2nd. Sunday of Lent 2021

Based on Luke 13: 31 – 35, this was first given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on March 7, 2004, and again at the ‘Indian Point Church of Christ’ on March 19, 2017…

        Believe it or not, for most of the years of my childhood we only had one television, which meant, of course, that you could only watch one show at a time! I don’t know how others worked out what to watch, but at our house we all watched whatever dad watched. So it was that I became very familiar with shows like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, My Favorite Martian and Lawrence Welk. (Star Trek aired after my brother and I had gotten our own TV for our room and I could watch it there when needed.) And for many, many years one of everyone’s ‘must see’ each week was the Wonderful World of Disney.

        Every Sunday evening would find us all sitting and watching as Tinkerbelle lit fireworks in different shades of gray over the Magic Kingdom castle. (Most people still just had black-and-white sets back then… I had been married for some years before I got to see the fireworks in color on my own TV!) Soon after ‘Tink’ and the fireworks, Walt himself would come on and tell us about that week’s show. Some would be special one-hour carton segments, some would be one of his movies broken up into a series of one-hour spots, but most often would be a serial story or documentary that could often run a number of months, one hour each week. One of these that I remember well was titled ‘The Swamp Fox.’

In the opening sequence of the first show, Birth of the Swamp Fox, Walt told how in the spring of 1780 Cornwallis’ plan was to cut-off the northern colonies from the south with a line across from Charleston, then defeat each separately. Colonel Francis Marion organized a group of raiders who disrupted British supply lines and antagonized their leaders with a series of lighting-quick raids, always then disappearing back into the South Carolina swamps, earning him the nick-name, the Swamp Fox. (Do you remember the theme song? Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, tail on his hat… Nobody knows where the Swamp Fox’s at. Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, Hidin’ in the glen… He’ll run away to fight again!) Walt pointed out that during those years Marion was considered to be one of the greatest American heroes of the Revolutionary War, second only to General Washington. To that end, there are 17 counties and 29 cities scattered throughout the country with the name of Marion, in his honor.

        One definition of a ‘fox’ in Webster’s dictionary is “a clever, crafty person”. Another is to “trick (someone through) ingenuity or cunning… to outwit them.” Both definitions would certainly apply to Colonel Marion. However, in regards to Jesus’ use of the word “fox” in today’s verses, Barnes’ Notes tells us that, “A fox is also an emblem of slyness, of cunning, and of artful mischief.” Barnes goes on to say that, “The word is also used to denote a dissembler. Herod was a wicked man, but the “particular thing” to which Jesus here alludes is not his “vices,” but his “cunning, his artifice,” in endeavoring to remove him out of his territory. He had endeavored to do it by stratagem-by sending these people who pretended great friendship for his life.”

        Indeed, most of the commentaries that I looked at seem to agree that Herod most likely sent these men. Let me read this from The Life Application Commentary… “Jesus was hardly going to run in fear of Herod; in fact, the message he sent to him was filled with contempt, calling Herod that fox. To call someone a “fox” showed that Jesus saw Herod as without honor, without greatness befitting one who was king, filled with slyness mixed with evil. He had clearly shown that in his dealings with John the Baptist. In Jesus’ day, a “fox” was also someone who was considered insignificant. That Jesus told the Pharisees to go and tell Herod this message could point to Jesus’ understanding that they were actually in league with Herod.”

Still quoting from The Life Application Commentary, “Jesus then clearly explained that Herod would have absolutely no control of Jesus’ life and ministry… He would continue casting out demons and performing cures. Jesus also understood, however, that his earthly ministry would not go on forever. There would be an end. “The third day I finish my work” could refer to his plan for leaving Herod’s jurisdiction and moving on, or it could refer to the work of redemption that he would soon accomplish through his death.”

He then noted that in any case, He wasn’t really too worried about it for, “surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” In 2 Chronicles 24:17-22 we read…

“After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. They abandoned the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem. Although the LORD sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.

“Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the LORD’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.'”

“But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD’s temple.”

 This is just one example of one of God’s prophets being put to death in Jerusalem, and there are many others… Jesus knew He would not die outside of Jerusalem. But then He says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” Here at last is where we get to what I think is the ‘meat and potatoes’ of these particular verses.

There are several places in the Old Testament that refers to God as taking us ‘under His wing’. One that comes to mind is in the 2^nd chapter of the book of Ruth where we read, “May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

Isn’t that a powerful, beautiful metaphor? I think all of us are familiar with how almost every type of bird protects and shelters its young in this manner… sometimes to the point of giving up their own lives so that their offspring should live. Isn’t it wonderful to know that Jesus feels that way about us? He loves us! And as time would soon tell He loved us enough that He gave His life so that we all might live!

In verse 17 of the third chapter of Philippians, Paul tells us to, “Join with others in following my example … and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”

Jesus set the ultimate example of love, both in His living and in His dieing. Paul based his life on that example and exhorts us to take our example from him, which we are to pass on to the succeeding generations. I ask you this morning to consider this for a moment … if the next generation is learning how to love using you as an example… what exactly are they learning?

Jesus loves us with all of the protective love of a mother hen… with all of the possessive love of a shepherd for his sheep… and with all of the adoring love of a parent for their offspring. This is the love that we are receiving from Him… this is the love that we are to be emulating to others! So I ask again… if others learn of the love of Christ through you… if they see Christ through your example… what are they seeing?

1rst Sunday of Lent 2021

This was first written for and given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on February 29, 2004. I have presented again here in 2021. The Scripture is from Romans 10: 8b – 13…

            I have always loved reading! I guess I learned how to fairly quickly and generally led my classmates in that ability through most of my grade-school years. And it seems as though I could never get enough of it… I would read everything! I would read the labels on cans… I would read dad’s Popular Mechanics magazine each month… I would read the lyrics in the hymnal during service… I would devour any books that I chanced to get at the library… and I dearly, dearly loved reading comic books! Whether at the barber shop, or a friend’s house, or the few that I had at home, I would read them from cover to cover, memorizing even the advertisements that filled so many pages of them. And for many years it seemed like those advertisements were the same in every issue that I chanced to see.

          There was the one for x-ray glasses that were supposed to let you see around a corner or tree to spot someone who was waiting in ambush for you… there were the ones promising to give you the body of Atlas so that the beach bully would stop kicking sand in your face… and the one that I always drooled over… a locker chest full of 1000 plastic army men posed in a number of battle positions! It cost something like $2.99 plus shipping and handling, but since my primary source of cash consisted of a weekly 25-cent allowance, we were talking half-a year’s income… just totally undoable for a young man with holes in his pockets from the money that burned whenever placed there!

          Another ad that seemed to be in each of the comics during that time was the one prompting you to make your fortune by selling seeds for them. It seemed easy enough… they would send a box of seed packets for you to sell to friends and family, after which you would send back the money and select from a number of prizes as your payment for doing so. The pictures that they showed were of gas-powered airplanes and telescopes and so on… just the kind of things that every young boy knows they just have to have! So finally, after enough pestering and promises, mom decided to let both my brother and I order a box and see how it worked. They arrived with a catalog listing all of the various prizes that were available… page after page of color pictures that were reminiscent of the Sears Christmas catalog… almost every one of which required selling multiple boxes of seeds! Undaunted, I set out that first day with my box to grandma’s house, and then to all of my friends. Over the next thirty days, which was the time period given to return either the money or the seeds, I hawked my wares to friends, to friends of friends, at church, and finally started going door-to-door… “Hello, would you be interested in buying some flower or vegetable seeds for your yard or garden?” I got to be fairly good at it. My brother, however, wasn’t nearly as enthused and as the end of our time grew near, his box was still mostly full. Mom had me take him door-to-door and help him sell some of his, so when the end of our allotted time found his box still almost half full and mine having only a few flowers seeds yet, she decreed that since I had helped him sell some of his I could empty the few packets I had left into his box and count mine as done. He got to keep a portion of the cash from what had been sold, but I got to choose a prize out of the catalog… that’s how I got my very first camera… my first sales commission!

