light and darkness

Good morning brothers and sisters,
We're closing in on the homestretch of our Ash Wednesday prayer vigil. It's been a blessing to share prayer with many of you in the sanctuary. I found our Ash Wednesday services a great way to begin the reflective season of Lent. Today's reading comes to us from John's first letter. The letters of John take a little getting used to as the writing style is quite different from the Gospels and from Paul's letters. Once we get used to the writing, they are a real treasure of comfort and challenge to make God's love real in our lives.

In this opening section, John reminds his readers that he knows what he's talking about because he saw Jesus with his own eyes. He also emphasizes that following Jesus isn't just a matter of what we say, it's about what we do as well. I hope John's words are a blessing to you as you continue your lenten journey.

God bless,
Sam

1 John 1:1-7

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ²this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— ³we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; ⁷but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Prince of Peace

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today's reading looks forward to the coming Messiah who will rescue Israel from trouble and despair. The Messiah won't save with military power and violence; instead God's chosen leader will put an end to war. We look forward to the child born in Bethlehem, the anointed one who is the Prince of Peace. As we look forward to Christmas, we also pray for Christ's return and the fulfillment of God's promise. Come, Lord Jesus.
God bless,
Sam

Isaiah 9:2-7

²  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;    those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.
³  You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; 

they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.
⁴  For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders,

the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
⁵  For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood 

shall be burned as fuel for the fire.

⁶  For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;

authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷  His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace 

for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.    The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

talents in action

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Our readings for today are the same ones we'll talk about in worship. In the first reading Paul encourages the Thessalonian Christians to act like Christians and walk in the light of Christ's love. In Jesus' parable we hear about three servants their master entrusts with money while he is away on a trip. Two of them put their talent (a unit of money, but a great metaphor too) to good use and accomplish a lot. The third servant is scared of messing up so he hides his talent. How are you doing with using the gifts God has given you? Do you sense God calling you to something new?

God bless,
Sam

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

¹Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. ²For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!

⁴But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; ⁵for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. ⁶So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; ⁷for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. ⁸But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. ¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

*Sunday

Matthew 25:14-30

¹⁴“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. ¹⁷In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ ²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²²And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ ²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. ²⁹For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

privacy and greed

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Jesus talks today about fasting and devotion to God, as well as the dangers of possessions. Like with prayer and giving to those in need, fasting is meant to be between us and God. We don't fast so we can earn credit from other people for our self-control or dedication, but so we can grow closer to God through focusing on God. Of course, there are also times to share a fast with others; much of the fasting in the Bible is community fasting, and that's still appropriate today.

Jesus warns us not to store up treasure on earth, but to invest in God's kingdom instead. He goes from there to talk about the eye. This isn't a criticism of people with vision problems. According to the New Interpreters' Study Bible, people at that time though light went out from the eye to guide our behavior. In this case having a "bad eye" (here translated, unhealthy) probably meant being greedy. If we focus on letting God be our guide and master, our whole body and life will be full of light, but if we led possessions control us, we will be full of darkness.

Blessings,
Sam

Matthew 6:16-24

16“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.


19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

light in the darkness

Good morning and Merry Christmas!
I had such a great time last night at our Christmas Eve service. Thanks to everyone for their hard work. The choir, bell choir and women's (+1) ensemble all sounded fantastic, the sanctuary looked great and greeters made people feel welcome. What a blessing to gather for worship like that. This morning's reading is the full version of our last reading from Christmas Eve. This passage is called John's prologue because it gives us an introduction to John's Gospel. In 18 verses John lets us know what the story will be about.

John begins his story of Jesus at the beginning of time, because Jesus is the eternal Word of God, through whom all things were made. In his human life he came to bring light, life, grace, truth and a new relationship with God. John sets the stage here with the prologue and then begins the story in earnest with John the Baptist preaching in the desert. This is a great passage to reflect on the meaning of Christmas this Christmas day.
Christmas blessings,
Sam

John 1:1-18

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.



6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.


10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. 15(John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

Jonah, Solomon and Jesus

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Our passage for this morning begins with a woman in the crowd yelling out blessings on Jesus' mother for having given birth to him. It hadn't really struck me until I was glancing at this passage yesterday, but this outcry is very brave of this woman. Yesterday's passage showed "some" in the crowd (and I think we're safe to assume these "some" were religious leaders) accusing Jesus of using Satan's power. In the midst of these accusations this woman dares to openly praise Jesus.

The other thing that strikes me seeing this passage next to yesterday's reading is that Jesus is not phased by accusation or by praise. Yesterday he responded to doubt and accusation with defense and teaching, not being intimidated by the opposition of people in the crowd. Today he isn't sidetracked from giving prophetic warnings by the positive responses of others in the crowd. He responds to what is going on around him, but he doesn't hold back any part of the message because of worry about upsetting people. "Sign of Jonah" is an interesting metaphor here that Jesus doesn't explain much. In Matthew's Gospel Jesus explains a little further: "Just as Jonah was in the belly of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." May our generation have ears to hear the word of repentance and hope.

God bless,
Sam

Luke 11:27-36
27While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” 28But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”

29When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! 32The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!

33“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. 34Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. 35Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. 36If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.”