Nothing to Boast Of

This message was first delivered at Main Street United Methodist Church in Bedford, Virginia on June 18, 2017. It is based on the lectionary text Romans 5:1-8.

Nothing to Boast Of

“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. My Dad has always been quite the story and joke teller...with many of his jokes lasting much longer than really necessary...he tells one about a helicopter that goes on and on. He can make it last for five minutes with all his details and misdirection – but the joke could be told in three sentences: There was a new helicopter pilot who was showing off his skills to his superiors, going higher and higher as they became more impressed. They were stunned when he suddenly crashed and with a last breath before he fell unconscious, he explained what happened. “It got so cold up there, I turned the fan off.” Dad jokes. I'm glad we are celebrating Dads and all their unique charms today!

As a youth leader when I was just a kid...I could be mesmerized when he was teaching Bible study and would illustrate a point with a great story. One of my favorites was about Charles Blondin, a famous French tightrope walker.

Blondin's greatest fame came on September 14, 1860, when he became the first person to cross a tightrope stretched over a quarter of a mile across the mighty Niagara Falls. People from both Canada and America came from miles away to see this great feat. He walked across, 160 feet above the falls, several times... each time with a different daring feat - once in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, in the dark, and blindfolded. One time he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet in the middle of the rope!

A large crowd gathered and the buzz of excitement ran along both sides of the river bank. The crowd “Oohed and Aahed!” as Blondin carefully walked across - one dangerous step after another - pushing a wheelbarrow holding a sack of potatoes.

Then a one point, he asked for the participation of a volunteer. Upon reaching the other side, the crowd's applause was louder than the roar of the falls! Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed his audience: "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?" The crowd enthusiastically yelled, "Yes! You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. We believe!" "Okay," said Blondin, "Who wants to get into the wheelbarrow?"

You see, they all believed he could do it...but it takes a different level of faith to get in the wheelbarrow.

Today's scripture is about faith. Paul is exploring the impact of Justification. That's not necessarily a term we use enough in modern times to immediately connect to a meaning. So I went to dictionary.com and found this meaning “the act of God whereby humankind is accounted just.” In personal terms – it is to be made right with God. We are justified by faith – made right with God by faith. And Paul thinks that is very important for people to understand. Paul uses the concept of justification more frequently than do the other writers of the New Testament. For Paul, justification was a central truth of the gospel.

Verse 1 in Romans 5 begins with the word “therefore.” Meaning that we look backward to see what comes before the therefore – to find the reason why the next thing happens. In chapter 4 Paul explains how Abraham was reckoned as righteous through faith, not anything that he, Abraham, could boast about. He says that the scripture is clear “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we’re given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. The God-story is about a free gift … an Abraham-story or an Us-story is about how we earned something. Romans 4:4-5 from The Message spells out the difference, “If you’re a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don’t call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it’s something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.”

Righteous. To declare that a person is aligned with the heart and purpose of God. But how is it possible for sinful people to be justified before a holy God? That was the question then...it is a question that many ask now! And Paul gives us the answer in verse 1 – we are justified by faith. SINCE we are justified by faith, we have peace with God THROUGH our Lord Jesus Christ. All we have to do is to believe, there's not an initiation ritual or joining fee.

By entering through faith into what God has always wanted for us – to set us right with him – we have it all together because of Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door for us! Can you fathom how much God loves you?

Let's think about love for a minute...close your eyes and think back to the beginning of your first love. Some of us may have to think back longer than others! Remember when your heart would beat a little faster when the phone rang because you knew it was your love on the other end? Remember times that you spent on the front porch because kisses were like potato chips, you couldn't stop until you ate the whole bag. Maybe older ones can remember waking up and seeing your love asleep next to you and feeling the love so intensely that your breath caught in your throat and a tear came to your eye? Maybe it isn't a romantic love that you remember. Maybe it is the love for a child. Or a child for a parent. Just think right at this moment about an intense, heart-stopping love. Guess who loves you more than that?

