Sermon Luke 2:15-20 Never Alone

Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches

Sermon Luke 2:15-20 Never Alone

December 24, 2014

Tonight is the eve of Christmas. We remember tonight another night from long ago when a young couple stayed in a stable waiting for a son to be born. We also remember tonight, that same night long ago when some shepherds working in the fields saw something amazing. We remember these things because tonight something really important is happening. Our savior is coming into the world to be with us. Let's pray.

“God of hope, peace, joy, and love, this day is so full! For children, this day is one of excitement and anticipation; for others, this day is filled with responsibilities and activity. Some are traveling this day to be with family or friends, while others spend the day quietly and alone. Be with us in all our varied circumstances and moods. I pray that I, and all those within my circles of care, will be especially attentive to the angels’ good news: that you have come to dwell among us in Jesus Christ, full of grace and truth.  In this is our great joy. Amen.”¹

Luke 2:15-20 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

I think we can all remember what Christmas was like when we were growing up. Remember how your mother's pumpkin pie, with canned pumpkin and the recipe on the side of the can, was the best pumpkin pie you ever ate. Remember how the Christmas tree at your grandparents with the old, scratched, plastic ornaments was the best Christmas tree you ever saw. And some people remember the Lexus with the big red bow. We remember Christmases of the past because we spent them with families. And we love spending Christmas with our children and grandchildren because it reminds of Christmases with our own parents and grandparents. Christmas is a time of memories and families.

As I talked with people in my churches about tonight I heard that many of them would be spending Christmas eve with their families. For some, they are traveling to be with grandchildren at Christmas. Others are anticipating that children and grandchildren will be coming here to Pocomoke. Still others will be getting together with friends tonight. But some people have to work. And some are a long way from family and will experience Christmas alone. Let's look at some people who spent Christmas alone.

First, we have a young couple, Mary and Joseph. They have traveled a long way from their homes in Nazareth. They are in Bethlehem, not because they want to be there, but because of a harsh government mandate. And evidently there is no family around to give them a place to stay. So they find themselves in a stable, alone at Christmas.

And we have some shepherds who have to work on Christmas. You don't get Christmas off when you are caring for goats and sheep. Evidently it is a warm night so they have left their cave and are with the animals in the field. It is a lonely job, caring for sheep: always searching for water and grazing land for the flock, always looking for them when they have wandered off. And so these shepherds also find themselves alone on Christmas.

You probably remember the movie from way back in 1990 called “Home Alone”. Macaulay Culkin played a young boy who had accidentally been left home while his family was traveling over Christmas. He got into a lot of trouble. It's no fun being alone at Christmas. And I'm sure you all remember what happened to Ebeneezer Scrooge when he spent Christmas Eve alone and was visited by some ghosts.

So what about us. Some of us are here with family tonight. But some of us are here alone. I have to work tonight, and won't be able to see my step-sons until Friday and my Dad next week. Since our culture expects people to be with family at Christmas, it is especially hard on people who experience Christmas alone. Spending Christmas alone is the last thing you want to do.

Last year a retired man in London took out a newspaper advertisement looking for people to spend Christmas with after nine Christmases of being alone. A woman rented an entire restaurant to give herself and 50 strangers, who also were alone at Christmas, lunch together. Hundreds of thousands of people call crisis hot lines for loneliness, depression and stress during the holidays.²

But the promise of scripture is that we will never be alone at Christmas because, at Christmas, God is with us.

The shepherds thought that they were all alone in the field at night. They didn't realize that they were part of a great heavenly worship service. But then, God's messengers appeared in the heavens singing the songs of Christmas.

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

And they proclaimed the good news:

11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

The shepherds were not alone at Christmas. God was with them. Heaven had come to earth. This is why we are in worship tonight. We have come here, to Beaver Dam Church, to experience the presence of God, and to be lifted up to heaven. This is why we, Christians, experience such great joy at Christmas. We are not alone. God is with us.

Mary and Joseph thought they were all alone on the first Christmas eve. They sat there in a stable with the animals. But then the most amazing thing happened. The savior came into the world. A baby was born and was placed in a manger. He was named Jesus. Mary and Joseph were not alone that night because God himself was with them.

The joy the shepherds experienced on that first Christmas could not be contained. It was overwhelming. They had to share it with others. So they came into town and found the stable with the newborn in the manger. Mary and Joseph and some shepherds from fields shared Jesus' first Christmas eve together as a family.

