Love Wins - Easter 2011 (Temple Lutheran Church)

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We are among millions of people around the world who got up this morning, at the beginning of this new week, and have gathered together to celebrate that Jesus has risen. Millions are gathering around the world--many at this very moment--to shout “Alleluia” and “Christ is risen, indeed!” as we listen to the story of two women named Mary arriving at the tomb of Jesus.

It’s hard, though, to really experience it in the same way as the women did that morning. We all came out this morning knowing that Easter was here, which is not how that morning of the first day of the week began for those two women named Mary. They weren’t headed out to a festive occasion. They weren’t headed out to shout “alleluia”; they were going to a grave. They were going to a place they wish they weren’t going to. They were going to mourn, to keep vigil. To try to make sense of what had happened.

They arrive at the tomb--and then--all heaven breaks loose! The earth shakes. An angel of the Lord descends with an appearance like lightning. The stone is rolled away and they’re told “Don’t be afraid, you’re looking for Jesus; He’s not here!” Bet they didn’t see that coming, now did they?

I believe that God wants your Easter experience to be no less remarkable. God wants us to experience the living Christ today. That is the only reason we are here together right now. God wants to meet each of us in our lowest moments, just like those women going to the grave of someone they loved. That’s what Easter is all about.

When we have no strength, when we have nothing left and we can’t go on, God comes down--right where we are--and does something completely unexpected. The story that we think is going to unfold is completely changed.  Because God has the final word. And that final word is “resurrection.” God’s final word for us is that Love Wins.

When you find yourself assuming that it’s over. When all is lost. When all is gone. When life is broken and it can never be put back together again.  When you swear that it could never be rebuilt--hold on a minute. Because in that moment Easter has, in fact, just begun. Just as you’re arriving at the place you wish you weren’t going to--when there’s nothing left that you can do--God brings resurrection. God still has the final word that love wins. Resurrection announces that God has not given up. God has not given up on you. God has not given up on your life. God has not given up on this world.

Easter is happening right now--today--in 2011. God is once again inviting us into resurrection. God is once again pointing to a new reality--the reality God has made possible. The reality that love wins. Resurrection wants to be real on this Easter Sunday. God wants to speak that final word that love wins today.

People already gathered today, just like we are right now, in Japan. In the face of unthinkable despair, they placed hope in resurrection, because Easter says that the earthquake doesn’t win. Easter says that the Tsunami doesn’t win Easter says that nuclear radiation doesn’t win. Easter says that love wins.

People gathered by the millions across the continent of Africa and placed hope in resurrection because Easter says that AIDS doesn’t win. Easter says that Tuberculosis and Malaria don’t win. Easter says that extreme poverty doesn’t win. Easter says that love wins.

Armenian Christians are gathering today around the world, including right here in Havertown, Pennsylvania, and are remembering that today, April 24, is the anniversary of the mass murder of 1.5 million of their family members in 1915. Not their distant ancestors, but their parents, their aunts and uncles, grandparents and friends. Still, they gather shouting Alleluia--even through their tears. Because Easter says that genocide doesn’t win. Easter promises them that love wins.

To people in Libya, Sudan, Egypt and across the Middle East Easter says that corruption and violence doesn’t win. Easter says that love wins.

Right now--at this very moment--people are proclaiming Alleluia at Easter worship in Haiti. Their Alleluias that are rich with resurrection life. As one of their pastors put it: they will not be defined by rubble--they will not be defined by the earthquake. They are defined by resurrection, because Easter says that disaster doesn’t win, cholera doesn’t win. Easter says that love wins.

People from North Carolina to Oklahoma are proclaiming Alleluia right now because Easter says that tornadoes don’t win. Easter says that love wins.

To those of us trying to keep afloat in a bad economy, Easter says that the recession doesn’t win. Unemployment doesn't win. Foreclosure doesn't win. Uncertainty doesn't win. Love wins.

