Redemption MOVES!

Text:  Luke 21:25-36

Theme:  “Redemption MOVES!”

First Sunday of Advent

November 29, 2015

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

“See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation.”  That snippet from Zechariah the prophet came even before Psalm 25 (which Beverly read).  Psalm 25 bids us to lift up our souls to the Lord.  That sounds good, but better yet is the antiphonal from Zechariah that is the first word from God to us on Advent I:  “See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation.”  In view of the Gospel, which St. Paul proclaims as “the power of God unto salvation,” that’s the whole ball game:  “Your King comes to you.”  It’s the theme of the day – and, in fact, the theme of the entire new church year that begins today. 

The King came in the past – as the infant Jesus lying in the manger; the King comes today – hidden in His Gospel and in the water, bread, and wine of His Sacraments; the King will come again:  “They will see,” said Jesus, “the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” King Jesus is on the move – in the past, present, and future.  He’s got all the bases covered.  Best of all, He comes to “YOU”, says Zechariah. 

His travels in the past (as Bethlehem’s baby) and in the present (hidden in Word and Sacrament) can be utterly rejected.  You will recall, in the past, that the kingship of Jesus was violently rejected.  King Herod tried to have Him killed and used state sponsored terrorism to do it.  King Jesus, thus, became a refugee.  Would you accept refugee Jesus into your home?  “Whatever you’ve done for the least of these, my brethren, you’ve done it unto me,” says Jesus. 

King Jesus, who comes to us in the present hidden in Gospel and Sacrament, can likewise be rejected.  It is entirely possible, as an exercise of the will, to say:  “No, thanks, Jesus.  You I will do without.  I’m not interested in You, Your Sacraments, or Your people. I’m quite capable of handling things on my own.”

The rejection option, however, will not be in play when King Jesus comes in the future; that option is off the table.   This divine journey – or, as it is sometimes called, the “second coming” --will be marked by power and great glory.  Jesus says, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” 

Jesus, here, identifies Himself as redemption.  Every term – like “redemption”, for instance – when used of Jesus becomes a new term.  Linguistically, this redemption is in the passive voice. In other words, it’s already been done.  Jesus will not come again to “redeem” you; that’s already been done.  When this redemption comes to you in the future, faith will give way to sight.  It will only make it powerfully and gloriously clear how it is with you now:  you are redeemed, fully paid for, loved. Read anew the second paragraph of The Apostles’ Creed; that’s redemption on the move.    Christ the King has “redeemed me”, says Luther in his explanation to the second article.  He has:

…redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness,  even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.  This is most certainly true.

Redemption moves.  It has moved; it is moving; it will move again.

To help us keep this in heart and mind, we can actually take a little tree with us for the Advent journey this year.  Here it is (show), and there are directions on the back for putting it together.  Does this sound silly?  Maybe so, but consider this.

This past week, I visited a lady in the hospital.  She looked vaguely familiar; I may have actually seen her once or twice here at church.  It was sad that she had to spend her Thanksgiving days at the hospital.  It was clear from our conversation that there were things she couldn’t bring herself to share – even though she had called for a chaplain to visit.  She asked about my family and me and offered to pray.  Usually it’s the chaplain who does that.  Then she pointed to the nightstand next to her bed.  There it was:  a miniature Christmas tree which was only about 6 inches tall.  “It take it with me wherever I go,” she says.   

That was her outward sign that redemption had moved into her life.  Friends may have rejected her, family may have rejected, earthly wealth may have rejected her; her own health may have rejected her, but not Jesus.  She knew to whom she was precious.

Devotional writer Greg Pennoyer puts the thoughts of many into words:  “Like most adults, I have a difficult time relating to Christmas,” he says.  “I try to make up for it through our particularly modern mixture of materialism and sentimentality.  For me as for so many people (including millions of believers), Christmas has become a parody of itself.”

Materialism and sentimentality can only move you so far.  But redemption moves all the way – all the way into a world of materialism and sentimentality, all the way into a world of carousing, drunkenness, and anxiety; all the way into hearts that are weighed down.  The God who laid in the manger moved into all of this and redeemed it.  And, as Lucy said it in “Peanuts”, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Amen.

Birth pangs? Yes, Birthpangs!

Text:  Mark 13:1-8

Theme:  “Birthpangs?  Yes, Birthpangs!”

25^th Sunday after Pentecost

November 15, 2015

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

If you study law, you break it down into parts.  Are you to examine family law, criminal law, elder law?  It might depend on your interest.  Or how about medicine?  It, too, has its parts.  You might look at oncology, hematology, or neurology.  The same goes for the study of theology, which, of course, is an examination of the Word of God.  The various parts or fields or disciplines are there as well.  Calvin called them “institutes”; Philip Melanchthon called them “Loci”.  I’ve noticed that reformed Christians call them “tenets”. 

