Written and Shared by: Chaplain Chris Belfield

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."  This quote is the complete first sentence and often-quoted beginning of a literary masterpiece, A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens in 1859.  The novel, set during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, describes a world experiencing conditions unlike any it has experienced in the past, which is exacerbated by fear of the unknown which the future holds.  For many, this seems to be a current theme, and some are reacting accordingly.

I marvel daily at the extremes of the spectrum on how we are reacting to the new circumstances we temporarily find ourselves.  On one end are what I term the "finger-pointers."  Someone is to blame; someone has to be held accountable; the immediate change will certainly fix everything. Someone needs to fix my problem right now.  Harumph!  On the complete opposite side are those who are demonstrating the strength and resolve they may not have previously thought themselves capable of possessing.  They are the ones who are saying, "What needs to be done, and what can I do?" I remember shortly after 9/11, and we joined together to recognize the heroism of police and fire responders who go to the danger, while others flee for safety.  Today, those are the same people, as well as everyone who works in health care, grocery stores, support services, post offices, gas stations, and….I think you get the idea.  Everyone has a role in contributing to getting through this dangerous and deadly time.

My heart almost skipped a beat, with incredible joy, as I saw a photo on-line today of nurses joining together for prayer on the landing pad atop a hospital.  This pandemic has been a time of re-evaluating of
people's faith commitment and their relationship to God.  True, there have been those who blame God, if God exists, they say.  Blaming someone you don't believe in?  As a pastor, I freely admit that I am incapable of understanding the full mind of God.  I am allowed to understand what God gives me through the Holy Spirit.  Nineteenth-century Scottish minister, Rev. George Halley Knight said, "There is something better than understanding God, and that is trusting him."

Now is not the time for finger-pointing or blaming.  It is a time for trusting God and looking deep inside and saying, what can I do to help?

Our encouragement verses for this week:
Psalm 37:5-6  (NIV)

“ Commit your way to the LORD;  trust in him, and he will do this: He
will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,  your vindication
like the noonday sun.”

May you be blessed by God’s word.

Chris

Written and Shared by: Chaplain Chris Belfield

​Happy Days
 
When I was a young child, I never really liked roller coaster rides.  Something about disrupting my equilibrium and the natural order of things just didn't sit well. Twenty years later, the United States Air Force taught me to fly as a navigator.  Going up, flying straight and level, and landing seemed alright.  However, the training included a hefty dose of what I refer to as the "roller coaster" effect.  You had to know what to do in the case of an emergency.  This was meant to ensure that we would automatically defer to our training, rather than our emotions, during unexpected events.  It must have taken and worked as I am still here.
 
This past week has seemed like the proverbial roller-coaster for sure.  Cathy and I are on day 10 of our self-quarantine due to her traveling back from Spain. High point: no symptoms at all and looking forward to getting back to humanity in only four short days. Actually, 84.5 hours, but who is counting. Low point: national news regarding political differences, ugh.  Cathy wisely suggested a new job announcement for the nation’s capital:  Wanted: Experienced kindergarten teacher to supervise several hundred adults. But I digress.  On Tuesday. I was interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio to get a veteran’s perspective on what it’s like to self-quarantine, and any observations about how veterans are reacting and possible recommendations. An excellent opportunity to stress community, cooperation, and reliance on God.  Right after the interview, I actually had an incredibly embarrassing  "Polar Express" moment.  Remember when the train is pulling into the North Pole, and there is a close-up of one of the children pointing out the window and screaming, "ELVES!"  I looked out the front window and saw the first ship of the season.  I screamed out, "SHIP!" Cathy thought I said something else, but quickly discerned what I had said. The James L. Oberstar was traveling from Duluth to Chicago.  A little thing like seeing a ship on Lake Superior took me up to an unbelievable high on the roller coaster. 
 
If we look, and it's not too hard at all, there are many examples of people helping one another and exhibiting the best that humanity has to offer.  Am I an eternal optimist that ignores the reality of an incredibly bad situation? No, I am not. A very wise pastor, and friend, once told the congregation, "Our lives are a roller coaster.  When at the very top and all is looking well, prepare for the descent that will come.  When at the very bottom, and all looks bad, know that the coaster goes back up."
 
The title reference for this week, Happy Days, does not refer to the 1970s comedy, but to the song, “Happy Days are Here Again.”  Published in 1929, at the beginning of the Great Depression, the song became Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s campaign theme song in 1932.  There will be happy days again. God promises it.  We seem to be at the bottom of the roller coaster right now.  How are we preparing for the ride back to the top? A recent Facebook posting stated, "Also highly contagious is kindness, patience, love, enthusiasm, and a positive attitude.  Don't wait to catch it from others; be the carrier.”
 
Our encouragement verses for this week:
Psalm 121:8  (NIV)
“The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

May you be blessed by God’s word.
 
Chris


​

First Lesson: Isaiah 63: 7-9
Responsive Reading: Psalm 148
Second Lesson: Hebrews 2: 10-18
​Gospel Lesson: Matthew 2: 13-23

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

I grew up in Lindstrom, Minnesota.  Since I was brought home from the hospital in Minneapolis, the most distinctive landmark in town has been the statue of Karl and Kristina Oskar.  Karl and Kristina Oskar were characters in a series of novels called “The Emigrants.” “The Emigrants” were bestselling works describing the life of Swedish settlers from around the 1850s upon entering the New World of America[1]. 

The most noteworthy thing about Karl and Kristina Oskar's statue is their eyes.  Karl’s eyes are looking forward to their new life in Minnesota, Kristina’s eyes are looking back over her shoulder to Sweden that she left behind[2]. 

The second generation of Swedish settlers in the New World included my Great-Great-Grandfather C.A. Victor.  Daniel Lindstrom, over whom the town is named, is a distant relative.  My family from the town’s founding in 1894 made Lindstrom their permanent home.  There hasn’t been a decade since Lindstrom’s inception when a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent hasn’t served on the city council or as Mayor.  God seemingly had different plans for my life. 

The year was 1998; I was about to begin my freshman year at Concordia College in Moorhead.  Having known my Dad for forty years, I’ve haven’t seen him sheds tears like on that day. My Dad knew things would never be the same in the family again.  My life was destined to look very different than my Dad’s, Grandpa Kermit’s, or Great-Grandpa Arvid’s.   A minister is not meant to go back to his hometown.  When Jesus went back to Nazareth in his ministry, they tried throwing him off a cliff[3]. 

I would enroll in Luther Seminary in 2003.  I would meet a young woman; she was a free-spirit, outdoorsy type.  She would talk about how her dream Pastoral call was upon Minnesota’s North Shore.  Our lives would take us in different directions.  I never forgot her words about the North Shore.   

A few years later, I was serving Our Saviors Lutheran in Lamberton, Minnesota.  I loved being in Lamberton; I formed lifelong friendships within that community.  If I believed that I was being called to stay as their Pastor, I would have stayed for years and years.      

Around the time, I was preparing to leave Lamberton.   I received a phone call from Glenda Hedin to consider coming to Silver Bay to serve as Sychar’s pastor. 

The Book of Galatians declares about the Birth of our Savior Jesus, which we celebrate on this day: “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law[4].”

Why does the Christmas story take place within world history when it does[5]? Why was not Jesus born hundreds of years earlier when people were struggling with the realities of both sin and death?  Why did the Israelites have to suffer through generations of Egyptian slavery? Why were they forced to leave their native land by the Babylonians?   Why were they conquered by foreign rulers on numerous occasions while their savior failed to appear?

Christ was born in a unique time in human history having to do with the power of Rome.  Rome controlled the world to such a degree militarily that the world shared a common language for trade purposes (Greek) and travel was relatively safe.  Christ was born in a time of human history, where the spread of the Gospel to the very ends of the Earth could become a reality[6]. 

Many of us can probably point to times in our own lives, where we were convinced that God needed to do things a certain way, only to soon end up disappointed. Only years later, we saw that God’s timing and plans for us are better than what we could imagine.   

Like the Birth of the Christ Child, which we celebrate on this day, we remember how powerful a force that God’s timing is over every one of our lives.

If I hadn’t started seminary when I did, I probably don’t end up living for eight years upon the North Shore.  If Sychar had posted their call six months earlier or six months later, I don’t believe I end up as this congregation’s pastor.    

As I preach my final sermon, I leave with the fondest of memories.  My great hope is that the next eight years of my ministry are as positive as the last eight years.  I believe these things took place because of God’s timing within all of our lives.

The one thing that I’ll forever remember about Silver Bay was the relationships that I had with the youth of the community.  Last year, I might have been the only pastor in the whole state of Minnesota to be asked to address a public high school’s homecoming assembly.

My relationship with the youth of the community came down to timing.  When I got to Sychar, we had a really good group of seventh graders in the congregation in Gunnar Frahm, Zach Lewis, and Sylvia Davey.  Pastor Robin had previously extended Confirmation to 10th Grade and I had no plans to change that.  So Gunnar, Zach, and Sylvia were going to be stuck with me for a long time.  Pretty soon other kids started to join us, more thanks to the kids already going here than me, the more kids that we had at church, the more time that I would spend at the school building bridges with other Silver Bay Mariners.  

 Eventually, Sychar got a reputation at William Kelley as being a place where kids would have fun and learn about Jesus on Wednesday nights.  So even after Gunnar, Zach, and Sylvia graduated high school, we still had kids coming.  The majority of these kids were non- Sychar members.  If my first Confirmation class were a different group of kids, then I believe I never form the relationships over at William Kelley that I do.

The second thing with the fullness of time has to do with my Grandma and the Silver Bay area’s seniors.  My Grandma never had a healthy habit in her life.  She lived to a few months past  95 years old.  Grandma never slowed down; she remained as outspoken as ever until her last few months.  She would soon become the star character in many of my sermons.  Being around her for so long gave me sensitivity for other seniors and the challenges they were facing.  I eventually became involved with North Shore Area Partners.  One day, I was sitting in my office struggling to write something for the Sychar Scroll.  So I decide to write something about Grandma and how I had read a book that said feisty seniors live longer. 

