Summary Points

• Three characteristics of God’s Love
• Human challenges to the Fruit of the Spirit
• How to overcome those challenges

God is directly “defined” only a few times in the Bible, and this passage is one of them: God IS love. We would expect God to be a mystery, and we know love is one, but there are at least three things we can say about God’s love, and thus about God’s nature.

First, God’s love is a gift. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” Likewise, 1 John says we know of God’s love because of the gift of Christ. Because it is a gift, God’s love isn’t something we can earn or lose; it can only be received.

This has an important implication for how we approach the Christian life. So many of us end up spiritually neurotic because we are trying so hard to love God. First John says that this is love, not that we loved God, but that God loves us. In other words, instead of trying so hard and failing so miserably to love God, the first step is simply to receive. And once received, 1 John tells us how to love God back. Which brings us to the second characteristic.

God’s love is concrete. When the disguised Jesus accompanies the Emmaus disciples, he teaches them how the Messiah had to suffer. God’s gift of love in Christ wasn’t simply spiritual enlightenment. It was incarnate, one with us, and suffered everything we suffer. After we receive God’s love, we love God back by loving our brothers and sisters. When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus answers with two: love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12:29-31). He’s saying we love God by loving our neighbor. Paul writes that love is the fulfillment of the law (Galatians 5:14) and that faith is made effective through love (Galatians 5:6). Earlier, 1 John urges us not to love with words alone, but with action (1 John 3:18). But we need to know how to direct this action, our love. This leads us to the third characteristic.

God’s love is unbounded. Romans 5:8 says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Even when we were enemies of God, and even when we still oppose God, God’s gift of love in Christ is directed towards us. This is why Jesus can make one of the most audacious claims—to love our enemies.

The first fruit of the Spirit is love. In another letter, Paul exalts three principles of the spiritual life: faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these, he says, is love. Atop many other virtues the Christian is to manifest, love is our highest aspiration. The reason God gave us such a concrete demonstration of his love, and why the Bible so often calls us to love, is because God calls us to participate in the divine life, and loving as God loves is contrary to our human nature.

We are each born with, and then our culture encourages, what psychologists call the Ego. Ego is a Greek word translated “I.” When we say, “I like this; I don’t like that; what’s in it for me,” we are referring to our Ego. Ego is naturally self-centered in its attitude and perspective. It believes everything exists for itself: creation, other people, money, for example. While Ego makes it possible for us to individuate into unique people, it also facilitates a selfish posture that is inhibited in loving.

The disciples of John the Baptist (not the author of John’s Gospel and letters) were Ego-driven when they asked him about Jesus’ rising popularity. They saw it as a threat to their own ministry. John’s answer is a model for all of us: I (Ego) must decrease, and Jesus must increase (John 3:30). It was John who saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus, so John understood that the cultivation of divine love is a spiritual work—the first fruit of the Spirit.

In the words of 1 John, if we are to live in God and God in us, if we are to live in love, then God’s Spirit must accomplish this work in us. It is a fruit of the Spirit. God’s Spirit moves us to be more loving, less Ego-centric, and allows us to live in God. When we do that, 1 John says, we resemble Christ in this life. We don’t have to wait until an afterlife to resemble Christ. We are called to do so in this life.

In this life Jesus had no fear of punishment, 1 John tells us, and this made it possible for him to love and live the way he did. And so as the Spirit works in our lives, we can live without fear of punishment, that is, with less concern for the Ego and more concern for Christ. And the Spirit will bear the fruit of love.

One of the places God helps us to grow spiritually is at the Lord’s Table. At the Table our Egos get put in their place. For the Lord of life and of love serves us, each of us equally, at the Table. There we are reminded of God’s love for us. There we see again the demonstration of God’s love. The Table reminds us that we don’t have to fear punishment. And from the Table God sends us out to be Christ in the world, to love as he loves.

Questions for Reflection or Discussion

• Have you ever gotten spiritually depressed because you were trying too hard to love God? How might resting in God’s love, receiving it first, and serving others as an act of love help you regain some balance?
• What are some ways we can recognize an over-active Ego in our life? Paul gives us a hint at the end of his passage in Galatians: conceit, provocation, envy. We could add anger, condescension, or most anything that causes a rift between us and others or within ourselves. Love covers over a multitude of sin. After taking an inventory, ask God to work his love into your life so you can be free of these maladies of an over-active Ego.
• Have you ever thought about the Lord’s Table as more than just remembrance, that it is also a sending out to love? In what ways can you show love to others based on what we remember at the Table?

