1.27.2011
Retreat Poster
1.08.2011
Sermon at North Park Theological Seminary, December 6, 2010
In the Fall 2010 semester, as a part of my Foundations of Christian Worship class, I had to plan a chapel service with six other seminary students for the second week of Advent. When I volunteered to prepare the sermon, I noticed my colleagues breathing sighs of relief - though most of them enjoy preaching as much as I do, they didn't want to have an extra assignment during the last couple weeks of the semester! Our professor asked us to use the lectionary texts for the week, and I chose to preach from the Gospel text, Matthew 3:1-12.
- - - - - - - -
This morning, we have lit two candles on our Advent wreath because we have journeyed into the second week of Advent. Of course, it is also the sixteenth week of the semester. For most of us in this room, if I say, “the end of the semester has come near!”, you probably feel a mix of emotions. On the one hand, you feel fear and worry – you still have so much to do to before the semester is really over and you fear that you can't get it finished or you won't succeed the way you thought you would. On the other hand, you probably feel an excited anticipation – something new is coming, a time when you won't have the burdens of this semester, when the work you've done will be over and accounted for. The end of the semester has come near – indeed, it is here, and it requires action while it also evokes hopeful anticipation.
If the end of the semester strikes a mix of fear and hope in our hearts, how much more does the coming of the kingdom of God. John's cry in our gospel text this morning is a cry that reaches through the ages. As we explore God's word together this morning, in this second week of Advent and sixteenth week of the semester, let's all take a deep breath and ask God for his wisdom and guidance. Please pray with me.
Gracious God, thank you for this time, and for the privilege we have to encounter your word for us this morning. Please use me as a messenger, speaking on your behalf. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
JOHN THE BAPTIST'S LIFESTYLE & LOCATION
Though John lives on in memory as “the Baptist”, it was his prophetic message that brought people from Jerusalem and all over Judea to be baptized by him. And John was a prophet who spoke with more than just his words. His way of life and the location of his ministry were a form of communication as well. His simple lifestyle communicated a connection with Elijah, one of Israel's most important prophets who also spent much of his time in the wilderness, and who was unforgettably taken up in a whirlwind right there along the Jordan River. John's lifestyle said that he was a prophet – he would bring the word of the Lord and lead the community in acting on that word.
The place where John raised his prophetic voice said something as well. The wilderness represented much for the Jewish community. The wilderness is where God brought his people from the oppression of Egypt and led them to the freedom of the promised land, passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the waters of the Jordan River. The wilderness is a place where God leads his people into new things, and John's presence there said as much.
In our text today, Matthew connects John's prophetic call to that voice that Isaiah said would be crying out, heralding the coming of a Messiah who would lift up the valleys and bring down the mountains, making a smooth, even pathway so that the glory of the Lord would be revealed to all the people.
Now John, this wilderness prophet, stands at the Jordan River, preaching this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” Not only does his lifestyle and his location stir up memory of the prophets of Israel's past, but his call to repent echoes the repeated call of the prophets who have come before him.
REPENTANCE IN THE OT PROPHETS - RETURN TO GOD
In the Old Testament, the word for repentance is a word used commonly for turning back or returning. Whenever there is language of God's people repenting, it always refers to them returning to God.
And so we hear this call throughout the prophets – “turn back to him whom you have deeply betrayed,” says Isaiah. “Return, O faithless children,” is God's call in the third chapter of Jeremiah. And in Lamentations 3:40 we read, “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord.” Repent, return, turn back to God, we hear the prophets calling through time. And here comes John, echoing their cry – “repent, return, turn back to the Lord, for God is doing something new - the kingdom of heaven has come near!”
In this time, when the end of the semester has come near, we know what it means to prepare. It means to hit the books, to write that paper, to get that study group together, to goof off in the library because otherwise you'll go insane, to cast your burdens upon - - - your Facebook wall...
When the kingdom of heaven has come near, we prepare by turning to God in repentance, humbly confessing the ways we have turned away from God and seeking to follow God's leading in our lives.
GOD IS RETURNING TO YOU
Now, we have looked at the concept of repentance as God's people turning back to God. But in the Old Testament, it is not only people who return to the Lord. The same word is used when God himself returns to his people. In Zechariah and Malachi we hear God say, “Return to me, and I will return to you.”
I will return to you. Is that not a good paraphrase of “the kingdom of heaven has come near?” The kingdom of heaven is about God's rule on earth. John is announcing that God is returning to his people in a new way – in Jesus the Messiah, God has returned, not just to his people Israel, but to all people. Jesus is that shoot from the stump of Jesse we heard about in Isaiah 11. When he comes, the whole earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. The kingdom of heaven has come near – God is turning back to you. His rule, John says, is beginning, now! Here in this second week of Advent, this sixteenth week of the semester in 2010, God's rule is here, now – turn towards him, because he is turning to you.
