Sermon Video: "How will this be?" The Miracle of Christmas - Luke 1:34-38

In a key passage of Scripture, the angel Gabriel responds to Mary's question, "How will this be?" with an explanation of how the Son of the Most High will actually come to be.  He makes it clear to Mary that the child she will bear will not be conceived in the natural way, he will not have a human father, but instead will be the result of an encounter with the Holy Spirit.  The combination of humanity and deity, allowing Jesus to be both the Son of God and the Son of Man, was a unique miracle, an entrance of God himself into his creation.  As further assurance, Gabriel offers to Mary the example of Elizabeth's unexpected pregnancy.  The response of Mary to this stunning news is both simple and correct, "I am the Lord's servant."

To watch the video, click on the link below:

All-or-nothing morality complacency refuted by Gandalf

My congregation knows that I will use an illustration from the Lord of the Rings whenever one comes to me, its either a gift to them or a curse, depending upon one's view of Tolkien's masterpiece.  That being said, while I was re-reading the LOTR for the 15th+ time this past week, I was struck by the wisdom of a conversation between the wizard Gandalf (who is actually an immortal Maiar named Olorin {nerd alert!}, akin to an angel), and the leaders of the resistance to Sauron (also a Maiar, i.e. a fallen angel or demon).  Gandalf tells Aragorn, the next king of Gondor, Eomer, the next king of Rohan, Prince Imrahil, and the sons of Elrond that, "it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.  What weather they shall have is not ours to rule."

What, then, is the relevance of the advice of a fictional wizard given to fellow fictional characters regarding a fictional moral and existential threat?  As it turns out, a great deal.  J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology, while embracing at times a Norse attitude of fatalism influenced by a belief in Ragnarok (seen in the ride of the Rohirrim to battle to aid Gondor, despite the near-certainty of defeat), remained fundamentally an ethos that reflected his own Christian worldview.  Tolkien believed in God as Creator, in God as Savior, and in God as the ultimate judge of humanity.  He believed that our actions, and our attitudes, matter.  He believed in the reality of Right and Wrong.  And so, when faced with a seemingly insurmountable evil, the advice of Gandalf, a voice that could double as that of Tolkien himself, is to do our best with what is in front of us.
It has become common in politics, and more frighteningly, for some within the Church, to look at global problems, national problems, or even localized problems, as being too big to solve.  If the problem cannot be 100% fixed with any particular attempted solution, then the effort is dismissed and nothing is done.  In other words, if the whole problem can't be solved in one fell swoop, don't bother trying.  This myopic pessimism is both morally reprehensible and extremely dangerous.  If 1,000 children were starving in the midst of a famine, and you only had food enough to save 10, how would you explain to Almighty God that you decided to do nothing, not even save those you had the power to save, because you couldn't do everything?  To do nothing is an act of moral cowardice, to do nothing is a violation of what has been entrusted to us by God.
What moral evil is starring you right in the face?  What problem is in your very neighborhood, as an individual, a church, or a community, that you could impact with the resources you already have?  Do something, try, make an effort in the battle between Good and Evil.

Consider the words of the 18th century philosopher Edmund Burke, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."  We must act, we must strive, for evil does not sleep.
With more authority, a few examples of the call to action from Scripture:
 Matthew 25:14-46, the parable of the Talents (in which the one who is condemned buries his responsibility in the ground and does nothing) as well as the famous line, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mind, you did for me."
Ephesians 6:10-13, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Hebrews 12:1-3, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
James 2:17-18, 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

Steven Spielberg uses this same notion as the capstone of Schindler's List, a variation of a quote from the Talmud (Sanhedrin 4:5) spoken by Ben Kingsley's character, Itzhak Stern: "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire."

Sermon Video: The Virgin and the throne of David - Luke 1:26-33

The classics are worth another look, whether its your favorite book or movie, quality is worth repeating.  When it comes to the Nativity narrative in the Gospel of Luke, the same holds true, even if you've heard the story dozens of times, there are still deep and profound truths worth reinforcing and exploring. 

The arrival of the angel Gabriel at Nazareth to speak to Mary marks the beginning of the centerpiece of God's vast plan of redemption for humanity.  In accordance with his plan, God chooses a young woman pledged to be married to a man with a claim as a descendant of David, a morally upright couple, through whom the grace of God will work as the mother and adopted father of the Son of the Most High.  The surprise visit is only the beginning, for God is working to establish a kingdom that will endure forever, quite a lot for a virgin teen to take in.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Life expectancy dropped in the U.S. last year; despair is blamed, hope is the answer, and we have it to share.

