Sermon Luke 2:22-39 “People in the Church”

 Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon Luke 2:22-39 “People in the Church”
December 27, 2020

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This is the first Sunday in the season of Christmas.   Christmas is a period of 12 days when we remember the birth of our savior.  Today is the third day of Christmas when, according to a popular song, you should have received from your true love, three french hens.  On this glorious day, let’s begin in prayer.

Heavenly Father, I ask that all of your blessings pour down on the Presbyterian Church of Easton on this first Sunday of Christmas.   Allow us to enjoy your presence with us as Immanuel.   Fill us with your Spirit.   And join us in the celebration of your Son’s birth.   This we pray in Jesus’ glorious name.   Amen.

The church consists of people.   Each person in the church is given specific gifts from God.  These gifts are used together to do what churches do.   New members of a church are constantly bringing new gifts into the church.  Long-term members have shared many gifts over the years.  Today we will look at two long-term members of the church.  Their names are Anna and Simeon. 

Luke 2:22-39   22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"),  24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."  

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.  27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,  28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 

 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,  31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,  32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."  

33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him.  34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against,  35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."  

36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,  37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.  38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 

 39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 

Let’s start by looking at Anna.  You could find Anna in the temple at any time.  She was there day and night.  She must have loved talking to all those people who came for temple sacrifice.  Obviously she loved to talk.  Luke says that she talked with everyone there.  And she loved to tell stories.  She told Mary and Joseph about her father, and tribe, and about her husband who lived just seven years.  In addition to telling stories she spent a great deal of her time fasting and praying.  

When you spend enough time in prayer something happens to you.  You begin to develop a relationship with God.  God speaks to you.  And you can discern God working in the community around you.  This is what has happened to Anna.  She has spent so much time in prayer that she now sees God at work everywhere she looks.  Other people have begun to recognize Anna’s ability.  They call her a prophet.

Churches need prophets like Anna.  They need people who have been in the church for a long time and remember all the old stories.  Churches need people who pray a lot and come to the church often because over time these people develop the skills a church needs to see God at work in the world.  The Presbyterian Church of Easton is blessed with prophets, members who have been here so long, have prayed for the church year after year, and therefore can see God at work in Easton.  

Now let’s turn to Simeon.  Simeon is a worker at the temple. Simeon is not a priest, but he is there for Mary’s purification after childbirth.  Luke tells us that Simeon was “righteous and devout”.  My guess is that he has been doing things around the temple for years.  Maybe he sang in the choir when he was a kid.  Maybe, over the years, he had fixed the church’s refrigerator or gathered food for the poor.  When you spend enough time doing things around the church something begins to happen.  According to Luke, Simeon was filled with the Holy Spirit.  

Churches need people like Simeon.  Not only do they do much of the work around the church like picking up supplies, leading the choir, teaching the kids, or passing out food, but they also begin to understand where God is leading the church.  With Simeons in the church we know where we have been and where we are going.  Simeons are needed when change occurs in the church because their steady hands and long experience guide the church into an uncertain future.  

A church is blessed by God when Annas and Simeons are present because they see what God is doing in the world and they know where the church is headed.  

Now let’s turn to Mary and Joseph.  We all know Mary and Joseph.  These are Jesus’ parents.  We have just come through Advent when the church talks about these two a lot.   But let’s look closely at these two because they have undertaken a long and difficult road to get themselves to the Jerusalem temple.  

If you asked Mary and Joseph, “where are you from?”  they would probably answer, “Nazareth”.  But if you pressed them a little they would say “Bethlehem”.  My home is here in Easton.  But it would not take long for you to find out that my home is really Northern Virginia.  That is where I grew up and where my Dad lives.  I have only been in Easton for a few months.

So, why did Mary and Joseph live in Nazareth not Bethlehem?  Why did they move so far away?  The king at that time was Herod.  Herod wanted his kingdom to be not just a province of Rome, but a rival to the splendor and majesty of Rome.  He embarked on massive building programs.  The Jerusalem Temple doubled in size and he built a palace for himself right next to it.  Around 4 BC a city was being built in the far north province of Galilee called Sephorous.  Workers were needed from all over the kingdom.  Some of the workers on this city settled in a nearby town called Nazareth.  Mary and Joseph were probably the children of the immigrant construction workers who settled there.

