Category: News

Matthew 5: 13-16 ¹³ ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.¹⁴ ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

If you have a headache, you can take a pain medication to relieve it.  Whether you prefer Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen, you ingest the pills, and the medicine works to relieve the symptoms you suffer from.  Does it make any sense to leave the medication in the cabinet when you need them?  The point of the medication is to be taken when you need them, you would not purchase them and then ignore them, keeping them in the linen closet.  When you need them, you take them, so that they may do what they were created to do.  The pills were created to relieve symptoms of the human body.  They have a connection and purpose to affect the human body.

Perhaps then we can understand when Jesus says, you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world.  Salt is used to affect things, whether to season or to preserve or to heal.  Salt on a shelf is useless, salt must be salted on things.  Light is used to affect things, specifically to banish darkness.  A light under a bed fails to shine into the living room.  The church is connected to the earth and to the world. Tylenol is useless unless a body ingests it.   The Church is useless without the earth and the world.

But the daily struggle among people in a community of faith is that connection with others.  We could have many reasons why we withdraw from others.  Perhaps we are afraid of being injured or abused in the many ways one could be traumatized and so we withdraw from others.  Perhaps we have different goals and agendas for our limited resources, which include time, and to connect with others would mean interference or interruption of those goals and agendas.  Perhaps we are just lazy and idle and to build relationships with other people requires too much from us.  Perhaps people have the worst personalities and grate on our last nerve.  Whatever the reason, when it comes to salt the earth or to shine in the world, we escape, we withdraw, we perform our best turtle impersonation and pull our heads inside our shells.  When it comes time to fulfill our callings and purposes, we don’t.  The salt loses its saltiness, and the light is thrown under the bed.

Let your light shine before others, Jesus commands in his Sermon on the Mount.  The before others seems to be the more demanding piece of this Word.  We have no problem shining our lights in the safety of our sanctuaries, surrounded by the security of likeminded brothers and sisters, or the protection of our private spaces.  Whether reading our bibles or saying our prayers or giving praise, or serving our neighbors, we shine our light all too well.  But we could stand to shine a little bit better-before others.  Who needs to be salted or to be enlightened in our communities?  Will you ever do so from your sanctuaries, from your flower beds or from your easy chairs?  Tylenol is useless on the kitchen window sill, salt is useless in the pantry, and light is useless under a blanket.  Let you light shine, but let it shine before others.

Whether we can admit it or not, the community of faith live in glass houses.  The whole purpose of the church is to be those who live together before others.  When we choose to be a community that escapes, withdraws, and/or retreats from our sacred calling, people will see us one way or the other, and what will they see; a community that loves God and neighbors, or a community that isolates from and abandons the community.  The Church lives in glass houses, the community around will always be watching.  They will see our self-giving love to that community, or they will see us flee and hide from that community.  They will see one or the other: selfish-ness or selfless-ness. 

Friends, we might not be able to choose whether other people see or not, but we can choose what people see from us.  But what we must never do, is avoid our calling to be responsible with what people see at all.  People will always see the glass house and even if we put up curtains, they will still see that we don’t want them to see anything.  We are the salt of the earth and we are the light of the world.  This day and every time, choose to be salt and light.  Not salt in the pantry, nor light under the bed, but salt in the earth and light in the world.  Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.  Amen.

Jeremiah 29:10-14

¹⁰ For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfil to you my promise and bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. ¹² Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. ¹³ When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, ¹⁴ I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  This picture is not the exception.  From the expression of the young boy, to his hair on end, to the rapture of the young woman and her holding his hand, this picture invokes many things and the comments added make several important comparisons.  But, I think I could summarize the thoughts of the young man with a single word; whether the roller coaster or the plans of God, the typical human reaction is “OOF.”