So too with us. We gather in church on Christmas eve because we are God's holy family. And just like Mary and Joseph and the shepherds we experience God's presence with us through worship. We are not alone tonight. God is with us. And this really good news. God not far away, someplace else, ready to judge us when we die. Rather God is with us in our joy and our concerns always listening to our prayers and gently guiding us by his will.

The shepherds experienced such overwhelming joy that evening they couldn't keep it a secret. They just had to tell others about the joy they found at Christmas. So they went all over town telling everyone they met that the Messiah they had been waiting for had arrived. He was Bethlehem! Tonight we experience great joy because God is with us in Pocomoke. So tomorrow let us express our Christmas joy by telling everyone the good news. Jesus, our savior, has been born to us. We will never be alone. Let us pray.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay close by me for ever and love me I pray. Amen.

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year B, Volume 1 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p42.

2http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30512529

Sermon Luke 1:26-38 The Lord Is With You

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches

Sermon Luke 1:26-38 The Lord Is With You

December 21, 2014

We have arrived at the fourth Sunday of Advent. And our wait for a savior is almost over. But as we will see the coming of the savior is dependent on one person's obedience to God. A young woman will be given an impossible task. Will she want do it? Will she be able to do it? Will she do it? We will see, but first let's pray.

Expectant God, Mary sings because she has new life in her, the promise of your salvation. Fill me with hope this day as I lift my life to you and seek to do your will. Look with favor on our world and all who are in need, that your love may be magnified as I follow humbly in your way. Amen.”¹

The story in Luke begins with an unexpected blessing. Elizabeth has wanted children all her life, but is now many years past the time when women get pregnant. But like Sarah and Hannah before her she becomes pregnant, a miracle from God. Her pregnancy is the sign that the savior is about to come. But first, an angel has an important question for a young woman. Let's listen again to the familiar story.

Luke 1”26 1 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

What we see here is something really surprising. The God of the universe, the one who made and controls everything that is, is concerned about a particular person living at a particular place and a particular time. We normally think of God as above it all. He is transcendent, in heaven, a spirit, concerned with the totality of all creation. But at Christmas we celebrate the fact that God is with us and is concerned about us, in 2014, here in Pocomoke. This is what makes our faith unique. Other religions pray to God above. Only Christians pray to God with us. And that makes all the difference in the world.

I can remember the first time I experienced God speaking through his angel to me. I was driving to church one day and thinking about my life. My business was struggling. I didn't have a girlfriend. Everything seems hopeless. As I approached the church I began to pray. I let God know of my unhappiness. I prayed in anger. But God waited until I was in the sanctuary, surrounded by believers before he spoke to me.

God dispatched a messenger, an angel, to speak with a particular young woman at a particular place and time and this is what he said.

28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

So God was not only with Mary in her house in Nazareth, but God has also chosen her for a very important mission. This is another distinctive of the Christian faith. The God of the universe has selected each one of us for a very specific purpose. God has already decided that he wants to do something with us, and will send messengers to tell us what that is. So we must listen for the voice of the angels who are trying to tell us what God wants us to do. All too often we fill our prayer times with words telling God what we want him to do. We need to spend more time listening for what God wants us to do. But, of course this will be frightening because we might not want to do what God asks us to do. So we keep talking in our prayers because if we listen we may not hear what we want.

As I sat in the sanctuary that day years ago in worship my prayers to God continued. After the prayer of confession we had an opportunity for silent prayer. At this time I stopped praying and started listening for God's response. I heard a verbal message from God. Ill tell you my reaction. But first, here is Mary's reaction as she listened to the angel.

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

So Mary is concerned. She knows that an angel has come from God. And he is bearing an important message from God. But maybe she doesn't want to hear it. Maybe it would be better to just keep on living her ordinary life rather that listen to what God has to say. We have the same reaction. We are comfortable with lives we lead. And the last thing we need is for God to come and change things. The angel was ready for this.

30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Don't be afraid Mary. Everything is going to be ok. All you have to do is to bring the savior into this world. You will conceive and bear a son named Jesus, God Help Us. He will be the Son of God and the messiah the people of God have waited for, for so long. He will establish the eternal Kingdom of God. So there is nothing for you to worry about. Everything will be ok. How would we react if God asked us to do something big like this. Would we stand up and “let's go”? Or would we run away in fear? Maybe this is why we talk all time and rarely listen to God in our prayers. We really don't want to hear what God may say.

