“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Today, the first Sunday of Advent, marks a new year in the Church’s liturgical calendar. The season of Advent and Christmas is an annual, repetitive reminder of God’s love for this world and its inhabitants. What a gift that is to us in this difficult year, especially since the Church is supposed to be a signpost of hope to the world around us. So, as we begin the Advent season, I invite you to reflect on perhaps the most hopeful text in Scripture, John 3:16, by focusing on three words to see how they might speak to our current situation. The first word, “world.” As in, “God so loved the world.” It is significant that “world” translates a Greek word from which we get our word “cosmos.” This reminds us that the world God loves is more than just human beings. God cares for and delights in all His creation (Psalm 104:31). And so should we. Indeed, God created human beings to be stewards of the world God loves. Creation care is God’s mandate for all of us who follow Jesus. A second significant meaning, “world,” as it relates to human beings, is a comprehensive word. Our highly individualistic culture has led to an increasingly exclusive tribalism. Our world becomes defined, ever more narrowly, only by those who are part of our tribe. John 3:16 reminds us that God loves and cares about all peoples on this planet and is at work creating an inclusive new human community: “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes” (Rev. 7:9a). Second, there is the word, “gave.” As in, “He gave His only Son.” In our generation, there’s considerable suspicion and cynicism about God. Even when Christians repeat, “God is good all the time; all the time God is good”, many are not entirely convinced. Human beings have always been tempted to doubt God’s generosity and goodness. That is at the root of the serpent’s argument in Genesis 3: “God is holding out on you; God really doesn’t want what’s best for you.” John 3:16 reminds us, as does the Advent season, that God gave the ultimate, most costly gift imaginable for our good. Abraham’s greatest test of faithfulness was his willingness to offer up his beloved son, Isaac. The story of Jesus reveals that God, the Father, demonstrates His own faithfulness by not only offering up but actually sacrificing “His only Son” for all our sake. No wonder the Apostle Paul writes, “f God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:31b-32). Finally, there is the word, “life.” As in, “who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” The temptation in Gen. 3 reminds us that the fundamental question of human existence is whether we choose to trust in God’s goodness or not. If not, we choose a lie, we choose an illusion. God alone is the source of all good, we cannot turn from God and expect to find something better. If we turn from the source of life, we are left with death. If we turn from the source of light, we find only darkness. If we turn from the source of love, we will know only fear. We have been given the freedom to make that choice. If we do trust in God’s goodness, supremely demonstrated in Jesus Christ, life as it was intended inevitably follows. As Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). In that, Jesus echoes and fulfills what Moses said much earlier, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life…” (Deut. 30:19). How can you and I be signposts of that life and hope in our generation? “In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Col. 1:3)
In a few days, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. Though it is good that our nation sets aside a day for giving thanks to God, it may actually be a difficult day to give thanks to God. It’s not that we’re not thankful, but it is because many of us are too darn busy on the actual holiday: cooking, watching football, traveling to grandma’s house, and hanging out with relatives and friends. If you follow sports at all, you’re probably familiar with the notion of. Preseason is a time to get ready, get in shape, and prepare for the coming season. So, I’m suggesting that we establish a Thanksgiving Preseason, setting apart several days before Thanksgiving Day to get our gratitude in gear so that by the fourth Thursday in November we are overflowing with thanks to God. Why is gratitude so important? One, it is based on Scripture where we find gratitude displayed and commanded in so many books. In his letters to various churches, the Apostle Paul regularly expresses gratitude to God for those to whom he writes. A typical example: “In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Col. 1:3) By giving thanks, Paul highlights God’s sovereignty, love, and care. Thanking God frames all of human life in the context of God’s will and activity and it points to God’s grace and goodness. Giving thanks to God is foundational for the Christian life. It’s a practice that Paul models for all who would read his letters, including us. Second reason is how gratitude benefits us personally. Recent psychological research underscores the value of gratitude. One of the world’s leading experts on gratitude is Dr. Robert A. Emmons, a professor of psychology at the U. C., Davis, who is also a Christian. Emmons has done extensive research on gratitude and its influence on our lives. He has written several books, and has dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles. In his fascinating article, “Why Gratitude is Good,” Emmons cites research that shows that people who practice gratitude experience benefits such as: stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, better sleep, more joy and pleasure, more compassion, and less loneliness. Harvard Health Publishing notes that people in one of Emmons’ studies who were asked to write down things for which they were grateful “were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.” Of course, there are many more reasons to be grateful, whether to God or other people. I also believe that we sense intuitively that gratitude is a good thing. So, I’d like to invite you to join me in Thanksgiving Preseason. Starting today, let’s use the days before Thanksgiving Day to think about and practice gratitude. Let’s get our “thanks-giving” muscles in shape so that we might abound in gratitude, not just on one day, but regularly throughout the year. Gracious God, we have so much to thank You. We thank You for the invitation to grow in our thankfulness each day. So, help me, I pray, to grow in gratitude. May I learn to say “Thanks” again and again. Amen. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:1-8)
