Jan 20, 2019                        Wine of God’s Forgiveness                         

         It had not been the greatest of weddings, and now, the reception wasn’t going all that well either. The bride was off in the bathroom, and the groom was over by the bar with his buddies, not sure what to do. And the families of the couple, had changed most of the name cards on the tables, so that they could all sit with their own family. The dance floor served as neutral territory between them.

         It had all started months earlier, when the couple announced their engagement to one another, their parents seemed to be happy for them, but they seemed so young, and from two very different backgrounds. Over the next few months, the parents met each other, and for whatever reason, took a disliking to one another. Since this was the first marriage for both families, there were a lot of demands made on the couple, about which church should provide the ceremony, which venue should host the reception, who should be bridesmaids and groomsman, and so on down the list.

         The rehearsal didn’t go all that well, one of the bridesmaids kept questioning the priest about the order of the service. The parents hardly said a word to each other, and a third of the wedding party, didn’t get their until the rehearsal was just about over. But, somehow the wedding went off without a hitch the next day, but there was a definite chill in the air, and when the bride and groom got to the reception, well, things weren’t much better.

         It was at this point, that the father of the bride got up, went to the bar and got a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He walked across the dance floor to the father of the groom and asked it they could have a drink together. They both sat down and began to talk, and as they talked, they both realized they loved their kids, and if this marriage was going to work, they had to lay aside the slights and hurts and differences between them, and become one family. By the time they finished the bottle, they were telling stories and family histories to one another, and the mothers of the bride and groom were sharing pictures.

         No, it wasn’t the greatest wedding ever, but the reception ended up going quite well.

         Now I have never had a wedding completely like this, I kind of borrowed bits and pieces from about a dozen of my more troubled weddings. But at a couple of them, I did see the fathers of the bride and groom, or the mothers of the bride and groom, or at least, members of the family, realize that they had to make an effort to get along, and be a family, for the sake of their kids. And part of that effort, was to practice forgiveness, and seek reconciliation.

         There are a lot of things to focus on in our gospel lesson this morning, but one of the main themes in the passage is about the forgiveness of sins. Those six jars that are mentioned in the passage are jars of purification, for the washing away of sin, in preparation for the meal. It is from these jars that the wine comes, to wash away the sins of those gathered for the celebration so that they may enter into a new relationship, a new family through the work of Jesus Christ. Finally, Jesus speaks to his mother about this not being the moment of his glory. That glory of course being when his body is broken in love for us on the cross, and his blood is poured out for our forgiveness.

         Now as I mentioned in our confession of sin this morning, the world considers forgiveness to be some form of weakness. And so we are called by the world to be unforgiving, to never give in, and in doing so, we continue to create trouble for ourselves and divisions all around us. Without forgiveness, sin in our lives grows and grows into an unending cycle of chaos, and violence. So it is fitting, that in his first miracle, in the gospel of John, Jesus goes straight to the heart of the problem, our inability to forgive one another, and shares with those at the Wedding of Cana, the wine of God’s forgiveness, that can make all things new, and gather us all together as a part of God’s family.

         And through faith in Jesus Christ, He can do all that for you in your life as well. And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jan 13, 2019                   Come, Holy Spirit                               

In his book, Craddock Stories, celebrated preacher Fred Craddock tells of an evening when he and his wife were eating dinner in a little restaurant in the Smokey Mountains. A strange and elderly man came over to their table and introduced himself, and said he had a story to share. 
My mother was not married, and the shame the community directed towards her was also directed towards me. Whenever I went to town with my mother, I could see people staring at us, making guesses about who my daddy was. At school, I ate lunch alone. In my early teens, I began attending church, but always left before someone would ask me what a boy like me was doing in church. One day, before I could leave, I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was the minister. He looked closely at my face and I knew that he also was trying to guess who my father was, "Well, boy, you are a child of..., boy, you are a child of God. Yes, I see a striking resemblance." Then he swatted me on the bottom and said, 'Now go claim your inheritance.' I left the church that day a different person, in fact is was the beginning of my life. 
Dr. Craddock recalls that after the elderly man left, he asked the waitress if she knew who the man was, and she answered, "that was Ben Cooper, he served two terms as the governor of Tennessee."
Every year, on the first Sunday after Epiphany, we celebrate the baptism of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Last year, on this Sunday, I spoke about how three things are going on in Baptism: 1. God claims us 2. God's congregation claims us. 3. We claim God. This year, I would like to focus on that last one, claiming God and what that means for our lives. 
 To claim God means that there is a fundamental and intentional change in our lives on our part. Our lives are no longer our own, but they are to be lived for God and God’s purposes, trusting and believing that what God wants for us, is the best life of all.

