Month: January 2019

Steadfast.

/ jonesyuk / Leave a comment

I can’t believe this weather! It’s crazy, and a second Sunday in a row where we’ve had to cancel worship services at Fleming Road UCC. This after it being in the 40’s just yesterday.

I hope all are safe and able to have some “sabbath” rest today. Here’s my sermon that I was going to share with our church today. I love this story, you may hear it in another sermon down the road…

Old Testament Readings

Psalm 36:5-10

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

    your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

    your judgments are like the great deep;

    you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

    All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house,

    and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

    in your light we see light.

O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

    and your salvation to the upright of heart!

New Testament Reading

John 2:1-11

The Wedding at Cana

2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

When I think of great parties, I think of my wedding.  We spent months planning.  Debbie, and I had this vision of getting our friends and family from all sorts of different places where we lived and making it one big celebration.  It was a GREAT night filled with meaning and lots of good conversations, dancing, and laughing.  It was so great that one of my groomsmen, Jay Borck, decided that he didn’t want it to end. 

Our wedding. Both of my maternal and paternal grandparents were in attendance. They have all passed away, as well as my dad. But, what a great “cloud of witnesses”!

At the end of our wedding reception, after a long night of dancing and simply having a great time, we did the traditional thing of getting into our car that had been decorated by the groomsmen and others…they did a phenomenal job with all sorts of sayings on the car, the tin cans hanging from the back, streamers, etc.  They had also filled the car up with balloons…so many in fact that we couldn’t get in until we had cleared some of them out of the front seats.  Debbie and I got in, started to drive down the long road leading up the clubhouse where we had our reception.  As we were driving along we were talking about what a great night it was when from the back of the car we heard this loud unintelligible yell.  I looked in the rear view mirror and there was Jay popping out of the balloons…he kissed us both on the cheeks and then, suddenly before I could react, he opened the door, jumped out of the car and rolled onto the bank…then I saw him jump up and run back towards the clubhouse while being cheered on by others in our wedding party!  It was a crazy night!

I love the gospel story of the Wedding at Cana because it is about family, community, and something new.  Jesus is at a wedding, enjoying himself with his friends and family, the disciples and his mom approach him with a problem.  The wedding has run out of wine…which is a huge “faux pas” in those days and an immense embarrassment.  Jesus’ mom wants Jesus to do something about it.  Jesus responds by saying “woman”, which may sound odd to us today, but the actual word translated is more of a term with a tone of respect and intimacy.  Jesus, who by this time is 30 years old, then says something like “oh Mom are you serious?” (in a very loving way I’m sure!).  Mary, Jesus’ mother sees something in her son that is special, she knows he is able to do something about this.  Jesus, then does something amazing.  Jesus takes ordinary water, water used to clean dirty feet (you see, in that part of the world it was pretty dusty and when you went into someone’s house, you cleaned your feet and hands pretty good), and turned into wine…what’s more, he turned it into the best wine that anyone at that party had ever tasted!  

At that point, people had been drinking a lot, for days even.  Usually, the best wine came out first, then after folks had a lot to drink, they’d bring out the cheap stuff.  But, the master of ceremonies just tasted, what was to him, the best wine and remarked about the generosity of the bridegroom.  

Why did Jesus change the water to wine?  To show that there is something new going on in the world.  In a world that is crazy and where we often feel like ordinary water, or maybe even dirty toe jam water, as we walk through life and get dirty and grimey, there is hope.  When we meet Jesus, he  can take the ordinary or dirty water of our lives and turn it into the best wine ever tasted!  Jesus is saying in this story that he is something special, and, as we’ve talked about the past couple of weeks, Jesus is God in the flesh, he is the “visible image of the invisible God” at it says in Colossians.  Jesus is also saying that everyone is special in this story.  You see, I think that the family in this wedding party might have out of wine because they didn’t have a whole lot of money or did not plan for such a large party, who knows?!

When Jesus turned the water into wine, he turned SIX whole jars, HUGE jars into wine…more wine than they could have drunk.  Jesus not only transformed the water into wine and wants to transform our lives, Jesus blessed the whole wedding party beyond measure and wants to show you some amazing blessings and adventures in life.  One thing about Jesus, he is extravagant in his pursuit and love for us and for the community.  These were friends, family, members of Jesus’ family and neighbors.  The author of John is making a statement by having Jesus’ first public miracle happen at a wedding, a gathering of relationships.  God is interested in overwhelming us with God’s love in practical and unforeseen ways…and this God is interested in blessing all of us together.  God’s good news, God’s presence isn’t for just a few, it’s for everyone.

