touched by God s presence messengers bearing good news a gift to the world Sermon

Transcript

1 GOOD NEWS The Second Sunday after Epiphany (Year B) January 18, 2015 Lessons 1 st Samuel 3:1-10 [11-20] Psalm 139:1-6, st Corinthians 6:12-20 St. John 1:43-51 Pastor David J. Risendal drisendal@stplc.org facebook Dave Risendal Twitter: drisendal Saint Peter Lutheran Church 9300 East Belleview Avenue Greenwood Village, CO / facebook.com/stplc Prayer of the Day Thanks be to you Lord Jesus Christ, most merciful redeemer, for the countless blessings and benefits you give. May we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day praising you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. touched by God s presence messengers bearing good news a gift to the world Sermon 1 Grace to you and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Today is the Second Sunday after Epiphany. During this time of the church year, we typically have one key question before us: How does the lesson before us this morning reveal the presence of God to us? Have you ever thought about this? How do you become aware of the presence of God in your life? If we believe in God, and if we believe in resurrection, then we live with the understanding that the grave couldn t hold Jesus, right? That he was raised, and continues to live among his followers even today. So how are we aware of the presence of God in our lives? There are actually many moments in which we become aware of God s presence 1 Romans 1:7, 1 st Corinthians 1:3, 2 nd Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 st Thessalonians 1:1, 2 nd Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 3; New Revised Version Bible ( 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America).

2 The Second Sunday after Epiphany Year B (January 18, 2015) 2 in our lives, and many of you have told me stories that are important to you stories of when God has felt close, and powerful, and real. Some of you speak about God present in creation: at sunrise, at sunset, in the stillness of the deep woods, in the power of the surf at the ocean. Some of you have recalled the birth of a child, and the mystery of new life. Some of you attest to a certain peace, or calm, that you have experienced in the midst of great difficulty. Some of you have told stories about a certain awakening, or an insight, that has seemed to come from beyond you. Some of you have had experiences of physical healing where God s presence was instrumental. Some of you have found that badly damaged relationships were restored, and it seemed as though God s touch was there. Kids tell me about powerful experiences they have had had at camp especially when they are at Rainbow Trail. Certainly we talk about God being present to us here in this space, through the word and through the sacraments and the gathering of this community. These are important stories to remember. They are real stories. Stories about how God s presence has made a difference in our lives. And I hope you will both remember and remain aware of when these kinds of stories have taken place for you. You see, it isn t enough to believe in God in theory. Christianity isn t a set of philosophical assumptions about life. There is more to it than that. Our God is real, and present, and enters into our lives in powerful ways. This is particularly important for us to remember these days. You see, we live in a time when many have rejected the reality of God. I m sure you have read the same news stories that I have. A few years ago it was the Nones. I m not talking about Roman Catholic women who have taken a vow to live in community and serve God together. I m talking about those who, when asked for their religious preference in a survey, chose the option none. At least here in our country, we are seeing the percentage of the population who claim to have no religious preference rise dramatically. We have also talked about the young people who are growing up among us and how they are affected by the pluralism and secularism of our day. More and more young people are choosing to disassociate themselves from the church, and find meaning in other ways: health and exercise; entertainment and travel; work; family; even other religious perspectives. Some of our own family members have a limited relationship, if any at all, with the church and the faith that has given meaning to our lives. The truth is: many people in our world are asking whether or not anything good can come out of Christianity and some of them are looking to you and me for an answer to that question. That is why it is important for us to be aware of God s presence in our lives; to remember these stories we have about how God has touched us; to learn how to share them with others in concrete and credible ways. So that makes this morning s Gospel lesson particularly important. It is a story that could just as easily have taken place today, as two thousand years ago. Jesus has just called Andrew to become his follower the day before this story takes place. Andrew finds his bother, Peter, and after that, the three of them make their way to Peter and Andrew s hometown. Jesus wanders into town, meets a man named Philip who lives there, and

