title: Cantata: Show, Don't Tell

series: Advent 2025

themes: incarnation advent-expectation john-the-baptist-as-forerunner discipleship messianic-fulfillment wonder

text:
**Scripture:** Matthew 11:2-11; Isaiah 35:5-6; Malachi 3:1
**Series:** Advent 2025

> On Gaudete Sunday, just as Jesus answers John's question not with a yes-or-no but by pointing to what he has done, the church proclaims the nearness of the incarnate Lord by showing rather than telling—culminating in the choir's cantata offered to awaken child-like wonder.

**Illustrations:** show-dont-tell-writing, dark-and-stormy-night, start-praying-not-promising, jesus-silent-before-caesar, gaudete-pink-candle, joseph-martin-cantata-foreword

---

# December 14
## Cantata
## The Third Sunday of Advent
## Matthew 11:2-11

“When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Matthew 11:2-11 NRSV

One of my majors in college was English. There is a creative writing component to it that I really enjoyed. There's an old writing adage there: show don't tell. If you have ever tried creative writing, someone has probably given you that advice, show don’t tell.

Now, of course, there are times when you need to tell. It's not a hard rule, but it's a helpful reminder that if you're trying to set a scene in your poem, saying it was a dark and stormy night, doesn’t make you think about a dark and stormy night. You are jarred away from the use of your imagination by the clichéd hand-holding of the author.

But when you describe the darkness of a night and describe the storm, it helps draw the reader in. Similarly, if you call someone smart, that's one thing that means very little on the page. If you show the character being smart, doing smart things, you're pulled in.

As a writer, it's a lot easier to just say he was smart or to say, he was a very good poet. Showing someone being smart is much harder to pull off. Showing a character produce good poetry is even more difficult.

Show don’t tell. I think it's helpful advice with storytelling. I think it's also helpful a person in our moral life. Instead of saying, “I’m going to pray for you.” Start praying. Praying is about connection more than wishes. Connections to God and to each other. Don’t hesitate to pray. If you are going to love somebody, show that. Don't just tell them. Because saying, I love you, eventually becomes hollow if there's no follow through. If you're gonna love your neighbor, you show them. You don't just tell them. In fact, it is much more difficult to show someone love than to tell them about love.

If you're going to forgive someone, show them, don’t just tell them. That is often the hardest of all.

My friends, today we are soon going to hear our wonderful choir and instrumentalists present a Cantata as we move closer to Christmas. We're preparing our way for the coming of Jesus, and we have a scripture that describes who God is for us.

Emmanuel means God with us. Jesus quotes from Isaiah where there are a number of these Messianic passages that can be guiding for us.

Jesus shows us who he is. Jesus shows us by pointing back to expectations of his coming, but also Jesus shows us who he is by describing what he has done.

The students of John ask him, are you the one we're waiting for?  Jesus doesn't reply in a yes or no manner. He describes what he has done.

>Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me

Jesus rarely ever replies the yes or no manner during the passion in front of Caesar. When asked directly by Caesar, Jesus does not answer yes or no.

Jesus shows us who he is on the cross. Jesus shows us who he is by coming as a child at Christmas.

Today is Gaudate Sunday. The pink candle, for those keeping track. Advent was originally a penitential season like Lent. Gaudate is the day the church shifts from saying “Come, Lord Jesus,” to “The Lord is close at hand.” It signifies the nearness of the Lord’s coming. Because the Lord is close at hand, our choir shares with you an invitation to a miracle by Joseph Martin.

Our cantata is a musical offering to show the miracle of Christmas in a different way so that our hardened ears and minds might be softened by the music. There will be a number of movements throughout with different narration in between, filling in the gaps between the movements. Please refrain from clapping until the end of the Cantata so that you can take in the whole work entirely.

Finally, I want to conclude with the words of the composer, Joseph Martin, which he wrote as a foreword to the piece.

>When we ponder the miracles surrounding the birth of Jesus, we discover in abundance the lavish character of God's love. Soaring above our human understanding is an amazing grace that unexpectedly wraps divinity in swaddling clothes. Beyond our dreams we find an artful mercy that decorates the dust of a rustic stable with everlasting light. We encounter the glory of God, pouring over the walls of heaven and filling the darkness with angel choirs and dancing stars. We stand amazed at the mystery and majesty of God's awesome power and His infinite tenderness. Perhaps most amazing of all are the myriad ways in which celebrating these marvels of old awaken in us today a sense of the divine and fill us with a child-like wonder. In the singing of this work, may you draw close to the manger and open your heart to the unexpected glories of this season of wonders.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.


site: sermons

title: Communion

author: Wilson Pruitt

church: covenant-umc

themes: holy-communion open-table you-are-worthy-already christian-unity stewardship

text:
**Scripture:** 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 22:14-20; Matthew 8:8; Romans 14

> Communion is not ordinary magic but Christ's open table, a humbling gift and invitation to participate in God's remaking of the world where all who seek Christ are welcome and worthy.

**Illustrations:** appalachian-trail-thru-hike, few-ups-and-downs-brother, roxanne-quimby-baxter-katahdin, catholic-school-host-bathroom, hocus-pocus-latin-mass, taylor-swift-on-stage, cowboys-jerry-jones-third-quarter, idol-meat-boasting

---

# October 5, 2025
## Communion
## 1 Corinthians 11:23-26	Luke 22:14-20

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. - Luke 22:14-20
![](attachments/Communion.d6013a8fd32b440a8353b17aa009724e.jpg)
After I graduated from the University of Texas, Hook ‘em, I took a bus from Austin, Texas, to the middle to what then was called Baxter State Park. It is now Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument thanks to Roxanne Quimby, the founder of Burt’s Bees, who donated 87,500 acres of Maine wilderness plus $20 million to set aside that land.

The journey itself, from Austin to Maine, seemed like a movie. It lasted 2 1/2 days. I went from Austin to Dallas to Hot Springs and Memphis and then up to Ohio and across the Pennsylvania Turnpike into New York City and the Port Authority Station, before going north through New England to Central Maine, where I climb Mount Katahdin and then start walking south. This is after my undergrad. I didn’t prepare for the trip. It was a little spur of the moment. I wasn’t in great shape.

I started with about a 70 pound pack; way too heavy. The first part of the southbound Thru Hike of the Appalachian Trail is through an area called 100 mile wilderness. At the end of it, I sent about 40 pounds by mail home to my parents, including my hiking boots. I hiked most of the Trail in Chaco sandals. Eventually I got my pack down to 13 pounds of baseweight and then I'd have about 5 pounds of water 5 pounds of food. I would resupply every few days and I would be cruising. I'd be going about 25 mile between 20 and 30 miles a day. I wasn’t in shape when I started, but I was in spectacular shape by the midpoint. I burned 5 to 6,000 calories a day and I couldn’t eat enough to catch up.

The last 100 miles my brother who was working in a hospital system of Houston at the time. He took off work and he took a bus up to Tennessee to meet me near the North Carolina/Tennessee line.

Before we started, he asked me what the trail was gonna be like. I said, “Oh, it's just a few ups and downs.” Now, at the time, my brother was a fairly fit man, but I had been walking at least 20 miles a day for over four months. He had not. He had been lawyering most of the time for the prior four months.

A few ups and downs for me was very different from a few ups and downs for my brother. The trail wasn't different for us. Our experience of the trail was different.

## Series Intro
My friends we are continuing our series on the Stained glass windows here at Covenant UMC. We are skipping a little bit and going here to communion.

