Border Crossing
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Carlos Wilton writes on the Colossians 1:13 text, "He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son..." for this week's The Immediate Word. It is difficult for most to see the good in this world. There always seems to be some disturbing or disruptive issue in the news and in our daily lives. We need to keep in mind the promise of a new kingdom that we have been given by Jesus' sacrifice. We need to live for this new kingdom in our daily lives and be aware of what is coming. We need to live toward the promise, "Behold, I make all things new." Scott Suskovic writes Another View this week. The illustrations, a worship resource, and a children's sermon are all included.
Border Crossing
By Carlos Wilton
Colossians 1:11-20
THE WORLD
We live in a world of border-crossers. A recent issue of the New York Times reports that "nearly 190 million people, about three percent of the world's population, lived outside their country of birth in 2005."
Some of these people are refugees, driven from their homes by natural or political disasters. Others have emigrated for economic reasons, to seek a better life. Whatever the case, this experience of crossing borders is common enough, in the human experience.
The region between borders -- whether it be an airport international-departures lounge or a line-up of cars at a customs booth -- is an unsettling place. It is, somehow, neither here nor there, neither now nor then. It is an awkward, in-between sort of place.
It is very much like the place in which we, as Christians, find ourselves. Colossians 1:13 tells how God "has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son." God has made us all into border-crossers. Jesus came preaching that the kingdom of God is among us. We believe it, and occasionally we do spot signs of the kingdom's reality in our midst, but those signs are fleeting and hard to grasp. We live our lives in a sort of border town: one that demonstrates aspects of both the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God.
THE WORD
Paul is a person who knew all about nations and kingdoms. A dual national -- holding Roman citizenship as well as being a Jew -- he had a deep understanding of what took to maintain the delicate balancing act necessary for diplomacy. He was also an accomplished border-crosser. The accounts of his missionary journeys in Acts portray him as a remarkably well-traveled person, for his day and age (in which any form of travel, and particularly sea travel, was hazardous).
The verb ruomai (rescued) used in verse 13 -- coupled with its object, "the power of darkness" -- is a particularly strong expression. It implies both the awesome power of God and the helplessness of human beings to save themselves. How can someone be rescued from darkness? There's not a person yet who has figured out a way to stop the setting of the sun. We imagine that we can push darkness back, with our electric lights, but we have only to live through a power failure to realize how paltry a counterattack this is. For a primitive culture, for which the most advanced lighting technology was the oil lamp, the metaphor of darkness (evil) as a powerful force would have seemed even more chilling.
Methistemi (transferred) means to cause someone or something to move from one place to another. It is an involuntary move, not being dependent on any assistance from the one being transferred.
This means that if we are to use the metaphor of crossing borders, the method of entering the kingdom of God is not so much like walking up to an airline ticket counter with a passport and credit card, as it is being piled into a box-truck at a Mexican border town, and spirited across by someone who knows how to make the transfer. It is less like Frederick Douglass, escaping slavery through his own abilities, and more like a field hand being conveyed along the Underground Railroad by Harriet Tubman.
Having emphasized the indispensability of Jesus Christ, as the only one who is able to accomplish the transfer for us. Paul then launches into a hymnic celebration of all that Jesus Christ has done, and is doing, for believers (vv. 15-20). This poetic section -- which some have suggested may be an early hymn Paul has imbedded in his letter -- views Christ from a cosmic dimension. There is perhaps no more eloquent, nor theologically sophisticated, exposition of Christology in all of scripture.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Perhaps there is no bigger minefield for a presidential candidate these days than the subject of immigration. On the one hand, this is one of those "the more things change, the more things stay the same" issues. A century ago, the signs in the window were "No Irish Need Apply." Now, in a jab at their Latino neighbors, some restaurant owners refuse to serve customers who can't order in English (even though doing so hurts their business). On the other hand, in a world where international travel requires a few hours on a plane rather than weeks below decks on a steamship, crossing borders is easier than ever. Except for government restrictions, of course. The issue of who comes and goes across national borders is a huge one, and getting bigger all the time.
We're also coming to a new awareness of the importance -- and the complexity -- of border towns. Whether it's the gritty towns that house maquiladoras (cut-rate factories) just across the Mexican border, or the high mountain villages in the lawless region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, these are places where two cultures clash, and, sometimes, cooperate.
A recent story from the New York Times ("Two Border Cities, One Shared Lifestyle," by Lisa Chamberlain, October 28, 2007) profiles the neighboring communities of Juárez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.
These towns are closely linked not only by geography, but also in terms of human relationships. A great many Mexican immigrants to the US have re-applied for Mexican citizenship, and are now dual nationals. Some live on the US side of the border, others on the Mexican, but either way, there is frequent travel and commerce between the two cities. Locals refer to the region -- northern Mexico, western Texas, and southern New Mexico -- as "New Texico." For these people, the border is an ever-present reality, but they have learned to look on it not as a barrier, but as an opportunity.
There is another border, to which we don't pay nearly enough attention: the border between this world and the kingdom of God. When it comes to this border, which occupies neither space nor time, we are all living in a border town.
In The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything (Nelson, 2006), Brian McLaren examines the reality of the kingdom of God. He reminds us of the devastatingly simple, but easy-to-overlook truth that Jesus' mission, from the very earliest days of his ministry on earth, was to proclaim the nearness of God's reign. The kingdom of God is at hand... is near... is within you. In many and varied ways, Jesus taught that the ordinary world as we know it is not all there is: that there's a parallel world, so close we can almost reach out and touch it, a world ruled not by hatred and cruelty and greed, but by love and kindness and generosity.
In a parable, McLaren captures the reality of this kingdom that is near-but-just-out-of-reach, almost-but-not-yet. His parable is of a person contemplating a move to another country. Imagine, he says, that you live in a terrible place: ugly, harsh, polluted, and dangerous. You have a friend who has gone on a journey to another land, a land that is none of these things. It is a truly beautiful place, where everything seems to work well and where it is possible to earn a decent living. The more you listen to your friend's stories, the more you realize the shortcomings of this place where you live -- and the more you begin to contemplate a move to this new country.
Finally, you decide to make the journey. Continuing the story in McLaren's own words:
"With some apprehension, you approach the border. You present your papers and declare yourself an immigrant. They you one simple question: 'Do you wish to leave your past behind and start a new life in our kingdom?' When you say yes, they issue you a passport -- no questions asked -- and then they recommend that you take a bath. They explain that immigrants usually find it wise to wash off the soot and smell of their old country so they can have a clean start in this new homeland. You comply, and you're glad you did. You step outside and take a deep breath, and your lungs feel as if you're inhaling pure health, joy, and peace. It's as if the spirit of the new kingdom is entering you. You feel alive as never before.
