Podcast

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds all things by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent that theirs. Hebrews 1:1-4

I once heard a seminary professor lecture on cultures and worldviews. He explained that our materialistic western worldview does not allow room for the supernatural and that is one reason why we find it difficult to make room for God’s Spirit to work in our lives the way Christians experienced him in the New Testament. We are like the people in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, where “he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief ” (Mt. 13:58).
The professor explained that it is possible for us to make a mental turn to a worldview that includes the supernatural work, but very difficult and would require a paradigm shift. I had the opportunity to ask him how it would be possible for us to experience such a paradigm shift. He was quiet for a moment and then offered two suggestions. “Analogy is useful,” he said, and I immediately thought of Jesus’ parables. Then he added, “And it would be helpful to have a credible guide”–that is, someone with more experience and insight in the realm of God’s Spirit.

The author of Hebrews is a credible guide
– he is an excellent resource for those of us who are always longing to live closer to God
• Hebrews takes us on an adventure of discovering Jesus
◦ it unfolds the mystery of his person
• in Hebrews we look at Jesus through a different lens than other New Testament books
◦ in the gospels, Jesus reveals God; in Hebrews, God reveals Jesus
. . . no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him (Mt. 11:27)
◦ other than the gospels, no other New Testament book holds such a sustained focus on Jesus all the way through

The introduction to Hebrews is not quiet music and soft lights

It is fireworks and crescendo
– in studying the Psalms, biblical scholars have identified enthronement psalms
• these poems celebrate the coronation of a king
• Hebrews begins with something like that
◦ it celebrates Jesus as he takes his place at right hand of God
◦ as we read in verse 8,
But of the Son he says,
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever . . . .
– the theological soil of the book of Hebrews is the Old Testament
• however, Hebrews is not controlled by the Old Testament or the Hebrew language
• the author quotes scripture from the Septuagint
(the Greek translation of the Old Testament)

At this time last year, we were in Gospel of John
– we observed how it was different from other three gospels
• John provided explanations and insights to the Synoptics
◦ revelations that the disciples did not understand at the time
◦ Hebrews is similar, but goes much further
• at the same time, there are solid connections with John
◦ especially in the introductions to both books
◦ both begin with:
> God creating the world through Jesus
> the glory of God revealed in Jesus
> Jesus as the Son of God
> God being “made known” through Jesus
– the major themes of Hebrews are also present in introduction
• the structure of the book has an alternating pattern
• there is revelation and then warning; revelation and warning; etc.

God has spoken

In the past, God spoke to our fathers; that is, Israel’s ancestors
In the present (these last days) God has spoken to us

In the past, God spoke by (or through) the prophets
In the present he has spoken to us through his Son

The Scriptures are a record of what God said in the past
– the emphasis here is on fact that God speaks, he communicates
• in Hebrews we do not just read scripture, we hear it
For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”? (verse 5)
◦ the quotes in verses 6-8 are not introduced with, “It is written”
◦ but with, “he says” — God’s word speaks to its readers
• whenever God spoke, he revealed something
– God spoke in the past, long ago
• many times – in every period of Israel’s history
• many ways – through dreams, visions, prophetic oracles and drama
– whenever God spoke, his word was like a piece of a puzzle
• what people heard was relevant to their lives and experience at the time
• but the whole revelation came and piecemeal and in fragments
◦ no one ever saw the whole puzzle
◦ in fact, it never came to completion in the Old Testament

But in these last days – we are no longer in the past
– things are different now – what has changed?
• it is not that God no longer speaks
◦ he still speaks, but now it is to us that he has spoken
◦ and not only by the former prophets, but by his Son
• now in Jesus the whole puzzle is complete
◦ everything God wants us to know about himself is revealed in Jesus
◦ Jesus could say, Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (Jn. 14:10)
– the present situation is connected to the past;
• a continuation of God’s revelation
◦ we have a shared history with Israel
◦ the cumulative message of the prophets is brought to completion
• Jesus and what he does and what he provides,
◦ is “better,” “greater,” and “much more” than what was revealed previously
◦ Jesus is the fullness of God’s revelation

The author of Hebrews has much to say about Jesus

But he does not repeat what we know from the gospels
– that is, that Jesus was born of a virgin, preached, healed, was crucified and rose again
• all of that took place on the stage of this world
• but other things were hidden behind the earthly screen
◦ the writer wants to tell us about heavenly things
◦ the work Jesus accomplished there, and what he is doing now
– let’s look briefly at the eight statements regarding Jesus in this prologue

whom he appointed heir of all things
– in verse 5, the writer will begin a list of quotations
• the first one comes from Psalm 2, and the whole quote is,
I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
and the ends of the earth your possession (Ps. 2:7-8)
– when human history has run its course and curtain comes down,
• God will hand everything over to Jesus
• through Jesus God created all things
◦ and at the end of human history, he will give Jesus all things
◦ in other words, Jesus is the world’s destiny

through whom he also created the world
– we are not give any information on how this worked
• but it tells us, Jesus existed with the Father prior to his earthly life
– “world” translates a Greek word that is literally “ages”
• we refer to “prehistoric age,” “age of reason,” “industrial age”
• whatever happens in the ages also occupies physical space
◦ so the ages that develop through time, can be referred to as the world
◦ world history

He is the radiance of the glory of God
– God’s glory was one of the manifestations of God’s presence
• it was only seen when God wanted it to be seen
◦ and when he wanted people to know he was there
◦ John could say,
. . . we beheld his glory, as of the only Son from the Father (Jn. 1:14)
◦ and Paul could say regarding those who do not know Jesus, that they are kept from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4)

and the exact imprint of his nature (essence or “very being”)
– think of a rubber stamp and the impression it leaves
• when we talk about a seal made in clay or wax,
◦ “seal” can refer to both the engraved object and its image
◦ it is as if they are one and the same
• the idea is that Jesus is an exact, visible representation of God
He is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15)
– as William Barclay put it, “Jesus revealed God by being himself.”

and he upholds the universe by the word of his power
– when in the OT God exercised his power, it took two fundamental forms
• his Spirit and his Word – we see both in the creation story
• God who spoke in past, shares his power of speech with Son
◦ as when Jesus drove out demons with a word (Mt. 8:16)
◦ or when he healed the centurion’s servant
say the word, and let my servant be healed (Lk. 7:7)

making purification for sin
– we’ll come to more teaching on this later on
• we’ve spent a lot of time with purification in Leviticus

he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
– having completed his work on earth, took his place in heaven
• in this statement, a dual role is implied:
◦ a priestly role – purification
◦ and what we could call a royal or majestic role
(much more on Jesus’ dual role later)

having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs
– Jesus superiority to angels will fill the remainder of the chapter
– the name of Jesus, that is “above every name” (Php. 2:9) has not yet been mentioned
• the author delays using it until he has prepared his readers to hear it
◦ both Luke and John do the same thing in their gospels
• in scripture, a name was a person’s identity, it defined him or her
Timothy L. Johnson, “In the biblical tradition, the name is more than an arbitrary designator; it evokes the identity of the one named.”
◦ the name is the person
◦ and the person, Jesus the Son of God, is superior to angels

Conclusion: I think the author tied the last chapter of Hebrews to the beginning

We find in chapter 13 a simple statement that seems to stand alone
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (He. 13:8)
– all that Jesus is, he has always been and will always be
• studying the book of Hebrews will deepen our knowledge of Jesus
◦ it will mature beyond romantic notions of “our buddy”
◦ and at the same time avoid the emptiness of sterile doctrine
• the book of Hebrews will also motivate us to persevere through hardship and suffering

I was impressed with, and inspired by Alex Trebek this past Wednesday. He made a public update on the progress of his treatment for pancreatic cancer. He said:
“I’d be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one. There were some good days, but a lot of not-so-good days.”
“I joked with friends that the cancer won’t kill me, the chemo treatments will. There were moments of great pain, days when certain bodily functions no longer functioned and sudden, massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it really was worth fighting on.”
But he bravely fought on anyway, because he believed it would be wrong to give up.
“That would’ve been a massive betrayal, a betrayal of my wife and soulmate, Jean, who has given her all to help me survive.”
He said it would also be a betrayal to his faith, of his supporters, and of others fighting the illness who were looking to him for hope.

