What Do You Make?

Sermon "What Do You Make?" given at United Church of Beloit May 5, 2013

Psalm 67

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us―
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.

6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

John 5

The Healing at the Pool

5 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie―the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

[*Some manuscripts include here, wholly or in part, paralyzed―and they waited for the moving of the waters. 4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had. ]

5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.

Hebrew word Beth=House

Hesda=hesed, God's love, mercy, grace. the place was literally house of mercy or house of grace. It was a place known for healing, as the explanatory verse tells us the belief was that when the waters were stirred up, it was by an angel and the 1^st person to step into the pool when it had been stirred would be healed.

This story shows that Jesus' power is much greater than that of an angel or superstition. It also shows that one does not have to profess belief in Jesus to benefit! The man does not say I believe, he doesn't ask for Jesus to heal him, does he?

I find it interesting what he does answer, he doesn't directly answer! Or say yes, he launches into this explanation...i have no one to help me....he is sort of having a pity party here isn't he? “oh me poor me, nobody likes me..”

he does not profess faith in Jesus, in fact later in the text it's clear he has NO idea who Jesus is. So why does Jesus choose to heal THIS man!? Perhaps the longevity of his disability? It shows the power of Jesus' healing ability! Maybe to reward the persistance the man has shown..despite his attitude?

Why is this particular story in our Bible?! Could it be to show that Jesus can overcome even the hardest problems? A disability of 38 years?! Could it be to show that Jesus can overcome our worst attitude? That superstition and “they say...” beliefs are no match for the healing power of God's unconditional love, mercy, grace? What do you make of this?

Yes, all of the above :)

what do we make when we are in a challenging situation? Do we sometimes make an excuse? “no one will help me, someone else always gets to the healing water before me...” “Oh I don't have time, money, energy, knowledge, to do that. If I don't do it, soemone else will and they will probably do it better.”

What can we make instead of excuses? We can make a decision.

We can make a decision to change our attitude. You do know you choose your emotions! A friend of mine who was traveling this weekend said one of the flight attendants said, “Sit back and relax or sit up and be tense. Either way we get paid and we are going home to Chicago.” (yes it was Southwest Airlines)  

You choose to be tense or grumpy, or you can choose to be grateful for life, for freedom, for enough to eat, grateful for little things and big things. Remembering how blessed we are helps us recognize even more blessings.

What else can we make? How about a decision to help someone else. Or a decision to share our time, our talents, whatever they may be. We can make a choice to reach out to others, just to say hello to someone you don't know, to have a cup of coffee together. We can make a choice to pray for them.

When we pray for others, we may be praying for people who aren't sure about Jesus, but they benefit from prayer anyway! People know prayer works, that's why someone who does not have a church family may ask one of us for prayer! And to say “I'm praying for you” is a great way to reach out for others.

What else do we make? How about a choice to work with our church family? We have lots of ways to help, from wiping tables after coffee hour to ushering, serving on boards or committees, helping visit our homebound members. Especially now as we will be looking for a new Sr Minister, we as a church really need to pull together with everyone involved! It would be better if you volunteer now rather than waiting for someone to come asking! ;)

and as we are thinking and planning for our church's future, we need to be clear that it is indeed God's leading. That is why in both of our denominational traditions we appoint committees or boards to discuss and and make decision and we have congregational meetings to discuss and vote on the final decisions.

You see, God speaks to each of us and because God is so vast, and we humans are so finite, we hear from God best in community! No matter how well the pastor and lay leader perceive God's leading, it is never quite the whole picture because God's vision is so much bigger and brighter than a single human can perceive. As scripture says in Ephesians “Now to  him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think..”

We each may hear a bit of God's ideas so that together we hear more of the big vision that God has for us.

I confess, I'm trying to make it sound easy here. Change is not always easy, most of us dislike change. We don't know what's ahead and thats a bit scary isn't it?

You have likely heard 'Church bulletin bloopers” things like

Don’t let worry kill you off – let the church help.

Potluck supper: prayer and medication to follow.

Ushers will eat latecomers.

Today's sermon, what is hell? Come early and listen to choir practice.

one of my favorites is one where the pastor's 3 sermon points were in the bulletin:

1. Define your fear
2. Disown your fear
3. Displace your rear

which isn't really a bad idea for the 3^rd step. “Displace your rear” is precisely what the church needs! This church, every church. Needs people to make the decision to be an active participant in the every day, EVERY day not just Sunday EVERY day life of the church.

Foster, Richard J. (2009-10-13). Life with God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation (Kindle Locations 631-644). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

If we continue to choose life apart from God, we will take on an identity that focuses exclusively on ourselves, and we will then try to master our life and our world on our own―just what happened in the Garden, ... But God chooses to be with us in spite of our flight. God the {Creator and } Initiator becomes God the Pursuer―not to destroy us for our disobedience, but to turn us away from it and draw us back to life. The Apostle Paul explains, “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Through God’s sustaining presence in Christ, the Unifier of all things on heaven and on earth (see Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:20), the consequences of our disobedience do not have to lead to eternal separation from God. We can choose the freedom of life in Christ... It is a free gift: ... Will we choose this gift―here, now, in this present moment of our life?

We can make an excuse, or we can make a decision to act.

We can decide to feel bad, or we can choose to be thankful for what we have!

We can choose to live for ourselves, or we can choose to live in a way that honors Our Maker. Jesus is more powerful than any angel, than any thing else on earth!

when we make a choice for Jesus, then we make a difference!

Let's make a difference today!