As I sat in the sanctuary that day I heard the voice of one of God's messengers. He told me, “It's in the book.” I looked down and saw a Bible in pew rack. I opened it and saw stories I remembered from my Sunday school teachers as a kid. But as an adult I had never read them. I didn't know what the Bible said. But according to God I would find the answers to my questions and complaints in scripture.

Mary considered all that the angel had told her for a moment and then replied.

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

It's impossible. What God is asking can't be done. This is the reaction we have if we take the time to listen for God. God will give us impossible things to do. God doesn't have to ask us to do the easy stuff. He only has to send a messenger to tell us to do the hard stuff, the impossible stuff, stuff we wouldn't every try to do. Mary's argument is a good one. Why would God ask us to do the impossible?

I knew that God wanted me to study the Bible. The church had many options for Christian education, but I had never taken advantage of any of them. I was comfortable just coming to church on Sundays and anonymously sitting near the back. I was a member of the church, but never got involved in anything. But after I heard from the angel I began to do what seemed impossible before. I started to come early on Sunday mornings for a class with the SOAR Singles group. And I came on Wednesday evenings to attend a Bethel Series class. My life completely changed.

Gabriel knew that Mary's life was about to completely change. Here is what he said.

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

The reason God asked Mary to do the impossible was because he intended to give her the power to make the impossible possible. That is the promise for us. If we listen for God in our prayers and hear God tell us to do the impossible then we have the assurance that God will make the impossible possible so that we will succeed. God will give us whatever gifts we need to accomplish the task set before us.

As I attended Bible classes at church on Sundays and Wednesdays I began to sense a call from God to study and teach the Bible. I approached my pastor about being a part of a training class for teachers in the Bethel Program. I was accepted and met with this group for two years learning how to teach the Bible. Then I put together my own group and began teaching every Wednesday night. That's what I did. 

 What was Mary's response to her conversation with the angel?

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

With the assurance that God will make the impossible possible, Mary has accepted her calling to bear the savior into the world. So too with all believers. If we listen for God's voice in our prayers and hear God tell us to do the impossible then filled with the assurance that God makes the impossible possible we will accept God's call on our lives.

After four years of teaching the Bethel Series I was ready for the next step. I approached my pastor about going to seminary. Under her guidance I selected Fuller Seminary in Pasadena California and went under care of National Capital Presbytery to become a pastor. That was in 2004. If you had asked me in 1994 if one day I would be a pastor, I would have told you that you were crazy. But after hearing from God about what he wanted me to do, I have, with his help, done the impossible and become a pastor.

This Wednesday we will gather at Beaver Dam Presbyterian Church to see what happens when Mary obeys God's call and does this impossible. And in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead we will see how each of us respond to God's call and do the impossible. Let's pray.

Father in heaven, help us to listen to the voice of your messengers. Let them speak to our hearts informing us of our calling. Help us to be like Mary and accept your call on our lives. Give us the power to do the impossible. This we pray in the name of the one coming to us at Christmas. Amen.

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year B, Volume 1 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p35.

Sermon Psalm 126 Restore Our Fortunes

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam Presbyterian Church

Sermon Psalm 126 Restore Our Fortunes

December 14, 2014

I would like to begin this morning with a story. Two women got together after work one day to share a banana split on a hot afternoon. While they were eating, a homeless man, who had been drinking heavily, came over and sat down. His clothes were dirty and he smelled. He thrust out hand and demanded a dollar. The women were Christian and would ordinarily give to someone in need. But in this case they hesitated because of his aggressive demeanor. They asked him what he needed the dollar for.

He replied that he wanted some ice cream. So the women gave him not one dollar but two. But then one of the women, getting a little angry at his abrasive personality, asked him “Why don't you get a job?” He replied that he could get a job if he wanted to. Then he leaned over the table, and picked up a strawberry from their banana split.

The women were appalled. They immediately got to their feet and stormed off. But about a half a block away they suddenly had a change of heart. They entered a dollar store and picked up some some toiletries. They returned to the ice cream store and found the homeless man sitting at the table with his wife. The women gave them the bag of toiletries. The homeless couple began to cry because, unexpectedly, they had been given what they really needed. ¹

Christmas is a time for unexpected blessings. Let's pray.