Depending on what tradition you grew up in, you may have different theologies of communion, especially if you grew up catholic or orthodox. There is an incredible emphasis on the Eucharist. So much so that adoration of the host, the wafer used for the Eucharist, is a super serious thing. My wife, Alina, works at a Catholic school and they have Mass every week. One of the things that she has to continually communicate to her seventh graders is that once the Priest gets ready for communion and they reveal the host, you can't go to the bathroom. You can't leave once the host is revealed.

There are so many details around communion. I am not even talking about the theology, but the practice. What people do. Some traditions build liturgical space so that they might all participate in communion at the same time. That is, the little cups and the little wafers are spread around and shared throughout. Once the preacher or the pastor gives the signal, everybody eats and drinks at the same time: synchronous communion.

There are different words used to talk about basically the same thing: Eucharist, Communion, and the Lord’s Supper. Catholics are most likely to talk about Eucharist, which comes from a Greek word and means ‘thanksgiving.’ The specific Methodist liturgy of the table is called The Great Thanksgiving. The practice is also referred to as communion because we do the same thing in common and we do it together. One could also say the Lord’s supper, especially in a tradition where the memory of Jesus is the central action.

Here, we have communion by intinction for the most part, which is when you are given a piece of bread to dip in the cup.

The words we say matter. They're not magical. It's not hocus pocus. Ironically, the phrase hocus pocus comes from the Latin mass. The moment in the mass when the priest says hoc est corpus meum. This is my body. Hoc est corpus meum. For people who don’t know Latin, Hoc est corpus meum sounds like hocus pocus. As well, it seemed like this magical thing going on in the world.

It seems like a magical thing, but there's never a Christian claim to anything magical going on. Whatever the case, communion is not ordinary. Even in ordinary time, it’s not ordinary. The communion table is not ordinary. I say the words, This is my body broken for you, repeating the words of Jesus after that evening gathering on Maundy Thursday. This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

This is my body.
Those words can mean something light just like the words a few ups and downs meant something light to my brother.

Those words can mean something incredibly deep like just a few ups and downs meant to me.

A person could spend a lifetime contemplating communion or they could just walk up and receive it.

The words we use matter, but they do not plumb the depths of God's action here nor our invitation to participate in the action of God. This is one of the more humbling aspects of communion you were invited to be a part of this team.

Imagine being a huge Taylor Swift fan and not only do you go to the show but she invites you on stage to sing. What an experience? Or imagine being a huge Cowboys fan, and you go to a game in Arlington and at half time, Jerry meets you at your seat and says that the Cowboys need you for the third quarter. You are on the team.

Communion is a sacrifice, a gift, but also an invitation to participate in God’s remaking of the world. It is humbling. Just like for most of us, of Taylor Swift asked us to come on stage, we might not feel like we are good enough.

In many Catholic traditions, there is a prayer right before receiving modeled after the Centurion’s prayer in Matthew 8:

Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word
and my soul shall be healed.

Worthiness and unworthiness for communion has been a major point of dispute throughout the centuries. In my Paul Spiritual formation class, we've been going through 1 Corinthians over the past few months. In chapter 11, Paul writes about how you should not come to the table in an unworthy manner.

Some Christians have read this as referring to closed communion. That only those people who have confessed all their sins and are in a complete and right relationship with God are worthy to come to the table. This is one of the reasons why, in the medieval world, communion wasn't offered to the laity except two or three times a year.

This is why if you're a Protestant, you're not supposed to go up to communion in a Catholic church or at a Missouri Senate Lutheran Church you're not supposed to go up to the table.

When we go back the Scripture, one thing that we've been working to discern together is that in the letter the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul is responding to a prior letter written to him from Corinth and he's addressing throughout the letter, a number of issues that have come up in Corinth.

There were issues of sexual morality, issues of inclusion for Gentiles. One of the major issues has to do with meats sacrifice to idols or false gods. What do we do with these meats. This doesn't seem like a super relevant issue today, but it is worth a lot of time for Paul.

One of the conclusions he arrives to is that you should avoid meat sacrificed to idols if it would make your brother in Christ fall. So if someone used to be pagan and has recently become a Christian, don't be showing off this idol-meat because it may cause a bad reaction to them. In a similar way, don't go talking about how awesome your job is to your buddy who just lost their job or how awesome your marriage is to the person whose marriage just fell apart like it's good to have a good marriage. It's not good to use it to demean the people around you. It's good to realize that the idols don't exist. and so the meat is not tainted ontologically of its core, but it's not good to shove it in the face of someone else. Paul talks about this again in Romans 14.

Throughout this, the main concern of Paul is, don't break the body, don't break up the church, don't cause a schism, don't separate yourself from each other. Come to the table with a mind to Christ. Don't come to the table if you're starving.

In this way, I see a much more inclusive and open table, which matches the theology of Methodism. We practice an open table at Covenant. We offer the table to all who come, all who seek Jesus.

Every time we have communion, I say, “This is not this church's table. It is Christ's table and all who seek Christ are welcome here.”

There's a deep meaning here. Christ has died for you, and not just long ago. Christ daily offers himself for you. Whenever the table is offered, you are invited and included in God's salvific work. The coming kingdom of God includes you coming to the table. It's a lot more than a few more ups and downs. No matter how many times you have come here, it doesn't make it easier.

You were loved so much that Christ offered himself for you, but did not end the story there. You are loved so much that you are invited to share in that love here and to be sent in the world, filled, and redeemed. You are worthy.

Our inclusion at the table is also our inclusion in this body of Christ. For those of you in person this morning, in your bulletin there is a pledge card. For those worshiping online, there is a pledge card on the giving page. MAs I said last week, generosity is an act of faith. God calls us to be a part of what God is doing here by faith. God has called you. Our pledge of our time and our resources is one way that respond. May you and your family pray over this in the coming weeks about how you will respond.

When you come into this holy place and see this window. May you remember the amazing gift that Jesus gave us on the cross. He invites us to the table where we are included and loved and fed for the life to come and for life today.

In the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

method: authored, not translated

license_apparatus: CC BY-NC 4.0


title: Easter: He Is Not Here Among the Dead

series: Easter

themes: resurrection empty-tomb the-annunciation restoration-of-peter new-life-in-christ atonement

text:
**Scripture:** 1 Corinthians 15:3-22; Luke 24:1-5; 2 Corinthians 5:21
**Series:** Easter

> Because the Easter messenger announces that the risen Christ is no longer among the dead, those who were spiritually dead — like the restored Peter — can rise to new life now, not just in heaven.

**Illustrations:** obsolete-jobs, jack-athens-sparta, dont-shoot-the-messenger, angels-dancing-pin, body-in-the-cave, augustine-wonderful-exchange

---

# Easter
## 1 Corinthians 15:3-22
## Luke 24:1-5

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed.
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human, for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. - 1 Corinthians 15:3-22

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. - Luke 24:1-5

Technology has replaced a lot of jobs. Typewriter repairman is not popular today. Switch board operator. Lamplighter, town crier, ice cutter. Main frame computer installer does not have a big market.

Messenger is not a coveted job today. I don’t mean courier or postal worker or amazon delivery truck person (we know those jobs keep growing like crazy), but a messenger, a person whose job it is to go from one place to another with a message. It was a deep profession in the ancient world. There were messengers, both informal and formal. Informal messengers were usually people of convenience. Jack was going from Athens to Sparta and they said, “hey Jack, when you get to Sparta, can you tell King Leonidas that the Persians are coming in a month?”

There was some importance to this action that we have the idiom. Don't shoot the messenger! To say, don’t shoot the messenger assumes the existence of messengers that one would want to shoot. If someone brings you bad news, you shouldn’t shoot the messenger because they are not the ones responsible, they are providing a service.