A few months later, Lise Abazs at North Shore Area Partners asks that I help get the organization’s name out there.  So a Chronicle column about Grandma, other seniors, and various other old souls was born.  The main reason I started writing this column was that I knew Grandma would love to hear about her antics in print, even as she lived way longer than any reputable doctor would have predicted. 

Timing is vital in our lives.  So how does a Pastor know that God is calling their life in a new direction? Like leaving Lamberton, I would spend hours fighting with the notion of ever leaving Silver Bay.  I read more books on public speaking than a person cares to admit.  I had hours of good discussions with the Church Council about the long-range future of this congregation.   Eventually, circumstances began to change in my own life. 

I would grow more gray hair, experience disappointment in my personal life, and My Grandma would pass away. I would see some of my closest friends in the ministry have their tenures in churches end badly and even leave the ministry.  So because of this, I’m firm that a pastor should leave a church too soon rather than too late.  

I think back to when I came up here to interview to be the pastor in October 2011.  I went out to eat with then Call Committee Chair Merle McDonald at the Lemon Wolf.

 Merle asked me: “How long do you think a Pastor should stay at a church?”  “I said somtime between five to seven years.”   This answer had mainly to do with preaching the same scripture passages over and over.   For I believe over time a preacher can lose his voice.  A congregation can be blessed from a fresh perspective of leadership.  

So later this week, I will begin a new chapter in my life and ministry on the other side of the Bong Bridge.  I leave this place a better leader thanks to people like Dan and Judy Waxlax, Merle McDonald, Peggi Potter, and Connie Wanderi.    I leave this place a better preacher and communicator because of people like Mary Bauman, Kathy Toland and  Rey Groethe who always wanted to hear more stories.  I leave this place a kinder person because of the example set by  Ardelle Orvik whose 90th Birthday we celebrated Last Sunday.

Like Kristina Oskar, I anticipate the first few months in Hayward will be difficult as I will no longer have the people of Sychar in my life daily.  Plenty of days will be spent struggling with the temptation to look back over my sholder towards my comfortable life in Silver Bay.  Like Karl Oskar, I realize that sometimes the most difficult of decisions end up being the best decisions, even if they don’t bear fruit right away. 

What do I wish for Sychar in my upcoming absence?

A few years back, I was complaining to my Dad about an organization that I was involved.  I was citing examples of the problems, left and right.  I went into this conversation, thinking that I was a lot smarter than I was.  My Dad’s been on more boards (City Council, Church Council, hospital boards) than I ever have any interest in being on.”

 As my Dad hears this complaining, he tells me: “Every group you’re ever involved in will have people and their problems that others can point out, you need to determine whether you’ll work to be part of the solution.”

Carey Nieuwhof is one of my favorite Christian leadership authors.   Nieuwhof was struggling with how his congregation should move forward.  So he sat his church’s leadership team to the whiteboard.   Nieuwhof asked the leadership: Of all the people who attend our church, who best embodies what we’re about and WANT to be about in the future[7]? “

Let me begin with the oldest person here in Esther Olson.  Esther always lets me know how she keeps me in prayer every day.  I have no doubts that she will do the same when I move down to Hayward.  Esther keeps a list of people for whom she prays.  Esther will keep praying for this congregation and its future in the months ahead.

I think of people like Vallie.  When Vallie moved into Carefree Living, she didn’t see herself as losing a home, she saw herself as gaining a ministry opportunity with her fellow residents.    

I think of Ruby and Bob Eckstrom, who around their 90th Birthday keep thinking young.   Ruby came up to me last year.  She asks about the Church Council.  She then says to me: “I hope they do make changes. I want to see young people there.” Bob gets excited about inviting his friends and neighbors to church like few that I’ve ever met.  Even if they don’t end up coming, I do not doubt that Bob is going to keep inviting people to Sychar when the opportunity presents itself. 

I think of Dean and Denise Zeitz who are at the school, cheering on the Silver Bay Mariners every chance they get.  I think of Deb Johnson and the joy she shows at these games whenever young kids are around.  You better believe that kids and their parents notice these attitudes.  Investment such as these  in the next generation will define the future of all churches including Sychar.   

These people constitute examples of prayer, compassion, vision, and a desire to build relationships with those who currently don’t call Sychar their church home.   It is not the Pastor, who ultimately defines this congregation.  It is instead the gifts of each and every one of God’s people who gathers.   

To close this morning: “Let me read a passage from my first sermon  given as the called Pastor of Sychar on January 15th, 2012:

“So that God willing-many years from now,  when I preach my last sermon at Sychar.  It will not be a dramatic, earth-shaking event in the life of the congregation. So that the next new Pastor at Sychar will be able to  strengthen and enhance this congregation’s ministries, but will not be the sole factor in their success. “ 

Here’s what I hope happens here in the weeks to come. When you enter worship, you’re warmly greeted by the ushers of Chuck, Fred, and Bernie.  Eugenie and the Sychar choirs bless us with their gifts of music.  Someone else comes and reads then preaches the Gospel, even if they do differently than I do.  Children bring joy to the service when they collect the Well offering.  Krysty greets everyone with a smile outside the service or in the office.  What I hope most of all is this,  Every member of this congregation draws comfort from God’s timing in our lives being better than our own. 

 As I leave Sychar’s pastoral office, here is what I remain certain.   

Sychar is ultimately looked over by someone with more grace and love than I’ll ever possess.  The same God who led Mary and Joseph out of Israel away from Herod will guide this congregation into a New World of ministry[8].  The New World will at first be scary and uncertain.  The New World can seem to be fraught with death and destruction, just like on Good Friday.  The New World though can eventually turn into an unbelievable blessing of  grace for all God’s people.   Skol Vikings!  Now that I’ve got that out of my system.   Amen.


[1] Mumford, Tracy. “Why a fictional character gets an annual festival in Lindstrom, Minn.” MPR News. 10.July.2015. Web. Dec.19.2019. 
[2]
[3] Luke 4:14-30. 
[4] Galatians 4:4.
[5] “What does it mean that God sent Jesus in the “fullness of time”?”. Got Questions Ministries. Web. Dec.19.2019.
[6] “What does it mean that God sent Jesus in the “fullness of time”?”. Got Questions Ministries.
[7] Nieuwhof, Carey. “A 5 Step Guide on How to Create An Amazing Church Culture.” Carey Nieuwhof. 21.Mar.2016. Web. Dec.19.2019.
[8]
​

First Lesson: Isaiah 9: 2-7
Second Lesson: Titus 2: 11-14
Gospel Lesson: Luke 2: 1-20

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
The year was 1938, a radio producer was watching what was attempting to be a comedy show[1].  The only problem was the audience wasn’t laughing.  The producer wrote down on a napkin: “People are funny, aren't they?”  The napkin would soon become the basis for a radio program with the same name, which became a hit as soon as it got a new host Art Linkletter.   Linkletter soon got a new show, titled House Party[2].  Linkletter realized that children would subsequently be the stars of any ask the audience segments.  So Linkletter came up with the segment of Kids Say the Darndest Things, which is still airing on T.V. 

Anyone who has spent any time around children knows what comes out of their mouths can often be unpredictable: they might comment on a family member’s weight gain, ugly sweater, or say what they think about the taste of a Christmas fruit cake. 

Anyone who ever taught children the story of Jesus’ birth knows they can ask questions that make the adults in the room nervous: “Did the Baby Jesus wear diapers?” “Did Jesus cry?” “Did Jesus grow cold?”   “Why if Jesus was the Son of God was he born in a smelly barn surrounded by cattle?”

Our Christmas story from Luke’s Gospel gives answers to this question.

Here’s something interesting about our passage.  It is a really big deal that Jesus is born in a manger[3].  In fact it’s mentioned on three separate occasions. 

Let me re-read a few key passages from our lesson. 

“and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.”-Luke 2:7

Next, “12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”- Luke 2:12

Then, “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”-Luke 2:16. 

So why is Jesus being born in a manger such a big deal ?    To begin with, what exactly, is a manger?

A manger is a feed trough for the animals commonly associated with our Christmas story such as donkeys and cattle[4].

So why would Jesus be born in such a place? Why would God not see to it that Jesus was born in only the most first-class of accommodations that Bethlehem could offer? 

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” –Luke 2:10.

Consider the event that led Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem: The Roman Census forcing them to travel far away from their home in Nazareth[5] .   They would soon be forced to flee to Egypt, hoping to save their child’s life from the Roman enabled King Herod.   The tale reminds us God was working through the power of the world’s mightiest empire, leading to a child born in a feeding trough as evidence that God’s ways were such that the child born in the humblest of beginnings shall eventually  be the savior of all the nations of the world.  

Why a manger?  

Christ’s ministry would be one of humbling himself in every way imaginable[6].  God would come down to Earth.  Jesus would be wrapped in swaddling cloths like all other babies born in his day.  These clothe would keep him warm at night and keep him dry from waste.  Jesus, as a child, would get lost from his parents at the Temple in Bethlehem[7]. As a young man, Jesus would work in the family building trades before beginning his ministry. Jesus would indeed cry at human suffering such as when his good friend Lazarus died unexpectedly[8].  The same Romans forcing Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem would eventually oversee Jesus’ arrest, trial, and death.  His closest followers then went home.  A seemingly,  ordinary man was now dead, with no hope of the grave being reversed.  Only the third day would change everything.  The same Jesus born in the darkness of night surrounded by cattle had overcome life’s most certain verdicts of sin, and death.  Reminding us how the same God who was present at Christ’s birth is with us no matter the twists and turns that our lives may bring. 

Soren Kierkegaard is one of the most famous  Danish philosophers of the 19th Century.  Kierkegaard, though, was able to tell a brilliant story about why God did indeed come to be born in a manger[9].

