Welcome to Lent.

Lent is a special time in the life of the church, and not something easily understood by the world around us.  Sure, they may understand that this is a somber and sober time.  But why?  Why would we inflict such a downer on ourselves?  Aren’t Christians supposed to be full of joy?  All this lent stuff feels very… Outdated and Puritanical (or at least Catholic).

Oh, but I wouldn’t trade these forty days for anything.  In fact, I need Lent almost as much as I need Easter.

Today we put ashes on our face, we sing hymns in minor keys, we veil our church in black.  We don’t smile… Much.  It all feels terribly significant, but what does it mean?

As the people of God, we are given a high calling: we are the bride and body of Christ.  But have we kept ourselves clean?  Have we saved ourselves for our first love?

I haven’t.  I daily fill my head with sinful thoughts, careless and harmful words escape my lips.  My hands are unmoved at the suffering of others.  I chase after distractions and entertainments.  I do not Love God above all else.

Hopefully you all don’t see that.  Hopefully when you look at me, you see a guy who has his act together, who loves Jesus with all his heart.  That’s who I want to be, and it’s how I want to be seen, but it isn’t always what’s going on inside of me.

You do a pretty good job of it too.  I know in my head that each of you is a sinner, but most of you look (to me at least), like good and righteous people.

But God isn’t nearly as interested in appearances as He is in what’s going on under the surface.  That’s why we are told to rend our hearts rather than our garments.  The point is that outward shows of religion mean nothing to God, if they aren’t accompanied by a change of heart.

Lent is the time to shake ourselves out of our spiritual laziness and hard heartedness. It’s a time for discomfort.  So much of modern life is about satisfying our own preferences and making life as easy and pain-free as possible.  Not so in Lent.  We intentionally make ourselves uncomfortable.  We give up common pleasures, be they chocolate or red meat or television.  What’s the goal?  It is that when we desire those things we have given up, our minds would be drawn to the vow we have made and our hearts would again be turned to repentance.

I think we can be a little cavalier with God; I think it is easy to mistake his faithfulness for obedience.  Because God forgives us every time we ask it of Him, it can become routine – as if it is automatic.  And when things are automatic we take them for granted, like breathing air or the beating of our hearts.  God’s grace and forgiveness are every bit as vital to us as breathing and circulating blood… But unlike the involuntary workings of our bodies, grace is a choice that God makes.  Forgiveness is His to withhold or to grant.

We are at His mercy – and that’s exactly where we need to be.

Ash Wednesday is a day to take seriously what we too often take for granted – that God’s forgiveness is unearned, undeserved.  Even the most sincere repentance can’t make God forgive us.  Forgiveness is a choice that God makes.

It’s a humble position to be in, this full dependence.  For us there is no choice, we by our nature depend on God for everything.  The only choice we make is whether we will recognize God’s hand, or whether we will go on congratulating ourselves for merits that our not our own.

Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.  It is a reminder that we are lowly, finite creatures.  We have a beginning and an end, but God is eternal.  Moreover, without the breath of life that only God can give, we would be merely dust.

But from the dust God made Adam in His image.  And from the ashes and dirt God will one day raise the dead to newness of life.  And we will be changed, and we will bear his image.  On that day, no one will stand up and say what a great person I was.  No one will applaud my wit or generosity or my great faith.  On that day all my dirty laundry will be brought out into the light… And then God will welcome me home.  Then will come the praises and the cheering and the applause.  Not for me, but for a God whose love is big enough to cover over a sinner like me.

Until that day, we will never see God’s love so clearly as when we see Jesus’ arms outstretched on the cross.  It is an intense and holy moment, but we talk about it so much as to make it seem common.

Throughout this season of Lent, take nothing for granted – neither your sinfulness, nor God’s grace, nor Jesus’ love, or the life- giving breath that lives inside you, the Holy Spirit.

I love Google Earth! I love the ability to “hover” over places….ok, especially places with railroads….and be able to look down. I don’t think there’s a one of us who wouldn’t love to fly like the birds do, so it’s understandable why the story of Elijah blasting off in God’s fiery chariot still intrigues us today!