The book of Hebrews will give us reasons to hope
and that hope will give us motivation to endure
And in it all, Jesus will become everything to us

Podcast

The LORD called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.
“If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.'” Leviticus 1:1-4

Intro: For some time I’ve wanted to walk us through the Book of Hebrews

When we come to it, you will discover why it is so extraordinary
– but the same reasons that make it extraordinary,
• also make it difficult to comprehend
• it’s content, style and logic are sometimes difficult for us to follow
– Hebrews is built on stories and symbols from the Hebrew Scriptures
• we need to be familiar with that background to grasp its message
• so we are going to spend the next three weeks in Leviticus
◦ if we were in junior high school, I’d hear a lot of groans right now
◦ but we’re adults – so we’re silently planning to be somewhere else
for the next three weeks

I confess that, for me, Leviticus is dry, tedious and boring

There are several reasons for this
– first, it lacks the stories that make the books around it entertaining
– second, it reads like a legal document
• Leviticus was written primarily for Israel’s priests
• it is filled with regulations, procedures, crimes and punishments
– third, it belongs to an ancient culture, long gone and far away
• finding its relevance for today is a huge chore

But we’re going to do this – and eventually you’ll be glad we did
– it will be like learning the alphabet to be able to read and write

Leviticus begins in the “tent of meeting” (God’s “dwelling place”)

This is where the Book of Exodus left off (Ex. 40:1-2, 34-38)
– God gave Moses the plans, and Israel put it together
• the architecture is easy to imagine, it is all rectangles and squares
◦ including the furnishings, except for the basin and lamp stand
• the sanctuary was divided into two sections:
◦ the holy place, and at one end of it a cube–the holiest place
◦ outside, in the courtyard, was the altar for sacrifice and a basin where the priest would was their hands and feet before entering the sanctuary
– the purpose of this structure was to assure them that God was nearby
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst (Ex. 25:8)
For what great nation is there that has a god so near to I as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? (De. 4:7)
• because it was God’s residence, it was holy
◦ this is a major theme in Leviticus – several times we’re reminded
You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy (e.g., Le. 11:45)
• Leviticus addresses two powerful forces operating in their world
◦ holiness and pollution – a positive and negative energy
◦ both can be lethal and therefore demand respect
Mary Douglas noted that the idea of holiness is not sentimental, “but more like Exodus’ terrifying concept of unbearable beauty and power, God known in the thunderstorm on Mount Sinai, God who warns Aaron not to come into the holy of holies improperly dressed lest he die.”

God’s first words from the sanctuary are instructions about sacrifice

“Speak to the people of Israel”
– the most frequent opening line used in Leviticus when God speaks
• less frequent, “Speak to Aaron and his sons” or “to the priests”
– but the whole book was primarily for the priests
• it was their job to perform the rituals
◦ needed to know how it was done
◦ what to do with the various parts and the blood
• it was also their job to inform, instruct, and guide the people
◦ the priests were Israel’s worship leaders

An important qualification regarding Israel’s priests
– you know there were twelve tribes of Israel
• each of them were named for their ancestors
◦ twelve brothers, the sons of Jacob
• one of the tribes was named for Levi (Gen. 29:31-35)
– a prophet could be called from any tribe
• the kings of Judah belonged to tribe of Judah
• all of Israel’s priest had to belong to the tribe of Levi
◦ that poses a problem that Book of Hebrews will solve

The first seven chapters describe Israel’s ritual sacrifices

Mary Douglas, “. . . the first chapters of Leviticus are largely about how to make a sacrifice, how to select the right animal victim, how to cut it, what to do with the blood, how to lay out the sections on the altar.”
– whenever I read these chapters,
• it feels like I’m in a slaughter house or a butcher shop
• I think it is difficult for us to connect with this gruesome practice
◦ even though sacrifice was a common practice in every culture,
◦ it is far from where we live today
– it’s important for us to remind ourselves that back then,
• people didn’t run to grocery store for ground beef neatly wrapped
◦ they owned the animals that were sacrificed
• the life of each bull or sheep was valuable to them
◦ economically, but also as a sacred, because a living thing

A variety of sacrifices are described here

At the end of chapter 7, there’s a summary of previous chapters
– we find the different purposes that sacrifice could serve
This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering, which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai (Lev. 7:37-38)
– Everette Fox asks whether the purpose of Israel’s sacrifice was:
◦ a gift of value – meant to win God’s favor
◦ communion – a shared meal (forming a relational bond)
◦ or atonement – cover sin and remove guilt
Everett Fox, “Actually, at various times one can find all of them—the texts present a variety of motives and occasions for sacrifice in biblical Israel, from thanksgiving to purification and reparation. But in generally one may say of Israelite sacrifice, as one may say of much of the ritual in Leviticus, that it is designed primarily to maintain or repair the relationship between God and Israel. . . . sacrifice was a crucial element in keeping the covenant, and hence God’s beneficent presence among the Iraelites, intact.”

The sacrifice we read about in the first chapter is a Burnt Offering
– this was the basic offering that “functions essentially to bring human beings to the attention of God and to win his acceptance.” (E. Fox)
• the unique feature of Burnt Offering,
◦ everything was placed on the altar – all of it was burned
◦ “turned into smoke”
• it is described three times in this chapter
◦ first, when the offering was a bull
◦ second, when it was a goat or sheep
◦ third, when it was turtle doves or pigeons
– all the sacrifices that follow are variations of this one
• in distinguishing them, what matters is not what they share in common, but how they differ
• what parts are eaten and by whom, what is burned, and what is added

Briefly:
– chapter 2,the Grain Offering
– chapter 3, the Peace Offering–or “Fellowship offering,”
• the sacrificial meal was shared with God, the priest, and the person or persons who brought the offering
– chapter 4, the Sin Offering – its purpose was to cancel sin
– chapter 5-6:7, the Guilt Offering
• examples of types of sin that required this offering are given
– chapter 6 the Ordination Offering
• for the priests, before they could begin their service
– ch. 7, how priests were to handle what was placed on the altar
• before and after
• the “wave” offering is also mentioned here
◦ the priest or worshiper would raise the sacrifice up toward heaven before placing it on the altar

There are several things we need to understand:
– first, this sacrificial system of worship worked
• it was effective in what God mean for it to do
◦ atone means “cover”
◦ as if God were saying, “You’re alright now; I’ve got you covered”
• through sacrifice, their sin was atoned and they were forgiven
And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven (Le. 4:2)
– second, the goal of worship is to find acceptance–for the offering and the worshiper
• from the very first instance of worship in scripture: Cain and Abel (Gen. 4:1-7)
• and throughout the Scriptures
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (Ro. 12:1)
– third, to keep their covenant relationship with God solid
• and to repair it after a rupture
• they would work out their relationship with God at the altar

Conclusion: Sometimes it’s hard for me to comprehend or realize this truth,

But God travels with us, on our spiritual journey through life
– he is always here with us
Living with him nearby creates special conditions
– and we do not always live up to our part
Ruptures occur in our relationship with God
– but he has made provision to repair those ruptures
Perhaps we can find in Israel’s sacrifice
– the appropriate response in times of worship
• Confession
• Prayers for personal needs
• Prayers for others
• Thanksgiving
• Praise
• and times of intimate expressions of love

God’s door is always open,
because through Jesus Christ he gives us
an infinite supply of mercy and grace

