Lenten Sermon for Matthew 20:25-28

 

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:25-28).

One of the values that we hold dearly as members of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church and as the body of Jesus Christ as a whole is the value of “Sacrificial Service.”

Before we even begin to talk about sacrificial service, I want to talk about what it is not.  Sacrificial service is not servitude.  There are plenty of people who get this confused. 

Sometimes people with power twist the idea of sacrificing for the sake of others through service…giving of your God given time and talents…into a command to use your time and talent for their own selfish reasons and selfish gains, and not necessarily for holy reasons.  How many people are compelled by employers to give more and more of their time and talent for the sake of profits rather than all that the Lord desires? 

Servitude is losing your sense of who you are as you perform a task.  Sacrificial service, on the other hand, is being who you were created to be by God and serving out of a sense of love rather than a sense of fear or misguided duty or force.  We are not called to servitude.  We are not called to be doormats for others, to be used and tromped on over and over.  Rather, we are called to sacrificial service, which is done out of love for God and love for others.

In fact, Jesus tries to transform those in power from being proponents of servitude and control into servant leaders who model leading through service to others. 

If the difference between the two is hard for you to grasp, just listen to Jesus and take a look at his own life.  Jesus is our leader.  We follow the way of Jesus.  But, he in no way leads us through intimidation or fear.  Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” 

And then, right before he faced the cross, he let us see exactly what that means. 

Jesus took off his robe, got down on the ground, and washed his disciple’s feet.  He took on the role of a servant, out of love for his friends, to provide for their needs.  That is what a holy leader does.  A holy leader chooses to use their time and talents to benefit someone else.  They model what they hope to see from everyone else.  And so, as Christians, as Godly influencers in our daily lives, we follow the one who took on the role of a servant, aiding others out of love and care.

Jesus did more than wash feet.  That was just a really good sermon illustration.  For his very real example of sacrificial service, Jesus sacrificed his own life for the good of others…even for and especially for…those who did not deserve it.  He sacrificed his very life that we might have life. 

It is choosing to take the bullet for someone who does not deserve such a gift. 

It is choosing to spend all your money, using your last sweat and tears, to prepare a lasting feast for the hungry. 

It is giving up all you have known in life so that your children can have a better life. 

Sacrificial service is using the time you have been given by God and the talents that you have been given by God to love and care for those around you who need such a graceful action.

And, we do it, not to make God happy, but because we are already a part of it.  Sacrificial service is who Jesus is.  And, we are a part of Jesus’ body.  So, we love as Jesus loved us.  We sacrifice as Jesus sacrificed for us.  We are a people who have been set free from sin and death and power and control so that we can love…love in the same sacrificial serving way as Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reflection on Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

 

I have never been much into creating sermon titles.  Like this one for example, I gave it the exciting title, “Sermon for Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32.”  I know, it just makes you want to run to church, does it not?  “I can’t wait to see what the ‘b’ part of verse 11 is!”

However, if I were to give this sermon a title, there are an abundance of possibilities.  “The Once Lost and Now Found Son” might be appropriate.  Or simply, “The Repentant Son,” might work fine.  After-all, this sermon is about this brat of a kid who asks his loving father for his share of the inheritance.  And, if you are asking yourself, “Hold on here, don’t we get inheritance after someone is dead?” you would be absolutely correct.  That is precisely what puts this son in the “I’m going to call him a brat, but I could have used a much more inappropriate name” category.  He is essentially telling the world that his father is dead to him.

It is a lot like the day that your mother-in-law accidentally sees on your kitchen table the remodeling designs you had drawn up for her house.

            “What is that?  That looks a lot like my house!”

            “Well…it isn’t quite your house, is it?  This one has a three car garage on it.”

            “It is too my house.  And, why would I need a three car garage?”

            “Well, I was going to surprise you…”

            “No you were not.”

            “Yes, I was.”

            “No you were not, you titled these plans: “After the old bat dies.”

And, this is exactly the attitude of this little brat.  Any self-respecting father in the ancient world would have written this insensitive, conniving, selfish, little twerp off.  There would be no inheritance for him.  But, that is not what happens is it? 

