CHRIST CHURCH HURON, OHIO

Fr Mike's Message - 2/28/21

3/1/2021

Gospel: Mark 8:31-38
Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Prayer: Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that have you inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation and that you will empower our application. Amen

Message:
Last week I spoke about God's desire to come into a Covenant relationship with us - his people. I also talked about how Baptism is the ritual we use to symbolize passing through the waters and coming into that Covenant relationship.

I had several people comment through the week that they found my message, last week, particularly inspiring and challenging. Some even said that they went to their Book of Common Prayer and reviewed the promises that are expressed there. Both the ones we make and the ones that are stated as promises from the Lord.

I am going to look at this morning's readings with last week's message in mind. God wants to come into a Covenant relationship with us. Now it is important to know he wants a relationship with us. To quote a movie title from several years ago: "The Good, the bad, and the ugly" of us. We all have things about us that we are proud of and happy for everyone to know. We also have things that we know about ourselves that we hope will never become public.

I am trusting that we all know and understand that the readings through Lent are intended to make us stop and pause, to spend some time in self-reflection. This is sometimes called self-evaluation.

Now I have to say that my experience is that self-evaluation is a challenging thing for most of us. It is not something that the majority of us have been taught or trained in.

Now, there are exceptions. I know that as soon as I make one of those broad-brush statements somebody is going to want to say "I have been taught or trained in self-evaluation, and I do it regularly." If you believe you are a trained self-evaluator maybe you can take this Sunday off.

I would suggest that most of us go along doing the best we can, with what we have, and hope that it is good enough.

We know we have done some good stuff in our lives, and our hope is, that the good stuff is what will be remembered. We hope that we will keep doing good stuff as we continue along the journey that life presents to us.

At the same time, we also know that we have been less than stellar in some areas of our lives. We have let other people down, we have let ourselves down and we have not always aspired to the best or the most positive attitudes.

Unfortunately, most of us are pretty sure that we will do those things again in the future. In fact, what we are really hoping for is that the good that we do will eventually outweigh the bad and that we will get along. Our attitude to spiritual growth and commitment to our personal spiritual development is "I hope it will be OK, I hope I can slide by."

Can I be a little bold here and suggest that, for most of us, this is one of the major roadblocks in the development of our personal, effective, spiritual growth.

I want to encourage us to rethink that position or that attitude. I want to encourage us to take the time this Lent to engage and commit to something that will kick our spiritual commitment or our spiritual growth up a notch. I want to encourage us all to endeavor to see ourselves the way that the Lord sees us.

Now, this may sound silly or impractical, but what I really want us to do is sit ourselves down and have a good talking to ourselves. To tell ourselves that being good enough is not good enough anymore.

The Scriptures this morning are great resources for this conversation. We get insights into three different people this morning in our readings.

Abraham, Sarah, and Peter.

We all know the story of Abraham right? He is the one that God spoke to about being the father of a nation. That he, along with his wife Sarah, would have children as numerous as the stars. Time passes and it doesn't happen the way that they expected it would. Sarah, in her disappointment and feeling that she isn't good enough, encourages Abraham to fulfill God's promise to them by having a child with another woman. That is another story for another time. But this is the classic example of people trying to help God out with his plans and purpose for their lives because they don't feel adequate to the task. In Sarah's thinking, she is not good enough and she looks for a way to make things happen despite her.

Eventually, in God's time and at the right time, God again speaks to Abraham, and the promise is fulfilled through Sarah This promise is not about "not being good enough" it is about being what the Lord has ordained. One of the commentators I listened to in preparation for this morning said it was important that God made the Covenant with both Abraham and Sarah. That this story is not just about what Abraham did, but it was about God fulfilling promises made to Sarah as well. That God affirmed Sarah's role in this Covenant. Despite her doubting and uncertainty, God saw Sarah as important in this promise.

Now let's not let Abraham off the hook here either. Abraham goes along with Sarah's suggestion. Abraham can see the logic and the good sense in what Sarah is suggesting. Abraham has his doubts and uncertainty.

I am sure you noticed that this story is retold in the reading in Romans that we heard this morning. Now it is a generous retelling. Abraham shines pretty well in the retelling: "No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." Romans 4: 20 -21I have to admit I love that phrase: "he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." There are times when I would be more than happy to have that be my epilogue: "he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised."

