prophet

Promise Fulfilled… and Expanded

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Promise Fulfilled… and Expanded

(Fourth Sunday of Advent)

December 21, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

Isaiah 7:10-16                        Romans 1:1-7             Matthew 1:18-25

Today we celebrate the fourth Sunday in Advent, the Sunday that we remember Love. In previous weeks we have often spoken of God’s message of hope and the faithfulness of God demonstrated to us by the way in which he keeps his promises. But as we read the scriptures for today, what we discover is that God has not only fulfilled his promises to his people, but that his love is so amazing that he expanded and extended that fulfillment in a way that his people, and the world, never expected. We begin this morning by reading the promise of God given through his prophet Isaiah both to the people of God in the time of King Ahaz, eight hundred years before the birth of Jesus, and to future generations and beyond. Reading from Isaiah 7:10-16, we hear this:

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11“Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give youa sign: The virginwill conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

God’s promise to King Ahaz wasn’t just a future promise of a messiah eight hundred years in his future, but may have been fulfilled in the normal pregnancy of Isaiah’s daughter. It was a short enough time that, although at least eight or nine months in the future, Ahaz could find comfort in knowing that it would not be long before the threat of the two kings he feared would end. But that promise was always understood to be something more than just a baby that would be born in a year or so. God’s people read this and had long understood that it was about something more, about a rescuer that would come long after the time of Isaiah and King Ahaz, but about a messiah that would rescue Israel and its people forever.

And it is this understanding that that anchors the words of the apostle Matthew as he tells the story of Jesus’ birth in Matthew 1:18-25:

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband, was faithful to the law, and yetdid not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

By connecting his description of Mary’s pregnancy with the prophecy of Isaiah, Matthew declares to the world that the prophecy that had long been believed to be about Israel’s promised messiah had finally been fulfilled in a more permanent way than it had been in the time of King Ahaz. Matthew’s declaration is that the time had come for God to rescue Israel and his people forever. It is for that reason, Matthew declares, that the rest of his story, what we now know as the gospel message of the book of Matthew, is something that was of the utmost importance.

But even that doesn’t go far enough. As we read Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, we hear him point to the ancient messianic prophecies of the prophets and their fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but then we also hear him declare the great expansion of God’s grace. In Romans 1:1-7, we hear this:

1:1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly lifewas a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in powerby his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes fromfaith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

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

Paul begins by reminding everyone that the gospel, the story of the Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection, was a story that had been promised throughout the ages by God’s prophets. But Paul goes on to say that through Jesus, God has expanded on the message of the prophets and opened the doors of his grace and apostleship to all of the people that weren’t Jewish, to all of the Gentiles, so that all the people in all the world might come to obedience and faith in Jesus. Paul then reminds the people reading that letter, the people of the church in Rome, that they are among the Gentiles that are called to belong to Jesus, but then the big shoe drops. Paul then says that everyone in Rome is loved by God and is called to join his holy people.

And that’s a big deal.

In Christian circles, because of its power, its politics, its corruption, its polytheistic religions, its historic hostility towards Israel and the Jewish people, and the lingering cultural hatred ingrained Rome’s treatment of Jesus and the entirety of the Jewish people, Rome was often described as evil and cast as the bad guy. In Revelation 17:5, John goes as far as to describe Rome as “Babylon the great mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.” But Paul flips the script and reminds the people of the church that despite the things that Rome and its people have done, God still loves every one of them and calls them to join his family.

For thousands of years, the prophets of Israel told the people about God’s promises of a coming messiah.

And, with the coming of Jesus, his birth, life, death, and resurrection, God gave flesh to the words of the prophets and fulfilled his promises to his people. But God’s love was bigger than what could be contained in the words of his prophets and the coming of Jesus expanded on God’s grace and mercy, and invited the entire world to become the people, and the apostles of Israel’s God. Even those who God’s people often had thought of as being the most evil and corrupt were told that God loved them and was calling them to become his holy people.

As we celebrate Christmas this week, we are reminded that, like the people of Rome, we are among the Gentiles that are being called to belong to Jesus. And, like the people of Rome, there is no one on the face of the earth, that is so evil, or so corrupt, or so wrong in their present religion or beliefs, that God doesn’t love them.