Summary Points

• Farmers on the relationship between grace and works
• Thoughts on culture
• The relationship between Christian and American culture
• Finding the narrow gate of Christian culture
• Three reasons why this is important
• Questions for further reflection or discussion

Farmer’s understand better than most the relationship between divine grace and human works with regards to salvation. Farmers don’t pray over their fields and hope to reap a harvest in the fall. No, they clear their fields, plow them, enrich them, and seed them. Then they irrigate, weed, and fertilize their fields. That’s a lot of work! At the same time, farmers realize that the harvest depends on so many factors outside of their control—factors controlled by God. A harvest results from the collaboration between farmers’ work, and God’s grace.

Fruit requires cultivation. The Latin word defined as “to till or take care of a field” is colere. A person who takes care of more than just his field is a colonus, and what he takes care of a colonia. To use the English equivalents, a “colonist” takes care of a “colony.” None of this happens by accident. When applied to our relationship with God, colere becomes cultus, which is the basis for our word “cult,” which is the technical term referring to religious practice (the narrower definition of unorthodox Christian teaching is a further derivative).

From here it’s not hard to see that “culture” refers to the way we till or take care of our identity. Four things distinguish one culture from another culture: practices (the things we do together), convictions (what we believe to be true), institutions (the social organizations that support our practices and convictions), and narratives (the stories we tell about ourselves).

We can identify cultures and sub-cultures pretty readily. There is Colorado Springs culture, and there is a West Side subculture. And we can identify a national culture also. American culture is distinguished by eight characteristics: Individual achievement, Self-sufficiency, Competiveness, Being on the cutting-edge, Productivity, Efficiency, Youth, and Satisfaction of desire. (I owe these observations about culture and its Latin roots to Philip D. Kenneson)

The question we are challenged to ask, by Jesus and the entire Bible, is, “How closely related is our American culture to Christian culture?” People who talk about the “culture wars” are asking this question (though usually with respect only to sexual mores and manger scenes). The Bible challenges us more broadly. How many of the eight characteristics of American culture are actually Christian? That’s a challenging question.

Jesus tells us to enter the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction. All of us are continually walking through a gate. Sometimes the gate is so wide we don’t even realize we’re walking through it. That’s like our surrounding culture; we just assume it’s universal because it’s normal for us. But if you’ve traveled overseas you know that the American way isn’t the only way. For example, “over there” they drive on the other side of the street and their hot and cold faucets are reversed. That’s normal “over there,” but it’s a new culture for American tourists.

Within this broad gate of American culture, is there a Christian culture—a narrow gate—for which we as Jesus’ disciples are to seek and enter? What might it look like? Remember the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations? They are Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity. They are part of the Christian culture. This Lent we will be studying the classic spiritual disciplines in a small group, including meditation, simplicity, service, guidance. These are part of the Christian culture. The “Fruit of the Spirit” from Galatians 5:22-26, the basis of this sermon series, are part of the Christian culture. You could join or create a small group to meet in your home or local coffee shop to discuss these sermons and discover the narrow gate in your life.

Why is this important? Three reasons. First, Jesus says false prophets will be known by their fruit. This implies that we know what good fruit is in order that we may recognize bad fruit. Second, our salvation depends on it! Jesus says not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord” to him will escape judgment, but only the ones who do the will of his heavenly father. In Luke 13:6-9 he tells a parable about a landowner’s tree. The tree has not borne fruit and the landowner is prepared to cut it down. The hired hand requests one year to make the tree bear fruit. If he fails and the tree remains barren, then the landowner can cut it down. We are at risk of being cut down if we do not bear fruit.

Third, our witness depends on it. Just as false prophets are known by their fruit, so the world will know we are Christ’s disciples by the fruit we bear. Thus Kenneson writes, “Nurturing individual fruit in individual lives is not our ultimate goal. Instead, the church is called to embody before the world in all its relationships the kind of reconciled and transformed life that God desires for all of creation” (p. 34). That’s why his book is subtitled “Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community,” we need each other to grow in the Spirit, and the world needs us to do so. As fruit-bearing, mature Christians, we show how to enter the narrow gate of God’s kingdom.

Questions for Further Reflection or Discussion

• What might be a narrow gate that God has placed before you, an opportunity unique to you that may serve as a growth point in your spiritual life?
• This week, or this New Year, where can you add obedience to God’s will beyond just worshiping God on Sunday? Are there areas where you can have faith and bear fruit?

Ours may not be as big or as fragile as Herod’s, but each of us also has an ego which is disturbed when it hears of the birth of another king. Will we respond as Herod did? Will we try to kill off the new born king so that we can remain in control of our lives?

