Another week in Epiphany. Another week on the mount, listening to Jesus.

Turn the other cheek, give them your cloak, go the second mile, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. And then the kicker – be perfect.

That’s not easy listening. I don’t find the “music” too appealing either.

Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect.  These verses end so much like the last group – with something that catches us by surprise and stops us dead in our tracks. How are we to understand this?

When we in the 21^st century think of perfection, we think of no mistakes, no flaws, no failures – THAT is perfection to us. But, in the Greek , this is not the meaning of “telos” and the translation that this version offers us is not without its defects.

It is so different from our 21^st century understanding of the word, that I made notations in the margins of my bible. Those on that hill the day listening to Jesus would have understood that word much differently.

They would have heard it as having attained the end or purpose, as being complete. They would not have heard it as moral perfectionism. They would have heard it as a goal to be achieved as God has achieved his goal, attained the end, the purpose.

And that purpose and goal is none other than Jesus and the reconciliation that he brings between God and his people. We are salt and light and are God’s blessed and beloved children. That is our identity. And now Jesus calls us to live into that identity.

And, as loved and blessed children of God – salt and light in this world, we take this love that we have been given and give it to others. We have a purpose – a God-given purpose to show the world Christ’s love.

And just how are we to do this? Well, you have heard it said…but JESUS says… It is important to remember that Jesus never called us to do anything that he himself did not do. Jesus walked to Jerusalem, to the cross, enduring the humiliation of the cross so that we might know eternal life.

Jesus was never a doormat and he doesn’t expect us to be one either. Rather than invoke the law of retaliation, Jesus implores us to not oppose the evil doer violently. But yes, oppose the evil doer by doing good and approaching with humiliation so as to shame those in power.

With this thought in mind, again, those who were powerful enough to take someone with absolutely nothing into court, to shame them by not only giving their coat in pay for the debt but the cloak as well. Since the cloak was also used as a blanket, the act was intended to bring shame to the offending party.

Subscription by the Romans was a problem in this 1^st century colony. They thought nothing of showing their power over the colonized by forcing them into some sort of labor, the favorite being making people carry their baggage.

With the intent to shame the powerful, caring it the extra mile, the person has not accepted the intended humiliation. An added benefit is that he has saved his neighbor from degradation as well.

Love of neighbor is of utmost importance to Jesus and again, takes a radical and corrective stance beginning with you have heard it said but JESUS says, not only love your neighbor but enemies – the very same people who seek to shame, humiliate and degrade – as well.

This idea is so counter-intuitive, so intrinsically against the human nature, that it requires prayer. It is so important that Jesus includes it in the Lord’s Prayer when we ask for forgiveness and pray that we forgive as we have been forgiven.

Rain is not selective – it will always rain on everything – not just the portions that “deserve” it. The rain doesn’t discriminate and neither does God’s love – it’s for everyone – friend and enemy alike. And it is consistent, complete, and perfect.

Jesus also knows how difficult it is for us to love rather than hate, to forgive rather than hold a grudge, to be vulnerable rather than seek to protect ourselves at all costs, to give to others rather than make sure that we have more than enough for survival,  to heal rather than to hurt.

These things are so hard because we, too, have been hurt; we have been injured in ways that cannot be seen. God knows those wounds. God knows our emotional afflictions and yet, he calls us salt and light; blessed and beloved – that is our identity.

And yet, there is always something that stops us, something that gets in our way – a grudge, a disappointment, a painful memory – stops us, gets in the way of achieving the goal that God has set before us.

Think about just one thing that prevents you from being what God has set before you as your goal, your purpose, your step towards God’s perfection.

Each Sunday we begin our service with the confession and forgiveness. We celebrate the Eucharist – Christ’s holy meal – communion. A wonderful embrace of God’s love.

As you come up to communion this Sunday, receive the wine and the bread and leave something behind.

As God’s love embraces you at the communion rail, leave behind that which prevents you from perfection. And then know that God’s love embraces you.

We hear so much about living our best life now. The army used to have a commercial that implored us to be all that we can be.

Jesus is inviting us to be all that God wants us to be and to live so that our neighbor’s best life is now.

Love God. Serve the neighbor. Grow in faith.

That’s music to my ears, even if the listening isn’t so easy.

Hey YOU! You there! You ARE salt; You ARE light.

Jesus says YOU are the salt of the earth. YOU are the light of the world.

Jesus doesn’t give us a choice, doesn’t make it conditional, doesn’t give us an option. We are what we are. Right now. Right here. You and me, salt and light.

Jesus tells us like it is.

That is really what the Sermon on the Mount is about. Jesus telling us like it IS, changing hearts and minds for God. And a changed heart for God, for Jesus and for discipleship brings about real transformation of body and soul.

It is all about transformation. And that transformation began last week with the first 12 verses in Matthew 5, which people call the Beatitudes and which Jesus uses to describe his new world order and a whole new way of looking at things.

Jesus is hanging out with a bunch of losers. And by 1^st century Mediterranean standards that is what they are – backing up to verse 23 in Chapter 4, we read that they were sick, afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics and paralytics. Not a priest or a scribe among them.

These are the people that scared them. People were scared of those with disease, demons, epilepsy and with limbs twisted about. Society has pushed them to the margins. It is in the margins that we always find Jesus.

Jesus calls among his closest friends and chosen students a couple of fishermen, a tax collector and zealot – 12 in all – disciples.

Jesus begins the transformation of their hearts, souls and minds when Jesus tells the whole lot – the people living in the margins and the disciples  – you are blessed.

Up until now, no one has told them you are blessed. Because if you were sick, afflicted with various diseases and pains, a demoniac, epileptic and paralytic, you didn’t see yourself blessed.