I wonder if we could somehow have some time with Abraham and have a chat if he would recall the story the way it is told in Romans. Or perhaps he would give you the longer version of what went on.

Then we come to our other contestant in this morning's chronicling of people who shine in the Bible, but maybe, just maybe weren't quite so sharp in the events of their everyday lives. Peter, you remember this is the same Peter who a few verses earlier, was commended by Jesus for his insight and spiritual awareness when he answered Jesus' question about who people were saying he was. In response to the question, Peter says "you are the Messiah." He declares with clarity and truth who Jesus is. Firm in his understanding and insight.

Then, the next thing we know, Jesus begins talking about what the Messiah will experience in Jerusalem and Peter steps forward and denounces this possibility.

We are all like that, aren't we? We have all had our moments of clarity and insight which could easily be overshadowed by what comes out of our mouths next. As I said earlier this is sometimes the very thing that stops us from being all that we could for the Lord. We know ourselves, we know our frailty, we know the doubts we harbor, we know how often we have been uncertain.

We often hear the words from Jesus later in our reading in Mark as harsh and condemning: "Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Can I encourage us all to be willing to engage and participate in a process of self-evaluation this Lent. But to do it with a full understanding that God already knows us. If he could work with frail, stumbling Sarah, if he could retell the story of Abraham as he does in Romans and if he can take the brash, impulsive Peter and work with them to bring about the Kingdom then he certainly can work with us.

When we hear the words of Scripture: "The light shines in the darkness and reveals the truth." We can sometimes mumble to ourselves: "what if it does shine in my life what might the light reveal that I would rather keep hidden?"

Can we come to the Lord this Lent and be hopeful of his understanding and grace towards us? Can we engage in the life giving process of our personal, effective, spiritual growth?

Fr Mike's Message - 2/21/21

2/23/2021

Gospel: Mark 1:9-15
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Prayer: Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that have you inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation and that you will empower our application. Amen

Message:
One of the things I was encouraged to think about in my Homiletics class - that was my Sermon preparation ad presentation class, in Seminary was to read the Scriptures and to look for common themes in the readings.

So as I read the Scriptures for a particular Sunday, in preparation for writing and then presenting my Sermon, I often find myself reading and looking for similar phrases or similar symbols or images in the readings.

Today one major, common connector is, I believe, the theme of God wanting to establish a Covenant relationship with people.

Then there is the secondary one of how the Lord uses symbolism to affirm or confirm that Covenant. Throughout today's readings, there is the imagery of people "passing through water" as a sign or as a symbol of a Covenant.

The Old Testament illustration of that, this morning, is the story of Noah and his family passing through the floodwaters. Noah and his family go into the ark and pass through the waters, as "the world they knew it" is wiped away. They come to a new world and a new opportunity for humanity to live in a renewed Covenant relationship with the Lord who has saved them.

Lots of people find the story of Noah a hard one. There are lots of people who are more than ready to see it purely as a myth or a tale of an ancient group of people. A bit of folk law to illustrate a point. Now that may well be true.

The point or the issue that most people struggle with is the idea that God would offhandedly or matter-of-factly wipe out humanity. It seems to be a harsh judgment without much recourse.

Can I just say that there are scholars who suggest that from the time God spoke to Noah about building the Ark, until the flood actually came, that there was a period of around 120 years.

So, these scholars would suggest that God outlined the plan and then gave the people of the world 120 years to respond. Eventually, when they didn't respond and repent he fulfilled what he said would happen.

Either way, it is a hard story to comprehend. But in the center of it all is still the essential point: "God seeks to establish a Covenant with people and the Lord uses the symbolism of people "passing through water" as a sign or as a symbol of that Covenant."

All of this understanding of Covenant, with its associated symbolism and imagery, is transferred into what we in the church have come to understand about Baptism. God wants to establish a covenant relationship with us and we need to pass through the waters to come into the new world, the new life that he is offering to us.

Now, when I meet with families to prepare for Baptism I often talk with them about a different story. The People of Israel, as they are leaving Egypt, finding themselves trapped between Pharoh's army and the Red Sea.

