after him if he does anything to hurt her!" Thus the late night conversation turns to plotting like vigilantes against the boys who will date our daughters.
Move 1: We need to know that God loves us.

Let me move that from the general to the particular. You need to know that God love you.

a. not a new thought.

1. Hear it this morning as a strong reminder.
2. God loves you.
3. Do not hear it and shrug it off or dismiss it or think it's for someone else.
4. God loves you and that ought to be life-giving and life-changing.

b. what is the greatest love described in the biblical texts, outside of God's love for us?

1. Many would argue the love between Jonathan and David.

2. Jonathan, King Saul's son, and David, the shepherd boy brought in to be part of King Saul's court.

3. They define their love for each other in the covenant they make that binds them to each other.

4. The covenant goes like this: when Jonathan is in a position of power as King Saul's son, he will love, protect, look after David; in return, when David rises to power, he will love, protect, look after Jonathan.

5.The one in power commits to loving the one who is not in power and then one day the roles are reversed.

b. The Hebrew word for that covenant is also used to describe God's love for us.

1. But here's a major difference.
2. God knows that God will always be in a position of power relative to humanity. God will always be called on to love, protect, look after us.

3. we will never be in a position of power relative to God.
4. It's a one-sided covenant from the get-go.
5. And still God chooses to love us. To send Christ to live among us. To send Christ to die for us.
   d. If you want to know how much you are worth, do not look at your bank account, or your report card, or you job evaluation. Look to the cross to see how much value God has placed on you.

Move 2: We respond to God's love in how we live our own lives.

a. Back to the covenant between David and Jonathan.

1. David is a shepherd boy from the country who finds himself in the king's court.
2. Admittedly, David had courage and some ability as evidenced by his killing of Goliath.
3. But, now he finds himself in the shadow of King Saul
4. David ought to be afraid of of what King Saul can do to him.
5. The logical thing for David to do is run back to the the fields and look after the sheep.
6. Instead, David sticks around Saul's court; becomes a warrior;p continually avoids King Saul's wrath and plots to bring him down.
   c. How can David do this?
   1. In no small part, it is because of his covenant with Jonathan.
   2. IN very concrete ways, Jonathan will protect him.
   3. But more than that, I suspect that just knowing that Jonathan has his back, that Jonathan is looking after him, just knowing that, gives David the freedom and courage to act and grow into the leader God desires him to be..
   d. When we lay claim to God's love for us, it frees us to act with confidence and grow into the person God calls us to be.
   1. We spend to much time acting out of our uncertainties and our need to prove ourselves.
   2. how differently might we live our lives if we were not desperately trying to prove ourselves.
   3. Or if we acted out of self-confidence that did not need power, or prestige or control to make us feel good about ourselves?
   4. I suspect that many of the issues in our world today – both big and small – would become non-issues if people were not trying to prove themselves at the expense of others.

Not only does God love you, but you do not have to prove your worth, God has already done that for you.

Move 3: We also respond in how we love others.

a. I John

1. One of the letters to the early church.

2. Most letters of the early church have a common theme that the author is trying to get across.
3. Peter's letters – ethical living; those who follow Christ should live ethically.
4. Paul's letter – lots of doctrine stuff, but I think we could even ay that Paul's generally is writing about how the followers of Christ work out living in community.
   b. IN John's letters, John summarizes what it means to follow Christ in one word – love.
   
   
   5. not the noun “love,” as in some thing we have.
   
   
   6.  but the verb love, as in, “Since God loved us so much, we ought to love others.”

b. Christ models for us what it means to love.

1. If we want to know how to love best, we need only look to the how Christ lived.
2. On Christ the King Sunday when we acknowledge Christ sovereign reign over all the world, we recognize that Christ's royal manner defies the way most kings we know live.
3. A king at his best may feel some minor sense of obligation to the people in his kingdom;
4. Christ the king loves his the people of his kingdom so much, he dies for us.
5. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "Rings and jewels are not gifts but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson; quoted in Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, John Wooden with Steve Jamison (11)

6. Jesus gives us more than a portion of himself, he gives all of himself on the cross.

100. Season of gift-giving.

1. Look for the perfect gift.

2. the only perfect gift is Christ's gift of himself.

3. how do we give the gift of ourselves?

4. Or as John might pose the question: “How do we love others?”

conclusion: What is the best gift a father could offer his daughter – to love her.

God has already given that gift to you.