The Magi’s lives also experienced a disturbance. When the star appeared, it signified the birth of a new king, and they left their homeland to go and find him. When we pay attention to the disturbances in our lives, we will either respond as Herod did, with defensive self-preservation. Or we will respond as the Magi did, by worshiping at the sight of the new born king, and presenting him with gifts.

The Magi brought three gifts. The story is based on an image take from Isaiah 60:1-7, where the prophet assures the Exiles that their glory will be restored, that a new king will arise, and that tribute will be brought to him by visiting kings. Gold and incense are mentioned by Isaiah, but not myrrh.

Gold represents our treasure, literally. The frankincense represents our hearts, as incense were used in worship, and our hearts follow our worship. But myrrh is an embalming agent, used to prepare a body for burial. According to Matthew, the Magi brought myrrh in addition to gold and incense. It’s Matthew’s way of saying that this king is different than other kings. This king will die, and those who would offer their treasures of gold and incense to this new king, must also offer the treasure of their very own lives.

God’s gift to us is our lives. We unwrap this gift by giving it back to God.

Just as God’s Word came to ordinary shepherds, God’s Word comes to us in our ordinary lives. When we’re ironing our shirt, straightening out the rug, filling up the car, rinsing out the lettuce, trying to find the remote, walking the dog—that’s when God’s Word comes to us. Today, we don’t get angels flash appearing in light backed up with a host of additional singing angels. Or do we?

I believe we could receive God’s Word as the Shepherds did, with or without the angels, if we would just be more open. If we would open our hearts to God’s gracious and patient presence. If we would open our minds to more than what we think we can know. If we would open our eyes to the miraculous, then our ears would be open also, and we would hear God’s Word to us.

The Shepherds heard, and then they acted. They didn’t delay. They recognized that God’s Word almost always invites participation. God calls and we respond. Sometimes God tells us to slow down, rest, wait, trust, or stop. Other times God says keep moving, you can do this, start helping, or be more generous. God wants to way something to each of us, God wants to show each of us something. This Christmas may we be open like the Shepherds and respond when God speaks.

The Shepherds heard God’s Word, they responded with action, they saw God’s gift, and they worshipped. Then they left and shared. For us, Christmas has become about giving gifts. Perhaps we can find the origins of gift-giving at Christmas to the visit of the Magi with their gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

But if we were to take our cues from Luke’s account of the birth of Christ, we would find that Christmas isn’t about giving and receiving gifts. It’s about God’s Word coming to ordinary folks like Shepherds—and us. And then it’s about responding in faith, worshiping God in Christ, and then sharing about it.

May the Mighty and Most High God, bless again, by the power of his Holy Spirit, the message proclaimed anew this night. May God give us the gift of faith, that we might receive his Word, believe, see, and worship. Then, with this same faith and Spirit, may we bear the Good News of peace and reconciliation to all creation.

Faithful God, your light has sustained generations of the faithful through darkness, despair, and confusion. Come and bless us by your Holy Spirit, as we gather to celebrate the Advent of the incarnate Light of Life, the birth of Christ, the Savior of the World. As Good News was proclaimed in the darkness of night, so speak your Word to us again tonight. As peace on earth was proclaimed to shepherds abiding their sheep on the hillsides, so grant your peace to us wherever we find ourselves residing this evening. As messengers proclaimed your favor to all creation, so may we rejoice in your favor upon us, for you have made us in your image, reconciled us in Christ, and are restoring us in his image by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.

CHRISTMAS PRAYER

Merciful and Compassionate God, the world in solemn stillness lays again this year on Christmas Eve, awaiting the culmination of your work in Christ. Again this year, we hear of war and rumors of war. We lay in wait of peace. Again this year, we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. We lay in wait of resurrection. Again this year, we labor under responsibilities that threaten to overwhelm us. We lay in wait of your grace. Again this year, our thoughts are shrouded in doubt. We lay in wait of your truth and guidance. Again this year, our spirits are laden with sin. We lay in wait of your deliverance.

We thank you, Strong Shepherd of our Souls, that we are not alone. Long had the world waited for the revelation you gave in Christ. From your first promise, embedded in our hearts, being created in your image, we have looked for your coming among us. We thank you that in Christ, are all your promises fulfilled, as, in him, are we. As you filled Mary with your Spirit, so fill us, and give new birth to Christ in our lives, and new birth to us in faith. Lord, please renew the face of the earth by the witness of all the faithful, as we rejoice in your presence, and in the reconciling work of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, and in the prayer we offer with the ascended Christ and all the saints, saying Our Father . . .