It is Easter morning and some women go to prepare the body of the man they love. They followed him, but they were also following the tradition that he was a part of. It was the Sabbath, so they rested. They did not labor. They did not prepare his body on Saturday, on the sabbath. They waited and practiced their faith, so they came early on Sunday with the oils to prepare his body in the grave that he had been given near Golgotha.

They go inside and he is not there. In his place is a messenger. An angelos.  I mean, it is usually translated here as angel, but once you start putting angels into the equation, we get into these complicated cosmologies and hierarchies and all these sorts of layers. How many angels can dance on the head of a pen? How many angels can actually dance? what are the dancing capabilities of the angels? Have they seen the latest TikTok? Can they follow it.

The plain meaning of angelos is messenger. A messenger from God. God has an important message for you. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here. Where is he? He's not here.

The starting place of the Christian theology of resurrection is this negative claim: he is not here. It's not about where Jesus is, but where he isn't. He isn't where we expected him to be. He isn't where he was set down on Friday afternoon. This is the message that the angel brings. At first, it seems quite an innocuous message.

I think the ladies who went to the tomb would have figured it out pretty quickly. I mean, I've never been looking for a dead body in a cave, but I'm pretty sure I could figure out if it was in there or not. Jesus wasn’t playing hide and seek. I mean, the smell might not be too bad after a day and a half, but you don't have to be a mortician's assistant to look around a room and see if a body's there. That's what the tomb is. The tomb is a grave. A tomb is where the dead are, where the dead are laid or the dead remain. Not only is Jesus not in that physical location, he is not among the dead.

That is the radical faith claim of Christianity. The Romans killed this man. but he is not there among the dead any more. He used to be. He was among the dead. He was a participant with the dead. He descended to the dead, but he is not there He's not there among the dead. This is the message. This is the starting place. If Christ is not there among the dead, in my own life, when it seems like I am moving among the dead: aimlessly, purposelessly, painfully, that is not my ultimate end; that is not who I am. Christ used to be among those people, too. Christ was among the dead. Christ was among the damned. Christ was among those in pain.

As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, For our sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the justice of God..

 Sin is missing the mark. Sin is disobedience to God. Sin is disobedience to ourselves, to who we were created to be. Sin is self destruction. Jesus took sin on himself to free us from it.

There is a sense, as well, that Peter was among the dead before he had heard the good news that the women shared with the disciples. Some Christian traditions continue the Greek phrasing of the Easter good news. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. In Greek, this is Christos Anesti! Anesti Alethea!

As the passage from Luke 24 continues, the disciples hear word of what has happened, and Peter anesti. Peter rises up. Peter is resurrected. The Peter who denied Jesus three times is no longer there. He is a changed man. He was dead, but he is alive again because Jesus, who was dead, who was killed, is not alive.

He is not there among the dead and we don't have to be there, either.

He's not there among the children of idolatry and we don't have to be there, either. We don't have to stay on the path of self destruction. We don't have to stay on the path of vanity. Self-destruction couldn't keep him down. Vanity couldn't keep him down. Sin couldn't keep him down not even death could keep him down. He is not there. He has risen.

Accordingly, he effected a wonderful exchange with us, through mutual sharing: we gave him the power to die, he will give us the power to live.
The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves.[^1]

We cannot do it on our own. We cannot save ourselves. We have tried, but death still comes. Pain, sickness, tragedy. Christ was there on the cross. He was there in the grave. But this is the message. He is not there. And we don’t have to be either. He did it for us.

So let us not live for ourselves. Let us rise up like Peter. Right now. May we be resurrected to live new life not tomorrow, not just in heaven, but now. Today.

Christos Anesti! Anesti Alethea!
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

In the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[^1]: Saint Augustine


title: Easter Sunrise Service: The Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom

themes: resurrection harrowing-of-hell victory-over-death radical-welcome joy worship-and-liturgy

text:
**Scripture:** Luke 24:1-12; Isaiah 14:9; 1 Corinthians 15:55; 1 Corinthians 15:20
**Series:** Easter

> Through the ancient Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom and Luke's empty-tomb account, the sermon proclaims that Christ's resurrection has destroyed death and hell, freeing all and welcoming every person—early or late, rich or poor—into the joy of the risen Lord.

**Illustrations:** chrysostom-paschal-homily, laborers-at-different-hours, hell-swallows-god, richly-laden-table

---

# Easter Sunrise Service
## Full Service
## Crysostom Sermon

Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ our Lord.
My brothers and sisters in Christ:
On this most holy morning
	in which Jesus Christ passed over from death to life,
We gather as the Church to watch and pray.
This is the Passover of Christ,
	in which we share in Christ’s victory over death.

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!
	All:  The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!
Alleluia!  Christ is risen!
	All:  The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
	All:  The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Let us Pray
God of life, Through Jesus Christ, You have bestowed upon the world the light of life. Sanctify this new fire, and grant that our hearts and minds may also be kindled with holy desire to shine forth with the brightness of Christ’s rising, that we may attain to the feast of the everlasting light; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

HYMN		Christ the Lord is Risen Today verses 1-3

1 Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

2 Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

3 Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

GOSPEL					 Luke 24:1-12

Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb, bringing the fragrant spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. They didn’t know what to make of this. Suddenly, two men were standing beside them in gleaming bright clothing. The women were frightened and bowed their faces toward the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee, that the Human One must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words. When they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. Their words struck the apostles as nonsense, and they didn’t believe the women. But Peter ran to the tomb. When he bent over to look inside, he saw only the linen cloth. Then he returned home, wondering what had happened.

EASTER PROCLAMATION

Are there any who are devout lovers of God? Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Are there any who are grateful servants? Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting? Let them now receive their wages!

If any have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their due reward; If any have come after the third hour, let him with gratitude join in the Feast! And he that arrived after the sixth hour, let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss. And if any delayed until the ninth hour, let him not hesitate; but let him come too. And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid by reason of his delay. For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, as well as to him that toiled from the first.

To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows. He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor. The deed He honors and the intention He commends. Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike receive your reward; rich and poor, rejoice together! Sober and slothful, celebrate the day! You that have kept the fast, and you that have not, rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!

Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one. Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith. Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again; for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it. He destroyed Hell when He descended into it. He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said, “You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below." Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. It was in an uproar because it is mocked. It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed. It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated. It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

TIME OF REFLECTION

HYMN verses 4-6

4 Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

5 Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

6 King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

SENDING

We are sent forth in the power of Christ’s resurrection. Alleluia!
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.  Amen.


title: Emmanuel = Mercy

themes: incarnation god-with-us scripture-interpretation divine-mercy exile covenant

text:
**Scripture:** Isaiah 7:10-16; Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 1:1-6; 1 Kings 15:34; 1 Kings 16:25-26; 1 Kings 22:52; 2 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 12:14
**Series:** Advent 2025

> The biblical genealogies and the sign of Emmanuel reveal that what is special about Jesus and about us is not bloodline but God's faithful, undeserved mercy and ongoing relationship with the world.

**Illustrations:** grandmother-genealogy, adams-family-line, frank-wilson-john-wesley-hardin, medieval-noble-pedigrees, horse-dog-pedigrees, ruth-in-genealogy, tamar-judah-perez, israel-in-exile

---

# December 21, 2025
## Emmanuel = Mercy
## The Fourth Sunday of Advent
## Isaiah 7:10-16.  Matthew 1:18-25

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. - Isaiah 7:10-16

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25

My grandmother was really interested in genealogy. This is back in the eighties and nineties before we had easy access to scannable records and Ancestry.com.

