Sermon Archive -- Epiphany -- Rev. Nancy Amacher
January 7, January 14, January 21, January 28, February 4, February 11, February 18
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January 7, 2007 – Rev. Nancy Amacher
When I think of baptismal fonts, two images come to mind.
Baptistry—in the ruins of a Byzantine church in the Negev desert. Dates back to the 5th century. Shaped like a cross. With steps leading down into the middle of the cross/baptistery. Literally going into the death of Jesus on the cross and coming up out of the cross/water with Jesus in a new life/resurrection.
Baptistry
at St. Benedict the African church on the south side of
Baptism is our membership card. It is how we enter the church.
We become part of the family of God in Christ Jesus.
Lots of sisters and brothers.
Take out LBW and turn to page 199. We call it the affirmation of baptism. I would invite us to affirm our baptisms this morning on the day we call “The Baptism of Our Lord.” If you were baptized as a child—perhaps you can give thanks for those who nurtured you in the faith. If you were baptized as an adult, perhaps you can give thanks for the community of faith that led you to that baptism. If you have not been baptized, please reflect on the imagery of gift and welcome in this ceremony.
What
is baptism?
Is it insurance?
Is it assurance.
Both.
Baptism protects us against loss. The loss of identity, the loss of family, the loss of home and property. We always have an identity because God knows our name. We always have a family because we are children of the heavenly father, sister or brother in Christ to numerous people—a few of whom we know intimately but many whom we do not know. We have a home because our home is with God. Whatever heaven is, it is being in the presence of God. And we have property because the whole creation belongs to God. It is a gift to us—to take care of and to use for the good of all.
Baptism is more than insurance, however. It is assurance. It is the blessed assurance that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the sacrament of holy baptism, there are two phrases that bear repeating this morning.
1. You have been sealed by the holy spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.
Who meets us at the font?
God’s own self in Jesus.
2. Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to God in heaven.
Water overflows with promise.
I am certain the writer of Isaiah was not thinking of baptism when he wrote the words of today’s first lesson. But the words most assuredly correspond to the promises we have through our baptisms.
Read Isaiah 43:1-7.
Verse
1—substitute your name for
Do not fear.
When you pass thru the water, I am with you.
When you walk thru fire, I am with you.
Do not fear, I am with you.
Why????
Because you are precious in my sight,
And honored, and I love you.
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January 14, 2007 – Rev. Nancy Amacher
Wedding stories. I could tell you some sad ones. Like the young man who less than a month after the wedding called me to say that his wife had moved out. When I spoke to her later in the day, she said, “It was a mistake. I knew it, but I didn’t want to disappoint my parents or my friends.”
Fortunately, I have more happy and humorous stories to tell than sad ones. Like the best man who, when I asked for the rings, said to me “They’re in my car out in the parking lot.” So we took a time out while he retrieved the rings. Or the groom who was a photographer for the local daily newspaper. After I introduced them to the assembled guests as husband and wife, and just prior to the recessional march, he pulled out of his pocket a small camera and took a photo of the two of them right then and there.
Today we hear a wedding story.
Disclaimer about theme for today—wedding celebrations.
I know that talking about weddings does not bring joy to everyone.
There are very few of us here today who have not been touched by divorce or separation or the death of a partner.
If you can put aside your sadness today, I would ask that we focus on the joy of wedding celebrations. It was, in fact, at a wedding celebration that Jesus performed his first miracle. He changed water into wine. Sometimes the miracle overshadows the rest of the story. But there is a story here. And it is a story for all of us, because it is the story of God’s kingdom. It is the story of celebration in all its glory.
Here is how the story begins. On the third day. Jesus has already been baptized by John. Jesus has already chosen his disciples. They have already called him “Messiah.” Jesus has bid his disciples—and you and me—to “come and see” what he is all about.
The story begins. On the third day. This is not coincidental. Nor is it some simple phrase used to introduce the events. No. The Third Day. The day of new things. The day of resurrection. We can expect great things at this wedding, because it is the third day.
And Jesus is there. Along with Mary his mother and the disciples. All the major players. And what happens? The wine gives out. This is a major problem, because wedding celebrations often lasted days. A good host had a good stock of wine. The guests expected it. He would be shamed if the wine gave out and the celebration ended earlier than usual. Mary, the mother of Jesus, says to him, “They have no wine.” Jesus replies with what sounds like a rather harsh greeting. Woman. Many biblical scholars see this as a common greeting and it is not meant to make Jesus sound disrespectful nor Mary an inconsequential bystander.
