Sermon Isaiah 42:1-9 Christian Leadership

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon Isaiah 42:1-9 Christian Leadership

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

January 15, 2017

Today is the second Sunday in the season of Epiphany. An epiphany is an appearance of a deity. Whenever God appears to men and women we have an epiphany. And thus the appearance of God as a man named Jesus was an epiphany. We celebrate this epiphany of God on earth every year on January 6, at the end of the Christmas season. Epiphany will last until Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. During this season of Epiphany we usually look at the work and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Over the next few week we will all be experiencing changes in leadership. On the national level, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45^th President of the United States. With him will come new leaders for all departments and agencies of government. In two weeks this church will select new elders, deacons and trustees to lead us for the next year. And I expect your pastor nominating committee to have a candidate as your new pastor very shortly. So today Christian leadership is on our minds.

As Christians our role model as a leader is Jesus Christ. We can be good leaders just by imitating him. But where did Jesus learn about leadership? I think he learned leadership by studying the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. When Jesus was ordained for ministry in his baptism, God quoted Isaiah,  “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) And when Jesus preached his first sermon he also quoted Isaiah and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21) So Jesus modeled his ministry on the writings of Isaiah. He learned how to lead others from Isaiah. And so let’s turn, as Jesus did, to Isaiah to learn for ourselves how to be leaders. We will get to this, but first let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety to thy glory and our own edification.” Amen. (Calvin)

“Today, to begin, I need to tell you a story about Billy and Bobby. Billy was twelve years old and Billy was very smart. He was in all the honor’s classes and was one of the top students in his class. He was also a good musician. He played in the orchestra, sang in the choir, and played in a rock band. Billy was also an incredible athlete. He was a superstar soccer player, baseball player, basketball player, a track star and every other kind of athlete. Billy was also president of his class at high school and also president of the Luther League at church. No matter what Billy did, he was always elected president.

Now, Billy had a younger brother by the name of Bobbie, and something happened along the way to Bobbie. Bobbie was a handicapped person; he was disabled physically and somewhat intellectually. He couldn’t sing a note. He never was on an athletic team. He was never elected to anything. In school, he was in all the other classes; that is, he was always in the special ed classes for slower learners. Bobbie’s heart was full of love, but he just couldn’t do what his older brother could do. But that did not mean that Bobbie’s heart was not full of love. Bobbie was really a loving kid, but was not gifted in the way that his older brother, Billie was.

Well, one day their mother made breakfast and there were three wonderful cinnamon rolls. These were wonderful, gewy, chewy, yumscious, dripping with brown sugared syrup, freshly baked cinnamon rolls and they had just come out of the oven and they were still warm and fresh. Within seconds, each boy had devoured a cinnamon roll, when the telephone rang and the mother momentarily was distracted by the telephone call. Meanwhile, back at the breakfast table where there was one cinnamon roll left, Billy was taking charge. Billy, who was stronger, faster, smarter, more musical, more athletic, said to Bobbie, “This is my roll, brother. You are younger and I am the older and wiser and the rights belong to me. This is my cinnamon roll,” and he inhaled it. Without a thought, Bobbie starts to cry and shout and whale, and about that time, the mother gets off the telephone and rushes back to the kitchen but the telephone rings again and the mother rushes back to the phone again. The next day, it is the same song but the second verse. Three cinnamon rolls that were freshly baked, dripping with syrup. Billie is there, the older, the wiser, the smarter, the more gifted. Bobbie is also there, the younger, the weaker, the less gifted. Each swallows one roll. Bobbie again reaches for the extra cinnamon roll, and is about to inhale it, when the mother says, “Wait a minute. I am going to cut the cinnamon roll in two halves and give each one of you a half.”  …

When the mother did that, she made a judgment. The word, mishpat, means judgment. It means God’s wisdom, God’s rule, God’s law, God’s judgment…that there would be fairness  and equity within a family.

Likewise with God, God has judgments and God’s judgments always protect the Bobbies of life from the Billies of life. You have to protect the Bobbies of life from the Billies of life.

Now, that does not mean that Billie was mean. No, Billie was not mean. Billie was not cruel. Billy did not hate Bobby. No, Billie was a strong, smart, intelligent human being, who like all human beings, was selfish. And Billie was going to take more than his fair share. Billie was going to use his resources of a stronger body, a stronger mind, a stronger personality in order to take more than his fair share.

But God has designed the world in such a way that the Bobbies of the world need to be protected from the Billies of the world.“ (http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_baptism_of_jesus.htm)

Let’s now turn to Isaiah’s instructions on biblical leadership. We turn to the 42^nd chapter of Isaiah and meet the person who will be instructing us on leadership today. Let me introduce our teacher.

