Sermons
12/4/11 Listen Watch Video
Dear Friends,
Everyone needs a Yoda.
Yoda, of course, was the Jedi master and trainer of Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the epic Star Wars movies. Yoda was a mentor, a sage, a guide, a guru, a coach – always present to ensure that his apprentices were prepared for their mission and committed to its success, even in the face of great danger and self-doubt and uncertainty. It was Yoda who, time and time again, assured and emboldened his young Jedis with those unforgettable words, “The force is with you.”
Who’s your Yoda? To whom are you a Yoda?
The story of Christmas would not be the same without Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and the older cousin of Mary. According to the Gospel of Luke, Mary, upon being visited by the angel Gabriel and informed of her curious, astonishing pregnancy, runs to the hill country of Judah to visit Elizabeth, trying to make sense of her inexplicable situation. She is doubtless confused, full of fear and uncertainty and even disbelief. Blindsided and shell-shocked, standing at the threshold of an uncertain future, unsure of what to make of any of it, she turns to Elizabeth, her wise, trusted mentor. And it’s Elizabeth who, in all of her wisdom and faithfulness, assures Mary that this is God’s doing – a fulfillment of God’s promises. “You are blessed,” she tells Mary in so many words. “And we will all be blessed because of you. God is with you.”
We cannot live without such wise, trustworthy people – especially those who, with genuine grace and through the eyes of faith, can inspire us to be strong and courageous whenever God calls our number, whenever we are given a mission for which we may feel unprepared or unqualified, or whenever we cannot see clearly the way ahead of us. We all need an Elizabeth to model for us that courage and trust, to remind us that we are not the first to be called, and to stand with us when we are unable to stand on our own.
Who is that person for you? What qualities do you look for in that person? Given all of your experiences, your successes and failures, your discoveries and wisdom gained over the many years of your life, to whom might you be that person, for the benefit of the world?
We all need a Yoda. And we all are called to be one.
See You Sunday,
Rev. Mark
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11-27-11 Listen
Order of Worship Announcements
Dear Friends:
This Sunday begins one of our “dark” seasons. We have two in the Christian year. One is Advent and the other is Lent. I suggest they are “dark” seasons, not because they are gloomy but more like the way the term “dark” is used in the theater. A lot of shows “go dark” one night a week for rest and preparation. Advent is “dark” in that way. It is a season of preparation. We need Advent in order to get ready for Christmas.
As you will see in the sanctuary, the color for Advent is purple. Purple is often seen as a somber color, used in mourning; but it also has a depth and a richness that represents reflection and waiting. The theme for the current liturgical decorations comes from Luke 21:25-28. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars… Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Faithful anticipation is what is summoned this season. For as we journey through the dark of Advent, we know that we will arrive, in due time, under the one star that shines its light down on the manger in Bethlehem.
During Advent, Rev. Mark and I will be preaching on the theme of The Christmas Conspiracy. Each week, we will look at one of the characters in the Christmas story who conspired or worked with God in faith and trust to usher in the birth of the Christ child. This Sunday, John the Baptist will be front and center as a harbinger of the salvation message that was inaugurated on that Christmas morning in Bethlehem. (Luke 3:1-6)
As a prelude to Christmas, one purpose of the Advent season is to impress upon us that Christmas deserves all the preparation that our hearts can muster. Outside of church, there are all sorts of distractions to turn the holy day of Christmas into just a holiday. That is one reason why we need each other around here this season – to be witnesses to the power of the biblical message over the secular message.
So, as we begin this season of preparation, we look to our times of worship to keep us focused. The advent wreath helps us keep pace. The hymns offer direction and set the mood. The scriptures herald the good news that God is with us through the saving gift of the baby Jesus.
I look forward to traveling this Advent journey with you.
Rev. Martha Wingfield
11-20-11 Listen Watch Video
Order of Worship Announcements
Dear Friends,
In Matthew 25 Jesus tells a story – the very last story, according to Matthew, that Jesus ever told – about Judgment Day, when the King calls each of us before him so that he can make a final assessment of how we lived our lives. Unlike the popular images we have of Saint Peter standing at the gates of Heaven, clicking his Bic and holding his clipboard, asking us what we have done to deserve entrance, the King in this story does not ask us for an accounting – in part because the King already knows us through and through, and knows already everything we have ever done.
But there’s another reason he doesn’t ask us to help him make the final assessment, and that’s because he knows that we don’t always recognize the good we have done when we’ve done it, nor do we always recognize the good we have failed to do.
Jesus says that some people enter the kingdom of heaven, and some do not, but none of them beforehand know for sure. Some of them, in their lifetimes, had fed the hungry, and some did not; some gave a cup of cold water to the thirsty, andsome withheld it; some gave the shirt off their back to the unclothed, and some turned their backs on them. None of them, however, knew at the time that the stakes were so high. On Judgment Day, they all ask the same question: when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or naked or lonely? We didn’t know that was you.” But the King says, “Inasmuch as you did or did not do it to the least among you, you did or did not do it unto me.”
