Tag Archives: theology

Guest Post – Come to the Manger, The Heralds of Christ: A Sermon

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A sermon preached on Sunday, December 16, 2013 at Heritage United Methodist Church on John 1:1-18.

Lord Jesus, I know that I do not have all the answers. But you, gracious God, sent your Word, to teach us and make us new. You give us your Spirit so we can understand what you have to say to us. Come to us now and shed light on your word that we may be filled with grace and truth. Amen.

The world is often a dark place. Friday we were reminded of this darkness by a devastating school shooting that left 26 dead. This violent action taken against children, teachers and family leave us with many questions. Why did this happen? What are we supposed to do now? And in the words of the Psalms, “How long, O Lord?” These questions can leave us feeling lost in the darkness, not knowing which way to turn or how we can recover from such a wound. And there are no easy answers.

Sadly, this darkness is nothing new. We have experienced it before. From shootings in other areas of the country to war around the world, violence destroys life each day. There are places where genocide is still common place, where women are raped and abused and simply walking to the grocery store is not safe. We come to these moments not only acknowledging our own losses, but also remembering that our world is in pain and suffering. We are crying out for someone to rescue us from this destruction and terror.

And in the midst of this darkened world, God made a choice. God chose to send Jesus, the Word made flesh, to a people lost in darkness. John 1:14 says, “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” This living among us is a word that means tabernacle, literally, “pitched his tent.” This word tabernacle reminds us of how God dwelt with the people in the desert with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Jesus also made his home and dwelling place among the people. He is God incarnate, embodying the love and knowledge of God. The truth that we find in Christ brings us ultimate freedom. And in times such as these, we need to see and hear the truth. We need to hear that because the Word became flesh- lived, died, and rose again, that we can also have new life in Christ, freeing us from the bonds of sin and death.

In John 1:6 we hear, “There was a man sent by god, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” John the Baptist comes to proclaim that Christ is coming in more ways than one. Not only will he baptize persons later in the gospels before Jesus begins his full time ministry, but John testifies to Christ even in the womb. When Mary visited Elizabeth, the Baby John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb in the presence of Christ. Elizabeth is the first person in the gospels to claim aloud that Jesus is Lord, affirming her son’s excitement and making a way for Christ in the world. John the Baptist points to Christ with his words and actions. John was saying, it’s not about me, it’s about God. It’s not about me, it’s about the Messiah. After all, he himself was not the light, but he was a witness to the light.

A witness is one who testifies to an event or the truth. Those who herald Christ announce God’s presence in the world in Jesus Christ by testifying to his life and ministry. During advent we are all invited to proclaim that Christ is coming into the world. We each have a choice to point to Christ, or to point to something other than Christ- which will we choose? And when we choose to point to Jesus, we are saying that it isn’t about us, but it is about a greater truth that exists in the world. The truth of the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.

There were others who testified and proclaimed Christ’s coming, such as the angels. Angels are messengers of God. An angel named Gabriel is the chief messenger in our advent texts. This angel appears to Zechariah in Luke 1 saying, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.” Gabriel visits Mary with the words, “Greetings favored one, the Lord is with you” and “do not be afraid.” Another angel appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, “do not be afraid.” Can you see a pattern? God is with you, do not be afraid. And when the angel came to the shepherds in the fields, the angel said, “Do not be afraid, I am bringing you good news, of great joy for all the people.”

Can it be good news? Can we be joyful? But it is the truth, it is the good news. God is with you, do not be afraid. Christ is coming! We desperately need to hear this message this year. Hurricanes? God is with you. Floods? Do not be afraid. School shooting? Christ is coming. Death? Jesus is the light of the world. Destruction? Jesus is Lord. You see the good news is still good. The good news is still good. Repeat this after me, The good news, is still good. I want you to turn to your neighbor and say “the good news, is still good.” Our job is to proclaim this good news from the roof tops, in our homes, in our places of employment, to our friends, and even to ourselves. And we need to hear it often.

Jesus Christ is coming into the world to make everything right. Christ comes to shed light on our fundamental need for God and to invite us to join in the work Christ is doing in the world. We can join in that work by offering love, peace, and hope to a desolate place. We can join in Christ’s work by joining in solidarity and prayer with those who suffer and with those who mourn. We can join in that work by using our power to serve others rather than oppress. We can be a part of Christ’s life by washing our neighbors’ feet and speaking up for those who have no voice.

You are Christ’s heralds. You are the ones who announce that Jesus is coming to release the captives and set at liberty those who are oppressed. You are the ones who have come to this sanctuary to receive light that you might hold out a candle for another.

Today, you get to carry the light into a dark world and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to a hurting world. You get to tell the world that the darkness will never overcome the light. You get to speak the truth- that the good news is still good. Amen.

Resources:

Preaching God’s Transforming Justice: Year C. (2012). Allen, Andrews, Ottoni-Wilhelm, Editors. Westminster-John Knox.

Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 4. Bartlett and Taylor, Editors. Westminster-John Knox.

Kingdom of God

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The theme of Jesus’ preaching and the broader framework of the Methodist movement was the kingdom of God. God is bringing a new world of justice, righteousness, generosity, and joy. Nothing less than a new heaven and a new earth conformed to Jesus Christ is God’s vision for creation. The victory that God won in Jesus Christ will be consummated and, wherever God’s righteousness exists, the kingdom is already present. (Kenneth L. Carder)

Remembering Ira

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photo: rmc.edu

On August 17, 2012 we lost a great saint, Ira Andrews, III to a four-year battle with cancer. Ira was the dean of students at Randolph-Macon College for 35 years. In addition he was a graduate of R-MC (class of ’59), a United Methodist minister, and a religious studies professor. Ira was a beloved member of the R-MC community. His memorial service was yesterday in Ashland, and I was unable to attend.