A man named Bill was taking care of his father as he died of cancer. His father had become frail and depended on Bill to do everything for him. Although he was physically not what he had been, his mind remained alert and lively. In the role reversal common to adult children who care for their dying parents, Bill would put his father to bed and read him to sleep, exactly as his father had done for him in childhood. Bill would read from some novel and his father would lie there, staring at his son, smiling. Bill was exhausted from the day's care and work and would plead with his Dad, “look, here's the idea. I read to you, you fall asleep.” Bill's father would impishly apologize and dutifully close his eyes. But this wouldn't last long. Soon Bill's father would pop one eye open and smile at his son. Bill would catch him and whine, “now come on.” The father would again, oblige, until he couldn't anymore, and the other eye would open to catch a glimpse of his son. Bill knew that this evening ritual was really a story of a father who just couldn't take his eyes off his kid. How much more so God?

That justification – that making right with God...brings us into a relationship with the one who loves us. “We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.” to quote Paul as phrased in Eugene Peterson's The Message. To be “sharing the glory of God.” Verses 6-8 reinforce the good news of God's love, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” While we were still sinners.

While we are still a mess...God loves us. If we can't accept this love then how can we possibly spread the news to others? It's a message the world needs to hear. It's a message I never tire of spreading. I'm going to admit something to you...I'm pretty imperfect. One imperfection that I'll tell you about is I'm lousy with sermon titles. Especially if I have to give the sermon a title before I've written the message. Which is why you can ignore the one in the bulletin.

I really thought when I read the lectionary scriptures as I started preparing for coming to speak to you today that I knew what the message was going to be...I was pretty sure I was going to focus on that part of the scripture about boasting in our sufferings and suffering producing endurance and endurance...character...etc. So when Rick asked me for hymns and scriptures...I confidently gave him what is in the bulletin today.

Then I sat down to write...and wrote 8 pages! And then the Holy Spirit said...nope. And I knew I was off track. And I had to stop and listen to what the spirit was leading me to say. And once I started over...I kept coming back to love. Unfathomable. Unexplainable. Incredible. And I remembered what I had heard about John.

Jerome, in his commentary on Galatians, tells that St. John continued preaching in Ephesus even when he was in his 90s. Even when he was so enfeebled that he had to be carried in on a stretcher, he would lean up on one elbow and deliver his message, “Little children, love one another.” Then he would lie back down and be carried out. One day, the story goes, someone asked him why he said the same thing week after week. John replied, “Because it is enough.” It is Christianity in a nutshell.

Love is the key.

When I first read the passage I got focused on the sufferings and endurance and character and hope stuff – because I was back in the human experience. It's easy to relate to sufferings. And to go back to the advice of my Dad who would probably tell me how suffering built character as I was doing yard work or trying to hold the flashlight steady on whatever car part he was trying to fix. And I can certainly agree that we can learn a lot from the hardships and obstacles that life throws our way. And maybe that is another sermon for another Sunday. Because this passage is more about a free gift from a loving father.

Paul is adamant that we understand this isn't anything that we earn or can boast about obtaining by our own skills. It is a matter of faith – believing that Jesus has wiped our slate clean and opened the door to a full relationship with God. We just have to believe in God's love.

And then watch out – it's going to overflow! Verse 5 from the Message: “we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!”

Now what? We've got to let it flow onto others.

We are called to love one another. To share love with everyone we encounter – in every aspect of our lives. Because, as the old hymn goes “They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love.” Who are they? They are the people on the outside who are just waiting to be invited in. Invited into the embrace of God's love. I've been reading the most incredible book, I hope that you will all take them time to pick it up...Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit who began Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. The book is a collection of stories from the gang-intervention program that was started in the poorest parish in LA, center of the gang capital of the world. You don't get much more “they” than that.

In this book, Pastor G (as the homies call him) tells about the instance in scripture where Jesus is in a house so packed that no one can come through the door anymore. So the people open the roof and lower this paralytic down through it so Jesus can heal him. Although the focus of the story is, understandably, the healing of the paralytic...there is something more significant happening. They're ripping the roof off the place, and those outside are being let in.

We need to rip some roofs off. We need to go outside and see the people who are hurting and need Jesus. We need to find every way possible to get them connected to the one who loves them – and let them know that he does.

First you grasp how much God loves you...If we can grasp that concept – then the rest is just making sure that light shines through you. Everyone needs to hear about Unfathomable. Unconditional. Love. We need to hear this too. We need to come to the place of accepting this for ourselves. We need to know – we are wholly acceptable to God. And he loves us. Right here. Right now.

Not when we do better.

Not when we get our checklist done: read bible daily, fast weekly, tithe, stop speeding, never lose our temper...