You are blessed. Those are powerful words. It gives us something that we cannot give ourselves – it is a precious gift.

We talked about blessings in the Old Testament in Genesis where it tells us that Jacob stole the birthright and BLESSING from his brother, Esau, who wept bitterly over the loss.

You are blessed.

We learned last week that was tantamount to God saying to you, “I LIKE you.” Yes, we know we are loved, but Jesus is saying to them and to us – I LIKE you!

Try this  – say to yourself – or better yet – say it aloud “Jesus LIKES me!”

That feels different doesn’t it? Simply verbalizing this reality changes our perceptions of ourselves.

When our perception of reality changes, when we begin to see ourselves differently, then our perspective changes, reflecting the transformed heart.

What Jesus is and will continue to do is to change, to TRANSFORM their perception of their reality.

Here, he didn’t change their reality; he was changed how they THOUGHT about their reality.

They were still on the margins. They were still on the mount listening to Jesus. Others may see and label  them as the sick, the diseased and so on. What important is that they no longer see themselves as “those people”.

Jesus is changing them from the inside out. He is changing their hearts. Simply by changing their identity, calling them blessed and offering an invitation.

Remember all those people that Jesus says are blessed: sick, afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics and paralytics. Those are ones that we are now called to bless as well.

YOU are salt; YOU are light. Without salt and light we cannot live.

So, not only are you blessed, Jesus likes you but you are something in the Kingdom and you have an important role to play. We can’t live without you.

Be in life-giving relationship with others.

Salt and light are not important by themselves. Their importance comes from interaction with other things. They act in relationship to something else.

Salt has many uses – it flavors, it preserves, it cleanses. But it doesn’t do it alone. It is interaction with something else to preserve, clean and flavor.

Alone, it’s just salt but in relationship with something else, it means so much more – good taste, food that can be eaten in a few months and not make you sick, your wound heals.

Likewise, light too, gives illumination to something else. Light functions to help us to see, keep us warm – get the idea? By itself its just light but in relationship with us, it becomes life-giving, and illuminating.

So when Jesus says to us: You are salt; you are light – then he is telling us that we are to be in relationship with others.

Jesus is calling us as he sees us now – his disciples. And with that, comes responsibility. Jesus has given us, along with the disciples, a new identity. What difference does that make in our lives?

Because Jesus calls us salt and light, we are called to live salty, light emitting lives, reflecting God’s love, sharing with our neighbor and growing in faith.

We are called to live into that identity and to act as if that makes some kind of difference in our lives.

So Jesus calls us salt and light and KNOWS that we will be and do just that.

Then there are verses 17-20.

Jesus starts with “Do not think” with “very truly I tell you…” In other words, stop and pay attention – this is important.

Jesus is making it clear that he is not here to change the law in way shape or form HOWEVER; this does not mean that he won’t reinterpret it either. He interprets it in terms of contemporary practice.

And then the punch line – verse 20 – unless your righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees – you’re not getting in the kingdom. What a minute? What is going on here? What about transformation and changing from the inside out gels with this?

Jesus gets into a lot of tangles with the Pharisees but it is important to remember that they shared many basic beliefs with Jesus, including how they interpreted the law, views on resurrection, and angels among other things.  And in this instance, he is holding them up as an example.

What Jesus might have meant by righteousness is laid out in the scriptures that we will encounter next week. Perhaps the best way to understand righteousness is in terms of transformation – that change happens from the inside out and that the outside actions matches the inside transformation.

This is Jesus invitation to complete and total transformation in heart, mind and soul as his disciple and a reminder that the kingdom of heaven is above all a relationship – with God, with Jesus and with others.

Salt and light are always present. Without them there is no life.

You are salt; you are light – it’s not just about us – it’s about everyone else, too. Life just isn’t complete without you!

Two thousand years ago Jesus asked the people who were following him, “What are you seeking?”

The crowds replied: “Where are you staying?”

Jesus bid them, “Come and see.”

Later the disciples would wonder, “Where do I go from here?”

Jesus answered, “Follow me.”

Come and see. Follow me. Imperatives said 2000 years ago. Imperatives said to us today.

We ask, perhaps to ourselves, perhaps out loud, “Come and see what? Follow you where?”

This was the question that that I believe that the disciples were silently asking. They have been on the sidelines, observing Jesus, seeing those crowds following him and increasing in number.

Jesus said that they were going to be fishers of people, but are these people?

The poor, the really sad, the sick and the list goes on and on – there wasn’t a winner in the bunch. Where were the wealthy, the patrons in that society – all the people that anyone would want to be associated with – where were they?

Weren’t they supposed to get some power out of this?

Were they asking themselves, “what have I gotten myself into?” Is that the same question we ask ourselves?

Jesus gathers the 12 in close and begins to teach the disciples what this fishing for people is all about. What following Jesus will mean. What they will see.

In this scripture, commonly called “The Beatitudes” and the start of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, scholars disagree on how to translate the Greek. Is it “blessed”? Or as other translations of the Bible that use the word, “happy”. None of which is entirely accurate much less helpful.

Perhaps a better word to use would be “fortunate” or “how honorable” it is or the giving of special favor, unique standing, permission, empowerment, endowment… or how honor-bringing it is to be poor, humble, meek, mourning, etc.

And this is a complete reversal of what the system of that time and really what our world expects – where is there honor in being poor, humble, meek or mourning?

It might help our understanding if we could come to terms that “blessings” are not something that can be pursued from God but can only be given by God as gifts.

Blessing was a powerful thing in the ancient world. It carried a lot of weight. From the Old Testament, we understand that it was so powerful and so meaningful that it was worth stealing, as in the story of Jacob and Esau.