As immigrants Mary and Joseph were subject to harsh government policies.  According to Luke all immigrants were required to return home to be registered.  We often think of this as a census, Mary and Joseph had to fill out a few forms.  But in reality it was more like deportation.  They were forced to make the long difficult trek all the way back to Judea and their home town of Bethlehem.  Compounding their problems was Mary’s pregnancy which had entered the ninth month.  After arriving in Bethlehem the couple could not find a place to stay and slept with animals.  Mary gave birth to a son and placed him in a stone animal feeding trough we call a manger.  But Mary and Joseph remained observant Jews and had their son circumcised according to law, and now they have taken the Samaritan route back home so that Mary could have her ritual cleansing, a month after giving birth to a son, in the Jerusalem temple.

We have families like Mary and Joseph living here in Easton.  Some are poor.  Some have difficulty finding jobs especially in a Pandemic.  They struggle to pay rent and utilities.  Many are hispanic or mixed race.  I wonder if we would welcome a family like this into our church the way Simeon and Anna welcomed Mary and Joseph into their church.  

I recently met with the leader of the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center.   He told me that 60% of Easton schools are hispanic.   And he has a very popular Cub Scout troup for hispanics boys and girls in our community.   The Boy Scouts that meet here on Thursdays are part of this. 

So we are a church of Annas and Simeons in a community of Marys and Josephs.  For this church to thrive in this neighborhood it must be a church that brings Mary and Joseph together with Simeon and Anna.  Let's open our doors and welcome the community in.  

I can remember a Christmas Eve several years ago.  Two men who had never been to church came in for an evening service and stayed for dinner.   One of the men told me that he had grown up in that community and played basketball in the church’s gym.  In the 1970s when the community began to change and became more Hispanic his family moved away.  He returned to the neighborhood recently, and came to church for the first time. Sitting next to him at dinner was a man who came to the community in the 1970s from El Salvador.  I realized that these two had feared each other for decades.  But that night they worshiped and ate together.  What brought down the walls that divided these two?  It wasn’t me or the beautiful music or even the food.  What united these two men was Jesus Christ who, since he was just one month old, has been bringing diverse people together into church.

When Simeon saw Mary and Joseph bring their baby into the temple he realized that everything had changed.  Simeon had been waiting for Israel’s messiah, a messiah who would come and overthrow the Romans restoring the Davidic dynasty to Israel.  But as he looked at the one-month-old Jesus, old Simeon knew that the messiah had come, but not to overthrow Rome.  No, the messiah had come as a savior for all people, of all nations.  The messiah was going to reveal God not just to Jews, but also to the Gentiles as well, including the Romans.  This was a revolutionary thought.  Christ had come not to throw the Romans out but to bring them into the worship of Israel’s God.  

As the church of Jesus Christ we are about the business of breaking down walls. Here in Easton we have an excellent opportunity to see what Christ can do with a church that removes the walls that separate people.  This is not our church or their church.  This is Jesus’ church, and Jesus is the messiah for all people from all nations.  Christ has come to unite us in one faith, one church, Mary and Joseph and Anna and Simeon worshiping together in one place one God.  Let’s pray with Simeon.

Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace:
your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people;
A light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel. Amen.

Sermon Isaiah 9:2-7 “The Light Has Shined”

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon Isaiah 9:2-7 “The Light Has Shined”

Presbyterian Church of Easton

December 24, 2020

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This is the Eve of Christmas.  Our wait for the coming of Immanuel, God with us, is almost over.  Five candles are lit on the Advent wreath.  The amount of light the wreath gives off has been increasing each week as we prepare ourselves to walk in the glory of God.  Tonight we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Light of the World.  We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

Father in Heaven we long for the day when you will be Immanuel, God with us.  We have been waiting so long, walking in darkness, and hoping for your light.  Come quickly and bless us with your presence.  We pray all of this in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Nineteen years ago, I boarded a train at Union Station in Washington DC bound for New York City.  I arrived in midtown Manhattan at Penn Station and dropped my bag at a nearby hotel.  Then I began to walk down Fifth Avenue toward Wall Street.  It was a long walk and I could have taken the subway or taxi, but I needed some time to think and pray.  So I began the long walk buried deep in the canyons of skyscrapers that make up New Your City.

That day, I was walking in darkness as was much of our nation.  Just a few months before, on September 11, 2001, two groups of terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center.  Another group flew a plane into the Pentagon.   Another plane was forced down by its passengers in Pennsylvania.  We all watched as those towers fell to the ground.  And now I was in New York walking slowly to the site where those buildings once stood.  