Claiming God calls us to discern the difference between the ways of men, and the ways of God. The ways of men are fearful and self-serving, while the ways of God are faithful and are concerned for the best interests of others as well as ourselves.

Claiming God calls us to choose God’s ways for the living of our lives, making decisions in our lives that are based not just on God’s love for us, but on God’s love for all. When we make decisions based only on what is in our best interests, we are open to sin entering our lives, but when we make decisions based on what is best for all, there is salvation.   

Claiming God means accepting God’s forgiveness that wipes away the past, and leads us to live anew. How many of us have gone astray in our lives, how many of us look back to our past and allow those mistakes or the mistakes of others define us. Claiming God washes away those sins, takes away our excuses, or the blaming of others, and calls us to accept responsibility for our lives – and live looking not toward the past but the future.
And finally, claiming God calls us to act in ways that express our faith and God’s presence in our lives. Faith without works is a dead faith. Claiming God is not an intellectual enterprise, it means that we practice God’s love in our lives, and part of that practice means being a part of a community and fellowship that gathers to worship God. For in the very act of worshiping God, we are proclaiming the gospel to the world

Jan 6, 2018               Two Kingdoms                                         

Friday Night, I watched the movie, “Chocolat.” It is the story of a woman who is a chocolatier, who moves to a new town and opens a Chocolate shop.

Now the town is run by the Mayor, who is very religious, and does not like that this woman has opened a chocolate shop during lent. And so he exercises his control over the citizens, and even the church, to dissuade anyone from patronizing her business.

But, somehow the woman has a gift for inviting, welcoming, and knowing just what people want, and need. So that though business is not great, she makes enough to get by, and along the way she gives hope, strength, reconciliation, and love to the people who come to her shop.

Ultimately, the Mayor is so alarmed by the woman and her chocolate shop, that he tells one of the citizens he is close to, that something must be done, and that citizen goes out and sets a gasoline fire that almost kills the woman’s daughter.

Because of this event the woman decides to leave town, just as she has done in the last 4 towns, being run out by those who are afraid of strangers, and make life difficult for her. But just as she is about to leave, she walks past the room where she makes her chocolate, and finds her customers, some who she has taught to make chocolate, making chocolate in order to keep the shop open even if she leaves. They have become a new community, through her service to them.

In the end, the mayor is so filled with rage, he breaks into the shop, and starts to destroy the chocolate creations, and is caught in the process, and the woman stays in the town, having found a home at last.

I know this may not be the greatest way to come at our gospel lesson this morning. But I do know that the gospel of Matthew describes for us a battle between two kingdoms, the kingdom of men and the kingdom of God. In that same way, the movie Chocolat describes a battle between the rule of the mayor over the townspeople, and the community created by the chocolatier. The mayor uses rumor, fear and defamation of the woman to keep people away from her shop. He even edits the local priest’s sermons to suggest that the woman is a servant of the devil, and to remind the church goers that real religion is about reframing from evil – specifically what he determines is evil. All the while, he becomes more and more fearful, as he sees himself losing control.

On the flip side, we see the chocolatier freeing a woman from an abusive relationship, welcoming strangers to the community, reconciling a grandmother and son, and renewing love for a couple that had lost it. Real religion for the chocolatier, comes not in what we reframe from doing, but in the ways in which we care for those in need.  It is in these acts of compassion for one another, that we recognize the true King, Jesus Christ, as a shepherd, not a tyrant.  And that’s the conclusion which Matthew wants us to draw from his stories about Herod in the gospel.

You see, fear causes not only destruction, but even more devastating - in-action, apathy, and oppression. While love causes us to act in ways that lead to healing, reconciliation, a new community, and the kingdom of heaven in our lives. I know that there is plenty of fear in the world today, but I would encourage you, to live not in the kingdom of fear, but to act in ways that bring about the kingdom of God’s love in your lives, and especially in the lives of those in need around you. I think that’s what it means to “go home by another way” as the Wisemen did on that first Epiphany. Going home by another way, leads to a true home, where love is found. And that’s the good news of Jesus Christ!   