Once upon a time, there was a prince who longed to find a maiden to be his queen[10].  One day, the Prince went out into the local village to run an errand for his father.  On this day, the Prince passed through the absolute poorest part of the village.   While the Prince was looking out the windows of his carriage, he saw what he thought to be the most beautiful woman that he ever had seen.   The Prince kept returning to the same spot of the village, so that he could catch a glimpse of this maiden.  He wanted her hand in marriage, more than anything else in the world.  The Prince had one problem, how could he seek the hand of this maiden[11]?

The Prince could have surely just forced the Maiden into marriage; the Prince knew that power didn’t equal love.  The Prince could show up at her front door and overwhelmed her with royal splendor.  The Prince didn’t want to be loved just for his money.  The Prince, , finally came up with a plan.  The Prince would abandon his royal garments; he would adopt common clothes, and move into the peasant section of the village[12].  The Prince began to live among the people of the village:  he would face their challenges: their tears, their diapers, their cold nights.  He would make friends among ordinary workers such as fishermen.  Over time, the Maiden grew to love him, because this Prince had dared sacrifice everything  he had ever known to come into her world.  They would indeed live happily ever after!

This story illustrates why we celebrate this humble manger. 

Martin Luther, throughout his ministry, placed a great deal of emphasis on how the Christian’s highest calling in this world is to their family.   Martin Luther eventually wrote Christmas Carols for his children as a way of teaching them the faith[13].   In the 19th Century, a Christmas book was published, which had on the cover a drawing of Luther celebrating Christmas with his family. 

The emphasis that Luther placed on celebrating Christmas was soon picked up by German Lutherans in Pennsylvania.  The Germans put together a book of Christmas Carols with one song known as “Luther’s Cradle Hymn.”  

Luther’s Cradle Hymn eventually gets into the hands of a an American composer named James Ramsey Murray in 1887 who published it in a children’s hymnal titled “Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses[14].” The song was intended to be used for Sunday School Christmas pageants throughout the country as a way to teach them the basics of Christ’s birth[15]. Luther’s Cradle Hymn would become quite popular under another name: “Away in a manger, No crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.”

The popular Christmas carol over two verses would describe the Birth of our Savior surrounded by cattle under the stars of the Bethlehem night.  The third verse would consist of a prayer[16].  The prayer was written in a day when children were thought to be closer to death when they slept.  But the prayer reminds us how God watches over all the dear children while they sleep only to awaken into thy tender care of their savior.    How Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem: cold, crying, and wearing diapers all to one day take us to heaven to live with him there.  Amen    
 
 
 


[1] “People Are Funny.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 15.Nov.2019. Web. Dec.10.2019.
[2] “House Party (Radio and TV Show.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 15.July.2019. Web. Dec.10.2019.
[3] Piper, John. “The Meaning of the Manger: Six Lessons Hidden in the Unlikely Crib.” Desiring God Ministries. 30.Nov.2017. Web. Dec.10.2019.
[4] Piper, John. “The Meaning of the Manger: Six Lessons Hidden in the Unlikely Crib.” Desiring God Ministries.
[5] Piper, John. “The Meaning of the Manger: Six Lessons Hidden in the Unlikely Crib.” Desiring God Ministries.
[6] Phillippians 2:8.
[7] Luke 2:41-52.
[8] John 11:35.
[9] Rodgers, Dan. “GOD IN A MANGER.” Sermon Search. Web. Dec.10.2019.
[10] Rodgers, Dan. “GOD IN A MANGER.” Sermon Search.
[11] Rodgers, Dan. “GOD IN A MANGER.” Sermon Search.
[12] Rodgers, Dan. “GOD IN A MANGER.” Sermon Search.
[13] “Away in a Manager.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation.10.Dec.2019. Web. Dec.10.2019.
[14] Donovan, Richard Niell. “Hymn Story: Away in a Manger.” Sermon Writer. 2008. Web. Dec.10.2019.
[15] Away in a Manager.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation
[16] Hawn, C. Micheal. “History of Hymns: “Away in a Manger”  United Methodist Church Discipleship Ministries. 7.June.2013. Web. Dec.10.2019. 

First Lesson: Isaiah 7: 10-16
Responsive Reading: Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19
Second Lesson: Romans 1: 1-7
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 1: 18-25

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g] (which means “God with us”).--Matthew 1:22-23
​
Let me begin by asking the congregation a few questions?

--What do author Mark Twain and President George Washingston have in common?   Answer: “Both men lost their fathers before their twelfth birthdays[1].

-Next question. –What do the perhaps the greatest artist who ever lived Michael Angelo and President  Abraham Lincoln have in common? Answer:  Both men lost a mother before turning ten years old[2].

-Final question- What do President Bill Clinton,  Sir Isaac Newton and singer of “What a Wonderful World.”  Louis Armstrong have in common?  Answer: All three men never knew their fathers. 

If one were to study the highest achievers in world history from Julius Caeser to Napoleon to Thomas Jefferson to Johann Sebastian Bach, one would be struck by how many of these figures grew up in less than an ideal home environment due to a losing a parent at a young age[3].

So why do some many of history’s most significant figures come from fractured homes? We’ll get back to this question in just a little bit.

-Today’s Old Testament Lesson comes from us from the 7th Chapter of the Book of Isaiah[4].  In the last three weeks we’ve looked at the theme of “Peace on Earth” from within Isaiah.  Peace as waiting, Peace in relationships, Peace as hope, and this morning Peace from the child that is soon to come.      

Today’s lesson concern a King named Ahaz.  To understand Ahaz, here’s a quick breakdown of the challenges faced during Ahaz’s reign.  Ahaz’s kingdom of Judah was under constant threat from three different enemies: Israel’s neighboring Samaria and to the further north Syria, and to the east the Assyrian empire, which was the world’s mightiest at the time[5]. 

Ahaz’s reign was going to be defined either by siding with Assyria against his northern neighbors or waging war alongside his northern neighbors against the mighty Assyrians[6].
Ahaz would struggle with these most difficult of leadership choices.

Isaiah, within our lesson, seeks to offer Ahaz guidance in seeking to chart out a course for his nation moving forward.  Isaiah’s advice was to trust in their nation’s God.  The God of Israel’s greatest King David.  A God whose reign would far outlast the Kings of Israel’s mightiest of enemies.  Ahaz being a King figured that political and military problems could only be solved in similar ways[7].  Ahaz thinks the simplest solution is to align with the Assyrians by worshiping their gods instead of his own. 

God then responds by seeking to speak to Ahaz directly.  God even offers Ahaz a direct sign of his continual protection over Ahaz’s nation.   Ahaz though believed that God’s mere promises wouldn’t be enough to deliver him from all his enemies. 

So in response to Ahaz’s disbelief, Isaiah makes a prediction for Israel’s future.  What Isaiah predicts would end up not affecting merely Ahaz’s nation of Israel, but every person gathered here today[8].

Isaiah 7:14 declares: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

The promise that Isaiah gives to Ahaz is no matter how dark the days ahead for Israel might be.  God will never abandon his chosen people.  Someday, a child will be born within Israel, who will be given the name of Immanuel.  The future birth of this child is a promise to those who believe “God (is) with us.” Even in the hardest days for our world, our nation, and our selves. 

For our challenges will not be like those of King Ahaz.  Our challenges might be struggles within our own families, they might be challenges of whether God will indeed provide food, work, or shelter, or they might be the struggles of old age or declining health[9] .  Just like Ahaz, we are likely to struggle with the question of where might salvation come? 

What’s ends up happening to King Ahaz, we’ll get back him in a just little bit. 

With this in mind, let me tell a story told by Pastor Leon Stier[10].  Pastor Stier goes to visit a home bound elderly couple named Gilbert and Harriet that were members of his congregation.  As soon as Pastor Stier walks in, his eye is caught by a brand spanking, new huge T.V. sitting in the corner of the room. 

Pastor Stier comments: “What a nice TV[11].” Harriet pipes up “Yes,” Harriet says, “Our son had it sent to us for Christmas[12].” Harriet begins to beam as she points out all the things that their son had bought for them from flowers on the table to a nice, new recliner that Gilbert was now sitting in.  Harriet begins giving Pastor Stier the rundown on how successful their son is and he now lives several states away in California[13]. 

Pastor Stier points out to Harriet and Gilbert:  “Your son buys you nice gifts[14].”

Gilbert had enough at this point; he pipes up: “Yes, he does. but for my part, he could forget the gifts and use the money to buy a plane ticket and visit us sometime.  No gift would mean more to his mother and me than that.  He calls once in a while, but he hasn’t been here for over three years.”

You see, just like Ahaz and Isaiah, Gilbert and Harriet could see the same event, hear the same promises from above, and have very different responses.   Harriet saw earthly comforts; Gilbert longed for something else[15].  Ahaz saw a nation under siege and saw every reason to abandon his faith.  Isaiah saw the uncertainty as a reason to embrace his faith.   

Earlier, I asked a question this morning: “Why do some many of history’s most significant figures come from fractured homes?”

Social scientists have a theory.  Many of history’s highest achievers realize at a young age that the world is not inherently safe[16].  Day to day existence is fraught with uncertainty.  The fittest guy around can have a heart attack shoveling snow.  The best driver can get in an accident that isn’t their fault.  The healthiest kid can get a freak illness.  So those written about in the history books have drawn strength from the uncertainty of their surroundings.  Trust in the God of Israel, Ahaz believed he needed something more certain than this.     

So, what ends up happening to King Ahaz? Ahaz ends up bowing down before the altar of the Assyrian King[17]. He ends up sacrificing his son to the Canaanite God Moloch[18].   Ahaz’s reign ended up being a disaster for the spiritual life of the entire nation.  There seemed to be absolutely no hope for Israel at the time of Ahaz’s death.  Isaiah was called to give a sign of God’s future peace when no one could see it.

How can we make sense of Isaiah’s message for us Today?

In England many years ago, lived a gentleman named John Mason Neale[19].  John Mason Neale wanted to serve as Anligican Priest, but couldn’t on account of lung disease[20]. So John Mason Neale found a different type of ministry. John Mason Neale’s ministry was spent working with those who were really hurting in life.  Neale founded a nursing order of Anglican nuns.  He helped with the finding of organizations dedicated to the care of orphans[21].  John Mason Neale, for the last twenty years of his life, lived in an almshouse taking in all of England’s poor and downtrodden.