Podcast

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:26-33

Intro: It seems to me that the traditional Advent themes are jumbled

The first Sunday is hope, then the second, third, and fourth are faith, joy and peace
– if I had lived in the 4th century–and anyone had asked me
• I would have suggested that we put faith first
◦ faith is what enables us to hope
◦ so hope would be the theme of the second Sunday
• then, feeling secure about the future, we would be at peace
◦ and that, I think, is when we are most likely to feel joy
– one other Advent theme that integrates and completes the others
• love–and we save that for Christmas Eve
• but since we are following the ancient tradition,
◦ the arrival of Jesus into our world is God’s gift of peace

The angel, before visiting Mary, had another appointment

Zechariah was already an old priest when assigned to his service
– there were hundreds of priests – he belonged to one division
• when they drew names to see who would enter the sanctuary,
◦ Zechariah’s name was drawn
◦ this is where we meet him – lighting incense in the temple
• this was done every morning and evening
◦ incense symbolized Israel’s prayers and praise
◦ the people praying outside waited to receive his blessing
– this moment had to be meaningful–Zechariah did not do this often
(this may have been the only time he had ever had this honor)
• he’s in the dark, sacred space and every object around him is holy
◦ suddenly, in his peripheral vision he glimpses someone else
◦ he turns, and standing beside the altar is the angel Gabriel
Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard
• I won’t go through the rest of story, except this:
• coming out of the holy place, Zechariah could not speak,
◦ he was unable to pronounce God’s blessing on the worshipers
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace (Num. 6:24)

Sometime after Mary’s angelic encounter, Joseph got the news

I imagine him coming to his parents’ home after a long day
– he’s surprised to see his mother at the gate
• she takes him by the arm and leads him to side of house
◦ “Mother what is it?” “Mary,” she answers
◦ she has trouble getting the words out – “She’s pregnant”
• “That’s impossible! We never even . . .”
◦ “I know, I know, but it’s true”
– Joseph did not immediately assume, “Well, it must be a miracle”
• he was immediately contemplating divorce
◦ they were not merely “engaged,” but “betrothed”
◦ the first stage of an arranged marriage — legal and binding
• because Joseph is a good man, he wants to do the right thing
◦ the divorce will be private for her sake and for both families
◦ but the angel of the Lord appeared to him – in a dream
Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife

The angel had one more Christmas errand

This visit came after the birth of Jesus
– last week we read the story of the shepherds
• the angel of the Lord appeared to them also
◦ his first words were,
Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy

So here we have four stories and one message
– Do not be afraid
• for Zechariah and the shepherds,
◦ the fear was triggered by presence of other-worldly beings
• but it was different for Mary and Joseph
◦ Mary was “greatly troubled” by the angel’s greeting
◦ Joseph’s fear was the prospect of going forward with marriage
taking on the responsibility of the whole mess
– the idea I’m chasing, is that in each instance,
• fear was triggered, then addressed, and then calmed

In calming the fear, the theme of peace is implied

One of the statements made to Mary was a partial quote (v. 33)
– we read the full quote the first Sunday of Advent
. . . and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end (Isa. 9:6-7)
• worshipers at the temple would have received a blessing of peace,
• if Zechariah had been able to speak
– in the announcement to the shepherds, the promise is explicit
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased (Lk. 2:14)
• this wasn’t a promise of universal peace
• it was a promise to everyone who received heaven’s gift

Stephen Porges, a professor of psychiatry and research scientist
– he has focused his research on the vagus nerve
• it plays a vital role in preparing the body for action or rest
◦ it also functions in personal relationships and social interaction
• he says the human body and brain function best when we feel safe
Porges, “If our nervous system detects safety, then it’s no longer defensive. When it’s no longer defensive, then the [functions of] the nervous system support health, growth, and restoration.”
◦ socially we’re better adjusted
◦ we are more present, creative, and positive
– he says, safety is not defined by the absence of threat or risk
• but by the feeling of being safe
◦ in other words, my situation may not be safe,
◦ but we can still think and respond well if we feel safe
(for example, a car’s safety features allow us to feel safe while driving)

Perhaps the best way to understand promise of peace is Shalom

This Hebrew word signifies a state of complete well-being
– a quiet, secure and productive life,
• with good physical health and close relationships
– last week, when joy was our subject, I quoted Jesus,
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in your, and that your joy may be full (Jn. 15:11)
• he made a similar statement regarding peace
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33)
• he also said,
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (Jn. 14:27)

Here’s what I believe we need to understand

The Christmas promise is that we will find peace in Jesus
– this is not easy for us
• our minds are materialistically conditioned
◦ how can Jesus become real enough to us, to rest in him?
• by getting to know him in scripture,
◦ then by practicing spending time with him in silent prayer
– in the New Testament, we hear Paul say repeatedly that we are
IN CHRIST
• with relaxed, deep breaths we can learn what that feels like
◦ quiet our souls in him – to trust – and to rest
• no matter what our circumstances throw at us,
◦ if we can find our way back to Jesus, we can return to peace
◦ he is always a safe, loving, calming presence

Conclusion: One last thought about the angel and his messages

Each time he appeared to a person, he spoke to them by name
Do not be afraid, Zechariah
Do not be afraid, Mary
Joseph, son of David, do not fear
– as soon as the angel spoke, they discovered they were known
• they were not anonymous digits, lost in the mass of humanity
– God knew them by name – and he had a message for them
• as he knows each of us by name, and has a message for us
• are we listening?

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, his saints (Ps. 85:8)

Podcast

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Luke 2:8-20

Intro: I’m going to begin by asking you two questions

First, What makes you feel happy?
– take a moment and give this some thought

Second, What makes you feel joy?
– again, take a moment with this question

I don’t think it’s possible to separate joy from happiness
– but I do believe it’s helpful to make the distinction
• we could spend a lifetime in the pursuit of happiness,
◦ pile up a lot of good times,
◦ but never experience joy
– so, how do they differ?
• happiness depends on external factors–what “happens”
joy depends on internal processes–response and reflection
• happiness is temporary
joy has a long shelf-life
• happiness fluctuates
joy is stable
• happiness is loud
joy is quiet
• happiness feels good
joy feels content and grateful
• happiness expresses itself with enthusiasm
joy expresses itself with a smile, a hug
• happiness is at home with entertainment
joy is at home with deep thought

This third Sunday of Advent we celebrate joy

The angel’s presence evoked great fear; their message was of great joy

In first century Israel, a shepherd’s life was not enviable
Bruce Malina provides some cultural background to the story:
“Although shepherds could be romanticized (as was king David [sic]), they were usually ranked with . . . tanners, sailors, butchers, camel drivers, and other despised occupations. Being away from home at night they were unable to protect their women and therefore were considered dishonorable. In addition, they often were considered thieves because they grazed their flocks on other people’s property.”
– shepherding was a bottom-rung occupation
• some jobs today are treated with a noticeable lack of respect
◦ we don’t even mention them by name, but activity
◦ “flipping burgers,” “scrubbing toilets,” “washing dishes”
“bagging groceries,” and so on
• in Luke’s gospel, Jesus gravitated towards these people
◦ more than once, he is criticized for socializing with them
– the world of these shepherds was hard and unpleasant
• authoritarian governments create a culture of oppression
◦ that is, people who are oppressed by “higher-ups”
◦ typically oppress others who are “lower-downs”
• shepherds were fair game for everyone’s contempt

WARNING: This will be a brief tangent. To me, a sad example of ugly religion is when people who claim to be Christians treat with contempt or condescension waiters in restaurants, clerks in stores, fast-food servers, gardeners, janitors, and people other similar professions. And some ugly religion people do this just because they can. In the reconstructed world of Jesus, no person is above or below anyone else.
But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all (Mk. 10:43-44)

The angel promised a joy that will be for all the people
– as if giving proof this was true, the announcement came to shepherds
• those dirty outcasts became the first messengers of the good news

