Quakerism

Advent of Light (Sermon December 2, 2012)

English: Hanukkah menorah, known also as Hanukiah. Česky: Chanukový svícen chanukija (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Scripture: Luke 21:25-36

December is here! We are now entering into that time of year where there are nonstop Christmas specials on our TV screens, and the ever-present stories of the church clashing with the culture. Not only do we have culture clashes outside of the church but within as well. Of all the holy days in the church, Christmas is the most controversial. It is surprising I know, because who would really be opposed to spreading joy and cheer?

In the earliest days of the church the calendar and the progression of holy days was similar to the Jewish calendar. They would then add alternative meanings to the days that allowed for the testimony of Christ to be heard. But Christmas was different. The feast of Hanukkah is around the same time, this year it starts December 8^th. This is a feast that began after the exile period of time when and after the return and rebuilding of the temple. We learn about the return to Jerusalem when we read the books of Nehemiah and Ezra, but the feast of Hanukkah is not mentioned, it makes us wonder where this feast came from? Did Jesus celebrate that feast? Yes. In the gospels we read about Jesus and his followers celebrating the Feast of Dedication, this is Hanukkah. They did not celebrate this feast in the Old Testament yet they do in the Gospels, something happened.

History is full of stories. One such story occurs in the books of the Maccabees that tie the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets with the contemporary history of Jesus. The prophets spoke of beasts and the coming of the king, they speak of the abomination that causes desecration. After the return of the children of Israel to their homeland, there was a clash between empires. The Greek and Persian empires met together on the battlefield and Israel was caught between the super powers. Alexander the Great pushed the forces of Persia back to their farthest eastern regions and in the processes gained the territory we know as Israel. Alexander died in this campaign and his empire was split between his generals. Antiochus III became the ruler of Syria, and after a battle with ruler of Egypt; he also became the ruler of Israel. Antiochus III, allowed the Jewish people to live according to their traditions, but his son Antiochus IV wanted all his subjects to be Greek, he outlawed the Jewish faith and took over the rebuilt temple dedicated by Ezra, and erected a idol of Zeus inside and offered sacrifices to it. The temple was no longer holy. It was used in the worship of false gods. This caused the Jewish people to become enraged, and a priest named Mattathias along with his five sons lead a revolt to restore their faith and traditions to the land. This is recorded in the first book of Maccabees. Eventually under the leadership of Mattathias’ son Judah, the temple and nation was restored. From this the Hasmonean Dynasty was established, the kingdom of Judah was reestablished, but this was a short-lived dynasty because yet another empire was marching east. And it was the Hasmoneans that opened the door for Rome.

Notice the names in this story, Mattathias or Matthew, Judah or Judas; these are the names of hero’s of the restored kingdom, and names of the disciples. This could be just a weird coincidence or it could be part of a deeper story. Matthew was the tax collector, and Judas was considered to be one of the most ideological people in Israel. Matthew or Levi was named after the priestly order and the priest that started the revolt to save Israel, yet he lived his life as a traitor to the nation as civil servant of Rome. Judas Iscariot is now being tied to revolutionaries in Jerusalem called the Sacarii or dagger men, these were revolutionaries actively trying to liberate their people from the foreign overlords. The cycle of history seems to be replaying, but it is turned upside down. The priest is not leading the revolt but a traitor, and the liberator is the betrayer. It speaks of the cycles of life, the revolutionaries become the status quo, the reformers become the establishment, and the protestors become the tyrants.

Back to Hanukkah, this feast celebrates the restoration of faith. It speaks of the rededication of God’s people to Him, and restoration of the temple of the one true God to holy worship. The rededication is not as easy as one might think, there must be pure elements to use in the ceremonies. Special implements, oils, animals, and garments all had to be found or made. They built altars, made garments, found the animals, but there was one problem they could only find enough sacred oil for the lamp that needed burn continuously, for one day. The miracle of Hanukkah is that this oil was sufficient to last through the entire feast of 8 days, allowing enough time to do the rededication and bless more oil. Now after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD the celebration of Hanukkah has moved from the dedication of the temple to celebrating the oil that fueled the light.