Let's prepare for Communion by prayerfully singing “As the Deer”

weight loss

This year, 2013, I am steadily losing weight and getting strong and healthy. I have done this before, and regained some weight, and learned along the way. So now, the beginning of May- 18 weeks into the year, I am down 16 pounds, have lost several inches too. Clothes that were tight or unwearable last fall fit loosely now! it's a great 'problem' to have :)

I've been asked what I am doing to achieve this goal. And it's not just what food, what exercises, it is a process.

We have to make the decision EVERY DAY, actually many times a day. Drink plenty of water. I also drink coffee and iced tea. But no soda pop, diet or not. Even diet drinks trigger brain chemistry that spurs overeating :( 

Eat lean protein, cottage cheese or good quality cheese, eggs, chicken or turkey breast. Fruit and/or veggies at EVERY single meal. Whole grains- whole grain crackers or tortillas-NO bread. except on the occasional burger, and those need to be VERY occasional. (my fave, the double from Culver’s is 700+ calories! Even the single is 500+! yikes!) LOTS of salad...a big salad is my ‘default’ supper. Add cheese, or chicken, I only use olive oil for dressing. I do NOT deprive myself of chocolate, which I love. But I eat in moderation, and make it the GOOD stuff, Dove Dark for example. and savor every bite.

It's important to eat mindfully enjoying the flavors and textures. and the colors! make the meal look good too. (The experts say to not eat while watching TV or on computer. I am working on that one.)

and most of all, eating to honor God and my body, which is God’s creation. Exercising—moving to honor and care for God’s creation. I am learning this stage, and it's sometimes hard to achieve every day, but making progress. One Step at a time! One day, one moment at a time, if need be!!

I am doing this to Honor My Lord God, to care for myself so that i may care for others.

thank You, God for helping me, and helping me understand this journey. help me continue to decide each day, with YOU, honoring You and all the ways You have blessed me. In Jesus’ Name i pray, amen.

Casting Our Nets

Sermon given at United Church of Beloit April 14, 2013

Psalm 30
30:1 I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
30:2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
30:3 O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
30:4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.
30:5 For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
30:6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved."
30:7 By your favor, O LORD, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
30:8 To you, O LORD, I cried, and to the LORD I made supplication:
30:9 "What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
30:10 Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me! O LORD, be my helper!"
30:11 You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
30:12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

John 21:1-19
21:1 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way.
21:2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.
21:3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
21:4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
21:5 Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No."
21:6 He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
21:7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.
21:8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
21:9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
21:10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught."
21:11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.
21:12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord.
21:13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
21:14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
21:15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."
21:16 A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep."
21:17 He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
21:18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go."
21:19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."

Our Gospel lesson is from sometime shortly after the first Easter Sunday, after the resurrection. Peter and the other disciples have gone back to Galilee as Jesus told them. This is their home turf, where it all began. They have had extraordinary experiences the past 3 years with Jesus and now, Jesus was crucified, and came back and showed himself to the disciples.

Remember Peter, good old brash Peter, at the last supper said, vehemently, “I WILL NEVER deny you!”....but a few hours later, when the going got tough, after Jesus was arrested, Peter was asked about Jesus and said, “nope I don't know him, no not me, never heard of him”, just as Jesus had predicted.

to deny Jesus 3 times was a legal statement. This was the same as testifying in a court room. Peter had perjured himself. Makes you wonder, doesn't it, what was going through his mind now, some time later, back at home. He has burned his bridges, hasn't he?

He said, I am going fishing. Now this was not, “Oh I'm gonna go relax on the water, drown a few worms.” Fishing was his career, his lifeblood. He fished to make a living, to support his family. Peter went back to his old routine. To his old lifestyle. And the others said, we'll go with you. They went to do what was routine, what was familiar to them.

That's a very human tendency, we tend to do to what's familiar and comfortable. Even after a huge transition, we want to do what we're used to doing. Go to the same places, sit in the same spots.

And they fished, working hard all night, and didn't catch a thing. They didn't have any food, they didn't have anything to take home to the family, they sure didn't have anything to sell! What now?

And a man on the beach called to them, 'cast your nets on the other side of the boat” they did and WOW! There were so many fish they couldn't even haul in the net! This must have seemed familiar to them, it is how Peter and some of the others met Jesus the first time! It's recounted in the other gospels, but Luke 5 has the most detail. They had fished all night, didn't catch a thing and Jesus said, go out into the deep water. And they caught so many fish that their nets began to break and Peter had to call over to another boat to have John and James to come help.

Today, there were again SO many fish, but this time the nets did not break! That first time, they were not yet followers of Jesus. In today's story, they were. They did as he suggested, not even knowing it was Jesus, and were hugely successful! We can do all things through Christ!

And they go ashore and find Jesus is cooking breakfast :) and he invites them to come join him, giving them the bread and the fish. This echoes the stories of the miraculous feeding of 5000 told in all the Gospels, doesn't it? Jesus understands that people need sustanence, that our basic physical needs must be met. After breakfast, he talks to Peter.

Note that he speaks to him formally, He isn't just saying hey pass me another hunk of bread...He says, Simon, Son of John...this is a formal address, much like when I do a wedding and say, Mary Smith, do you take this man, John Jones to be your lawful wedded husband.... Jesus is speaking formally to Peter here.

and Jesus asks Peter 3 times, do you love me, each time saying some variation of “tend my sheep.” note that it is 3 times! This is again, a legal statement! Some of the commentators on this passage make much of the Greek words used here for “love” are 2 different words, one time it's Agape, the deep unconditional love that is of God, others it's Phileos, the more brotherly love! Some of the commentators also make much of the phrasing, feed or tend, my sheep. As much as I love the knowledge we can get from word studies, sometimes fussing over the details can bog us down. This is one of the passages that I think those details actually can distract us from the deeper message. Jesus says, if you really love me, in any way, then I need you to take care of my flock. And the word translated- tend, does indeed mean to care for, to meet the needs of. To feed, care for, watch over.

