The Law of Gravity, a scientific law, we know well. It also true that on those occasions we go to the mountain top, we need to come back down. Jesus led his inner circle down from the mountain to face all kinds of problems. But they had a glimpse of something fantastic. After that great vision came the main point of the experience, from the voice, “listen to him.”

What can science say about the transfiguration? Did what we hear read really happen or was it based on something real, but later exaggerated, or was it a fabrication? I’ll give you the bottom line right now. We can never know.

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It is like the issue of God. Science cannot prove that God exists and so many scientists assume that God does not exist. But if scientists used that same logic with something like the Big Bang Theory then that theory would never float. When it comes to religion, many scientists fail to use their own methods. The scientific method first involves a hypothesis, experiments are formed to prove or disprove the hypothesis. If there is some success, then the hypothesis may be promoted to a theory. But science allows for theories to be accepted as something approaching truth, but not really true. It is a theory, after all.

Take the Big Bang, for example. The Big Bang Theory was, at first, dismissed by most astronomers. It was the Steady-State Theory that was the most popular. But continued observations were better explained by the Big Bang Theory than the Steady-State Theory. Eventually the Steady-State Theory was discarded. But continued observations did not fit the Big Bang Theory either. So the Big bang Theory continues to be modified. Now Astrophysicists concede that we will never know what exactly happened at the Big Bang. Before we thought that the universe was all of creation. Now some are saying that other universes are possible.

What all this points to is what I said in the Sacramento Bee a week ago. Science and religion ask two different questions. There is no need for science and religion to clash, because our realms are different. Science asks how something works or something happened. Religion asks why something happened or something works.

For example, science deals with the notion of evil as a psychological or psychiatric disorder that can be fixed for some people, but not for others. The “others” need to be put away until such time that a cure can be obtained. But this is a very inexact science in that mental health professionals can never really definitively say that some is cured of a mental disorder that exhibits itself as an absence of love. And that is how I personally define evil – an absence of love. Josh Powell who killed himself and his sons a few weeks ago in Seattle is an example of evil.

Religion does not concern itself with cures for evil, per say. Religion wants to know why there is evil. The Bible has several explanations for why there is evil. The famous one is the story of Adam and Eve. We use Adam as a proper name, but the adam is actually a Hebrew word, adam, that literally means humankind. Evil entered the world through humankind. God did not create evil. God created an evil-free zone. It was human beings who brought evil into the world through our misuse of free will. The story asks why is there evil? It not a story of how human beings were made.

It was common knowledge in ancient times and in the Bible that God or the gods blessed certain people and they prospered. On the other hand, people God or the gods did not like were cursed. Greek mythology has many of these kinds of stories. The Book of Job in the Bible is largely a poem about a successful, righteous man who has a series of calamities whose origins are in the heavenly court. Job is a very old story told in many Middle Eastern cultures – much older than the Bible story. The Bible story adds an epic poem to the story. What the biblical version of Job addresses is why bad things happen to good people. It rebuts the notion that the righteous are blessed and the wicked are cursed.

Jesus confronts demon possessed people and orders the demons out of them, particularly in Mark’s gospel. The demons are never destroyed. Presumably they take up residence in some other poor soul. Demons represent evil. When people are made “good” as it is said in Genesis, then there must be some force that makes them evil – hence demons. Thus Jesus confronts and defeats evil. The ultimate battle takes place on the cross when evil incarnate is defeated once and for all time.

Science now concedes that many of the questions we have about nature will never be answered. A theory gains universal recognition when there are no exceptions to it and then it becomes a law of science. There are very few laws of science. Newton’s Laws of Motion are examples of scientific laws. But these laws require a perfect environment that we now know doesn’t exist.

I grew up being told that space was a vacuum – in other words, there was no air. But what is our atmosphere? It is made up of gases. Well, it turns out that space is full of gas. Our solar system moves against galactic gases. Some of it bleeds through the solar system. It is our solar wind that keeps most of it out. And in fact there is matter in the universe that we have no explanation for. Since scientists have no idea what it is, they call it dark matter, because they can’t see it.

I’ve talked a lot about astrophysics, but that is merely an illustration of the difficulties science has in asking the “how” question. If we look at the Transfiguration as a how question, we miss the point of the story in the gospels. It isn’t there for us to ask how – it is there for us to ask, why.

Religion also has trouble asking the why question. Evil is a good example. We can look at the second creation story and say that humans brought evil into the world and the why is because of free will, but we are still disturbed. We read and hear about Josh Powell with anger and sadness. So we ask why and are left with few answers. Maybe it was Josh’s controlling and abusive father. Maybe it was Josh’s trouble with women. (He may have killed the two witnesses who may have linked him to his wife’s disappearance, his two sons.)

And we ask why a government would kill its own people like what is happening in Syria. Well, power is probably a good answer. When we excessively seek something through sinful ways, we slip into evil. This is when our needs exceed those of others. We cease to love others. We break Jesus’ second commandment. When we cannot love others, we cannot love God. Josh Powell couldn’t even love his own sons. Bashar al-Assad does not love his people.

Why does evil happen? It happens when there is an absence of love.

The transfiguration was an opportunity for a vision of total love to be seen by three ordinary people. Three ordinary people saw something extraordinary. I’m sure that the story was impossible to put into words. It was a sign of a glorious future for us. We will never be able to explain how it happened. And that is why science can’t deal with something like the Transfiguration.

In a sense, the Transfiguration is an answer to the question of why Jesus came. The disciples are really unclear about the answer to that. They follow Jesus even if they don’t fully know why. They assume that Jesus is the messiah who will lead an army against the Romans and will then assume David’s throne as king. The story happens a week after Jesus first tells them that he is going to Jerusalem to be executed and rise again. Peter rebukes Jesus and they continue blissfully ignorant of what is coming. Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me Satan.” Satan is the personification of evil. Peter is putting his needs ahead of Jesus’ plan.

Both science and religion produce awe. We humans are drawn to the feeling of awe. The Transfiguration was awesome. The Big Bang was awesome. May we continue to ask questions. May we continue to seek understanding. Whether we ask questions of science or religion, we will encounter awesome things.

Text: Mark 9:2–9

The father thought for a moment and said, “I think that if you use all your strength, you can do it.”

That was all the little boy needed. He ran over to the rock and began to push on it. He pushed and he pushed, so hard did he try that little beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. But the rock didn’t move – not an inch, not half an inch.

After a while, the little boy sat down on the ground. His face had fallen. His whole body seemed to be just a lump there on the earth. “You were wrong,” he told his dad. “I can’t do it.”

His father walked over to him, knelt beside him, and put his arm around the boy’s shoulder. “You can do it,” he said. “You just didn’t use all your strength. You didn’t ask me to help.” (Ladies, it’s a male thing.)

The world in which we live tells us that it is all up to us. It tells us that we have to be strong and independent. It tells us we can’t and shouldn’t count on anyone or anything else. This partially explains why Ayn Rand was an atheist. And yet, what faith tells us and what Jews and Christians have known forever is that we have a ready resource in God, strength for those who ask.