          It seems as if over the years I have always had to be ‘selling’ something… first of all I would have to sell myself to a potential girlfriend (which is how I wound up with my wife… I think she’s still debating that deal!), or to prospective employers or investors. Once accepted, I found that in addition to performing my regular duties and tasks, I have also always been the interface… the direct link, if you will… between the customer and the company, which meant representing and selling the company and its services or products to all that I came in contact with. And over the years I have found that it is far, far easier for me to sell something that I really believe in myself!

For example, in the three years that I was the Ingersoll dealer here in Morgan County I sold almost one hundred tractors… and these were some of the most high-quality garden tractors available, and priced accordingly! However, I don’t think that I could ever be a successful used-car salesman… I won’t try to sell someone something that I don’t believe in or use myself! The same holds true for my faith and how I try to present it to others!

          Our verses today start off with Paul quoting from Deuteronomy… let me read you the paragraph that it is from… chapter 30, verses 11-14.

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

          Moses spoke these words to Israel as a reminder that God’s Law was known to each of them. This Law had been given to Moses directly from God and was very clear and distinct. I’ve been studying some of the instructions and decrees as listed in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, and God had given them a very, very specific set of rules to follow. Moreover, these rules were known to all of the Israelites… they memorized them when they were young and studied them throughout their lives! They knew them, and they knew they were to obey them!

Paul borrows and applies this phrase to the Gospel of Christ… “… the word of faith we are proclaiming…” …  and declares that it was near to each of them, as well… it was ‘in their mouths and in their hearts’! What follows, then, is what many call the ‘Gospel in a nutshell’… “…if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. Let me read some material I found on-line about that…

Originally, Lent was the time of preparation for those who were to be baptized, a time of concentrated study and prayer before their baptism at the Easter Vigil, the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord early on Easter Sunday. But since these new members were to be received into a living community of Faith, the entire community was called to preparation. Also, this was the time when those who had been separated from the Church would prepare to rejoin the community.

Lent is a time of stripping down to essentials, as each Christian focuses on his or her individual relationship with God. It is a time when Christians remember our baptisms, when Jesus washed away our sins, giving us newness of life to celebrate in the triumph of Palm Sunday and the glory of Easter.

Lent has traditionally been marked by penitential prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Some churches today still observe a rigid schedule of fasting on certain days during Lent, especially the giving up of meat, alcohol, sweets, and other types of food. Other traditions do not place as great an emphasis on fasting, but focus on charitable deeds, especially helping those in physical need with food and clothing, or simply the giving of money to charities. Most Christian churches that observe Lent at all focus on it as a time of prayer, especially penance, repenting for our failures and sin as a way to focus on the need for God’s grace. It is really a preparation to celebrate God’s marvelous redemption at Easter, and the resurrected life that we live, and hope for, as Christians.

          Paul tells us that, “Anyone who trusts in Christ will never be put to shame.” He also says that, “there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,” and that, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”   But he also makes very plain that, “…it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

          Over the past few weeks I have been making a special effort to impress upon you the importance of reading your Bible so that YOU know what it says. I have encouraged you to ‘Open the Eyes of your Heart’ so that you may see God more clearly… I have expounded on how some ‘beliefs’ sometimes change but how our belief in God should NEVER change… we have reaffirmed our belief in the resurrection of Christ… and we have learned how we must protect and defend all of these beliefs with every ounce and breath of our being! We have come to see how the love of Christ connects ALL of these ideas and holds them together… it is what makes everything work!

This morning I challenge you to look into your own heart during this Lenten season and discern just what truly is there. Do you confess “Jesus is Lord” merely through your mouth… or do you FEEL it with all of you heart and soul? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that He died as a sacrifice for your sins on the cross, and that He was raised back to life three days later, and sits next to His Father in Heaven? And if you believe all of that, are you then doing everything in your power to ‘sell’ those beliefs to everyone you possibly can?

Because Jesus only wants those who truly believe in Him… those who know Him as the Messiah and accept Him as Lord! He only wants those who believe in what He has to offer so much that they not only use it in their own lives every day but are also trying to sell the whole world on it! And that is only possible when each of us comes to know and accept every item in His ‘product line’… Love… Peace… Contentment… Forgiveness… and at the very pinnacle… the very last word in anything that anybody could ever possibly want… Salvation!

What product line do you represent?

From the ‘Preaching-class I am required to take… February 6, 2021…

The Scripture is from Isaiah 40: 21-31…

Like the mighty eagle soaring through the sky,

Through the airy kingdom tones of music fly!

Lifting up the soul

toward a higher goal

Lift the soul toward a higher goal!

                This was a song that I had learned during my sophomore year of high school, and the words and music were So ‘Inspiring’ and ‘Majestic’ that I remember them all of these years later!!

                And a first-reading of this passage from Isaiah 40 gives much the same impression!

 Look at verse 26 where the prophet says;

“Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

… and verse 31 where we read…

 “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

…the imagery and Majesty of these words are so Powerful that I’m sure they have inspired many a’ song!

                 Our God is AWESOME!!

And it would be Very easy to just walk away right there and leave everybody feeling happy, and even Inspired!! But… there is a problem with that! You see, Isaiah is Actually starting out by reproving the Jews!

The commentary ‘Barne’s Notes’, regarding verse 21, tells us…

“This is evidently an address to the worshippers of idols, and either designed to be addressed to the Jews themselves in the times of Manasseh, when idolatry abounded, or to all idolaters. They had had abundant opportunity of learning [of God’s] existence and of becoming acquainted with his majesty and glory…… The prophet, therefore, asks them whether they had not known this [or] Whether their conduct was the result of ignorance? And the question implies emphatically that they had known, or had abundant opportunity to know of the existence and majesty of God. This was emphatically true of the Jews, and yet they were constantly falling into idolatrous worship.

                Now, we could spend Weeks or Months studying how many times the Jews turned to God only to ‘forget’ within a fairly short time and turn away again. But for today, let’s just consider the story of the entire population of Israel crossing the Jordan into the ‘Promised Land’… Do You remember the story?

                God miraculously caused the Jordan River to dry-up during its flood stage and ALL of Israel crossed over on Dry Ground!! God had Joshua choose one man from each of the twelve tribes to pick-up a stone from where the priests had been standing in the middle of the dry riverbed and build an alter on the far side at Gilgal, which they did. EVERY ONE of the Israelites crossed over… EVERY ONE of them had a Personal Knowledge of the Power of their Lord God!! So, what do you suppose happens? In Judges chapter 2 verse 8, the next book in the story, we read…

 “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals.[…] They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. “

So here we are…one generation later…and nobody remembers God! Later on during one of their ‘faithful’ periods, we’re told that the people rebuild the alter at Gilgal, only to have it forgotten yet again down the road.