To those in the halls of our high schools that fear for their safety and are ashamed of who they are, Easter says that it gets better because bullying doesn’t win. Love wins.

To those lying in hospital beds this morning--and to those who sit next to them hour after hour--Easter says that cancer doesn’t win. Alzheimer’s doesn’t win.
Autism doesn’t win. Chronic pain doesn’t win. What wins? Love wins!

Even to those of us who visit the graves of those we love--who would give anything to have them show up again, even for a moment. Easter invites us to proclaim alleluia because God has the final word, and death doesn’t win. What wins? Love wins!

Love wins. Whatever it is for you that seems to be blocking the light. Whatever it is that is like a stone keeping you in a tomb, Easter says that it doesn’t win. Easter says that love wins. Easter announces that God has not given up. God has not given up on you. God has not given up on your life. God has not given up on this world.

Easter tells us that God has not abandoned us. God has not abandoned this world. Something new has begun to put this world back together. Something new has begun to put your life back together. God’s Amazing Grace has entered this world and wants to change everything. God’s Amazing grace wants to set you free from anything--from everything---that gets in the way of love.

Easter wants to set you free today: set you free to live in God’s love for you, and send you to live out God’s love for the world. Because it is God’s love working in your life—It is God working through you, through us, that will bring about love’s victory. Love wins (a lot of ad lib here) when we feed the hungry. Love wins when we clothe the naked. Love wins when we help the poor. Love wins when we look at another person--no matter who they are, what they've done or how different they are from us--and see a child of God. Love wins as we do God’s work with our hands!

How you live your life makes a difference. You can be a part of the new reality that God is creating every day, right here in this world--this world that God will never give up on.

Love wins. That is what Easter tells us today.
Love wins. That is the good news of Easter.
Love wins. That is the promise of resurrection.
Love wins. That is why we shout Alleluia!
Love wins….That is the good news of the gospel.
Amen.

Resurrected from the Bed - Lazarus Sunday

The Lazarus Sunday message began with reading the story of Lazarus from the Gospel of John followed by clips from the Lance Bangs documentary “The Lazarus Effect.”

“This illness does not lead to death.”

As we gather this morning around the story of a man named Lazarus, it is my prayer that this is a gathering of hope.  Over the next two weeks, Christians around the world will journey again into the story that is at the center of our faith:  the death and resurrection of Jesus—the one that we call Savior, Lord and Christ.  It is a story that pulls every one of us down into the grave, only to be called forth into new life.  It is a story that does not ignore the reality of death, and in doing so, finds a hope so powerful that death is defeated.

As we gather around the tomb of Lazarus today, this story wants to have a meaningful impact on us

This story is hoping, begging, pleading to actually mean something to us.  It wants to be more than words that we read.  You see, we can gather here and read a good story about resurrection, or we can gather here and be resurrected ourselves.  We can gather here and participate in the resurrection of others.  It all comes down to whether the Bible is your storybook or your story.

And there is a lot at stake, my friends.  The world we live in has no need for stories about resurrection; the world we live in today needs to experience actual resurrection.  The world needs people that have been given a hope bigger than death.

Just a few years ago, it appeared that the grave would have the final word for too many in our world.  HIV had taken hold of the continent of Africa and appeared unstoppable.  20 million lives have been lost.  I can’t even fathom that number: 20 million lives.  Entire communities destroyed.  Children orphaned.  People watching everyone they loved dying, one at a time.  Babies born without a chance of living.

And, to be honest, the world was slow to respond.  To be even more honest, the church was even slower.  I remain convinced it was because AIDS was connected to the gay community and too few Christians and Americans had the courage to respond.  I say that not as an accusation, but as a confession.  The only finger I’m pointing is pointed right at myself.  May God and the millions who suffered have mercy on me.

Thankfully, however, that was not the last chapter of the story.  The story does not end with the words “Lazarus is dead”.  The presence of God among us, the living presence of Jesus has already promised that “This illness does not lead to death, rather it is for God’s glory.”