In scripture, God is the source of all human joys

Israel celebrated annual feasts in which they worshiped with rejoicing
(see Deut. 16:11, 14, 15; 26:11; 27:11)
– they rejoiced at harvest time, sheep-shearing, weddings, etc.
• in all joyful occasions, they lifted their eyes to heaven
◦ every good thing that comes from the natural world is God’s gift
◦ and every gift is cause for joy and rejoicing with thanksgiving
There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”
You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wind abound (Ps. 4:6-7)
• in that same psalm, the poet celebrates other gifts of God
◦ relief from distress – peace, and safety
– after returning from exile, Israel renewed their covenant with God
• when they gathered to hear the reading from the Scriptures,
◦ the people wept over their past sins and what that cost them
• but Nehemiah and the Levites told them not to grieve
Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength (Neh. 8:10)

Israel also rejoiced in God for their liberation from slavery and exile
– after fleeing Egypt and crossing the Red Sea,
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,
I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him (Ex. 15:1-21)
• looking forward to the time they would return from captivity,
◦ Isaiah sang,
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isa. 51:11)
– but most frequently in scripture, especially in the New Testament,
• joy comes from relationships with other people
◦ so Paul could say to the believers in Thessalonica,
For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy (1 Thes. 1:19)

The Book of Joy was one of my favorite reads in the past two years

In it, Douglas Abrams reports a week-long conversation between the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
– both men have suffered extreme hardships
• yet both men are fountains of joy
– through their conversation they discerned eight pillars of joy:
Perspective – “There are many different angles”
Abrams, “A healthy perspective really is the foundation of joy and happiness, because the way we see the world is the way we experience the world. Changing the way we see the world in turn changes the way we feel and the way we act, which changes the world itself.”
Humility
– we are not as big as we think
• and, we are not as small as we think
Desmond Tutu, “God uses each of us in our own way, and even if you are not the best one, you may be the one who is needed or the one who is there.”
Humor – “Laughter, joking is much better”
Abrams, “Humor is one of the best ways to end conflict, especially when you are able to make fun of yourself or admit that you are overreacting or being silly.”
Acceptance – “The only place where change can begin”
Forgiveness
Tutu, “Forgiveness is the only way to heal ourselves and to be free from the past.” “Without forgiveness, we remain tethered to the person who harmed us.”
Gratitude
Compassion
Generosity
– in his instructions to the leaders of the church of Ephesus, Paul said,
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35)

Conclusion: And that brings us back to where we began

The good news of great joy had to do specifically with Jesus
– Peter said that in him we rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory (1 Pet. 1:8)
• something Jesus said to his disciples their last night has stuck with me
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in your, and that your joy may be full (Jn. 15:11)

When the shepherds got over their fear,
– and their rational minds kicked in,
• they decided, “If this is true, we better go check it out”

This is all I really have to say today
– we can find our way to Jesus if we sincerely want to
• we can open our hearts fully to him
• allow him to pour his joy into us – and then begin to live it

What I know for sure,
is that there is more in Jesus to lift us up
than there is in this world to bring us down

Podcast

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophets:
‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.'”
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:1-11

Intro: I was young and foolish the first time I visited Bethlehem

I was not prepared for the Church of the Nativity
– an ancient cathedral built over a cave
• the guide told us this was the shelter where Jesus was born
– a large icon screen stood behind the altar reaching almost to the top of the vaulted ceiling
• brass candle-holders and incense censers hung between the pillars
• an assortment of meaningful symbols dangled from the ceiling,
◦ including bulbs that looked like gigantic Christmas tree ornaments
– you see, this is what we do
• we decorate Christmas with symbols that are meaningful to us
• for instance, we have painted the magi into a warm and cozy scene
◦ in reality, the mood Matthew describes was tense and dangerous
◦ and in spite of the danger, the magi found Jesus and worshiped him

This is the second Sunday of Advent
– and this morning we light the “Bethlehem candle”
• different meanings have been attached to it
• you and I might as well attach our own meanings
– for me, this year, the candle represents the light that led the magi to Jesus,
• and the faith that enabled them to persevere until they found him

In the movie, “Jesus of Nazareth,” Peter Ustinov played Herod the Great

He was an excellent choice! I remember him fuming,
“King of the Jews? King of the Jews? I am the king of the Jews!”
– we know from history that “When Herod ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy”
• Matthew handles this rather delicately,
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him
• Herod consulted the biblical experts
◦ where did the prophets say the Messiah was to be born?
◦ they answered, “Bethlehem,” and supplied a quote from Micah
– so at this point in the story, who all knows where to look for Messiah?
• the chief priests and scribes, King Herod, and now the magi
◦ but of the three, only the magi go off to find him
• this is the first lesson I learn about the faith of the magi:

It belongs not to the person who knows,
but to the person that goes

Many books have been written on what Christians believe
– and arguments over our beliefs have raged for 2,000 years
• but beliefs do not necessarily bring us to faith
– beliefs are static–that is, they do not live, change, or evolve
• we can pick up new beliefs or throw out old beliefs, but they stay the same
◦ they can be discussed, analyzed, defined, and repeated
◦ they can branch out, but they don’t reproduce
• James points out the limits of belief with a measure of sarcasm,
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe–and shudder! (Jas. 2:19)

Faith, on the other hand, is dynamic – it moves, grows, and changes
Helmut Thielicke, “. . . faith does not consist in ‘believing something is true’ . . . . It consists in a struggle, a conversation with God.”
– I am convinced that you have to struggle with faith to make it your own
• beliefs that have been handed down to us belonged to someone else
• faith, however, can only belong to us

Faith is a journey or quest – like that of the magi

Faith moves toward what it believes
– and once faith begins to move, it sets other things in motion
• faith makes other things happen
• the magi’s journey of faith was not an easy one
T. S. Eliot imagined their journey in poetry
One of the magi narrates:

‘A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelter,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.
(T. S. Eliot, “Journey of the Magi” — first stanza)

– but I do not believe our journey is much easier
• for them, Bethlehem was hundreds of miles
◦ for us it is thousands of miles
◦ and even more, it’s thousands of years away
• we have to travel the distance of credibility
Helmut Thielicke, “Are we to entrust ourselves and our questions about life to a man who road a donkey in a legendary far-off time in a [distant] corner of the world?”
◦ of course, the answer is yes
◦ only Jesus did much more than just ride a donkey

On Wednesday night, our Lexio Divina meditation was John the Baptist’s question to Jesus, Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? John had struggles of his own when it came to placing his faith in Jesus. Perhaps he expected a Messiah who would drive Rome out of Israel, restore the ancient dynasty of David, and establish Jerusalem as the super power and political center of the world, bringing peace to God’s people and all the nations.
Jesus’ answer to John’s disciples was, “Just go back and tell him what you’ve seen”
– then he added a caption to the picture they would paint for John
And blessed is the one who is not offended by me (Lk. 7:23)
• to be offended is to be “stumbled,” “put off,” or “disappointed”
– Jesus was saying,
“This is who I am. These are the things I do. The blessing I bring is for the one who will accept me without disappoint me, but take me for who I am”
– this is the struggle of faith — we are at times struggling with Jesus

Faith is what links us to God

There is a verse of Hebrew Scripture at heart of Paul’s theology
– it is a statement about Abraham
And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6)
• again, righteousness means right-in-relation to the other person
• faith in God is what makes a person right with God
◦ all through the Scriptures, God is saying, “Trust Me”
– some students are good at taking tests
• but there’s one test no one enjoys taking
◦ it’s what James called the testing of your faith (Ugh!)
. . . for you know that the testing of you faith produces steadfastness (Jas. 1:3)
◦ Peter says the genuineness of our faith is tested because it’s
more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire (1 Pe. 1:7)

Jesus tested the faith of his disciples more than once
– and when it broke down, he called them on it
• when he calmed a storm at sea,
Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? (Mk. 4:40)
• when they asked why there were unable to cast out a demon
Because of your little faith (Mt. 17:20)
– God doesn’t test our faith in order to break us
• to show us that we’re hypocrites, that we didn’t make the cut
• if school tests merely reveal what students don’t know,
◦ they’re worthless
◦ if they’re tools to help us learn, they’re invaluable
God’s purpose is to deepen, strengthen, and increase our faith