At this point, late in the church year, the part of theology the church takes a fresh look at is the discipline of eschatology.  Eschatology is one of those million dollar terms that is not in our workable vocabulary.  But I’m here to say that we sense what the word means; we have wonder about what the word means; we worry about what the word means.  Eschatology is the study of the end times.

What do you think?  Are we in the end times?  In The Apostles’ Creed, we affirm that Jesus Christ will “come again to judge the quick and the dead.”  Do you think that will happen in our lifetimes?  Are the signs of the times suggesting that this could possibly transpire?  Will there be a so-called “rapture” where some will be taken and others will be left behind?  Will there be various “dispensations”?  Will Christ reign on earth for a thousand years? 

Eschatology, at least as this pastor has studied it, raises more questions than answers.  That means, human curiosity being what it is, that the subject is rife for speculation.  For example, an entire cottage industry of literature has grown up around eschatology.  I recently perused the “Christian Fiction” aisle at Barnes and Noble.  There you have a plethora of books – fictional, mind you – that purport to describe the future, the end.  Pretty clearly, there’s a market for stuff like that and a profit to be made.

Occasionally, we’ve heard about some “renowned” Bible scholar – usually of the fundamentalist/inerrantist stripe with a special interest in “prophecy” -- who has it all figured out.  He or she even assigns a calendar date for the return of Jesus, the end of the world, etc.  His or her followers get on board and start getting ready for the end!  Well, I’m still here today after all these various and sundry predictions; you’re still here today too.  If we use the brains God has given us we have to conclude that every one of these predictions of the end were totally false.  Then, the purveyors have to “revise” their estimate or estimates.  My suggestion to you is to stay away from ALL of this silly nonsense.

Remember the statement of Jesus Himself when He was asked point-blank about the end and when it will be.  In Acts 1 Jesus says to His disciples then and now:  “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”  I, for one, am grateful for this gift.  It’s one less thing I have to worry about!  Without having to twiddle my thumbs about the end of time, I can devote more time to endeavoring to live a life of faith toward God and love toward my neighbor. 

Still, while dates and times are not given for us to know, there will be certain happenings in the lead-up to the end.  And the biblical evidence basically says it is not going to be a picnic. 

In today’s reading, the disciples marvel at the beautiful temple building that had been restored by King Herod.  Jesus replied – in an almost deadpan fashion:  “Do you see all these buildings?  Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”  Later, the disciples sought to pry out more information.  Based on Jesus’ response, it looks as though false messiahs would arise.  There will be wars and rumors of wars.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  Earthquakes and famines are in the offing.  Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid; these are the beginning of the birth pains.”

Birth pangs!  Yes birth pangs!  I cannot speak from any experience about birth pangs – only a mother knows about that.  Yes, there is pain -- even pain in the extreme.  But that pain has an ending point, and then all that matters is that precious, beautiful new life. 

Unless you have been off the grid for the last two days, you know full well about horrific events in Paris, France.  But did you also know that they also happened in Beirut, Lebanon; Baghdad, Iraq; and in Kenya.  The forces of evil, hiding under the banner of religion, have slaughtered hundreds of people. 

Here in America, responding to the tragedy in Paris on Friday, we have taken to social media with our French flags and images of the Eiffel Tower superimposed on a peace sign.  We’ve assured the French people of our prayers. In one of the best reflections I’ve read in the last few days, an anonymous author has identified our narrow, parochial focus:

It is not Paris we should pray for.  It is the world.  It is a world in which Beirut, reeling from bombings two days before Paris, is not covered in the press.  A world in which a bomb goes off at a funeral in Baghdad and not one person’s status update says “Baghdad”, because not one white person died in that fire.  Pray for the world that blames a refugee crisis for a terrorist attack.  That does not pause to differentiate between the attacker and the person running from the very same thing you are.  Pray for a world where people walking across countries for months, their only belongings upon their backs, are told they have no place to go.  Say a prayer for Paris by all means, but pray more, for the world that does not have a prayer for those who no longer have a home to defend.  For a world that is falling apart in all corners, and not simply in the towers and cafes we find so familiar.

More than one television report I’ve watched this weekend has warned viewers with young children that some of the images that they are about to see are graphic.  Indeed, many of the happenings Jesus described – the “beginning of the birth pangs”, He said – are, likewise, graphic. 

From such graphic things, we tend to try and insulate ourselves – and our children.  We want to protect them from being scarred from such violent imagery. 

I find it interesting that the mother of Fred Rogers, of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” fame, did not do a good job of insulating little Fred from scary news reports.  It has to be something of a miracle that he wasn’t scarred for life and actually turned out to be the wonderful man he was for so many children in America.  And, by the way, he was a Presbyterian minister too.  Some of you may remember a great day in the life of this congregation when Texas reporter Tim Madigan shared his remembrances of interviewing and befriending Mr. Rogers. 