                And as Powerful and Majestic as these verses from Isaiah seem to be, the prophet is actually calling the people to task for ‘forgetting’ God yet again and turning to other ‘gods’ and idols!

                You know, the nation of Israel was God’s chosen people! He worked miracles for them time-after-time… Saving them time-after-time… and still they would ‘forget’ and turn away!

How about THIS country of OURS?!? God has never made a specific ‘covenant’ with us as He did the Israelites… but through the Love and forgiveness of His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, we have been Truly blessed… as Long as we continued to obey and Follow His commands!

                But what might happen if we Don’t? Let’s keep the ‘eagle’ simile and consider the image given us in the 8^th chapter of Revelation, verse13 (from New Living Translation);

“Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.””

This country… this WORLD… of ours is in trouble! “Terror!… Terror!… Terror!”… and it is up to each of Us… that is, it is up to Each of YOU… to do something about it!! How?

First of all, READ your Bible… understand what God has been telling us! Discern the meanings and the messages that are there in Plain sight! Pray & discern what it is God wants You to do about it! And then, most important of all… DO IT!!!

God’s Love is Beautiful! But God’s Justice is Final!!

It is all fine-and-well to soar with eagles… to sing with the Joy and Praise that fills us with the Glory and Power and Majesty of God! But unless we are Also studiously Doing His work… Creating disciples of Christ… it may Well all be for naught!

And all of God’s people say…

Epiphany Sunday

My ‘talk’ given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on January 5, 2003.

The Scripture is from the 2nd chapter of Matthew, verses 1 – 12…

(NOTE: Contains BOTH manuscript And a ‘Live’ reading! 🙂

       Some years ago I worked at a shop located very close to Naples, IL. If you would ever look for it on a map, you would realize that Naples is pretty much in a ‘dead’ radio area. That means that usually, the only station I could get was the Jacksonville rock-and-roll station. Now, they would not have been my first choice in music styles, but beggars can’t be choosy. And occasionally I might call in for some of the contests, when I could hear them above any engines running or other shop noise. I recall one afternoon when the announcer was looking for seven members of the Justice League of America. So I started counting on my fingers… Superman… Batman… Robin… Aquaman… the Flash… the Green Lantern… Atom… Wonder Woman…that was eight! So I rushed over to the phone and called! After hitting the redial several times I managed to get through and started naming off my list. What I hadn’t heard over all the noise was that he wanted the characters from the 1970’s Justice League of America TV cartoon series ‘Super Friends’… the ones that I named were from the ‘60’s comic books! I didn’t win.

       I don’t know about you, but comic books were a big part of my growing up. I truly loved to read, and they seemed to be everywhere! Most barbers and doctors’ offices, back then, always had a supply on hand, and many of my friends would always have one or two lying around. And even though they might be two or three years old, I never tired of reading them.

       Comics were one of the ‘big ticket’ items that I would sometimes save up my allowance and head to the local grocery store for. They weren’t cheap! On an allowance of 25 cents per week, it could take up to a month or more to save enough for one of the really big issues! But by the time that I was ten, or so, I had some copies of Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Atom, and a couple of those Justice League of America issues that had all of them in them. (And don’t I wish that I still had some of them today… I’ve seen what they sell for in antique and collector stores!) I also had a number of ‘oddball’ titles that people gave me over the years… H. G. Wells, Richey Rich, Donald Duck… I would read each of them over and over and over to the point that I could tell you some of the story lines and even describe several of the panels in detail yet today! One in particular I always remember around this time of year… it was a special Christmas issue of ‘Dennis the Menace.’

       One of the stories told of Dennis and his family making their annual trip to Santa’s Village. It described the paddock with live reindeer, the various buildings housing ‘elves’, toys, candy, and so on, and finally coming to Santa’s house, complete with Mrs. Claus. Now, in the ‘50’s and early ‘60’s there was nothing at all like that anywhere around the St. Louis area! And since I ‘knew’ that reindeer only lived in the north, I figured Dennis and his family must live somewhere close to the Canadian border like Michigan or Minnesota… you know… north of Chicago. Besides that, those people would be more likely to build an entire village like that for Santa because they lived so much closer to him.

       Another of the stories in that issue started off with Dennis rushing home from school into his mother’s kitchen and blurting out excitedly, “Hey, Mom! Mrs. Smith says I’m a wise guy and I need a costume for one!” Well! Imagine the nerve! Calling her son a wise guy! And right in front of all the other students! She heads straight for the phone and calls the teacher. “Hello, Mrs. Smith? This is Dennis’ mother. Just what is all of this about him being a wise guy? He may be a little…what’s that? You want him to be one of the three wise men in the school Christmas play? Oh, I see. Well of course! He’d be happy to! Costume? Oh, that won’t be a problem at all. Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

       Have you ever seen a Nativity scene set up without the three wise men? I don’t believe that I ever have. I can remember thinking how magical it was that they arrived at the stable on the night of Jesus’ birth. In fact, it was only a few years ago that I stopped to consider that that may not actually be the case! Let’s consider this story more closely.

       Depending on which translation you read, these men are called ‘Kings’, ‘Wise men’ or ‘Magi’. The original Greek word is MAGI, and according to The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, referred, originally, to the priests and wise men among the Medes, Persians, and Babylonians. These men were supposed to be master astrologers, adept in that secret learning that in remote antiquity had its seat in Egypt, and later in Chaldea, from which fact they were latter often called “Chaldeans”.

       At the time of Jesus’ birth the term could have applied to philosophers, priests, or astronomers. They lived chiefly in Persia and Arabia, and were the learned men of these Eastern nations, devoted to astronomy, religion, and medicine. They were held in high esteem by the Persian court, were admitted as counselors, and followed the camps in war to give advice.

       Many considered the Magi to be “… astrologers, those who prophesy by the stars, and predict by the new moons.” Matthew, in the very least, uses the term to designate honorable men from an Eastern religion. Most of the historians that I read believe that these people had been in contact with the Jewish people throughout the Old Testament, and were familiar with the prophecies regarding the Messiah. In the 24^th chapter of the book of Numbers, the 17^th verse reads…

“I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not near.

A star will come out of Jacob;

a scepter will rise out of Israel.

       Over the years, many have tried to explain the star reported in these verses. I, myself, have always tended to believe it to be a natural phenomenon called into existence at the proper time by God. And yet the Wycliffe Bible Commentary says that, “All attempts to explain the star as a natural phenomenon are inadequate to account for its leading the Magi from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and then standing over the house. Rather, it was a special manifestation used of God both when it first appeared to indicate the fact of Christ’s birth, and when it reappeared over Jerusalem to guide the Magi to the place. Since a direct revelation to the Magi is recorded in verse 12, there is nothing improbable in assuming a direct revelation at the beginning to impart the significance of the star.”

       Wycliffe also points out that it is, “The house (not the manger) in which the Magi found the infant Jesus. (This) points to the fact that this visit followed Jesus’ birth by a considerable interval, perhaps of months. Some writers say it could have been as long as a year, or more!

       At the same time, we really don’t know just how many there might have been. Again, Wycliffe points out that it is, “The three gifts (that) have given rise to the tradition of three wise men. Tradition even names them: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. But tradition is not necessarily fact.” I looked in several sources and could find no reference to any of these names. However, “gold, frankincense, and myrrh were thought by ancient commentators to show recognition of Jesus as King, Son of God, and one destined to die, respectively.”