"You find a new home, meet your new neighbors, and settle into a whole new life. You quickly realize you have a lot to learn. The people speak a new dialect here. It's not the old familiar accent of pride, judgment, bragging, misleading, insulting, or lying; rather, it's an accent of gratitude, encouragement, truth telling, admitting faults, and celebrating joys. You also notice that people here live at a different pace than you're used to -- they're not lazy, and they're not workaholics either. They live with a certain rhythm, weaving rest and work and worship and play and fellowship and sacrifice and feasting and fasting. As you settle into your new life, you almost feel that you have been born into a new autobiography and a new world" (The Secret Message of Jesus, pp. 112-113).
Where is the border checkpoint for the kingdom of God? It is the baptismal font. Our baptismal certificate is not only our record of an ecclesiastical rite; it is a new passport, enabling us to come and go across the border, as those dual nationals in El Paso and Ju·rez do. We have not yet immigrated to the new land, but we do reside close enough to it to seek to live as though we have. One day, we have been promised, the border fences will come down. Until then, we watch and hope. From our brief sojourns into the new land, we seek to bring back such gifts as will be a blessing to others. More and more, we consider ourselves to be citizens of the new country - while, at the same time, not abandoning the old.
The border is real. But, by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, it is no longer a barrier.
ANOTHER VIEW
What is Heaven Like?
By Scott Suskovic
This past month, a fire broke out at Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina, killing seven college kids. It was a tragedy that grips the heart, especially when their faces appeared on the front page: Justin 19, Travis 20, Lauren 18, Cassidy 18, Will 18, Allison 19. They look like our kids.
What can be said? Not much. Nothing can answer the hard questions. Nothing can remove the white-hot anger. Nothing can ease the deep grief. Nothing except a tearful embrace. But after time, then what can be said? What do those families need to hear after those deep, visceral reactions to their children's death? Hallmark platitudes don't help, "There, there. She's in a better place." Bizarre mysticism doesn't help, "He can be found in the soft, ocean breeze where he loved to walk." Silly images don't help, "He's up there playing pinochle with Grandpa." I would even add that many of the biblical images don't completely answer our deepest questions, "Heaven is like a great big mansion in the sky where there is a room prepared for you. Heaven is a place like a huge city with streets paved with gold with a huge wall studded with rare jewels."
When tragedy hits like at Ocean Isle or when you are facing a critical disease or when someone you know and love has died, death is no longer a hypothetical conversation. Now it's real, and it is intensely personal. Now there's urgency to know... to know something more about what lies on the other side. We seek for something more than Hallmark greeting cards, more than the building material and decorating theme of a beautiful, heavenly city. We long to hear the truth.
I read a story a while ago about a twelve-year-old girl who was dying of a rare disease. For the longest time, she fought the good fight with hope and courage. But then it got to the point where treatment was losing the battle. It was then the parents had to have that difficult talk with their daughter. When they finished telling her that the treatments would end, the girl said, "Please call Pastor Mary." The parents called their pastor who came over quickly. They brought her to the girl's room who promptly said, "Mom, dad, could you please leave us for a while -- and shut the door." Pastor Mary sat down next to her bed and began to chitchat on how she was doing but the little girl quickly cut her off and said, "Tell me what heaven is like and you had better be telling me the truth because I don't have much time." Tell me what heaven is like. Not about angels and clouds and halos and harp music. Tell me what heaven is like -- and it had better be the truth.
How do you describe the indescribable? Imagine the unimaginable? To answer that question, we need to turn to the last book of the Bible -- the book of Revelation -- which is a strange choice because it is filled with so many bizarre images. There is a beast with the seven horns. Evil people are marked with 666, the sign of the beast. It describes a lake of fire for the damned and a lot of singing by white-robed believers. It describes heaven as a great city that is lowered down from above and it is 1,500 miles high, wide, and long with streets of gold. Great images but do they answer that dying twelve-year-old girl's question, "What is heaven like?" Probably not unless you look beyond the images. Because when you look beyond those images, there are four things that we can say for certain what heaven is like. Take a look at the text.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, (strange concept here) and the sea was no more (Revelation 21:1).
Do you love the water? I do. I've a family member who just bought a condo in the desert in the southwest. They told me how beautiful it is. And I nodded slowly. I know that there are some of you that think that all that flat, brown, dusty, hot, cactus living is paradise on earth. I don't get it. I need water. And not just a concrete swimming pool in 115 degree heat. I mean a lake or the ocean or a big river. So when I read, "the sea will be no more," that doesn't sound like heaven to me. That sounds like Arizona!... unless you know what's behind that. For these desert dwelling Jews, the sea represents chaos. They were not the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians were the boat people. They liked water. These desert dwelling Jews thought the seas were unpredictable, filled with awful storms that tossed boats and drowned people. So the first thing they were going to get rid of in heaven was the sea -- but don't read water. Read no more chaos, no more DISASTER.
Imagine. No more wildfires burning through California. No more boats swamped at seas. No more Hurricane Katrinas. No more fires killing seven college kids. No more wars ravaging nations. No more famines wiping out countries. No more disasters, no more disorder, no more senseless chaos ripping our hearts out and asking, "Why did this happen? Why did mother nature do this, why did God do this?" No more sea, no more chaos, no more disaster. Heaven will come full circle to the shalom, the peace, the harmony, the order of the Garden of Eden before the Fall when things made sense. Seven kids dying in a fire at the beach makes no sense. No disaster.
Let's read on: And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; (great image); and I heard a great voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself will be with them..." (Revelation 21:2-3).
God will be with them. He will dwell with them. What does that mean? There will be no more DOUBT. One of the more potent books on the best sellers' list right now depicts Mother Teresa's struggle with doubt. God was silent. She felt alone and abandoned. She longed to see the face of God, hear his voice, feel his touch. But she didn't. The result was that doubt haunted Teresa her whole life -- even for a woman like Mother Teresa.
What about you? You know the stories, you've been to church, you've said the prayers, you've read the Bible. And yet, when you finally come face to face with death, doesn't doubt creeps in? I know it does.
Marcie was a woman in my congregation who died this past year. She was a woman of faith. She taught her children the Bible stories, hymns of the faith, and the prayers. But as she neared death early one more, she asked to see me. I came into her room, sat down, asked her how she was doing but she cut immediately to the chase. "Read me a Bible passage, pastor." When I got done she quickly said, "Say a prayer, pastor." In other words, "Just tell me one more time. I believe. I know that my redeemer lives. Just tell me one more time. What is heaven like? And you had better be telling me the truth."
What is heaven like? You will see God face to face. What does that mean? No more doubt.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 21:4). Can you picture that? Wiping away tears? It's an incredibly intimate act. Picture a child falling from his bike, running up to his house for his mother. She meets him, scoops him up and holding his face in the palms of her hand, she uses her thumbs to wipe away the tears. What is heaven like? No more disorder, no more doubt, no more DESPAIR.