Easter is a known day in Jesus’ life; we know that Jesus died around the feast of Passover. Passover is a feast day that is easy to track, like most ancient religions it is based on the lunar cycle. We can pin point to the day that Jesus was crucified and when he rose from the grave. But Christmas is more difficult to pin point. Because of the shepherds in the fields at night, many believe that Jesus was born in the spring. Other scholars believe that these shepherds were special shepherds that cared for the temple flocks and were in the process of transporting some to the temple for sacrifices, so it could be that they were out in the elements in the winter. Ultimately no one knows for sure when Jesus was born. If Christmas and Easter were both in the spring what would we do the rest of the year?

The church used the lunar calendar and the seasons of the year to testify the Gospel of Christ. We are now in the Advent season of the year. This means we anticipate the coming of the King, along with that is the anticipation of the return of the king. The Gospel of John introduces Jesus as being the Word of God and the Light. Both of these terms highlight the unique and divine aspects of Jesus, speaking of truth and knowledge coming directly from God. The Jewish people celebrated a festival of Lights during the darkest time of the year, Jesus the light of the world came to redeem and restore relationships with God. Our season of Advent is placed around Festival of Hanukkah to celebrate the coming of Light.

So what does all of this have to do with this passage of scripture, what does it have to do with Christmas? Advent is more than just celebrating the time Jesus spent in the womb of His mother; it is also celebrating the recognition of who he is. A few pages before this passage, is a story of Jesus cleansing the temple driving out the people that were conducting business within its walls. It is a story whose theme is not all that different than a statue of Zeus being erected, because the worship in the temple had turned from honoring God but worshiping money and commerce. The temple is unclean. It also is a prophetic word pointing to the future of Jerusalem when Rome would come in to destroy the temple and change the face of faith forever.

This passage speaks of the Advent of recognizing the king. Jesus speaks in apocalyptic terms just as the prophets honored by the religious leaders. Signs in the sun, moon, and stars, roaring seas and waves, fainting and shaking and the Son of Man coming in a cloud. These were the same terms used to describe what was going to happen just prior to the exile to Babylon, as well as the abomination that causes desolation by Antiochus IV. When the prophets spoke these words people persecuted them, most were drove out of their homes and killed. When Jesus spoke these words not much changed, people plotted for his death as well.

Jesus spoke about the overturning of the status quo, he sparked a religious revolution the threatened the established leaders. These leaders were not totally wrong; they were the children of restored temple, followers of the previous revolution. Many were very religious and righteous men, though the Pharisees are spoken ill of in the Gospels they were very active in converting people to faith in the One True God, King Herod’s family is the product of these missionary efforts. They promoted a lifestyle totally dedicated to God. The problem with them was that they were restrictive in their mercy; they preached before they served, they were focused on the growth of the religious machine as being the sign of success. They established schools and synagogues and in many ways they reflected everything we think is right about religion. Yet Jesus was at odds with them. They represented the very human side of religion, they aspect of what I can do to be holy. This is not what Jesus was about. It might surprise you that Jesus was not opposed to their forms nor their traditions of worship, what he opposed was the spirit of their worship.

Shortly after scaring everyone with impending doom, Jesus went on to speak about Life with God. “Be on guard”, he says, “so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life…” The word here that jumps out is dissipation, it means to squander or in some cases the loss of energy to heat. Jesus is saying don’t squander your life or waste energy on the things of the world. He says this in highlight to his temple stampede, highlighting that the religious leaders of the day were squandering the kingdom, losing spiritual energy because they were too focused on the establishment of the religious structure instead of what really mattered, the relationships with God and Mankind. Jesus is saying that very soon everything is about to change dramatically. Within that generation the faith of all followers of God were changed, the temple fell and Jerusalem the city of God was left desolate. These words would be remembered and people would have to look at what was said and determine for themselves, “is Jesus King?”