Summary Points

• Some historical problems with Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth
• The difference between history and testimony
• Three things Luke is telling us about God’s presence in our lives

Historically speaking, Jesus came from Nazareth. But according to the popular tradition, the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Thus each in his own way, Matthew and Luke narrate events to uphold both the history and the tradition. Matthew’s solution is tersely stated in 2:4-6 and 2:22-23. Luke recounts the story of an empire-wide census requiring Joseph to travel with the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem.

Just looking at Luke’s account, there are tensions. There is no Roman record of an empire-wide census being ordered. When such censuses were taken, they required neither that someone travel to one’s homeland, nor did they include women. Most problematic is the reference to “when Quirinius was governor of Syria.” Quirinius wasn’t governor of Syria until 6 AD, and Jesus was born around 6 BC.

You can find heroic attempts to resolve such tensions; a good example can be found here. But most modern biblical scholars conclude that the details of this history are mistaken. That’s a problem if you’re looking for the Gospels to primarily record history, but the Gospels’ primary purpose is to testify of God’s presence. From this perspective, we overlook the mistaken historical details to see the larger purpose that the Gospel writers saw God’s providence and plan working out in history.

From this perspective, we see three things Luke is trying to tell us about God’s presence in Christ. First, the particulars of our personal history are less important than who is the Lord of our personal history. Details like where we come from, in Jesus’ case either Bethlehem or Nazareth, take on special significance when we find God present in them. It’s comforting to take time and reflect upon the particulars of your own life, especially those out of your control—when and where you were born, your birth order, your sex, your ethnicity, etc.—and look for the ways God is present in and using those particulars to make you more like Christ.

Second, God’s timing may not always be convenient, but it is perfect. The circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth according to Luke were anything but convenient for anyone involved, but to use Paul’s phrase from Galatians 4:4, Jesus was born “in the fullness of time.” Jesus was apparently acutely aware of God’s timing in his life. According to John, for example, he was reluctant to do any miracles before his time (see John 2:4). In the words of Ecclesiastes 3:11, God makes everything beautiful in his time. This perspective invites us to find gifts from God throughout the circumstances of our lives, even and perhaps especially in the inconvenient ones.

Finally, Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth assure us that whatever God provides, it is sufficient. Mary places the baby in a manger because that’s all that was available for them. This testimony is comforting when we are facing a deficit in our lives, physically or spiritually. Luke is especially concerned in his gospel with people who are poor. When Mary first discovers she is pregnant, she “rejoices in God for blessing her, for God sends the rich away empty but fills the hungry” (Luke 1:46-55). When Jesus preaches his first sermon, he reveals that God’s Spirit has sent him to “proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). And in his famous sermon, Jesus says the poor are blessed because the Kingdom of God belongs to them (Luke 6:20).

This Christmas, let us rejoice with Luke that God is present with us in Christ—through all the particulars of our personal history, in every circumstance of our present, and with whatever God has provided us. Amen.

Summary Points

• God’s three invitations to us today
• How Mary provides an example for us to follow
• Questions for reflection or discussion

As Mary tells the story, an angel named Gabriel came to her one day while she was engaged but not yet married and told her she would conceive by the Spirit of God and bear a son who would be the next King of Israel. If your teenage girl explained her unplanned pregnancy to you this way you’d laugh and cry at the same time. But that’s the story of the Annunciation, a scene from the Gospel of Luke that is one of the most frequently depicted biblical episodes in western art.

What’s the message of the Annunciation for us today?

(1) God’s benevolence and faithfulness and ongoing and never cease. Gabriel tells Mary that her offspring will sit on the throne of David and reign over the house of Jacob. More immediately, he informs Mary that her heretofore barren relative Elizabeth is already six months pregnant. The point? God’s intention for our individual lives falls in a larger story, something for which God has been planning and arranging for some time. Thus the Annunciation is an invitation to join what God is already doing.

(2) God’s invitation may be disturbing and disruptive. The Greek word Luke uses to describe Mary’s response is unique in the New Testament, but it is very closely related to the word used to describe Herod’s response to learning of Jesus birth, which was to be “troubled” so much he tried to kill Jesus. It’s also used to describe the Disciples response to seeing Jesus walk on the water, which was to be “terrified.” Luke uses the word to describe Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah’s response to the angelic message that he would be a father, and the Disciples’ response when the resurrected Jesus appears to them. The Annunciation of God’s work in our lives may cause us fear, but it is also an invitation to believe.

