Sunday, May 31, 2015

Teaching and Fellowship

Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with who the covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4the pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices on those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I sent, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I, send me!”

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Acts 2:22-24, 37-47
22You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know - 23this man, handed over yo you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.

37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord of God calls to him.” 40And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons where added. 42They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

43Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45they would seek their possession and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46Day be day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.

The popular picture of prophets portrays them as ever-righteous, unwavering monuments of faith. Isaiah and Peter have both taken on almost mythic status, men who spoke to hundreds and left an indelible mark on their faith communities.

Well their legacy is powerful, but I'm not convinced that perfection is a prerequisite for prophetic ministry. I think if God waited for a flawless human to speak on his behalf, the Bible would be a fair sight shorter.

I think of the obnoxiousness of Amos, the arrogance of Paul, the PTSD of Jeremiah, the weirdness of Ezekiel, the stubbornness of Jonah, the outright abuse in Hosea, and I'm convinced that prophets are not flawless specimens of humanity. They're as broken as the rest of us. Even Peter, on whose testimony the church is built, was prone to say incredibly stupid things...

Prophets are picked for a particular purpose, and their formation throughout their lives shapes their voice as they proclaim the Word of The Lord. So Peter's overeagerness leads him to take charge and speak to a murmuring crowd at Pentecost. So Isaiah's unclean lips lead him to become a mouthpiece for The Lord of hosts. So a church with a history of division is called to embody unity in Christ.

The church began, as we see in scripture, in Jerusalem, among the people whom God had already called to covenant. “You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: “ Peter spoke from amid the cacophony of a crowd, teaching truth: “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know - this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.” From there it spread, inviting the church to grow in diversity, reflecting the image of God which is beyond the scope of any one way of being human.

For our triune God is in community within Godself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church is called to testify to who God is by being a community that is distinct, but inseparable in the truth. ”Like as God has gathered you into one peculiar people heretofore by his voice, so that same voice shall sound everywhere, that those which are far off may come and join themselves to you…" We are gathered here by God’s definite plan and foreknowledge, so that the glory of the Triune God may shine through us.

Like the prophets before us and among us, this congregation, and every member of it, has been picked for a purpose. Each person connected with this gathered body has been given a portion of the voice that spoke through the apostles at Pentecost. We gather together to proclaim the gospel and to give hope to all people, through the voice we have been given.

When the convicted crowd cries out “Brothers, what should we do?” The church responds by inviting them to join their newborn community. Peter’s call to repentance does not mean rejecting everything about your personality, it means dedicating who we are, both gifts and flaws, to the service of Jesus Christ, whom God raised up, "having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.” Turning away from sin is a part of repentance, sure. But the focus, as with all aspects of the Christian life, is on God. Peter calls upon the crowd to turn to God and live as people who are already forgiven. ”Here is salvation, not as earnest human striving but salvation beyond such striving, salvation which only comes as the call and work of the Spirit…"

God the Holy Spirit sustains us as a community, God the Son redeems us and defines our identity as people of the Word, and God the Father creates us and builds up the kingdom through us. The God who is in community with Godself calls us to be a covenant community, extending the promise to all peoples that we may share fellowship with one another and with Christ our Lord. “…Those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons where added. They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

We are rooted in our particular tradition, and we emerge imperfect, but made whole through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a church, we are growing closer to one another and to God. So we devote ourselves to the apostle’s teaching so that we are not pulled away from our identity as the people of God. “The church is not to drift from one momentary emotional outburst to the next... rather the church moves immediately to the task of teaching, keeping itself straight about what it is and what it is to be about.”


We are to be about God, who calls imperfect people to himself, and who builds up a community to testify to the world what love can do. For our hearts of stone are broken, and we have been given hearts for love alone, so that when God calls us saying “Whom shall I sent, and who will go for us?” We can respond with faith that comes from the Holy Spirit, saying, “Here am I, send me!”

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Visions of Life!


Visions of Life from Joseph Taber on Vimeo.


Ezekiel 37:1-14
1The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O LORD God, you know.” 4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5Thus says the LORD God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

7So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: thus say the LORD GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breath upon these slain, that they may live.” 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

11Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. The say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus say the LORD GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from you graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Acts 2:1-21
1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs - in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean? 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.
19And I will show portends in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.