What makes blessing so important? What does it feel like to be blessed?

For Jacob it meant that he had worth and his father’s unconditional high regard. Jacob would carry that blessing for the rest of his life and pass it on to his offspring.

So the feeling of blessing means not only does someone love you but that they really, really like you, too. So a blessing from God would mean that not only does God love us but that he really, really likes us, too.

Jesus lived in the patronage culture of the Roman empire. You lived by honor and died by shame. Jesus defied these cultural norms of the day by offering blessings to those whom culture pushed to the side.

God’s blessings are gifts and they come to the people that we might not necessarily think of as being particularly blessed.

This is not something that we are used to hearing – that God loves us and blesses us not because we have done something to earn it, not because we deserve it but because he chooses to give it to us. All. Of. Us.

God finds us worthy of his attention and blesses us to be what he has called us to be. God’s blessing will transform us to be his blessing to others in this world.

It is God who has created us, blesses us, redeems us and calls us to be his own. In doing such, he invites, implores and commands us to see the world as God sees the world.

To see culture differently. Measure people by their character rather than possessions. For those who have experienced extreme loss, enter into that pain by holding space for them.

Judge others not by their failings but rather forgive them and remind them that they are blessed by God, even if it doesn’t feel like it just then.

To see vulnerability not as weakness to be exploited but rather recognize it as a place where God can reach each and everyone of us.

This is a God who shows up with the poor, not the rich.

This is a God who hangs out with those who mourn rather than celebrate.

This is a God who loves those who are meek and who seek peace rather than those who are strong and victorious.

This is NOT where the people of the ancient world looked for God and to be very truthful this is not where we expect him to be either. But here is Jesus saying that God is here, blessing the poor, the meek, the mourning.

But that is what God does – he shows up, especially when and where we least expect him to be – right there in the middle of our messes, our brokenness.

And he calls us to do the same. Show up. Be  a blessings to those whom the world refuses to bless, love what the world calls unlovable, redeem that which the world says forget about.

Jesus founded a discipleship community to be different from the world around it. This was a community that saw blessings as God’s gifts. This was a community where forgiveness was found, where God’s grace and love pervaded and where everyone had worth and was worth fighting for.

And what if, we could change those past tense verbs into present tense verbs. Holy Trinity is a community that is different. Holy Trinity is a community that sees God’s blessings as gifts. Holy Trinity is a community where God’s grace and love pervades and where everyone has worth and a life worth fighting for.

This is God’s way of life, God’s way of seeing the world. That is what is meant by Kingdom of God.

May we rejoice and be glad that we are called children of God.

And these beatitudes bear this out – God is meeting us where we are – meek, poor, mourning, hungry – and blesses us where we are, doesn’t leave us there and encourages us to be that which we were made to be – children of God.

Jesus bids us, “Come and see. Follow me.”

Note: At the end of the sermon this past Sunday, I continued and addressed how these scriptures speak to us right where we are and the place that our country is in this day and time. In light of the flurry and aftermath of the presidential executive orders of the past two weeks may these scriptures speak to us and direct us in our action. May we pray and ask God what God would have us to be about in this time and place. And may we have the courage to see what God would have us to see and to follow God. And may God be glorified in all that we do!

What would you answer if someone asked you, “what is your calling in life?” OR “what is your ‘call story’?” What would you answer? How would you answer?

Several years ago Lilly Endowment funded a research team that studied sense of vocation and calling with those preparing for ordained ministry and the communities that they serve. Few of the parishioners felt that the hours spent at work mattered to God or the church much less make a difference in the world or even in their communities.  Many did not see a direct connection between what they do and what they believe. This leads to a feeling of not being called. ¹

 When people say to me, “I wish I could do something like you do” as if what I do is somehow more meaningful than their current profession, I get very sad. Because what you do is no less important than what I do and in many ways what you do is so much more important than what I do. We’re all children of God – and that makes us equally loved, cherished, valuable and called.

 This brings us to our scripture reading from this past week: Matthew 4:12-23. Jesus is responding to his call and also calling others to be a part of the mission that God has given him.

John the Baptist’s call lead to his imprisonment and eventual beheading. Jesus withdraws off of the beaten path, not to run from Herod, but to retreat to listen and respond to God’s call. Then Jesus calls the crowd to repent, to turn around and go the opposite direction, and to be a part of the proclamation of the kingdom.

He then goes on to call the disciples who will be encouraged to fish for people by casting God’s net of love and grace that gathers anyone and everyone on whom it falls.

Not everyone’s calling is the same. Only four in the crowd were called to be part of the Jesus’ closest 12. But that didn’t make all those other calls less important or needed. They were just different.

Perhaps we’ve gotten the cart before the horse. Before there is “doing” there is “being.” ²

Think about Jesus and how he was prepared for the monumental ministry that he was embarking on. Before anything got started, Jesus fully understood who and whose he was. He knew who he was. He knew and understood where he belonged and what he was about to do. He knew what to be before he moved on to “do”.

John, too, knew and understood how he fit into the picture. He knew that he was called to prepare the way for Jesus. He knew what to be before he moved on to “do.”

Peter, Andrew, James and John – did they know fully what they were getting themselves into? Did they have any idea what it meant to be “fishers of men?” What they DID know was that Jesus chose them – these ordinary fishermen – Jesus saw something in them and chose them. They didn’t know exactly what they were to do but they knew what to be at that moment.

First and foremost we are called to be children of God. And when God calls us children of God that means we are valued and honored and loved. We are called to “be” before we move onto to “do.”

So how do we figure out what to “do” after we get our heads around “be.” Does that mean that we will intrinsically know what we called to do? In truth it can take a lifetime to discern. I didn’t get a clear picture until I was well into my 30s.  Add to all of this that there are many ways to respond to God’s call – numerous was to “do”.