My grandmother didn't have any of those tools. She would go to places around the country, often to local public libraries, and search the records there and fill out the family tree in the old fashioned way.

Her family name was Adams. The Adamses went back to before the American Revolution with David Adams, who claimed to be a General in the American Revolution after coming over from Scotland.

Another side of the family, on her mother's side, were the Wilsons, and that's where my first name comes from. Frank Wilson was the sheriff in Comanche, Texas, and a family friend of John Wesley Hardin, the notorious Gunfighter whose father was a Methodist preacher. He was named John Wesley for a reason, but his life took a little different trajectory than his namesake.

Genealogies became really big in Europe, in the Middle Ages, especially for nobility because of the value of noble blood in making marriages. Now we have genealogies in the Bible and I'll get to those in a little bit, but they're not as concerned about blood as in the middle ages. For nobles, arranging marriages was about setting up matches  between these nobles from different regions, making sure the bride-to-be or the husband-to-be was of noble blood and having records backing this up. Nobles in the middles ages were glorified warlords and the only way they could trust that Gunther was going to take care of their daughter, Hilda, was to check the pedigree.

This is also where we get to pedigree records for horses and dogs. It comes from the same trajectory, even before any concept of genetics. There was this idea of good blood being passed down, especially kingly blood, noble blood.

One of the most anachronistic ways that we read the Bible is by reading it with this assumption of genealogy, of blood carrying something incredibly beneficial. We understand today that there are genetic traits which are passed down. They are passed down in our genes, not in our blood, but yes, there are genetic traits that pass down, baldness among others, sickle cell, different things of that nature, but that's not what the genealogists in the middle ages were looking for. They were looking for good blood, blood that made someone good. They thought that people were good because of who their parents were.

Now, if you have your Bible with you or near you or on your phone, and you open up to the first page of the New Testament, there are a set of verses that no one has needlessly pointed on to a pillow. I’d imagine most of skip over these verses or skim them quickly.

There's a fundamental misunderstanding that often takes place. The misunderstanding is thinking that the genealogies are there to show the tracing of holy blood, of special blood, but this is a mistake: that is not why they are there. The blood is not what is special. The genetic code is not what is special.
We see this with the genealogy of Matthew.

>This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

>Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of King David.

Judaism is a maternal religion. The faith is transmitted via the mother. David's great-grandmother was not Jewish. Ruth, as in the book of Ruth, Ruth was not Jewish. She was not Jewish by blood. This detail matters because it shows us that the genealogy in Matthew is not about the blood transmission of the Jewish race. Ruth is mentioned. She isn’t hidden.

It's not even about good blood or bad blood because we have this moment earlier in the genealogy with Judah, one of the sons of Jacob. Judah has a child with his daughter Tamar, who is Perez, the one named in the genealogy, a child of incest. The genealogy that is not there for the blood prophecy of good blood. The Bible does not have a blood prophecy. The genealogy is there for the relationship between God and the world through the people of Israel. It is about the relationship.

### Isaiah
This is what is going on in the prophet Isaiah chapter seven, which takes place before the exile. The prophet writes, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven
This is what God is telling Ahaz the king to ask the prophet, and then the prophet shows the sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel. God with us.
The sign is to the house of David, which brings us back to genealogy. The promise is through that line, even if the genetics don't match up, even if the blood doesn't match up, even if there's a stain on the blood from earlier, it was never about the blood. It was always about the relationship between God and the world through the people of Israel.

King Ahaz asked for a sign and Isaiah delivers one. The young woman is with child, the virgin is with child. The impossible is taking place, but the impossible is going to take place after exile, after occupation, after a lot of challenging things, but that is a sign.

It's a continuation of God's relationship with the world through the people of Israel. God will raise up an anointed king in Israel, but not yet. Not yet in those days before exile.
So many of the books of the prophets and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are about how to remain faithful to God despite exile. In Exile, the people were ripped from the homes and forced to work for a king not of their kind. For centuries, they toiled, dreaming of Jerusalem and return to the home that God had promised for them. Instead of giving up on God, exile offered a chance for the people to grow deeper in faith.

In the Books of Kings and Chronicles, we see very few seasons when the people of Israel and the people of Judah were following God. Instead, they turned away from God again and again, causing the prophets to come. Here is a small sample.

>He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.
1 Kings 15:34 ESV

>Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.”
1 Kings 16:25-26 ESV

>He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.”
1 Kings 22:52 ESV

>He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.”
2 Kings 8:27 ESV

>And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.”
2 Chronicles 12:14 ESV

For us today, it is fair, as Christians, to understand ourselves in a state of exile, how can we remain faithful to God in exile from our promised land, the new creation, eternal life with God. We are not there yet. How do we remain faithful?

We do so by remembering God's faithfulness towards us, God's mercy towards us. How God showed us a sign with Mary and the child called Emmanuel, God with us. The sign shows us that we are not alone. In the midst of the brokenness of this world, this world still in need of healing, we are not alone. God offered us mercy when we didn’t deserve it. Only mercy can open mercy in us.[^1] That space offers an incredible possibility for God to move in our lives and transform us here and now.

In this week, as we prepare for the coming of our Lord, we remember that what is special in Jesus is not the blood of his Father, it is the blood he shed for us.

What is special about you is not your parents. No matter how awesome they are. Nor is it your famous ancestor was. You are a child of God created to praise and to serve and to love, and to be a light in the darkness. Don't be afraid to be a light because God is with you.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[^1]: Jean-Louis Chrétien


title: Extravagant Faith: Mary's Anointing and the Gift of the Mitzvah

series: Lent

themes: worship-and-liturgy anointing-at-bethany good-works receiving-grace relationship-with-god the-poor-and-the-presence-of-christ self-denial

scripture: John 12:1-8; Philippians 3:4-14

text:
**Scripture:** John 12:1-8; Philippians 3:4-14
**Series:** Lent

> When we encounter Jesus we are called, like Mary at Bethany, to extravagant, relational self-offering rather than utilitarian efficiency, both giving lavishly and graciously letting others give in return.

**Illustrations:** passover-cleaning-leaven, visitors-during-cleaning, judas-perfume-meme, covenant-food-pantry, pastor-not-delegating, spock-needs-of-the-many, meat-grinder-of-existence

---

# April 6
## Philippians 3:4-14
##
even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:4-14

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” John 12:1-8

The Bible has some confounding moments. It's honestly one of the things I like about it. I like that it's not super clear. Some things are clearer, some things are really not clear. Sacred books in other religions are a lot more straightforward than the Christian Bible. Our belief is not in our knowledge of God or our knowledge of Jesus, but in Jesus.

In the gospel of John, our gospel passage for today, we get a confounding moment. Jesus is visiting Bethany on the way to Jerusalem. This is six days before his final passover. It is a time of preparation for the household. Jews are going through their house. Mary and Martha at this time and Lazarus (if he's feeling up for it) are going through their house and getting rid of all the leavened goods in the house, the yeasted breads. They are cleaning or replacing anything that's touched those yeasted breads They're cleaning everything out. This is when Jesus comes to visit. It is a confounding time to visit.
I don’t know about you all, but it can be hard for us to receive visitors in the middle of cleaning; when the house is turned upside down. Someone shows up early and it is hard to know where our focus should be.

It is during this time that Mary does something flamboyant, extravagant. She anoints Jesus. More than anointing, she prepares his body for burial. Amazingly, Jesus receives it.

Which gets us to Judas. And for me, gets me to this meme from a few years ago.

