From the Pastor

     “Tis Midnight and on Olives’ Brow” 

 [Read Luke 22:39-44]

Of all the texts that give us the details of Jesus’ last week, the one that touches me the most is Luke’s account of Jesus praying alone in the Garden of Gethsemane. While all three of the synoptic gospels-Matthew, Mark and Luke-tell the story, Luke gives us a closer look at the struggles and suffering the human nature of Jesus endured there. While I love John’s Gospel, it deals more with the divine nature of the Christ than the human nature of Jesus, so Gethsemane gets glossed over.

Now I know that many scholars will argue that verses 43 and 44—the angel and the sweat drops of blood—are lacking in some of the ancient authorities and therefore were not a part of the original text. This would mean that they were probably added by the early church and not written by Luke. However, for me, they fit nicely with Luke’s understanding of just how human Jesus really was. After all, Luke is known as the Beloved Physician and shows us that Jesus was really wrestling with whether or not he would face the cross.

For you see for me, Jesus had to struggle his whole life with what did it mean to be who he was. What kind of Messiah would he be: the triumphant warrior king, which was exactly what the people expected; or the suffering servant pointed to by so many of the ancient writings. I believe that early on Jesus choose to be the Suffering Servant knowing full well that choice would lead to the cross. However making that choice was not the end of Jesus’ struggles. The temptation to find an easier way and to avoid crucifixion was always with Jesus. From the time the Tempter offered him all the kingdoms of earth if Jesus would bow down and worship him, to Caesura Philippi when after Peter had affirmed that Jesus was the Christ and Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and die and Peter rebuked him and said: “That shall never happen to you.” [Mark 16:21-22], to now in Gethsemane the temptation to avoid the cross was very strong.
If you really want to understand just how much Jesus loves you, see him praying alone on Olives’ Brow until his sweat becomes like great drops of blood! I believe it was at that point the power of sin was broken. Jesus had resisted the final temptation to find an easier way and when he prayed the final time “Yet not my will but yours be done!” and got up off his knees all the forces of Hell could not have kept him off the cross! Jesus loves us that much!
William B. Tappan captures the meaning of Luke’s account so well in the words of “Tis Midnight and on Olives’ Brow” – Here they are for you:

‘Tis midnight and on Olives’ Brow – The star is dimmed that lately shown’
Tis midnight in the garden now – The Suffering Savior prays alone.
Tis midnight; and from all removed – The Savior wrestles lone with fears
E’en the disciple whom he loved – Heeds not his Master’s grief and tears.
Tis midnight, and for other’s guilt – The Man of Sorrows weeps in blood;
Yet he who in anguish knelt – Is not forsaken by his God.
Tis midnight; and from either plains – Is borne the song the angels know;
Unheard by mortals are the strains – That sweetly soothe the Savior’s woes.

Richard

Matthew 1:19 reads:  “Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately.” [T.E.V.]   

Joseph is often the forgotten character in the Christmas story.  He was a man of principles.  Undoubtedly Joseph was a law-abiding, scripture-reading, synagogue-going man.  He may even have been a leader of the mainstream Judaism of his day.  Being engaged gave the man all the same rights that a husband had.  Even the right to charge his intended with adultery which, by the way, was punishable by stoning.  Therefore, when Mary told him she was pregnant Joseph had every right to bring charges against her.  Indeed, that was the morally correct and principled thing to do.

We catch a glimpse of Joseph’s character in the verse quoted above.  Not wanting Mary to be disgraced publicly implies that Joseph at least cared for Mary.  However you would think that if he really loved her Joseph would have gone ahead and married Mary even knowing that the child she carried was not his.  Many engaged couples of that day lived together as husband and wife so the birth of before the marriage ceremony was not unusual and therefore would not have caused scandal.  But Joseph was a man of principles!  And we all know that principles must be stronger than anything else!  If a man does not have his principles, he is no man at all!

Yet when we try to follow abstract principles we are most likely to dismiss God’s miracles.  We become unable to recognize God’s surprises and often close ourselves off from God’s grace.  But isn’t it amazing how sometimes God breaks in and touches our lives?  For Joseph it was the angel of the Lord speaking to him in a dream.  For you and me it was the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that changes us and allows us to live by faith.

When Joseph awoke he was able to go beyond doing what was “right” according to his principles and be faithful to God’s loving command.  Joseph let go of his cold absolute morals and went with the loving God who needed him to carry out God’s purpose in the world.  This Christmas season let us move from uncaring principles and begin to live by faith.  Maybe God also has a work for you and me to do.  Are we faithful enough to do it?

— Richard

“Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” [Joshua 24:15]

There was going to be a change in leadership. Joshua who had faithfully and successfully led the Children of Israel into the Promised Land would soon be gone. Also going away with him was the people’s link back to Moses who had led them out of Egypt and also given them the law. So this was an important change indeed. Joshua gathered the people together for a farewell address. After he reminded them of all that God had done for them, Joshua asked them to choose who they would serve. Two of the options Joshua mentioned are still valid today as we struggle to choose who, or what, we will serve.

The first choice was to serve the gods your ancestors served. How many times do we elevate traditions in the highest position and worship them more than we worship God? Some of the most discouraging words a pastor ever hears are: “Preacher, we’ve never done that here,” or “Preacher, we’ve always done it this way.” One of the best definitions for insanity is keeping on doing what you have always done and expecting a different outcome.