Our text concerns God’s prophet Elijah and Elisha, his young apprentice. They lived when the kings of Israel did “evil in the sight of the Lord,” to quote 1& 2 Kings. It had become clear that Elijah’s work, and his life were drawing to a close. Elijah’s last mission was to visit three groups of prophets who still remained faithful to God: the prophets at Gilgal, at Bethel, and lastly, at Jericho.

After Elijah encouraged his fellow prophets they walked out to the Jordan River. Elijah rolled up his coat, slapped it on the river and just like with Moses (!), the water parted and they all walked across on dry ground. Elijah KNEW God was going to take him home that day. That may sound strange, but I’ve been with plenty of Christians who somehow “knew” that their time on earth was at and end and God was ready to take them home. “What last request do you have,” Elijah asked.  “Please,” Elisha answered, “give me a double portion of your spirit.”

It’s an interesting request. Elisha didn’t want to be greater than Elijah. He humbly asked this great man of God to give him the spiritual gifts he would need to carry on the ministry after Elijah had gone to heaven. It’s the same prayer a pastor prays when he begins a new ministry: “God, allow me to serve You in this place as well as my predecessor did.” It’s the same prayer I pray when I remember all of my ancestors who have been in ministry before me: grandfathers, uncles and my father as well: “Lord, let me serve as they served.”

“It’s up to God,” Elijah answered. “If you see while God is taking me, it will be yours…..if not, it will not.” It was Elijah’s way of saying that BLESSING depends on God. It did then…..it still does today.

Then the fiery chariot and the horses of fire took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind….in full view of Elisha and the 50 prophets of Jericho! That was God’s way of answering Elisha’s request and God took it one step farther. Elijah’s coat had fallen from the chariot…..no accident there….and Elisha picked it up, rolled it up, slapped the Jordan River and it parted for him as well, visible proof that the blessing….and the ministry of God….had passed from Elijah to Elisha.

And so God took Elijah to heaven and prepared him for the appearance he would make with Jesus at the moment of His transfiguration! [I wonder….on the way up did Elijah ask God to circle him around Israel a while and get a bird’s eye view of all the places he had ministered? What did Elijah think about as he was heading up? After all, to that time only two other people had been given the opportunity to “take off” from earth without dying in the usual way!

In Genesis 5 we read about Enoch, ancestor of Noah and father of Methuselah. Unlike all the wicked people who ultimately brought on the flood, Enoch “walked with God” for his entire lifetime, so much so that God rewarded him for his faithfulness, spared him from a normal death and took him straight to heaven!

The other, of course, was the third participant in the Transfiguration of Jesus, none other than Moses. At the end of his life God took Moses to the top of Mt. Nebo and allowed him to look across the Jordan River and see the whole promised land….”his eyes were not weak” Deut 34:7), and there God buried him.

On Thursday I re-read the last eleven Transfiguration Sunday sermons I’ve preached and discovered a common theme: we love to compare ourselves with Peter: awed by being in the presence of the glorified Jesus and not wanting to go back down the mountain and towards the cross. I stand by those sermons, and yet, this morning I desire to draw a slightly different comparison: there’s a lot of Elijah and Moses in each one of us here this morning!

Moses and Elijah both came from the deserts of life. God called them personally, as His Holy Spirit called each of us to faith. Both spoke the truth of God to the world around them, something we have the opportunity to do again this week regarding a significant area of our faith. Moses spoke to Pharaoh, who had enslaved God’s people and Elijah spoke the Ahab the corrupt and pagan king of Israel. Both prophets “discipled” their replacements: Moses taught Joshua and Elijah, Elisha. We too have the task of discipling the generations who come up after us.

Both were also flawed men and at times, very timid prophets. When God met Moses in the burning bush and presented him with a specific ministry, he was ready to head the other way. Elijah, when he was threatened by Jezebel, his in a cave and wouldn’t come out until God put in a personal appearance!

Moses had moments when he doubted God; so did Elijah and so do we! Elijah could be a bit of a curmudgeon, and so could Moses…..I’m not sure about you, but I can be that way too!