![](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a6/17/8d/a6178da0b20ed2315445b9603cc4b346.jpg)

Judas points out something very clear. You know, it's a waste. Why'd you waste that on on Jesus? You could have given it to the poor.

And then Jesus says one of these more confounding statements that he's known to say: you always have the poor, you will not always have me.

Now, this verse can be taken in a number of different ways. One way, the most crass way, would be to say that Jesus is justifying letting the poor die. I don't think that's what he means, but people can read into the Bible what they want. I can imagine some Christians abusing the scripture to say you shouldn't give money to people in need and instead you should give it to the church because we should give to Jesus. I believe in the ministries of this church what we are doing at Covenant and who we are and supporting what we do, but we are not Jesus. We are not God and guilt is not step towards generosity of spirit.

To think that this is what Jesus means is for Jesus to contradict himself and what he says in many other passages in the other gospels. Jesus doesn't contradict himself so I don't think this is a fair reading either.

I think that there are a few things going on with just this one verse and that each is very profound. One is, again, to think about Mary preparing Jesus' body for burial. Jesus alludes to this fact when he says, “She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.” Mary is the one who understands what is going to happen in Jerusalem. She understands because she paid attention. She contemplated Jesus. She knelt at his feet when he was there before. She knew. She didn't yell at him like Peter, but anointed him, prepared him, blessed him for this. I think this is one way to read it. Another is to think that Mary is giving a great gift to Jesus and he receives it.

There's a concept in Judaism called a mitsvot, which is like an act of kindness or a good work. There is a concept about offering the opportunity for someone else to do mitzvot.

Let's think about it with our food pantry. I love it how we have a number of amazing volunteers who come there each week, sometimes multiple times a week, to make it possible for us to feed hundreds. One of the reasons why that ministry has been able to grow and be sustained is that the leadership of that ministry is consistently offering people the opportunity to do a mitsvot, to do a good thing. They don't have a closed off mindset. I have been a part of ministries in the past where there were a set of volunteers and they didn't want other people to come. They had their duty and their job and that was that. That's not what it's like at the food pantry. If you haven't had a chance to see it or help, come by on Wednesday afternoons, not the third Wednesdays, but on most Wednesday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30. The parking lot will be packed like it's Easter morning. and there are a lot of new clients who come every week: a lot of people from Hondures and El Salvador, Cuba, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Ukraine. They come through and are given a lot of food, a lot of good food, a lot of protein, fresh produce, shelf stable goods, a lot of bonus things at the end, sometimes there are cakes or breads or candies or random drinks.

It's important to offer people an opportunity for a mitszvot, for good deed, as a church and a ministry. Nobody does it to save themselves but because Jesus already saved them.

I think it allows for a ministry to thrive when there's opportunity for others to join in. I think it's also important in interpersonal things. It's a hard lesson for me. I'm a very independent minded person. I like to take care of things because then they're done and sometimes(or all the time) in a previous appointments, I would never delegate and never ask people to do a thing because then I didn't know if it would be done. If I did it, it would be done, and it would be done to a level that I was satisfied with.

But what I did in those cases is I took away the opportunity of someone to do a mitzvot. I took that away.

If someone is earnestly giving you a gift or a chance to do good, it's not for you to turn it down, but to let them do that. It matters. Jesus was giving Mary an opportunity to perform a mitzvot on him, and Judas was trying to take it away. Judas was saying this is not efficient. This is not an efficient use of church resources and it's gotta be shut down. I don't really wanna make a joke about a committee going around shutting down things.

Judas was not thinking about the relationships, but about the results I don't even want to think about what Judas is gonna do during holy week, but just right here.

What Judas says here comes down to a utilitarian argument that is best pronounced by Commander Spock in the second Star Trek movie, the Wrath of Khan, when, spoiler alert, Spock sacrifices himself at the very end to save the ship and he says, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.

This is what Judas is saying: the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. We should be doing the most good with what we have. We should be efficient with our resources and not wasteful. This seems like a reasonable argument to make.

Then Jesus says, we'll always have the poor, but you won't always have me. Is Jesus making an economic argument here? I don't think so. I don't think Jesus is trying to make an argument about economic inequality in Roman Palestine. What I think Jesus is pointing out here is that the world will not stop smashing people. There will always be people rejected by this world, this cruel and broken world. The meat grinder of existence is not going to stop unless the God who created everything does something about it. That is why Jesus came to the earth as a child, why he came to save us until all will be made well and all will be made well.

In this Season of Lent, our call is that when we encounter Jesus, we need to give, to anoint, to offer, to not think of the efficiencies, to not think of the externalities because you know what Jesus does when he sees us, he gives. He offers. He loves. He anoints. He walks that journey, that long, dark road, he walks it for us.

So let us not be afraid to receive gifts. To offer others the opportunity for a mitzvot. And may we have the faith to see Jesus as Mary does. Let us take the opportunity to be extravagant in our faith, to go over the top like Mary, to love Jesus so much it makes the Judas’s of this world uncomfortable.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.


title: Fish and Chips

themes: restoration-of-peter resurrection-appearances vocation-and-calling conversion-of-saul discipleship

text:
**Scripture:** John 21:9-19; Acts 9:1-6
**Series:** Easter

> Through the risen Jesus' charcoal-fire breakfast that restores and recommissions Peter ('do you love me? Feed my sheep') and the Damascus-road call of Saul, Christ turns failure and opposition into commissioned discipleship.

---

# May 4, 2025
## Fish and Chips
### Acts 9:1-6
### John 21:9-19

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” - Acts 9:1-6

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.” - John 21:9-19


title: Glorification

series: The Way of Salvation

themes: glorification christian-perfection eternal-life kingdom-here-and-now contemplation-and-action grace-as-gift

text:
**Scripture:** Romans 8:28-30; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 10:38-42
**Series:** The Way of Salvation

> Glorification, the final aspect of salvation, is God's completed work of transforming us into Christ's image to behold and praise God forever—a future reality whose joyful worship we can begin practicing here and now because the Kingdom is already present and grace is greater than our sin.

**Illustrations:** bernard-williams-immortality-essay, hamlet-undiscovered-country, lifeboat-theology, mary-and-martha, youth-perfectionism-pressure

---

# Glorification

## February 23
## Romans 8:28-30
## Mark 9:2-8

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. - Romans 8:28-30

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one on earth could brighten them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. - Mark 9:2-8

Is there life after death? For many people, this is the heart of religion. They believe in God or in Jesus in order to get a handle on the after-death stuff.
I think eternity is lovely and important, but there is a sense that by focusing too much on eternity, we miss out on the here and now. And what this does ironically is to make the here and now eternal, not bring eternity into the here and now.
The philosopher, Bernard Williams, wrote an essay years ago about eternity from a philosophical vantage. He was not a Christian, but I find his insights helpful. Williams wrote about how dreadful it would be if life just continued as is after death. You may not get sick or injured but daily routines, even ones you like, would seem hellish after 100 years or a 1000. This is what I mean about a fixation on the eternal making the here and now eternal. This is not what Jesus does.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus is seeking to offer eternity here and now. This is what he means when he says that the kingdom of God is here. The kingdom of heaven has arrived. It is here. The structures of eternity are in place and you can live into them, but they're going to look different from the structures of the world.

I want to flesh this out a little bit more. Another problem is that when religions and Christianity especially fixate too much on the eternal, we miss out on what we do day to day in our life, in the decisions we make, in the mistakes we make.

In bad cases, we practice lifeboat theology. This is what I call theologies where believing in Jesus is about getting a lifeboat out of hell and nothing more. I think Jesus offers salvation. I've been preaching on this for three weeks, but it's not just a future thing, it is a present thing.