Instead of sending the child packing, empty handed, the Father actually divides his land and gives the money grabbing twerp all that he asked.  The Father shows a reckless sort of love to his son.

As you would expect, that love falls flatly on the floor as the son turns his back and walks out the door. 

And, just in case you were wondering if this is one of those stories of the enterprising young man who used his small inheritance to build up a great and thriving business, this is not that story.  Rather, this is the more typical, very real story of the kid who wasted his money on stupid things.  He is like the guy I know who spent all his money on a nice ring for his girlfriend, but forgot to the little things like buying food, and paying the electric bill, and buying gas so that he could get to work.

The son finds himself feeding the pigs, staring hungrily at the scraps of food that the pigs are eating.  It is only at this point, when he is at his lowest in life, that he comes to the conclusion that he needs his dad.  He comes up with a sneaky sort of plan to get back into his father’s good graces, but the plan is unneeded because his father is already waiting for him with an all embracing sort of eternal love that was never lost, though he was.  He was lost, and then he was found.  He is the “The Once Lost and Now Found Son.”  He is the “The Repentant Son.”  And, the song that we would sing with such a sermon title would be “Amazing Grace.”

Of course, the story does not stop there, and neither do the sermon titles.  Another sermon title could have been, “The Really, Really, Really, Really Angry Older Brother.”  Or maybe simply, “The Unforgiving Brother.”  After-all, the story continues with the older brother finding out about his younger brother’s return, and about the party that was thrown for the little slime bag.  The older brother refuses to celebrate the kid who ruined his father’s life, even if his father is willing to put that all behind.  “The Unforgiving Brother” would seem like an apt title, but, I think that I would go for “The Lost and Forgotten Older Brother.”

After-all, the older brother is forgotten.  Every single day, it seems, the father would stare at the horizon, searching for his lost, younger son…you know, the one who broke his heart and ran off.  And, every single day the older brother was the responsible one who worked hard and cared for everything in order to be a good son to his father. 

Notice that the older brother was still out, working in the field, when his brother came home.  He was still out, working in the field, when the party started and the fatted, 4H calf was prepared for the feast.  He was still out, working in the field, when the dancing and singing began.  He was still out, working in the field, and no one, even the father, thought to go and get him.  Why are the good and responsible ones always forgotten?

Once a woman sat in my office, anger seething from her lips, as she described how her entire family’s world revolved around her sister.  Her sister was a drug addict who had sucked all her parent’s attention and money.  This was so much the case that when she, the good daughter who cared for her parents and helped them out all the time, fell on hard times because of illness, there was no help left for her.  There was no more time.  There was no more money.  She, the good daughter, had been forgotten. 

After the anger drained from her face, she fell into a deep sort of sobbing as she came to the realization that she, the good one, had been forgotten.

“What does being good get you?” she asked.

If either she, or the older brother in the Bible story had their way, there would be a price to pay for being a wretch.  “Justice needs to be shown, and consequences need to be had!” they would argue.  And, part of me truly agrees.  You cannot act like a jerk and expect everyone to bend over backwards for you.  And, for those of us who feel like justice has been completely forgotten, and feel like we have been completely forgotten, we would sing the hymn, “O God, Why Are You Silent.”

But, if I were to settle on a final sermon title, I think that it would be, “Show Love and Forgive Anyway.” 

Because, when the father is faced with the betrayal of a son who asks for his inheritance and declares him good as dead, the father provides for the son and gives the inheritance anyway.  “Show Love and Forgive Anyway.”  And, when the wayward son shows up, destitute, the father embraces him before the son can even get out the words, “I’m sorry.”  The father celebrates his return and provides for his needs anyway. 

“Show Love and Forgive Anyway.”

And, when the older son confront the old fool and points out just how unfair he has been to him, the eldest son who has stuck by him the entire time and never defied him while that son of his devoured the father’s property with prostitutes, the old fool replies, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.  But, we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” 

“Show Love and Forgive Anyway.” 

The older brother was not wrong.  The younger brother was terrible.  And, the father had forgotten him, the good son, and taken him for granted.  All of that is true, but it still does not change the fact that it is love and forgiveness that saves. 