Following the Holy Spirit is like driving at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but with the faith that there’s something beyond our sight, you can make it the whole way home, one headlight beam at a time. Well, technically two beams…

Prophets like Ezekiel live just beyond the edge of our headlights. In many ways what they see is still shrouded in darkness to us, yet still they describe what they can see. It gives us hope so that we can continue moving towards their vision, trusting that there are more things under heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy.

Ezekiel speaks, brushing across the surface of his vision: “The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.” Ezekiel’s visions are not quite reality. They’re impressions, writing a theology of hope in the midst of exile and disaster.

Valleys are fertile places, where the rainwater of two mountains flows down and meets in the middle to nourish the soil. The valley is where we can expect growth, yet Ezekiel finds that once lush valley is instead filled with bones. "He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O LORD God, you know.’”

I had always read Ezekiel’s response as a statement of faith. Some variation of “all things are possible for you, O LORD God, you know.” On this visit to Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones, I wondered if perhaps Ezekiel is asking God if he knows how dead these bones are. “O LORD God, you know these bones are dry and dead, right?” Perhaps the familiarity of this story has overshadowed how scandalous the news of restoration is to the people of Israel. I think I like the vision of the very human Ezekiel reminding God of mortality, so that the restoration and hope which follow can be felt even more powerfully.


Because God upends Ezekiel’s expectation of death: “Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.’”

“So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.”

In the same way, the disciples were gathered together in one place, because they had experienced the risen Christ behind closed doors throughout the last fifty days, and had grown in faith each day Jesus was with them. They weren't hiding, they were waiting in remembrance of Jesus Christ who had gathered them all together into one upper room . Waiting for God to act in the same manner he had in the past.

The day of Pentecost has come, and we are all together in one place. The hand of the LORD has come upon us, and he brought us out by the spirit of The Lord and set us down in the middle of a valley. What will the Spirit do next?

Guide the people in love, and to love. God the Holy Spirit guides and sustains God’s people with grace and love. Sometimes love is a hug, sometimes love is a shove.

The Spirit of Pentecost does not bring people into the church, it sends the church out. The Spirit we receive at Pentecost loves us by shoving us out into the world to speak language which loves God supremely and loves each other too. “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”

Now when the Spirit starts giving ability, things change. The Holy Spirit gives power. The church begins to grow. The Gospel spreads throughout the world. The Spirit is doing amazing things, and the entire next paragraph of our Acts passage unpacks how amazing this event is. “Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs - in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’”

We at the Presbyterian Church of Lowell aren’t the type to make fun of the disciples raucous new power, but If there had been Presbyterians around at that first Pentecost, I can hear us saying, “Listen Holy Spirit, I know you’re excited about all this power, and these new things you’re doing seem to have really connected, but before you make these changes, Holy Spirit, I need you to get committee approval.

New things and changes are especially tough on institutions like the Church, which are by their nature intergenerational. But the Spirit is not undoing what has happened before, she is simply expressing them in new languages.

Peter's sermon explaining what’s going on begins with Joel, an Old Testament Prophet. “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” This outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a new thing that is right in line with who God has revealed himself to be all along. Tradition is not erased by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, it's opened up! The expression may be new, but the truths are ancient: God intervenes in this world and is active among God's people, giving them new language in which to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

We are not waiting for the Holy Spirit, we have already received it. It has been poured out on all flesh! We may feel as if our old bones are dry and the only thing we have to offer is history, but the breath of God is within us, and our young men will see visions, and our old men will dream dreams. The LORD has spoken and is revealing himself to the world through us, through the people who are the Presbyterian Church of Lowell.


It will be scary to follow the Holy Spirit to where we are going. It will be scary. But we have come to worship and adore the LORD our God, and we know that God's Holy Spirit is moving through the world in powerful and life-giving ways. If we have the faith to follow God, speaking about God’s deeds of power in every manner as the Spirit gives us ability, we will find our souls filled with the breath of God and our bodies fed by Holy Manna from God's own hand. 

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Embodied Praise


Embodied Praise from Joseph Taber on Vimeo.


Luke 24:44-53
44Then [Jesus] said to them, “There are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you - that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness on sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nation, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

50Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he withdrew up into heaven. 52And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Ephesians 1:15-23
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.

When I was in Seminary, I got involved with a local retirement center called Presbyterian Village. They saw part of their ministry as giving students the opportunity to practice worship leadership, and I was given the opportunity to preach there once a month for almost a year.

