Walking in the Dark

Scripture: 1 John 1:5-2:2


1 John in this passage is an apt description of the tension we live in as human beings and followers of Christ. We are called out of the darkness of sinful, selfish, greedy, self-serving lives that come so naturally to humanity and into the light of Christ – that is a life of sacrifice, caring more about others than yourself, and always, always, behaving in the best possible way at all times.

The reality is – none of us are going to live that way in this world 100% of the time. Think of the number of Christians in this world if they never acted sinfully – if they never in their faith journey “walked in the dark,” so to speak. The world would be a different place, no doubt.

But we know, for a fact, no Christian out there walks in the light 100% of the time. Because sin is not just an action that we do – it is a state of being. Our world itself is filled with dark corners, with brokenness, problems that are both in and outside of our control… and we simply cannot avoid falling into the depths of darkness at times.

So how can 1 John state, “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness we lie and we do not do what is true?”

The Word Made Flesh

Scripture: John 1:1-18

Admittedly, John’s Gospel is one of my favorite gospels. Probably because it is littered with imagery and symbolism. While other gospels, like Matthew and Luke, may open with genealogies and the nativity story, or Mark opens right up with Jesus’ baptism – John’s Gospel is more cosmic and sweeping. It takes us back to those first words of Genesis – in the beginning – and reminds us that what God is doing involves the whole of creation. That this is the God who speaks life in the midst of darkness.

That the God we are about to hear about is the same God whose Word brought everything into existence.

If you remember back to Genesis – God’s creative acts were always prefaced by, “And God said…” and God has continued to speak ever since. He has continued to speak into our world. He has continued to speak into our lives.

From the very beginning, God’s relationship with humanity has been centered around communication.

So the question of course that Genesis raises is: what happens when that life-giving communication between the creation and the divine breaks down?
If you think about it – the vast majority of all relationship problems are about communication. There are misunderstandings, unintended meanings… we just don’t communicate well with each other much of the time because we have many selfish things that drive what we are hearing and what we are saying.

Our relationship with God isn’t much different. It’s just as broken. It’s just as misunderstood.

But communication is also the way in which we build relationship. It’s the way in which we are able to mend relationships as much as it breaks them.

O Come, O Come Immanuel

Scripture: Daniel 3

Now I have to admit – the first time I saw this story was what was scheduled to be our first week of Advent text, my reaction was… “huh?” How on earth does the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being thrown in the fiery furnace have ANYTHING to do with the first week of Advent? I mean – I guess they both involve fire.

Then I realized it might be helpful to recognize the context of the book of Daniel. As we’ve been going through this Narrative Lectionary, we’ve been following the trials and tribulations of the people of God. Last week, Pastor Meg talked about the Prophet Jeremiah, who was one of the prophets who was alive during the time of the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonian Empire and were taken away as exiles into Babylon.

Daniel is a book that takes a look at what happened during their time in Exile – in fact, many scholars believe it was the last book of the Old Testament to be written – and they believe it was written as a book of hope that looked back at their time in Babylonian exile while living under the oppression of what was known as the Seleucid Empire – which was about 100 years before Jesus’ birth.

A book that addresses issues of faith in the midst of oppression and difficult circumstances. Faith in a time when it seemed God wasn’t really listening to His people. It’s a book that deals with issues of hope in the midst of despair. Hope in the midst of oppression. Hope in the midst of exile.

Imperfect Saints

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-18

On this All Saints Sunday, I think there is no more fitting story one could tell than the story of Elijah. An important prophet of God, revered throughout the scriptures as one of the most important prophets that ever lived… is one of the two prophets who appear at Jesus’ transfiguration… and at this moment in his story…

He says, “It’s enough. Take my life away.” I have done enough – and it’s over.

He’s lying under a broom tree, begging God to kill him. He’s given up. He doesn’t want to be the prophet anymore. He’s sick of it. He did what was asked of him – now he just wants to die in peace. How can God continue to ask him to keep going when the battle is a futile battle?

Not quite what we expect when we think of one of the greatest of all prophets.

We're Broken - So Now What?

Scripture: 1 Kings 5:1-5, 8:1-13; John 2:19-22

I am sure most of you are aware of the movement across the country that says “I love Jesus, but not the church.”

It's a movement that says they like the Jesus of the Bible and his teachings, but that we Christians are a bunch of hypocritical, homophobic, judgmental people that are always asking for money. That the “church” as an institution is broken and sometimes corrupt.

And they’d be right. The church… as an institution… is all that, and more. It’s full of broken people who make bad decisions, have misunderstandings, are selfish… in short – the church is full of sinful people.

So why do we bother? If we’re so broken, why do we keep insisting on coming together every week?

The Binding of Isaac

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14

Every time I read this story – I always have the same thought that crosses my mind. What on earth did Isaac have to be thinking?

“Yeah, sure – hey dad, let’s go on this trip and make a sacrifice. We’ve got ourselves some wood, some fire, some… ummm… hey, dad… uh… where’s the sacrifice? Where’s the ram, or the goat, or the lamb that we’re supposed to be using?

Oh, God will provide. Ok. Cool… but… wait… ummm… why exactly are you binding my hands and feet? And putting me on top of the wood, and lighting the fire… and pulling out that knife … uh… hey! Wait a second!!”

Many will say this is a story about how God tested Abraham’s faith – though you have to admit, Isaac’s kinda up there on the whole faith thing, too, in this story. Not sure how willingly I’d allow myself to be bound and tossed upon a pile of burning wood.

Jesus is Coming... Look Busy!

Scripture: Luke 12:32-40; Genesis 15:1-6, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

As a kid, my favorite thing in the whole world was to go swimming. At a friend’s pool, at the lake, the ocean – didn’t matter. I loved going swimming. So when my parents would promise me that we were going to go swimming – my response was normally to run around and get ready so when they got home for work or errands or whatever they were doing – I was all ready to go. Swimsuit was on – pool accessories were packed. I’d even cleaned the kitchen and done some chores around the house so that when my parents got home – they’d have less work to do so we could leave sooner.

So it makes me wonder… if I’m so ready and eager and running around getting things ready just so I can go swimming… why do I not spend more time running around, getting things ready for God’s coming Kingdom?
I mean, it’s kind of the same thing, isn’t? God’s made us a promise – that it is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. What a promise. That all God wants to do is give us His Kingdom.

And yet – we spend so little of our time preparing for that coming Kingdom. Preparing for Christ’s return. And then I realized – part of the problem is, do we really even know HOW to prepare for the coming Kingdom? Do we really even, if we’re honest, look forward to it?