Life always changes. With each passing day new challenges and opportunities present themselves to us. Some of those challenges shake the very core of our being, as we wonder if our culture and society is on the brink of collapse. With each passing year we listen to the ACLJ representing cities and individuals in legal lawsuits limiting the expression of faith, and we are afraid. But why do we fear? Is it because we are focused on the religious machine and worldly statistics for success? I read this passage and where some see a coming apocalypse I see a Festival of Lights, a rededication of hope and faith. It will be a trial and Jesus says that we need to pray for strength to escape these things. Strength to escape… we read this and dream of getting out or away from the trouble, but what it is really saying is to pray for strength to endure and survival so we can stand tall on the other side.

We anticipate the coming of the King, the Advent of The King. This is far greater than celebrating the birth of the religious leader and founder of the church, but the total foundational shaking of our lives. We anticipate the destruction of the kingdoms of mankind and the establishment of God with us. As we enter a time of open worship and holy expectancy let us consider what Jesus’ kingship means in our lives, in the life of our church, and in our communities. And let us allow His Spirit to come into our lives on a cloud and turn over tables and stones of our hearts and let the new life begin to emerge in us.

Who is King? (Sermon November 25, 2012)

Scripture: John 18:33-37

Today, this Sunday we celebrate the end of an era and the beginning of something new. You may wonder what I mean by that but in the Church liturgical calendar this is the last Sunday of the year. Next Sunday we enter a new era, the era where we celebrate the coming birth of Christ and anticipate His return. This Sunday we are in between. We stand between the day we give thanks for the blessings and the celebration of the birth of our lord. We stand in a void of time, neither grateful nor hopeful, a void.

We are found in a void, a time between the advent of the King and the despair of waiting. In this void we find ourselves trying to understand what everything means. What does it mean to live under the reign of a king especially in a nation and culture that takes pride in having no sovereign above the law? If we were to really think about this our void is not all too different than the feelings of those men and women 2000 years ago. How can they even think about a king of their own when they are under the iron fist of the Roman? We fast forward through the life of Jesus and we meet him in an interview with the governor. Why start here? Because this highlights the void, that empty space between reality and our expectations.

Israel wanted their king. They had lived as nomads, slaves, wonderers, conquerors, freemen, subjects, and conquered exiles. They wanted a king. They had a promise that they would be a people of God, to be a light to the nations, but they were not a nation. They were living in a void. The first question asked by Pilate when he entered was, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Are you the king? There is no safe way to answer this question, to say yes would mean certain death by roman executioners and to say no would also lead to death at the hands of a violent religious mob. Two answers, each side wanting the answer to go their way, and each knowing that to answer at all would cause the end. Jesus answers, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”

Jesus is in the void, the void between kingship and fraud. He sits with His life in the balance before the one man. “Are you the King?” We each know this feeling deep inside our souls we have experienced and may still feel this void, this seemingly unanswerable longing. We question even if there is a king, and there in our questioning, there in our voids Jesus sits with us as He sat with Pilate. He knows our questions, He knows we fear the void because in that void are unanswered questions. The questions welling up inside us cause white noise in our minds, questions to which the answers are laced with fear, the fear of something unknown.

Pilate asks the question because if there really were a king of the Jews, it would bring forth a rebellion and with rebellion war. For a political figure war brings questions about the necessity of the conflict and if it could have been prevented, either way Pilates life was hanging in the balance. He asks this question, sitting there with and in a mystery. Picture this scene in your mind, the tension hanging in the room so thick that it could be cut with a roman short sword, the fear so pungent it seems to tickle the nose and to cause a shiver to go down the spine. The most powerful man in the district is sitting there with his very life in the hands of a man, a carpenter, a homeless traveling teacher, a man whose life is nothing in the eyes of Rome, yet this man held this eager politico’s life in his very fingers. Both men were sitting together in the same place, in a void between life and death, hope and fear. Are you the king? Pilate asks this question two times. The question that still hangs in the air.