I see the pictures of those parents of the college kids at the memorial services and think, "There will come a day in which those tears will be wiped away -- forever."
No more despair. Can you imagine? A life without tears. A life without pain. A life without sorrow. A life without despair. What about a life without death?
And death shall be no more (Revelation 21:4). Say that with me. Say it with the victory that's behind it. "And death will be no more." DEATH, the final enemy, will be destroyed.
What is heaven like? No more disasters -- chaos, senseless tragedies. No more doubt -- you will see God face to face. No more despair -- those tears will be wiped away and not just like your mother wiping your tears when you skinned your knee. These are wiped away FOREVER. No more death -- that final enemy that stalks us, surprises us, terrorizes us, separates us. Gone. Death is swallowed up in victory.
Last month another member of my church died, Mike. Mike was 51 years old and choked at a restaurant. Even though two nurses were on him immediately when he fell and the EMTs got there in about four/five minutes, he couldn't be revived. Disaster, doubt, despair and death -- all right there in a matter of five minutes.
As I met with the family in the hospital, with Mike on the ventilator, they had to make a decision, the hardest one a mother ever has to make, to remove all life support. How do you come to that decision? Certainly through the doctor's recommendations and test results but it goes deeper than that. Certainly with the hope and promise of the resurrection, but it goes deeper than that. Certainly with the humor of Mike finally, after years of battling a physical disease in which he was in constant pain, will now be able to play golf once again with his dad, but such a difficult decision goes even deeper than that.
How do you come to that decision? It has to come from deep within, a confidence that is placed on the goodness of God's promise. "I'm going to pull this plug, O God, and you had better be telling me the truth. I'm going to trust that you are a God of your word when you say, 'Behold, I make all things new.' In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the trumpet. Behold, I make all things new. This perishable body with painful knees, cataracts, and a bad back, behold, I make all things new. For this mortal body that the Bible calls a tent, a temporary dwelling place, Behold I make all things new."
For Mike and all victims of tragedies -- no more disaster
For Marcie and all who face death head on -- no more doubt
For the families of those seven kids killed in that fire -- no more despair
For the one whose face is before you today as you remember the victory that is ours through Christ the King -- no more death.
What is heaven like? You want the truth? I don't care about streets of gold or flying angelic hosts. I don't care how wide and how long it is. I don't care about the dÈcor. I doubt if there is golf and pinochle up there. But the truth I know is this: the lame shall walk, the deaf will hear, the blind will see, and if God is a God of his word, if the promises of God mean anything at all, if our faith in Jesus Christ has any significance whatsoever, then the one thing I know to be true about heaven is that the dead will live again because of the one who sits on the throne has given his life in order to proclaim a bold promise: "Behold, I make all things new." And that's the truth.
ILLUSTRATIONS
When Jesus says that the kingdom of God is among us (Luke 17:20-21), he's saying, "Don't wait for the kingdom -- experience it!" The kingdom (that is, the rule or reign of God) is already here, and people who associate it only with heaven or with life after death risk missing out on what is available here and now.
But Jesus also spoke of God's rule as a future reality. He told his disciples to pray for the rule of God to come (Matthew 6:10). He said that when the rule of God is established, the poor will be blessed, the hungry will be filled, and those who weep will laugh (Luke 6:20-21). When God rules, people will come from all around to enjoy table fellowship with such notables as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 8:11).
-- Mark Allan Powell, Loving Jesus, p. 83
* * *
Assumptions
We assume that rulers of nations
will live in palaces
and wear the finest of clothing.
But you, Jesus, chose rather
to begin your life on earth
in a stable,
and to wear the humble
windings of the poor.
We assume that rulers
will expect others,
especially their servants,
to cater to their every whim.
But you chose, rather,
to come among us
as yourself a servant
and care for our needs.
We assume that rulers
will expect to be treated royally,
with great pomp and consideration.
But you allowed us
to strike you
and spit upon you
and mock you
and finally nail you
to some hard planks.
Jesus, you move
beyond all our assumptions.
-- Barbara Jurgensen, Following You, p. 25
* * *
Our Old Testament text from Jeremiah (23:1-6) announces that the Lord God will raise up One who will reign as King, and that this King will rule with justice and with righteousness.
The words "justice" and "righteousness" (two of the most important words in the Old Testament, mishpat and tsedeqah) tell us that this king will rule with righteousness, that is, with love. But also that this king will balance that love with fairness and with consideration for all those involved -- that is, with justice.
Because the Lord loves you, he doesn't want me to hurt you. And because he loves me, he doesn't want you to hurt me either.
The Swedish theologian Gustaf Aulen insisted that there must be an essential tension in the way that we view the Lord God. His love keeps his justice from becoming too harsh, and his justice keeps his love from becoming too sentimental.
Divine love, he insisted, is a cross-bearing love engaged in a bitter struggle, and winning its battle by a self-giving sacrifice. God seeks sinful [humans] and enters into communion with them.
These are the acts of our Divine King.
-- Gustaf Aulen, The Faith of the Christian Church, p. 106 ff
* * *
The original illustration of aliens in a strange land is the story of Cain in Genesis 4:8-16. After Cain had killed Abel and God confronted him, Cain was condemned to a life of alienation from both the land and his neighbor. "When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me" (Genesis 4:12-14). The challenge for all of us is that because of sin we are all migrants wandering at a distance from God, neighbor, and the earth.
* * *
While still a wanderer, Abram began to show us the way that we can be both an immigrant and at home. In Genesis 12:1-3, Abram is told to wander away from the false security of his home land but to do so in the presence of the Lord. "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.' " Here we see the beginning of being both an immigrant and discovering our true home in trust that God will show us the way.
* * *
From Hebrews 11:13ff we hear of the confirmation of this faith as Hebrews described those wanderers who found their home in God. "All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them." To say Christ is King is to affirm that Christ rules over all that alienates us from God, neighbor, and creation and to follow him to our true home.
* * *
Some would suggest that the greatest difficulty in responding to Christ as king is being willing to obey what Jesus asks of us. One of the very clear commands of Jesus is to offer forgiveness. On the morning of October 10, 2006, a 33-year-old milk truck driver from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, walked into a one-room Amish schoolhouse near Nickel Mines and proceeded to shoot ten children, killing five of them. What shocked the world was the response of the Amish community, including the parents of those who had been killed. They offered forgiveness to the killer. When asked why, they responded that it was what Jesus told them to do. To accept Christ as king is to act in a way that seems to defy the normal behavior of our society.
* * *
For Jews and gentiles
For friends and strangers
You passed through darkness into light.
For judges and criminals
For disciples and enemies
You passed through darkness into night.
For people like us
For each one of us
You passed through darkness into light.
In the strength of Jesus
We are powerful.
Never give in to evil.
