“It is NOT Sink or Swim”

Gospel Reading                    Matthew 14:22-33

Message

Today’s Gospel reading takes place immediately following the feeding of the 5000.  Jesus had sent His disciples by boat toward the other side of the sea while He stayed behind to dismiss the people.

       After sending the people away, he went up a mountain to pray by himself. When evening came, he was there alone.!

       It had been an amazing day of teaching and miracles.  Jesus had been surrounded by and sought by thousands of people clamoring for His attention. 

       He had not only been teaching the masses, but also training the disciples. 

       Now, He sought time alone to be with His Father in prayer.  I can imagine the conversation going something like this:

  “Hey, Dad, I had a good day today!  A few of them actually saw past the miracles and understood that it wasn’t about filling their stomachs.  They really got it!

  I tell you, being human isn’t easy, this body is so worn and tired that I think I could sleep through a storm at sea!

  Well, I’d better go check on the disciples.  They’ll be starting to worry.  They’re coming along but its slow going with some of them.     

  By the way, You’ve got some sense of humor giving me Peter as a disciple.  And James and John!  What a pair!

  Anyway, they are like children at times, and at others they show great insights of understanding about what our purpose here is all about.

       I’ll call ya later.  Bye, Dad, Love you!

       So, by now the boat was hundreds of yards from shore and bouncing like a three-year-old on a sugar high; and trying to sail into the wind.  If you have ever tried to stand up in a small boat that is being tossed around by the waves and the wind – or tried to walk on a water bed, you can get some idea of what it was like for Jesus to walk on this rolling carpet of water.

       Okay, so sometime in the darkest part of the night – that part before sunrise and when the moon has gone down – Jesus comes hiking through the peaks and troughs of the waves like he was strolling through a meadow.

       The disciples see Him and begin screaming like little girls in a snake pit.  They believe Him to be a ghost.  It’s not clear if they think He is just any ol’ ghost of if they recognize it is Him and believe Him to have finally been killed by His many enemies.

       I am sure He was bewildered by their behavior.  As far as He was concerned, He was not doing anything so incredible.  However because He is ever compassionate, He yells out, “Dudes, it me, calm down!”

       At this point, Peter (ever rash, impulsive Peter) says, “Okay, if its you, command me to come to you on the water!” 

       I doubt Peter had thought this through – he quite often did not think it through until after the fact – however, he had some concept of the fact that, alone he could not step onto the sea and walk, but that if Jesus “commanded” him to do it, that he would also give him the ability to follow through on it. 

       There is a lesson there for us.  When we are commanded, we are also empowered.     This goes beyond what Paul means when he says in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "(God) will not let you be tested beyond your strength.”

       It means that we do not have to rely on our own strength when we are doing the will of God.  God’s strength is sufficient to what ever the task is that is set before us.

       So, Peter asks Jesus to order him out of the boat.  I’m sure that Jesus smiled like a proud parent when their child takes that first unaided step, when He said, “Come on ahead!”

          So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. – UNTIL - he noticed how strong the wind was, at that point his fear of the wind and the water became stronger than his faith in Jesus.

       The result was that he started to sink. In his fear, he shouted, “Lord, save me!”

       Jesus could have used him as an object lesson to the other disciples and let Peter struggle in the water and find his own way back to the boat.

       However, in His compassion, He immediately, reached out, caught hold of him, and said, “You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?” 

       I do not think that Jesus was speaking only to Peter here.  After all, Peter had shown enough faith to get out of the boat while the others were still cowering and whimpering.  Peter’s small faith had let him walk on water – if only for a little while.     

       When they got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing.

At this point, the men in the boat bowed down in front of Jesus and said, “You are truly the Son of God.”

       This was not the first time that they had said this.  But here again they had just been reminded of it.

       We are like that sometimes too, we “know” that Jesus is Lord.  However, sometimes we fail to act on that knowledge.    We, at times, forget the times when Jesus has been our strength, our rock, our guide, our savior, and let our gaze shift to the troubled world around us. 

