December 24, 2002 - Christmas Eve, 6:00 p.m. Family Service

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Christmas Eve, 6:00 p.m. Family Service

Raise your hand if you are excited about the presents you will be getting either this evening or tomorrow morning. I bet your heart is pounding and your thinking how am I ever going to get to sleep tonight? I've got presents at home. I'm really looking forward to opening them. Not really to see what I've got, but because they are from special people in my life and these gifts help me to remember them.

After hearing the gospel, we can imagine what a racket that night must have been! Angels singing in heaven, animals making noises in the stable, shepherds praising God...plus a big star shining as if it were the day. How could anyone sleep on a night like that? People were excited. Mary and Joseph had come to Bethlehem to register and pay taxes, but then Mary had a baby. That was something that she and Joseph had been excited about for a long time. Little did they know how excited the world would be about that baby!

So too are we excited about our presents. But you know, after we empty the stockings, rip off the ribbons, tear through the colorful paper...and we see what's inside, maybe it's something we've always wanted or maybe it's something that we need. Eventually we put it away and get on with our life. The excitement and the joy is put away.

Not so with the gift of Jesus, the son of God that made such a racket a long time ago. This is a gift of love, just like those presents you are receiving are gifts of love from people who care about you. This gift from God is more than we can ever imagine.

All too often as we grow older, our excitement and joy about Jesus fades and we put him into a drawer or try to forget about him. But God's love for us keeps telling us that Jesus is in our hearts...not our drawers or garage or storage area. Jesus is with us always and forever. That's what love is about.

We're all lucky because we have family and friends who love us. We carry them around in our hearts when we think of them. We can telephone them, send e-mails, run down the hall to their offices or rooms. We get to see them and share our lives with them. So too are we able to do that with Jesus. Whenever we want to talk with Jesus, all we need to do is call out his name or think about him. He is always by our side, in our hearts and in our lives. Boy are we the lucky ones.

And you know one of the very special things about the gift of Jesus to us? Jesus grows in our hearts when we give him away as a present to others. We give Jesus away when we're kind, when we share, when we help those less fortunate than ourselves. We give Jesus away when we invite our friends to come to church with us. We give Jesus away when we play nicely with our friends and invite a new friend to join us. We give Jesus away when we tell the truth.

The most important feeling we have when we think about Christmas and the birth of Jesus is excitement. The angels, the shepherds and certainly Mary and Joseph were filled with excitement on this night. It is a quality that if these had not been people with excitement in their hearts they never would have paid attention to the racket in heaven. For you have to have excitement in your hearts if you want to encounter the joy outside. And the joy of that Christmas night is not contingent upon the circumstances of our lives. Here they were in a cold barn , Mary and Joseph, Jesus, the shepherds. There was pain and there was want. But also there was a deep, abiding joy, for God was in their midst; and where God is, there is joy. Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy! This joy springs from the very heart of God. God, who loved you first and loves you most.

Merry Christmas.
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January 18, 2003 - Second After Epiphany

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Sermon preached by The Reverend Armand J. Kreft, Associate Rector

The Church of St Paul in the Desert, Palm Springs, California

January 18/19, 2003 Epiphany 2B

"How can anything good come out of Nazareth?" You can probably bet that Nathaniel's reply to Phillip was said with a sneer and cynicism. Yet Phillip's enthusiasm for a life with Jesus was undaunted by mocking remarks. "Come and see!" All of us get enthused about something in our lives. Sometimes it's a new car, new clothes or even a new restaurant. "Come and see" we say to our friends. We want to share our joy and enthusiasm because whatever it is, it has momentarily changed our lives and charged us with excitement.

Why are some people more ready to believe than others? Why can some people's lives be radically changed by their faith to the point where they must tell others? In modern times in the Western Hemisphere, individual strengths and successes have been pushed as the most desired. Our individual achievements take precedence over the greater good. My relatives were part of the great Norwegian immigration to the heartland at the turn of the last century. They brought with them the knowledge of farming, growing and nurturing crops and livestock. They also knew there was much about the growing cycle that was out of their hands, over which they had no control so they placed a deep faith in the power of God. They worked hard and they prayed hard. God was far more active in their lives in those days. And their focus was on the greater good of the family and the surrounding farming community than it was with anyone's individual success. If a neighbor lost his crops, lost livestock or had hardship, the community would join together, no questions asked (but probably some good table gossip) and helped the neighbor. When there was abundance, everyone shared.

From our Old Testament lesson we heard that "God's voice was rare in those days". In modern times our technology and scientific knowledge has increased to such a point that we can control most aspects of our life. Sometimes we can even cheat death. So we form our God in our own image rather than the other way around. And when we don't get our way, we get angry with God because God has not seen fit to do things our way.

