Bread of Heaven Sermon at United Church of Beloit 8/4/19

Isaiah 55 New International Version (NIV)

Invitation to the Thirsty

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

    come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

    come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

    without money and without cost.

² Why spend money on what is not bread,

    and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

    and you will delight in the richest of fare.

³ Give ear and come to me;

    listen, that you may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

    my faithful love promised to David.

⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,

    a ruler and commander of the peoples.

⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,

    and nations you do not know will come running to you,

because of the Lord your God,

    the Holy One of Israel,

    for he has endowed you with splendor.”

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found;

    call on him while he is near.

⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways

    and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Isaiah 55,

Words of prophecy 700 years before Christ. Using images of ordinary things like bread, milk, to convey the presence of God! This was written to those in exile, they likely had nothing that was free at that time!

Wine and milk and bread available without cost!

To pay attention to God, to discern God’s presence even in people who were exiled-basically prisoners of war-- far from their homeland. That even in the midst of suffering God’s love is right there with them! Despite their homeland, their holy city of Jerusalem, and the Temple all being destroyed, God was present.

And to prophecy the coming Messiah, the savior! The gift of the messiah would bring them eternal life--the covenant of God’s promises thru out millennia. Specifically that a descendant of King David would bring them to freedom, for all eternity! Jesus, a direct descendant of King David was the fulfillment of this prophecy.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake their ways  and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

God requires living faith, as indicated in repentance and change of behavior 

And God has unlimited  compassion . . . will abundantly pardon. 

This is a reminder to keep God foremost in thoughts and in our hearts. 

A reminder that unrighteousness is anything that turns us away from God. Turn TOWARD God, and God will have mercy, and freely pardon. 

As elsewhere in scripture...all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of GOd, but The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

Which brings us to our Gospel lesson… 

Mark 14 New International Version (NIV)

²² While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

²³ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴ “This is my blood of the^[c] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. ²⁵ “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

During our trip to our national meeting in Cleveland...one of the first nights, part of our merry band were gathering for supper, and one of the folks, not a pastor, a lay leader in her congregation, told about being a camp leader,  on the last night of camp serving communion. And how special and meaningful that was for her. Years later, she cherishes that memory! And my friend Pastor Dawn shared about the first time she served communion to her son, her grown son who has autism and rarely would come forward to receive, he takes it afterwards. But one day he walked forward, hands out. And how beautiful that moment was for her. And then i shared about my favorite service here, Maundy Thursday. The night before Good Friday, When we share the story of Jesus’ last supper, the beginning of the tradition of holy communion. And what is so precious to me, is that Pastor Steve and i get to serve each of you ourselves, that we come to each of you, saying the Body of Christ, the blood of Christ-for you, It’s so personal. 

Rachel Held Evans, in Searching for Sunday.

 "The sacraments ...reminded me that Christianity isn’t meant to simply be believed; it’s meant to be lived, shared, eaten, spoken, and enacted in the presence of other people. … I can’t be a Christian on my own. I need a community. I need the church."

The Table of Lord goes by many names, The Eucharist (from the word for Giving thanks!) the Lord’s supper. Holy Communion. All these are correct. All convey aspects of the depth of meaning of this sacrament. 

We call it Communion--from the root word that also gives us “Community”, being together. 

I especially love this meaning.. Because it is what we were created for. We discussed this before.. That God, created us to be together with God and each other. And Jesus who came to embody that perfect community and to show us how it’s done and to give us the gift of the holy spirit to make it happen; 

Also RHE: Church is a moment in time when the kingdom of God draws near, when a meal, a story, a song, an apology, and even a failure is made holy by the presence of Jesus among us and within us

Yes Jesus is present always, among us and within us. Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk wrote of cherishing the presence of God even in the mundane tasks of kitchen duty! I confess, I almost never think of the presence of God while I’m cleaning the kitchen.. But if somehow i do, i know that Brother Lawrence is right. That God is there even in the very mundane. Recognizing that God is present in the most ordinary of moments, can help us to live out our faith more completely. 

In the Gospel lesson, note the sequence there… Jesus gives, teaches, they worship, then go out. 

