Understanding the Jesus of the Gospels

Offered to the congregation of the Wharton Hungarian Presbyterian Church on May 1, 2022

Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder PCUSA

This morning, I want to talk to you about doubt. I want to look at this fellow Thomas who through the millennium has gotten a pretty bad rap because of his doubt and his hesitation in believing the witness of his fellow disciples.

What do we know about Thomas? Among the 12, he was called the Twin. I don’t know why, the Gospel writer, John, doesn’t explain it. He just tells us; he was called the Twin. He is most famous for his doubt but less famous for his ministry after Jesus’ ascension. His ministry was to take the word of Christ to the East, to India and he is credited for the founding of seven churches there.

But still the thing we most remember him by is his doubt and his supposed lack of faith and believing. “I will not believe”, he says to his fellow disciples. I think that when we do that, we miss John’s point in his telling of the events of those evenings in the locked room when Jesus visited them after his resurrection.

Let’s see if we can re-examine Thomas’ journey to faith. Let’s start by reconstructing those two scenes in the locked room visited by Jesus.

On the evening of the first day of the week – that would have been Sunday evening, they were all there [minus Thomas] locked inside that room for fear of the Jewish leaders, we are told. Now this is the evening of the same day that Mary discovered the empty tomb and then ran to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord. It was the same evening of the day that Peter and John ran to and witnessed the empty tomb for themselves. This is the day that the Lord had told them was coming but despite all this, they were locked in a room hiding.

It was almost as if they didn’t get the memo. They had heard Mary’s report, she had seen the risen Lord. Peter and John could verify, Yes. The tomb was empty. So why were they hiding? Shouldn’t they be out telling Jerusalem and all the people, “He did what he said he would do. After three days, his temple has been raised up again. He is risen!”

No. Instead, they were hiding. The pillars of Jesus’ new covenant, the very ones who were to bring his message of good news to the world were hiding in fear.

Then inside that closed room, Jesus appeared. Jesus shows them his hands and his side and breaths upon them his Hoy Spirit and they recognize him and rejoice.

Now, please stop for a moment and see all that is happening here. The disciples are not emboldened by the good news that Mary brings or of Peter’s and John’s witness. Far from it, they are paralyzed with fear. Jesus appears to them in that fear filled place and shows them his hands and his side and then says, “Peace be with you.” And then, they finally recognize who it is. It is their Lord. The physical proof is displayed before them so that they could believe.

Now, there’s more that I want to say about this encounter, but I want to fast forward to Thomas and then we will circle back to this, later.

Thomas is not with the disciples on the first night. Perhaps, he too, was hiding. Or, perhaps, he is despondent. Because Thomas understood what was to happen, and it happened; that Jesus was going to Jerusalem to his death. Remember that days before when Jesus announced that he was going to Jerusalem, the disciples tried to convince him not to go because it was too dangerous. But Jesus was not deterred. He said we are going, and it was Thomas who said, “Let us also go, so that we may die with him.” knowing fully what it was likely to lead to. It was Thomas who understood the events of the days leading up to the cross.

Now eventually, he shows up and the disciples tell him, “We have seen the Lord.”

Thomas’ reaction? We all know it all by heart. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the marks of the nails and my hand in my side, I will not believe.”

OK. Let’s stop for a moment. Let’s read into Thomas’ reaction a little bit. This is the thing; the disciples were not the sharpest knives in the drawer. They were mostly fishermen and their families, a tax man and a couple more that we know very little about. And maybe, just maybe, Thomas had a right to be a little skeptical and doubt them just a little. After all, they had been locking themselves away in fear. Thomas might be thinking they were creating wild stories out of their isolation and that fear. So, perhaps, rightly so, Thomas doubted their story. And by the way, Thomas wasn’t asking for anything more than Jesus had already provided the other disciples – to see the marks of the nails and the large wound in Jesus’ side.

So, now let’s move a week ahead in time and reenter that locked room. This time Thomas is with them, and Jesus reappears and greets them saying, “Peace be with you.” Jesus then turns directly to Thomas and invites him to put his finger into the marks that the nails had made and his hand into Jesus side where the spear had pierced him.

Now STOP! Stop breathing and hold your breath and be silent. Because I am sure that is what must have happened in the room at that moment. The disciples must have all stopped, crowded around Thomas and Jesus in anticipation to see what Thomas would do.

What was it Thomas did? What was it Thomas said?

He looked at Jesus and finally saw him for who he truly was. He says, “My Lord and my God.” What that was is a clear and emphatic declaration of his faith with an explanation point (!).

Now, it is important to realize what has just happened here. We rush through this because we make a judgment that Thomas’ doubt is a weakness and that he is to be rebuked and we want to move on to the end of the passage.

But consider this. Mary sees Jesus and reports to the disciples simply, “I have seen the Lord.” Then the disciples report to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas is the FIRST to actually see who Jesus truly is. His response is, “My Lord AND my GOD!”

Thomas is the first of Jesus’ followers to understand what had happened, what IS happening and who Jesus really is.

Jesus is Lord and GOD.

This is perhaps the single most important thing Thomas has done for us in providing his witness. Because he arrives at it through his doubt. He has questions. He is unwilling to be accepting of things he does not understand. So, he demands answers. Or, if not answers then he demands clearer insight. And when he gets that from none other than the risen Lord, the faith that he arrives at is rock solid. At this point, Thomas’ faith is built upon a firm foundation. The poet Tenneson wrote, “There is more faith in honest doubt than is half the creeds.” Thomas’ faith is a result of working through his doubt and arriving at a truth that he can be sure of. And once he is sure, he goes all the way. Thomas declares, “My Lord AND my GOD!”

Now this is a faith-changing witness for us. Yes, Mary, the Lord is risen. Yes, Peter and John, the tomb is empty, and you have seen the Lord appear in a locked room. But it is Thomas who sees who Jesus is. He is Lord AND God.

If this isn’t enough, there is more grace in this passage for us. This passage gives us hope. It provides hope and encouragement for us in how Jesus reveals himself to his disciples on the first evening and then to Thomas one week later.

