Thoughts for a New Year Series Part 1 - Arise & Shine

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At the beginning of a new year most people resolve to do better, stronger, slimmer, healthier…or some kind of positive change.  To do that requires looking back over what didn’t go so well, or examining the pain of what has been in order to plan what must be done to change.

For these first few weeks of 2018 I would like us to think some positive new thoughts for a new year.  Let’s begin with Isaiah’s word:  Arise & Shine!

Arise, Jerusalem!  Let your light shine for all to see.  For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.  Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.  All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance. Isaiah 60:1-3^(NLT)

Isaiah spoke/wrote those words roughly 800 years before the birth of Jesus.  But every bit of his ministry proclaimed the Lord’s arrival would be the dawn of a new day.  If you break his prophecy up into two 33 chapter novels they both follow roughly the same three-part story line: 

·       Sin (darkness) of the leaders and people destroyed Israel’s greatness

·       Conquest by invaders brought captivity and despair

·       God gave them a glorious, new light-filled day of release and homecoming

To say that Isaiah’s prophecy relates well to our time is to understate how much like broken Israel we have become.  We are hardly one nation under God in the 21^st century! 

But I would like to get past the darkness this morning and think some positive new thoughts for 2018; today is a new day; time to arise and shine!

Isaiah said the night was over

Obviously darkness represents sin and wandering away from God our Creator.  In the Genesis record Moses tells of God making a very definite statement that light is in contrast to the darkness...the light was very good, and God separated it from the darkness.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.  Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good.  Then he separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”  Genesis 1:1-4^(NLT)

Isaiah picked up on Moses’ theme of darkness and light and announced that the Lord’s rising was like the sun rising on a new day; darkness had to slink away. 

Isaiah’s vision and characterization of the people of Israel in darkness is that of a woman shackled in chains.  Her head is bowed-down in shame and despair; it’s the picture of grief, like someone wallowing in the dust of mourning.  Isaiah says that God is calling this woman, God’s treasured Israel, to come out of the darkness, to put away the dust and ashes; He wants her to begin the celebration. 

Both New Testament apostles, Peter and Paul picked up on Isaiah’s theme:

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord.  So live as people of light! for the light makes everything visible.  This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”  Ephesians 5:8, 14^(NLT)

God told Isaiah to paint this picture of the night past because Jesus, the child of promise would be the light…and that light would be very good!

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you:  God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.  So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.  But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.  If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.  1 John 1:5-9^(NLT)

Jesus says our morning is here

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”  John 8:12^(NLT)

This word Jesus spoke to the crowds that day in Galilee were the fulfillment of everything Isaiah came to say about God’s light and life rising for all people. 

And now we need to understand the rest of the story.  Isaiah said that God said:  Arise (out of your darkness)…but God also said:  Shine! 

The light came and was a blessing to save everyone who would receive that light.  But it wasn’t just a light turned-on so we can be saved and blessed.  This light was shined on us so we can also shine…so the light can radiate to all people around the world. 

And this begs our last point:

Jesus wants to shine through us

Do you recall what happened when Moses went up on the mountain to speak with God and receive the 10 Commandments?  Spending time with that intense light of God made Moses’ face shine; he got such a dose of God’s light the people couldn’t stand to look at him.  Moses’ face had to be covered.

This is the key for what God wants in Mt Zion and Pleasant Hill churches this year; this day – He wants all of our faces shining His marvelous light so that the world’s darkness has a difficult time with us.  The problem most of us experience with being that is we’re not like Moses; we spend so little time with God we don’t have the light of Jesus – we settle for this little light of mine!  Beloved, it isn’t your light the world needs; they need the reflection of Jesus’ light radiating from you.

But you are not like [the darkness], for you are a chosen people.  You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.  As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.  1 Peter 2:9^(NLT)

Do you remember the hymn “Let Others See Jesus in You”?  It can happen if we spend time with Him and allow Him to have control of our lives. 

What to do about what we’ve heard

In light of Isaiah’s prophecy I believe God wants us all to do two things:

1.  Say goodbye to the darkness

What “night” have you faced this year, or this week, or has been dogging you for all your life?  What sin, oppression, sadness, disappointment, disability, disease, pain, sickness…what shackles you to the dust of mourning?

Hear the words of Jesus about all that:

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”  Revelation 21:5^(NLT)

Say goodbye to the darkness

2.  Embrace the light…and shine

How do you embrace the light?  Simply open your heart right now to everything God wants for you.  Tell him that in the simplest of prayers:

God…I want everything you want for me.