It is to live into that kingdom now and realize that the line needs to be blurred between the future and the present.

It is easy to have a fixed line about our future, about afterlife because death is such a fixed point.
As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet

>But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,

This was written in the middle of the age of exploration when continents were being discovered. And Shakespeare names how death is another such location that has yet to be fully mapped.

Instead of keeping these lines calcified, what would it look to blur those lines? Over the past few weeks, I have been teaching on salvation. I started with original sin, then talked about justification, then talked about sanctification. And today I'm talking about an aspect of salvation that is sometimes missed, which is glorification.

And why I think it's important is that death does not put us into a pristine state of wholeness. There is a misreading of the Bible which makes death save us because all our problems become solved. What Christianity claims is that death is no longer the great problem. As Paul says, where o death is thy victory? Where o death is thy sting?

Instead, we are offered an opportunity to see the beatific vision. To see God as God is, to not be limited by our mortal bodies and souls and to praise God continually, to glorify God and be glorified in the presence of God.
Glorification is language around our future in the life eternal that Jesus offers over and over again. But it is not just in the future.

We see glimpses of it throughout the Bible. At the transfiguration, in the gospel passage for today. Jesus goes up on the mountaintop. There is a vision, a beautiful vision, and he is revealed in his glory and yet says that his time has not fully come, but the message is still there. And the purpose and the structure is still there. He is Lord of this earth, king of the cosmos.

Glorification is about God continually transforming our hearts in contemplation and worship of the presence of God, of who God is. We are glorified as we glorify God.

In the Bible, we are not given an architecture of heaven or the presence of God. We are not given a contract. Jesus does not offer a contract of salvation. We are given images, glimpses, images in Isaiah and Ezekiel, in each of the gospels, in the letters of Paul, in Hebrews, in Revelation, glimpses of the presence of God and that the presence is filled with joy and worship, where there is no more weeping or crying or gnashing of teeth.

But this is what I want us to hold onto: we can practice joyful praise of God here and now and it will carry on to eternity. This is what I mean by having an emphasis on the here and now that lets the eternal enter the here and now.
Because things we can do now carry over eternally. And if we don't feel comfortable praying or worshipping God now, why do we think we would like to do it eternally? Will our disposition just magically change? Is prayer and worship in your life something to do when there's nothing else better to do?
This is a challenge that only you can answer for yourself. Only I can answer for myself. Sanctification leads us to this place and glorification leads us beyond.

### Mary and Martha
Mary and Martha can help us with this. Mary and Martha, those famous sisters whom Jesus visits. As Luke recounts it.

>Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Now, like most humans, the first time I read it, I thought Jesus was being really judgy about Martha. We need some Marthas. We need stuff to get done. If everybody's sitting around at Jesus's feet then who's doing the dishes? Who's doing the laundry? Who's putting food on the table? But this is not how the fathers and mothers of the church read the passage. They read Martha as the life of service and Mary as the life of contemplation. And we need both. Both are necessary. In Greek, Jesus doesn’t say that Mary has chosen the better part, but the good part. A very different meaning. The comparative term ‘better’ is a little zero-sum. Good in the language of Jesus, is not zero-sum. If I am good, that doesn’t mean that you are bad. Goodness is not portioned out of a limited supply.

Another way medievals looked at Mary and Martha was as Martha as the life now, and Mary as our life in the future; our heavenly life with God. The neat thing is that we can live a life like Mary now, maybe not 24-7, but having portions where we are satisfied sitting at the foot of Jesus.

And that is where glorification starts: when we are glorifying God with our lives, offering our time and attention to God and being transformed. This leads, in the Methodist tradition, to language of perfection.

Perfection is a challenging word today. Perfection in modern English mostly means like mistake free. It can be a challenging burden on our youth to be perfect, to get perfect scores, to play perfectly in their sports team, to go to the perfect high school, the perfect college, get the perfect job, find the perfect spouse, have the perfect number of grandchildren. That's not what it means in Greek.

The term Jesus and Paul use for perfection is teleios, the cognate of teleology. It means completed or finished. This language is throughout the Bible, so to take the Bible seriously is to come to grips with this language. And when we talk about perfection, the point for me as a pastor is that believing in Christian perfection is not about believing that I am so awesome, but that God is greater than my sin. God is greater than your sin.

This is a powerful word of grace to all of us, even if we suffer from what the world calls perfectionism. Even if we crumble when everything doesn’t line up. Even if we collapse if it doesn’t work. There is grace here that God’s love is bigger than our mistakes or sins in the future and in the present.

To believe that sanctification has a stopping point in this life is to believe that sin is greater than grace. That what we have seen is all that is possible and what we have not seen impossible. To talk of Christian perfection or entire sanctification is not to claim it for yourself but to claim that God has the power to do it.

Paul has this lovely litany in the middle of Romans 8. Romans 8 ends with one of the most powerful and heartwarming faith claims in Scripture: nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. But before that, Paul writes:

> We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

This is where the language of glorification comes from. As for the language of predestination, I am comfortable with it concerning the language of prevenience. The Spirit has already come to people’s lives. There is no exclusivity in Romans 8. Reformed thinkers have to imbed exclusivity into Paul in order to handle what is going on here.

But the focus should be on what happens next.
 and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Glorified. A completed action. God has done it. This is the completion of the all things working together for good for those who love God.

God will take care of our bodies. Even when they feel infirm. God will take care of our souls. God will take care of our loved ones.

We don’t need to wait. Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is here. May it not be a metaphor. You are already loved. You can glorify God now. You can be free of sin now. And you are not alone. We are here for each other. God has put us together. Even if your best friends are here or every one feels like a stranger, we are here because Christ is risen.

In two weeks, we will begin the Season of Lent. It is a perfect opportunity to try a new practice. A new prayer. A new moment of praise, to receive Christ’s glory on the mountaintop, and then take it down the mountain wherever you are.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.


title: If Jesus Drew a Portrait of You

themes: setting-face-to-jerusalem christology scripture-interpretation scripture-reading presence-of-god

text:
**Scripture:** Luke 9:51-56; Psalm 131; Acts 8:26-31

> Because every image of Jesus reveals more about us than about him, the question of faith is not what we see in Jesus but that Jesus, having turned his face to Jerusalem and the cross, has turned his face toward us and truly sees and loves us.

**Illustrations:** catacomb-bearded-christ, santa-pudenziana-mosaic, hagia-sophia-christ, verrocchio-leonardo-baptism, caravaggio-entombment, yoked-jesus, schweitzer-own-face, ethiopian-eunuch, devil-quotes-scripture, gospel-hinge-jerusalem, bass-drum-toward-cross, beatitudes-inversion, dim-lights-self-portrait, glass-darkly

---

# March 2

## Psalm 131
## Luke 9:51-56

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
  my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
  too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
  like a weaned child with its mother;
  my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
  from this time on and forevermore.
- Psalm 131

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for his arrival, but they did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. - Luke 9:51-56

Images of Jesus offer us a glimpse of the society out of which they were created more so than an understanding of who Jesus is. We have over a thousand years of images of Jesus. Two thousand years If you count the stroud of Turin.

![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Christ_with_beard.jpg)
here is one of the earliest paintings of Jesus. This is from the 4th century in a catacombs in Rome. We see the beard and the alpha and the omega.