(3) What God invites us to join and to believe may appear impossible. This is the intended point conveyed by Mary’s “virginity.” Here as throughout the Bible God demonstrates he “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). Elizabeth can become pregnant, and so can Mary, though it seems impossible. What is humanly impossible, is in fact possible with divine collaboration. And so the Annunciation is an invitation to submit.

(4) And just what is made possible through the Annunciation? Three things, as demonstrated by Mary. First, faith is made possible. God announces his intention with our lives, and we can either choose to believe it or not. Mary’s response was faith. Second is faithfulness. Faith without faithfulness isn’t true faith. Mary endured the social scorn and disgrace of her pregnancy faithfully. She didn’t say yes to God immediately but later waver. She stayed the course. Third, Mary’s faith and faithfulness bore fruit. We know the fruit of her faith and faithfulness as Christ.

This is still possible today when God makes his announcement in our lives. The message of the Annunciation for us today is an invitation to respond as Mary did—with faith, faithfulness, and fruitfulness—as Christ is born anew in our lives. So let us go forth like Mary, as one who is highly favored, for the Lord is with us. Let us go forth like Mary, as one bearing Christ, for the Holy Spirit is within us. Let us listen for and respond to God’s Annunciation in our lives, for God is still announcing good news today.

Questions for Reflection or Discussion

• Think back on a time when you sensed God calling you to do something impossible or that caused you to be “troubled.” What happened?
• To what degree are you living into something disturbing or seemingly impossible? Would you say you are walking by faith, or is your life comfortably residing in the possible?
• Where are you on the continuum of response to God’s announcement of good news—from faith to faithfulness to fruitfulness? How can you move further along on that continuum?

Though still a challenge, her wishes might have been easier to fulfill were not the circumstances of her death what they are. Her life did not slip away naturally and peacefully. The gift of her life which we celebrate today was ripped from us and from the world by evil. The light of her life did not fade away, dimming progressively in such a way that we could get used to being without her. It was callously extinguished, and we woke up one morning last week in a darkness to which our eyes have yet to become accustomed.

Nonetheless, we gather to celebrate Kit’s life. We gather to remember and rejoice with her for the “great life” she did live. We gather to give thanks for the ways her life enhanced our lives. But we also gather in the dark valley of the shadow of death. And while we take comfort from the presence of the Good Shepherd of our souls, God himself in Jesus Christ, we are just the same dealing with a confusion of emotions: shock, denial, anger, even rage; regret, remorse, an unyielding sense of loss; sadness, grief, despair, perhaps resignation.

As we gather in Kit’s remembrance, we gather also in the name of the one she confessed as Lord. His promise to Kit, and to us, is that there is a place prepared in the household of God, where we will be reunited with one another. And so behind the swirling clouds of emotions that accompany us this day, is that ray of light, that hope of resurrection waiting to emerge, waiting to be seen, and to lead us into God’s eternal presence. Christ’s promise is made in waters of baptism [fill font], and our hope is sustained at the Table of the Lord. Let us pray.

Gracious and everlasting God, in you we live and move and have our being. Today we return a life to you, not as we would have chosen for ourselves, but trusting in your will nonetheless—or at least we would like to trust. Help us through these days of mourning. Maintain your faithfulness to never leave or forsake us, though we may doubt or despair. You have given us life as a gift to be received with gratitude, and a task to be pursued with courage. The life we remember this day, and return to your care, was one filled with gratitude and courage. As we remember Kit, and the gift of her life to us, we remember you, and the delight you had in giving her to us. Send your Holy Spirit to comfort and strengthen us, for we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

Homily and Prayer

Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome provides the foundation for much of the thinking in the Christian church. It was the book of Romans that inspired some of the greatest ministers in the church, including Saint Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and Karl Barth. And Romans clearly inspired the saint we remember today, Kit G———–.

Romans teaches us that our relationship with God is made right because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That God has made this true shows God’s grace. There are many things that are true, but that have no impact on our lives. It is true, for example, that the sun set in Germany this day at 3:57pm. That truth has no impact on our lives.

Today in Colorado Springs, the sun will set at 4:38pm. That is true, and it has an impact on our lives, because it means our candles will be seen when we gather at Palmer Park at 5:30 tonight.

How does God’s grace, which is absolutely true in Jesus Christ, have an impact on our lives? The answer is through faith, through our believing it. The technical term that Paul uses in referring to this reality is “justification.” Hear, then, Romans 5:1-5, and listen for the truth that can have such a transformative impact on our lives.