       So, what we are finding is that the picture we all have of the three ‘Kings’ standing over the baby in a manger probably isn’t exactly accurate! For whatever reason, Joseph had stayed on in Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus and had found a house to stay in. Jesus could have been some months old… perhaps even a year or more… at the time of their arrival. And there may not have been three of them…there may have been only two… or there could have been two dozen… we just don’t know! The thing is, it really doesn’t matter to the point of the story.

       The Life Application Commentary points out that, “Astrology and those who practiced the art were held in contempt by the Bible and by God-fearing Jews. (However,) Matthew made a significant point in highlighting the worship of these wise men (who were pagan astrologers, wise in the ways of secular science, diviners, and magicians) in contrast to the Jewish religious leaders who knew the Holy Scriptures and did not need to travel far to find their Messiah. The Jewish leaders directed the wise men to Bethlehem but apparently did not go themselves. Some scholars say these wise men were each from a different land, representing the entire world bowing before Jesus. These men from faraway lands recognized Jesus as the Messiah when most of God’s chosen people in Israel did not. Matthew pictures Jesus as King over the whole world, not just Judea.”

When Herod asked the religious leaders of Jerusalem where the Messiah was to be born, they quoted from the 5^th chapter of Micah which reads… “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.”  They knew the prophecies of the Messiah… they knew where He was to be born… and according to some historians, they had a fair idea that the time was near. But it was given to a group of Gentiles to recognize and pay Him homage. Doubtless these strangers expected all Jerusalem to be full of its newborn King, and the time, place, and circumstances of His birth to be familiar to everyone. Little would they think that the first announcement of His birth would come from themselves, and still less could they anticipate the startling effect which it would produce… the eventual death of an entire generation of male babies in the area as ordered by Herod.

       ‘Wise man’… ‘Wise guy’… means almost the same thing, doesn’t it? In my old comic book, Dennis innocently changed ‘man’ to ‘guy’ and with his reputation, his mother accepted his words just as he said them and felt the need to act upon them, only to be embarrassed by the truth once she learned it. And I am sorry to say that there is coming a day when there will be many not only embarrassed by the truth, but downright afraid!

       Jesus was the Messiah that God had promised to the Jews! And yet many of them refused to acknowledge Him as such… in particular the leaders, themselves. Jesus Himself realized this! Let me read another story to you from later on in Matthew. In the 8^th chapter, starting with verse 5, we read…

When Jesus arrived in Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and racked with pain.”

Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

Then the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed!  …

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all the land of Israel!  And I tell you this…  many Gentiles will come from all over the world and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites–those for whom the Kingdom was prepared–will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go on home. What you have believed has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.

       Listen, again to these words of Jesus. “Many Gentiles will come from all over the world and sit down… at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites–those for whom the Kingdom was prepared–will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The Magi were just the first of our kind… Gentiles… to seek out the Lord Jesus. The Life Application Commentary points out that, “The religious leaders and teachers had knowledge of the Scriptures, but they lacked the desire to understand and believe. Today, wise men still seek Him! And with so many churches, so many Christian books and Bibles available, so many radio and television programs, so many Christian videos and films — how can anyone not believe? But it happens. Several Bibles on your bedroom shelf and perfect Sunday school attendance do not a Christian make! Like the chief priests and teachers of the law, a person can miss the opportunity to believe in Jesus completely while studying the facts of the Bible meticulously.

       And thus, the story of the Magi becomes our story… for it is each of us who is seeking the Messiah! It is each of us who are searching to find Christ! The only difference is that we don’t have to travel hundreds of miles across desert and mountain by camel… He resides right here in our own hearts! All we have to do is open them up to Him… and look!

Dad & Grandpa

This was first given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on December 28, 2003, and again, after a Very Minor rewrite, at the Hartford (IL) East Maple Street Chapel on June 15, 2008.

The Scripture is from the 2nd chapter of Luke, verses 41-52…

(NOTE: The ‘link’ is the ‘LIVE’ reading of it!! 🙂

(4) Sunday after Christmas 2020 Dad & Grandpa – YouTube

        Being born in 1900, my grandpa grew up at a time when a man was expected to be able to make or repair just about anything they needed on the farm or around the house and he certainly could… though sometimes whatever it was might wind up having a distinctively ‘Luebbert’ flair to it! And all four of his kids… especially the three boys… picked up this same ability… mainly because back then you had to! In all of the years of my youth, the Luebbert family almost never had to take something into a repair shop to be worked on. Generally, if something was too far gone, or too complicated, for one of them to get going again it was either scrapped out or shoved into a fencerow to quietly die in peace.

        My dad was the oldest, and I grew up thinking he must know everything that there was to know about fixing machinery. In addition to the shop we had on the farm itself, dad had built a snug little garage at our house in Hartford. With a pot-bellied stove for heat and a massive wood workbench he had built… complete with sliding drawers and shelves underneath, a big vice mounted on one end of it, and tools neatly hanging on the wall above… we tackled what I thought was some of the most serious mechanical problems known to man. My brother and I were tool ‘gophers’… that is, dad would tell us to get such-and-such wrench and one of us would ‘gopher’ it. I would then get as close as I could to watch… I was just fascinated by it all and wanted to see and learn everything that I could.

        When I was around 8-or-9 years old, and my brother three years younger, dad bought an old Chevy half-ton pickup for him to drive back-and-forth to work each day. The old girl was at least ten years old and definitely showing its age, and the first thing on the agenda was to paint it. This was a brand-new experience for everybody, and as best I recall consisted of hand-sanding the entire body and bed, patching a few rust spots, then spraying the whole thing with spray cans of green paint. It was something to see! Not too many months after all of that, dad had to go to the junk-yard and buy a used rear axle for it. This was really a project! I don’t recall how many days of intense concentration it took us to handle such a major undertaking, but we changed that axle right there in that garage, and soon was ready to take it out for a test drive.

        The three of us climbed up into the cab and headed out of town. All I really remember about that trip is that we were test-driving it on the highway out east of Wood River when, at about 50 mph, the left rear of the truck dropped to the ground and the rear wheel passed us down the road! With the rear-end dragging, dad got it stopped and off to the side. “All right,” he said (more-or-less…). “Which one of you were supposed to have tightened-up the lug-nuts?!” (Neither of us ever admitted to it!)

        Thinking for only a minute, he retrieved the wheel and tire from where it had finally come to a stop further down the road while my brother and I got out the jack and lug-wrench. After jacking up the truck and setting the wheel back on, there was the problem of what to use to hold in on with… after all, all of the lug-nuts had disappeared! Without missing a beat, dad took the wrench and took one nut off of each of the other three wheels, then used those three nuts to hold on the fourth! I have never forgotten that astoundingly simple but profound bit of logic!

        Yes, it is very true that I learned an awful lot from my dad about using my hands… and about how to reason things out… which is also a real good example of how one generation learns from the previous one and then adds to that knowledge and experience.

I always said that grandpa could fix anything with a piece of baling wire, but as long as it worked he would just keep replacing the baling wire as needed, whereas dad could use the same baling wire to patch it up, but would make it a point to do a more permanent repair as soon as circumstances allowed. I, on the other hand, could patch it up if I had to, but I would far rather take the time to fix it right and be done with it. And as it turned out, that was how I earned a living for many years.

