Message

Luke 3:16-22 (The Message)

But John intervened: "I'm baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He's going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to be burned."

There was a lot more of this—words that gave strength to the people, words that put heart in them. The Message! But Herod, the ruler, stung by John's rebuke in the matter of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, capped his long string of evil deeds with this outrage: He put John in jail.

After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life."

"The Message," puts "heart" in people.

What a great thing that is to hear.

When John preached at the river, there were two great propositions at work:

1 - Your life is not yet what it could be.

2 - Hope and help is on its way.

Those two pieces of "the message" have to go hand in hand.

Our world today is full of loud voices that scream out about the problems. Much rarer are those voices that also offer answers, hopeful ways forward.

John's message was pointed, powerful and challenging to those in power and vested in maintaining the status quo.

He was arrested for speaking out and calling for change. But the change could not be stopped. The groundswell of belief and hope that his preaching began was encapsulated in an ultimate baptism.

As Jesus was baptized, and prayed in the Jordan, the dove flew down upon him...and the proclamation resounded: "You are my son..."

Challenge, plus hope. Consciousness, plus movement.

This is the picture of salvation and sanctification that is the path for every Jesus-follower...being made right, then being made holy.

It is "the message," that "puts heart in people." May we bear that message forward in every way today.

Prayer: We pray for challenge, and hope. Make us aware of our need for repentance and redemption, and lead us by your Spirit into sanctification...holiness of heart and life.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Luke 4:1-13

Content

Luke 3:10-17 (The Message)

The crowd asked him, "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"If you have two coats, give one away," he said. "Do the same with your food."

Tax men also came to be baptized and said, "Teacher, what should we do?"

He told them, "No more extortion—collect only what is required by law."

Soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"

He told them, "No shakedowns, no blackmail—and be content with your rations."

The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, "Could this John be the Messiah?"

But John intervened: "I'm baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He's going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to be burned."

When last we left JTB on the banks of the Jordan preaching to the people...he had just all told them that there was a fair chance they'd be burned up in unquenchable fire.

That will get your attention...

And a pretty reasonable question arises from the crowd, "Then what are we supposed to do?"

John's answer could probably be summed up in a single word: "Stop."

Learn to be content.

Pre-shadowing Jesus, it is as though we can almost hear the call, "come die, be crucified with me, so that you can rise into a new life."

That life can only start when we "stop."

I've shared before in sermons about the amazing Seiko watch ad I saw in one of my magazines a couple of Decembers ago.

A sharp, obviously successful man is pictured. His chin rests on his hand at a bar, just exposing the beautiful watch beneath his shirt and jacket cuffs.

The caption? "It's your watch that tells most about who you are."

Do you believe that?

Those kinds of images are everywhere around us. Don't believe me? Turn on the tv for 10 minutes and see how many images and messages tell you that you need to be anything other than "content with your rations."

Of all the things that I'm most convinced about in the Christian life, it's that we followers of Jesus should reject consumerism out of hand. It's just wrong, and it's a tremendous obstacle if we are to follow the messiah with authenticity.

Getting all we can, at whatever means, just teaches us to fill the real holes in our lives with more great stuff.

Don't get me wrong...I'm a sucker for watches...and all kinds of stuff. But I know that "stuff" is the path to destruction, not life.

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

How about this?

If you have two coats, give one away.

Do the same with your food.

No more extortion.

No shakedowns.

No blackmail.

Be content with your rations.

Love God.

Love Neighbor.

Sounds like a plan.

Prayer: God we pray that you might fill our hearts this day with the things that matter most. Help us to give thanks for the ways that you have blessed us and teach us to prepare the way for you in our hearts.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Luke 3:18-22

Green

Luke 3:1-9 (The Message)

In the fifteenth year of the rule of Caesar Tiberius—it was while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea; Herod, ruler of Galilee; his brother Philip, ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias, ruler of Abilene; during the Chief-Priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—John, Zachariah's son, out in the desert at the time, received a message from God.