Have you heard the song, Shine, Jesus, Shine?

Lord, the light of Your love is shining

In the midst of the darkness shining;

Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us,

Set us free by the truth You now bring us,

Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine – fill this land with the Father’s glory;

Blaze Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.

Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy;

Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light.

If you can sing that…and you really mean it, Jesus will sing it back to you.  He will sing:  Shine, child, shine, let me shine through you; together we’ll fill this land with the Father’s glory!

Beloved you shine this week, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

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[1] Title Image Courtesy of Pixabay.com

What Child Is This?

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Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.  And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.  God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.  The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.  When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.  This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.  Hebrews 1:1-4^(NLT)

So the Word became human and made his home among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.  John 1:14^(NLT)

Several years ago I got a fresh reminder of the fact that, despite the crush of Christmas shopping, crowds, hurry-up of extra meetings and worship services, it was the Word, Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God who became flesh in that manger.  It was not an idea or doctrine, or a program that was born – it was God who became “with us”, incarnate; eternity entering time.  The Messiah was born, and nothing could ever be the same once the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

My reminder came in two segments. 

First, I happened to come across my friend Anne’s description of a worship service at her church; she is the organist/music director.  It’s a fairly large sanctuary, and the organ is located in the balcony.  She described a crisis:

“Crises in a church service happen in a split second, and you never see them coming.  I pick out offertories based on the service, knowing the time it takes the ushers to pass the plates is longer for Service 2 than Service 3.  Also, as a general rule, I play a shorter version for the early service because there are fewer people in attendance.  Timing wouldn’t matter so much if the ushers would wait until I finish a piece and begin the congregational hymn. However, they tend to start up the aisle when they’ve finished their job without waiting for me.  Over the years I learned it was better if I looked over my shoulder and began winding up when the usher on the right side of the church reached the last pew.

At the early service today I had it about right.  The only usher I could see was about to walk behind the last pew to be in position to go forward in the center aisle, and my music would end at just the right time.  John [Anne’s husband] was there in the choir loft, and all of a sudden he jumped up and began to flap his arms.  Sometimes he tells me when the men have finished, but this flapping denoted something much more urgent.  ‘They are not ready,’ he hissed.

I really don’t think people listen to filler music, but if anyone happened to be paying attention today they would have heard the music reaching a conclusion.  Then there was a slight pause, a fumble with a few notes and a resuming of the original piece somewhere in the middle.  Since I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t know how much longer to play.  John told me later that someone sitting on the middle aisle was writing a check, and the usher stood there waiting for it. 

I’d like to tell the congregation once a year that I can’t see the middle aisle, so if anyone is going to mess up the timing of the offertory, please do it on the right side.^[1]

Anne wasn’t ready for this because didn’t see it coming.  And how could she?  From the balcony, facing the wrong way, her world is lopsided, and she can’t see the middle.  How frustrating – whoever designed organs facing the wrong way, anyway?  

The ushers weren’t ready because of the check-writer who wasn’t ready. 

We’ll come back to this in a moment.

My second reminder came the next evening. 

We went to the middle and high school combined chorus concert at my granddaughter’s school.  I saw and heard Christmas – the part where He came in a lowly place, an unexpected place – a very noisy place.  We got there early to get a good seat; and (wonder of wonders) we succeeded – right down front where we could see the dimples on my beautiful granddaughter as she sang a solo part, 

         

and my grandson in that red bowtie...priceless!

People were in a festive mood, and the kids sang the obligatory numbers that choirs have been singing for centuries. 

They also sang “The Twelve Days AFTER Christmas” (five gold rings that turned your fingers green, along with three French hens that were turned into chicken soup to cure a cold….well, it was a hoot!). 

But that wasn’t Christmas – not the word become flesh. 

The stage was decorated, the kids wore elf hats and antlers; but that wasn’t Christmas, either!

What made it Christmas for me was the rowdy crowd! 

Through all fifteen songs the parents and friends of these kids kept up chatter, trips to the bathroom complete with swinging, slamming doors.  They talked, laughed and made it impossible to hear the singing.