Thomas and the other disciples have questions, doubts, and fears. None of them is sure about what has happened at the Cross or at the empty tomb. They, all of them, had doubts like Thomas. The other disciples [Peter and John among them] were hiding in fear. They had questions but no answers. None of them had a rock-solid unwavering faith without a moment of doubt. The scene we see re-created here by John can be any day in our own lives, in our own faith journeys. I want us to dwell upon this for a moment. The doubt and fear that Thomas and the other disciples had is common for human beings and for Christians. We cannot always be mighty pillars of the Christian faith that can strut out and say look at me, “I have the light of the risen Lord within me, and I will never display any fear or doubt. My light will never be dimmed.”

Yeah, it doesn’t work that way. We are no different from this huddled group of cowering and fearful followers of Jesus hiding behind locked doors.

But Jesus did something for them, for Thomas, that he will do for all of us. Jesus goes to the disciples where their fear is, into that fear-filled dark and locked room. He goes to Thomas where his doubt is. Jesus doesn’t ridicule him. Jesus doesn’t belittle Thomas. You don’t hear, “Oh, yea of little faith. Tsk. Tsk.” Instead, Jesus goes to Thomas, where his doubt is and helps him to see the proof that he needs to see. Jesus isn’t aloof; he isn’t impatient or judgmental. Jesus understands their fear and doubt and walks with them through it.

Now what of us? Are we pillars of the faith, unwavering and steadfast? Are we rock-solid examples of the Christ’s resurrection? If you think back just a short while ago at the start of our worship today, we confessed our sins before God acknowledging our failures and weaknesses. So, the answer to those questions would be an emphatic, No.

So, that is why we need Jesus every day to do the same for us that he had done for Thomas and the others. That is, to walk with us through our fear and doubt. Faith journeys are long Treks through dark valleys of doubt. Our journeys are messy and filled with doubt and questions, ups and downs, trials and tribulations. If you don’t think so, just read the Book of Daniel. And that’s OK. It was OK for Thomas, and it is OK for us. Jesus understands. Jesus is here to walk that Journey with us. Don’t lose sight of his outstretched hand. See the marks that the nails had made and take it and let him walk your journey with you.

And all God’s people say Amen.

Charge: My friends, my charge to you is a simple one. Asking questions of Gods IS a pathway to growing in our faith. Jesus told us, “Ask and you will receive.” We don’t usually think of these words of Jesus as having to do with our doubts. But know this. As Jesus did for Thomas, Jesus will come to you in your doubt and give you his Peace.

Luke 13: 31.35

Offered to the Congregation of the Highlands Presbyterian Church, Long Valley, NJ during the Lenten Season

Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder, PCUSA

There is a lot going on in this very short passage from Luke. It is only 6 verses long, but it is packed. In it we have some sympathetic Pharisees coming to Jesus to warn him about Herod’s plot to kill him. We hear Jesus answer them. When he does, he hurls some pretty harsh insults at Herod. And at its close, Jesus laments about how Jerusalem is receiving him, or not receiving him.

But if we are to understand this passage, we have to get at something which for the most part, I think, is glossed over. We have to feel Jesus’ emotions in this exchange. You know we have heard these passages so many times in our lives that perhaps we don’t actual feel the depth of the anguish and pain in the words Jesus is speaking.

I am going take a risk and share with you a personal story and recount to you an episode in my younger life. Now I know that every one of you have gone through it, too. But I am going to share this because I want you to recall something from your own lives that will perhaps be painful for you.

In my college days, I had met a young woman who I had fallen head over heels in love with. Right from the start, I thought she was the one. Although I will forever thank God that it was not the case as the woman that God had guided me to was my real forever love. Thanks be to God. But I didn’t know that at the time. She and I spent our entire freshman year at college together. In fact, we were together more than apart even though she boarded at college and I lived at home. I would like you to understand how much in love I was. And at the same time, think about a similar episode in your own lives. Now perhaps you can also feel how devasted I was when she told me it was over and that she simply didn’t want to continue our relationship. It came out of the blue as a complete shock. There were no indications that I saw that anything was amiss or that something ominous was about to happen. In fact, she dropped that bomb at a family gathering that I was invited to. I was there to meet mom and dad, brothers’ families and their wives and children and then after it all when I was getting into my car to leave for home, she told me, “Oh by the way, It’s over.”

When she told me, it was like I was cut off from reality and set off spinning out of control. I was lost. I was experiencing pain I had never imagined before. It was if she had ripped my heart out of my chest, spat on it and stomped it into the dust of the ground. I cried for days.

That was my experience. And, I know that every one of you has had this experience in your lives or something like it. It is not like it was unique to my youth. It is something as human beings we have all experienced. We have all been there. And as unpalatable as it may seem for a Sunday worship message, I ask you to recall those memories, now. I ask you to recall that painful moment so that you can have a sense for what is happening to and inside Jesus’ heart in this passage. I don’t want you to understand it. I want you to feel it.

The scene today is that Jesus is curing people and casting out demons. And while he is in the midst of this ministry, certain sympathetic Pharisees come to him to warn him that Herod is plotting to kill him. Now it probably comes as a surprise to you that there were any Pharisees at that time that were sympathetic to Jesus. But remember that Nicodemus was a Pharisee and there were probably a couple other likeminded men. They came to Jesus to warn him that he needs to get out of town, now.

What was Jesus’ response? Well, the first words out his mouth are, “You go tell that fox…” Right here, as the first words exit out of Jesus’ mouth, we need to sit up and take notice. These words should be something that should get our attention because these words are no compliment. In our political rhetoric today, it might something akin to saying, “Go Brandon”. That is something like what Jesus is doing in his characterization of Herod as a fox. For Jews, the fox was the slyest of animals, but not in a good or positive sense. It was thought of as cunning in an evil way. It was thought of as the most destructive of animals attacking domesticated livestock, a killer, a destroyer. That is how Jesus is characterizing the Jewish King. When used to refer to a man, it was symbolically representing that man as worthless and insignificant. Wrap all these together and you can get a sense that Jesus was hurling some really harsh insults at Herod Antipas, the king of Galilee. And for obvious reasons, these sympathetic Pharisees would never be able to repeat it to Herod.

Wow! Is this our loving Son of God Most High? Is this the teacher who in chapter 5 of Luke spoke the words, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Love your neighbor as yourselves.” “Turn the other cheek.”

Well, yes, it is. It is the same Jesus. But it was a Jesus under stress. Perhaps now, you can begin to sense in him a heightened degree of frustration and that perhaps the weight of what was before him, the Jews rejection of his message, and what would ultimately come to pass on the Cross is also beginning to weigh on him.