“Show Love and Forgive Anyway.” 

When Jesus was betrayed, denied, and abandoned by those he loved dearly, he could have quite rightly flared with righteous anger.  The whole lot of them could have been rightly wiped off the face of the earth, along with all those who wrongly accused him and nailed him to a cross to die.  But, that was not what Jesus chose to do.  Rather, Jesus chose to show love and forgive anyway.

Do you know what I love about this story of the dysfunctional family?  I love that we do not know how it ends.  Did the brother enter into the party or did he storm away?  Did he reconcile with his younger brother, or did a destructive feud begin?  When the older brother was shown the door to the party, did he follow his father in?

I love that we do not know how it ended, because it allows us to finish the story.  So, we ask ourselves, would we follow our father into the party?  Would we choose love or would we choose hate?  Would we see that in Jesus there is a deep, deep wisdom that sometimes we just need to trust?  Would we show love and forgive anyway?

After-all, we have a God that will search for us and find.  We have a God that will embrace us with welcome arms, even before we are able to utter the words, “I’m sorry.”  We have a God that truly believes that grace and forgiveness have a healing power that is far better than any other course of action we could choose to take.  We have a God who will find us, just as we are, and show us love and forgiveness anyway.  And, the song that we would sing would be one that talks about God finding us.

Lenten Reflection on John 1:35-42

 

“Come and see.”  Jesus’ first invitation to those who would become some of his most trusted followers was actually quite simple, “Come and see.” 

I once posted a sermon online that said as much.  I said something to the effect that, “You do not have to have all the answers to the faith in order to invite someone to follow Jesus.  It is really as simple as saying, ‘Come and see.’”  The message seemed faithful enough.  It came right from the Bible after-all.

But, the internet loves throwing surprises your way.  Two days later I received a comment on my sermon from some very, very wise person on the internet that excoriated me being such a weak person of faith.  “How can you even call yourself a pastor?” they asked.  My sin?  Well, they let me know that Matthew 10:17-20 would explain it all.

¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

I got the insinuation.  The insinuation was that if I were a true Christian, I would not have such a weak testimony as “Come and see.”  If I trusted Jesus enough, I would be able to share some life changing words to all those who are seeking to kill me at the grocery store and the barber shop.

Now, I do not know what kind of people this commenter hangs out with, but none of my friends have ever flogged me or drug me in front of any councils for trial.  Again, we might hang out with different crowds, but the women in my Bible studies have never tried to crucify me.  They are wonderful, beautiful people, as you might expect.  I do not need to worry about having the right words.  My life is not at stake.  What I do need is to have a good, loving, and trusting relationship with those with whom I share the good news.  That is all. 

Granted, some people might feel as if sharing their faith is the same as facing a death squad, but I assure you that it is not.  If people love you, they love you for who you are.  And, if they love you, then they will also love to know more about you and about the things in which you are interested.  That includes your faith.  In such a loving and trusting relationship, “Come and see” is more than enough.

After-all, it was good enough for Jesus!  He did not sit down and put everyone through a Bible quiz before they could follow him.  Jesus simply said, “Come and see” because, with Jesus, it is always about loving relationships. 

That is how the world is changed.  That is how the love of God is shared, within loving relationships.  “Come and see.”

In this way, we followers of Christ are “intentionally invitational.”  We have a “Come and see” attitude.  We intentionally invite those we know and love to “Come and see.”  And, when they come and see, Jesus has an opportunity to live in them, and they in he.

In Matthew 11:28 Jesus again invites us:  “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” 

How much better of an invitation can you possible get than that!  It is so gentle.  It is so enticing.  It like inviting a friend to come to the spa and have a massage for the soul. 

We invite people to come to good restaurants, to go on vacations, and to go do interesting things with us all the time.  Why would we not want those in our lives to have their burdens lifted and have more rest?  What better gift could you give a person these days than the gift of true rest?

“Come to me,” Jesus says.  “Come and see,” Jesus invites.  Jesus is intentionally invitational.  He is always inviting others into a life of divine rest and love.