"the Power of Love" I John 4: 7-13; I Samuel 18: 1-5

This is a left-over sermon idea from my Clergy Renewal series.  The thought grows out of a late night conversation with my friend Karl in Salt Lake City (my apologies in advance to Karl for how my retelling of the story may differ from his memory of the same conversation).  He and I not only have  shared history of playing soccer and living together in college, but we share several things in common in our own lives now: he has served as a Presbyterian elder; I am a Presbyterian minister. He coaches soccer;  I referee soccer.  He has two daughters in high school; I have two daughters in high school (plus and extra one in Jr. High).  His oldest daughter has a boyfriend (at least in June); my daughters have boyfriends (at least some days!).  He is in great shape and runs triathlons; I...well, we do not share everything in common.  My point is that we can talk about stuff in the past or present and have a common worldview.

We up really late one night (or should I say early morning).  We were telling stories that I hadn't even thought about in years.  We were solving the problems of the world.  At some point, we began talking about what it was like raising daughters.  We talked about the importance of figuring out how to make your daughter feel loved so that she does not seek love from the wrong types of guys (two fathers talking late, mind you).  Karl begins to make the point quite forcefully that a father must not only love his daughter, but actually show it in front of the boyfriend.  At this point, I'm thinking who I do in that regard.  When's the last time I hugged my daughter in front of a boyfriend?    I see the wisdom of his comment and begin to nod my head.  As I begin to file the comment away under the category of modeling your love for your daughter so that she can gain confidence, Karl asks, "You know why it is so important for the boyfriend to see that you love her?"  Before I can respond with a comment about building confidence, he goes on, "Because the boyfriend has to know you love her so much that you'll come after him if he does anything to hurt your daughter!"  Thus the late night conversation turns to plotting like vigilantes against the boys who will date our daughters.

Christ models for us what it means to love.  If we want to know how to love best, we need only look to the how Christ lived. On Christ the King Sunday when we acknowledge Christ sovereign reign over all the world, we recognize that Christ's royal manner defies the way most kings we know live.  A king at his best may feel some minor sense of obligation to the people in his kingdom; Christ the king so cares for the people of his kingdom, that he dies for us as an atonement for our sins.

What could a father do to impress upon a boyfriend that he loves his daughter (to build on the late night conversation)?  God decides that the only way to impress upon us how much God loves us was to send Christ to live among us and die for us.  Recognizing that great love God has for each of us ought to fill us with confidence and a sense of self-worth.  In coming in Christ, God has declared how much we are worth?  We are worth Christ's death on the cross.

I am reminded of a quote I ran across recently "Rings and jewels are not gifts but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson; quoted in Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, John Wooden with Steve Jamison (11)


The I Samuel passage tells part of the story of the love that was shared between Jonathan and David.  As I have mentioned before, this love is based on their commitment of the one who is in power to look after the one who is not in power.  That type of covenant of love is lived out in God's love for us. In the place of power, God continually chooses to look after us.  We, of course, never can return that love in the sense that we will never be in a position of power that is greater than God's power.  But, are there other ways we can return that love?


If you have a story about how you have experienced someone's love for you, please let me know.


Peace,


Richard

Reflections on "A Celebration" 2 Corinthians 9: 6-15; Psalm 145: 1-9

I didn't find this sermon particularly compelling.  The Psalm 145 play with "celebrate" had potential, but I probably should have focused more on that.  Of course, Paul's words are so rich and full of meaning, I could have spent the whole sermon on them.  In my initial brainstorming about the sermon (when I laid out the capital campaign sermons) the idea of celebration seemed fitting; by the time we got to this sermon, I'm not sure being tied to that theme was as helpful as another sermon might have been.

I have noticed that I have been using quite a few personal stories.  This trend began earlier in the fall when I was preaching sermons based on my experiences during the Clergy Renewal time.  I'm going to try and be more varied in my illustrations, although I already know that next week has a story from clergy renewal time.  I have never liked using generic illustrations, but I do not want to be telling personal stories all the time either.   

“A Celebration” Commitment Sunday; November 13, 2011; 2 Corinthians 9: 6-15; Psalm 145

Introduction: Today is November 13^th, which happens to be my Father's birthday. It's Dick C.'s birthday and his son came in from Chicago to be in worship with him on his birthday. I'm not doing quite as well in the son department – my father's birthday card was not mailed until yesterday and the present has yet to be mailed. Hopefully, we'll remember to call him and wish him happy birthday this afternoon (At least when he reads my preaching blog he'll know that I thought about his today).

Somewhere in TX, a celebration will take place with assorted siblings of mine and nieces and nephews gathering with my father to celebrate his birthday.

