Year A, Lent 1, Matthew 4.1-11

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.  Amen

Many years ago during my first call at Thompson Falls, MT, we were experiencing the struggles of a small congregation trying to support a full time pastor with all the financial obligations that go along with that. 

Those struggles resulted in significant conflict along the way.

It’s hard for a pastor in such situations.  The most difficult thing is that we often take far too much responsibility for what is happening.  When things are going well we pat ourselves upon the back. 

But when things are not going well it is tempting to think “I have failed.”

And with that feeling of having failed come shame, and guilt, even depression.

It was during one of those difficult times where we were struggling financially and conflict ensued that my Bishop, Mark Ramseth, offered one of the best pastoral words I’ve ever received.

The words were simple.

But the lesson was powerful and important.

“Dave,” he said, “this is not about you.”

The temptation, you see, is always to believe that everything that happens is somehow a referendum on me.

Here we are at Peace Lutheran.

We too, have our struggles.

And as your pastor, the temptation remains to think that it’s all about me.

That happens in both good and bad situations.

When we, against all odds, do very well financially, it is tempting to think that “I must be a fine pastor.”

But when finances are not so good, the temptation is to believe “I have failed as a pastor.”

When a new member comes to our congregation, I am tempted to think “Yes, I’m good at this!”

But when a family leaves the congregation it is so easy to feel personal rejection and failure.

And then the words of my bishop come back to me.

“Dave, this is not about you.”

For good, or for bad, this is not about you.

Jesus was tempted.

As he began his ministry, following his baptism, he went into the desert to fast and pray.

There the tempter came to meet him.

Satisfy your hunger.

Throw yourself from the temple and watch the angels save you.

Worship me, and I will give you all the nations of the world.

“If you are the Son of God,” were the devil’s words.

If you are the Son of God. . .

                Then prove it.

Do these things and demonstrate it.

“If you are the Son of God”, with these words the Devil tempted Jesus to make it all about him.

That’s what I noticed during my studies this week.

That each of the temptations was for Jesus to make it about him.  His hunger.  His safety.  His success.

When I was growing up in Irene, SD people would gather occasionally for family reunions.  And one of the things that they often did as part of those family reunions was to have a worship service.

It was on one such occasion that I was attending the family reunion of one of my friends, Claire Fagerhaug, out on the farm.

Connie, Claire’s mother, gathered us kids together and formed a children’s choir.

The song she chose for us to sing was “He Could Have Called, Ten Thousand Angels.”

The chorus for that song is:

“He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world (the world) and set Him free
He could have called ten thousand angels
But He died alone (alone) for you and me.”

In other words, Jesus could have made it all about him, but instead, he died for you and me.

The point is, Jesus’ own life and ministry was not to be about him, but us.

The devil tempted Jesus to make it about him, but he wouldn’t bite.

Temptation.

Making it all about us.

Making it all about me.

That’s still the temptation.

For us as a congregation that can be a temptation.  A real temptation.

For a while my daughter Katie was involved in a mega-Church out in Puyallup, WA.

I was skeptical about this congregation, as I tend to be about all “Mega-Churches”, but I learned a lot from her involvement.

They did some things right.  I commend them.

One of the things they did right was with respect to their Sunday worship.

Everything they did on Sunday morning was not about them, as a congregation, or about the pastor.

Everything they did was focused on the first time visitor.

Their hospitality for the visitor began with parking attendants, people greeting newcomers, and the entire content of the service and sermon.

Their ministry was not about them, but about the “outsider” seeking a spiritual home.

One example of that is that the sermons were written in such a manner as to appeal to someone with no background in the Christian church, whatsoever.

So much so that one of the criticisms they received is that there is not much on Sunday for a mature Christian.  Their response is that they have Bible Studies and services every night of the week.  Mature Christians should be coming to them.  Sunday mornings are for the visitor.

We are not a mega-Church.

We are a small, struggling little congregation. 

It’s tempting to make it all about us.

We welcome new people because WE need more members.

We focus on our own financial needs and survival.

And we do things OUR way, because that’s the way we like it.

Or at least that’s the temptation.  To  make it about us.

“Dave, this is not about you.”

Those were the words of my bishop.

Jesus was tempted to make it all about him.

And we are tempted to make it all about us.