This passage has also been said to give witness to the passing of the old law based on rules, regulations, and works to the new demonstration of God’s presence with humanity.  One of grace, personal love, and on God’s works on our behalf not our own.  

Just like Jesus wants us to experience the blessing of friendship with God and others in order to live lives into something better…new wine. God wants us to have a change of heart of on our religion, how we live our faith, our very lives.

In our faith, in our way of not just showing up at church, but being church, we so often settle for the way things have always been.  We want to know what to expect and to control things.  We want a predictable faith, a predictable religion, a predictable God.   In so doing, we often make decisions and act upon those decisions that do not honor others, God, or even ourselves…leaving us feeling like grimey, dirty, used up foot washing toe jam water.   It’s a religion that does us no good.  And that’s a religion that we simply don’t need….and many people have come to the same conclusion and walk away from their faith.

Yet, we then come to something unpredictable, like a wedding, or a funeral, or an action that someone does for us, and we see God’s goodness breaking in.  

In that goodness, God takes our religion, our very selves, and turns it into something beautiful.  We are overwhelmed with God’s presence and extravagant love.  

The last thing about this turning of water into wine.  Jesus fills 6 barrels.  That’s a lot of wine.  Jesus didn’t want folks to feel like they didn’t have enough.  He also didn’t want them to simply seal up those barrels and not share…he poured them out for the entire wedding party!  In those days, weddings were for the whole community and they lasted for days!

“Hesed”

Steadfast, ever loving, ever faithful, intense loyalty to community.

Word most often used to describe God’s character in the Old Testament or Torah.

Friends, Jesus wants to remind us that we are loved and are called to love ourselves, others, and God with extravagance…our psalmist today uses the word “steadfast love”, in Hebrew it is “hesed”, everloving, fatihful and loyal…God wants to pour out the good wine of God’s faithful to us, in us, God’s love for us, God’s religion or binding to us, to all in our neighborhoods and lives…and, in so doing, we’ll find ourselves experiencing the life of the greatest party we could ever imagine!


Release!

/ jonesyuk / Leave a comment

The worship service and all other events were cancelled today at Fleming Road UCC.  Here’s the sermon that I would have shared this morning!  

New Testament Reading

Luke 4:14-21 

“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

I have a question:  what makes “news” “good”?  

I remember receiving some good news.  I used to work at a store called REI that sold things like hiking and climbing gear.  I started to work there while I worked as a youth director at a Presbyterian Church in Atlanta to make extra money for my honeymoon with Debbie.  It was a great place to work and I ended up working there for a couple of years, very part time (GREAT discounts on gear) after Debbie and I were married.  One day, about 6 months after our wedding, Debbie came in to tell me some news.  She was about a month or so pregnant with our daughter Debbie.  

At first I was stunned, then happy, then I had to sit down and let it sink in…I couldn’t go back to work, I couldn’t focus, it was overwhelming…it had to sink in that I was going to be a father!  I wasn’t ready at all, even though Debbie and I got married when I was 30, I wanted to wait at least a couple of years or so.  It wasn’t what I expected.  Yet, when the reality of this news sank in, it was truly good news…and I still am amazed about how that good news unfolds every day as I watch my daughter grow and my son, Brennan, as well.

  • McKenzie with favorite babysitter, Sarah, when we lived in Atlanta right after McKenzie was born.
  • Brennan and McKenzie on the US/Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, when we lived in SoCal while I was at Fuller Theological Seminary.
  • Brennan and McKenzie last Thanksgiving, at Spring Grove in Cincinnati for a fun, family picture day!

Our gospel lesson this morning is another story about unexpected Good News and release in the Bible.  

Jesus had just returned from being tempted by the devil for several days in the desert.  He resisted the temptation to become powerful or relevant by the world’s measure and stayed true to who he was.  Which, says a lot to us today as we strive for worldly wealth and relevance, God says that he has something better for us if we remember our identity lies in Jesus and live in self, others, and God awareness.  

As was Jesus’ custom, he preached in the synagogue.  Yet, this was different, Jesus was teaching in his hometown.  The folks gathered that day had heard great things about Jesus.  They had heard about the miracles he had performed and the words he had spoken, as well as the large crowds that were following him.  