He went all through the country around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of life-change leading to forgiveness of sins, as described in the words of Isaiah the prophet:

Thunder in the desert!

"Prepare God's arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!

Every ditch will be filled in,
Every bump smoothed out,

The detours straightened out,
All the ruts paved over.

Everyone will be there to see
The parade of God's salvation."

When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded:

"Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God's judgment?

It's your life that must change, not your skin. And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as 'father.' Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there—children of Abraham are a dime a dozen.

God can make children from stones if he wants.

What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire."

There's a "snowball" bush at the Ranch (SOTH's house that holds our offices/youth room/conference room, etc.) that really needs to be pruned.

Now, I don't know the scientific name, and I'm pretty sure it's not "snowball," but I know that's what my grandmama would call it and that's good enough for me.

A couple of summers ago, it had grown spindly and unhealthy. I couldn't resist cutting it back. One day before heading home from the office, the bush had a date with my "loppers."

Pruning was the best thing that ever happened to it. The next spring, the blooms were incredible. It was laden with new growth.

This year, I've noticed an interesting thing about the plant.

It's not blooming nearly so well. In fact, it has a lot of dead wood.

Probably half the canes that emerge from the plant's base are dead and dried up. Some of the living ones don't produce any leaves or blooms until the very top.

It seems that John's advice works for gardening and our souls.

"What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire."

John had a message that was urgent...a message that mattered.

He didn't have time for pretense, or pretenders. We can't claim lineage. We can't rely on status or social roles to make us right with God.

God can create status out of stones.

It's the heart that matters. The heart that gives birth to life. Green, blossoming life comes from one place...connection to our source, our Father...the message that Jesus came to proclaim.

The goal is to be honest with God, and let him prune everything else.

Prayer: We are trying to hear John's message, and make it real in our lives. Make us holy...set apart...connected to you...green and blooming. May your consuming fire burn up the dead places in our lives.

See you at SOTH for worship this Sunday! 9 & 11 AM with Sunday School for all ages at 10:15. And, prayers for our youth who will participate in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine this weekend.

Father

Luke 2:41-52 (The Message)

Every year Jesus' parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up as they always did for the Feast. When it was over and they left for home, the child Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn't know it.

Thinking he was somewhere in the company of pilgrims, they journeyed for a whole day and then began looking for him among relatives and neighbors. When they didn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for him.

The next day they found him in the Temple seated among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. The teachers were all quite taken with him, impressed with the sharpness of his answers. But his parents were not impressed; they were upset and hurt.

His mother said, "Young man, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been half out of our minds looking for you."

He said, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?" But they had no idea what he was talking about.

So he went back to Nazareth with them, and lived obediently with them. His mother held these things dearly, deep within herself. And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people.

The Nicene Creed begins:

"We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made..."

At the very heart of Christianity is the assertion that Jesus Christ is "fully God, and fully human."

That statement is a faith proposition. It's not something easily understood by our limited minds.

He is of "one substance with the Father by whom all things were made," and "light of light, very God of very God."

And he is also Joseph and Mary's little boy.

Even at the tender age of 12 years old, we can see the miracles and the tensions that the reality of this absolutely unique human being brings into the lives of those around him.

As we will see throughout our study of Luke, this instance of miracle and tension would not be the last.

His parents are worried sick when they realize that he's missing. Our hearts go out to them, and we can almost feel the panic that they must have experienced in those moments.

When they find him, back at the temple, they are not amused.

"You knew I had to be here," he says, "dealing with the things of my Father."

The passage tells us that they didn't understand his meaning. Perhaps they had some notion, but they couldn't easily open up to the idea of all that this could mean...or that they were charged with raising a child whose mission was beyond their control.

As the years went by, Jesus grew stronger both physically and spiritually. He was obedient. But Mary remembered...and perhaps began to realize who this young man would be. She "held these things...deep within herself."