As he has since the time of Jesus, God is calling the people of the entire world, with no exclusions, to become beloved and holy members of his family… if they will only hear his call and come to obedience and faith in his son Jesus Christ.

There are people that you know that desperately need to hear this.

Let’s make every effort to tell them.

Because that is the mission to which God has called us.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Your Religion is Worthless

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Your Religion is Worthless

August 10, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20                    Luke 12:32-40                        Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Imagine that you are a farmer, and the great and powerful Oz, the perfect meteorologist, who is known to never be wrong, visits to tell you that there will be a drought that will begin after the planting season. Further, to survive the famine that follows, rather than planting your seed in the spring, you should store all your seed so that your family has food to eat during the famine. Do you have that in mind? Now imagine that you, your neighbors, and everyone else, completely ignore the meteorologist. But, from planting time and all through the growing season, the meteorologist is constantly heard on television, radio, and public appearances, telling everyone that what they are doing is entirely useless, because he knows, absolutely, that the harvest will fail. And, of course, by that time, you have begun to realize that he is right because it hasn’t rained a drop since everyone’s seed went into the ground. You know that there will be no harvest, you know that there will be a famine, you know that you and your family will be very hungry, and you pray that there might be some bright spot that could give you hope for the future.

Aside from the utter fiction that there might be such a thing as a perfect meteorologist, we can understand that story. But now imagine that, rather than a meteorologist, our story was about a prophet that was sent by God. And imagine that instead of talking about seeds, his warning was about the worship of God’s people and his church. It is that story that we hear from the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 1:1, 10-20:

1:1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

10 Hear the word of the Lord,
    you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
    what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
    of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
    in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
    who has asked this of you,
    this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
    Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
    I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
    I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
    I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
    I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!

16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
    stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.

18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
    you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
    you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

God begins his speech by labelling the leaders, rulers, and people of Judah and Jerusalem as the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah and by doing so immediately goes on record as saying that they are all perverse and immoral. God continues by saying that he doesn’t care about the offerings, and sacrifices made in the temple because all of them are meaningless. Likewise, the feasts, festivals, holidays, and worship are so detestable and burdensome that God hates them with all his being and is weary of being bothered by them. God is so disturbed by the behavior of his people that he closes his eyes and refuses to listen when they pray because the entire nation is covered in the blood of the innocent and guilty of evil.

That is abrupt and harsh, but God also offers hope.

The solution is simple. Stop doing wrong, learn how to do what is right, seek justice, defend the oppressed, stand up for the fatherless, plead the case of the widows, and be a voice for anyone who doesn’t have a voice or rights because they are “outside the system.” God says that he is willing to forgive the sins of his people, and return their blessings, if they are willing to listen to his words and be obedient to his teaching. However, if they resist him, and continue to rebel against him, then they will be destroyed by violence.

Oddly enough, Jesus teaches a remarkably similar message, although rather than teaching it as a threat, he offers it as an instruction on how to please God in the right way. In Luke 12:32-40, we hear Jesus say this:

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Although Jesus’ words are different than Isaiah’s, the message is the same. The distinctive mark of those who truly follow God is not how often they worship, or how may festivals and holy days they celebrate, but in how they obey God’s teachings and live it out. Jesus says that the way we live out our faith is by using the things that God has given us to help the people God has told us to help. Instead of holding on to “stuff” that you really don’t need, sell it and use the money to help the poor and the hungry. Do the things that God taught us to do, help the people God taught us to help, and God will credit your account with treasure in heaven. Jesus says that where you keep your treasure will reveal the location of your heart. In more modern language, Christian financial radio host Larry Burkett used to say, “Give me five minutes with your checkbook and I’ll tell you where your heart is.”