You see, people have to have our basic needs met before we can work on spiritual, creative labors. We need to be fed, clothed, sheltered. We need companionship. Jesus knew this. That is why He came to earth in human form. To feel what it's like to live in a fragile human body, to know how it feels to be hungry, to laugh, to feel tired, to hold a baby, to weep. And he showed his disciples and us, how to do these things with others. In community.

Love spurs action. God so LOVED the world, he gave God's only son...God loves, God gave...Love spurs action. If we love Jesus we are to care for the flock. Reach out...we, right here in Beloit, we have come together as a United Church for a purpose that is beyond this one hour on Sunday morning. Take a look at our covenant. “We Join together, we seek to reach out in Christian Love....” It means going beyond your normal routine....reaching out, start right here, invite someone you don't know well to sit with you in the pew or over coffee, ask how things are going, ask if you can ride together next week. 'how can I pray for you?” It means continuing to reach out financially, putting quarters in the Goat for Heifer International, giving extra money to help pay off our roof early! It means helping with Hands of Faith, hearing our guest speakers, working this summer with Vacation Bible School, and the Book Bag Bash, attending our extra functions, serving on a board or committee, cleaning up after coffee hour. There are so many ways to help out! And please do pray for each other!

In this church we have had a tough season. Our congregation recently lost some faithful members and several of our folks have had other losses besides, family and friends. Some of our folks are struggling with illness or injury and are probably not going to get back to what they were before. We need a lot of love and prayer right now. We need to love and pray a lot right now. And one of the fastest ways to help yourself is to help someone else.

Jesus says do you love me, tend my flock....and if you cast your nets the way I tell you, you will have astounding success!

How is this church, or any church for that matter, called to cast our nets?

Brennan Manning, the Signature of Jesus

The greatest need for our time is for the church to become what it has seldom been: the body of Christ with its face to the world, loving others regardless of religion or culture, pouring itself out in a life of service, offering hope to a frightened world, and presenting itself as a real alternative to the existing arrangement.

Our United Church is embarking this month on a vision process. Our individual churches did this a few years ago. It was not an easy process, but look where it got us! Our 2 churches have the same core values, but slightly different styles of living those values. We are working on blending those styles, and as we do this vision process, we are going to look at needs in this community and how best we can help. God has created this United Church...yes, we did the work, but this is not OUR creation!! God has created this United Church of Beloit for a bigger purpose! We will reach this bigger purpose by recognizing our own flawed humanity and reaching out with a heavenly love to another flawed human. We can help others to see God at work―even if we can't catch a single fish on our own! Jesus is asking today, do you Love me? How are we responding?

Weakness

Weakness  

Sermon given at  Ecumenical Good Friday Service, River of Life UMC, Beloit.

Scriptures:

Psalm 22:1-18, 25-31 (read responsively as a Congregation)

John 19:16-22, 31-37, 38-42

also responsive reading Litany of the Seven Last Words following the sermon.

(Intro self, Licensed Minister at United Church of Beloit)

These Ecumenical services help us to enjoy different orders of worship, different speakers, worship styles. And we get to spend time together with folks from other churches and be reminded that we are all indeed ONE body of Christ!

Today of course is Good Friday. This past Sunday, we waved our palms shouting hosanna to the king! Thursday evening ws the last supper, where Jesus washed feet and began the tradition of Communion. Then his arrest, and the shouts of Hosanna, became cries of Crucify him! Today we share powerful scriptures about the crucifixion. Right now, let's consider the Psalm.

Psalm 22 was composed by David, the great king of Israel, about 1000 years before the time of Christ. The Psalms have been referred to as the Jewish hymnal and the Christian prayer book. They were composed to be sung in worship. Ps 22 is a lament...a passionate expression of grief or anguish. In the Jewish tradition this Psalm is read at Purim, {poohr-eem} the holiday devoted to the story told in the Book of Esther of the persecution of the Jewish people by Haman. Jesus and his followers were Jewish, so would have known their scriptures well! Many of the things Jesus said during the 3 years of his ministry on Earth were quotes or references to the Hebrew scriptures, what we call the Old Testament. This Psalm, when read through our modern eyes, knowing the story of the crucifixion, is certainly a foreshadowing or prophecy of what Jesus suffered. Jesus said the first line of this Psalm while on the cross, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” this was the only time in the Gospels that Jesus referred to God as anything but “My Father in heaven” or “Abba”.

How could Jesus feel so utterly separated from God? He was God, he was

with God in the beginning, according to John chapter 1. Jesus said in John chapter 14, speaking to his disciples mere hours before his arrest, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” How, HOW, could Jesus feel so utterly separate from God?

He who was without sin, took on the sins of the world. The sin of every human being. Every single thing that keeps a person separate from God, for that is the definition of sin...Jesus took on during the beatings, the flogging, the crown of thorns, the crucifixion. The One who was fully human, fully divine, who endured the worst that humankind could dole out, was perhaps never more fully human, than on that cross, covered in our disgrace.