In the peace of Jesus
We are forgiven.
Never give in to evil.
In the love of Jesus
We are encircled.
Never give in to evil.
-- Ruth Burgess, Candles and Conifers
* * *
"The kingdom is our future: heaven and earth are its space, the visible and the invisible its reality-in-becoming, God and ourselves its actualizers. The kingdom of God is at the centre of God's heart and of human awareness.
"For the poor, the unimportant, the oppressed the kingdom is perfectly intelligible. For the rich, the sated, the sensual it is mysterious and not anything they want to seek.
"As Jesus was to say, the kingdom of God is good news to the poor: the poor can understand what it means, though of course it is destined to come about and no power on earth can prevent it doing so...
"There is only God!
"That is the cornerstone of the kingdom...
"At the very most you can remain on the outside. But everything is so arranged that to stay outside is a continuous hell, and the anguish of loneliness will be enough to change your mind, and with all due respect, ask to be allowed to enter."
-- Carlo Carretto, Why, O Lord?
* * *
"We are trying to make our communities another Nazareth, where Jesus can come and rest awhile."
-- Mother Theresa, Words to Love By
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Thom Shuman
Call to Worship
Leader: Blessed be the Lord God
who looks with kindness on us.
People: We are the inheritors of the promises
made long ago to our ancestors.
Leader: Blessed be the Lord God
who gathers us here in this place.
People: From across the street,
from halfway around the world,
God brings us home to the heart of grace.
Leader: Blessed be the Lord God
who has remembered us.
People: Scoffers and singers,
watchers and wigglers,
we are those redeemed by God.
Prayer of the Day
Gathering God:
when we have only
a few pennies of hope
in our pockets,
you multiply us
into a blessing.
When the world whispers
seductively to us,
you tell us
of your joy for us.
When everyone has forgotten
even who we are,
you shout out our name
with delight: "My Beloved!"
Dawn from on high:
when we would divide people
by class, by race, by age,
you cast your lot
with the outcasts of society.
When we get lost
from the muddled directions
the world gives us,
you lead us down
that path called Peace.
Spirit of wisdom:
when we grow impatient
with all the trivial matters of life,
you surround us with serenity.
When the world puts us on
the route to sin,
you transfer us
to the streets of the kingdom.
God in Community, Holy in One,
we trust you will remember us,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches,
Our Father...
Call to Reconciliation
We know that we have not lived as God hopes.
But however fragmented we become, God longs
to hold us together in grace and peace. Let us
come with our prayers of confession and need
to the One who prepares the way for our words.
Unison Prayer of Confession
In these moments, Remembering God,
we bring to you all the ways we have not
lived as your people:
we stand by watching
while those in need struggle to survive;
we cast our lots with those
who worship power and success;
we offer insults rather than words of grace
to those who care for us;
we scoff at your words
which call us to a different lifestyle.
Forgive us, God of Mercy, for not knowing
what we do to you, to others, to ourselves.
Speak to us through Jesus Christ, our King
and our Savior, who bears words filled with
your tender mercy and gracious hope.
(silence is kept)
Assurance of Pardon
Leader: This is the good news: God remembers!
Not our sins, not our foolish lives, not
our rebellion. God remembers us -
and redeems us!
People: God prepares the way for us - the way to
grace, to hope, to new life. Joyfully, we
offer our thanks to God. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
Leader: May the peace of God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: People of God, lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the One
whose has favored us with grace.
Leader: God's beloved children,
sing of your hopes and dreams.
People: We bless the One who remembers us
and redeems us to new life.
Joyfully, we lift our songs
of praise to you, O God.
From the fragments of chaos,
you created all things.
Those that are visible to us
in the leaves drifting to the ground,
in the children playing hopscotch,
in the moon shimmering at night -
and those that we cannot see,
but gift our lives beyond measure:
grace, which heals our longing;
hope, which fills our emptiness;
love, which embraces our loneliness.
All were shaped and blessed for us,
but we chose to cast our lots
with sin and death,
believing their powers to be greater
that your hopes and dreams for us.
The prophets came to speak
about the One from on high
who yearned for us to come home,
but we grew impatient with their words
and mocked their faithfulness.
Finally, you sent Jesus
to gather your scattered children together
and to bring us back to your heart.
Therefore, we join our voices
with rulers and reprobates,
with the fruitful and the foolish
of every time and place,
who forever sing of your joy:
Sanctus
Holy are you, God who remembers us,
and blessed is Jesus Christ,
Dawn from on high and creative Word.
Creation's true Light,
he rescues us from the darkness of death;
speaker of promises
to our grandparents in the faith,
on the cross
he kept the vows made to them;
the first-born of all creation,
he was born again
from the grave,
so we could all be with you
in eternity's kingdom.
As we reflect on his life, his ministry, his love,
we remember all that he has done for us,
that mysterious story we call faith:
Memorial Acclamation
As we come to this Table of peace,
pour out your Spirit of life upon us,
and upon the gifts
of the Bread of life
and the Cup of salvation.
You nourish with grace,
so we may go wherever
the broken and lost live,
that we might feed them.
You fill us with hope,
that we would have no more fear,
but would boldly reach out
and gather up all
whom the world has cast aside.
And when time has come to an end,
and all creation has been reconciled to you,
we will gather around the feast in heaven,
singing our joy and praise to you,
God in Community, Holy in One.
Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Jesus Christ the King
Object: a picture of Jesus on the throne in glory
Colossians 1:11-20
Today is Christ the King Sunday. On this day we celebrate the majesty and power of Jesus Christ. We read scriptures about all of the marvelous things he has done and we celebrate his victory over all the evil in the world. We also talk about his death on the cross and his resurrection on Easter Day. When Jesus died and was resurrected, he won the ultimate battle: the battle over death.
(show the picture) This is a picture of Jesus on his throne. We don't know what he really looks like, so this is just one artist's idea. He's sitting on the throne like a king. He is powerful and richly dressed. He is strong and important, and he is the ruler of all things. Listen to today's reading again. This scripture tells us what a big deal Jesus really is. See if you can remember some of the amazing things these verses say about Jesus. (read verses 11-20)
What do you think? What are some of the amazing things this passage says about Jesus? (see if they can tell you) He is the image of the invisible God. He's the firstborn of creation. Everything in heaven and earth were created for him. He is really important and powerful! Jesus is the biggest and best of all the heroes the world has ever known.
The best part is that this king -- this hero -- wants to be your friend. He wants to give his power to you and teach you to see the world the way he does. It's not easy. Seeing things the way he does is really pretty hard. But being with Jesus means that you are playing for the winning team. You share in his power. You share in his strength. All the riches of his kingdom will be shared with you.