Conclusion: In our list of Christmas preparations,

Do we need to include a trip to Bethlehem?
– Can’t we just say,
“I have all these other things to get done.
And I still have presents to buy,
cards to address, dinners to attend.
And I know all that stuff about Bethlehem already.
Is it all that important that I think about it–again? ”
– Yes, it is, because there is where our faith was born

Faith can come to people in different ways
– sometimes it comes spontaneously, as in crisis when people cry out for God
• or it comes naturally, in times of desperation
◦ as when parents will try anything to save the life of their child
– sometimes it comes as the last or only solution to a problem
• many people have to be talked into surgery
◦ or driven to it by pain
◦ “I don’t trust doctors” or “I don’t trust hospitals”
• but one day they have to go, because there is no other hope

Our day to day faith in Jesus, the faith we live by, Paul says
comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ (Ro. 10:17)
• hearing again, we create a path for faith in our brains
Andrew Newberg and Mark Walden, in How God Changes Your Brain, tell us, “When you intensely meditate on a specific goal over an extended period of time, your brain begins to relate to your idea as if it were an actual object in the world by increasing activity in the thalamus, part of the reality-making process of the brain. The concept begins to feel more obtainable and real.”
• what is the goal we’re stretching for here?
◦ to build ourselves up in our faith
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God (Jude 20)

This week there will be plenty of reminders of Jesus’ birth
– slow down, press the pause button on your day, and think
• not your typical busy brain thoughts
• but quiet reflective thoughts

The sort of thought that is rooted in awareness
and gives you new eyes to see,
and opens you up to the touch of Jesus
Be with Jesus in that present moment
in such a way that you allow yourself to be changed

Podcast

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:18-23

Intro: Growing up, in my hope, we gave thanks for every meal

My parents had us bow our heads and close our eyes
– if my brother tried to rat me out–“Chuck didn’t close his eyes!”
• Mom would ask him, “How do you know?”
– a prayer of thanks before eating is not a bad habit,
• so long as it is heartfelt

One year we were at my grandparents’ home for Thanksgiving. A football game played on their old black and white TV, but the volume was turned down when the time came for Dad’s prayer before dinner. Suddenly, in the middle of Dad’s prayer, Uncle Bill shouted, “Touchdown!” After the “Amen,” Grandpa told Bill, rather sternly, “Never interrupt a prayer!” Then he added, “Besides, there was a penalty on the play and the touchdown was called back.”

Last week I suggested November would be “Thanksgiving month”

Paul has a lot to say about giving thanks in his letters
– in fact, he sums up God’s will for us with these basic practices:
. . . always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes. 5:15-18)
• in our passage, Paul says something about not giving thanks
• he sees ingratitude as the beginning of a downward slide
◦ in fact, a sign of the last days is that people will be ungrateful (2 Tim. 3:2)
– the problem wasn’t that unbelievers did not know about God
• the universe reveals him–even his invisible attributes
◦ the problem was that knowing about God,
they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him
• for Paul, this is a serious spiritual malfunction
◦ one that sent society in the wrong direction
◦ he illustrates its downward spiral in a list of worldly vices that includes envy, murder, strife, deceit and maliciousness
◦ these are symptoms of the wrong turn taken by society

There may be a variety of reasons people are not thankful

Years ago, watching the Italian Westerns,
– it bothered me that Clint Eastwood never said ‘Thanks’
• not even when someone saved his life or shared food with him
– he was too cool, or tough, or independent for that
• he wasn’t a polite cowboy–he was a hired gun

Us ordinary people have different reasons for lacking gratitude
– there are some people who seem to feel entitled
• they deserve what is given them or done for them
• they don’t think to say “thank you” to people who get paid to wait on them or check their groceries
– then there are those who take credit for all they have
• why should they be grateful?
◦ didn’t they work hard for the comforts they enjoy?
• it doesn’t occur to them that no one who comes into this world
◦ is guaranteed health, strength, and energy
– other people don’t think they have any reason to be grateful
• they have experienced so much abuse,
◦ or so many losses, or so many illnesses, or failures,
◦ that being thankful doesn’t enter their minds
– I suppose there are people who have been left in the dark
• who never learned the social rhythm of “please” and “thank you”

Giving thanks is not just a courtesy–a proper and polite habit

Most of us learned to be polite when we were still small children
– but polite does not touch the heart of gratitude

It has been suggested, there are two movements to giving thanks
– in first movement we acknowledge God and what he’s done
• we thank him for ordinary blessings:
◦ food, shelter, good health, family
• and we thank him for extraordinary blessings:
◦ kindness and compassion, mercy, comfort in our sorrows
– the second movement is deeper and comes through reflection
• what kind of God is this,
◦ that shows me such kindness, compassion, and mercy?
• or, in the words of C. S. Lewis,
“One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun.”

People who have spent much time thinking about gratitude tell us
– giving thanks wakes us up to our world and its many joys
(Ann Voskamp demonstrates this well in her book, One Thousand Gifts)
David Steindl-Rast who wrote, Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer
• in his introduction tells us this is a book about waking up
Rast, “We run the risk of sleeping through life, of never waking up at all. Or else we wakefully rise to the risk of life, facing the challenge of life, of love.”
C. S. Lewis, says that to praise and give thanks “is simply to be awake, to have entered the real world; not to appreciate [the Object admired] is to have lost the greatest experience, and in the end to have lost all.”
• when he first thought about praise as it appears in the Psalms,
he had thought “of it in terms of compliment, approval or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise . . . . I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least.”
– what do we hear Paul saying about this?
• either you wake up and give thanks, and then wake up some more
• or you do not give thanks and you go blind
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened (vv. 21-22)

I am going to run through this again
– the first movement of gratitude is noticing and saying thank you
• For instance, I’m walk the dog and hear a bird-song
◦ thoughts immediately come to mind:
◦ what kind of bird is that? where is it perched?
• there’s something more comes to me – not thought, but a feeling
◦ the pleasure of that song, or the sound of a wind chime or a wave breaking on the shore
◦ it is the pleasure I feel that prompts me to give thanks
– the second movement is turning my attention to the Source of that pleasure
• this is what the Psalms of nature are constantly doing
◦ looking from creation and creatures to their Creator
– I could miss all of this
• I have a busy day and I’m rushing to be on time
◦ I don’t notice beauty, so I don’t feel its joy, and I don’t give thanks
◦ I don’t wake up, because, “I’m too busy for that right now”
• if anything, I just put a label on every site and sound
◦ “Oh, a tree,” “a child,” “a sunset–that’s nice” — and I hurry on
◦ a heart not filled with thanks is frequently filled with anxiety

We can wake ourselves up by practice
– for instance, we can start giving thanks for little things
• even if the small grace is not a miracle or direct act of God
• merely a natural event – clear traffic on a busy morning
◦ Mom would give thanks for parking spaces near the entrance of a store

Conclusion: Jesus was once traveling between Samaria and Jerusalem

Entering one village, he heard voices shouting from a distance. Ten men, who because of their leprosy were not allowed to go near other people, where shouting to get his attention. When he looked in their direction, they begged him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” All Jesus did was speak a single sentence to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”

According to the Law of Moses, if people with contagious skin conditions that had healed, they had to be examined by a priest to verify that they were “clean” and could re-enter society.