Jesus says, “My hour has not yet come.” He knows there will be opportunities to show God’s glory. But not yet. Mary says to the servants, “Do what he tells you.”
Six stone jars. 120 to 180 gallons total. Jesus tells the servants to fill them with water. When the servants take some of the water, now turned into wine, to the steward, he marvels at the good wine, the new wine, the best wine of the whole celebration.
Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galille, and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed.
Timing is everything, they say. Jesus says first that his time had not yet come. And then almost immediately he turns the water into wine. Could it be that the time came so suddenly? One minute…not yet. Next minute…here it is. The situation could have dissolved into despair. But it didn’t. Jesus grasped the moment and pulled back the curtain of the kingdom Here is what it looks like, he says and he does what is necessary to make the kingdom happen. We never know, do we, when that opportunity presents itself to us to see God’s kingdom, to be God’s kingdom to others? Look this week for such opportunities. Pray that we will adhere not to our carefully constructed schedules but to God’s time.
Meeting this past week. Dreading it. Tried to plan for it. What happened can be described as nothing other than miraculous—good will, restored relationships, future growth. It was God’s time breaking in.
While turning the water into wine makes a miracle in anyone’s book, it would be too easy to just leave it at that. A simple miracle story. Anthony Robinson suggests something more profound:
The
wine only points to the extravagant and abundance of the Wine of the
Robinson suggests that the miraculous wine is Christ. The new kingdom. The gathering of all people regardless of background, status, or wealth. The abundance of food and drink—not only for the body—but for the soul and heart and mind. It is what the church is supposed to look like—the body of Christ in the world.
It is a great story of celebration and it happened at a wedding. Thanks to Jesus everyone had a good time. The same is true today. We have been invited here by God. Tto celebrate. We have new wine at the table. Thanks to Jesus we are promised abundance, singing, laughing, and camaraderie. And did I mentioned the gifts of mercy, forgiveness, and love? Let us enjoy the celebration! Thanks be to God.
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January 21, 2007 – Rev. Nancy Amacher
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Favorite passage.
Why?
Personal experiences.
Local.
Shared ministry. When cong.
President at
Global…
See it as the only hope for the church and for the world.
Congregations.
Denominations
One holy catholic and apostolic church.
Background of passage.
Corinth is a city in what is now Greece, located about halfway between Sparta & Athen.
National trading center between East and West.
Commercial growth—flourishing industry—slavery important for both.
Urban.
Diverse—Greeks. Romans, Orientals.
Lots of religions. Lots of temples. Lots of gods.
Prophecy, ecstasy and speaking in tongues highly valued.
Paul works in Corinth in conjunction with Prisca & Aquilla and their house church.
The letters to Paul from the church in Corinth are lost; we know, however, that there was
Conflict because of the letters Paul writes back…what we call I & II Corinthians.
Dated probably around 54AD.
House churches established. People joined house churches. However, the whole assembly came together at various times and this created some tensions.
House churches?
“Although some private associations and cultic groups also admitted poor people, slaves, persons with different ethnic backgrounds, or wives to membership, they generally were more socially homogenous than the Christian house-churches, which admitted persons to full membership irrespective of their status in patriarchal household and society.”
Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza
First Paul talks about diversity of gifts—but given by one Spirit. Vs. 4 & 11.
Given for the “common good.”
Three lists of spiritual gifts. In each list, speaking in tongues and its interpretation come last. (12:8-10; 12:28, 12:29-30).
Paul uses the body image to apply to Christ, then to the church.
Christians, thru baptism, have become one corporation. Stratifications no longer exist.
Body has many gifts. They are not interchangeable. Need all gifts. Remains one body.
Christians are interdependent; they constitute a community, the one body of Christ.
What does it mean for us?
We will not always agree with one another, either as members of this particular congregation nor as congregations in the ELCA nor as Lutherans in the Lutheran World Council of Churches nor as Lutherans among other Christians in the holy universal church.
Diversity does not have to be divisive. In fact, I believe our church is richer for having connections with music, liturgy, and biblical perspectives of sisters and brothers from Africa, Central & South America, Asia, and Europe.
Faith is personal but it is never private. Each of us has our own piety. We pray at various times of the day; we like different hymns. Some of us still have a difficult time realizing that God’s original language was not Finnish or Swedish or Norwegian. We can honor our heritage and practice our personal devotions, but we are always ALWAYS part of the body of Christ, the church on earth.