No, we are wholly acceptable. No conditions. Could not be one bit better.

When we dive into the depths of that unfathomable love, then we start to see the people around us differently. And this love thing starts to spread. And this just might catch on.

#blessed

This message was first delivered at Centenary United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia on January 29, 2017. It is based on the lectionary text of Matthew 5:1-12. 

#Blessed

When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

- “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

- “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

- “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

- “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

- “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

- “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

- “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

- “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

- “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

What an incredible insider's view into Jesus' ministry. The heart of the matter – you are blessed. In ways too numerous to count! The Beatitudes. A wonderful passage of scripture that can become so familiar that we lose touch with the message. It can become rote and then it becomes audible wallpaper...if I had read this same list of blessings from the translations of our youth – you might be tuned out by the 3^rd or 4^th “Blessed are” - give it a try:

KJV Beatitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. By this time, I'm looking for check boxes like I'm filling out a form at the doctor's office. Seizures? No. Sleep Disorders? Yes. Meek? Not really. Mourning? Not at the moment.

That's why I love Peterson's version of this encounter between teacher and followers. Because it gives me a different perspective on the “categories” of blessings. It places me in relationship to each of them. And we'll take a closer look...in due course...

But first I made a promise on social media to explain why the title of my message for today is “# (hashtag) blessed” and I hate to disappoint the 2 or 3 of you who might have seen it! I'm going to need to explain what a hashtag is...for some of you. If you already know, then take the next 60 seconds to post a selfie or something.

That punctuation mark that we used to use for pound or number, it's now referred to as a hashtag. The official definition: Hashtag (noun) (on social media sites such as Twitter) a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to identify messages on a specific topic. What is it good for? If you use it, then if someone searches for things including that word or phrase – they see that stuff first. That's the best I can do – get a 12 year old to give you a better explanation.

Now that you know what a hashtag is (selfies down) – know that I searched for social media posts with #blessed. I found a WHOLE lot of sports references. “Falcons headed to the Super Bowl #blessed.” And what were clearly some student posts. “Calculus prof out with head cold. #blessed.” And some great looking food pictures that just don't translate well here... But there were also some blessings posted about that touched my heart: “As long as I was able to encourage/inspire at least one person, then I did what I was supposed to do ❤️#blessed” and “1^st generation high school graduate #blessed” and “two years sober today! I'm blessed to still be on this earth doing what I love to do with the people that supported me the whole way. #blessed.” and I have to tell you this one: “Got pulled over doing 42 in a 30. Told the police officer I'm in a rush because Popeye's closes at 9:30 and he let me go. He a real one #blessed”

Because we have to recognize the blessings of laughter...and chicken...

I used to think that the beatitudes were listing … I don't know … something akin to prizes for particular types of suffering. “Well...if you're meek enough then you'll inherit the earth.” or “poor in spirit? You get the kingdom of heaven!” And for those who are persecuted for my name's sake? Tell 'em what they've won Johnny! Well...they get the kingdom of heaven!” Hey...I thought the poor in spirit got that...

Jesus is describing how his followers (and that includes us) are to live as God’s people in this world—not simply by calling attention to all the many ways God has #blessed us personally—but by “being a blessing for others.”

This was a radically new teaching for the people in Jesus’ day. In the ancient world, just like today, many people believed strongly in cause and effect. They believed that if they were good people who followed God’s commandments, worked hard, and tried to do their best in all circumstances, God would reward them with good health, food to eat, stable jobs, happy families, and prosperity. Likewise, they believed that God punished the sinful with illness, poverty, imprisonment, blindness, divorce, and the heartbreak of psoriasis. Many believed that God even punished entire sinful populations through war, famine, droughts, and other disasters.

If a man was sick, or mourning, or poor in spirit, or starving, or persecuted, it was his own fault for sinning. A woman who suffered did so as the consequence of her own bad behavior because suffering was understood as punishment for sin.

But now radical Jesus is saying it doesn’t work like that in the kingdom of God. It isn’t that we are wrong to feel #blessed when something goes our way. But when things do not go our way, that doesn’t mean God is punishing us either. God’s kingdom is a whole different playing field.