In our pastors’ discussions, I have said that church isn’t just here in these 4 walls. The “real Church” if you will, is afterwards, at coffee hour, in the lunch after, in the taking of flowers or a treat to a shut in. helping serve meals on wheels, volunteering or giving to Caritas and other organizations. Helping provide school supplies to needy families!! A brief, Friendly chat with the clerk at Woodman's or Walmart….it’s sharing a bit of time and self, during the rest of the week. That’s the real church. It’s the relationships. Spending time together, having a bite together, serving others together. 

author Jean Vanier...Unity....Unity does not come from the acceptance of exterior structures or laws, dogmas or ways of worship. It surges up from a life that flows within us and through us all together. It is hearts and minds bonded together because they are bonded in communion with Jesus.

Did you ever notice in the gospels how often Jesus is depicted at a meal with others? And of course, it’s mostly not with the people you’d expect. Jesus said believe in me, but the way he showed to do that, is to spend time and often, a meal together! 

Henri Nouwen says that when we have a meal together with others, A spiritual bond grows, and we become food and drink for one another. In the most complete and perfect way, this happens when Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist -in Holy Communion.

We work and live and love with other people. We laugh and cry with others. We celebrate births and mourn losses, and a lot of the time we do it over a meal. Jesus knew how important it is to enjoy a meal together and turned His very last meal on Earth into one that His followers could have together to completely and perfectly remember Him.

Jesus gave us the gift of this meal...his Self to share together. Jesus gives, teaches, we worship, then go out. 

At the table, we

Remember Christ’s sacrifice, 

It joins us into one body..

We confess, 

We’re forgiven…

We give thanks

We go out -together- to serve.

The table is set for each of us. Let us come to it-together :)

A Blessing for Every Occasion

Sermon at United Church of Beloit Nov. 5, 2017 

A Blessing for Every Occasion 

Psalm 118:19-29

19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.

25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Our Psalm this morning is one of several that was composed specifically to be sung in worship services-for the beginning of the Passover worship service.

118:19  the gates of righteousness.  The entrance to the sanctuary, leading to the presence of God, where the psalmist will offer thanks. The gates are righteous because the One who dwells behind them is righteous, and those who enter must be righteous as well (Ps. 15  and  24). must put God first and obey the commandments...

118:22  The stone that the builders rejected.  The metaphor would likely refer originally to a king, who represented his people.

the cornerstone.  The low and insignificant, despite having been rejected, is exalted to the chief place. A Cornerstone, the first stone or concrete block laid in the foundation of a new building, must be laid perfectly straight, because all the rest of the building is aligned with that very first stone. A stone rejected by the builders, was not square, or would not align straight and true. Yet, the song says the rejected stone became the the cornerstone!

This hymn must have been on Jesus' mind during his Last Supper with the disciples. In the gospels Jesus quoted vv. 22, 23 about Himself. He said HE was the stone the builders rejected who would become the Cornerstone. He would of course become the cornerstone, the foundation of the church!

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! We hear and even say that a lot. And it means today this very day is the day the lord has made, so we are grateful!!

but it means much more as well! It means that Jesus. The One who was rejected is the cornerstone, the very foundation of our faith and worship. And how can we be anything but grateful!?

118:26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the  Lord. Later, this cry is lifted up by the crowds as they welcome the true King, Christ Jesus, into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. (Matt. 21:9). In a way still beyond their understanding, Jesus was about to defeat sin and death on the cross.

Because of God’s victory, His people will turn the day of despair into a day of worship before the Lord. We now know that victory came through Jesus on the Cross,

You see how this psalm ties to the stories of Jesus?

Shortly in our Communion service, We commemorate the Passover meal , that last supper that Jesus had with his disciples.

Now let's look at our New Testament Lesson.

Philippians chapter 4

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Keep God first. Rejoice, find something to be grateful for. Remembering to count our blessings is powerful. An attitude of gratitude for blessings large and small makes life better all the way around! Do you know people who grump and complain about every little thing? They're never happy. Then think about someone you know who is grateful for what they have and always tries to look on the bright side! Who would you rather spend a lot of time with?

How can we develop or improve our attitude of gratitude? ...

In the Jewish tradition, at the time of Jesus and since, people say quick short prayers upon awakening and throughout the day to help them remember to always put God first. The prayers begin with “Blessed are you Oh Lord Our God, King of the Universe..” if you saw the play or movie Fiddler on the Roof, there is a line, “Rabbi, is there a blessing for a sewing machine?” to which the Rabbi replies, “There's a blessing for everything!”

to be clear, one isn't praying God bless you, God. To bless God is to praise God! Remember Psalm 103 which begins “Bless the Lord O My Soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” it means to praise the Lord. By the way, a pastor friend says that if you forget to say grace before a meal, you can just say that verse!... (pat stomach) “all that is within me bless his holy name..”