Light of the world, you greet me this morning with new possibilities. Shine brightly, I pray, until I see into the dark places of this world, and into the dark places of my own life. I want to follow you in paths of justice, speak up with you for liberty, and bend with you toward the brokenhearted, even the broken places within myself. I trade in my faint spirit for your mantle of praise - and with my whole being I will rejoice in you. Amen.”²

Psalm 126: 1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

4 Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

Negev is a Hebrew word that means “south”. When it is used in the Bible it usually refers to the area just south of Jerusalem. This area is called the Negev or Southern desert. The Negev desert has little more than mountains covered by rocks and dust. Little or nothing grows there. There are river beds, called wadis, but these are usually bone dry. There is very little rain and almost nothing grows. But, very rarely, it does rain. The wadis fill up with water, and the desert blooms.

You wouldn't want to farm in the Negev desert. The seeds you plant would probably never germinate because there would be no rain and no water in the riverbeds. But suppose you were displaced from your farm near Jerusalem because of war and fled south for the safety of your family. Suppose further that you brought seed with you. And it is the time of year for planting. Would you take the risk of planting your seeds in the desert hoping, praying that God would send rain this year to make the desert bloom even if the probability of this occurring was very low?

The farmers went out to plant with tears in their eyes taking the enormous risk of planting when the possibility of harvest was almost zero. But the rains came. The wadis were filled with water. The crops grew in abundance. The desert bloomed. And the farmers reaped their harvest with songs of joy.

According to Psalmist this is what God's love is like. God's love is unexpected. We never see it coming. It is more extravagant than we ever imagined. Our only possible response to God's love is to be filled with laughter and joy. At Christmas we remember how much God loves us.

I know that many of you have little expectation of God's love for the coming year. You have health problems limiting your hope. Loved ones are suffering from chronic diseases that just don't seem to be getting any better. Parents are getting older and need help for daily living. Farmers are concerned about their farms People are concerned about heating their homes and utility bills. Families are trying to make ends meet. There isn't much joy and laughter. We seem to spend more of our time in tears.

But the hope of Christmas is that we will experience God's unexpected love. God will overwhelm us with his graciousness. We will be blessed in ways we never dreamt of.

All we have to do is plant seeds of faithfulness. Sometime we plant these seeds of faith in soil so dry it seems that they will never grow. But you will be surprised by what God does with you faith. Just plant seeds of faith with prayer, Bible study and worship and love others as God loves you and God will bless you unexpectedly.

For years I prayed for a wife and family. But my prayers fells on dry soil and never grew. By age 47 I gave up looking and decided to give the rest of my life to God. I said goodbye to family and friends and headed to California to study in seminary. I decided to plant a seed of faith to see how God would use it. My expectations were quite low. But, in my first year of seminary I met Grace. She opened to me a whole new world. I became part of a large Korean family. I had sowed seed in tears and reaped a harvest of laughter and joy.

So too can you. Whatever is keeping you down and holding you back today just plant it in the desert and watch what God does with. God will bless you unexpectedly with an abundance you have never imagined. And you will be filled with joy and laughter.

So tell the world what God has done for you. Share your testimony with others. Plant seeds of faith in the hearts of people you know. You'll be surprised with what God does with the faith you plant in others. People you believed would never come to Christ suddenly become hungry for the Word of God. The seeds you sow, expecting nothing, will grow into an abundance you can scarcely believe. All of this is because we believe in a God who loves us and blesses us unexpectedly with abundance.

Be filled with laughter and joy because at Christmas God sends an unexpected gift that is more extravagant than anything you have ever received. God's gift is better than all the gold in the world. God sends his own son to save us from our sins and promise us eternal life. What could be any better than that? Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, as we wait for your coming we have little joy and laughter. Fill us with hope that as we plant the few seeds of faith that are left that they will grow into an unexpected abundant harvest at Christmas. We ask for this blessing of hope for us and for the whole world. Amen.

1Adapted from http://www.storyharvest.org/article/267/stories/unexpected-blessing

2Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year B, Volume 1 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p30.

Sermon Psalm 85 Give Us What is Good

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Psalm 85 Give Us What is Good

December 7, 2014

Last week we talked about our need for a savior when the problems we face are too big for us to handle. We turn to God is prayer and ask him to save us. Here is a story of someone who needed a savior.

There was a young man named Tony. At age 16 Tony was doing well in school and competed in tennis at the state level. But then he discovered vodka. He loved the lifestyle of drinking and taking drugs. And Tony became violent if anyone told him to stop.

Tony's life spun uncontrollably downhill. He gave up tennis and argued a lot with his parents. He was violent at school and was asked to leave. This gave him more time to hang our with friends and party. He believed that nothing could happen to him. He thought he was immortal.

Tony began to have problems with his memory and his violence was escalating to the point where law enforcement was involved. Then he saw one of his closest friends shot dead. And finally he began to realize that the lifestyle he had chosen was a dangerous one.

