December 4, 2016                                                                 Text:  Romans 15:4-13

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

“It was a dark and stormy night.”  Do you remember those words?  They are the words of Snoopy from the Peanuts cartoon.  Among his many pastimes, such as flying his Sopwith Camel in World War I, collecting fine art, and sleeping on the roof of his doghouse, Snoopy is a “world famous author,” whose stories always gets rejected by the publisher.  Perhaps he was rejected because he was neither original (he borrows his opening line from English novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton) nor particularly creative.  “It was a dark and stormy night…”; that’s how all his stories begin.  Even when Linus and Lucy try to help Snoopy find another beginning, such as “Once upon a time,” Snoopy persists.  “Once upon a time, it was a dark and stormy night,” he writes.  Up to the very last Peanuts comic strip in February 2000, Snoopy was still writing about that dark and stormy night.

But maybe, just maybe, Snoopy sticks to that line precisely because it’s not all that original.  Life is full of dark and stormy nights, times of hopelessness and despair.  A great irony of the weeks leading up to Christmas is that, while the air is filled with messages of peace and goodwill, we often struggle with “dark and stormy nights” and, for that matter, dark and stormy days.  Even in the midst of dark and stormy times, God gives us . . .

“HOPE IN THE ROOT OF JESSE”

There certainly are dark and stormy times even in the lives of Christians.  For some of us, Christmas will be dark and stormy because of our grief.  Someone near and dear to us has died, and there will be an empty place at the dinner table Christmas Day.  For some of us, Christmas will be dark and stormy because our families are broken and there is no harmony.  Strife will accompany family members to their Christmas celebrations.  For all of us, each day is made dark and stormy because of our sin.  The storms do not just come from the outside.  More often they are problems we have created for ourselves.  We rebel against God and His Word in thought, word, and deed.

The Christians in Rome also knew about dark and stormy times.  They were a small group often in the midst of a hostile environment.  They struggled with tension between Jewish and Gentile Christians.  They were threatened by any number of false teachers who were trying to lure them from their faith through smooth talk and faithless deceptions.  These first-century Christians in Rome were ever in danger of slipping into hopelessness and final despair.

In the same way, the dark and stormy times can lead us away from God and into hopelessness and despair.  The sadness we experience even at Christmas can cause us to doubt that God is with us at all.  Then instead of being generous, caring for others, we focus on ourselves.  We turn inward.  Our Lord does not wish us to fall into despair and hopelessness, but instead he calls the Roman Christians and us to abound in hope.  Paul assures us that even in the midst of dark and stormy times, God gives us hope in the root of Jesse.

Hope is possible even in such dark and stormy times because our hope is not our own creation; it is not some sort of pious sentiment.  Any “hope” we fabricate is always subject to conditions around us; in dark times, it fades.  But the hope Paul describes is different.

Our hope is a gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 13).  God himself is “the God of hope.”  It is God the Holy Spirit’s nature to give hope.  This hope is as sure as its foundation – the sure and certain Word of God (v. 4).  That’s how the Holy Spirit gives it.  He inspired the Scriptures, “written in former days,” to assure of God’s care.  Remember how God was faithful to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Job, David, Jonah?  They had a lot of dark and stormy times, but the Lord was gracious to them in the hope of a coming Savior.  Therefore, there’s no question that God will bring us through the dark and stormy times.  The question is how?  And the answer is found where the Word of God points us.

That Word points us to the Root of Jesse, the ultimate sign of hope (v. 12).  Christ entered this dark and stormy world to give his life for our sins, including our despair and hopelessness.  The risen Christ comes to us today to bring new life in the midst of our dark and stormy nights.  The Root of Jesse springs forth in our lives.  He is our hope – for comfort in grief, for harmony within our families, for forgiveness of our sin.  This hope opens us up to welcome and love one another so that together we abound in hope (vs. 5-7).  As Jewish Christians in Rome learned that Christ was the hope also of Gentiles (vs. 8-12), so we embrace all people as heirs of Christ’s hope.

Abound in this hope, dear friends.  It is real and it is for you.  In our dark and stormy nights, we might at times have trouble even imagining that this hope exists; yet it is ours in Christ, free for the taking, a priceless treasure from the realm of God’s redeeming love.  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope!     Amen.