Fortunately, dear friends, God doesn’t just look for perfect people when He’s seeking servants. Being flawed, doubting and having shortcomings doesn’t mean God will pass us by and look for someone better to do His work in the world. When we, like Moses, say “Find someone else,” or when we, like Elijah, hide away, God finds us and uses us ANYWAY! God is persistent like that, and it’s a good thing, because it means He’s also persistent in LOVING us, FORGIVING us and BLESSING us.

This week we’re going to leave this “mountaintop experience” of the Transfiguration of Christ and enter the valley that leads to the cross, the season of Lent. Elijah’s story…..Elijah’s final flight, so to speak, reminds us that if we trust in God’s promises and in Christ’s sacrifice, our lives don’t end in death, but in the high-flying, above the ground reality of the resurrection from the dead and the life everlasting in heaven!

Both Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on that mountaintop to remind Peter, James, John, you and me that death is never the end for God’s people. As timid as these disciples were, it was the RESURRECTION of Jesus that convinced that beyond a shadow of any doubt that Jesus was the Messiah and death…was defeated!

Let’s end today by asking God for a true “double portion” of the boldness and perseverance our spiritual ancestors displayed so that we can reach down and pick up the mantle of ministry that He has put at our feet. The truth still needs to be spoken to those in power. The hungry still need to be fed. The sick still need to be healed. And the lost……they need to be found…..and if we’re truly being like Moses and Elijah, there WILL be times we’re afraid, we’re timid, and feel inadequate…..but GOD will give us what we need!

Amen!

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our text is set back in the days after David, after Solomon was King and the nation of Israel had been divided. The story involved two fascinating men. The first was God’s prophet, Elisha. He was the successor to the prophet Elijah, assuming the role of “chief prophet” after Elijah was taken up into heaven by God. Elisha had already raised a young man from death and done a “feeding of the 5000” kind of miracle. God’s hand of blessing was on Elisha, to be sure!

The second major character was Naaman. He was the Commanding General of the Nation of Syria. He had recently defeated the Assyrian army with God’s blessing, our text says, to remind us that God is the Lord of ALL the nations of the earth, then and now! Naaman must have been riding quite high in the public opinion polls, but he had a major problem. He had leprosy. Today it’s curable, but back then, it wasn’t. It attacked the fingers and toes until they literally “rotted” off. Then it started on the hands, the feet and, worst of all, the nose. The disease TERRIFIED people. Lepers weren’t allowed to live with their families, go to the temple, even to appear in public. If they did, they were required to hold masks over their faces and shout out “unclean” to keep people away!

Naaman was certain that HE could DO something about the disease that afflicted him. He had the power. He had the means. He had the motivation. After all, he was the commanding officer of the army of his country! If anyone had the resources, it was Naaman.  In another wonderful God-moment, Naaman’s army had captured a girl from Israel, who was working for Naaman’s wife. This young girl wasn’t afraid of speaking up, and she told her mistress that there was a prophet in Israel that would cure Naaman.

Naaman told the king and the king sent along his personal recommendation to the King of Israel, giving him the permission to cure Naaman. Naaman headed south, carrying his king’s letter, along with a huge “GIFT” of gold and silver and fine royal clothing to ensure that the healing happened.

Imagine the king’s surprise when Naaman shows up bearing huge gifts and expecting to be healed? Could he cure leprosy? He KNEW he wasn’t God, and he also knew that if Naaman went home uncured, the King of Syria would not be happy with him….and just like today, when the head of Syria wasn’t happy, nobody was happy! Israel’s king was in a tough spot, and he knew it, and so did everyone around him.

But as usual, God is in control. Elisha heard about the king’s conundrum and sent a message inviting his king to send Naaman to him, so that everyone would know that God had a true prophet in Israel. And so it was that Naaman’s entourage of chariots and horses and servants and soldiers showed up at Elisha’s front door and rang the bell.

Have you ever noticed that when God wants to make a point in your life, He chooses very unusual ways to do it!?