God’s plans don’t always appear obvious and at times might be hidden.  After losing a job, what am I supposed to do now?  “OOF.”  Amid a time of personal loss and grief, how do I carry on without that someone?  “OOF.”  God’s plans might certainly push or drag us out of our comfort zones.  You are asking me to what; that intimidates me. “OOF.” God’s plans might be highs and lows; times of blessings followed by times of crisis.  “OOF.”  But perhaps the most difficult, is that God’s plans might ask us to change, or to re-learn a new attitude or behavior; and we are threatened by the vulnerability needed to be transformed.  “OOF.”

While we can all relate to the young boy when asked to follow Jesus Christ, we can take comfort in the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The young girl is not phased by fear but seems to enjoy a new excitement and energy.  The young girl also shares that presence of control and peace with the young boy and his “OOF.”  The Holy Spirit does the same to us.  No hiddenness, no emotional turmoil, no insecurity, no crisis, and no threat disturb the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is secure in the Spirit’s connection with the Father and the Son.  And the good news for us, that present security is imparted to those who are open to it.  The Holy Spirit holds our hands, never letting go, but being the foundation and security on which we can rely.  Even in an “OOF” moment, the Spirit is at Peace and there to give Peace.

Perhaps then we can understand, as Jeremiah reminded Israel, that even when God’s plan is challenging and difficult, we have hope for surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. God’s plans are not to injure or destroy us but plans for our welfare.  Not to cut us off or throw us into catastrophe, but to give us a future with hope.  Even when our discipleship in the moment is the terror of a roller coaster we can be at peace because the Spirit is Peace and there to give us Peace.  Even in our “OOF” moments, we can have peace, because we are held, and we are held in Peace.

So, friends, we will all have times when God’s plan is both terrifying and overwhelming, but we also have the Spirit of Jesus Christ; to be present in Peace and to impart Peace to us.  If you are now in one of those “OOF” moments, with whatever name and face you which to name it, remember that when you search for me, you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart. I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.  We might now have difficult moments following God’s plans, but we also have the Spirit of Jesus Christ.  That means that our “OOF” moments can become “Peace” moments through the Holy Spirit; and all this to the glory of God.  Amen. 

¹⁸ As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹ As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22

Snow Day.  Nothing inspires more students to joy and trepidation to parents than when the Superintendent informs families that school is not in session due to the weather.  While children enjoy in the interruption into their schedules, no longer having to take tests, study new ideas and complete homework, parents have a far greater response.  Snow Days are an unwelcome interruption because work schedules must be changed because students need supervision.  Parents must make changes to appointments and driving schedules, parents have to make sure they have enough milk and bread for kids who would normally be at school.  Snow days can be a welcome and an unwelcome interruption into our lives. 

Imagine the interruption in the lives of Simon and Andrew, James and John, when Jesus approaches their boats around the Sea of Galilee.  To fish as a profession means to keep schedules, times when the repairs need to be finished, times when sailing out to sea needs to happen, times to throw the nets and times to pull them in.  While amid the daily fishing routine, Jesus interrupts, follow me, I will make you fishers of men.  Stop that work and start my work.  Leave this place and follow me to another.  The 4 fishermen certainly did not expect an encounter with Jesus, nor allow time in their day for a jaunt elsewhere, yet nonetheless, Jesus interrupts their schedules, routines, and lives with His call to follow.  Would it be welcome or unwelcome?

What happens when Jesus interrupts our days?  What happens when Jesus interrupts our plans and our schedules, with an unexpected encounter, or an unexpected chore, or an unexpected mission moment, or an unexpected possibility to love an unknown neighbor?  Would Jesus’ call be welcome or unwelcome?  We do have moments of God-awareness when we hear the call, see the opportunity and obey the direction of Christ.  But we also have those moments, when out of our aggravations, and in our self-interest, we miss the call, we fail to see, we disobey the direction of Christ.  We have moments when we follow the impulses of the Holy Spirit and allow Christ’s plan to interrupt our plans, but we also have times when perhaps we resist and end up interrupting Christ’s plan, insisting on our own.