Jesus is a source of strength for us. We are reminded when we read and hear the stories about Jesus from the gospels. Before beginning his Galilean ministry, Jesus’ actions of healing, exorcism, and prayer became part of the pattern of his work with others. Our response is one of service and searching.

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In our gospel reading, it is Saturday. Jesus is in his new hometown, the base for his ministry, Capernaum. After synagogue, Jesus and his four disciples go to Peter and Andrew’s house. There are presumably other household members telling Jesus about Peter’s mother-in-law’s illness. Jesus’ response is to heal her.

Pretty simple story. Jesus heals again. Note that it is still the Sabbath and it is illegal for Jesus to work, including a healing. A little thing about breaking a commandment from the Law of Moses doesn’t stop him. There is a human need and religious laws sometimes get in the way of meeting human needs. Maybe a less than simple story.

Though never made explicit, Peter seems to be married. He has a mother-in-law, who is never named. There is never a mention of his wife. Presumably, there are children. There are other household members whom we do not know. It is unclear if Andrew is married, but probably not as he would likely live apart from Peter if he was married.

What happens next is open to much comment. Jesus takes Peter’s mother-in-law by the hand and she begins to serve them. So Peter’s mother-in-law also violates the law and works on the Sabbath. Jesus’ anarchy is spreading to others. Feminists have used this sentence to further complain about misogyny in the Bible. But is it really that?

Might it be that out of gratitude for being healed, she responded by serving them? And what is meant by the word translated as “serve?” The Greek word, diakoneo, is as broad as our word serve. It means to be a table waiter. It means to render assistance. It means to minister to someone. It may also mean to handle someone’s finances. But the context here is probably serving food and drink. To have her do this, immediately after bring healed, must be out of profound gratitude for her healing.

It is interesting that the word we translate as serve is also the root word for an order of ordained ministry, a deacon. A deacon is one who serves. The deacon serves the church and the deacon serves the world. The first deacons, in the Book of Acts, administered the distribution of food to widows.

In Capernaum on that day, like a house on Super Bowl Sunday, there is much eating and drinking. Then the sun goes down and it is Sunday. The Sabbath is over. Word about Jesus exorcising the demon from the man at the synagogue has gotten out. There is pent up demand to get sick people to Jesus and do it soon. The darkness does not deter them. There are no street lights, let alone electricity in Capernaum. The need is so great that they can’t wait for daylight.

The sick and the possessed and their friends and loved ones crowded around Peter’s door. It seemed that everyone in Capernaum was there. Now, Capernaum was not a big town. In ancient times, all towns were really small. Only a few cities were really big. Estimates of the population were from a few hundred to under a thousand. Still, a sizable crowd was at the door.

Peter was probably not annoyed with the crowd at his door. Peter had the miracle-worker staying at his house. Peter was now an important person in Capernaum. The whole town is coming to his house. Peter may have acted as a gate-keeper, deciding who gets in and who does not – a powerful position. Peter and the others are still not clued in to why Jesus is really there.

We are told that Jesus healed many, which implies he didn’t heal all of them. We are not told about the exceptions. Jesus cast out many demons and prevented them from speaking. It seems that demons were obsessed with telling the truth and Jesus didn’t want them telling everyone who Jesus really is. Especially in Mark, Jesus is like Clark Kent. He has a secret identity. Jesus is more than he seems, which is already pretty impressive.

Needless to say, Jesus had an exhausting night. Before sunrise, when it was still really, really dark, Jesus leaves the house. He finds a place where no one is. It is deserted. There are a lot of open spaces around the Sea of Galilee. It is there, away from people, that Jesus prays. Mark is telling us that 1) Jesus needs times alone, and 2) prayer is an important part of Jesus’ life.

A crisis may have necessitated Jesus’ need to pray. The people see him as a miracle-worker and do not seem to have absorbed his teachings. Several centuries earlier, Isaiah, speaking for God, also bewails the ignorance of the people about who and what God is. In today’s Old Testament reading, Isaiah sets them straight, if they listened.

Meanwhile back at Peter’s house, they wake up and find Jesus is gone. They seem to panic. It is as though they lost something very precious and they must find it. And indeed they are looking for something very precious. It is not a ring of power. It is a person of power. They may have also thought that their ticket to power was gone.

When found, they seem to scold Jesus like he was a lost child. The words are similar to Mary’s when they find the boy Jesus at the temple in Luke’s gospel. Jesus ignores the searchers’ concern and instead gives them work to do. Jesus’ ministry is not going to be limited to Capernaum. Jesus tells them that they are going to the towns around the Sea of Galilee. Jesus came to proclaim the good news and that means a road trip.

Jesus goes to the synagogues in the region’s towns and he cast out many demons. The place seems to be severely haunted. Jesus is going to make the region normal, maybe more than normal. But Jesus might be a bit concerned here. The people seem to be interested in Jesus because he can heal and cast out demons. They do not seem to be interested in Jesus’ message. Jesus is much more than a miracle worker. The irony is that Jesus is preventing the demons from letting everyone know who he really is.

Jesus and his disciples are to go to the other towns. Jesus can’t do it alone. He needs help. And his disciples are to help proclaiming Jesus’ message. We, too, can’t stand around. Like Jesus, we are to spread hope and relief to others. We, too, are to help Jesus in spreading his message to others. How can we do this? We can do this with the help of others and we can pray. Pray for the strength and joy that comes from God to do ministry, to do diakoneo, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name.

Text: Mark 1:29–39

“Legend has it that in 1589 Galileo summoned learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he went to the top and pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight. Both landed at the same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however, that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say Aristotle was right.

“I believe that this illustrates perfectly what is going on in the world today. You could show the terrible ravaging effects of AIDS and people will have promiscuous sex anyway. You can show someone a diseased liver and cancerous lung and people are going to abuse alcohol and smoke regardless of the facts.

“You know what I wish? I wish someone would just climb to the top of the tower and push off a ten-pound argument and a one-pound argument and let’s just see if they reach the ground first. That would finally prove who is right and who is wrong. But then I am reminded that when Galileo did that no one believed him. Even with the authority of obvious visible proof, (that is) the two weights reach(ing) the ground at the same time, the professors did not believe. The problem here is obvious. Most people are going to believe what they have always believed regardless of the facts.

“But something different occurred in the life of Jesus. Something persuasive. Mark records that when Jesus came to Capernaum, on the Sabbath day, and entered the synagogue and taught, the crowds were astounded. Why? One word: Authority.” (Unknown)

Ultimate authority is found in Jesus’ commands.

Our readings from Sunday to Sunday get plucked out of scripture without us immediately knowing what was going on when the story begins – like today’s gospel. It begins, “They went to Capernaum.” Who are “they?” Well, if you remember from last Sunday, Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow him. They are “they.”