Though we live in a culture that has no king, there is a sovereign that rules. In fact we have several competing kings in our nation. Prior to the civil war the south was ruled by king cotton, pretty much every aspect of life revolved around cotton. In Wichita, Kansas everything revolves around the aircraft industry. Our nation as a whole revolves around markets, the housing market, the stock market, and the futures markets. These things dictate what we do and when we do it. A few years ago one of these markets collapsed and as a result every market fell with it. This ignited fears in our culture and left us all questioning who is the true king?

A king rules or influences every decision we make, a king dictates what we can and cannot do. Are you the king? We would like to say that we are self-made people that we control our destiny. Yet who is dictating or influencing your life? Pilate thought he was in control of his destiny yet sitting right there with him was his future, disaster loomed and it hung on a single question, “Are you the King?”

Just a few short days ago we celebrated a day of gratitude. On that day we realized that there is more to our lives. The entire basis of Thanksgiving is recognizing those aspects of life where others helped us along our path. Thanksgiving highlights the truth that we are not self-made individuals but the product of many factors and influences coming together to provide the opportunity for success in many forms. Are you the king?

Pilate from that void of life is questioning, the influence that Jesus has on the future of the world around him. Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” My kingdom is not of this world. Have you ever really thought of the implications of this statement and how this statement boggled the mind of the man named Pilate? If the kingdom this king rules is not of this world where is it? Many make the claim that Jesus is speaking of heaven or life after death. That is partly true, but it is not the whole truth. He is saying that the things that he influences or the things that He finds to be important are different than the things of the world.  In reality the things of Jesus’ kingdom are the opposite of the world or beyond the influence of the world.

The world seeks self-fulfillment, where the Kingdom of God seeks to provide for the needs of others. Paul says, “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility think of others before yourself.” The kingdom of God is Thanksgiving where the kingdom of the world is Black Friday. The kingdom of the world seeks power and will use whatever means necessary to gain that power. They will use science to form greater weapons, they will use money to purchase and bribe favor, they will use charity to silence opposition, and they will use force if the other tools fail to provide the desired return. Where in Christ’s kingdom science is use provide for the needs of the world, they beat the weapons of war into implements of assistance, they use the financial tools to promote peace and alleviate suffering. Jesus’ kingdom does not care about who sits in the white house because the white house is just one kingdom of the world, Jesus is beyond that. Jesus’ kingdom isn’t concerned with the CEO of a corporation, because that is a kingdom of the world. Jesus’ kingdom is concerned with many other things though, things like how well you are serving your employer or customers, how willing you are to help those in need, how you invest and employ the tools you have at hand to bring about justice and mercy to the people around you, and the motivation of your heart.

This leaves just one question, “Who is your king?” Who is influencing your decisions, your choices, and your actions? As we sit in this void between the advent of Jesus and the spirit of thanksgiving I ask again, Is Jesus truly your king?

This week more than any other I have experienced that void between the kingdoms. I have had to face some of my fears, release some of my own selfish wishes, and step off my soapbox occasionally. I watched the clash of various kingdoms, and I felt as if I was floating in that void unsure of where I stood. But in seeking Christ and His kingdom I know that the void is closing and the beginning of a new day is nearing. That void between the kingdoms closes when we step aside, when we let God be God, Let Christ be King, and focus not on the things of this world and instead redirect our lives to Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the Love of Christ with others. Let us now join together in this time of holy expectancy and let the God who loves us enough to send his son to live with us and die for us, and to send his own spirit to assist us search our lives and revive our souls.

The Next Cycle (Sermon November 18, 2012)

Scripture: Mark 13:1-8

So much can be and has been said about this passage. It can be seen as something fearful as well as something filled with hope. What I want to focus on is something that many of us may never have thought about.

I want us to imagine driving into Kansas City or if you are unable to imagine this trip imagine traveling to the greatest city you have ever been to. One of the most breath taking entry into Kansas City is coming in from the East on I-70, on this drive you can see all the high rise buildings silhouetted in the setting sun framed in by an overpass. On this drive as a country boy from rural Kansas, I am faced with the knowledge that I am not just in a city but a major city. I look on these building rising up into the sky and I am transported to a state of wonder and pride. Take that image and intensify and you may just get a glimpse of the image that was presented to the disciples and Jesus in this scripture.