We come each week to hear God’s word, to splash in the bath and be reminded of our baptism and to be nourished by the one who love us more than anything – Jesus Christ. Living out our baptismal promises through our words and deed. One of the places that this happens is in our relationships.

However God may use us, it is important to remember that first God calls us to BE. God has called us to BE his children. God has called us to BE his BELOVED children. And this is where we belong. From there, we can trust that God has got this…and that it will be OK.

But what about our communities of faith – what does this mean to all of us? What is God calling us to be and do in this place?

God is calling HTLC to BE a gathering place for those whom God loves. God is calling HTLC is to BE a place that welcomes the least, the last, the lonely, the lost and the left behind. God is calling HTLC to BE a place of acceptance. God is calling HTLC that not only welcomes all – because all means all. And not just welcome all but invite and include.

And God is calling HTLC be a place where God’s word is taught, where the good news of the kingdom is proclaimed, where we splash in the waters of baptism and are nourished at the table, where all can find healing and a peace that passes all understanding.

Jesus heard his identity proclaimed at the River Jordan and then went to work proclaiming the kingdom and inviting all that would hear to turn towards the kingdom.

Dear church, beloved children of God, we too hear our identity. From that moment on, make no mistake, from the youngest to the oldest, God calls us to be at work in his kingdom, right here on earth.

We are the church – not this building, not this place – but us gathered together are the church along with millions of others.

All of us are God’s beloved children, showered in the grace and love of a God who loves so very much, a God who wants us to turn toward the kingdom and proclaim that love and grace to a world that needs to hear it.

¹http://www.davidlose.net/2017/01/epiphany-3-a-being-before-doing

²Ibid.

Have you experienced something so wonderful that you couldn’t wait to tell someone, anyone and everyone? Did you have trouble describing the experience, finally saying, “oh, just come and see what I’m talking about!”

John the Baptist is so excited. Not only did he baptize Jesus but he saw and heard it all! The heavens opening, the voice of God speaking, the spirit of God as a dove descending. He had a front row seat and now he must tell someone, anyone and everyone who would listen that the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is here!

I’m wondering if John’s disciples are tiring of hearing the story and listening to John relive the experience again and again and again. When they are with John, the very next day, John sees Jesus and wastes no time. Look, look here HE IS! Here is the Lamb of God. And so John’s two disciples follow Jesus.

Crowds begin to follow Jesus. And he asks them a question.

Now if a bunch of people were following me, I think that I would ask them, “what do you want?” or “ can I help you” or “why are you following me?” But this is Jesus we’re talking about and he asks, “What are you looking for?”

For me, the answer to that question on most mornings is my keys, my glasses, my cell phone or all three.

For some of us the answer is a job, enough money, peace in our families, quick and easy solutions to a difficult and nagging problem, something to get us through a challenging day, something to make our lives better. Anything to make us feel just a little bit better about ourselves, our lives, our community, our country, our world.

When Jesus asks that question, he is asking the crowd and he is asking us, “what are you seeking?” And the disciples don’t give him a direct answer but rather counter with a question themselves.

Were they avoiding having to answer? Was it too difficult to verbalize? Is it too difficult for us to verbalize what we are looking for because in verbalizing we give voice to something we would rather not acknowledge to ourselves, much less publicly. For in verbalizing it would make the emptiness in our lives all to real?

And so the disciples ask, “where are you staying?’ And that’s a loaded word in the gospel of John – “stay”. It also means remain, stay, live, dwell, last, abide, endure, continue, a place to be.

Isn’t that what we all want? A home, a meaningful relationship, community, a place to be?

And that’s what the disciples wanted as well – to be a part of something larger than themselves, to have meaningful relationships, a place to be.

And so Jesus says to them and says to us, “Come and see.”

This is a wonderful invitation with no strings attached, no probing questions, no expectations, no qualifications, no accusations – just a simple invitation with three words: come and see.

What are we going to come to and see? God?

A common exercise during most VBS programs is to talk about God sightings At first they have a difficult time. And adults are no different. Seeing God is such a foreign concept for everyone.

We’re really good at naming the places that we expect God to be – personal tragedy, anxiety, hurt. But actually seeing him? That’s more difficult. Yes, it’s easier to see him in the large events, but what about the mundane, everyday stuff that goes on?

Then comes the challenging part – sharing those sightings. It feels clumsy, uncomfortable, perhaps even alien. It’s hard work but so crucial to what we are called to do and be in this world. It is in the sharing of where we see God that we give something of ourselves, something that for many of us we find intimate and personal.

It is in this sharing that relationships are forged and connections are made.

To go the next step is even harder – embodying Jesus’ words and inviting someone to “come and see.”

The power of “come and see” – of invitation is before us in this passage from John. From Jesus’ intitial invitation to the first disciples who followed him came the many of the 12 closest disciples of Jesus.

Andrew finds a placet o abide, remain and to be. But before he leaves, he goes and gets his brother, Simon. “We have found the Messiah –come and see.” Simon gets a new name – Peter, the rock on which Jesus builds the church.

It doesn’t stop there – in the verses that follow other disciples are invited to come and see: Phillip, Nathanael, the woman at the well who invites her entire village.

Jesus asks us “what are you looking for?” and we respond, “where are you staying?” Are we really asking can we find a home with you? Are we worthy enough? Does it matter what we have done and where we’ve come from? Can we be in relationship with you?

“Come and see!”

Here at Holy Trinity there is much to be found – a community of acceptance that reflects the love God, a place to grow in faith, a place where together we serve our neighbors. But if we don’t say to others around us, “come and see!” how will they know about what we’ve found here in the 600 block of Market St in Leesburg VA?