God has been on the move in the last ten years.  The next chapter in our story has been written.  It is a story that has unfolded in laboratories as new antiretroviral medicines have become a reality.  It is a story that unfolded in clinics established across Africa—people going to the ends of the earth to not only bring treatments, but to take on the massive task of setting people free, not just from this disease but from the vicious cycle of poverty.

In 2002, treatments were available, but they cost nearly $10,000 per person annually.  Even so, 50,000 people were being treated—a massive achievement, but only the beginning.  Today, we are living in a world where what seemed impossible just a few years ago Is unfolding around the world at this very moment.  Treatments that cost $10,000 per year in 2002, now cost only $140—that’s less than 40 cents per day to save a person’s life.   The 50,000 that were being treated have become  4 million.

"This illness does not lead to death."

This new chapter is a story that has also unfolded in the halls of power, around the world and here in the United States.  It became possible because people all over the world insisted that this is not simply an opportunity for charity.  People all over the world began to insist that this is a matter of justice—a matter of fairness.  Nobody’s ability to live should be determined solely by what part of the world they are born in.  Where you live should not determine whether you live.  As people saw what was happening and insisted upon justice, the leaders of our world took notice and did the right thing.  President Bush created the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.  The United Nations created The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

God has been on the move.  Scientists and doctors and nurses have been on the move.  Presidents and senators and governments have been on the move.  Business leaders and humanitarians and musicians have been on the move.  And, yes, since God has been on the move, God’s people have been on the move.  People motivated by the love of God, living out their faith in the world, have been active in every part of this new story being written.  Today, for example, there are over 1,500 other congregations joining with us for the sake of the poor and the sick on this “Lazarus Sunday.”

And now it’s time to write the next chapter in this ongoing story.  With millions of lives already being saved, millions more are still waiting.  Today, however, they are not waiting to die, they are waiting to live.  They are not waiting for the grave, they are waiting for resurrection!

We have the treatments that will save their lives.  We have the right strategies and resources to reach them.  We only need to maintain the will to make it happen.

This is why millions around the world have joined the ONE Campaign.  This is why many of us have sent emails, made phone calls, & written letters.  To remind our leaders that these promises must be kept even as they work to keep our budget in check and economy moving forward.  This is why a group of five of us were thrilled to spend nearly an hour last month talking with Senator Toomey’s advisors about this important story while encouraging them to identify good solutions and respond.  We also delivered over 3,000 signatures from Pennsylvania ONE members.

The same has been happening across the nation in the offices of elected leaders of every political stripe.  This is not about any political agenda or political party.  This is about saving lives.  This is about every one of us living like people who believe in resurrection.  This is about refusing to treat the Bible like our storybook.  This is about writing our story…our part in God’s unfolding good news.

All of our faith, all of our prayer, all of our worship, everything that we call sacred and gather together around—all of it amounts to nothing if it doesn’t change our reality and send us out into this world to bring new life.  Resurrection means nothing if it remains locked up in our churches or closed up in the covers of a dusty old Bible.  It only matters if it springs forth like Lazarus—if we step out of our own graves and make the same possible for others.  That’s the only good news that is actually good news.  That is the only way the gospel can exist in the world today.

There’s a few things that I want you to do today. Don’t leave here today without adding your voice to the ONE Campaign.  I want every one of us to be a part of this.  Go to www.ONE.org to become a member.

I also want you to watch “The Lazarus Effect”.   It’s a wonderful story.  It’s only 30min long.  You can watch the whole thing at the bottom of this post.

Be a part of a worldwide gathering of hope.  Let the story of death and resurrection truly define your faith and life.  If you don’t have 30 minutes right now, please take a moment to watch this short video clip that shows the amazing change made possible by getting antiretroviral treatments to those who need them.   Thank you for reading this far!

And here's "The Lazarus Effect" (30 min.)

Headlights, Taillights, and the Light of the World

Sermon for April 3, 2011 at Temple Lutheran Church. Scripture text: Ephesians 5:8–14 and John 9:1-11.