God judges us according to how we act in those circumstances when it’s not altogether clear that God is around, when the stakes do not seem high – when, by all appearances, the day is like every other day that has come before it, and the people like all the rest.
All of which means that you can go about your business each day, trying your best to show mercy to everyone, knowing that it just may be that one of them will be Jesus in disguise. Or, you can try your best to show mercy to everyone because, in the end, everyone of them is Christ. The first approach is love for the sake of a reward; the latter is love for Christ’s sake.
You never know when he’ll show up. Then again, you really do.
See you in church,
Rev. Mark
P.S. Many of you have told me how much you’ve enjoyed reading my most recent book of sermons, Stirred, Not Shaken (originally published by Chalice Press and now available as an eBook for Kindle and Nook readers). My first book of sermons, Testimony to the Exiles (2003), will be re-published as an eBook in early December. If you (or a friend) are interested I invite you to sign-up to my personal mailinglist at www.markfeldmeir.com. I will email everyone when it’s available and the price will be 99 cents (the lowest I can charge). The book will go on sale in early December for $5.99.
11-13-11 Listen Watch Video
Order of Worship Announcements
Dear Friends,
We live in a culture that is obsessed with the bottom line – what we produce, what we have to show for our work, how much we have earned, or how much we have lost. We are encouraged to make important life decisions according to probable outcomes, investing our time, money, and energy on those things in life that offer the greatest potential for reward with a minimum exposure to risk. Particularly in uncertain times, “play it safe” becomes the prevailing mantra of the wise, while “let ‘er ride” are the famous last words of the foolish.
Playing it safe may be a sound investment strategy for our 401K plans, but it is no way to lead a life. When our first question is always, “What do I stand to lose,” chances are we’re missing incredible opportunities to fulfill our purpose and increase our contribution to the world. If, as many have said, the opposite of faith is not doubt but fear, then to live a life of faith is to be guided not by the bottom line but by a higher calling, accepting – even embracing – risk while leaving plenty of room for the grace and providence of God.
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about what we’re supposed to do with the time and treasures of our lives – what we have, how we live, how we manage our resources. It’s a parable about two servants who, by taking some risks with the resources the master had entrusted to them, achieved maximum returns on the investment; and it’s about one servant who, by risking nothing and burying the master’s treasure and playing it safe, ended up losing it all.
According to the parable, life is always a risk and bottom-line living is a zero-sum game. God expects much of us, but those expectations are far above the bottom line. We cannot control how our lives will ultimately be summed up, or even if there will be anything to show for our labors. But that is not our task as Christians. Our task is simply to live faithfully above the bottom line, free of the fear of failure and loss, determined to know and do the will of God and, when we fall short, to leave the rest to God.
See you in Church,
Rev. Mark
November 6, 2011
Listen Watch Video
Order of Worship
Dear Friends,
If I were to ask you to identify the obstacles and distractions that keep you from achieving your goals or accomplishing some plan, what would make your personal list? Perhaps you’d list all your responsibilities – the mortgage, the job, the kids, the dogs and the dishes and the demands and all the urgent and necessary “to-do’s” that you must do just to keep the ship afloat. According to this logic, there’s just not enough time or resources to focus on yourself and what’s important to you right now. “Perhaps someday, I’ll get to it.” you say, “Just not today.”
Or maybe you’d list all the things you lack, your deficiencies – “If only I had more training, more education, more opportunity, more support, more (fill in the blank here).” According to this line of thought, it’s not entirely (or even remotely) your fault. The deck is stacked against you. What is required of you is more than you have to offer. “It is what it is,” you say in resignation.
Or maybe you’d list all your past experiences, or your old wounds, or your disappointments.
Or your fears. Or the potential dangers. Or the risks. Or the bad timing. Or (once again, fill in the blank here)…
While it might all be true, it won’t change a thing. You’re still stuck, only with your many excellent excuses, you feel a little better about it – at least for now. But what about later? Will there come a day when it’s too late?
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a rather dark and humorless parable about Ten Bridesmaids, five of which are locked out of the wedding party because their lamps have run out of oil and the Groom, unable to recognize them in the dark, refuses to let them in. It’s a parable about keeping our lamps lit, about making sure that we do not put off for tomorrow what we know we must do today – the important stuff, the stuff that, like oil is to a lamp, we cannot live without.
Just as a lamp without oil is of no use, a Christian without passion for the things of God shines dimly, if even at all. When we put off our prayer life, our acts of devotion and worship, the sacraments, our relationships, the works of mercy and compassion and justice, we quickly become, like an oil-less lamp, of very little use.
Like you, I have many excellent excuses that make me feel better about all the things I put off that I cannot live without. The Groom is not persuaded. If we want him to recognize us at the door, we must tend the flame today. If we want to join the party inside, we must drop our lists of excuses, and start shining on.
See you in Church,
Rev. Mark