In this coming week, may you notice God in big and small ways, share that experience with someone and invite them to come and see all that is going on here in this community at HTLC. And we have a lot going on – Chili Fest, Souper Bowl of Caring and Scout Sunday on Feb. 5.

And what if they say, “no, I don’t think so…” That’s OK!! We’re called to invite and to say, “come and see.” The Holy Spirit will take care of the rest so don’t take it personally. You’ve done what you’ve been called to do. And you’ve planted a seed.

God loves you and will do amazing things through you!

Just come and see!

Epiphany is one of my most favorite seasons of the church year. Every Sunday between now and February 26 (Transfiguration Sunday) in the scriptures that we study an aspect of Jesus’ character will be revealed. For the first Sunday after the Epiphany we get to witness, through the eyes of Matthew, Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River.

More importantly we come to understand how Jesus keeps his focus and his head in the game.

John has just finished saying, “I baptize you with water …the one coming after me …he is much more powerful and I am not even worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit.” And right on cue, Jesus appears on the scene to be baptized.

John doesn’t want to do it.

All four gospels record the baptism of Jesus. All four gospels to squirm at this point. How is it that the one without sin has come to the Jordan to be baptized? It doesn’t make sense.

John asks a question of Jesus, “do you come to me?”  He understands who Jesus is. He knows whose Jesus is. What purpose does it serve that Jesus comes to be baptized? John knows it should be Jesus baptizing him! And so he asks the question, “do you come to me?”

Yes, Jesus comes to John. “…it is proper for us to in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” In other words, it’s time to get to receive the mission, get focused and get to work.

This baptism is a two-person proposition. Jesus must seek it; John must do it. This is God’s plan and it must be so. That is the path to righteousness.

What does this righteousness look like? For Jesus, it is both inward and outward – an inward desire paired with outward actions.

This is the first act of Jesus’ public ministry and he is obedient to God’s will, God’s calling for his life and all that is before him. Jesus is on a mission – God’s mission — this is how it is to begin.

Yes, Jesus is the messiah but he is a humble messiah. He walks the same path that we walk though his walk is very different. Setting the example for us, he is not so unsure of himself that he has to hold onto power. It will be at his weakest point that he will be the most powerful.

And God punctuates this whole scene with a simple statement – “this is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus’ identity is affirmed. Before and above anything else, Jesus is God’s son, the beloved, with whom God is well pleased.

Jesus is focused. He understands who and whose he is before he begins the enormous mission before him. The first test will come soon. The same Holy Spirit that descends on him will take him by the hand into the desert for a 40-day fast and a tempting three-day conversation with Satan.

If Jesus has just one ounce of doubt, one degree of misunderstanding of who and whose he is, if he mistrusts the relationship he has with God, it will leave him open to temptation. He must stay focused and keep his head in the game. And he will do that knowing that he is God’s son, the beloved, with whom God is well pleased.

Before we start any mission, we too, must be focused and have our head in the game.

We must understand who and whose we are and understand the relationship that we have with God so that we, too, may resist the temptation to make it our mission, our call rather than God’s mission and God’s call to where we are to be and who we are to be at this place and in this time.

The most important thing that we can hear from the scripture is that we, too, are God’s beloved. And perhaps that is the hardest to hear and understand.

Why is that? Because all our lives we hear other names that people call us – stupid, loser, chicken, fat, dumb, clumsy – think about the names that people have called you.

Names are powerful – we are given names. We take names for ourselves. Names give us pride. Names shame us. Names can make us great. Names can reduce us to nothing. The old adage – sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me – is undone. The cold, hard reality is that names are powerful.

Our earthly names do not define us, they do not give us life and none of them provide for us redemption. BUT God’s name for us does. God’s name gives us life. God’s name gives us redemption.

In our baptism GOD calls us his child, his beloved.  Who we are: beloved. Whose we are: child of God. Names are powerful but God’s name for us is so much more powerful than any name that we could be given here on earth.

NAMED by God as his beloved child and CLAIMED by God when we are marked with the cross of Christ forever, we have the promise of the Holy Spirit, we are given the promise of life with God forever.

So who are we? Beloved child! Whose are we? of God! This means that no matter where we go, God goes with us.

Who are we? Beloved. And Whose are we? Child of God. This means that no matter what we do, God does not abandon us.

Named and claimed – we can go forth to face the challenges of the world before us.

Named and claimed – we can, with boldness, answer God’s call to his mission.

So the next time someone asks you what’s your name tell them, “I’m a beloved child of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and focused on answering God’s call to mission.”

And if that is too much to remember, simply say,” I am a beloved baptized child of God.”

Depending on who and whose you are, there might be a lot in a name.

Do you know what your name means? Or how you got it? Are you named for someone special? Or was it something that your parents picked out of a hat? Was it something that they “just liked” and so they thought it would be a great idea to give it to you?

We all know someone with a funny name and, if you’re old enough, the song “A Boy Named ‘Sue’” written by Shel Silverstein and sung by Johnny Cash brings home the dilemma of having a “meaningful” name.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BttlvcAeNSo) Frank Zappa did it and so did George Foreman – gave their children funny names.

According to answers.com about 17,000 people each year change their name and the number one reason, according to Legal Zoom.com – is because they dislike their present name.

Even names in the Bible were changed – Abram and Sarai were changed to Abraham, which means the “father of many” and Sarah.

Jesus changed Simon bar Jonah’s name to Simon Petra or Simon Peter, which means rock and of course Saul, the great persecutor of the Christians and the one behind the first martyr, Stephen, became Paul, a fool for Christ and the author of many of the New Testament letters.