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

Jesus speaks those words as he encounters a man blind from birth.

Everyone else, including even Jesus' disciples, are concerned with determining how sin created the man's blindness: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus didn't seem much concerned with the question. He said the answer was "neither" and made it clear that he was more interested in God's works being revealed. And then Jesus spat on the ground, made some mud, rubbed it on the blind man's eyes, and sent him off to wash. When the man came back, he could see. The others were concerned about how the man came to be blind. They were concerned with understanding the way things came to be this way. Jesus is more interested in making something new. The others looked at the present as the result of the past while Jesus looked at the present as the key to the future. And in the middle of all of that, right before he spits on the ground, Jesus says,"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

Light is a significant theme in the gospel of John. The opening paragraphs in chapter 1 are all about light coming into the world. As the story of Jesus unfolds, It's about Jesus bringing light into the world and the resulting struggle of the light coming into the world, but people still loving darkness. In this passage, Jesus comes right out and makes light his mission: "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Jesus came to be light—to bring light into the world.

In other places in scripture, Jesus makes it clear that we are a part of that mission. Jesus not only says "I am the Light of the world," but "You are the light of the world" followed by the words spoken to each of us as we are baptized: "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." Jesus makes us a part of that mission—Jesus calls us to be light. That invitation is reflected in our reading from Ephesians: "For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light." Because of Jesus, we are light!

"For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light — for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord."

We are invited—called by Jesus—to be light; To live as children of light. As we gather together as a community of people following Jesus, the question I invite us to wrestle with is are we going to be headlights or taillights? I can't take credit for the distinction—I came across it this week as I was reading. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. in his Letter from Birmingham Jail that first talked about headlights and taillights in this manner. It got me thinking about headlights and taillights on a car and how they are both lights that shine in the darkness, but that they shine in different ways and in different directions.

Taillights are there to communicate what the car is doing. They send the message "here is where the car is at." They shine brightest when the brakes are engaged; they light up when forward motion is slowed down. Taillights shine backwards.

Headlights, however, shine forward. Placed at the very front of the vehicle, they shine forward into the darkness. Headlights do not simply indicate where the car is at, but illuminate the road ahead to determine where the car can go. Headlights expose things that are hidden by darkness so that the car can be moved in a direction that is good, right and true. Headlights don't light up when forward motion is slowed down, headlights shine in order to make forward motion possible.

Dr. King lamented that Christians and churches were too often merely being a taillight for our society instead of a headlight shining at the forefront and illuminating the way forward toward God's promised land. He described "a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo standing as a taillight behind other community agencies rather than a headlight leading [people] to higher levels of justice."

As followers of Jesus, we are called to be light. The words that Dr. King wrote from a jail cell in Alabama are not too far removed from the words that define baptism for us. Every baptized person is claimed not only by God, but also by a community—by followers of Jesus called to be light. The community promises to include that person "so that they may learn to trust God, proclaim Christ through word and deed, care for others and the world God made, and work for justice and peace."

In Jesus, God comes into our world. God comes into your own reality—your very own life—and brings light into darkness. Jesus steps in and makes a new life possible for you. It is no less dramatic than if you were blind since the moment you were born sitting in darkness listening once again listen to voices judging you as they asked each other what sin created you blindness.

And then you hear the sound of someone spitting on the ground.

And then you feel a hand rubbing mud on your blind eyes and sending you to the water—and as you wash you receive your sight. You receive a new life.

Others may be concerned about how you came to be blind, but Jesus is more interested in making something new. Others might look at the present as the result of your past, but Jesus looks at the present as the key to your future.

Jesus brings you light so that you can be light. Not a taillight that shines backwards, but a headlight that shines forward for the purpose of finding what is good and right and true. A headlight that "proclaims Christ through word and deed, cares for others and the world God made, and works for justice and peace."