In December,  we are all walking in darkness.  The nights are long, we have just passed the Winter Solstice, the day each year when, because of the tilt of the earth, the northern hemisphere experiences the shortest days and the longest nights of the year.  But coinciding with the Winter Solstice is Christmas where we place our hope in the coming light.   So as we walk in darkness, Christ gives us light, the glory of God as a lamp to our feet.

As I walked down Fifth Avenue on the afternoon of the Winter Solstice I realized that I was seeing a great light.  Normally the sunset cannot be seen from the streets of Manhattan because of the great height of the buildings.  But the streets have been designed in such a way that the avenues point in the direction that the sun sets on the shortest day of the year.  So as I walked south on Fifth Avenue the sun was setting directly in front of me, all the way to the horizon, filling the canyons of New York City with amazing light.  On the shortest day of the year, the people of Manhattan receive the maximum amount of sunlight.  So while I walked in the darkness of the tragedy of 9-11, I saw the great light of God’s creation setting before me.

A group of shepherds was caring for their sheep.   It was a very dark night.  But, suddenly, they saw a great light.  It was God’s glory coming from heaven to earth.  Angels were dispatched from heaven to tell them not to be afraid.   They followed God’s command to see a baby lying in a manger.   And they told everyone they met about the glorious light they had seen.

Walking in darkness is not unfamiliar to us.  We have all walked in darkness not knowing what the doctor will say, not knowing if we have enough to pay the bills, not knowing if the ones we love will stay with us.  We live in the darkness of a virus that has killed many and a shutdown that has affected the livelihood of so many Americans.  In darkness, we walk in fear, guilt, and loneliness thinking that maybe God has abandoned us.

The people of the 8th Century before Christ in Jerusalem certainly walked in darkness.  The hated Assyrians had destroyed Aram and Israel, their neighbors to the north.  Their king Ahaz polluted the temple in Jerusalem by permitting the worship of Assyrian gods.  God seemed to have abandoned them and with the absence of the glory of God in Jerusalem, the people walked in darkness.  

The prophet Isaiah ben Amoz, the great prophet of God who wrote the first 39 chapters of the Book of Isaiah, spoke into the darkness of his time.   Here is what he said.

Isaiah 9:2-7   2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined.  3 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.  4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.  5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.  6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah predicted that a young woman would conceive and bear a son who would be called Immanuel, God with us.  This boy was born, And as he grew the people placed their hopes and fears on him, a descendant of David.  They hoped that this child, Hezekiah, would return the Glory of God to Jerusalem.  And with the death of King Ahaz this eleven-year-old child was about to be crowned king.

The prophet Isaiah was there for the coronation and witnessed the great joy of the people.   It was the same joy they had experienced when the harvest was brought in, the same joy they felt whenever peace replaced war.  The people felt this joy because young Hezekiah had great faith in the LORD, his God.  They called him “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  And they believed that Hezekiah would bring the nation endless peace because he would rule, as God wanted, with paramount concern for the poor, and the widows and orphans.  They hoped that if Hezekiah would rule with justice and righteousness then peace would reign, because God would mobilize the army of heaven to defend them against their enemies.  With Immanuel coming to the throne, even as a little boy named Hezekiah, the glory of God had finally returned to Jerusalem and the people who had walked in darkness for so long finally saw a great light.

We too, as we walk in darkness, are searching for a great light.  Maybe this light is the light of Saturn and Jupiter joining together in the night sky, or the light of the sun on the Winter Solstice, the light of the child Hezekiah, or the light of the candles burning here today.  All of these may point us to the light, but they are not light.

The light we are searching for came into the world two thousand years ago.  He was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, and was baptized by his cousin John in the river Jordan.  He began his ministry in the region of Galilee.  He is the light we have all been looking for.  Listen to these words from the Gospel of Matthew.

 Matthew 4:13-1613 (Jesus) left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea …14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: … 16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."

The light the prophet Isaiah was looking for, the light we who walk in darkness are looking for, is Jesus Christ.  In Jesus Christ, the light of the world has come.  This is what we celebrate at Christmas.  Even though we walk in the darkness we have the Christmas hope that the light of Christ will shine in our lives.  