Isaiah 42:5 This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

So, our teacher this morning on the subject of leadership is our creator God. This God created the entire world. And this God created us and breathed life into us. This is our creator. And so we should listen to him when he speaks. And here is what he said:

Isaiah 42:6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,

The covenant God is speaking about is the one he made with Abraham. In that covenant God promised to bless Abraham and his descendants richly. And he has. God has given us a world of abundance. There is plenty of food and water. We have clothes to wear and houses to live in. We have families and friends and places to work and leisure time. Our blessings are abundant.

Our responsibility, according to this covenant is to be blessing to others. This is necessary because the abundant blessings of God are unevenly distributed. God’s justice requires that we work to distribute God’s blessing to those who don’t receive it. We to do this by bringing the blind to spiritual light, and freeing those bound to evil by proclaiming the good news that God has come into the world as Jesus Christ.

Remembering that we have been blessed by our creator so that we have blessings to share with those in need, let’s now turn to Isaiah’s teaching on leadership.

Isaiah 42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,  my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.

Christian leaders are chosen by God for this important work. And those leaders are to please God by bringing justice to the nations. We have heard this word “justice” before. “Justice is an English translation of the Hebrew word “mishpat” Whenever systems of power, whether they be government, business, academia or church, cause people to not receive the blessings God is providing them we have injustice. Christian leaders must work to change this. We are to work for justice. Justice requires that unjust systems that prevent people from receiving the blessings God intends for them must be brought down. The Christian leader must work to ensure that all people receive the blessings they are entitled to receive. Therefore the Christian leader must work for the poor and vulnerable in our society and around the world.

Let’s now go back to Isaiah to look at some of the characteristic of a Christian leader.

Isaiah 42:2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. ³ A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; ⁴ he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.  In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

The Christian leader will not be loud and boisterous. You will probably not hear him on the cable news channels. Not will a Christian leader be tweeting controversial statements. Rather the Christian leader will be seen serving the vulnerable, a bruised reed or a smoldering wick. The Christian leader will be with those who are about to give up all hope, those who have not received the abundant blessings promised by God. And the Christian leader, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will persevere ignoring setbacks and pushing forward until all of God’s blessings are distributed to the people who need them. The Christian leader will be known because the vulnerable people he works with are filled with hope.

Sadly many leaders do not heed God’s instructions. They snuff out smoldering wicks and throw the bruised reed on the trash pile. They will ignore the poor and vulnerable. They will not work to end injustice that traps people enslaving them to poverty. These are not Christian leaders and must be avoided.

Let’s return to Isaiah as see exactly what a Christian leader will do.

Isaiah 42:7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

The Christian leader will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to heal the sick and deliver the oppressed from evil. The Christian leader must therefore be a person of prayer. Christian leaders are to pray for sick asking Jesus to heal. The Christian leader will also pray for those oppressed that they will be delivered from evil. Through our prayers our expectation is for a total renewal and restoration of the world God created.

But Christian leadersmust always remember that the work of transformation is not something the leader does, but is something that God does. Let’s listen as God articulates this:

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.
⁹ See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”

So God has told us to pray and work for justice. He will use us and our work to bring about transformation and renewal. This is extremely good news for the vulnerable who live on the margins of our society.

Isaiah’s prophecy of a servant leader was fulfilled by Jesus. Jesus’ ministry was all about renewal and restoration of God’s creation. He was chosen by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. He helped the poor and marginalized in his society by reforming unjust systems. He healed the sick and cast out evil spirits. And he left behind a church to continue his work.

And so today the work of a Christian leader is to follow Jesus and do what he did in his ministry. We are to seek renewal and restoration of God’s creation. We have been chosen by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We are to work for justice for the marginalized in our society. We are to pray for healing of the sick and deliverance of those suffering from evil. We are to serve others because we have been blessed by God and God wants us to be a blessing for others. Let’s pray.

Lord in heaven, we ask that you raise up for us leaders who are concerned about justice. Bring us a pastor with compassion for the needs of the people in our community. Give us elders, deacon and trustees, who see that our work for the poor is God’s mission for us in Ocean City. Bless the Trump administration with a desire to uphold your justice. This we pray in the name of our King, the Lord Jesus. Amen.   

Sermon – Hebrew 2:10-18 – Our High Priest

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Hebrew 2:10-18 – Our High Priest

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

January 1, 2017

            We are now at the second Sunday of Christmas.  Christmas is a twelve day period when we remember the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This is the eighth day of Christmas when the popular song tells us that you should have received eight “maids a milking” from your true love.