“to bless” in Hebrew translates to both praise, and to kneel, as if kneeling in worship, or to receive a blessing. To kneel, is an act that shows that you are humbling yourself. Lowering yourself before God or the person bestowing the blessing.

So to say Blessed is the Lord God, is to humble ourselves to praise God, to honor and revere, the lord and creator of all. And in so doing, we are putting God first, which helps us to remember how truly blessed we are!

At that Last Supper, After Jesus and the disciples settled together around the Passover table, the first words Jesus spoke were: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15). 

He looked forward with joy and anticipation to have this special celebratory meal with his favorite people...

do you look forward to a holiday dinner with your favorite people? If you're the main cook and cleaner, then Joy may not be the very first word that comes to mind! {Story about Sherry remembering me teaching her how to shuck sweet corn! My thought was “all these people to feed”}

But years later, that moment was a cherished memory for our oldest niece! So do try to find some joy even in all the work during the upcoming holidays. You never know what might end up being a blessing for someone else.

Philippians 4

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable―if anything is excellent or praiseworthy―think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me―put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

We may find ourselves down, struggling with emotions for a variety of reasons. But we can choose to change our focus, to mentally set aside the sadness, anger, or whatever. I have a friend who has a magnet on her frig that says “Today I am in charge of how I feel, and I am choosing happiness” she isn't just ignoring situations in her life, or in the world, but she is a person of prayer. She prays over things, and then doing whatever she can about situations, she moves forward. And chooses to be happy. Because she knows she is alive, she has children and grands and that is a lot to be grateful for.

I think of this text being a type of "mental floss". When we are mired in thoughts or things we've heard or read that bring us down or make us angry, we can help turn ourselves around, and 'floss' our thoughts with whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. These are qualities of God. When we view something lovely, we are taking in a quality of God. Ponder excellence or perfection, you are pondering a quality of God. If and when we think about things that have these qualities, it helps us to get the negativity out of our minds. That's  why i call it "mental floss" -we can floss away the debris left by the negativity.  That's what my friend does.

Jesus chose to be filled with Joy at that last Supper...he had eagerly looked forward to it. Even tho in a matter of hours he would be arrested, beaten, and go through the worst form of capital punishment that humans could devise, and in so doing, he would take on the sin of humanity...all of OUR sin, and therefore, upon that cross, endure complete and utter separation from God. Yet He chose to enjoy time with those closest to him. He praised God, how can we do anything less?

Please pray with me, Blessed are you Lord God, maker of heaven and earth! Thank you for your Word which helps us learn how to choose gratitude, and to honor and revere you, Thru your blessed son, Jesus we pray, amen.

Sermon Together for All Time

Audio link: (opens Soundcloud online) Sermon-together-for-all-time

February 5, 2017 Together for All Time Pastor Carol P. Taylor

Jeremiah 31

“The days are coming,” declares the  Lord,
        “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
        and with the people of Judah.
32  It will not be like the covenant
        I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
        to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
        though I was a husband  to them,”
declares the  Lord.
33  “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
        after that time,” declares the  Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
        and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
        and they will be my people.
34  No longer will they teach  their neighbor,
        or say to one another, ‘Know the  Lord,’
because they will all know  me,
        from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the  Lord.
“For I will forgive  their wickedness
        and will remember their sins  no more.”

Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, was quite young when called, prophesied at the beginning of the Babylonian Exile. He foretold and then witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.. remember the people believed that God actually lived in the Temple...so when it was destroyed, God had no home. God was no longer with them, or so they believed. Jeremiah was called to remind them that God was indeed with them even though the temple was gone and the people were in doubt and fear and so falling away from their beliefs and worship.

God's promise so important, it was given to Jeremiah AND to the prophet Ezekiel several years later! I will be their God, and they will be my people.

This prophecy was for the people living in exile, yet it is also a prophecy of a future time, when these promises would be fulfilled once and for all!

He uses imagery of marriage, the people being the bride! The covenant is a marriage of God and God's people-but not a legal contract. It is a a contract of the heart!

But, as happens so often when times are hard, the people fell away, fearing that they had been deserted by God.