Did all this charity make John Mason Neale a popular guy in England? No, once upon a time he was attacked attending a funeral for one of the sisters of the nursing order.  Neale would frequently be threatened by stoning, and people claimed they were going to burn his house down.  What was Neale’s great sin? In 19th Century England, he was an Anglican thought to be too friendly to Roman Catholicism[22].
John Mason Neale is best remembered for something else Today.  He loved translating ancient Greek and Latin hymns in connection with Christian celebrations.  His most popular translated hymn originated nearly 1000 years before his birth as a chant practiced during the week of Christmas[23].  It was based on the Magnificat, Mary’s Hymn of Praise within Luke’s Gospel of the upcoming Birth of the Savior of the world[24]. 

The chant originally had seven verses, its last verse becoming the most famous[25]:
“O come, O come, Emmanuel. And ransom captive Israel.  That mourns in lonely exile here. Until the Son of God appear.”

John Mason Neale believed something quite significant about the nature of the Christian’s life.  As Christian people- we continually struggle with the tension between life’s now and God’s not yet. The tune of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”  that we sing is based on a French funeral hymn from 400 years before John Mason Neale’s birth[26]. Singing a funeral hymn as a song of hope teaches us something.  We celebrate Christ’s Resurrection, while more eagerly anticipating the Resurrection of all God’s chosen people that is to come[27]. 

For many, the Christmas holiday will be a time of sorrow, a time to ponder lost relationships, financial struggles, or an uncertain future.   Yet we celebrate that no matter the reality of our December 25th, God is still with us.  He has come before as a child born to a virgin in the town of Bethlehem.  He will come back to wipe tears from the eyes of all those who grieve this Holiday season[28], reminding us How as Christians, we are often sorrowful for our present but rejoicing for God’s future. 

“O come, O come, Emmanuel. And ransom captive Israel.  That mourns in lonely exile here. Until the Son of God appears.”  Amen
 
 
 
  


[1] Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code. Bantam Books. New York. 2009. Print. Pages 112-113
[2] Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code. Bantam Books.
[3] Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code. Bantam Books.
[4] Isaiah 7:10-16.
[5] McLarty, Dr. Phillip.  W. “A Virgin Shall Conceive.” Sermon Writer. 2010. Print. Dec.3.2019.
[6] Bratt, Doug. “Isaiah 7:10-16.” Center for Excellence in Preaching. Calvin Seminary. Grand Rapids, MI. 12.Dec.2016. Web. Dec.3.2019.
[7] Bratt, Doug. “Isaiah 7:10-16.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[8] Bratt, Doug. “Isaiah 7:10-16.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[9] Bratt, Doug. “Isaiah 7:10-16.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[10] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Emmanuel.” Email Mediatations. 24. Dec.2014. Web. Dec.3.2019. 
[11] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Emmanuel.” Email Mediatations.
[12] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Emmanuel.” Email Mediatations.
[13] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Emmanuel.” Email Mediatations.
[14] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Emmanuel.” Email Mediatations.
[15] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Emmanuel.” Email Mediatations.
[16] Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code. Bantam Books. Page 114.
[17] “Ahaz.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 2.Dec.2019. Web. Dec.3.2019.
[18] 2 Kings 16:3.
[19] “John Mason Neale.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 30.Sept.2019. Web. Dec.3.2019.
[20] Tait, Jennifer Woodruff. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Christian History Insistute. Issue#103. 2012. Web. Dec.3.2019.
[21] Im, Daniel. “The (Hidden) Theology and History of O Come O Come Emmanuel.” Daniel Im. 19. Dec.2017. Web. Dec.3.2019.
[22] “John Mason Neale.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation.
[23] Im, Daniel. “The (Hidden) Theology and History of O Come O Come Emmanuel.” Daniel Im
[24] Luke 1:46-55
[25] Im, Daniel. “The (Hidden) Theology and History of O Come O Come Emmanuel.” Daniel Im
[26] Im, Daniel. “The (Hidden) Theology and History of O Come O Come Emmanuel.” Daniel Im
[27] Piper, John. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Desiring God. 13.Dec.2015. Web. Dec.3.2019.
[28] Tait, Jennifer Woodruff. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Christian History Insistute.

First Lesson: Isaiah 35: 1-10
Responsive Reading: Psalm 146: 5-10
Second Lesson: James 5: 7-10
​Gospel Lesson: Matthew 11: 2-11

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
The year was 1517, the Ottoman Empire also known as the Turks, came to capture the Holy Land, which they would rule for the next 400 years[1].  The Ottomans  like many foreign rulers would clash with local populations over use of the land.[2]  The Turks even instituted a tax for every tree that a landowner kept standing on their property.  The consequences were predictable; to avoid paying the tax, trees were cut in great numbers[3].   You cut enough trees overtime the climate begins to change[4]. 

So therefore, the Biblical land of “milk” and “honey” over many years had now become a lifeless desert[5].  The land of the Jewish ancestors had become a place where their descendants were now stripped of  any legal protections and seemingly without hope for generations to come. 
  
Today’s lesson comes to us from the 35th Chapter of the book of Isaiah.  Isaiah wrote in a day where foreign enemies were also threatening to destroy Israel’s  land and nation.    

What does Isaiah 35 predict lies ahead for the nation: “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the Rose, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.[6]”

In the last few weeks, we’ve looked at various themes of future peace on Earth from the Book of Isaiah.

Two weeks ago the online message  looked at the hard process of waiting for peace when “Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore[7].”

Last week we looked at peace among our earthly relationships: “The wolf will live with the lamb.[8]” “and a little child will lead them[9].”

This week, we look at God’s peace when it appears to be an impossible dream like when roses bloom in the middle of a long-barren desert[10]. 

Once upon a time in a place like Carefree Living, a woman who I’ll call Angie in her 40’s shows up[11].  Angie wishes to see a little-visited resident.  A woman that I’ll call Doris, Doris was in her early 80’s and struggling.  Angie approaches Doris’ room and knocks on the door.  Angie wasn’t a natural doing these kinds of visits. 

Angie asks Doris: “How are you[12]?”

Doris merely responds, “Fine.”

Angie asks a few more questions, only to be met with one-word responses and awkward silences.  Angie didn’t know whether she should stay or go.

Finally, Doris asks Angie a question.  “Do you have a son?”

Angie did have a son named Mark; she began to describe him to Doris in great detail; he’s six-foot-four, sixteen plays on the high school basketball team, and hopes to go to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities to study engineering[13].

Doris then asked Angie. “Do you have a daughter?”  To which Angie proceeded to give Doris detailed descriptions about her twelve-year-old daughter, just like with Mark[14].   

What about a husband? Angie told Doris everything about her husband, his job, how they met, and even told Doris all about their wedding ceremony.

Angie and Doris’ visit went late into the afternoon.  The visit was often  filled with long and seemingly uncomfortable pauses.  The visit was everything that Angie could have hoped for with Doris. 

Angie then finally had to get up to leave.  Doris asks Angie, “Do you live near here?” 

To which Angie responded no that she lived down in the Twin Cities over two-hundred miles away.  Doris told Angie that she had a daughter that lived down there.  Doris told Angie that “Your visit has been nice,  you’re also really pretty, you should come by again, soon[15].” 

Doris then asked Angie to remind her of Angie’s name, Angie formed a smile and then answered.   Doris then said “I’ve got a daughter named Angie.”  Angie asked to give Doris a hug on the way out the door, to which Doris agreed. 

By the time Angie was back at her car, tears were streaming down Angie’s face, as she had been so touched that her own mother Doris had just called her pretty, once again[16].  

Were Angie’s tears, tears of sorrow, or joy? Even Angie didn’t know in that moment. 

You see, Angie longed for peace not only for her mother as her memory faded but ultimately herself.  Angie didn’t know how many years that she’d have Mom with her, nor could she make sense of how she should feel about her mother’s death.

You see, the Christian Gospel is filled with all sorts of people who longed for spiritual peace within their own lives, just like Angie, even when it seemed like a far, off distant dream.

Once upon a time, many years after Isaiah had wrote our lesson.  Jesus was forced to leave the land of Judea, the place of the powerful within his day. Jesus’ ministry could not continue there for the religious leaders feared his message and would eventually plot to take his life. So on his way back home to Gailee, Jesus had to stop at the Samaritan village of Sychar. 

Jesus stops at a local well.  A woman was drawing water.  This woman had a questionable reputation.  She had already been married five times and now was living with another guy not her husband[17].  You couldn’t have been more of a social outcast on account of your past in Jesus’ day, then the woman at the well in Sychar.  Nearly every good religious person would go the other way for fear of scandal, upon seeing her.  She’s shocked that Jesus dared approach her. 

Jesus would then declare her to forgiveness unlike she could have imagined, when she woke up that morning.  “Jesus said to the woman from Sychar, “I am the living water. Whoever drinks of me will never thirst again[18].”   

Her life would be so transformed by Jesus’ message that she would go back to the village of Sychar and many would believe because of her[19].  There is no better example in the scripture of what it means for “A rose to bloom in the desert.” then what took place within the woman at Sychar’s life on which this church claims its name and identity.

Here’s the point of Isaiah’s lesson the long-awaited Messiah would soon bring forgiveness, and peace like the world has never known, just like within the life of the woman from Sychar.   

We remember this Today. The dream of future peace within our own lives might seem hopeless, like finding a Rose in the middle of the desert.  This despair might come from brokenness within ourselves.  The despair might come in cases like Angie from uncertainty about our loved ones.  The despair might come for the future of the congregation or the community.   The prophet Isaiah understood despair.  Isaiah understood what it felt like to be threatened by foreign powers and dark spiritual forces.    Isaiah still saw great hope on the future horizon; even though this hope wouldn’t be born in Bethlehem for nearly seven-hundred more years.   

Isaiah saw a future rose blooming off in the desert[20].   A day when God embraces us just like the woman at Sychar at our very weakest.  For our lesson declares,  “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.[21]

Creation shall soon be whole again, no matter how difficult it might be to believe in days such as these.  