So, Jesus answers the Pharisees, “You go tell that fox. I am here [right here] casting out demons and curing the people.” This is as if to say, I will not be hard to find. This is a challenge. I will be here today, tomorrow and on the third day when I will finish my work. Jesus is speaking in terms of his life and ministry. I am doing God’s work today. I will be here tomorrow doing God’s work, and my ministry will go on until I am finished on the third day. I think this is a foretelling by Jesus of his resurrection. But his tone, I think, is strained. Because immediately following, he begins to lament about how Jerusalem treats its prophets. The city kills and stones them. Here you have to begin to hear with your heart and not simply listen with your ears.

Now, you have to begin to imagine the tears welling up in Jesus’ eyes. Now, you have to begin to hear his voice breaking up as he utters his next words.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills its prophets … How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you are not willing.”

Oh, my gosh! Do these six verses begin to feel like something more; that on a grand scale begins to open Jesus’ heart so that we can begin to feel his anguish and pain?

This moment is the reason I asked you earlier to recall your most painful memories of a love that was refused, of a lover that spurned you and tossed off your affections as meaningless nothings whispered by a dreamy-eyed, star-crossed lover. For that is what the leaders of God’s chosen people were doing. They were rejecting Jesus as God’s Messiah. They were refusing to return the love that God was extending to them. And Jesus is experiencing that pain of rejection. He was not above it. He was not immune to it. If you can recall that hurt, that pain of when it happened to you all those many years ago, then you can begin, but only begin, to feel the depth of pain that Jesus is feeling here.

This passage is describing what Jesus is feeling on a human level. He came as God’s Son to save the world, not to judge it. But here God’s chosen children are judging him and refusing him as God’s messenger. Here he is beginning to sense that ultimately, they will reject everything about him, they will reject God’s love, they will reject God’s mercy, they will reject God’s redemptive desire for reconciliation with creation, and he is being crushed by that pain. For what was coming was God’s demand for the atonement that needed to be made for our breaking of the covenant God made with Abram. What was coming for Jesus was his submission to God’s pledge to uphold humanity’s half of the covenant. Which we failed at, and which now must be atoned for.

That is what God / Jesus was feeling in this passage. But now, I want you to imagine that God feels this same pain on every time we turn away, every time we choose some willful act of self-entitlement, or of self-love, and every time we rely on our own wiles and cunning like that fox Jesus refers to instead of trusting on the loving mercy and grace of the Father.

This season of Lent in our church calendar ultimately leads us to Holy Week where we will see the atonement for our failings, our sins played out and paid up. The Crucifixion on Holy Thursday is the atonement for our sins promised on our behalf for our failure to uphold the Covenant that God made with Abram. Jesus went to the Cross weeping and with a broken heart that the people whom he desired to hold with arms rejected him for they were not willing.

Highlands Church, Jesus longs to gather you together in his arms like a loving mother does her brood, as a loving brother does his siblings, as a loving Father does his children. Pray that you will be willing.

Based upon readings from Isaiah 6 and Luke 5

Offered to the First Presbyterian Church of Long Valley, NJ – February 6, 2022

Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder PCUSA

“Here I am.”  Out of curiosity, I googled the phrase. It has been used as a popular song title by artists such as Bryan Adams and Air Supply. It’s even the title of a gangster rap song by Rick Ross. Dolly Parton uses the phrase for the title of a documentary on her life’s journey. As romantic love songs, it seems to be used as a lament to tell the world, Here I am, broken hearted. Rick Ross uses it to announce to the world, Hey!, Here I am!. I’ve arrived. Dolly Parton wants it to reflect on her life experiences and how they had brought her to where she is today as a performer, activist, feminist and Christian. Each one uses the phrase in one way or another to announce that they are here.

It’s a Hymn in our own faith tradition and we often use it during confirmation and ordination ceremonies as a pronouncement of our faith saying “Here I am, Lord. I’m ready to serve.”

These are very recognizable words from our Bible tradition. I did a little investigation and found that the phrase, “Here I am” appears over 800 times in the Old Testament. It is Joseph’s response when his father Jacob calls him to check on his other sons and his flock. Jacob calls Joseph. Joseph responds, “Here I am” and Jacob sends Joseph out to check on his brothers and as you may recall that begins for Joseph a most tumultuous life’s journey. Most notably, we recognize it as Isaiah’s response to God’s call when Isaiah experiences a vision that has him at the throne of the Most High.

The two readings selected for today’s lectionary focus very clearly upon the action of being called and the responses of Isaiah and Peter.

Being called, what does that mean? It would be an understatement to suggest that being called is different for each of us. A call to ministry such as the one that Pastor has answered is different from how one responds to leading our music ministry or to leading our Youth ministry. A Deacon’s call is different from a Ruling Elder’s call. Our Bible study leaders have responded to calls by bringing their strengths to this congregation. Our Building Care Elders tend to the physical plant of the church making sure that we have a well-maintained structure to worship within and bring our ministries to the community. And let’s not forget how we use the buildings. We house the Food Pantry which brings food to the needy in the Long Valley community. We allow community groups to use our facilities for their activities. All of these ministers have responded in different ways to answer calls to ministry.

It is as Paul suggests. We all have different strengths to exploit and employing them all is what builds up the body of the church. Many have heard God’s call; and many have stepped forward to find some way within this church community to be a part of the work of the Body.

Hearing or experiencing a “Call” can be different for each of us. Take Isaiah. He sees a vision. And in that vision, he sees the God Most High sitting on a throne. God is attended by Seraphs, and they are calling out praises to the God Most High. Their voices are so powerful that their sound shakes the foundations of the throne room. Isaiah feels and sees all this and falls prostrate and cries out, “Woe is me for I am a man of unclear lips.” In other words, I am not worthy. I am not clean; I am a lowly human from a people who are unclean. He must be thinking to himself, “What am I doing here?” Isaiah might be suggesting, if anyone is unworthy of being brought into the presence of the Lord, it is me! Does that describe you? Most times, I think it describes me.

Yet, yet, that does not seem to bother God. God does not look down on the lowly [we sinners] and grunt at our lack of worthiness. God sees within each of us a talent, an ability to contribute to God’s plan of bringing all of creation back into Shalom, back into God’s peace. One of the Seraphs comes down to Isaiah, who is lying face down on the ground, and puts a coal to his lips to purify him, to make him worthy. This is an act clearly initiated by the God Most High. For it is only God’s grace and mercy that can purify us of our sins.