And then in Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, Paul explains it yet another way, saying:

11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed, and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because sheconsidered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Paul is saying that faith isn’t just some stuff that we believe. Yes, it is the confidence that we have in a future that we cannot see, and the hope that we have in God’s forgiveness and in his promises for our future. But it’s more than that. Faith is also how we understand the universe and make sense of the world that we live in. It was faith that allowed Abraham to be obedient and follow God to a country that he had never seen, faith that allowed Isaac and Jacob to live in tents before their family had become a nation and, under Moses, finally reached the Promised Land. It was faith that allowed Sarah to have children even when both she, and her husband, were decades past her childbearing years. These people lived out their faith in God even when the things that God had promised to them only came to their grandchildren and even later descendants many years after their deaths. At any time, they could have returned to the country from which they came, but instead, each day, they decided to be obedient and follow God, and as a reward, God prepared a city for them to call home after their deaths.

In Isaiah, we hear God say that he is tired of empty and meaningless worship from people that do not do the things that he has taught them to do or behave in the way that he has taught them to behave. In Luke, we hear Jesus say that faith isn’t just something we say or believe, faith is living out the things that God has instructed and taught us to do. Those good servants who have true faith will be found doing the work of the kingdom when he returns. And Paul emphasizes these same things. Faith isn’t just the things that we believe. It is our confidence in the future, the way that we see and understand the world around us, our hope for forgiveness, our hope in a future that we cannot see, the way in which we live out our faith, and how we do the work of the kingdom of God and carry on the mission and vision of Jesus Christ.

That is one of the great misunderstandings of our generation and, as we have seen in scripture, a misunderstanding of many generations that came before us. Faith isn’t just an idea, or words that we teach on Sunday, a belief that we have, the way in which we worship on Sundays, the rituals that we perform, the holidays that we celebrate, or a book that we have on a shelf. Faith is how we see the world, how we live, how we act, how we treat the people around us, how we spend our money, how we show compassion, how we share what we have been given, and how we love.

If we don’t live out our faith, and do the things that God teaches us to do, then our religion and worship are worthless.

Paul said that faith is an assurance about what we do not see, and yes, there are parts of our faith that we cannot see, but if we do it right, our faith is unquestionably something that the people around us will see and feel.

There is a quote that is widely, though questionably, attributed to St. Francis of Assisi that says, “”Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.”

For they will know we are Christians…

…by our love.

.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Assumptions of the Powerful

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Assumptions of the Powerful

July 06, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

2 Kings 5:1-14                       Luke 10:1-11, 16-20             

For anyone who has taken the Bridges Out of Poverty class, or who has done any reading about poverty, or the disparities of wealth, one of the things that we discover, is that people from different socio-economic classes simply think differently and operate throughout their lives with a different set of assumptions. These disparities are not new to our generation or even new to modernity, but have existed throughout recorded history, and since the beginning of what we might think of as wealth and power. We often see these differences as we read the stories of history, and we see them in scripture as well as in writings from the period such as the books of Josephus and other first century writers.

Our first scripture for today is found in 2 Kings 5:1-14, much earlier than the first century, somewhere between 500 to 600 years before the birth of Jesus. There, we hear the story of how Naaman, a wealthy and powerful leader of the nation of Aram, a major military and economic power, contracts an incurable disease and travels to Israel in search of healing at the hands of the prophet of Israel’s God. But, even before Naaman and the prophet Elisha can meet, we witness the confusion caused by the assumptions made from his position of wealth and power.

5:1 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be cleansed.”

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So, he turned and went off in a rage.

13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

I want to remind you that Naaman is the second most powerful person in one of the most powerful, wealthy, and influential nations in the entire region. He is a person of great power, intellect, wealth, and influence. He is so important, that when he is discovered to have an incurable disease that would normally cause him to be cast out of society and become an unclean  pariah, the king of Aram helps him to hide his disease and sends him to Israel, along with 75 pounds of silver (roughly $325,000 US), 1,860 ounces of gold (about $6.2 million), and ten complete sets of clothing, which we will assume are the finest silks or embroidered outfits that would be worn by the king or others in the halls of power in Aram. Historically, we know that some of those sorts of outfits would take a skilled artisan a year, or several years, to make and so, each was worth several years salary of a skilled laborer and thus both rare and highly prized.