"Let's examine a few of these blessing statements together," is what I thought I'd say next... You see, I was sharing with my sister Denise earlier this week that I was going to base my message around a different translation of some of the Beatitudes. She asked which ones. A reasonable question. As I sat to write, I still didn't have the answer. They are ALL so good!! After embracing this passage and studying on it for a week – it's like deciding which three or four of your nine kids goes to Disneyland. That first one, about less of me and more of God...can't let that one go...I think I need to tattoo that one on my forehead. And comforting the mourning...that's important. Choir singing about the pure in heart, maybe I should include that. And what about peace-making? Isn't that exactly what this world needs today? This congregation? So many relationships, so much hurt in need of healing. But I have to be realistic. I've either got to pick or I'll end up the the Spark Notes version.

So I stopped and prayed and took time away from writing – which is like talking for me. And went back to listening. I said to God – you know my struggle. I'm torn in so many directions. People keep saying “you should speak on this. you need to lead the congregation by preaching on love. Or forgiveness. Or accountability. Or commitment.” And then I have the ME to deal with Lord. How do I make sure that I'm keeping myself focused on your leading? Why is it hard to hear your voice in this Lord? I'm at the end of my rope...

And the cloud lifted and my direction became clear. Belva's message to the children is accurate – this passage has ingredients for a blessed life. And like all recipes...if you leave out an ingredient, then you can't get the best results. My great grandmother was an incredible cook. Not a fancy chef, and I don't remember much about her knife skills – but she was one of those intuitive cooks that never measure anything. Before she got sick, one of the family made her write down the recipes for favorite dishes and especially her baked goods. Those handwritten cards are treasured family heirlooms – but they don't produce the same results that Nannie got. I dearly loved her chocolate chip cookies and followed her written instructions to the letter...but they weren't right at all. It took years for someone to figure out that she left out the milk!

I can't cherry-pick which blessings are more important because they each apply to different aspects of our lives or different people in uncountable ways! It is RELATIONSHIP advice – how we relate to each other in the world and how we relate to God...and recognizing the blessings of those relationships and experiences. Jesus was telling us about looking at things in a new way.

He said, your life will be richer IF you see the blessings around you every day. When you are at the end of YOUR rope, then you're blessed because HAVE to take a step back and turn stuff over to God. I'm not God...and I see that more clearly when I'm humbled. I get to thinking, “I've got this. God has plenty to worry about, I'll handle everything around here. And I start believing my own ego – and I take on more and more, until I'm overwhelmed and unable to do any of it to my own satisfaction. And pride...well, that keeps me from asking for help and then I'm at the end of my rope.” You relate? Sound familiar? And you get reminded that there is only one God...and it's not you, and it's certainly not me.

Jesus said that there was blessing in loss because you have to turn to the one who loves you, who created you, who knows your heartbreak and wants to comfort you.

Jesus said that you are blessed when you are meek. Humble, patient... content... This is where I had to ponder a while on Peterson's interpretation. The Message takes the familiar “blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” to “you are blessed when you're content with what you are – no more, no less.” then you find yourself with everything that can't be bought.

Maybe I had to ponder that for an extra while because meekness is a character trait that I equate with weakness. But I'm wrong about that. Meekness takes an extra measure of strength. Meekness is about knowing yourself and your gifts and being willing to use those gifts with humility in a selfless way. And when you give up the struggling and striving that comes with needing to be best and first and fastest – when you become content then you get these un-buyable, intangible blessings of peaceful mind and heart, the quiet satisfaction of letting go.

But lest Jesus' followers think that contentedness leads to complacency...he follows up with this ingredient: hungering and thirsting for righteousness. A promise that if we seek righteousness that we will be filled...a banquet of GOD! We are encouraged to work up a good appetite for God. He's the food and drink in the best meal we'll ever eat! Sustenance. The food that keeps us going.

His next ingredients urge us to be aligned with the heart of God. To love God and love who and what God loves. Mercy and caring because we have received mercy and care from God and will surely continue to need that. The next verse pushes us further – be pure in heart. You'll be blessed when you get your inside – your mind and heart – put right. We have to let go of our agenda and look to what God's agenda is. What is God's agenda? God wants to be in loving relationship with each and every human being on the face of the earth. That's his agenda. Our agenda needs to be about deepening that relationship. Falling totally, hopelessly and unconditionally in love with God. And sharing the good news with everyone that we encounter – that he wants to love them too.