Jerusalem was a grand city. It was not the largest of the ancient cities of the world. To be honest it the comparison of Kansas City to New York in size would probably not even come close to the size difference of Jerusalem and the largest of the known cities in the Roman Empire. This does not mean that it was not grand; there was something about Jerusalem that drew people to it. It was the center of the Jewish faith. We tend to think that the Jewish culture was isolated in this small province of a vast empire, but the children of Israel had settlements in almost every major city in the Empire. We know that there was a great settlement in Egypt because that is where Jesus’ family fled to early in His life, less of us realize that there was and still is an ancient Hebrew settlement in Ethiopia which still exists even today. This Ethiopian settlement stretches back to the day of the undivided kingdom and is alluded to in the Old Testament when Solomon meets with an African queen. There were also glass craftsmen that traveled from Israel that settled in places like Italy and on north into the center of Europe. So a large population of Jewish people from around the world would travel to meet in this once place the center of their hope and faith. Meeting at what was know to be the greatest temple made by the hands of man.

I cannot even begin to imagine the greatness of this temple but we know that it was made from perfect stones, stones that were cut out of the bedrock of the earth. Each massive stone was without crack or blemish and if one was cracked it was left in the quarry, where some still rest today. These stones were stacked and it is said gilded with pure gold. The beauty of this temple was the pride of Israel and was honored by the gentile as well. It speaks of a power from a divinity greater than any other faith. It was a source of jealousy from the leader of other traditions, even to the Emperor of Rome, it was hard for others to accept that the God of this minority group of people had greater honor than the majority of the population.

There is a sense of pride among the people of Israel. Though their race was small it had a heart. It showed in their craftsmanship. The greatest gifts one can give and receive often have an origin that can be linked to Israel either by name or by craft. Israelite immigrants first produced the finest glassware from Italy. The term jewelry, which many of us are currently wearing, is linguistically linked to one word Jew. Like it or not the people of Israel have shaped many aspects of our lives. Many of these crafts gained great wealth for those that produced it, in the process this wealth filter into the coffers of the temple.

The disciples stop Jesus and marvel about the greatness of their people. “Look at the buildings.” They were proud of their heritage, they were a people that overcome obstacles and come out on the other side better off then they were before. They could just look at the structures of their culture and no one could deny this pride. But where was their pride focused? That is the central theme I am speaking of. Jesus responded in apocalyptic language when the disciples were puffed up with pride. He say that all this greatness will be turn over, where every one of these massive stones would be toppled. I imagine the disciples would have been in distress, and rightfully so. Every aspect of their culture was based on the buildings of this city, more importantly the temple complex. Their focus was on the wealth and beauty of their nations’ craft. But Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world.

Religion often evolves to become an organization that amasses wealth. Every religion in the world eventually gains more financial tools. When they gain abundance they spend this money on buildings, décor, and icons that promote and encourage their traditions of faith. This in it self is not wrong, throughout scripture God dictates to his people to entrust the leaders with their wealth so that they can build the tools of worship. But that is not all that God commands the wealth to be used for, it is also commanded that the people are to care for the widows, orphans, resident aliens, and travelers to their nation. Later, the prophetic writings show God being filled with anger because the people focus on sacrifice more than mercy or justice.

Sacrifice was the central theme of worship in the temple. There is a long progression of sacrifices listed in the books of Moses; each represents different aspects of worship. They represent repentance, forgiveness, prayers, giving, and praise. These acts of sacrifice are presented first in the tent of meeting and later in the temple. As the progression of sacrifice proceeded through history the place of worship became more ornate. The nomadic Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob met out in the open air. Moses encouraged the sewing of a tent, and David set in motion the first temple to be built by his son Solomon. Notice the progression: air, tent, and temple each were acceptable places of worship. But eventually God tired of the sacrifice because mercy was neglected.