The people of Israel struggled with this as they had to cut down trees to avoid Turkish taxes,  Angie struggled with this as she saw her mother Doris slipping away, the woman at Sychar struggled with the possibility of ever finding grace within her life, until Jesus offered her living water.  A Rose blooming in the desert, brought into the world by a Virgin Mother. 

A day when human brokenness no longer controls us, Isaiah’s prophecies remind us this Advent season that when “Peace on Earth.” Seems to be merely a dream, it is indeed closer than we think.

To illustrate this, let me close with one final story.  A few years back, author Gary Schmidt wrote a book called Orbiting Jupiter telling the tale of a boy named Jack and his foster brother named Joseph[22].  The boys are living in Maine in the dead of winter[23].  Maine this winter had a streak of cold and nasty weather like it hadn’t seen in quite some time. Picture a long, extended streak of cold like we’ve just had going for weeks without break.   Amid this winter, Jack and Joseph were tasked with tending to the family cows.  So right after the nasty cold, Jack and Joseph go to see the cows. 

One of the cows though was unlike any of the other cows.  The cow is let out of the paddock and is overjoyed as any cow could be with snow-covered ground.   Jack and Joseph were frustrated with the serial cold and snow as any of us would be, not this cow, though.  The cow started “snorting, snickering, and waving his tail high in the air[24].”  You see, the cow had learned something important, that even a day slightly less cold than the previous day was an indication that spring was eventually coming, even if it was still months away[25].

A story like this reminds us that every small sign of God’s promises from when we receive a word of forgiveness, to when we receive our Lord’s Supper to when we feel at Peace hearing a Christmas carol.  All these things within our life point us toward that one day when  Peace comes to Earth in the form of a rose blooming in desert.  The rose will be named Jesus.  Amen 


[1] “Pre-State Israel: Under Ottoman Rule (1517-1917).” Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). Web. Nov.27.2019.
[2] Amin, Edo. “Did the Turks really have a tax on trees in modern day Israel-Palestine under Ottoman control and did this lead to the land becoming more deforested?.” Quora. 9.Dec.2017. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[3] Izzard, John. “Taxing light and air.” Quadrant Online. 20.June.2010. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[4] Markquardt, Ed. “Making the Deserts Bloom.” Sermons from Seattle. Advent 3A. Web. Nov.27.2019.  This sermon is heavily influenced by Markquardt’s excellent sermon on same passage. 
[5] Simcox, Tom. “The Ottoman Legacy.” Israel My Glory.
[6] Isaiah 35:1.
[7] Isaiah 2:4.
[8] Isaiah 11:6
[9] Isaiah 11:6.
[10] Isaiah 35:1.
[11] Markquardt, Ed. “Making the Deserts Bloom.” Sermons from Seattle. Advent 3A. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[12] Markquardt, Ed. “Making the Deserts Bloom.” Sermons from Seattle
[13] Markquardt, Ed. “Making the Deserts Bloom.” Sermons from Seattle.
[14] Markquardt, Ed. “Making the Deserts Bloom.” Sermons from Seattle.
[15] Markquardt, Ed. “Making the Deserts Bloom.” Sermons from Seattle
[16] Markquardt, Ed. “Making the Deserts Bloom.” Sermons from Seattle.
[17] John 4:18
[18] John 4:14.
[19] John 4:38-42. 
[20] Bratt, Doug. “Commentary on Isaiah 35:1-10.” Center for Excellence in Preaching. Calvin Seminary. Grand Rapids, MI. 5. Dec.2016. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[21] Isaiah 35:5-6
[22] Bratt, Doug. “Commentary on Isaiah 35:1-10.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[23] “Orbiting Jupiter.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 13. Nov.2019. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[24] Bratt, Doug. “Commentary on Isaiah 35:1-10.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[25] Bratt, Doug. “Commentary on Isaiah 35:1-10.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.

First Lesson: Isaiah 11: 1-10
Responsive Reading: Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19
Second Lesson: Romans 15: 4-13
​Gospel Lesson: Matthew 3: 1-12

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

John Hughes tells the story of 8-year-old Kevin McAllister[1].  Kevin McAllister is the youngest of five children.  Kevin’s family has a huge upcoming holiday trip planned to Paris with all his siblings and cousins numbering 11 children in all[2].  The night before leaving, Kevin gets in trouble at home like a lot of 8-year-old boys tend to do[3].  Kevin thinks it’s all unfair, so Kevin storms off, hoping that he’d never see his family again. 

Overnight, an accident takes place that would forever change Kevin McAllister’s life.  The wind knocks the power out at Kevin’s house.  The next morning, alarms fail to go off at home forcing the family to hurry to the airport.  A neighbor child is accidentally counted in Kevin’s place when the family van is set to leave.

 By the time Kevin gets out of bed.  His entire family is on a flight to Paris.  Kevin’s dreams of an empty house had come true! Kevin responds as most 8-year-old boys would: he starts jumping on his parents’ bed, eats all sorts of junk food, and begins watching violent movies his family told him he couldn’t[4].  Kevin McAllister was on top of the world!

What ends up happening to Kevin and his family? We’ll get back to them in just a little bit.  Today’s First Lesson comes to us from the Book of Isaiah[5].  The Isaiah lessons that we read this Advent have to do with the Prophet Isaiah seeking to get the people of Israel ready for the birth of the long-awaited Messiah. 

You see Israel during Isaiah’s lifetime was about three-hundred years after the nation’s glory days under King David[6].  Things were still really good under David’s son Solomon, Israel never had more money.  Once Solomon dies his son was never as admired by the people.  Many people rejected Solomon’s son as King for spending too much money threatening to bankrupt the nation.

 Israel would then divide into two separate kingdoms, both North and South.  Israel would then cycle through a whole series of Kings: some faithful, some unfaithful, some worshiping the God of the Bible, some worshiping other gods.  The further that Israel got from God as a nation, the more uncertain their future.  The following history brings us to our lesson for Today from Isaiah 11.

Like last week’s lesson[7], this week’s lesson also gives a vision of future peace brought about by the nation’s Messiah: The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them[8]. “
From where does the child who shall bring about all these things come? Verse 1 declares: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;” 

Who was Jesse? Jesse was the Father of Israel’s greatest King David.  When you look at Jesus’ family trees listed in both Matthew[9] and Luke’s Gospel[10]? Jesse (father of David) is listed.  So what Isaiah is trying to say things for us, Today is that through broken family trees such as Jesse, David, and ultimately Jesus, Israel as a people would eventually find  salvation.

Back to the story of 8-year-old Kevin McAllister being left home alone, Kevin keeps having his fun without any parents even managing to slide down the family’s indoor steps right on out the front door.  Kevin soon realizes something though enemies are all around him[11].  An 8-year-old is not going a terrifying security system for a big house in the Chicago suburbs.  Kevin soon notices two robbers targeting not only his house but also him.  Kevin then has to plot with his eight-year-old mind, all the possible ways he can protect family home from criminals[12].

Christmas Eve soon comes,  Kevin decides to go to church with the hope that it will bring his family back.  While at church, Kevin encounters a neighbor known as Old Man Marley[13].  Kevin had previously heard from his brother than Old Man Marley was a serial killer who had killed half the people on the block thirty years before.  Kevin would run screaming in fear whenever he saw Old Man Marley.  On Christmas Eve, Kevin and Old Man Marley meet, exchange pleasantries, and  begin to watch a children’s choir rehearse. Old Man Marley tells Kevin, he’s there to watch his granddaughter, how he has to watch the rehearsal because Old Man Marley and his son had a falling out years back and haven’t spoken since.

Kevin, after being separated from his family, had a new perspective about his prior wishes that he’d be better off without them.  Kevin suggests that Old Man Marley use the Christmas season to try to mend fences with his son.  Old Man Marley’s pride was such that he didn’t know whether he could make such a call[14].

You see, many people have a certain image of Christmas in their minds.  They look forward to the decorations, the music, and shopping[15].  Something for many is going on beneath the surface at Christmas that isn’t always as recognized.  Families are separated! People are hurting. Loneliness is manifested.   Little children long for their missing parents.   Grandparents are separated from their grandchildren.   Christmas should not be the time to ignore these things, for we remember that Jesus was born into a far from perfect family.

It was a family that generations before had overseen the downfall of their nation.  Now Jesus begins life within the scandal of a very young mother and a so-called “virgin birth.”  Jesus comes into a world where families don’t often get to celebrate the picture-perfect Christmas, just as in the story of Kevin McAllister and Old Man Marley.  Yet what every Christmas season reminds us is that we are indeed getting closer to the day when even the most separated of families reunite. We remember that “Peace on Earth” will come out of the deepest and longest lasting of divides.    

Final story for this morning.  England and France were seemingly continually at war with each other from the Battle of Hastings in 1066 to the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815[16]. 

The most famous of these wars was the 100-Years War.  If two countries couldn’t ever come together, it seemed to be England and France.  The two countries' arguments were mostly family arguments.  English Royalty believed that their family bloodlines also put them on top of the French throne[17].  France disagreed, and the countries would continually start fighting with each other. 

  Something happened though during all the warfare between England and France. A sign of future peace between the nations, traveling French musicians many years before had journeyed across the English Channel[18].   The French men had brought with them what would become a popular Christmas Carol.  The song would be known in English as the “First Birthday” “First Nativity” or in French as the “First Noel[19].”

The French song soon became a great favorite to be sung in English taverns on Christmas Eve.  In the 1820s, Christmas Carols were sung more outside the church than inside the church.

Eventually two Englishmen collaborated to write extra words to the old French song the “First Noel” describing the complete event of Christ’s Birth over six verses: the angels announcing the birth of the Christ to the Shepherds, the Shepherds visiting the New Born Christ and the Star of Bethlehem leading the Magi from the East thereby  making Christ’s birthplace where all the different people of the Earth gathered  under the presence of newborn savior[20] .  The “First Noel” retelling the Christmas story from Matthew and Luke’s Gospel would then make it into a book of English Christmas carols, thereby making it the favorite Christmas carol that we sign Today[21].    