Little did I know, Mr. Rogers was a first-rate, indeed, exquisite eschatologist.  In a profound statement (and profound because it is so practical), Mr. Rogers said this:  “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.’”

People who help are people who serve.  What a Christ-like thing that is to do.  Jesus said:  “I am among you as One who serves… .  The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

He is servant and a ransom for many – for girls and boys, men and women, for the Lebanese, for the Iraqis, for the French, for the Kenyans, for the Christians, for the Jews, for the Sunnis, for the Shia, for all the Muslims, for the gay, for the straight, for the poor, for the middle class, for the rich, for the atheist, for the agnostic, indeed, for the human race He shall forever be servant and ransom.

Yes, these are painful times; they may or may not be the birth pangs of about which Jesus spoke.  But, beyond speculation, the pain has and ending point, and the precious and new life will begin. We get to be part of this.  Do not be afraid.  Look up!  For your redemption draws near.  Amen.

Out of Poverty or Abundance?

Text:  Mark 12:38-44

Theme:  “Out of Poverty or Abundance?”

24^th Sunday after Pentecost

November 8, 2015

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, TX

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

It looks as though a teaching moment was about to transpire, and that is exactly what it was.  Mark says He (Jesus) “(called) His disciples to Him.”  It was as if He was saying, “Listen up!” 

They weren’t hunkered down in some sort of bunker or conference room where a session meets.   They were in the most public place of the most public temple of God in Jerusalem.  Jesus observed the crowds putting their money into the temple treasury.  Did they fill out an annual pledge card or tithe?  We are not told.  That’s not so important.

What is important, what we are told about is what Jesus observed:  rich people threw in lots of money into the collection plate or treasury box.  But they weren’t the only ones making an offering that day.

The gaze of our Lord fixes on a “poor widow”,           quote/unquote!  Already, she has two strikes against her – and maybe three:  1. She’s poor; 2. She lost her spouse; and 3. She’s a woman.  And into the treasury, says Jesus, went “all she had to live on.”

Talk about having to “live by faith”!  There was nothing else to live on. She was poor; she was a woman; she was a widow.  Now we can add crazy to the list of appertaining descriptions!  She left herself no cash on hand to buy bread; that’s rather idiotic, wouldn’t you say?   Then again, as Jesus did say, humankind “does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  But, needless to say, such thoughts are far from us as we decide which variety of Eggs Benedict we want for Sunday brunch with friends – and, hopefully, we’ll be served in time to get home for most of the Cowboys game.  But Jesus wasn’t watching the Cowboys.

“Watch out for the teachers of the law,” He said.  Good idea.   What if we did?  Well, we’d see that, for them (the teachers of the law), it’s all about black and white, right and wrong, morals and ethics, and holier than thou!  It’s about separating yourself from the riff-raff.  (Christians tend to call it “Being ‘in’ the world but not ‘of’ it.) The problem going on just as much now as then is putting the cart of sanctification (or “godly living”, if that’s what you want to call it) before the horse of justification – “By grace are ye saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves.  It is the gift of God – lest anyone should boast.”   We are “justified freely as a gift,” declares the apostle Paul.  God wants children and not Pavlovian dogs who respond to little more than the reward incentive.  But we Protestant Christians in the reformed tradition, in our piety, DESPERATELY want a REWARD-GIVING God.  But a GIFT-GIVING GOD?  Not so much.

The point of this story does not revolve around how much money we have or don’t have.  Neither does it speak of how much of our treasure (money) or time or talent we give – or don’t give -- back to God.  Nowhere does it say:  “Be like the poor widow; Jesus will love you then.”

The point of the story is a point of reference.  Is the point of reference that we are fat cats and are, therefore, able to thrown in a large pledge, or is it that we are desperately, WONDERFULLY dependent on God’s grace no matter whether we have a lot or a little?

In the language of recovery (which is just as applicable to everyone as it is to alcoholics and addicts), this is the key question that our text puts to us:  are we willing to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God?

Jesus, throughout His earthly ministry, repeatedly pointed out that this is harder for rich people.  And Americans, even in their poverty, are far richer than the rest of the world. 

So, at the end of the day and at the end of this humble attempt at a stewardship sermon, how can we honor God with our giving?  Left to ourselves, we can’t.  But we are not left to ourselves, for Jesus is with us.  He is our point of reference!

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,” declared St. Paul --  “that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty you might become rich.”  That’s a thought as blessed as it is revolutionary and as revolutionary as it is blessed!

Carried away by the truth of this, the Christmas carol lyricist declared:

We are rich, for he was poor; Is not this a wonder?

Therefore praise God evermore here on earth and yonder.

The vitality of our giving lies in how it enables us to praise the gift-giving God and not how it enables us to appease the reward-giving idol.

So, finally, only on this basis – not on the basis of need, not on the basis of worry, not on the basis of budgetary concern, but on the basis of God’s rich grace – do I ask you and challenge you to give generously to our temple treasury!

Amen.