Then one day, after a night of drinking heavily, Tony's right hand went numb. The numbness rose up his arm and effected his whole right side. He had difficulty talking. As he was going to the hospital he prayed to God promising to change if God would help him.

Shortly after this he went to talk with a Christian neighbor and asked what God could do for him. The neighbor told him that God would forgive everything he had done. All he had to do was confess. He was already good enough to receive God's salvation. Jesus would be his savior. All Tony had to do was to accept Jesus into his heart.

Tony accepted Jesus into his heart that day and the Holy Spirit's work of transformation began. He has permanent brain damage from the years of alcohol abuse. And he is suffering from mental illness. But now he lives filled with hope that his savior, Jesus Christ, is coming.¹

Let's pray. Lord, how I love this season of new beginnings, the opportunity to turn toward you and start again. Empower me to be a messenger of good news, and a leveling influence along the way, as I seek to be one with you in smoothing out the rough places I encounter. Amen.”²

Last week we learned that in the 8th century before Christ the northern kingdom, Israel, sent a delegation to Jerusalem to ask God to save them from the Assyrian army. But God ignored their prayers and Israel was destroyed because they never turned from their idolatry, toward the only God who could save them. Today we turn our attention southward to the nation of Judah. The Assyrian army has arrived, and is at the city gates threatening to destroy them as well. Judah will also turn to God and ask for a savior. And this time a savior will come.

Hezekiah was the king of Judah when Israel was destroyed. He removed the shrines of the pagan gods from his country, and restored the worship of their Lord God, Yahweh. He enforced the Law of Moses and told his people to be obedient to God. And so when the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem God heard the prayers of King Hezekiah. The king entered into the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple and prayed:

2 Kings 19:15-19 - ^{15b “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.} 17 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands.18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 19 Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

God delivered them from their enemies. That night a mysterious illness struck down 185,000 soldiers camped outside Jerusalem. The decimated Assyrian army limped home never to threaten Judah again. Judah responded with a prayer of thanksgiving for the God that had saved them.

Psalm 85 1You, Lord, showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2 You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. 3 You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger.

Hezekiah acknowledged and confessed that it was Yahweh, the Lord God who had saved them. It was not anything he had done. And God had acted because the people of Judah had turned away from their idols and confessed Yahweh to be the only God. As a result of the faithfulness of the people, Judah had been saved from the fate that befell the northern kingdom called Israel. God had saved them from the Assyrians. Let's go back to the psalmist.

Psalm 85: 8 I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

So God promised his people that they would live in peace because of their faithfulness to him. So too with us. If we stay faithful, God will protect us. This has been the story of America. As a nation made up by faithful Christians we have been richly blessed with peace on our soil since the civil war. But I fear that as America become less and less faithful that the protection God has given us may be withdrawn. We already see some signs with terrorism and protests in our cities. We need to turn back to God and get rid of the idols of consumerism and political power. If we do turn back to God the blessings we receive are wonderful.

10 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. 11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. 12 The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. 13 Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.

And so we rejoice this Christmas that a savior is coming. He will deal with the problems we can't solve ourselves. All we have to do is have faith in his faithfulness. Turn away from the false gods of money and power. Turn to the one true God who comes to us at Christmas as Jesus Christ. Let's pray.

Lord God we confess that we worship the gods of consumerism and power. We worship at shopping malls and online. We spend all our time accumulating and spending money. We confess our idolatry. And we turn to you, our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

1http://www.city-data.com/forum/christianity/1033507-my-story-how-jesus-saved-me.html

2Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year B, Volume 1 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p24.

Sermon Psalm 80 – Make Your Face Shine on Us

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Psalm 80 – Make Your Face Shine on Us

November 30, 2014

Today we begin the season of Advent. This is the beginning of the church year. We will spend the next four weeks getting ready for the coming of a savior. Advent will end on Christmas when we will celebrate our savior's birth.

At some point in our lives we will need a savior. Our problems will get out of hand. We won't be able to solve them. We will look to others for help but it won't be enough. And then we need a savior when there is no one else to turn to.

The list of problems we face as church are endless and growing. We have problems with ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders. We suffer from chronic pain, birth defects, and incurable diseases. We have friends and family with terminal diseases. We have broken farm equipment, dead chickens, and corn flattened by hail. We have floods, and droughts, and hurricanes which cause damage. We worry about our church, membership and finances. And are getting older every day. Sometimes we can solve our own problems. Sometimes we can solve our problems with the help of others. And sometimes we need a savior. Thankfully we have a savior who was born on Christmas. Let's pray.