Elisha didn’t answer the door! It’s the #2 man in all of Syria, Israel’s powerful neighbor, and Elisha treated him like a leper. He didn’t invite Naaman in, certainly an insult at best, and then Elisha didn’t even have the courtesy to speak to Naaman. Instead of the miracle Naaman expected, he was told by Elisha’s servant to go to the Jordan River and bathe himself seven times and he would be “clean.” Interesting word choice, don’t you think? Not “healed,” but CLEAN! Clean enough to go to the temple. Clean enough for God!

Sounds easy, right….. he’s got the chariots and the horses and the maps to get himself to the Jordan River, but NO…..Naaman was NOT happy and he let everyone know. “Where was my miracle? Why didn’t Elisha call on God for me? The Jordan River? Everyone KNOWS it’s a filthy little stream compared to our rivers back home! The LEAST he could have done was asked me to bathe THERE!” Naaman was in a rage!

And once again it was the “least of these” who carried the message from God. Naaman’s servants braved his verbal barrage and calmed him down by reminding “their father” that Elisha HAD promised that he would be cleansed…… but the cleansing would be on God’s terms, not on HIS terms.  If Naaman could have dealt with his leprosy on his own terms, he would have! But to humble himself, to listen to his servants, to wash the waters of the Jordan River? All that was beneath him! What he needed, however, was to get OVER himself and get UNDER the water…..and allow God’s power to wash that leprosy away.

And once Naaman bathed his leprosy seven times, he was cleansed….and, in a wonderful ending, he gave God the glory and even took some Galilean dirt home to remind him how wonderful the God of Israel was!

We’ve read the story, so it’s time to see if we can make it fit our own lives. Imagine, just imagine that you have come down with a very serious disease. It threatens your ability to make a living. It also separates you from your family and your friends, who don’t want to come around you because they think they will catch it too. Ultimately you know this disease will kill you. Anybody worried?

What would you do? Women, I know you would already be calling your doctors, and men, we, of course, would do NOTHING for quite a while, but ultimately…..given the severity of the disease as it gets worse and worse, we’d all do something. Play along some more. Your local doctor and even your local specialist can do NOTHING against this disease, so you make an appointment with the world famous MAYO Clinic. You load up your checkbook to pay all the extra fees, you fly there at great expense to yourself, arrange a hotel and transportation and are ready for your appointment, for which, of course, you have to WAIT….and WAIT….and WAIT.

Finally the appointed time arrives and you walk into the clinic. A doctor, no…a nurse, no, make that the MAID who is vacuuming the reception room floor hands you a bar of soap and a note from the doctor that says you should fly back home, get in your bathtub and use this soap to wash yourself and you’ll be just fine!

How would you react? I know I wouldn’t be happy. Would YOU? A “world famous clinic” and all that time and expense and all I get is a bar of soap and a promise? I can imagine a bit of huffing and puffing and phrases thrown around like “I spend all that money and all this time….after all, I am important…… and this is how they treat me?!”

Once again, in the still small voice, God comes through saying, “I am your God. I know what is best! Everything in your life is in my control. Trust ME! I have you in the palm of my hand, and my heart’s desire is to make you CLEAN!”

How much Naaman-like “huffing and puffing” do we do when God asks something of us that might be a bit out of our comfort zone?? How much do we want “live life” and “do faith” on our own terms, and not on His? And when what WE pray for isn’t what God gives us? Our pride makes those kinds of things difficult to swallow.

It’s at moments like this that we need to remember Elisha’s words….and the words of Jesus. What was the promise? What was the emphasis? It wasn’t on physical healing as much as it was on being CLEANSED! It’s the INSIDE that matters. It’s the leprosy of sin that keeps us away from God……and in His forgiveness, God brings us into His presence and into His blessing.

Naaman was touched by God…..and we pray he was changed forever.

The unnamed leper was touched by Jesus…..and cleansed forever.

What does it mean to us that we too have been touched by Jesus…..?

Amen.

Sunday, February 12 (between services)

A big thank you to all who are supporting our Teen Ministry by attending Enchanted Evening.  It promises to be an awesome event.  Proceeds will help support TRUTH going to the 2013 National Youth Gathering and other youth activities.  In order to have an event of this magnitude we need all TRUTH members to participate.  Please sign up to help with at least two work shifts (Feb. 4, 10, 11 and 12).  We will need all youth for the actual event on Saturday evening, Feb. 11.  Parental help is also greatly needed for the both work days and the event.