Eventually, those things would surface. At the cross, and after the resurrection. She would one day understand all that God had planned, and how her life was forever changed by the baby she carried, and the young man that she raised.

The same challenge is there for all of us who would follow Jesus. We can never control him. His life changes ours.

Throughout history, Christians have been tempted to mold Jesus in their own image. The challenge is to allow his image to become our own. We would do well to be like Mary...holding these things deep in our hearts...and bringing them to the surface of our lives as we live in relationship with the living Christ.

Prayer: God our Father, may we be about your business today as the life of Christ becomes our own.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Luke 3:1-9

Simeon

Luke 2:21-40 (The Message)

When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.

Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God's Law: "Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God," and also to sacrifice the "pair of doves or two young pigeons" prescribed in God's Law.

In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:

God, you can now release your servant;
release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I've seen your salvation;
it's now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
and of glory for your people Israel.

Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,

This child marks both the failure and
the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
as God reveals who they really are.

Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.

When they finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth. There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit. And the grace of God was on him.

As we discuss the role of Anna and Simeon today, I want to "re-run" a blog I wrote about a man who played the role of "Simeon" in my own life. Originally posted 12/21/2005.

Eight days after Jesus’ birth, Old Simeon’s dreams come true. Luke calls him “devout,” and one was has been “looking forward” for many, many years. We assume that Simeon is of an advanced age because of what’s implied in verse 26, “he would not see death before he had seen…” And then, once his faith is fulfilled in sight, Simeon seems resolved that the time of a more eternal calling has come. Master…servant…peace…word…eyes…salvation.

When Simeon is spoken of in church, it’s usually shortly after Christmas, not right before it. I suppose that certainly makes sense. Although his story, like Anna’s (keep going in Luke 2), is very powerful and compelling, I’ll admit that his story seems like a bit of a strange choice for our consideration just four days before Christmas.

I mean, Simeon is not to be found in my plastic, life-size, light-up, outdoor nativity scene. What about the Shepherds and Kings (or Magi, or Wise Men...whatever works for you) and Angels? What about Joseph and Mary and stables and cows and mangers and, “asleep on the hay?”

Christmas would not be Christmas without any of those figures. But Simeon represents something powerful and very necessary for the human heart. Simeon is hope and faith with staying power. His is not a chance encounter with the Messiah, it is a culmination and completion of a life-long faith.

Simeon gives us an incredible gift: the chance to glimpse what full-blown faith might look like if the sometimes-buried spark of belief that lies within our own hearts were to be nurtured and tended for a lifetime. Simeon shows us God’s marvelous and mysterious penchant for making himself known through the most unlikely of vessels, like tiny babies or little old men.

I met Simeon for myself in the summer of 2001. With the ink not quite dry on my just-acquired seminary degree and the shine from my brand new Emory alumni ring gleaming in the sun, I arrived on the pastoral staff at Wesley UMC as green as a fresh-cut pine.

If I am at all more seasoned today, Mr. Fred Jensen should receive credit, and he will forever have my gratitude. I’m sure that we met for the first time on a Tuesday morning, just after our Men’s Group breakfast, and it didn’t take long to know that he was a truly fascinating character and a man of deep and abiding faith.

Mr. Fred proved that big things really do come in small packages. Always the wonderful combination of dapper (quite the natty dresser) and chipper (even at 7 a.m.) the only things sharper than Mr. Fred’s shirt and bow-tie combinations were his amazing wit and voracious appetite for knowledge.

What I did not know at first was to what extent Mr. Fred planned to take me under his theological and spiritual wing. That was a very good place for a young, green preacher to be. Nearly every Tuesday morning for four years, Mr. Fred would bring me bundles of magazines and copies of articles extracted articles from his own library. Admittedly, I didn’t always see an obvious connection between some of the wide-ranging topics he wanted me to explore and my life and work as a pastor. Eventually, though, I came to understand. Mr. Fred was fascinated with everything in this amazing world that God had made and he wanted me to see the value in that kind of amazement. He knew a wonderful secret: if you want to see God, then you need to learn how to open your eyes and look…everywhere.