Kit was a woman who believed in God’s grace. She believed that because of Christ’s death and resurrection, her relationship with God was secure. Kit was, in Paul’s words, “justified by faith.” For this reason, even though we grieve today, we also rejoice. Paul says, “we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.” Sharing in God’s glory is what awaits us when we die. And so Kit’s instructions for our time together to be characterized by happiness, fun, and love, are testimonies of her faith in the truth of God’s grace.

But we don’t have to wait until death to share in God’s glory. Paul says, “we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that our suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”

I have only walked with Kit as her pastor for the past three and a half years. In that time I witnessed Kit suffer under conditions common to an aging body. Through it all, Kit remained positive, courageous, hopeful, and encouraging. Only with great sadness did she relinquish her responsibilities as a Deacon for our church, and organizing our greeters on Sunday morning. On the other hand, when we needed someone to teach high school on Sundays two years ago, Kit stepped forward.

Paul says that faith in God’s grace through our suffering produces endurance, character, and hope. This was certainly true of Kit. Listen to some of the comments made in the past week:

• She was a role model like no other and a true servant of God.—Stephen
• I will always remember you as a beautiful, intelligent, humorous, diligent woman!—Deborah
• Kit has touched so many lives in such a positive way and she leaves a void in everyone’s heart. –Elizabeth
• Kit was an amazing woman, intelligent, kind and giving!—Sarah
• Kit will always be remembered for her bright personality and willingness to help others. –George
• She was a sweet kind and loving person that tried to help anyone she came in contact with. –Andy
•  Kit embraced life never giving in to feeling sorry for herself – always looking for the good in life and people!—Christine
• She taught me age is just a number as she always continued to set goals and at 87 was motivated to help others to see an opportunity for a better life. We should always hold her as a role model as how to mature in life. She never stopped learning and she never stopped growing.—Arthur

Kit was an exemplary person. In the church, we call such people saints. Her life and her faith are testimonies of God’s grace. In other words, by knowing Kit, we got to know God better. She inspired us to be better than we think we are. Just like God. Like Jesus, she urged us to make good decisions, and constantly reminded us that we will reap what we sow. Bill was a friend of Kit’s who understood her heart, and in doing so, he understood God’s heart also. A comment he made challenges and inspires me, but it also reflects Kit’s faith, and the Spirit of God. His comment was this, “As hard as it may be I will say a prayer for your killer, I know that is what you would wish.”

That is an unimaginable thing to even conceive of doing for many of us. I think Bill is right; Kit would want us to come, eventually, no matter how long it might take, to such a place of grace and faith, that we would even pray for our enemies, as Jesus called us to do.

It is impossible, except by God’s grace, in which all things are possible. It is possible to be angry in God’s grace. Let us be angry. It is possible to grieve in God’s grace. Let us grieve. It is possible to give thanks in God’s grace. May we give thanks. It is possible even to rejoice in our suffering in God’s grace. May we rejoice.

And it is possible to grow in God’s grace. Kit thoroughly demonstrated that fact throughout her life. May we grow in God’s grace. To the glory of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Let us pray.

Almighty God, every life is equally precious to you, for you are the creator of life, and you are perfect love. But not every life is equally precious to us. Today we mourn the loss of a life precious to you and to us. Give us comfort in the communion we have with you by your Spirit, in the solidarity we have with one another as those who grieve, in the hope of resurrection which is your promise to us in Christ. Grant us the grace required to boast not only in death, but also in suffering, of the hope of sharing in your glory. Then bring us to communion with Christ and all the saints, into which we commend our beloved friend, Kit G——–. Until such time, we pray with all who call upon your name, Our Father . . .

Summary points

• The essence of biblical worship
• The renewal of worship today
• Three ways to overcome intergenerational tensions in worship
• Staying the course through challenging times
• Thoughts for reflection or discussion

In 587 the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and deported the prominent citizens, decimating Jewish society at the time. In 539 Cyrus the Great of Persia defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Exiles to return, commanding and even paying for them to resume worship. This they did, according to Ezra 3, beginning with the fundamental practice of worship, which is morning and evening sacrifice. When we read “sacrifice” in the Bible, we must hear “prayer” today. So the first thing they did was worship God each morning and evening in prayer.

It is remarkable because the walls of Jerusalem were breached and the city was vulnerable to attack from neighboring peoples. Despite this—or perhaps because they knew that walls don’t protect Jerusalem, but rather God—they rebuilt the foundations of the altar and began with worship.

Beyond morning and evening sacrifices/prayers, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, which is a reminder of God’s providence (it’s a harvest festival) and God’s deliverance (the booths they constructed being a remembrance of their journey through the Wilderness from Egypt. As part of this renewal of worship, and fundamental to it, was the refrain found throughout the Bible: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever.”