We know about celebrations. Times we gather to acknowledge that something special has happened, or to remember something special.

Today we have a celebration here at church. Part of the celebration involves making our commitments to our “shining Our Light” capital campaign and to the operating budget of 2012.

But after the Sanctuary service, let the Fiesta begin as we gather in the Social Hall for Mexican food and fellowship – a chance to celebrate together.

Move 1: We are celebrating because we have made our commitments.

a. It's done.

1.Okay, we know there will be some follow-up.

2. Thank you notes for your commitments or reminders if you have not committed.
3. Figuring out what projects to do based on what our commitments are.
4. Then watching as the projects take place.
   
   
   b. Our work is not really done, but we take this moment to stop and mark this time when we have made our commitments.

1. Acknowledge that we are part of this ongoing endeavor to be the body of Christ in downtown Troy.

2. to celebrate that that we have completed a capital campaign

A celebration to mark our commitment.

Move 2: We also celebrate because we have a chance to be the “cheerful giver” that Paul describes.

a. WE read in this portion of Paul's letter OT the Corinthians some of Paul's theology of giving.

1. We do not give out of compulsion, but we give cheerfully.

2. I remember a good friend sharing with me their stewardship story. They had decided on what they were going to pledge. It was a reluctant decision. Whatever had happened in their church's stewardship campaign, they felt pressured and the amount they were going to give was really a guilt offering.
They showed up at worship and the minister preached on this text. The friend told me that they heard “cheerful giver” as one more way to guilt them into giving, so the couple decided to reduce their pledge on the spot As she told me the she said, “The minister wanted me to be cheerful, so I lowered my pledge until I could be cheerful.”
Not exactly Paul's plan, I suspect. I might also add that this couple went on to become some of the biggest givers in the church. In retrospect, I think they needed to feel the freedom to give less so that they could be freed to actually give a quite a bit more each subsequent year.
b. I had the opposite experience during the first capital campaign I ever participated in at the church I served in KY. I had made a pledge, but the guest preacher was so inspiring that I upped our pledge by a $1,000 dollars (without telling my wife, mind you).
1. It really got me excited about giving and put a smile on my face.

2. It made me want to celebrate.

c. I hope that we celebrate today that we have made commitments that make us “cheerful givers.”
1. Givers who have know the rich bounty with which God has given to us.
2. Givers who respond by giving back abundantly.
We celebrate the opportunity to be cheerful givers.

Move 2: Celebration announces God's gifts

a. Typically, I think of celebration as having a inward/personal connotation for the person or group celebrating.

1. A birthday party celebrates the person who is a year older.

B. I find it fascinating that the Hebrew word for "Celebrate" used in Psalm 145 literally means to "pour forth." 

 1. The verse literally reads, "they shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness."

2. That context suggests that "celebrate" has an outward focus to it.
   
   
3. the story of God's abundant goodness gets shared with others.

4. In other words, when we celebrate our commitment to our place where people can gather to worship God, that is not just about us.

5. It is about the God whom we worship and sharing the good news we know about God's love with a world that needs to hear and experience that love.
   
   
6. WE are called to “pour forth;” to proclaim to the world the God to whom we make our commitment this day.
   
   
   Our celebration needs to announce to the world God's presence in our midst.

Move 4: Celebrate that we have this place to worship and serve God.

a. We have talked about the importance of place several times, so I won't belabor the point this morning.

1. But I would note that on Monday morning I experienced the power of place when I was back in Austin at the seminary I attended years ago.

2. We gathered in the chapel for worship to begin our Board meeting.

3. The chapel feels like a medieval place of worship. Really, it feels more like an Episcopal sanctuary than what I would think of as a Presbyterian sanctuary.
   
   
   4. there I sat, surrounded by students I did not know, some professors and board members that I knew, and many I did not know.

5. But in that place my mind wandered to the people with whom I had worshiped for three years of seminary; in that place I was reminded of professors who no longer were there, but whose imprint on me remains; in that place, I was reminded of how my sense of call was shaped by that worshiping community. In that place, I was challenged to look forward to how the God I discovered there in years past is still alive now.

b. It reminded me of the stories of I have heard from ya'll about this place.

1. I hear new members who talk about visiting and walking into our sanctuary or chapel and feeling this is the place I should be.

2. I hear members who have had to move away about how much they miss this place. And how when they think of church, the sanctuary or chapel, the place where they have gathered to worship God, comes to mind and comforts them.
   