Blessed are the peacemakers. That's the Beatitude I always felt aligned with. I am a pacifist. I dislike conflict so much that I didn't even like it when the Bradys fought on TV. I've come to understand something though...conflict avoidance is not really the same as peace-making. Working cooperatively is about getting along, sure...but unless we can be honest and authentic with each other, the “peace” is merely covering up the underlying conflict. Mediation is about both (or all) sides being able to express their point of view...agree to hear each other...and then you do the hard work of negotiation. And when you learn to get through the messy process, you are blessed with stronger and deeper relationships.

But the last two verses in the list recognize the fact that it isn't going to be easy. Jesus knew that he was presenting a new paradigm. He was shifting the view of God from stern and punishing parent to a God who loved us so much that he sent his only Son to earth. God came down and walked among us, fully human and fully divine – to build a new kind of relationship. And this news wasn't going to sit well with the people who were used to the old “follow the law, pay your dues” model. Some people were going to feel threatened. Others will just not understand. But when you feel persecuted, reviled, put down, lied about – you're still blessed. The world isn't always going to appreciate you. But if you stand up for God, listen! Heaven is applauding. You're on the right track! Don't focus on the struggle – focus on the reward. Don't focus on the lack – focus on the blessings.

Once you start listing the blessings in your life, it gives the struggles less power. It takes practice. It needs to be intentional. I was in a deep depression a few years ago. I had lost a job that I loved, felt hopeless, cut adrift...at the end of my rope. A friend suggested that I list my blessings. I think that my reaction was the one that my family refers to as “the hairy eyebrow.” I considered telling her to list her....well, never mind my initial reaction.

I opened a new “note” on my Blackberry (yep, this is a few years back...) and started listing things. No format. No categories. Just random stream-of-consciousness listing. Blessings in my life: sun on my shoulders, sushi, my mom, my intelligence, the river, Taylor's smile...

I set myself a task, to add at least 5 things to the list every day. And some days it was hard to think of 5, some days I added 20. And learning to see my blessings was a healing experience. Because I stopped focusing on the things that I lacked and saw what I had.

As a congregation, we have struggles. We feel lack – and at times it seems like that is all we can focus on. Council meetings have felt joy-less as we discuss the shortfalls in money or volunteer needs like Sunday school teachers or physical building challenges. I think we need to climb the mountain and hear what Jesus is telling us about how to deal with struggles. Find the blessings! We think we are at the end of our rope? Then we need to lean on God! We aren't done with our mission here on Rivermont! We've lost so many leaders, especially to age and health. God hasn't left us! We can be comforted in the knowledge that he is still here. And Centenary will work to bring mercy and care and cooperation and peace to the world.

And when we feel like we are being put down or we feel discouraged then we know we just have to stand up for God's agenda. We'll count our blessings and be uplifted and soldier on. We are #blessed and we need to start acting like it. We serve a risen Savior and God is on our side. Nothing can stop us if we are aligned with God.

Note: these were instructions that Sunday morning for an exercise in counting your blessings. As you came into the sanctuary today, you received a pen and some post-it notes. We are going to take a few short minutes for an exercise. I want you to write Centenary's blessings on these pieces of paper. Could be a person, a program, a feeling...no rules... We are going to start today with focusing on our blessings instead of our struggles. Turning from the lack toward the abundance. Steve is going to play a short song while we write and then Lee Boyd is going to come forward for the Stewardship moment.

During the final hymn I want you to come forward and stick our blessings all over the altar. And then we will pray together for the mission and ministry of our congregation. How will we impact our world? With God's help, even the sky is not the limit.

I don't mind telling you that it was one of the most powerful experiences I've had in a long time. I was unsure how it would go – and so I stepped out on faith and trusted the Lord. The song that was played (after I listened to dozens of possible choices) was Matt Redman's 10,000 Reasons (aka Bless the Lord, O My Soul). I'm listening to it right now on Youtube. And our final hymn was Let There Be Peace on Earth. My only regret is that the final hymn I had chosen was so short! But there was a flood of humanity sticking yellow notes all over. The stacks passed to me from the choir took Denise until the end of the benediction response to place. Powerful. Thank you Lord for letting me be a part of this. #blessed

Kingship to Kinship

This message was first delivered at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Rustburg, Virginia and Brookneal United Methodist Church in Brookneal, Virginia on November 20, 2016. It is based on the lectionary text of Luke 23:33-43.