I hope I haven't got you dizzy with all this turning. But doesn't repentance make so much more sense when it is a response to God first turning to you? When we enter Christian faith in the waters of baptism, it is a response to the God who first loved us. We make a once-and-for-all turn to God in baptism and enter a future marked by hope. And yet, we find ourselves on a path where we are frequently compelled to veer off into temptations of all kinds. We find ourselves lured by pride and greed to turn only to our own desires. And so it is still necessary for us to choose each day to turn again to the one who has turned to us.
BEARING FRUIT WORTHY OF REPENTANCE
And as John tells those religious leaders who come to check out his baptism, when we really turn to God, it's only natural that we would have something to show for it. Bear fruit that is worthy of repentance, John says. That every day decision to turn to God doesn't mean we walk around like this (look up). No, we walk around like this (look around), and we see the world with God's eyes. As you turn to his coming, what does God want you to see in the world today?
Sometimes we might be surprised at what God shows us when we turn to him. John himself seemed to be surprised later in Matthew's gospel when Jesus' ministry wasn't characterized by this whole unquenchable fire thing, but rather by the blind receiving sight, the lame walking again, lepers being cleansed, deaf people hearing again, the dead being brought back to life, and the poor having good news brought to them. That of course was Jesus' response to John in Matthew 11 when John sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he's really the one who is to come. Sometimes God surprises us when we turn to him.
I've been captivated lately by the life of Mary Lou Williams, a jazz pianist and composer who began her career as a teenager in the late 1920's and performed until she died in 1981. I find her intriguing not just because she was one of the few women well-known in the jazz world alongside men like Duke Ellington and Dizzie Gillespie. I find her intriguing because of the way God surprised her when she began to see the world with his eyes. When Mary truly met God for the first time, she felt a need to turn away from that late-night-smoky-club world of jazz completely. But in her process of repentance, as she turned to God through constant prayer and sought counsel from wise spiritual guides, she found herself returning to jazz with new vitality. She said that when she played piano as a Christian, she was praying through her fingers. God surprised Mary Lou Williams by showing her that repentance could mean staying in the world of jazz, but doing it with a new perspective. I think the timing of her conversion in the late 1950's was providential, because a few years later, the Second Vatican Council opened up Catholic worship to new art forms, and Mary ended up using her gifts to compose several jazz masses for churches she was involved in. She continued playing “secular” music as well, but she chose to turn to God, and she was praying through her fingers as she played.
This morning we get to turn to God at the table. We step out of our pews and come down the aisle and we take the body and blood of Emmanuel – God with us. As we celebrate the Lord's Supper together this morning, turn again to God, who has promised to turn to you. And as you turn out of this building later today, may you go with God, and may he open your eyes to the hopeful future that he has for you.
- - - - - - - -
This morning, we have lit two candles on our Advent wreath because we have journeyed into the second week of Advent. Of course, it is also the sixteenth week of the semester. For most of us in this room, if I say, “the end of the semester has come near!”, you probably feel a mix of emotions. On the one hand, you feel fear and worry – you still have so much to do to before the semester is really over and you fear that you can't get it finished or you won't succeed the way you thought you would. On the other hand, you probably feel an excited anticipation – something new is coming, a time when you won't have the burdens of this semester, when the work you've done will be over and accounted for. The end of the semester has come near – indeed, it is here, and it requires action while it also evokes hopeful anticipation.
If the end of the semester strikes a mix of fear and hope in our hearts, how much more does the coming of the kingdom of God. John's cry in our gospel text this morning is a cry that reaches through the ages. As we explore God's word together this morning, in this second week of Advent and sixteenth week of the semester, let's all take a deep breath and ask God for his wisdom and guidance. Please pray with me.
Gracious God, thank you for this time, and for the privilege we have to encounter your word for us this morning. Please use me as a messenger, speaking on your behalf. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
JOHN THE BAPTIST'S LIFESTYLE & LOCATION
Though John lives on in memory as “the Baptist”, it was his prophetic message that brought people from Jerusalem and all over Judea to be baptized by him. And John was a prophet who spoke with more than just his words. His way of life and the location of his ministry were a form of communication as well. His simple lifestyle communicated a connection with Elijah, one of Israel's most important prophets who also spent much of his time in the wilderness, and who was unforgettably taken up in a whirlwind right there along the Jordan River. John's lifestyle said that he was a prophet – he would bring the word of the Lord and lead the community in acting on that word.
The place where John raised his prophetic voice said something as well. The wilderness represented much for the Jewish community. The wilderness is where God brought his people from the oppression of Egypt and led them to the freedom of the promised land, passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the waters of the Jordan River. The wilderness is a place where God leads his people into new things, and John's presence there said as much.
In our text today, Matthew connects John's prophetic call to that voice that Isaiah said would be crying out, heralding the coming of a Messiah who would lift up the valleys and bring down the mountains, making a smooth, even pathway so that the glory of the Lord would be revealed to all the people.
Now John, this wilderness prophet, stands at the Jordan River, preaching this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” Not only does his lifestyle and his location stir up memory of the prophets of Israel's past, but his call to repent echoes the repeated call of the prophets who have come before him.