I for one would like to know what the Christians in Corinth wrote in their letters to Paul. We only have his side of the story. But his message applies to us today as much as it did to those first century faithful.
Need one another here.
Need to work together.
Not at the expense of our integrity…but openly and honestly.
Witness to the world, to our local community, to those who are watching.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
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January 28, 2007 – Rev. Nancy Amacher
Jeremiah—
Jeremiah’s calling
Jeremiah is reluctant.
too young, can’t talk.
Jeremiah is fearful.
God says, “I am with you.”
God’s charge to Jeremiah: to build and to plant.
To destroy and overthrow.
With what?
No armies, no bombs, no riches, no budgets for infrastructures & highways.
With God’s Word. Only the Word of God.
The Word is a living word—capable of changing, challenging, building, and planting.
Each of us has an appointment with God—made at our baptisms—maybe in the womb.
Our calling is to be the light of God in this world.
Corinthians—
It is not romantic love, although it has much to offer two people who love each other.
love, agape love, love that builds up.
Continuation of Paul’s letter to Corinthians—discussed last week.
Conflicted congregation. Divisions.
Paul talks about love because he wants them to remember they are Christians.
They will know we are Christians by our love. Remember that song?
The love Paul is speaking of is most clearly shown in God’s love in Christ Jesus.
“Love is the capacity to bear with others, and to put the needs of others and the body ahead of one’s own ego.” (Anthony Robinson)
Read again verses 4-8a.
Our calling is to be that love—the love of God—in this world.
Luke
Jesus teaches in the temple. Not popular in his own hometown. At first people are enamored of him; but when he tells the truth, they lash out and drive him out of town.
Jesus mentions first the prophet Elijah who, when he was hungry from the famine in the land, was sent by God to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon in what is now Lebanon.
Jesus then mentions how Elisha the prophet cleanses from leprosy one of the commanders of the Syrian army, a man by the name of Naaman.
Both the widow and the commander are outsiders.
God finds it easier to work among outsiders and foreigners than his “chosen people.”
The reminders from Jesus are not received well by the crowd in the synagogue.
They rush to drive him out of town, off the cliff. They are angry.
How dare he??? Who does he think he is?
“Most human beings are content to settle for a God smaller than any of the ones in the Bible…..the folks at Nazareth were quite content with a Nazareth-sized God, one who snuggled in as they did amongst the surrounding hills and who knew everyone there.”
Grant Gallup
Our God is too small. Way too small.
At St. Mark’s: Carpet in parish hall. Soon to be installed. When the discussion came up last fall, we talked about what color and how to pay for it. All that has been resolved. And now I say to you what I said to the committee—
Do not use the new carpeting as a reason for cutting back on hospitality.
“We have to keep it clean” are not phrases to be heard in the Parish Hall.
Instead, “Come and have a cup of coffee and see our new carpeting.”
When we set up budgets for the year, do we scale down because we believe that God will only fit within the limits of our resources?
When we prepare agendas for meetings and programs, do we limit it to what we already know and have done?
Jesus challenges the complacency and arrogance of the people in Nazareth.
And in doing so, he challenges us, too.
People often ask me, “How big is your church?”
It’s a fair question. But today I wonder if the better question wouldn’t be,
“How big is your God?”
Our calling is not to say “What a great church” or “What a great pastor”
But rather “What a great God!”
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February 4, 2007 – Rev. Nancy Amacher
Classic story in today’s gospel. I will make you fishers of “men” (people)
Usual sermon topic centers on evangelism.
How to catch people
Latest methods of “attracting’ worshipers—“bait”
Different styles of worship
Read an article in USA Today about a church coffee shop.
Good idea.
Somewhere in this sermon I am obligated to say
“evangelism is everyone’s job…not just the pastors.”
But let’s back up.
Who is being called?
Peter, James, John—ordinary fishermen
Paul—Roman citizen and scholar who had persecuted the followers of Jesus.
Ordinary people.
In fact Simon Peter calls himself a “sinful man” and tells Jesus to “get away” because he believes himself unworthy to be in Jesus’ presence.
Don’t be afraid (Jesus says to Peter)
Paul follows the example of Peter in calling himself the “least of all the apostles.”
He says, “I am unfit to be an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”
Paul goes on and seems like he wants to boast of his accomplishments (I work hard!),
He is drawn back to “Not I—but the grace of God in me that does it.”
Unworthy people. Reluctant people.
Gallup’s story of Gregory chosen to succeed Pelagius as pope.
Jesus calls us, especially the reluctant and unworthy ones, to follow.