Capernaum was a town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Peter and Andrew lived there. James and John probably also lived there. There is a church over the site believed to be Peter’s home. The floor is transparent to see the excavation of Peter’s house below. Being rejected by his family and friends at Nazareth, Jesus makes Capernaum his new hometown.

The Sabbath comes and Jesus goes to synagogue. It’s a simple statement meant to tell us that Jesus was an observant Jew who worshipped regularly. We are also told that Jesus taught. Though not Capernaum’s rabbi, Jesus assumes the role. It could very well be that the people of Capernaum were unable to support a full-time rabbi.

Lately, I have been contemplating what it must have been like to meet Jesus. Jesus arrives in Capernaum as a stranger. It is possible they had heard of what happened at Nazareth. Yet Jesus is allowed to teach in their synagogue! He must have had a very powerful presence. Jesus’ authority comes from God as was mentioned in the Old Testament reading, that a true prophet “will speak in my [God’s] name” (Deuteronomy 18:19).

They were astounded at his teaching. Obviously, it was not something they expected. Why? Because he taught with a personal authority, not like the scribes. They never heard someone teach with personal authority before. The scribes were the ones learned in the Law of Moses. They were the experts. But their authority did not come from their knowledge, it came from the written Law of Moses. They were teachers and interpreters. Jesus was superseding the authority of the Law of Moses. This is what got him in trouble in Nazareth.

All things being equal, there were probably some there that wanted to kick Jesus out, at the least. Perhaps, even bodily harm. Just as Jesus was in jeopardy, a man with an unclean spirit walks into the synagogue – almost on cue.

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Having been tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus is now confronted by an unclean spirit, lending further evidence that Mark characterizes Jesus’ ministry as warfare with the power of evil. The spirit’s intent was to out Jesus.

He names Jesus. He is there to call out Jesus. It is almost like a scene out of a spaghetti western. He thinks that the world revolves around him and the only reason Jesus is there is to get him. By referring to himself as “us,” the demon is speaking for the fraternity of demons. Then he yells out Jesus’ secret identity, “You are the Holy One of God.” This could mean a lot of things, but certainly gives Jesus a good title.

Well Jesus goes to great lengths in Mark’s gospel to keep his secret identity a secret. The unclean spirit challenges Jesus with the revelation. Jesus responds to try to keep the secret and orders the unclean spirit out of the man. And it did!

The man went into spasms and then the spirit with a loud noise came out of the man. Needless to say, the congregation was taken by surprise. You just don’t see that every time you go to church – at least not in the Episcopal Church.

Anyone who thought that Jesus was dangerous to the Law of Moses before, must have been utterly dumbfounded then. They never saw anything like that before. They probably put up with the man before. “Oh, here comes Charlie. Just humor him and maybe he’ll go away.”

Jesus brings a new teaching, with a new authority, and he successfully commands unclean spirits. Jesus must be a keeper.

There is another problem Jesus created for himself. It is the Sabbath. Jesus worked by ordering the unclean spirit out of the man. Jesus breaks the Law of Moses. Jesus breaks the Ten Commandments. Yet, instead of riding Jesus out on a rail, they accept Jesus’ teaching as a new teaching with authority. They overlook the violation of the law.

This sets the stage for Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee region. He performs miracles and his teaching supersedes the Law of Moses. So, Jesus becomes the religious authority and the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments take a back seat. This also creates the problem that the religious authorities cannot let stand. They will have to do away with Jesus. They failed to recognize that ultimate authority is found in Jesus’ commands.

“As opposed to those who, inside or outside official institutions, set themselves up as God’s spokespersons, the text from the Gospel underlines Jesus’ authority. To what extent do you accept other ‘authorities’ in your life, as if they were more important than his? From the beginning of his ministry, Jesus heals the sick and sets free those oppressed by evil forces. Are you aware that you, too, have been entrusted with the mission of healing others and setting them free? In what ways do you cooperate to create a healthier and freer world?”[1]

Text: Mark 1:21–28

Outside of Bethlehem, there is a church that commemorates the site that some think is the place where the shepherds tended their sheep over 2,000 years ago. It’s a beautiful church. There is an archeological excavation site next to the church. The site is near the top of a hill. To the east is a valley. Across the valley is a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. The settlement is modern. The church is modern. But the surrounding residences are not modern. The residents are poor.

During my visit in Bethlehem, we went to a Palestinian hospital. All people who go to the hospital are treated, even if they cannot pay. As we got off the bus, a shepherd herded his sheep across an asphalt street to a small field full of green grass. It was in the field that the sheep grazed. The shepherd could not have been dressed any differently from the ones in the nativity story. It looked like an ancient picture taken with a 21^st century backdrop.

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When Jesus was born, Bethlehem was a very small town. Everyone knew everyone else. Joseph would have many relatives there. The shepherds seemed to have easily found the holy family. There were probably not many babies born that night in Bethlehem. The scene was just as the angel had said, there was a baby lying in a manger.

The shepherds shared their story. Everyone was amazed. I don’t know if Luke was trying to politely say that everyone who heard their story thought they were full of it or not. Luke also seems to be implying that there were others there besides Mary and Joseph. Luke does not name them.

“Mary watches the strange men who arrive at her son’s cradle and demand a part in his birth. She listens as they shout about the child, telling everyone how special he is, boasting about how God sent messengers to them, explaining it all.

“Mary (may have) thought, ‘But I thought God’s messenger and God’s meaning was a gift to me and now I find he has been telling half the world.’ Before Mary has even started to be able to cling, to possess, to believe herself the only ‘favoured one’, the only one capable of helping God and interpreting God, already God begins to loosen her gripping fingers, and teach her that she must share what she has, or lose it. Quietly, ‘treasuring these words and pondering them in her heart’, Mary names her son. No family names, no names that make him part of her history or Joseph’s, but the name the angelic messenger gave her. God does not belong even to us, who love him, and yet he is a gift that we can share.”^[1]

The redemption of the world was made apparent with the naming of the messiah, the Christ.

The shepherds returned to their flocks (I hope the flocks were still intact), praising God as they went on their way. It being late at night, some who heard them may have assumed that they were partying way too late.

Eight days pass. In the Bible, the counting of things begins where you are. In other words, day one of the eight days would be the day of Jesus’ birth. The result is that the eighth day is one week later. The Feast of the Holy Name is one week after Christmas, or New Year’s Day.

The Law of Moses (Gen 17:12) says that all males are to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. It is at this time that the child is named. Luke is telling us that Mary and Joseph were very observant Jews.

We are told the baby is named Jesus. Jesus is the Latin translation of the original Greek, Ἰησοῦς. Luke’s Ἰησοῦς is a translation into Greek from Jesus’ Aramaic name, Yeshua. Aramaic was the language spoken by Jesus and his contemporaries. Yeshua, if it was written in Hebrew is Yehoshua. We translate Yehoshua in the Old Testament as Joshua. So, that is a really long way of saying that Jesus’ real name is Joshua. To further complicate things, when we see someone named Justus in the New Testament, it is really Joshua.