Dec. 30, 2018                  My Father’s House                                               

Obedience is a dirty word in our society. Somehow we feel that being obedient lessens us, deprives us of our freedoms and rights, and so as young people grow up, they rail against obedience, and some spend their entire lives doing the same. But sometimes obedience is a good thing, sometimes it can set boundaries for us that help us focus, grow into maturity, and open the door to life.  And that’s the message I believe our gospel lesson is teaching us this morning. Especially when it means obedience to God.

I remember growing up that I had the same kind of trouble with being an obedient son. Set up study times for school and homework at home? forget that! That is until my grades in high school were in the tank. Come home before midnight? Why should I do that? Until a drunk plowed into my car and I realized it was safer to not be on the roads late at night Get my chores done early on the weekend, so I am not doing them Sunday night? Who wants to do that?  Until my parents made me stay home from a Sunday party because my chores weren’t done. Show up for work ahead of time ready to work? I’ll get there when I get there – that is until I got fired for not being on time from my first job. – Well, that one didn’t actually happen, just used it as an example, but I hope by now you are getting my message, obedience, can be a good thing! It can help one avoid a lot of painful, and troublesome experiences. 

Throughout the gospel stories of Jesus birth we find one example of obedience to God after another. We find an obedient Zechariah faithfully perfoming his duties. We find an obedient Mary, accepting in humility her role as Jesus mother. We find an obedient Joseph doing what God directs him to do in a dream. We find obedient Kings who being warned in a dream do not return to Herod. We find an obedient Mary and Joseph observing all the rituals of their religion, and be find them again, obediently bringing Jesus to the temple for his bar mitzvah, and finally we hear about Jesus who obeys his parents, and grows in wisdom and stature and human favor. And each time, we find these people being obedient to God, we see God overcoming another obstacle in their lives!

Now, I realize the name of my sermon this morning is “My Father’s House”, and that’s the direction I was headed this week, until the passing of Della Rohrer. That event reminded me of the days, when people didn’t think that obedience to authority, one’s parents, and even God was not such a bad thing. Obedience was how one learned how to live, how to behave, how to have a better life.

It may not always have been the most fun, but it also avoided a whole bunch of problems that people get themselves in today. It helped people to, as our gospel lesson says, “increase in wisdom, and grow in divine and human favor.” And as I wrote Della’s eulogy, it reminded me what a full life people had during those times, and that their obedience taught them to overcome the challenges of life that face them.

So back to “My Father’s House”. The first step in learning obedience, or at least discerning when it is appropriate to be obedient, is devotion to God, specifically the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ!  And that only comes when we gather for worship to hear God’s Word proclaimed. It only happens when we practice God’s love and faithfulness in our fellowship and life together. That only happens when we devote ourselves to God’s house and to God’s mission in the world.

And that reminds me of just one other thing. There’s a line in the song, “O Holy Night” that’s been jangling around in my head the last few days. It goes like this: “A thrill of hope a weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” As we approach the new year and we wonder how we will renew our lives, and renew our church, it reminds me that renewal only comes through dedication, a renewed level a dedication to God’s will for our lives, and for the work of God’s house! For therein lies a new and glorious morn!

And that’s the good news of Jesus Christ! 

Dec. 29, 2018       Della Rohrer                                                                         

Della Rohrer, 102, of Sheridan Illinois passed away Monday December the 24, 2018 at her home with her family by her side. She was born August 19, 1916 in Mission township the daughter of Daniel and Livie (voga) Twait. She was baptized and confirmed at the Fox River Lutheran Church in Norway, Il. She married Burton A. Rohrer on January 4, 1936 at the church parsonage in Newark, Il. Della was not just a housewife, she was also a farmer. When Burton’s family farm was passed on to them, Della put in plenty of time in the fields to help out. Even in the last few years, Della would be looking out the window, thinking about planting times, harvest times, crops, machinery, and what work was going on in the fields around her. In later years, when her help was not so desperately needed, she found herself work at the Sandwich Hospital, working as the Supervisor for the Housekeeping department for 18 years.