As the ten men hurried away, they sat that their skin had become clear. One of them came to a dead stop. He held out his arms and examined both of them. He looked back at Jesus, then looked at his arms again (okay, I’m embellishing this part of the story a little). He turned around and ran back to Jesus, “praising God” with that same loud voice he had used earlier to get Jesus’ attention. Falling on his face at Jesus’ feet, he began giving him thanks. (Lk. 17:11-19)
– Luke makes a point to tell us the one who gave thanks was a Samaritan
• Jesus remarked on this fact too
◦ and he wondered why he was the only one to give thanks
• then Jesus told the leper, your faith has made you well
– I believe the one who gave thanks received more from Jesus than the others
• all of them were cleansed and received their certificate or whatever
• but this one man was made well–translating the word that means saved
◦ it also means healthy, sound, or whole

Giving thanks takes us to a fuller spiritual experience of life,
of God’s love and grace
This does not mean we receive more love or grace,
but we perceive more
and perceiving more, we have a richer, fuller experience of it
Giving thanks is a pivot point in our daily relationship with God
In giving thanks,
we make a sharp turn in our day,
and find our way back to Jesus
We wake ourselves up to his presence
again and again

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many of of myself as well.
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. [The list of names and what these people have meant to Paul and others goes on for ten more verses] Romans 16:1-12

Intro: Thirteen years ago, I stopped going to church

That summer, our church was listed in a survey of Christian ministers
– we rated among forty of the most creative and influential in the U.S.
• but I was broken, burned-out, feeling alone and like a failure
– Barbara was with me and helpful through a slow process of healing
• conversations with Fr. Romuald steered me closer to Jesus
• Barb and I spent Sunday on long walks
◦ we were refreshed as we followed a trail near the ocean
– towards the end of 2006, I found myself missing my church friends
• people, who for thirty years had been my life
◦ a few of them had written to say, missed my teaching
• a year later, I began sending a handful of people Reflections
(personal meditations from my daily reading in the Scriptures)
◦ two years later, Reflexion began with meetings in our home

Romans 16 shows us that Paul never lost sight of the people he loved

In Romans 16, Paul is signing off
– but in doing so, he affirms his connection with his readers
• he mentions names, like Phoebe, Prisca and Aquila
◦ and he adds personal comments:
a servant of the church – my fellow workers – my beloved
◦ he also makes reference to various “churches”
• all the churches of the Gentiles and all the churches of Christ greet you
◦ and churches that met in the homes of Priscilla and Aquila, and Gaius (v. 23)
– it’s obvious that for Paul, “church” was not a building
• at least, not one made of brick and mortar
• You have heard this before:
◦ the church is not an organization, it is an organism
◦ Paul’s favorite metaphor for the church is the body of Christ

When I woke up that one morning, realizing that I missed my friends,
– I realized there was a very clear distinction in my mind
• I missed my community, but I did not miss the institution!
◦ in fact, when I thought about the institution we became, I felt oppressed
• last year, I met up with a close friend from long ago
◦ back then, I glommed on to him for his brilliance
◦ when we talked about my departure from my church, he said,
“I wondered how you lasted so long. You were never cut out for that”
– he was so right

Institutions form naturally within large or growing groups of people

A team, a club, a corporation needs a certain amount of organization
– once organization begins, a structure forms (and an infrastructure)
• systems are needed to maintain the structure
◦ for instance, facility upkeep and formal lines of communication
• then the organization has to be staffed and capitalized
-institutions take on a life of their own
• church institutions initially form to serve the community
• but it does not take much to turn that around
◦ then the community has to maintain and pay for the institution

Why is that a problem?
– first, because community is what defines church, not “business”
• second, institutions must be managed – people must be led
◦ for people to be led, they have to give their consent
◦ managers assign jobs and employees do the jobs they’re assigned
• third, the institution’s goals are survival and not spiritual
◦ in our culture, institutional goals tend to be financial
◦ it’s a tragic day when that gets confused

For example, someone gets in front of the church to “sell” the spiritual value of an event to guarantee a good attendance so the income from the event meets the budget.
Helmut Thielicke, “. . . there is not institutional structure which is in complete accord with the nature of the church. Just as we cannot be justified through works so the church cannot become pleasing to God through institutional perfection.”

– church management became big deal in 70s through 90s
• books and articles were written on it
◦ the job of the Senior Pastor was equivalent to being a CEO
◦ some people assume you manage your way to any goal
Thielicke, “The kingdom of God can use any form of institution as its opportunity if its people are sufficiently quick to hear. The devil too can use any institution as his chance if its members are deaf, indifferent, or too blindly and trustingly content with its well-oiled machinery.”
• Thielicke says this became clear to him when visited America
◦ at first he thought we had the solution to growing large and lively churches
◦ that is, until a closer look revealed the soft underbelly of the beast
Thielicke, “This too, of course, is an opportunity for God. For here he can test the faithfulness and steadfastness of his servants. But, as we said, it is also a chance for the devil: the temptation to be opportunistic, to compromise, and to cover up is always near.”
◦ his conclusion:
“So we should do some thinking about the institutional structure of the church. Their importance, however, should also not be overestimated, for we must remember that they are human ‘works’ on which our salvation does not depend.”

This is why I’ve wanted to avoid using “church” to describe us

Not because of it’s biblical meaning, but because in the larger culture,
– “church” is inevitably linked to “institution”
• institutions are all about the three M’s
◦ Management, Marketing and Money
• the way I see the church in the New Testament is all about
◦ a spiritual community that
◦ glorifies God, builds up its members, and is a witness to the world
– church in the New Testament existed in relationships and interactions
• two Greek words may be helpful here
◦ ekklesia, translated church: a group of citizens called to a public assembly
◦ koinonia, from koine, “to share in common”
◦ translated fellowship, partnership, communion – community
◦ koinonia (community) defines ekllesia (church)
. . . that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship [koinonia] with us; and indeed our fellowship [koinonia] is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 1:3)

Loving and serving people, Paul also works to protect them

In verses 17-20, a danger comes by way of troublesome people
– the problems arise from what they “cause” and “create”
• they cause divisions
◦ they exploit disagreements – or invent them

There as six things that the LORD hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers (Pr. 6:16-19)

• they create obstacles (sometimes translated “stumbling block”)
◦ they make it difficult for others to live simple life of faith

A few weeks ago, Esther mentioned “high conflict people”
– I learned that term from Jim in our first conversation
• as Paul indicates, these people tend to be charismatic personalities
◦ their smooth talk and flattery are deceptive
◦ though they are charming, there’s venom in their bite
• these characteristics can make them difficult to detect
◦ but when we do detect a high conflict person, then what?
◦ what is the best way to deal with them?
• best way to deal with them, “avoid”
– Paul says, avoid them
Martha Stout, in The Sociopath Next Door says, “The best way to protect yourself from a sociopath is to avoid him, to refuse any kind of contact or communication.”
• these people deceive the naive
• I think we tend to make ourselves naive
◦ we want to trust those who call themselves Christian
◦ but these others create chaos, stir up suspicion, ruin relationships

“Shouldn’t we love everyone?” you ask,
– Yes, but love has a big toolbox, with lots of tools

When I first met Jim it at a coffee shop. As we got to know each other, he told me about his work in anger management, conflict resolution and reconciliation. In the process, he made reference to high conflict people. Everything he said made sense; in fact, I felt like he had been reading my mail. He explained that some of my burnout had come from not having sufficient boundaries for dealing with this type of person, that I had allowed them to get too close to me. Jim spent seven months consulting with Barb and I, teaching us how to discern the of high conflict people. At the end, he said, “Okay, we’ve pretty well covered the profile and behavior of high conflict people. Next week were going to talk about loving them.”
I was shocked. “What?! You’ve been telling us all about these people, how the wreck churches and ruin the lives of pastors. You’ve also helped us learn how to establish firm and healthy boundaries. Now your telling us we need to learn how to love them?”
“Of course,” Jim replied, “we have to love them. But what do you think love is? Do you think you have to be best friends with them? give them whatever they ask? trust them? High conflict people require a certain sort of love. For instance, many of them have never learned to respect boundaries. So by setting boundaries for them, you are loving them by helping them to learn something socially and spiritually important and useful.”

