1 Peter 3:18-22 – “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you–not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him”.

1. Vs 18 of this section St, Peter writes “Christ suffered for sins, “once for all…..”.  This concept  suggests that Christ atoned for the sins of all people once for everyone, everywhere, in every time and age.  The sweep of Christ’s “net” of sin is vast and universal.  Does this mean that Christ has covered your sins – past, present and future?  If so, how is this mind boggling to you? What does it say about God’s unfathomable love?

2. Vs 19 says that Christ “went in death to the ‘spirits in prison’”.  While St. Peter doesn’t specify, the church, generally throughout her history has understood this passage to mean that everyone who died before Christ and lived in “Hodes” – the abode of the dead – was given the opportunity to have their sins forgiven.  What is your reaction to hearing this?  Again, what does this act say about the amazing grace and love of God?

3. Vs 20-21 talks about Noah.  Noah had 8 folks on the ark; himself, Mrs. Noah and his 3 sons and their wives.  How does the story of the ark relate to the concept of baptism?  How has your baptism freed you?

4.  Jesus sits on God’s right hand.  In the Bible’s language this means that he is God’s “chief of staff”, the most powerful being in the universe.  The verse refers to angels – heavenly beings and authorities and powers.  He is “over them”; they are subject to him.  One of the powers that is always loose in the world is the Spirit of revenge – our war in Iraq is at least in part a war of revenge against the 911 attacks and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait that was never resolved.  How does Jesus “trump” revenge?

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 – Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

St. Paul is talking in this section of 1 Corinthians about the necessity of being disciplined in our spiritual life. Our “spirit”, like our “body” needs care. Just as we feed, cleanse and exercise our body, we need to feed it by regularly and gladly hearing God’s word. We need to cleanse – we need to do a spiritual housecleaning from time to time to see if we are being honest in our dealings with others and if we are being loving and forgiving of our enemies. Also, we need to exercise our spirits. We need to see beautiful things, hear beautiful music, watch enlightening and ennobling plays and films, read poetry and in our Christian case – worship God regularly and do acts of charity and love to serve the “least of these”.

1. Paul says “Run in such a way that we may win it. (“It” meaning the prize of being in a strong relationship, a life-giving relationship with Jesus). How are you running? Do you need some coaching? Where do you go for coaching in your spiritual life?

2. I always admire the folks who go the 12 step/recovery programs that are based on the spiritual principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. They practice rigorous honesty. They focus on atoning for their wrongdoing, that is, make reparations to people they have hurt or wronged in some way. Also, they throw themselves onto God and God’s mercy and pray for faith and direction from God for life’s journey. What can we learn from them?

3. Paul says in verse 27, “but I punish my body and enslave it”. What he means is that he disciplines himself. He puts himself to the test. Although it has fallen out of favor, the Christian discipline of fasting, oddly enough, actually helps people to grow spiritually. It teaches us that we can live without luxuries much more than we think we can. Lent is approaching. What can we do to “enslave” or “master” ourselves? We traditionally “give up stuff”, like chocolate or desserts. Can we perhaps better add to our schedule? Maybe visit someone who is sick or shut in once a week? How can we be pro-active about growing in our faith while always bearing in mind that our salvation is secured in our baptism to Christ’s death and resurrection?

Isaiah 40:21-31 – Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

These words where preached to a dispirited people.  Historically, we believe, they were spoken in Babylon where the Israelites were in captivity.  They had been taken by the Babylonians from Jerusalem and Israel by force after Judah’s defeat.  Their big question: “Is our God the real God or is Babylon’s God the real God, or is there no God at all simply a world of human beings who act out power plays?  These of course, are always contemporary questions.  The purpose of our preaching is to proclaim with assurance and conviction that yes there is a God, one God alone, and that this God cares for all of us human beings as without distinction.

1. Notice how in verse 22 we human beings are compared to grasshoppers in the face of God’s awesome power and might.  Does this image comfort you? If so, how?