Jesus was handed a scroll with the words of Isaiah.  Jesus knew what he wanted to read and began to read the prophecy about the Messiah.  There is an emphasis in this passage of “me”, three times in verses 18 and 19 alone.  In other words, Jesus is quoting this passage, saying that this prophecy is emphatically about him.  

Jesus even makes this dramatic, yet subtle and very powerful statement at the end of this particular passage that we are looking at today.  He rolls up the scroll, hands it back to the attendant, and sits down.  At first glance, that may seem odd, but in Jewish custom during that time, you would stand to read Scripture, then sit down to teach.  Jesus was doing just that.  But, when he starts to teach, he changes a statement.  

The quote in Isaiah actually says at the end, a proclamation about the day of the Lord’s vengeance, but Jesus changes it to say “the day of the Lord’s favor”, flipping it to a different meaning for the hearers on that day…and then ends with the statement:  “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  Jesus is saying, I am the fulfillment of God’s promise that he would be our God and we would be his people.  Jesus is God present with us…and that we don’t have a God of vengeance, but a God who’s giving us favor, a God who is on the side of humanity.  

The Greek word in this passage for proclaiming good news is one word.  It is also where we get the world “evangelize”. 

εὐαγγέλιον

Evangelize or “Good News”

Originally used for the Roman Emperor, 

reclaimed by Jesus followers…

In today’s culture, that word can often be associated with some not so good things, we can reclaim it for its original intentJesus was saying that had come to proclaim good news to the poor and release to all of those held captive.  It means to bring something, and in this context, it means that the ones that will hear and receive this message are the poor. 

So, who are the poor?  Well, it certainly means those who are economically poor, but poor has a deeper meaning in this context as it does throughout Scripture.  The “Poor” are those who are oppressed, lonely…those who are marginalized.  The “poor” are those who had been ostracized by society in that day, persons such as tax collectors (who were quite wealthy actually), prostitutes, lepers, widows, immigrants, foreigners…you name it, those who weren’t “in”, but felt left out.  To be poor means more than simply not having material wealth, or economically isolated, it means not being in community with others.  Poor has much more to do with status in society, it means much more than what your income is.  

Jesus was saying, if you feel marginalized because of others, then I have come to restore you in relationship with others and with God.  If you are poor or have ever felt marginalized or left out, if you have ever felt like you were on the outside looking in, then you know what it’s like to be in a desperate place, a place that is miserable…a place where you are hungering for good news of being included.

Jesus goes on to say in this morning’s text that he has come to proclaim freedom to the prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, and to set the prisoners, the captives free, released!  He was proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor, again, not vengeance, the opposite really…he was saying in effect, God is on your side!  

When you look at the life of Jesus, he backed this up.  What does he do with the prostitute, but forgives her and restores her to community.  What about the tax collector, the leper, the blind?  He forgives them and heals them, and always restores them to community with others and with God.  Not only does Jesus do that for them, but he does it for us. 

The church is called to be the body of Christ and to participate in Christ’s mission.  We are called to live out and do what Jesus is proclaiming in this passage. We are also asking as a church, how we can build up the communities around us that are fragmented, and how we can share Jesus through relationships, bringing good news to those who feel left out?  We are praying for how we can listen and even minister to those who live within our neighborhoods by simply being friends with them, while modeling the alternative community that we are called to be as a church.  

Identifying with Christ can be messy and uncomfortable.  When you look at the rest of this chapter in Luke 4, you see that the meaning of Jesus’ words didn’t bring a whole lot of good feelings in the crowd that was gathered.  The crowd wanted Jesus to tell them that they were favored, they wanted him to affirm their “way of life”, they wanted to see some of the miracles that he had performed in other places.  They were looking for a performance and not the alternative community that Jesus was envisioning or that the trajectory of Scripture was, and is, pointing us towards.  They wanted their version of “good news” to be good for them only.  They got frustrated and wanted to scapegoat Jesus and looked for ways to cause him harm.  Yet, Jesus’ message and life still went out and continues to this day working in and on us.  Jesus says that in order for news to be good, it has to be good for everyone.  

Friends, may we be the body of Christ, bearing news that is truly good to a lost and lonely world.  We have been given the power to proclaim release to all of those held captive to a narrative of separation and absence as we model the presence and love of Christ.   In so doing, not only will the world see hope and experience release and know that they have God’s favor, but we will as well.  

May it be so.