       We become overwhelmed with the size of the situation we face.

       It is times like this when Jesus reaches for us with outstretched had and lifts us from the sea of troubles in which we would drown.

       Is He hurt by our lack of faith?  Yes, I think He is. 

       Is he disappointed in us for our lack of faith?  Yes!

        Does He abandon us, give up on us?  No! 

       In love he lifts us and sets us on solid ground. Amen.

How Long, O Lord

Hebrew Bible Reading                     Genesis 32:24-30
New Testament Reading                       Romans 9:1-5

Message                                          

      With whom did Jacob wrestle?  Our scripture starts by saying, “a man wrestled with him until daybreak”

      I remember hearing a great sermon that claimed it was a metaphorical story about Jacob wrestling with his own deceptive nature. 

      It has some credibility when you consider that when he starts the contest he is named Jacob, which means supplanter or deceiver.  When the match was over he was named Israel which means God perseveres or contends

      However it is clear who Jacob thought he had struggled against because at the end of the story, Jacob says” I have seen God face to face”    

      Have you ever wrestled with God?

I have!  Many times.

      I wrestled with him at my conversion.  I felt God pulling me toward Him and I wanted to believe.  However, I wanted to keep one foot in the door.  My life was much like the person in the old hymn “Almost Persuaded” by Philip P. Bliss which says,

“Almost persuaded” now to believe;
“Almost persuaded” Christ to receive;
Seems now some soul to say,
“Go, Spirit, go Thy way,
Some more convenient day
On Thee I’ll call.”

“Almost persuaded,” come, come today;
“Almost persuaded,” turn not away;
Jesus invites you here,
Angels are lingering near
Prayers rise from hearts so dear;
O wanderer, come!

“Almost persuaded,” harvest is past!
“Almost persuaded,” doom comes at last!
“Almost” cannot avail;
“Almost” is but to fail!
Sad, sad, that bitter wail—
“Almost,” but lost!

We can not be a little bit Christian anymore than we can be a little bit dead.  We are or we are not.

      My heart was yearning for God!  However, my mind would not let me let go of my own self will.

      Why couldn’t there be a way to ‘test’ God?  Couldn’t I have a 90 day trial with a money back guarantee?

      Imagine my surprise to find in Malachi chapter three verse ten, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”

      Over the years, I have met many people who tithe because they believed.  However, I’m the only person I know of who believed because they tithed.

      I took God at his word and put him to the test.  I began tithing and the blessing began to flow.

      What happened was that the money that had seldom lasted all the way to the next payday, started to last.  Even though I was tithing when I hadn’t before.

      I couldn’t believe it.  It didn’t make sense, but it worked.  This “God thing” was working!

      Now hold on a minute – I will not let you be misled here.  I am not saying that if you tithe, that vast wealth will come your way.

      Anybody that reads about the lives of the disciples will see that they certainly did not become wealthy men.

      My point is that I put God to the test and He passed.  He did what He said He would and proved to me that I could trust Him.  That was a beginning.

      Over the years, I wrestled with God.  I have argued with Him over health issues, family relationship, and employment concerns.  And I have to say that even when things didn’t work out as I had envisioned them --- God was able to make a blessing from them when I was able to leave them in His hands.

      It is okay to argue with God - even to be angry at God. Read the Psalms.  Many of them were songs of anger and hurt. 

      Sometimes you have to ask God to let you see the situation through His eyes.  And sometimes you just have to yield and say, "Not my will but thine O Lord!"

      Remember – at the end of the wrestling, comes a blessing.

FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION

I find this hymn to be a thought provoking telling of the story that takes it from the past to the present and into the future.

Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown

1. Come, O thou Traveler unknown, who still I hold, but cannot see! My company before is gone, and I am left alone with thee. With thee all night I mean to stay, and wrestle till the break of day; with thee all night I mean to stay, and wrestle till the break of day.