2.  Verses 25-26 ask us to look at creation and see the God standing behind it.  What moves you to awe of God?

3.  The last verses 27-31 are powerfully comforting.  You often see them on key chains found in Christian book stores.  What do the words “wait for the Lord” mean to you?  How have you waited for the Lord in your life? How has the Lord proven himself involved with you and caring for you, even when he seemed distant and far away?

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 – Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him. Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth–as in fact there are many gods and many lords–yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

We continue in our readings from 1 Corinthians.  St. Paul talks in this section about food that has been offered to idols.  Can it be eaten or not?  In Corinth, sacrifices were almost made daily to the various gods and goddesses.  If you wanted a favor from Venus, God of Love, you would take a sheep or a goat to her temple and the priest would sacrifice it for you.  The meat could be sold to the public after a portion was offered as a “burnt offering”.  The sacred and the profane were very mixed in the ancient Roman Mediterranean

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New converts questions were simple: “It is convenient for me to get this meat.  The temple is near my house.  Am I sinning if I eat it because it has been used in the worship of a false god?

Paul’s response is a pastoral response.  He says, basically, “Well that depends. “Meat is just meat.  These other gods do not exist.  There is only one God”.  However, if someone who is “weak” in faith sees you buying meat from a temple, you might cause them real concern. Be sensitive to what your brother or sister might feel about your actions.

1.  What would modern day “meat” be? At Halloween time, there are Christian groups who protest this holiday pointing to its pagan roots in pre-Christian Europe. (Halloween night was a time to put on scary masks to frighten dead souls back into their graves). Should we not participate, or not allow our children to celebrate Halloween because of it pagan origin? What are the risks, either way?

2. Some people do not tell their children about Santa Claus because they are afraid that it will set them up to have doubts about God, Christ, or the resurrection.  In truth, Santa has become a tool of the market more than symbolizing the spirit of grace and charity that the 4^th century Bishop of Myra, Saint Nicholas was. What would you advise a new mother to do about Santa?

3.  This texts gets into the issue: Can anything created be bad, if God is the only God and God said in Genesis: It is good. It is good, It is good. (referring to all of the created order).  What limits are we to put on our celebration of God’s good creation, if any?

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 – I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Paul tells the Corinthian Christians that Jesus is returning soon and that there is no point in planning for a future. He wants them to live basically as he lives – with single-minded devotion to proclaiming God’s love in Christ. Elsewhere in the New Testament, St. Paul talks about “our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a savior”. We are in the world, but not to be of the world.

Much of my ministry was spent in Pennsylvania living among the Amish and the Mennonites. They do not buy life insurance policies; they put their trust in the community. When a barn needs to be raised, they do it as a community. When a man is killed accidentally, his wife and kids are taken in and cared for by the community. They are able to turn from the “world” more that we do, I think.

1. “And those who mourn as though they were not mourning” Paul tells widows and the grieving not to grieve. It is not a command but an invitation to believe utterly that, as he says in Romans “if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord’s”. What helps us to cope when we are mourning? What can we do to have our faith restored or strengthened?

2. The world has changed greatly since Paul wrote. Now the average lifespan is the mid 80’s and going up all the time. The average cost of nursing care is between $3,000 and $6,000 a month depending upon your level of need. Can we still behave as Paul says “and those who buy as though they had no possessions?” What are some of the dangers of accumulating possessions? At what point do they reduce the quality of our spiritual of life, rather than enhancing it?

3. In the 18^th century, many mainline churches – Lutherans, Methodists etc. told their member not to buy stock in the stock market because it was a form of gambling. Now, we encourage folks to buy mutual funds from Thrivent – our Lutheran fraternal benefits society. The question is always “when is enough, enough”? If we hoard, we cannot give generously as God wants us to do? What is the relationship between faith and saving? The Bible says “You cannot love God and Mammon (an ancient God of wealth)”. Where do we draw the line?