The good news of the Gospel is that wrapped up inside the Call of Jesus is not only the power to recognize who is calling us, when that happens; but also, the power to obey it.  Jesus is not just the Son of God with the authority to demand obedience.  Jesus is also the Son of Man with the faith to give it.  Who better to help us accept God’s Call upon us, whenever God may give it, that the one who is also the new and perfect Adam who chooses to perfectly follow the direction of God?  Jesus is not just God commanding us, but Jesus is also the perfect human able and willing to follow.  Jesus is not just God, but also our Brother.  This is why the 4 fishers can follow.  Most would have blown Jesus off, but these 4 follow, because He has something not seen before.  Not just another teacher, with ideas and directives, but with the authority of God.  So, the 4 leave behind boats, nets and families and follow Jesus, even amid the enormous interruption to their lives.

Friends, we find ourselves in a few short moments once again in the time of Lent, the season of introspection and transformation.  Perhaps what we can do thanks to the Spirit of Jesus Christ, is learn to allow the many interruptions of God into our lives instead of resisting and insisting on our own plans and schedules.  Perhaps what we could do this Lent is to step into a time and place where we, without ceasing, follow the direction of God over and in our lives, by giving up our times into the hands of God; instead of following our own directions, by taking our times into our own hands.  Perhaps this Lent, we can be more like the 4 fishermen who followed the Call of Christ which interrupts, instead of the 4 who stayed by the Lake.  Amen. 

Matthew 3:13-17

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ ¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. ¹⁶ And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

Shoveling snow is hard when you don’t have a snow blower.  My son was born during a snow/ice storm and trying to shovel a foot of ice encrusted snow is challenging at best.  I was only able to shovel a tiny fraction before quitting in frustration.  I returned the next day with some help to shovel, only to find that my driveway had been completely cleared.  My neighbor had seen me struggling and sent over her husband with a snow blower to clear it for us, knowing that we were in the hospital.  Someone else did the work for us.

Perhaps, this explains why Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan, under John the Baptist for the forgiveness of sins.  Not having any sins of his own, why is he submitting to a confession of sin?  Not being sinful but in perfect communion with his Father through the Holy Spirit, why is he repenting or turning back to God?  Not being guilty of crossing any laws, or missing any marks, or falling short of any expectations, why is he asking for forgiveness?  John even asks, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?  Quite simply, Jesus is doing the work for us.  He doesn’t need to confess, but we do, and we won’t do so.  He doesn’t need to repent, but we do, and we won’t do so.  He doesn’t need to ask for forgiveness, but we do, and we won’t do so.  Jesus is baptized for the forgiveness of sins, confessing and begging for forgiveness for us, because we wouldn’t nor couldn’t do so for ourselves.  He did the work for us.

Perhaps then this explains why Jesus answered John as he did, let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.  The word for fulfill in a quite literal sense means to fill up.  This creates a provocative image of Jesus filling our confessions with his own, knowing how empty they could be, if we offer them at all; Jesus filling our repentance with his own knowing how meager our repentance could be, if we repent at all; Jesus filling our requests for forgiveness with his own, knowing how shallow and imperfect ours could be, if we ask at all.  Jesus fills what is lacking in us, a human returning to God and seeking reconciliation.  Jesus does the work for us, because our work of atonement never could be full, even if we ever wanted to try.  Jesus does the work for us.

But the good news is not just what Jesus does for us, but also what is given to Jesus to give to us.  It is after Jesus’ baptism that the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  Jesus doesn’t just do the work on our behalf, but also does the work of God on God’s behalf.  The Spirit comes upon him so that He might give the Spirit to us.  He gave our sins to God; He now gives God’s Spirit to us.  The very Spirit which creates, forgives and gives life to Jesus, which we seen witnessed in Scripture, is given to Jesus to give to us, who need re-created, re-forgiven and re-surrected.  Jesus is filled with the Spirit to fulfill righteousness, by filling us with Holy Spirit.  Jesus does the human work for us, but also does God’s work to us. 

