"Coffee With God" - Scripture references: Isaiah 6.1-8 and Mark 1:35  at Reconciliation Metropolitan Community Church, Grand Rapids MI ~ Rev. Steph Maxson

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Sermon based on the Revised Common Lectionary - Epiphany 2, John 1:43-51 at Reconciliation Metropolitan Community Church, Grand Rapids MI ~ Rev. Steph Maxson

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Sermon based on the Revised Common Lectionary - Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12 at Reconciliation Metropolitan Community Church, Grand Rapids MI ~ Rev. Karen Tompkins

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Christmas Eve Devotional

Reading: Grab your bible and read Isaiah 9:2-7

Reflection:

At the start of the Advent season the promise to David of an everlasting dynasty was remembered. Now, as the season draws to a close, and we move, finally, to Christmas, the promise is repeated again - this time with a sign of fulfillment in the Child who will be born.

Now, as we read this, we cannot help but think of the baby at the centre of the Christmas celebrations. Isaiah, of course, knew nothing of Jesus, but through the ages, whatever these words meant for the people of Isaiahʼs time, followers of Christ have recognised Christʼs birth in Isaiahʼs prophecy. It is not surprising that we believe that this prophecy was amazingly and universally fulfilled in Jesus.

What is amazing is that the prophecy speaks about a king ruling from Davidʼs throne. David was a warrior king, conquering his enemies with force and ruling with the same grand displays and power-games that every human king has done. But, the way Jesus rules transforms the throne of a warrior king into a place of mercy and justice, peace and comfort. The names of this new ruler are not names that strike fear into the heart. They are names that welcome and inspire us, that reassure and encourage us. And the amazing thing about this new Reign is that nothing can ever destroy it. It canʼt be conquered by armies or removed by a vote. Once it has taken root in a heart, its influence will always be felt, and its impact on the world will always continue.

In what ways has this new Ruler taken up residence on the throne of your heart? How do the names of Jesus listed in this prophecy challenge and inspire you? How can you live more intentionally as a citizen of this Reign this Christmas, and every day?

Prayer:

Itʼs amazing God, how you can take the thrones of warrior kings and turn them into seats of gracious and just government. Itʼs wonderful how you redefine what Rulership looks like, and how you call yourself by names that invite us into your comfort, peace and love. As I celebrate the birth of Jesus - the Baby-God-Monarch - keep me always mindful of how it is Jesus who enables me to live as a citizen of your beautiful Reign. Amen.

Christmas Eve Devotional

Reading: Grab your bible and read Zephaniah 3:14-20

Reflection:

To a people who had been broken and conquered, these words of restoration must have sounded like a wonderful, but distant, dream. Two elements of this prophecy that stand out as I read these words are the promise that God will live with Godʼs people - a promise fulfilled in Jesus - and that God delights in people. The words are celebratory and passionate, and they indicate that Godʼs love is not some cold, vague, sense of wanting our good in the end. Rather, Godʼs love is vibrant, involved and radically powerful. When we hold this against the truth that every judgement that is mentioned in Scripture is brought on to people by themselves, that there were always lots of warnings before the fact, and that the judgments
were pretty much always simply the consequences of their short-sighted actions, we can begin to let go of any image of God as an angry deity waiting to destroy us all when we mess up.

Jesus said that, if we want to know what God is like, we have only to look at Jesus. Jesus - in his message and mission, his character and behaviour, shows us the truth about God and the picture is one of infinite, creative grace and love and welcome. In these last few days before Christmas, we have a wonderful opportunity to remember and celebrate this.

What is your most powerful picture of God? Does it match the God that Jesus reveals in the Gospels? How does your view of God impact your worship, your faith and your life? How does it change things to realise that God delights in and celebrates you? Spend today reminding yourself of this amazing truth!

Prayer:

Forgive me, God when I hold on to ideas about you that are unworthy of you - when I think of you as an angry old man on a cloud waiting to punish me when I make a mistake. Please show me how to let Jesus define the way I see you, and please keep reminding me that you delight in me. Of course, this also means that you delight in others, too. Please keep reminding me of that and help me to see what it is in other people that brings you such joy. Amen.

Reading: Grab your bible and read Romans 10:5-13

Reflection:

Sometimes it feels like God is hard to find, and that Godʼs presence is as distant as the stars. Sometimes when we feel like this, we try to protect our relationship with God by reverting to law, by making decisions and drawing to determine who is “in” and who is “out” (Paul refers to this as saying “who will go up to heaven?” or “who will go down to the place of the dead?”). The problem with this reaction, though, is that the legalism and control can never give us the life and liberty of Godʼs Reign. Rather, we are called to faith - the kind of faith that chooses to believe that Godʼs presence, Godʼs word, is near to us even when we donʼt feel it.

This faith is at the heart of the Advent journey. Advent leads us through stories of people who had every reason to believe they had been abandoned by God, but who continued to believe. The Old Testament Israelites, the people of Jesusʼ day, John the Baptiser, Mary, Samuel, the New Testament Church - all of these people and groups that we have been reflecting on over the last few weeks had moments when God felt distant, but many of them trusted God anyway, and discovered that God is always available. This is why Paul can confidently assure his readers that anyone who calls on Godʼs name will be saved.