        Indeed, time was that I was considered one the best ag-mechanics in several counties, especially on Case equipment! And my skills were not limited to just tractors and such… when I had my own shop in Jacksonville, I specialized in complete rebuilding of any vehicle. And yes, over time dad got to where he would always bring his more complicated repairs to me to take care of… admittedly, something that took me awhile to get used to! But, just as he had learned how to do a lot of those things from his father and had then improved on them, I had taken what I had learned from him and ran with it, surpassing the knowledge and skills of each of them… which is how it should be!

        In this passage from Luke, we find a twelve-year-old Jesus traveling with His family to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. After staying for the full seven days of the feast, they headed back home. It was probably when the caravan had stopped for the evening meal that Joseph and Mary came to realize that Jesus was not among them. Now, some parents living in today’s’ over-protective society might wonder how it could take so long before he was missed… the Life Application Commentary points out that, “At age twelve, Jesus was considered almost an adult, so he probably didn’t spend a lot of time with his parents during the feast. Those who attended these feasts usually traveled in caravans for protection from robbers along the Palestine roads. It was customary for the women and children to travel at the front of the caravan, with the men bringing up the rear. A twelve-year-old boy conceivably could have been in either group, and both Mary and Joseph assumed Jesus was with the other one. Their caravan probably included a large number of people. So it was not until they had gone a day’s journey and were ready to strike camp that Mary and Joseph checked for Jesus among all their relatives and friends, only to discover that he was not in the crowd but had stayed behind in Jerusalem.”

        So they return to Jerusalem and, after three days of searching, find Him “in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, discussing deep questions with them. And all who heard him,” we’re told, “were amazed at his understanding and his answers.  His mother, of course, is upset and anxious about the whole thing and asks, “Why have you treated us like this?” And we all know His reply… paraphrasing the King James, He says, “Don’t you know I must be about my Father’s business?”  But they didn’t understand what he meant! After all, wasn’t His father a carpenter by trade? Still, in the last two verses we learn that, “…he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them; and his mother stored away all these things in her heart,” and that, “…Jesus grew both tall and wise, and was loved by God and man.”

        I’d like to point out three things about these few verses. The first is that there are a number of passages that tell us how Mary would take note of something odd and ‘store it away in her heart’. The Life Application Commentary notes that although, “she did not completely understand her son, …she remembered these events, thought them over, and sought to find their meaning. One day, it all would be clear. One day her son would become her Savior, and she would understand.”

        My second point is that even though this is the only glimpse we have of Jesus’ childhood, it is valuable to us to note that He was a child… that He did grow up day by day, year by year, just like each of us did. In fact, we’re told He was thirty before He actually began His ministry! Why do I think this is important to make note of? Because it proves to us that He was truly as real and as human as each one of us… and that means that we don’t have to be afraid to go to Him with our sins and our needs and our problems… because He has been here… He grew up and lived on this same earth that each of us do… and He well knows all that we have to deal with each and every day! He understands!

        The third lesson we can all learn from these verses is this bit about, ‘being about my Father’s business.’ What did He mean by that and how does it apply to us? Again quoting from the Life Application Commentary, “He surely felt bad that he had caused them distress, but it made perfect sense to him that he would be in his Father’s house, that is, in the temple. This is the first mention of Jesus’ awareness that he was God’s Son (he called God “my Father”) and that he had special work to do (he said I “must” be here). His relationship with his Father in heaven superseded his human family and even his human home. While he probably went to school and studied along with other boys in the synagogue in Nazareth, to be in the temple with many learned teachers was a great opportunity for Jesus. He took full advantage of his time there, and it seems that he thought his parents would know where he would be.

Yet, Jesus’ parents did not understand what he meant about his Father’s house. They didn’t realize that he was making a distinction between his earthly father and his heavenly Father. Jesus knew that he had a unique relationship with God. Although Mary and Joseph knew he was God’s Son, they didn’t understand what his mission would involve. Besides, they had to rear him, along with his brothers and sisters, as a normal child. They knew Jesus was unique, but they did not know what was going on in his mind. They had to learn and observe the complex out-workings of Jesus’ special identity and calling even as he lived in their family.”

        Jesus felt, even at the age of twelve, that He had to be taking care of the task that His father had set Him to. And He knew that His father was, indeed, God! And just as God’s business centered around trying to take care of mankind and keep them from the fires of damnation, Jesus took that very task to heart and began to ‘run with it’, even at the age of twelve! If His Father wanted to save mankind, Jesus was going to do whatever was necessary to accomplish His Father’s wishes… even at the ultimate cost of His own life on the cross!

Jesus… the promised Messiah, Savior of all humankind… our Lord… calls each of us ‘brother’ and ‘sister’! We are members of His family! And the father of this family is God! God is your father! God is my father! Therefore, we, too, must be about our Father’s business! And that ‘business’ has never changed… it is the saving of each and every man, woman and child that lives on this planet! That is the task charged to us… that is the job we are entrusted with! Are you ready to take over the family business and run with it?

First given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on December 22, 2002, the Scripture is from the 1rst Chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 26-38…

My ‘live’ video of it is at the end!

          My mind is clearer now…at last…all too well…I can see where we all soon shall be.

          If you strip away the myth from the man you will see where we all soon shall be.

          Jesus, you’ve started to believe the things they say of you…

          You really do believe this talk of God is true!

          And all the good you’ve done will soon get swept away…

          You’ve begun to matter more than the things you say!

          With these words I began my very first Sunday morning sermon. In case you don’t recognize them, they are from the rock-opera Jesus Christ Superstar. I was fifteen years old and taking my first turn at the Church of Christ in Hartford.

          We called it ‘mutual ministry’. What it meant was that each of us would take our turn leading the service and giving the sermon. It wasn’t that we couldn’t afford a preacher, but that our Elders didn’t see where one was called for in the scriptures. And the Church of Christ philosophy was that if the Bible doesn’t specifically tell you to do it, then don’t do it!

          The way it worked was like this…the ‘leaders’ of our church were on a rotating, but flexible, schedule. Whoever’s name was up for that Sunday would be responsible for the day’s Services. He would take care of the greeting, news and announcements, either assign a song leader or pick out and lead the songs, line up people to help serve Communion (which we did every Sunday), ask for volunteers for prayers or lead them himself, and serve Communion. Then he would ask if anyone had anything prepared that they would like to share. Sometimes someone would get up and do the teaching. (I recall one very elderly gentleman, who always attended but never took part in anything, getting up one Sunday and taking the pulpit with a ‘prepared sermon’ from a magazine in his hand. He began to read, “It all started with the Beatles!…” and went on to decry rock music in particular, and young people in general. I can only imagine what he thought of my topic!) But on this particular Sunday I had asked in advance for an opportunity to speak and had worked some time on what I wanted to say.

          After quoting those words, I stated where they were from and that, while I did not accept the entire opera, I felt that parts of it could be used for learning. I went on, then, to concentrate on some of the teachings of Jesus, the ‘Things that He said!’ I quoted a number of His teachings and wrapped up with these very words…

          “I should be at peace with my fellowman because, if I love him, how can I fight Him?

          “I should be at peace with myself because, if I am satisfied with what I’ve got, how can I want anything?

          “I should be at peace with God because, if I love Him above all else, I will do as he directs.

          How can you get more out of life?

          Be at peace with yourself…

          Be at peace with your brother…

          Be at peace with God…       through…  LOVE!