Construction Zone for TRUTH is March 2-4 at the Cavalier Hotel. If you would still like to go and have not registered, please contact Linda Muth ASAP.  We will meet at Hope at 5:45pm on Friday and return to Hope at 12:30pm on Sunday. You should eat dinner before coming on Friday.  Please remember to bring your Bible, appropriate clothing, money for lunch and dinner on Saturday and also for offering, and a swimsuit.  The balance of your registration fee is due by Feb. 19. You can use Enchanted Evening proceeds to help cover the cost. Please remember that once you are registered you are responsible for the registration costs, even if you cannot attend.

BODY will go to Charlotte, NC for Quake on April 13-15. Costs for this event are $137 for Early Bird registration or $152 for regular registration. To take advantage of the Early Bird price, a $50 nonrefundable deposit must be turned in to confirmation teachers, Steve Plummer or Linda Muth, by Sunday, Feb. 5. Regular registration deadline is Feb. 26 at which time the total registration cost is due. If you would like to see what the weekend is all about please visit www.youthencounter.org.

BODY will have a movie night in the Loft on Friday, Feb. 24, from 6:30 to 9:30pm. We will have popcorn and chips, but youth should bring either a 2-liter soda or dessert to share. Bring your friends.

Our Confirmation II students, along with their parents, will start First Communion classes with the pastors on Wednesday, Feb. 29, from 6:30 to 7:30pm. These classes will run every Wednesday through March 28.  This is a wonderful opportunity for both youth and parents to get an in-depth understanding of what this sacrament means to their Christian walk.

Activities at a Glance

Feb. 5 Quake Early Bird deposit due (BODY)

Feb. 24 Movie Night (BODY)

Feb. 26 Quake registration due (BODY)

Feb 29 First Communion classes begin (Conf. II)

Mar. 2-4 Construction Zone (TRUTH)

The Leisure Lutherans met at the Lucky Oyster on Monday, Jan. 16, for a seafood luncheon. Our guest speaker was Gwen Elmore from Fun Tours who presented various tours to the group (i.e. day as well as overnight tours).

The next scheduled luncheon will be at Y’Not Pizza & Italian Cuisine located at 1036 Volvo Parkway in Chesapeake on Monday, Feb. 20, at 1130 am. The sign-up sheet will be on the podium in the narthex.

If you consider yourself to be a Seasoned Citizen, sign up and enjoy the fellowship. We’d love to have you!  Any questions, contact Rollie at rolsal@mac.com.

The following craft items are needed to make Chrismons (Christian Ornaments), that will be used to decorate the Christmas tree in the Fellowship Hall.

• white felt material any scrap at least 6” or more
• white or gold beads (any size)
• white or gold sequins
• wire gage 20 – 28 for crafting
• white or gold thread or embroidery thread

There is a box marked for these donations in the Main 1 classroom. Collections will continue through March.

Thank you to everyone who made our January meeting a success! Our LWML bake sale will be on Feb. 12 between services. If you signed up to bring something, please drop it off in the kitchen before the early service.

Information about workshops will be sent out later this month. Our next meeting will be Saturday, March 17, at 9am in the Fellowship Hall. We will have a speaker from the Salvation Army.

This Spring is an exciting time at Hope! We will perform a musical drama entitled “Never Thirst Again.” Three simple words spoken by Jesus one afternoon as He stopped by a Samaritan well for a drink. He encountered a woman there who had many secrets and many regrets. Although He initially asked her for a drink, it was she who received the promise of living water from this stranger – a Stranger who knew everything about her dark past and yet only spoke forgiveness. She would later learn the full measure of His redemptive love at the foot of a cross and the doorway of an empty tomb. “Never Thirst Again.” Three simple words–and our past is forgiven, our present is fulfilled, and our future is eternally secured. Now that’s the promise of Easter (Keveren)!

If you are interested in singing in the ensemble please show up for choir rehearsals in the music room, 7:30-9pm, on Wednesdays. Childcare can be provided upon request. Please contact Meredith at Meredith.Mulcair@gmail.com