As I made my way down Fifth Avenue in New York I realized, as I felt the warmth of the sun on my face, that God was with me.  The great darkness that I had experienced was lifted and I experienced joy for the first time in months.  As a result of this experience, I decided to make some changes in my life.  I wanted to be closer to my church where I was becoming more involved as a Bible teacher.  I sold my home and moved into the city a mile from my church.  I took a part-time job at the Washington National Cathedral and lived in an apartment across the street so I could pray there whenever I wanted.  All of this prepared me for a decision a year later to go to seminary and pursue ordination in the Presbyterian Church.  While walking in darkness on the Winter Solstice I saw a great light that led me to Jesus Christ.

This is my Christmas wish for you.  That no matter what darkness you are passing through right now, the light of Christ will fill you with God’s love and the assurance that God is with you no matter what happens.  This is the message of the Book of Isaiah that whatever is past is over and we can now celebrate with great joy the coming of Immanuel, God with Us.  Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, Happy Birthday!  We thank you for being the light of our lives.   We thank you for being with us as we deal with a virus and a lockdown.   We thank you for being with us so that we are never alone.   Basking in your light we pray.  Amen.

Grace and Peace Episode 16

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Grace and Peace Episode 16
Presbyterian Church of Easton
December 15, 2020

Watch Episode 16

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

Heidelberg Catechism

31Q.  Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”?

A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance; our only high priest who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.

32Q.  But why are you called a Christian? 

A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for eternity.

Jesus is the Christ.  The word ”Christ” is the English version of the Greek word Χριστός, which means the “anointed one”.  It is a translation of the Hebrew word ישו, which in English is “Messiah”.   So Christ and Messiah mean the same thing, the anointed one.  In ancient times people who be anointed as a sign that God had chosen them for important work.   Prophets, priests, and kings all anointed.  

We read this in the 133 Psalm.  How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!  It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.  The psalmist here describes the anointing of a High Priest with lots of oil poured on his head.

The Jews longed for an Anointed One to come and save them.   Jesus arrived as the anointed one, the messiah they had been waiting for.  And so Jesus is called the Christ.   And all who follow him as their Lord are called Christians. 

But Jesus was not anointed with oil.   He was anointed with the Holy Spirit.   We read in Luke 3:21 … when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased.”

Let’s pray.   Heavenly Father, as you did for Jesus, anoint us with your Holy Spirit.  Bless us with the power to do what you want us to do in this world.   We ask this in the name of Christ, our Lord.   Amen.

Sermon Isaiah 61:1-11 “The Spirit is Upon Me”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon Isaiah 61:1-11 “The Spirit is Upon Me”
December 13, 2020

Watch today's worship service.

We have arrived at the third Sunday of Advent and are continuing in our study of The Book of Isaiah.  So far in Advent, we have heard two voices emerge from this most important book.  We have heard the voice of a poet with the people of God in exile after the Babylonians destroyed their city early in the sixth century before Christ.  And we have heard from the voice of a preacher accompanying the people of God as they returned to their destroyed city at the end of the sixth century.  The common question that was being asked was, Is God still with us?  And the answer that is given throughout the book is the Hebrew word “Immanuel” which means, “Yes God is with us.”  

We have the same question as we approach Christmas, “Is God still with us?”  And the answer still rings true from The Book of Isaiah, Yes! God is with us.

We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.  Lord Immanuel, we await your coming at Christmas.  Prepare our hearts to receive you.  Open our minds and our hearts to believe in you that you are truly God with us.  Amen.

When the preacher arrived in Jerusalem with the people of God after being freed from Babylonian captivity by a decree from the Persian King, Cyrus, he saw the ruins of his beloved city.  All that remained was a pile of rocks and the people Babylon did not want: the poor, the sick, the homeless, the disabled, and the aged.  

Who could blame them for wondering if returning to Jerusalem was worth all the trouble?  At least in Babylon, the exiles had jobs, homes, and food on the table.  In Jerusalem they have nothing.  

The marginalized had heard the poet years before declaring God’s decree of comfort but as yet nothing had happened.  Something dramatic was needed to convince the people that God had truly returned to Jerusalem and was with them.  So the preacher stood on the ruins of the temple and spoke these words.

NRS Isaiah 61:1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;  2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;  3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory. 

The preacher announced that he had been anointed by God; that means that he was the anointed one, the Messiah, the Christ.  This anointing gave him the authority to speak on behalf of God.  The spirit was also upon him so that he could speak as a prophet giving God’s word to God’s people.