God’s purpose for our congregation is to welcome, love and serve all in our local and global community.

I love our mission statement.

Because it is not about us.  It’s about others.

The challenge for us as a congregation is to keep this mission in front of us and not fall prey to the temptation to make it about us.

If we make it about us as a congregation we will die.

If we welcome, love and serve others it will not matter what happens to us, because it is not about us.  What matters is whether we can make a difference in this world. 

Can we be the voice of the Gospel?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not an organizational principle for the development of congregations.  That is, the Gospel is not here to serve the Church.

Rather, the Church is here to serve the Gospel.

If you want to talk about success, then I’d put it this way:

The success of our congregation, or any congregation, is not whether they thrive numerically or financially, but whether they share the love of Christ with one another.

One of the often overlooked parts of the Gospel lesson for today is the last verse:

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Jesus resisted all the devil’s attempts to make it about him, and then the angels came and cared for him.

Likewise, if we resist the temptation to make our ministry about us, and reach out instead to others, God will take care of us.

The angels will wait on us.

Here is the irony.

Our needs will be met, but only in as much as we serve others.

If we are in it for ourselves, we will fail.

Jesus’ final rebuke of Satan was with these words:
“‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”

It’s not about us.

It’s about loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and our neighbor as our self.

Amen

Year C, Lent 1, Deuteronomy 26.1-11, Luke 4.1-13, Remember

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.  Amen

Remember from whence you came and to where you are going.  And that it’s not about you.

Remember.

“A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.” You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.

Remember.

When God gave the commandment to honor the Sabbath, he had a particular reason in mind:

Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.  But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you.  Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.

Remember.

For Israel the very act of worship was an act of remembering.

When you bring your gifts to the altar remember that once you were aliens living in a foreign country.

When you observe the Sabbath day, remember that once you were slaves.

And remember that once you had nothing, and everything you have now is from the Lord.

Remember.

Many of our families have similar stories to the Israelites.

We came to this country, often with little or nothing, except hope for a better life.

My own family came and received a gift of land, just as the Israelites did.

The homestead.

My father’s family homesteaded in northeastern South Dakota, near Pierpont.

My mother’s family homesteaded in Minnesota around Dawson.

Karla’s family journeyed first to Russia, and then to the United States where they homesteaded in the Elgin/New Liepzig area of North Dakota.

Remember.

Remember that all that you have goes back to this gift of land.

Remember this as you observe the Sabbath and bring your first fruits forward as an offering to the Lord.

Remember.

Remember from whence you have come, and to where you are going.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.  For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

For the Israelites salvation was related to the Promised Land, and the Kingdom of David.

For us today salvation most often refers to the forgiveness of our sins and the inheritance that is ours in Christ Jesus, an eternal place in the house of the Lord.

To be with the Lord, is an experience we can only imagine at this point, yet it is our hope.

Remember where you are going.

And remember that this is not a privilege for you, and you alone.  It is a gift to all who call upon the name of the Lord.  Grace.

One of the most common temptations we experience as religious people is the belief that we have in some way acquired salvation as a reward for our own labors.

Maybe we realize that it is a gift, but that God gave us this ‘gift’, is an indication of our privilege, our worth, and our good works.

One thing that has struck me throughout the years is how important it has seemed to be for very many people that some are saved and others are condemned.

It has left me with a nagging question in my mind.

“Would heaven be any less heaven if everyone was there?”

The Eastern Orthodox do in fact believe that all people will be in the presence of God in the afterlife, because there is no place that God is not.

The difference though is that some will experience being in God’s presence as paradise, and others will feel condemned.

But back to the point.

A gift is a gift.

Grace is grace.

My ancestors received a gift of land, the homestead.

It was no less of a gift because other families also received that same gift.

160 acres of prime farm land.  A quarter section.

A place to call home in a foreign land.

A gift.

Remember.

Salvation is like that.  It comes as a gift, a place to call home in a foreign land. 

Remember.  And don’t fall prey to temptation.

Even Jesus was tempted.

What was the nature of Jesus’ temptation?

He was tempted by Satan to make it all about him.

Turn these rocks into bread, and eat, be satisfied.

“Worship me,” Satan says, “and I will hand over all the nations of the world to you.” 

“Throw yourself off the top of the temple so that the angels can save you.”

Make it all about you, Jesus, make it all about you.