What is the significance of this? It can be suggested this is no mere coal. It is a symbolic representation of the Messiah Yeshua [Yes-shu-a -that is Jesus]. It is symbolic in that it displays how something very low [a mere piece of coal] is raised to the heights of being able to forgive and wash away the stain of sin. That is a foreshadowing of the ultimate work of the Christ. So, here in Isaiah, we have both a Messianic prophecy [the forgiveness of sins] AND an example of how one should respond to that forgiveness and that cleansing. After receiving God’s mercy, when God calls and asks, “Whom shall I send?”, Isaiah responds, “Here I am. Send me.” He had gone from feeling woeful to being boldly and fully filled with grace.

Now what happens when God calls us? I am not going to suggest to you that there might be a dramatic earth-shaking event such as Isaiah had experienced before the throne as a sign that we are being called. That would be too easy for us, wouldn’t it? I mean it would make it too easy for us to refuse a call because it isn’t bombastic enough. Instead of committing when asked to serve, we can respond by saying, “Well, the earth didn’t move”. I mean, picture our Gifts & Talents Elder coming to you and asking if you could serve as a member of some work group within the ministry of the church. And you put out your hands to steady yourself, and look around, then when nothing happens you respond, “No, I think I should wait.” That would make it too easy to say, “No.”

No, it might be something simpler like Jesus suggesting to Peter, “Hey, that spot looks good. Go fish over there.” That is when we experience something, feel something, and a bell of recognition goes off in our head and we realize that in a very quiet way that small, faint voice of God has called.

In the Gospel passage from Luke this morning, many people refer to the amazing catch of fish by Peter as a miracle. I read in a commentary that there are three conditions for a miracle. The first is that the eye needs to see. What I mean by that is that we have to take the time to see what is happening around us. We need to see the need, the hurt, the places where God is pointing us to. Take for example, Jesus’ suggestion to Peter that he fish over in some spot that Jesus was pointing to. Now, we can think that Jesus miraculously created a shoal of fish in that spot and directed Peter to fish in it. But I think that would be missing the miracle. The miracle, I think, was in Peter’s response.

The truth is Lake Gennesaret was teeming with fish. It is acknowledged that from the shoreline, you could literally see shadowed areas so densely filled with fish that they would be jumping into your boat. All Jesus needed to be was observant. Jesus observed that the conditions were right for an abundant catch. An exhausted Peter couldn’t see that. He thought it was hopeless. The night was a total loss. Fishing in the morning would be hopeless. But Jesus had an eye for possibilities.

So now step two. There needs to be a spirit willing to make an effort. Peter was exhausted. This was early morning. He had been fishing all night and now they were cleaning their nets which signified the end of their workday. What was next was a meal and sleep. But Jesus, this teacher that was surrounded by hundreds of people on the shore was telling him to go out again and fish over there in that spot. If Peter wasn’t willing. If Peter gave into his exhaustion. If Peter said, “You know what Mr. Preacher Man, I work long hours and I don’t have time to go chasing your fantasies.” If Peter responded in that way, there would have been no miracle.

But no. Peter responds with a spirit that is willing to attempt what seems hopeless. That is step three. Many times, that is what church work, what servant work, is like. We could have looked at the need for food in our community years back and said, “You know what. There are too many people who need assistance. We can’t possibly provide for all of them. It bigger than us. It’s a job for one of those bigger catholic churches. They have more people. Their better equipped.” If LVPC had that attitude years ago, we would have never had built the coalition of congregations known as LVCAP that now provides food security for more than 100 families locally. There was a spirit willing to attempt the hopeless.

About a decade ago, LVPC decided to start a ministry to the Dominican Republic. We partnered with the Foundation for Peace. It started small. We were helping a struggling congregation to build a place of worship. That was their hopeless dream. We were pointed to a spot and told to build there. The work was slow and tedious. It was all back breaking, manual labor. They started by digging a foundation, and then the next year laying concrete block, then in the next years building walls and then a floor and a ceiling until after many, many years, they had built a church, a place of Worship in a spot where was nothing before. When that was finished, they began a second building. The first was already being used as a community center providing needed health support and services to the community and the new building was to become the new sanctuary. That was when I finally dragged my sorry butt down to participate. It was an unbelievable experience. The timing wasn’t perfect. I had to take time off from work as did many others in our group. But we were there when we finished building a church. We poured the floor and ceiling with concrete bucket by bucket. I can remember passing buckets to others in a bucket line. We did that for hours over several days. Ultimately, when the work was completed, we were able to participate in the first worship service in that new house of God. What seemed hopeless more than a decade before had become community and worship centers. Can I get an Amen?

The circumstances were not perfect for Peter. Peter wasn’t coming off of a good night’s sleep. It was the opposite. He was exhausted because he was working all night. He was dead tired, but Peter had a spirit that was alive. Was something stirred in him by the words Jesus was teaching from his boat? We don’t know. Luke doesn’t tell us what Jesus was teaching that day. But whatever it was; whatever was said, it stirred in Peter a spirit of willingness and a spirit to act. Peter responded to what might have been hopeless with a willingness to act.

Now this speaks to us today about when, how, and why we respond or do not respond to a call. Sometimes, we wait for the perfect set of circumstances. Sometimes we expect that call for us should be like it was for Isaiah. That the earth should shutter. That there should be visions of Angles swirling around overhead. That the circumstances would be that we are finally rested, that we are finally financially secured, that we are available because the kids have moved on and setting up households of their own. Sometimes we are thinking, I should wait for the circumstances to be perfect. But you know what, the circumstances will never be perfect. We will never be rested enough. We will never be financially secure enough. We will always find a reason that our kids will need our help. If we wait for the perfect time, if we wait for an Isaiah moment then nothing will happen. We would have missed the opportunity to see with our eyes the hopeless situation that Jesus is calling us to. We would be burying within us that spirit that burns to be fired up and set free. We need to make the effort to see and do the impossible. We must take Jesus at his word when he bids us to attempt the impossible. We need to be faithful to the possible in hopeless impossibilities. When we hear that wee small voice of God ask, “Whom shall I send?” We need to respond, “Here I am Lord, Send me!”