Peace amongst families.  Eight-year-old Kevin McAllister though he was better off without his family.  Only Kevin would soon realize that there would be no greater gift than a Christmas reunion with his loved ones.  Kevin realized this as he saw his neighbor Old Man Marley embrace his long-separated son and granddaughter[22].  Peace amongst nations!  Would have seemed foolish in the days of Isaiah when our lesson was written when Israel was fighting off every enemy imaginable.  “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them[23].” Such a vision would have seemed ridiculous for hundreds of years between France and England.  Until a Christmas Carol began to paint the way towards a great peace that is to come with the Birth of our Savior.  Noel, noel! Noel, noel! Born is the King of Israel!  Amen
 
 
 





[1] “Home Alone.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 23. Nov.2019. Web. Nov.26.2019. 
[2] “Home Alone.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation
[3] “Home Alone.” Home Alone Wiki. Fandom. 26.Nov.2019. Web. Nov.26.2019.
[4] “Home Alone.” Home Alone Wiki. Fandom.
[5] Isaiah 11:1-10
[6] Gaiser, Fred. “Commentary on Isaiah 11:1-10.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 09.Dec.2007. Web. Nov.26.2019.
[7] Isaiah 2:1-5
[8] Isaiah 11:6.
[9] Matthew 1:1-17.
[10] Luke 3: 23-38. 
[11] “Home Alone.” Home Alone Wiki. Fandom.
[12] Home Alone.” Home Alone Wiki. Fandom.
[13] “Home Alone.” Home Alone Wiki. Fandom.
[14] Hoezee, Scott. “Romans 15:4-13.” Center for Excellence in Preaching. Calvin Seminary. Grand Rapids. 28.Nov.2016. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[15] Hoezee, Scott. “Romans 15:4-13.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[16]  Glushakoff, Martin. “How many times have France and England (and later Britain) gone to war?” Quora. 26.Nov.2019. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[17] Glushakoff, Martin. “How many times have France and England (and later Britain) gone to war?” Quora.
[18] Osbeck, Kenneth. W. “The First Noel.” Christian Broadcasting Network. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[19] Hopler, Whitney. “The First Noel' Christmas Song.” Live About. 8.Mar.2017. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[20] “The First Noel.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 20.Nov.2019. Web. Nov.27.2019.
[21] Hopler, Whitney. “The First Noel' Christmas Song.” Live About.
[22] Hoezee, Scott. “Romans 15:4-13.” Center for Excellence in Preaching. Calvin Seminary. Grand Rapids.
[23] Isaiah 11:6. 

First Lesson: Isaiah 2: 1-5
Responsive Reading: Psalm 122
Second Lesson: Romans 13: 11-14
​Gospel Lesson: Matthew 24: 36-44

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
The year was 1914. The month was December. The place was the Western Front of the First World War[1].  Pope Benedict XV asked that the recently started War be halted for the upcoming Christmas holiday.  The leaders of the fighting countries refused. 

You see World War I was not a conflict born overnight, English and French newspapers would paint propaganda declaring that the Germans melted their murder victims to make soap.  German children would recite what was known as the “Hymn of Hate” towards their European enemies[2].

Now, it was Christmas Eve.  British and German soldiers would be stationed mere feet from each other at specific points along the battlefield armed with bullets and bombs[3].  The last few months had nearly every solider see these fields decorated with the bodies of their fellow countrymen.  Peace on Christmas Eve in 1914 seemed to be nothing more than a foolish wish.

Christmas Eve 1914 will go down, though, as  one of the most remarkable days in the history of  war.  How it started, historians can’t quite say.  But on Christmas Eve, soldiers started singing, some of the songs were military songs, others were Christmas carols.  Their enemies responded either with applause or joining the choir.[4]

What happened on Christmas Day was even stranger? German soldiers began to cross enemy lines wishing the British soldiers “Merry Christmas” in English.  ” At first, British troops were hesitant, believing this to be the beginning of a surprise attack[5].  The German soldiers were carrying little Christmas trees over their heads, to let the enemy soldiers know the situation was safe[6].  The commanders didn’t know quite what to make of the visiting Germans.  But the Christmas truce began to grow.  It eventually involved tens of thousands of men gathering together to eat, drink, cook, sing, play soccer, give photos, and even help bury each other’s dead[7].  An event such as the Christmas truce of 1914 has never happened again in world history, too many military commanders have feared such a ceasefire going bad[8].  But Christmas of 1914 will be remembered for a giving a vision of peace that every witness to World War I would have thought to be impossible just hours before it began.

Peace in a time of what seems to be continual war seems impossible.  Only it wasn’t to one man in the Bible named Isaiah.  Isaiah was written during days in Israel’s history, which were marked by warfare[9].  Isaiah’s life saw the world’s mightiest empire in the world at the time: the Assyrians continually threatening Israel’s destruction.  Isaiah’s life even saw Israel on the brink of Civil War as it's Northern Kingdom aligned with neighboring Syria, threatening to destroy the Southern Kingdom where Isaiah lived.[10]  Isaiah knew war nearly as well as nearly any Biblical character.

The following background brings us to our lesson for Today from Isaiah’s 2nd chapter.   Isaiah’s passage looks towards Israel’s future.  Isaiah proclaimed Israel would face some dark days ahead:  The Assyrians would soon conquer Israel’s Northern Kingdom, the Babylonians would eventually conquer Israel’s Southern Kingdom, Isaiah’s fellow countrymen would then be driven out of their homeland forced to live in Babylon, the Babylonians would eventually fall to the Persians, the Persians to the Greek, and the Greeks to the Romans.  Just when warfare seems destined to eventually overwhelm the entire world, a child will be born in Bethlehem.

This child would bring great hope to the nation of Israel. 

Isaiah 2:4 declares: “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”

Today, as a congregation, we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent.  Advent is known as the season of waiting within the church.  Now we can’t talk about waiting without realizing that waiting is quite hard[11]. 

Once upon a time, there was a certain king[12]. The King was growing old and didn’t have any heirs to succeed him.  The King decided that his successor would be determined in the most unusual of ways via a footrace.  So, the next day the course is set up.  Right before the race, one of the King’s servants began passing a message to the runners: “Do not run when the race starts; only run when the King gives his special signal to you[13].” 

The runners look at the Messenger, confused but agree.  Three men gather at the start line, with the race about to begin.  The race starts with the runners looking in the direction of the King.  The first runner tried to start quickly then stopped until he saw the second runner also begin to start.  The first and second runners took off for the finish line[14].  Running with every ounce of effort they could muster to succeed the King.  As for the third runner, he stood at the starting line, having not seen the King’s signal.  He looked around; saw everyone, even the King, watching the end of the race.  The third runner had never been so embarrassed, having blown the greatest opportunity of his life by appearing to miss a signal.  The race soon ends with the first two runners finishing in what seemed to be a tie.  All three runners then approach the King, wanting his verdict as to who would be the new King of the kingdom.   The King approaches the first two runners before asking: “Why did you run[15]?”   The first runner said he forgot what the King’s messenger had said.  The second runner said he saw the first runner take off. 

The King finally approaches the third man asking: “And why did not you run?[16]"

The third runner declared in response: “Because you did not give me the signal, sir[17],

The King would then declare: “My son, I knew that you could run, but I did not know that you could wait[18].”  The King had now found the successor to his kingdom.  Now ask yourself: “How many of us would show patience just like this third runner?”

Waiting takes many forms within our lives.  When we’re young, we count down the days of the season, eagerly anticipating Christmas presents.  When we get older, we begin to long for things that money can’t buy.  We long for peace in our families.  We want peace between nations, just like on Christmas Eve, 1914.  We long for spiritual peace on account of any wrongs that we’ve committed before men and God.   Advent reminds us that the Universe operates on God’s timeline for peace rather than our own.  We want Isaiah’s vision of peace:”Swords turned into plowshares” to have happened, yesterday.”  God remains though at work, even when we don’t see it.   

Once upon a time, there was a boy born nicknamed Chuck.  Chuck felt unnoticed growing up.  He was the 18th of 19th children[19].  Chuck was a social outcast in his early years.  He was really religious, and his classmates made fun of him as a “Jesus Freak.”  Chuck eventually becomes a minister.  Chuck’s first preaching assignment didn’t go well, leaving mad within one year of beginning.  One night though it was almost as God reached down from heaven to speak to Chuck.  Chuck would turn from writing sermons to writing hymns.   Chuck wanted to write music  that everyone could follow, even those who were poor and couldn’t read[20].  Chuck was walking to church on Christmas Day when he heard a bell ringing in the distance.  Chuck couldn’t help but think back to when God nearly one year earlier had given Chuck a new direction in his life and ministry.   So Chuck began writing a poem, with the first word being “Hark.”, hearing the sounds of the bell ring,  while seemingly hearing the voice of angels around him declaring[21]. 

“Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled[22]"

“Chuck” Charles Wesley became one of the most prolific hymn writers who has ever lived.  His music helped turn Methodism into one of the world’s largest church bodies[23].    Wesley’s most famous hymn, though, is the one that many of us know quite well.  “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

This hymn is based on the Angels of the Lord ‘ singing in Luke’s Gospel[24] upon visiting Jesus’ birth: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests[25].”