But perhaps the most needed and most powerful aspect of Jesus’ work Jesus for us and to us is found in the words spoken to Jesus from heaven, this is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.  Does Jesus not know who He is and how much He is loved and how much He pleases His Father?  But what if we need to hear this?  Jesus does the work of repentance for us, Jesus does the work of God to us, but this results with us becoming what we need so desperately need, we are well-pleasing children of God.  Jesus works for us, Jesus works for God, that we might be part of the Divine Family; that we might be covenant people; that we might become children of God.  Jesus works to reconcile us and all things to God; to reconcile the Creator with the Creation.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, as we enter the season of our life together between the seasons of Christmas and Easter, we are reminded of all that Jesus came to do.  Work for us to God.  Work to us from God.  But, if we live under this work and in the power of the Holy Spirit, then as children of God, we have work to do for others and for God.  As the Body of Christ, our sacred calling is the witnessing to what Jesus has done for us and to us.  By being the family of God together, together we can be agents of reconciliation to a weary world.  Jesus works for us; we can work for Jesus.  Jesus works for God, we can work for God.  As agents of reconciliation, we can be a collective witness for God.  Because of Jesus, yes, we can shovel snow without a snow blower.  Let us be reconciled to God and to each other.  Amen. 

Lamentations 3:22-24

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
    his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul,
    ‘therefore I will hope in him.’

Another holiday season is over.  We have taken down the trees with the ornaments that took much time to hang.  The wreaths, snowmen and angels are in their boxes for another long wait.  The pies, cookies and candies have been eaten.  The football games have been played, won, or lost.  The cards, wrapping paper, and boxes have been recycled.  The kids and grandkids are back in school.  The holiday season is over, and we are settling in for another long winter season.

But while the holidays are over, we do have one thing that never ceases or comes to an end.  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end.  God’s covenant with God’s people never ceases and never comes to an end.  We might enjoy the end of the Christmas music on the radio station, but we will never have a time when the steadfast love of God stops loving and creating.  We might struggle with the sadness of an end to the joyous season, but we will never have a time when the mercies of God cease.  The holidays may fade from view, but the good news of the Gospel is that the Grace of God never fades, cease, or stops.

But the Gospel is not just that God never ceases, but also that they are new every morning.  We have a portion for each day that is refreshed daily.  Steadfast love for today.  Mercy for today.  Another chance to be faithful to God.  Another opportunity to act as a covenant community.  While we might enjoy the forgiveness of yesterday and last year, we also enjoy the portion for today and 2023.  Love and mercy for today and this year, fresh for this day and fresh for every day to come.  Daily bread and daily forgiveness but also daily calling, daily mission, daily prayer, daily service, and daily faith.  God’s grace is new every morning, and so must our faithful response be new every day.

Perhaps this response is what is written, ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’  We can live this day with today’s portion granted by God.  Fresh and new is what God gives us for today, but do we responsibly use that portion to hope and live in God for today?  What about our attitudes, do we have hope and joy, the portion of God, or cynicism and despair?  What about our thoughts, do we think on love and righteousness, the portion of God, or selfishness and self-absorption?  What about our actions, do we act in truth and justice, the portion of God, or are we consumed by inaction and wrongdoing?  What about our re-actions, do we respond with grace and blessing, the portion of God, or do we respond to others with hate and suspicion, knee-jerk reactions?  We are graciously given a fresh portion of God every day, to what end and in what responsibility do we use them?

My friends, as we begin a new year and new day, the Gospel reminds us that while the holidays and all the special traditions they convey are over, God is never over, never ceases and never runs out.  That love and mercy is fresh every day with a fresh portion of Grace.  But the Gospel also challenges us that we can respond to what is given to us daily, by daily giving faithfulness and obedience to God.  What will you do today with what God gives you today?  What will you do with 2023?  Great is your faithfulness, O God; by your Word and Spirit, may our faithfulness be just as great.  Amen.     

Video services have been combined with Eastside Presbyterian Church. Eastside posts the services each week on their web site via YouTube.

The link to Eastside Presbyterian Church is: http://www.eastsidepres.org/

The link to Eastside YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/@eastsidepresbyterianchurch1311