Thank you, God, for the gift of life today. I give thanks that your face shines upon me for you are my salvation. Lead me like a shepherd through this day. Strengthen me for whatever lies ahead. Grant me the spiritual gifts of peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness, for I want to show your love, in word and deed, to others. In Christ’s name. Amen.”¹

In the 8^th century before Christ the people of God were divided into two nations. The southern kingdom was called Judah. It's capital was Jerusalem. And in Jerusalem was a temple for the worship of Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel. The northern kingdom was called Israel. It's capital was Samaria. The people of the northern kingdom worshiped golden calves erected by the king at religious shrines in Bethel and Dam. Israel had abandoned the worship of their God Yahweh and worshiped other pagan gods.

The northern kingdom, Israel, needed a savior. The Assyrian army arrived and encircled the capital. They were threatening to destroy the nation. Israel could not save itself. And there were no neighbors powerful enough to save them either. The gods they worshiped were completely ineffective. Thet needed someone to come and save them. They needed a savior, but who?

Then they remembered the God they had worshiped generations before. A God who had saved them in similar circumstances. Unfortunately they had abandoned this God years ago. But, maybe, he would remember his people. Perhaps this God could be persuaded to help them again. So a group was assembled to travel south to Jerusalem to ask Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, for help.

When they arrived in Jerusalem, they made their way to temple to plead their case with God. It was believe that God resided in the temple in a room called the Holy of Holies. God's throne was a box, the arc of the covenant which the people of God had carried in the wilderness for 40 years. Inside was the Law of Moses. God sat on top between the cherubim. The group from the northern kingdom evidently entered the Holy of Holies to ask God for help. This is what they said.

Psalm 80” 1-3 NIV - Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us. Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

After generations of unfaithfulness the people of the northern kingdom have finally returned to the God of their ancestors. And they ask him for his presence with them as they face the Assyrian enemy.

We have this same hope for a savior. We know the our God does not prevent problems from happening. We have too many problems to believe that. Rather than prevent problems our God promises to be with us as we face our problems. The benefit of your faith is that whatever problem you face God will be there with you. His face will shine upon you. You have a savior who will come to you aid. All you have to do is to call on him in prayer.

Then the people from Israel presented to God the prayers of their people. Let's listen.

Psalm 80: 4-7 How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful. You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us. Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

They offered up prayers to God asking that he remember that the people of the northern kingdom were still his people. They told God that his people were suffering. And therefore God's reputation would suffer when others saw the suffering of his people. God needed to come to save them to demonstrate his power to the world. Otherwise the Assyrians will defeat them and mock their God. And so they asked God to save his people and to remember what he done for them in the past.

Psalm 80:8-14a You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it. Return to us, God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see!

They reminded God that he had saved his people from slavery in Egypt and had promised them the land they now occupy. But now the very land that God had promised to them is occupied by non-believers. So they pleaded with God to uphold his end of the covenant. They begged God for his help.

Psalm 80 14c-19 Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself. Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish. Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

And so they are waiting for a savior: God's son, who sits at God's right hand and comes to earth as the Son of Man. The savior they were waiting for is the same one we long for this Advent, Jesus Christ.

Sadly, God ignored their plea and allowed the Assyrians to conquer the northern kingdom and resettle the people of Israel in other parts of their empire. God ignored their prayer. Why were their prayers ignored? I think I know why.

No where in Psalm 80 is there a confession. At no time in their prayers to God did they admit that they had done wrong by worshiping other gods at the shrines of the golden calves in Bethel and Dan. And they made no promise to stop these evil ways and return to their God. All they did was make demands on God and complain that he was not protecting them well enough. And God responded by ignoring them. God wants a confession, a change of heart, and a return of his people and didn't hear it.

So, if we want a savior to come this Christmas we must confess our sin and change our behavior from evil to good. If we confess and repent and turn to him, then God will forgive us and send us a much needed savior. And the savior we are waiting for and expect is Jesus Christ.

Father in heaven we confess that we have turn from you to worship other gods. We worship the god of consumerism which causes us to worship money by working all the time and spending all we have. We have no time left over to serve your church. And we have no money left over to support the growth of your kingdom. We confess that this is our sin. We pledge to set our priorities aright and place the worship of you at the top. This we pray in the named of the savior who came at Christmas and will come again. Amen.

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year B, Volume 1 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p20.