So too, our lives as followers of Christ revolve around the value of “intentional invitation.”  We are “intentionally invitational” with those in our lives for whom we care.  We want others to have that heavenly rest.  We want others to find meaning and purpose in their lives.  We want others to know the one who loves them as they are and gives them life and saves. 

We are intentionally invitational because we care.  So, yes, we do say, “Come and see.”  Come and see Jesus.

Reflection on Luke 13:1-9

 

Texts from a Russian soldier to his mother have been haunting me ever since I read them a week or so ago.  The Russian soldier was in complete shock that he was being asked to attack civilians.  The texts were sparse on words, but the silence between the words said everything as the soldier asked the one who raised him, the one who taught him right from wrong, his mother, about what he should be doing.  The only reason that we know of this soldier’s dilemma is because his phone was found on his fallen body by Ukrainian soldiers. 

The world has long absolved ground soldiers for immoral actions they are forced to do under command.  After-all, the ground soldier has no power to influence the affairs of powers well beyond their reach.  None of us have the power or ability to change the horrors of the world.  

But, the world’s absolution does nothing to help a soul that feels twisted and torn by the conflict raging within.  These soldiers’ souls are torn between the things that they can and cannot control.  For some, it can be absolutely paralyzing.

I wonder if the soldiers who carried out Pontius Pilate’s orders to kill innocent civilians during a holy ritual were deeply affected?  I wonder if seeing these innocent people’s blood splattered across the blood of the animals they sacrificed was paralyzing for the souls of the soldiers?  I wonder if the lives of those innocent people’s mothers became paralyzed in the same way that the Russian soldier’s mother’s had?  She cannot bring herself to touch anything in her son’s room.  She does not want to lose him, even though she already has.  Maybe she will never touch anything in his room and it will become a museum to the dead and a shrine watered by the tears of the spiritually despondent?  I wonder if the mothers of those innocent lives were ever able to find a way to move forward?

At the time, nearly 2,000 years ago, people wondered if those innocent Galileans had done anything to deserve what had happened to them at the hand of those soldiers.  Was there a divine reason behind the horrid slaughter? 

Looking back at history as we moderns have the luxury of doing, we can clearly see that the tragic events in Galilee were likely just the unfortunate consequence of having a power hungry and bloody ruler like Pontius Pilate.  But, when you are closer to the event…and closer to the people…it is a lot harder to see things that way.

Why do bad things happen to those we love?  Is God punishing us?  Is there a purpose for all of this?  Is this horrid event deserved?

We actually have the precise quote in the Bible that Jesus shares as thoughts from the people of the time: “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?”  In other words, “Did they deserve it?”

“Or,” the questions continue, “[what about] those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?”  “Did they deserve it?”

Within seconds Jesus answers these deep and troubling questions quite simply: “No, I tell you…”  Do good people who suffer horrible things somehow deserve it?  “No,” Is tragedy a heavenly punishment?  “No, I tell you…” Jesus reiterates.

Can we just pause right there and let that sink in?  So many people get stuck in their lives and in their faith because they do not understand that Jesus’ answer is “No.”  How many people cannot move on in life because they somehow feel like the loss of a loved one is somehow their fault?  How many people cannot look up toward heaven for the remainder of their lives because they have never been told that it was not their fault?  Jesus says so. 

“Was my child taken from me because I am being divinely punished?” 

“No.” 

“Did I lose my sight because I needed to be taught a heavenly lesson?” 

“No.” 

Did I grow a gut because I ate way too many Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? 

“Well…Yes, yes that is the reason.  But, as for the reason you ate all of that comfort food?  The death of someone you love,” Jesus would say to me, “is not in any way your fault, nor is their absence in any way a divine punishment.”

I think that I just needed to say that, just to speak that truth out loud.  Maybe, you needed to hear it.  I know that some of you, or someone you know, just cannot move forward in life or look upward because Jesus’ answer to tragedy has never been shared.  You see, it just is not in Jesus’ nature to teach us through torture or punishment.  The world may work that way, but Jesus just does not work that way. 