   
   WE celebrate that we have this place to worship God.

Move 5: Some of us may not feel like celebrating today.

a. I'm thinking about those among us who are in the midst of struggles and uncertainties and can't find much to celebrate.

1. Issue at work.

2. Friends or family are serving in harm's way.

3. The uncertainties in life make it hard to celebrate.

b. If you are one of those people, I hope you know that when we celebrate today, we are doing so as a community of faith.

1. A community of faith made up of people who are at different stages in their lives.

2. A community of faith that invites all to share in its fellowship, even if you do not feel like celebrating.

3. In part, because we know that at some other time we may be the one who is unable to celebrate and will need others to do so for us.

4. But mostly because we know that we are in this together. That God has put each of us in this place to be together.
   
   
   So we celebrate together.
   
   
   Conclusion: Grandfather's birthday – did not know his actual date of birth; great flexibility - celebration could be whenever

What mattered was not the particular day of his birth, but the people who gathered to celebrate and the reason they gathered.

What matters today when we celebrate is the people who gather with us and the God to whom we make our commitments this day.

"A Celebration" II Corinthians 9: 6-15; Psalm 145

I am way behind in my sermon preparation this week.

It's Celebration Sunday, the day we make our commitments to our "Shining Our Light" capital campaign and the 2012 operating budget.  I have been thinking a lot about celebrating knowing this day was approaching.  Here are a few of the seemingly random thoughts.

1. "Celebrate" in Psalm 147 literally means to "pour forth," which would have the verse read as "they shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness."  That context suggests that "celebrate" has an outward focus to it -- that is, the story of God's abundant goodness gets shared with others.  Typically, I think of celebration as having a inward/personal connotation for the person or group celebrating.

2.  What if you do not feel like celebrating right now?  I'm thinking about those people who are in the midst of struggles and uncertainties and can't find much to celebrate.   Should they be forced to celebrate?  Or made to feel guilty if they do not celebrate?  Can the community's celebration be for even those who do not want to celebrate?

3. how many people on Sunday are going to be celebrating that we are done with the emphasis on the capital campaign and stewardship?

4.  Paul's passage includes the "cheerful giver" phrase that many of us have heard over the years.  I remember someone telling me (truthfully) that they had lowered their pledge because the sermon on being a cheerful giver had indicated they should only give an amount that made them cheerful; so they lowered their commitment and it made them cheerful.  I had the opposite experience during the first capital campaign I ever participated in at the church I served in KY.  I had made a pledge, but the guest preacher was so inspiring that I upped our pledge by a $1,000 dollars (without telling my wife, mind you).  It really got me excited about giving and put a smile on my face.  Perhaps some of us will be celebrating Sunday because we have made a commitment that excites us.

5. Send me a story about a great celebration you have had.

Peace,

Richard

Reflections on "The Gift" Genesis 33: 1-11; Luke 22: 14-23

I am leaving town this afternoon for a few days, so I must post the sermon now or it will get lost with next week's preparations.

The sermon did not work well for me.  After the chapel service, I reorganized and changed the sermon a bit (on the fly after confirmation class).  I believe the Sanctuary service got the better of the two sermons.  Probably should have just stuck with the Jacob story and played with it, but not in connection with the Luke story of the Last Supper.

“the Gift” November 6, 2011; Genesis 33: 4-11; Luke 22: 14-23; capital campaign

Introduction: Next Sunday is commitment Sunday, the day we bring back our pledge cards for our “Shining Our Light” capital campaign and our our operating budget for 2012.

We have been spending the last few weeks reflecting on giving, and this week I want to finish with two stories about giving.

Move 1: First story of giving centers on our Lord's Table.

a. It was not planned to have the last Sunday before Commitment Sunday be communion Sunday.

1. But what a wonderful visual reminder of God's gift that forms the foundation for our understanding of giving.
2. I am not suggesting that our “Shining the Light” capital campaign and our operating budget are on the same level as God saving the world.
3. But when we reflect on God's gift of God's very own self, we see what it means to give a gift for no other reason than to give love.
   b. In fact, God when God gives the gift of of coming in Christ, God knows that the gift will be rejected and betrayed.

1. yet God still gives the gift.
2. In doing says, God reminds us that the reason we give is about who we are, not about what we can get in return.

As we spend this week prayerfully considering what God is calling us to give, we are reminded the giving is about who are and whose we are.

Move 2: Second story of giving comes to us from Jacob.

a. I love Jacob.