• I’ve met Christians, devastated by a church that split
◦ it was traumatic, like a painful divorce
◦ disillusioned, they vowed never to get involved with another church
• eventually, God will deal with those charming deceivers
◦ he will put an end to their activity it at the source (v. 20)

Let’s leave that unpleasantness and jump to the end of the chapter

Now to him who is able to strengthen you
according to my gospel
and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages
but has now been disclosed
and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations,
according to the command of the eternal God,
to bring about the obedience of faith—
to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!
Amen. Romans 16:25-27

Paul ends his letter with a “doxology”
(a doxology is praise of God and usually includes the word doxa, “glory”)
– this is what worship does – it glorifies God
• Paul loads his worship with theology
◦ perhaps the best we can do with theology is turn it into worship
• theology without worship is like
◦ a lab full of research papers and dead specimens
◦ worship without theology is like the Samaritans
You worship what you do not know (Jn. 4:24)
or the Athenians who built an altar to the unknown god (Acts 17:23)
– notice that three times Paul says, “according to”
• this shows us how he tracks his message back to its source, the command of the eternal God

Conclusion: If you’ve ever been in a group photo before–

Perhaps your team, you and your coworkers, a graduation class–
– when you got a copy of the photo, did you look for yourself in it?
– I wonder if the when the believers in Rome received this letter,
• hoped to hear their names when this last chapter was read

Your names are known here in this little community
You are wonderful people – you live and demonstrate love
And because of you,
I have never enjoyed ministry more than I do now
So, as we move on together in our spiritual journey,
out of our love for God, let’s continue to
know and worship him,
love one another, caring for and serving each other,
as witnesses to God’s love for the world,
To God our Father be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ
Amen

Podcast

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is only one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6

Intro: Several times in the last few weeks I have quoted Johann Hari

Hari is an author and journalist who struggled with depression
– eventually he realized antidepressants weren’t helping him
• so he began researching other options and interviewing experts
• he found anxiety and depression have less to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain (as pharmaceutical companies have told us)
◦ and more to do with environmental factors and lost connections
– the first half of his book explores how we have been cut off from:
• meaningful work
• meaningful values (for which we have substituted “junk values”)
• status and respect (apart from our position in social hierarchies)
• the world of nature
• a hopeful or secure future
• other people
– Hari tells stories of people who have re-connected with what we’ve lost
• in doing so, their anxiety or depression has diminished significantly
• more so than if they had been taking prescribed medications

If you were looking for happiness, would your chances be better in
– Japan, Taiwan, Russia, the United States, or Britain?
• the answer: Japan, Taiwan, or Russia—definitely not the US or Britain
Hari, “. . . our Western version of happiness doesn’t actually work . . . .”
◦ if you pursue happiness here, you do it for yourself
◦ you accumulate things, status and experiences for yourself
• in Asia or Russia, people pursue what’s best for the village, group, or tribe
• happiness is a shared experience
– sadly, in recent years our culture has become increasingly individualistic

We need to add a chapter to the brain’s owners’ manual

We can title it, “Christian Community”
– we have a picture of Christian community here in Ephesians 4
• Paul had prayed for the Ephesians
◦ that God would bring them into his infinite love
◦ and that they would experience the fullness of its dimensions
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge (Ep. 3:14-19)
• now, with the Ephesians building on that love,
◦ he wanted to see the Spirit of God form them into a community
◦ to do this, some old brain circuits had to be pruned

v. 1, walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called
v. 17, you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do
v. 22, put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life
v. 24, put on the new self, created after the likeness of God

– Paul writes about Christian community–a lot!
(for starters, see Rom. chapters 12 & 14; 1 Cor. 12-14; Col. 3)
• we have seen that to be a whole person requires neural integration
◦ various brain structures have to be in sync
◦ these harmonious functions must be in sync also with the body
• for the last two weeks we’ve gone over relational integration
◦ after God and close relationships, the next step of integration
is a spiritual community
◦ notice how Paul emphasizes “oneness” in verses 4-6:

The same theme appears in 1 Corinthians: For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and all were made to drink of one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12-13)
Martain Laird says a helpful image of community is a wheel
“The hub of the wheel is God; we the spokes. Out on the rim of the wheel the spokes are furthest from one another, but at the center, the hub, the spokes are most united to each other. . . . The image was used in the early church to say something important about that level of life at which we are one with each other and one with God. The more we journey toward the Center the closer we are both to God and each other. The problem of feeling isolated from both God and others is overcome in the experience of the Center.”

In mid-July I read through Ephesians
– waking up one morning, someone came to mind
• a person from my past
◦ immediately I relapsed
◦ into old familiar feelings of resentment and disgust
• I thought my heart had been purged of those feelings
◦ but my nervous system was still holding on to them
You know, it is never just the event–the argument, the abuse, the betrayal–that we remember and buzzes in our minds, but our commentary on the event. We have stories about what happened, conversations that we repeat and new conversations that we rehearse, perhaps with the hope of unleashing them on our abusers one day. We do this to try to make ourselves feel better in the moment. And it never works; it just carries the bad feelings forward.
◦ anyway, what I felt was not right – at all
– once I was fully awake and reading this chapter, I came to verse 31:
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice
• the very feelings that had been triggered in me!
◦ and then verse 32:
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you
◦ that seemed impossibly out of reach – until . . .
• I sat with Jesus – then my soul found a safe shelter in him
◦ nothing anyone has done to me can touch me there
◦ he holds me in his kindness and tenderness
(he knows my sore spots)
• any bad feelings toward anyone else dissolve in his presence
◦ Jesus again enabled me to forgive – to love

The target we are aiming for is love

The aim of our [mission] is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Tim. 1:5)
– this is what needs to be written into our brain’s owner’s manual
• love is an integrating energy, a psychological and spiritual glue

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (Col. 3:12-14)

– Daniel Siegel lists types of communication for healthy relationships
• reflective conversations
◦ that help others listen to their feelings and their bodies
“. . . reflective conversations can create new states of mindful awareness.”
• attuned communication – we went over this last week
◦ the neural resonance with another person; the experience of empathy
• interpersonal and integrative communication
◦ each person respects the different experiences of the others
◦ this results in forming a link or re-connection between them
◦ similar neural pathways are formed among participating members – we can add to this list Susan Smalley and Diana Winston’s
• mindful communication (or compassionate communication)
◦ it looks for information from those involved in the conversation
◦ it thinks through and discusses issues from a positive perspective
◦ it accept the fact that there are “multiple perspectives”
(not only multiple opinions, but perspectives behind the opinions)
◦ those involved are able to describe their thoughts and feelings
◦ each one acknowledges what all the others have to say
◦ each one is a participant in a conversation with other participants
◦ the participants take turns

When I read about the kind of conversations that build community,
– I can’t help but think of our experience with Lexio Divina
• first it brings us together–in prayer
• then it takes us into the Scriptures
• we allow the Spirit to take a word down into our souls
• we hold it within and allow it to awaken what’s there
◦ then we share – our thoughts and our souls
◦ this doesn’t mean we tell all our secrets
– lexio divina cannot just “happen” – it requires special conditions
• as Johann Hari has said, “To end loneliness, you need other people—plus something else. You also need . . . to feel you are sharing something with the other person, or the group, that is meaningful to both of you. You have to be in it together.”
• I think Paul states it perfectly:
. . . speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love (vv. 15-16)

To speak the truth in love doesn’t mean we tell others,
“I need to tell you something. I’ve never really liked you . . .”
“I was deeply offended by what you said”
“What I have to say is for your own good”
“No one else will tell you this, so it’s up to me”
– I don’t know the truth about anyone else!
• I barely know the truth about myself (see 1 Cor. 4:5)
• but what I do know about myself is the truth I can speak
– some people are guarded
• they talk in generalities, “Christians need to be more loving”
• or talk doctrine, or “What the Bible is saying here is . . .”
– in guarding themselves, they make others feel unsafe

To speak the truth in love is to:
– create a safe place – our souls won’t show up if we don’t feel safe
– listen – with our ears and attention of course, but also with body
• what am I feeling? it may be empathy with what someone else has shared
– share – what is yours, what you feel most deeply

Conclusion: What if there’s someone in the community who irritates you?