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1 Corinthians 6:12-20- “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh.” But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

In this section of 1^st Corinthians, St. Paul talks about the “body”. He uses the term “body” as a double entendre, which means the physical body of the believer and the congregation which we always call the “body of Christ”. This section says some fascinating things. The Jewish community kept rigid dietary laws – a strict kosher kitchen. No blood and milk on the same plate, no pork, no shellfish. But Paul tells them the old laws have been replaced by God’s grace.

1. Food can become a way of describing holiness. Some militant vegetarians compare eating meat to committing murder – “animalcide”. Paul frees us from the tyranny of such self-righteousness by saying “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial”. God expects us to use our own judgment in applying the law – that is, the 10 commandments and the sayings of Jesus – to our lives. Can you become too obsessive about obeying God’s law? What are the results?

2. Verses 13b and 14 talk about the eternal significance of the body God will raise our bodies and give us eternal ones (see 1 Corinthians chapter 15 for the rest of the story). Metaphorically, the body of Christ, “the church” is meant to be a pure bride. Israel was often compared to a harlot (modern day word “slut”) for running after other gods who promised to deliver food and wealth. What false gods or idols are we moderns tempted to run after?

3. Verse 15-17 talks about the dangers of illicit sexual union. The purpose of human sexuality, according to God, is bonding. Paul and scripture refer to it as becoming one flesh. From “one flesh” unions, that is to say, from marriages come children who need and deserve to have two parents raise them – the same, two , their father and mother. Yet we live in a world that is hostile to this idea – it is called “chastity” or “fidelity”. How does advertising and the media misuse our sexual drive? What could we as a church do to strengthen the marital bonds? Appropriately used, sex is one of God’s most precious gifts. How can the church speak “anti-fornication” without sounding “anti-sex”?

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Acts 19:1-7 – While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied– altogether there were about twelve of them.

The early church did not have a fully developed doctrine of the Trinity. the notion that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit evolved over the first hundred years of the church’s life. The Apostles’ Creed was developed as a teaching tool to help converts prepare for baptism and entrance into the “body of Christ”. Our setting is Corinth, one of St. Paul’s favorite churches, also his most troublesome. The situation in the early church was much like tit is today. If, for example, you go on the religious TV network you will hear an amazing, almost mystifying variety of TV Evangelists. Some concentrate on predicting the end of time and “doomsday” and, to their credit, faithfully refer to scripture. Yet Jesus says in mark 13 that no one but God knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return. Creeds summarize our belief and limit them.

1. Think of the Creed, especially the third article I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting Amen. What does the creed say about the Holy Spirit?

2. Notice that the baptism Paul’s Corinthians participated in was in the “name of the Lord Jesus”. Some churches still baptize only in Jesus’ name. In your opinion are such baptisms valid? Why or Why not?

3. Paul, in verse to, lays his hands on 12 Corinthian parishioners at their baptism. God uses his (Paul’s) hand as s a conduit for the Holy Spirit. We still lay on hands at baptism and at the ordination of a new pastor. “They prophesied”, scripture says. What does it mean to prophesy today? Prophesy means to speak for God. What would God say about land mines, nuclear weapons, CEO’s making 30 million dollars annually, global warming? What would the Holy Spirit say to you and your life?

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John 1:1-5, 10-14,16-18 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

This 2nd Sunday after Christmas is a Sunday filled with the joy of a “promise kept”. God has given us “Emmanuel” which means “God is with us”. God is with us in Christ, in the incarnation of God’s very self. We use the term Son of God but the term son implies a distinct identity. I am a different person from my father; I have a completely different genetic code. In Christ, we meet the Father. We encounter God. It is a mystery so profound we cannot ever understand it through our reason. Only faith gives us access to its meaning.