How could he do this? Could there have been another way? Could Jesus have saved himself, could he have commanded an army of angels to come down from heaven? Of course. But Jesus came to show that God's power and might are not the same as humans envision. Jesus preached, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” God's power, God's perfect kingdom is not like an earthly kingdom. God's Kingdom, a kingdom of “Shalom”, the Hebrew word meaning peace, wholeness,

and well-being, protection for all of God's creation. Shalom is when all is right with the world. When humans are in good relationship with God and with each other, as we were created for! In the earthly world, peace is usually obtained & kept by military power. But the peace Jesus offered is a different. It is a peace obtained, not by a show of force but by what seems to be utter weakness — Jesus died on a cross like a criminal and outcast.
How could this be?
Note that the latter part of our Psalm talks about God triumphant over the anguish. Not just personally for the psalmist, but for the Great Congregation....the people of God! That all will worship and bow down, for dominion...the kingdom of Earth.. belongs to God. That all will serve and be told about the Lord and proclaim his deliverance, saying “he has done it!”
How could this be?
Could it be, that with God things are done a bit differently than to the human mind? God's ways are higher than our ways, God's thoughts higher than our thoughts. Could it be that God's power is perfected...in weakness?

God came to earth...taking on human form, becoming an infant...what is more vulnerable than a newborn baby? Jesus was born, not in a palace, not to a family known for wealth and power! No, he was born to an ordinary working class family in a non-descript town. Over and over in his ministry, people had trouble understanding what he was saying, even those closest to him! Jesus, fully human and fully divine, loved people even when they were being clods.

Brennan Manning: Weakness relates us profoundly to the people we serve; it allows us to feel with them the human condition, the human struggle and darkness and anguish that call out for salvation. Further, weakness relates us profoundly and apostolically to God because it provides the arena in which His power can move and reveal itself; His power is made manifest in weakness.

Jesus became completely weak...for us, to save us! The word in the Bible that means 'to save” is Sozo. (sode'-zo) it means to be saved for eternity, but it means more than that. Remember the languages of this time had fewer words than our modern English, so each word had more than one meaning, actually layers of meaning. So looking at the layers of meaning of these words adds tremendously to our understanding of the Bible. Sozo, this great word, means to be saved for eternity. It also means to be protected or saved from danger, to be healed, made well, to be restored to health and wholeness. Sozo brings shalom!

Jesus was King of the Jews allright, but not in the way that was expected. He was not a messiah king that the Jewish people expected, one who would overthrow the oppression of the Roman Empire.

In the remarkable book Simply Jesus, Author NT Wright says;

You see, the reason Jesus wasn’t the sort of king people had wanted in his own day is—to anticipate our conclusion—that he was the true king, but they had become used to the ordinary, shabby, second-rate sort. They were looking for a builder to construct the home they thought they wanted, but he was the architect, coming with a new plan that would give them everything they needed, but within quite a new framework. They were looking for a singer to sing the song they had been humming for a long time, but he was the composer, bringing them a new song to which the old songs they knew would form, at best, the background music.

How could this be?

Jesus was a king beyond all human comprehension! He was a king come to bring about peace and wholeness and protection. He became weak, vulnerable, in order to display God's perfect power! How? ok I am gonna reveal the end here...not that the butler did it, but that Jesus rose from that grave! Shh don't tell the others, we'll let them be surprised, ok?

So...God's power was on display! But....where IS this peace and prosperity and protection? Why didn't it happen instantly? how come everythign isn't a bed of roses? How come we still have weeds and thorns and rocks?

Couldn't God have made the world all perfect again? Why can't the poor be housed and fed and clothed? Why are there still wars and genocide and atrocities. God could snap those fingers and make it all right! Why doesn't he? Could it be that the architect of this new framework has something grander in mind?

Our Psalm says, “Posterity will serve him..” We are among the posterity! We will serve the Lord. Love inspires action...For God so LOVED the world, he GAVE his only son.....We are to love and care for others. Could it be that we –those who know Jesus as Lord are indeed to help make this world better? That we are to help bring about this kingdom?

Author Ann Spangler writes:

If God is King of the whole world, why is the world such a mess? Couldn’t an all-powerful God do something about the poverty, crime, and suffering that have been part of the world’s story from the beginning? Wouldn’t an all-loving God want to? The question nags. It’s hard to ignore. It demands our attention.... God.... decided to take the long way round, quelling the world’s rebellion not by brute force but by the power of divine love. That strategy requires restraint. It takes patience. It means justice in a final sense has to be delayed. It means evil is played out to the bitter end so that love can draw as many people as possible into the kingdom.   To say it another way, the weeds and the wheat are allowed to grow up together until the world’s last day.

Richard Foster phrases it this way:Human beings are so important to God that the divine purposes are worked out through the messiness and sprawl of human history. Apparently, it is more important to God that human beings learn his ways in freedom than it is to get things done efficiently.

We are to learn God's ways and accomplish God's will! Yes God could make the world perfect again. But in order for humans to be fully in relationship with God and each other as we are created to be, we are to learn God's ways and help achieve that Sozo, that perfect Shalom. We can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit working within us. How can we? We who represent half dozen or so church in a non-descript town in the midwest...How can WE help make God's Shalom come to earth? We can reach out, allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to stretch out a hand, and walk alongside someone in their loneliness, their grief, their hunger, whatever. We do this in the Name of the One who loved us so much, he gave his very life for each of us.

How can we? You see as we live our lives...and we go through the hard stuff, we learn compassion. Compassion means to to suffer with...as Jesus did with his friends when Lazarus had died, Jesus wept. They were standing outside of the tomb and Jesus joined them in their grief. He took on their anguish.