            Here in America we start celebrating Christmas early, beginning just after Thanksgiving.  Decorations go up and gifts are purchased.  We exchange gifts on Christmas eve or Christmas day.  So for us Christmas is almost over and it is time to take down the tree.  But for most of the world Christmas starts on December 25^th and will last until January 6 and great feast of Epiphany.  The traditional reading for Epiphany is the coming of the wise men with their gifts.  So for most people in the world Epiphany not Christmas is the day for giving and receiving gifts.

            There is nothing in scripture that tells us that the first Christmas occurred on December 25^th.  There are two contemporary theories about why we celebrate Christmas when we do.  The first theory is that Romans celebrated the pagan festival “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun” on December 25, because on that date the sun stops its southward journey.  This theory suggests that the festival was Christianized by the early church as the birthday of Jesus, the Light of the World.  The second theory is that the early Christians celebrated the annunciation to Mary and the resurrection of Jesus on the same day.  Under this theory one can simply count up nine months and you get to December 25.  According to this theory the celebration of the pagan festival on that date was just a coincidence.

            We celebrate Christmas as the time when God came into the world as a human.  We call this the incarnation.  The incarnation is an extraordinary event which is attested to in scripture and of which we we believe by faith.  But what does this mean for us?  In what way does the incarnation affect us and our lives?  Why is the incarnation important for us?  These are most important questions.  We will get to these, but first please pray with me.

            “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of your heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety to your glory and our edification.”  Amen. (Calvin)

Hebrews 2:10-18  10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.  11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.  12 He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."  13 And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me."  14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-- that is, the devil--  15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants.  17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

           

            The author of Hebrews want us to remember that Jesus was fully a human being.  He certainly was God.  But he also needed to be human.  In his humanity he was tempted and suffered like us.  In his humanity he learned to take his concerns to God in prayer.  And in his humanity he saves us by being our High Priest and taking our prayers to God.  This is important because the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.   And with that destruction there is no longer a High Priest to intercede for us with God.  Here is what happened.

            It is AD70.  General Vespasian has brought the Roman Legion to the gates of Jerusalem.  He purpose is to negotiate terms of surrender with rebels inside.  If that doesn't work he will reduce the city to ruble and kill all of it occupants.  Inside Jerusalem a leading Rabbi Johanan Ben Zakkai urges acceptance of Vespasian's demands.   No one listens to his advice.  So the rabbi calls for his assistants Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua.  They put Rabbi Johanan into a coffin and carry him to the city gate.  The gatekeeper will not open the gate because of the danger without.  But the rabbis call out and say that it is unlawful to keep a dead body in Jerusalem overnight.  So the gate is opened and rabbis escape the coming destruction.  They flee across the Jordan River, and establish a synagogue in Pella where Jewish prayers and instruction could continue after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  Before leaving Jerusalem, Rabbi Johanan Ben Zakkai predicted that Vespasian would become emperor, a prophecy that was realized just two days later.   The Roman Legion then reduced the city to rubble and killed everyone in it.

            In the years that followed Jewish scholars wrestled with a most important religious matter.  How could people deal with the problem of sin with no temple and no high priest to atone for their sins? Although this important issue dominated Jewish discussions in the years after the destruction the temple, Christian scholars rarely mentioned it.  We know that the early Christians used the temple regularly for prayers and teaching.  With the destruction of the temple, prayer and teaching continued in churches.  But there was no concern among Christians over the loss of the sacrificial system. 

            While the temple was operating, people would come for teaching, prayer and sacrifices.  To deal with sin people would bring something, a couple of pigeons, or a handful of grain.  These would be burnt on the altar and the smoke would symbolize their prayers going up to heaven.  Then the High Priest would pray and tell them that God had forgiven them.  But with the destruction of the temple there was no altar and no High Priest.  What were people to do?

            Christians had no problem with the destruction of the sacrificial system because the sacrifice that God desires was made once and for all by Jesus on the cross of Calvary.  Jesus' death on the cross was a sufficient sacrifice for the atonement of all of our sins. And so, for Christians, the sacrificial system was no longer needed.  They used the temple for prayers and teaching, but avoided the sacrifices.  This accounts for much of the animosity between Christians and Jews during the temple period.  And this accounts for the ease Christians had in moving from the temple to churches for prayers and teaching after the temple was destroyed. 