“You know, you’ve got to build your file,” he would always tell me, concerned that I would ever be at a loss for just the right sermon illustration on some future Sunday morning. He never failed to tell me, “if you read something good, remember that I want you to make a copy and hand it on to somebody else.” No knowledge should be lost, for it was all far too precious. Slowly, over time, he taught me that a pastor’s job, in large part, is to gather up all those God-pieces that float through the world around us and help put together the puzzle so that everybody can see the big picture. He knew and respected the mighty nature of that task. Because of Mr. Fred's witness, I do too.

We would spend time in conversation about the topic of the day, and before he left I would always receive the assurance that I was in his prayers. I know that I always was. I will always remember the warmth and earnest nature of his handshakes and hugs, and the gleam and fire of life that always shone in his eyes. That gleam remained unchanged throughout the many years of his life, even as his body aged and ultimately failed him.

Mr. Fred answered his eternal calling this week, and I sure do wish that I could talk theology with him over coffee this morning. Now that the answers to all of the questions have been found, I have to believe that Mr. Fred’s words might simply echo those of Simeon if he could give some final advice to this slightly-older preacher. Master… servant …peace … word… eyes… salvation. But I think there would be one more word, too. Look.

He leaves a wonderful wife of 55 years, an amazing family, and many, many friends. He will be dearly missed, but he would want us to look forward. That is what we will do. He would want us to look for “Emmanuel, God With Us” this Christmas, and that is what we will do, too. Incarnation happens in the most unlikely of places. 2000+ years ago it happened in a manger, in a stable, with Mary and Joseph and Shepherds and Angels, but for many years before that, God’s presence had been known through the witness of an old man who doggedly looked --- forward.

God really is with us. We only have to learn to look. May the peace of Christ be with you this season and into a wonderful 2006.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Shepherds

Luke 2:8-20 (the message)

There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them.

They were terrified.

The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."

At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:

Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.

Seeing was believing.

They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!

The story of the humble, baby Messiah just gets stranger...and more beautiful.

Who could be more appropriate to welcome this child who would turn the world upside down than scruffy, little-regarded shepherd?

These sheepherders had their lives interrupted by the appearance of an angelic choir. They heard, and went...they saw and praised...and when they "let loose" in the community, all the folks who heard them were impressed.

"God works in mysterious ways," the old saying goes.

The story of Jesus' birth surely proves this statement powerfully.

Who would have chosen the young, vulnerable girl? The transient sheepherders? A feed-trough cradle?

God, of course.

God doesn't just make the best of bad situations...God chooses bad situations, and unlikely heroes.

Be encouraged that he could use any of us, for anything, if we believe and learn to listen.

Prayer: God our Father, we pray that you would teach us humility, help us to see the good in every situation, and to believe that you will use us as we are. We give you thanks for the mysterious ways that you work in our world.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

This weekend at SOTH! Media Sale sponsored by the Women of SOTH. All proceeds benefit their ministries of outreach into the local community. 8 AM to 4 PM at SOTH. Donations have been great, with over 2000 books available, plus cd's and dvd's. Don't miss it!

Worship this Sunday, 9 & 11 AM with SS for all ages at 10:15. We'd love to see you there!

Manger

Luke 2:1-7 (The Message)

About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

I wonder how many times I've ever read these words outside of December?

Not nearly as many as I have during that month. Nothing seems like "Christmas," more than hearing a sweet little child fumble her or his way through these opening verses of Luke 2 at Christmas Eve worship.

The images are timeless, and deeply inscribed in our hearts and minds if we grew up hearing them since childhood.

The pregnant woman riding on the donkey, her husband walking by her side. The refusal at the "inn," and their placement in a stable.

A baby wrapped in blankets and placed in a feed trough.

These images all convey one thing in particular: vulnerability.

Another way to say the same thing? Weakness.