2. I need not tell thee who I am, my misery and sin declare; thyself hast called me by my name, look on thy hands and read it there. But who, I ask thee, who art thou? Tell me thy name, and tell me now. But who, I ask thee, who art thou? Tell me thy name, and tell me now.

3. Yield to me now, for I am weak, but confident in self-despair! Speak to my heart, in blessing speak, be conquered by my instant prayer. Speak, or thou never hence shalt move, and tell me if thy name is Love. Speak, or thou never hence shalt move, and tell me if thy name if Love.

4.' Tis Love!' tis Love! Thou diedst for me, I hear thy whisper in my heart. The morning breaks, the shadows flee, pure, Universal Love thou art. To me, to all, thy mercies move; thy nature and thy name is Love. To me, to all, thy mercies move; thy nature and thy name is Love.

Words by Charles Wesley

“WHERE IS THE CHRISTMAS BABY”

1^ST READING                       Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)
2^ND READING                                      John 1:1-14

MESSAGE FOR CHRISTMAS IN JULY

      Wait! We read the gospel reading and this is a Christmas celebration … Where is the Babe in the Manger?

     The four gospels each begin differently.

     Mark’s Gospel skips the birth and goes to when Jesus began His public ministry.

     Matthew and Luke’s Gospels each have stories of the miraculous birth,

     John’s Gospel, as we just read, does not give us the traditional “Christmas Story” with shepherds, angels, and wise men. 

     There is no mention of the Christmas birth.

     Or maybe there is!

     Let’s look.

     John is not interested in relating the story of Jesus’ birth on earth.

     In John’s gospel, he makes it clear that the Christ who came into the world, predates the world and in fact is the one who created all things that were created.     Hear again his words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all.”

     It helps if we understand that the Gospel of John was written primarily to a Jewish audience who were familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures. 

     So, his gospel begins with a retelling of the creation story from Genesis.

     Those faithful Jews understood that the Word of God was a powerful force for creation. 

     So he was just explaining that Jesus was the Word of God personified.

     There is no question here of John’s theology.  Jesus is God in human form. 

    

     Let’s take a look at what Paul has to say along that same line in his letters.

     We think of Paul mostly ministering to the Gentiles – non-Jews – US. 

     However, Paul always began by going to the local synagogue and explaining to the Jews how Jesus was the Christ and how He fulfilled all that was written in the Law and the Prophets.  

     In First Corinthians Paul tells his readers, “I first gave to you that which I also received; the Jesus died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that he was buried and rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures.” This makes it clear that he expected his audience to be somewhat familiar with the scriptures, that is what we call the Old Testament.

     Here in Paul’s general letter to the Hebrews, he echoes John’s Gospel by saying, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.
        He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.

       He and John were in total agreement that Christ predates the World and is in fact God.

     And how were these messages received by the people who heard them? “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him,” says John.

     His own people – who were “his own people”?  The descendents of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac; those who followed the Law of God and revered the prophets of old; the people who had been prepared, generation after generation; these were the people who rejected Him.

     It was the religious people who could not see past their own self-important, self-proclaimed role as “God’s chosen people.”

     And in the book of Acts, it relates how when Paul stood preaching (not just in a synagogue) but in the Temple at Jerusalem he was dragged out and it was these religious people who then attempted to kill him.

     There is a warning to us here.  Right?

     Lord, Let us not get too sure that we have all the answers and that others are always wrong in their beliefs. 

There is still much for us to learn.

     So the Jews, his own people, rejected Him

     Now, wait!, let us not assume that ALL the Jews rejected this new understanding about the messiah.

     Jesus was not just the Messiah, a godly leader, but that He also is the very embodiment of God. 

     Most of the early “Christians” were Jewish. 

     Christianity was not a NEW religion it was just another sect of Judaism. 

     And in the beginning, many thought it was ONLY for the Jews.

     So, I guess even those who got it right – still got it wrong!

     We have got to be so careful not to limit our God!  Amen?

     Remember the promise from God to Abraham that we talked about several weeks ago?  The promise that ALL people everywhere would be blessed because of his seed.