We already have a lot more majesty after Constantine’s baptism here

![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Apsis_mosaic%2C_Santa_Pudenziana%2C_Rome_W3.JPG/1280px-Apsis_mosaic%2C_Santa_Pudenziana%2C_Rome_W3.JPG)

Here is a mosaic of Jesus from the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul made a few years later

![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Jesus-Christ-from-Hagia-Sophia.jpg)

This iconographic technique lasted for the next few centuries. The artistic technique of iconography was not due to the limitations of paint, canvas, et cetera.
Icons are intentionally flat so that the viewer, through prayer, will fill them out as they are drawn up to heaven.  The early Renaissance period saw a shift stylistically as more realistic representations of the human body entered pictures of Jesus.

Leonardo and his master are generally ascribed this painting of the baptism of Jesus.

![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/The_Baptism_of_Christ_%28Verrocchio_%26_Leonardo%29.jpg/1280px-The_Baptism_of_Christ_%28Verrocchio_%26_Leonardo%29.jpg)

We see much more realism and naturalism with Jesus. We see a little bit of muscle tone.

For me, the high point of these depictions is Caravaggio in the baroque period.

![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/The_Entombment_of_Christ-Caravaggio_%28c.1602-3%29.jpg/800px-The_Entombment_of_Christ-Caravaggio_%28c.1602-3%29.jpg)

 Now, this isn’t an art history class. I really just wanted to show all of those pictures of Jesus to show this one.

![](attachments/6501(3).bd3fa7d3b7c8402688dbe996a8eb1836.gif)

Yoked Jesus. This Jesus has lats that go on forever. He is also on testosterone supplements and probably some other chemicals.

It's not only the images of Jesus that reveal the culture around them. For the last two hundred years, scholars have tried to find the historical Jesus beneath the Jesus of faith.

Even still, as Alfred Schweitzer once said, when people look for the face of Jesus, they often see their own face looking back: a French enlightenment scholar will see a French enlightenment. Jesus, a traditionalist, Dutch Reformed scholar will find a traditionalist, Dutch Reformed Jesus, a contemporary united Methodist pastor in Austin, Texas will find a contemporary United Methodist Jesus.

We have to admit these biases when we look for Jesus. In scholarly terms, this is the difference between exegesis and eisegesis. Eisegesis is what we put into the text. Exegesis is what we take out, what we receive from the text, from scripture.

One of the reasons we should be reading the Bible together is to make sure we're not putting too much of ourselves into the text. In the Bible, people are always reading the Bible together. Solitary Bible reading leads to questions and community. For instance, the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts chapter 8.

>26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

There's a level of accountability when we read the Bible with other people because, as the Bible shows us again and again, even the devil quotes scripture. Next week, on the first Sunday of Lent, we will talk about the temptations of Jesus in the Dessert, where the devil quotes a lot of scripture at Jesus. Just quoting scripture, just quoting Jesus doesn't make what you say good.

All of this talk about how we see Jesus and the face of Jesus is important for us today because we're looking at the moment when Jesus turns his face towards Jerusalem. This is the hinge of the gospels. Each of the gospels has a moment like this where Jesus' ministry is no longer about going out, sharing the good news of the kingdom of heaven, healing, casting out demons, teaching and preaching. In each Gospel, the gravitational force of Jerusalem and Golgotha pulls Jesus back. In Mark, it is when Jesus enters Judea in Chapter 10. In Matthew, it is the beginning of chapter 19. In the Gospel of John, Jesus spends a lot more time in Jerusalem, but in Chapter 11, he visits Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, and never heads out again.

In Luke, it is chapter 9.

Jesus has now turned his face toward Jerusalem. He is on his way to his death.

Today is officially Transfiguration Sunday, though I preached about the transfiguration last week. It is the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. I wanted to preach on this text today because I think it's a great start for the season of Lent.

We're not in Lent yet. We can still sing our hallelujahs. We don't have to be doing our fasts. It's early on in the Gospel of Luke when this happens.
There's a lot that goes on after he turns his face to Jerusalem, but it's almost as if there's a bass drum in the background of his life after this slowly beating along:
boom,
boom,
Boom,
BOOM!
Building and building up through the triumphal entry, up through his teaching and preaching in Jerusalem, up to Maundy Thursday, the last Supper, and good Friday at his crucifixion and the silence of Holy Saturday.
The tension is building. The drama is building. Jesus is walking to his death out of obedience.

A lot of times, the teachings of Jesus invert our expectations. The Sermon on Mount is a great example of this. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Whoa, that's completely different from what we expect. Happy are those who mourn. completely different from what we expect. It's a flip, and the question of faith is not what we find in Jesus.
What we find useful in Jesus, what we can take out from Jesus. But what does Jesus find in us? What does Jesus see in us? Who does Jesus see in us? Where are we headed? Where are you headed with your life? Where is your face turned?

I think that this is a major aspect, not only of the Season of Lent, but of the entire life of Christian. Where are you going? Jesus is willing to go to Jerusalem. Where are you willing to go? How far are you willing to go.

If Jesus drew a portrait of you, what would it look like?

I want us to do things a little different for the rest of this sermon. I am going to ask our tech team to dim the lights.

Close yours if you can. Imagine what would Jesus notice about you that you miss about yourself?

What would Jesus high light?

What would Jesus pass over?

You can open your eyes now.

Stay in that moment. The God who made everything became human in Jesus Christ. Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Father even to the point of turning his face to Jerusalem. In doing that, he also turned his face toward you. Right now.

In turning toward Jerusalem, Jesus has turned towards you and you and all of us. Jesus was willing to walk all the way to the cross for us. No matter how we have distorted Jesus. No matter how we have messed up. Somedays, we may have worshipped the yoked Jesus, some days the renaissance one. We try to tear down the cultural baggage placed upon God, but we are often blind to our own blind spots. And we look through a glass darkly.

We may not see Jesus as he is, but Jesus sees us. Jesus sees you. You are seen. You are loved. And you are worth walking all the way to the cross for.
In the name of the Father and the Son and then Holy Spirit. Amen.


title: Justification

themes: justification-by-faith justice-and-righteousness atonement pistis-christou original-sin judgment grace-as-gift

text:
**Scripture:** Romans 3:21-26; Matthew 12:35-40; Romans 5:1; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11; Galatians 2:16; John 5:24-25; 1 Corinthians 13:12; Matthew 25:32-33; Isaiah 40:3-5; Jeremiah 18:1-6; Acts 2:44-47; Romans 3:23
**Series:** The Way of Salvation

> Because all have sinned alike, we are made righteous not by any work but by grace as a gift through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, who tears us down to the foundation only to rebuild us upright and square before God.

**Illustrations:** skyscraper-foundation-square, lego-building-downtown, airport-arrivals-pickup, atonement-at-one-ment, crowbar-crooked-building

---

# Justification
## February 9

But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets, the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe. 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, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to demonstrate at the present time his own righteousness, so that he is righteous and he justifies the one who has the faith of Jesus. - Romans 3:21-26

The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. - Matthew 12:35-40

### Construction Introduction
In Austin, we often see new construction all around us; New houses, new condos, new apartments, new skyscrapers.
One of the things I always find fascinating about those tall buildings downtown is how it takes the contractors a long time to finish the foundation. I mean, they clear the lot, they dig super deep hole. And this deep hole seems like it stays there for many months. Then, they build up slowly to ground level and then an amazing burst. They go straight up into the sky. Going straight up is rather important.
Now, some buildings, like a newer one downtown that we call the Lego building, go up and then to the side and then up and then to the other side and then up like that. But it's going straight.
The building is square, in a certain older way of speaking. The building is justified. Were it not, when they set those first steel heights or whatever they're using for structural stability, instead of being at 90 degrees, it was at 85 degrees and another was at 88 and another was at 93 and another, but 90.
It would not be a stable building. If they had to justify it after the fact, if they had to make it square, it would take a lot of work. In fact, they would probably have to demolish it and start over. The land would be the same. The real estate would be the same, but they'd probably have to dig down deep in order to build things right again.