Last year, Joshua was the 11^th most popular name for baby boys. Jesus was 92^nd, even though they are the same name. Craig, on the other hand, was an up and coming name in 1951. It was the 63^rd most popular. It peaked in 1969 and 1970 at number 39. Last year it was the 664^th most popular name, up four points from the year before that.

Craig means crag or rocks. It was given to people who lived near a crag. It is an Irish and Scottish name that is Celtic in origin. Joshua and Jesus both mean God saves. They are Hebrew names or translations of Hebrew or Aramaic names.

I wasn’t born near a crag. I was born in a hospital. My family lived in a valley. To the best of my knowledge, an angel did not appear to either of my parents telling them what name I am to have. Craig doesn’t have God’s name in it like Joshua does.

Jesus was born, according to Luke, in a place that had a manger or eating trough nearby. That’s where the baby Jesus was put. Luke does not tell us about a barn. Luke does not tell us about a stable. Luke does not tell us about a cave. All our crèches are fashioned from our imaginations. Jesus was named by God, relayed by one of God’s messengers, an angel.

In high school, I was a sprinter on the track team. There was a kid at another high school who always beat us and everyone else. I was quicker than he was out of the blocks. As I ran down the track, I watched this kid go by me toward the finish line. He was a wide receiver for his high school, Granite. He went on to play for BYU and Hawaii and then to the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys, then later the Bears. His name is Golden Richards.

Now I had never heard of anyone named Golden before. I mean, who would name their kid Golden? Their last name isn’t Midas. Maybe his parents thought that by naming him Golden that would spur him to some kind of greatness. He still holds sprinting records at BYU. He started in the NFL and had a couple of Super Bowl rings. He was golden.

His body got pretty beat up in the NFL. Dealing with the pain, he got hooked on pain killers. He was arrested in Salt Lake City for buying pills using money he forged from his father’s checkbook. He served time for that. In 1994, he overdosed. As far as I know, he is doing okay now. Oh, Golden isn’t even rated on the list of baby names.

Gold doesn’t tarnish, but Golden Richard’s life did. There is only one who was a golden light to the world. The redemption of the world was made apparent with the naming of the messiah, the Christ.

Again, Joshua means “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh saves.” Jesus’ name describes his mission – to save the world. Can you imagine Jesus growing up and neighbor kids taunting him by asking if he has saved anyone lately? Luckily, his shoulders were big enough for the task. Such an expectation would drive most to despair.

Jesus’ approach to this task was the opposite most would take. Augustus Caesar was said to have saved the world by conquering and ruling the world, the Pax Romana. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God and it wasn’t the Roman god. Jesus was the servant leader. Instead of eliminating his opponents, Jesus won by letting his opponents win, killing him on a cross. Jesus’ win reconciled us to God. This makes Jesus’ name the greatest in history.

Text: Luke 2:15–21

Scott’s favorite team was the Houston Texans of the NFL. Scott was buried with an Andre Johnson jersey beneath his military uniform.

Last Sunday, the team decided to help Sara and Landon with gifts and honor the memory of her husband. The team brought Sara to the game under the pretense that she and her son would be part of a halftime ceremony in which Landon would receive a bike and Scott’s memory would be celebrated by the 71,500 in attendance. Sara and Landon had never been to game before.

What they didn’t know was the presentation of a really big gift. The organization, Operation Finally Home, gave Sara and Landon a new mortgage-free house. When the gift was announced on the stadium loudspeakers, the crowd roared in approval. The house will be built in Alvin, Texas.

Operation Finally Home solicits donations of land and materials to build homes for disabled veterans and war widows. It was founded by Houston builder Dan Wallrath. Thirty-two vets and widows have benefited from the charity, so far.

The celebration of Jesus’ birthday is known to us as a time of gift giving. Sara and Landon certainly received a really big gift. But the tradition of Christmas giving is a fairly recent one.

Gift giving at this time of year may have begun in ancient Rome. It was a tradition to give gifts on New Year’s Day. These were simple gifts that usually had an association with one of Rome’s gods.

Even with the fall of Rome, gift giving at the beginning of the year continued. The church tried to banish the practice to no avail. So church leaders tried to find a way to incorporate the custom with church tradition, which is how we get many of our church traditions.

The justification for gifting was found in the story of the magi and their gifts that they brought for the Christ child. Since the coming of Christ into the world was a gift from God, giving us the gift of redemption and everlasting life, we, too, might give of ourselves to others.

Giving gifts at Christmas has its roots in Victorian England. Giving gifts became a way of expressing kindness with the celebration of the season. Presents were gift wrapped to hide what they were. In-home mazes were made for people to go through to find their gift.

This tradition came across the Atlantic to the U.S. We added the Dutch tradition of Santa Claus. Santa Claus came into people’s homes leaving stockings full of goodies. Then Coca-Cola cemented the image of Santa Claus with the holiday. Then the commercialization of Christmas was well underway.

Something grand like the giving of a house to Sara Wood brings the spirit of the season back into focus from all the ads and from the excesses of events like Black Friday. Certainly the gifts of magi were also grand.

The birth of a baby is always a great gift. We are here tonight to celebrate a special birth. We don’t know what time of year Jesus was born. The church co-opted a Roman solstice holiday to shift the culture from a pagan celebration to a Christian celebration. Even though we don’t know what time of year Jesus was born, the church thought it important to observe Jesus’ birth.

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This is the Feast of the Incarnation: God entered history in human form. God thought of us so much, loved us so much, to be with us. Jesus came to right our course. Our future is one of peace and harmony. Jesus pointed us to that future. And so we observe his birth, reminding ourselves of his message. Even the angels declare peace on earth in announcing his birth. Jesus is also called the Prince of Peace. Churches are named Prince of Peace.

It was the prophet Isaiah who said that the messiah would be the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6-7) Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, calls us to peace.

For us and for Scott, Sara, and Landon Wood, Natalie Cole sings about what she wants for Christmas, her “Grown-up Christmas List:”

“No more lives torn apart
And wars will never start,
And time will heal all hearts.
Everyone will have a friend
And right will always win,
And love will never end.
This is my lifelong dream,
My Grown-up Christmas List.”

Text: Luke 2:1–20

Last Wednesday, Governor Scott had a press conference. One of the reporters at the press conference was one of those fake reporters. Fake news seems to be getting more popular these days. This reporter’s name is Aasif Mandvi who works on Comedy Central’s, “The Daily Show.”

Mandvi asked the question, “You benefit from hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars over the year, so would you be willing to prove to Florida taxpayers that you’re not on drugs?” Mandvi offered the governor a cup and asked everyone in the room to turn around to give Scott privacy in providing a specimen.

Scott responded, “I’ve done it plenty of times.” The governor then quickly moved on to another reporter for a question.

This was done partially tongue in cheek. I say partially, because people in high positions of authority tend to make rules for everyone else and ignore those same rules for themselves. Congress is an example. They pass laws that we need to observe and make themselves exempt from the law. Workplace rules are oftentimes different for the executives than from the front-line employees.