We've all read stories about kings and battles. We all know about good guys and bad guys. The neat thing about this story and this good guy is that it's all real. Jesus is real, and he is sitting on a throne in his heavenly kingdom. There are still bad guys in the world. But the good guys win in this story. They won the minute that Jesus was raised from the dead and death had no power anymore. Christ is the king of all.
Prayer: Thank you, God, for your Son. Thank you raising him from the dead to be our king. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, November 25, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
Border Crossing
By Carlos Wilton
Colossians 1:11-20
THE WORLD
We live in a world of border-crossers. A recent issue of the New York Times reports that "nearly 190 million people, about three percent of the world's population, lived outside their country of birth in 2005."
Some of these people are refugees, driven from their homes by natural or political disasters. Others have emigrated for economic reasons, to seek a better life. Whatever the case, this experience of crossing borders is common enough, in the human experience.
The region between borders -- whether it be an airport international-departures lounge or a line-up of cars at a customs booth -- is an unsettling place. It is, somehow, neither here nor there, neither now nor then. It is an awkward, in-between sort of place.
It is very much like the place in which we, as Christians, find ourselves. Colossians 1:13 tells how God "has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son." God has made us all into border-crossers. Jesus came preaching that the kingdom of God is among us. We believe it, and occasionally we do spot signs of the kingdom's reality in our midst, but those signs are fleeting and hard to grasp. We live our lives in a sort of border town: one that demonstrates aspects of both the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God.
THE WORD
Paul is a person who knew all about nations and kingdoms. A dual national -- holding Roman citizenship as well as being a Jew -- he had a deep understanding of what took to maintain the delicate balancing act necessary for diplomacy. He was also an accomplished border-crosser. The accounts of his missionary journeys in Acts portray him as a remarkably well-traveled person, for his day and age (in which any form of travel, and particularly sea travel, was hazardous).
The verb ruomai (rescued) used in verse 13 -- coupled with its object, "the power of darkness" -- is a particularly strong expression. It implies both the awesome power of God and the helplessness of human beings to save themselves. How can someone be rescued from darkness? There's not a person yet who has figured out a way to stop the setting of the sun. We imagine that we can push darkness back, with our electric lights, but we have only to live through a power failure to realize how paltry a counterattack this is. For a primitive culture, for which the most advanced lighting technology was the oil lamp, the metaphor of darkness (evil) as a powerful force would have seemed even more chilling.
Methistemi (transferred) means to cause someone or something to move from one place to another. It is an involuntary move, not being dependent on any assistance from the one being transferred.
This means that if we are to use the metaphor of crossing borders, the method of entering the kingdom of God is not so much like walking up to an airline ticket counter with a passport and credit card, as it is being piled into a box-truck at a Mexican border town, and spirited across by someone who knows how to make the transfer. It is less like Frederick Douglass, escaping slavery through his own abilities, and more like a field hand being conveyed along the Underground Railroad by Harriet Tubman.
Having emphasized the indispensability of Jesus Christ, as the only one who is able to accomplish the transfer for us. Paul then launches into a hymnic celebration of all that Jesus Christ has done, and is doing, for believers (vv. 15-20). This poetic section -- which some have suggested may be an early hymn Paul has imbedded in his letter -- views Christ from a cosmic dimension. There is perhaps no more eloquent, nor theologically sophisticated, exposition of Christology in all of scripture.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Perhaps there is no bigger minefield for a presidential candidate these days than the subject of immigration. On the one hand, this is one of those "the more things change, the more things stay the same" issues. A century ago, the signs in the window were "No Irish Need Apply." Now, in a jab at their Latino neighbors, some restaurant owners refuse to serve customers who can't order in English (even though doing so hurts their business). On the other hand, in a world where international travel requires a few hours on a plane rather than weeks below decks on a steamship, crossing borders is easier than ever. Except for government restrictions, of course. The issue of who comes and goes across national borders is a huge one, and getting bigger all the time.
We're also coming to a new awareness of the importance -- and the complexity -- of border towns. Whether it's the gritty towns that house maquiladoras (cut-rate factories) just across the Mexican border, or the high mountain villages in the lawless region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, these are places where two cultures clash, and, sometimes, cooperate.
A recent story from the New York Times ("Two Border Cities, One Shared Lifestyle," by Lisa Chamberlain, October 28, 2007) profiles the neighboring communities of Juárez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.
These towns are closely linked not only by geography, but also in terms of human relationships. A great many Mexican immigrants to the US have re-applied for Mexican citizenship, and are now dual nationals. Some live on the US side of the border, others on the Mexican, but either way, there is frequent travel and commerce between the two cities. Locals refer to the region -- northern Mexico, western Texas, and southern New Mexico -- as "New Texico." For these people, the border is an ever-present reality, but they have learned to look on it not as a barrier, but as an opportunity.
There is another border, to which we don't pay nearly enough attention: the border between this world and the kingdom of God. When it comes to this border, which occupies neither space nor time, we are all living in a border town.
In The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything (Nelson, 2006), Brian McLaren examines the reality of the kingdom of God. He reminds us of the devastatingly simple, but easy-to-overlook truth that Jesus' mission, from the very earliest days of his ministry on earth, was to proclaim the nearness of God's reign. The kingdom of God is at hand... is near... is within you. In many and varied ways, Jesus taught that the ordinary world as we know it is not all there is: that there's a parallel world, so close we can almost reach out and touch it, a world ruled not by hatred and cruelty and greed, but by love and kindness and generosity.
In a parable, McLaren captures the reality of this kingdom that is near-but-just-out-of-reach, almost-but-not-yet. His parable is of a person contemplating a move to another country. Imagine, he says, that you live in a terrible place: ugly, harsh, polluted, and dangerous. You have a friend who has gone on a journey to another land, a land that is none of these things. It is a truly beautiful place, where everything seems to work well and where it is possible to earn a decent living. The more you listen to your friend's stories, the more you realize the shortcomings of this place where you live -- and the more you begin to contemplate a move to this new country.
Finally, you decide to make the journey. Continuing the story in McLaren's own words:
"With some apprehension, you approach the border. You present your papers and declare yourself an immigrant. They you one simple question: 'Do you wish to leave your past behind and start a new life in our kingdom?' When you say yes, they issue you a passport -- no questions asked -- and then they recommend that you take a bath. They explain that immigrants usually find it wise to wash off the soot and smell of their old country so they can have a clean start in this new homeland. You comply, and you're glad you did. You step outside and take a deep breath, and your lungs feel as if you're inhaling pure health, joy, and peace. It's as if the spirit of the new kingdom is entering you. You feel alive as never before.
"You find a new home, meet your new neighbors, and settle into a whole new life. You quickly realize you have a lot to learn. The people speak a new dialect here. It's not the old familiar accent of pride, judgment, bragging, misleading, insulting, or lying; rather, it's an accent of gratitude, encouragement, truth telling, admitting faults, and celebrating joys. You also notice that people here live at a different pace than you're used to -- they're not lazy, and they're not workaholics either. They live with a certain rhythm, weaving rest and work and worship and play and fellowship and sacrifice and feasting and fasting. As you settle into your new life, you almost feel that you have been born into a new autobiography and a new world" (The Secret Message of Jesus, pp. 112-113).