The preacher told them that he had brought good news from God, very good news.  He was there to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  All of the people knew exactly what this meant.  The law of Leviticus mandates that every fifty years a jubilee should be called as God’s way of ensuring justice for all people.  Every fifty years all debts were forgiven and all people were permitted to return to their ancestral homes.  So if you were a poor widow who was forced to sell your land for food, in the fiftieth year you got your land back.  If you were disabled and had to mortgage your land to survive, at the jubilee your mortgage disappeared.  So the preacher was telling everyone to return to their homes and rebuild because all of their debts were forgiven and their land was restored.

Restoring the land to the people was God’s offer.   But God wanted something in return.   Listen to the preacher as he tells the people what they are to do.

 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. 

So the people were told to rebuild their city.   And God promised that if they were obedient they would be richly blessed.  Listen to the blessings the preacher proclaimed.

 5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;  6 but you shall be called priests of the LORD, you shall be named ministers of our God; you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you shall glory.  7 

God was promising great prosperity.   Jerusalem’s position in international trade will be restored.  Then the preacher explained to the people why God was blessing them.   Hear what he said.

7 … Because their shame was double, and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot, therefore they shall possess a double portion; everlasting joy shall be theirs.  8 For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.  9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed. 

So God will forgive all the evil they have done.   All their guilt and shame will be lifted.   God will do this to display his glory to the whole world.  And God’s people will experience great joy. 

How can people know that all of this is true?   It seems too good to believe.  So the preacher gave his testimony.   He told them how he has already experienced God’s grace in his life.  And he shared this with the people.

 10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

This was God’s promise.   Let’s hear what happened.  Eventually, Jerusalem was rebuilt but it was never fully restored to its former glory.  The Persians, the Greeks, and later the Romans occupied and controlled it.  The people prayed for the day when another preacher would come, be anointed by God, and proclaim another jubilee year.  They waited for the day when the poor, the homeless, the mentally ill, the aged, the widows, and the orphans would return to their ancestral land as God had promised.  

Then one day, in the first century, a young rabbi from Nazareth preached his first sermon.   He chose for his text that morning Isaiah 61.  He had been proclaiming good news to the marginalized people of Galilee.  Listen to what happened.

Luke 4:16-21   16 When (Jesus) came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,  17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:  

18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,  19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  

20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  21 Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Like the preacher four hundred years before, Jesus was claiming to be the anointed one, the Messiah, the Christ.  Jesus was claiming that the Spirit of God had come to him, giving him the authority of a prophet.  And with that authority, Jesus had come to proclaim good news to the poor.  This good news was a year of jubilee.  The people had suffered enough for their sin.  It was time to lift the guilt and shame from their shoulders.   It was time for God’s blessings to pour down on his people.

That is God’s offer to us in the new covenant.   God will bless us with forgiveness.   Our guilt and shame will be lifted.  All of God’s blessings will pour down on us.   This is the gift God gives us at Christmas.  

That is the promise God gives us.  What is our side of the covenant?  What are we supposed to do?  We are not here to rebuild Jerusalem from rubble.   But we are to build something.  Our job is to build the Kingdom of God.   And in God’s kingdom, we declare a jubilee.   The guilt and shame that bows everyone down will be lifted.   And we will experience great joy.

So let’s put 2020 behind us.   Let us put the virus, violence in our cities, and a contentious election in the rearview mirror.   Let us look ahead to the glorious blessing God will pour down on us as we focus not on ourselves but on our faithful savior, Jesus Christ.   Let’s pray.  

Father in heaven, we thank you for all the blessings that you have poured down upon us.  We will respond by proclaiming to the world all that you have down for us.  And we will proclaim the good news to the poor in our community.  We will do this because it will allow your glory to shine everywhere on earth.  We pray all of this in the name of our coming Lord, Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace Episode 15

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
December 8, 2020

Episode 15 Video

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

Heidelberg Catechism

29Q.  Why is the Son of God called “Jesus,” meaning “savior”?

A. Because he saves us from our sins, and because salvation should not be sought and cannot be found in anyone else.

30Q.  Do those who look for their salvation in saints, in themselves, or elsewhere really believe in the only savior Jesus?

A. No.   Although they boast of being his, by their actions they deny the only savior, Jesus.  Either Jesus is not a perfect savior or those who in true faith accept this savior have in him all they need for their salvation.

We can never make ourselves right with God.   Sin stains us so completely that there is nothing we can do to bleach out the spot.  