            In order for the sacrificial system to end God had to come to earth as a man because only as a human being could he be our sacrifice.  And only as a human being could Jesus be our High Priest.  An unknown Jewish - Christian writer in about 150AD looked back on the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.  He said that the temple was destroyed by the sin of the continuing sacrifices, and argued that Jesus Christ abolished sacrifices altogether by his death on the cross.  He also said that Jesus instituted baptism as a means of absolving us of our sin through his atoning sacrifice. (Recognitions 1:33-71)

            According to the author of Hebrews the reason that God came to earth as a human was to glorify us.  Glorification is the lifelong process whereby the Holy Spirit purges sin from our lives and makes us holy.  This process could not occur unless God is with us.  So God became one of us so that we could be glorified.  Suppose that you wanted to learn to swim. So you go to the YMCA and sign up for swimming lessons to make you a swimmer.  What would you think if your swimming instructor could not swim and was afraid of the water?  What if the instructor sat way up in the lifeguard chair and yelled instructions to teach you how to swim?  Would you learn how to swim that way?  Of course not!  You would want an expert swimmer for an instructor who would get into the pool with you.  That's the only way you could learn how to swim with an instructor with you.  The same is true with glorification.  You need God with you to be glorified.  And that's the good news of Christmas.  God is with us to glorify us.

            Now if glorification is the process by which sin is removed from our lives we would expect it to be a very traumatic event.  Suppose you have been diagnosed with cancer and the doctor says you need surgery, radiation and chemo.  As you go through these procedures you will suffer pain, your hair will fall out, and you won't have the energy to do the things you normally do.  But all this suffering is worthwhile because of your hope that the cancer will go away.   It's the same way with glorification.  The removal of sin is an awful process.  The devil and evil spirits don't want to lose you as a human sinner.  So they will fight back.  And the only way for you to fully get sin out of your life is to die.  Who wants to die to get sin out of your life? Do you?  Of course not! No one wants to die just to get sin out of his or her life.  We would prefer to live and keep on sinning.  So we need someone to experience suffering and death for us.  We need a proxy.  And that's why the incarnation is so important.  God came to earth to suffer and die for us removing our sin and starting us on the road to glorification.

            According to Hebrews Jesus Christ not only died as a sacrifice for our sins, but also the risen Jesus Christ continues to serve as our High Priest.  As High Priest Jesus hears our prayers and delivers them directly to God.  You have probably played the parlor game where the first person tells a story to person number two.  Person number two tells the same story to person three and so forth until everyone hears the story.  Then the last person then tells the story and it is compared to the original story.  Everyone is surprised by how much the story changes.  So too with prayer.  If we tell our prayers to a priest what assurance do we have that our prayers will be accurately communicated to God?  But if Jesus Christ is our High Priest then all of us must be priests and we have the ability to say our prayers directly to him.  Jesus, being fully human, is fully able to understand our feelings and thoughts and words.  Jesus, being fully God, can perfectly communicate our prayers to God.  So through the incarnation God was able to abolish the old sacrificial system and replace it with a direct channel for our prayers to go to God.

            So Jesus Christ is our High Priest.  He came to earth to save us from sin and restore us to what God created us to be.  He did this through his suffering and death that removed sin from us.  And now he serves us by hearing our prayers with a human ear and perfectly communicating our prayers to his father, God Almighty.  This is the good news of Christmas.  We now have a High Priest in heaven who listens our prayers, forgives our sins and leads us to glory.  Let us pray.

            Lord Jesus, we are here on the anniversary of your birth.   Hear our prayers of confession.  Communicate them to God.  And respond to us with the gift of forgiveness.  We ask that you be with us to purge us from sin and bring us to glory.  Amen.

Sermon – Hebrews 1:1-12 Angels

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Hebrews 1:1-12 Angels[1]

December 25, 2016

            Merry Christmas!  Today we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord, the birth of Jesus Christ.  This is the Season of Christmas.  Christmas is a twelve day period beginning today and concluding on January 5^th.  Accord to a popular song this is the day that your true love should give you a partridge in a pear tree. 

            There are many angels associated with the Christmas story.  The Angel Gabriel came to Mary to explain to her that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and was to name her son Jesus.  Joseph was visited by an angel to tell him not to be afraid to marry Mary even though she was pregnant.  Joseph was also visited by angels in dreams telling him when to take his family to Egypt and when to return.  And some angels visited a group of shepherds in the field tending their flocks with an announcement that our savior had been born in Bethlehem.  Angels were everywhere talking to everyone on that first Christmas.  They seem to be pretty important.  So on the Christmas morning, let’s take a closer look at angels.  But first, let’s pray.

            “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

            If you go to Barnes and Nobel bookstore in Salisbury you will find many shelves with books about angels.  Interest in angels got started when Billy Graham published his book, Angels, in 1975.  By 1994 there were eight books about angels on the New York Times bestseller list.   Today there are 151,359 books about angels on Amazon.com

Interest in angels is nothing new.  In the Middle Ages  “angelology” was the rage.  The scholar Dionysius searched the Bible for all references to heavenly beings and compiled a list in his book Celestial Hierarchies.  He placed the seraphim at the top followed by cherubim, then thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities and finally archangels and ordinary messengers to humans.  Speculation about angels grew throughout the Middle Ages.  Saint Albert the Great concluded that there were precisely 399,920,004 celestial beings!