From 2001-2004, he was one of my professors and mentors. Ira taught me in a number of church history and theology courses. Ira’s classes were always popular. Ira had a gift for asking questions without giving answers. I have a clear memory of Ira leaning back in his chair, hand on his chin, listening intently to what was being said, and then he would ask the most unexpected question, yet a question that was guaranteed to make you think. I remember working on a group project for Liberation Theology, where we took the time to think through all the questions Ira might ask. Of course, there was really no way of successfully doing that. Ira would do the same thing in my interviews with the Ashland District Committee on Ordained Ministry.  When I admitted that I was slightly nervous about the theology committee, Ira quickly started shooting rounds of questions at me, which would give me strength for the interviews.

Ira had a gift of getting young people to think. At times it wasn’t so much the answer that mattered, as much as the process in answering the question. This could have easily been the time and place in which I came to love questions. It was easy to feel intimated by his presence and knowledge, but there was no need to be. He asked open-ended questions while being non-judgmental. Ira was a kind, loving, and compassionate person, which is what made him a great teacher. In seminary and beyond, I have found myself endless times commenting, “I learned that in Ira’s class.”

Ira was one of those teachers who was able to bring out the best in his students. You did the work in the class, has heavy loaded as it was at times, not because you HAD to, but because you wanted to. You wanted to be as prepared as you could to be in dialogue with Ira during the next class.  And at the end of the day – at the end of the semester – you were a better person because of it. I think this is one reason why I came to love theological discussions, and engaging young people in them today.

It was during college that I began to first write about theological connections in film and television. I recently pulled out some of my papers that I wrote during college. There was one paper where I put Augustine and Charles Schultz in dialogue with one another. But, my favorite papers were the ones in which I quoted Buffy Summers from the television show Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.  I will be honest, I was a bit nervous the first time I did this. I had written a paper on Paul Tillich’s Theology of Culture, and somehow I had worked in Buffy. Ira was a big supporter of this. After that Tillich paper, he encouraged me countless times to continue to this, including sending me to be in conversation with a professor who was working on a writing project on Buffy.

Ira also encouraged me, as he did so many others, in my call to ordained ministry.  In fact, he was consistent in casually talking to me about it. He was never “in your face” about it, that just was not his style. I can recall conversations he had with me in the halls, in the old chapel, or on the campus grounds about ministry, assessing in his own way where I was in my discernment, and offering words of encouragement that one the roughest days kept me going.

I had the privilege in recent years to serve on the Advisory Board for the R-MC Bailey Scholarship program with Ira. This included a chance to interview high school students for the scholarship. It was an honor to sit at the table with Ira and observe him do what he does best, ask questions, listen passionately to young people, and be the great encourager. He was one of the few people who could gracefully see you as a student, a friend, and a collegue, without any of them getting in the way of the other. In one of these interviews, after the interviewee left the room and we were to discuss the interview, I spent more time picking Ira’s brain about his past experiences. Even after all of these years, Ira was still so fascinating! Even though he had been fighting cancer, Ira was still sharp and still had the ability to get you thinking, even – especially – when you didn’t see it coming.

Ira and his friend Pepper Laughon inside the Andrews Hall.
photo: rmc.edu

A month ago, Megan and I went to R-MC for the SERVE retreat, a retreat for high school students exploring a call to ordained ministry. We stayed in the new Ira Andrews dorms. As a student at R-MC I did not live on campus. In early August I got the chance to stay in an RA room in the Andrews Hall. During the retreat, high schoolers worked an eight hour day on a home in the Ashland area, seconds from R-MC campus. The event was a tribute, in a way, to Ira. Service was an essential piece of who Ira was. The College’s Provost, Dr. William Franz, was quoted in one article as saying, “Ira’s life made manifest the scriptural value that greatness is achieved by becoming the servant of all.”

Ira will be missed, there is no doubt about that. But, in each of us who knew him, learned from him, and worked with him, there is a little bit of him still around.

God bless you, Ira, and the lives you had changed.

For more memories and comments about Ira, visit the college’s web site.

Plunder the Egyptians

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Albert Outler, in his Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit, discusses how John Wesley “plundered the Egyptians” in order to communicate the Gospel.  Wesley, whom Outler calls a “folk theologian”, found ways in which to effectively communicate the Gospel to large crowds.

Outler explains that the early church father, Origen coined this metaphor upon reading Exodus 12:28-36.   A metaphor, as Outler explains, “pointing to the freedom that Christians have (by divine allowance) to explore, appraise, and appropriate all the insights and resources of any and all secular culture” (77).

The 20th century theologian Paul Tillich, in his Theology of Culture, suggests that religion and culture need to come together like a fine balanced weaving.  One cannot over power (or over shadow) the other.  A balance between religion and culture is needed, Tillich argues, in order to effectively communicate the gospel.

Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster, in their book The Godbearing Life, suggest that one of the roles of youth ministry today is to translate the gospel.  We can translate  the gospel using elements of culture such as literature (both classic and modern), science, philosophy, flim/television, and technology.   If we do not make the connection between our lives, our world, and the Gospels, then the Gospel will never get translated.

Wesley was known as a man of “just one book”, that book being the Bible.  For Wesley, Scripture was primary.  According to Outler, “It was [Wesley's] profound sense of the Bible as a ‘speaking book’ that gave him his freedom to ‘plunder the Egyptians’ and guided him in the use he made of their treasures” (80).  Wesley lived in the Scriptures. And by doing so, he was able translate the Gospel  he lived in, in an effective way that took the Gospel to places it otherwise may never have gone.

Aren’t we called to do the same?