That was the test.  Would Jesus turn inward and make it all about him?

That’s the temptation for us as well.

Remember from whence you have come, and to where you are going.

If we make it all about us, then what about grace?

I think that the single most difficult statement in all of scripture to believe is also the most grace filled.

For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift.  (Romans 3:22-24)

Oh, but we do make distinctions.

There are some we feel are worthy, and some that are unworthy.

There are some sins that we think are forgivable, and other sins that we believe should be punished.

There are some people we welcome into the church, others we’d prefer not be here.

The temptation is to make it about us.

And if we make salvation about us, we turn our backs on the grace of God.

Remember.

You had nothing.

You were nothing.

But out of this ‘nothingness’ God called you forth to life.

Job put it this way:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

One of the lessons I’ve learned over the course of my life as a pastor’s son, and subsequently as a pastor myself, is about this grace.

As I grew up in a pastor’s home,

And as I lived out my own life in the ministry,

I have become increasingly aware that every penny that I have ever had originated as a gift.

Literally.

Your offerings will be brought forward and from them, I will be paid.

Your graciousness and generosity literally put the bread on my table.

I won’t say that this gives pastor some sort of spiritual advantage, but it is a valuable lesson.

Remember from whence you have come, and to where you are going.

Remember that just as the Israelites once were aliens in a foreign land, and slaves to Pharaoh, so also all of us, at one point, were nothing.

Remember that all that we have is a gift from God.

Remember that you, together will all people, have sinned, and that you are justified, not on the basis of your own works, but by God’s grace as a gift.

Remember that it is not about you.

It’s about God, and the grace he has shown to all.

We gather here on the Sabbath because God has freed us from slavery.

We bring our first fruits because “a wandering Aramean was our ancestor” without a land to call home, and God blessed him with his grace.

We celebrate the Gospel because we have all sinned, and are all saved by God’s grace.

Remember.

Remember from whence you came and to where you are going.

Remember that it is not about you.

But rather, it is about God’s grace.

Amen

Year B, Lent 1, Genesis 9:8-17, God’s Repentance

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.  Amen

"I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.”

And then God put a rainbow in the sky, as a sign of this covenant that he made with Noah, and all of us who would come after.

“The inclination of the human heart is evil from youth.”

But God, recognizing that you can’t simply destroy evil people, without destroying all people, repented, and promised that despite our sinfulness, we would be allowed to carry on.

It’s interesting to me, that as we begin our Lenten journey, a time that is to be for us a time of repentance, the first scripture passage we read is about God’s own repentance.  God would never again respond to evil, with evil.

Implied in that, is that if God, himself, can humble himself to repent of his actions, we too ought to be able to swallow our pride and turn from our evil ways.

The inclination of the human heart is evil from youth.

Our nation is heartbroken once again this week.

In Parkland, Florida, 17 people including three teachers and 14 students were gunned down at the high school.

This is a pattern we have seen time and time again.

Every time it happens the same scenario unfolds:

• ·         We are horrified.
• ·         We identify the victims, the heroes, the shooter.
• ·         People across the nation offer their thoughts and prayers.
• ·         A debate ensues up about what to do.
•            Some people will call for gun control, others will send in contributions to the NRA to make sure there is no gun control legislation passed.
• ·         Our lawmakers, divided by their political differences, can’t do anything.
• ·         Then the news cycle runs its course, we turn our attention to other things, and put the tragedy out of our mind.
• ·         And then life goes on, kids go to school, people go to work, and nothing changes.
• ·         And then, a few months later the same thing happens again.

About a hundred children die each month in our country from gunshot wounds, many more are injured.

One response is that we should get rid of guns.

Another response is that we should have more guns, you know, have armed guards in all our schools.

Because the divide is so deep, nothing happens.

Personally, I’ve enjoyed owning a gun.  For a number of years I provided all our family’s meat by hunting and fishing.

But for me, gun ownership came to an end when my doctor, after diagnosing me with severe depression, instructed me to remove all the firearms from my home.  He cited a statistic, namely that you are far more likely to die of a self inflicted gunshot wound if you actually have a gun.  So, I got rid of the guns because I didn’t want to die.

My father had a parishioner, a farmer, who kept a pistol in his pickup.  One day his five year old got a hold of the pistol, and shot himself straight through the head.  Amazingly, he survived.