Jesus brings you light so that you can be light—so that you can shine forward with the good news of the gospel. (amen)

Known and Loved at the Living Water Well

Scripture provides us with countless wonderful stories. Sometimes, however, we miss the true treasure of these stories because we try to think our way through them instead of trying to step into the world the story shows us. As someone who stands up and preaches on a regular basis, I'll be honest and admit that sometimes it's the sermon that gets in the way of the story. I hope that doesn't happen here today.

Today's story speaks of Jesus, exhausted from traveling, sitting down next to a well. He meets a Samaritan woman there, and something life-changing happens. As we enter into this story together, I invite you to consider what this story might sound like if it were being told by that woman. To help us hear this story from that voice, I invite you to listen to it again, this time from the mouth of a woman:

To be known is to be loved, and to be loved is to be known—and Jesus does both for this Samaritan woman by the well. Entering into this story, we are invited into the same experience ourselves. I'd like to let this story surround you today by asking you to consider a few questions that I pray will draw you into this story without the sermon getting in the way.

Can you see yourself in this story? Can you see yourself meeting Jesus in this way? Some of us may be able to connect with her as a woman. That may be less of a connection for the males reading this. Maybe. I'm pretty confident that no one reading this is from Samaria and can connect wither her because she is a Samaritan. Are there any Samaritans here today? I didn't think so.

Often, when we hear the word "Samaritan" it's easy to think it refers to a good person; a kind person. We've all heard the story of the "Good Samaritan" and have probably used the term "good Samaritan". In the Bible, however, a Samaritan was simply another ethnic group. A group that was generally excluded—on the outside—which is why Jesus made the good neighbor a Samaritan in that other story. For today, however, being a Samaritan was reason to be avoided and excluded.

So, what makes you a "Samaritan"? The Samaritan woman is surprised (I'd even say shocked) that Jesus asks her for a drink of water—that Jesus even interacts with her. She says, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" and we read that Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans. The message that she was used to was that who she was was not good enough, and there was nothing she could do about it. It's just the way that the world was set up: with her on the outside.

What makes you a "Samaritan"? What are the ways that you feel that you are excluded? We sure have encountered plenty of ways that we exclude ourselves from one another. Perhaps it's that separation of men and women—of gender. Perhaps it's separation based on race or ethnicity or sexuality. Perhaps it's your age: you feel excluded because you're too young, or because you're not young enough anymore. Perhaps it's because you don't live on the right side of the tracks. Perhaps you don't have the right income. Perhaps you're not strong enough or smart enough or healthy enough.

What are all of the things, beyond your control, that define you as being on the outside? What makes you a "Samaritan"? Think of all of them, and then realize the surprising, even shocking, truth that Jesus still comes to meet you at the well.

The surprise that this woman feels in the story actually goes beyond the reality that she is a Samaritan and a woman. As the conversation continues, it becomes clear that there is even more getting in the way and excluding her. There is more that comes not from the reality she was born into, but from the things that have happened during her life up to that point. We learn she has had 5 husbands and lives with one who is not her husband. Some see this as evidence that she was a sinful woman and call her a harlot (or worse), but her history (which is laid bare in the story) may be more about being abandoned and rejected, even mistreated. Jesus describes all of it to her: all of the things that cause her to be convinced that she personally is not worthy to be included—whether it was her own mistakes or harm inflicted by the world around her. Jesus describes it all to her—every bit of who she is. Jesus tells her all about herself.

I invite you to ask yourself today: If Jesus told you about yourself…what would it include? What are all the things about you that would be included? All the hurts, the mistakes, the sin, the shame. What are all the scars that you've picked up along the way that tell the story of who you are? Imagine all of those things, and then hear Jesus describing all of it to you. To hear the stuff identified may bring pain or fear. But as Jesus describes it, you can rest in the truth that Jesus knows you.

The good news of this story is that Jesus knows you—and to be known by Jesus is to be loved by Jesus. Jesus offers living water to you, just as you are, so that a new life—a new identity—can begin within you. The woman recognizes not just who Jesus is, but what Jesus offers: Jesus offers dignity. Jesus invites you to not be defined by your circumstances. Jesus offers you a new identity that lifts you above every other thing that tries to define who you are.

When the woman realizes that Jesus knows her and loves her, she drops everything to go back to the city to find the other Samaritans and tell them about Jesus.

I want to leave you today with two last questions to consider. The first one is Who are your "Samaritans"? Who should hear what Jesus has told you? Who should see what Jesus has shown you? Who should taste what Jesus has given you? Who should feel for themselves the forgiveness that you have received? More importantly, who is it that can now encounter Jesus because you have encountered Jesus? The Samaritan woman goes to other Samaritans. Who are the people that struggle just like you do, that are most likely to meet Jesus through you?

The final question is what does it mean for you to "go to the city"? What does it mean for you to run back to town? Where is God's love for you compelling you to go today? As we experience the good news that God loves us, we are sent out to take that good news with us. We are sent back to town to share it with others just like us, who need to be known and loved—by God and by you. What does it mean for you to "go to the city"?

What's great at the conclusion of this story is that all the woman did was share what she had experienced. She simple shared her own story—God does all the rest.

The other Samaritans who came to believe said to her, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world." Once they hear for themselves, God does the work. It is not our amazing charm, wit, or sermons that make it happen. God does all the work. We simply tell our story so that others can come to the well and drink the living water for themselves.

Take this story with you today. It is not just the story of one Samaritan woman at a well—it is your story, it is our story. Let this story shape your life so that the story can reach others and bring them the living water that comes from the good news of the gospel. (Amen).

8-year old solves PA’s Budget Crisis

My daughter Amber (grade 3) has the occasional "privilege" of sitting in the pastor's office while dad is attending a meeting in the next room. During a recent meeting, she situated herself behind the desk and declared herself "the mayor of Pennsylvania". She immediately appointed two barbie dolls as her senior staff and signed one piece of legislation into law. The content of that law is as follows:

(Law - The new law is that kids have school from 8:30am to 9:00am. Also, 30 minutes are a break and a break is required every day or you're fired.)
Eat your heart out, Tom Corbett. The new mayor of Pennslyvania just solved the budget crisis in less than an hour after taking office. Didn't raise a single tax, either. I guess it is possible!

BROKEN/BLESSED

Have you gotten the message yet that God doesn't do things the way that we might expect?

It's a recurring theme—in life and throughout the Bible. Again and again, God doesn't act the way that people expect—the ultimate example, of course, being found in the cross of Jesus. God becoming human: suffering and dying. Throughout the Bible God repeatedly surprises the human race by acting in ways that we don't expect, and often by using people that nobody would expect. If you consider the people that God works through in the Bible—even if you list them all, every one of them—you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who fits the mold. God has a thing for using people who aren't even close to perfect.

Somehow, though, we end up thinking just the opposite is true. Somehow, we end up thinking that God is looking for us to be more perfect—that God demands us to be better than we are. Knowing that we have fallen short, we somehow end up thinking that, for some reason, we are beyond forgiveness and that God has no use for us. That's a terrible place to picture yourself. It's a grueling and unfortunate way to try to live out your faith, constantly trying to earn a good standing with a god that only associates with the "perfect people".

Today we heard some of the most well-known words of Jesus: the "beatitudes" from the Sermon on the Mount. We hear Jesus declaring people as "blessed": Blessed are the poor in spirit…Blessed are those who mourn…Blessed are the meek…Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…Blessed are the merciful…Blessed are the pure in heart…Blessed are the peacemakers…Blessed are those who are persecuted…Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you.

Now, there is a trap hidden in the Beatitudes that I know I have fallen into, and perhaps you have, too (I thank Dr. David Lose for providing this insight). It's easy to hear "blessed are the pure in heart" & think "am I pure in heart enough?" It's easy to hear "blessed are the merciful" and think "I try to be merciful. I could list some things that I do. But is it enough?" Do you understand what I'm getting at? It's easy to hear the beatitudes as a list of ways to become blessed. It's easy to think that these are the conditions that we must meet in order for God to consider us blessed—in order to be good enough for God to do something through us. Even the parts that at times provide us with comfort—parts like "Blessed are those who mourn"—still can leave us with that uncomfortable reality that we don't want to mourn; we don't want to be persecuted or reviled.

But what if that's not what Jesus is doing in the beatitudes? What if, instead of giving us impossible instructions on how to earn a blessing, Jesus is just plain blessing people? What if Jesus is looking at his disciples, knowing that they are far from perfect and aren't headed toward being perfect any time soon, and is simply (yet very directly) blessing them? What if Jesus is blessing them, even though they are poor in spirit, even though they mourn, even as they try to be meek but aren't meek enough, even as they try to hunger and thirst for righteousness but not enough. What if Jesus is blessing them even as they are reviled and persecuted, even as they try to be merciful, pure in heart and makers of peace but are still—first and foremost—broken people. If that is true, then Jesus has blessings to pour out today, as well. Even though you are broken—and every one of us is in some way—Jesus calls you blessed.

I set to the task of coming up with some beatitudes for us today. Trying to make a list, I sought help from people on Facebook. I'd like to share some of that list with you today:

Blessed are the doubtful
Blessed are the lonely
Blessed are those who are excluded

Blessed are the unemployed
Blessed are the foreclosed upon
Blessed are those who are underpaid but overworked
Blessed are those who teach in schools
Blessed are nursing assistants who aren't appreciated
Blessed are those caring for loved ones who are dying

Blessed are the bullied and abused
Blessed are the frightened and fearful
Blessed are those who have to hide their true selves
Blessed are those who think they are never enough
Blessed are those who are told they are less

Blessed are those who are overwhelmed and rushed
Blessed are those that are stressed and anxious
Blessed are parents who really don't know what they're doing most of the time

Blessed are the broken-hearted and abandoned
Blessed are those who know they do not have it all together
Blessed are those who want what they have
Blessed are those who don't think they have anything to offer

Blessed are those trapped in bodies that hurt
Blessed are the autistic, the depressed, the bi-polar
Blessed are you when you've tried every treatment…and they've all failed
Blessed are those that can't make it on their own

Blessed are those who know how to listen
Blessed are those who care
Blessed are they that are more than tolerant
Blessed are those who are searching for God

In the midst of everything that makes you who you are, including the stuff you wish wasn't there that you can't figure out how to get rid of, Jesus blesses you. And it's each Broken yet blessed one of us that God is using to change the world today, because it's broken yet blessed people that experience the grace of God enough to share it.

God is always looking to use the people that we don't expect. God has a thing for using people who aren't even close to perfect.

One of those people was a man name Robert Schimmel. Robert was a stand-up comedian. If you're familiar with his work, I'm sure you're surprised to hear his name in a sermon. I know he would be shocked. Robert Schimmel was not a "family-friendly" comedian. In fact, he pushed the envelope on being offensive and shocking. He modeled himself after Lenny Bruce, and the only show that regularly invited him back was Howard Stern. (I should pause here for a moment and present a disclaimer, because I know that when the pastor mentions someone people in the congregation are going to go and look him up. I don't want any angry phone calls or emails during the week, and I would like to be invited back next Sunday. I like this job!) You don't need to look up Robert Schimmel. If you do, you're going to find some controversial stuff; it's your choice, not my suggestion. Don't do it unless you're prepared for what you'll find.

I'm not going to repeat any of his jokes today. At the same time, though, I'm not going to be one of those preachers who is convinced that God is using my stand-up comedy act any more than his.

10 years ago, Robert Schimmel was feeling good about his career. He was about to star in a sitcom and was beginning to have some success after years of hard work. And then it all came to a screeching halt when he was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The journey that followed is recounted in a book entitled Cancer on $5 a Day (Chemo not Included). Again: if you read the book, be ready for what's in it.

On the day of his first chemotherapy treatment, Robert Schimmel entered the clinic. His mind was racing with thoughts that I imagine only someone who has been there would understand. At the same time, he was committed to being positive and beating the cancer. The nurse told him he could sit wherever he liked, so he sat down next to burly man who looked miserable.

"I'm Robert." He said, "what's your name?"

"Bill." The man fired back in a rather embittered tone. It was clear that he was angry and miserable. And, honestly, if anyone in the world has reason to be angry and miserable, it's a person sitting in a chemotherapy clinic.

"How you doing?" Robert said.

"How do you think I'm doing? I have cancer!"

"Yeah, so do I."

"Good for you."

The nurse offered Robert a different chair, but Robert said, "No thank you. I like this seat." He smiled at Bill, who did not smile back.

As he sat there, getting the first of several treatments he was in for, he realized that his job had always been to make people laugh. He had stood in front of many "tough rooms", but this was the toughest.

He decided that he was determined to make Bill laugh. He tried to start up a conversation, but it was tough. Bill went back and forth from tolerating him to lecturing him. In the midst of this strained conversation, Robert eventually said something that was timed just right—something I will not repeat, even if you ask me—and it was so shocking and unexpected that Bill's bottom lip began to quiver. And then his mouth opened involuntarily, and he began to laugh. Then he cackled, and then he roared. He doubled over, causing the nurse to rush over to see if he was OK. He waved her away, still laughing. As the nursed passed Robert, she said, "I've never even seen that man smile. What did you say to him?"

After that first chemotherapy treatment, Robert went through the worst misery of his life. He was barely standing as he came back to the clinic ten days later, with all of those thoughts going through his mind again. And then, as he came into the room, he heard some calling "Robert!" That's when he saw Bill waving frantically at him and pointing to the seat he saved next to him. Bill smiled. "How you doing?" he said. Not missing a beat, Robert replied, "How do you think I'm doing? I have cancer!" Bill was smiling at Robert, but he was also smiling at the nurse—and talking to her. After their chemotherapy was underway, Bill said, "Okay. You ready?"

"Ready for what?" Robert asked.

"I got jokes, man!" Bill proceeded to unleash an avalanche of jokes that he had prepared over the past ten days, smiling the entire time, his eyes beaming with joy. Robert eventually responded, saying, "You know, you're getting a little too funny. Maybe you should go back to being a [jerk]." And then Bill said, "Too late, Robert. You cured me."

Schimmel said it was by far the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him.

And in that moment, Bill was cured. The cancer was still there. The chemo was still going to be miserable. But in that moment, Bill was cured—cured by a raunchy comedian who was just as sick and miserable as he was.

God has a way of using people that we don't expect. Paul (who was one of those people) describes it well in our lesson from 1 Corinthians:

"God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God."

Don't miss the simple, very direct truth of the gospel: God chose you, even if you wouldn't choose yourself. Even though you are broken, God calls you blessed. And, even in your brokenness, God will make you a blessing to other broken people. God has a thing for using people who aren't even close to perfect.

That's all there is to it. That's all I have to say. That's the good news of the gospel. (Amen.)

Target wins the prize for most dubious Christmas commercials

Target has set a new standard this year for Christmas advertising that, although admittedly humorous, consistently send a message that Christmas is about spending. It doesn't take more than a moment to hear the messages that these commercials are sending us in the weeks leading up to Christmas:

• Gifts are not about relationship, they are about the price tag.
• Don't be thoughtful or original...spend money on a Target-sold gift.
• Worrying about the recession or finances is unnecessary if you're running up debt at Target's low prices.
• The happiness of children or loved ones is dependent not upon what we can give them, but upon what we can purchase for them at Target.

Take a moment to watch these commercials...and then keep them in mind as you determine how you will be a gift giver this Christmas.

Maybe there's another option?