As we turned the calendar to 2019, many of us, spurred on by Marie Kondo, took the time to reorganize and de-clutter. It is amazing how quickly our lives become chaotic and messy. But what about our spiritual lives? Shouldn’t we give the same attention to making sure we have room for God? Join us starting February 3rd as we explore ways to clean the clutter of our spiritual lives, making room for Christ and his call.
“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.” Joshua 3:3-4
A remarkable thing happens at Jesus’ birth – the world comes to see. And not just see, but to have and to hold. In ancient times, all things holy were kept at a distance. Everyone except the priests and the Levites had to stay two thousand cubits (about three thousand feet) from the ark of the covenant of the Lord. It was the place where God’s Spirit dwelled, holy, sacred, set apart. In those times, God spoke directly to Moses, but no others.
But then Christ came to the people. All the old rules of keeping distance between God and humankind were broken.
A hymn we sing that always takes my breath away contains the refrain: taste and see, the Lord is good. On it surface it makes no sense. God accessible. Good with evil. The perfect in the midst of the flawed. But he has come to show us a new way, a way of forgiveness and life. We are invited to draw near to him. He promises to draw near to us.
~Pastor Mike Middaugh
Join us as we begin a new sermon series this Sunday exploring what it means to clean the clutter from our lives, making room for Christ.
An informational meeting for the Calvary Art Show has been scheduled for this Sunday, February 3rd following worship. The purpose of this meeting is to answer questions and present information about the art show, especially to those in the congregation who may be considering submitting artwork.
An informational meeting about plans to develop a Calvary Youth Group has been scheduled for this February 3rd following worship. Families and youth (5th grade through high school) are invited to attend this meeting to discuss future activities and goals for the group. Please contact Mark Weilnau with questions.
Announcing a Family Night at Calvary on February 22nd at 6pm. All kids and families are welcome to join us for a night of fun, fellowship and getting a few projects accomplished. We plan to order pizza and play a movie for the kids (blankets, chairs, pillows welcome), while adults are invited to help clean and organize the classrooms used for our KidsChurch program. See Lori Schwartz for more info.
The readings for this Sunday are: Jeremiah 1:4-10; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30
Shrewd and Innocent
[Jesus said] “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16
We live in a messy world. Sometimes it is difficult to know whether to respond to a situation with grace or with firmness, with the gospel or with law.
For example, how many times have you been asked for money on the street? In an instant you have to decide what to do, give, or hold back. If you give there is the risk your money will be misused, if you hold back, you risk losing an opportunity help meet a real need. If you are like me, you have responded various ways, at various times, depending on many factors.
Being asked for money on the street is a relatively simple example of living Jesus’ call in a complex world. Perhaps it helps to know that Jesus had to make these decisions as well.
Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:3-6
Reading this passage again, it struck me, not only was Judas the one who would ultimately betray his Lord with a kiss, but for much of the time he was with Jesus, he also had a habit of stealing from the shared resources of the group. He was a thief. He helped himself to their money, money which at least some portion thereof, would be given out to help the poor.
Yet Jesus allowed Judas to stay. He chose grace when dealing with Judas, in spite of all he did, and would do. Why? We cannot know for sure. Maybe Jesus hoped, and prayed, that abundant grace might be the thing, the only thing that could win Judas over. Certainly it wasn’t because Jesus was scared of conflict. Jesus was often firm, instructing others to turn from sin and repent. Or, perhaps, Judas was allowed to go on stealing as one more cautionary tale – beware the danger of loving money, it can lead to a multitude of sins.
While we do not know the entire story of Jesus’ interactions with Judas, I am convinced that this is a good example of what He meant when he advised his followers to be shrewd and innocent. Living in a messy, broken world, God’s people have to make decision all the time when responding to difficult situations. As Jesus teaches, we hope to be shrewd and not naive, careful and sometimes cautious. But we are also called to be people of abundant grace, avoiding judgement, bias, and prejudice, sometimes loving through, and in spite of, the sin in the lives of those we care about.
Certainly many parents have had to wade through these waters when trying to love their children well.
Firmness – grace; law – gospel; shrewd – innocent. We pray Jesus would send his Spirit to grant us discernment as we follow him through this messy world.
~Pastor Mike Middaugh
A Contract for Architectural Services has been approved by the Calvary Board of Directors after review and consideration. An additional contract for civil engineering services has been signed with the firm GLW P.A. A next step in moving forward Calvary’s renovations will be one or more “stakeholders’ meetings” to discuss design details with our architects.
The tall pine trees at the northwest corner of Calvary’s property are in the process of being removed. Please refrain from parking anywhere other than the front parking lot on Monday, Jan. 21. Horticulturalist have examined these trees and alerted the office to the fact that they are near the end of their life cycle. As a result they drop large branches often. The church office has sought 4 estimates from tree experts to remove the trees including the stumps. In the future, as building renovations are performed, a landscaping plan will also be developed, which will incorporate the planting of new trees in this area of our property.
This Sunday
NOTE: This Sunday we will use the service and assigned readings for Sunday, January 13th, a service which was cancelled due to snow. The readings we will use are below. The readings assigned for Epiphany 2 (which we will skip) can be found HERE.
The readings for this Sunday are: Isaiah 43:1-7; Acts 8:14-17, Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Dear Calvary Friends, with significant accumulating snow overnight, and expected to continue this morning, we have made the decision to CANCEL all Sunday activities at Calvary today. We do not want any of our leaders, servers, or attendees to feel they need to travel with difficult road conditions. Please stay safe, enjoy a snowy day, and we will see you next Sunday.
If you would like to take some time this morning to reflect on the readings of the day, you can find them at this Revised Common Lectionary Site, provided by Vanderbilt Divinity. Prayers, and reflections on the daily theme, are also provided as links on the right-hand side of the page. Today is the celebration of the Baptism of our Lord. We give thanks to God for Jesus own baptism at the hand of John, and ask that God would daily make us new through baptism as well, that we might be assured of forgiveness, and be cleansed for new life in Christ.