Where is the border checkpoint for the kingdom of God? It is the baptismal font. Our baptismal certificate is not only our record of an ecclesiastical rite; it is a new passport, enabling us to come and go across the border, as those dual nationals in El Paso and Ju·rez do. We have not yet immigrated to the new land, but we do reside close enough to it to seek to live as though we have. One day, we have been promised, the border fences will come down. Until then, we watch and hope. From our brief sojourns into the new land, we seek to bring back such gifts as will be a blessing to others. More and more, we consider ourselves to be citizens of the new country - while, at the same time, not abandoning the old.
The border is real. But, by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, it is no longer a barrier.
ANOTHER VIEW
What is Heaven Like?
By Scott Suskovic
This past month, a fire broke out at Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina, killing seven college kids. It was a tragedy that grips the heart, especially when their faces appeared on the front page: Justin 19, Travis 20, Lauren 18, Cassidy 18, Will 18, Allison 19. They look like our kids.
What can be said? Not much. Nothing can answer the hard questions. Nothing can remove the white-hot anger. Nothing can ease the deep grief. Nothing except a tearful embrace. But after time, then what can be said? What do those families need to hear after those deep, visceral reactions to their children's death? Hallmark platitudes don't help, "There, there. She's in a better place." Bizarre mysticism doesn't help, "He can be found in the soft, ocean breeze where he loved to walk." Silly images don't help, "He's up there playing pinochle with Grandpa." I would even add that many of the biblical images don't completely answer our deepest questions, "Heaven is like a great big mansion in the sky where there is a room prepared for you. Heaven is a place like a huge city with streets paved with gold with a huge wall studded with rare jewels."
When tragedy hits like at Ocean Isle or when you are facing a critical disease or when someone you know and love has died, death is no longer a hypothetical conversation. Now it's real, and it is intensely personal. Now there's urgency to know... to know something more about what lies on the other side. We seek for something more than Hallmark greeting cards, more than the building material and decorating theme of a beautiful, heavenly city. We long to hear the truth.
I read a story a while ago about a twelve-year-old girl who was dying of a rare disease. For the longest time, she fought the good fight with hope and courage. But then it got to the point where treatment was losing the battle. It was then the parents had to have that difficult talk with their daughter. When they finished telling her that the treatments would end, the girl said, "Please call Pastor Mary." The parents called their pastor who came over quickly. They brought her to the girl's room who promptly said, "Mom, dad, could you please leave us for a while -- and shut the door." Pastor Mary sat down next to her bed and began to chitchat on how she was doing but the little girl quickly cut her off and said, "Tell me what heaven is like and you had better be telling me the truth because I don't have much time." Tell me what heaven is like. Not about angels and clouds and halos and harp music. Tell me what heaven is like -- and it had better be the truth.
How do you describe the indescribable? Imagine the unimaginable? To answer that question, we need to turn to the last book of the Bible -- the book of Revelation -- which is a strange choice because it is filled with so many bizarre images. There is a beast with the seven horns. Evil people are marked with 666, the sign of the beast. It describes a lake of fire for the damned and a lot of singing by white-robed believers. It describes heaven as a great city that is lowered down from above and it is 1,500 miles high, wide, and long with streets of gold. Great images but do they answer that dying twelve-year-old girl's question, "What is heaven like?" Probably not unless you look beyond the images. Because when you look beyond those images, there are four things that we can say for certain what heaven is like. Take a look at the text.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, (strange concept here) and the sea was no more (Revelation 21:1).
Do you love the water? I do. I've a family member who just bought a condo in the desert in the southwest. They told me how beautiful it is. And I nodded slowly. I know that there are some of you that think that all that flat, brown, dusty, hot, cactus living is paradise on earth. I don't get it. I need water. And not just a concrete swimming pool in 115 degree heat. I mean a lake or the ocean or a big river. So when I read, "the sea will be no more," that doesn't sound like heaven to me. That sounds like Arizona!... unless you know what's behind that. For these desert dwelling Jews, the sea represents chaos. They were not the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians were the boat people. They liked water. These desert dwelling Jews thought the seas were unpredictable, filled with awful storms that tossed boats and drowned people. So the first thing they were going to get rid of in heaven was the sea -- but don't read water. Read no more chaos, no more DISASTER.
Imagine. No more wildfires burning through California. No more boats swamped at seas. No more Hurricane Katrinas. No more fires killing seven college kids. No more wars ravaging nations. No more famines wiping out countries. No more disasters, no more disorder, no more senseless chaos ripping our hearts out and asking, "Why did this happen? Why did mother nature do this, why did God do this?" No more sea, no more chaos, no more disaster. Heaven will come full circle to the shalom, the peace, the harmony, the order of the Garden of Eden before the Fall when things made sense. Seven kids dying in a fire at the beach makes no sense. No disaster.
Let's read on: And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; (great image); and I heard a great voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself will be with them..." (Revelation 21:2-3).
God will be with them. He will dwell with them. What does that mean? There will be no more DOUBT. One of the more potent books on the best sellers' list right now depicts Mother Teresa's struggle with doubt. God was silent. She felt alone and abandoned. She longed to see the face of God, hear his voice, feel his touch. But she didn't. The result was that doubt haunted Teresa her whole life -- even for a woman like Mother Teresa.
What about you? You know the stories, you've been to church, you've said the prayers, you've read the Bible. And yet, when you finally come face to face with death, doesn't doubt creeps in? I know it does.
Marcie was a woman in my congregation who died this past year. She was a woman of faith. She taught her children the Bible stories, hymns of the faith, and the prayers. But as she neared death early one more, she asked to see me. I came into her room, sat down, asked her how she was doing but she cut immediately to the chase. "Read me a Bible passage, pastor." When I got done she quickly said, "Say a prayer, pastor." In other words, "Just tell me one more time. I believe. I know that my redeemer lives. Just tell me one more time. What is heaven like? And you had better be telling me the truth."
What is heaven like? You will see God face to face. What does that mean? No more doubt.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 21:4). Can you picture that? Wiping away tears? It's an incredibly intimate act. Picture a child falling from his bike, running up to his house for his mother. She meets him, scoops him up and holding his face in the palms of her hand, she uses her thumbs to wipe away the tears. What is heaven like? No more disorder, no more doubt, no more DESPAIR.
I see the pictures of those parents of the college kids at the memorial services and think, "There will come a day in which those tears will be wiped away -- forever."
No more despair. Can you imagine? A life without tears. A life without pain. A life without sorrow. A life without despair. What about a life without death?