With that in mind, recall that I said that we were only going to pause, pondering on Jesus’ glorious “No,” but Jesus has more to say.  This was Jesus’ full answer: “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

You see, getting stuck in life does not allow you to look up to heaven nor does it allow you to move forward in life.  Ask anyone who has gotten stuck in addiction.  It is just the same story again and again.  Get high,  feel good, then soon after feel guilty, resolve to change, try being sober for a few days, get tempted, get high feel good, then soon after feel guilty, resolve to change, try being sober for a few days, get tempted, get high…well you see how this works.  Life just becomes a big cycle that revolves around substances, but fails to revolve around the important things, like those who love you. 

And such a trapped life certainly does not revolve around the one who created us and loves us eternally. 

Getting stuck in life keeps us from look up to heaven, and it does not allow us to move forward in life.  I know a soldier who was forced to kill in the battlefield.  The enemy he saw approaching was so very young.  But, those young faces held guns.  So, the trigger had to be pulled. 

The guilt of such a traumatic event started to torture the soldier’s soul so much that daily functions of just showering and eating started to become impossible.  He dropped out of the faith.  He just could not contend with the eternal questions pressing on his soul. 

I understand that his example is extreme, but I think that most of us have been brought to feel that way at one time or another.  The guilt or anxiety of a situation just leaves us unable to move, and sometimes is bad enough that it creates a chasm between us and God.  That is just the truth.  Getting stuck in life does not allow us to look up to heaven nor does it allow us to move forward in life.

To this “stuckness” Jesus urges us to, “repent,” because nothing good can come out of getting stuck in life. 

Remember now that repentance in the Christian scriptures does not mean “feeling really, really bad” about something.  What “repentance” actually means is: “thinking the way that God thinks.”  Like it says in Philippians 2:5, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…”  Start thinking the way that Jesus thinks, because nothing good comes when you are unable to move forward or look upward.  Jesus means that literally.  Good things do not come out of stuck individuals.

Jesus tells this parable about a fig tree that is unable to produce any figs.  The owner of the tree has never been able to enjoy the tree because it has never given any enjoyable fruit.  The owner wants to just cut the thing down because it is not any good in its current, unfruitful state.  And, when we are stuck in life, we do not bear fruit either.

Now, before we start listing in our heads all the useless and stuck people in our lives and imagining them being eliminated, the gardener has an idea.  “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.”  So, just to be clear, the gardener intervenes and suggests that he try to care deeply for the poor fig tree.

This sounds kind of familiar.  It kind of sounds like a man who intervenes in the world, with a deep, deep love for those of us who are stuck…stuck in sin, stuck in death, stuck in depression, stuck in bad health, stuck with no path forward, stuck in our relationships, stuck with an inability to forgive, stuck in our old ways…and goes to the cross to put to death all of that “stuckness.”  On the third day, that man rises to new life, offering new possibilities.  He rises with a “resurrection mindset.”  Jesus Christ intervenes in our lives with a deep, deep love so that we can look up and look forward.

“Looking up and looking forward” is the resurrection mindset.  It does not focus on what we do not have, but on what we do.  It does not focus on what once was, but on what God is doing now.  It does not get tripped up by the faults of the past, but moves us forward in love.  The resurrection mindset is a mindset of looking up to God and looking forward with God.

But, notice that sometimes, it takes a gardener to pull us out of the mud and plant us in better soil.  Sometimes, it takes someone who does not live inside our stuck minds to show us a resurrection mindset.  If we were to pay attention, we would see that Jesus sends us special people who help us to look up, and look forward. 

I hope and pray that is exactly what we can be for each other as members of the body of Christ.  I pray that we can have the mind of Christ, which is the mind of the gardener.  I pray that Christ will lead us, like the gardener, to take the time and the effort to help others look up, and look forward, that they too can get caught up in the resurrection mindset. 

After-all, tragedies and struggles are like weeds that grow up and threaten to choke us out.  But, the mind of Christ seeks to clear out the weeds trapping one another, so that we all have the chance to grow in some good, divine soil, so that we can grow to be the people that God created us to be. 