“I can’t just make myself love someone”
Explore your brain’s owner’s manual – what in you gets triggered?
– what is the commentary you’re brain has written about it?

Try a daily compassion meditation:
“May God let me feel his joy today”
then, for someone you love, “May God let _________ feel his joy today”
then, “May God let my family feel his joy today”
then, “May God let my friends and neighbors feel his joy today”
then, “May God let every stranger I see feel his joy today”
then, “May God let those who have hurt (or annoy) me feel his joy today”
then, “May God let everyone, everywhere feel his joy today”
– at first it may be difficult to bless those who have hurt you
• but praying this prayer every day will begin to change you
• it will help to form new synapses in your brain
◦ and eventually you will be free, well, whole regarding that person
◦ you will have the heart of Jesus toward that person

There will be bumps and struggles
but if we don’t give up,
there are also great rewards

Podcast

Matthew 3:1-2 and 4:17

Intro: These were the first public announcement of both John and Jesus

This is the “short form” of the message they brought
– their “elevator speech” that contained three points:
• the kingdom of heaven is finally arriving
• you are not ready for it
• get ready
– the world Jesus entered was not ready for HIM
• many people in Israel were waiting for a Messiah
◦ but their concept of a savior was imperialistic and nationalistic
◦ certainly not a Savior who would suffer and die for the world
• they looked for a Messiah who would change things
◦ Jesus came as a Messiah who would change them

In his parables, Jesus talked about the last part of this message:
the kingdom of heaven
– but in the Sermon On Mount, he elaborated on the first part: Repent
• in his sermon, he turned their world inside out
You have heard that it was said of old . . . . But I say to you . . . (Mt. 5:21, 27, etc.)
• it was as if he said,
“What you have thought about the Messiah is only partially true. What you have thought about God is only partially true. And what you have thought about religion is only partially true. You have lived with these illusions, but I have come to show you what is true. The reality of God and the truth about yourselves.”
– it is not easy for us to see why this was so difficult for them to hear
• but this is not the sort of message we want to hear either

I am not very fond of the word “repent”

Like most of my dysfunctional thinking, this has to do with upbringing
– to repent was to see myself as the worst sinner who ever lived
• to wallow in guilt, to be ashamed and disgusted with myself
• to feel hopeless, because a holy God could never love someone like you
– every Sunday night there would be an “altar call”
• I would beg and beg for forgiveness, but never felt forgiven
◦ because I knew following week I’d be back there again observing the same ritual of failure and shame
• I never felt the guilt leave me
◦ never felt God’s full acceptance or unconditional love
– I’ve learned that always feeling bad about the person I am does not change me
• never being released of guilt sabotages repentance
◦ instead of making progress, you get stuck
• all my angst was based on a faulty conception of repentance

Repentance isn’t a psychological collapse into self-loathing

It isn’t about punishing yourself for your sins
– or groveling before God to win his forgiveness
• very simply, it is about change
• I believe Jesus prefers having calm and rational discussions with us
◦ about where we go wrong
◦ and what he wants from us
– in the Old Testament, another way to talk about repent is turn or return
• when Israel returned from exile, the heard law read and wept
◦ it was a natural response to realizing what their sins had cost them
◦ but their priests and leaders wouldn’t let them get stuck in sorrow
. . . this day is holy to our LORD. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength (Neh. 8:10)

I think this is one of those times when a Greek word is important
– repent is metanoeite – a compound word
• meta: a preposition “with” or “after”
• noeo: – think, understand, perceive
◦ so repent is to think after think after,
◦ to have second thoughts, to change your mind
– in classical Greek, repentance engaged not only intellect
• it was coupled with a feeling – regret
◦ regret is not wallowing in guilt and shame
◦ and regret without change is not repentance

The first word we hear Jesus tell us is the command, “Change”

Maybe there’s someone here, so satisfied with life, they wouldn’t change a thing
– for the rest of us, we can think of a few healthy changes
• typically: better diet, more exercise, learn more
◦ be a better spouse or parent, have more self-control
◦ be less anxious, be a happier person
• Jesus’ command to change doesn’t have to be bad news
– but start moving toward change and we discover our inner rebel
• we have more resistance than motivation
◦ we want to change, but we drag our feet when it’s time to begin
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mt. 28:41)
• I don’t think we’re convinced we want all the changes Jesus does
◦ “Change my life, but leave me the same”

Psychologists have observed,
– people don’t enter therapy unless problem drives them to it
• we wait until the pain of staying same is greater than the pain of change
– imagine residents in neighborhood petitioning a city for a stop sign
◦ they have seen several collisions at one of their intersections
◦ but stop signs are expensive and require traffic control studies
◦ so the city drags its feet–until there’s a fatality at the intersection
• many married couples avoid therapy at the first realization of trouble
◦ by the time they arrive in counselor’s office, it’s too late

The Psalms describe the wicked as people who
do not change
and do not fear God (Ps. 55:19)
– Jeremiah described the sin of the nation of Moab like this:
Moab has been at ease from his youth
and has settled on his dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
and his scent is not changed (Jer. 48:11)
– usually we resist change not because we are content,
• but because we are complacent

Repentance begins with a change in perception, thought, and attitude

What we know about the human person today tells us,
– repentance means making changes to our brains
• it wasn’t always believed this was possible
◦ it was thought that once a person became an adult,
◦ the old dog could not learn new tricks
• now we know it is possible for the adult human brain to be changed
◦ and that changes are ongoing
– but the sort of changes we want to make are not easy

Every human brain writes an “owners manual”
– this is written by experience and education
• everything we experience traces a path across brain cells
◦ a single thought travels from one cell to another,
◦ connecting tens of thousands of them in a single cluster
• the owner’s manual is written through repetition
◦ always thinking same thoughts and feeling the same feelings,
◦ cement the connections between the same brain cells
◦ this becomes the brain’s default setting
– our nervous system runs our body according to this owner’s manual
• our brains do not judge if our thoughts and feelings are healthy
◦ the just recognizes triggers and send signals down the same path
• this results in repeatedly reproducing the same psychological and physiological state
◦ perhaps the same negative thoughts and emotions
◦ and yet we wonder,
“Why do I keep making the same mistakes?”
“Why can’t I control my temper?”
“Why do my anxieties always get the best of me?”

To repent is to rewrite the owner’s manual
– that’s what we’re going to venture into this summer

Conclusion: When Israel returned from Babylon to Jerusalem,

They delayed rebuilding God’s temple
– the project seemed overwhelming for their meager resources
• God sent the prophet Haggai to challenge them to get to work on his house
◦ his message to them was, Consider your ways (1:5, 7)
• the first thing they needed to do was practice self-observation
◦ watch themselves – what they were doing and what they were thinking
The philosopher Adam Smith had this to say about self-observation, “When I endeavor to examine my own conduct . . . I divide myself as it were into two persons; and that I, the examiner and judge, represent a different character from the other I, the person whose conduct is examined into and judged of. The first is the spectator. . . . The second is the agent, the person whom I properly call myself . . . .”
– I have found this happens naturally in contemplative prayer
• it’s as if God’s Spirit reveals to my flawed thinking and illusions
• I become aware of what was written in my owner’s manual
◦ these insights show me what needs to be changed
◦ and those changes usually begins with slowing down and deep breathing
– repent is an invitation to get unstuck – an invitation to freedom

This week, I would like for you to consider your ways
– take some time to sit in quiet with God
• be still and listen for what he wants you to see about yourself
◦ what you’ve been accepting as “normal” or putting up with
◦ what you’ve done over and over without purpose or benefit
• and begin your quiet time with the following prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting
Psalm 139:23-24