The Bible is filled with angels.  God sent some cherubim to guard the Garden of Eden.  This is just the beginning of 122 verses in the Old Testament about angels.  The New Testament adds another 170 verses about angels.  The Book of Revelation has the most mentions of angel with a whopping 79.   We know of two angels by name, Michael and Gabriel.  The name Lucifer had one mention in the King James Version but is translated as “Day Star” in more modern translations.   Jude 6 talks about “fallen angels”, but nowhere in the Bible are these identified as Satan.  We do see Satan identified as a dragon leading his angelic army against the angel Michael in Revelation 12.  

There are three categories of angels.  Some angels are “praisers”.  These are the ones we hear about at Christmas praising God in the Highest.  They were heard by the shepherds.  The second type of angel are the “messengers”.  The angel Gabriel was the most famous of these with the important message he had from God to Mary.   Messagers were also sent to Zechariah, Joseph and the shepherds.  And the third type of angels are the “guardians”.   We read this in Psalm 91:11, "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."  Of course there are also avenging angels like those led by Michael in Revelation.  In the Bible angels always serve as agents of God.  They never operate independently.  Angels always do God’s work. 

            So, what do angels look like?  In popular culture their robes glow, and they have halos and wings.   In the Bible angels sometime look like heavenly beings.  In Luke 24 the women saw “two men in dazzling clothes.”  More often angels just look like human beings.  They are recognized later when people sense that they have been in the presence of God.  In Genesis 18 three men approach Abraham and later Lot in Sodom.  They are described first as men, then as angels, and finally as the Lord.  And Jacob wrestled with a man at Peniel.  We often think of this as an angel.  But Jacob later realized he has wrestled with God.  The point of all this is that we don’t always know when we have come into the presence of angels until we have had time to reflect on their words and actions. 

            At the end of Hebrews there is a story about not neglecting hospitality to strangers because these could be angels.  So perhaps this is what we should expect.  An angel may appear not with a halo, wings and glowing robe,  rather angels may be in disguise as people in need.  Remember that the best way to serve God is to serve the least of these as Jesus taught us.

            From all of this it would appear that angels were the most important characters in the Christmas story.  They gave messages to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds.  They were praising God with the heavenly hosts.   Without them no one would have noticed the first Christmas.  But they are not the most important characters in the Christmas story.  That distinction goes to a newly born baby sleeping away in manger.  His parents named him Jesus.  And the author of Hebrews says this about him.

            Hebrews1:1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father”^[a]?

Or again,

“I will be his Father,
    and he will be my Son”^[b]?

⁶ And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”^[c]

⁷ In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,
    and his servants flames of fire.”^[d]

⁸ But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
    therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
    by anointing you with the oil of joy.”^[e]

¹⁰ He also says,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
¹¹ They will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
¹² You will roll them up like a robe;
    like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
    and your years will never end.”^[f]

            Angels are not the most important Christmas characters.  All they did was to deliver God’s message.  They were not God’s Christmas gift to us any more than the UPS driver is our Christmas gift from others.  The angels delivered a Christmas gift from God.  The gift we received was our savior, Jesus Christ.

            This Jesus Christ is far more than any angel.  Jesus is God son.  Jesus was present when the universe was created.  Jesus died on a cross in payment for our sin, procuring for us full pardon and forgiveness.  Jesus was resurrected from the dead giving all who believe the assurance of eternal life.  And Jesus reigns in heaven at the right hand of God bringing about the Kingdom of God through the church.  And Jesus will come again to rule the earth in justice and righteousness.  Do you think any angel could pull this off?  No way!  Only Jesus, the son of God, fully divine, could do this.  And Jesus is the gift we receive at Christmas.

            So don’t worship angels, they are not God.  Don’t pray to angels, only Jesus hears your prayer and forwards them to his Father.  Don’t ask angels for protection or power.  The Holy Spirit will do this for you.   But do care for the marginalized in our society because they could be angels testing our compassion.  The person we are to worship, the person who hears our prayers, the person who sends his spirit to empower us, is the baby born on Christmas, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Let's pray.

            “Glory to you, God most high— you have given us a Savior, the Messiah, the Lord— good news of great joy for all. Make us messengers of the gospel and shepherds of your people; guide us always in paths of peace; through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.”

https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/theologyandworship/pdfs/prayers_for_christmas.pdf

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[1]             Adapted from :A Fascination with Angels , MICHAEL ROGNESS  Luther Seminary St. Paul, Minnesota

Sermon Psalm 80 – Make Your Face Shine on Us

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon Psalm 80 – Make Your Face Shine on Us

December 18, 2016

Today we have arrived at the fourth Sunday of Advent. The coming of a savior is just around the corner. So far we have learned much from the Book of Psalms. We joined with the psalmist as she entered Jerusalem and found the people of God were living in shalom, peace and harmony. And with the psalmist we saw the people of God caring for the poor and needy, the widows and orphans, and the aliens in the land with mishpat and tsedaqah, justice and righteousness. And last week we joined with the psalmist singing hallelujah, “praise the Lord.” Today we turn with the psalmist and consider what we all need the most, a savior.