Additionally, the king of Aram sends along a letter of introduction to the king of Israel but, this is where the assumptions become apparent. First, it is assumed by the wealthy and powerful that miracles from the prophet of God can be bought. Second, it is assumed that the agent that can command such a miracle is the king of Israel. Despite the power of Naaman and Aram’s king, they do not, in any way, understand how the God of Israel works. Despite being told, by an Israeli servant that they must meet the prophet in Samaria, Naaman travels instead to the capitol of Israel, which would have been in Samaria, and not to Jerusalem, which was capitol of Judah. But even so, the King of Aram says nothing about meeting the prophet of God in Israel and the underlying assumption, as it is understood by both the reader of scripture and by Joram, the king of Israel, is that Israel’s king would be able to order Naaman’s healing in exchange for the payment that had been sent.

Even when that assumption is corrected, still Naaman travels to see Elisha with his entire entourage of horses and chariots assuming that he would need to impress the prophet with his wealth and power. Further, he gets angry when he doesn’t even get to meet Elisha face-to-face and finds that what is required of him is not something difficult, expensive, or otherwise impressive.  Instead, what God demands of Naaman is not wealth, power, or influence, but instead is simply obedience and humility.

We see this same upheaval of our own assumptions about wealth and power in Luke 10:1-11, 16-20, where we find Jesus sending out seventy-two of his followers to preach the message of the gospel.

10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

As he sent out seventy itinerant missionaries to the villages and communities ahead of him, Jesus’ instructions are to leave behind everything that might possibly be of assistance to them so that whatever work they did, whatever results that they had, would belong to God and only to God. Further, by requiring these disciples to travel without a change of clothes, or a warm jacket, or money, or water, or even shoes, Jesus forces them to rely upon God for the things that they needed, not only to accomplish the mission and ministry to which they had been sent, but for their very survival.

In addition, Jesus instructs them to stay in one place and eat only what is offered there rather than moving from house to house so that they can get a more generous meal every day. Rather than trying to live better, their goal was to be humble and trust in God’s provision.

As citizens of one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations that has ever existed, even the average among us is influenced by the culture in which we live. And as such, as we are immersed in it, we absorb the assumptions and attitudes that are common to wealth and power. When the king of Aram sent Naaman to be healed, he assumed that the miraculous would be governed by the wealthy and powerful of Israel. Both the king and Naaman assumed that miracles could be bought for the right price. And not only did Naaman assume that he could impress the Elisha, the prophet of God, by his display of strength, his ego was wounded and he was angry that by refusing to meet face-to-face, Elisha did not treat him with the deference that he felt that he deserved, and he was confused that accomplishing Elisha’s instructions would not require wealth, power, strength, or great intellect.  

As Jesus sent out his disciple-missionaries into the communities ahead of him, he forced his followers to set aside their own assumptions and the things upon which they were often dependent. They took nothing with them upon which they could rely. No money, no extra clothing, no food, no water, and no weapons. They took only faithfulness, trust, obedience, and the humility to rest in God’s ability to enable, empower, and accomplish their mission.

Two thousand years later, scripture speaks to us just as it did to the citizens of Israel and the great empires of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Rome and message remains just as clear as it has throughout the ages. When we seek to do the work of the church and the kingdom of God, the things that we need to accomplish the mission set before us is not more money, more power, more influence, more strength, more talent, more equipment, more people, or more of anything else. Those are the assumptions of the wealthy and the powerful. Instead, we must set aside the assumptions of our culture and rely instead upon obedience, faithfulness, trust, and the humility to fully rely upon God.

The recipe is easy.

As Naaman and the disciples of Jesus discovered, it can sometimes be a struggle for us to get past our assumptions long enough to do the things that God asks. But when we do, we can witness the miraculous power of our God as work.

May we, as the followers of Jesus Christ, and as the church, have the humility to trust.

.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Who’s Your Daddy (The Path from Guilt to Glory)

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Who’s Your Daddy?