Can it be said that we “left everything and followed him?”
To what are we being called?
Catching people.
Yes.
But how?
With the good news.
In words. Paul gives us the format.
I handed on to you what I received:
Christ died our sins.
He was buried.
He was raised on the third day.
He appeared to Peter, then to the 12, then to 500 brothers/sisters at one time.
He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Then he appeared to me.
Paul spends the rest of the letter to Corinth church explaining the resurrection of the dead.
It is the basis for the faith, says Paul.
Often we tell the good news, the story of Jesus and his love, with deeds.
Words can be involved, of course, but we say “actions speak louder than words.”
So if we follow Paul’s lead, then our actions, too, speak of resurrection, new life.
So the Christian community, followers of Jesus, has involved itself
With:
Hospitals—they heal and restore life.
Schools/Colleges—they offer learning and a way to a new life.
Social Services—they offer goods and counseling that can lead to a new perspective on life.
In deeds. Story from Christian Century.
At the end of the day, at the end of our lives, what do we want to say?
The words of Paul seem appropriate:
By the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me has not been in vain. I have worked hard…though it was not I, but the grace of God that is in me.”
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February 11, 2007 – Rev. Nancy Amacher
Well….
These are not the beatitudes of Matthew 5. These are not the Beatitudes loved by so many Christians throughout the generations. Matthew lists 9 ways in which followers are “blessed.”
Luke cuts the list to 4—
Blessed are you who are poor.
Blessed are you who are hungry.
Blessed are you who weep.
Blessed are you when people defame you and persecute you.
But Luke does something else that no other evangelist does. He adds “woes.”
Woe to you who are rich.
Woe to you who are full.
Woe to you who are laughing.
Woe to you when others speak well of you.
Blessings and Woes we call them.
Let’s talk about what it means to be blessed first.
Today’s English Version of the Bible (TEV)—remember when that came out? In 1976? The beatitudes read like this:
“Happy are you.”
Happy??
The word is makarios. It means “deep joy.”
And what about woe?
It refers to an expression of pain or anger. It anticipates horror, disaster, anguish.
Whether one reads the beatitudes from Matthew or Luke, there seems to be an attempt to “spiritualize” these blessings. An attempt to remove from reality what Jesus said about the poor, the hungry, the sad, and the persecuted. It goes something like this:
Everyone is “poor in spirit” at some time or another. Everyone has mourned at one time and some of us more than others. If someone doesn’t happen to agree with my brand of Christianity, well, that must be persecution.
But I wonder if it is that simple.
I wonder if when we try to fit everyone into the picture, we aren’t painting the canvas with too wide a brush.
I try to find a way to fit into the blessings.
I cannot.
Oh, when I was a kid, we were poorer than some of the neighbors. But I never really lacked for any of the necessities of life.
I have never, to my memory, been hungry. One time I went with a group of youth on a servant trip to Denver. We were gone for most of the day—from the church where we lodged. Each of us had a sack lunch and I do remember that peanut butter sandwiches never tasted so good when I sat down at noon to eat lunch. But only voluntarily have I ever gone without food.
Weeping. I have done my share of weeping, but I’ve also done my share of laughing. Weeping is not a constant in my life.
Persecution? Defamation? I’ve been accused of being too liberal, but that’s hardly persecution. I’ve been accused of saying that the Bible is whatever you want it to be. But that belongs in the category of interpretation, rather than defamation. I fully realize many people want to take the Bible literally. Lutherans do not—at least ELCA Lutherans do not. So when people disagree with my interpretation of scripture, that is disagreement. It is not persecution. Generally people speak well of me.
So I cannot place myself in the “blessings.
But, oh, do I see myself in the woes.
Rich.
Full.
Laughing.
Spoken well of.
So what do I do?
Throw myself on God’s mercy.
Re-order my life.
Everyday!
Christopher Morse says that the early Christians were persecuted not for what they believed (Jesus Christ is lord) but what they refused to believe (Caesar is Lord).
In our baptismal service we do the same thing.
We reject the devil and all the devil’s empty ways and empty promises.
In the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship, there are three questions to which the baptized say “no:”
Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?
Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?
Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?
And then we say “yes” to what we believe. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God who drowns our sins in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
God who cleanses us in the holy water.
God who graces us with new life that we may be lights to the world.
Living in that baptismal covenant is a daily struggle.
I have to say “no” to
Selfishness
The need for fame or a good reputation at the expense of the truth.
Wanting to get even.
Seeing another as less than worthy of God’s love and grace.