Names are powerful things! They identify you! They tell the world what family you are from – what about Kennedy or Hurst or Vanderbuilt or Rockefeller.

But what about God? How does that name identify us?

In Galatians 4:5 we are told that we are adopted as children of God.

That is what our baptism is all about – we are adopted as children of God. That day that we were Christ-ened – in other words, we were named in Christ. When we present children for baptism we never use their last name.

This brings home to us the reality that we are children of God and an heir to the kingdom of heaven. In our baptisms, the Holy Spirit has put on Christ onto us. And we receive the blessings from God.

In Numbers 6:27, we are told that God’s put his name on us and as a result we have received a blessing.

So what is a blessing? It is more than just good luck. God is claiming the nation of Israel. God is saying that not only does he dwell in the temple but that he is promising his presence on the  people.

In the Old Testament, a blessing carried a lot of weight. It was so much more than just words – it is an action, the passing on of power, the passing on of prosperity. That is why Jacob sought to steal the blessing of his older twin brother Esau (see Genesis 25-28)

A blessing is so much more than giving permission. Think about when your children have asked to do something or when you, as a young child, would ask to have or do something.

After an onslaught of “pleeeeeaaaassseee” we might do so grudgingly – that’s giving permission. “Ok, fine.”

But when they ask for something and we tell them, “Sure, go ahead and have a great time!” – now that is a blessing! We not just giving permission, but we’re giving our excitement and our love and our support – there’s a difference!

So God is saying to Israel, “go ahead, have a great time in the promised land and take my name out into the world – it’s going to be awesome!”

There are six verbs in the Numbers passage and God is the subject of every single one of them:

• The Lord bless,
• the Lord Keep,
• the Lord make his face to shine,
• the Lord be gracious,
• the Lord lift up his countenance,
• the Lord gives

Not only that, it’s personal!

• The Lord bless you,
• the Lord Keep you ,
• the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
• the Lord be gracious to you,
• the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
• the Lord give you peace.

This is a personal “you” – not “you all” as in community. Perhaps the idea is that as we hear this blessing, we will make it our own, take it personally and then take it out into the community.

Then to put the exclamation point on it, to say one more time that he is the originator of the action, God says, “I will bless them” because my name is upon them.

This is the same name that has been put on us through our baptism and that we take this same personal blessing out into the world. We are his children and we are blessed to be a blessing to those around us.

There is power in that name of Jesus – his very name, “the Lord saves” reminds us that he came to bring us and the entire world salvation.

We are encouraged to pray in Jesus name and in fact that’s how we end our prayers.

There is healing in Jesus’ name, too – Peter and John tried to heal a man crippled from birth who was laid at the at the gates of Jerusalem. But when they evoked Jesus’ name and then commanded the man to get up and walk, he did. (Acts 3)

In Jesus name, we find our purpose, our identity – he tells us as the Father sent him, so he sends us – out into the world to share God’s blessings with others.

Galatians reminds us that God sent the Spirit of Son into our hearts and that we are children and heirs, through God.

In this new year, may we think about

• what it means to have the name of Jesus upon us,
• how it might shape our decisions,
• how it might affect us in our workplace,
• how we might think about our relationships a bit differently
• and how, as children of God, it affects our very actions.

In the name of Christ, Happy New Year!

All four gospel writers give a different picture of Jesus’ birth, depending on for whom and when the Gospel was written. The writer of Luke – addressing the Gentile community – tried to put down an “orderly” account – facts and documentation – of Christ’s birth.

Matthew – writing for his Jewish community – tried to explain Jesus by starting out with a genealogy that traces Jesus through the line of David and finishes up with prophecies and fulfillment.

Mark doesn’t even bother and goes right to John the Baptist crying out in the desert.

John is different. He seeks to give us a “big picture” look at Jesus. Writing about 100 years after the birth of Christ, he seems to understand the Western mind – our western minds—as he explains the “who” and the “why” of Jesus, because to the writer of John, knowing and believing who Jesus is matters.

The first thing that this writer wants us to understand is that Jesus didn’t start in Bethlehem.

Jesus started much, much earlier. Like in the beginning. Like BEFORE the beginning.

The Gospel of John starts with: “ In the beginning was the word… the word was God.”

Turn to Genesis. “In the beginning, God created…” and spoke the world into existence. Sound familiar?

The writer of John has given Jesus an interesting name. He calls him “word” or in the Greek “logos.” This word “word” means an expression of a thought or reason.

From “logos”, we get the word “logic” as well as the word, “logo,” which means a literal, physical expression. Here’s an example: show anyone a picture of the “Golden Arches,” especially children and immediately, even if they don’t read, they understand hamburgers, French fries, happy meals and toys!

So Jesus is the “logos” – the Word, the literal, physical expression of God, with God in the beginning, the true light that gives light to the world was coming in the world.

God is eternal and so is Jesus.

For the writer of John in particular, knowing and believing who Jesus is matters but there is a problem – a really big problem. The world didn’t know or believe who or what Jesus was.

Over 300 messianic prophecies and the world couldn’t recognize him.

The Israelites, now called the Jews, were looking for a messiah that would save them from all their problems, provide an earthly kingdom and just hand it to them on a platter. Just like Cyrus the Persian did some 600 years before when he released the Israelites from Babylon. The first world leader to be called “great.” He gave them money – a lot of money — to return to Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple, their homes and lives.

In their defense, it was a confusing time. Depending upon what sect you were a member, you either didn’t believe that there would be a messiah, that there would be two or that the messiah would look Cyrus.

In the middle of all this confusion, God tried to come to his own, to redeem them.

They were too occupied with what they wanted to see, they couldn’t hear the words of the prophets nor could they see the signs right before them – from the words of the psalmists, to Micah, to Isaiah to Zechariah.