1. If you want to discover the good and bad of humanity, read Jacob.
2. You can usually get a dose of both in anything Jacob does.
3. There's a reason that Jacob has been referred to as the biggest scoundrel in the Bible.
   b. In this story, Jacob is giving a gift to his brother Esau.

1. . remember the context in which Jacob offers the gift.

1. he had stolen his brother's birthright.
2. Moved away for many years.
3. He is about to meet Esau for the first time in a long time.
4. I suspect Jacob was feeling rather vulnerable. I say that because if we read a few verses before our passage we discover that Jacob has sent the women and children ahead to meet Esau.
5. Sort of creating a buffer. If Esau is going to be mad, Jacob will know it and perhaps have a chance to escape.
6. Jacob's manipulation always seem to be just below the surface.
7. Since he's not sure how Esau might act toward him, he sends lavish presents to Esau.
8. The text does not tell us, but it feels like Jacob is trying to buy his brother off.
9. As if Jacob is saying, “if I give you these gifts, will you please not harm me for all the harm I did to you?"

b. Of course, Jacob does not say that.

1. When his brother says he does not need the gift, Jacob glowingly tells him that God has looked so graciously on him he wants to share with Esau.
2. IN those words, Jacob gets it right.
3. He ought to give out of graciousness.
4. We may suspect otherwise, but Jacob at least has the right words for why he is giving.
   Move 3: Okay, so maybe you're saying to yourself about now, “Richard, couldn't you have picked a better couple of stories for us on the last Sunday before me make our commitment?”
   a. After all, one story is the perfect gift, and we are not perfect; and the other story is Jacob, and we're probably better than Jacob.
   b. There are probably better stories to tell.
   1. many of them we have heard before.
   2. Some we have remembered the past few weeks.
   c. But here's why I picked these two stories.
   1. Because we are each asked to prayerfully consider our commitment.
   2. that means we turn to the one who gave the perfect gift and ask God to help us figure out what the right gift is for us at this time in our lives.
   3. Secondly, we have Jacob, with whom we share the common human bond of getting it right and messing it up, sometimes at the same time.
   4. Jacob who gets it right when he says that his giving is because of God's graciousness. Reflect on how you have discovered God's graciousness in your life.
   5. But we also have Jacob with lots of different motives for giving.
   6. We have a mix of motives – a part of the project we like; obligation; recognize the importance;
   7. I suspect that our motives are mostly better than Jacob's motives; we know that bribing God or the church won't work.
   So somewhere in those parameters between the perfect gift of God and the imperfect gift of Jacob we find ourselves.

Conclusion: the third story of gift giving will be lived out by us.
Each of us is being asked to prayerfully consider what God is calling us give at this time
We do so knowing what it is like to be Jacob, who has mixed motives for giving.
We do so in the assurance that God has given to us the gift of Christ.

Amen.

"The Gift" Luke 22: 14-23; Genesis 33: 5-11

We celebrate our Lord's Supper this Sunday, which is also the Sunday before Commitment Sunday for our capital campaign.  I have been reflecting on how God's gift of Christ sets the stage for all the gifts we return to God.

I am cautious about this sermon because I do not want it to become "God sent Jesus to die as a gift, so we should give to the capital campaign."  That seems manipulative. I remember being at a youth conference and the leader ended the conference with this emotional (thumping on the guitar for each nail strike), powerful, telling of Christ's crucifixion before suggesting that how the youth lived was directly tied to Christ's death.But I also think that God's gift of Christ ought to speak to us when we consider giving.   Part of me wants to note in the sermon that potential to manipulate; part of me think that I should not name that concern as it might distract from the sermon.  I'd be curious is anyone has a feeling one way or another.

We are also reading the passage in Genesis where Jacob is being greeted by his brother Esau (from whom he stole the family birthright).  Jacob nervously gives gifts to Esau because he is so excited to see his brothers face and because God has so graciously blessed him.  I think Jacob's reasoning is sound, but I suspect that Jacob was speaking of the gifts in glowing ways, when what he really meant was, "if I give you these gifts, will you please not harm me for all the harm I did to you?" (Richard's interpretation based on Jacob's history!).  The story made me think about Jacob giving a gift for the wrong reason (maybe), but it was still the right gift.  And Esau receiving the gift, regardless of the motive.  Not sure how that fits, but it is running through my mind as I prepare the sermon.

I heard this Erma Bombeck quote at the Session meeting:  "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say ' I used everything you gave me' ".

I'm not sure if it will make it into the sermon, but it resonated with me.

Peace,

Richard