Sermon November 21, 2010

The Promised One

Scripture: Colossians 1:11-20 and Luke 1:68-79

Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ November 21, 2010

Christ the King Sunday

Introduction to scripture:
Colossians 1:11-20 read responsively
Christians in Colossae and other cities of Asia Minor were the victims of suspicion and therefore ill-treatment because of their faith. Paul writes these words of encouragement to the believers. In Christ the King we find our freedom and joy.

11May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully
12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.
17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Luke 1:68-79
Today we are invited to remember that the “the Kingdom of God” — to which Jesus constantly pointed — is as fully available now and always as it was 2,000 years ago. The question that remains each Christ the King Sunday is whether we will choose to live under the authority of one who is not Caesar, but God. Here in this passage the priest Zechariah sings a song of praise on the birth of his son who will grow up to be John the Baptist. John’s role is to prepare hearts and minds to receive Jesus as the Christ King, the promised one.
68“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, 73the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. 78By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Sermon
“The Promised One!” Jesus is the promised one for the whole world. Zechariah’s son was a promised one for he was given a high calling; “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.” I believe every child is a promised one. Everyone has a call from God. We seem more open to that when we look at a child. The future is all in front of them. This week our daughter turned 31. She is very active in her church as usher, greeter, deacon, serving communion, and on a committee to create to new worship service. But where I see her calling is in her teaching. She has a passion about learning and touching the lives of her students. I see the same passion manifested in Rosetta, Nancy, Bill, Paul, Amie and Mary. Teaching styles, subjects and students may vary but the call remains. Once upon a time each of you were held by someone who loved you and saw you as a promised one. Have you lived up to that promise, have you fulfilled God’s call?

I served a congregation in Arlington Heights, IL. It was a non-ordained position. I was called the associate for Christian Nurture. There was one member named Lois (name changed for privacy) who discovered that I had a habit of leaving my keys unattended in various locations in this very large church building. After several times of helping me search for them, she took it on as her job to acquire my keys when I arrived and keep track of them. When Lois was born she spent too long in the birth canal, and had brain damage as a result. I wondered did anyone hold her and say, “You, O little one, are a promised one.” But she is! You, child of the living God are a finder and keeper of the lost. What a wonderful and vital calling. Each of us is a promised one. Have you heard God’s call? Are you fulfilling God’s promise? Some children fulfill their promise early in life and others like Grandma Moses are late bloomers.

Anna Mary (Grandma Moses) had drawn as a child. But it was on her farm the necessity led to her art. Her first painting was created because she was wallpapering her parlor and ran out of paper. To finish the room she put up white paper and painted a scene. It is known as the Fireboard, and it hangs today in the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont. As she aged arthritis prevented her from doing needle work so she began to paint. Her first one-woman show was held in New York City in 1940, she was eighty years old.

Harry Bernstein (born May 30, 1910) is the author of The Invisible Wall, which deals with his abusive, alcoholic father, the anti-Semitism he encountered growing up in a Lancashire mill town in north west England, and the Romeo and Juliet romance experienced by his sister and her Christian lover. The book was started when he was 93 and published in 2007 when he was 96. Recently, he published his third book, The Golden Willow

Mary Harris Jones was born in the early 1800’s. She was a teacher and small business woman. But after the death of her husband and the loss of her business to the Chicago Fire she became a union activist at the age of 50 although she was one of the few women to claim to be older. You may know her under the name of Mother Jones.

No matter our age, God continues to call us. How old was Abraham and Sara?

On Tuesday in the Mission Yearbook of Prayer the focus was on Flint River Presbytery in Georgia. It told the story of Ki Thomas Golson. Ki grew up in the projects in Albany, Georgia. She was emotionally and physically abused, told over and over: “You will never be good enough.” Even when she became an honor graduate and was awarded a music scholarship by Georgia Southwestern State University, Ki was told she would fail. At the Presbyterian Student Center, a project of Flint River presbytery she found a diverse group of Christians who accepted and encouraged her. Ki’s story is the story of countless young adults who are supported in their answer to God’s call by campus ministries. Just like our own United Campus Ministries right here in Terre Haute. Story after story reveals young adults who are transformed by the love of God in Jesus Christ as acts of consistent and creative hospitality which engages them at crucial moments in their lives. That’s why Flint River Presbytery invests (not “spends”) 10 percent of its annual budget in campus ministry. So Presbytery’s have a calling from God. And because Flint River answered God’s call, Ki discovered who she was as a beloved child of God and just how much she had to give in return. Today she serves as a music teacher at Sylvester Primary School in Adel, Georgia.

No matter what people say about you or what your age or ability, you have a calling from God. Because of Jesus, age, race, gender, even death is not the end of our story. When Jesus was born there were great signs that he was indeed a promised one, that he was the long awaited Promised One. He became a great teacher and healer fulfilling his promise. Then he was arrested and executed as a criminal. Not a very promising end to his story. But we know that was not the end of his story or even the true nature of his call. You, child of the living God are a finder and keeper of the lost. And he still is and we are called to work with him in this fulfillment of our promise! Amen.

RESOURCES: See: www.notablebiographies.com/Mo-Ni/Moses-Grandma.html; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Bernstein; : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Harris_Jones;
http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/missionyearbook/november-16/