And death shall be no more (Revelation 21:4). Say that with me. Say it with the victory that's behind it. "And death will be no more." DEATH, the final enemy, will be destroyed.
What is heaven like? No more disasters -- chaos, senseless tragedies. No more doubt -- you will see God face to face. No more despair -- those tears will be wiped away and not just like your mother wiping your tears when you skinned your knee. These are wiped away FOREVER. No more death -- that final enemy that stalks us, surprises us, terrorizes us, separates us. Gone. Death is swallowed up in victory.
Last month another member of my church died, Mike. Mike was 51 years old and choked at a restaurant. Even though two nurses were on him immediately when he fell and the EMTs got there in about four/five minutes, he couldn't be revived. Disaster, doubt, despair and death -- all right there in a matter of five minutes.
As I met with the family in the hospital, with Mike on the ventilator, they had to make a decision, the hardest one a mother ever has to make, to remove all life support. How do you come to that decision? Certainly through the doctor's recommendations and test results but it goes deeper than that. Certainly with the hope and promise of the resurrection, but it goes deeper than that. Certainly with the humor of Mike finally, after years of battling a physical disease in which he was in constant pain, will now be able to play golf once again with his dad, but such a difficult decision goes even deeper than that.
How do you come to that decision? It has to come from deep within, a confidence that is placed on the goodness of God's promise. "I'm going to pull this plug, O God, and you had better be telling me the truth. I'm going to trust that you are a God of your word when you say, 'Behold, I make all things new.' In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the trumpet. Behold, I make all things new. This perishable body with painful knees, cataracts, and a bad back, behold, I make all things new. For this mortal body that the Bible calls a tent, a temporary dwelling place, Behold I make all things new."
For Mike and all victims of tragedies -- no more disaster
For Marcie and all who face death head on -- no more doubt
For the families of those seven kids killed in that fire -- no more despair
For the one whose face is before you today as you remember the victory that is ours through Christ the King -- no more death.
What is heaven like? You want the truth? I don't care about streets of gold or flying angelic hosts. I don't care how wide and how long it is. I don't care about the dÈcor. I doubt if there is golf and pinochle up there. But the truth I know is this: the lame shall walk, the deaf will hear, the blind will see, and if God is a God of his word, if the promises of God mean anything at all, if our faith in Jesus Christ has any significance whatsoever, then the one thing I know to be true about heaven is that the dead will live again because of the one who sits on the throne has given his life in order to proclaim a bold promise: "Behold, I make all things new." And that's the truth.
ILLUSTRATIONS
When Jesus says that the kingdom of God is among us (Luke 17:20-21), he's saying, "Don't wait for the kingdom -- experience it!" The kingdom (that is, the rule or reign of God) is already here, and people who associate it only with heaven or with life after death risk missing out on what is available here and now.
But Jesus also spoke of God's rule as a future reality. He told his disciples to pray for the rule of God to come (Matthew 6:10). He said that when the rule of God is established, the poor will be blessed, the hungry will be filled, and those who weep will laugh (Luke 6:20-21). When God rules, people will come from all around to enjoy table fellowship with such notables as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 8:11).
-- Mark Allan Powell, Loving Jesus, p. 83
* * *
Assumptions
We assume that rulers of nations
will live in palaces
and wear the finest of clothing.
But you, Jesus, chose rather
to begin your life on earth
in a stable,
and to wear the humble
windings of the poor.
We assume that rulers
will expect others,
especially their servants,
to cater to their every whim.
But you chose, rather,
to come among us
as yourself a servant
and care for our needs.
We assume that rulers
will expect to be treated royally,
with great pomp and consideration.
But you allowed us
to strike you
and spit upon you
and mock you
and finally nail you
to some hard planks.
Jesus, you move
beyond all our assumptions.
-- Barbara Jurgensen, Following You, p. 25
* * *
Our Old Testament text from Jeremiah (23:1-6) announces that the Lord God will raise up One who will reign as King, and that this King will rule with justice and with righteousness.
The words "justice" and "righteousness" (two of the most important words in the Old Testament, mishpat and tsedeqah) tell us that this king will rule with righteousness, that is, with love. But also that this king will balance that love with fairness and with consideration for all those involved -- that is, with justice.
Because the Lord loves you, he doesn't want me to hurt you. And because he loves me, he doesn't want you to hurt me either.
The Swedish theologian Gustaf Aulen insisted that there must be an essential tension in the way that we view the Lord God. His love keeps his justice from becoming too harsh, and his justice keeps his love from becoming too sentimental.
Divine love, he insisted, is a cross-bearing love engaged in a bitter struggle, and winning its battle by a self-giving sacrifice. God seeks sinful [humans] and enters into communion with them.
These are the acts of our Divine King.
-- Gustaf Aulen, The Faith of the Christian Church, p. 106 ff
* * *
The original illustration of aliens in a strange land is the story of Cain in Genesis 4:8-16. After Cain had killed Abel and God confronted him, Cain was condemned to a life of alienation from both the land and his neighbor. "When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me" (Genesis 4:12-14). The challenge for all of us is that because of sin we are all migrants wandering at a distance from God, neighbor, and the earth.
* * *
While still a wanderer, Abram began to show us the way that we can be both an immigrant and at home. In Genesis 12:1-3, Abram is told to wander away from the false security of his home land but to do so in the presence of the Lord. "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.' " Here we see the beginning of being both an immigrant and discovering our true home in trust that God will show us the way.
* * *
From Hebrews 11:13ff we hear of the confirmation of this faith as Hebrews described those wanderers who found their home in God. "All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them." To say Christ is King is to affirm that Christ rules over all that alienates us from God, neighbor, and creation and to follow him to our true home.
* * *
Some would suggest that the greatest difficulty in responding to Christ as king is being willing to obey what Jesus asks of us. One of the very clear commands of Jesus is to offer forgiveness. On the morning of October 10, 2006, a 33-year-old milk truck driver from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, walked into a one-room Amish schoolhouse near Nickel Mines and proceeded to shoot ten children, killing five of them. What shocked the world was the response of the Amish community, including the parents of those who had been killed. They offered forgiveness to the killer. When asked why, they responded that it was what Jesus told them to do. To accept Christ as king is to act in a way that seems to defy the normal behavior of our society.
* * *
For Jews and gentiles
For friends and strangers
You passed through darkness into light.
For judges and criminals
For disciples and enemies
You passed through darkness into night.
For people like us
For each one of us
You passed through darkness into light.
In the strength of Jesus
We are powerful.
Never give in to evil.
In the peace of Jesus
We are forgiven.
Never give in to evil.
In the love of Jesus
We are encircled.
Never give in to evil.
-- Ruth Burgess, Candles and Conifers
* * *
"The kingdom is our future: heaven and earth are its space, the visible and the invisible its reality-in-becoming, God and ourselves its actualizers. The kingdom of God is at the centre of God's heart and of human awareness.