Now traditions are not all bad. In fact, some are really good: they become sinful when we serve them rather than serving the Lord. I once served a church in which the piano lamp was broken. My pianist had to “fix” it each time before it could be used. However to even talk about replacing it was considered blaspheme because someone had given it as a memorial gift for an ancestor. Often we choose to serve the “gods” of tradition and worship the past.
The second choice was to serve the “gods” of the people around them. In Joshua’s time that may well have seemed to be the best choice. Serving the gods of the Amorites would allow the Israelites to blend in and become a part of that society. Now while the reasons may be different today the temptation to blend in and be just like everyone around us is still very strong.

Surveys tell us that peer pressure may be the most defining thing in our youth’s lives. Also most of us, regardless of age, want to be accepted and to fit in with those around us. This may be on the job, in school, or just in the community at large. Far too often we compromise our Christian beliefs and find ourselves serving the “gods” of those around us.

However, Joshua also presents a third choice, serving the LORD. In one of the best affirmations of faith in all scripture Joshua said: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Oh how I hope and pray that we all can make that same affirmation of our faith!

Richard

The Fourth of July is a very special day. It is the birthday of our nation and the time when we celebrate our freedom. It may be my favorite holiday of all. This is partly true because it comes during the summer which is becoming more and more, the older I get, my favorite time of the year.

While the Fourth has always had meaning, it seems to have become more important after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. After the terrorists attacks, you seem to hear the phrase “God bless America” much more than you did before. Each time I hear or see those words I ask myself what do they mean? Especially, what do I mean when I say them?

Sometimes we forget that the Fourth is not a religious holiday. I am afraid that we often worship our nation almost as much, or more than, we worship God. Now please do not get me wrong. I love the U.S.A. as much as anyone. My heart beats faster when I see the flag or hear the national anthem; but we cannot allow anything, even our nation, to be the thing we put above our worship of God. We need to hear again the words of Jesus regarding how we treat civil leadership of any nation: “Render to Caesar the things that are Ceasar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” [Mark 12:17 K.J.V.] This teaches that God must be the ultimate thing in our lives above all else, even our love of country.

Furthermore, we need to remember that God is God of all nations and God loves all the world’s people. Now God does not approve of the evil some people do and terrorism done in the name of religion must break God’s heart. However, when I hear “God Bless America” I cannot help but think of the words of Lloyd Stone’s hymn entitled “This Is My Song.” Let me share those words with you now:

‘This is my song, O God, of all the nations, a song of peace for land afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is, here is my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine: but other hearts in other lands are beating, with hope and dreams as true and high as mine. My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine. But other lands have sunlight too, and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.’

Now please do not get me wrong. It is not wrong to love your country and to pray for God to bless the U.S.A. as long as we do not mean by blessing our country that God would harm some other country. Maybe one of the hardest teachings Jesus gave us is to love our enemies. If we are to love our country as we should, we have to love God more.

So I hope this Independence Day you celebrated your freedom and enjoyed this great nation of ours, only keeping God first in your heart.

Richard

“And when they had come into the house they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh.” [Matthew 2:11 N.K.J.V.]

Christmas is the time of gift giving. This practice is traced directly back to the gifts the Three Wise Men gave to Baby Jesus. Sometimes the practice of giving gifts causes more problems than it offers benefits. Many families overspend on Christmas and wreck their financial well-being in an attempt to keep up with their friends. I can remember as a teenager hating to go back to school after Christmas when all my friends would brag about all they had gotten for Christmas, and I never got as much. Up until that time I really did not realize that by material standards how poor my family really was. I was embarrassed to have to admit that I only received one small gift, and there were years I did not get that much, while my friends had gotten so much more. Sometimes I was tempted to lie about what I had gotten, but I knew lying was wrong.

Looking back on my life, I now can see that while my family was lacking in material things, they were able to give me the greatest gift of all. Realizing now that, even as a teenager facing all the peer pressure that teenagers face, I was still able to know that lying was wrong was a great gift indeed. Telling a lie might have made me be better accepted, but not giving in to that temptation speaks volumes of how rich spiritually my family really was. The greatest gift of all that my family gave to me was faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

I cannot remember a time when prayer was not a part of our life. Blessings were said before each meal. Children were taught to pray as the last thing you did at night and the first thing you did the next morning. There was never a question of if we were going to church—if the church doors were open, we went. Some of my earliest memories are of my playing around my mother’s feet as she worked on a quilt and told me the stories from the Bible. I honestly cannot remember a time when I did not know about Jesus. The strength and the comfort of the Christian faith sustained and kept me, even during those times I rebelled against that faith. What a great gift my parents were able to give me.

So this Christmas give your children, your grandchildren, or the neighborhood children, the gift of faith. Take the time to tell them the stories of Jesus. Live a life that brings honor and glory to God before them. Be their example of who a Christian really is. Long after the material gifts that you may give them are broken, lost, or worn out, or become “boring”, the Christian faith will still be with them and it can change their lives. God gave the world His Only Begotten Son at that first Christmas and that is the greatest gift that ever was. The greatest gift that you can give is to share Jesus with others.

Richard