I have to say “yes” to
Sharing with others.
Telling the truth.
Reconciling with my enemies.
Seeing each person as created in the image of God and in Christ a new creation.
I cannot do that on my own.
So living into these blessings and woes is a process.
A lifelong process
A turning away from self and a turning toward God.
It makes me nervous every time I read these blessings and woes.
How about you?
These blessings and woes call me to repent and to throw myself at the feet of a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. After all, it is not about me, it is about God.
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February 18, 2007 – Rev. Nancy Amacher
Like many of you last Friday night I donned my warmest coat and hat and headed to downtown Marquette for the start of the UP200 dog sled race. The crowd was large and exuberant—lots of families. I noticed that the kids seem to have as much fun playing around on the mounds of snow as they do watching the dogs and mushers. The various businesses seemed busy selling coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks. Everytime one of the sleds took off, we counted down from 10 to 1; lots of digital cameras flashed up and down Washington Street. I had all I could do to push my way to the end of Washington Street where the first turn takes the sleds south. There was a crowd waiting to see if any of the 30+ teams would “wipe out.” It was a grand celebration.
Later that evening Dale and I and my friend Nancy from Milwaukee went to a gathering on Lakewood Lane. We went outside several times to watch the teams go by, from both the UP200 and Midnight Run. It was a totally different scene. Other than the voices of the spectators standing nearby, there was an eerie silence. You could see the headlight of the musher—first faintly and then brightly. If the dogs had lights on, you watched them get brighter and brighter as they approached. But there was no sound. Steam from the breath of the dogs. But mostly the silhouette of the musher and the dogs traveling down the trail. I read in the paper that they average about 10 miles per hour. So they were here and gone in no time.
The contrast between downtown Marquette and Lakewood Lane on Friday night, I would suggest, is similar to the contrast between the mountaintop of the transfiguration in today’s gospel and the gritty daily ministry that follows.
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the mountaintop. They see dazzling white; they see Moses and Elijah; they see “glory” we are told not once but twice. They want to stay there forever. Peter, always one to make the first suggestion, says, “Let’s make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.” But that is not to be, of course. They cannot stay on the mountain anymore than the mushers and dog sleds can expect to continue the razzle dazzle of the starting line in downtown Marquette.
They have to go out on the trail. And that is exactly what the disciples do. They go out on the trail with Jesus. The very next story in Luke is a healing story. A child. Luke says that the disciples “kept silent and told no one of the things they had seen.” Why? Because they were afraid that no one would believe them? Because they knew no one wanted to hear the glory story unless they had experienced it themselves? We don’t know why they kept silent. They just followed Jesus and go down to the business of ministry on the trail. Everyday healing and forgiving and trying to make sense of it all.
Rafael’s painting of the transfiguration is a visual presentation of the mountaintop and the trail. At the top center of the painting is Jesus in dazzling white, flanked on either side by Moses and Elijah. Peter and James and John are cowering in fright and awe at their feet. One of the disciples has his hand in front of his face as though he cannot look. One has his head entirely down and away from the sight. The third is trying to look but has an apprehensive demeanor. At the bottom of the painting is a crowd of people. Most of them are pointing up to the glory scene of Jesus. However, one figure at the bottom center is pointing to a youth held by his father (or at least I think it’s his father). This is the child healed by Jesus directly after the transfiguration story in Luke.
I would suggest that Luke is trying to tell us that the mountaintop and the trail go together. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot stay on the mountaintop. You cannot hit the trail without being inspired by the mountaintop. It is so with our lives as well.
What kinds of mountaintop experiences have sustained you? What kinds of “glory” times have inspired you for the long runs on the trail of everyday life?
Maybe it’s been something quite grand.
Trip to USSR in 1971. Young woman who wanted to know about church/faith in USA.
Maybe it’s been something ordinary but made extraordinary by the circumstances.
Communion with my Mom and sisters the Sunday before she died.
God doesn’t speak directly very often in scripture. Usually the word of God comes thru others like the prophets. But God speaks directly here—with a command. A simple command. “This is my chosen one, Jesus. Listen to him.” Listen. Maybe the disciples kept silent because they wanted to hear the voice of God.
The transfiguration story is meant to inspire us in our transfigurations. The transfiguration story connects the mountaintop experiences with the trail of everyday life. Jesus went up to the mountain with Peter, James, and John. They saw him in glory. It prepared them for what happened next. It sustained them when they were afraid. God reveals his glory so we, too, can be strengthened for life on the trail.
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