The center of their faith left service to humanity and slipped into pride of the buildings and religious system. As a result God allowed the reset button to be pushed, and the cycle began again. This story has been told countless times, not only in the pages of scripture but in the dusty digs of archeology throughout the world, not just with in the nation of Israel but in probably every culture that has existed.

Slowly religion builds greater facades that house their worship and gradually the efforts of that religion move from a focus on mercy to focusing mainly on sacrifice, and then the sacrifice or worship moves to keeping up the image. Idolatry becomes the norm. This is where we find Jesus, the focus of the people of God left mercy and justice, and instead was focused on preserving the image and religious machine. The religious machine was very successful, so successful that the Romans decided to tap into the funds to transfer them to fund their own projects.

When will this happen, is the question raised by the disciple. They are worried that the world as they know it is about to come to an end. Jesus says that it is not for them to know. Many things will happen that will make them think the end is near, but Jesus is actually encouraging them not to focus on those things but to keep the focus on the ministry that He was doing and was passing on to them. The end of an age did come in the year 70; Rome came to town and toppled the temple. The greed of a nation toppled the greed of the religion. Everything was about to change. Without a temple both the Christian and the Jew had to refocus their lives. They no longer had an earthly palace where God dwelled so for their faith to continue they had to rethink what they knew about God. After this event, many were reminded of the words that Jesus spoke and they began to realize that maybe the kingdom of God was not based on the things they once thought. Their efforts yet again were focused on mercy and justice for the poor, the widow, and the orphans because the poor were there and the temple was not.

The cycle continues. The church for the first 300 years met where it could in the houses of its members, in burial grounds, and under the open air. When these meeting places were found they were persecuted. They ministered to the orphans, prayed for the sick, and met for encouragement to continue on. Then eventually the greed of the nation consumed itself. It was the church that provided a message of hope that inspired the nation to unite again together. And the church began to build buildings and amass wealth. It became easier for the followers of Jesus to meet and serve because they now had a central place to operate. They formed creeds to dictate and regulate their belief system and slowly the followers whose sacrifice focused on mercy began to neglect justice and began to build a façade to house God.

The cycle continues. Through this imperial church groups began to emerge that would pursue one aspect or another of mercy over worship. Monks began to serve people and provide hospitality for the travelers. These too began to cycle through to support the continuation of the organization at the expense of ministry. Then came the Reformation. We are products of that fracture. Our spiritual ancestors saw the wealth being amassed in the steeple houses and they began to form a new tradition that would cycle in a new form in the expression of mercy. But even in our own tradition we have become fractured into religious groups focusing on our own sacrifices.

But what if we were to look back at our origins? The core theme of Quakers no mater what traditions they practice have some similar teachings: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, and Equality. These themes are based on mercy. Simplicity is ordering one’s life to be free from entanglements so that you are freed to serve. Peace focuses on promoting ways of overcoming differences while honoring the humanity of others. Integrity is based on honesty and trustworthiness, so that those around you can be free from fear. Community puts the needs of others before our own selfish desires. Equality is honoring the uniqueness and worthiness of all people. Our tradition was started to put mercy before sacrifice, and sacrificing so we could be merciful.

Jesus announced the end of one age and the beginning of something new. History has shown that this happened within the generation of those first followers of Jesus, but they cycle of life continues. Today we are constantly bombarded by images that cause us to fear the end of days, as we hear of earthquakes causing massive tsunamis in Japan, hurricanes hitting our cities, and the company that produces the greatest comfort foods goes bankrupt. Prophets all around us are claiming that the end of days is just around the corner, some even say that it will come before the end of the year, others have said that it was a few months ago. We look at these things and say Lord come! But what if all of this is telling us to refocus our attention? What if all of this is calling us to become a people less focused on elaborate buildings and worship styles, and more on service to others? What if we were again to focus on the SPICE of life instead of temples? What if we were to focus on the beginning of the next great age of humanity with God and worry less about the past success of a bygone era?

As we enter a time of open worship and corporate prayer, meditate on the images of that great city the disciples marveled at, meditate on the utter destruction that Jesus prophesied and that happened, consider what emerged out of that, and let us together cry out to God that yes come renew us again!