Charge: My friends, listen for the wee, small voice of God calling you. It may sound like another church member asking for help on a project. But remember that our God is awesome. One of the awesome things God can be is a ventriloquist. God can sound like so many different voices. So, if you listen and hear one of God’s voices, step out and say, Here I am!

Based upon Mark 3: 1-6

Second Sunday of Advent, December 7, 2025

Offered by Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder PCUSA to the congregation of the Presbyterian Church at Bound Brook, NJ

So, I will begin today by asking you the same question that Jesus asked the religious leaders of the synagogue. “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil?” Consider the question. Is it lawful to do good or is it lawful to do evil?

As Jesus entered the synagogue that Sabbath day standing around him were the religious leaders and the deputies of the Sanhedrin. They were watching his every move – listening to his every word hoping only to find an opportunity to accuse him of breaking the law – that’s their own Jewish law with a small “l”, not God’s Law with a capital “L”. They were looking for grounds so that they could arrest him.

Jesus was gaining a reputation as a troublesome teacher. The word was out that he should not be allowed to teach in the synagogues. Those doors were closing to him. That is why we have gospel stories of his teaching on the hill sides and from boats on the shorelines. And if he showed up, he was to be watched carefully for infractions of their law. It was actually a great show of courage for him to confront this danger and to go and teach inside a synagogue. But Jesus’ trust was in the Lord.

Proverbs 3: verses 5-6 teach us: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Being barred access to synagogues and teaching centers were now the circumstances Jesus was finding himself in. It was dangerous for him to enter them. The orthodox leaders of the religious community were aware of his controversial teachings and were at odds with him. He wasn’t keeping the law. Specifically, he was healing people on the Sabbath. That is why they were there. Would he break the law, yet again? If he did, then they could pounce. They were ready. The deputies of the Sanhedrin were the policing agents authorized to arrest and take him in for trial.

That is the backdrop for what is happening in the Synagogue that day.

This is the scene. There was a man standing in the congregation. According to writings called the Gospel of the Hebrews, he was a stone mason. We have limited fragments of these writings, and I referenced them here because I believe it helps us to understand what is happening. His hand and arm had been injured in an accident, and he was no longer able to work at his trade. I would suggest that he may have come to the synagogue that day hoping that this miracle working Rabbi might see him, have mercy on him and heal his injury. Make him whole again.

Jesus calls him to the center of the congregation. Jesus turns to the synagogue leaders and the deputies of the Sanhedrin and asks them the question, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath? Or evil?”

Now I have asked you this same question already and I can hear you thinking out loud in your heads. Dah! Of course. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Of course we should do good on the Sabbath. Why would you ask such a question?

Well, for the orthodox leaders of the synagogue and the deputies of the Sanhedrin, the answer to that question wasn’t so simple. You see they had a law – again that’s law with a small “l” – and they ardently followed that law. Their law was the foundation of their religious rituals. And that law told them that work on the Sabbath was forbidden. And healing, according to their law, was work. You see Jewish law was very detailed on this matter.

According to Jewish law, medical attention on the Sabbath could only be given if a life was in danger. And healing someone on the Sabbath whose life was not threatened was forbidden work.

Bible scholar William Barclay explains some of the details of the law regarding work on the Sabbath. For instance, you could help a woman in childbirth because her life might be in danger. But if a wall fell on someone, you could only clear enough of the wall to see if he was alive. If he was alive, you could help him but only to the point that he was stabilized. But if he was dead, the body had to be left for the next day to clear away. If the family wanted to remove the body, they could not. That is how detailed the law was in limiting what work you were allowed to do on the Sabbath and specifying what you were not allowed to do. This man who Jesus called to the center of the congregation was not in danger of losing his life. His arm was injured in an accident, but it was not life threatening. According to the law, a fracture could not be attended to. You could keep it from getting worse, but you could not make it better or heal it.

So, for these believers in the orthodoxy of their law, this was not a simple question to answer. Everything they believed – that their religious law told them was that healing was work and work on the Sabbath was unlawful. It was a crime. When Jesus healed that was work and on the Sabbath that work was a crime. By their definition, Jesus was evil.

But the question Jesus asked them was, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath? Or to do evil?” He didn’t ask if it was lawful to heal which was all they were there to determine.  Their myopic focus on their law prevented them from hearing and seeing the Word of God.

Jesus knew the Jewish law, but he also knew God’s Law and more importantly God’s Will and by that, I mean that Jesus understood the spirit of God’s Law. The spirit of God’s Law and God’s Will is that we be compassionate and to do the work of healing the brokenness of Creation. Jesus is telling them that God’s Will is that we do good on any and every day and that includes the Sabbath.

Now, be alert to also hear the flip side of Jesus’ question. What Jesus is suggesting in his question is that if is unlawful to do good, does it become lawful to do evil. Because in Jesus’ mind leaving this man broken as he is – without showing love and compassion – is the same thing as doing evil. That is the conundrum Jesus is presenting to them. That is the conclusion that their Jewish law would point them to.

Jesus’ question challenged the very foundation stones of Jewish law and its religious rituals. And to that challenge, the religious leaders had no answer.

Jesus called this man to the center of the congregation hoping that the religious leaders would see him and have sympathy for his plight. But they did not. As shepherds of God’s fold, they were failing in their charge. Their rituals and law had become more important to them than the welfare of the people.

So, they didn’t answer. They stood there silent. The gospel text tells us that Jesus became angry. The text tells us that “he was grieved at the obtrusiveness of their hearts.” Jesus became angry that when these shepherds of God’s fold were faced with the question of whether the law allowed them to do good or if it required them to do evil, the religious leaders stood fast and remained silent. They knew the people there would want the man to be healed. The man wanted to be healed. But their law didn’t allow it. So, they didn’t answer him.

Jesus tells the man to stretch out his hand for all to see. And there before them all, his hand was restored.

Now there is some fine print in this story probably more important than the miracle that Jesus performed. Come with me to dig deeper into its meaning. This incident was a head on clash of two very fundamental ideas of what religion is.

Bible scholar William Barclay breaks it down this way. For the Pharisees, synagogue leaders, and the Sanhedrin, religion was ritual. For them the practice of their religion meant obeying rules and regulations. But their rules provided them with only rituals to follow in their practice of religion. And by obtrusively following their rules, they were closing their hearts from seeing the needs of God’s children. Those were their rules, and Jesus broke their rules, and then because Jesus broke the rules they were convinced he was evil. He was evil and he needed to be eliminated.