REPENTANCE IN THE OT PROPHETS - RETURN TO GOD
In the Old Testament, the word for repentance is a word used commonly for turning back or returning. Whenever there is language of God's people repenting, it always refers to them returning to God.
And so we hear this call throughout the prophets – “turn back to him whom you have deeply betrayed,” says Isaiah. “Return, O faithless children,” is God's call in the third chapter of Jeremiah. And in Lamentations 3:40 we read, “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord.” Repent, return, turn back to God, we hear the prophets calling through time. And here comes John, echoing their cry – “repent, return, turn back to the Lord, for God is doing something new - the kingdom of heaven has come near!”
In this time, when the end of the semester has come near, we know what it means to prepare. It means to hit the books, to write that paper, to get that study group together, to goof off in the library because otherwise you'll go insane, to cast your burdens upon - - - your Facebook wall...
When the kingdom of heaven has come near, we prepare by turning to God in repentance, humbly confessing the ways we have turned away from God and seeking to follow God's leading in our lives.
GOD IS RETURNING TO YOU
Now, we have looked at the concept of repentance as God's people turning back to God. But in the Old Testament, it is not only people who return to the Lord. The same word is used when God himself returns to his people. In Zechariah and Malachi we hear God say, “Return to me, and I will return to you.”
I will return to you. Is that not a good paraphrase of “the kingdom of heaven has come near?” The kingdom of heaven is about God's rule on earth. John is announcing that God is returning to his people in a new way – in Jesus the Messiah, God has returned, not just to his people Israel, but to all people. Jesus is that shoot from the stump of Jesse we heard about in Isaiah 11. When he comes, the whole earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. The kingdom of heaven has come near – God is turning back to you. His rule, John says, is beginning, now! Here in this second week of Advent, this sixteenth week of the semester in 2010, God's rule is here, now – turn towards him, because he is turning to you.
I hope I haven't got you dizzy with all this turning. But doesn't repentance make so much more sense when it is a response to God first turning to you? When we enter Christian faith in the waters of baptism, it is a response to the God who first loved us. We make a once-and-for-all turn to God in baptism and enter a future marked by hope. And yet, we find ourselves on a path where we are frequently compelled to veer off into temptations of all kinds. We find ourselves lured by pride and greed to turn only to our own desires. And so it is still necessary for us to choose each day to turn again to the one who has turned to us.
BEARING FRUIT WORTHY OF REPENTANCE
And as John tells those religious leaders who come to check out his baptism, when we really turn to God, it's only natural that we would have something to show for it. Bear fruit that is worthy of repentance, John says. That every day decision to turn to God doesn't mean we walk around like this (look up). No, we walk around like this (look around), and we see the world with God's eyes. As you turn to his coming, what does God want you to see in the world today?
Sometimes we might be surprised at what God shows us when we turn to him. John himself seemed to be surprised later in Matthew's gospel when Jesus' ministry wasn't characterized by this whole unquenchable fire thing, but rather by the blind receiving sight, the lame walking again, lepers being cleansed, deaf people hearing again, the dead being brought back to life, and the poor having good news brought to them. That of course was Jesus' response to John in Matthew 11 when John sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he's really the one who is to come. Sometimes God surprises us when we turn to him.
I've been captivated lately by the life of Mary Lou Williams, a jazz pianist and composer who began her career as a teenager in the late 1920's and performed until she died in 1981. I find her intriguing not just because she was one of the few women well-known in the jazz world alongside men like Duke Ellington and Dizzie Gillespie. I find her intriguing because of the way God surprised her when she began to see the world with his eyes. When Mary truly met God for the first time, she felt a need to turn away from that late-night-smoky-club world of jazz completely. But in her process of repentance, as she turned to God through constant prayer and sought counsel from wise spiritual guides, she found herself returning to jazz with new vitality. She said that when she played piano as a Christian, she was praying through her fingers. God surprised Mary Lou Williams by showing her that repentance could mean staying in the world of jazz, but doing it with a new perspective. I think the timing of her conversion in the late 1950's was providential, because a few years later, the Second Vatican Council opened up Catholic worship to new art forms, and Mary ended up using her gifts to compose several jazz masses for churches she was involved in. She continued playing “secular” music as well, but she chose to turn to God, and she was praying through her fingers as she played.
This morning we get to turn to God at the table. We step out of our pews and come down the aisle and we take the body and blood of Emmanuel – God with us. As we celebrate the Lord's Supper together this morning, turn again to God, who has promised to turn to you. And as you turn out of this building later today, may you go with God, and may he open your eyes to the hopeful future that he has for you.
1.01.2011
Latin Posters
At the beginning of my husband's second year of teaching high school Latin, he wanted to get some fun Latin quotes up on his wall. When he explored the options out there, he discovered that there haven't been many Latin posters designed in the last couple decades! So, he picked out a few of his favorite quotes and I had some fun designing some posters that we took to the print shop and he was able to hang up around his room.
In the chance that you're a Latin teacher too and stumbled across this, let me know if you're interested in getting your hands on the high resolution files for these posters, and I'd be happy to send them along.
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