          Yes, friends, it was the late 60’s and I was standing in a Church of Christ pulpit and preaching about peace and love… can you dig it? Those who have listened to my more recent sermons or read any of my articles might be somewhat surprised to hear of me being so ‘radical’ back then! But the truth of the matter is, I believed just as strongly then in the basic truths of the Bible as I do today! And that means that I sometimes find myself at odds with what ‘current’ thought or tradition might be… I am very often not ‘politically correct’… because the teachings of Jesus should still mean the same thing today as they did when He first spoke them two-thousand-some years ago! My message today is a case-in-point.

          There were two very strong men in the Hartford church as I was growing up, both of whom were Elders, who seemed to always be at odds with each other. I don’t recall ever hearing either of them say or teach anything that I couldn’t agree with, so I can’t say just where their differences lay. Looking back, I would guess that it was probably more about whether to direct the church’s energies outside of the church to strangers or inside to the congregation. Whatever it was, there seemed to be a ‘running battle’ between them, albeit a friendly one (generally). I can vividly recall one Sunday when the older of the two made the ‘offer of the pulpit’ to all present and seeing the other man crouching in his seat, but not rising. Upon hearing no volunteers, the first headed towards the pulpit. The moment he stepped behind it, the other man jumped up and made a big show of ‘driving’ him away to his seat. Everyone, including them, laughed, and he went on to give a very stirring lecture on the right and privilege that each of us has to stand behind that pulpit and express our ideas!

          Both of these men taught me a lot over the years. The older man baptized me! But one of the more memorable things occurred one year when Christmas chanced to fall on a Sunday, and it was the younger man’s turn as leader. (They actually were very close in years. I am just using their age to differentiate them.)

          On this Christmas Sunday morning, he talked about how all over the world people were celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus. Warriors talked of peace on this day. Enemies could lay down their weapons, at least for this one day, and shake hands. Families could be together. Differences could be overcome. Fences could be mended. The world was a different place on this one day…the day set aside to welcome the baby Jesus…our Lord…into this world.

          And yet, as Christians, the birthday of Jesus really doesn’t mean anything. You see, it is not the BIRTH of Christ that saves us, but the DEATH of Christ on the cross.

          In today’s verses we find the story of Gabriel bringing the news to Mary of how she will be the mother of God’s Son. It is a story that we are all very familiar with. We also all know of how Herod decreed an accounting of the people for tax purposes, which put Mary and Joseph in the city of Bethlehem, overcrowded from all of the others there for the same reason. So overcrowded, in fact, that the only room they could find was in a stable. So it was that when Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus that night, the Son of the Most High God was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger. We know of these things, as well as the rest of the story, because Matthew and Luke elected to include them in their telling of the Gospel story. Why did they feel they were necessary? Because each of the things that led up to the birth of Christ and those that happened after were all foretold by the prophets…and these two writers wanted to make the point that by this birth, those prophecies were fulfilled…this was, indeed, the promised Messiah!

          There is one other very important lesson we can garner from our story of Mary today. Let me read this from the Life Application Commentary…

          Luke places the story of the announcement of Jesus’ birth right after the announcement of John’s birth. By doing so, he highlights the similarities and differences between the two births. The announcement of John the Baptist’s birth shows the Lord answering the prayer of an elderly couple by blessing the barren womb of Elizabeth with a healthy child. The announcement was public (in the temple), to an important official (the priest Zechariah), and an occasion for public rejoicing. In contrast, the announcement of Jesus’ birth was in private, to a person of low social station in ancient Israel (a young woman), and an occasion for Mary to recommit herself to God’s will. Where John the Baptist was described by Gabriel as “great in the eyes of the Lord,” Jesus was described as “very great,” “the Son of the Most High,” and an heir to an everlasting kingdom. Where John the Baptist’s birth was remarkable because of the advanced age of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Jesus’ birth was miraculous because Mary was a virgin (a fact Luke emphasized by describing Mary as (such) twice in this short passage).

          The clearest contrast between the two narratives is the different ways Zechariah and Mary responded to the angel. Unlike Zechariah, Mary did not doubt the angel’s message. While Zechariah asked how he could be certain that his wife would bear a child, Mary simply believed and submitted herself to the Lord’s will with these words: “I am the Lord’s servant”. She not only took Gabriel’s statement “Nothing is impossible with God” as her confession of faith, she also anticipated the Lord working out his will in her life: “May everything you have said come true.” With these words, Mary committed herself to facing the hardships that obeying God would entail — the ridicule and disgrace she would inevitably face for carrying a baby whose father was unknown.

          Unfortunately, believers often follow Zechariah’s example instead of Mary’s, doubting the truth of God’s Word, asking for proofs. (We should,) instead, follow Mary’s simple demonstration of faith. Believe in the God for whom nothing is impossible and humbly submitting to his will, even if it means facing hardship. Any hardship is worth enduring with God on your side.

          What a beautiful thought… “Any hardship is worth enduring with God on your side.” This is part of what Luke, at least, wanted to get across to his readers. So… why, then, did Mark and John not include any of this? Because for them, all of the ‘proof’ they needed as to the identity of Jesus…was in the ministry of Jesus… ‘The things that He said… and did!’ Let me read these verses from the first chapter of Mark…

          That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

          Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

          Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 

          “That is why I have come!” Jesus knew why He was here… He knew who He was and what He was supposed to be doing…and He knew what the final cost was going to be!

          I have often wondered just how Andrew Lloyd Webber intended for the world to take Jesus Christ, Superstar. Was it intended, as many people thought back then, to be sacrilegious… to make a mockery of the story of Christ? Or did he truly want more people to be exposed to the story and hopefully study more about it on their own? Why does it end with the death of Christ, and not the resurrection? Each person who has listened to it over the years has surely come away with their own opinion. And what about that line of Judas’ in the opening song, “You’ve begun to matter more than the things you say!”

          It is true that in that Very Early sermon I wanted people to focus on the teachings of Jesus… for just that small moment I wanted them to ignore the fact that He was the Son of God… because what He taught while on this earth is the blue-print of a perfect society… a society where every man, woman and child can truly call any other man, woman or child… ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ and mean it! A society where ‘Peace on Earth’ and ‘Good will towards Men’ were not just catchwords spoken at a special time of year… but a philosophy of living! And yes, I STILL believe in the words of Jesus and in their power to transform us and empower us to transform the world!

          But the fact remains that Jesus IS the Son of God…He was born of the virgin Mary in the City of Bethlehem and grew up as a human child among other humans …all in order to fulfill prophesy…and to better understand just what it means to BE human! The fact remains that He was crucified on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins… and that He conquered death and arose three days later as a further testament to His identity, and to the power of God, His father!

          So celebrate the birth of our Lord! Let peace come to the world and to you and yours! Let the joy and happiness of the Season fill your soul to overflowing so that others might rejoice in your happiness as well. But never forget…that ‘God so loved the world (meaning you!) that He gave His only begotten Son (meaning Jesus), that whoever believes in Him (wholeheartedly) should not perish (die!) but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

4th Sunday of Advent – YouTube

Written for the 3rd Sunday of Advent and given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on December 14, 2003.

The Scripture is from the 3rd chapter of Luke, verses 7 – 18…

(NOTE: The ‘Live’ version is posted at the end! 🙂 )

       Sometime during the very-late sixties, the St. Louis Zoo lost a snake… and not just any snake… this was a cobra… one of the most deadly snakes known to man! According to the news report, one of the keepers had been cleaning its’ cage, with it off exhibit of course, and forgot to replace the cover screen over the drain. When the snake had been let back in it eventually found its’ way into the drain and disappeared!