(The Path from Guilt to Glory)

May 30, 2021*

(Trinity Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

Isaiah 6:1-8                            John 3:1-17                            Romans 8:12-17

For a time, there was a well-known taunt that asked, “Who’s your daddy?”  That phrase was popular enough to appear on playgrounds, high school hallways, pick-up basketball games, sitcoms, and Hollywood movies.  Sometimes it was intended as an insult, often it was used in good humor, but there is truth buried inside of it.  If we are to be secure, confident, and comfortable in who we are, is important for us to know where we came from.  Likewise, knowing where we came from can help to stay out of trouble, and guide us toward our goals for the future.  And so, as the followers of Jesus Christ, it is helpful for us understand where we came from and how we got where we are, so that we can better understand where we are going and toward what goals we should aspire.  We begin this morning with God’s call of the prophet Isaiah that we read in Isaiah 6:1-8>

6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah knew that he was unqualified to speak for God because of his sin and imperfection.  But God came to Isaiah and did for him what he could not do for himself.  He purified his lips, took away his guilt, and atoned for his sin so that Isaiah could speak for God.  And afterwards, Isaiah relents and says, “Here am I, Send me.”

But as we’ve been discussing for the last couple of weeks, the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the coming of the Spirit of God bring about a transformation in the way that God relates and communicates with his people and with his church.  We hear Jesus explain a part of that transformation to the Pharisee, Nicodemus, in John 3:1-17:

3:1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spiritgives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘Youmust be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still, you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things, and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Jesus says that following God is not enough but that the followers of God must be born again by being born of the Spirit by putting their faith and trust in Jesus.  This is the extension of what we saw in Isaiah as an individual, to all of God’s people collectively.  God came to Isaiah, purified him, and atoned for his sin so that he could serve and speak for God.  But through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus atoned for our sins, and purified us, so that we can serve God and do his work.  And, with the gift of the baptism of the Spirit of God, we are given the strength of God and equipped for service.

But that’s exactly what we’ve been talking about for the last two weeks so none of that is particularly surprising.  We discover the interesting part when we start tracing our lineage, finding our history, and begin to understand how that heritage, a how that path through history, helps us to understand who we are.  In Romans 8:12-17 Paul begins to connect those dots for us when he says:

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Paul says that the coming of the Spirit of God is evidence of our adoption, by God, as brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and heirs of God.  Which, incidentally, means that God is our Daddy.  And that adoption completes the lineage that scripture has been drawing for us since the time of the prophets in the Old Testament where we first discover God at work for, and among, his people.  But then God sends Jesus to bring removal of guilt, and atonement for sin and after his ascension into heaven, Jesus, in turn, sends the Spirit and the Spirit brings about our adoption as sons and daughters of God.  Put another way, scripture describes how God has moved us from condemnation and guilt and toward our perfection and our eternal home.  We are moved from guilt, to adoption, from adoption to inheritance, and from inheritance to glory.

But, Paul says, our adoption also brings us an obligation for the indescribable gift that we have been given.  But Paul also notes that this obligation is not an obligation to flesh, that is, not an obligation to principalities, or powers or, people, or priests, or pastors, but it is an obligation to live by the Spirit of God, to live the way that God calls us to live, to do the work of the Kingdom of heaven, to share in the suffering of Jesus, so that we might also share in his glory in our eternal home.

It is that obligation that brings us full circle from where we started because as we move from guilt to adoption, from adoption to inheritance, from inheritance to glory, and from glory to service, we hear God asking us the same question that he asked Isaiah:

“Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”

And because we our guilt has been atoned for, our sin has been washed away, and we have been adopted by God as sons and daughters, with God as our Daddy, as co-heirs with Jesus Christ, and filled, equipped, and strengthened with the Spirit of God, we hear Paul urging us to answer as Isaiah did:

“Here am I.  Send me.”

You can find the video of this worship service here: https://youtu.be/0qlBh7ZpXvY

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online).  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Guilt 2.0

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Guilt 2.0

March 21, 2021*

By Pastor John Partridge

Jeremiah 31:31-34                 John 12:20-33                                    Hebrews 5:5-10

What is it that makes you feel guilty?

People blame the church, or religion in general, for making them feel guilty and accuse them of manipulating their emotions to benefit themselves.  And, if we’re honest, that does occasionally happen just as, in any other field, human beings have been known to abuse their authority or take advantage of others.  That doesn’t mean that anyone is clamoring to ban MBA’s, or schoolteachers, or accountants, or any other profession in which a few practitioners have been caught doing things that they shouldn’t.  But, in any case, your church, or your religion, isn’t the cause of your guilt. 

