Joyful

We are now into the third week of Advent, which began last Sunday. As we come closer to the special time of celebrating of the birth of Jesus Christ, Lord of all people, we are able to experience the Joy of his coming! That is the traditional emphasis of this, the third week of Advent: Joy! There is great joy expressed by many people in the Biblical narrative of Jesus’ birth. As we have seen as a part of Gilbert’s sermons, Mary is joyful with the expectation of God’s great work within herself. Elizabeth tells Mary that John “leaped for joy” at the sound of Mary’s greeting. We will see that Angels, foreign kings, and elderly prophetesses all rejoice at the sight of Jesus, at the sight of God come near.

This is our joy as well. We too are joyful to experience God come near to us. We have the great blessing of being able to “put on Christ”, as Paul would say, through the work of the cross- God’s ultimate sacrifice, and goal to extend his salvation to all people through Jesus.

I know a man who, every year around this time, takes a day off of work to do things that for him allow him to celebrate and experience the joy of the season. Taking a day off may not be an option for you, but I encourage each of us to intentionally take time this week to remember and experience the joy of God come near.

What are your Gifts?

In the book of First Corinthians, Paul is greatly concerned with the workings of the community to which he is writing. Nearly the entire book is devoted to encouraging and explaining to the Corinthians how to live in this new community to which they have been called. The oft-used chapter thirteen, while certainly applicable to marriage, has a much richer meaning within the context of the Church community.

In chapter fourteen, Paul continues his thoughts from the previous chapter, now narrowing his focus down to the issue at hand for the community in Corinth. Here Paul talks about the gifts of prophecy and speaking in tongues. While we could get sidetracked on a long discussion about the workings of the Holy Spirit and the validity of speaking in tongues today, I think there is a much more available lesson to be found in the text, the lesson which Paul was trying to get across in the first place.

Apparently in Corinth, the Christians who had been blessed with the ability to speak in tongues, esteemed themselves, thinking themselves better than the rest of the congregation, it is in that context which Paul writes to the church saying:

“Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the Church. Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the Church may be built up.” (1 Cor 14:1-5 NRSV)

While it seems that Paul is telling the Corinthians that people that prophesy are better than those that speak in tongues, the point of the text is not which spiritual gift is better or worse, but the usefulness of that gift to the community. Prophecy is greater, not in and of itself, but because it has the ability, unlike speaking in tongues, to enrich the community of believers. We have individually been given gifts, talents, and abilities; Are we ready to use them to strengthen and encourage the body of believers?

Amos

The first couple of chapters in the book of Amos make up one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It’s not really my favorite passage because it conveys deep spiritual truths (at least not in and of itself), but because I can imagine the reaction that the text (or the voice of Amos) would receive when presented to the Israelite people.

Amos’ job, being a prophet, was not to bring comfort or stability to the Israelite people, it was his job to stir up the people and show them how they had departed from Yahweh. It was his job to stand up and shout “Hey, you are doing it all wrong, return to the LORD!”

In the very opening section of the book, Amos really lays into Israel’s enemies, talking about each of Israel’s neighbors, Amos says the word of the LORD: “For three transgressions and for four, I will not revoke the punishment” and then proceeds to explain why each country is receiving punishment and what that punishment will be.

Six times, with six different countries that are enemies to Israel Amos outlines their foibles and their punishments. Saying over and over again “for three transgressions and for four”. One can imagine the speech, given in a strong voice. The Israelites are getting whipped into a frenzy, thinking to themselves “YES! Those people are scum, we hate them, we can’t wait to see their punishment!” Then Amos turns the screw a little tighter, Judah, Israel’s long lost brother, now being a strenuous relationship between them due to political circumstances is under attack.

At this point, the crowd must have been shouting their assent, they were finally able to see that all of their enemies were going to be punished because their enemies did not follow the LORD, but then the hammer falls, all the wind leaves their sails, and they are horrified. Amos says “For three transgressions of Israel” One can imagine the crowd immediately becoming silent with fear and hurt, knowing that soon their offenses to God and their punishment will be revealed.

The prophet Amos had stirred up the people, shown them their faults and called them back to God, but the way he did it was amazing, a verbal trap, designed to ensnare the listener to hear the word of the LORD.

So what’s the point? Well, I’ve often thought that Amos was applicable to the Church on many occasions, I encourage us to not simply point fingers and those around us and say “look how they don’t follow the Lord”, but to also be active in self examination so that we are not caught off guard by a prophet bringing God’s word to us about our own faults. The Israelites problem was that they were greedy with their money, and they didn’t take care of the poor and the helpless, in fact, they cheated them. Do we have things that we need to work on, Do we have transgressions?

I've always like Amos, he uses such a great rhetorical device, craftily ensnaring his listeners into his speech, opening them up their hearts for critical damage. The change in the crowd is almost palpable in the text int he transition from 2:5 to 2:6. I've always thought that this text would preach extremely well, but then, it would be a risky sermon to preach as well, probably leading to a quick dismissal. The prophet's life is much different than that of the Priest. On the other hand, we have lost the voice of the prophet in many of our Church communities, and with it have often lost the voice that calls us back to the LORD.
What role should the minister in a Church play.. Prophet, or priest, one who holds to tradition and ensures that the community of God stays safe, and within God's arms, or one who stands up and shouts when tradition, and accepted practices are exactly what is driving the community away from the LORD? Can one be both?

Christian Community

Community is an essential part of Christianity. Though there are times when being alone is an important part of a person’s spiritual journey, the Church is the dmode in which people travel the path of faith.

It seems that the early church in Jerusalem that each day was spent with other Christians in fellowship, in community (Acts 2:42-47) For better or for worse, that model has been forgotte, changed or replaced in America by weekly meetings and, perhaps, small group meetings.

I don’t believe that it is essential to be exactly limke the Jerusalem church to be a Christian community, there is not evidence from the letters to the other early churches that this was the general model to be followed by all Christians, but I do think that there is something very powerful within a caring, involved Christian community.

For so many people, church has simply become another social group that one can join. It has it’s dues, but it also has it’s benefits, ultimately though, it does not infiltrate the entirety of one’s life, but simply remains something that one is a part of.,

This is part of the reason that I love working with young people, both college-aged as well as teenagers. There is a growing trend amoung the youth of our nation(the sub-thirty crowd) that wants something more than just Sunday morning and Wednesday night. People that understand that things that are worthwhile cost something.

I am excited to begin working at the CSC, because here is a place that each and every day, Christians come together, not just for a scripture, a prayer and a rousing chorus of “Just as I am” (Not that any of those things are bad). It is a place where Christians can come together to just live life together, where they can experience each other’s lives, all the issues and the mess, the victories and blessing. A Place where people are loved

This is also why I love working with the youth group. During the summer, especially, teens tend to have a decent amount of time on their hands, and they often choose to share that with other members of the group, daily coming together to live life together.

This model is a powerful one, one which I think we could all benefit from. That is why I encourage all of us to build relationships with the people in the next pew. People that we have perhaps only seen on Sundays before, and invite them into our lives, into the dull and mundane, into the fun and exciting, and into the love of God.