This is far from unique to our times and our country. Double standards have been part of human history for as long as history was recorded. It is this double standard that makes itself evident in today’s gospel reading. The Pharisees set rules for everyone to follow, but use different rules for themselves. And certainly, no one can be out baptizing anywhere without their knowledge and consent.

But in order to figure the baptizer out, the Pharisees send out a delegation of priests and Levites. Now they can’t figure out John without trying to pigeon-hole him. They need to put John into some kind of category to understand him. What they didn’t understand is that John is not the person they needed to be concerned with. And John the Baptist’s proclamation is important to us today, because John witnesses to Pharisees the coming messiah.

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Our gospel reading begins in John’s prologue. John’s prologue is read every Christmas Day. Today, the emphasis is on John the gospel writer’s references to John the Baptist. John, the gospel writer, was talking about Jesus as the light coming into the world. To back his argument, he makes John the Baptist as a witness to the true light coming into the world.

Two notes: The first is that John, the gospel writer, employs a lot of legal terms. John the Baptist is not proclaiming, like a preacher would. John the Baptist is testifying as if he were on a witness stand. John, the gospel writer, is not giving a theological argument (though he really is) he is giving a legal argument: Jesus is the light of the world and John the Baptist attested to that proposition.

The second observation is that John, the gospel writer, makes it explicit that John the Baptist is not the light coming into the world. John the Baptist is merely the witness. It is Jesus who is the light. I suppose that John, the gospel writer, would not have to mention this unless there was some confusion about whether or not it was Jesus or John the Baptist who is the light of the world. In fact when John wrote his gospel, there were still a sizable number of followers of John the Baptist. John, the gospel writer, wants John the Baptist’s followers to switch to Jesus.

John the Baptist’s activities caused a stir in Judea and Jerusalem. The religious officials were very interested in taking control of the situation. They wanted to know just who this guy was baptizing people in the Jordan. After all, John didn’t get any special training. He never went to seminary. He isn’t certified and licensed by the state. Just who gave him permission to do what he is doing?

Skipping to verse 19, John, the gospel writer, explicitly gives John the Baptist’s testimony. The priests and Levites are the prosecutors. (Levites are the assistants to the temple priests. The “Jews” in John’s gospel refers to the Jewish religious leaders.)

The first question they want to know is who is John the Baptist. Someone’s identity in the ancient world also includes the person’s family. One’s family determines one’s status in society. They want to know John’s pedigree for baptizing people in the Jordan.

John’s answer is probably not what they expected. They were concerned about someone doing their job without their permission. John’s answer was far more than they bargained for. John the Baptist is not the messiah. They might have accepted John if he was the messiah. But John is saying that he is not a messiah and that he is baptizing without messianic authority. The way John, the gospel writer, puts it is as a confession.

The next question is whether John the Baptist is the great prophet Elijah. As noted last week, the prophet Malachi said that Elijah will come back and announce the coming of the messiah. John denies being Elijah. (But the other gospel writers equate John the Baptist as Elijah.)

So they next ask John if he is a prophet. John denies being a prophet, though John the Baptist is saying a lot of prophet stuff.

All of those questions asked by the priests and Levites would establish John’s authority to baptize if he had answered yes to any of them. A “yes” answer could also expose John to political scrutiny that might lead to an arrest, because a yes answer would challenge the authority of the priests and possibly Rome.

Exasperated, the prosecutors then ask John to identify himself. John’s prophetic response is from second Isaiah that he is proclaiming a straight path for the Lord. This is an ambiguous response. Chapter 40 of Isaiah makes no claim as to who is going to cry in the wilderness. John is making his claim that he is that messenger.

The quote also seems out of context since second Isaiah was written to give hope to the exiles that they will be restored in Jerusalem. But that already happened. What John the Baptist seems to be saying is that he is preparing the road for the messiah.

The prosecutors were not satisfied with John’s answer. Since John was not an acceptable person to be baptizing, in other words, not the messiah, not Elijah, and not a prophet, then why on earth was he doing all this baptizing stuff?

Again John fails to give a direct answer. He deflects the answer and the issue. John downplays his actions. He just baptizes with water – no big deal. But there is someone coming that is a lot bigger than John. John may be saying that he derives his authority from Jesus.

John, the gospel writer, next tells us where all this took place. It is in today’s geography in the country Jordan. Jordan’s government has built a park at this site of John the Baptist’s ministry. The next verse we didn’t hear today contains the punch line with John upon seeing Jesus declares, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”^[1]

John the Baptist is the lead witness in a trial about the nature of Christ. Jesus is the word, the light, the messiah. The world is a dark place, but God is sending a light into the darkness. In this regard, John the Baptist is a signpost – one through whom we recognize the word and the light.

John did not come to decorate for Christmas. John did come giving us an example – to avoid those who need to put everyone in a category. We are not easy to categorize. We prepare for Jesus by heeding Jesus’ teachings. If we ask, “What would Jesus do?’ We are asking the wrong question. What we need to ask is, “What would Jesus have us do?”

Text: John 1:6–8, 19–28

“The main character in the story is a surly old man named Scrooge, who lives a miserly existence. He sees no benefit in being generous with the poor, or even providing a living wage to dedicated workers. He clutches onto his money and despises the thought of parting with any of it. But it is not only his money that Scrooge withholds from others, it is his entire being. He withholds love and kindness, he withholds warmth and friendship.

“Then, one night, Scrooge undergoes a profound crisis. He sees himself through the eyes of others. He has a vivid vision of his past; and then his present. But what is most frightful to him – what shakes him to the core of his being – is when he is granted the opportunity of a lifetime. He is allowed to witness his future. But his future proves to be so dark and frightening, that it prompts within him a dramatic change.

“He undergoes a radical transformation and becomes an entirely new person. Rather than being cold and indifferent to people, he becomes generous and compassionate.

“It is a heart-warming story. But more than that, it is a hopeful story. It provides us with the hope that we too can make needed changes in our lives. We can break free from the ruts we have burrowed, and the negative behaviors we have cultivated. We can become kind and compassionate, humble and hospitable, joyful and generous.

“I have never read anything which suggests this, but I wonder if the story of John the Baptist influenced Dickens and served as an impetus in his creation of A Christmas Carol?”[1]

Just as what happened to Scrooge, through repentance, we can prepare ourselves for Christ. John the Baptist points us to the way.

For Mark, the beginning of the good news, or the gospel, of Jesus Christ is found in the prophets. Mark also makes a point with the word “beginning” to link his gospel with the opening of Genesis. Jesus, the Son of God, is the new beginning for the world.

Mark then links Isaiah to John the Baptist. The beginning of the good news is found in prophecy, both an Old Testament prophecy and a New Testament prophecy. (Although, Mark had no concept of a New Testament like we have.)