Weakness and vulnerability? How can that be possible for the King? This is the messiah after all. This is the "Word," the "Logos" written about in the Gospel of John...

The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one.

Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn't put it out.

John 1:1-15 (the message)

This was the power that lay helpless in a manger. This is the incarnation. This is the nature of God's great love for his creation, for us.

Caesar had the power to make everyone travel to their ancestral homes. Quirinius was the enforcer and law of the land.

In telling the story of Jesus' birth, Luke seems to ask the question..."who is this baby?"

That's the question for all of us. The answer is one of faith. God's power made perfect in vulnerability. Vulnerable for us.

Prayer: God of Christmas and Easter, and every day that has been or will be...thank you for being vulnerable, for us. May we learn the lessons of the manger. In our weakness, your great strength can be made known.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end, Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Filled

Luke 1:67-80 (the Message)

Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago
through the preaching of his holy prophets:

Deliverance from our enemies
and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers,
as he remembers to do what he said he'd do,

What he swore to our father Abraham—
a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,
made holy before him as long as we live.

And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest,"
will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
the forgiveness of their sins.

Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God's Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
those sitting in the shadow of death,

Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
down the path of peace.

The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.

If you had just endured (or enjoyed?) 9 months of silence, what would your first words express?
Complaint? Lament? Happiness? Thanks?

For Zachariah, it's worship.

"Filled with the Holy Spirit," he began to praise God and make explanation of the events that led to the birth of this exceptional child.

Have you ever been "filled with the Holy Spirit?"

I know, for most of us Methodists, the answer tends to be, "not if I can help it."

Sometimes, we think that such an experience only happens to folks in "charismatic" denominations and that it has everything to do with a worship style, and other things that we don't understand, and that make us uncomfortable.

But recently, well-known Methodist evangelism expert George Morris spoke at SOTH during a Rome-Carrollton district event.

I'll always remember that he listed "foolproof ways to insure that your church is dying."

"Stiff-arm the Holy Spirit," he said, "and I can guarantee that your church will decline."

What is the Holy Spirit, and what does it mean to be, "filled?"

Well, it's not easy to explain. The Bible tells us that the Spirit "blows where it will." But I know that I have felt it, and need to experience it as often as possible.

Worship helps me do that, and so does preaching. Nature can help me, and so does scripture. Good friendships can be the place where the Spirit blows. So can service to other people, and giving to my church and to those in need. In all of those ways, I place myself in the "windy" spots of spirit.

Those butterflies in your stomach during the singing at church? Spirit. That bone-deep knowledge of what you should do in a given circumstance, or say in a particular conversation?
Spirit. The joy you feel when you see your spouse, or child? Spirit. That which keeps you going when you seem to have reason not to? Spirit.

Zachariah had an experience of God that changed him. He learned to believe that God was real, and present, and that God intended to do exactly what he said he would.

The power of that knowledge welled up inside him. In the presence of his family and this new born child...with a voice that was freshly restored...he was "filled with the Spirit," and he spoke.

May it be so for all of us as well.

Prayer: May you put us in those places today where the wind of the Spirit will blow into our lives. May you give us an openness to receive, and the ability to walk in your grace and love. Open our mouths, to speak with the truth of Zachariah.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Name

Luke 1:57-66 (The Message)

When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.

On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: "No. He is to be called John."

"But," they said, "no one in your family is named that." They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.

Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, "His name is to be John." That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah's mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, "What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this."

Let's just stop for a second and ponder the deep, comical beauty of this passage of scripture.

Remember Zachariah? When last we left, he was stumbling his way out of the temple. his mute button had been pressed by the angel he'd encountered.

He was playing charades to help the people understand his blessed predicament. That's good stuff.

This is even better.

Fast-forward 9+ months later, and the baby has been born. In the Jewish tradition, he is presented for circumcision (and to be named) on the 8th day.

Zachariah has been silent all this time.