Certainly in the western churches most believe that faith is a private, personal issue and any proclamation about Jesus is best left to the ordained clergy.

Annie Dillard, author and theologian, writes "if we had any concept of the power we are invoking on Sundays, we would not wear flowered hats and suits to church, but every pew would be equipped with seat belts and ushers would hand out crash helmets." My friends, Phillips life was changed to such an extent that he invited Nathaniel and probably others to come and see the Savior. Come and meet Jesus.

If we invited a neighbor to "come and see" just what would they find? Would they find an energetic, enthusiastic, life-giving, soul-saving faith, or would they find us reticent to talk about our faith and how our lives are changed by the experience of being part of St Paul's in the desert, or worse, would they find indifference and apathy. Our actions speak louder than our words. If we choose to live the Christian life, it is one of self-giving, rigorous honesty, and a belief that God is in charge. From that life, we show forth the compassion, love, forgiveness and acceptance that Jesus showed us.

I have two friends, fine upstanding Methodist people, who heard the call to follow Jesus in a new and exciting way. They had a good life and good ministry at a large Methodist church in Chicago. Yet they felt called to the desert to establish a new congregation. They answered that call, quit their jobs, left their possessions and are now in the process of working with the local Methodist church to plant a new congregation. They are enthusiastic about working for Jesus.

Phillip and the other apostles connected with Jesus. The apostles spent time with the Lord. Almost daily they had conversations and interactions with him. That means for us to spend time in prayer and reading the Bible. Most of all it means listening for Jesus to speak to us. That requires a concerted effort to remain in quiet anticipation for his voice.

Phillip and the other apostles grew in relationship with Jesus. We find ways to live our life as a reflection of our Lord. That means looking for those less privileged than ourselves. It means calling others into account for their actions and it means to respect other people. It also means for us to ask God what we should do with our lives, and then proceed to begin to do what may seem to us as outrageous.

Phillip connected with others who knew Jesus. Regularly the apostles met, broke bread and prayed together when they could. They had answered a call from Jesus and join with one another to spread the Good News of our salvation. For us it means to be with others who are actively seeking ways to represent Jesus in the world today.

Phillip and the other apostles reached out to those who have not heard the Good News and made disciples, such as Nathaniel. For us Christianity is hard work. Our Lord does not accept complacency. I assure you we will be called out of our self-satisfaction to move deeper into the love of God. We will be stretched and tried and we will find resources we never knew we had. For God is our strength and our faith can move mountains.

Phillip never forgot who was God. He didn't draw attention to himself, but like John the Baptist, he pointed beyond himself to the one who is God. Nathaniel was a cynic and a skeptic. Skepticism is not a modern virtue. Doubting Thomases have been around since the dawn of creation. By our nature we don't want to be led, we want to lead. So it is imperative that we truly become followers. By becoming a follower of Jesus, Nathaniel was transformed. He became a follower because Phillip invited him. "Come and See" What did Phillip see in Jesus of Nazareth that stirred him so much to invite his friend? What was Nathaniel promised if he indeed came to Jesus? He was promised to come and see souls redeemed. He was promised to come and see lives transformed. He was promised to come and see the heavens opened. Come and see, come and see. Like Nathaniel, perhaps our world weary cynicism will fall from our hearts too as we hear the call once again. Take a moment now and look into your hearts as Jesus invites you to "come and see". The deepest yearnings, our secret desires are revealed as Jesus awaits us there and see the heavens opened for you.
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January 25, 2003 - Third After Epiphany

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Sermon preached by Fr. Armand Kreft, Associate Rector

Church of St Paul in the Desert, Palm Springs

Epiphany 3B, January 25/26, 2003

"Immediately they left their nets and followed him" Wow...I cannot imagine what the presence of Jesus must have been for these fishermen. I don't believe we heard the entire conversation that the Savior had with these guys. What could possibly have compelled them to just walk away from their livelihood, their families, their relatives and friends...to immediately follow Jesus?

Jesus offered them a life changing, life enhancing belief in the Son of God. Jesus asked them to join with him, to change their lives, to be converted. Conversion means "to change". Conversion includes a change of heart about God. For us, when we decide to follow Jesus, our lives change so that where we may have been careless in prayer and our regard for God, living in constant anxiety and fear, we now will find ourselves in a state of reverence, confidence and gratitude to the God who called us to follow. In other words, following Jesus, a conversion of life, means a complete change in the way we live.