As with any prophecy, it is the words of the prophet that are important. We might say that actions are just as important, but history only judges legitimate prophets as ones whose actions match their words. The words of the prophet live on for centuries after the prophet proclaims them.

For Mark, Isaiah’s prophesy is not about Jesus. It is about John the Baptist. Mark introduces John the Baptist so that John the Baptist can introduce Jesus. That is the whole summary of the first eight verses of Mark.

The first Old Testament quote in this passage is not from Isaiah, but from the prophet Malachi. Malachi provides much of the context for John the Baptist’s ministry. It is Malachi who says a messenger will prepare the way. Malachi anticipates that the great prophet Elijah will return to earth and proclaim the coming of the Messiah.

Before I continue with Mark, further examination of our Isaiah passage bears investigation, because Mark thought it important enough to quote. Isaiah 40:1-11, our Old Testament lesson, is famous for being part of Handel’s Messiah. This is part of what scholar’s call Second Isaiah. Isaiah 40-55 was written by Isaiah’s disciples during the Babylonian exile. Jerusalem and Solomon’s temple are in ruins. Anybody who was anybody was exiled to Babylon. This is a message of hope to a hopeless situation, to a people with no hope.

The message is clear: the desert between Babylon and Jerusalem is to be prepared, because God is going home to Jerusalem. Jews believed that God lived in the temple. With the temple gone, God was gone. God had abandoned them. But this godless time has come to an end. God will return to Jerusalem and God will gather God’s people together. Like sheep, the people will be fed and loved.

Those exiles who wanted to return to the homes of their ancestors did so under Persian rule. Their descendants are the Jews of Jesus’ time. Now Mark says that the way of God will be prepared again. Only this time there is not an exodus from Babylon. It is a reverse exodus of people from Judea and Jerusalem to the wilderness, because there is a voice in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord.

What is Mark saying? The temple was rebuilt and then remodeled by Herod the Great. So, God must be back in the temple. Why would people leave Jerusalem and the temple to go looking in the wilderness? The only logical answer can be that God is not in the temple. God has once again abandoned the people. There must have been some spiritual anxiety among at least some Jews to also abandon the temple for a wild man in the wilderness.

There must have been a strong sense of sin to go to John and have sins washed away. People abandoned the temple rites forgiving sins and going out of their way to go to John. This means that there were people who abandoned the priests of the temple to be baptized by John.

A few notes about baptism. First, the Greek word baptismo literally means a bath or to bathe. It is washing, which makes sense with water being involved. Jews engage in ritual washing. The ancient, Jewish, Qumran community performed ritual washing or baptisms as purification rites, daily.

John was baptizing to wash away sins. John seems to require people to publicly confess their sins first. Please keep in mind that if someone was there with people from her or his village, that person’s sins were pretty much already public knowledge. Of course not even people who know us well know all of our sins.

Once one’s sins were confessed, then John washed them away with water. This seems to be a once only act. Any sins that occur after this baptism may not matter. This is because this baptism is a preparation for the coming judgment. Once one was baptized for this judgment, that person was prepared and no further preparation was necessary.

People are going into the wilderness, baptized by John in the River Jordan, and crossing the water going back to the Promised Land. Mark is also describing another Mosaic exodus. God is bringing the people back through a baptism. John is providing a spiritual renewal for the world.

Why is John’s appearance worth mentioning? Mark describes John the Baptist the same way that Elijah is described in 2 Kings 1:8. John represents the return of Elijah.

In addition to baptizing, John had a proclamation, a sermon. As much as John was creating a stir in Judea, there was still one who is much more powerful than John coming. John can’t hold a candle to this one. The Mighty One who is coming will baptize people with the Holy Spirit.

The exodus of the people back to God through John the Baptist is only made complete when the messiah comes to baptize with the Holy Spirit. Through repentance, we can prepare ourselves for Christ.

What we hear in this passage is a call to humility. We never enter a job, a task, a function, whether it is in the church or in the world when someone, or more appropriately, some people prepare the way for us. There are always others who prepare our way. There is only one saviour in the world and in Advent we still wait. Waiting for a saviour is also an act of humility.

On this Second Sunday of Advent our anticipation of the coming messiah, the Christ, the Mighty One is heightened. At the same time, we are anticipating a baby in a manger. Our preparations include parties, shopping, and decorating. But how much of our busyness includes getting ready for the Mighty One who will come and baptize with the Holy Spirit?

Text: Mark 1:1–8

Today there are many new buildings. Joplin is coming back to life. But for many, the rebuilding looks empty. Childhood schools are gone forever. Childhood haunts were wiped out. Some people who were in the Wal-Mart that day can’t bring themselves to go into the brand new Wal-Mart.

The six month anniversary of the tornado is the same day we remembered John F. Kennedy’s assassination. There was shock that someone would kill the President of the United States. Tornado shock still continues in Joplin.

That cataclysm must have felt like the end of the world six months ago. Only there were no clouds carrying a Son of Man in glory. Instead, the clouds were terrifying. It was only the survivors, with help, to pick up the pieces. Still, life goes on in Joplin. The lives of some of those who died have inspired survivors to live their lives better. They are more alert to life.

Last Tuesday, 161 trees were planted in Cunningham Park, one for each life lost that day. Each tree will be a symbol of renewal. Where there was death, new life will continue.

Nothing is permanent on this earth. But Jesus assures us that his words are eternal. Jesus’ teachings continue indefinitely into a future we can only guess at. We can try to grasp at the things and stuff of this world, but it is all an illusion. Even the sun, moon, and stars don’t matter. Our hope in this Advent and every Advent is for Christ to come and make creation right. But we don’t know when that will be. So we need to be alert.

Our gospel reading today is the end of what is called Mark’s Apocalypse. It all began with the disciples admiring the beauty of the temple and Jesus telling them that the temple will soon be destroyed. Jesus rebuked them for seeing beauty in a building and not keeping their eye on the beauty of God’s kingdom. Buildings come and go. God’s kingdom will last forever.

Then they asked when all of this bad stuff will happen. Jesus gives them signs to look for. Our reading is the continuation of these signs.

Jesus previously outlined sufferings that would happen. Where we start is what happens after that suffering. It will be utterly dark. There will be no sun. There will be no moon. There will be no stars. These signs are similar to signs given by the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, and Amos. It is hard to know here if Jesus is to be taken literally or metaphorically.

The powers in the heavens will be shaken. What on earth does this mean? Ladd says, “This language does not mean necessarily the complete break-up of the universe; we know from similar language elsewhere that it designates the judgment of God upon a fallen world that has shared the fate of (human) sin, that out of the ruins of judgment a new world may be born” (Ladd, New Testament Theology, p. 203).^[1]

After this shaking of the heavens, the Son of Man will come in power and glory. Jesus is almost saying this word for word from the prophet Daniel. Jesus often refers to himself as the Son of Man. The phrase used by Daniel had become, by Jesus’ time, an eschatological title, an end times title. Jesus’ disciples would understand that Jesus is talking about the end times (if Jesus hadn’t already scared them enough already).