We learn compassion and we learn to care for one another, to walk with our friends and strangers through this thing called life, living out the LOVE that we have found in Jesus. When we comprehend that love, how can we NOT reach out? That love, that came to earth, from a throne in heaven, to become mortal, to live in a frail human body with aches and hunger and fatigue. That love that came to earth to live and to die...to die on a cross. That love calls us to reach out!

Author Brennan Manning again:

The greatest need for our time is for the church to become what it has seldom been: the body of Christ with its face to the world, loving others regardless of religion or culture, pouring itself out in a life of service, offering hope to a frightened world, and presenting itself as a real alternative to the existing arrangement.

We who are here today represent several churches here in the Greater Beloit area. Our city has not had it easy over the years. But we have good people here with good values and a core of strength to get through what we must. When we reach out to one another in love, we will find that we are blessed beyond our expectations. Our community needs us, our community needs our churches to show what love means. Our world will be a better place when we do so!

Today, as we contemplate the incomparable love that brought God to earth as a baby who grew up to show us how to love and care for each other, how to live and how to die-- today let us pray to better live out that love. It was our sin that put Him there, it is our calling to make that love shine again in this world.

Sermon at United Church of Beloit, Feb 24, 2013. 

Isaiah 61 The Year of the Lord’s Favor

61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,to comfort all who mourn,3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning,and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy will be yours.
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5 Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

The next few weeks, we are looking at the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' famous speech or sermon given to his disciples and followers. It's found in the Gospel of Matthew, with a similar teaching in Luke. Matthew's Gospel was written specifically to Jewish listeners, to help them know that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. The Sermon in Matthew's gospel is detailed and helps remind the Jewish People of Moses' teachings. Luke's Gospel is written to Gentiles, so there is less of the traditional Jewish teachings.

Last week's lesson from Matthew 4, Jesus said kingdom of heaven is near.

This lesson, known as the Beatitudes, is where Jesus defines the kingdom.
Jesus was speaking on a steep hillside, the text says the side of a mountain. It was likely near the shore of the Sea of Galilee  The bowl-like setting of a hillside overlooking a large lake made a natural amphitheater in which sound would carry quite well on a spring or summer day :) imagine yourself sitting on the grass, listening to Jesus speak.

{READ GOSPEL LESSON}

Note that the first and last of the Beatitudes both say, “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. This is a literary device called bracketing. This bracketing is sign of completeness...and that everything included in this paragraph is also included in the The Kingdom of Heaven. That is, each of the things mentioned are aspects of the Kingdom of Heaven. Comfort, inheritance, to be satisfied, Mercy, to see God and be called a child of God, these are aspects of the Kingdom of heaven!
And to whom does Jesus say it belongs? The poor in spirit, those who mourn, who hunger and thirst to be right with God, the merciful, pure in heart and peacemakers.

This is not a kingdom that is like the world is it!? It wasn't 2000 years ago, either. then and now, society's view of the 'kingdom' belongs to those who are getting ahead, whether one is at the top of the class, the top of the heap, the top of the world.
Hebrew word Blessed, means to be blessed, favored by God, and it also means to be happy....that down deep joy that comes when we realize God is “Large and in charge'. But to be blessed also means to be guided, guided along a straight line, the image here is of a plumb line used by builders to ensure that their work is aligned well. So blessed means to be favored, have joy and to be guided along a straight path.

Jesus says in the kingdom of heaven says that those who recognize their weakness before God, and ask for help are the blessed ones! The poor in spirit, those who know that we are incomplete without God! When we come to God, we regret what has kept us away from God for so long...we mourn our sins and our other losses! And we receive comfort and crave more of this beautiful Kingdom! And as we find more of the kingdom of heaven through our developing faith, through worship, prayer, devotional time, through helping others, we learn compassion, and become merciful. And receive mercy in return. This growing love, faith, forgiveness, caring for others helps us to be more Christlike-pure in heart. We become peacemakers—working to bring about the Kingdom of heaven here on Earth. Helping to house the homeless, feed the hungry, caring for children and the lonely, these are just some of the ways we in this church do help live out our faith. This brings a glimpse of the Kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is completely different than the kingdom of Earth. Something is upside down, topsy-turvy? Which is it?!

God put us here on Earth to be in relationship with God and with each other. The creation story in the Bible is one of intimacy! If that story is fact or a beautiful telling of an old story, it is a story that says God wants us to be up close and personal with God and with each other. That we are to love and care for each other! That is the Kingdom of heaven! That is the way things are supposed to be.

Our OT lesson, are words that were spoken by Jesus early in his ministry. This is a portrayal of that heavenly kingdom. The promises given here include freedom and release from darkness! Of beauty and praise, instead of grief!

Do we not hunger and thirst for these things?! The kingdom of heaven is what we are made for! The kingdom of earth only satisfies for a short time, if at all. The kingdom of heaven, satisfies for all time. This is Shalom, God's peace...perfect peace, wholeness, protection for all of God's creation. When all is right with the world. And what we get glimpses of, when we are caring for each other, when we worship together, and especially when we reach out to others to share what we have, our material blessings and that incredible Love. This is how the Kingdom of heaven comes near on Earth, through us! Through the Holy Spirit guiding us, empowering us to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Francis Chan in Crazy Love

We never grow closer to God when we just live life; it takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness. When I pray, I sometimes ask God to make it the most intimate time of prayer I've ever had. Many times when I speak, whether at my church or another venue, I remind myself that I could die right after I finish, so what would I want my last words to be? Second, I remember that we are not alone. Even now there are thousands of beings in heaven watching what is going on down here-a "great cloud of witnesses," the Scripture says. It reminds me that there is so much more to our existence than what we can see. What we do reverberates through the heavens and into eternity. Try for a whole day to be conscious of heaven. Realize that so much is going on outside of this dimension and our existence. God and His angels are watching, even now.