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 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.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

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 there 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. They 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 believed 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 of box 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 that 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 your 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 that very land that God had promised to them is occupied by non-believers. The Assyrians now live in their cities and farm their farms. 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.

Nowhere in Psalm 80 is there a prayer of 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 to 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 to obedience and he 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 who is this savior that we wait for?. When the priests of Israel cried out “Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”, they were using a Hebrew world “leshua.”, which mean save us. The name of the Lord God of Israel was, “jah”, which was shortened from Yahweh. So they put these together, “Jah shua”. They cried out “God save us, Jah shua. When this Hebrew word, Jah shua came into Latin became “Iesus”. And the Latin Iesus came into Early Middle English as “Jesus”. So the English name “Jesus” is the same as the Hebrew jah shua, God saves. So who is the savior that we are waiting for? Who is this Son of Man who sits at the right hand of God? Who is this anointed one who comes to earth? His name is Jah shua, Iesus, or Jesus. Jesus Christ is the savior who is coming. Let's pray.

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 name of the savior who came at Christmas and will come again. Amen.

Sermon – Psalm 146 – God Remains Faithful Forever

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Psalm 146 – God Remains Faithful Forever

December 11, 2016

           

            We turn again today to the Psalm of Advent.  On the first Sunday of Advent we rejoiced with the psalmist as she found that the people of God lived together in peace and harmony.  Then on the second Sunday of Advent we heard God's command to the king and his people to care for the poor with justice and righteousness.  Today we look at the most important thing we do as God's people.  We praise God.  We will get to this, but first let's pray.

            “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm 146:1-10  NIV Psalm 146:1 Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.  2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.  3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.  4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.  5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,  6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- the LORD, who remains faithful forever.  7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,  8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.  9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.  10 The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.

            Psalm 146 begins with the Hebrew word Hallelujah.   Hallelu means to praise someone or something.  Jah stands for Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel.  So we sing in English, “praise the Lord”, or in Hebrew hallelujah.  In worship we sing praises to God.

            The psalmist teaches us that praising God is a life long activity.  We praise God from the moment of birth until we die.  We do this because we were created to sing praises to God.  And we are engaging in praise whenever we are doing what God has created us to do. 

            All too often though we praise something other than God.  The psalmist says that we sometime praise “princes”.  This would be our political leaders and government.  We praise government whenever we believe that government will ultimately save us.  If we lose our jobs government will will care for us with unemployment checks.  If we lose our health and have no insurance government will give us the health care we need.  If we lose our homes and churches in a storm government will be there to help us rebuild.  If our parents are getting old and can no longer live in their homes, government will help them get into a nursing home.  Government is very seductive.  It will offer us what we need, but it will demand our praises.  And so we are greatly tempted to sing praises to and worship our government.

            But the psalmist points out that all princes and governments are mortal.  They will not go on forever.  And if history is a guide, the moment you need government the most it will not be there for you.  Government, like any human institution is stained by sin.  And so you should expect corruption.  And if government is corrupt then it cannot save you.  So don't sing its praises, don't worship it. 

            So if we should not be praising government, whom should we praise, and why?  The psalmist reminds us that the only object of our worship should be the Lord, God of Jacob.  But why?  The psalmist gives us two reasons.  First, the Lord is the creator of everyone and everything.  Therefore God is our creator.  And as creatures of that God we were created to worship him.  Singing praises to God is as natural to us as breathing and eating.  It takes enormous amounts of evil to keep us from worshiping.  The second reason we are to worship God is that he is faithful.  God did not create us and then leave us.  God is with us still, guiding, nurturing and protecting us.  And this God is faithful.  Unlike government He will always be there when we need him.  So when you need help turn to God and rest in His faithfulness.

            So how do we know that God is faithful?  What evidence is there that God cares for us and will never leave us alone?  Let's look at some of the evidence we have.