At this point, Jesus is the hidden Son of Man. Jesus is the suffering servant. At the eschaton, everyone will know that Jesus is the Son of Man. With the Son of Man established on the earth, he will send out angels to gather the world together.

Earlier Jesus cursed a fig tree on his way to the temple in Jerusalem. The fig tree was symbolic of Israel. Israel had not produced fruit so it is cursed to die. Jesus uses the fig tree to illustrate when the Son of Man will come. The fig tree is one of the few trees in the Holy Land that loses its leaves in the winter. So, just as the fig tree may be used to mark the seasons, the signs Jesus gives will mark the end times. But this can also be translated as the end coming without Jesus.

So, the disciple’s generation will live to see all these things happen. If we translate what Jesus says as “it is near,” then it is true that most of the disciples did see the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in the year 70. Though some things are temporary, Jesus’ words will last forever.

There are a lot of people today obsessed with the timing of the end of the world. Our Christian fundamentalist sisters and brothers are particularly obsessed with this. They believe the end is near. Since the end is near, there is no need to invest in the environment and society. It would be a waste of money. There is also no need to negotiate peace in the Holy Land, because the last battle before Jesus’ return will happen there and it will happen soon.

I don’t know if anyone else here listens to Science Friday on NPR, but last Friday they had the annual Ignobel Awards. They have ten categories. To qualify, a researcher must have done something that sounds funny, even though it is serious. Some scientists don’t participate because they don’t see the humor in their work. But many scientists travel at their own expense to Harvard from all over the world to receive their award. One of winning categories this year is for all the people who have predicted the end of the world since the 1950s. The last name was Harold Camping. None of the people listed were present to receive their award.

Here’s the problem: Jesus says that no one will know when the end times come. Even the angels will not know. Not even the son will know. (Now this creates a theological problem in that the Father and the Son are supposed to be one and presumably have perfect knowledge one with the other. But Jesus seems to have sacrificed omniscience for taking human form.) But let us assume that even Jesus is ignorant of the timing of the end. So, even knowing the signs that Jesus gives are useless in predicting the end times.

C. F. D. Moule says, “New Testament thought on the Last Things, at its deepest and best, always concentrates on what God has already done for (people) in Christ. It does not say how long will it be before the last whistle blows full-time? Rather it says Where ought I to be to receive the next pass? What really matters is that the kick-off has already taken place, the game is on and we have a captain to lead us on to victory. (C. F. D. Moule, The Birth of the New Testament [London SCM], 1966], pp. 101–2)^[2]

Jesus’ advice for us is simple. Stay alert.

To make the point easier to understand, Jesus gives us a parable. In the parable, a man leaves his servants in charge. They don’t know when the man will return. It could be any day and anytime during the day and night. And he better not come home and find a servant sleeping.

It’s like when I was at American Express and a VIP came from New York. We were told to look busy. Yet our fundamentalist brothers and sisters are not looking busy. They are doing very little to move Jesus’ agenda forward. They are more concerned about date setting.

For many of us, our issue during Advent is not sleeping it away, but rather when will we sleep. Our society is so caught up in preparing for Christmas that we forget the baby Jesus. So let us keep alert for incarnational moments during Advent – those times when we see Jesus in other people and other situations. That would be a worthy Advent activity. So, stay awake.

[Reuters contributed to this blog.]

Text: Mark 13:24–37

There are apparently some people who think they can skirt the law by using a bow. After all it is silent, making it hard to get caught. One such person decided to hunt turkeys in Davis with a bow. This unknown hunter, at least as of now, shot a turkey, but it didn’t die. Instead, it was strutting around Davis with an arrow through its hind quarters. State Fish and Game is investigating.

Fish and Game determined that it would do more harm to the turkey to catch and heal it then it would be to leave the arrow in it. Later they did remove the arrow. When the arrow was in, the turkey became something of a celebrity in Davis.

Turkeys are also pests. So it may not have been a hunter who shot the bird. (A picture of the turkey will be with the sermon on the web site.)

Fish and Game’s “Keep Me Wild” campaign offers the following advice:

• If turkeys lunch under bird feeders, remove the feeders until the turkeys go away.
• Install motion-detector sprinklers to scare turkeys from lawns.
• Turkeys don’t hang around yards with dogs.
• An open umbrella is a good defense when confronted by an angry bird.
• Don’t feed turkeys.

A turkey dinner or usually some kind of bird is traditional fare on this day. Our meals this day stuff us more than we stuff birds. Another tradition is Thanksgiving leftovers. Our meals this day are signs of God’s loving abundance. Our meals today are signs of the kingdom of God that Jesus points us to.

We give thanks to God for all the gifts that yield a great bounty. And we are charged by God to take care of what God gives us.

Psalm 65 is a Thanksgiving psalm. It is what Thanksgiving is all about. Now, I don’t usually preach on a psalm, but this psalm is really Thanksgiving.

The psalm, rightfully, begins by praising God. God is the source of all we have. It is to God that we give thanks for all we have. The Psalmist gives other reasons to praise God. God answers prayers. When we mess up, God forgives us.

God hears the prayers of those who are chosen. It’s not clear who are chosen, but it is likely the chosen people, Israel. Those who are devoted to God will receive a special reward. Those who are loyal to God are blessed.

We recall God’s power and awesome deeds. We are delivered from adversity. God is a God of hope. God’s rule isn’t limited to Israel. God’s rule is over the whole earth. Even powerful mountains are formed by God.

The seas are calmed by God. In ancient times, water and the seas represent chaos. God controls chaos. No matter how far away people live from Jerusalem, they are awed by God’s signs and wonders. The gates of the morning and the evening are the east and the west. All the earth shouts for joy for what God brings.

God waters the earth, giving our world life. God brings a bounty. The river of God is always full of water. With this water, there is enough grain for everyone to eat. The earth’s furrows and ridges are shaped by God’s gift of water. This is the source of the world’s growth. The harvest brings a great bounty at the end of the year – a time for Thanksgiving. God’s carts overflow with richness. God’s carts may be the clouds, over laden with water for the earth.

Even in the wilderness, the pastures overflow. There is abundant feed for the livestock. The fertility of the land even causes the hills to be filled with joy. The meadows are full of sheep. The valleys are planted with immense fields of grain. All the land, the animals, the grasslands, and the people all sing for joy at the bounty of the land. God is creator and redeemer. For all of God’s gifts, we give thanks.

God gives us water for life. But how well are we stewards of that water? Do we put trash in water? Do we engage in unsafe toilet practices near streams? Do we dump pollutants like crude oil and chemicals in water? Do we flush prescription medicine in our sewer lines?

Water is basic for life on our planet and yet oftentimes we take it for granted. Cholera and other ailments are consequences for our lack of stewardship of water. We produce air pollution which not only affects our breathing, but also makes acid rain, which pollutes our water. Climate change is changing rainfall patterns that we are already seeing: big winter storms in California and persistent drought in Texas. We have not always been kind to this great gift from God.