This is the essence of biblical worship: morning and evening prayer, seasonal festivals of remembrance, and the proclamation of God’s goodness, love, and faithfulness. But there is more here. When they rebuilt the altar, they did so on foundations that were already there. This is a principle we should remember today. Designing worship requires some “liturgical archeology”—seeking for the best of what has gone before, and using it in service to today.

But they also conscripted Levites who were 20 years old to supervise the work. These are young adults who never saw the Temple since they were born in Exile. They grew up seeing the grandeur of Babylon, and undoubtedly incorporated some of their own young and different experience into the new design of worship. Worship in Jerusalem following the Exile was led by a new and younger generation, building on the best of what went before.

Today is no different. Worship and ministry must change to keep up with the times. But it must not abandon the foundations upon which it rests. We have to listen to the elders to help us identify the foundations, but we have to allow the younger generation to build upon them. Whenever we do this, it creates intergenerational tensions as happened even in Ezra 3. How do we manage these tensions?

First, everyone has to agree to subordinate their own generation’s preferences to God’s purposes. All the Exiles, from the oldest to the youngest, agreed that resuming worship was the highest priority. When we submit ourselves to a higher purpose, the personal preferences that divide us melt away in relativity. We realize that it is better for us to be together in diverse worship than to be alone in small homogeneous groups.

An example: I heard of a comment between two elderly folks about a teenager in worship whose dress, in their opinion, revealed too much. Wardrobe standards have changed since these two elderly folks were teenagers. They were openly critical of the young woman instead of rejoicing that she was with them in worship. Should the young woman receive too much of this attitude, it won’t be long before she joins the vast majority of her friends who don’t worship on Sunday.

Second, to overcome intergenerational tensions, everyone has to remember and hope in God’s promises. At the rebuilding of the Temple, there was a great sound heard by all the surrounding people. It was a mixture of weeping and shouts of joy. Haggai tells us the younger generations were rejoicing because the Temple they had only heard about was being restored. But the older generations cried from despair that this new Temple didn’t compare with the glory of the one they saw destroyed. If you have ever said to yourself, “Back in the day, our church had . . ,” you know the heartache of the older generation.

Haggai’s prophecy redirects our attention to faith in God’s promises. Don’t worry about what things look like now, or compare them to how they once looked. God will shake heaven and earth and make the new Temple glorious, and most importantly, God will grant peace between the generations.

Third, we can help overcome intergenerational tension by replacing a critical spirit with generous participation. Instead of standing aloof and lamenting what is, we should roll up our sleeves and make things better. My mentor’s church has a policy that the leadership will not receive suggestions about “ministries someone should do,” because almost everyone in the church can come up with something they think the church should do. In his church, if someone has an idea for a ministry that should be done, they have to start setting it up before brining to the leaders of the church. This policy helps dampen the critical spirit that causes despair.

The initial enthusiasm and good start of 539 had waned by 537, and work on the Temple stopped. But in 520, Haggai and Zechariah started preaching convicting messages, goading the people to finish the work in only five years. What was the content of their messages?

First, they asked the people how they could come to worship in a “house of God” that was incomplete and in disrepair, and then return home to houses that were fully and beautifully restored. Second, they pointed out how the people’s personal ambition had left them empty. They harvested much only to discover they didn’t have enough. They earned much only to realize it did not satisfy. The physical message was embarrassment—you’ve taken care of yourselves while neglecting God. The spiritual message was existential—you will never be satisfied until you attend to the things of God.

In 2012, Faith Presbyterian Church needs to build upon these foundations. Putting first things first, we must build upon the foundation of worship. But we must not neglect the foundation of our witness in the process. Today, as in Ezra’s time, our witness includes our “Temple”—our building—which sends a message to our neighborhood about our priorities. If our building and grounds are in disrepair, people will conclude we don’t care much about God.

But witness also comes through our ministries, for the new Temple of Christ is his people (see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). In 2012, we who call Faith home are called to support the church financially and with our participation. In this way we will worship aright and bear witness to others that God is with us and with them. With Christ as our cornerstone, God’s purposes as our guide, and faith in God’s promises, let us in 2012 rejoice and build upon what God has done in 2011. Amen.

Questions for Reflection or Discussion

• In your church and in your life, have you put first things first? How prominent are sacrifice and prayer in your life? What can you do to make these higher priorities in your life?
• What are some of the things you count as part of the “glory days” of your church? Are these things part of the foundations that new generations should build upon? Or are they things you need to give thanks for but let go of so God can do something new?
• Think about the things you don’t like about your church. Are you doing anything to help, or are you letting a critical spirit discourage you?
• In considering your financial commitment to your church, compare how concerned you are about your own life and the life of your church. Do you agree that your spirit will never be at rest until you care as much about God’s house as much as you do your own? What difference will this make in your financial contribution to your church?