But if religion doesn’t cause guilt, who, or what, does?

We will get that… eventually.  But first, let’s think about guilt more broadly.  There are different kinds of guilt.  The guilt I feel when I cheat on my diet by eating ice cream is not the same as being found criminally guilty of something that is against the law.  And that king of guilt isn’t always the same as being in violation of the laws of God.

More confusing still is that the laws of God seem to be different between the Old Testament and the New Testament, so some of us could easily be confused as to what we are supposed be doing and not doing.  And, in fact, many Christian denominations, and our own denomination, argue about some of those things.  But that’s not what we’re here to talk about.

One of the things that we see repeated throughout the Old Testament was that the prophets of God pointed toward a day when God was going to fulfill his promises and change the way in which his people met with God, experienced God, and the very nature of the way in which God’s people experienced a relationship with God.  One such glimpse into the future is found in Jeremiah 31:31-34 where we hear these words from God:

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband tothem,”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
    and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.”

Through Jeremiah, God says that there is a day coming, a future day, when God is going to bring forth a new covenant that will be different from the covenant of Moses under which Israel lived.  And the reason that God gives for issuing a new covenant, is that God’s people broke the first one and were unable to live according to it’s standards.  In the first covenant, the commandments were written in stone, but the new covenant will be written on the hearts of the people.  Also, God will no longer be exclusive to the people of Israel, instead God will be revealed to everyone.  The rules, and the way in which the people of God lived under those rules, would change dramatically and they changed, of course, with the coming of Jesus, and through his life, death, and resurrection as we hear in John 12:20-33.

20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

It is significant that the people who had come to meet Jesus were Greeks.  First, the Greeks would, obviously, been foreigners and were most likely Gentiles and not Jewish.  But second, the Greeks, in general, were known to be process thinkers rather than people who would understand religion as a system of blind obedience.  These two differences alone allow us to understand that Jesus’ instructions and explanations to them were likely different than those that he would normally have given to anyone who had been raised under Judaism or a system of Abrahamic, Mosaic, or rabbinic instruction.  For this audience, Jesus explains that death is like the planting of seeds.  If wheat falls on the ground, it dies.  But if wheat is planted, it grows and reproduces itself and transforms a single seed into many.  Jesus explains that, like those seeds, the people who live for themselves alone will live one lifetime that ends in death.  But anyone who follows Jesus, and spends their life serving him, will grow into a life that lasts for eternity.  Jesus says that this moment, the time leading to his crucifixion, was his purpose in coming to earth from the beginning.  And he concludes by saying that his “lifting up,” his crucifixion and death, will be the moment in history that will attract all the people of the world, and of all time, to see him and worship him.  For the Greeks, this teaching was not only something that they would hear and understand logically from Jesus the teacher, but a lesson that they would likely be able to hear, and to witness with their own eyes in the days ahead.

And, just as God promised in the days of Jeremiah, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus changed everything.  The writer of Hebrews explains this covenantal change in Hebrews 5:5-10:

5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father.”

6 And he says in another place,

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is different than kings and high priests that inherit their power from their earthly fathers.  While kingships and the high priesthood generally passed from father to son, Joseph held no earthly authority and so Jesus could not inherit it from him, particularly since Joseph was not a descendant of the priestly clan of Levi.  But neither did Jesus simply assume power or authority and claim the high priesthood for himself particularly.  Instead, God confers the priesthood upon Jesus and declares him to be a priest of the order of Melchizedek rather than a priest of the order of Levi or Aaron. 

Let’s unpack what it means for Jesus to be a priest of the order of Melchizedek.  Because the Israelite priesthood was exclusive to the family of Levi, and the high priesthood to the descendants of Aaron, it was, as I mentioned before, an inherited title.  But, since priests were from the tribe of Levi, and kings were the descendants of David, from the tribe of Judah, the high priest and the king could never be the same person.  And that’s why Melchizedek is important.  In the Old Testament, long before Moses or Jacob, or the twelve tribes of Israel, Abraham met, and gave honor and gifts to Melchizedek who was described as both priest and king.  And, according to Hebrews 7:3, since there was no record of Melchizedek’s birth or death, the traditional teaching was that Melchizedek’s priesthood did not end with his death, but that he remains a priest forever.