3 The Second Sunday after Epiphany Year B (January 18, 2015) 3 invites him to become one of his follows too. Philip does exactly the same thing Andrew did: he leaves Jesus, goes to find his good friend, Nathanael, and he invites him to come with them. But Nathanael s response is different than Peter s response. Nathanael is a skeptical man. He doesn t believe everything he hears. When Philip tells him that Jesus, this teacher from Nazareth, is the Messiah, Nathanael wonders out loud if anything good can possibly come out of Nazareth. Now look at how Philip responds. He doesn t get defensive. He doesn t pull out his three favorite Bible verses, trying to prove that Jesus is who he claims to be. He doesn t respond with a sophisticated theological argument that convinces Nathanael to change his mind about Nazareth. He doesn t claim to understand the situation better than his friend does. He simply says, Come and see. I ve seen something in this man. Come and see if you do. And with these words with this modest invitation Philip becomes one of the very first Christian evangelists. You know what an evangelist is, don t you? The Greek word is an interesting one: εύανγελλίον ( euangellion ). It actually refers to an angel, and the classic Greek definition of angel is messenger. But this εύανγελλίον is a unique messenger: literally translated, it is a messenger with good news. So while we may hear the word evangelist and think of public figures like Billy Graham or Oral Roberts or Dwight Moody, the truth is: anyone who knows something good about our faith, and who invites someone else to consider it, is an evangelist. We would do well to learn from Philip what it means to be an evangelist. It is as simple as understanding what our faith means to us, and encouraging someone else to take a look. Our job is not to change what they believe. Our job is not to convince them that we are right and they are wrong. Our job is not to offer technical, theological arguments about religious or social or political issues. Our job is simply to say, This is how my faith has blessed my life. You ought to take a look at whether or not it could bless you too. Messengers with good news. That s what we are. And there is a lot of good news to share. Just ask someone who has experienced God in a sunrise, or a sunset, or a walk in the woods, or a day at the beach. Just ask someone who has witnessed the miracle of birth, or healing, or new beginnings. Just ask someone who has sensed God s presence in an important time of their lives. Just ask someone who finds that this hour we spend together on Sunday morning s is an extremely important part of the week. To have experienced God in these ways, to care enough about a friend or neighbor to share it with them, and to hope that they too might come to know God s presence in their lives that s what it means to be an evangelist. I d like you to take a moment and think about this. Take out your Sermon Notes handout. Think a bit about how God has touched your life. And think a bit about who might be blessed by hearing about it. Maybe you could plan to be one of God s evangelists this week. A messenger with good news. [Give people a few minutes to consider this.] Will you pray with me? Dear God, thank you for the many ways you have touched our lives, and stirred our hearts. Help us to discover how your blessing on us might become our blessing on others, as we seek to share with them the good news we have received from you. We ask this in the name of the one whose resurrection gives us life and hope, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. David J. Risendal, Pastor

4 The Second Sunday after Epiphany Year B (January 18, 2015) 4 Gospel Lesson; English Text The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth. 46 Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit! 48 Nathanael asked him, Where did you get to know me? Jesus answered, I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you. 49 Nathanael replied, Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel! 50 Jesus answered, Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these. 51 And he said to him, Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. 3 Gospel Lesson; Greek Text: 1.43 Τῇ ἐπαύριον ἠθέλησεν ἐξελθεῖν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν καὶ εὑρίσκει Φίλιππον. καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀκολούθει µοι. 44 ἦν δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος ἀπὸ Βηθσαϊδά, ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Ἀνδρέου καὶ Πέτρου. 45 εὑρίσκει Φίλιππος τὸν Ναθαναὴλ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὃν ἔγραψεν Μωϋσῆς ἐν τῷ νόµῳ καὶ οἱ προφῆται εὑρήκαµεν, Ἰησοῦν υἱὸν τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρέτ. 46 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ναθαναήλ ἐκ Ναζαρὲτ δύναται τι ἀγαθὸν εἶναι; λέγει αὐτῷ [ὁ] Φίλιππος ἔρχου καὶ ἴδε. 47 εἶδεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὸν Ναθαναὴλ ἐρχόµενον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει περὶ αὐτοῦ ἴδε ἀληθῶς Ἰσραηλίτης ἐν ᾧ δόλος οὐκ ἔστιν. 48 λέγει αὐτῷ Ναθαναήλ πόθεν µε γινώσκεις; ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ πρὸ τοῦ σε Φίλιππον φωνῆσαι ὄντα ὑπὸ τὴν συκῆν εἶδον σε. 49 ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Ναθαναήλ ῥαββί, σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, σὺ βασιλεὺς εἶ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. 50 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὅτι εἶπον σοι ὅτι εἶδον σε ὑποκάτω τῆς συκῆς, πιστεύεις; µείζω τούτων ὄψῃ. 51 καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ἀµὴν ἀµὴν λέγω ὑµῖν, ὄψεσθε τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνεῳγότα καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους τοῦ θεοῦ ἀναβαίνοντας καὶ καταβαίνοντας ἐπὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. 4 First Lesson; English Text: 3:1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called, Samuel! Samuel! and he said, Here I am! 5 and ran to Eli, and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call; lie down again. So he went and lay down. 6 The Lord called again, Samuel! Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call, my son; lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for you called me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. So Samuel went and lay down in his place A list of Bible lessons for the coming weeks is available at St. John 1:43-51, New Revised Standard Version Bible ( 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America). St. John 1:43-51, The Greek New Testament, Aland, Kurt, Black, Matthew, Martini, Carlo M., Metzger, Bruce M., and Wikgren, Allen, ( 1983, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart).