To honor Zachariah, his family plans to name the baby after him. Elizabeth has been given other instruction.

Zechariah took the tablet, to write his opinion.

"His name is to be John," Luke says, politely.

I can't help imagining that Zachariah wrote something more like this:

HIS NAME IS TO BE JOHN!!!!!
JOHN!! JOHN!!! JOHN!!!!!!! JOHN!!!!!!!!!

You see, we can do things the easy way...or the hard way.

Lots of times we choose the hard way when God would prefer the easy. Cooperation with God, submission to God...that's the easy way.

"Giving over" may look harder at first, but once we've tried it for a while on our own, and with our own repercussions, going with God starts to look pretty good.

Have you ever found yourself spiritually "mute" because you knew you weren't in the right place with God?

Have you ever finally given up, and given in, and then suddenly found yourself released and free?

Zachariah did.

After all those months of silence, what did he finally have to say?

Wait and see tomorrow...

Prayer: God, we ask that you free us from silence when disobedience has closed our hearts. Help us to learn your will and follow you in freedom and submission.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen. Tomorrow's Scripture: Luke 1:67-80

Promises

Luke 1:46-56 (The Message)

And Mary said,

I'm bursting with God-news;
I'm dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I'm the most fortunate woman on earth!

What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.

He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.

The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.

It's exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home.

How important is keeping promises?

It's just about everything.

Trust is perhaps the most valuable resource that any of us have. Someone's trust is a sacred thing. Every time we keep a promise, and every time that we fail to deliver, we gain or lose credibility.

And all of us are tempted to make commitments...promises...that we can't keep. We say "yes" to things that we don't really want to do, or that we intend to do but then forget about altogether.

Unfortunately, breaking promises is part of being human. Not good, and to be avoided whenever and however possible, but broken trust does remain a real part of our human experience.

How does that impact our relationship with God?

I think it makes us wonder...can we trust God when we've had people break our trust in the past? At some point, don't you have to wise up and get tough?

Not with God.

This wonderful celebration from Mary reminds us that God always remembers, and always does, "...exactly what he promised."

He pulled the "victims from the mud." He "showed his strength." He "sat the starving poor down to a banquet," and "embraced his chosen child Israel."

To anyone looking at Elizabeth and Mary from the outside, they would have seen a woman too old to conceive and a foolish young girl who was now at risk of being left unwed and destitute. Certainly, they wouldn't have said, "this is the way that God embraces his chosen child Israel."

But Mary saw with eyes of faith. And she was right. God keeps his promises. Even during the days of the cross and the tomb, I don't think she ever gave up completely.

Easter, resurrection, redemption, new life. It all starts with faith that says, "God will do what he said." May it be so with us, too.

Prayer: God our Father, we pray that you would embrace us as your chosen children, just as you have said that you would. Give us eyes to see your promises fulfilled, especially in the most unlikely of places.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Luke 1:57-66

Exuberant

Luke 1:39-45 (Message)

Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house, and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,

You're so blessed among women,
and the babe in your womb, also blessed!

And why am I so blessed that
the mother of my Lord visits me?

The moment the sound of your
greeting entered my ears,

The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.

Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed every word would come true!

"Mary didn't waste a minute."

Have you ever wanted to see someone that badly?

Sometimes, certain things can happen: a smell, a sight, a joke, the return to a special place ---- and we just really want to be back together with a person or people, that we love.

Mary and Elizabeth shared a special, common bond.

They were expecting. And the circumstances were unusual and powerful.

Even the babies they carried were somehow bound together. And there was joy in being together.

The joyous meeting between Elizabeth and Mary, and the transcendent connection of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, ought to remind us of what being together as the church can be all about.

We're called to be the body of believers, and great joy and "exuberance" ought to mark our gatherings.

I'm proud of the exuberance and laughter that fills the gatherings that happen at our church. When we "meet 'n greet" in worship, it's not easy to regain control. That's not a bad thing.