That brings us to Jesus’ second question that were heard later in the text. “Is it lawful to save a life, or to kill it?”

The final verse in our reading today tells us that the Pharisees immediately met with the Herodians [agents of Herod] to concoct a plot against Jesus. Their intention was to eliminate him – to kill him.

Jesus’ second question struck at the very heart of their intentions. These religious leaders cared nothing about the Law – that’s God’s Law with a capital “L”. God’s Law stated quite clearly that “…thou shall not commit murder.” Yet that is exactly what they were plotting to do. They were going to break a core commandment of God’s Law in order that they could protect the integrity of their law – again that is law with a lower case “l”. Their rituals were more important to them than opening their hearts to the Word of God standing before them.

Jesus, on the other hand has a different notion of what religious practices should be. Jesus’ idea of religion was service. For Jesus religion meant love of God AND love of neighbor. Being a servant that brings God’s love and compassion to our neighbors and to others was the most important thing he could teach them. Barclay writes, “Rituals were irrelevant when compared to love in action.” But their hearts were obtuse. They were hardened and could not see what it was that God’s Law required of them. They could not see how love would enter into the fray. To quote from Tina Turners’s lyrics, “What’s love got to do with it?”

But that’s exactly what Jesus was all about – service borne out of love. This is his message. This is his good news. And they – the religious leaders – didn’t get it. They couldn’t see it. They couldn’t understand it. Their rituals and their law didn’t allow for it. When confronted with the needs of the people, they did not act. They remained silent.

And that my friends is the lesson we have to grapple with today. When confronted with the needs of our neighbors and others around us, how do we act? Do we reflect God’s love and compassion?

There is hunger in our communities. There is homelessness. There are people living in fear. Like Jesus’ disciples, they are hiding behind closed doors living in fear of the authorities. How do we respond to the cry of human need from our neighbors and others?

We are here today to worship God. But if all this is only ritual and not a call to service, then what are we doing? We can go through the motions – sing hymns, say prayers, participate in Communion – and we can look like a good and priestly people but that’s not the same as being a servant people.

That is what Jesus was trying to explain to the religious leaders in the synagogue that day and it is also what Jesus wants to say to us. Don’t let the practice of religion become ritual. Don’t let your minds and hearts fall into that trap of doing things and thinking that is what God desires of you. Jesus wants us to approach God with a heart yearning to serve God by sharing God’s love and compassion with everyone who needs to be comforted.

Remember at the end times, the Son of Man will gather all the nations before him. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me.”

Then perhaps without thinking you might respond, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothed you?When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

Then our Lord will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it for me.”

Jesus is telling us that sharing God’s love and compassion with our neighbors and with the others who are hungry, homeless, hurting and in need of healing is what Jesus calls his servant people to do.  

My friends, during this Advent Season as you prepare for the day of the coming of the Christ child don’t let rituals decorate your path. Let your prayers be heartfelt and intentional. Sing your hymns with praiseful fervor. When you share Communion celebrate it knowing Jesus gave us this meal to do it in remembrance of him. But not only remembering his sacrifice on the Cross but also to remember his love and compassion for us.

As Christmas Day [the coming of the Christ] approaches, prepare for it knowing that your redeemer came to walk and live among us. Know that he came to show us what a life of love, compassion and service looks like. The life of a servant people is what we are called to. Sharing God’s message of love and compassion and healing with your friends, your neighbors and the others you do not know is the service life we are called to. This is the Sabbath work that is good and that we are called to do.

Charge to Congregation:

My friends, my charge to you this week is this. As you journey through this Advent Season examine your rituals: the lighting of the Advent candles, the hymns you sing, the prayers you recite, and the your devotions each day and make sure you do them with a desire to be God’s servant people to the world infusing everything you do with God’s love and compassion for all God’s children.

Offered to the First Church of Hanover NJ

Mel Prestamo, Elder, PCUSA

As we prepare to look at this passage in John this morning, I think it is important to take a step back to understand what John is trying to accomplish in his Gospel. I am sure that you already know that John’s Gospel tells of the ministry of Jesus in a  very much different way from what are known as the Synoptic Gospels. One of my favorite ways of describing the differences between the four Gospels is to say that Matthew, Mark and Luke tells us what happened; John tells us why it happened.

The feeding of the five thousand is a perfect example of this. In Matthew, he devotes 9 verses to the event. [Matt 14: 13-21] He simply tells us that it happened. John devotes 14 verses in chapter 6, verses 1-13. But he follows it up with 38 additional verses [22-59]. John provides additional context and meaning. After seventy or so years of mulling and thinking about the ministry of Jesus, John has a much deeper insight that he needs to share. And if we are going to benefit and grow in our own knowledge of Jesus then we have to follow John down his rich and rewarding rabbit hole.

In the first three Gospels, the writers tell us the story of Jesus’ life and ministry and express in their stories the great degree of Jesus’ compassion for the people. Mark tells us the Jesus is moved with compassion for the leper. Mark also tells us that Jesus had sympathy for Jarious regarding the impending death of his daughter. When Jesus raises the son of the widow from death, Luke tells us that with tenderness, Jesus gave the widow her son. We are told that Jesus wept at learning of the death of his friend Lazarus. But in John, the telling of miracles has a different purpose. John calls them signs. And the purpose of these signs is not to display Jesus’ compassion but to point to and demonstrate the glory of the Christ and through the Christ the glory of God.

At Cana, John says to us, “This was the first of his signs…to manifest his glory. [John 2:11] Of the raising of Lazarus, he says it was for the glory of God. [John 11:4] For John, it was not that there was no love or compassion in Jesus’ miracle acts but that every one of them pointed to the glory of God. And that God’s glory was manifesting itself into our human time and space. These miracles were signs that reveal to us a glimpse of who God is. And knowing this is vitally important if we are to understand what John is trying to tell us in his Gospel.

Every one of the miracles that Jesus performs opens up a brief portal and gives us a glimpse of who God is. And this is the critically most important element of these signs. These glimpses of God are ONLY opened to us through the Christ.

So, with that as our backdrop, let’s take a look at the miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand.