1. In verse one, St. John uses the term “Word” to explain Jesus’ eternality. The actual Greek term is “logos” which means speech. We get our word “logo” meaning recognizable symbol of a company, business or enterprise – something like a “trademark” from it.. We also get our world “logic” from it. Jesus is God’s “logic”. Notice how St. John equates this world with light and life. How has God shown light on your darkness? How have you changed because of Jesus?

2. Verse 11 says “He came to what was his own but his own did not accept him”. While this sentence originally referred to the Jewish people, it also points to us. How do we reject God’s word? What word or words of God do we find hard to accept? Do we hear Jesus say “If you have 2 coats and your neighbor none, giving one of your coats to your neighbor” and explain away the inconvenience of giving half of our “worldly goods” to charity? Do we hear Jesus say “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you“, and say “well that doesn’t apply to drug addicts or Ossama bin Laden. What “key” do we use to unlock scripture’s meaning?

3. “From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace”. Verse 16. Grace we define as “unmerited favor”. It is like getting a lottery ticket as a present and it turns out to be the winning one. How is your life filled with grace? Grace inspires gratitude, generosity, and giving. Where could we be more grateful, generous and giving in our lives?

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In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Christmas is right around the corner. In today’s gospel lesson we read of Mary getting the news by means of Gabriel that she is going to be the mother of the Son of God. A friend of mine in seminary preached a sermon on this text which he called “My God! She’s pregnant!” As you can imagine, such a title caused something of a stir in the quiet Pennsylvania town where he was an intern. Yet, St. Paul in 1 Corinthians calls Jesus a scandal, a stumbling block, a foolish idea. God and human cannot mix. Eternal and temporal cannot inhabit the same space. Yet that is the mystery and the majesty of the event of Jesus Christ.

Questions to ponder.

1. Verse 28 says “Hail Mary, full of grace”, it is the beginning of the rosary. Mary was engaged but not married. Now, pregnant she had to explain to her fiancée that the Holy Spirit had made her pregnant. What might have been some of the thoughts that were going through Mary’s mind? What were her anxieties? Her fears?

2. Verse 38 says “let it be to me according to your word”. Martin Luther once said in a famous Christmas sermon that one of the greatest miracles of the season was that Mary believed what the angel told her. How is Mary’s faith a model for yours?

3. The Hebrew word for angel means “messenger” as well as “winged creature that flies around in space”. Who has been an angel for you in the past? Has anyone “born” God’s message to you? Do you think belief in angels is a help or a hindrance in your faith journey?

Respond in this space. I am always interested in what you think. Your questions have an impact on me as I write and prepare sermons.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

The third candle in the Advent wreath should be pink. The lessons from scripture are lighter too on this third Sunday in Advent. In this lesson from Paul’s letter, Paul admonishes us to rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances. What a tall order. In all, “a – l – l- ” circumstances? Many of you reading this are grieving. You have lost a husband or a wife whose life defined yours for 50 years. Maybe your income had been reduced because of the market downturn and you are forced to eat more spaghetti and less steak. St Paul is telling us that our ultimate fears – fear of God’s wrath and fear of dying have been silenced by Christ’s victory over sin and death. In the face of that we do have nothing to fear.

Questions to think about.

1. Verse 17 says pray without ceasing. How would you characterize your prayer life? What is the content of your prayers. God craves, desires, longs for cherishes and expects a dialogue with us. Can you think of a time when God moved in your Spirit so powerfully that you knew God was answering your prayer? What are some obstacles to your prayer life? What helps you to pray?

2. Verse 19 says “Do not quench the Spirit”. Quench is an odd word isn’t it? You quench thirst. You quench a passion. You put a red hot sword into cold water to cool it. The word carries the sense of extinguish. How do we quench God’s Spirit in us? How do we put out the fire and passion of God’s love as it moves in our lives?

3. Verse 20 says “Do not despise the words of the prophets, but test everything”. What in the world do you take this to mean??? How do we test God’s word?

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