There is a lot of use of marriage and wedding imagery in the Bible. The symbolism of marriage and of the wedding, is something that people across generations can identify with! The 'marriage' the covenant of God and God's people is an ideal, that is often not realized. Just as any relationship between two people has it ups and downs and challenges, the covenant between us and God has it's ups and down. WE have ups and downs. As Jeremiah promised- God is always here for us.

In the Bible in Revelation, the vision of heaven is of the New Jerusalem, the city...(the home of THE PEOPLE OF GOD!) as a 'bride adorned for her husband!”

in the Gospels, several time Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom. ..and he spoke of heaven being a wedding banquet! When we are all finally united with God, through Jesus, it will be a huge celebration!

And since his disciples and followers didn't quite get it... finally on the evening before he was arrested. He told them 'This is my body given for you” “this is the blood of the new covenant!” This story is told in the 3 synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. John, written many years later, told other parts of that story. He told of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, at the last supper, and then telling them I am the vine you are the branches, abide in me and I will abide in you. The story was also told by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth... from 1 Corinthians, chapter 11, (part of this will sound very familiar!)

1 Corinthians 1123 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. (may God add a blessing to this reading of His holy word. Amen)  

We read the bible, we pray, we come to worship, we take communion, regularly, over and over, because we fail over and over. Once we have prayed and taken communion, it's not a one and done... because we will mess up again. As our lesson reminds us, we may even mess up DURING the communion, if we are not sincere about it!

Because WE, limited, finite, imperfect human beings can not fathom the unlimited, infinite, perfection that is God. Even though we have Jesus to show us―The Son of God, who gave up heaven to be with us, to be like us, we still can not quite imagine the perfection of God.  We can only see partially... as though we are looking at one facet of a beautiful diamond! We were created in the image in God...but we are not God. We are individual children of God, one facet of God. I think God just loves diversity. On our travels, Martin and I remark on the variety of nature, how many different kinds of trees, birds, in creation! God must just love diversity, he made so much of it! We are God's children, each of us an image, one facet of God. Each of us, every human is one of God's children and God loves every single one! 

So why does Jesus call this a new covenant? Does it replace the old covenant? Does it throw out “They will be my people and I will be their God!?” no not at all. This is not new in the sense of wiping out the old, it's a fulfillment of the original! It's bringing the covenant to its completion! All the stories of Abraham, Moses, and Jeremiah were steps along the road, part of the process! Now it is finished! “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Let me give you an example... I know someone who is doing some remodeling. When the work is completely done, they won't be living in a NEW house. They didn't bulldoze part of the house and start over! But they will have some rooms that are new..rooms that are better than ever, done to their specifications, fulfilling the promise that those rooms had before, but only now are just as they hoped!!

So too is the New covenant with Jesus. Jesus over and over in the Gospels used metaphors that people could understand, I am the bread of Life, I am the Good shepherd, I am the Light of the World! Jesus came to be with everyone, even regular people..not kings and governors, but ordinary folks living ordinary lives! And on the last night of his life as a human, he said “This is my Body given for you...” We are to take in Jesus..in communion... to be part of ourselves... to internalize that love.

Since Jesus was known to dine with 'tax collectors and sinners' (as we heard this past Sunday) and welcomed all to the table, not just at the Last Supper, but all thru the Gospels, we who profess to be His followers, must do the same. Just as our church has open table for Communion, our doors must be open to one and all. and so too must all kinds of 'doors' of our homes, places of worship, and our nation. Most of all, the doors of our HEARTS!

Speaker at a Presbyterian mission event...Rev. Jon Brown, pastor of  Old Bergen Church  in Jersey City, New Jersey―a union church of the Reformed Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ―at Thursday’s worship service of the  Association of Presbyterian Church Educators  (APCE) annual event meeting Jan. 25-28 in Denver, Colorado, this week.

Using the example of his daughter’s kindergarten assessment, he relayed the story of one of the questions asked of her, “What do you do when you want to go into a room that is dark?” His daughter replied, to the amazement of the instructor, “You hold someone’s hand.”

“The teacher looked at the booklet, flipped to the back, back up to the front, then she looked across the room and said to me, ‘It’s not in the book but it’s the best answer I’ve heard all day,’” Brown said.

“What do you do when you want to go into someplace that is dark? You hold someone’s hand,” he said. “That is what we do as the people of God. That is what we do as people of faith. Some people call it covenant. Some people call it community. Some people call it relationship or trust. It is how the church demonstrates to the world that God is with us in the chaos. We hold someone’s hand.”