In order to be set right with God and bleach away the sin that stains us, we need a savior.   Maybe our money will save us, but inflation could eat away at our savings.  Maybe our health will save us, but as we age our health declines.  Maybe science will help us, but science seems to create more problems than it solves.  It seems that money, health, and science are really not saviors at all.

But there is a savior we can depend on:  a savior that will not go up and down with the stock market, a savior that will not flee as we age, a savior that will not promise the world but deliver little.   Who is this savior?

The only savior that qualifies is God, and the name of this God is Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel.   If we take the first two letters of this name, “Ya”,  and add the Hebrew word for a savior, “shua”  and put them together we get the name of our savior, “Yahshua”.   And in English, we pronounce “Yashua” as “Jesus”.   “Jesus” literally means God is our savior.  

In the first century, there were many men in Israel named “Jesus”.  It was a very common name.  So which one is our savior?  We read these words of the angel Gabriel in Luke 1, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.

So who is our one and only savior?   Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, the Son of God.  Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, there are so many things we think will save us.   We put our faith in our retirement savings, faith in our health, and faith in science.   Give us faith in the one person who can save us, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Sermon Isaiah 40:1-11 “Prepare the Way of the Lord”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Isaiah 40:1-11 “Prepare the Way of the Lord”
Presbyterian Church of Easton
December 6, 2020

Worship Video

On this second Sunday of Advent, we are continuing in our study of the Book of Isaiah.  Last Sunday we heard from the preacher of the late 6th century before Christ writing as the people of God made their way back to Jerusalem.   When they saw the destruction of their beloved city they wondered if God had abandoned them.  They asked if God would ever return to Jerusalem.  They cried out for God to tear open the heavens and come down.  And in Jesus’ baptism, the heavens were torn open and the Holy Spirit came down to always be with us.

Today we will hear the decree of God concerning his people and the task given to the poet writing in the Book of Isaiah during the Babylonian exile.  But before we hear from God will you pray with me?

Lord Jesus Christ, we await your coming in glory at Christmas.  Prepare us for your arrival by filling the valleys in our hearts and setting us on the straight paths.  We ask that you comfort us with your love.  Amen.

God has convened a grand council in heaven.  All of the heavenly hosts have been summoned to God’s throne to hear God’s decree concerning his people.  All of the angels are ready to take God’s decree and proclaim it to the four corners of the world.  Everyone is ready for God to come, ascend the throne, and speak the words that will transform all of creation.

The prayers of God’s people have been pouring into heaven for years.  Some of these have been prayers of anger because God has permitted his own city, Jerusalem, and his own temple to be destroyed by the Babylonians.  Others have been prayers of disillusionment because God’s people have questioned if the God of Israel is really God, or is it time to worship Marduk, the Babylonian god instead.  Still, other prayers are of repentance; people are begging God for forgiveness and restoration of their city.  These prayers and so many more have come to heaven and now God is ready to make a new decree.

God enters the council and sits on the throne in his majesty and power and speaks:

NRS Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.  2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

God has decreed that the time of punishment for Judah’s idolatry is over.  Now, all of heaven is directed to bring comfort to God’s people.  The angels are told to stop bringing messages of condemnation and begin speaking tenderly and gently to God’s people in exile.  They are to tell the people that God has forgiven their sins, and is once again ready to bless them richly.  This is the day to put away the sackcloth and ashes and rejoice, for the Lord has come to redeem them.  God is on the way back to Jerusalem. 

The angels take this great message of hope and proclaim it to God’s people.  Hear what they had to say:

NRS Isaiah 40: 3 …"In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.  5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

All of the people of God living in exile, separated from their nation and their city and their God were symbolically wandering in the wilderness just as their ancestors had centuries before.  But as a result of God’s decree that the people should be comforted, a highway will be built from Babylon back to Jerusalem so God’s people could return home and God’s glory could return to Mount Zion, Jerusalem. Through this restoration, God’s glory would be displayed so brightly that God would be revealed to all people of all nations of the earth.

Then one of the angels saw a poet living with the exiles in Babylon.  The angel approached the poet and said:

NRS Isaiah 40: 6 … "Cry out!" 

And (the poet) replied, "What shall I cry?" 

All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field.  7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass.

The poet in the Book of Isaiah sees the suffering of God’s people in exile.  She sees how a once-great people are now servants in another land.  They are bowed over.  Their glory has faded.  Repeated proclamations from God communicated through the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel have convinced the people that the exile and destruction of Jerusalem was their fault.  Their idolatry was the reason for their suffering.  The people just can’t take another proclamation of judgment from God.