     Over the past several weeks we have seen that promise passed on to Isaac and then to Jacob.

     Over the years, some people forgot the purpose of the promise and began to think of themselves as “specially entitled” by their status of caretakers of the Law from God.

     John realized that the Good News was meant for all people when he said, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.“

    

Praise God that he had a plan for the non-Jew – US! Amen?

     Likewise, Paul had the awakening of his ministry to non-Jews and it is recorded in Acts  22:17-21 where he says, “

        After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance and saw Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’  And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You.  And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.’  Then He said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”

     Some Christ Mass story so far – Huh? 

     Are you still wondering where the new born baby is in this Christmas story?

    

     Hang on just a little longer and I’ll show you where I found the baby in this lesson.

     Christ’s birth was miraculous and marvelous. 

     The fact that it conformed to the predictions of the prophets helps to confirm it.

     The fact that shepherds and wise men were informed of it was wonderful.

     However, as we celebrate this Christ Mass in July, let us remember that Jesus was an active force in the world

L-O-N-G before He was a baby. 

     He was STILL an active force in the world while He walked it as a man. 

     But more importantly He IS an active force in the world TODAY!

     Through Him WE, who receive him and believe in his name, He gives power to be REBORN as Children of God.

     It is We who are born again because of Christ’s birth, WE are the true babies in this Christ Mass story.    

     Praise God!

     Amen!

“How Awesome Is This Place”

Hebrew Bible Reading       Genesis 28:10-19a

Gospel Reading:                 Matthew 13:24-43

Sermon

Our reading from Matthew is not about the man who goes out to sow seed.  This is NOT the story of the seed that fell on the path, on stoney ground, amongst the weeds, or on the good soil. 

        THAT story was about how the seed was sown.  THIS  story is about the harvest.

        I will not spend time on explaining it – because Jesus, himself, does that.  I’ll just say that we believers may grow up in the world – but we are not OF this world – and Jesus will separate us out in His harvest time.

        Our reading from the Hebrew Bible really caught my attention this week.

        The story of Jacob’s ladder is probably among the first Bible stories most of us learned.  And of course the important part of the whole story is the revelation of God to Jacob and the transfer of the promise from Abraham to Jacob.  The promise to bless all families of the earth through his offspring.

        This time, though, here is the part that stood out to me as I read this scripture, “"Surely the Lord is in this place--and I did not know it!" And "How awesome is this place!”

        It made me wonder – how many times have we been in one of God’s special places – and not known it?

        This place was so special to Jacob that he built an altar to God on this holy ground and named it Bethel.  That is Beth-El, two words with a hyphen.  It means House of God

        We need to understand the “why” and the “what” of and altar. 

        Here is the WHY:  The Old Testament altar is used as a physical representation of God.  So that, what was placed on the altar, was symbolically given to God.

        We most often think of the blood sacrifices – offering goats, sheep, cattle, and birds to be killed and burned on the altar.

        However, there were also sacrifices of grain, fruits and vegetables, as well as offerings of wine and oil such as Jacob used on his altar.

        Our modern altars are much more symbolic (and a lot less messy)  We are to be the living sacrifice that is given at the modern altar.

        Now the “WHAT”.

        The types of ancient Hebrew altars are divided into two main types of altars.  The Layman’s and the Priestly.

        The Priestly altar was what you would have found in the Tabernacle in the desert and later in the Temple in Jerusalem.  It was an ornately decorated altar used by the priests to perform their rituals.

        The Layman’s altar was vastly different. 

Anyone could erect a layman’s altar.  They were used for a specific one-time purpose.  Such as Jacob’s revelation of the ladder between earth and heaven.

        The practice was common for a long time before it became codified into the Mosaic Law as found in Exodus 20:24&25. 

        It reads:  “You must build an altar for me made out of dirt. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep, goats, and cattle on it. Wherever I choose to have my name remembered, I will come to you and bless you. If you build an altar for me made out of stones, never make it with cut stone blocks. If you use a chisel on it, you will make it unacceptable to me.”