After a mosque in the small town of Victoria, Texas,  burned to the ground  last weekend, the local Jewish and Christian communities there have come together to help those affected.

Members of the B’Nai Israel temple gave the keys to their synagogue to the Muslim community so they would have a place to worship,  USA Today  reports, and four churches in the town also offered space for the mosque's Muslim congregation to hold services, according to  NPR.

Children from the local Catholic school in Victoria also visited the mosque on Wednesday, forming what the Islamic Center called a "human chain of love and peace,"The students also presented the Muslim community with a tree.

"The tree will be planted in the grounds of our new mosque & prominently displayed to remind us of this beautiful moment," the post reads. "This is the spirit of love where the cross hugs the crescent."

Some call it covenant. Some call it community. Some call it relationship or trust

God says I Love You. “I will be their God and they will be my people!” “I am with you always, even to the end of time”!

This is why we worship together. Why we do mission and outreach together, helping the organizations that help our neighbors in need... we do it together. As individuals, as a church, with other churches and other organizations. Jesus said where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my name, I am there with them. When we hold someone's hand...Jesus is with us. God's son, God's own self, came to earth to be with us in every way possible! And then after his death and resurrection, gave us the Holy Spirit to empower us to truly be together with God and all of God's children for all time!

May it be so today, tomorrow and always. Amen.

Only Jesus, Sermon given at United Church of Beloit Feb. 7, 2016

 Only Jesus 

Psalm 27 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

Today is the Super Bowl....or so I've heard! for me if the Packers aren't involved, there is NO football. So now it's time to wait for baseball...pitchers and catchers report Feb 19^th!

Which reminds me, someone was inspired by Steve's sermon series on “why no one attends church anymore” and sent me this:

Reasons A Local Minister Stopped Attending Sports Events

Every time I went, they asked me for money.

The people I had to sit with didn't seem very friendly.

The seats were very hard.

The coach never came to visit me.

The referee made a decision I don't agree with.

Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home.

The band played some songs I had never heard before.

The games are scheduled when I want to do other things.

I don't want to take my children because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up!

{From the book _Holy Humor_ by Cal & Rose Samra.}

Psalm 27 is a Psalm of David, it may have been written when he was about to be crowned King of Israel, or it may have been composed later when he had been fighting some battles as king. As we see in so many of the psalms, the writer has had strife, but is re-focusing, reminding himself and those around him of the depth of the love and protection of God. He intentionally brings himself back to God...And David writes...sings...”one thing I desire...”to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”

This, like so much of the Bible, pertains to the time that it was written; David was praying personally to be close to the Lord always, but it is also a foreshadowing..of eternity in heaven! It's a reminder that while things in life can bring struggle and may seem overwhelming, God's love and the promise of Eternal life, overwhelms even the hardest times we have.

Our Gospel lesson is from Mark..

Passage immediately follows Peter's declaration “You are the Christ!” and these verses are followed by Jesus predicting that he will be killed and after 3 days will rise from the dead! And the disciples just don't understand what that means.

Mark 9 NIV

The Transfiguration

2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters―one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

This story, the Transfiguration, is told in the 3 synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is a turning point. From this point on, Jesus is on the path to his final destiny in Jerusalem.

Jesus took his three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John. Peter, the impetuous, action first, mouth running before brain is engaged, Peter. John who would refer to himself as the disciple Jesus loved. And his brother James. James and John were the ones Jesus called, “The Sons of Thunder.” So these 3 that Jesus took up the mountain with him, were far from perfect were they? Yet these are the 3 that Jesus was the closest to.

And they were the three that witnessed this moment..this moment when Jesus' divinity was revealed. Jesus, up on a mountain, echoing Moses meeting God on Mount Sinai. Jesus is radiant, with his clothes whiter than could be achieved by anyone! And Moses and Elijah with him, talking to him! And then a cloud and a voice coming out of that cloud!

Why do Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus? Moses is a symbol of the Torah, the books of the law in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible contains books of the Law, the Prophets and the Wisdom. God used Moses as the great deliverer of the Hebrew people. He led them out of 400 years of slavery in Egypt. He led them through 40 years in the desert wilderness. God was with them all the way, in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Elijah was a prophet, who was 'taken up to heaven'- and according to the prophet Malachi, God would again send “Elijah the prophet-- before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes”.

