Rev. Susan Lukey

Passage: Acts 2:1-17 & John 3:1-21    

  Description: For God so loved the world- what an amazing thing! That would have been a radical concept in the first century. The Greek, Roman and other gods weren’t worried about human beings. In the stories told of these gods, they had their own lives, their own power, and weren’t particularly interested in the goings on among human beings, unless it was to toy with humans, punish them or unintentionally cause havoc in human lives as they went about their godly business. The main relationship between humans and these gods was for humans to appease the gods, in order to protect themselves or to win favour and blessing. For God so loved the world – that is actually a radical concept today. While we have been told as Christians for 2,000 years that God loves us, that God is love, we still tend toward the idea that we have to appease God, earn God’s love, measure up in some way, or work hard to prove ourselves. It is so hard for us to believe that God just loves us. An often quoted Bible verse is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that God gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.” So often this is read as judgement, in spite of the fact that the verse begins with “For God so loved the world.” The world – for God so loved the world – that’s everything and everyone. God is on our side, working for us, cheering for us, loving us. We don’t have to do anything to earn that love – God loves us! Unconditionally! Eternally!

Passage: Acts 16:11-15    

  Description: Humans need community. Christians need community. We are social creatures, as much as wolves are, elephants are and dolphins are. We need each other. The first thing that Jesus did, after his baptism and forty days in the wilderness, was to draw a group of people around him, a community of people who would learn from him, work with him, and support one another. The first thing that the followers of Jesus did after witnessing the crucifixion of Jesus was to gather together in the upper room, to hold each other in their fear, their sorrow and their devastation. The first thing that the followers of Jesus did after they discovered the resurrection of Jesus was to gather together, to hold each other in their joy, their wonder and, yes, their disbelief. That is where the Spirit found them, fifty days later, gathered together in the upper room, sharing bread, sharing community. The wind blew, the flames of the Spirit’s energy danced among them, and they became something more than they had been before. They went out preaching, teaching, sharing and living the good news, with no regard for the danger to their lives because of what they preached. The first thing the followers of the Way of Jesus did as they arrived in any city or town was to look for community, an already established ecclesia or group of followers of Jesus, or to gather new followers of Jesus together to create a new ecclesia or community of Jesus. Christians, by our very nature, are part of a community. To be a Christian is to belong to a community. Now, it is possible to be spiritual alone. It is possible to reflect on the teachings of Jesus alone. But to be a Christian, to commit one’s life as a follower of the Way of Jesus, means to be committed to community. If you consider carefully the teachings of Jesus, they are really all about how we live together as community, and then how as a community we relate to the rest of the world. The Way of Jesus from its roots up to the present day is a Way of community, of partnership, of human beings being called together in faith.

Passage: Matthew 7:12-29    

  Description: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” The first recorded use of that saying was in a sermon preached in 1175. Here’s a version from 1602 (in the play Narcissus): “They can but bringe horse to the water brinke / But horse may choose whether that horse will drinke.” I think if that saying had been around in Jesus’ time, we would have found it in this section of the Sermon on the Mount. It really is what Jesus is saying: “I can bring you the good news of God’s love and show you how to live it, but I can’t make you do it.” Now I think that Jesus is getting a little impatient by this point in the day. He has been preaching for hours (we probably only have, in the gospel, the short summary of his teachings that day – the Coles note version or the twitter feed.) Jesus has been telling stories and sharing all that he knows, but deep down he is starting to wonder if the people will ever understand. He sees the few in the crowd who have that spark in their eye, that wonder on their face, that says they are understanding what he is sharing. But most of the crowd, he knows that they just don’t get it. They are so used to their old ways, following the rules precisely and thinking that’s what God wants, that they can’t hear his vision of the kingdom, of God’s justice and compassion. How can he say it in another way?

Passage: Mark 2:1-19    

  Description: Chapter 26 from Brian McLaren's "We Make the Road by Walking" - If we believe in God's kingdom, then we will make it real. In a crazy world where people think that a little more violence will end violence, a little more hate will end hatred, a little more revenge can end revenge, a little more gold can cure greed and a little more division can create cohesion - we need more than ever the teachings of Jesus.

Passage: Luke 1:5-55    

  Description: Virgin Birth! We are taking the Bible seriously rather than literally so let’s figure out what is meant by virgin birth. In our scientific culture, when confronted by a story of virgin birth, we are typically given two options: accept virgin birth on faith, putting our scientific minds in a back cupboard while enjoying the story, or reject virgin birth as not scientifically possible and relegate the Christmas story to the realm of fairy tales. But when we take the Bible seriously, not literally, we are offered a third option of not getting caught up in the debate around virgin birth, and looking instead at what the story is trying to tell us about faith in God and the relationship between humans and God. So here we go—what can we learn from this story?