       Now the report had told how numerous traps and screens had been installed throughout the drain system in anticipation of just such an occurrence, but after some days of alternating between tempting with food and back-flushing the system, there was still no snake! The news release stated that they were sure it was still within the system of that building, but…

       Not long after, I was working for our neighbor and helping him do some spring plowing (which was all we did, back then.). I had finished with one land, and as I didn’t know, yet, how to break open a new one, I was waiting for him to come over with his tractor and do it. As I waited beside the creek that ran next to this field I watched as a snake crawled up out of it and headed across in front of me. Deciding to tease it a little, since I was safely on the seat of the tractor, I eased the front wheel towards it until it was directly in its’ path. The snake stopped, raised its’ head about a foot in the air… and hooded… that is, spreading out its’ neck muscles to form a hood, just like every picture you’ve ever seen of a cobra in attack posture!

       A cobra?! “Alright,” I’m thinking… “the zoo is at least thirty miles from here. There is no possible way that that snake could have made it out of the drainage system, across the Mississippi River, and all the way to here to crawl up in front of me!” Like a dummy, I got down off of the tractor for a closer look (though still some feet away!), and sure enough, it turned towards me and did it again, raising the front third of it’s’ body into the air and spreading its’ neck in its defense/threat mode. By the time the neighbor had come up, the snake had settled back down, turned and returned over the edge of the creek bank from whence it came. He never saw it, at had some doubts as to the veracity of my story.

It was about two weeks later that, while telling my story to some classmates at school, someone told me that it was probably a puff-adder, or hog-nosed snake. They are mildly poisonous, and sometimes flare their necks like a cobra, but are more famously known for their ability to roll over and play dead when threatened. Why this one wanted to fight I may never know, but I will never forget thinking that it might have been that escaped cobra.

By the way, IT eventually crawled back out of the same drain that it had disappeared into… the traps had all worked and it had never gotten out of the building… it just didn’t want to come out until it was ready to come out!

I guess, like most people, I just really don’t like snakes. Now, I know their value… I know their true worth in the scheme of things… how they help keep down rats and mice and such… and I will let them alone as long I am aware of their presence. But coming upon one unexpectedly scares me to no end! I don’t doubt that my hair might actually stand on end… I’d bet I look like I have an afro if any one were to be looking at me instead of the snake! And needless to say, I have a whole slew of ‘snake’ stories I could tell besides this one. But let me see if I can briefly tell just one more.

When I was eight or nine, and we were still living in the little town of Hartford, I had two sets of relatives on mom’s side living in Pike County… one on a farm near Nebo, and another in Pittsfield. One weekend, the ones in Pittsfield had brought their boat and put into the Illinois River somewhere south of Kampsville, and we had all spent the day taking turns boat-riding up and down the river. As dusk approached, we had packed up and were driving together back to Pittsfield, when we stopped at where one of the springs came out of the bluffs, back then. Someone had made-up a small basin at the bottom of the bluff where the water could collect, and there was a glass there for anyone who wished to have a drink of clear, cool spring water. (Could you imagine doing that today, in our ‘antiseptic’, ‘don’t-share-anything’, ‘don’t-touch-anything’ society?) There was a small ledge jutting out in front of a small opening in the rockface, and an 8-or-9-year-old Steve was sitting on it when suddenly everybody around me got real quiet. “Steve,” someone said softly. “Stand up real slow and move over this way.” I stood up and turned around to see what was going on. That ‘opening’ in the rock went back about three feet and made a bend. There, looking directly at me, was the head of a copperhead looking around the corner trying to figure out if I was a threat or not! I didn’t run or scream or anything… I kept my cool, walked to the car, got in… and locked the doors! At least I was safe!

Not so for those facing John’s words in today’s verses! John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him… “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”

Adam Clarke calls this a “terribly expressive speech. These people were a serpentine brood, from a serpentine stock. As were their fathers, so were they children of the wicked one. This is God’s estimate of a SINNER.”

The Life Application Commentary reminds us that, “John was the first prophet Israel had heard in over four hundred years. When news spread that a prophet was preaching in the wilderness, crowds came out to hear him, and apparently many also believed his message and came for baptism. This baptism represented repentance from sin. This sample of his preaching sounds harsh; Matthew tells us that John spoke these words specifically to “Pharisees and Sadducees,” distinguished men who had come to John not to be baptized but simply to find out what was going on. John called them a brood of snakes (Jesus also used this term, conveying how dangerous and cunning these religious leaders were and suggesting that they were Satan’s offspring). John asked them, “Who warned you to flee God’s coming judgment?” The Jews, and especially their self-righteous religious leaders, applied God’s judgment to the Gentiles; John warned that judgment was coming on them. John’s astonishing frankness made him popular with the people but unpopular with the religious establishment. Anyone, religious leader or member of the crowd, who was open to John’s message, found repentance, baptism, and readiness for the coming Messiah. Those who rejected him faced this stunning accusation for their hard-heartedness.”

You see, most Jews felt like they had the ‘inside track’ on God! God had made His covenant with Abraham, and they were all children of Abraham… “Believing that they inherited the blessing of God through Abraham,” the Wycliffe Bible Commentary points out, “they trusted in their descent from him to bring them salvation. John the Baptist warned them that, if He wanted, God could make the very stones to become descendants of Abraham.” He told them that the ax was, “already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Those who listened… those who truly heard what he was saying… understood, and were frightened! “What should we do then?” they asked. His answer to them applies to all of us even today… if you have extra clothes or food, share with those who have none… never try to extort money or collect more than you should from anyone… these should be very obvious to everyone… but do we all do them? Do you know of any children who might need your help this Christmas? Are there people and families who might go hungry? Are there any you know who might be discouraged or ill, or lonely, or frightened, or lost and need a helping hand, or even just some encouragement? Are you doing all that you can to help them in whatever way you can?

And what about you? When you’re feeling lonely or down or overwhelmed, are you seeking God and asking for His help and encouragement? In Philippians 4, starting with verse 4, we read, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again — rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

This is the third Sunday of Advent. And as on the last two, we are anticipating the coming of Christ… both as a child born on Christmas Day and as the Savior returning to gather His sheep into the fold. In the last of today’s verses, Luke writes, “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Just as I mistook the snake that I saw for a cobra because of the way it acted, many back then looked at the words and actions of John the Baptist and mistook him for the promised messiah. We today know that John was not the Christ, but the Messenger… the preparer for the Christ. And just as those people in that time were anticipating the coming of the Messiah, we today are also anticipating Him. But where they were anticipating the start of His ministry, and all that that was to entail, we are anticipating His triumphal return! And as Luke says, “His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Are you ready for that coming? Are you ready to be gathered in… to be part of the harvest… or will you be winnowed out as chaff and burned in the unquenchable fire? Are you anticipating the return of the Lord… or are you dreading it? Let us all remember the words that we heard during this mornings’ lighting of the Advent candles… “May the joyful promise of your presence, O God, make us rejoice in our hope of salvation. O come, O come, Emmanuel.”

Another in my ‘series’ of ‘Live’ recordings of my ‘talks’ from way-back-when…

THIS one was given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on December 8, 2002, and the Scripture is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, verses 1 – 8…

As I say In the video, this was one of my very Early ‘talks’, and I often quoted quite-a-bit from various sources when I felt THEY did a perfectly Fine job of saying what I Wanted to say!!

Many of you know how I put together the monthly newsletter, ‘The Circuit Rider’, for the Wesley Chapel UMC (outside of Jacksonville, IL) for a number of years at the turn-of-the-century!