Indeed, just a couple verses later, Jesus would remind the disciples of this, so they would understand that John the Baptist had fulfilled that role, telling that the Messiah, Jesus, was coming and pointing him out to the people!

the words, “listen to him” come from Deuteronomy, Moses' sermon to the Hebrew people, Deut 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers―it is to him you shall listen”

Moses symbolized the Torah, Elijah the prophets. But once Jesus arrived, HE was everything. The law, the prophets, the wisdom. Each of these things is an aspect of God. God is so vast, that we, even though we are created in the image of God, we can barely fathom God. So we have these aspects of God, sort of like facets on a diamond or precious stone. Each facet shows a part of the whole and helps us to see the brilliance within the stone! But it is only one facet or one aspect, not the whole.

In the Bible there are many, many names of God, because there are so many aspects or facets of God. And we sometimes can relate to one aspect, or need one facet. Just as we all like different things...ok let's use coffee hour as an example...some may drink coffee, regular, or decaf, some may want it black, some with cream and sweetener. Some may have tea, or juice or a cup of water! We may have a cookie, or a big cream filled donut or piece of fruit. Maybe we're on a special food plan, so we bring an energy bar or cheese or wait till we get home. We all have our own tastes and preferences and it's all ok!!

So just as we have differences at coffee hour, we have differences in the way we think of God and worship God. Some need a lot of quiet to meditate and pray. Some may find God more in nature. Some may sense God's presence when they are busy, taking care of others! Some of us have days of needing quiet and other days of being busy! We all come to God and experience God in different ways and that's good! So we have different names of God to help us recognize God in our need, and in our worship. This is why over time worship changes, and we have different styles of worship.

That's one of the best things about our Community Lenten services. We get to go to other churches, hear other pastors preaching, other styles of music, different orders of worship. But it IS all worship, it all serves God, and can all speak to us, if we are open. And the fellowship afterwards is great too! We can renew acquaintances and make new friends. Our services coming up will have an even wider variety of churches represented than last year!

Getting back to our story, Moses and Elijah symbolized the Law and the Prophets! But when God spoke and said This is my son―some translations say “My Beloved Son” “listen to him!” then Moses and Elijah disappeared. And there was Only Jesus. Because now Jesus is all that is needed. He IS the Law and the Prophets and the Wisdom, because he Is God's own son, part of God, “the Father is in me and I in the Father” he said, present at the beginning of time and will be present at the end.

Savior, Messiah, Redeemer and Friend

Savior –the One who 'saves' us from sin. When each of us says, I want Jesus to be Lord of my life, He is our savior. He is the One who bridges the gap between each of us and God, the one who took all our OUR sin to the cross, so that when we face the judgment of God, we CAN face God. Jesus took it all. He is Savior!

Messiah- the anointed one―the Chosen one of God. The one of whom God said, “This is my beloved Son, Listen to him!” the Messiah who delivers ALL of God's people. You see, we need Jesus as individuals, but we also need him collectively. This is how we become the Body of Christ! We go from being a congregation or a nation or an ethnic group, to becoming the Body of Christ because of Jesus the Messiah.

Redeemer. --the One who said “this is my body, given for you, This is my blood, shed for you” because we are saved, (when we are saved, we belong to Jesus for all time!) but, being flawed human beings will still mess up. So we need redemption! This is why we do communion regularly.

Friend...even though Jesus is Lord, he IS God-- he is personal. He is one we can take everything to in prayer. We can share our joys, our frustrations, our grief, our thankfulness! And as we share, the Holy spirit brings us closer to God, helping us to be guided and to learn how to live our faith and to be more Christ-like. That is the ideal, the goal, to be more like Jesus. To love well, to care for all of God's people...which is all people! To acknowledge our flaws and failings, but to know that if we align ourselves with Christ, we can find the joy of having God within every day, to be in the presence of God every day, and one day we will all dwell with Our Lord forever and ever!

Let us pray... Precious Lord, we are so grateful for Your Word which teaches us, for the Law and the prophets and the wisdom books, but most of all we are grateful for Jesus, our Lord, savior, messiah, redeemer and friend.

We ask that we may dwell with You always, and gaze upon your beauty, and help bring your love and light to others, today and every day! In Jesus' Name Amen.

Our Favorite Verses: The Lord is My Shepherd

Psalm 23

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

1 Corinthians 11

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for[e] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[f] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Did you ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?