      

       Lots of “layman’s Altars” are listed in the bible.  I am going to go through these fairly quickly, so rather than have you try and look them up as I go, I will be glad to give a list of the scripture references later, to anyone who wants them.

Genesis 8:20 (after the flood) Noah built an altar to the Lord. On it he made a burnt offering of each type of clean animal and clean bird.

Genesis 12:7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 22:9 When they came to the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied up his son Isaac and laid him on top of the wood on the altar.

Genesis 26:24-25 That night the Lord appeared to Isaac, and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and increase the number of your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake.” So Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord.

Genesis 33:18-22  Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in Canaan. He camped within sight of the city. Then he bought the piece of land on which he had put up his tents. He bought it from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. He set up an altar there and named it El-elohe- God Is the God of Israel.

Genesis 35:1-3 Then God said to Jacob, “Go to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there. I am the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”

 So Jacob said to his family and those who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods which you have, wash yourselves until you are ritually clean, and change your clothes. Then let’s go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I’ve gone.”

Exodus 17:10-15 Joshua did as Moses told him and fought the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel would win, but as soon as he put his hands down, the Amalekites would start to win. Eventually, Moses’ hands felt heavy. So Aaron and Hur took a rock, put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron held up one hand, and Hur held up the other. His hands remained steady until sunset. So Joshua defeated the Amalekite army in battle.

 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this reminder on a scroll, and make sure that Joshua hears it, too: I will completely erase any memory of the Amalekites from the earth.”

 Moses built an altar and called it Adonai-nissi, The Lord Is My Banner.

        Notice the common thread that runs through this scriptures?  These were places marked by a significant meeting with God.  These were places of “holy ground”.

        I’m going to do something here that you are not supposed to do in preaching.  You are not supposed to use “I” or “You”.  Sermons are supposed to be about “Us” and “We”.

However, I’m going to relate a personal example of an experience I had with “holy ground” and then I’m going to ask you to tell me your experience of finding a “holy ground”.

        Some forty years ago I was working in a food production facility.  Things were going well for the company and they had just added a new production line and storage freezer capacity.

         Neither the production line or the freezer were in operation yet.  The freezer was huge.  It seemed like about a half a football field. 

        As it was not in operation, it was used for storing 100 pound bags of flour. 

        The place was dimly lit with only the emergency lights. 

        When the big freezer doors were closed it was completely silent in there. 

        The first time I went into that room, I felt I was on holy ground.

        An industrial setting may seem like and unlikely place for holy ground.  But that was the feeling that I had.  I often took my lunch break in there.  I could talk out loud to God and listen and meditate in the silence.

        I knew that the owners were Christians, so one day I mention to him what I felt in that room.

        He said that he was not surprised.  That a lot of prayer had gone into the planning and the building of the addition.

        Over the years I have found other places that just seemed to be special “God places”  or as Jacob called them gateways to God’s house.

        It is your turn.  Where have you had that “holy ground” experience?

        These stories can help to build up the body of believers. 

        I know and believe that God is ALWAYS with us.  That He never leaves us alone.

        However, I thank God that He has made us aware of His presence in special places and special ways; so that we can say with Jacob, “Surely the Lord is in this place--and I did not know it!" And "How awesome is this place!”

Amen.

THE LAW OF THE FLESH & THE SPIRIT

1st READING:                                              GENESIS 25:19-34

2nd READING:                                                ROMANS 8:6-11 

MESSAGE

“Mom always loved you best!”

That was a running theme with the Smothers Brothers. For those of you old enough to remember them.

For those of you who are too young to remember the Smothers, let’s just say that the argument that started with “Mom always loved you best” ended with some absurd and humorous story.

          What a terrible feeling that would be in real life - to think that your parent loved your brother or sister more that they loved you.

          Unfortunately children are often raised with the feeling that their parents are playing favoritism and they are on the short end of the bargain.

          It may not even be true – but if the feeling is there – it doesn’t matter if it is factual. The hurt is the same..