This is the article I wrote for the December 2000 issue…

“That Printer of Udell’s”, by Harold Bell Wright…

The Scripture is from Matthew 25: 31-46, and was given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on November 24, 2002

          In 1907 Harold Bell Wright published a story titled ‘Shepherd of the Hills’. I’m sure that most of you here have heard of it, and many of you may have even read it or seen the play as it has been performed for almost fifty years at the amphitheatre outside of Branson, MO.  Eleanor and I had an opportunity this September to do just that.

          We have been there before, but it was many years ago, so after we bought our tickets on-line a few days before we left, we were looking forward to the included dinner, Inspiration Point, and tour of the site. On that tour we stopped in the bookstore, which was also a Harold Bell Wright Museum. While there we learned some very interesting facts about Mr. Wright. It is true that he was a minister, himself, and had come to that area for several summers in the late1800’s, where he met and befriended many of the people that he used as models for the characters in his book. But what I learned that I didn’t know before was that ‘The Shepherd of the Hills’ was not his first book…indeed it was his 5^th or 6^th! In fact, his first book started out to be a series of sermons that he intended to present in story form and wound up combining under one cover. It was titled ‘That Printer of Udell’s’. When it became a best seller, he realized that he could probably reach more people with his writing than he could with his sermons, and began writing in earnest.

          I bought a copy of ‘That Printer of Udell’s’ and read it. And if I could, I would buy a copy for every person that I know and see that they read it, as well. The book was published in 1902…one hundred years ago! And yet, except for the ‘time sensitive’ things such as locations, names and technologies, it could have been written last week!

          To condense it very briefly, the main point of the story is how the ‘Christians’ in their fine church buildings and society functions would not even acknowledge the less fortunate around them. Even when one progressive preacher tries to point out that Christ had told them that they were, indeed, their brother’s keeper, the members’ opinions were that he should “preach to us sermons that we want to hear! That, or find out just who is paying your salary!” In the story, there were many ‘good’ men who refused to become ‘Christians’ because the only ‘Christians’ that they knew were the hypocrites who attended each service but considered the church as being only for them…no outsiders wanted or allowed…and especially those who were not ‘society’ friendly!

          By the end of the book, the ‘good men’ of the story had all come to see what Christ had intended Christianity to be and had accepted Him and His church…and were working to make the changes in it that were needed, much to the chagrin of those who just didn’t understand why things couldn’t stay the way they always had been.

          Since the book was such a huge seller at the turn of the century, I’m sure that all of the problems that were addressed in it were straightened out, right?

          Let’s move forward sixty years and see what we find. In the mid 1960’s the singing duo of ‘Simon and Garfunkel’ began hitting the charts with a number of songs. Paul Simon wrote most of the words for their music and has been acknowledged as one of the most gifted lyricists of that time. Indeed, my sophomore English class studied some of his songs as poetry! Let me read you the words from a song on their album, ‘Sounds of Silence’. It’s entitled ‘A Most Peculiar Man’.

He was a most peculiar man

That’s what Mrs. Reardon said and she should know

She lived upstairs from him

She said he was a most peculiar man

He was a most peculiar man

He lived all alone within a house

Within a room within himself

A most peculiar man

He had no friends he seldom spoke

And no one in turn ever spoke to him

‘Cause he wasn’t friendly and he didn’t care

And he wasn’t like them

Oh no he was a most peculiar man

He died last Saturday

He turned on the gas and he went to sleep

With the windows closed so he’d never wake up

To his silent world and his tiny room

And Mrs. Reardon says he has a brother somewhere

Who should be notified soon

And all the people said “What a shame that he’s dead

But wasn’t he a most peculiar man?”

          Well, it would seem that sixty years didn’t bring much change in the world if this was the way people were still thinking about one another! Let’s move forward another thirty years and try a different writer. In 1989 Phil Collins wrote and released a song called ‘Another Day In Paradise’. Let me read the main words from that song to you.

She calls out to the man on the street

“Sir can you help me?

It’s cold and I’ve nowhere to sleep.

Is there somewhere you can tell me?”

He walks on, doesn’t look back

He pretends he can’t hear her

Starts to whistle as he crosses the street

Seems embarrassed to be there.

Oh, think twice, cause it’s another day for you and me in Paradise

Just think about it.

She calls out to the man on the street

He can see she’s been crying

She’s got blisters on the soles of her feet

She can’t walk but she’s trying.

Oh think twice, cause it’s another day for you, you and me in Paradise

Just think about it

Oh Lord is there nothing more anybody can do? Oh Lord, there must be something you can say

You can tell from the lines on her face

You can see that she’s been there

Probably been moved on from everyplace

Cause she didn’t fit in there

Oh think twice, it’s just another day for you, you and me in Paradise

Just think about it.

          To me, the message that Jesus gives us in these verses today is among the most important in the whole Bible…indeed, I have quoted them on a number of occasions to help make a point about other lessons. Their meaning and intent are as clear as a star-filled night, and yet, if we listen to these other words that have been written over the last century, it would seem that no one has ever paid any attention to them!

          C. S. Lewis once wrote, “The rule for all of us is simple: do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did.” Since the beginning of time people have cussed and discussed the fate of those less fortunate than themselves. But sadly, that’s usually as far as it goes. And I would say that, while we may have made progress in accepting our fellow travelers down this road of life as equals, we still have a long ways to go in acting upon their needs!

Throughout the Bible God’s people have been instructed on how to help and deal with the poor. In the 22^nd chapter of Exodus we are told not to take advantage of the needy. The 25^th chapter of Leviticus says that we are not to charge interest or make a profit on food sold to them. Deut 14 teaches that every third year the tithe was to be given to poor people, while Deut 15 and the 6^th chapter of Matthew instruct us to give generously to the poor. And Jesus tells us many times, including here, to show concern for the needy.

So the fact of the matter is that we DO know what to do. And in the fourth chapter of the book of James we’re told that, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”, while 2^nd Corinthians reminds us that, “…we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” It is just that simple.

This week our country takes one special day to thank God for all that He has done in our lives. And we all have so very much to be thankful for! If we take the time to truly reflect on our lives and all that we have, it becomes so apparent that EVERYTHING that we have we have through the grace of God! So I would like for each of you, sometime between now and sitting down with your families for your Thanksgiving feast, to take just FIVE MINUTES to spend quietly with God and think about what your life and how much God has been a part of it! The clothes that you wear, the food that you eat, the roof over your head…all come as the result of God’s blessing you with the ability to provide for yourself and your family. The freedoms and privileges that we have living in this country were all brought about by men and women who have tried to make the world more like how they think God wants it to be. And even the very air that we breath…the warmth from the sun…the life-bringing rain…all of the elements that come together on this planet in such a manner so as to sustain us and give us life…are all part of God’s plan for humankind.

We are blessed! We are blessed many times over! And it is entirely fitting and proper to thank and praise God for those blessings. But as we sit and enjoy some of those blessings this Thursday…feast and family…let us not forget all of those who may not be able to be quite so joyous. For, even though we may not ever actually see Jesus hungry and be able to give Him something to eat…we may not ever see Him thirsty and give Him something to drink…we may never see Jesus in need of clothes or sick or in prison…but… whenever we help any of those who are suffering from any of these things, or any of the other countless ways to suffer that our world seems to have come up with, we ARE helping Him! That is what He is telling us in these verses! Are we listening?