Its experiences like these that lead me to advocate for what I call ‘responsible gun ownership’.

I believe that we should treat guns like we treat cars and driving.

·         They should be titled.

·         They require a license to use.

·         Before one can purchase a gun you must be trained in its safe operation.

·         And, I believe, that people should have to carry liability insurance for their weapons.

·         I believe that if you are going to own guns, then you are responsible for their safe storage and use.

Whether that’s the right answer, I do not know.

Most importantly, I believe that we simply can’t ignore the problem, and do nothing.  Human life is too valuable.

Two facts to consider:

1.       More people have died from gun related deaths in the United States since 1968, when we began keeping statistics, than have died in all of our nation’s wars, combined.

2.       More people die from gun related deaths than die from drunk driving accidents each year.

"I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.”

God repented.

And God calls all of us to live lives of repentance.

One more thing I’ll share about this cycle of violence that has a grip on our country.

Our law enforcement officers will not be outgunned.

I work with people at the cabinet shop who routinely drive to work with loaded pistols in their possession. 

What happens then, when so many drivers are armed, is that the police must be prepared at all times to respond to that threat.

Officers must wear bullet proof vests.

And they are prepared to defend themselves even during a routine traffic stop. 

Too many officers have been killed.  And officers sometimes shoot innocent people as a result.

When we were growing up, nobody had even heard of a SWAT team.  Now, law enforcement across the nation has them.

The more violent we become as a nation, the more heavy handed our law enforcement agencies will be. 

"I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.”

Again, God, himself, can humble himself to repent of his actions, we too ought to be able to swallow our pride and turn from our evil ways.

At the most basic level, the repentance that is needed in our country is to turn from a culture of violence, into one that is dedicated to the promotion of life.

Life is sacred.

Life is holy.

Life is of God.

Moses exhorted his people:

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

That is the choice.

Life or death.

It affects everything we do, and how we treat each other, from the cradle to the grave.

It affects how we treat our unborn children.

How we treat our children.

It impacts how we treat one another.

And how we care for the sick and the elderly.

Jesus says:

" 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. ' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it:'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Jesus is calling us to choose life, and all that life requires.

God repented, and gave us a promise symbolized by the rainbow in the sky.

God’s promise is that he would always and forever choose life, over death.

God’s promise led Jesus to offer his life, for us, on the cross.

God’s promise is that he will continue to forgive us, even as we continue to live out the evil inclinations that are on our heart from our youth.

God’s promise is that life, not death, will have the final word.

That’s what repentance meant for God.

What does repentance mean for us?

I once had a colleague in ministry, who came to our text study in Sandpoint, and who was a Quaker.

I admire them, and other Christians like them, who have made it a central tenant of their faith to choose life over death, love over violence, and peace.

Most of all, what I learned from her was that there was another way.

For Christians, one response to the evil in the world is to simply resolve to wait.

God promises that one day "They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.”

But we can also do something to improve our situation in this life, now.

We can choose life.

We can choose to love.

We can repent of the evil inclinations that are in each of our hearts, and instead, live as Jesus lived.

All that is possible, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and  yes, all that will make a difference.

A big difference.

But it begins with our own repentance.

And then we trust in the Lord our God and his grace to lead us and guide us into the way of peace.

This is not impossible.

Other countries do not suffer from violence the way we do.

But if we don’t want to die violently, if we don’t want our children to die violently, then each of us needs to examine the way we live.

For me, though I loved my Winchester Model 88, choosing life meant giving up a gun, that because of my depression, was a threat.

That won’t be everyone’s choice.  And that’s not my point.

My point is simply this, that when confronted with the evil in the world, each of us will have a choice.

We should choose life, not death. 

And that choice affects how we treat one another.

Amen.

Year A, Lent 1, Matthew 4.1-11, What type of Kingdom shall this be?

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen

Just before our Gospel lesson for today we have the account of Jesus’ baptism.

And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

Son of God.

This is a Messianic title used for the Davidic King in Israel.

In Psalm 2, a psalm read at the coronation of the Kings of Israel, we read:

God said:  "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."

David’s response was:  “I will tell of the decree of the Lord:

He said to me, "You are my son;

today I have begotten you.”

Jesus’ baptism was his coronation.  God declaring him to be King of Israel.  That’s the first thing to know.