Our cloud of witnesses is cheering us on, praying for us to help our relationship with God and each other, praying for us to help bring the kingdom of heaven to earth!

Richard Foster....Do we truly want life with God? This is the prime question in moving from intention to action in the spiritual life..... there are things for us to do! God wants an active partner in relationship. The spiritual life is just that—a life. We learn as we go. We learn as we do. As we go and do with God, we are changed along the way.

Could God make sure that all are fed, clothed, loved, treated justly? Of course. God could do that faster than you can blink an eye. So why doesn't God do this? It seems to be that relationship thing again. Evidently we are supposed to learn this stuff for ourselves.

Foster: Human beings are so important to God that the divine purposes are worked out through the messiness and sprawl of human history. Apparently, it is more important to God that human beings learn his ways in freedom than it is to get things done efficiently.

We are to learn God's ways and that is how we can help bring the Kingdom. When we pray, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” are we praying for God to snap those ever-powerful fingers and make the world a perfectly beautiful place of Shalom, or is Jesus teaching us to pray for God to help us make that happen!

We are called to become people of the Beatitudes. A person of the Beatitudes is to be the hands and feet of Jesus! The kingdom of heaven is what we were created for. The Kingdom of Earth is the upside-down kingdom, we are to help bring about the right-side UP kingdom.

Could it be that THIS is why this United Church of Beloit has been called to come together? To help 2 churches who love to care for others to do an even better job of it? To be a more powerful influence for good in our community? If so, and I believe it is, we can do so by becoming people of the Beatitudes!
During Lent, besides 'giving up' something, we encourage the taking up of something, like some extra Bible and devotional reading, Even a few extra minutes a day of prayer and Scripture will make a difference in your walk with God.

What does it look like to be a person of the Beatitudes? A person who so desires the Kingdom of heaven on earth? Someone who is poor in spirit, mourns, hungers and thirsts for more of God, someone who is merciful, pure in heart and is a peacemaker?

There is a powerful letter written by an African pastor some years back. It was found in his belongings after he had been killed for his faith. Quoted by Brennan Manning in The Signature of Jesus

I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His and I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I'm done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power.
My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven. My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear.
I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me. My banner will be clear!

This is a person of the Beatitudes. This is someone who intimately knew Jesus as Lord. This is model of faith we can aspire to. Are we ready to draw closer to God this Lenten season and roll up our sleeves?

Let's Pray,
Help us to be people of the Beatitudes, dear Lord. Help us recognize our shortcomings and ask for your help and guidance. Help us to hunger and thirst for more of you! Help us to be merciful, to be peacemakers, bringing about Your kingdom of Shalom right here on Earth. Help us to stay up, store up, pray up, pay up, and preach up for the cause of Christ! Please bless us as we do these things in the Name of Our Lord Jesus, through whom we pray, Amen.

Thought, Word and Deed
Sermon given at 1st Congregational Church of Emerald Grove WI (UCC)

Click here to read the two Bible passages for this morning

Psalm 19 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Children's Letters to God

Dear God,
Thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. Joyce

Dear God,
my Grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go? Love, Dennis

Dear God,
is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his golf words in the house?
Anita

Dear God,
maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they each had their own rooms. It works out OK with me and my brother. Larry

Dear God,
I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday night. That was really cool. Thomas

Psalm 19 is just beautiful isn't it., I wish we could take the time to spend to really study it. Both of these passages for that matter!

author C. S. Lewis said of Psalm 19: "I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world."

the Psalms have been called the Hebrew Hymn book and the Christian prayer book. The Psalms were songs, sung in worship :) This is a Psalm of David, the great king of Israel. David lived about 1000 years before the time of Jesus and of course Jesus is a direct descendant of King David.

the child who said “that sunset was really cool” is saying the same thing as the Psalmist...but David was a bit more eloquent. :) Psalm 19 is a more formal version of ....it's a song telling of God being revealed through all of creation, but especially in the skies above us. Just picture in your mind for a moment some of the views you have seen....A brilliant sun shining in the vivid blue sky, Or the power of an oncoming thunderstorm, the colors of a sunset, gazing at the moon and stars on a clear night...

We get a glimpse of the beauty and majesty and even mystery of God in the heavens. And elsewhere in creation too....mountains, the ocean, the forests, and even the rolling hills of Wisconsin...there is such a variety of creation. God created all of this for us! And then created humans, us, to be in relationship with God and with each other.

Of course we keep messing up those relationships. And we have to come back to God don't we. That is why God keeps giving us lovely sunrises and sunsets, or angry looking clouds, and starry nights....to help us notice.

When we recognize the power and beauty of God in creation, what is our reaction? We may stop and say WOW. We may express gratitude. We may just want to soak in the view in wonder. All of these are appropriate and honor God,. They help us reach out to God, just as God is reaching out to us.

The psalmist goes from worshiping God in creation to celebrating the Law...God's word. The “law of the Lord, the precepts, the commands” it says, all refer to Scripture! This is another way God is revealed to us, through Scriptures! And when we recognize God in our lives, we often also then recognize our failings. Because God is perfect, and we are so NOT! David says that keeping The word of God close is how we can keep pure...keep from sin-which is ANYTHING that separates us from God. We do know that David didn't always stay so pure...during his mid-life crisis with Bathsheba-he did indeed break a few commandments! But he repented, and confessed, pouring out his grief over that sin in another Psalm, 51, (create in me a clean heart..) David is a great example of the forgiveness of God and foreshadowing of Jesus, through whom we can obtain divine forgiveness.