          Here is what I did with my kids.

          “I love you best,” I told my oldest son. “Don’t ever tell the others that I said that.”

          Are you shocked that a parent would do that?

          Well, here is the rest of the story.

I also told that to my oldest daughter, my youngest son and my youngest daughter.  I told all of them the same thing.  And it wasn’t a lie.

          They were such different personalities, such different people, that I did love them each “best” but differently.  My point in doing this was to let each of them know how special they were to me.

          The story of Esau and Jacob reads like a “what not to do – cautionary tale”  Dad has his favorite and Mom has hers.

          I often a wonder how two children of the same parents, raised in the same household, can be SO DIFFERENT! These twins were certainly polar opposites.

          “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” Proverbs 22:1. 

          Here are the meanings of the names given these children: Esau equals hairy H A I R Y not H A R R Y, and Jacob means supplanter.  A supplanter is some one who takes what is not theirs and holds on to it. Makes you wonder what were their parents thinking.

          Hairy?  Imagine how cruel other children would be to a child named Hairy.  Especially in the pre-pubescence years when he would not have been hairy.  His name would be said in such a mocking tone.

          And Supplanter? Oh come on!  And he grew up to be devious and manipulative?  Who would have guessed?  What chance would this kid havc to have grown up with close friends?

          According to our scripture reading, these two never got a long even in the womb.  Although that could just be a mother’s interpretation of a very active pregnancy. But the prophesy "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger."

How much of this prophesy did Rebekah share with her husband and with the two boys?

          The older serving the younger was very much at odds to the cultural expectations.  The older son always got a double portion of the inheritance and was the one who received the blessing which was a very real thing to these people in that time. 

          When we say we are “blessed” we only understand a shadow to what it meant to them.  It was something worth going to war or killing for.

          So the scene is set and all these years of rivalry between them comes to a head over a seemingly simple thing like lentil soup.

          Esau comes in from hunting and says, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!"

It must have not been a good day of hunting or he would have something to eat or to add to the pot of stew that Jacob was cooking. 

And when he says that he is famished, he is saying that he is literally going to die if he does not eat something. 

          Really?  How far from home were these two boys?  It sounds to me like he was exaggerating just a little.

          At any rate, Jacob replies, "First sell me your birthright."  Wow! Right of the bat, go for the biggest payday he could ask for.  How long has this lust for his brother’s birthright been on his mind?  He is the younger son (by less than a minute – he was hanging on to Esau’s heel – so he had to have been immediately after).  That fact must have been eating at him for a long – long time.

          The birthright.  Here is what is at stake.  At their father’s death, his property would be divided amongst all his living sons.  However it isn’t an equal sharing.  If a man has four sons, his property would be divided into FIVE equal shares and the oldest son would receive TWO shares. 

          In the case of Esau and Jacob that means that Esau would inherit 2/3rds and Jacob 1/3.  So it isn’t an ALL OR NOTHING it is only a matter of degree of inheritance.

          Do you remember the parable that Jesus told of the prodigal son?  The father (who was still alive) gave his sons their inheritance when the younger son asked for it.  This means that the father now owned nothing.  The older son received his 2/3rds and the younger son his 1/3.  Remember how the older son berated his father for holding a party to welcome back the impoverished younger son.  He basically says, “You always loved him best,” even though he had received the larger share of the inheritance.

          It is all about greed!

          Back to Esau and Jacob. Jacob has just ask for his brother’s birthright in exchange for a bowl of lentil stew.  What does Esau do?  Does he say, “Get real, brother!  Just give me some stew and I’ll bring you some wild game next time.”  Does he just laugh and walk on home?  No! He says, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?"

          Interesting, While Jacob was lusting after the birthright – Esau thought so little of it that he would trade it for a bowl of soup!  Or maybe he thought, “I’ll get the soup now and then deny that I made this deal.”