Jesus was heard by God because of his reverent submission, Jesus learned obedience from his suffering, was made perfect, and became the source of eternal salvation and rescue for everyone who chooses to obey him (which, you will remember, is exactly what Jesus told the Greeks in John 12).

But so what does any of that have to do with guilt?

And the answer is… everything.

We read in Jeremiah, that with the arrival of God’s messiah, God would write his words upon the hearts of the people because God’s people had been unable to obey the laws of the first covenant that had been written in stone.  Whenever people disobeyed the laws of the first covenant, they were found guilty and condemned because of their failure.  But with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and with his appointment as our high priest and king forever, Jesus sacrificed his own life, once, and rescued us forever.  The people of the first covenant obeyed in fear that they would break the law and be condemned for their guilt.  That was, if you will, Guilt 1.0.  But now, God has written his name upon the hearts of all humanity.  We feel guilt when we do things that our hearts know is wrong.  But, as the followers of Jesus, we do not obey in fear that we will be condemned, but in gratitude for our forgiveness.  Our obedience and faithfulness grow out of our gratitude rather than out of fear.  That sort of guilt is completely different, and we might call that Guilt 2.0.  That sort of guilt, which is an awareness and a knowledge of forgiveness rather than a fear of failure, is fundamentally different.

I have often used the example of the time my brother and I drove from Akron to Pittsburgh to paint our grandmother’s garage.  We didn’t spend an entire Saturday driving and painting in the heat of summer to earn the love of our grandmother.  We did it because of the love that we already had, and the gratitude that we felt for all the things that she had already done for us.  And that, I think, describes the difference between the covenant of the Old Testament and the new covenant of Jesus. 

Instead of living in fear of condemnation, we are set free from condemnation, set free from fear, and set free from sin.  As the followers of Jesus, rather than be manipulated by our fear, we obey the commands and the instructions of Jesus out of gratitude for our forgiveness, knowing that penalty for our imperfections and failures have already been paid.

We don’t obey so that God will love us. 

We obey because we are grateful for the love and forgiveness that he has already given.

And that is Guilt 2.0.

You can find the video of this worship service here: https://youtu.be/ADO8KTfgf2s

Did you enjoy reading this?

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online).  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Peace in the Present Promise

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Peace in the Present Promise*

December 06, 2020

By Pastor John Partridge

Isaiah 40:1-11                                    2 Peter 3:8-15a                      Mark 1:1-8

How can a pandemic possibly be a good thing?

Certainly, current events will give us much to complain about and mourn over for years to come, but we also get glimpses of the occasional silver lining in our ongoing battle with the coronavirus.  Certainly, among these are an array of new medical technologies that have been brought to bear as our doctors and scientists seek new medications and new life-saving treatments, as well as new technology that has allowed us to develop multiple vaccines in just 18 months when the previous speed record for such an accomplishment was five year long rush program with the Ebola virus that was only recently approved.  But another important silver lining may be the attention that our forced lockdown and resulting isolation and seclusion has brought to those among us who suffer from depression, suicidal thoughts, and a variety of other mental illnesses.  While isolation is difficult for all of us, it is harder for extroverts, and disastrous for many people who suffer even in ordinary circumstances.  And while today’s message isn’t going to solve these difficult mental health issues, perhaps by shining a light, and continuing to raise our awareness of these problems, we can begin to make a difference in the lives of the suffering. 

But for the rest of us, as we struggle with our isolation and lack of human contact, many of us, the midst of a pandemic, and the resulting upheaval of everything familiar, which is, of course, piled on top of our normal level of change and upheaval, are wrestling with how can we possibly find… peace.  Our minds are constantly pulled in a hundred directions at once, we worry about our employment, we worry about our families, we worry about our health, about our church and other institutions and business that we care about, and in the midst of our whirling, dizzying, wrestling match with fear, worry, depression and despair, we hear the prophet Isaiah calling to us as we prepare for the arrival of the Messiah.  In Isaiah 40:1-11 we hear these words, spoken to Israel as their nation, their religion, and everything they knew, faced destruction at the hands of the Assyrian empire.