One group behind us must’ve had bladder problems; I counted eight trips to the facility in the hour and fifteen minute concert.  The young lady behind me was reclining on her seat, one leg draped over the arm of her chair, dangling in the aisle; she was texting, playing video games, bouncing her baby sister on her lap, talking to her boyfriend and singing (rather off key) from before the opening curtain, straight through to Silent Night.  It was like attending a combination football game and tractor-pull.  The crowd distracted everyone who was trying to sing, play, direct or hear.  Whew…talk about a “rowdy-crowdy”!

Back to our valiant organist in the balcony:  Anne was blind-sided by events she couldn’t see in a lop-sided world; she was blinded from the main event – she couldn’t see.  Our “concert rowdy-crowdy” was unknowing of the treasure those 7-9^th grade kids had practiced weeks to bring them. 

Two events – one Blind and one unknowing!

So, what’s the connection with the word became flesh?

…God came to the rowdy and blind…and he did it on purpose!

Humanity without God is blind and unknowing.  Most of our manger scenes are quiet, very pastoral and serene.  But has farm life ever really been quiet?  With all due respect to Away in a Manger – when cattle are lowing they are loud.  They bellow because they’re ready for something to happen…very ready!  Goats, sheep and pigs add to the noise too. 

God chose to come to the middle of a rowdy mess, like an interrupted offering, a distracted choir.  That’s grace…we didn’t deserve it, but he came anyway.

God chose to die for us – it tells us the truth – we’re that messy!

He was full of grace and truth…we’re that messy, and he loves us anyway. 

He took our rowdy mess to the cross; that is the glory we celebrate this morning. 

He lived with us, died for us and rose that his grace would carry us all the way to where he is now.

He died for us blind, lopsided and rowdy all…

So what kind of child is this in the manger?  He’s the one who came to us and loved us, blind, lopsided, rowdy, warts and all!

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen

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Notes                               

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[1] Anne Maclin Mehrling

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[i] Title image:  Russell Brownworth

Catch

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

So the Word became human and made his home among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.    John 1:1, 14 (NLT)

“Logos” is the Greek word we translate as “word”.  Logos is how God translates Himself for a world that doesn’t understand Him.  “God in Christ” is so we could know God; it is the Word of gracious condescension for people who can’t speak heaven’s language.  We are far from His level, so He came down to ours!

In the first few verses of John’s Gospel, there is symmetry of thought which expresses critical truth about the incarnation of Jesus.  An old saying is what’s in a name?  The answer:  Everything if it is your name, and it describes who you are, your nature, and your character. 

To the ancients, and even modern Easterners, a name is not simply a word, spoken aloud, so perhaps you won’t miss dinner.  The name/word is seen as an active event – inherently powerful; a word is the same as a deed. 

And when that word is your name, your entire character, actions, desires, hopes, dreams, plans and countenance are on display for everyone to know.

In that way, Jesus, the Christ, described as the Word of God, is expressing that He is indeed God.  Jesus describes – displays – the very character (logos) of God.  Men didn’t really know what to think of God – and so God explained himself.  As G. Campbell Morgan put it, In Christ, the long, long silence became speech.

On a human level my Uncle Marlen knew how to do that.  When he was explaining something, he frequently asked a one-word question; he would say, Catch?   He wanted to know if we were catching-on to his idea. 

At pick-up football games he always knew what to do.  In the huddle he’d describe some elaborate play.  The instructions included things like running to the oak tree, and cutting over to the old Chevy awaiting overhaul in the back yard.  Be sure you fake left, he’d warn – Don’t let Tommy get in front of you.  I’ll throw you the ball when you zig right – CATCH?  

Catch?  Catch what?  Sure I’ll catch the ball – just – what’s a fake left and a zig right? 

Uncle Marlen would look at those blank doe-in-the-headlight stares in our faces.  Then he would say, I’ll do it one time so you can see it.  Just throw me the ball when I holler ‘NOW!’  He would run some intricate pass pattern, gliding along with that Jamaica shuffle of his – first left, right, stop, go, turn, whirl, jump and suddenly yell, Now!  C’mon, hit me!  The plans seldom worked – but we saw with our own eyes the best left fakes and zigs…ever!

That is the way with logos; Jesus was God’s way of saying “catch?” 

Jesus showed us The Father.

For You, Today…

Jesus is the very character of God.

And when He lives in you, others see God; they catch what God is like by watching your moves.  Not “fakes” and “zigs” but compassion and joy.

Let it be full in you today!

Catch?

Title Picture:  [1] By Keith Allison (Flickr: Brett Gardner):   Via Wikimedia