Starting a series on “favorite” Bible passages. I really want to hear from YOU all what your faves are and why? What does this verse mean to you?

And if you are interested in a Bible reading plan...many people start the new year with some resolutions...i have reading plans to read thru either the New Testament or the whole Bible in 1 year!

Psalm 23, most people's favorite, even younger folks who have not grown up in a church like this one for funerals especially. But it is more than a reading for funerals.! there is so much here in these few verses. It is full of hope for every day.

A Shepherd's rod was to ward off predators..a wolf or whatever, and the staff was for guiding the sheep, directing them. The shepherd offers protection, guidance, and is always there. God with us—always!

When Jesus said I am the good shepherd, his listeners would have surely thought of this psalm. They were well educated in their scriptures and would probably have sung this psalm many times.

The reminder and assurance of this Psalm is that God is always with us, even in the darkest valley.

The psalm also speaks of God's provision. Preparing a table in the midst of enemies! “Sit at the table, have some nourishment to help you for the rest of your journey.” And the hospitality overflows!

God's provision is abundant. God's grace and mercy are abundant.

that's why we come to the Table.

Our NT lesson, Apostle Paul is teaching—scolding believers in Corinth. They were folks who do not seem have a worshipful attitude. They are putting themselves, their wants & desires ahead of their worship.

And he says “For I share with you as it was given to me....”

Reminding the people that we come not because of ourselves but because of Jesus, because of what the LORD said and did for each of us.

these are what we call the “Words of Institution” in the Communion liturgy. Very often you will hear exactly these words. I am a bit of a purist when it comes to liturgy, but have come to realize that story is important, people relate well to stories –that's why Jesus told them! and so I combine these words with the story from the Gospels, especially Luke in which he also uses the phrase 'in remembrance of me'

To remember-re-again, member-a part of-- means to recall, to put together again in your mind...to bring back and renew in your mind an image or images. To be mindful. Do this in remembrance of me...do this recalling me, thinking of me, honoring me...Jesus said.
Years ago when I was first becoming a pastor, I had given my Aunt some of my sermons, and she was telling me how proud she was of me. And she gave me a ring, right off her finger. Saying “when you wear this, remember me!” and my first thought was, well you are my Aunt, I am not going to forget you! Then I realized she was talking about an older meaning of “remember me'. Meaning, keep me in your heart, pray for me!'



I think this is what Jesus was saying, keep me in your heart!



The Lord's supper,-Communion (with together) is the one of the purest ways we have to put Jesus first. We set aside several minutes to quietly pray, meditate, with some music playing, or perhaps scripture being read....and we serve each other...isn't that a beautiful thing? Isn't it just what Jesus told us?



Isn't it a mystery? The bread which is broken makes us whole....and drink which is poured out refills and renews us?



What if we treated our Bible like we couldn't get along without it?
What if we used it to receive messages to stay connected?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being turned off because Jesus already paid the bill.

Let's make 2014 the year we renew our faith regularly. Let's make this year the best we've ever had, because we are connected –to God thru the Bible and prayer, and to each other. 

Come to the Table, Sermon at UCB October 6, 2013 World Communion Sunday

Come to the Table 

Exodus 12:11-17

11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord―a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.

Matthew 26:26-30

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the {new} covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

-----

Today is World Communion Sunday, when Christians all over the world partake in Communion, also known as The Eucharist, the Lord's Supper. So today we, here in Beloit and all over the world are truly in community with one another! In reading up on this I learned that this tradition was started in 1936 by the Presbyterian Church USA! A few years later it was endorsed by the Federal Council of Churches, now known as the National Council of Churches, and promoted worldwide. The NCC site says, “  On this day we celebrate our oneness in Christ, the Prince of Peace, in the midst of the world we are called to serve – a world ever more in need of peacemaking.”

The tradition of World Communion Sunday reminds us that we are much more than one church on one corner of one town ...that we are a part of the whole Body of Christ!

Many churches do communion in their worship service monthly as we do. Some offer it weekly, others quarterly. Some traditions offer communion every day! Which, may not be a bad idea, come to think of it, since scripture reminds us that ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God....

Communion, or the Lord's Supper, is the climax of the worship service. It helps remind us of the sacrifice made by Jesus and the Grace...the unmerited favor, undeserved mercy, forgiveness, and love poured out for us daily, but especially at the table.