In their chapel services, the average age was probably close to 80, and at least one worshipper had seen a century pass. There was a lot of wisdom in that room, month after month, centuries-worth of experiencing God's providence, generations of witnessing the grace of Jesus Christ. Their minds and bodies were slowing down, but still they gathered each week to worship God.

Their worship service reflected their slowing bodies, they would remain seated for the Call to Worship and the Affirmation of Faith, only about half would stand for the hymns. But each time I preached there, month after month, when it came time to sing the doxology, the whole congregation would stand. Even those who came in wheelchairs because they could not walk the hallway from their room to the chapel stood up in that one moment in the service. They may not be able to stand for long, but they would absolutely stand and sing God's praises for that one moment. 

Today is Ascension Sunday, when we celebrate that the Lord who rose from the tomb also rose into heaven, and is still seated at God's right hand. Christ is still present, but the part of history when Jesus walked among us in the flesh has passed. God is now intervening in the world differently. Christ is now God-With-Us in a new way. The Holy Spirit is breathing fresh life into the people of God, giving us reasons to stand in praise. For “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness on sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nation, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Today is Ascension Sunday, and our Lord sits at the right hand of God, and we are called to hope. This is the day when the posture of the church changes. "Henceforth, the disciples are to be in a posture of anticipation, looking forward to [Jesus's] return but in the meantime awaiting the promised power from God.” As Christians, we are always up on our toes, leaning forward into the kingdom which is both already and not yet. At any moment we’re ready to rush headlong downhill into what God has planned for us.

The Ascension changes the character of the disciples, and begins to shape them into the church. the seeming disaster of the cross caught the disciples flatfooted. The shocking joy of Easter put them on their heels. But with the Ascension, the earthly ministry of Jesus has come to a close. The disciples have to be on their toes. The tomb is empty and will never again be filled, for the Son of Man has been lifted up. He was lifted onto the cross, lifted from the grave, and now has been lifted up into heaven. “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew up into heaven” The disciples are left with a blessing, one that continues forever.

The change in their posture, the shift in their faith, is a response to the blessing of Christ, which carries them forward from the world-reforming moments to which they are witnesses. They’re brimming with anticipation for the mission that is set before them, dancing back and forth with the excitement of faith in a Risen Lord. “…the gospel always makes in clear that the impact of the faith in here, in our hearts, is because of what God did out there, in God's mighty and redemptive acts.” They have witnessed amazing things.

And you know what? So have we. Nearly Twenty Centuries after Christ’s earthly ministry, we are still witnesses to the mighty works of God. We may not have stood by as Jesus healed the blind and lame, but we have felt God’s presence with us in our own sickness, or those of a loved one. We may not have touched the wounds in the hands of the Risen Christ, but we have seen the work of those hands in our midst. We’ve seen a church racked by conflict come together to build up the kingdom in last years Vacation Bible School. We’ve seen a church that was struggling against decline come alive with new hope as old friends returned and new family joined with us. We know that hope has always been here, but what we’ve seen in this body has given us new reasons to trust the hope we’ve always had.

“I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.” Boy I’d love to take credit for the good things going on in our congregation, but it’s not about me, and it’s not about y’all. It’s about the blessing of Christ, which is given to first to the disciples, then Jerusalem, then all the world. 

We are witnesses to the mighty works of God. Some we have inherited, others we have seen firsthand. But that doesn’t mean we will not struggle. The Christian life is not an easy one, the grace we have been freely given is costly. “The resurrection does not end the fear of death or violence. Rather, the resurrected Jesus stands with us in the face of these horrors and says to us, 'Fear not, I have overcome death.’" Therefore, even in the face of death and violence, we are able to step out as the body of Christ and praise God even amid the terrifying events we will face. We are not immune, but “with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.” We do have hope. We have a blessing from Christ that gives us the faith to be embodied praise.

We are the church, the body of Christ, and it’s not an individual calling, it’s a calling to be united as a community of faith. "Salvation is a corporate affair, known through the church as it grows into the 'fullness' of Christ's body. This is not personal salvation or new-age spirituality. Christ saves through tangible, corporeal, committed community.” Whether that community is a congregation that has been through the ringer over the last few years or a retirement community that still commits to praise. We are the church, in all its varied expressions, following Christ, who is our head.

As the body of Christ, we are not carrying our head to the places we want to go, we are bound to follow where our head takes us. Christ who is our head has ascended to God the Father, “And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” Following Christ, our head, everything we do faithfully brings us closer to God, whether we are sprinting or stumbling.