We Episcopalians like to think of ourselves as sophisticated and intellectual. Yet there is a vast difference between intellectuctual belief and the surrendering to faith in Jesus Christ. To be sure, there must be a change in our way of thinking and intellectual acceptance of Christ, but there must also be a change in the way we live.

Many people have some form of emotional experience that they call a conversion, but who have never truly surrendered themselves to the will of God. Jesus called from these fishermen, and of us, a change in the way we live. Christ does not conform to our experience, Christ calls our experience to conform to his way. There are very emotional experiences that come about when you decide to follow the Savior. Love will be involved. You will first learn to love God and righteousness, and then your neighbor and yourself. Your affections will undergo a revolutionary change. Your devotion to the Lord will know no bounds and words cannot express your love for him.

Along with the intellectual acceptance of Christ and an emotional experience there must come a decision to let go of self-will. Only then can there be a decision to obey and follow Christ and accept the will of God.

Jesus came to these men in person. He did not rely on billboards, letters or advertisements. He went directly up to them, told them his story and then invited them to come along. Whatever entices us to join in community and worship comes from a personal invitation. "O Lord, my heart is ready" sings the psalm. These men were at a point in their lives when their hearts were ready to change. Jesus comes to us when we are ready. Jesus will never force us into submission, but invites us to surrender to his will. Jesus always invites us to come along. The choice is always ours.

A decision to follow Jesus takes many forms. Sometimes it may be precipitated by a crisis in our lives or it could come after all our former values have been swept away, when great disappointment has been experienced, when we have lost our sense of power through material possessions or lost the object of our affection. On the other hand, a decision to follow Jesus could take place at the very height of our success, achievement or prosperity, when all things are going well and the bountiful mercies of God have been abundantly bestowed upon us. The very goodness of God can drive us to the recognition that we owe all to God.

Not all decisions to follow Jesus come as dramatic as those of the fishermen. For some there will be a long and difficult conflict within themselves. Still others decide to follow Jesus when after a long period of discernment there comes a climactic moment of revelation to the identity of Jesus Christ as Son of God, Savior and Redeemer.

No matter what process happens to bring forth a decision to follow Jesus, the decision will always, always result in living an abundant life. Not just the good things in life, but the entire life experience. Jesus will never call us into a life of degradation, humiliation or manipulation. Jesus promises light in our darkness, wholeness in our brokeness, gratitude in our cynicism, rejoicing in our sorrow.

Ask yourself now what kind of life are you living. Do you dread the dawn and welcome the darkness? Do you seek isolation from friends rather than seek out community? Do you confuse pity with love? Are you being fed or starved? Jesus' call to follow him will always, always draw us out of ourselves and into the realm of light. Our lives will always be enhanced and enlarged. Our eyes will always be opened to see old things new and exciting. We will be called beyond our comfort zone and into the larger kingdom. From the prayer at ordinations: "let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

A few weeks ago Nathan and I officiated at a funeral here. When this woman's friends were speaking of her, they described her love of life and champagne. They also mentioned that after the death of her husband and a long widowhood, she fell in love again at age 73. They spoke of her kindness and reaching out to others. The spoke of how their lives had been enhanced by knowing her. Nathan and I remarked at what an abundant life she had. Yet at another service people spoke of another person and his wealth and success in business and what fun he had been socially. No one spoke of their lives being changed or enhanced by knowing this person or what impact they had on their world. So how do you want to be remembered? What will your legacy be? By claiming the abundant life in Jesus Christ we can be assured of a role in the ushering in of the kingdom of God and affecting others for the good.

Mind you, a decision to follow Jesus is not without its risks. As I said before, our God is an outrageous God and calls us to do outrageous things. Last week when I told the story of my two Methodist friends who gave up everything in the east to move to the desert and plant a new congregation, someone said to me, "How stupid they must have been. They didn't know what they would find out here or what their welcome would be. It's just luck that they found a church that would welcome them and work with them."

My friends, luck had nothing to do with it. It was the work of the Holy Spirit and the call of Jesus to follow him. All the preparations and insurances are worth nought unless the Holy Spirit is moving within your heart and Jesus is calling you to a new life. Yes, you may have hedged your bets and come out successful in the eyes of the world...but we're not concerned with that judgment. We are concerned about how truthfully we answered the call of Jesus to follow him. And what would be the worst that could happen? If our endeavors are for the greater glory of God, there cannot be failure. It may not work out by the world's standards, but working for the Lord is a guaranteed success. And if, the timing is not right, or people do not hear the call, you pick yourself up and start again.

Do you dare risk it? Do you dare to answer "Yes" to the call of Jesus? Do you dare to have an abundant life in the Lord? Can you, dare you sing the final hymn tonight "I have decided to follow Jesus ... no turning back, no turning back."
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