Living in Anticipation
Psalm 25: 1-10 read responsively and Luke 21:25-36
Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ November 29, 2009
First Sunday in Advent
Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
Psalm 25: 1-10 expresses some of the most central and important theological themes in the Psalter: dependence on God for protection from enemies; requests for God to direct and teach; confession of sin and cries for forgiveness and confidence in God's abiding presence and faithfulness. The Psalm lays great ground for trust and patience that are integral to Advent.

1To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
3Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
5Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
6Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!
8Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

Luke 21:25-36
Here as we await the celebration of Jesus’ birth, it seems out of sync to read about end times. Luke is down right vague about when Jesus will return, refusing to offer any hint of a timetable. Instead, Luke asserts that, just as budding fig leaves unmistakably herald the advent of summer, so also will the signs of the coming kingdom be transparent to the Christian community. The emphasis shifts from when these things will happen, to encouraging the disciples to develop an attitude of anticipation. Anticipation is filled with expectation, hope and eagerness for the future to come. Living in anticipation is a whole lot different than living in fear and dread of what tomorrow will bring.25“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

SERMON
Let’s be honest. Talking about end times always seems out of sync with preparations for Christmas. Kate Huey, UCC pastor writes:
While we set up Nativity scenes with a sweet baby Jesus lying in a manger, (the lectionary reading has us encounter) the grown-up, just-about-to-die Jesus standing in the Temple, teaching about the coming catastrophe – the destruction of that Temple by the Romans... But Jesus seems to be talking about even more than the Temple’s destruction about the end of all things, the end of time itself. It certainly puts those Christmas preparations in a different perspective.[1]

A different perspective is hard to claim. We’re already in a rush. Getting the house clean and decorated, buying Christmas gifts, mailing cards and packages. Hurry, hurry there is still more to do. Then a real crisis hits and news comes that a family member is sick or lost a job. Your cousin’s marriage comes apart at the Thanksgiving dinner. Your perspective takes a hard right turn. We adjust to those crises each in our own way, but rarely with anticipation.

The other day, Dean Enslein gave me a wonder book to read called: Same Kind of Different As Me. About two men on very different paths and the woman whose life, love and sacrifice binds them as brothers. Ron Hall is an art dealer who has made a fortune in Fort Worth, TX. Denver Moore was an uneducated sharecropper who hitched a freight train and ended up homeless in Fort Worth. Ron’s wife, Debbie worked tirelessly with homeless people. As a servant of Jesus Christ, she first and always saw them as people. Denver first called Ron and Debbie Mr. and Mrs. Tuesday because that was the day they would regularly show up to help serve a meal. Debbie created a movie night, a salon day for the women, and birthday celebrations for the homeless for Fort Worth. Her battle with cancer brings these very different men close in faith. It is a wonderful story that reveals a change in perspective not only for Ron but Denver as well. Even with Debbie’s death they both live lives of anticipation for what tomorrow will bring.

It is back in the news more language about end times and the apocalyptic. How can we live with anticipation when the message about the future is not of hope but anxiety and fear? Wednesday as I was driving to work, the day was just so gray and depressing, I prayed for a change of attitude about the day and God gave me a view about anticipation about life itself. It is not the cloudy weather that makes me sad, but my own attitude. Jesus says, “Now when these things begin to take place stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” It is this change of attitude that Jesus is asking us to make our faith a reality in our lives. Death, war, disease, financial and climatic disasters are never the GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST! JESUS IS ABOUT LIFE. Don’t let any despair rob you of the great joy of our faith. The birth of the baby is no different than his return; all is good because it is of God. Stand up and raise you heads, look for signs of the coming kingdom. The day was gray, but Springhill road was open! Do you remember the news from our friend Tom Logan that in spite of the terrible financial crisis the Marion Medical Mission Board’s increased their goal for shallow wells for 2009 to 2000 wells? Last year their goal was 1500 and 1733 wells were built! Guess how many they built this year – 2006! Stand up and raise you heads, look for signs of the coming kingdom. There all around us, we just need eyes to see and, ears to hear and hearts open to love and life, the we will be filled with anticipation. Like a child on Christmas Eve.
Rejoice, again , I say rejoice! Amen.
[1] “Sermon Seeds” by Kate Huey Advent 1C, 2009

The Alpha and The Omega
Psalm 93 read responsively and Revelations 1:4-8
Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ November 22, 2009
Christ the King Sunday
Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
Psalm 93
When does your faith seem the strongest? When do you definitely feel the presence of God?
From time to time, we all have such “mountain top” experiences. These emotional highs assure us that God is truly present. In that rarefied air, praise becomes fact. We realize all the platitudes we heap upon our Maker have basis in reality. The power and glory of God are palpable. God really is the Alpha and the Omega. Psalm 93 is just such a song of praise. As we read this psalm responsively may you recall the glory of our Lord and King.

1The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
2your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.
3The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.
4More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the Lord!
5Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.