Our Psalm concludes with a lovely prayer....May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, oh Lord my rock and my redeemer! In ancient times, the heart is the core of who you were, they did not know that the brain is where we think and process emotions and all that.

We are to honor God in thought and word! The Hebrew word here translated “acceptable” means something much deeper than our English word. It is a word that refers to worship...actually to sacrificial worship, bringing the best gift you can to the Lord. So this prayer means may my words and even my thoughts be more than OK, but honorable and reverent of God, something that can help bring the knowledge of God to others.

Keeping to the Word of God helps us to know God and to better be in relationship with God and with each other. Spending time with the Bible -prayerfully reading, is one of the most powerful things we can do. The Bible reminds us that no matter what, God is with us-always!

Author Richard Foster in Life With God...

{This} divine assurance .... is also a divine invitation: “I am with you—will you be with Me?” This dynamic is the absolute unifying center of the Bible. Every story in the Bible, no matter its twists and turns, whether the human characters are trustworthy or untrustworthy, whether the story is sad or happy, is built on this clarion call to relationship. “I am with you—will you be with Me?”

When we recognize this call to relationship, it is not a solitary thing. It is for us as individuals, but also for families, churches, communities. But of course it begins with each of us one to one. But our new Testament lesson reminds us that we are not in this alone. We humans are part of the Body...the Body of Christ.

We are all a part of the body and we all have different gifts and talents. It would be boring if we were all the same! And we wouldn;t get as much done! It takes a variety of gifts to make things work well!

Foster Human beings are so important to God that the divine purposes are worked out through the messiness and sprawl of human history. Apparently, it is more important to God that human beings learn his ways in freedom than it is to get things done efficiently.

Our gifts and talents are tools to be used in relationship! To help the rest of the Body of humanity find and worship and celebrate the Love of Christ.

No matter your denomination, your upbringing in or out of church, no matter gender, race or idealism, we are connected, we belong to each other!

My husband Martin and I are blessed to be able to travel as our church's delegates to National meetings in different cities each summer. And as we meet folks from all over the country, it's amazing how connected we are! Folks know of Wisconsin and even of Beloit and Janesville. In Massachusetts a traffic cop grinned at our Wisconsin plates, waved and hollered Green Bay Packers! A random conversation in New Mexico with a couple from California, whose son graduated from Beloit College! (What ARE the odds!) I got to meet the author who was the Bible lecturer at our national meeting. Her name is Marva Dawn. She is from Ohio and lives in Washington State. I actually encountered her in the hallway after breakfast one day. Introduced myself and said where I am from, she said, “Oh, Beloit!” in her sweet voice...I said, astonished, “you know us!?” and she said, “My grandfather, my mother's father, who lived to be 100 years old, was from Janesville!”

we are all connected...and being connected we share in each other lives.

If one member of the Body of Christ hurts, the whole body hurts. When one member of a church is grieving, we grieve with them. When there is suffering in our town, we all suffer, maybe not directly, but trouble in any community will affect all the other members.

But when things go well, we all get to rejoice! That's why we pray for each other! We pray in community, praying, sharing our pain and our reasons for joy! And these prayers bring us ever closer together and closer to the heart of our Creator God.

Henri Nouwen In the heart of God we find the true joy of being part of the human race. There we are truly connected, not only with God, but with ourselves and with one another.

As we discover the heart of God for ourselves, that incomparable love and joy

and find our connections, we become more and more like our Loving Lord, and our families, churches and communities will become the places of love and compassion and wholeness that they are meant to be.

Marva Dawn “God's revelation... unmasks our illusions about ourselves. It exposes our pride, our individualism, our self-centeredness - in short, our sin. But worship also offers forgiveness, healing, transformation, motivation, and courage to work in the world for God's justice and peace - in short, salvation in its largest sense.”

this is what real community offers and what I pray our churches, Here in Emerald Grove, in Beloit, all through Wisconsin, and all churches, everywhere!! can be. We find these things, this “forgiveness, healing, transformation, motivation, and courage to work in the world for God's justice and peace” ONLY in our Lord Jesus, the embodiment of God who came to earth to live as a human, born a tiny infant! Jesus lived his life to show us how to live and he chose to go to the Cross, the cruelest death that humankind could devise, out of that incomparable love for us. Through His life, death, and resurrection, we have the greatest gift.

We live and worship truly when we honor God in thought, word and in deed...living out the love of Christ, reaching out to the rest of the Body to help us all find that love, joy, healing and transformation. This is my prayer for each of us and for the world. 

Sermon for Dec 30, 2012. Sharing Stories.

Psalm 148
148:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
148:2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
148:3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
148:4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
148:5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.
148:6 He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
148:7 Praise the LORD from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,
148:8 fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!
148:9 Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
148:10 Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
148:11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
148:12 Young men and women alike, old and young together!
148:13 Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven.
148:14 He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the LORD!

Luke 2:41-52
2:41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

Sharing Stories

Psalm of praise –don;t you just love the imagery? When God is glorified, ALL of creation celebrates!

Pastor Bill is such great story teller, 

stories help us remember, help us figure out things and ideas, help us identify with one another, to find our common bonds. They help us laugh and cry together and learn together. Stories help us build community. Everyone has a story, everyone needs to be able to share their stories.

{READ GOSPEL LESSON}

Gospel lesson seems to be one of those family stories that gets told often, maybe every year as the family is again on the road home from Jerusalem.