All those signs. They did not receive God. The world didn’t know or believe who or what Jesus was. They were still in the dark.

Do we have the same problem?

Are we still in the dark? Are we overcome by the noise of the world? Our ears cannot hear, our hearts so occupied with other things, our eyes so taken with this world?

Too self-absorbed and so busy that we don’t have time to know who Jesus is much less believe? What could possibly get our attention? What could have possibly get their attention 2000 years ago?

God had a plan – he always has a plan – and it’s in verse 14 “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

Literally, in the Greek, God pitched his tent and lived with us. God camps out with us.

The one who spoke the world into being is now one of us lying in a manger.

The one who’s voice sounded like thunder from top of Mount Sinai now could not utter an intelligible sound and do nothing more than coo and cry.

The light of the world in all his glory was now a baby full of grace and truth.

God became a human so that you and I can see God in all his glory – the sum of the attributes of God.

God became human so that you and I can see God in all his grace – which are gifts that we receive that are neither deserved or earned.

God became human so that you and I can see God in all his truth – which is unhidden knowledge.

We couldn’t see God before but now we can see God – because Jesus is Emmanuel – which means the “with us God.”

And God didn’t send anyone – God sent himself, God came himself, God has made himself known through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

If you thought that Jesus was just an historical figure, a godly or good man or simply another prophet, then we have a case of mistaken identity. If you think that Jesus came to coerce, avenge and punish, you’ve got the wrong god and the wrong messiah.

God came as a savior that no one could miss to give a gift that no one else could give. For everyone. For the Jews. For the Gentiles. For you. For me.

Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, the perfect example of a God who loves us so much, who wants a relationship with us.

God has come to change our point of view – because knowing and believing who Jesus is…matters!

We’ve all been there…having to make a decision between two options, neither of which are very good. It’s an intolerable situation – faced with making a choice, neither of which would have a pleasant outcome. Perhaps a decision that will have life and death results. It’s called being between a rock and a hard place, a very uncomfortable place.

That’s where Joseph find himself…making a decision that will have life and death results. Divorce Mary quietly or loudly – a broken promise was a broken promise. We don’t know what went on between Mary and Joseph or Mary’s father and Joseph when it was discovered that Mary was pregnant. It couldn’t have been a pleasant conversation.

First century marriage customs are different – many of the marriages were prearranged between the men of the family when the children were, well, children. Love was not the issue. The bride did not expect love, companionship or comfort.

The idea of marriage was to join two families together, not individuals.  And most of the time it was done to gain economic or political advantage. It all came with a price — a bride price, which was paid by the husband-to-be.

Betrothals were about a year long and were binding, just like marriage. Only death or divorce terminated them and if the betrothed died before the actual wedding date, the surviving spouse to be would be considered “widowed”.

And, the honor code was simple – you didn’t take something that was not yours and that included your betrothed wife. And since the child was NOT his, Joseph was entitled to a refund of the bride price. The families were in crisis – confused, hurt with dreams dashed – and terribly embarrassed.

Joseph lived his life according to the law of Moses – he was righteous in that respect. He loved Mary but now he found himself hurt and disappointed – and betrayed. His espoused wife had obviously been unfaithful. The evidence was clear. She was pregnant and Joseph knew he wasn’t the father.

She faced death by stoning and when they caught up with the father – well, he could face the same penalty – again for taking something that was not his to take.

It was a dark day indeed for Joseph, son of David. His rock and hard place. Two choices. Both bad. The outcome – the scandal – so much to bear.

That’s what the angel called him – “son of David” – King David – right out of the Old Testament — now there’s a man with a story rife with scandal.

Matthew, in vs. 1-17, of this same chapter, takes great pains to draw the genealogical line from Abraham right up to Joseph. Contained in that line are the names of “other” women – Tamar, who slept with her father-in-law, Rahab the Amorite Harlot, Ruth the Moabite, and the wife of Uriah – Bathsheba, who became David’s wife.

That’s what it means to be a part of the family – no one is perfect and yet God works through all the imperfection to create something wonderful and beautiful and good and God’s purpose will not be thwarted. God does new things through old sinful ways and habits of God’s people.

Do not be afraid… those places between rocks and hard places scare us. Fear – opposite of faith – stops us in our tracks, makes us contemplate and do things that aren’t in God’s plan.

It takes a dream and an angel to awaken Joseph to something beyond his wildest imagination – God is revealing a new thing that God is doing in the world.

God awakens us to the possibility that it just might not be about us, but something much bigger, beyond all comprehension is going to happen, and that all God is doing is beckoning us to take God’s hand for an adventure of a lifetime. It may make absolutely no sense to us.

This is scary stuff . No less for Joseph. It took an angel to convince Joseph. Take Mary. Take the child. Name him Jesus.

YOU name him Jesus. It was the father that did the naming and therefore the claiming of the child. That was the 1^st century litmus test for paternity.

That’s like saying: You will have a son and name him Bill, which your grandfather said whose name was to be Marvin. This is not logical.

Because simply put, there are times that to us, God is not logical. What we have here is a baby named Jesus, the fulfillment of a promise that is a baby that is going to be named Emmanuel.

Emmanuel, which means God with us.

A baby is born, who is going to save people and that he is also God manifest – God with us – Jesus and Emmanuel.  God makes a promise and then in surprising ways, fulfills it.

Jesus is that promise kept. And this passage also reveals the character of God to us. Not only does he keep his promises in ways that we don’t expect and might find strange, but God goes above and beyond.

Here, not only has God kept his promise, but broadened it. This promise is not just for David and all his kinfolk as well as Israel, but it is for all of us. And now that Jesus is called “Emmanuel” begins to make more sense.