Revelations 1:4-8
Many hesitate to preach from Revelations. Maybe I am just foolish enough to try. It is a lectionary reading, but first the lesson must be read in its context. This is not a timeless, abstract vision. Its message is rooted in the experience of a specific person, John, who has been exiled for his faith to the island of Patmos, off the coast of present-day Turkey. He writes as Christ's messenger. When his letter was read aloud in the churches, people would have understood that through him Jesus Christ was testifying to the glory of God. John speaks to real churches, which are tempted, struggling, experiencing intense hostility from their neighbors, and he personally shares their suffering.[1] Cannot such a context speak to us as well? 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed* us from our sins by his blood, 6and made* us to be a kingdom, priests serving* his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him,even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.So it is to be. Amen.
8 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

SERMON
John reminds us that God is The Alpha and the Omega. There are the very first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It is like saying, “I am the A and the Z.” or “the beginning and the end.” It is an assurance that God is all encompassing.

The last week of the Christian year is meant to focus worshipers on the sole source of divine power and reign, so what a wonderful time to hear this message of the all embracing God. Christ the King Sunday is a day in which the people of faith are invited to the throne room where Christ is exalted and worshiped; it is the New Year's Eve of the Christian year, the day we come full circle and end a journey that began with the first Sunday in Advent. On this day we think of the entire Christian year, of our faith, of creation, of history, of the God who is all in all, and of the Christ who will rule over all. We think of the coming end of time and we submit to Christ as our sovereign, believing with Paul that "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God" (Phil. 2:10-11).[2]

Yet perhaps the heightened sense of God's presence is best found outside the sanctuary, where Jesus is king not in places of power, but in people’s hearts and minds and where people try to serve him. Perhaps we will see him most vividly not among those of power but with those who seem powerless or those who work for peace. Jesus is king not where people seek advantage, but where people seek to be helpful; not where people seek security, but where people take risk to create a working, breathing and caring community.

This is good news. If Jesus is king not just once a year and on a throne but throughout all of time and in every place, then we don't have to be king, or seek another king. We no longer have to judge one another. We don't have to control what other people think and feel or force them to fit our expectations. When that happens, the kingdom of God is here and now, here in our hearts, here among us--and out there wherever we carry it. But as Bilbo of the Shire was want to say, “It’s a dangerous thing going out your door.” And it is still a dangerous thing to declare you faith.

Susan Eastman, Assistant Professor of Duke Divinity School writes that:
John takes conflict and suffering as the norm for Christian life and expects these churches to do the same. This expectation threads through the entire New Testament witness: to own Jesus as one's Lord is to come into conflict with all other "lords" that would claim our allegiance, whether they be the idols of economic success, social status, or simply apathy and personal safety. Revelation is a word of encouragement for those who are suffering, and a word of exhortation for Christians who acquiesce to the status quo in order to avoid any unpleasantness.

Mission work is one ways we learn to test our willingness to take a risk. Stony Point Center in New York hosted Young Adult Volunteers preparing to leave for their one-year service to the church in various places around the world. Most of them are fresh out of college and asking the proverbial question, “What am I going to do with my life?” Rather than giving an answer, our church provides an opportunity for them to extend the boundaries of their lives by serving in a volunteer position for one year, and touch other lives in the process. It is a risky endeavor; they may not find what they are looking for after giving a year of their young lives. They will be sharing lives with people who have little in common with them, and they may even face some harsh living conditions. Why do they do it? And why does the church spend resources to encourage our young people to take these risks? Mission is offering our lives into the lives of others. There is always the risk of rejection, misunderstanding others, being misunderstood, and many other consequences we did not anticipate or want. But as servants of the Alpha and the Omega can we do any less?
Sixty-seven 20-somethings with idealism, hope, and resolve (mixed with anxiety and trepidation) are going out to change the world. The world may not change much, but surely 67 lives will be changed, along with the lives of their families, friends and churches who support them in mission.[3]

Are you willing to walk the difficult road for your God and King, not just in worship or high holy days but every day? Will you follow Christ into times and places of risk? May this be a day when you can sense that you are a precious and an integral part of the great Alpha and Omega. May you recommit your lives to His service. Amen.

[1] “Commentary on Second Reading” by Susan Eastman, Duke Divinity School Durham, NC
[2] Living by the word: “Royal Choice” Christian Century, Nov 14, 2006 by Keith D. Herron

[3] Open letter from missionaries Simon and Haejung Park in Korea see: http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/letters/parks/parks_0909.htm

Birth-pains
Psalm 13 and Mark 13:1-8
Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ November 15, 2009
Unity Presbyterian Church – Terre Haute, Indiana
Called Congregational Meeting Following Worship

SCRIPTURE INTRODUCTION
Psalm 13 read responsively
This psalm has often been used to teach believers how to pray for help. It has the basic elements of prayer: calling on God, naming the problem and ending with assurance. The psalm also speaks to our faith that even when we feel God is absent or at least not where we want God to be, we trust in God’s promises of salvation. Like giving birth, we know something good is going to come from this present suffering.