Right at the top, I am going to suggest to you that there are three ways in which we can look at this miracle. The first would be very plainly that it was an outright miracle where a sparse and meager gift was turned into a bountiful meal. And certainly, the text stands on its own in substantiating that assertion.

The second is that it might be a sacramental meal meaning it was something like our Christian Communion meals. Tiny parcels of the bread and sips of the wine are shared so that everyone can be fed. That is just an OK explanation for me. But the third is a much more compelling explanation for me.

We are told in John’s telling that the “Passover Feast was near.” What does that tell us? Well, it means that thousands of the Jewish faithful were on the road on their way to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover. Remember it was a requirement of the law that anyone within a one day’s journey of Jerusalem must make the pilgrimage to the city. The Jewish historian Josephus recorded that a census taken by Roman governor Quirinius in 6 CE showed that at the time of Passover, the population of Jerusalem swelled to over two million people. This is to give you an idea of the numbers of people who were on the road to Jerusalem.

What is important to understand here is that these people didn’t have fast food restaurants or convenience stores along the road where they could stop off to buy food for their journey. No, if they were making this trek, they would have to plan to bring enough food for themselves when they needed to stop and eat. And that’s what we see here when Andrew finds the young boy who had five loaves of barley bread and two fishes. The fish would have been something like sardines, a staple of travelers at the time.

This meager meal is what the lad had brought along this journey for his own nourishment. It is reasonable to assume that many of the people in the crowd had done much the same thing. Perhaps, Andrew went through the crowd and was turned away by vast numbers of people who had something for themselves but were unwilling to share. It was only this young boy who was initially moved to come forward and share.

Andrew brings this boy and his offerings to Jesus. Jesus instructs his disciples to tell the crowd to sit on the grass. Jesus begins by giving thanks to God with a traditional Jewish prayer of thanks. It might have been something like, “Blessed are thou, O Lord, our God, who causes to come forth bread from the earth.” Now one of two things happened at this point. We can either imagine the loaves and fish replicating themselves over and over piling up at Jesus’ feet so that suddenly there was enough to feed the five thousand. OR, we can envision Jesus solemnly praying to God and that prayer was as much an offering of praise as it was a plea that the hearts of those in the crowd who had food to eat come forward to share.

Then we see a similar miracle. This one was not that Jesus miraculously created a bounty for all but that his prayer had silently moved the hearts of the thousands of people and that they came forward to share. Either way, Jesus has performed a miracle pointing to the glory of God where once again God is feeding God’s people.

What we see is a meager gift that a believer brings to the Christ and how in Jesus’ hands with meager beginnings a miracle can happen. Now in this miracle, John sees a sign that points to the glory of God. For us, we can see how Jesus can take our own meager gifts and offerings and make bountiful things happen. On the surface our own individual small gift may seem inadequate but, in his hands, – in God’s hands, miracles can happen.

It is to the glory of God that Jesus provides food to feed the people. Either way that you view how this miracle happened, it is John’s assertion that it pointed to the glory of God.

But this miracle has another element. In it we can see a glimpse of the God that feeds God’s people. We see our God who nourishes and sustains us through God’s Word, the Christ.

Where do we see that?

OK. To answer that question we need to get into the nitty gritty of verses 22-59.

In those following verses, we learn that Jesus now was in need of rest. So, he sneaks off to avoid the crowds. The people, however, chase after him and the find him again in Capernaum. They ask him, “When did you arrive and how?” Jesus’ response is to plainly say to them that they are searching for him not because of the signs that he had performed and that they and seen, but because he had fed them.

Jesus says to them, “Do not search for food that perishes but for food which lasts and gives eternal life, that is the food that the Son of Man will give to you; for the Father, God, has set his seal upon him.”

What is Jesus saying here? He reads the crowd plainly and he calls them out for their shortsightedness. He knows that many of them are nothing more than groupies following the latest pop star. And he says it directly. I will paraphrase here. “The only reason you are here is because I fed you. I have shown you signs from God, but you have not seen them. You have come for bread to eat but the bread you search for will [pass through you and] perish and leave you hungry again. I can give you so much more. The bread that I can give you will feed you forever and give you eternal life.”

And what is their response? In verse 30 we read, “What signs are you going to perform that we may see and believe in you?”

Are you kidding me? Are you blind? Well, yes. Many of them were blind. Jesus fed five thousand people days before and then they come asking “What signs will you perform?” He has raised people from death. He has cured the blind, the cripple, the leper. And you ask, what sign will you perform?

They go on to speak of bread feeding miracles from Jewish history. Moses fed us manna in the desert. In other words, we have seen this parlor trick before. But Jesus counters by saying, Moses did not feed you the manna, God did. Further, “The bread of God is HE who comes down from heaven and gives life to this world.” John is here referring back to the opening verses of his Gospel story. “In the beginning was the Word…” Be clear. For John, Jesus was the Word that was with God in the beginning.

Now it appears they are beginning to get the idea of what Jesus is saying. They respond, “Sir give us this bread.” However, that is to say, “Where is it? Where can we buy it.” Is it available at Walmart or Target?

Jesus responds by saying to them, “I am the bread from heaven.”

Now Jesus’ response creates a firestorm of questions in the crowd. Who does this guy think he is? Isn’t he the son of Joseph who we knew as a boy growing up in Nazareth? How can he say, “I come down from heaven?”

But Jesus insists. “I am the bread of life. He who believes in me will have eternal life. Your fathers are manna in the desert and they died. This is the bread of life come down from heaven that you may eat of and not die…anyone that eats of this bread will live forever.”

Let’s pause a moment and think about what Jesus means by “Bread”. It is not any earthly type of food – manna or otherwise. What Jesus is speaking of is the “WORD” of God. According to John, Jesus is the Word made flesh. “The Word was in the beginning. The Word was with God. The Word was God.” Jesus has come to reveal to us the life sustaining and lifegiving love of God through the Word. Hearing the “Word” of God spoken by Jesus is how we feed on the Bread that will give us eternal life.

So, when we look back at the feeding of the five thousand, we need to realize how temporary that earthly food was. And Jesus points that out to them and us. They were fed yesterday and here they are hungry today looking to be fed again. He tells them, you need to be looking for something more substantial. You need to be looking for the bread that brings you closer to knowing who your God is; closer to having an intimate relationship with God; closer to knowing the name of God. And that bread is the Word. It is the Christ.