Growing up in the 80’s, there was a Christian bookstore near my house, called New Life Christian Bookstore. Before the coming of the Internet, as some of you will remember, the local Christian bookstore is where you went to get Christian books. You could get Christian books, teaching supplies for Sunday Schools as well as church office supplies. It also sold a moderate amount of Christian home décor—mostly Precious Moments (remember Precious Moments?). They also sold plaques. One day as I was waiting to pick up an order, I spent time on the floor looking at the plaques. One of them had Hebrews 13:8 on it: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” This one was different. The word “yesterday” was in a Victorian font. The word “today” was in a popular 80’s font, something like Comic Sans. The word “forever” was in futuristic computer type. I can still see it in my head as if I am still holding it in my hands. It brought home to me in a new way that Jesus Christ had not only been with me in the past but would go with me into the future, even the impossibly far-off 21st century. Hebrews 11 describes so beautifully the great cloud of saintly witnesses. Hebrews 12 brings that home with an invitation to us to follow in their footsteps: You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel…Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for indeed our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:22-24, 28-29) Hebrews 13 asks the very practical question: “Now what?” Now that we have come to Mount Zion and been enrolled with the righteous and received the kingdom, how should this affect our daily life? Our reading for today picks up a little beyond what the author writes in the previous two chapters. Love each other, the writer of the Hebrews says. Show hospitality. Minister to the imprisoned and persecuted. Be faithful in marriage. Use your money and possessions wisely. Honor and listen to the saints that have gone before. The writer goes on (13:9-19): don’t be “carried away” by strange teachings and over-scrupulousness about worship, but praise God, share with others, do good, obey your leaders, and pray. Not a bad set of recommendations for the Christian life, in fact. Why? Well, if the readers need more explanation than Hebrews 1-12 has already provided, the writer reminds them that Jesus has been with them in the past and will go with them into the future. Jesus “also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” the author of Hebrews writes (13:12); so, trust Him, go to Him, and look for “the city that is to come.” (13:14). Here I am in the impossibly far-off 21st century, decades after I beheld that plaque. I have tried to love others and do good and pray. I have looked for the city that is to come. Sometimes I have failed. Jesus has never left me. My father, who is now among the saints, used to use Hebrews 13:20-21 as a benediction. I leave it with you today. I leave it with you today: Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Chapter 38 in the Old Testament book of Genesis records an incredible scandal between a father and his daughter-in-law. Behind this ugly story, there is a positive message: "Breakthrough." According to Genesis 37 and 38, Judah was a ruthless person who betrayed his younger brother. He ran away from problems, and he was deceitful and lustful. Judah had a relationship with Tamar, his daughter-in-law who pretended to be a prostitute, and Tamar became pregnant by him. Were this embarrassment to be made public, how would Judah face it? Would he continue his deceit and refuse to admit it or run away from the problem? At this juncture, Judah uttered life-changing words. He said, “She is more righteous than I ...” (38:26). Judah saw that Tamar had pure motives: according to the social customs of the Israelites at the time, Tamar was simply thinking about raising the next generation for her dead husband. Judah himself did not have such a heart, but took advantage of Tamar.
Judah' willingness to face the problem and admit his mistake became a turning point in his life. After Genesis 38, Judas was transformed into an affectionate, trustworthy, responsible person, with courage to face and solve his problems. He persuaded his father Jacob to let him take Benjamin to Egypt to get food, and he pledged his life to bring Benjamin back (43:9). When Joseph plotted to keep Benjamin behind and not let him return to his father, Judah stepped forward to intercede for Benjamin (44:18-33). Not only did Judah replace his older brother, Reuben, as the leader among the brothers, Judah also became King David’s forefather. Judah is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus. We can learn lessons not only from the breakthrough in Judah's life, but also from Tamar. An important message Tamar brings to us is to persevere in adversity and bravely overcome limitations. Tamar was a woman who suffered all kinds of misfortunes. Her husband died. She wanted children but was barren. Her uncle and father-in-law also treated her deceitfully, so that she could not have children and offer children for her deceased husband. Tamar was childless and was considered an outcast in the society at the time. Weak and helpless, Tamar seemed hopeless in a sinful and unrighteous society. Yet Tamar’s gritty character and perseverance helps her to overcome all the hardships and to experience a breakthrough in life. At the end of Genesis 38, the story of Tamar's twins, on one hand, explains the genealogy of the Messiah. On the other hand, it displays the "breakthrough" in the lives of Judah and Tamar. When Tamar gave birth, the midwife named the twin brother who came out first Perez, because he was "rushing to come.” "Rush out" in Hebrew means "breakthrough". The birth of Perez was not only his own breakthrough, but also a breakthrough in the lives of Judah and Tamar. The breakthrough in Judah' life was his willingness to face problems and admit his mistakes. Tamar's breakthrough lies in her perseverance even in the face of adversity, boldly challenging the injustice of her circumstance, and bravely "breaking through" the bondage imposed on her by others. Tamar became a famous woman in the Bible, and her story was recorded and recited. At the end of the book of Ruth, the elders used the example of Tamar to bless Ruth. Tamar also appears in Jesus' genealogy. In what areas of your life do you need a breakthrough today? Your relationship with God? In your personal life? In family relationships? In your church life? Where do you think your fellowship group needs a breakthrough? What breakthrough does FECC need? Ask God to help us to constantly break through and grow in our relationship with Him, in our personal life and our family relationships. We must be willing to face the problems we encounter and have the courage to admit when we are wrong. And in difficult situations, we shall persevere and be brave to break through limitations. Also pray that God will continue to lead our fellowship groups and our church to experience breakthroughs and growth. |
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