Peace right now in our world might seem  impossible.  It seemed impossible in 1914 only to see enemy soldiers soon celebrating Christmas together.  Peace seemed impossible during the life of the Biblical Isaiah as Israel was under attack from all sides.  Peace seemed impossible that night in Bethlehem as Mary and Joseph submitted to the world’s most powerful of governments in a census.  The message of Advent, though, is this.  Waiting is indeed hard.   Charles Wesley had to wait for years to find peace in his own life.   But rest assured, Peace among God’s people is coming soon.  We shall soon inherit the Kingdom upon which we wait!   Hark the Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the Newborn King! Amen
 
 


[1] History.com Editors. “Christmas Truce of 1914.” History.com. 27.Oct.2009. Updated. Nov.20.2019. Web. Nov.25.2019.
[2] Coyle, Daniel. The Culture Code. Penguin Random House UK. London. 2018. Print.  Page 28.
[3] Coyle, Daniel. The Culture Code. Penguin Random House UK. London. 2018. Print.  Pages 27-28.
[4] Coyle, Daniel. The Culture Code. Penguin Random House UK. Page 29.
[5] History.com Editors. “Christmas Truce of 1914.” History.com.
[6] Coyle, Daniel. The Culture Code. Penguin Random House UK. Page 30.
[7] Coyle, Daniel. The Culture Code. Penguin Random House UK. Page 31.
[8] History.com Editors. “Christmas Truce of 1914.” History.com.
[9] “War, Warfare (in Isaiah). Anabaptist Wiki. 26. Sept.2015. Web. Nov.25.2019.
[10] Isaiah 7-12.
[11] Gaiser, Fred. “Isaiah 2:1-5.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 2. Dec.2007. Web. Nov.25.2019.
[12] Naylor, Charles Wesley. “Waiting on the Lord.” Bible Hub. Web. Nov.25.2019.
[13] Naylor, Charles Wesley. “Waiting on the Lord.” Bible Hub.
[14] Naylor, Charles Wesley. “Waiting on the Lord.” Bible Hub.
[15] Naylor, Charles Wesley. “Waiting on the Lord.” Bible Hub.
[16] Naylor, Charles Wesley. “Waiting on the Lord.” Bible Hub
[17] Naylor, Charles Wesley. “Waiting on the Lord.” Bible Hub
[18] Naylor, Charles Wesley. “Waiting on the Lord.” Bible Hub.
[19] “Charles Wesley.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 22.Nov.2019. Web. Nov.25.2019.
[20] Longanecker, Josh. “The Story Behind “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” James River Church. Ozark, MO. 22.Dec.2016. Web. Nov.25.2019.
[21] “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 22.Oct.2019. Web. Nov.25.2019.
[22] Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation
[23] Longanecker, Josh. “The Story Behind “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” James River Church.
[24] Luke 2:14.
[25] Hawn, C. Michael. “History of Hymns: ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church. 11. Dec.2014. Web. Nov.25.2019. 

First Lesson: Jeremiah 23: 1-6
Responsive Reading: Psalm 46
Second Lesson: Colossians 1: 10-20
​Gospel Lesson: Luke 23: 33-43

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Last Sunday, I was in Minneapolis watching the Vikings play the Denver Broncos.  The game starts, and the first half is a disaster for the home team.  The Vikings leave the field behind 20-0 to a loud chorus of boos from nearly everyone gathered.  I check Facebook at halftime, a friend of mine posts how the Vikings need to fire the coach.  I was sitting in my seat, regretting taking a Sunday off. The game appeared to be an inevitable defeat for the Vikings; only the game was not over.

The second half of the game would see everything change for the Minnesota Vikings: touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, and finally victory.  Ninety-nine straight times, teams such as the Vikings losing by twenty points at halftime had lost [1]. The 100th time was going to be different.  Last Sunday’s game reminds us how too often we’re convinced that we know the ending of God’s script only to be proven wrong in the end. 

The failure of human instinct brings me to a well-known story.  Nelson Mandela was born to a prominent South African tribal family in 1918[2].  Mandela eventually becomes a lawyer.  Despite Mandela’s success, his homeland’s white-majority government adopted a system of persecution known as “apartheid.” against Native Africans like Nelson Mandela.  Mandela becomes an outspoken leader of resistance.  Mandela is arrested in 1962 and sentenced to life in prison. While in prison all sorts of terrible things happened to Nelson Mandela: his mother died and he couldn’t attend the funeral, his son got in a car wreck, and he was unable to visit[3] .  Mandela’s main interaction with the outside world was suffering abuse at the hands of the prison guards.

Nelson Mandela’s life appeared to be over.  Soon even carrying pictures of Mandela became a crime in South Africa[4].  It seemed that Nelson Mandela would never see the light of day again like thousands of political prisoners before him. 

Despite all this, Nelson Mandela clung to a belief that the past would not define the future[5]. Eventually, a new South African President F.W. Declerk sets out to reform the country with one of his first acts being releasing Nelson Mandela  after twenty-seven years.  Three years after being released from prison, Nelson Mandela was awarded a Noble Peace Prize. Four years later, Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa,  helping to heal a long-broken nation[6].  

Yet as dramatic as Nelson Mandela’s life turned around, even going to one’s grave doesn’t guarantee anything. 

Once upon a time, there was a struggling artist named Vince[7].  Vince struggled in life in every way imaginable.  As a teen, he fell in love with a young lady, she married someone else.  Vince soon gets a job for an art dealer, ends up getting fired for his lack of social skills[8].  Vince would spend his adult life continually moving around, feeling like he never fit in anywhere or with anyone.  He would seemingly lose jobs and love at every potential opportunity.  His mental health was so tortured that he eventually ends up institutionalized.  Vince would lose his life to suicide at the age of 37.  His only accomplishment of any note was selling some artwork to little fanfare.  When Vince died people probably mocked him with every nasty name in the books: bum, loser, deadbeat[9]. 

Shortly after his death, Vince’s artwork began to be noticed.  Fifteen years after his death, he was considered a superstar within the world of art.  One hundred years after his death, one of his portraits sold for 82.5 million dollars[10].  Vincent Van Gogh went to his own grave, seemingly to be forgotten like millions of others before him.  It was in Vincent Van Gogh’s death that his place in this world would forever be altered. 

My beloved Minnesota Vikings, Nelson Mandela, and Vincent Van Gogh lead us into our Gospel lesson for Today, which comes to us from the 23rd Chapter of Luke’s Gospel[11]. 

The tale our Gospel lesson tells is the tale of the most unlikely of kings,  a King that seemed to have less hope than Nelson Mandela,   A King who, like Vincent Van Gogh would seemingly be forgotten after his death.    A King who was born in a stable among animals, who grew up in the smallest of towns, little old Nazareth in the middle of nowhere[12].  Whereas most kings, spend their lives comfortably living in castles[13].  This King had now been sentenced to death by the seemingly unbeatable Roman Empire. 

What’s happening to this so-called King within our lesson[14]?
V.35: “but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself,”
V.36: “soldiers also mocked him.”
V.38: The King was considered a joke and a fool by onlookers as a sign was hung next to him declaring: "This is the King of the Jews."

Now the King’s last moments on Earth would be spent weak from beatings, clothes stripped from his body, listening to a debate between two ordinary criminals.  There could be no more humiliating end for a King then listening to a debate between a Traitor and a Thief[15].

The Traitor joins in the mocking of the King by declaring. “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us![16]”
Nothing good could seem to come out of this situation for the King: the odds were way longer than 99 losses in a row. Whereas the South Africans had feared Nelson Mandela’s popularity, this King had been abandoned by even his closest of followers[17].  Unlike Vincent Van Gogh, there were no prized possessions that could make his descendants rich in this world after this King’s death. 

What makes this King left to die worthy of our praise?  Consider the Thief who hung alongside him. I picture a petty thief who lived a long life of crime.  The type of guy in our day who passed bad checks, stole property standing in the open yards, and was on a first name basis with local police officers.  Upon hearing the Traitor’s mockery of this King.  The Thief dares to speak up. 

“Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation[18]?” Said the Theif to the Traitor.  “For we are receiving the due reward of our deeds[19].”

The Thief knew his sins; he knew they were numerous; he knew the Traitor hanging alongside him was just as guilty. He knew the King sentenced to death alongside them was different.  And “this man has done nothing wrong[20]., the Theif would say.

The Thief was at life’s most desperate place, the death penalty with no possibility of pardon, so the Thief turned into the direction of the King. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[21]”

How did the King respond to the Thief? Many kings would have sentenced this Thief to death.  This King was different, giving the most powerful of promises to this common thief.  “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.[22]”

The last man who cries out to the King for grace and mercy would be the scripture's first Death Row conversion. 

How might the presence of this King work in lives such as ours?

Let me close with one final story.  The year was 1974. Billy Neal Moore was a 22-year-old army specialist who after separating from his wife  was struggling to pay the bills[23].  He went around trying to find charity, but no one could help.  Billy then heard about a rich man living in the area.  One night, Billy starting drinking and smoking marijuana, when he decided to rob the man. The robbery went bad, and the man pulled a shotgun on Billy, Billy fired back killing the man.  He ran off with $5000.  Billy soon became overwhelmed with guilt over his sin[24].  Billy quickly confessed but was still going to be sentenced to die just like the Traitor, the Theif, and the King within our lesson.

Billy’s execution date is set.  Shortly before his death, a preacher comes to visit.  The preacher says that while a Judge could sentence Billy to death, a King could give Billy eternal life.  Billy and the Preacher began to pray. Billy would be baptized the next day[25]. 

Billy then, like Nelson Mandela, received life-changing news.  His lawyer had forgotten to tell him that all death penalty cases have the right to appeal.  Billy now had extra time on Earth[26].    

So, Billy after encountering the King, began to take classes to become an ordained minister to reach his fellow prisoners.  Billy’s death sentenced was postponed thirteen times over sixteen years until he was finally scheduled to die, yet again [27]. 

A last-minute verdict came down though: Billy’s sentence was reduced to life in prison. Why was Billy saved, because his victim’s family argued in his defense.  They, too, had previously encountered a different kind of King in their lives[28].  