But the angel replied to the poet:

NRS Isaiah 40: 8 “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.”  

Even though the people of God have been humbled by God’s judgment the new decree must be heard and obeyed.  They need to know, and the poet needs to tell them, that God has decreed comfort for all of his people.  They are forgiven and will be restored to their city and their country.  They need to know that God is returning to Jerusalem and they have to rebuild and be ready for God’s return.  

Then the angel told the poet that she is to return to Jerusalem to proclaim to the people who remain there that God is returning:

NRS Isaiah 40: 9 “Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"  10 See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.  11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

The people who remained in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile were the poor, the mentally ill, the aged, and disabled, all the people that Babylon did not want in their city.  These marginalized people were left behind to eke out whatever kind of living they could from the rubble of the city.  It is to these people that the poet is to return proclaiming the new decree of God.  The poet is to proclaim that God is returning for them.  God will return in might to protect them from those who would do them harm.  And God will protect them, heal their wounds, and feed them just as a shepherd would care for his sheep.  This gospel of good news to the poor was the message that the angel of God wanted the poet to proclaim to God’s people in Jerusalem and to all the people of the world.

Eventually, Jerusalem and the temple were rebuilt.  By the time of King Herod, Jerusalem was a large city in the Roman Empire and the Temple had been expanded to dimensions that even exceeded the magnificent structure Solomon had built, but the poor, the mentally ill, the aged, and the disabled remained.  The God of justice and righteousness had not yet returned.  The people longed for the day when God would come like a good shepherd to care for his people.

Then one day a man appeared in the wilderness.  And like the poet before him he proclaimed the good news that God had decreed comfort for all his people and forgiveness for all who repented.   He said that the Good Shepherd was about to return to Jerusalem.  Luke talks about it in this way:

Luke 3:2-6 …the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.  3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,  4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;  6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

In Jesus Christ, God has finally returned to Jerusalem to heal the sick, clothe the naked, and feed the hungry.  In Jesus Christ, all of our sins have been forgiven.  In Jesus Christ, we have been restored and renewed and ready to rebuild our fallen world. 

So here is the good news that I have for you this morning.  God has decreed that you are to be comforted.  All of your sins have been forgiven.  Your God has come to care for you, to heal your illnesses, to give you something to eat and a place to stay.  You are to proclaim this good news of God’s love to everyone you meet.  You are to lead them out of the wilderness where they now live and bring them to new life in Jesus Christ. 

Let’s pray. Father in Heaven, we thank you for all the comfort we have received in Jesus Christ.  We thank you for feeding us and binding our wounds as our shepherd.  We thank you for forgiving our sins and restoring us to new life.  We pray all of this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Grace and Peace Episode 14

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Grace and Peace Episode 14
Presbyterian Church of Easton
December 1, 2020

View Grace and Peace Episode 14

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

Heidelberg Catechism

27Q.  What do you understand by the providence of God

A. The almighty and ever-present power of God by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty— all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.

28Q.  How does the knowledge of God’s creation and providence help us? 

A.  We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future, we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing in creation will separate us from his love. For all creatures are so completely in God’s hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved.

“All things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.”  All things?  The virus that is currently plaguing us?  Yes.  The coronavirus that has forced us into a lockdown came to us not by chance, but by God’s fatherly hand.

The reason for this is that our creator God is so powerful that God has absolute power over all things including those things that are harmful.   And our God is so loving that God uses harmful things to benefit us.

One day Jesus met a man who was blind.   Jesus’ disciples thought that this man’s blindness was a result of his own sin.   But Jesus said, “ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, … but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3).  God used this man’s blindness to demonstrate God’s own good work. 

Will God use the virus to demonstrate his goodness?  Yes!   God is already demonstrating his love through the work of his church.   The church is streaming worship services, emailing Tidbits and Kirk News, and hand-delivering printed sermons to people without internet.  God has used the virus to expand the ministry of the church.  And God is using the virus to show his love for the world, by providing us with the materials and the wisdom to make a vaccine to protect us. Thanks be to God!

God, through God’s divine providence, is in control of all things.   For this, we can be truly thankful. Happy Thanksgiving.

Let’s pray.  Heavenly Father, protect us from this virus.   Give us vaccines and treatments so that we can live normally again.   We thank you and praise you for being our sovereign God.  Amen.