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Last week we began an early look at Advent and now it seems like I'm skipping to the end of the story! But today in the church calendar we are celebrating Christ the King Sunday – so this scripture is particularly key. This is when a political leader – Pontius Pilate – has asked Jesus point-blank “are you the King of the Jews?” And now, as he hangs on a cross that is undeserved, that title is hung over his head in mock respect.

Living in the United States, it is unlikely that any of us has encountered a literal King or Queen. Even if you've traveled to England and been introduced to the Queen, she does not wield the power of a king from Jesus' time because England is actually ruled by a prime minister and parliament (who are elected). So it is very difficult for us to imagine the kind of power that a king has, or used to have. In Jesus' day, the power of a king was absolute. Even if there was a set of laws, the king could overrule the law because ultimately, the king's word WAS the law. Such a person was the only kind of king the people of the time were familiar with.

Kings from more recent history also had that unquestionable power and on a personal whim could decide a person's fate. King Louis XI of France was a firm believer in astrology and yet he was somewhat uneasy when an astrologer accurately predicted the death of a lady at court. He felt the astrologer would be better off dead, so Louis called him to his apartments where his servants were ordered to throw him out the window once given the signal.

First, however, Louis asked the man a question, "You claim to understand astrology and to know the fate of others, so tell me what your fate will be and how long you have to live." The astrologer replied, "I shall die just three days before Your Majesty." This so unnerved the king that he decided to let the astrologer live.

We know a lot about the history of Israel's kings from the Old Testament. We know that the people of Israel begged and badgered Yaweh for a king. And he annointed Saul. And over time, Saul turned away from God and leaned on his own understanding and the influence of the people around him. And as he drifted away from God...God let him. And troubles arose. Saul was replaced by David, Israel's most gifted king. David rose to power when he killed Goliath and he grew up to be an adept military commander. He not only led Israel to conquer the Philistines, but other inhabitants of the Promised Land. Then David's son Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, but Israel declined as a nation under his rule and became a lesser power in the ancient world.

By the time Jesus was born, Israel had been looking for a new David for nearly a thousand years. Israel had seen their country desecrated by the Syrians and conquered by the Babylonians. Solomon’s temple had been sacked and burned. And though the temple had been rebuilt, the kingdom was gone.

Syria and Babylonia were replaced as dominant world powers, first by Greece under Alexander the Great, and then by Rome, under the command of a skilled military leader named Julius Caesar.

By the time Jesus was born, Israel was a conquered nation, ruled by Rome. Israel had rebelled once against Rome, but the revolt had been crushed and the temple sacked and burned for a second time. And although under the watchful eye of Rome, a third temple had been recently built, it was no longer a symbol of national power and pride. It was, instead, a token temple built by Herod, a puppet of Rome, and was run by an ingrained and corrupt hierarchy of Jewish priests.

The people of Israel were not just looking for their long-awaited king; they were desperate for him. Remember the words of the hymns we sang last week? O Come, O Come Emmanuel – a song that recalls the crying out for the promised Messiah. And Come Thou Long Expected Jesus – a plea for one who is “born to set thy people free.” When Jesus was born, wise men came from the East, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” When Herod heard about this, he was frightened because he knew very well that the people were looking for and longing for a new David to rise up and overthrow both him and the yoke of Rome.

In fact, if Jesus would have let them, the people would have proclaimed him as the long-awaited king. They had plenty of evidence. There was the extraordinary testimony of the wise men from the east who claimed that it was written in the stars that a great king had been born in Israel and that one star had outshone all the rest and had moved and led them to Bethlehem where Jesus was born.

And when Jesus grew into adulthood, John the Baptist started preaching that the time was ripe for a king to arise from the people. He began baptizing people to get them ready for this event. When Jesus came to be baptized by John, there was a miraculous sign from heaven proclaiming Jesus to be the one chosen of God. John said Jesus was the person for whom he had been preparing everyone.