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November 30, 2016 – Advent                                              Text:  Luke 1:5-25

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

In the first year of their marriage, with his wife sick with a fever, her husband insists, “I’m taking you to the hospital for a complete checkup.”  In the 2^nd year of marriage, when his wife gets sick again, her husband announces, “I’ve called the doctor and he’s coming over.”  In the third year the husband says, “I’ll make you something to eat, do we have any soup?”  And in the 4^th year of their marriage, when his wife is sick again, her husband says, “After you’ve fed the kids and washed the dishes, you’d better hit the sack.”

Family life.  It can be the best of times.  It can be the worst of times.  This Advent through Christmas morning we have a new sermon series called “Family Life.”  There is much to learn from the families connected with Jesus’ birth. They faced infertility, rejection, frustration, loss, and so much more.

Luke 1:5 introduces us to two of these families.  “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah.”  Tonight we zero in on . . .

“TWO FAMILIES”

Herod’s family.  This is the Herod responsible for the execution of all boys under age two in and around Bethlehem.  Herod was a monster in the flesh.  He was born into a politically connected family in 73 BC, and was destined for a life of political hardball.  He married ten times and ordered the execution of two of his wives and three of his sons.

When Herod knew he was dying and that no one would mourn his death, he devised a final, brutal plan. He brought the top leaders from Jericho together for a meeting.  Once they arrived, he had the fortress gates locked.  Just before he died, he would have these leaders massacred.  One way or another people would cry when Herod died.  That is the tragic picture of Herod and his family.

“Thank God,” I can hear us all say.  “I’m not like Herod.  I never raise an angry hand against my child.  I pay my taxes and slip some money in the offering box.  Once at a nursing home I even played bingo with grandma.”

But if we are honest, there’s a part of us who would rather rule than serve, dominate rather than submit, and get ahead at the expense of our own family.  We’ve left words unsaid in support of our spouse; we’ve not been faithful to the Lord’s words when making decisions about our children.  The result.  Though family can be the best of times, too often family is the worst of times.

Zechariah’s family.  “But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.” (v. 7)  In Luke 1:25 Elizabeth describes her barrenness as a “disgrace.”  In those days not having children meant you had nothing.  Zechariah and Elizabeth longed for a child.  But now it’s too late.  They are both too old – that fertile time in their life left the station.  They were both well along in years.  The pain of regret hits us most frequently when it comes to family.

Maybe you’re like Zechariah and Elizabeth, wanting children but not able to conceive.  Or maybe you’re single, desperately wanting to be married, but it just hasn’t happened.  Maybe you are married and it hasn’t turned into the fairy tale you envisioned.  Like Zechariah and Elizabeth we can all feel disgrace and shame among the people.  End of story?  No way!  God intervened.  He gave Zechariah and Elizabeth gifts – the same gifts he gives to our families.  What are they?

God’s promises never end.  Israel’s three matriarchs Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel were all barren at one time.  All eventually had children.  Zechariah and Elizabeth must have believed if God could do it three times before – He can do it again.

Has family life left you frustrated and empty?  Then hear this.  If God was faithful to Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, he will be faithful to you.  God loves you.  His promises for you in Jesus Christ, never, ever end.  You may have give up on you.  But God will never give up on you.  He replaces barrenness and brokenness with goodness and grace.

God’s presence never disappoints.  “He (Zechariah) was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.” (v. 9)  Luke 23:45 records another time that someone has access to the temple; “The curtain of the temple was torn in two.”  In Luke 1, Zechariah has access to God’s presence.  In Luke 23, because of Christ’s death, we all have access to God’s presence.  And this presence never disappoints.

God’s presence is most evident in the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The body that suffered and was crucified – that true body is present for you.  The blood that was shed, spilled, and splattered – that true blood is present for you.  By the blood of Jesus you have access to the most holy presence of the most Holy God.  And this real presence forgives all your family failures – every last one of them.

God’s plan never fails.  God gave Zechariah and Elizabeth a child.  And God’s promise is that this child, John the Baptist, “will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of their fathers to the children.” (v. 17)  God’s plan is to turn our hearts toward home, to replace vengeance and bitterness with forgiveness and love.  He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of the children towards their parents.

Family life.  It can be the best of times.  It can be the worst of times.  The next time it gets rough in your family, don’t fly off the handle like Herod – you could lose it all.  Instead, trust in God’s promises, God’s presence, and God’s plan.  They are real.  They are alive.  And they work.  Don’t believe me?  Then just ask Zechariah and Elizabeth.

Amen.