Luke says at the beginning of his Gospel that he set out to write “an orderly account” and that he “carefully investigated these things” So he isn't just repeating tales that were floating around 30 years after Jesus’ life. He talked to the sources as much as he could. Scholars believe that Luke personally spoke with Mary, mother of Jesus. This is the only story we have in the Scripture from Jesus’ life from the time between his infancy and the beginning of his ministry. Maybe this was one of those family stories that got told every so often. And it gives us some insight into Jesus’ formative years.

The family had gone to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festival. This was, and is, the most important of holidays for Jewish people. The Passover commemorates the escape from enslavement in Egypt. Going to Jerusalem for the Passover was one of the things that a devout Jewish family did every year. So we see from this story that Mary and Joseph followed their faith, raising Jesus in their traditions.

In Biblical times, traveling could be a challenge. Ordinary people walked most places. And when making a lengthy trip, they traveled in groups.-extended families, neighbors. A trip like this, going to Jerusalem for Passover, would have had a lot of people going at the same time, so there could have been quite a contingent of people together. Women and children traveled together, the men together. So we can see that Mary and Joseph were not bad parents for losing him! Each would have assumed that Jesus was with the other group. Mary perhaps thinking Jesus, a young man of 12, was traveling with the men. Joseph, possibly thinking Jesus still a kid at only 12, was with the women and children, helping out with younger kids. Families traveled during the daylight hours and made camp at night so they didn't discover Jesus missing until then.

So - the Passover festival was done, at the end of a day's travel towards home, they realized that Jesus was not with them at all. He was lost. Knowing, as a parent myself, how anxious they must have been, they probably slept out of the exhaustion of travel, but wouldn't have slept well! So the next morning they hurried back . And on the 3^rd day, searching through the city of Jerusalem, finally they find him at the Temple! He is talking with the rabbis.The rabbis, teachers of the Jewish faith, would welcome men to join them in the Temple courtyard. The rabbi would sit to teach, the men could stand and ask questions and discuss points of doctrine. So here is Jesus, 12 years old, sitting with the rabbis, discussing and answering! And they were all astonished at the depth of his knowledge. I think this point is one of the main reasons we have this story in Luke’s Gospel. The next piece is why scholars believe that Luke got this story right from Mary. We see her reaction is very much the parent of an adolescent! “Why have you treated us like this?! Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you!” And Jesus' reply is, “Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"

This is an interesting family story isn't it?

Our 2 churches who've combined into one have great stories too. 2^nd Cong was founded as the new Beloit was growing. after a sturdy bridge was built across the Rock River, about where Grand Ave bridge is now. Businesses and homes were being built up on the west side of the river. And in February 1859 some of the West side residents thought it would be a good idea to build a church here too. since it was wintertime, I am convinced they were tired of slip sliding through ice and snow across a wooden bridge!

We have a new story to tell now. About how our 2 churches began to discuss a good idea, and share a passion for reaching out to others, and our love of good music and good coffee. And how we recognized that God was calling us together.

But we are still truly in the beginning of our story. We only have a few chapters done.
Bill's pastorate at 1^st and here, through this transition, is one of the more important chapters. Thank you again, Bill.

this United Church has a lot more chapters to write yet :)

When we hear a good story, we want to do 2 things. We want to tell one of our good stories too! And we want to tell somebody else the new story we just heard. When we share stories, when we tell a bit about ourselves, we are helping to know each other and understand where we've been and where we are going. We learn what we have in common. And how to work through whatever differences there are to embrace the commonalities. This is how we learn to truly love one another, as Jesus taught.

Going back to our Gospel lesson...

As I said, this story is the only one we have from Jesus’ formative years. And this story of Jesus’ life is the last mention of Joseph in the Gospels. Throughout the Gospels we see several mentions of Mary, but no more mention of Joseph. The traditional belief is that he died some time before Jesus began his ministry. And since this was a typical family of the times, most likely Joseph was several years older than Mary. Men followed their father’s trade and often would not marry until they were earning enough on their own to support a family. Women married not long after reaching child bearing age, so generally the husband was several years older than the wife.

So we learn from this story that Jesus grew up in a typical family. They followed the customs of their faith; they were parents who were anxious about their son. And after this, Luke writes that “as Jesus grew up, he increased in wisdom and in favor with God and people” This shows that Jesus grew intellectually, spiritually, and socially. So this was overall a healthy family.

Hearing this story, most of us who are parents or spend lots of time with kids, may find ourselves thinking about it from Mary’s perspective.

Don't you think Mary would have remembered this incident, maybe each year as they traveled again to Jerusalem for the Passover, certainly on the way home from there! “Jesus, are you with us?” “Yes Mother!” She would remember the terrible anxiety of believing her son was lost, and how lost she felt as well!

And I am positive she remembered this incident many years later, after another trip to Jerusalem for the Passover. Another morning when she had to go to look for Jesus, on the 3^rd day, for a much different purpose. This time the women were going to a borrowed tomb, to anoint his lifeless crucified body. What anguish must have been in her heart that morning.

The baby Jesus, whose story we told last week, the adolescent who aggravated his mother, was born to go to the Cross. That was His story, His purpose.

But it's not the end of the story.

Because of course when the women went to the tomb, they found it empty!

Jesus had risen! The birth, death and resurrection is THE story, the greatest story.

so when we hear a great story? we want to share it! Share that story today. Tell others about the incomparable love of Jesus Christ. Tell them about the love that is here in this United Church of Beloit, looking ahead to the New Year together, to reach out in Love.

Let's start our telling of that story, by singing together Go Tell It on the Mountain!