But this was a different kind of king than they had expected. And for some, it must have seemed as though God missed the mark. Even in Jesus' closest circle of believers, the disciples, there were those who kept waiting for the overthrow to begin. In John 6 after the miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, the people are ready to proclaim Jesus as King. John 6:15 reads, “When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” We recall James and John asked if they should call down fire from heaven on a village who would not receive Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. In Acts 1:6 – after the crucifixion and resurrection and just before the ascension...they are still asking “is NOW the time that you'll restore the Kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus was a different kind of king. One that they were not used to. It was one more radical way that Jesus turned the status quo upside down. Look at the way he answered Pilate's question in John 18:33-36 from Peterson's The Message: Pilate went back into the palace and called for Jesus. He said, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?” Pilate said, “Do I look like a Jew? Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?” “My kingdom,” said Jesus, “doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king.”

I like the way the Peterson puts it – If I was the kind of king you are talking about, my followers would fight my arrest – but I'm not the world's kind of king. The world's kind of king is about power. Jesus had power – we know that he had plenty of power (and still does, btw) – but that kind of power wasn't what the world needed. We've got chapters upon chapters in the Old Testament about that kind of power and look where it has led Israel! What Jesus brought to earth was a completely different kind of kingship than they had ever experienced. It was the new concept of servant leadership. And a radical idea of how the willing sacrifice of our king would bring about lasting change in the world. Servant king? What kind of crazy oxymoron universe have we dropped into?

I like oxymorons. As a fan of the English language and words in general – the idea of smashing together two disparate words is fun! Maybe you have a favorite: jumbo shrimp, spectator sport, or original copy? I've ridden on elevated subways. Worked in an industrial park. Been to a slumber party. Played double solitaire! I've reported on increasing losses and things growing smaller. But for me...passive resistance and servant leadership are unusual.

Jesus was a radical new kind of king. He told his followers that if they wanted to be first, they'd have to put themselves last. That the meek would inherit the earth. Matthew 18:1-5 defines true greatness - “the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” So as we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, we recognize that we celebrate a different kind of king. I do not deny his power and kingship and all of the honor and glory that should bring forth from us. But we need to note that the honor and glory are not demanded like an earthly king demands. No, that is just our natural reaction to worshiping our different kind of king.

I wonder if the honor and respect that is given on demand feels the same as honor and respect freely given? One of my favorite internet videos is of a charity race in San Jose, CA in 2014. 95 year old WWII veteran Joe Bell sits in a chair on the sidewalk in front of his house to cheer on the runners taking part in a race for the foundation of fallen Army Ranger Pat Tillman. He claps and runners clap back to him. The video continues as runner after runner breaks away from course to stop and shake hands with the veteran and thank him for his service. Joe Bell was an Army corporal who trained paratroopers from Italy to Africa. During his service he saluted and was saluted as his rank demanded. The day of that race was a different form of honor and respect.

The neighbor responsible for taking the video that went viral said in an interview later, “perhaps most amazing of all was that the tributes among the 5,000 runners kept coming. Throughout the race, they came in waves. Women and men would be running down the middle of the street, then, without warning or prompt, one would peel off, then another.” This was a spontaneous show of respect and honor that wasn't staged or demanded. Joe's reaction? “They hugged me and kissed me and the young men shook my hands,” Joe said. “I never knew there were that many people that would do that.” That is the difference between genuine honor offered freely and honor which is demanded by earthly systems and kings.

Since we serve a risen Savior who taught us a different way – how does this affect how we honor and worship him? How do we carry on his example of servant leadership? Are we so caught up in the earthly kingship and bending others to our way that we lose track of kinship? Remember as we prepare for the coming of the Christ-child we know that Advent is about preparing for Christ to come again. Will our worship and service show what we learned from Jesus? Or will we be sternly reprimanded like the Israelites in today's Old Testament scripture?

I'll repeat Jeremiah 23:1-4 from The Message, hear it as leaders of the church of Jesus today: “Doom to the shepherd-leaders who butcher and scatter my sheep!” God’s Decree. “So here is what I, God, Israel’s God, say to the shepherd-leaders who misled my people: ‘You’ve scattered my sheep. You’ve driven them off. You haven’t kept your eye on them. Well, let me tell you, I’m keeping my eye on you, keeping track of your criminal behavior. I’ll take over and gather what’s left of my sheep, gather them in from all the lands where I’ve driven them. I’ll bring them back where they belong, and they’ll recover and flourish. I’ll set shepherd-leaders over them who will take good care of them. They won’t live in fear or panic anymore. All the lost sheep rounded up!’ God’s Decree.”