Summary Points

• The challenge of giving thanks when we don’t want to
• Three perspectives from Isaiah to help us give thanks

Isaiah 51:1-16 was written close to the end of the Exile. In 587 BC  the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and deported the prominent citizens. The Exile would last about 70 years, and prophetic writers like the “Isaiah” of this passage (the Isaiah after whom the book is named wrote two centuries earlier) sustained the faith and hope of the Exiles. It was a challenging task.

Psalm 137:4 poignantly and succinctly states the issue: “How can we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?” We often find ourselves in a foreign land: When the test results come back positive; when the unimaginable phone call comes; when the betrayal is by the one closest to us; when another month passes without resolution.

The positive perspective of Isaiah 51 is embedded in a section of the book famous for the “Suffering Servant Songs.” In four passages, the most famous including Isaiah 53, the prophet acknowledges the suffering of God’s people, God’s servants, in the world. But despite this, the prophet calls the people to thanksgiving in Isaiah 51. Isaiah offers three perspectives to help us give thanks when we’re in the foreign land.

(1) We are not alone. Isaiah calls us to remember “the rock from which we were hewn,” including Abraham and Sarah, who were promised in their childless old age that their numerous offspring would bless the world. It took several more decades, but that promise was coming true. It also includes Moses, who challenged Pharaoh, liberating God’s people from Egypt and leading them for a generation through the Wilderness towards the Land of Promise.

Hebrews 11 is the “golden chapter” reminding us of the fact that we are not alone. The author lists our ancestors in the faith who, “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, shut the mouths of lions, escaped the edge of the sword,” among many other achievements—despite being “tortured, suffering mocking, flogging, chains and imprisonment, stoning, and death.” And in it all, Hebrews says, these champions of the faith did not receive what they were promised, in order that we might be born into those promises and receive them ourselves.

(2) Thus we are part of a greater story. Suffering has a purpose. We may not know it at the time, and our understanding may be delayed. But the purpose of our suffering is known by God, and it is revealed to us when we have faith and suffer with patience. Second Peter 3:9 says that God is patient also, not desiring anyone to perish, but wanting all to come to repentance.

The promises of deliverance are delayed by God so that more and more people can be a part of them. The heroes of Hebrews 11 didn’t receive the promises, their suffering was prolonged, to allow time for us to be included. Just as they waited for us (and are still waiting), so we endure and wait for others. Our suffering serves at least this purpose—that others may come into the reception of God’s grace.

(3) God Guards and Guides Us. Through Isaiah God says he preserves us “in the shadow of his hand.” When we look afar on a sunny day and shield the sun with our hands, we have a glimpse of Isaiah’s metaphor. God’s hand hovers over us, protecting us from the blazing sun. God also says he “puts his words in our mouths.” These are the words of praise and thanksgiving preserved in the scriptural testimonies—words like Isaiah’s. With these assurances—God’s protection and God’s words—we can survive in the foreign land and give thanks.

And in the mean time, between now and our deliverance, we can serve. We can serve like the suffering servant of Isaiah’s time, the people of Israel in Exile, who by their faith and thanksgiving bear testimony to the God of their deliverance. We can serve like our suffering servant Jesus, who testified of God’s Kingdom in the foreign land of this world, and suffered so that we might follow him and be a part of it.

When we find ourselves in the foreign land where it’s difficult to give thanks, we can remember that we are not alone, that our story is part of a greater story, and that God guides and guards us as we serve others, give thanks, and await our deliverance. Thanks be to God!

Questions for Further Reflection or Discussion

• What is the topography of the “foreign land” you inhabit? In what ways are you waiting for God’s deliverance?
• Hebrews give us the image of our time of suffering embedded in a larger story of a “great cloud of witnesses” still awaiting deliverance. It is like it is our turn to run a leg in the relay of the universe, with those having already done so cheering us on from the stands. What can you do to remember this image through your suffering?
• What passages of Scripture do you borrow on your own lips to give praise and thanks to God when it doesn’t arise naturally out of your own heart? If you don’t have any, Isaiah chapters 40-66 offer lots of options.
• Isaiah promises that God’s “hand” protects and guides us. How have you experienced God’s protection and guidance? With these experiences in the past, how might you look for God’s protection and guidance now and in the future?