          But Jacob wanted to ratify the deal – to get the notary seal on it.  He says, "Swear to me first."  In those days, before legal contracts were written, witnessed, and notarized, an oath was sworn before God that each party would uphold their part of the bargain. And Esau swore it.

          For his part of the bargain, Jacob gave his brother the stew and threw in bread and drink at no extra charge.  He more than fulfilled his part of the contract.

          Where do we see ourselves in this story? 

          Are we Jacob and we’ve just scored a major (if underhanded) victory over our older brother?

          Are we Esau who is more concerned about the immediate present than planning for the future?

          Are we the parents who, by our actions, have set these two brothers into this rivalry?

          No one in this story is blameless.  Each of these characters is living in the flesh (as Paul puts it).  They are so much more concerned with the material world that they are ignoring the spirit that God has placed within them.

          Paul says, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

            How different would this story have been if their minds had been set on the Spirit?

          “Would the parents show love and support for their children and celebrated their differences instead of using the differences as wedges to drive them further apart?

          Would Esau have been a different sort of brother?  Would he have built a relationship of love and trust between himself and Jacob that would have had him ASK for rather than DEMAND a bowl of soup?

          Would Jacob in loving relationship with his father and his brother have trusted them to make fair provisions for him?  Would he, in love, insist that his brother sit and eat with him – without his brother even asking?

          What a difference it makes to set our mind on the Spirit.  

Hear again the words of Paul: But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

          Since the Spirit of God dwells in us, we are to treat all of God’s creation differently.  We are to lift up and nourish those around us.

           In the parable of the sewer, Jesus is asking us to spread seed (the love of God) everywhere.  He knows that some with wither and some will flourish for only a little while but some will bear fruit in abundance. 

          Realize that in this parable,that we are not asked to “Plant” seed.  We are to broadcast it.  To throw it far and wide even onto unlikely soil.

          This is a call to service.

          Today we have seen a bad example in the lives of Esau and Jacob who were living their lives strictly in the flesh, that leads to death. 

          We have had the assurance from Paul that we are no longer bound to the flesh (the material world) that we are now children of God and live in and through the Spirit. 

          Now that we are no longer bound to the law of death, we are to reach out to those still living in the flesh and bring them to the Spirit of life.

          Here is your bag of seed. Hold up the Bible

Now.

Go

Scatter seed.

          Amen.

GOOD SERVANT, BROKEN SERVANT, PERFECT SERVANT

1st READING:                           Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
2nd READING:                                             Romans 7:15-25a
3rd READING:                                    Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

MESSAGE

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

   We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

          So begins the Declaration of Independence.  This document lays out the reason that our ancestors sought freedom from the rulers of England. 

It also recognizes that all human rights are based in the will of the Creator.

          What a remarkable statement of faith.  The 56 signers put their honor, their lives and their fortunes on the line for their beliefs.

         

The parallels to the lives of the early Christians is easily seen. Men, women and whole families put everything on the line to accept this new covenant between God and man.

As we owe a debt of gratitude to those who stood against the injustice of the English rulers and created the nation where we live,

we owe our salvation to God and to the brave people who first believed and spread the Good News that

God lived among us, that He took our sins upon himself and died a sacrificial death,

that He was buried but rose again from the grave, ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father and acts as our intercessor with the Father.

Praise God!

What does it take for us to be as true to our faith as these early Christians were?

          Love!

          This is not the kind of love that we see in the movies.  This is not romantic love, this is not lustful love, this is not conditional love – you love me, so I love you.

          This is the kind of love that is given without regard to the worthiness of the recipient of the love.

This love is a commitment.  Love that is given without strings attached.  Non-revocable love.  The way God loves us.  That is the kind of love He wants in return.

Our reading in Genesis gives us the example of a truly devoted and trustworthy servant who loved his master. 

An unnamed servant is entrusted with a key part of God’s plan to “make a mighty nation of Abraham’s seed and to be a blessing to all people.”

          Throughout the reading are clues that the servant did not expect Abraham to live long enough to see him return with a bride for Isaac.

Hear his words, “Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has.”