Della was a spiritually strong woman. She faced life’s challenges and met them head on. She did not whine or complain about her lot in life, but took the cards she was dealt in life and played them well. Like Lady Wisdom, Della laid a solid foundation for her house, her children, and family. And not only did she lay that foundation at home, but she also went into the community and served as well, with the FHA chapter, the Boy Scouts, the Community Chest, Sons of Norway and other organizations. And when I say served, I meant she was not one of those who needed to be a leader, but who helped wherever she could.

Della also served in her church. She became a member of her husband’s home church, Union Congregational in the 1950’s. As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ - she was a servant, volunteering to help with many an activity, be it baking, helping to clean the church, being a member of the Sunshine Band, or finding some other way to serve. And she was faithful and devoted in her attendance and participation in the life of the church.

Della’s faith was strong. She was in her teens when the depression hit. It was a time when people did not have the abundance of things and activities that distract and lead people astray. In those days, people found order, discipline, and meaning through the church. Indeed the church was the center of community and social activities for many in that time. Old Time Religion for Della meant the basics, attending worship, serving those in need, faith in times of trouble, and seeking God’s presence in prayer. The last time I visited her and took her communion, she mentioned how God’s presence had sustained her and was still sustaining her in the midst of her illness.

As the years passed, again like Lady Wisdom, Della rejoiced in the fruit that her life and faith bore. She loved her interactions with children, and grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved gathering with family and relatives of all sorts, and many a time, she would adopt friends and others as unofficial members of her family, and of course she loved being with her church family. Again, a beautiful statement of her Christian faith. While we are sad at her passing, it’s tough to be sad about how great a blessing Della was to those in her family, her community, and her church. And it’s tough to be sad about such a long and wonderful life.

Finally, let’s talk about the resurrection! Paul’s proof of the resurrection, to the Corinthian church lies in what he calls the first fruits of the resurrection. The remembrance of those wonderful Christ like qualities of those who have passed being raised in us for the living our lives. As we gather to worship the risen Christ, as we gather to hear the gospel each week, we are engaging in that act of remembrance, and we are reminded again of those wonder people like Della, who laid a foundation for our lives, and have shown us the way to life eternal. For as they are alive in us, we can be assured that they have been raised unto heaven above. And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ! 

Dec. 24, 2018            Light in the Darkness                                          

Sunday evening, after I got home from visiting, I watched one of my favorite religious movies, “King of Kings”. Now it has been a while since I last saw it, so I was interested in what new things I would find in it that I hadn’t noticed before, and I wasn’t disappointed.

This time, I noticed all of the different agenda’s of the characters. The agenda of the Romans to enforce their rule at the point of a sword. The agenda of Herod to live in luxury and pleasure. The agenda of the chief priests to maintain their religious monopoly. The agenda of the zealots to violently overthrow the romans. And through it all, we have Jesus, calling disciples, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, forgiving sinners, and proclaiming the kingdom of heaven. A kingdom unlike any other kingdom upon the earth, one in which there is peace, justice, mercy, faith, and love.

Of course, the romans only care if Jesus disturbs the peace, Herod only cares if Jesus will entertain him, the priests only care if Jesus threatens their monopoly, and the Zealots only care if Jesus will turn his followers over to their cause. Each of them look at Jesus through the lens of how he can help or hurt or be used by them, and so, their eyes are dark, they are blind to what he is doing, and they cannot see the light that is within him.

So what is Jesus doing? He is offering all of humanity an alternative to the ways of sin and death that make up the world. He is telling us that peace does not have to come at the end of a sword or spear. He is telling us that life isn’t solely about wealth and pleasure. He is telling us that we do not have to pay a price for forgiveness in order to turn from sin. He is telling us that those who take up the sword, shall perish by it. And finally, He is telling us that the power of God’s love in human life, can create an entirely new life, and a new world in which to live. A life of peace, safety, and security, a world where no one needs to be afraid, a world without hunger, injustice, and violence.

Now the Romans, the Herods, the Priests, and the Zealots, all think that the message of Jesus is a lot of talk, a lot of Words, he doesn’t have their power to make any of his kingdom to become true. Ah, but he does…, Jesus has the power of the Word, to enlighten the eyes of those living in darkness, to give understanding to those who are confused, to give hope to those who are hopeless, to bring peace to the lives of those who are afraid, to change the lives of those who have gone astray.