God gives us the gift of water. It is up to us to use this gift properly and for the greater good of all. The ethic of the environment is really very simple. It is the camping ethic. Leave a place the way you found it – assuming it is not already polluted when you first encountered it. Then the ethic is to leave the place better than the way you found it. And give thanks to God for the gift of water and all the other gifts that God bestows upon us.

Perhaps just like the Davis turkey who can now walk without an arrow, we give thanks to God for all the gifts that yield a great bounty. And we are charged by God to take care of what God gives us.

[Bill Lindelhof of the Sacramento Bee contributed to this sermon.]

Text: Psalm 65

Now when we think of saints, the Michigan Batman may not be included. But I want to tell you about another person. Her name is Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was born in 1910 in what was then the Ottoman Empire and what is now Macedonia. Her father owned a hardware business and was one of the wealthiest people in town. He died when Agnes was nine years old. Then her mother raised her in the Roman Catholic Church.

As a girl, Agnes was fascinated with the lives of missionaries. So, she decided that she wanted to be one too. At the age of 18, she went to Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. She never saw her home town, her mother, or her sister ever again. After she learned English, she was sent to India. She took her vows in 1931 and took the name of Teresa. She taught in a school in Calcutta until she appointed headmistress in 1944.

In 1946, Sister Teresa heard a “call with in a call.” She was to leave the convent and help the poor of Calcutta. In 1949, a group of young women joined her in her work. She had to beg for food and supplies.

On October 7, 1950, the Vatican gave her permission to start a congregation that later was named the Missionaries of Charity. The mission was to care for “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers,” and all who are shunned by everyone.

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Mother Teresa started with an order of 13 in Calcutta. Today the order has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices, while caring for refugees, the blind, the disabled, the aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine.

Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. In her later life, Mother Teresa suffered from many ailments. In 1997, she resigned as head of her order and died six months later. India gave her a state funeral.

To list Mother Teresa’s accomplishments would take a good deal of time here this morning. She was recognized as a saint long before she died. She will soon be on the Roman Catholic calendar. Our accomplishments may pale in comparison to Mother Teresa, but we are also saints. Today is our day.

I am guessing that the beatitudes were picked to be read this day because they exemplify what it is to be a saint. We saints build God’s kingdom by: being poor in spirit, confessing our sins, being meek, focused on rightness, being merciful, being Christ-like, making peace, and suffering persecution.

We don’t know where the Sermon on the Mount took place. Since only Matthew mentions it there is doubt about its literal setting and it may be a literary device by Matthew. Matthew often compares Jesus to Moses. The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus giving the law to his followers, just as Moses did on Sinai. There is a large hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee that is identified as the site for this sermon. There is a church and monastery on the hill. The garden is gorgeous.

Jesus teaches his disciples. Of course, that is why this is called The Sermon on the Mount. It’s a long sermon. I doubt anyone took notes. It may have taken days. The beatitudes seem to reflect Isaiah 61 – just saying.

Jesus begins with what we call the Beatitudes. This is because each statement begins with the English word, blessed. A more literal translation for blessed would be “happy.” I think it may be safely assumed that the situations that Jesus refers to are well known by his hearers. Jesus doesn’t use parables here. Jesus does not elaborate. Each beatitude is in two parts. The first part states a condition that the disciples are familiar with in this life. Jesus then tacks on a short peace of good news. The purpose of the beatitudes is to point people where they should be. We are to do these things, now.

Let’s look at each beatitude. The first one blesses the poor in spirit. At first glance this seems an odd thing to bless. The Greek word translated as poor literally means being economically challenged. Wealth and privilege entail great spiritual peril. Accumulating money makes money the object of one’s desire. It may then be tempting to push God aside. So, the poor in spirit are blessed. They understand their utter dependence on God. These will be rewarded with the kingdom of heaven. They accept Jesus’ reign. Matthew repeats this theme elsewhere in his gospel.

Those who grieve are blessed. When both John the Baptist and Jesus said that the kingdom was near, they didn’t expect jubilation. They expected tears. This is a realization of how we have failed to make the kingdom a reality. When we confess our shortcomings, we will be comforted.

The Greek word for meek here is the same word used to describe the Virgin Mary, meek and mild. I won’t even get started on Jewish mother and son issues. But, could Jesus be thinking about his mother here? Impossible to tell. Just as today, society in Jesus’ time exalted aggressive, harsh, and tyrannical people. Meek people were disgusting individuals. Here, Jesus elevates the disgusting to the rulers of the world. Those who are not meek will get the boot.

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness? I don’t know – I’m asking. We can assume that what Matthew means by “righteousness” is spoken to the disciples as individuals rather than being heard in a collective sense. The literal meaning of the word means doing right by or for God. So we have a sense of godly, right actions done by disciples (us) and having an unquenchable need to achieve this righteousness. If we do this, we will be satisfied, like after eating a Thanksgiving meal.

If we are merciful, we will receive mercy. This can be called karma or as paying it forward. Mercy includes forgiveness and compassion for the poor. If we are merciful, God will show us mercy. It also helps to be meek.

Jesus next blesses the pure in heart. I mean, who is really pure in heart? It may be that this means that if we are committed to the kingdom and its righteousness, we will be inwardly pure. Being committed to the kingdom is to be one with Christ. When we are in this kind of state, we will see God.

Jesus next blesses those who make peace. Not necessarily the peaceful. This requires one to be active. Universal peace will bring God’s kingdom to earth. Those who help peace happen are children of God. This is global reconciliation. This is global forgiveness.

But the world is more interested in keeping its hates and prejudices instead of peacemaking. The world wants to persecute those who are different or those who disagree. Seeking God’s righteousness is hazardous duty. Those who are persecuted get the same reward as the poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven.

The final beatitude is really an extension of the previous one. The previous beatitude is applied to the disciples. Jesus calls insults and slander persecution. Only this persecution is because of Jesus. So, what do we do when we are persecuted? We rejoice! Why? Because our reward is great in heaven and we are in the same company as the prophets.

Our allegiance is to the suffering Christ. It should not be surprising that we are called to suffer. There is nothing that can be done to us in this life that won’t be rewarded in the next. And we have the satisfaction of doing our part to bring about the kingdom here on earth.

Mother Teresa was a beatitude kind a woman. As hard as it seems to make the beatitudes a part of our lives, Mother Teresa did it. But very few of us are called to be like Mother Teresa. If there were many, she probably would not have been unique enough to receive the Nobel Prize for peace. But God gives us gifts to bring about the kingdom. God also gives us exceptional people to model ministry for us.

We are here, because we are part of Jesus’ entourage. The Sisters of Charity are another part of Jesus’ entourage. There is probably not a Mother Teresa here, but we are saints nonetheless. We saints build God’s kingdom by: being poor in spirit, confessing our sins, being meek, focused on rightness, being merciful, being Christ-like, making peace, and suffering persecution.