How can you make the choice for faith in those times when youʼre not sure if God is still around? In what ways can you continually choose to “call on the name of the Lord?” and help others to do so? How can you resist the temptation to legalism and control and embrace the freedom of Godʼs Reign today?

Prayer:

Forgive me, God, when I doubt your presence and your love. Forgive me when, in my doubts, I start trying to work out things like who is going to heaven - who is “in” - and who isnʼt, hoping that this will make me feel more secure. Teach me the lesson of simple faith, of always trusting your presence, even when Iʼm not aware of it. Teach me to call on you at all times, and to be for others the answer when they call. Amen.

Reading: Grab your bible and read Mark 11:1-11

Reflection:

It is a good exercise to compare Jesusʼ triumphal entry into Jerusalem with Maryʼs Magnificat from yesterday. Both give a glimpse of the difference between Godʼs Reign and the power structures of our world. Where human empires dominate by force, Godʼs Reign wins over hearts. Where human empires boast of their power with grand displays, Godʼs Reign is humbly seen in hidden villages, in the lives of young girls, and on the backs of young donkeys. Where human empires take themselves way too seriously, Godʼs Reign is almost laughable in its strangeness and humility.

The truth that is revealed, though, in both of these stories is that Godʼs Reign has a way of spreading through people and nations. It has a way of resisting human force and overcoming, and it has a way of bringing the small things, the least and most insignificant people and creatures, into the centre of things.

Where do you see the humility and levity of Godʼs Reign at work in your life? What small things might God be wanting to shift to the centre of your world? What empires might God be seeking to overcome with love and grace?

Prayer:

They call you “King” Jesus, but the way your “Kingdom” appears is not like any other kingdom Iʼve ever seen. There is no pomp, no domination, no force, no boasting. There is just humility, simplicity and love. Teach me to embody the values of your Reign in my life, Jesus, and please undermine any places where the spirit of empire is being seen in me. Amen.

Sermon based on the Revised Common Lectionary - Advent 4B - Luke 1.26-38 at Reconciliation Metropolitan Community Church, Grand Rapids MI ~ Rev. Steph Maxson, Pastor

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Reading: Grab your bible and read Luke 1:46b-55

Reflection: Todayʼs reading is Maryʼs famous song, known as the Magnificat. It is a strange passage in many ways. In Lukeʼs narrative, it is as Mary arrives at the home of her relatives, and Elizabeth remarks at how the unborn John leapt in her womb at the presence of Mary, that Mary responds with this amazing prayer. The words are strange ones to be coming from an ordinary girl - they are filled with prophetic images of Godʼs justice and mercy to Godʼs people. In a country oppressed by a foreign empire, they were subversive words, but they pointed to the truth of what Christʼs coming was all about - bringing the just and loving reality of Godʼs reign into the world.

Read the passage again. What stands out for you? What surprises or disturbs you? What does this song tell you about Mary, and about the way she was viewed in the new Christ-following community out of which Lukeʼs narrative was written?

Now think about what this means for you. The moment when we celebrate Christʼs birth is just days away now, and this passage gives us a glimpse into who this Jesus is and what he came to do. Justice, grace and love were at the heart of Jesusʼ message and ministry from the very beginning, and as followers of Christ we are called to embrace these values too. How can you live them out today in your own life and spheres of influence?

Prayer:

O God,
The way your Reign is described in the Scriptures - in prayers like Maryʼs - is beautiful. In what Jesus came to teach and do, I see what the world could be, and I long for it to be like that. But, I know that it starts with me - with my ʻyesʼ to your Reign in my life. And when I give you my ʻyesʼ, I know that, like Mary, my ordinary life becomes an extraordinary contribution to the mission of your Reign in the world. Amen.

Fourth Monday of Advent Devotional

Reading: Grab your bible and read 1 Samuel 1:1-18

Reflection:

There are strong resonances between the story of Samuelʼs birth and that of John the Baptizer. Samuelʼs mother, Hannah, could have no children, but then, in answer to prayer he was born. Elizabeth, Johnʼs mother, was also called “barren,” but in her old age gave birth to a son. Both John and Samuel were dedicated to God and both of them were marked by their dress and behavior (Samuel was a Nazirite whose hair was not cut and who never drank wine, and John dressed in skins and ate locusts and honey). And both of these men became forerunners for chosen servants of God - Samuel anointed David as King over Israel and John prepared people for the coming of Christ.

In both cases it was the faithful and humble devotion of the parents in humiliating circumstances that opened the door for God to work. We need to be careful not to make too strong connections between these stories and our own lives - what is descriptive of an ancient event is not always prescriptive for us. There is no question, though, that when we offer
ourselves to God for Godʼs purposes, God always takes us at our word, and the results can be amazingly dramatic, even though our contribution may be very small or commonplace.

What part of your life may God be asking you to offer to Godʼs service? How can you make this offering? If youʼre not sure youʼre ready to do it yet, is there a way you can begin to prepare your heart so that at some time in the future you will be?

Prayer:
God, itʼs amazing and humbling how you use simple human beings, who are willing to offer themselves to you, to accomplish your purposes. Itʼs also challenging, because I recognize that there are parts of my life - abilities, talents, resources, time - that you ask me to offer to you. This Advent season, may I learn to give myself to you more and more, even as you continue
to give yourself to me. And may I learn, in whatever small way I can, to share in your transforming, saving work. Amen.

Fourth Monday of Advent Devotional