"For the poor, the unimportant, the oppressed the kingdom is perfectly intelligible. For the rich, the sated, the sensual it is mysterious and not anything they want to seek.
"As Jesus was to say, the kingdom of God is good news to the poor: the poor can understand what it means, though of course it is destined to come about and no power on earth can prevent it doing so...
"There is only God!
"That is the cornerstone of the kingdom...
"At the very most you can remain on the outside. But everything is so arranged that to stay outside is a continuous hell, and the anguish of loneliness will be enough to change your mind, and with all due respect, ask to be allowed to enter."
-- Carlo Carretto, Why, O Lord?
* * *
"We are trying to make our communities another Nazareth, where Jesus can come and rest awhile."
-- Mother Theresa, Words to Love By
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Thom Shuman
Call to Worship
Leader: Blessed be the Lord God
who looks with kindness on us.
People: We are the inheritors of the promises
made long ago to our ancestors.
Leader: Blessed be the Lord God
who gathers us here in this place.
People: From across the street,
from halfway around the world,
God brings us home to the heart of grace.
Leader: Blessed be the Lord God
who has remembered us.
People: Scoffers and singers,
watchers and wigglers,
we are those redeemed by God.
Prayer of the Day
Gathering God:
when we have only
a few pennies of hope
in our pockets,
you multiply us
into a blessing.
When the world whispers
seductively to us,
you tell us
of your joy for us.
When everyone has forgotten
even who we are,
you shout out our name
with delight: "My Beloved!"
Dawn from on high:
when we would divide people
by class, by race, by age,
you cast your lot
with the outcasts of society.
When we get lost
from the muddled directions
the world gives us,
you lead us down
that path called Peace.
Spirit of wisdom:
when we grow impatient
with all the trivial matters of life,
you surround us with serenity.
When the world puts us on
the route to sin,
you transfer us
to the streets of the kingdom.
God in Community, Holy in One,
we trust you will remember us,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches,
Our Father...
Call to Reconciliation
We know that we have not lived as God hopes.
But however fragmented we become, God longs
to hold us together in grace and peace. Let us
come with our prayers of confession and need
to the One who prepares the way for our words.
Unison Prayer of Confession
In these moments, Remembering God,
we bring to you all the ways we have not
lived as your people:
we stand by watching
while those in need struggle to survive;
we cast our lots with those
who worship power and success;
we offer insults rather than words of grace
to those who care for us;
we scoff at your words
which call us to a different lifestyle.
Forgive us, God of Mercy, for not knowing
what we do to you, to others, to ourselves.
Speak to us through Jesus Christ, our King
and our Savior, who bears words filled with
your tender mercy and gracious hope.
(silence is kept)
Assurance of Pardon
Leader: This is the good news: God remembers!
Not our sins, not our foolish lives, not
our rebellion. God remembers us -
and redeems us!
People: God prepares the way for us - the way to
grace, to hope, to new life. Joyfully, we
offer our thanks to God. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
Leader: May the peace of God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: People of God, lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the One
whose has favored us with grace.
Leader: God's beloved children,
sing of your hopes and dreams.
People: We bless the One who remembers us
and redeems us to new life.
Joyfully, we lift our songs
of praise to you, O God.
From the fragments of chaos,
you created all things.
Those that are visible to us
in the leaves drifting to the ground,
in the children playing hopscotch,
in the moon shimmering at night -
and those that we cannot see,
but gift our lives beyond measure:
grace, which heals our longing;
hope, which fills our emptiness;
love, which embraces our loneliness.
All were shaped and blessed for us,
but we chose to cast our lots
with sin and death,
believing their powers to be greater
that your hopes and dreams for us.
The prophets came to speak
about the One from on high
who yearned for us to come home,
but we grew impatient with their words
and mocked their faithfulness.
Finally, you sent Jesus
to gather your scattered children together
and to bring us back to your heart.
Therefore, we join our voices
with rulers and reprobates,
with the fruitful and the foolish
of every time and place,
who forever sing of your joy:
Sanctus
Holy are you, God who remembers us,
and blessed is Jesus Christ,
Dawn from on high and creative Word.
Creation's true Light,
he rescues us from the darkness of death;
speaker of promises
to our grandparents in the faith,
on the cross
he kept the vows made to them;
the first-born of all creation,
he was born again
from the grave,
so we could all be with you
in eternity's kingdom.
As we reflect on his life, his ministry, his love,
we remember all that he has done for us,
that mysterious story we call faith:
Memorial Acclamation
As we come to this Table of peace,
pour out your Spirit of life upon us,
and upon the gifts
of the Bread of life
and the Cup of salvation.
You nourish with grace,
so we may go wherever
the broken and lost live,
that we might feed them.
You fill us with hope,
that we would have no more fear,
but would boldly reach out
and gather up all
whom the world has cast aside.
And when time has come to an end,
and all creation has been reconciled to you,
we will gather around the feast in heaven,
singing our joy and praise to you,
God in Community, Holy in One.
Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Jesus Christ the King
Object: a picture of Jesus on the throne in glory
Colossians 1:11-20
Today is Christ the King Sunday. On this day we celebrate the majesty and power of Jesus Christ. We read scriptures about all of the marvelous things he has done and we celebrate his victory over all the evil in the world. We also talk about his death on the cross and his resurrection on Easter Day. When Jesus died and was resurrected, he won the ultimate battle: the battle over death.
(show the picture) This is a picture of Jesus on his throne. We don't know what he really looks like, so this is just one artist's idea. He's sitting on the throne like a king. He is powerful and richly dressed. He is strong and important, and he is the ruler of all things. Listen to today's reading again. This scripture tells us what a big deal Jesus really is. See if you can remember some of the amazing things these verses say about Jesus. (read verses 11-20)
What do you think? What are some of the amazing things this passage says about Jesus? (see if they can tell you) He is the image of the invisible God. He's the firstborn of creation. Everything in heaven and earth were created for him. He is really important and powerful! Jesus is the biggest and best of all the heroes the world has ever known.
The best part is that this king -- this hero -- wants to be your friend. He wants to give his power to you and teach you to see the world the way he does. It's not easy. Seeing things the way he does is really pretty hard. But being with Jesus means that you are playing for the winning team. You share in his power. You share in his strength. All the riches of his kingdom will be shared with you.
We've all read stories about kings and battles. We all know about good guys and bad guys. The neat thing about this story and this good guy is that it's all real. Jesus is real, and he is sitting on a throne in his heavenly kingdom. There are still bad guys in the world. But the good guys win in this story. They won the minute that Jesus was raised from the dead and death had no power anymore. Christ is the king of all.
Prayer: Thank you, God, for your Son. Thank you raising him from the dead to be our king. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, November 25, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