### Justification Introduction
Last week we talked about original sin, that cheery topic that really just points to our need for God. All of our needs for God. Original sin names the reality that we cannot save ourselves.
In Romans 3, Paul goes through this in detail.

In Greek, the word for righteousness and the word for justice is the same word, Dikaisuné. It's not a different word. In English, these are very different words. In French, they're different words. I'm assuming in other languages that they are different words. In Greek, they are not. Not only are these two different words in English, they have two completely different valences. Justice language is often found in more progressive leaning churches, whereas righteousness language is more often found in more traditional leaning churches.

If you have your Bible, please go ahead and pull it out or pull it out on your phone and turn to Romans 5:1 and you will see this language of justification.

Therefore having been made righteous out of faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is the NIV
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

When we look at translations, justice language is often used in external situations, and righteousness language is used with internal ones. But again, it is the exact same word.

So with that, let's look at Romans chapter three starting with verse 21.

>But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets, the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe. 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, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.

Paul talks about unity in a few different places. In Galatians and Colossians, the focus is on the fact that there not a distinction between us through Jesus Christ. He says this in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” He says this in Colossians, Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

Logically, there's no difference going on between Romans 5:1 and Galatians 3:28 or Colossians 3:11. There's a unity. There's a unity of sinfulness, there's a unity of redemption.

But gosh darn it, we want to make distinctions. We want to make this about us and them. In the early church, in Acts chapter 2 after Pentecost, if you turn to the end of Acts chapter 2, this is happening.

There is no distinction, and yet, pretty soon, they start making distinctions. They say they're sharing everything but they keep some for themselves. The rule applies to others. It doesn't apply to them. They think that they are the exception. I think one of those aspects of original sin is that we all have a tendency to see ourselves as the exception, or at least that temptation is always there.

Have you ever picked anybody up from the airport? You going through the arrivals line and you are so excited to pick up your person and see them. It always feels like every single person there thinks of themselves as the exception to the rule. They all want to stay a little longer when it says no parking, “but you don't understand my loved one's over here!” Even if the reality is that everyone’s loved one is right there.
The point of the rule, no parking, is to facilitate the dispersal of arriving passengers to the city as easily as possible. But if you think of yourself as the exception, the rule doesn't apply to you the system.

We make this distinction between people we like and people we don’t like; between people who deserve love and people who don't; between people we want to spend time with and people we don't. I'm not even talking about prejudices and sexism and racism and all these. We’ll just start with your life, the distinctions we make, and Paul sweeps those all aside in Romans 3: for all have sinned and falls short of the glory of God.

Usually that verse is kind of plucked out of the space, but I think that's a mistake when Paul goes on and says, they're now made righteous by his grace as a gift in Jesus Christ, who God puts forward as an atonement of sins.
Atonement is an old English word. At-one-ment. That's what it's describing, how we are made one in Christ Jesus. That is what atonement is.
What does that look like? Well, Christians have been debating atonement for 1500 years: how does Christ save us? There are four main theories. Ransom, Satisfaction, Substitution, and Moral Influence, but ultimately it's a mystery. Not a mystery as in something unknown, a mystery that God has revealed to us. God hasn't argued it for us or logically followed it, but revealed it in the life of Jesus Christ. This is what Jesus does. The why it matters, this is how matters, but all these explanations ultimately falls short because, like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, we look through a glass darkly.

Faith is not an inherent human ability which we exercise in order to attain justified status.[^1] That would turn faith into a work among others. Faith is not this subjective relation to God, but the objective evidence of God’s pardoning love for us. Justification isn’t the result of any work, whether a sinner’s prayer, baptism, anything. Nothing we can do makes us worthy, makes us straight and upright. It is like trying to staighten a building that was built crooked with only a crowbar. It isn’t going to happen. We need to receive grace, receive pardon for our own crookedness, receive mercy, in order to be justified.

The language of justification is found almost exclusively in the letters of Paul. There are a few other epistles that you could point to, but it's really the heart of it's Paul. Paul in Romans, in Corinthians, in Galatians and Ephesians.
Jesus uses different language. I don't think we should see a conflict between the language of Jesus and the language of Paul. They work together. Paul is a servant, an apostle of Jesus Christ. It does not contradict but clarifies Christ. In this Gospel of John, Jesus says whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life (Jn 5:24-25). Justification is the process by which God rectifies us so that we can receive the gift of eternal life. God clears our foundation to build it up again upright and strong. We are saved by faith, not be works. We can’t earn it. The holiest person on earth cannot earn life with God, nor does the most sinful person lose out on the possibility.

In the passage from Matthew, which I read from Matthew 12,
>The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgment, you'll have to give an account for every careless word you utter. For by your words, you'll be by your words, you will be condemn.

This does not seem like salvation by faith. It seems like salvation by works. We are justified, we're made righteous by our words, or we're condemned by our words.
 But part of it is that we need to understand that there are stakes involved in faith. There are stakes involved in our words, and going through motions is not going to be enough.

This is something Jesus refers to when he says that a rich man can't go in through the eye of the needle when he says that a rich man is very heaven is as likely as a camel going through the eye of a needle. But nothing is impossible for God.

The way to make sense of Matthew 12 is to think back to the line in the apostles creed, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

It is the final judgment spoken of again and again in scripture. This is the only way to make sense of Matthew 12. It is not about going to heaven when you die but preparing for judgment.

The most vivid moment of judgment, though, is not about my words or actions in a vacuum. The most vivid image is from Matthew 25:  Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

Our actions have consequences. We will see some of that next week when we talk about sanctification. But Paul’s language of justification frees us to stand before Christ on that day. We are made upright, square, through Christ’s blood by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Pistous christou

Galatians 2:16 is the key so that even Matthew 12 is not about our works. It is commonly translated as faith in Jesus Christ, the better reading is the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
Here is my translation.
now seeing (εἰδότες) that a man is not made righteous by works of law, if not through faith Christ Jesus, and we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be made righteous (δικαιωθῶμεν) out of the faith of Jesus Christ and not out of works of the Law; because out of works of the Law not any flesh will be made righteous.

It comes back to Jesus. Justification comes back to Jesus. To who he is. To what he is done. To how he lived and died and offered himself for us. How he rose again and sent the Holy Spirit and will come again.

Justifying grace is God tearing us down to the foundations like the building built with a tilt. But when God works in us, God doesn’t destroy us, but heal us. Like the potter’s house described in Jeremiah. Or the roads in Isaiah 40:3-5: Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. God does that to the world. God does that for our soul.

The power of justification is entirely found in God. It is not anything you can do. You can’t say a special prayer. You can’t do special dance. The faithfulness of Jesus Christ has opened a path for our lives to be made straight, square, justified, righteous.

Since there is nothing you can do to be justified, you have already done enough. Right now, you can be made upright by God.

>Whether we respond or not, God is utterly committed to us. God died for us before we satisfied any conditions. So God is clearly prepared to do anything to reach us and to save us, irrespective of how we are behaving. And this deeply committed love for us was in place before the foundation of the world.[^2]

God loves you. New life is offered for you. Take it. Hold it.
Accept it. And next week we will talk about how to respond to it.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[^1]: Cf. Randy Maddox, Resonsible Grace, 173.
[^2]: Douglas Campbell, Pauline Dogmatics, 176.