Not all of us are equally able to chase down the Holy Spirit, but none of us are so stuck that we cannot follow Christ, who has ascended to God, yet is still moving here on earth, among God’s people. Sprinting or stumbling or slowly meandering, we are moving towards God and are praising God with our whole selves, not just our mind or our spirit, but our strength too. Even if it’s just a smile, our bodies are build to praise God.

We joined the disciples in standing in awe of the ascension, just as we joined the ancient Israelites at the foot of the mountain of the LORD. We rejoice with them in our salvation, but the Israelites and the Disciples were still waiting for  what would guide and shape their identity. For the Israelites, it was the law. For the disciples, it was the Holy Spirit, fulfilling verse 49 of our Luke passage, “And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” We have been given both, and have seen the Risen Christ here in the church, which is his body. We have seen the disciples who “…worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.” Therefore, as the Body of Christ, let us eagerly anticipate what God is about to do: something amazing!

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Complete, Noisy, Joy


Complete, Noisy, Joy from Joseph Taber on Vimeo.


Psalm 98
1A Psalm
O sing to the LORD a new song,  for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.
2The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

4Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break into joyous song and sing praises.
5Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.

7Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.
8let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy
9At the presence of the LORD for he is coming to judge the earth. he will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

John 15:9-17
9As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

12This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.


We've taken a step back this Sunday. We've taken a step back to when the Word became flesh and made his home among us. We've taken a step back into Jesus's earthly ministry.

We've spent the last month a half caught up in the celebration of Easter, a season that will carry us another two weeks. For forty days we lived in a Lenten wilderness, surrounded by lament and swimming in grief, all leading us to Holy Week, which began with subverted expectations and ended with a shocking resurrection. Now, in our post-resurrection light, the things Jesus said while he was among us begin to fit together.

So this Sunday, we're taking a step back. We're remembering together the things that Jesus said to us as we gathered in that upper room. We're taking a step back to remember what our Lord said in the moments before God brought us out of the house of bondage with a mighty hand. "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love."

Christ’s command to us is to love one another, because he has loved us, because the Father has loved him. It all gets passed down with the weight of God’s gracious commandments. "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete."

It's a little odd to talk about joy on the night of his arrest. And the disciples had much to fear, and in the days to come would see even more reason to live in fear. Their Lord would be arrested, unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, and executed by the occupying Roman Empire. Yet here is Jesus, their beloved teacher, their Lord, talking about joy as if he has no idea what's going on in the world around them.

And yet he clearly knows what's going on better than anyone else in the room. Because in the days to come the disciples will see things they never imagined possible. We have seen that just beyond the reach of the cross, we have the empty tomb, and right now a few weeks later, we are living in that complete joy.

Few of us, I'd imagine, can clearly recall what complete joy looks like. Thousands of years removed from the events describe in scripture, we live in a scary looking world. The news from all over the world seems violent and bleak. We are taught to always be cautious, or someone may take advantage of us. The internet, which for my money is the greatest tool for communication since the printing press, can spread fears unbelievably fast with a viral post or a forwarded e-mail. Advertisers especially prey on our fears, telling us if we buy this gadget or that service, that the thing we're afraid of won't happen.

Our world is afraid, more afraid than it's been in a long time.

But the church is uniquely positioned, in this fearful world, to proclaim the good news that carries our joy until it is complete. The hymn we sang last week, "Come Sing, O Church, in Joy" shows us that even though the events in scripture may be far removed, the stories are near to our hearts, giving us reason to celebrate the journey now and praise The Lord. We turn to the ancient words of Psalm 98 show us what complete joy can look like: "O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory."

Our joy is in the LORD whose kingdom cannot be contained by all the might of the Roman Empire, or any other nation for that matter. The kingdom of God cannot even be contained by the grave, for the tomb is empty. "The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God." And having seen the LORD's victory, our chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever.

We’re pretty good, as a people, at glorifying God. We come to worship, we drop a little money in the plate, we pray before meals, we do the Jesus thing, we even sing songs of praise. Sometimes, however, glorifying God sounds, and feels, more like a chore. Praise God from whom all blessings flow…

Sometimes we forget to enjoy God forever. We forget to ooh and ahh at the work of God’s hands. Sometimes we forget that God has truly done marvelous things. “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break into joyous song and sing praises. Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.” Doesn’t have to be flawless technique, just has to be joyful.