Jesus has the power of the Word to help people imagine a better life and a better world in which to live. The power of that Word draws people to him, creates disciples, followers, and draws the masses. The power of that Word in which people live as if the kingdom of God was present among them, despite the powers of the world around them. And so when that cross is raised on Calvary, all who heard that Word recognized it’s truth, that if we live according to the ways of the World, then we condemn ourselves to an endless cycle of sin, suffering, and death. But if we turn from our worldly ways, then indeed Christ will rise and be present with us, and the kingdom of God shall come into being among us.

Skip forward two thousand years, and we find ourselves with all the same familiar worldly characters, all pushing their agenda’s, and all inviting us to join them in their causes. And when we give into them, when we choose to make our lives all about power, pleasure, control, and violence, we may tell ourselves that’s the way the world works, but our sins multiply, our sufferings grow, and the fear of death hangs constantly over us. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Skip back two thousand years, and we find that Word of God was born among us. That the Word of God came and enlightened our eyes. That the Word of God brought a new way of life into being. And despite the powers of the world, the world could not overcome the Word. And despite the darkness of the world, that darkness could not overcome the light - that was born in Jesus Christ. 

Dec. 23, 2018                        Love                                                    

One of my favorite love stories is “The Gift of the Magi” written by O. Henry in 1905. It is the story of Jim and Della a young couple, with very little money, on Christmas Eve. Jim’s prize possession is a pocket watch he got from his grandfather, and Della’s prize possession is her long thick shining hair. The story goes that Della goes out in the morning on Christmas Eve to find a watch chain for Jim’s watch, and finds that it will cost $21. She looks in her hand and counts out $1.87 in change, realizing it is far to little. Then she gets an idea, she goes to the local hairdresser, and sells her hair for $20, and buys the watch chain.

As she sits waiting at home for Jim to come back from work, Della worries that Jim will not find her attractive with short hair. And indeed, when Jim does get home, he stops short at the sight of her, but does not mentioning anything. To ease the tension, Della suggests they exchange their Christmas presents, and she gives Jim a package, which he unwraps to find the watch chain. Della explains to Jim that she sold her hair to get the chain, and assures him that her hair will grow back.

At this Jim, pulls a package out of his coat and Della unwraps it to find a set of tortoise shell combs to put in her hair, and Jim explains that he pawned his watch in order to get the combs he saw Della admiring in the local hairdressers shop. Ironically, while Jim and Della are now left with gifts that neither can use, they realize how far they are willing to go to show their love for one another, and that is more wonderful than any gift could ever be.

 Another movie I watched recently said it this way, “Love, real love only occurs in our lives, when we love someone more than we love ourselves” That is the beauty of the story, the Gift of the Magi. In our world today, we are often told that loving someone else more than we love ourselves is foolishness, and that we must make others respect us, and that means meeting our needs first before we should give of ourselves in return, counting the good or bad things they do and trying to match it, lest we be treated like a doormat. But this is not love. 

In the book that I use for pre-marital counseling, love is found in the little things, knowing one’s partner, knowing what they like or don’t, doing the things that will make them happy. In short, loving your partner more than you love yourself. This is what love is, and how you can show it in your life.

So what does this have to do with Mary’s Song of Love this morning that we find in our gospel lesson? Mary’s song is celebration of the fufillment of God’s promises to humankind. The powerful will be brought down, and the weak will be lifted up, the hungry will be fed, the thirsty shall drink, there will be justice and righteousness and mercy for all. This is Luke’s version of what John wrote in his gospel. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Believes in him, means believes in God’s divine love, and that means in the little things. Caring for the poor, the stranger, the foreigner, the lost, and the sinner. Doing the little things, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, find work for the unemployed, care for the sick, the dying, and the grieving, demanding justice for all and showing mercy to all. That is righteousness! Not a righteousness of tit for tat, or of the law, but a righteousness of love, God’s divine love in human life.

And that is what we celebrate each Christmas, the birth of that divine love into our lives, so that a world that is filled with darkness, may come to see the light of God’s salvation for our lives. Love. And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ!