When I come up with a
theme for a sermon, I google the words to see what emerges. Searching the web
for belief, boy and balance resulted in stories on Sri Lanka’s central bank, a Premier
League soccer match between Southampton and Arsenal, and Top Business Movies
for Entrepreneurs. Rest assured, my sermon is not about banks in Sri Lanka,
British football or business movies. It is about what we believe, the Boy Jesus
and – since this is the last day of the year – the balance of time remaining.
Belief, Boy and Balance.
First, Belief. Every Sunday,
we trudge in and out of church; sit and stand for readings, prayers and hymns;
say the introit and sing Alleluia. We process for Christ’s Body and Blood, and,
we recite the Nicene Creed sometimes without thinking about the version or the
words we speak.[1]
I profess faith, “in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only‐begotten Son of God, begotten of His
Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things
were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was
incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary.”[2]
If I spent every day
from now until the day I die meditating on those words, I would never fathom
their depth. The Book of Concord reminds us that by pledging ourselves to the
Creeds, we reject all heresies and dogmas which [are] contrary to them.”[3] As a brief, devout and
glorious confession of the faith, founded on God’s Word, the Nicene Creed
refuted all heresies that arose in the Christian Church up until that time.[4]
However, since a
sermon is not a catechism class on a confessional statement on the incarnation
of Christ, I move to my second point, the Boy.
The Boy Jesus. Luke
concluded the Birth of Jesus[5]with a simple transitional statement.
“At
the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name
given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”[6]
On the eighth day of
his life, Jesus began his mission of fulfillment. His circumcision – the shedding
his blood for the first time – demonstrated his obedience to the Law.[7] Through Baptism, we
benefit from the shedding of Christ’s blood through his circumcision and his
crucifixion. St. Paul wrote to the Colossians these words. In Christ “you
were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the
body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him
in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the
powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. You, who were dead in
your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together
with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of
debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing
it to the cross.”[8]
Regarding verse 21 of
Luke’s Second Chapter, one scholar explains that it looks backward and forward.
It looks backward with a reminder that the naming of the child fulfilled Mary’s
obedience to the angel prior to her conception. … It looks forward in that the
circumcision set off a series of events reflecting the fact that Jesus’ parents
represent the best of Jewish piety and obedience to the law of Moses.[9]
The best of Jewish
piety. When I read that phrase, I wondered what it meant. So, I asked my
friend, Richard, who is very active in his Jewish synagogue. He replied. “The
dutiful fulfillment of religious obligations as outlined in the scriptures is
Jewish piety.” He then cited this passage in Deuteronomy. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you
today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the
way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on
your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write
them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”[10]
Rich continued, “The
best of Jewish piety goes beyond mere fulfillment and includes a humble,
faithful, introspection, as when it says, “and Mary kept all these things, reflecting
on them in her heart.”[11] Mary and Joseph were
Jews who went on later to represent the essence of Christianity. The mode of
worship is different, but the best of Jewish piety transcends Judiasm or any
single religion, and gets to the core of our humanity. The true religious piety
is the same for all faiths and we become one human spirit praising God.”
One human spirit
praising God. To some that may sound new age. To me it sounds like St. Paul’s
words: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth.”[12]
Finally, the Balance
of Time. The adults in Luke’s infancy narratives wondered what the future held
for John and Jesus. Echoing their sentiments, I wonder what the future hold for
me.
As a Believer in the
Boy, I know Christ accomplished salvation. His sacrificial blood poured out for
me I drink. In short, I know what the ultimate future holds for me. The
question is: How will I spend the balance of time I have left? A good question
on December 31st.
The French gave us
the word balance. They actually borrowed it from the Romans, whose term bilanx meant a scale having two pans. In
Latin bis means twice and lanx means dish or plate. Hence, a scale
of a balance is an apparatus for weighing.
Accountants and
politicians picked up its use 400 years ago.[13] Today, businesses
encourage employees to seek balance. Time Management Ninja posted, “5 Secrets
of Keeping Your Daily Life in Balance.”[14] Forbes posted, “30 Time
Management Tips For Work-Life Balance.”[15] Ladies, WebMD offers, “5
Tips for Better Work-Life Balance: Beat burnout by making more time for the
activities and people that matter most to you.”[16]
The world offers
plenty of advice on how to balance your life – how much time to spend at work
and home, with family and exercise, and so on. The point is: We only have so
much time, and right now, we only have so much time left. How will you spend
the balance of your time? What will you do with that time? What will you do
with the balance of time you have left in in your life or before Christ returns
in glory?
I posed the question
of how I will spend the balance of time to several friends and family members.
Here are a few responses.
My brother, John, who recently turned sixty and runs his own
business, outlined four areas: Health, Home, Work and Relaxation. He wants to
stay healthy, active, in order and in relationship with God and neighbor.
My physician-friend, John, said he would rephrase the
question to “What will I be with
the balance of time left?” He wants to be
more attuned and attentive to the Spirit working through him “so that it is the
quality of my remaining time and not the quantity that matters. During this
time it is my desire to align my attitudes more closely to those of God (the fruit
of the Spirit) and thereby let His Spirit lead me into the proper actions to do.”
My cousin, Walter, now retired, said this. “I
have thought about the subject that you requested and quite frankly [was] not
sure if I would respond or not. [As] Monica & I further discussed [the
question], it did allow us allow us to think about the values that we have
discussed many times.
We are grateful for
the many the blessings that we have been given in our lives – family, health
and many good friends. I often have wondered what we bring to the ‘party.’ We
do not feel that we have any exceptional talents in creativity or development
of new ideas or products, but we do share the values that we have been taught
by our parents and the church – love one another and give of yourself without
asking for anything in return.
We will continue to share
our values – giving support and love to those in need. This may not always be
in the form of financial value, but our time. We continue to visit elderly
friends … in assisted living … and support those that have fallen on hard times.
… It is not always easy, but we do the best we can.”
Finally, my friend, Sharon, wrote this. “With
the balance of time I have left, I will further my understanding of and
relationship with God, share God's love with others, tell them about the
good news of Jesus Christ, and make the world a better place through good
stewardship and preservation of God's creation and serving my fellow man. However,
in reality, I am not sure what I will actually do as so far I am
definitely not living up to my lofty goals. I may spend some time
regretting mistakes and things I have done and said (although I know I am
forgiven), wallowing in self-pity for the challenges I face (although I know
they make me stronger), and wasting precious time and resources I have been
given (as sometimes I just feel tired, worn out and incapable).
My biggest prayers are for my family to be saved. My
husband, parents, daughter and son-in-law, and sister, as well as extended
family, are not believers in Christ. I wish I were able to see them come to
faith during the balance of my time left.”
She concluded with this resounding question. “What will you
do?” … What will you do? My friends, if you simply become like Joseph and Mary
– righteous men and women possessing a humble, faithful,
introspection, you will do well to represent the essence of Christianity. For
2016, reflect deeply on the question: What will you do with the balance of time
you have left? Allow God’s grace to touch your heart throughout your days; and
when you do, may the peace of God
that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
[1]
There are more than a dozen versions currently being used. The Lutheran
Church–Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Church–Canada use that of the 1662 Book
of Common Prayer with slight changes, substituting the word
"catholic" with "Christian" and modernizing the spelling of
the word "apostolic", with changes in capitalization of this and
other words, and with "Holy Spirit" in place of "Holy
Ghost". See footnotes 14 and 15 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_versions_of_the_Nicene_Creed#cite_ref-15.
[2]
Lutheran Service Book
[3]
Formula of Concord, pdf 331
[4]
Formula, 364
[5]
Luke 2:1-21
[6]
Luke 2:21
[7]
Arthur A. Just, Luke 1:1-9:50. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House ( 1996),
118.
[8]
Colossians 2:11-14
[9]
Fred Craddock, Luke. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press (2009), 36f.
[10] Deuteronomy
6:4-9
[11]
Luke 2:19
[12]
Philippians 2:10
[13] http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=balance
[14] http://timemanagementninja.com/2013/09/5-secrets-of-keeping-your-daily-life-in-balance/
[15] http://www.forbes.com/sites/francesbooth/2014/08/28/30-time-management-tips/
[16] http://www.webmd.com/women/features/balance-life
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