Life expectancy in the United States dropped last year, and not from disease, war, or natural disasters, but due primarily to increases in both suicides and drug overdose deaths.  The statistics can be read in this article: Fortune: Here's Why Life Expectancy in the U.S. Dropped Again This Year  The associate professor who co-authored the report for the CDC, Steven Woolf, said "We are seeing an alarming increase in deaths from substance abuse and despair."  On average, 115 people die in America each day from a drug overdose, six per day from alcohol abuse, and the suicide rate has increased 24% between 1999 and 2014.  As a nation, we are losing young people at an alarming rate from causes whose root is despair/hopelessness.

There are public policy answers that might help stem the tide, there are things that can be done in the arena of public health to mitigate the worst aspects of this crisis and save lives, but these are not solutions to the question of why so many people in America are hopeless.  Our ancestors had less food, less comfortable and secure shelter and clothing, more fear of lawlessness and violent deaths, lived in a less free society with more injustice, worked longer and harder, were more subject to sudden death by disease, lost more of their children to scourges we have cured, had less education, less recreation, and less opportunity to change their lives for the better.  And yet it is here in modernity, with our unparalleled access to recreation and entertainment that despair and hopelessness have taken hold.  Material prosperity is not alleviating emotional poverty, why?

The element that will typically be left unaddressed in the debate that will follow this alarming report is spiritual health.  Hope is not solely a factor of economic or political situations, well off people in free societies (i.e. America) do not automatically have it, and those living in crushing poverty under repressive regimes do not automatically lack it.  Hope is a quality that mankind can possess, which all other forms of life on this planet are unconcerned with.  Hope is a difficult to define state of mind, but one we recognize when it is present or missing.  Hope is built upon things greater than ourselves, it thrives in community and wilts in isolation, and it hinges upon our expectations of the future.

We are less connected to our community than our ancestors, that much is certain.  We may see far more people in a given day than they could have dreamed of, but we interact on a genuine human level with few of them, and our technology has consistently striven to eliminate the need for true human to human interaction.  This is a part of the problem, but not its root, for that we must go deeper.

When Job lost nearly everything of value in his life: his business, his children, and his health, his wife despaired; who can blame a mother for doing so after enduring such pain?  Job chose not to despair, not because he was a unique human being, but because he understood something fundamental about human existence: it belongs to God.  Job responded to his wife by saying, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10)  Later, in response to his friends' attempts to understand his tragedy, Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15).  Job did not understand why he had suffered, he didn't see a purpose or a reason for it, but he did not give in to despair, he did not rage at God or take his own life, because even at the lowest point imaginable in his life he still knew who his Creator was, knew that God's love transcended the circumstances of life, and knew that one day he would stand before God in judgment.  Even when life told him otherwise, Job had hope because he was adamant in his belief in the goodness of God.

Hope is not our own creation, we cannot socially engineer it, we cannot package and sell it, it is a gift from God, a gift for those in relationship with the one who created them, sustains them, and will one day live with them.  As a runner, I can't help but like Isaiah 40:31

Isaiah 40:31 New International Version
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

To live without hope is to live as a shell of what you were intended to be.  The Church of Jesus Christ is the caretaker of the hope that was given to humanity in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  When he ascended into heaven, having completed the Father's mission by securing the ultimate victory over sin and death, Jesus entrusted the sharing of that Good News (i.e. The Gospel) to his followers.  Since that day, nearly 2,000 years ago, the Church has attempted to share the news that God is willing to forgive those who repent, is willing to save them from the fallen state of humanity if they believe in his Son, and is willing to transform them, by the Holy Spirit, into the likeness of Jesus.  This news is hope beyond our imagination, it is light shining in the darkness, water to those dying of thirst, and it is free.  Freely given, freely received.  It is also available to all, men and women, young and old, of any race or nation, all are eligible, all are invited to join those who have found hope in what God has done for us through Jesus.

Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Ephesus about the transition from hopelessness to hope:  "remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ." - Ephesians 2:12-13

Living life while ignoring our spiritual need, a need all human beings share, is the path to despair.  Faith in Jesus is not a magic elixir, it doesn't take away all our troubles, or make us immune to pain and sorrow, but it does provide a foundation upon which we can stand, a shelter in times of storm.  As the writer of Hebrews put it: "we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Hebrews 6:18b-19

The local church is a community, a group of people who have acknowledged their own shortcoming and have chosen to put their faith and hope in the sinless person of Jesus instead of themselves.  They are not perfect, but they are will one day be perfected by God.  They are not free from difficulty in this life, but they know that in the next they will see the face of God and all sorrow will be no more.  They worship, pray, and serve those in need, together, because God created us to be social, because we can shoulder each others burdens, and because there is great joy in being a part of the family of God.

Despair has lowered the life expectancy of the average American, but it doesn't have to be this way.  The problem derives from the spiritual barrenness that afflicts so many, and the solution addresses that very problem.  Belief in the saving power of Jesus Christ is faith, and faith belongs to a powerful trio: faith, hope, and love.

Faith is not anti-fact, at least it's not supposed to be.

There is a misconception, among both Christians and non-Christians, that the faith that is centered upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ is in some way anti-fact.  In other words, to believe in Jesus Christ is irrational.  There are some within the Christian community, both now and historically, who would applaud that characterization, for their understanding of faith tends toward the mystical and away from the logical.  While it is true that at the heart of Buddhism there lies an illogical contradiction (i.e. that I don't really exist, that the things I sense are not in fact real), this is not the case with either Judaism or Christianity.  Judaism and Christianity (and Islam) are predicated upon a God who created this universe rationally because God himself is a rational being, and while the nature of God may be beyond our understanding, limited as we are in time and space, we do not believe God to be self-contradictory.  God, whose is spirit, chose to create a universe governed by the laws of physics, a universe in which 2+2=4 and cannot at the same time also equal 3 or 5.  As beings created in the image of God, part of our existence is the way in which our minds understand and utilize logic.  The Rationalist philosopher Immanuel Kant popularized the idea of a priori knowledge, that which we do not need to be taught, but which is hard-wired (as it were) in the human mind. 

How then does faith fit with logic/rationality?  This is of course a large topic, one which has been the subject of many books arguing various nuances.  Let me simply take a brief look at the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 and the examples that follow it.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

At first glance, this verse might seem to lend weight to the idea of faith as an irrational thing, after all, what else can you say about believing something you don't see?  The listing of the Jewish saints that follows 11:1 confirms that the description is not intended to be one of irrationality.  Beginning with Abel, the author lists one after another of the men and women who, by faith, acted righteously.  If you look back at the stories that these examples refer to, you see that these people were not acting contrary to what their senses were telling them, they were not ignoring the facts on had, they were instead listening to the voice of their creator (often directly through conversations, dreams, or visions), responding to the evidence that they and their ancestors had seen regarding the reality of God (such as the birth of Isaac, the parting of the Red Sea, or the preservation of Rahab when the walls of Jericho fell), and obeying the Word received from God himself.  They were willing to live their lives now, even risk their lives, on the basis of what they knew to be true about God, his power, holiness, and love and were thus making a choice that was both rational and logical to value that which is eternal over that which is temporary.  As the soon to be martyred missionary Jim Elliot wrote in his journal in 1949, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."  It might seem crazy to an observer who does not know of God's history of utilizing his power on behalf of his people, to put one's life at risk to obey God rather than men, but it was not crazy at all to the likes of Daniel, who knew who God was, and acted accordingly.

Obviously, this is only scratching the surface of the discussion of faith and reason and how they interact with each other, but it does lend us an important warning about how Christians ought to think and act in this world.  We are not intended, by God, to be those who reject facts, evidence, and the like.  We are not supposed to be irrational, we are not supposed to ignore truths which are inconvenient to us.  Science is not the enemy of faith, neither are its sub-disciplines of archaeology, astronomy, biology, and the like. 

When Christians reject factual evidence out of hand, often for political reasons, they are simply chipping away at the foundation upon which they stand, strengthening doubt and weakening Truth by rejecting truths they do not like.  It is a dangerous game to insist that an event which occurred 2,000 years, and was witnessed by many and duly recorded, it absolutely True, but that which is observable and quantifiable right here and now is a conspiracy or a lie. 

I am not a Christian in spite of evidence to the contrary, my faith is not an act of defiance against rationality and logic.  I do not claim to have attained faith on my own (as if to give credit to my own mind), it is indeed an act of the grace of God to call lost sinners home through the Holy Spirit, but it is at the same time an action which confirms the evidence which my mind saw then and sees now, not one that ignores it.