Billy’s new ministry would lead to the outside traveling the whole world (churches, colleges,  and other prisons) preaching the Gospel of the King, who had forever changed his life[29].  Billy’s life is now ruled by a different kind of King, A King who doesn’t rule by power, but by grace, mercy, and forgiveness.  A King who brought victory out of inevitable defeat.  A King who embraces those like Nelson Mandela at the very lowest moments of their life.  A King who like Vincent Van Gogh doesn’t forget about us at our graves. A King who will give prisoners like Billy Neal Moore, eternal life out of what seems to be certain death.   This is the story of our King Jesus Christ.  Amen
 
 
  


[1] This tidbit was shared in numerous post-game news stories. 
[2] “Nelson Mandela.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 20.Nov.2019. Web. Nov.21.2019.
[3] Hamlin, Rick. “How Nelson Mandela Found Hope.” Guideposts. 13.July.2018. Web. Nov.21.2019. 
[4] Nelson Mandela.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation
[5] Hamlin, Rick. “How Nelson Mandela Found Hope.” Guideposts.
[6] Nelson Mandela.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation.
[7] Ruyssenaars, Bas. “Vincent Van Gogh: A Brillant Failure.” Insistute of Brillant Failures. Web. Nov.21.2019.
[8] Nix, Elizabeth. “7 Things You May Not Know About Vincent Van Gogh.” History Channel. 8.July.2015. Updated. August.22.2018. Web. Nov.21.2019.
[9] This example is given to compare to the mockery that Jesus faces within our Gospel lesson for Today.
[10] Ruyssenaars, Bas. “Vincent Van Gogh: A Brillant Failure.” Insistute of Brillant Failures.
[11] Luke 23:33-43
[12] McLarty, Phillip. “Humble Savior, Exalted Lord.” Sermon Writer. 2013. Web. Nov.21.2019.
[13] Gerhardy, Vince. “Safe at the End.” Sermon Writer. 2001. Web. Nov.21.2019.
[14] Powery, Emerson. “Commentary on Luke 23:33-43.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 24.Nov.2019. Web. Nov.21.2019. 
[15] Powery, Emerson. “Commentary on Luke 23:33-43.” Working Preacher.
[16] Luke 23:39.
[17] Matthew 26:56, Mark 14:50.
[18] Luke 23:40
[19] Luke 23:41
[20] Luke 23:41
[21] Luke 23:42
[22] Luke 23:43. 
[23] Stier, Leon. “Death Row Conversion.” Email Mediatations. 25. Feb.2016. Web. Nov.21.2019.  Stier’s article is based on Shelia M. Poole’s March 30th, 2013 news story in the Atlanta-Journal Consistution with additional notes from the Christian Broadcast Network website.
[24] Stier, Leon. “Death Row Conversion.” Email Mediatations.
[25] Stier, Leon. “Death Row Conversion.” Email Mediatations.
[26] Stier, Leon. “Death Row Conversion.” Email Mediatations.
[27] Stier, Leon. “Death Row Conversion.” Email Mediatations.
[28] Stier, Leon. “Death Row Conversion.” Email Mediatations.
[29] Stier, Leon. “Death Row Conversion.” Email Mediatations.

First Lesson: Haggai 1: 15b- 2:9
Responsive Reading: Psalm 98
Second Lesson: 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-5, 13-17
​Gospel Lesson: Luke 20: 27-38

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Let me begin with a few questions which anyone can shout out the answer if they have guesses[1]

1. What goes up and never comes down (no matter what)[2]?  (Age)
2. Once upon a time, there was an airplane crash, every single person on board died, but two people survived. How is this possible? (The two who survived weren’t single but married)[3].
3. How could a man go outside in the pouring rain without any cover, and not have a hair on his head get wet? (The man was bald)[4]
4. What has a head, a tail, but does not have a body? (A coin)[5]
5. Some months have 31 days, others have 30 days, but how many have 28 days? (All months have at least 28 days)[6]. 

 
What these questions indicate is that human beings can be quite good at fooling others.  It can certainly be this way when it comes to religion.  When I was in high school, my grandma had a boyfriend named Irv.  Irv wasn’t a regular church-goer.  Irv’s reasons for not attending were people in the church according to him, didn’t know anything.  He said most of them couldn’t tell you whether the Book of Hezekiah is in the Old Testament or the New Testament.  I was convinced that I knew the right answer.  I loudly proclaimed The Book of Hezekiah was in the Old Testament[7]. 
 
I had fallen victim to Irv’s trick question.  Hezekiah is a king within the Book of Isaiah.  A good and faithful king, but he was not a prophet for whom the majority of Old Testament books are named.
 
Now twenty plus years after falling victim to Irv’s trick question.  I’ve come to realize that Jesus is smarter in the presence of any religious trick questions than I’ll ever be.
 
My evidence of this is our Gospel lesson for today.  Let me set the stage.  A group of Sadducees approaches Jesus with a question.  To understand the question, here’s a little bit about the Sadducees. 
 
The Sadducees were one of the primary religious groups within Jesus’ day. 
What made the Sadducees' unique was their belief that there is no such thing as the Resurrection of the Dead.   You’re dead, and then your body merely decomposes within the ground. The  Sadducees derived their belief from the First Five Books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy[8].   These books alone were the Sadducees Bible, so if these books didn’t say it then the Sadducces didn’t believe it.
 
So the Sadducees like my Grandma’s boyfriend Irv put their heads together and come up with a seemingly brilliant trick question for Jesus to try to answer.
 
Let me re-read their question from Our gospel: “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way, the seven (brothers) died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven (brothers) were married to her[9]?” 
 
Now the practice they cite is what’s known as Levirate Marriage.  Within Levirate Marriage, when a woman became a widow, she would marry her husband’s brother next.   This type of marriage is a concept that arises in the earliest days of the nation of Israel[10].   Women having children was a matter of not only economic survival but benefitted the nation’s military survival.  So  Levirate Marriage as strange a concept as it might seem  to us was a long-standing social welfare program within Ancient Israel.  Woman who were not married, tended to have limited means to earn an income to support themselves.
 
So with this in mind, The Sadducees think they have Jesus trapped by getting him to admit that either Resurrection of the Dead is foolish because of things like Levirate Marriage or Jesus doesn’t go by the First Five Books of the Old Testament.  The Sadducees figure that once they trap Jesus than every one gathered for Holy Week will turn on him.
 
How does Jesus respond to the Sadducees? Simply, by telling them, they got their understanding of what the afterlife will be like all wrong. 
 
Jesus declares:  “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage[11].”
 
Jesus’ response to the Sadducees is they don’t understand the nature of the afterlife.  How it cannot be compared to our relationships within the here and now.
 
Now, as Christian people, when we think about relationships within the afterlife.  For many of us, the first image that pops up is people like Frank and Shirley Moschet, couples that are happily married for years and years where one spouse longs to reunite with the other spouse after both their deaths. 
 
Yet human relationships for many of us are more complicated than this. 
 
Let me tell you the story about a couple that I’ll call Curt and Julie[12].  Curt and Julie had been fighting for months and months.  They had both began to gather facts for their upcoming divorce case.  When Curt and Julie were together, the situations would quickly blow-up into screaming matches.  One day, Curt got a phone call saying Julie had been in a terrible accident.  Julie’s life was hanging in the balance.  Now let me ask you this, what would  Curt and Julie’s relationship as husband and wife be to each other within the afterlife?
 
Now let me pose a second scenario:  Nathan lost who appeared to be the love of his life,   Louise, unexpectedly at a young age.  A few years go by,  Nathan meets another woman named Kim.  Kim had been previously divorced .  Nathan and Kim then find many years of happiness together until Nathan’s death.  Now let me ask you this: “To whom is Nathan married to within the afterlife his first wife Louise or his second partner, Kim?”
 
Now let me lay out a third scenario for you.  Scott was a good man. He was gainfully employed and a churchgoer.  Scott had a few girlfriends when he was young.  These girlfriends would go on to marry other people.   Pretty soon, Scott was the only one of his friends not to be married.  Scott would then never marry.  Scott’s years on Earth were marked with loneliness.  Scott then dies.  Now let me ask you this: “Does Scott remain forever alone within the Afterlife?”  
 
After considering each of these scenarios, which probably describe people you know, perhaps what Jesus is getting at within our lesson for Today begins to make sense.   Resurrection Life will not be like life in this world. 
 
Our relationships in heaven cannot be compared to our relationships Today.  We cannot exactly say what our various relationships might look like within the Resurrection.  What we can say is that the brokenness and sin which divides us as people shall be no more, as we’re gathered into the arms of our savior. 
 
Our Lutheran Book of Worship within their Marriage ceremony has couples pledge commitment to each other until the moment that death parts them[13].  What happens beyond death, this was a question that the Sadducees thought could trick Jesus on.  What Jesus points out to the Sadducees is Resurrection life is beyond what we can imagine within this world.  What might this exactly look like, is not something that I can say for sure whether one is single, happily married, unhappily married, divorced, widowed, or remarried. 
 
 
I believe that all martial statuses are included in Paul’s powerful promise from Romans 8: “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.[14]”
 
The point of our lesson is this. Our Savior’s promises of eternal life given to people throughout the course of their often imperfect lives are more powerful than any trick questions about marriages that even the seemingly most clever can throw at us.  Amen


[1] Hoezee, Scott. “Luke 20:27-38.” Center for Excellence in Preaching. Calvin Seminary. Grand Rapids, MI. 31.Oct.2016. Web. Oct.30.2019.
[2] Zhang, Allen. “What are some examples of trick questions and answers?” Quora. 15.June.2019. Web. Oct.30.2019.
[3] Editor. “114 Trick Questions with Answers [Funny Mind Trick Questions].” Icebreaker Ideas. 17. Apr.2019. Web. Oct.30.2019.
[4] Editor. “114 Trick Questions with Answers [Funny Mind Trick Questions].” Icebreaker Ideas.
[5] Editor. “114 Trick Questions with Answers [Funny Mind Trick Questions].” Icebreaker Ideas.
[6] Zhang, Allen. “What are some examples of trick questions and answers?” Quora.
[7] “Hezekiah.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 29.Oct.2019. Web. Oct.30.2019.
[8] Lose, David. “Commentary on Luke 20:27-38.” Working Preacher.
[9] Luke 20:29-33.
[10] Deuternomy 25:5-10.
[11] Luke 20:34-35.
[12] Zingale, Tim. “Life After Death.” Sermon Central. 5.Nov.2001. Web. Oct.30.2019. 
[13] LBW pg.203. 
[14] Romans 8:39.