How many times have you looked up and contemplated the night sky, and gazed in wonder at the stars in the heavens?
I really love the IDEA of doing that. And the idea of going out into an open field at night to watch a meteor shower, or to look for the aurora borealis. I love the idea, but I never do it. You see, I am a morning person, not a night owl. And when it is dark, my body is thinking only about sleep.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.
Today, it is a good time to laugh. And why? Why should we laugh today?
Why not?!? We laugh at death, because Christ is alive and death is dead.
Besides, one more sermon on Doubting Thomas is not going to change the world, but a little bit of laughter just might!
And why do we rejoice on this day? Because Christ, the world’s Redeemer, the Messiah who is the Way, the Truth and the Life – because THIS Divine Master has smashed the powers of death and hell and the grave. Death is dead! Life is born again!
Are there actually people who love darkness more than light? Does not everyone enjoy it when the light shines on their face?
Are there some who prefer to not see the sun, to stay in darkness where things are obscured and difficult to see, difficult to define?
Truthfully, have you ever known someone whose deeds were evil, someone who hated the light? I’ve been trying to think if I have known someone like that, and I’m not sure.
Why did Jesus cause such a ruckus in the temple? Why did he chase out all the sheep and the cows and interrupt the work of the money changers?
It was, after all, just a temporary interruption. Without a doubt, the cows and the sheep were brought right back in. The money changers were back at their work within the hour, to be sure.
And why did they all need to get back to work so quickly?
“The Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am El Shaddai – God Almighty! Walk before me, and be blameless”.
What does it mean to walk blamelessly before God? How can we be blameless before the Creator of all things? And perhaps more importantly, is it even possible to be blameless before God?
This is a high threshold to cross. God is calling Abraham to be something different than others, to stand out from the rest of humanity. Not too unlike the challenge that Jesus lays down before the crowd in Mark’s Gospel:
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”
Let me ask you a question: what do you want to be when you grow up?
Stop! I know what you’re thinking! I don’t care how many winters you have spent on the surface of this planet, if you are listening to me right now, your story is not over!
So what do you want to be when you grow up? Who do you want to become?
Now, take a moment to consider: before his baptism and his vision quest out in the wilderness, how did Jesus answer this question?
“Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say”.
Have you ever been in Peter’s situation? Ever been caught flat-footed and had no idea what to say?
I have! Let me tell you about it. Let me tell you what happened when I broke into the hermitage of Thomas Merton, and was caught in the act!
Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. All she gets is two brief verses in Mark’s Gospel. And we don’t even know her name.
Is that all we get? For most of us, anyway, for us ordinary people. A few minutes in the sunshine? One brief opportunity to shine on the surface of this planet earth, and even then our name is soon lost and forgotten?
There certainly are others who get far more than one moment to shine in the light of day. Do I even have to mention the name of Tom Brady, that pretty boy? How many Super Bowls has he played in now?
My friends, are you pleased and happy with what God does?
I’m sure all of you have heard of the King James Bible, but have you also heard of the King James Book of Sports?
It’s probably not what you’re thinking. It’s a list proclaiming which recreations were permitted in the United Kingdom on the Lord’s Day, and also which ones were not. A few of the sports permitted by King James were dancing, archery, leaping and vaulting (I’m thinking this was like track and field), dancing around May-poles, and enjoying Whitsun ales – these were common parish fundraisers at which people danced and drank ale supplied by the wardens. (I think we should recover that idea!)
Have you ever played the board game called Catan? It’s a bit like Risk, which we used to play a lot when I was young. Our entire family was together over Christmas, which meant that we had a lot of time to play board games together. So we did, and this was the first time that I had played Catan.
The basic task is to claim territory on the board in order to build settlements and cities, and you do this by laying down roads.
Claiming territory – that’s one way of thinking about what God does with us in baptism.
Can you imagine being outdoors each night to observe the night sky and to look for changes and unusual sights?
Of course, back in biblical times, there were no screens to stare at, so what else were people to do after the sun went down? It’s hard to imagine a life like that, isn’t it?
These professional astrologers from the Orient saw something in the night sky that sent them on a journey of discovery.
I wonder what they expected to find when they began this journey. A royal prince born in a royal palace? An heir to the throne wrapped in luxury and security? That’s why they went to Jerusalem, isn’t it? And why they went to King Herod?