            Shakeela Bibi attends a small Presbyterian church in Pakistan.  Recently while preparing bread for a Bible study she heard a commotion in the street.  A group of boys with sticks was heading to the church.  She ran to the church to warn those inside of the coming mob.  This angered the mob.  She was beaten and shot.  Shakeel Bibi is a Christian martyr.   The psalmist said, “He upholds the cause of the oppressed.” http://www.opendoorsusa.org/persecution/christian-martyrs-stories/shakeela-bibi

            Lemi is a four year old girl living in Tanzania.  In Tanzania 46% of the population is malnourished.  Her grandmother became concerned as Lemi became thinner and thinner.   World Vision came to Lemi's village with a plan.  The rice farmers were organized into a group and are now able to get higher prices for their crops.  As a result Lemi now eats “rice, banana, milk, beans, fish, meat, and vegetables”, and is now getting fat.  The psalmist said, “(He) gives food to the hungry”. http://blog.worldvision.org/stories/reclaiming-the-garden-of-eden/

            In 2010 Jeremiah Zigwa found out that he had HIV/AIDS.  Shortly thereafter his wife died in childbirth leaving him to take care of his eight children alone.  Jeremiah had no idea of what to do, and seriously considered suicide.  He reached out to community based Christian counseling organization for help.  They got him the medicine he needed.  And Christians provided for him ten chickens so he could start an egg business.   Jeremiah was also given a couple of pigs, but found them too difficult to care for.  So he sold the pigs, and some piglets and bought a young cow and bull.  He now raises cattle, chickens and ducks.  The psalmist told us, “The LORD sets prisoners free,  the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.” http://blog.worldvision.org/stories/jeremiah-dares-to-dream/

            Ferdoz lives in a tent in Lebanon.  She left her home in Syria with her five children to escape the violence of the civil war.  Her rent is $330 a year, which she cannot afford.  She owes $200 for plastic sheeting for the tent and another $40 to local shop keepers for food.  Dia is the wife of a shop keeper who gives eggs to Ferdoz when her husband is not looking.  But she know that her husband's business can't go on much longer.  Neither Ferdoz nor Dia know what to do.  Today a million refugees from Syria are in Lebanon and Jordan.  Another 300K are in Turkey.  It is estimated that if the conflict continues there could be another 6.8 million people fleeing Syria.  The United Nations says that it needs $1.5B, but this would not be nearly enough.  World Vision is raising $40M to feed as many children as they can.  The psalmist says, “The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow.”    http://blog.worldvision.org/disaster-relief/crisis-in-syria-part-6-debts-difficulties-rise-for-refugees/

            So we know what God is doing in the world.  God is relieving the oppressed, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and is concerned for the poor.  This is the God we worship.  So how do we sing praises to a God like this?  We worship this God by doing what God created us to do.  And the implication is obvious.  We were created by God to participate in his work in this world.  And if God is concerned about the oppressed, the hungry, the sick and the poor then so should we.  So our work should be to find out what needs there our in this community, throughout the nation, and around the world.  And then we need to do something, even if it is just little, but something that advances God mission of Earth.  As a church we should look for ways to partner with Christian organizations doing God's work.  There are opportunities at Diakonia, Shepherd's Crook, the Cold Weather Shelter, and Ocean City Crises Coalition here in town.  We can partner with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to care for the needs of people hurt in the storms.  Many of the international stories I have told you today came from World Vision International, which is doing wonderful work all over the world.  The psalmist wants you to remember that the reason you do these good works is because they are how you sing praises to the God who created you and will be with you forever.  Let's pray.

            Father in heaven, we thank you for caring for us and the world we live in.  We know that your heart breaks over the oppression, hunger, disease, and poverty which sin has produced.  Use us and use our church to rid these problems from the world.  This we pray in your son's name.  Amen.  

Sermon – Psalm 72 – Justice and Righteousness

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm 72 – Justice and Righteousness

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

December 4, 2016

I am continuing today with my sermon series entitled Psalms of Advent. Last week we accompanied a pilgrim coming to Jerusalem. She rejoiced because people in the city lived together harmoniously, they cared for the poor and needy, and were concerned with the shalom, the well-being of everyone. This is the vision of what a church should be like.

Today we will unpack the concept of caring for the poor and needy. There are four terms in the Bible, two in Hebrew and two in Greek, which refer to our responsibility to care for those in need. These terms appear in this context in scripture over 1000 times. By contrast, four terms that refer to sexual impropriety appear less than 100 times in the Bible. What do you think God is most concerned about? There is no question about it, God's primary concern is with how we treat the poor. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

The political and economic system established by God for his people was based on private property. This was done when the promised land was allocated to all the families and tribes of Israel. There was no need for a king in this system. All they needed was a system of rules that governed how to treat each other. Of course they also needed God. When they eventually acquired a king his responsibility was to protect the people from their enemies and see to it that the law of God was carried out, that the rule of law continued.

In a system based on private property it is the responsibility of everyone to work. Your ability to work is a blessing from God. And the fruit of your work blesses others. The was the covenant that God had established with Abraham. We are blessed to be a blessing. Money was established as the mechanism whereby you receive and give blessings. The world God created is a world of abundance so no one has to experience shortages of anything, provided they work. But some people refused to work. We read this in Proverbs 6

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
    consider its ways and be wise!7 It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
    and gathers its food at harvest.