We are a people who have been created by God to look up and look forward in life.  And, we are a people who have been created by God to care deeply that others have the chance to look up and look forward, having a resurrection mindset…the same mind of care and love that was in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Lenten Sermon for Luke 6:37

 

Luke 6:37:

³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven;

 

We continue this week, exploring the values that we hold as followers of Jesus Christ.  One of the most striking values that Jesus lived out in his own life was his acceptance of others.  “Accepting Relationships” is a value that we hold high because Jesus himself held it high. 

One day, while Jesus was passing through Samaria, he met a Samaritan woman at a well.  While at that well, Jesus and the Samaritan woman engage in a discussion about life and God. 

This simple act of sitting and discussing such things with a Samaritan would be enough to cock the head of an ancient Jew sideways.  But, on top of it, Jesus was having a theological debate with a woman who was not his wife.  That just did not happen.  And, even still more amazing, we find out that the woman’s life situation is murky at best.  She has had five husbands, and she is now with a man who is not her husband.  We do not know the circumstances behind all of this, but suffice it to say that it is would be enough to elicit conversation behind her back or maybe even reproach to her face. 

Yet, none of this bothers Jesus.  To Jesus, she is a child of God who needs some living water, and he is more than willing to provide.  This is what “accepting relationships” is all about.

On another day, Jesus stepped out of a boat and was immediately confronted by a man with an unclean spirit.  Mark 5:3-5 tells it the best.  The man “lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones.” 

This man sounds terrifying.  He is troubled.  He is misunderstood.  He is not someone with whom you could relate.  He is a man who is outside of all expectations of normalcy and civility.  And yet, he is accepted by Jesus. 

Jesus does not fear the man.  Quite to the contrary, Jesus approaches the man.  Jesus engages the troubled man in a relationship.  And, Jesus heals the man.  This is what “accepting relationships” is all about.

Then there is that thief, dying next to Jesus on the cross who admits openly that he deserves all the punishment that he is getting, and who has nothing left in life except to plead for mercy.  “Jesus remember me, when you come into your kingdom,” the man pleads.  And using healing words of forgiveness, Jesus replies, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”  This forgiveness is what accepting relationships is all about.

And, then there is you.  You, just as you are.  You, just as weird, or normal, or exciting, or boring, or frail, or strong, or sinful, or wonderful, or loving, or guilty as you are.  Jesus looks at you and welcomes you too. 

It is not only Jesus who welcomes you, but also others who Jesus also sends to you.  If you really think about it, at some point in your life, Jesus sent someone into your life who loved you for you.  Who loved you despite your weirdness and despite your guilt and shame?  Jesus sent someone to accept you, and develop a relationship with you.  This is what “accepting relationships” is all about.

We are a people of God who have been accepted by Jesus.  Because of that love, we too strive to create “accepting relationships.”  We strive to engage in “accepting relationships” that do not judge, that do not condemn, and are full of God’s forgiveness.

Reflection on Luke 13:31-35

 

As we stepped through the doorway into the night, the old woman stopped on the sidewalk, looked up, took a deep…almost cleansing sort of breath…and said softly to herself, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear.”

“Psalm 27?” I asked.

“When I was battling cancer,” she explained, “I was in the part of the hospital that faced other buildings.  A brick wall was the view from my window.  But, on clear nights, whenever I was in pain and feeling alone, I would look out the window and see the stars above that brick wall.  The stars would remind me of Psalm 27.  “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear.”  The stars reminded me that I was not alone in my fear.  The stars made me feel better.  They made me feel like God had not forgotten me.  I don’t know.  Maybe I’m just a crazy old lady, but it helped me.”

If she was crazy, she was no crazier than the Lord.  After-all, it is God who brings the patriarch of our faith, Abram, outside and shows him the stars.  Abram too had been in distress because he had no children of his own.  He and Sarai were getting old, and it was disheartening.   To whom would he pass on his legacy?  Would a distant relative be heir to all that he had worked so hard to build? 