Second, immediately following today’s Gospel lesson we read that “From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."”

In between these two texts, the first dealing with Jesus begin declared to be King, and the second dealing with his announcement that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near, we have the account of Jesus’ temptation.

This is no accident, as the temptations Jesus faced at the beginning of his ministry, are temptations related to the Kingdom of God.

Having been called by God to be King, Jesus struggle was to determine what type of King he would be, and what shape that Kingdom would take.

And so he withdrew into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days.

At the end of the 40 days, when he was hungry and tired, the temptations came.

The temptations came in the form of what Jesus might do and accomplish as King.

Imagine, for example, what each of our President’s undergo in the days following their election as they prepare to take office.  An intense and frantic effort is underway to set an agenda for their first 100 days in office – which will shape the remainder of their presidency.  There are many competing ideas and people who are advocating for a certain direction for the country to take.

Temptations abound.

And somehow out of all of it, a direction must be chosen.

This is what is happening to Jesus.

The concept of the Kingdom of Heaven and a return of a Davidic King to the throne of Israel is not new in Jesus’ day.  There were plenty of people thinking about it, and many voices expressing the hopes and dreams of what that might mean.

In the Gospel lesson, the Devil is the one who gives voice to the hopes and aspirations of the people of Israel.

The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."

The problem was not that Jesus could not find something to eat.  There would have been food aplenty for him, as soon as he wanted it.  His fast was voluntary.

The temptation is about the Kingdom.

Later, Jesus would teach us to pray:  “Give us this day, our daily bread.”

Martin Luther explains what is meant by “daily bread” in the Small Catechism:

What is meant by daily bread?--Answer.

Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

In short daily bread represents and abundant and prosperous life.

“If you are the Son of God, just imagine what you could do, Jesus.  You could return prosperity to Israel, fill our bellies, and our coffers.”

“We only want, what all people want, which is enough money to live on and retire with.  We want a car or two, and the opportunity to take a vacation now and then.”

Or to quote another politician, James Carville, in counseling Bill Clinton’s campaign strategy: “The economy, stupid!”

“But Jesus answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. '”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,

6 saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

'He will command his angels concerning you,'

and 'On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. '"

It is not uncommon for Nations to believe that God is on their side, and so they can do anything, and God will preserve and protect them.

Israel would look to its own history for reason to believe this. 

And in Jesus’ day, against the overwhelming odds of trying to defeat the vast Roman Empire, Jewish patriots thought that the Messiah, with God’s help and blessing, would be able to do the impossible, and so they would launch one insurrection after another.

The belief that ‘God is on our side’ has led many a nation into battle.

And underlying that bravery, was the belief that because their cause was a righteous cause, God would protect them, sending angels, so to speak, to insure victory.

Our own nation has believed throughout much of our history that we were/are a holy nation, and that the wars we fight are righteous and holy, and that indeed, God is on our side.

“Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test. '"

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

An unholy alliance if ever there was one. 

All these I will give you, if you just acknowledge and pay homage to me.

Again, History is ripe with examples of unholy alliances.

Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God, and in response, the Church often resorted to unholy alliances, most often with the secular state, to advance the Kingdom of God, supposedly.

Much of Europe, for example, became Christian not by one by one coming to faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, but because the State established Christianity as the official religion, and thereby forced it’s citizenship to adopt Christianity.

This pattern began with the Emperor Constantine, a few hundred years after Jesus, and to one extent after another, continues to this day.

But this has always been an unholy alliance, between the State and the Church.  And it was most definitely the Church that suffered as a result.

The Kingdom of God is so unlike the kingdom’s of this world, that marrying the two together makes no more sense than Jesus himself bowing down to worship Satan.

Perhaps Satan could have given Jesus all the Kingdoms of the world, but to choose this path would be to abandon the Kingdom of God that he was called to establish.

10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

'Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only him. '"

Prosperity.

Military Might.

And an unholy alliance with the powers of this World.

These things Jesus rejected.

Tempting as they were, Jesus would not bite.

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus describes this Kingdom:

18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

If prosperity, military might, and worldly power are not the things of the Kingdom of heaven, what are?

Good News for the poor.

Forgiveness.

Healing.

Freedom.

And a new start, a new day, where all share equally in the blessing and abundance of God.

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

Amen