9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
    When will you get up from your sleep?10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—11 and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

In a system based on private property all are expected to work. You have no obligation to care for a person who can work but refuses to do so. If a person has capacity to work and work is available then he or she is under an obligation to work and support himself and family. But there are exceptions to this rule. And these exceptions bring us to Psalm 72.

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

1 Endow the king with your justice, O God,
    the royal son with your righteousness.2 May he judge your people in righteousness,
    your afflicted ones with justice.

3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.4 May he defend the afflicted among the people
    and save the children of the needy;
    may he crush the oppressor.5 May he endure[a] as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.7 In his days may the righteous flourish
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy
    and save the needy from death.14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
    for precious is their blood in his sight.

Psalm 72 is a coronation Psalm. It was sung in Judah as the descendants of David were crowned king. And it reminded these kings of their responsibility to care for the poor and needy. In this prayer God was asked to give these kings the gifts of justice and righteousness. Let's look at what these terms mean.

Justice is how the NIV translated the Hebrew word mishpat. Mishpat refers to the obligation we have to care for people who have been impoverished because of a denial of their God given human rights. For example, when a man died without children it was the responsibility of his brother to marry the widow so that she will be cared for. A widow has the God given right to be cared for by her husband's family. But sometimes this right was denied, and widows were not cared for. Possibly the family had no sons and was financially unable to care for her. Maybe the family just didn't like her and threw her out. Whatever the reason, she would fine herself destitute, unable to work and support herself. When a situation like this occurred it was the obligation of the king to ensure that she was supported in some way. This responsibility was called mishpat, “justice”.

We have the same responsibility. If someone is poor because of some injustice we have an obligation as Christians to support that person. We must remove any authority or power that is causing that injustice. If someone is able to work and wants to work but cannot because of Government policies, Christians must seek to change those policies. If taxes or regulation or immigration policy prevent jobs from being available to those who wish to work, it is our responsibility to change those policies and get people to work. God created a world of abundance. There is no reason why everyone shouldn't have a job. If a person can work and wants to work but cannot find a job then we have an obligation to help. This obligation is called mishpat, “justice”.

When someone is poor because their rights have been denied mishpat requires that we help them in the short term with money and in the long term with changes in governmental policy to provide jobs. But these are not the only people we should help. There is another group of people that needs our assistance. These are the people with disabilitities, mental or physical which prevents them from working. Our responsibility to care for the most marginal in our society is called tsedaqah, which the NIV translators call “righteousness”. Tsedaqah refers to the delivering, community restoring care we are to give to the poor who have no capacity to work.

In ancient times the disabled where unable to earn a living. A person might be born with a mental or physical defect which prevented them from working. Or they may have suffered a disease, injury or just aging and now are unable to work. God's law required them to be supported by their families, but sometime this didn't happen. Some turned to begging. Tsedaqah requires us to care for these people. We are under an obligation from God to care for aged and the infirm and the disabled. We can do this through taxation and government programs. We can do this through the church and non-profit organizations. We can do this ourselves. We have the duty to help those who cannot help themselves.

The kings of Judah were reminded in their coronations that they were responsible for mishpat and tsedaqah, justice and righteousness. Those whose rights had been denied and those who where unable to work had to be cared if not by their family or community then by the king. This was the reason God allowed them to have a king. The king had to care for his people. So too today, we are responsible through our own resources, through our tithe at church and through our taxes to government to help the poor and needy in our community.

There are several ways that we can do this. People from this church help out at the Cold Weather Shelter, Diakonia and Shepherd's Crook Food Pantry. And we support with food and money the Samaritan Shelter in Pocomoke City. We bring hats and mittens for the tree in Fellowship Hall. And the Women of Worship are collecting gifts for children at Samaritan Shelter. Also this Christmas Eve, Grace and I will be hosting a Jesus Christ Birthday Party for children living around the church. Please see Grace if you would like to help. There are many ways you can care for the poor and needy this Christmas.

In God's economic system based of private property, all people are required to work to support themselves. We have no obligation to support a person who refuses to work. But if a person is prevented from working by unjust systems or if a person is incapable of working because of a physical or mental disability then we do have a responsibility to help. This responsibility applies to us personally, through the church and the government. We are to do whatever we can do to remove the unjust barriers to work and support those who are incapable of working. We are always to bless others just as we have been blessed by God. Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we know of your great concern for the poor. We see people in our community who cannot find jobs. We see people who are unable to work. We thank you for blessing us with a world of abundance, and we pledge to care for people who receive little of this abundance. Bless us in our ministry to the poor. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.