This indicates that the inheritance has already been given to Isaac.  Normally the inheritance only comes after the father’s death.

Then he continues “My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites”

This shows that Abraham did not expect to be at the wedding.  Otherwise he would be able to stop it without the servant having anything to do with it.

Later when Rebecca said to the servant, "Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master."

          Since the servant is saying that Isaac is “my master” and not “the son of my master” it seems that he expected that Abraham would have died in his absence.

          What does this all say about the relationship between servant and master?

          First of all, it shows that Abraham had faith that this slave was able and willing to complete the task given to him:  To return to Abraham’s home land. (This was probably in modern day Turkey,) where Abraham lived after leaving the place of his birth (which was most likely modern day Iran) This was a long journey in miles and time traveled. 

He trusted this servant with his wealth (camels, gold etc) and more importantly, he trusted this servant to help bring about the promise of God that he would make a mighty nation from Abraham’s seed. It was extremely important to Abraham that Isaac not have his faith corrupted by the Canaanite women in the land where they lived.  He recognized how important it is that the man have a wife able to support him in all his beliefs. 

And last of all, he trusted the servant to carry out his wishes even past Abraham’s death when the servant would no longer be bound to his master.

For the servant’s part it demonstrated the kind of unconditional love for his master that we as servants of God should strive toward. To be willing and able.  This is a good servant.

Our reading from Romans gives us the reality of being a Christian; the broken servant. Where Paul says, “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” 

Most of the time we tend to think of the apostle Paul as one of those mighty men of God. Nearly a superhero of the Christian faith.

This is Paul who stood before the council in Jerusalem and defended his calling to share the love of Christ to the non-Jews! 

This is the Paul that when arrested by the Jews demanded his right as a Roman citizen to be tried before the emperor in Rome. 

And when he stood before the emperor he preached a sermon outlining his faith that Jesus is the Christ, the long awaited Messiah who was hung on a cross by the Roman government at the demand of the Jews. 

This is the Christ who died, was buried and rose again on the third day.  The same Jesus who appeared multiple times to his followers and to a multitude of 500. 

And most of all, this was the risen Christ who appeared to Saul of Tarsus and blinded him to the past and opened his eyes to the truth.

Imagine the strength it took to stand before an emperor (literally a king of kings) and preach that sermon.

It is easy for us to place someone like that on a pedestal.  But Paul himself would never have wanted that.

He knew himself too well.  He knew that as much as he strove to be as perfect as Jesus his example, he too often fell short of that goal.

He recognized that, though he was willing … he was not always able, that he had to constantly war within himself to avoid sin.

I have known many Christians that I respect and admire for the strength of their faith.  However,I have not yet met a person who can honestly say that they perfectly follow Jesus. 

We are broken by the sin in our lives.

We do that which we do not want to do and we do not do that which we should.

So, what’s to be done about this inability to do the right thing?  To avoid sinning?

Let’s take a look at our reading from Matthew.

Here Jesus shows his disappointment in those who do not follow His teachings.  He compares us to children who pout because we did not get our own way. “We played the flute, but you would not dance”

He points out that if he played by “their rules” he would be in a no win situation.  If he did NOT eat and drink, they would say He had a demon.  If he DID eat, He was called a glutton and a drunkard.

We call that “damned if I do – damned if I don’t”

So what is the answer for us who have been struggling to do what is right?

Hear the words of Jesus, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

You see, the problem is not with our will – it is our ability.  Jesus says that we fail because we try to do it alone.  He is our strength and our redeemer. 

If we seek to carry the load alone we will fail. 

If we accept the help that He is for us, He is there to do the hard part.  It is His yoke.

He says, “Learn from me”

What are we to learn?

He says, “I am gentle and humble in heart”

That is what we are to learn.  We should not strive to be supermen, caring the load ourselves.  We already know that in our weakness we can never lift the load or finish the race. 

By becoming gentle and humble we can come to Christ and have the load shared by the one who is able! 

His yoke is easy and His burden light.  He is the perfect servant.