1How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3Consider and answer me, O Lord my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Mark 13:1-8
So is it pains or pangs. Pain is a steady consistent suffering where pangs are spasmodic in nature. But giving birth seems to have both. In fact most creative processes have struggles that go on – such as staring at the computer screen waiting for something to happen or the more spasmodic events of “oh this is so great… where was I going with this message?” Here Jesus gives us either a glimpse into the future and even more a lesson about living in the here and now.

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” 2Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
3When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4“Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 6Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 8For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.

SERMON
I love the scene in Fiddler on the Roof, when one of the residents of the persecuted villagers of Russian Anatevka, wonders, “Wouldn’t this be a good time for the Messiah to come?” And Tevye says, “Perhaps that is why we always where our hat.” Suffering comes to us all and though we need to be prepared for it (keeping our hats on), all suffering is not the end of time. It may in fact be the beginning of something new and wonderful.

Yet we seem to savor being afraid. The new movie 2012 plays on our relish of being scared.
When people get scared, their bodies automatically triggers the "fight or flight" response—adrenaline is pumped into their bodies so that their heart rates increases, they breathe faster, their muscles tense, and their attention focuses for quick and effective responses to threats.
David Rudd clinical psychologist says that this is nature's way of protecting us. If the brain knows there is no risk of really being harmed, it experiences this adrenaline rush as enjoyable, Rudd explained. The key to enjoying such thrills lies in knowing how to properly gauge the risk of harm. This phenomenon also explains why people can enjoy skydiving, bungee jumping and other extreme sports… Dr. Rudd said. “The key structure in the brain responsible for this effect is likely the amygdala, which is key to forming and storing memories linked with emotions.
Frank McAndrew an environmental psychologist says the ability to enjoy fear makes evolutionary sense, "We're motivated to seek out this kind of stimulation to explore new possibilities, to find new sources of food, better places to live and good allies… People enjoy deviations from the norm—a change of pace, within limits."[1]

So scary tales or predictions of end times are nothing new for people to respond with excitement and problem solve how to survive. The disciples find Jesus’ apocalyptic message titillating. So they go to Jesus and ask when the destruction of Jerusalem would happen. For these people this would be the end of their world. And he says, “This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” The disciples particularly in Mark’s Gospel are clueless about what is really going on. Jesus has given them a powerful message that out of suffering can come new life. Not the first time he has given them this message. Eventually he will live and die and be raised thus demonstrating this message. But they are more interested as we often are with the coming events not how to live in the here and now. Birthpangs will pass but eventually birthpains come upon us and new life is given breath. Woman over time have learned that certain behaviors help when giving birth. Artist through trail and error also learn routines that help the creative process. Nations over time learn that governance with the people’s involvement works best. We call that democracy but our particular form is actually a democratic republic, a representative government. Today we will be practicing that principle during our called meeting after worship, as we elect representatives to lead us in ministry. All such behaviors though logical also have a powerful emotional link. That emotional link helps us remember: what is important and directs our responses to trials. Wednesday we as a community shared the grief of the Griffin family. More distant we are concerned with the families of those killed and the injured at Fort Hood, Tx. Ultimately all these lead back to the morning of September 11, 2001. Our responses to such tragedies can be how we handle the birthpangs of a new heaven and a new earth. Through it all Jesus wants us to recall his message of hope.
In our Mission Yearbook of prayer and study has a reading about a mission throughout on denomination. On Vertrans Day this was the mission shared:

An injured soldier wraps himself in a blanket knitted by someone he doesn't know, but it comforts him. Parents view their stillborn baby, beautifully dressed in the gift of a hand-knitted layette, and feel a small sense of peace. A woman undergoing chemotherapy pulls the knit cap she has been given over her hairless head and remembers her faith that everything will be all right. These somber scenes are filled with hope from a group called Heartstrings at Henry Memorial Presbyterian Church in Dublin, Georgia.

The group was started by two women at Henry Memorial who were going through their own personal struggles. Barbara Riddle was looking for something to occupy her time after major surgery. After hearing about a hospital needing items for premature and stillborn babies, she began knitting for them. Around the same time, Eileen and Norm Buckhouse lost one of their sons in a tragic accident, only to soon learn that two other sons would be deployed to Iraq.

A friend suggested that Eileen knit prayer shawls to keep her mind occupied. Together Barbara and Eileen began to teach knitting classes, and a ministry was born.

Today Heartstrings continues its ministry not only in its community, but throughout the world. Knitters make hats, blankets, and booties for an African hospital, cast socks and blankets for wounded soldiers being treated in Germany, dishcloths for seniors living in Swainsboro Presbyterian Apartments, and sweaters for children in the U.S. who need them. What began as a source of comfort in a time of pain has become a ministry serving children of God all over the world with a simple gift craft woven with love.[2]

What ministry is Jesus calling you into? Are their birthpangs, in your life that need to be survived or are you ready to suffer the pains of birthing something new? May the Creator of all life guide your breathing in and breathing out. As Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." (Mark 10:27). Amen.
[1] “Why We Love to be Scared” By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience posted: October 30, 2006.

[2] Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study, Tuesday, November 10