Knowing the “NAME” of someone has a very specific meaning in ancient cultures. It meant to know a person on an intimate level. And that is what Jesus is bringing to us. It is an opportunity to know God on a close, personal, and intimate level. That is what Jesus is offering us when he offers himself as the “Bread come down from heaven.”

And now, that is our task. We need not to get bogged down being concerned about what sustains us today. We need to focus on what will bring us closer to knowing the name of God – closer to knowing God on an intimate and personal level. And what will bring us closer to God? It is the Christ. It is the Word. Jesus is the bread that feeds us so that we can know God. Jesus feeds us the Word that is the bread that will give us eternal life in God.

“Sir, give us this Bread.”

Luke: 21: 25-36

Mel Prestamo, Elder PCUSA

Reading these verses at the beginning of the Advent Season might be thought of as being odd given that during Advent we are usually looking towards Christmas Day and the stories of the Babe’s birth in Bethlehem. During the Advent Season, it might seem more appropriate to be reading the stories from the first chapter of Luke. We are expecting the narrations of the story of the Angel Gabriel’s visit to the young virgin girl Mary and her acceptance of her role in God’s plan for salvation and a recitation of the Magnificat. But rather than hearing the stories of the infant Babe and the little town of Bethlehem, this lectionary and the gospel writer Luke take us to the end of Jesus’ ministry here on earth. Today’s gospel reading has us focusing on not the first coming but the next coming of the Christ.

Focusing on the next coming of the Christ was something that the early Christians did a lot of. The believed, indeed they expected, that the Christ was coming again, soon – right away. They were looking for it. They were hoping for it. The prayed for it. It was the obsession of every waking moment. During the time following the life, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus there was no celebration of his birth. There was only anticipation of the next coming of the Christ. Perhaps it is something that we don’t do enough of.

I wonder how many of our congregation arose from their sleep this morning contemplating Christ’s next coming this day. Think about that. What would it mean in our lives if the Christ stopped time and broken into our realty and returned to take us home, today. Honestly now, is that the first thing that you thought of when you awoke this morning?

Our lives have really gotten too busy. We’re planning the holiday season with check lists. We’re scheduling and preparing to host Christmas parties. Others of us are making travel plans to be with family. We’re arranging dates for visiting this relative or that one. We’ll be decorating our houses with lights and holly, and trees with ornaments. I’m sure that even after one of the largest menu packed days of our year, Thanksgiving, there are some well-prepared cooks who are already planning their Christmas dinners. And don’t forget to leave some time for gift shopping. Recently a family member announced they had already completed their Christmas shopping. That may not sound so bad expect they made the announcement back in October. We’re making the time for all these concerns and worries but have we stopped to hear the message that Jesus gave his followers in verse 34. “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.”

If we allow ourselves to be distracted by the anxieties of this life, we can lose the importance of the good news. That is that Christ will come again to take us home and we need to be ready.

The early Christians were consumed by the thought of it. And why shouldn’t they be? Many of them had seen the Christ. He had walked among them. He had taught them on the hillsides and from the lake shores. He had fed them on the mountain. Some were privileged to see him after his resurrection. They broke bread with him. They touched his wounds. They received his Great commission and saw his ascension. They knew he was real. They were very much the other extreme from us. They were looking for signs in the sun and the moon every day. In the time of Luke’s writing, which was already after the destruction of the temple by the Romans, they must have believed they were all the more close to his coming. They must have been retelling the stories and Jesus’ words of how they needed to be prepared looking closely for the signs he had mentioned.

Then there were those who planned for the coming of the Christ in much a different way. They did nothing. So real was it for them that he would be coming again soon to take them all to the Kingdom that they laid down and did nothing.

Jesus had predicted the destruction of the Temple. It had happened.

Jesus told them, they would be arrested. It happened. Peter and John and others had been arrested by the religious authorities. Some of them were executed by stoning.

So, for the early Christians, they believed it was all coming together. They were waiting for his next coming. They were excited. They were vigilant.

But after two thousand years, we have lost that anticipation. We come to worship each Sunday with no particular urgency. No. Wait. Let me rephrase that. We come here today with too many urgencies. Our minds are cluttered with arrangements that need to be made. Our hearts are distracted. We are weighed down with the worries of this life. We are not, “On guard.” Let’s face it, if Christ came today to take us home, we would cry out, “No. Wait. I’m not ready. You’ve come too soon. You were not expected.”

We are like the bridesmaids at the wedding feast waiting for the bridegroom. They grew tired of waiting. They fell asleep and let the oil in their lamps run out. And while they ran out to buy more oil, the bridegroom came and they missed him.

So much of what we do in our daily lives is a distraction. So much pulls us away. It bogs us down. It fills our minds with so many worries. In Mark, Jesus tells not to be concerned about the clothes we wear or the food we eat. Look at the flowers in the fields and the birds in the air. They are provided for by God. Are we not more important than these to God? As he cares for these so will he care for us. We shouldn’t allow this life to be so filled with worry that we become distracted from what is really important.

But we are. We’re concerned about car payments, mortgages, the cost of living, our raises, our standard of living. We’ve grown complacent. The hour grows late and we’re letting our lamps run dry. We grow tired of being vigilant. Our eyes are heavy and we long for sleep. And in that moment of distraction, we miss him.

We are far removed from the events of Jesus’ lifetime. We didn’t hear his words directly from him. We read the words in the gospels but we let them fall as just words instead of hearing them as the Word. We miss the exhortation.

 “Be on guard!”

All of the things that Jesus warned us about are happening in our time. Christians are still being arrested and persecuted. Christians in China have to profess their faith behind closed doors. Priests and church leaders are imprisoned for the practice of their faith. In Africa, Christian workers are murdered because of the faith they profess and teach.

If the persecutions are still going on today, if the waiting is still going on, shouldn’t our vigilance go on, as well? Shouldn’t we still be on guard?

When you leave this place today will you be on guard? When you sit down for dinner this evening, will you still be on guard? This Advent Season as you prepare for the coming of Christmas and of the coming of the Babe, will you be on guard for the next coming of the Christ?

Read verse 34 with me again. “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down … with the worries of this life and that that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live upon the face of the earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all those things that will take place and [pray that you will] stand before the Son of Man.”

Amen.