We enjoy each other's company, and that's good. But even better, like Mary and Elizabeth, we should be people who share a common sense that God is doing something special among us.

We have reason to sing, and smile, and be genuinely happy in each other's presence.

Give each other that gift this Sunday at worship, and remember that joy is the mark of a Jesus-follower.

Prayer: God, we ask that you would give us the gift of joy. Help us to follow you with passion and exuberance. With thankful hearts, we look forward to the next time that we will see our brothers and sisters in the family of Christ.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

We'll see you in worship this week at SOTH! Youth Director Mike Adkins will be doing the preaching, so come out and find out more of what Mike is all about as he delivers a great message to the SOTH family.

Worship at 9 and 11 AM with Sunday School for all ages at 10:15.

No Blog entries next week, as the family and I spend some Sabbath-taking time on vacation. Look for entries to begin again on Monday, April 14. And as always, thanks for reading along, "On the Path of Life...Together."

Impossible

Luke 1:30-38 (message)

But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.

He will be great,
be called 'Son of the Highest.'
The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David;
He will rule Jacob's house forever—
no end, ever, to his kingdom."

Mary said to the angel, "But how? I've never slept with a man."

The angel answered,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth
will be called Holy, Son of God.

"And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."

And Mary said,

Yes, I see it all now:
I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
just as you say.

Then the angel left her.

"Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."

What a great thing to hear. We need this reminder from time to time.

Nothing, you see, impossible with God.

What kind of response would that get at your weekly team/business/professional meeting?

"Well boss, I know it doesn't look good right now...but nothing, you see, is impossible with God."

Most of us could imagine a Trump-like "you're fired!" raining down upon us.

It's tough to live by this principle when it's so little believed or practiced all around us. But, then, the same was true in Mary's day, too.

And, the truth is that this understanding is no "easy" way out. It's a tough way. A way of faith and determination.

Mary is told some quite unbelievable news, from an amazing, unbelievable source. And then, not only does she learn that she will conceive a child by the Holy Spirit, but that her old cousin Elizabeth is 6 months pregnant as well.

This is a lot to take in.

Her response?

"Let it be with me just as you say."

I want to point out that this is not the typical response of the saints. Most of them argued with God, ran, tried to hide, or otherwise disagreed with their call.

Not Mary. Hers is an example of deep, deep faith and trust.

We would do well to remember her, and to remember that "nothing, you see, is impossible with God."

Prayer: We ask you to help us remember...that nothing is impossible with you. Show us what that could mean in our lives, communities and world.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Luke 1:39-45

Special

Luke 1:26-29 (NIV)

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

As we continue to make our way through Luke, the story takes an abrupt turn.

So far, we've spent our time here in chapter one learning the stories of Elizabeth and Zachariah. Just as their stories have culminated in the amazing conception of John the Baptist, we move on to another, even more amazing story.

"...God sent the angel Gabriel...to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David..."

Of course, Mary really needs no introduction.

As readers of the Gospel, we almost certainly already know who she is and how her story will unfold. So did the first readers of Luke. As a matter of fact, at this point in the Gospel, we know much more about Mary than she does about herself.

"Greetings, you who are highly favored..."

And Mary was "greatly troubled" by the words.

You see, she didn't know herself to be "highly favored." Maybe she didn't even know that the "Lord is with (her)."

From all that we know historically, Mary was a plain, regular, seemingly typical girl. There was nothing outwardly special about her or her circumstances.

But God quantifies "special" in a different way.

Think of the long line of Biblical heroes that God chose: Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel...Mary.

Regular people, chosen by God for extraordinary purposes.

This is the God we serve. It means that as we live this day...as faithful as we can be...we should keep eyes open and ears listening. This crazy God of ours just might consider one of us "most favored," and call on us to change the world...in the smallest or greatest of ways.

Prayer: You are a God that chooses the "plain" and makes us "special." Help us today to know that Mary's story speaks to our own. May her example of faithfulness inspire and change each of us.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Luke 1:30-38