“Emmanuel” – which means, literally translated from the Hebrew, – “the ‘with us’ God.”  The bible was written because God had much to say to us and it is a book of faith to be believed. Jesus is the ‘with us’ God who saves the world from its sins.

This narrative that contains unexpected, surprising and even jaw-dropping events helps us to see God as one who will do the unexpected. It helps us to see God as one that will not quit.

God’s creation is a work in progress, always changing, not always making sense, sometimes downright inconvenient and confusing. God is always at work, never tiring and always surprising.

God is the ultimate promise-keeper. And this is never more fully understood than in the cry of a child, born of an unwed pregnant teenager out in the stable.

As we bring this Advent season to a close, may we listen for God’s word of love, grace and mercy today and always, knowing that God is coming, God is here and that in the end, everything will turn out OK  — even when we’re face with impossible situations, rocks and hard places — because God has promised to always be Emmanuel.

Fear not. God is doing a new thing. And God has invited us to be a part of God’s amazing, creative, redemptive work.

Recently I had to replace my beloved Dell laptop that I had for 8 years. I knew it was coming… that one day the blue screen of foreboding would morph into the black screen of death.

Sure enough, one fateful day in late October, it happened. So I checked my laptop into computer ICU at MicroCenter and hoped for the best.

It was not to be…so I waited for the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals and replace it.

Which I did with a Surface. It arrived while I was at work and so I had to wait until the next morning to set it up. And it wants to take my picture.

It was early in the morning, still dark outside, I was still wearing my kitty cat slippers and thinking nothing of it, I let it take my picture. It also asked for pin for a backup.

And then I saw the picture it took. The florescent light coming from the desk light above cast very unflattering shadows on my face, aging me about 20 years. Whatever.

Until it started using that picture to identify me with the face recognition software every time I went to log in.

“Are you the one? Let me see your face. “

And it doesn’t recognize me, because the picture looks nothing like me in the warm light of day with make up on. So it asks for my pin and then suggests that perhaps I take another picture, perhaps that one will be better.

John the Baptist is sitting in prison and asks the same question, “Are you the one? John was having a little trouble with the 1st century version of face recognition of a Messiah.

He had good reason to question if Jesus was THE messiah that everyone was waiting for.

John proclaimed that the coming Messiah standing at the threshing floor, winnowing fork in hand and a fire brightly burning.

When they met at the river Jordan, when John didn’t feel worthy to baptize him, Jesus said we need to do this because “it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness,” which was a messianic accomplishment.

In first century Judaism had no specific job description and expectations for what a Messiah should do and be. Their activities were up for debate in regard to nature, identity and activities.

Some expected a priestly messiah, others a shepherd. One sect thought that there were going to be two messiahs and still others had no messianic expectations at all. Many thought that John the Baptist was the messiah.

To confuse matters a bit, Jesus is acting a whole lot like a prophet, and after having heard of John’s arrest in Matthew 4:17, takes up John’s cry of “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

So John is saying, I know that I’m not the messiah, I’m just a prophet. Go ask this guy, “Are you the one or should we wait for another?”

One family member in Herod’s prison is enough. Jesus didn’t need to join him. So he sends back a coded message that the guards surely wouldn’t understand.

He tells John’s disciples to go and tell what you see and hear. Jesus rattles off a whole bunch of reversals: Blind people see. Lame people walk. Lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead live. Poor people hear good news and it is brought to them.

And the punch line: Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at Jesus for doing these things.

Face recognition.

Understanding.

Mission statement.

Restoration.

See. Hear. Go. Tell.

See Jesus and recognize him as he sees others that society would rather not. Hear what is being said and understand. Go in mission. Tell about the restoration of minds, bodies, spirits, relationships.

No, don’t wait for another because the kingdom of heaven has come near. Now. Jesus is the one. And he brings hope for all people. Don’t be scandalized by actions that are done solely for the sake of the other; and that give justice to the least of these.

Then Jesus reminds the crowd why they went out into the wilderness – to see a prophet. But did they listen? Did they hear what John said?

Jesus heaps praises on John and declares him the greatest of the prophets. Yet even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John is relating to the world in the old way. And he was the greatest of that age. But there is a new age now. The new age and new world order that Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount and in the beatitudes.

In the new age, we are invited to relate in a new way. We are to seek good for the other. We are to give to others as we find ourselves.

There will be reversals. Poor in spirit receive the kingdom of heaven; mourners will be comforted; hungry will be filled.

This is a new way of doing discipleship. Choose this way and already you are greater than John the Baptist, greater than anyone in the old age.

Jesus helps us see the world through God’s eyes. He came to help us hear the Good news. He came to give us a promise of eternal life with God.

John never got out of that jail cell. He was beheaded.

As we come back to John’s original question, are you the one who is to come or should we wait for another – we must ask ourselves– is this a Messiah that we can live with?

Can we handle a God who desires us to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with him? Or are we looking for a vengeful, frightening God?

Can we deal with a God who insists that we see the least, the last, the lost the lonely, the left behind and insists upon us doing the same when our inclination is to look the other way?

Can we deal with a God who comes to us in Jesus offering forgiveness, showing mercy, calling us all to repentance, no matter who we are? Because all means all?

God never shows up in ways that we expect him and the kingdom of heaven manifests itself in ways that we can never imagine.

God does show up and the kingdom of heaven does draw close and we know this simply because he sent Jesus to embody that promise.

And we don’t have to wait for another because the kingdom of heaven is near.

Every time we answer God’s invitation and join in God’s redemptive work, doing his work with our hands, getting our hands dirty, then restoration occurs on a large scale.

May we see Christ in each other, recognizing those whom we serve.