I do not want to hear that I've driven anyone away from God. I don't want to hear that I've not kept my eye on the scattered sheep. I surely don't want to hear that I've misled God's people. And I don't want to hear God tell me that he had to do my job for me and that he's gathered what's left of the sheep. That means I've got to pay attention to my responsibility as a follower of Christ – to spread the good news to everyone. God loves you and wants to be in full relationship with you. I need to live my life in such a way that I put myself last and others first. And with God's help, to strive to show the world a radical new idea...servant leadership. Kinship.

Kinship is defined on dictionary.com (after getting past the ancestral / genealogical definition of being biologically related) as “relationship by nature or qualities; a sharing of characteristics or origins.” All who walk on the earth share characteristics. When you get right down to it, despite our differences – race, religion, upbringing, personal values, political views – we can find more common ground than disparity. And that is where we begin.

What are characteristics shared by members of the human race? We need food, water and shelter. We desire love, a sense of belonging, community. Perhaps Shakespeare provides a good grounding in Act 3 of the Merchant of Venice, “If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"

We hurt. We are affected by the actions of others, both positively and negatively. We all need to eat to survive – and even though we would choose different foods, I don't think I've ever been in a conversation that had someone say “I don't really enjoy eating. I'd much rather go to the Jetsons' concept of a pill for food.” So we seek common ground. And we look to see others by their true identity as another child of God.

We didn't have enough time last week to explore the Epistle lesson from 2 Thessalonians. I think the key question answered in that passage was “okay, what do we do while we are waiting?” If the message of Advent is to wait and prepare...what are we tasked to do while we are anticipating?

The answer to the church at Thessalonica is the same answer to us today. Get to work! Don't sit idly – there is work to be done! Paul said in chapter 3 of that epistle to “stay away from believers living in idleness and not according to the tradition they received from us (the church planters)” he told them that the church needed to imitate their example to toil and labor. Are we as the church reaching out to BE church or are we content to COME to church?

There is a world out there that needs to hear the good news. They need to see goodness and hope and community in the world. They are not going to get the message from the world...goodness and hope and community don't get the ratings that fear and mistrust do. But we have the example of Jesus trying something radical to follow. Maybe we try something radical too?

We show servant leadership and invite people into the community without making sure they are worthy first? We accept the stranger, the foreigner, the different, the weirdo, the drunkard, the harlot, the questioning...then we let them know that we are more similar than different. And kinship and community can catch fire.

I'll close with a story of kinship and belonging from one of my favorite authors. Father Greg Boyle's book Tattoos on the Heart impacted my life in a remarkable way and I often share stories from it. Father Greg began Homeboy Industries – a tremendous gang intervention, prison ministry and job training program – in the poorest parish in Los Angeles. On this occasion, he takes two former rival gang members as part of a three state set of speaking gigs. They visit Atlanta, Washington, DC and are wrapping up the trip in Mobile, Alabama. A man named John invited Pastor G, Memo and Miguel to visit his ministry in a community in Pritchard, Alabama. I quote, “We take two hours to drive and walk around in what I think is about the poorest place I've ever seen in the US. Hovels and burned-out shacks and lots of people living in what people ought not to live in. Memo and Miguel are positively bug-eyed as they walk around, meet people, and see a kind of poverty quite different than the one they know.

We return to the house where we're staying and have half an hour to pack...I look up, and Memo is standing in my doorway, crying. He is a very big man, had been a shot caller for his barrio and has done things in and out of prison for which he feels great shame – harm as harm. The depth of his core wound is quite something to behold. Torture, unrivaled betrayal, chilling abandonment – there is little terror of which Memo would be unfamiliar.

He's weeping as he stands in my doorway and I ask him what's happening. “That visit, to Pritchard – I don't know; it got to me. It got inside of me. I mean, how do we let people lie like this?” He pauses, then, “G, I don't know what's happening to me, but it's big. It's like, for the first time in my life, I feel, I don't know, what's the word...I feel compassion for what other people suffer.”

The poet Rumi wrote, “Close both eyes to see with the other eye.” See the shape of God in every person we encounter. In this way we embrace the radical new perspective of greatness that Jesus modeled. Greatness measured outside of the human version of success and power and kingship. Greatness measured by the impact we make on the world we inhabit. The transformation of the world as each act of kinship is echoed and multiplied. Christ looked upon our brokenness with mercy, go and do likewise. Amen.