Tag Archives: Jesus

G*d’s Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, Messiah, Savior

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on December 6, 2015
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The Weak and the Small — Rev. David J. Schreffler

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December 6, 2015
Sunday

“…the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” Luke 3:2 – 6

“Luke begins his story by making the outrageous claim that God is at work in the weak and small – babies and barren women and unwed teenage mothers and wild-eyed prophets and itinerant preachers and executed criminals – to change the world. And, to be quite honest, God’s not done yet. God continues to work through unlikely characters today – unpopular teens and out-of-work adults and corporate executives and stay-at-home parents and underpaid secretaries and night-shift workers and police officers and volunteer baseball coaches and even burned out preachers – to announce the news of God’s redemption. It’s a promise, as I said, that’s easy to miss, but when we hear it – and even more – when we see it taking place in our own lives – it changes us along with the world.” (David Lose, Dear Working Preacher, A Promise That’s Easy to Overlook, December 02, 2012)

It is easy to fall into the belief that G-d only works through the powerful, the popular, and the precise. The scriptures are filled with all kinds of broken and sinful people through whom G-d does amazing things. But somewhere along the line we started to believe that G-d only speaks through the prophet and priest, and not through the homeless and the imprisoned. Some of my most G-d-filled moments have been sitting with people who are just trying to get through life.

John, the son of Zechariah, was as ordinary as they come. Yes, he wore outrageous clothing, and yes his diet was unusual, but let me reassure you, in the first century, there were a lot of “interesting” people out and about. There were zealots trying to convince people to fight against the Roman occupation. There were others living out in the desert, hoping to find G-d in their own way. And there were those who claimed to be the long awaited Messiah. The people ask John if he is the One they were hoping would come to save the people. He made it clear he was not, he was just there to prepare the way of the Lord.

All throughout the scriptures, G-d has selected ordinary people (like Amos, a dresser of Sycamore trees; and Joseph, the dreamer) to be G-d’s messengers. You and I, we are part of a Great Cloud of Witnesses – a long line of ordinary Joe’s and Jane’s called to share the story.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on December 5, 2015
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Keeping Your Eyes on the Prize — Rev. David J. Schreffler

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December 5, 2015

“When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Matthew 21:1 – 9

“Sometimes I feel that the whole world is alive with G*d’s comings – quite literally. A close call on the interstate highway and I’m grateful that he provided the lull; a bathrobe catches on a door knob and rips – and what’s G*d got against me this morning? This if frivolous, self-centered, verging on the superstitious – I know that! But I wonder if it isn’t better than assuming that G*d speaks to us only in crisis, or only in scripture and in church. As if we could limit G*d so!” (From Death to Birth, Edmund A. Steimle, [1907 – 1988] “For All The Saints” volume III [p. 11 – 12]

It is easy to see G-d in the extraordinary, in the sacred, and in the beauty of the earth. It is not so easy to see G-d in the ordinary, the everyday, the dull, the dim, and the dank. Yet, if we proclaim that G-d is in all things, then we should see G-d in ALL things. I did not have a good summer this year. Many things were happening all at once that gave me a tsunami of feelings, and emotions and fears. It was not a good time for the everyday workings of my life, but G-d was ever present –alive in so many ways that it was easy to see the hope and the promise through the problems and tribulations. Just because I am having a bad spell in my life does not mean that Christ has abandoned me. What I have learned is, if I feel as if G-d has forgotten about me, then I need to pay more attention to G-d, and then I will see that Christ is still active, in the midst of the bad, and in the presence of the good, and in the mix of the mundane. Christ is always there, I just need to find ways to keep my eyes on the prize, yes when all is good, but also when the storms rage, and when the boredom is profound.

Pastor Dave