There is something special about sitting down to a meal together, isn't there? Jesus knew this...there are several stories of Jesus dining with friends, and of course the miracles of providing enough food for thousands of people!

But I have to confess, as a mom, and as someone who has dealt with some food obsessions, I have often thought that it would be MUCH more convienient if we didn't need to eat quite so often! Wouldnt it be easier to just eat one meal a day!

But I've come to believe that God made us this way on purpose, for a couple of reasons. One that we are supposed to recognize our dependence on God's provision. If you know you and your child are going to be hungry again in a few hours, you need to plan! And hopefully, when we have enough food, we are reminded to give thanks for God's provision. We are God's children, needing sustanence morning, noon, and night! God provides, we are able to live our lives because of it and ideally, we care for others as God cares for us. There is a lovely circle of life here!

God's provision is what the communion story is all about. It comes from the Jewish Holiday Passover, which is from the story of Exodus. Roger read a portion of that story. It's about the Jewish people's flight from Egypt, under the rule of a hard-hearted Pharoah. Moses received from God explicit instructions on the meal the people were to eat so they would have strength for their journey! It was to be eaten in haste, no time to let the bread dough rise, bake up flat breads and a young lamb, cooked precisely, and eaten quickly, with no waste. The Exodus story, including the miracles of the parting of the Red Sea, of drinking water coming from a rock, manna, food from heaven, is the foundation story of the Jewish people. The Passover Seder, one of their great holiday feasts, is the reinactment of that meal.

It was a passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples for his last meal on earth. And he took that sacred tradition and added something to it. He made it His very own...saying “take, eat, this is my body.” “this is the blood of the new covenant.”

Jesus took this sacred celebration and made it new. He brought the tradition full circle to help believers understand the circle of God's provision for us, God's children.

When I saw the description of the next topic, communion, I wanted to share a non-Christian perspective. I am of Native American ancestry; I am a storyteller and dancer. There is an ancient belief held by many First Nations people in which the act of taking and eating food is a kind of covenant between two beings. There is a transmutation that takes place when the act of eating is done consciously and spiritually; a recognition that one form of life gives itself to another as an act of the most basic form of communion; what is eaten is reborn as the flesh of another. Many Native hunters are mindful of this sacred relationship and thank the animal they kill for giving its life so that they may feed their families. Prayers are said to thank the plants for providing food for us. There is an acknowledgment of the circle, the most basic symbol of Native spirituality. The grasses grow, and the hooved ones eat. We take a hooved one and we eat; we die and our bodies return to the soil and so the circle is completed and goes on.

― Krista Tippett, host of American Public Media’s  Speaking of Faith  radio show, sharing a listener’s e-mail. (From the  Speaking of Faith  e-mail newsletter, November 18, 2004.)

Henri Nouwen In what may have been his last interview before dying of heart failure on September 21, 1996, Henri Nouwen talked with Rebecca Laird, editor of the journal, Fellowship in Prayer, about prayer and forgiveness.

"....A biblical text that has been very, very important for me is the story in Luke 6:12-19 where Jesus spent the night in prayer on the top of the mountain. In the morning, he came down and created a community of apostles around him. Then, in the afternoon, with his apostles, he ministered -- he went out and healed and proclaimed the Good News. I've been fascinated by that because it basically says: prayer at night, community in the morning, ministry in the afternoon. Now night, morning and afternoon are symbols for the vision that Jesus starts. The three areas we have to consciously focus on are: first, communion with God -- prayer -- or being in solitude with God; secondly, creating community; and thirdly, ministry."

The Lord's Supper brings these all together. We pray, asking God's forgiveness, receiving God's mercy. Then we take the elements together, in community, with our church family and today, in community with others all over the world! And we minister as we pray for one another. Hopefully, we then go out of the service and care for each other too!

We work and live and love with other people. We laugh and cry with others. We celebrate births and mourn losses, and a lot of the time we do it over a meal. Jesus knew how important it is to enjoy a meal together and turned His very last meal on Earth into one that His followers could have together to honor Him. the One who created the universe SO VERY MUCH desired to be together with the beings created in His image, that he became one of us. Utterly vulnerable, as a newborn baby, as a man, traveling with friends who couldn't comprehend what he was telling them, sometimes not even having a place to lay his head...and again, becoming totally vulnerable on a Cross, enduring the worst punishment that humanity would dole out. Simply because of Love and yearning to be completely together with us.

The table is set for each of us. Let us come to it-together :)