The people freshly released from captivity find themselves facing annihilation with nowhere to go. This bunch of newly released, formerly subjugated prisoners, find their moments of freedom about to be snuffed out. They cry out to Moses, the one that they are putting their hope in to be their savior, and he petitions God for a way out. God instructs him to put his staff in the water. Miraculously the sea or the waters part. The people pass through the waters to safety on the other side. This story encapsulates the imagery or symbolism of people recognizing the need for release from captivity, the need for a savior, the need for miraculous intervention, and the need to pass through the waters to safety and a new life.

In all three readings, we are encouraged to think about, to examine, what Baptism means for us. As we begin our journey towards Easter, we are encouraged to take some time, during this time of Lent, to reflect on, to examine, to ponder anew how we view and understand Baptism.

In the reading from 1st Peter this morning we hear the word prefigured. Now I don't know about you but prefigure is not a word I use much in my common conversation. In fact, if I am really honest, I don't think I even considered it much until I went to Seminary. Once I got there I heard it quite a bit. Just in case you are wondering what prefigure means, let me give a simple definition, it means to set up an example of something. To put something in place which prepares people for what is to come.

In this case, Noah and his family, and the people of Israel at the edge of the Red Sea, prefigure God's desire to be in Covenant with us. That we would realize that we are, or have been, living our lives under subjugation, that we have been prisoners. That we need someone to come and lead us out of that existence and into a new life. There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. No matter how religious we are, no matter how morally correct we are, no matter how kind and generous we are, we can't get it right. Like Noah's family and like the people of Israel standing on the edge of the Red Sea we need something to happen to change the situation, we need someone to save us. We need a savior.

Just as Noah's family needed to pass through the floodwaters and the people of Israel needed to pass through the Red Sea, we need to pass through the waters of Baptism. We need to acknowledge that Jesus is our Savior. We need to recognize that we cannot save ourselves. One of my professors at Seminary put it this way: "I am not the Savior, but I know who is, and he is ready, willing, and able to save!" As the writer of 1st Peter puts it so clearly: " baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-- not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ"

Jesus, through His death, burial, and resurrection has provided the means and the opportunity for us to be set free. We in our Baptism, in passing through the waters, are acknowledging who he is for us.

Jesus, in our Gospel reading this morning, is Baptized and the Heavenly Father recognizes and acknowledges who he is, in dramatic fashion: he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased."

Jesus then is driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit for 40 days. He is tempted by Satan. That is all Mark says about that, but we know from the other Gospels, how Jesus is challenged to renounce the Lordship of his Heavenly Father. He withstands those temptations.

Then Mark in rapid-fire progression takes us to the arrest of John the Baptist, and Jesus' proclamation "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.

"This past year we have all been living through and experiencing, the wilderness, as we never have before. This past year each of us has been a dark and enduring period of questioning and uncertainty like we have never experienced before. I would suggest that each of us has been challenged to consider, in a way that we never have before, our convictions about who Jesus is and who he will be for us.

As we enter and travel through Lent this year, we have the opportunity to consider our need for a Savior, our need for a way out, a need for a renewed vision and purpose.

We may not have been through a flood, which has, wiped out the world as we knew it, but we are certainly facing a world like we have never experienced it before. What can we learn from Noah and his family, or from the people of Israel, about passing through the waters of darkness and uncertainty? Do we have the expectation that our Savior will be with us?

I am reminded of the words of Joshua, and the people of Israel, in Joshua 24: 14 - 17
“Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed."

I believe that God is seeking to renew and enliven his Covenant with us, as his people. Are we willing to take some time this Lent and examine our hearts and our minds in the light of our Baptism?

Perhaps we have the opportunity to review the Baptismal Service that begins on page 299 in the Book of Common Prayer. I am sure that we are most familiar with the promises that we were made for us in our Baptism, perhaps we recall restating those at Confirmation.

Have we considered the Covenantal nature of Baptism? Covenants are two sided. We make promises and God makes promises. Perhaps we need to consider the promises that are stated on God's behalf in the Baptismal Service on pages 306, 308 and 309.

As I end this morning I hope I can encourage you to consider Joshua's question: "Choose this day whom you will serve." But that you will also look to the Lord to fulfill his promises to us:

Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen.

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Fr Mike's Message - 2/28/21

Fr Mike's Message - 2/21/21

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