So this Sunday, we’re taking a step back, remembering that although we have much to fear, we have an overriding joy in the powerful love of God. “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the LORD for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity."

It’s not usually my style to tell folks what to do, I’m more of a “let’s explore this together” kind of leader, but I’m going to stake my Pastoral Authority on this: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, Presbyterian Church of Lowell. We shall put away our fear and live in complete noisy joy, because our God has done marvelous things. 

We have joy that looks at grief and death and says, "You are not the end of our story." Our story begins and ends with the love of God, and with the love of Christ, who lays down his life for his friends. We have seen lament, and know that it is a part of how we grapple with God, but the Crucifixion and Resurrection shows us that God’s right hand and mighty arm are even stronger than grief, even stronger than death, and so our laments break forth into joy.

We will sing with exclamation points, even if it means singing a touch off key. We will make a joyful noise, even if it makes us uncomfortable. We will praise and glorify God with everything we’ve got: voices and instruments and paintbrushes and knitting needles and hammers and pie crusts and numbers and coffee mugs. We will glorify God, and we will enjoy God forever, because that is our chief end.

When folks stop us and say ”What makes you so joyful?” We will tell them: We have joy in Jesus's love, joy in shared love with family and friends, we're a community of love, not fear. We can stare into the world's fear and with the confidence that only comes from Jesus, declare that God has done marvelous things. In a fearful world, we can walk with joy because we have known the love of God through Christ our Savior, who died, is risen, and will come again. We are joyful because we abide in love.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

There is no limit on the love we are given. There is no limit on the love we are to show. We show that love by letting love, and the joy to which it leads, define us. We are commanded to love one another, and the love which made us makes us one. I cannot think of a better reason for joy than that. Joy is the fruit that we will bear out into the world, fruit that is blooms from the Love of Christ, who calls us friends. In a fearful world, we can proclaim the gospel through our Joy, because we abide in love, and are kept together by love.


Therefore, we will live in our joy, not our fear. We will make a joyful noise to the LORD. We will glorify God with every fiber of our being. We will sing praises with a new song.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Invitation of the Spirit

Invitation of the Spirit from Joseph Taber on Vimeo.



John 15:1-8
1”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Acts 8:26-40
26Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (this is a wilderness road.) 27So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” 30So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.

33In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe this generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” 38He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.

The church is beginning to grow in Jerusalem. The Easter excitement is catching, and the apostles are seeing the good news of God spread throughout the region. They've appointed seven new converts to act as helpers, making sure that their growing group following the Way are taken care of while the apostles can concentrate on teaching. 

Philip the evangelist was one of these seven helpers, the first class of Deacons, chosen from among the people for special service to the people. After one of the other seven, a man named Stephen, is stoned to death, the church scatters, like dandelion seeds on the wind. Philip winds up in Samaria, and begins his ministry baptizing and teaching in that region. His community is growing, it's lively, it's members receive the Holy Sprit and begin doing great things.

Then Philip is called away from his church-planting success story. "Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 'Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.' (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went." He got up and went, believing that the same Spirit of God that hovered over the waters at creation was going with him. He got up and went, trusting that the same Wind that carried him from Jerusalem to Samaria was still spreading the dandelion-like gospel. He got up and went, knowing that that the Breath that inspired him came from the God who raises the dead.

On his way, he encounters a surprising sort of person. "Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah." These two would never have interacted apart from their relationship with Christ. The Ethiopian Eunuch had wealth, power, and connections, but he was shut out from Temple Worship. Philip, on the other hand, was Jewish and closely connected to temple life. He was an insider who was chosen by the community to serve them as a deacon, but he was not the sort of man who would have met with diplomats from Ethiopia. "...In being obedient to the Spirit, preachers like Philip find themselves in the oddest of situations with the most surprising sorts of people." Odd sorts of people such as a foreigner, and one who is cut off from the covenant, who still worships in Jerusalem and studies scripture.

The Ethiopian Eunuch was a powerful and influential man, but the power, influence, and all the treasury of the Queen of Ethiopia could not bring him into the covenant. He was excluded because of who he was, not as a matter of his birth, but as a matter of who he served, and how he served. At the invitation of the Spirit, however, ”… the Eunuch's story of shame is refracted through the story of the cross and resurrection of Christ, [and] it becomes a narrative of redemption, restoration, and hope.”

“Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ 31He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.” There is power in his humility, his willingness to share his chariot with some street preacher named Philip. He can read the text, but he needs help interpreting, and the hope that he senses is just past his reach. But, the invitation of the Spirit is so powerful that he will not let his weakness keep him from it, and he invites Philip to help him understand. ”This is the true reverence of Scripture, when as we acknowledge that there is that wisdom laid up there which surpasses all our senses;...but, reading diligently, we depend upon the revelation of the Spirit, and desire to have an interpreter given us." So Philip, at the invitation of the Spirit, beings with what’s in front of him, a questioning Ethiopian eunuch, and through that single passage proclaims the good news about Jesus Christ.

This Jesus is one who was wounded also. He has been cast out by those he came to serve and they crucified him. He carries the wounds his hands, his feet, his side, even after the resurrection. Isaiah points to a suffering servant, and Jesus is the one to whom he is pointing, suffering servant, wounded Messiah, crucified God, all so that humanity could be made whole again through the crucifixion and resurrection. The Ethiopian Eunuch is a servant also, a powerful one, but still a servant to the Queen of Ethiopia. He too has been wounded, he is cut off from the covenant and unable to pass on his family name. Perhaps he feels connected to Christ in the shared shame of their different wounds, perhaps he feels the invitation of the Spirit to join this new body that will one day be called Christianity. Perhaps the gospel has given him hope that he doesn’t need to be defined by his shame, but can instead be claimed by baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. “As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’”

Some folks may have noticed that in our pew Bibles the passage goes straight from verse 36 to verse 38. There’s a footnote at the bottom indicating that some versions of acts add one more interaction before the eunuch is baptized. “And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” This verse 37 was probably added by a later editor and not part of the original text, but that doesn’t mean it’s insignificant.

The presence or absence of verse 37 can make a great deal of difference to this text. Is a formal confession necessary for admittance, or is God's bringing two people together in a relationship centered on Christ enough? Is the fact that the Ethiopian Eunuch even asked to be baptized enough to admit him into this emerging community of faith? 

Seems to me that God’s action in this story is sufficient to bring the Ethiopian eunuch and Philip to this place together, and that everything is a response in faith. God’s already picked this servant and that diplomat, Philip and the Ethiopian, before either of them could confess what they believe. This isn’t a story about the importance of personal confessions, this is a story about the invitation of the Spirit extending to the farthest places and the unlikeliest people.

The Ethiopian eunuch’s question is the crux of the passage. It’s where the eunuch, risks rejection by this exciting and energizing new form of Judaism. As an Ethiopian, he was a foreigner, and the temple was for the people of Israel. As a eunuch, he was cut off from the covenant, and was forbidden from entering the Temple to worship. As a servant of a foreign Queen, he served interests other than those of the Promised Land. In every way imaginable, he did not fit. Yet he still has the hope that he can be included, that this wounded Lord called Jesus could bring him wholeness and belonging. Dr. Tom Long, who has taught preaching at some of the top Divinity Schools in the nation, summarizes this passage in a particularly beautiful way:

"'What is to prevent me from being baptized?' asked the eunuch. 'Absolutely nothing' whispered the Spirit, 'Absolutely nothing.' So the eunuch commanded the chariot to stop, and he was baptized right there on the spot. Walls of prejudice and prohibition that had stood for generations came tumbling, blown down by the breath of God's Holy Spirit, and another man who felt lost and humiliated was found and restored in the wilderness of God's grace in Jesus Christ."

The grace we have in Jesus Christ surpasses even the grave, what are a few social conventions in the face of that good news? Philip baptizes him in a roadside puddle and the Holy Spirit throws open the doors of the Church to a vast and mysterious world. The grace we have in Jesus Christ pushes past boundaries and breaks down barriers, and carries us to unexpected places and unexpected people. The invitation of the Spirit compels to open our hearts to God’s gracious good news, and to open our doors to all who need to hear it.

How wide do these church doors open? Do they open wide enough for the Ethiopian Eunuch? Do they open wide enough for us to go on our way rejoicing? Do they open wide enough for the poor, the downtrodden, the humiliated? How wide do these church doors open? Do they open wide enough to send us out into the world to proclaim the gospel? Do they open wide enough to send us out to interpret for those who do not understand? Do they open wide enough for us to hear the invitation of the Holy Spirit?


Let’s go find out.