5 The Second Sunday after Epiphany Year B (January 18, 2015) 5 10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for your servant is listening. [ 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever. 15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. He said, Here I am. 17 Eli said, What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you. 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him. 19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.] 5 Second Lesson; English Text: 6:12 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. 13 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. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. 15 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! 16 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. 17 But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. 19 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? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. 6 Second Lesson; Greek Text: 6:12 Πάντα µοι ἔξεστιν ἀλλ οὐ πάντα συµφέρει πάντα µοι ἔξεστιν ἀλλ οὐκ ἐγὼ ἐξουσιασθήσοµαι ὑπό τινος. 13 τὰ βρώµατα τῇ κοιλίᾳ καὶ ἡ κοιλία τοῖς βρώµασιν, ὁ δὲ θεὸς καὶ ταύτην καὶ ταῦτα καταργήσει. τὸ δὲ σῶµα οὐ τῇ πορνείᾳ ἀλλὰ τῷ κυρίῳ, καὶ ὁ κύριος τῷ σώµατι 14 ὁ δὲ θεὸς καὶ τὸν κύριον ἤγειρεν καὶ ἡµᾶς ἐξεγερεῖ διὰ τῆς δυνάµεως αὐτοῦ. 15 οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι τὰ σώµατα ὑµῶν µέλη Χριστοῦ ἐστιν; ἄρας οὖν τὰ µέλη τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποιήσω πόρνης µέλη; µὴ γένοιτο. 16 [ἢ] οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ὁ κολλώµενος τῇ πόρνῃ ἓν σῶµα ἐστιν; ἔσονται γάρ, φησίν, οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα µίαν. 17 ὁ δὲ κολλώµενος τῷ κυρίῳ ἓν πνεῦµα ἐστιν. 18 Φεύγετε τὴν πορνείαν. πᾶν ἁµάρτηµα ὃ ἐὰν ποιήσῃ ἄνθρωπος ἐκτὸς τοῦ σώµατος ἐστιν ὁ δὲ πορνεύων εἰς τὸ ἴδιον σῶµα ἁµαρτάνει. 19 ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι τὸ σῶµα ὑµῶν ναὸς τοῦ ἐν ὑµῖν ἁγίου πνεύµατος ἐστιν οὗ ἔχετε ἀπὸ θεοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἐστὲ ἑαυτῶν; 20 ἠγοράσθητε γὰρ τιµῆς δοξάσατε δὴ τὸν θεὸν ἐν τῷ σώµατι ὑµῶν st Samuel 3:1-10 [11-20], New Revised Standard Version Bible, opp. cit. 1 st Corinthians 6:12-20, New Revised Standard Version Bible, opp. cit. 1 st Corinthians 6:12-20, The Greek New Testament, opp. cit.