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem

and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”A voice says, “Cry out.”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

9 You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
    and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Even as the disaster they are expecting approaches, God promises to bring comfort after Israel’s hard service was completed and her sin paid for on the day God would send the messiah to rescue them.  God declares that people are like grass because we fade, fail, and fall away.  Our failure comes because our faithfulness fails and not because God has failed.  We know that God never fails, and that God endures forever.  And that is why in this dark hour, Israel could find hope in God’s promise to send a messiah that would make the world right again.  Like us, Israel looked forward to the day that God would return their world to normal.  Best of all, was knowing that God wasn’t doing to do fix things with floods, fires, earthquakes, or destruction, but like a shepherd gathering his flock and carrying his lambs close to his heart.

And, because we get to read their story, we know that after their time of suffering in Babylon, the people of Israel, at least the few that had remained faithful, returned home to rebuild their nation just as God had promised.  And much later, in Mark 1:1-8, we hear the story of the coming of God’s promised messiah. As Mark writes:

1:1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you withwater, but he will baptize you withthe Holy Spirit.”

Echoing Isaiah’s message, John the Baptist preaches a message of baptism, repentance, and a return to faithfulness.  And this time, the people are ready, and Israel answers John’s call.  Mark says that the entire city of Jerusalem, and the whole Judean countryside went out to hear John, confess their sins, and be baptized by a man who spoke like, and dressed like, the ancient prophets.  Of course, we understand that Mark is exaggerating.  We know that the entire city of Jerusalem and the entire countryside of Judea did not go out to hear John preach and to be baptized, but the numbers must have been so large, that it seemed as if everyone was going.  And we can certainly understand that so many people went to hear John that almost everyone must have known someone who had done so.  But even though the people came, and even though John looked, dressed, and acted like a prophet, John’s message is that the people must be prepared for imminent arrival of messiah that God had promised.

God’s redeemer had arrived, and in the middle of an enemy occupation, and their struggles with Rome, the people were reminded of God’s words that they had heard from the prophet Isaiah, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed.”

But then what?  Two thousand years have passed between them and us, between then and now.  What can those two-thousand-year-old words have to tell us during a modern pandemic?  But that isn’t a new question.  The church has been asking that question from the beginning and Peter wrote to his church friends and explained it this way (2 Peter 3:8-15a):

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.

Peter wants the church to remember that God hasn’t forgotten us.  What seems like a frightfully long time to us, is not a long time to God.  Rather than hurrying, God is being patient and giving people time for a second chance.  We are reminded that Christ’s return, and his judgement, are still unpredictable and may come at any time, like a thief in the night.  As such, we must be prepared for his arrival by living godly lives, to watch, and look forward to his coming.  On that day, everything physical will be destroyed but we are more than physical.  What is physical will be destroyed, but what is spiritual will remain.  It is for this reason that we must do everything that we can to be as blameless and perfect as we possibly can.  On that day we will see a new heaven and a new earth, where everything will be right once again.  Finally, the world will return to normal, and we will live in peace with one another the way that God intended.  And it is for this reason that we look forward with hope.

God’s promise, given through the prophet Isaiah, to the people of Israel came eight hundred years before the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem.  And, since then, we have waited another two thousand years.  But God’s promises remain.  The people of Israel held on to God’s promises as they endured the loss of their homeland, the loss of their freedom, and the loss of God’s temple and their freedom to worship.  But God kept his promise and many people returned to Israel and rebuilt it.  As we endure a pandemic and wrestle with our feelings of separation, fear, depression, worry, and despair, we too hold on to the promises of God.  As we celebrate Advent, we are especially reminded of God’s promise of redemption and rescue and we look forward to celebrating his arrival both at Christmas and upon his return someday in the future.  God’s promises are not just something that we read about in the distant past, but an ever present, immovable rock upon which we build our lives, safe from the storms that swirl around us.  God’ promises are not a thing of the past, but an anchor for our present lives in which we find hope…

…and peace.

You can find the video of this worship service here: https://youtu.be/NHijitBg6cY

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online).  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.