God heard Abram’s distress, took him outside, and then directed him to look at the stars.  “’Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’  And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Sometimes, there is nothing elaborate about the faith at all.  Sometimes, God paints the sky with bright specks in order to remind us that we are not alone.  Whatever tragedy or struggle has befallen our life, it cannot possibly compete with an entire universe wrapped around us like a blanket, making us feel remembered and safe.

In a similar way, just yesterday, God painted our March world with snow.  Before the winds picked up and made it unbearable, there was a short stretch of time where God wrapped us in a white blanket of compete stillness, peace, and beauty.  “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” a friend remarked as pictures of the peaceful scene were shared.  Though the snow caused some of us to share uncharitable words, God used the peaceful scene and the snow to cleanse this friend’s heart and to revive her soul.

God does that you know.  God uses the ordinary to deliver the extraordinary all of the time.  Jesus talks about tiny seeds being like the kingdom of God.  “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed” (Matthew 13:31).  And when I see a seed, I think about this seed of faith that the Lord grows within us.

Beautiful, juicy, and cherished apples are used to denote God’s love and devotion.  “Keep me as the apple of your eye” (Psalm 17:8).  And, when I see an apple I am reminded that I am cherished by God.

And, as any faithful follower of Jesus knows, simple bread and wine are given the honor of carrying the grace of God through Jesus Christ.  “Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’  And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood’” (Luke 22:19-20).  And, when I taste the goodness of the Lord, I also taste the grace of the one who would die for me.

As I said, God uses the ordinary to deliver God’s extraordinary message all of the time.  The Bible even refers to God as a chicken.  That one, I have to admit, took me a little off guard the first time I heard it.  Whenever I have heard Psalm 17: 8 talk about God hiding us under the shadow of God’s wing, I have always pictured a majestic bird such as an eagle.  And, maybe, the Psalmist was thinking about a majestic creature such as an eagle, but apparently Jesus was thinking more along the lines of a chicken. 

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” Jesus declares.

One strongest images Jesus can think up in order to describe his deep desire that Jerusalem and all humanity fall under his protection is the image of a chicken.  Specifically, he describes a hen gathering her chicks under the shelter of her wings. 

I readily admit that I did not really understand the power of this chicken image until I saw a photograph from India that shows a hen doing this exact thing.  The photo shows the rains of the monsoon season completely soaking the area, including a mother hen.  But, in the middle of this rain soaked scene you see five or six young chicks sheltering under the warmth and dry protection of their mother’s wing.  The mother bears it all for her young. 

It gets me to thinking about Jesus and the journey he is taking to the cross.  Already journeying his way to his cross in Jerusalem, Jesus will soon open wide his own arms and bear it all in order to shelter and protect a sinful world, including you and me.  “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).

The mother chick looks miserable, yet she does what it takes to protect her young.  On the cross, Jesus is well beyond miserable as he gasps his last breaths, yet he does what it takes to protect his own.  He is the embodiment of God’s promise in Isaiah 41:  “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Is 41:10).

I guess I will never look at a chicken in the same way.  Like the stars of the sky and the pure, white snow; like the tiny seeds and the apple of the Lord’s eye; like the bread and the wine being the body and the blood all lead me to remember the Lord, so too will the mother hen who protects her young.  After-all, God uses the ordinary to deliver God’s extraordinary message all of the time. 

And, quite frankly, we need such down to earth reminders of the goodness of the Lord.  In the same way that Jesus complains about Jerusalem not listening to the prophets and not taking the Lord seriously, we too find it all too easy to forget.  The daily struggles of life makes it so easy to forget the promises of the Lord.  Just as Abram kept forgetting the Lord’s promise to give him an heir, we too forget the Lord’s promises and presence. 

Sometimes, I wonder if sin is nothing more than forgetting; forgetting God’s laws; forgetting God’s love; forgetting to love; forgetting that we are not alone; forgetting that we do not need to make something great of ourselves…we are already created great and good.  Sometimes, I wonder if sin is nothing more than forgetting, and if sin is forgetting, then the daily salvation that the Lord provides is the opportunity to remember.

Look at the stars and remember that “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear.”  Look at the hen and remember how Jesus desires to gather you and me together.  Look, and see, and remember that the Lord is good.